Chapter 97

Chapter 97

As autumn deepened, the nation began calculating the collected taxes, leading to a financial review of the Joseon Dynasty’s income and expenses.

“Hmm... We’ve narrowly avoided a crisis.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Upon King Sejong’s evaluation, all the ministers nodded in agreement.

***

Ever since the tax reform had begun, the expenses of the Joseon government had been steadily increasing. The numbers of officials and professional soldiers had been growing—albeit gradually—and there were large expenditures for mines and steel mills.

The problem was that the rate of increase in tax revenue, the most critical source of income, was lagging behind the rate of increase in expenditures.

Of course, compared to the first year of the tax reform, the Gapjin year, the tax revenue had been continually increasing. However, the rate of expenditure increase had always been a step ahead.

To solve this problem, King Sejong had to implement a series of daring policies.

Firstly, lands granted to the government officials, starting with the meritocratic lands, were continually being reclaimed.

“From now on, ‘the right to collect rent’ from the lands given to the officials will be reclaimed. In return, the monthly salaries will be paid in kind and will be increased.”

According to Sejong’s decision, meritocratic lands and other agricultural lands that were given to the meritocrats and ministers began to be reclaimed in batches. The only people exempted from this action were the royal family.

As promised, Sejong increased the amount of stipends given to his subjects.

As mentioned before, Joseon had significantly reduced the stipends given to the royal family and officials when the country was founded.

For the royal family, it was reduced to 1/6, and for the officials, it was reduced to 1/4, reflecting the initial circumstances of Joseon.

Sejong increased the stipends based on the following criteria:

– Low-ranking officials would receive half compared to those during the Goryeo period, and high-ranking officials would receive a third.The inaugural upload of this chapter took place via N0v3l-B1n.

– Instead of hereditary lands like “Sushinjeon” (Dower lands) and “Hyeollyangjeon” (patrimonial lands for minor descendants), they would receive a monthly stipend equivalent to what a minor rank-1 official would get. However, this would be limited to 10 years.

[TL/N: Sushinjeon, also known as dower lands, are meritocratic lands that were once owned by deceased government officials and are subsequently allocated to their widowed spouses, who can either cultivate these lands or collect rent from them. As for Hyeollyangjeon, in the case where both government officials and their spouses have died, these meritocratic lands are transferred to their heirs.]

Through these criteria, Sejong reclaimed the lands as royal property.

***

In later years, historians assessed this period as Sejong’s first crisis. If there had been opposition during the process of reclaiming the economic foundations of the meritocrats, Sejong could have been ousted from power.

However, this crisis was overcome by three variables.

The first was the purge of senior ministers, including Ryu Jeong-hyeon.

Though the immediate cause was the conflict between Sejong and senior ministers over smallpox vaccination, the deeper issue was a clash between Sejong, who sought royal authority, and senior ministers who wanted shared power with the king.

In later years, even historians thought that the immediate nationwide implementation of smallpox vaccination—which had not yet been proven effective—was risky. Therefore, the senior ministers’ revolt was inevitable.

However, when the effectiveness of smallpox vaccination was proven through an outbreak near Hanyang, the senior ministers were ousted from power.

Their ousting, following the purge of Queen Wongyeong’s Min family during Taejong’s reign and the Shim On faction when Sejong ascended the throne, significantly weakened the power of the senior ministers who had been influential since the founding of Joseon.

[TL/N: Read more on Queen Wongyeong’s Min family’s purge HERE. As for Shim On, he was Sejong’s father-in law and Queen Soheon’s father, and was also the Chief State Councillor before being framed of treason by his political rivals.]

As a result, there was no focal point for forces to gather to oust Sejong, allowing him to overcome the crisis. This was the first variable.

This was the third major purge since the founding of Joseon, significantly diminishing the influence of the senior ministers.

As a result, the focal point for any forces that could oust Sejong was lost, enabling him to overcome the crisis. This was the first key factor.

The second variable was the Crown Prince.

Sejong’s eldest son, Hyang, was made Crown Prince and developed various cultural artifacts and technologies, including metal types.

Because the Crown Prince also excelled in commercialization, this led to the expansion of Joseon’s trade and, consequently, an increase in tax revenue.

As a result, the officials in the government, convinced of their economic security, actively cooperated with Sejong’s policies.

The military was no different, and Sejong was able to secure considerable power.

The third variable was ‘punishment.’

A form of punishment called ‘document sorting punishment’ was the most non-violent yet cruel punishment.

However, there was an unexpected effect of this punishment.

Among the punishments commonly applied to the ruling class of Joseon, exile was the most frequent.

Being ousted from the power circle with the king appeared superficially harsh, but if the person had the will and maintained adequate security, they could maintain or even increase their power while in exile.

However, the document sorting punishment fundamentally blocked such opportunities. The convict had to move within the king’s sight, and the physical and mental fatigue accumulated from organizing the documents almost completely halted the convict’s external activities.

***

“Due to the Hanseong fire, we had unexpected large expenditures. However, fortunately, this year’s harvest has been good, and we’ve profited greatly from trade with Japan, so it seems we will have some flexibility in next year’s budget.”

Upon hearing the report from the Ministry of Taxation, King Sejong reviewed the documents once again and looked at the government officials.

“It takes too long to circulate just one copy!”

Using the acquired data as a foundation, the General Staff immediately began formulating strategies.

“The part that His Majesty is most interested in is related to the Jurchens. Let’s start planning the strategy around this area.”

“Understood!”

***

Lee Jing-ok, who had been sitting at the far end, raised his hand to object to Choi Yoon-deok’s decision.

“Is that you, military officer Lee Jing-ok? Speak your mind.”

“Strategy is about the big picture. If we focus on just one area without grasping the overall framework, the picture will be a mess.”

“So, what are you suggesting?”

“Considering our current situation in Joseon, we’re troubled by the Japanese pirates in the south and the Jurchens in the north. th. While it’s not wrong to prioritize the Jurchens issue, I believe we should first have at least some basic countermeasures against the Japanese pirates, and then think about policies concerning the Jurchens based on that foundation.”

“Your point is valid. Any differing opinions?”

No one else raised objections to Choi Yoon-deok’s question.

“Then let’s start by considering the distribution of troops to counter the pirates.”

Thus began the study of what the minimal number of troops needed to defend against the Japanese pirates would be.

During the study, the need for force distribution to protect the fortress stood out, and the research restarted from scratch.

After many trials and errors, the staff at the General Headquarters, having finally decided on an appropriate troop distribution, began their research to establish a strategy concerning the Jurchens.

After more than three months of relentless research, the staff at the headquarters looked grave upon seeing the end product named ‘advancing eastward’.

“We’ve done our best, but we can only reach as far as the Tumen River...”

“Is this the extent of Joseon’s capabilities?”

General Choi Yoon-deok, who reviewed the result, also had a gloomy expression.

“This can’t be...”

He read the report several times, but the conclusion was the same.

With the current capabilities of Joseon, even at the end of their planning phase, crossing the Tumen River would actually be a disadvantage.

***

“Why only up to the Tumen River?” King Sejong asked, to which Choi Yoon-duk explained.

“The Jurchen’s main force is cavalry. To counter cavalry, we would also need optimal cavalry, but in Joseon, cultivating cavalry takes time and a lot of resources.”

While it was easy for the semi-nomadic Jurchen to supplement their cavalry, it was not the case for Joseon.

Although Joseon also had horse archery as a military skill, acquiring and training horses required economic support.

On the other hand, the Jurchen could easily supplement their forces because horses and archery were a part of their daily life.

“So that’s why we can only go up to the Tumen River?”

“Exactly. If we’re fighting only with bows and spears, using the natural barrier of the Tumen River to block the Jurchen would be the best course of action.”

“I see...”

Sejong couldn’t hide his disappointment. The lands where the Jurchen roamed used to be the territory of Goguryeo, one of the Three Kingdoms of ancient Korea. Not being able to advance beyond the Tumen River, which was so close, was disappointing.

“General.”

Hyang, who had been quietly listening to the conversation, interrupted.

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“If we only fight with bows and spears, the Tumen River would be our limit. What if we had a more powerful weapon, would a more aggressive strategy be possible?”

Upon hearing Hyang’s words, Choi Yoon-deok pondered for a moment before answering.

“It would be possible.”

At Choi Yoon-deok’s answer, Hyang turned to look at King Sejong.

“There is ongoing research in Area 51. If it succeeds, a more aggressive strategy could become possible.”

“Let’s look forward to it.”

***

In the audit conducted in December, weapons developed by Area 51 were publicly unveiled.

As soon as King Sejong issued an order for their mass production based on the performance of the weapons Area 51 had created, the Joint Chiefs of Staff immediately started revising their strategy, named ‘Grand Strategy of Advancing Eastward.’

By the time the year changed and spring arrived, a new version of this so-called grand plan had been formulated.