Black Corporation: Joseon - Chapter 165
Episode 165: Purge (5)
“Everyone gather together!”
The officials of the institute who received the order to start the new year immediately gathered in the front yard of the institute.
“Everyone is gathered.”
“Thank you for your effort.”
After receiving the report from Jeongcho, Hyang, standing on the stone of the institute, got straight to the point.
“I will have to take a break from lab work for the time being.”
At Hyang’s remarks, the institute’s officials looked at each other and whispered.
When the whispering died down to a certain extent, Hyang explained the reason.
“A lot of manpower is needed in the process of selecting those who participated in the rebellion related to this rebellion. So we received a request for cooperation from Hojo and Hyeongjo.”
“I understand that Hojo already has enough manpower?”
Jinpyeong came forward and raised a counterargument to Hyang’s explanation. Hyang responded to Jinpyeong’s objection.
“Hojo must collect taxes and circulate currency in time for this harvest season. Due to this rebellion, harvests throughout Joseon have come to a halt. “If we miss the timing, all of this year’s crops will be in vain.”
The officials who had been complaining, including Jinpyeong, became quiet after hearing those words.
“But railway research…”
“True…”
Jinpyeong, who was about to say something because he had lingering feelings about the locomotive, immediately closed his mouth when Hyang’s gaze became fierce.
After the suppression of the last Beomgwol, Jinpyeong was in a difficult situation but respected Hyang. That’s why she closed her mouth as soon as Hyang’s expression became fierce.
After Jinpyeong closed his mouth, any further whispering disappeared.
“Then bring in the cart!”
At the Hyang’s command, the eunuchs and the Geumgun soldiers came in, pulling carts. In front of about 20 carts filled with hundreds of books, Hyang spoke.
“This is the list of traitors handed over from the Hojo and Hyeongjo, the family register of the area, and the genealogy confiscated from the traitors’ families. “With this, we can deduce those who fall within the scope of association.”
“… yes.”
* * *
The officials of the institute sighed as they conducted an investigation into those who participated in the treason and their families under the orders of the village.
“The noblemen of Hasam Island will be drying up.”
Often, if you are caught trying to plot a treason, you will say, ‘I will destroy the three clans.’ Destroying the 9 tribes.’ They say that, but so far, it has been rare to truly destroy the 3rd and 9th tribes.
To take the most recent example, among those caught up in ‘Kang Merchant’s Prison’, only the brothers Kang Merchant and Sim On were killed and their families were thrown into government slavery, but the others were mostly unharmed.
However, in this rebellion, there were very few people who were such exceptions. Because it was the Mid-Autumn Festival, they gathered together in the name of holding a memorial service to their ancestors and started an uprising, so almost everyone in the family got involved.
The situation of the instigators’ in-laws was also similar. Even though the traitor’s wife became his travel expenses, he did not disturb his wife’s family, and there were more than one family that even his wife’s family joined in the rebellion.
“What the hell!”
Lee Sun-ji, who was organizing the directory, threw down her gold pen and screamed.
“No matter how much you live without knowing what’s going on in the world, you’re still oily! “How could you be this stupid!”
The command sent by King Sejong through Hyang was simple.
-It is customary to apply the prominence rate. There are laws in Joseon as well, so handle things fairly and accurately according to those laws.
While issuing this order, King Sejong added the following:
“I think I want to go beyond the 9 tribes and destroy the 10th tribe like the emperor of the Ming Dynasty. But there is a law, so we must follow that law.”
However, the scope of Joseon’s laws, Daemyung rules, and involvement in treason were almost the same.
In addition, most of the revolts were caused by members of the family who had gathered to attend the ancestral rites and formed a group. Therefore, the problem was that there were very few people who could be taken out by association.
This is why Lee Sun-ji got angry.
“Look here. “Hold on!”
“Hold on! “Hold on!”
Colleagues around her tried to stop Lee Sun-ji, but Lee Sun-ji could not hold back her anger.
“Look at this! “This!”
At Lee Sun-ji’s words, her colleagues looked at the records that Lee Sun-ji was reviewing and sighed involuntarily.
“Huh~.”
Sunji Lee raised her voice in response to her colleagues’ reactions.
“Not even a frog in a well! “How on earth does it make sense for even an 11-year-old to participate in a traitorous plot?”
“Whoa~. “That means there were a lot of stupid people.”
“I agree.”
Even his colleagues who had stopped him had to sigh at Lee Sun-ji’s words.
In line with the policy of treating children as adults upon marriage, even if they were not yet 15 years old when they were officially recognized as adults, there were more than one family in which boys in their early teens also participated in treason.
In the end, all the men in the family participated in the conspiracy, and as a result, more than one family lost its existence.
* * *
After working overtime for almost 15 days, Hyang sighed as he looked at the thick scrolls.
“Whoa~. shit! “How can the thickness of the summary be so bloody…”
Hyang, who saw the scrolls and thick books in front of him, stood up with an expression of helplessness.
“Still, I have to report it… Intro! Put them all on the cart!”
“Yes sir.”
* * *
“Your Majesty the Crown Prince, it is time for the entrance exam.”
“Come on in.”
After entering Geunjeongjeon, Hyang politely bowed to King Sejong and looked back at the ministers. Hyang looked pitiful when he saw that the faces of the ministers, who had boasted a white and shiny appearance just a short while ago, had become dull.
‘Just a few days ago, you were showing off your dewy skin, but the old people had a hard time.’
“Have you finished organizing?”
Hyang, who was looking at the ministers with a pitiful face, came to his senses at King Sejong’s question and immediately answered.
“Yes Abama. shell.”
“Yes sir.”
The eunuch, who was standing behind the incense stick, handed three thick scrolls to the merchant ship.
King Sejong, who received the scroll via a merchant ship, untied the knot and examined the contents of the scroll.
“Huh…”
King Sejong unwound the scrolls that Hyang had posted and looked at their contents, and he sighed involuntarily.
“I can’t believe so many people did such foolish things…”
Hyang immediately responded to Sejong’s lament.
“It is said that among the people who were in the most prestigious positions in the region, there were so many who had no idea about the world.”
“I guess so…”
Sejong answered Hyang’s words in a bitter voice and looked at the numbers written at the very front.
Each scroll summarized the situation in Chungcheong, Gyeongsang, and Jeolla, where the rebellion broke out this time.
“If you look at the scroll, you will understand…”
Hyang explained the summary verbally.
The scale of those who participated in the uprising in the area was as follows:
-1,218 people from 23 families
in Chungcheong .
654 private soldiers.
Novi 7855 district (口).
-2,198 people from 32
Gyeongsang families.
3,421 private soldiers.
Novi 24328 district.
-1887 people from 26 families
in Jeolla .
10,578 private soldiers.
Novi 21894 district.
“There are a lot of waterways. In particular, Yeongnam and Honam….”
Sejong, who was listening to Hyang’s explanation, looked back at the ministers.
“wait! “I understand that the retention and training of private soldiers was banned a long time ago?”
Jo Mal-saeng stepped forward and responded to King Sejong’s words.
“I guess so. However, it appears that influential families in the Samnam region raised them by simply changing their names. “Be it a gourmet or a business owner.”
King Sejong quietly nodded in response to Jo Mal-saeng’s answer.
In fact, even his older brother Yangnyeong gathered private soldiers under the excuse that he was a ‘merchant skilled in hunting’.
“Because of this incident, we must strictly crack down on this so that no more private soldiers are raised.”
King Sejong, who was studying the report while planning a new policy to implement, asked the ministers again.
“Why are there so many private soldiers and slaves in Yeongnam and Honam?”
Kim Jeom immediately answered King Sejong’s question.
“Yeongnam and Honam have been famous for being granaries since ancient times, so there have been many raids by Japanese pirates. Therefore, there were many private soldiers raised by each family. The reason there are so many slaves is because not only are they given a lot of sharecropping, but there are also a lot of fields that are cultivated directly by mobilizing slaves.”
“And all those fields were duty-free?”
Kim Jeom immediately answered King Sejong’s question.
“That’s right.”
“Hmm…”
After hearing Kim Jeom’s answer, King Sejong looked at the scrolls again and began to ponder. King Sejong, who had been thinking alone for a while, looked back at his ministers.
“Hindsight may say this is a cruel treatment, but I have to make a decision. Let’s cut it out.”
The ministers closed their eyes tightly at Sejong’s decision. ‘I’ll cut it out.’ The term meant merciless purge.
‘But there is no reason to stop it!’
‘An armed uprising… there is no justification!’
In the end, all the ministers had no choice but to bow their heads and give the same answer.
“I follow your orders!”
The officer who recorded all of this added at the end:
– So the king decided to cut out those who had rebelled, and there was not a single minister who went against his will.
The officer discusses.
A momentary choice caused the destruction of oneself and one’s family, so who is to blame?
* * *
It was decided to impose capital punishment on all noblemen involved in treason, but that was not the end.
“What is this book?”
Sejong grabbed the thickest book among the books that came with the scroll and looked at the title.
“Yeokjungchunginrok (逆中忠人錄)?”
When Sejong saw the title and expressed his doubts, Hyang immediately answered.
“This is a list of those who, although they belonged to a strong family, did not join in the rebellion and remained loyal to the end.”
“okay?”
Sejong’s eyes lit up and he looked at the names of those on the list. But after a while, I was filled with regret.
“There are quite a few dead people.”
“There are many people who were killed for not participating in the rebellion.”
Sejong’s voice became fierce at Hyang’s answer.
“Through this, the sins committed by weightlifters have increased. No matter how much you don’t follow his will, how dare you harm your own blood relatives and still be called a nobleman! “Listen to the template!”
“Yes, Your Highness!”
“All those belonging to the family that killed their own blood relatives should be put to death! “They must not die gracefully!”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
After that, plans to deal with those involved in the uprising continued to be discussed. Since the punishment for the rebels had already been decided, the focus of the discussion was on those who had made meritorious contributions.
After quite a long discussion, reward criteria were created for those who contributed to this uprising.
1st place contributor.
The commander of the army that stopped the invasion. Commander of the army that prevented the uprising. Commanders of all levels died in the process of stopping Beomgwol.
2nd place contributor.
Mid-level and low-level commanders of the army that stopped the invasion. Middle and lower level commanders of the military who prevented the uprising. A soldier who died in the process of stopping Beomgwol. The family that stood against those who started the uprising.
3rd place contributor.
Commanders at all levels died in the process of suppressing the uprising. The head of the family who fought against those who started the uprising.
4th place contributor.
Those who were killed or injured in the process of preventing the uprising.
Rewards were given to those involved based on these established criteria.
Many people received decorations and awards through the award system created at the suggestion of the township.
However, during the award process, Sejong gave a choice.
“If you want land, we will give you land. If you want a pension, we will give you a pension. “Choose.”
Those who received a reward from Sejong’s proposal were troubled.
When choosing a pension, a pension of a different amount determined according to established standards was paid for a set period of time, and at the same time, children of meritorious persons were given the benefit of going to a military academy or receiving a military academy.
In the case of local noblemen, additional plaques were given with the words ‘Loyalty Family’ written in King Sejong’s own handwriting.
However, when choosing land, unlike pensions, the above additional benefits are completely eliminated. In addition, the land received as a reward was completely tax-exempt for five years and then reduced by half for the next five years.
In the end, most people of merit had no choice but to choose a pension.
And it was Hyang who created this policy. When first drafting this policy, Hyang muttered to himself.
“I didn’t know that car options could be used like this….”
* * *
This is the end of the rewards for those who contributed, but the hardships of the families of those who participated in the treason have only just begun.
As the youngest person involved in the treason plot was 11 years old, the number of men in the family involved in the treason plot dried up.
Additionally, as the laws regarding slaves changed and the tax system changed, no one of merit wanted to receive slaves.
“Shall we send it to the North?”
“I wouldn’t mind sending one or two to the North, but there are too many. “Can’t we turn the entire northern region into a rebel area?”
After much discussion, the punishment handed down was mine labor.
The families of those who participated in the uprising were all taken to iron and coal mines and forced to work for 30 years.