Black Corporation: Joseon - Chapter 393

Episode 393: Small changes. (5)

While the government and other administrative organizations quietly and steadily improved their constitution and solidified their substance, the people also continued to change.

As I mentioned before, the growing economy through economic growth has led more and more people to devote themselves to commerce and industry.

Among those who jumped in like that, there were some who jumped in blindly, but there were also those who jumped in with their own odds of winning after making various calculations.

There was fierce competition between those who entered the market and those who were already established.

In the process of that competition, quite a few people were eliminated and disappeared. Many of those who were eliminated were new entrants. The industry was a cruel place for those who entered the industry with only ambition and lack of experience and capital. Of course, it was a top class that had been around since the Goryeo Dynasty, but there were some who could not follow the trend and fell behind and disappeared.

Some of those who were eliminated from the competition returned to farming, while others left for pioneering areas such as Hamgil Island and Daeseol Island in search of another opportunity. Lastly, there were those who lost all hope and made extreme choices.

* * *

According to the laws of the Joseon Dynasty at the time, all cases involving victims, such as murder, suicide, or incompatibility, were reported to King Sejong.

“A person who ended his own life has emerged?”

“Yes, what’s even more unfortunate is that the entire family…”

“Huh…”

As Minister of Justice Cho Geuk-kwan trailed off, King Sejong exhaled with a face full of regret.

Hwang Hee, who saw Sejong’s frowning expression, asked Jo Geuk-kwan on Sejong’s behalf.

“Why did you make that choice?”

“I opened a store, but it went bankrupt due to a mistake, and it is said that the debtors were pushing me hard.”

“In debt? “You mean you used private loans?”

“exactly.”

“How high of a hook did you use?”

“After inquiring, I was told that the loan period is always one month and the interest is twice the principal amount.”

“double!”

There was a lot of excitement in Daejeon when they heard that the interest on the debt borrowed by the person who committed suicide was twice the original amount.

Hwang Hee also asked Jo Geuk-kwan again with a surprised face.

“It’s been several years since your Majesty promulgated the ‘Interest Limitation Act’, but are you saying there are still people who receive such bribes?”

“That’s right. So now I’m going after the gang who lent me that much money.”

King Sejong, who was listening to the explanation, strongly ordered Jo Geuk-gwan.

“Order the officials in charge of capture to capture every single one! And confiscate all their property and secure a list of their debtors! “We will return it to the poor people who had to pay more interest than the law stipulates!”

Jo Geuk-gwan immediately responded to King Sejong’s words by bowing his head.

“I follow your orders!”

After giving orders to Jo Geuk-gwan, King Sejong closed his mouth and was lost in thought. The longer King Sejong remained silent, the more nervous the ministers became.

“Hmm, now that I think about it… The person who ended his life this time, why did his family all make that choice?”

“Not all of them committed suicide, and the report was that the head of the family appears to have committed suicide after murdering his wife and children.”

“Why did the head of the family make that choice?”

“It appears that he is afraid that they will suffer as he leaves his wife and children to die alone.”

King Sejong sighed and expressed regret at Cho Geuk-gwan’s answer.

“Huh~. No matter how much he may be the head of the family, he and his wife are very different, and their children are also people, not livestock. How could he make such an arbitrary decision? What a pity! “This is negligence on the part of a person!”

When King Sejong blamed himself, all the ministers responded by bowing their heads.

“No! “This is the responsibility of the person who did it, and definitely not your fault!”

“I’m getting it back! This is not something for you to blame yourself for! “The unlucky people just made the wrong choice until the end!”

“No, the fact that things like this keep happening means that the person in charge wasn’t paying attention properly. “This is the person’s negligence.”

“No! This is the mistake of those who volunteered to do so! “They used high-value loans even though there was a battlefield, so it’s their fault!”

“Whoa~.”

After a long sigh, Sejong asked Kim Jeom.

“Minister of Finance and Economy.”

“Please ask.”

“Why did they use private loans even though there was a war? “As far as I know, one of the duties of the battlefield is to lend seed money to people who want to select and start a new business.”

“That’s right.”

After answering Sejong’s question, Kim Jeom went through the files piled up in front of him and pulled out a related report.

“When we created the Startup Review Department, we hired the officials in charge of Lee Jo at the time to create the department. And as you said, we have reviewed those who wanted to select and start a new fishing industry and lent them seed money.”

“But why did you use interest-rate loans?”

“It appears that those who were notified by the Startup Review Department that it was not possible did not give up their will.”

“You couldn’t borrow money on the battlefield, so you used private loans?”

“That’s right.”

“Hmm…”

Sejong, who had been mulling over Kim Jeom’s answer for a moment, opened his mouth.

“Then why not relax the screening standards a little?”

“It’s impossible!”

For a moment, Heo Jo, who had been quietly listening, shouted, “It is impossible.”

“Why?”

In response to King Sejong’s question, Heojo explained why it was impossible.

“Money lent on the battlefield is money invested by the people trusting the battlefield. Even now, a significant number of those who started businesses with loans are closing down and the loans are not being properly recovered. However, if lending standards are relaxed, more loans will follow and the amount of unrecoverable funds will also increase! If the losses on the battlefield increase like that, the people will lose trust in the battlefield! Distrust on the battlefield will soon lead to distrust in government affairs! Relaxation of lending standards is absolutely impossible!”

In response to Heo Jo’s strong opposition, King Sejong turned to Hwang Hee.

“What do you think, Prime Minister?”

“God also thinks it is impossible.”

“Huh…”

When even Hwang Hee objected, King Sejong looked embarrassed.

King Sejong, who was once again silent and mulling over a suitable solution, presented another proposal.

“For those who tried to start a business but failed, it is their own choice and there is nothing they can do about it, but their families are also in trouble. “The hereditary inheritance of wealth is a problem, but isn’t the hereditary inheritance of poverty also a problem?”

“That is so.”

“So, isn’t it the country’s job to provide opportunities to escape this hereditary pattern of poverty? So what do you think about relocating the people to Daeseol Island and other settlements that will increase in the future? Of course, tax cuts and support will have to follow for at least three to five years, but I think it will be okay.”

In response to King Sejong’s proposal, the ministers calculated the profit and loss by considering the number of cases.

“It may be a good opportunity for the disappointed people, but it may be a burden on finances.”

King Sejong immediately responded to Kim Jeom’s point.

“Let’s unpack some more of the gold and silver we’ve been mining and collecting. “With Joseon’s current capabilities, wouldn’t it be possible to digest even if we released a little more of the gold and silver we had stored up?”

Kim Jeom, who was weighing the number of cases in response to Sejong’s further explanation, bowed his head.

“I will write a plan and upload it soon.”

“I look forward to it. And….”

After solving one of the blocked problems, King Sejong came up with various policies like a river flowing.

“I was thinking about policies to help those who failed to start a business and their families. If you look at Joseon now, there are quite a few disabled people. There are many people who became disabled while working or fighting for their country, but there are also many who became disabled due to unexpected accidents or congenital disabilities. In the former case, the veterans policy is already being implemented, but the latter is the problem. Let’s think about ways to help them become self-reliant. If you become disabled in an accident, you are ‘out of luck.’ “Shouldn’t we get away from this situation where people are treated as criminals rather than criminals, saying that if they are born with a disability, they will be punished by heaven?”

“That’s true, but…”

The ministers looked perplexed at King Sejong’s suggestion.

King Sejong’s intentions were never bad. Rather, it was an idea that deserved praise.

One of the king’s duties was to embrace the suffering of his people and give them hope.

Therefore, the ministers expressed various opinions and continued to argue.

After a long war of words, King Sejong’s proposal took shape to some extent. However, the faces of the ministers did not straighten easily.

“There are many people who are crippled in just one part of their limbs but are sane, but the problem is those who are not of sound mind or whose eyes and ears are blocked. “These people need care rather than independence.”

Following Hwang Hee’s point, Maeng Sa-seong immediately responded.

“The problem is that they are either abandoned as soon as they are born and die, or they become beggars and end up begging for food.”

“It’s a difficult task…”

King Sejong looked embarrassed as he listened to the ministers’ conversation.

“Let’s take a short break.”

King Sejong, who declared the suspension of the meeting, left Geunjeongjeon and took a walk around the palace. As King Sejong walked and looked at the scenery to relieve his stuffy stomach, he saw monks heading to the royal palace.

Sejong, who was looking at them without thinking, burst into laughter.

“It reminds me of the old days. What the crown prince said when he came running in was ‘Let’s do business,’ right?”

Sejong, who was smiling at the thought of old times, suddenly stopped walking.

“wait!”

Sejong suddenly stopped walking and fell into thought. Sejong, who had been standing there like a beggar and shaking his head for a while, turned around with a bright smile on his face.

“If you do well, you will get good numbers!”

* * *

As the Gyeongjang campaign progressed, Sajeongjeon, a narrow side hall, was pushed back and Geunjeongjeon became the main place to view state affairs. King Sejong, who returned to Geunjeongjeon, looked at the gathered ministers again and opened his mouth.

“I have a good idea. “How about mobilizing monks to prevent those born with disabilities from dying or begging at birth?”

“You mean monks?”

The ministers asked with a slightly shocked expression upon King Sejong’s suggestion. In response to the ministers’ questions, King Sejong nodded and explained his thoughts further.

“After all, isn’t there part of the monks’ job to save sentient beings? So, I entrust them with the protection of the abandoned cripples. Instead, we will allow the addition of 12 subsidiary temples in addition to the current 36 main temples, and differentiate the two types of temples depending on their performance. And if necessary, we will provide an appropriate amount of food and material.”

Hearing King Sejong’s explanation, the ministers once again began making various calculations in their heads.

‘This kind of suppression of Buddhism is a national policy… But it is suitable for this kind of work…’ ‘

It is not bad if you provide in kind rather than providing support in kind.’

‘When I was at the local government, if there was one cripple like that, the whole family suffered. If it’s so bad, I’m afraid I’ll just throw it away…’

The ministers who were calculating profits and losses for all kinds of cases immediately shook their heads.

“I don’t think there will be any major problems if we end up adding 12 subsidiaries.”

“If we give in kind rather than in return for payment, we will be able to prevent the evil deed of the omen.”

“Okay. “I hope the General Affairs Department will refine this and report back.”

Heo Jo bowed his head at Sejong’s command.

“I follow your orders.”