Black Corporation: Joseon - Chapter 152

Episode 152: Anxiety factor. (1)

As the ‘automatic loom’ was created and the winner of the bidding competition was decided, Joseon’s commercial world began to prepare to grow in size.

“If things continue like this, Joseon’s commercial world can be revived! No, it will get even bigger!”

Many merchants took active steps, dreaming of a hopeful future.

“What makes money?”

“Hmm… Should I try doing business with this item?”

In order to make money from the ever-growing market, merchants searched the eight provinces of Joseon in search of items that could make money.

No, Joseon was not the only one that fell behind. Slightly more active merchants searched the Ming and Japanese countries.

“Why are you going to Waeguk? “What is there to salvage from there?”

“Do you know anything?”

“It’s a town where there’s nothing to say even if a hair branch suddenly flies away in broad daylight!”

“So, I’m thinking of only visiting Daenae and Guju!”

Many merchants traveled to Joseon and Ming Dynasty in search of new opportunities.

However, not all merchants were active.

“No matter how much we are merchants chasing Lee Moon, it is not right to throw adventure trees carelessly.”

“that’s right. In order for commerce to grow properly, there must be currency, but Joseon doesn’t have one, right? No adventure. Adventure. “Now we need to face reality.”

Although choices were made differently depending on each individual’s values, overall, Joseon’s commercial scale was growing.

Not only commerce grew. Craftsmen with their own skills began to actively utilize their skills.

Because they had the best specimens.

The most representative example was the Song Il-cheol couple, where the wife was amassing Hanseong’s wealth through farming, and the husband was amassing wealth for generations to come by using a wire mesh net.

Not only Song Il-cheol and his wife, but also the presence of craftsmen who heard the sound of ‘Nari’ while working in Area 51 were the reasons that caused Joseon’s craftsmen to take risks.

Among the artisans who took on the challenge, those who earned the most were mother-of-pearl lacquerware artisans.

As glass mirrors made by Italian craftsmen became available on the market, mother-of-pearl lacquerware craftsmen created various lacquerware furniture and accessories with mirrors attached.

These furniture and props became a ‘must have’ for women not only in Joseon but also in the Ming and Japanese countries.

“Jihwaja! “Once the water comes in, you have to row!”

After confirming the report that came through Hojo, Hyang immediately requested King Sejong to hold a competition.

It was the ‘1st Joseon Furniture Contest’.

The first place prize was ‘10 nyang of silver’, which in some ways was not a large amount of money. However, top craftsmen from all over the country gathered in Hanseong.

It was because of the prize of the competition.

-I will purchase all products from 1st to 5th place at the palace.

-The winners from 1st to 5th place will be assigned rooms in government offices across the country and Sangdong and Waegwan, and their names will be announced.

The key point among these is that the product will have five pear flower patterns ranging from 1st place to 1 place 5th place.

“Will it work out?”

Sejong was not convinced by Hyang’s suggestion, but Hyang was confident.

As already known in Geumpil, etc., the Ewha pattern symbolized the highest quality.

In addition, the situation is divided into levels. A battle for rankings is also expected in the future.

“It will definitely float!”

And the result was as expected.

Queen Soheon and her concubines, Crown Princess and Yangje Yangwon, who were appointed as judges, carefully examined the submitted works with sparkling eyes.

Hyang muttered to himself at the sight of those women.

‘I’ve seen those eyes before! ‘That’s the look in our tusks and aunts’ eyes when they saw the luxury bag!’

In this way, 1st to 5th place were decided.

And as a result, Sejong and Hyang’s wallets were stolen.

The submitted works went to Queen Soheon in the form of real prizes, but this was because money had to be spent on others.

An accident occurred where Sejong and Hyang’s wallets were stolen, but after that, everything was as Hyang expected.

With the addition of packaging that read, “A work made by a craftsman who won an award in a contest hosted by the King of Joseon,” merchants from Ming and Japanese countries stood in line and waited for their products.

* * *

Not everything went as smoothly as Hyang expected.

Appeals written by local local groups who were already dissatisfied with King Sejong’s actions began to fill the cart again.

After seeing the appeals, King Sejong called Hyang again. This time, Hyang was mentally preparing in advance.

‘A large number of appeals came from the provinces.’ It was because I heard a rumor.

“You know what to do, right?”

“Yes Abama. Can we start from here?”

Hyang quickly pulled out a pile of appeals, untied the knot on the scroll, and began to read the appeals.

“How do you feel? “Do you have anything worth writing?”

Hyang, who was diligently reading and classifying the appeal, sighed and answered King Sejong’s question.

“Whoa~. “It’s a waste of paper.”

“So… I was hoping there would be decent people this time too…”

Sejong couldn’t hide his disappointment at Hyang’s answer. King Sejong still could not hide his greed for talent.

‘Well… there’s still a shortage of talented people…’

Hyang could understand Sejong’s feelings. Even though it was filled, the current Joseon government and administrative organization still lacked talent.

“Whoa~. This guy or that guy is just saying, ‘Luxury is a shortcut to ruin, so blah blah blah.’ They shouldn’t even wear silk.”

‘Luxury is the disease of ruining a nation, so the current behavior must be banned and commerce must be strictly prevented.’ Hyang, who was grumbling while looking at the appeals, which mostly contained the following, nervously untied the knots in the appeals.

Hyang, who had been reading the appeal with a sour face, suddenly straightened his posture and his eyes began to shine.

“Look at this?”

Hyang, who had read the appeal carefully, approached King Sejong with the appeal in question.

“Abama. “I think I found one.”

“Is that so? “Give it to me.”

King Sejong was pleased with Hyang’s words and received the appeal.

King Sejong, who was reading the appeal, hit his knee.

“Is that right? “It’s been a while since I found someone with deep thoughts!”

“That’s right.”

The appeal that the township found predicted a trade dispute.

-No one just stands by and watches others take the wealth they have accumulated in their treasury.

-If we look at the current situation in Joseon, it is a situation where enormous profits are being reaped from the Ming and Japanese countries. Fortunately, the products currently sold to the Ming and Japanese countries are mainly luxury goods, so there is little chance of it becoming a big problem.

-But merchants will want to get more and more profits, and eventually they will sell even more expensive products.

-If you bring in the wealth of the Ming and Japanese countries by selling everything from luxury goods to cheap goods, you can arouse the hostility of the Ming and Japanese countries.

-If the severity worsens, the Ming Dynasty will use its power as a great nation to apply pressure, and the Japanese pirates will become more active again.

-To solve this problem, we must select items that will not cause damage to our Joseon Dynasty and produce and sell them in Ming and Japanese countries. If the wealth obtained from the Ming and Japanese countries were circulated within the Ming and Japanese countries, and Joseon brought only an appropriate amount of wealth, it could continue its upward movement steadily without losing the people’s support.

“It’s okay.”

King Sejong, who read the appeal, nodded. Sejong classified the appeal in question separately on one side.

At best, they are now starting to use appeals as an opportunity to discover talent.

And as this became a custom, another trend was created.

People who dreamed of quick success by using appeals, called ‘Sangsobyeolsi (上訴別試)’, appeared.

* * *

In the end, local local groups became angry when their claims were ignored again.

“This is the tyranny of the Lord!”

“Only in this way can it be said that a language road exists!”

“If this continues, Joseon will collapse!”

In the opinion of the local community, King Sejong was carrying out tyranny while ‘closing his ears and covering his eyes.’

“What number should I find?”

“That’s right.”

An increasingly uneasy atmosphere began to circulate among local local groups.

As the harvest season in the 11th year of King Sejong approached, King Sejong threw bombs at local local groups.

The first bomb was the ‘Nobi Act’.

-The status of a child born to a wife (female servant) follows that of the father.

-If the father of a child born of rain is a Yangin, the child will have the status of a Yangin.

-If the child born by the rain is of the status of a nobleman, the rain who gave birth to the child is exempted from duty.

-If the father of a child conceived by a woman is married, the above provisions do not apply.

It was at this point that a bit of a war of words broke out between the Hyang and the ministers of King Sejong.

“Isn’t that too heartless?”

King Sejong and the ministers all shook their heads at Hyang’s point.

“No, that’s not true. “Minimum morals must be maintained.”

“you’re right. “If that clause were not in place, there would be chaos every day in rural areas.”

Due to the resolute attitude of King Sejong and his ministers, Hyang had no choice but to take a step back.

‘Well, the times are the times…’

“Hmm… It’s a little disappointing, but I think it’s okay.”

The reaction of most local communities was similar to the above.

However, it was the latter part of the bill that attracted the attention of local communities.

“A clause on ‘myeoncheon’?”

“Why is Myeoncheon suddenly there?”

The latter part of the ‘Slave Act’ dealt with the removal of slaves from their duties.

-A slave’s exemption from duty cannot be performed during the spring hunger season.

-When a slave is discharged from service, he must be given enough property to live for three months.

-If a slave has a family, he or she must be discharged as a family unit. However, unmarried adult children and widows are excluded.

At this point, the scent tickled my tongue.

“Tsk. If we had said that adults were included, there would have been an immediate uproar… But…”

Hyang paused for a moment and burst into laughter.

“This is a poison clause. “If you look closely, Abamama also has a strong tendency to be a swindler.”

The most unexpected thing in the following regulations on exemption was the last clause.

-Rohs and non-workers over 60 years of age cannot be exempted.

Funnily enough, this part was something the scent insisted on strongly.

“Crown, based on your usual arguments, I don’t think this part makes sense?”

Hyang immediately answered King Sejong’s question.

“No. “It is consistent with the usual argument.”

“why?”

“If combined with the other bills that follow, local groups will have no choice but to exempt slaves. “If so, the first people to be dismissed are old people who are worthless as labor.”

“ah!”

King Sejong and the ministers nodded in exclamation at Hyang’s explanation. The scent of that figure muttered to itself.

‘Was the professor in charge of American history who chose it as a 21st century liberal arts subject like that?’

At the time, the American history professor said this to his students:

-Southern planters who had so opposed slave emancipation before the war welcomed emancipation after the war. Why? I was able to deal with the old slaves who were getting old and wasting food with peace of mind.

Hyang, who was tracing memories of the 21st century, muttered with a bitter face.

‘In the current Joseon Dynasty, we cannot even dream of welfare for the elderly without ties. I have no choice but to pass it on to the locals.’

* * *

In this way, the reactions of most local groups to the slave law promulgated in the fall of the 11th year of King Sejong’s reign were largely the same.

‘I don’t completely like it, but I can accept it.’

However, a few local groups looked at the bills with suspicion.

‘The provisions regarding cotton cloth are suspicious. Why did they suddenly include a clause regarding cotton cloth?’

‘It’s too suspicious to just understand that it created a standard for cotton cloth.’

‘That too, but why now?’

With eyes full of questions, the locals focused their attention on Hanseong’s movements.

And soon after, another bill was promulgated, and the local community completely forgot about the suspicions.

What was promulgated following the ‘Slave Act’ was the ‘Act on the Treatment of Those Who Have Not Passed the Civil Service Examination’.

The content of the newly promulgated law was simple.

‘Those who have passed the civil service examination more than 10 years ago and those who have passed the national examination more than 5 years ago and have not entered the civil service will be deprived of tax exemption benefits. In addition, he is deprived of his local rank. Those who can be ranked in the local government are limited to those who have retired from public office and those who have received an honorary title in recognition of their meritorious service.’

It was a bill that would destroy the reputation of those who carry weight on their shoulders as noblemen in local areas.