Black Corporation: Joseon - Chapter 480

Episode 480: Daejeongjeong (代理聽政) (5)

Since it was an official business trip, King Sejong carried out work related to the purpose of the business trip.

And the scent became busier.

In Seunghwadang’s office, Hyang placed her hand on her forehead as she looked at the thick bundle of documents sent by King Sejong.

“Did this guy inspect or review?”

King Sejong sent dispatches to Hanseong almost every day.

The documents brought by the dispatcher sent by King Sejong recorded the problems discovered while inspecting the entertainment complex in the town that King Sejong visited.

The problem was that those documents were very Sejong-like. They reviewed the good and bad points of the general entertainment venues they had inspected, as well as the cleanliness and quality of the food provided, and even wrote down their personal opinions to solve the problems found.

That’s why Hyang complained that he couldn’t tell whether these documents were inspection reports or reviews.

“If it were the 21st century, you would have become a video producer famous for reviews, and you would have been able to get the silver button in the shortest amount of time. “I’m a bit unsure about gold… though.”

Even while sighing and complaining, Hyang fully understood what these reports meant.

“shell. “Go and call Secretary Han Myeong-hoe.”

“Yes sir.”

After a while, Han Myeong-hoe hurriedly entered Hyang’s office.

“Did you call me?”

“This is the inspection report sent by His Majesty the Prime Minister. Please combine it with what you sent last time and properly separate the types of problems.”

“Yes sir.”

Han Myeong-hoe, who politely handed over the documents, took a step back.

Hyang, who sent Han Myeong-hoe out, grumbled softly.

“Just tell me from the beginning. Did you really have to dig a trap like this?”

What Sejong wanted was to identify the common problems of all entertainment venues and then come up with a solution, although there were solutions for each individual entertainment venue.

Hyang, who grumbled for a moment, dragged the paper that had been set aside and muttered.

“For the hardware problem, you can rely on the Seunghwa Party officials, but the real big problem is the software, or to be more precise, the content.”

* * *

The biggest reason why King Sejong went on a business trip was to understand the current state of general entertainment venues, which had particularly low profits compared to other places.

After inspecting three of the six general entertainment centers over the course of a month, the embezzlement that Sejong and Anpyeong were concerned about was not discovered.

“But why are the profits so low?”

Sejong, curious about the reason, looked into it with Anpyeong.

“Huh~. “I didn’t know this would become such a problem again.”

After learning the reason, King Sejong stroked his beard with an embarrassed expression.

* * *

The biggest reason for the drop in profits was that the level of officials in the town where the entertainment venue was located was much lower than in other towns.

From the first planning, the county was the lower limit for places where a general entertainment center could be installed.

The purpose of this entertainment hall was to hold wrestling competitions, bullfighting competitions, stone fighting competitions, etc., to promote gambling that used to be a negative activity, and to increase tax revenue.

The problem was that sports with high public participation, such as wrestling or bullfighting, had a limited period. And there was a problem that gambling could not be encouraged more than necessary.

Therefore, a more permanent and reliable source of income was needed. The result of finding a source of income was the touring performance of the Jaein group and the performance of the gisaeng.

Of course, in order to make it more of a box-office hit, a competition was held to compete between the talents of the female troupe and the gisaeng, and the female troupe and the gisaeng who achieved excellent results in the competition toured throughout Joseon to perform.

In order to make this plan a success, the government publicly declared the exemption of the members and gisaengs and presented several carrots, such as guaranteeing that they would earn a lot of profit through touring performances.

Thanks to these carrots, people flocked to entertainment centers from the beginning and the government was able to secure a lot of profit.

However, as time passed, problems began to arise in this area.

* * *

Regardless of the level of performance by the Jaein Band, a certain degree of basic box office success was guaranteed. However, a big difference began to be seen in the gisaeng’s song and dance performances.

On days when gisaengs from the three famous saekhyangs, which even three-year-olds know, performed, the aisles of the auditorium were filled with people, but the performance of other gisaengs was not. Even if it was not as good as the three major saekhyangs, it had to be at least as good as the performances of gisaengs and household wives that were known in various nearby towns to be a moderate success.

The case of the entertainment complex in question was an example in which this problem was revealed very clearly.

The level of government officials in the county and nearby prefectures where the entertainment venue in question is located was much lower than in other places.

The off-white color was not to the point where it could be called pale, but it was less off-white than the gisaeng in the city. The singing and dancing skills were also in a similar situation.

What was even worse was that the level of baduk players on the board where the richest people gathered was also low.

Therefore, a situation was created where almost all of the income earned by entertainment venues was the profits earned from gambling halls, except when competitions such as wrestling competitions, bullfights, or performances by Jaeinpae took place.

* * *

What was even more devastating was the completion of the land transportation network.

The fact that roads throughout Joseon were well built and that it was possible to quickly move to distant places using railroads was another change in the situation.

Even if they were not wealthy financially, if they had a more proactive personality than others, they would take the initiative and take action rather than sit and wait.

People flocked to the town’s general entertainment hall, where there were not only the three major colors of virtue, but also gisaengs of whom rumors had spread, and a famous baduk master as well as a noodle player.

And the money that these people spent while eating and sleeping created a situation where the rich got richer and the poor got poorer.

* * *

“Just looking at it, it looks like a 21st century pop song… It’s the same as the difference between a group that’s doing well and a group that’s not doing well.”

After seeing the report written by Sejong and Anpyeong, Hyang muttered with an embarrassed face.

“How do we solve this problem?”

Hyang, who was struggling to find a solution to the problem, called an eunuch.

“Gather all Seunghwadang officials.”

“Yes sir!”

* * *

“…since this is a situation, let’s think about it. “I’ll give you five days.”

“Yes sir.”

After hearing Hyang’s order, the officials left with serious faces.

“I’m already overloaded with work, but it’s getting tiresome. “Isn’t that right?”

Han Myeong-hoe slightly shook his head at Kwon Ram’s words.

“It’s annoying, but it’s a good opportunity.”

“opportunity?”

Kwon Ram, who was tilting his head at Han Myeong-hoe’s words, suddenly began to sparkle.

“Right!”

It was clear what Han Myeonghoe’s words meant. If a good opinion was presented and adopted, it would have a clear stamp on not only King Sejong but also the crown prince and ministers.

If so, we would be able to get to the core of power more quickly and easily.

Kwon Ram, realizing the meaning of Han Myeong-hoe’s words, quickened his pace.

“There’s no time to keep doing this!”

Han Myeong-hoe looked at Kwon Ram’s back as he disappeared in a hurry and grumbled with an absurd expression on his face.

“Having a guy like that as a friend…”

Han Myeong-hoe had completely forgotten what he had done in the past – even though it was not intentional.

* * *

Five days later, plans written by Seunghwa Party officials were piled up on Hyang’s desk.

“This is an opportunity… I’m sure you have a clue.”

Hyang, who realized the intentions of the officials by looking at the results piled up in front of him, sat down and began to carefully review their plans.

After reviewing the documents for a while, Hyang pulled out a few documents and called the eunuch.

“Please call Han Myeong-hoe’s Kwon Ram Seong Sam-mun sub-ji.”

“Yes sir.”

After a while, the four people who had received Hyang’s call sat in front of Hyang’s desk. After seeing the faces of the four people, Hyang opened his mouth.

“Who copied whom?”

“yes?”

Hyang, seeing the bewildered expressions of the four, held out the documents and gave an order.

“Let’s take turns reading.”

* * *

“Huh….”

The four people who were looking at each other’s plans soon sighed in astonishment.

The four people’s plans were largely identical in content, with only differences in sentence expressions.

-Forcibly allocate the number of days and regions for famous gisaeng’s touring performances.

-Education facilities to teach singing and dancing will be established across the country with famous toegis from the past as teachers.

-Legislate the ban on prostitution of singers, improve awareness, and recruit talented people.

‘It’s similar to what I thought, but is that what everyone thinks? Or is it that their abilities are outstanding?’

The four people, whether they knew Hyang’s inner thoughts or not, immediately fell to the ground and shouted.

“I never copied you!”

“On my conscience as a scholar, I would not commit such an immoral act!”

“Please inform me!”

“I just wrote down my thoughts! “Please inform me!”

Hyang, who was listening to the four people’s protests, opened her mouth with a dull expression.

“okay? Then let’s believe it. “Then answer the questions I ask.”

The four people who stood up at Hyang’s command waited for Hyang’s question with very tense faces.

“First question. ‘The number of days and regions for the gisaeng’s touring performances are forcibly allocated.’. “Please explain this part.”

As soon as Hyang finished speaking, Seong Sam-moon answered.

“The reason people leave their hometowns and visit entertainment venues in other regions is because it is difficult to see famous gisaeng at entertainment venues in the town where they live. Therefore, the inconvenience to the people must be minimized as much as possible by forcibly allocating the number of days and regions for the tour performance to the gisaeng.”

“Even today, gisaeng perform on tour. But why can’t I see those gisaengs?”

This time, Han Myeong-hoe answered Hyang’s question.

“Since ancient times, gisaeng have boasted of the value of their name by the number of people who visit them. The current situation is also the same. Therefore, we are forced to allocate tour performances and regions.”

The other three people nodded at the same time to Han Myeong-hoe’s explanation.

Hyang, who also nodded, immediately asked the next question.

“Then, let’s move on to the next step and say, ‘We will establish educational facilities across the country to teach singing and dancing with Toegi, who was famous in the past, as teachers.’ “There are a lot of problems in this area?”

This time, Hawiji stepped forward and responded to Hyang’s point.

“The point you made is true. Even though the status of gisaeng is legally determined as yangin, many people still view them as lowly. “The biggest reason for this is because gisaeng sell their bodies, so prostitution must be clearly banned by law.”

Following Hawiji’s words, Kwon Ram spoke.

“Properly educated and well-behaved gisaengs can make a name for themselves and boast a generous living without engaging in prostitution. Therefore, we need to publicize these cases and change people’s perception.”

Afterwards, Hyang continued to ask harsh questions, and the four people answered while sweating.

After the blood-drying time had passed, Hyang came to a conclusion.

“It’s okay. Then, four people will be trained to create a proper plan and submit it. “The plan I wrote on my own was good, so I can look forward to it, right?”

The four people who looked at each other answered Hyang’s question at the same time.

“I will do my best!”

“Then go out and see.”

Hyang, who united the four people who stood in hostile positions in history before Hyang intervened, chuckled and muttered.

“Will it be a fantastic combination or a nightmare of group work? “I certainly don’t have a good personality.”