Black Corporation: Joseon - Chapter 125
125 Currency
As the 11th year of King Sejong’s reign (1429, the year of Giyu)
entered the second half of Gyeongjang, not only King Sejong but also the ministers and officials of the court were in a strange state of tension.
The reason King Sejong, ministers, and officials were all nervous was because it was finally time for a full-scale reorganization of the administrative organization.
To ensure smooth progress, Group 6 as well as Jiphyeonjeon’s bachelors stayed up all night, reviewing and revising the plan.
“The ultimate purpose of Gyeongjang is to help as many people as possible have a healthy income and escape from poverty.”
“yes.”
King Sejong nodded to the explanation of Jiphyeonjeon Daejehak Byeon Gye-ryang. Sejong’s eyes as he looked at Byun Gye-ryang were full of worry.
‘Grandmaster Byeon has become very weak….’
* * *
Byun Gye-ryang, who was appointed as the Daejehak of Jiphyeonjeon in the second year of King Sejong’s reign, completely took his place as the Daejehak of Jiphyeonjeon as King Sejong proceeded with his appointment.
As Byeon Gye-ryang continued to hold the position of Daejehak, Jiphyeonjeon’s work clearly had continuity.
Although his private life was rife with scandals and scandals, Byeon Gye-ryang was so outstanding academically that he was able to take charge of Jiphyeonjeon’s Daejehak.
Afterwards, as King Sejong’s funeral progressed, government officials and ministers of the Six Dynasties looked at Byeon Gye-ryang with envious eyes.
This was because Byeon Gye-ryang, who was a member of Daejehak, was able to avoid the fierce winds when the fierce winds raged over the issue of bribery and corruption.
Although he had to give up the land he had received from previous kings, there were not many gifts that came thanks to his position as Jiphyeonjeon Daejehak, which in some ways could be considered a Hanjik position.
“If it weren’t for his petty personality, he would have been a political leader.”
“He has a petty personality, so he must study Jiphyeonjeon Daejehak.”
There were various rumors going around, but Byeon Gye-ryang did his best in his position as Daejehak of Jiphyeonjeon. His petty personality played a big role in ensuring that he was thorough and thorough in the process of policy research. Of course, doing it so meticulously and meticulously had the disadvantage of narrowing your field of view, but you also had the ability to quickly make up for it when something was pointed out.
Of course, every time, the scholars of Jiphyeonjeon had to suffer disappointment.
For Byeon Gye-ryang, who had such a petty personality, researching and improving Gyeongjang’s policies was a significant burden.
Thanks to this, while other subjects of similar age were flying around, Byeon Gye-ryang was rapidly weakening.
* * *
‘I guess I’ll have to prepare for Captain Byeon’s successor soon.’
King Sejong, who was considering a successor after seeing Byeon Gye-ryang’s weakened appearance, asked a question.
“That is the final goal, but there are many things that need to be resolved before that.”
“That’s right. “Jiphyeonjeon and Hojo Ijo believe that the success of these two issues must be decided first.”
In response to Byeon Gye-ryang’s answer, King Sejong turned to Yi Jo and Hojo, who were present, and asked a question.
“What are the two problems?”
Kim Jeom immediately answered King Sejong’s question.
“It is currency and administrative reform. The question is which of the two is more efficient to execute first.”
In response to Kim Jeom’s answer, Sejong stroked his beard and asked.
“Wasn’t that part supposed to begin with the reorganization of administrative districts?”
“It was, but things have changed.”
“Things have changed?”
“yes. “When we first planned the Gyeongjang, we planned to reorganize the administrative districts and then enforce the circulation of currency.”
“It did. “Wasn’t the reason why they did that because they had been trying to use currency all along, but there was a lot of resistance?”
Kim Jeom immediately responded to Sejong’s point.
“yes. “It was like that.”
“But now things have changed?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“why? No how? No… no… did encouraging commerce and industry change the situation?”
Kim Jeom answered King Sejong’s question with a slightly embarrassed expression.
“There are many reasons, but some somewhat absurd things have led the people to demand currency.”
“Ridiculous things?”
“There is a bathhouse and a shed.”
“Huh…”
Sejong’s expression became astonished at Kim Jeom’s answer.
“How on earth do bathhouses and Gyejak make money… no, wait… the crown prince said about the bathhouse, right?”
When Sejong recalled what Hyang had said, Kim Jeom responded right away.
“That’s right. “When recovering from the Great Hanseong Fire, you said that the construction of a bathhouse would create a need for currency.”
“Yes, I did. Indeed… I thought the chances were high, but I didn’t expect to see results so quickly.”
At King Sejong’s words, Byeon Gye-ryang joined the conversation.
“It appears to be the result of many people responding favorably to the ‘public hygiene’ advocated by the crown prince.”
“Public hygiene?”
“To be exact, it is fat-soluble soap.”
Sejong became confused by the increasingly incomprehensible answers.
* * *
The township, which installed a bathhouse while restoring the area devastated by the great fire, gathered not only the National Assembly but also lawmakers in Hanseong and military doctors from the military unit and held a briefing session on the importance of ‘public hygiene’. .
This was not just once, but briefing sessions were held repeatedly before the rainy season started and even after the rainy season ended.
The internal medicine doctors and military doctors who already knew Hyang’s whereabouts and had read the translations of the medical books of the children that Hyang had obtained immediately accepted Hyang’s claims.
As a result, as sanitary conditions in the palace and county improved, the number of people contracting infectious diseases – mainly skin diseases – in the palace and county decreased significantly.
Private sector lawmakers who saw these practical effects also began to take interest in the ‘importance of public hygiene’ and began to emphasize cleanliness to the private sector as well.
As Area 51 released Bizo onto the market just in time, the people began to pay attention to cleanliness.
“It’s a bit annoying, but how can you prevent minor illnesses just by washing your hands well?”
With this attention to cleanliness, the popularity of public bathhouses gradually increased.
Although many years have passed, it was the early Joseon Dynasty, when traces of Goryeo still remain strong, so there was little aversion to bathing, which also played a role.
As bathing became popular in redevelopment areas, demolition of buildings and construction of bathhouses became frequent in other areas of Hanseong.
And at the entrance of the bathhouse built in this way, in addition to charging bathing fees, they also sold bijo. Therefore, it was common for many people to take a bath while ‘going to buy a treasure trove.’
When Bizo was first released on the market, people asked, ‘What is it used for?’ The people who reacted cheered the various uses of Bijo.
Not only was it useful for cleansing the body, but the phenomenon of cleaning dishes with a scrub brush made by rubbing Bijo into foam would clean them cleanly, so many women regarded Bijo as precious as if they were worshiping a sacred wine jar.
As Bijo was used in this way, various problems arose, and as the problems that arose one after another, the people began to demand currency.
First of all, the first problem pointed out was the lifespan of bijo, or soap. Soap’s biggest enemy was moisture. Moisture was removed as much as possible during the process of producing soap, but since soap is always used close to water, the consumption rate was quite high.
So, soap was purchased in large quantities through bathhouses, stores, grocery stores, and cloth sellers, but since there was no moisture-blocking packaging like in the 21st century, the soap often melted when it came into contact with moisture in the air – especially during the rainy season.
In the end, people living in urban areas purchased small quantities of one or two at a store or bathhouse, but the problem was that the price was low.
In exchange for one or two bars of soap, cotton cloth was of a size that could be used as a mop, so most of it was covered with grain, but grain was also a headache.
The same applies to the bathhouse usage fee. The amount was small enough that even ordinary people could do it once a week, so it was a hassle to pay for it with cotton cloth or grain every time.
In the end, the residents of Dong-ri, where the bathhouse was located, made ledgers and enjoyed bathing on credit. The problem was when settling the expenses incurred on credit. Whenever we organized things at intervals of 15 days or 1 month, there were frequent fights over ‘Did I do it or not?’
In the end, the people reached the following conclusion.
“Ah shit! “Let’s spend the money on notification or education instead!”
“That would be better!”
* * *
“The need for currency has indeed emerged in an unexpected place.”
Upon hearing Kim Jeom’s report, King Sejong expressed his impressions with an expression of still bewilderment.
At King Sejong’s words, the ministers, including Kim Jeom, nodded.
“Then is Gyejak the same reason?”
Kim Jeom immediately answered King Sejong’s question by bowing his head.
“That’s right. Because Gyejak was not expensive, there was a lot of unrest, and people began to talk about their inconvenience.”
King Sejong snorted and was lost in thought at the words of the ministers.
“Hmm…”
Sejong, who had been sorting out the situation in silence, opened his mouth while looking at the ministers.
“If you listen to what the ministers are saying now, they say they have to decide on the future, but they seem to want to distribute the currency first. Is that correct?”
Yeonguijeong stepped forward and answered King Sejong’s question.
“So it is.”
“The reason is?”
“This is because the people say they are uncomfortable. “Inconvenience turns into dissatisfaction, and as dissatisfaction accumulates, it can easily turn into half-heartedness.”
King Sejong was lost in thought as he tapped the armrest with his fingers at Yeonguijeong’s remarks.
After thinking for a while, Sejong asked a question.
“I will ask the officers.”
“Please ask.”
“The people who want to use currency now seem to be mainly those who live in cities. is not it?”
“no. “The majority of people live in urban areas.”
“How spread out are the public bathhouses and branch offices?”
“Even so, it has spread to almost all cities with a population of 5,000 or more.”
“The population is over 5,000… So has it spread almost to the county level?”
“So it is.”
“But aren’t there an overwhelmingly greater number of people living in small towns than those living in cities? Do everyone who lives in such places agree with the use of currency? “Isn’t it a hasty decision to just listen to what people who live in the city have to say?”
Sejong could not hide his worry and continued to listen.
King Sejong was also keenly aware of the need to use currency and wanted it more earnestly than anyone else. However, he also knew well that the reason successive kings promoted the use of currency but failed each time was because the people did not respond favorably.
Therefore, King Sejong could not hastily accept the opinions of the ministers.
As King Sejong continued to hesitate, Kim Jeom stepped forward and spoke.
“According to reports coming from the monopoly, demand for currency is increasing even in small towns below the prefecture. Of course, it’s not yet the mainstream, but…”
Sejong’s face brightened little by little upon Kim Jeom’s report. However, King Sejong was meticulous.
“It is good to see that demand is increasing even in small villages below the county. However, it can be dangerous if you do not properly understand why such demand is increasing. “Have you been informed of the reason?”
“yes.”
At Kim Jeom’s gesture, a Hojo official who had been waiting behind him came forward carrying a tray with books on it.
When King Sejong received the book from the merchant ship, Kim Jeom continued.
“If you look at the book, you will see that the street vendors in such small towns strongly want to use currency. This is because the cotton cloth and grain received as payment are a burden.”
“Paymen’s compensation alone is not enough.”
“Farmers want it too. “This is because it is not easy to preserve grain.”
“Hmm…”
While listening to Kim Jeom’s explanation, Sejong read the report carefully. King Sejong read the report submitted by Kim Cheom from beginning to end and came to a conclusion.
“I understand the officers’ opinions well. But you can’t make a decision right away. The reason why more attention was paid to small local towns in the process of promoting Gyeongjang was to break down those who took lightly the authority of the king and the court and obeyed the authority of the town’s landlords or noblemen. Only by breaking down this can we pursue the public interest of allowing as many people as possible to enjoy a peaceful life. Therefore…”
Sejong paused for a moment. When King Sejong paused for a moment, the ministers focused their attention on him.
Sejong, who gathered the attention of the ministers, came to a conclusion.
“It’s not good to make a hasty decision, so think a little more carefully.”
The ministers bowed their heads at Sejong’s decision.
“I follow your orders.”
“Then let’s take a short break.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
King Sejong, who had dismissed his ministers and was sitting alone in the main hall gathering his thoughts, called for a merchant ship.
“merchant ship.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“Call the Crown Prince.”
“yes.”
While the merchant ship that received King Sejong’s order found another envoy and delivered the order, King Sejong muttered softly.
“It’s not the time for this kid to clean up for me, but I guess I should give him some homework. The time for him to just do what he wants to do is over…”