Black Corporation: Joseon - Chapter 651

Episode 651: Diaspora. (2)

The disobedient residents, who realized the seriousness of the situation with a single salvo, immediately knelt down on the ground, waved their hands and cried as if they had never protested.

“Give me one more chance!”

“I will do everything you tell me to do!”

Despite the cries of the residents, the attitude of the officials was as cold as ice.

“Your Majesty has already given you three chances. You are the ones who kicked those opportunities. There is no more chance! Organize your family assets in one hour!”

Residents who disobeyed the management’s firm response got up in tears and headed to their homes. The only people left in the empty space were the families of those who had died in the crossfire earlier.

“Take the body.”

The families of the dead people carried the bodies of their dead family members while keeping an eye on the soldiers.

So we started preparing for the move, but the pace was slow. This was because I slowly moved my hands, holding on to hope until the end.

Seeing this, the imperial commander gave an order to his subordinates.

“Build a fire!”

After a while, a large bonfire was lit on one side of the vacant lot, and the commander gave orders to his subordinates.

“In time, set fire to the houses of the disobedient!”

“yes!”

The village chief, who heard the order through an interpreter, desperately raised his voice.

“Hurry up and pack your bags! The soldiers will set it on fire! Get it quickly! hurry!”

After hearing the village chief’s desperate cries, the people began to pack their belongings. Since I had already seen blood once, I recognized it right away.

After the promised inspection, the commander gave orders to his subordinates.

“Start a fire.”

“ancient!”

After hearing the commander’s orders, the soldiers began setting fire to the pillars and rafters of the houses of those who disobeyed. As winter passed and spring came, the dried wooden beams and rafters immediately began to catch fire, and the residents inside rushed out with their luggage.

As the residents came out, soldiers with torches went inside and set fire to everything that remained.

Against the background of black smoke rising from all directions, the disobedient residents who had gathered again in the vacant lot looked at the imperial soldiers with fearful eyes.

“It’s all out. Great person.”

After hearing the village chief’s words through an interpreter, the official gave the following command.

“Gather all the men, including the remaining residents and those who are complaining. “Once you have collected them all, dig up all the graves where the ancestors of the complainants are buried.”

“yes?”

When the village chief looked embarrassed after hearing an order that was completely incomprehensible and very uncomfortable to accept, the official continued.

“It is the Emperor’s command that he will not tolerate leaving traces of those who do not wish to live as subjects of the empire. Therefore, please cremate all remains found after digging up the grave. “As a final mercy, we will provide the container for the ashes.”

“… yes.”

Following the order of the official, the village chief mobilized men to dig up all the graves where the ancestors of the disobedient residents were buried and cremated the remains found there.

Since the number of remains was not small, cremation would take a considerable amount of time. However, the cautious empire had already prepared a large amount of firewood.

Thanks to the firewood soaked in oil and dried, the cremation was completed in an instant and the ashes were placed in an urn.

As soon as the remains were recovered, the disobedient residents had to leave the village.

The residents who left the village under strict surveillance by the imperial army repeatedly looked back and shed tears.

* * *

This bloody process of expulsion took place throughout the Liaokha region.

“So far, the number of those who have been expelled and are moving in the direction of Shanhaiguan is approximately 1.2 million. Ultimately, we expect about 2.4 million.”

Hyang smiled slightly at Kim Jong-seo’s report.

‘They don’t even treat you like a human being.’

Even though it changed into an empire, in Joseon, there were divisions in the units for counting people.

Won (員) was used to count officials, In (人) was used to count noblemen or low-level officials, Ming (名) was used to count common people, and Gu (口) was used to count slaves.

But now Kim Jong-seo has not used any of them. It meant not treating them like animals, but also not treating them like people.

Hyang, who corrected her expression, nodded and answered.

“Thank you for your effort. “Please tell those working hard in the field to work a little harder.”

“I follow the Emperor’s command.”

After Kim Jong-seo finished answering, Minister of Education Lee Sa-cheol raised an issue.

“your majesty. This time, it was truly appropriate that you expelled those who refused to rule the empire from the Northern Territory. However, even thinking about it, I think digging up the graves where their ancestors were buried is excessive.”

Hyang responded firmly to Lee Sa-cheol’s point.

“As I said before, this is not excessive treatment at all. Why should the roots of those who do not exist in the empire be in the empire’s territory? Looking at their behavior, as time passes, they will try to use the tomb as an excuse to enter the empire again. Do you think that would make sense?”

“However, digging up the graves of our ancestors without permission is not only against the rules, but it is also against the rules…”

“It is not like I was acting as a lieutenant, so don’t mind. Again, we should not do the foolish thing of leaving behind the roots of people who do not exist in the empire. If we look back on past history, people in the central region tend to insist that good things are theirs, and it is their nature to sneak in and satisfy their own greed whenever there is a gap. Therefore, it is best to prevent such a thing from happening in the first place. “Even if a hundred years or a thousand years pass, we must make sure that there is no room for saying such things.”

As a side note, the scent’s words became a prophecy.

Centuries later, a significant number of Chinese people approached the imperial government, claiming that they had connections to the northern part of the empire, and requested permission to reside there without screening for foreigners. Although such requests poured in in large quantities, the imperial representative’s answer was simple.

“It is not recognized because there are no family register records.”

* * *

While many people in the North were shedding tears of regret and heading aimlessly to Shanhaiguan, there were many who changed their thinking.

“This… is an opportunity to make a lot of money if you do well!”

Those who saw the crisis as an opportunity immediately went to the land department of the local government office.

“What brings you here?”

“I came because I wanted to rent more farmland.”

“Do you want to lease more farmland?”

“yes. “That’s right.”

* * *

After Gyeongjang, all land in Joseon became the king’s based on the royal land ideology. This was the same for large landowners who had owned land since their ancestors. Whether a large landowner or an independent farmer with a patch of land as small as the palm of his hand, only the right to lease was recognized unconditionally.

And based on this, the government made it impossible for landowners to arbitrarily raise rents.

-How dare you abuse your power when you are also in a rented situation! Give me the land!

Naturally, this caused a backlash. However, as these opposing forces were wiped out on a large scale through the Giyu Rebellion, King Sejong established this system.

And Hyang, who told King Sejong these numbers, whistled softly.

“This will make it difficult to play around with real estate.”

And this system was applied to all regions of the empire.

* * *

And those who learned about this system found opportunities in the North.

“As for what kind of land that is, it is land that has already been cultivated by the idiots who were kicked out this time! There is no need to go through any trouble while reclaiming land! “If you miss a land like this, you’re the biggest idiot in the world!”

The sadness that those who lived in the neighborhood until yesterday were kicked out has disappeared in the distance, and the remaining residents have visited the land department of the government office, pursuing their dreams of becoming rich farmers.

* * *

While many people in the North were going in and out of government offices dreaming of becoming rich, there were also people dreaming of becoming rich in a different direction.

The idea was to gain wealth through violence.

When the ouster operation was in full swing, Minister of National Defense Min Shin submitted a report to Hyang.

“What is?”

“Something unpleasant has happened in the North.”

“Something unpleasant?”

Hyang’s face distorted fiercely as he received the report and examined its contents.

“Are there people who wouldn’t be able to do a six-hour exam like this?”

The contents of the report were summarized as follows.

– In the process of expelling the disobedients and escorting them to Shanhaiguan, there was an incident where the disobedients were killed and their property was hidden.

– If we look at the people involved, the leader is a man named Hong Yun-seong. A group of military officers led by a man named Hong Yun-seong mobilized their subordinates and carried out the work.

– According to research so far, the number of disobedients who died in this process is estimated to be approximately 2,000.

bang!

Hyang hit the table roughly and raised his voice.

“Have you seen these damn bastards! Prime Minister and Minister of Defense, listen! “There may be more people who have done something similar, so please investigate thoroughly!”

“I follow your orders!”

“And make sure you convey my orders once again! ‘This work is being done for the well-being of the empire! However, anyone who tarnishes the name of the empire and harms its well-being will be punished!’ “Tell it as it is!”

All the ministers, including Hwang Hui, responded to Hyang’s command by bowing their heads in unison.

“I follow your orders!”

“Whoa~.”

Hyang, who managed to control her anger by taking a long breath, looked at the report again and her eyes lit up.

‘Hong Yunseong? That Hong Yun-seong?’

“It says that the leader here is Hong Yun-seong. What kind of person is he?”

“As the second son of Hong Je-nyeon, I became a military officer through eumseo. “When I heard the opinions of those around me, they said that I was very greedy for money.”

“So he must have done such a terrible thing….”

‘That’s right, Hong Yun-seong. That guy also abused his power for material gain and suffered all sorts of hardships after his death. It worked! ‘Let’s organize one thing now!’

After coming to a conclusion, Hyang asked Hwang Hee.

“What sentence is appropriate in this case?”

“Even though they are those who disobeyed the empire, they are not those who resisted by force. “The crime of murdering such people and hiding the looted property is a serious violation of military law, so beheading is most appropriate.”

Hyang nodded to Hwang Hee’s answer.

“Leader Hong Yun-seong and his clique should all be beheaded, regardless of their status. And thoroughly investigate their assets and return all hidden assets to the national treasury. And please once again caution all imperial troops mobilized for this matter.”

“I follow your orders!”

After giving that command, Hyang muttered to herself with a bitter look on her face.

‘This will add to our notoriety. Hmm… I guess I should at least leave an excuse.’

“I command the officers and magistrates.”

At Hyang’s point out, the officers and masters looked at Hyang with tense faces.

‘Should I go out again?’

But what the scent said next was something completely different.

“The officers and magistrates must record every detail of the expulsion that took place in the Northern Territory and what happened today, as well as my words. This expulsion may seem excessive to future generations, but it was unavoidable for the well-being of the empire. “The burden was handled fairly and according to appropriate standards for this period, so I hope that future generations will not judge it carelessly.”

The officer who recorded up to that point added the following.

-… Since the emperor says this, everything will be recorded without exception.

The officer says:

As citizens of the empire, it is natural to follow the empire’s laws, systems, and imperial commands.

Since ancient times, if you don’t like the temple, you will leave. If you insist that you don’t want to follow or leave, it’s natural to force them to leave.

In the meantime, he also punished those who committed unscrupulous acts.

what is the problem?

However, later, progressive historians around the world criticized this expulsion, along with King Sejong’s hwacheok (禾尺) arrangement, as inhumane.

And in response to this criticism, scholars on the other side responded as follows.

“Didn’t you read the Annals? “Are you dyslexic?”

Meanwhile, other scholars pondered Hyang’s remarks and shook their heads.

“A person from several centuries ago already predicted this situation. “Are you human?”