Black Corporation: Joseon - Chapter 181

Episode 181: I am not a saint. (1)

“I’m sorry. “All the space for tenant farming has already been taken.”

“oh my! “How can I do this?”

A tenant who came to work on state-owned farmland sat down with a dejected look on his face when an Ijo official said that all the seats were already occupied.

“Oh my honey!”

“Father!”

When the head of the family collapsed, the family members who saw him clung to him and tried to raise him up.

“Honey, wake up! hurry!”

“Father, wake up!”

The family cried and tried to help the head of the household, but the farmer, whose legs were weak, sat down on the ground with a devastated face and muttered.

“Joseon’s best okpap (fertile rice paddy) was said to be able to be farmed at a low price, so I came here with great effort…. What should I do?… What should I do with this….” “

Father!”

“honey!”

The official, who was looking at the family in turmoil with a pity look on his face, quietly sighed.

“Look here. “Can you listen to me for a moment?”

“yes?”

“Isn’t it okay to go back now?”

The peasant answered the official’s question while wiping away tears.

“Yes, but what can you do? “It’s dirty and disgusting, but I have to go and do something about it.”

“Then how about doing it this way? “You do know that we are currently pioneering Dongbuk-myeon, right?”

In response to the official’s question, the light began to return to the peasants’ eyes little by little.

“yes. I know because I heard rumors. “Didn’t a lot of people already go there last year or the year before?”

“The land has increased a lot since we pioneered it this time. But there is no one to clear land and do farming. how is it? Wouldn’t you like to go there and try to make a splash?”

“But… clearing land is not easy.”

The official nodded at the peasant’s words.

“I know. So, His Majesty the Lord said that he would exempt us from taxes for 5 years and receive only half of the taxes for the next 5 years. And for the first two years, we will provide food and farming equipment. Lastly, one farm horse will also be supported.”

At the official’s words, the peasant jumped up from his seat as if he had never done anything like that before.

“You even give me a farm horse? “That expensive one?”

“Isn’t it all because His Majesty the Lord took pity on you? “It’s something that ruins Seong-eun.”

Hearing the official’s words, the farmer quickly ran to the official.

“then! The land! How much land are you giving me?”

“It starts with a minimum of 2 gyeol (approximately 2 information, 36 majigi) and goes up to 4 gyeol. how is it? Would you like to give it a try?”

In response to the official’s question, the peasant looked back at his family standing behind him. The family members who were listening to the official’s explanation behind them all nodded.

Seeing the family’s reaction, the tenant grabbed the official’s sleeve.

“I will! I’ll go! “I’ll leave right away!”

The official smiled and accepted the peasant’s answer.

“It’s a long way to Dongbuk-myeon. We have prepared a ship now and will depart as soon as a certain number of people have gathered, so stay in Jwasuyeong, Gyeongsang for now. If you go swimming, they’ll give you a place to stay. The same goes for food. It’s all free. “This is the decree of His Majesty the Lord.”

“oh my!”

In response to the official’s answer, the peasants quickly bowed towards the north.

“I am devastated! I hope you enjoy your unemployed life! A thousand years! A thousand years! “A thousand years!”

He was a peasant who prayed for King Sejong’s long life.

* * *

Incidents like this have become common in the state-owned farmland of the Samnam region. Many of the peasants who missed the opportunity by arriving a little later than their competitors chose to move north.

Of course, there were quite a few who chose to return to their hometowns, but most chose to move north in search of new opportunities.

“It’s land! “I have my own land!”

The biggest reason why tenant farmers chose to go north was that they would have their own land.

Meanwhile, Hojo officials busily carried out their tasks by moving among the peasants.

“You and your family have departure certificates, right?”

“yes? yes.”

In response to the Hojo official’s question, the peasant rummaged deep in his piled baggage and took out a piece of yellow paper.

“It’s here.”

“Give me the trophies too.”

“yes.”

After confirming that the name and family register written on the certificate matched those recorded on the royal tablet, the Hojo official wrote it down in the book he had and moved on.

“And do you have a battlefield account?”

“Yes, it’s here too!”

The Hojo official who received the bankbook checked the name and password of the owner of the bankbook written on it, made additional records in the book, and returned it to the tenant farmer.

The Hojo official returned the plaque and certificate bankbook and advised precautions.

“If you go north and settle in the frontier, you must report to the family registration department at the relevant government office within five days. Otherwise, you won’t be able to receive what your Majesty the Lord promised.”

“yes? yes! “I will definitely do that!”

“Then take care of your luggage.”

After finishing his work, the Hojo official quickly walked towards where the families of other tenant farmers were.

When the Hojo official left, the tenant looked at the certificate in his hand and muttered.

“This is a gold nugget…”

* * *

When a certain number of people gathered, the peasants began moving towards the north.

The tenants gathered in Honam and Yeongnam were taken on military ships and headed north, while those gathered in the Chungcheong region began moving overland to the north under military escort.

When people departed like that, a large-scale wave rushed across Joseon.

A group of dispatchers headed to the hometowns of those who went north, and others went up to Hanseong.

The reports brought by the dispatchers who came to Hanseong were immediately checked by Hojo, Lee Jo, and battlefield officials.

The report that the officials checked and organized was immediately sent to King Sejong.

King Sejong looked at his ministers with an expression of relief as he checked the reports that came in every day.

“It seems like the 4th and 5th sectors are progressing smoothly.”

“That’s right.”

“I think all of this is thanks to the hard work of the gentlemen.”

“This is too much praise! “This would have been impossible if Your Majesty had not planned all of this from the beginning!”

At Lee Jik’s answer, the other ministers all nodded and muttered to themselves.

‘Truly, this father and son are not human.’

‘Is it true that this cunning plan could come out of a person’s head?’

These ministers expressed feelings close to wonder as they praised King Sejong.

* * *

Sejong established this plan immediately after the successful suppression of the Giyu rebellion.

The plan, starting from the 1st phase to the 6th phase, was a supplement to the plan that was currently being promoted.

These amendments were aimed at executing Gyeongjang more quickly and on a larger scale as the power of local noblemen weakened through the outbreak and suppression of the Giyu Rebellion.

If these plans were successful, the 7th year of construction could be completed successfully.

Among the plans thus created, the ‘Fourth Plan’ was to appease as much as possible the tenant farmers who had not received farmland among the tenant farmers who moved to state-owned farmland through the ‘Third Plan’ to move them to the North. It was a plan that could once and for all resolve the migration of civilians to the north, which had been sluggish even though various carrots had been offered.

The ‘Fifth Precept’ was to test the situation of Joseon’s land transportation routes and the ability to move information.

Departing from the starting point, the dispatchers had to carefully record the number of stations they passed through, the situation, the condition and size of the roads they traveled on, the travel time, etc., and report it to their superiors.

The report that was uploaded in this way was compared and updated with the existing records of the Joseon Dynasty, the Joseon Dynasty, and the records of the research institute that traveled around the country to make astronomical observations. Road construction would proceed based on the final version created in this way.

In addition, the government offices and battlefields of each region that received the administrative documents brought by the dispatchers had to check the changes, write a report, and report it to Hanseong. In Hanseong, the administrative documents uploaded in this way were compared with the administrative documents uploaded directly from the departure point and the documents from the destination to confirm whether errors had occurred and their scale.

This entire process was the ‘Fifth Realm’ planned by King Sejong. Although there was a bit of MSG in the flavor, most of it came from King Sejong’s head.

* * *

Although it was confirmed that the situation up to the ‘Fifth Precept’ was smooth, King Sejong did not forget to make a request to his ministers.

“The Fourth and Fifth Realms will soon end. So, I hope you don’t let your guard down until the end and do your best to succeed. Only then will the ‘Sixth Realm’, which will begin in the fall, be successful.”

All the ministers responded to King Sejong’s request by bowing their heads.

“I will reform my bones!”

The final ‘6th precept’ that King Sejong and his ministers were preparing was the ‘Social Democratic Institute’.

* * *

“Let’s stop here for today.”

After concluding the discussion on the ‘Fourth Realm’ and the ‘Fifth Realm’ and coordinating opinions on various pending issues that followed, King Sejong declared an adjournment.

When King Sejong declared the adjournment of the meeting, the ministers bowed politely and left Geunjeongjeon.

When all the ministers left, King Sejong let out a long sigh with a tired face.

“Whoa~. “I’m tired.”

“Would you like to call the doctor?”

King Sejong shook his head in response to the merchant’s question.

“It’s not there yet. “I want to be alone for a while, so please leave for a while.”

“yes.”

“Let the officers leave for a while.”

The officers, who were already accustomed to King Sejong’s words, took their writing utensils, paid their respects, and left Geunjeongjeon.

After coming down from his house, King Sejong stretched out quietly and walked towards the place where the map was hung.

Standing in front of a map depicting the entire Joseon Dynasty, the Jurchen region, the virgin territory to the east, the Ming Kingdom’s Shandong region, and parts of the Japanese kingdom, King Sejong raised his finger and pointed to the northeastern region.

“Within this year, all the areas mentioned to the Ming will be restored. And the social democratic policy is also completed. Once the people who migrated have completely settled down, the Jurchen people will also become docile. If that happens…”

King Sejong traced his finger to the virgin land to the east.

“If that happens, it’s Dongjin. If we explore this virgin land and turn it into a stronghold for Joseon, Joseon will achieve even greater prosperity. If we do it right, even Mingguo won’t be able to do whatever they want with us.”

Sejong, who had talked up to that point, let out a long sigh.

“Whoa, the problem is that there are no people. “The population gap is too big.”

According to the annual family register survey, the total population of Joseon, including low-income people, was approaching 5 million. Although it was a large increase compared to the 4.3 million people identified in the early days of Jingjang, the population of that country was estimated to be over 60 million. (Note 1) Even if you

simply compare it, the difference is more than 12 times. The difference in power that came from there could not be made to turn Ming Dynasty into an enemy.

‘If a war breaks out, we will be able to win the first few rounds. But if Ming decides to continue the war, we will be the ones to lose.’

Even without the analysis of the Joseon Army General Staff Headquarters, anyone could know that in this situation, defeat was inevitable.

“The bottom line is we have to increase the population. Just as the crown prince prevented smallpox with cowpox, we must prevent population loss by suppressing other diseases as much as possible. “There is no need to worry because the food problem can be solved with the increased river area, but the problem is manpower…”

Sejong muttered, pointing his finger at the Joseon mainland on the map.

“The Social Democratic Institute is the starting point. Starting from this, we develop and use talented people. If necessary, women should also be hired. If you can’t do that…”

Sejong let out a long sigh again.

“Whoa~. “Joseon collapses.”

Sejong, who was pondering his words with a confused face, shook his head.

“I would never do something like that. never!”

Sejong, having made up his mind, turned around.

“I don’t know about the ministers, but if the ‘Sixth Commandment’ succeeds, the ‘Seventh Commandment’ will have to be implemented soon. “If you don’t want to miss the time, you need to complete your preparations as quickly as possible.”

King Sejong, who mentioned the ‘7th Commandment’ that even the ministers did not know about, opened the door and called a merchant ship.

“merchant ship. I will go to Gangnyeongjeon. “I’m tired today, so I’ll go to bed early.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

* * *

Note 1) Demographic changes and social changes in China. Northeast Asian History Net.

http://contents.nahf.or.kr/item/item.do?levelId=edeah.d_0004_0030_0020_0010