Black Corporation: Joseon - Chapter 188
Episode 188: Currency War. (4)
In response to Won Taeso’s argument, Emperor Seondeok looked at the design of the Jijeon again.
“For sure…”
The two dragons facing each other with one Yeouiju in between seemed to be growling at each other.
From then on, the war of words between the ministers began.
The subjects of the war of words were Gukjagam’s assistants.
“If it’s because of one Yeouiju, how about adding one more Yeouiju?”
“Having two dragons is a problem in itself. Two perfect dragons in one place? That means the country will be divided!”
“An even number is easily divided into two! It’s never even!”
“Then how about three?”
“You’re out of balance!”
“Look at Jeong (the pot is noble). I don’t have three legs! At the same time, it maintains perfect balance and is not treated with respect!”
“What are the corners of the coin? Four! But let’s just add three dragons? Do you think it makes sense? To do that, we need to put in four!”
“Let’s put four dragons in that small temple? You don’t even know the word ‘temple’! Uh huh! “The minister of this empire is so ignorant!”
“How ignorant! “Where are you fooling around?”
The fierce war of words gradually reached a dangerous level. However, since the previous incident saw many eunuchs and ministers’ military officers imprisoned and eventually hanged, the level was barely crossing the danger line.
“You only need one dragon!”
“Don’t you think about the harmony of yin and yang? “Can you achieve harmony with just one dog?”
“In my lifetime, this is the first time I’ve heard that dragons have male and female! Since ancient times, a dragon is a being that ascended to heaven by absorbing the energy of heaven and earth after cultivating the Tao of small creatures! “Do you mean that a sacred dragon mates and gives birth like some local Uma?”
Hojojampan, who was watching the war of words between Ming officials and eunuchs, grumbled inwardly.
‘Just take a landscape painting!’
Hojo Champan was not the only one who had such thoughts. Emperor Seondeok, who was looking at the battle of words with a face full of fatigue and irritation, shouted loudly.
“stop! “Stop it!”
Hearing Emperor Seondeok’s shouting, the ministers immediately stopped arguing and bowed down on the floor. Emperor Seondeok looked at Hojo Champan with an annoyed face.
“I ask the envoy of Joseon! “How did Joseon solve this problem?”
“As you know, I added a landscape painting.”
“It was like that.”
Emperor Seondeok, who heard the answer of the Emperor Hojo, looked back at the subjects of the Ming Dynasty.
“If you must include a picture in your jijeon, put a landscape painting instead of a dragon.”
“That won’t work!”
The Cabinet Secretary immediately opposed Emperor Seondeok’s order.
“Why?”
“The dragon is the symbol of the Emperor and the symbol of the empire! “You can never take out the dragon!”
“you’re right!”
“The dragon must go in!”
Those who had been arguing over the words of the Assistant Cabinet Secretary simultaneously came out in support of the Assistant Cabinet Secretary with one voice. Seeing this, Emperor Seondeok placed his hand on his forehead and let out a long sigh.
“Ha~. “What should I do about this…”
Finally, after a long debate, Emperor Seondeok came to a conclusion.
“If I had to include a dragon in the new page, I would only include one. There is one emperor and one empire. Therefore, I will only include one use. “Just as the imperial throne encompasses the Dead Sea, the dragon’s body surrounds the four corners of the temple.”
“I follow your orders!”
“Long live, long live, long live!”
At Emperor Seondeok’s conclusion, the officials and eunuchs all bowed down and responded with one voice.
Hojo Champan, who was watching the scene from the side, shouted hurray along with the Ming people and grumbled inwardly.
‘No, he was going to make the decision anyway! Why is it so difficult for people?
* * *
Fifteen days later, Hojo Champan was finally able to return home.
“I can see Jemulpo over there!”
Hojo Champan, who heard the shouts of his subordinates, jumped out of the cabin and ran to the bow.
“Finally, it’s Joseon! “I’m back in Joseon!”
Hojo Champan’s voice was full of moisture.
* * *
After arriving at Jemulpo, Hojo’s group changed boats and headed straight to Hanseong through Hansu.
After entering Geunjeongjeon, Hojo Champan and his companions paid their respects to King Sejong and announced their return.
“Your hardships have been great as you have taken on unexpected tasks.”
“No. “It is the duty of a subject to follow his commands.”
Even though they said that, the faces of the Hojo champion and the Shinigami corps were a mess.
King Sejong looked at the envoys with a sad face and gave an order.
“There are many things I need to hear from the gentlemen, but now, looking at their faces, I urgently need to rest. “Take a rest for two days and report back.”
Hearing King Sejong’s words, Champan Hojo and his companions immediately bowed down and shouted.
“I am devastated! “A thousand years, a thousand years, a thousand years!”
The officer who recorded all of this added a comment at the end.
– says the officer.
i envy you.
* * *
Two days later, as soon as Hojo arrived, he headed to Geunjeongjeon. With the attendance of King Sejong and Hyang as well as ministers above the Tang Dynasty, the governor Hojo reported all the events in the Ming Dynasty.
“… So, the Ming Dynasty is preparing to distribute a new paper coin. “We expect the new coins to be distributed in two years.”
“Right. “What are the population and commercial scale of the Ming Kingdom?”
In response to King Sejong’s question, Hojo Champan took a moment to remember and immediately answered.
“I don’t have access to detailed information so I don’t have exact figures, but the population is about 12 times that and the commercial volume is about 20 times that.”
“20 times!”
All the ministers gathered at Geunjeongjeon began to murmur at the words, ‘The commercial scale is 20 times greater.’
“What is the basis for saying that?”
Sejong asked with a trembling voice. I knew that the famous country was a great country. However, it was difficult to believe that the commercial scale was 20 times larger.
In response to King Sejong’s question, Hojo Champan explained the basis.
“I did not have access to accurate information, but in the process of planning a new currency, I was able to briefly look at the family register and tax collection list prepared by the head of the family. Based on the population recorded in the family register and the amount of tax collected in the tax collection list, the result was 20 times the estimate.”
“No matter what, it’s 20 times….” As
Sejong shook his head, Hyang joined in.
“Wouldn’t it be possible?”
“Is it possible?”
“The founding of the Ye Ming predates our Joseon Dynasty. And our Joseon Dynasty prevented the growth of commerce and industry. If you combine those two elements, it’s quite possible.”
“I see…”
Sejong nodded at Hyang’s explanation.
* * *
Hyang’s argument had some truth.
The founding of the Ming Dynasty was in 1368. And the founding of Joseon was in 1392. There was a gap of about 24 years in time. And Joseon placed importance on agriculture according to Neo-Confucian ideology.
Of course, that 24-year gap period was the late Goryeo Dynasty, and Goryeo had a tradition of preferring commerce. However, during that gap, the entire country was devastated due to invasions by Japanese pirates, and a fierce struggle was taking place between political forces on the Korean Peninsula.
Therefore, it was a situation where safety for commerce and industry to flourish could not be guaranteed.
The gap in time and the agricultural-centered political ideology led to this enormous difference.
* * *
After hearing the explanation of the scent, King Sejong and the ministers nodded.
“I said I had caught up to a certain extent, but in reality, I still have a long way to go… Wow~.”
After a long sigh, King Sejong gave orders to his ministers.
“I think we still have a long way to go. “Let’s try a little harder.”
“I follow your orders!”
It was King Sejong and the ministers who once again strengthened their resolve.
* * *
Hojo Champan began to say what he thought was really important.
“I will tell you what I thought was most important while I was in Beijing. “As you may have already reported, the value of silver continues to rise.”
King Sejong looked back at the words of the Hojo champan.
“I have already received the report. “Is it that serious?”
“Just before God returned, 8 nyang of silver could be exchanged for 1 nyang of gold. “Recall that when Joseon was attacking Tsushima Island, the exchange rate for obtaining sulfur from the Ming to manufacture gunpowder was 1 cat of gold to 10 cat of silver.”
“Hmm….”
Sejong thought for a moment. The year the Tsushima conquest took place was 11 years ago. At that time, in the process of preparing for conquest, it was necessary to obtain Huang from the Ming to increase the reserves of gunpowder.
“Right. The value of silver has risen a lot. what is the reason?”
“This is because the consumption of silver has increased. The Ming Dynasty already received taxes in silver long before our Joseon Dynasty. In commerce, payments were also made in silver. Therefore, the value of silver rose as consumption outpaced production.”
“Right. So…”
Sejong paused for a moment and looked back at the scent. This was because as soon as I received information that a large amount of silver was coming from Ming, the memory of the scent jumping here and there came to mind.
Reflecting on your work, King Sejong asked Champan Hojo.
“What do you think would have happened if we had not mentioned currency circulation in advance this time?”
“I tried my luck with the officials of the famous countries I became friends with, and there was a good chance that I could recover the silver in the form of tribute.”
“is it? Phew~. “It was close.”
In response to Hojo Champan, King Sejong sighed and sighed. As Hojo Champan said, if the commercial scale of the Ming Dynasty was so enormous, there was a risk that all of Joseon’s silver would be sucked out as tribute.
And that too without proper compensation.
King Sejo looked back at the ministers.
“You know because you heard what Master Hojo said, but the demand for silver in the Ming Dynasty is increasing, so we must find a way to protect Joseon’s silver. And that too without irritating the Ming Dynasty, the country of commerce.”
“I follow your orders!”
As soon as the ministers finished answering, Hyang joined the conversation.
“Abama. “Can I tell Soja Abama?”
“Hehe.”
As soon as King Sejong gave permission, Hyang got straight to the point.
“We must devise and use various methods to prevent Joseon’s silver from being sucked into the Ming Dynasty. But the first thing to do is to prevent Joseon merchants from bringing gold from the Ming.”
“why? “It’s gold, not silver?”
In response to King Sejong’s question, Hyang briefly answered the reason.
“The merchant may benefit, but Joseon as a whole will suffer a loss.”
“huh?”
In response to Hyang’s response, King Sejong and the ministers stroked their beards and began to think about the true meaning.
After a while, King Sejong, Judge Hojo Kim Jeom, and Maeng Sa-seong let out exclamations at the same time.
“I see! For every 1 nyang of gold that comes from the Ming, we lose 2 nyang of silver!”
“That’s right!”
What Hyang was talking about was exchange gains and losses using the gold and silver exchange rates of the Ming and Joseon Dynasties.
* * *
When first making banknotes, Hyang and Hojo set the exchange ratio for gold and silver at 1:10. Although this was in consideration of the scale of production and distribution, it was also a ratio set for ease of management in various aspects of the economy, including tax collection.
However, if the gold and silver exchange rates between the Ming and Joseon Dynasties differed as they do now, it was clear that merchants would come out to take advantage of this.
This was because even if you bought gold from the Ming and exchanged it on the battlefield or paid for the product, an additional profit of 2 nyang of silver was generated for every 1 nyang of gold.
However, although this was a benefit to the merchant, it was a loss to the country as a whole.
This wasn’t just a concern. During the late Ming and Qing empires, European merchants trading with China used foreign exchange gains to maximize their profits.
Until the 17th century, the exchange ratio in Europe was maintained at the traditional level of 1:12. However, China’s exchange ratio was 1:6. Simply put, a European merchant could make a 100% profit just by buying gold in China and selling it back in Europe.
Therefore, East India Company merchants busily traveled between Europe, China, and Japan, making enormous profits through foreign exchange profits.
Take silver from Europe and Japan to China and exchange it for gold, take this gold to Japan and exchange it for silver, take this silver back to China and exchange it for gold, and then take it to Europe and sell it, multiplying your profits several times. (Note 1)
* * *
Understanding the problem mentioned by Hyang, King Sejong and the ministers decided to create a related law.
Next, Hyang insisted on one more thing.
“We must subjugate Japan.”
“Why are we subjugating the country? “Isn’t this too hasty?”
When King Sejong, who thought ‘subjugation = war’, spoke in a voice full of worry, Hyang explained in more detail.
“I am not suggesting subjugation by force. “We must make the Japanese market our own.”
* * *
Note 1) Jewish story – How they created the history of wealth. Written by Hong Ik-hee. Publishing: Planet; B Leaf.