There Is No Sejong In My Joseon [EN]: Chapter 414

415. Governance and Politics (1)

All affairs of the Nanjing court were under the jurisdiction of Yi Do, who was appointed as the Senior Grand Secretary of the Cabinet.

When the Cabinet made a decision, the Six Ministries executed it.

The Grand Secretaries divided the state affairs and handled them in a specialized manner, so the Six Ministries were, in effect, merely responding to the Cabinet’s call and executing its orders.

This system had, in fact, been completed during the reigns of Emperor Hongxi and Emperor Xuande.

Emperor Hongxi, who respected the academicians of the Cabinet as his teachers, had the Six Ministries report to the Cabinet and execute state affairs.

The Cabinet discussed state matters by submitting opinions to the Emperor and receiving imperial replies, but in later generations, even the Emperor’s review and replies became a mere formality.

While the Emperor remained in the inner palace, all decrees came from the Cabinet, so even though the Ming Dynasty had abolished the position of prime minister, a prime minister had effectively been established.

The situation was similar now.

Of course, Yi Je, who had no respect for scholars, would not respect the Cabinet academicians as Emperor Hongxi did.

It was simply that he could not resolve the problems of Nanjing while staying far away in Hanyang, so, except for the ceremonial reports to the Emperor, the Cabinet effectively held all the power.

The telegraph had already spread throughout the Joseon mainland and Manchuria, that is, the entire ‘Zhili’ [directly governed] region, but it would still take time to connect the telegraph lines to Nanjing.

In other words, now was the perfect timing for Yi Do, the Senior Grand Secretary of the Cabinet, to wield full power, whether he liked it or not.

Moreover, unlike other Grand Secretaries of the 5th rank who had to concurrently hold ministerial positions to exert influence based on their rank, wasn’t he a Joseon Prince who could be said to be second only to the Emperor and the Crown Prince by virtue of his status alone?

However, regardless of such power, he was, in fact, feeling burdened by the excessive workload.

The other Grand Secretaries only had to handle the tasks in their respective fields, and in the case of tasks that could not be handled alone, they made decisions through collective consultation.

However, he, as the Senior Grand Secretary, had to handle everything himself.

The reason why Yi Do welcomed his son Yi Hyang, who had divorced and come to Nanjing, with open arms was there.

“Father, I have caused you concern by not taking proper care of the family.”

“How can the affairs of a couple be the fault of one person? Since it has already happened, there is nothing we can do. It is more important to control your heart.”

“I had many opportunities to think while coming to Nanjing. I have now calmed my heart considerably.”

“That’s a relief. Then you can start working right away.”

“……Yes?”

Yi Do piled a stack of documents on his son, who was still dumbfounded.

“There is a lot of work piled up in Nanjing. The number of Joseon people staying in Nanjing is small, and most of them are military officers, so until now, I have been in charge of all the state affairs, which has been a headache.”

Yi Hyang thought he had been dispatched to Nanjing just to get some fresh air and soothe his wounded heart, but the reason for sending him to Nanjing, the center of the Central Plains, could not have been just that.

At this point, it was telepathy. It was clear his older brother had sent his son and slaves as an excuse to make use of them.

In the original history, Yi Do also entrusted his son with the regency to lead the later years of his reign.

Why wouldn’t he use his capable son, who was just like him?

“Originally, when you have unnecessary thoughts, the top priority is to bury yourself in work.”

Yi Do patted his son’s shoulder to encourage him.

“This is a memorial regarding the Daldan army that will depart from Jiangnan. The Ministry of War seems confident that they can carry enough with the ships gathered in Suzhou and Hangzhou, but no matter how I calculate it, it is not enough. Take charge and think about it.”

“This is a memorial from the Ministry of Revenue regarding the tax grains of Huguang. Looking at it briefly, the tax grains to be collected have decreased significantly compared to last year. They are making excuses that the land is exhausted and the weather is dry, but no matter how I look at it, they are undoubtedly trying to subtly omit the produce of their land now that the country has changed.”

“It seems that the civil service examination should be suspended for the time being, but the provincial examination is enough to filter out Jinshi [successful candidates in the highest imperial exams] and Saengwon [those who passed the lower civil service exam], so it seems good to implement it in each province as before. Discuss with the academicians how to handle it.”

“I am trying to introduce charts to the Nanjing court as well as Zhili, but to do so, I think we need to create a training center, even temporarily, to educate them.
Among those who came with you, there must be some who have just popped out of the training center, right?”

Yi Hyang’s expression grew more bewildered with each thick document placed in his hand.

“……Are you saying that you have been in charge of all of this alone until now, Father?”

“Yes. Now these are the things you have to handle.”

At this point, he could understand why his uncle had hurriedly run away to Hanyang after only holding the inauguration ceremony.

If it hadn’t been for someone like his father, the work in Nanjing would have come to a standstill.

Or else, only the dynasty would have been replaced, and the Han Chinese gentry would have remained in power.

“Fortunately, His Majesty has filled a large number of officials from Zhili, so I can rest assured and entrust them with work.”

The difference between Joseon and other conquering dynasties was here.

Unlike previous dynasties where even if the foreign ruling class came in, the existing dynasty’s officials had to carry out the actual administrative work, Joseon had more than enough resources to carry out bureaucratic work, befitting the country of aspiring civil servants.

Although large-scale recruitment takes place every time the government grows in size, this recruitment, which took place while conquering the Central Plains, was so large that rumors were heard that it had emptied the schools.

Of course, passing the civil service examination and completing the training center does not make one a skilled public official, but that is a problem that time can somehow solve.

The Han Chinese officials, who were secretly proud and confident that they could not do anything without them, were 그대로 [just like that] relegated to commoners.

Only those who actively cooperated with Joseon from the beginning were employed in the court.

Yi Do hurriedly passed on the work to the supplied slaves and stretched his stiff shoulders with a refreshed look.

“What are you going to do now, Father?”

“I have been taking care of everything until now because there was no one to trust, but now I don’t need to. I am now going to focus on the work of coordinating the opinions of the Cabinet.”

Yi Do said.

“In addition, I am thinking of contributing to creating a system to permanently govern this land.”

* * *

Originally, the Cabinet was only an affiliated organization of the Hanlin Academy [an elite scholarly institution].

It began when Emperor Yongle selected Hanlin Academy academicians to take charge of the major policies in the palace.

However, after that, the Cabinet academicians held positions in the Hanlin Academy but did not take care of their duties, and the Cabinet began to separate from the Hanlin Academy.

Meanwhile, the Hanlin Academy was busy with its unique tasks of research and consultation.

The ‘research’ to justify the ruling logic of Joseon, in which all the prominent scholars gathered and put their heads together, was progressing steadily.

Then, how about the consultation side?

“The Hanlin Academy is heavily staffed with former imperial family members.”

Although the dynasty had changed, the titles of the Zhu clan’s princes were not demoted.

They were also relatives of the Joseon imperial family, and they had actively cooperated with Yi Je’s ascension to the throne, so this was the price.

However, many of the financial benefits given to the Zhu clan’s imperial family had to be withdrawn.

As Yang Sa-gi had worried earlier, the only thing the imperial family did was reproduce, and the country was bearing all of their economic responsibilities, so it was natural.

However, surprisingly, no major complaints arose.

Those who had a sense of the situation were grateful that the imperial family of the former dynasty had saved their lives and even preserved their titles.

However, even those with ambitions like Prince Ying did not express any particular dissatisfaction because of the existence of this Hanlin Academy.

The Ming princes who were listed in the Hanlin Academy did not have any real authority, but they obtained official positions by taking on ‘consultation’.

This was even encouraging for the princes who had been deprived of all political power and private soldiers due to successive fratricidal strife and had to live together in Nanjing against their will.

“In reality, it is only a consultation, but it is merely creating a window for the old imperial family to complain, isn’t it?”

“You are right. But they are more enthusiastic than I thought.”

Yi Do nodded at Yi Hyang’s question.

“Who would have known that someone like Prince Ying would be so familiar with the products and customs of Nanchang and the temperament of the people there?”

“Isn’t it natural since it is his fiefdom? It is true that Prince Ying’s fiefdom was originally the northern land bordering Daldan, but I heard that it has already been resealed to Nanchang for decades.”

“You are right. It’s not just Nanchang. No matter how wise and reasonable His Majesty and I are, we cannot look into every detail of such a town.”

Yi Do, who very naturally praised himself and his brother, continued.

A country that is monopolized by one person looks ideal at first glance, but it is not actually possible.

Yi Bang-won, his father, who made the functions of the State Council nominal and directly controlled the Six Ministries, and even his brother Yi Je, who inherited that foundation, were the same.

He is fully demonstrating the power of an absolute monarch, saying, ‘I can do better if I run myself,’ but isn’t he struggling with work in return?

Even Yi Je judged that it would be impossible to directly control this vast Central Plains.

Even more so when looking at the ever-evolving and complex situation of Joseon.

Even Yi Je is like that, so what about his successors?

It is an irreverent imagination, but what if his brother dies immediately and his nephew, the Crown Prince, succeeds him?

Although Yi Dan has been gaining experience in state affairs by acting as regent from time to time, it does not seem like he can completely replace his brother.

In fact, that would be impossible for anyone in this world.

Therefore, arrangements were needed for sustainable governance.

The Cabinet and the Six Ministries in Nanjing are, to put it extremely, organizations that can function reasonably well even without the Emperor, aren’t they?

“Would…… His Majesty tolerate such words?”

Yi Hyang asked ominously. In fact, isn’t this an idea that should not be conceived as a subject?

No matter how close the brothers of the older generation are, would such an idea be tolerated in the face of power?

“Well……. Doesn’t Master Ya-eun’s [pen name of Gil Jae, a Goryeo dynasty scholar] theory contain similar content?”

Ya-eun Giljae has his unique position as a loyalist of Goryeo, and he passed away before any tackles could be made.

However, Yi Do had the belief that even if Giljae had not died, his brother would not have suppressed him and his ideas.

Yi Je often wields what seems to be a radical iron fist at first glance, but he is only wielding power for the sake of governance.

Whether to use power for governance or to govern for power.

From the perspective of those in power, it is always easy for the means to be confused with the end.

However, rather than being greedy for power itself, his brother seems to find joy in the way the country changes day by day as he energetically works… it was okay to see.

“Speaking among ourselves, your uncle may have thought that the throne was not originally his.”

“Yes?”

Yi Hyang expressed his doubts.

“Wasn’t His Majesty born as the eldest son of Taejong [posthumous name of Yi Bang-won], his grandfather?”

“There were three older brothers before that.”

“Even so, they died before His Majesty was born…….”

Not anyone else, but because of his brothers who died when that emperor was a baby?

From the time Yi Bang-won ascended the throne, no one doubted that Yi Je would succeed to the throne.

That is what the position of the eldest son is.

“This is just my guess. I just felt that way after being by my brother’s side for a long time.”

Yi Do said, waving his hand.

“So, even if someone denies the Emperor’s autocracy, wouldn’t he be willing to listen to and use those words if he thinks it will help preserve the country and the imperial family?”

“I’ll just pretend I didn’t hear that…….”

Even if the Emperor thinks so, the Crown Prince’s thoughts may be different.

Yi Hyang decided to forget all his father’s words.

His cousin’s reign will come someday, and he didn’t want to have his head cut off for saying unnecessary things.