Black Corporation: Joseon - Chapter 144

Episode 144: Battle. (3)

‘The establishment of a textile factory using automatic looms is entrusted to the upper management.’

In the three-day war of words leading up to this decision, the basic argument of the opposing side was simple from the start.

-Automatic looms are not free. If the price of the loom is higher than expected, will any merchants step forward?

Sejong, who thought the point was reasonable, asked Hyang.

“How much does it cost to make one loom?”

“It’s 30 taels of silver.”

Sejong could not hide his disappointment at Hyang’s answer.

“30 nyang of silver is equivalent to 10 pieces of white rice, so it’s expensive. Of course, the government has to come forward…”

When Sejong tried to proceed with nationalization due to the price, the government took action.

“Yes, it is definitely expensive. In order to make a commercial mark using automatic looms, I think it would be necessary to install more than 10 machines at once. However, if you buy in such large quantities, the production cost per unit goes down.”

When Hyang said that costs could be reduced, Sejong pointed out a problem.

“No matter how much it goes down, it won’t go down to less than half, right? Wouldn’t it cost too much to build a building to house the loom, hire people, and find livestock or a water wheel to provide power? Is there anyone who would pay that much money? Even though there are no results.”

Hyang answered Sejong’s question with a firm voice.

“there is!”

“there is?”

“Yes Abama. There are still quite a few merchants who survived from the forerunner! “It’s possible for them!”

Hearing Hyang’s words, Sejong looked back at Kim Jeom, the governor of the Joseon Dynasty. In response to the unspoken question posed by Sejong, Kim Jeom immediately bowed his head.

“I agree with what the Crown Prince said.”

“Do you have any confirmation?”

Kim Jeom answered King Sejong’s question right away.

“One-third of the products entering the Ming Dynasty through Shandong are glassware and ceramics made through royal workshops. The remaining 2/3 are products from the private sector. “The volume traded in Shandong is increasing every year, but this rate has been maintained since the launch of glass products.”

“Is the ratio being maintained? So does that mean sales at private merchants will continue to increase?”

“That’s right. In addition, the volume of trade with Japan through Waegwan is increasing explosively.”

“I know that very well. So, I remember reporting that a superior should be created in the Daenae clan’s territory.”

“That’s right.”

After briefly remembering Kim Jeom’s answer, Sejong asked Kim Jeom.

“As far as I know, the Japanese said they would give silver as payment for the transaction. “Then, the silver holdings of merchants doing business with the Japanese government must be enormous?”

“That’s right. Not only the merchants who trade with the Japanese Empire but also the merchants who trade with the Ming Dynasty possess a considerable amount of silver. Therefore, I fully support the plan proposed by the crown prince. “We need to absorb as much of the silver held by the merchants as possible.”

Sejong expressed doubts about Kim Jeom’s words.

“why?”

“Not only our Joseon Dynasty, but also the Ming and Japanese countries all use silver as a means of transaction. Therefore, the value of silver must be maintained at an appropriate level.”

“is it?”

Kim Jeom gave a firm answer to King Sejong’s difficult question.

“That’s right!”

Hyang, who was listening to the conversation between Sejong and Kim Jeom next to him, shouted inwardly.

‘Oh yea! Nice! ‘It’s worth it to talk about prices to death!’

* * *

Although Hyang continued to educate people about prices, Kim Jeom and Hojo officials were feeling a creeping sense of anxiety.

The reason they felt anxious was because of the price trends in the market that came through the monopoly, the tariffs that came in through customs, and the size of the taxes collected every year.

Hojo officials, who received intensive training from Hyang, broke the story to find out whether the upper class members were evading taxes. Thanks to this, through the incoming taxes, Hojo was able to confirm the size of the transaction at the top as close to the truth as possible.

“The transaction volume of merchants is increasing.”

“Not only the transaction volume but also the profits are increasing.”

The officials who were reporting on the top reported one unusual fact.

“It looks like the top has a significant amount of silver. In the past, we would have paid in kind, such as copper or sulfur, but now most people pay in silver.”

“Pay in silver?”

When Kim Jeom expressed interest, the officials immediately brought books.

“Here is a list of duties and taxes paid by merchants. As you can see, when merchants were first established in Shandong, many people paid in kind, but now most of them pay in silver.”

“Hmm…”

Kim Jeom snorted and looked at the records.

Most of the Ming products imported through Shandong’s superiors were luxury goods – silk, inkstone, musk, etc. In the early Joseon Dynasty, merchants paid many of these goods in kind to pay customs duties. But now most merchants pay in silver.

“Hmm…”

While Kim Jeom was looking at the reports with a serious face, other officials came with reports.

“What else is that?”

“This is the financial statements from the reseller.”

“so?”

“If you look at the settlement reports from the city where the merchants are located and monopoly stores in nearby areas, the amount of silver received as payment is gradually increasing.”

“What I mean is that the amount of silver is increasing…”

Kim Jeom paused for a moment and gave an order to another official.

“Go and bring me a record of the amount of silver paid by the government.”

“Yes, Captain.”

After a while, Kim Jeom unfolded the reports brought by the officials and started comparing them.

“It’s definitely more than what came out of the court.”

With the start of Gyeongjang, the government and royal family abolished tribute altogether. This was because the harm was too great. The royal family and government, which abolished tribute, changed their method to purchasing necessary items and used grain or silver as payment.

In addition to tribute, those working in the royal workshops were paid in silver.

However, looking at Hojo’s records now, it was clear that the amount of silver circulating in the market was several times that amount.

After confirming that the amount of silver in circulation had increased through cross-checking, Kim Jeom issued another order.

“Bring me a survey of how much it costs to buy an island of white rice!”

“ancient!”

Kim Jeom’s face became more serious as he looked at the report recording the price trends of rice, the staple food of the Korean people.

“Obviously…”

When Gyeongjang first began, a sum of rice was traded at a price of 1 nyang of silver or less. Of course, it was more expensive during the spring season, but during the harvest season, the price was maintained at less than 1 nyang of silver.

However, the price of rice has been rising little by little since last year. It wasn’t a visible increase, but when comparing monthly records, it was discovered that it was rising little by little.

“This feels uncomfortable….”

Feeling a crisis, Kim Jeom immediately went to Lim Sun-wook.

“Certainly, the asking prices of goods have been rising little by little in recent years.”

Lim Soon-wook, who came running after coordinating the newly created administration, nodded and answered.

“Don’t you think this will be a problem?”

“It will be a problem. If done incorrectly, those who own tangible goods such as grain or land can make a lot of money.”

“What do you think is the solution?”

“Please give me a few days.”

Im Sun-wook, who asked for an end to Kim Jeom’s words, visited Kim Jeom again three days later.

“No matter how much I thought about it, the answers were almost the same. The government needs to step in and absorb as much silver as possible from the market and distribute currency. In addition, we must ensure that new battlefields that are planned to be built will not only provide loans but also allow for accumulation of wealth.”

After hearing Lim Sun-wook’s answer, Kim Jeom did not open his mouth but was quietly lost in thought.

After pondering for a while, Kim Jeom made a decision.

“I guess I’ll have to write an appeal to the chief minister.”

Since it was not just an appeal but a causal relationship that had to be written accurately, Kim worked hard to draft the appeal for several days.

Finally, after several rounds of review, the first draft of the petition was completed, and Hyang announced the completion of the automatic loom.

At the demonstration of the automatic loom, Kim Jeom felt an exhilarating emotion the moment Hyang insisted that the private sector be entrusted with the establishment of a textile factory.

‘This is it! I can absorb the silver circulating in the private sector and reduce my work! Let’s do it!’

* * *

After hearing Kim Jeom’s explanation, Sejong asked again with a serious face.

“Is it that serious?”

“It hasn’t been revealed yet, but soon everyone will know. And when that time comes, you will have to put in twice as much effort.”

“Huh~.”

Sejong let out a long sigh at Kim Jeom’s answer.

“In the meantime, a lot of wealth came into Joseon and the people liked it, so they also liked it. But was that a mistake?”

In response to King Sejong’s self-blame, Kim Jeom revealed that this was not the case.

“That is not true. “The people’s lives have definitely become more relaxed.”

“Hey Hopan. “I don’t understand, but the more wealth that comes in, the better, right?”

Before Kim Jeom could say anything, Hyang opened his mouth to the question asked by Jo Mal-saeng, who was listening to the story next to him.

“Captain. It is true that it is good if a lot of wealth comes in. But it is also true that if done wrong, it can be poisonous.”

Jo Mal-saeng, who still did not understand, asked Hyang again a question.

“I don’t understand what you mean by poison. “Isn’t it a mess now that there are so many places to use them, but so few people are coming in?”

In Jo Mal-saeng’s words, Hyang explained with a simple example.

“If you look at Joseon today, it lacks the stamina to digest such an influx of wealth. To give a simple example, it is the same situation as allowing a child to eat as much as two or three adults would eat just because he or she eats well, or having a banquet spread in front of a person who is on the verge of starvation.”

“Ah…”

Jo Mal-saeng nodded at Hyang’s explanation. Sejong, who was listening to the explanation of the scent next to him, sighed again.

“Haaa~. “What the heck… I grew up a little faster than I thought, but I never thought something like this would happen.”

Hyang responded to Sejong’s lament in a calm voice.

“Something will happen anyway.”

“It was something that was going to happen anyway?”

“yes. From the end of the Joseon Dynasty, not only agriculture but also commerce and industry were devastated. When Joseon was founded, efforts were made to shake off this desolation, but commerce and industry were looked down on, insisting that virtue is fundamental and wealth is trivial. The problem is…”

As Hyang’s explanation became longer, Sejong cut off the conversation.

“The problem may be that those who preached virtue held on to their wealth and shared it little.”

Hyang quietly bowed her head and responded to Sejong’s conclusion.

“That’s right.”

“Hmm… let me think about it.”

King Sejong sat there, lost in thought.

After thinking for a while, King Sejong finally came to a conclusion.

“good night! I will accept the proposal of the crown prince and Hopan. Gather the upper level and place a bid! “This is done according to my authority, so I will take full responsibility!”

When King Sejong said that he would not accept any objections, all the ministers bowed.

“I follow your orders.”

The officer who recorded all of this added the following:

‘Everything is done under Yeo’s guidance, so Yeo will take responsibility.’

When the Lord made this decision, all the ministers, large and small, were in awe and did not dare to reject it.

The officer discusses.

Just a few years ago, we were worried about the country not having money, but now we are worried about the overflow of wealth in the market.

However, the officer could not even see the wealth.

Once King Sejong made his decision, the ministers immediately began preparations.

* * *

After confirming King Sejong’s decision, Hyang returned to his room in the East Palace and muttered as he looked at the reports piled up on his desk.

“I was fortunate that I still had some energy.”

Since the Three Kingdoms period, merchants on the Korean Peninsula have been actively engaged in commercial activities. Merchants from the Korean peninsula used to travel to and from China to conduct commercial activities, to the point where the term ‘Sillabang’ was coined.

And this activity continued actively even during the Goryeo Dynasty.

However, the power of merchants on the Korean Peninsula gradually weakened due to the economic chaos caused by the invasion of the Yuan Empire and the rise of the Kwon Munse clan, and the deterioration of the economy due to the invasion of Japanese pirates.

The reason why incense was considered good luck was that it was the early Joseon Dynasty.

There were still a few specific tops as well as large and small tops remaining.

After sorting out the situation, Hyang sighed.

“Whoa~. If it was the middle Joseon Dynasty, I don’t even want to think about it. Would it have been better in the late Joseon Dynasty?”