Black Corporation: Joseon - Chapter 234

Episode 234: School starts. (1)

While the highest levels of the government were formulating and implementing various plans against the Japanese Empire, Joseon’s internal affairs were going smoothly.

“This is probably the best result obtained through the intestines.”

It was a scent that gave a positive evaluation after seeing the situation of the government running smoothly.

* * *

In the eyes of Hyang, who lived through the 21st century, the government before Gyeongjang was the culmination of irrationality in which tasks and authority were given beyond one’s capabilities.

In line with ‘Confucian idealism’, the founding group of Joseon, who believed that ‘big government’ was not good for the people, intentionally created a small government.

Before Gyeongjang, the total number of civil servant positions in the Joseon government was around 500.

However, this small government placed an unnecessarily burdensome burden on its members. Lower-level officials stepped down every few months and new officials took over, and it was common for officials of a certain rank or higher to concurrently hold at least two positions.

No matter how talented someone was, there was a limit to what they could handle in a day, and in the end, ‘good is good.’ As this way of thinking spread, poor administrative processes inevitably continued.

This situation placed a serious burden on both those who made a living as officials and those who aspired to become officials.

There were only 33 people who were able to pass the major examination through the regular examination, Siknyeonsi. Naturally, competition was bound to be fierce.

And even after being managed, it was difficult to make a decent living with only green salary.

Although there were many people who had a rank, they worked irregularly and received bonuses only for their work. There were many who entered the miscellaneous department, but as mentioned before, officials who passed the civil service examination were also replaced every three to six months. .- Of course, there were also many ‘no-rok jobs’ with no salary at all.

Of course, most of the Murok positions were honorary positions, such as those given to elderly people who had lived long lives, but there were also a significant number of non-official positions.

And this issue of bonuses was even more serious for officials who came in through reports from miscellaneous departments.

Therefore, factors such as heavy workload, frequent replacement work due to the absolute small number of government positions, and salary level that does not guarantee a leisurely life became the cause of poor administration and corruption.

Even though it was such a poor and precarious situation, Joseon’s government was able to manage somehow.

The reason was that the king was as busy with work as the government. Therefore, unless the king had outstanding abilities, there were many cases where he was overlooked.

The most obvious example of this was the assault and death incident in Seodal involving Hwang Hee and Maeng Sa-seong Seo-seon before Hyang intervened.

King Sejong, who received the fabricated report, said, ‘It is different from the record I received before.’ It was a case that would have been buried if a reinvestigation had not been ordered.

And as these problems and irrationalities continued to pile up, they solidified into traditions and precedents, and the festering boil burst into chaos in the middle and late Joseon Dynasty.

During Hyang’s high school days, teacher Samcheonpo left a critical evaluation.

-Joseon was in that situation because of the Imjin War and the Manchu War? you’re welcome! A festering boil internally ate away at Joseon, and the shouting caused its collapse! To put it simply, I suffered from the flu when my immune system was shit!

because. From the moment the township announced its political views, it had advocated ‘expansion of government organizations.’

And King Sejong, who largely accepted that political view, greatly expanded the size of the government through the appointment of Gyeongjang.

* * *

Although it was a scent that received such positive reviews, I was not satisfied with it.

“But it’s still not complete. People say they can’t make a living because of overtime… But you have to take your time on this part. Probably, Abamama will have to lay the foundation, I will have to do the work, and my son will have to do the trimming before it can be roughly in place. That way, it will hold up well in the future.”

The adjustments Hyang thought were as follows.

‘A government that supports radical development when faced with a Ming lord, enables steady development when faced with a general-purpose monarch, and enables the country and people to endure even when faced with an incompetent monarch.’

After organizing the plan for coordination, Hyang moved on to the next step.

“Once this adjustment has been completed to some extent… the next step will be to select a proper successor, right?”

Hyang, who was muttering the word ‘successor’, shook his head.

“This issue must first be considered after the successor is born. Now, being born is the problem…”

* * *

Although it had been more than three years since Hyang got married. There has been no news of an heir yet. As a result, King Sejong and Queen Soheon’s worries grew, and the royal family had to visit the Crown Princess and Emperor Yangwon to check on them whenever he had the chance. It wasn’t just the Crown Princess and Emperor Yangwon. Hyang also had to continue receiving checkups from a medical doctor.

“There is nothing special. “All four of you are very healthy.”

King Sejong and Queen Soheon’s concerns deepened after hearing the royal doctors’ reports.

“But why is there still no heir?”

“Since Yeon-chi is still young, you can take some time…”

Queen Soheon said something to Eui-eui’s words.

“When the Lord was the age of the crown prince, he already had two children.”

“greatness! “Keuhum!”

King Sejong cleared his throat for no reason at Queen Soheon’s words.

The first child, Princess Jeongso, was born when King Sejong was 15, and Hyang was born when King Sejong was 17.

Because it was a situation like this, I was secretly worried about the scent.

“why? Still, I work hard whenever I have time, right? why? No way…”

Hyang, who was thinking about the reason why there was no heir, came up with a strong hypothesis.

“Is it because even though I look like that on the outside, I am an irregular person?”

It was a scent that deepened my worries. But as long as she didn’t know the answer, there was only one conclusion Hyang could reach.

“There’s nothing we can do. “I have no choice but to work harder.”

* * *

Even as various events continued, time passed and the opening of the Social Democratic Institute was just around the corner.

“Thanks to you, I’m dying!”

Ye Fan was anxious as he faced the mountain of documents in front of him.

There was a pile of documents on the appointment of envoys to be secretly sent to the Japanese Empire, and on one side there was a pile of the latest information on Ming Dynasty trends sent from superiors installed in the Ming Dynasty.

And on the other side, reports on the Social Democratic Institute were piled up.

“Thank goodness the Social Democratic Institute opened soon, so the amount of reports coming in has decreased…”

Ye Fan’s eyes were focused on the pile of documents piled up next to him.

There was a pile of documents regarding the establishment of a new middle school and a military academy that would open next year.

“It’s a military academy… It doesn’t matter since we were preparing step by step… Middle school…” Yepan, who was

examining the documents, couldn’t help but grit his teeth.

“Damn you guys! Why not start a rebellion for no reason!”

The targets of Yepan’s teeth were those who rebelled in the year of Giyu (1429, the 11th year of King Sejong’s reign).

The plan made by Yejo before they rebelled was as follows.

-Social Min School builds a new building and teaches children there. Those who want to learn more after graduating from Social Ministries study at the local school, and the teachers who teach them are recruited from local local schools with good skills.

But when the rebellion broke out, all plans went awry.

In particular, as all the noblemen who participated in the rebellion were purged, there was no one to take charge of the middle school.

Because of this, the establishment of the Middle School, which was to be established at the same time as the Social Democratic School, was delayed by a year.

It needed at least three more years to be done properly, but due to pressure from Sejong, it was reduced to one year.

And the officials of Yejo had to suffer from stress.

“But now the Social Democratic Institute is opening! This means that we have overcome this difficult moment!”

Positive officials were happy that they had overcome a critical juncture.

However, pessimistic officials became even more upset.

“And there will be a mountain of reports about unexpected problems. You will have a hard time finding the answer…”

* * *

King Sejong also had a deep interest in the Social Democratic Institute.

“The building to be used as an academy is in good condition and the teachers are well placed.”

Hyang, who was watching Sejong organize the situation while looking at the report, opened his mouth.

“Is there anything you don’t like?”

“no.”

“It looks like something is bothering you.”

Sejong sighed at Hyang’s words.

“Whoa~. “It’s because I see some problems with the teachers who teach girls.”

“It looks like there is no problem with your qualifications?”

Sejong nodded at Hyang’s point.

“There is no problem with qualifications. As for the qualifications…”

Sejong, who was speechless for a moment, let out a long sigh again.

“But the shackles are too heavy.”

“Ah…”

At Sejong’s words, Hyang moaned briefly and nodded.

The women who would educate girls at the Social Ministries were women who had received the titles of virtuous women and filial piety in each town. Among them, women with deep knowledge taught academics, and women with limited knowledge taught weaving and other things necessary for daily life.

However, the shackles that King Sejong spoke of were social norms regarding women.

Because they were women, they could not leave their hometown. Because of this, efficient deployment became impossible, and in places where there were many women, the number of male teachers had to be reduced.

This was a fairly adventurous attempt.

“where! “A woman teaches a boy!”

This was because when the proclamation regarding the deployment was first posted, there were quite a few people who opposed it. However, Sejong did not allow opposition.

“It was Mencius’ mother who raised Mencius! “The content of the teaching is important, not the gender of the teacher!”

With this justification, one problem was passed over, but the other problem was left unanswered even by King Sejong.

The other problem was the ‘superficial system.’

Because teachers were government officials, they also had to be subject to the superiority system.

This is where the problem occurred.

In the case of male teachers, there was no problem with being assigned to a place other than their hometown. Official quarters for them and public servants to help them with chores had been assigned.

But women couldn’t do that.

“I have to protect my family.”

“I need to pay tribute to my elderly parents-in-law.”

Because all female teachers were given the title of virtuous woman and filial wife, the upper class system could not be applied.

Therefore, places with many such women had to reduce the number of male teachers.

“Should we select unmarried women next time?”

Hyang immediately shook her head at Sejong’s words.

“There will be an uproar if the road to marriage is blocked.”

“I guess so… ugh~.”

Sejong sighed at Hyang’s answer.

This part was also what Sejong expected.

If the supervising system was applied to unmarried female teachers and they were sent to other countries, there would be an immediate uproar.

Immediately, the Saheonbu and Saganwon would be overturned, mentioning Cheongsin (clean body) and Jeongjo (貞操).

To prevent this, the security of the places where women live must be strictly guarded, but this was more wasteful than necessary.

Of course, unlike the infamous late Joseon Dynasty, women’s rights and freedom were still guaranteed, but sending women to other places was a risk.

‘wait? No… no…’

Hyang was making various decisions and came up with a compromise.

“Abama. “It won’t work for unmarried women, but why not married women?”

“huh?”

“Now, we have recruited teachers by selecting virtuous women and filial fathers. However, as time passes, they too will have to step down due to age. And as the number of people increases, the number of people who need to be taught also increases, and as a result, empty positions that need to be filled continue to arise.”

“That’s right.”

“It is impossible to fill these empty positions with only virtuous women and filial fathers. “Right?”

“yes.”

“In that case, we select talent from among married women to fill it.”

“Choose married women?”

“That’s right. Anyway, the official residence is provided. “Then it doesn’t matter if a couple goes in, right?”

“Stand? Hold…”

At Hyang’s words, Sejong began to weigh the possibilities with a serious face.