Chapter 82
As March approached, a strange rumor began to circte in Hanyang.
Hearing the rumor, Hanyang’s magistrate, Kwon Jin, immediately reported to King Sejong.
“Your Majesty, there is a false and nderous rumor circting within the capital.”
“A nderous rumor, you say? What is it?”
“It is truly disgraceful to even mention…”
“That’s fine. Tell me.”
At Sejong’smand, Kwon Jin cautiously recounted the content of the rumor.
“‘Crows cry in the pine tree at the royal tomb, the sky ys tricks with the weather, and the ck clouds that drift as rain falls signal the time for a change in dynasty.’ This is what it says…”
Before Kwon Jin finished speaking, Sejong mmed down his armrest and yelled, “How audacious!”
At Sejong’s outburst, the ministers sealed their lips and looked for cues.
“So, has the source of this disgraceful rumor been found?”
“We are investigating with all our efforts.”
“You must find the person spreading this falsehood!”
“Understood, Your Majesty.”
After giving hismand to Hanyang’s magistrate, Sejong gave an order to the Minister of Law and Punishment.
“Are there still those trying tomit arson?”
“Your Majesty, indeed, there are still those carrying out such reckless acts.”
“What insolence!”
Sejong mmed down his armrest once again, bursting with anger.
After therge fire in February, there had been attempts by some to start fires, hoping to use the opportunity to steal.
However, many of their attempts ended in merely burning houses.
Military forces guarding the capital were deployed throughout Hanyang for reconstruction of the affected areas and maintainingw and order.
Not only the military, but also the residents of the neighborhoods organized watch shifts, climbing onto rooftops to guard in all directions.
As the sun set, all passage was prohibited. After sunset, those found outside without special permission for night work were immediately arrested and imprisoned in the city jail.
Despite these tightened security measures, attempts at arson continued.
Over 50 houses had burned since therge fire, with casualties and refugees as a result.
However, thosemitting arson were quickly caught by the police and soldiers, and they were executed.
While an investigation to catch the person spreading the rumor of a changing dynasty was underway, another rumor started to circte.
‘This fire was caused by the Minister of War, Jo Mal-saeng! The Minister of War, Jo Mal-saeng, ordered a fire to burn the weapons as soon as the king left the capital, and Yon Sa-jong of Goksan tried to hatch a plot when he did not follow the king. Also, Jo Mal-saeng’s son, Jo Seon, and his rtive, Lee In of Gongnyeong, tried to attack the pce after setting the fire.’
Upon hearing this rumor, Jo Mal-saeng prostrated himself before Sejong, crying out his innocence.
“Your Majesty! I have notmitted such a reckless act! Please believe in my loyalty!”
“That must be true. Since the time of the previous king, you have been faithfully serving.”
Consoling Jo Mal-saeng, Sejong issued amand.
“Find out who is spreading this groundless rumor quickly and punish them!”
After an extensive investigation across Hanyang, a suspect was apprehended.
“We’ve caught the suspect.”
“Who is it?”
“It is a man named Kim Yong-saeng, who once held an official post.”
Hearing Hanyang’s magistrate’s response, Sejong expressed doubt.
“An official post? That means at least a Grade 3 high-ranking official, right? Why would such a person spread this false rumor?”
“We are currently investigating the reason.”
“Hand him over to the Royal Secretariat for a swift verification of the facts.”
“Understood, Your Majesty!”
Days passed, and the Royal Secretary personally reported the investigation to Sejong.
“Kim Yong-saeng held a deep personal grudge against Minister of War Jo Mal-saeng and Yon Sa-jong of Goksan, which led him tomit this act.”
“Oh…”
Sejong sighed at the Royal Secretary’s exnation.
“What on earth could have caused such a grudge that led him to do this? Regardless of whether the usation is true or false, one side will be utterly ruined, will they not?”
Sejong’s question was valid.
usations of treason were life-or-death gambles for both user and used.
If the usation was true, the used’s entire family would be destroyed; if false, the opposite would happen.
“That’s…”
“Speak.”
At Sejong’smand, the Royal Secretary exined the situation.
“…So, due to this bribery issue, Kim Yong-saeng, who had held a grudge, spread the false rumor.”
“Oh…”
Sejong was bbergasted and speechless. His eyes were fixed on Jo Mal-saeng, who was bowed to one side.
“Minister Jo Mal-Saeng.”
“Yes, yes! Your Majesty!”
“You must remember what thete king said to you. ‘I want to give you a promotion, but I’ll do it slowly, so don’t decline.’”
“Your Majesty….”
Sejong’s voice became increasingly cold.
“For the time being, be prudent. Auditor General, listen.”
“Yes, Your Majesty!”
“Investigate the bribery issues rted to the Minister Jo Mal-Saeng.”
“Yourmand is received!”
The voice of the responding Auditor General was excited.
And it wasn’t just the Auditor General who was excited. After a long time, the officers of the Censorate investigated zealously.
As a result, a bribery scandal, arguably thergest in the Joseon Dynasty during Sejong’s reign, was revealed.
It was a scandal recorded in the annals as the “Kim Do-yeon Bribery Case.”
“ording to our investigation, a man named Kim Do-yeon bribed former and current officials, including the Minister Jo Mal-Saeng and the Commander of Goksan, maniptingwsuits. He robbed the property and ves of brothers Kim Song and Kim Jin, who live in Hongwon-hyeon of Hamheung-bu, and made hundreds of rtives ves.”
“Heavens….”
Sejong’s face showed a loss for words at the Auditor General’s report.
ording to the report, Kim Do-yeon’s case showed vividly what ‘inhumanity beneath a human face’ means.
The crime started with Kim Do-yeon’s greed for Kim Saeng’s property. Kim Saeng, who had migrated to Hamgyeong-do and after many twists and turns became a wealthy man with vast rice fields and over a thousand ves, was originally a friend of Kim Do-yeon’s grandfather.
Kim Do-yeon, envious of this wealth, fabricated documents iming that Kim Saeng was originally his family’s ve but had fled to Hamgyeong-do, and initiated awsuit.
To win thiswsuit, Kim Do-yeon bribed high-ranking officials enormously.
Thanks to those bribes, Kim Do-yeon won thewsuit, and made Kim Saeng’s descendants, numbering 426, and over a thousand ves, and fields, his own.
“… So, the list of those who took bribes from <i>this </i>Kim Do-yeon is as follows.”
Sejong, unrolling the scroll handed to him by the Auditor General, checked the names written on it.
“Minister Jo Mal-Saeng and the Commander of Goksan are at the top.”
At Sejong’s words, Jo Mal-saeng bowed deeply and cried out.
“Please grant mercy!”
Ignoring Jo Mal-saeng’s cry, Sejong gave an order to the Auditor General.
“The Censorate and the Inspectorate shall investigate immediately how much these people on the list have taken and report it.”
“Yourmand is received!”
The voices of the responding Auditor General and the Grand Inspector were filled with vigor.
Meanwhile, Hyang, who had heard the rumor while working at the research institute, hastily organized the documents.
“It’s frustrating to just watch this happening. This is an opportunity to uproot the practice of bribery!”
The Censorate and the Inspectorate were bustling like fish in water.
ording to the report sent by the inspector dispatched to Hamgyeong-do (a monitoring position dispatched by the Censorate to each province), a total of 19 former and current high and low-ranking officials were bribed with 132 ves.
And the one who received the most was Jo Mal-saeng, with 36.
The Auditor General Kwon Do who submitted the list to Sejong argued as follows:
“The bribes Jo Mal-saeng received, counting only the ves, amount to 780 <i>*gwan*</i>. Byw, we may overlook up to 40 *gwan*, but if it exceeds 80 *gwan*, it must be met with execution!”
“Is that so?”
“If we forgive such a person, who enjoyed the great trust of thete king, who will follow thew?”
“Ah~.”
As Sejong hesitated, the Auditor General and Grand Inspector simultaneously bowed and raised their voices.
“Please punish him severely!”
“He must be executed! Please punish him severely!”
As the Auditor General and Grand Inspector vehemently advocated for execution, Sejong looked at Minister Jo Mal-Saeng with resentful eyes.
As he looked at the trembling back of Jo Mal-saeng, who was bowed down, Sejong became lost in thought.
He had been a faithful servant, having earned a reputation since the reign of thete king.
He was also one of those who followed Sejong’s policy well and gave good advice, and that person was Jo Mal-saeng.
ording to thew, execution would be the correct punishment, but the problem was that bribery was the daily practice of officials.
If they punished all the officials who took bribes ording to thew, only those with little experience who only knew how to follow orders would remain in the court.
<i>‘I wish I could execute them all like the Crown Prince said, but the situation…’</i>
“Your Majesty, may I express my thoughts?”
Reading Sejong’s expression, Hyang opened his mouth, to which Sejong seemed to have been waiting, answered, “Speak.”
“The punishment of those who have taken bribes is urgent, and it is also urgent to restore the identities of those who have been wronged by unjustwsuits. How about handling this first?”
“Indeed! Send someone immediately to restore the identities and properties of the descendants of Kim Saeng, who have been wronged by falsewsuits!”
“I ept yourmand!”
“Furthermore, we must punish Kim Do-yeon, whomitted such heinous crimes.
Kim Do-yeon’s crimes are not one or two.
First, he instigated falsewsuits for his own greed; that’s one crime.
Second, he manipted documents to treatmoners as ves and disrupted the country’s public affairs; that’s another crime.
Third, he spread bribes to achieve his own will; that’s another crime.
Fourth, he intentionally harmed his grandfather’s close friend out of his own greed. This disgrace to his grandfather’s name is an act of unfilial piety, which is another crime.
Fifth, by deceiving people into thinkingmoners were ves and blinding your Majesty, hemitted the crime of deceiving the sovereign and disrespecting the superior; that’s another crime.
Evenbining just the crimes of unfilial piety and deceiving the sovereign, ording to thew, he can be sentenced to death for these major crimes.
Thus, the criminal Kim Do-yeon should be executed, all his family members turned into ves, and his properties confiscated.
Among the confiscated properties, return the victims’ belongings to them, reimburse those who purchased the victims’nd at the time of purchase, and return thend to the victims. And if there is any remaining property, put it into the national treasury.”
At Hyang’s suggestion, Sejong pped his knee in approval.
“The Crown Prince’s opinion is indeed correct! What do the ministers think?”
At Sejong’s question, the ministers all answered in unison,
“We think it’s an excellent n!”
As the ministers unanimously agreed, the chief state councilors and chief aides had a disagreement.
“The measures for the victims’ identities and the criminal’s punishment are indeed good, but the punishment for those who epted bribes for Jo Mal-saeng is also urgent!”
“Please decide quickly!”
“I will consider that part a bit more.”
“Please decide quickly!”
“I said I will consider it! That’s enough for today!”
Although Sejong said he would consider it, the Office of the Inspector General and the Secretariat did not lose momentum.
From the next day, the officials of the Secretariat and the Inspector General’s Office spread mats in the front yard of Geunjeongjeon Hall and began a sit-in protest.
“Jo Mal-saeng and the corrupt bureaucrats must be executed!”
“Please decide quickly!”
“Please decide quickly!”
“Sigh~.”
Hearing the shouts from the front yard of Geunjeongjeon, Sejong, who let out a long sigh, stood up.
“Let’s take a break for now.”
After dering a recess, Sejong headed for Eastern Pce.
“Is the Crown Prince here?”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“It’s been a while since I’ve stayed in the Eastern Pce.”
After confirming with Eastern Pce’s steward that Hyang was staying there, Sejong ordered the following officials,
“Wait here.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“It’s a private conversation between father and son. Do not cross the line.”
The officials retreated at Sejong’smand, which was so firm that it even seemed angry.
<i>‘Somehow! Someday!’</i>
They were officials burning with determination, recalling legends of their senior officials.
“Pleasee in.”
“Yes.”
Hyang, who had offered a seat, opened his mouth as soon as Sejong sat in his chair.
“You seem deeply troubled.”
Sejong nodded his head in response to Hyang’s question.
***
“I’ve seen it all. I want to destroy everything just as I thought. There’s no suitable sessor, and if I handle this poorly, I could be criticized formitting an act of filial impiety by offending the subjects raised by thete king. Sigh~.”
Sejong heaved a long sigh, and Hyang nodded quietly.
As long as Joseon’s state system included Confucian schrs, the shadow of thete king was not easily dismissed in personnel matters.
Especially since many of the ministers involved in the current problem were intertwined with royal and familial rtionships.
Seeing Sejong filled with concern, Hyang offered his opinion.
“Why not simply not kill them and not appoint them to new positions?”
“Huh? How?”
Hyang whispered to Sejong. After listening to Hyang for a while, Sejong pped his knee.
“That’s an idea!”
* * *
‘The king has returned.’ Upon hearing this, the ministers returned to the hall and took their seats. Seated on his throne, Sejong opened his mouth and addressed the ministers.
“Upon deep consideration, the crimes of Jo Mal-saeng and others are far from light. ording to thew, they should be executed, but…”
“Execute them! Execute immediately!”
“Execute immediately!”
The moment they heard the words ‘they should be executed, but…’, the chief state councilor and chief eunuch advocated for severe punishment.
“How dare a subject interrupt the king! What country’s etiquette is this?”
Realizing their mistake at Sejong’s reprimand, the chief state councilor and chief eunuch knelt immediately.
“Please grant us death!”
“Please grant us death!”
“Should I really do so?”
Sejong, having silenced the two officials, continued.
“The execution is deserved, but since they were trusted by thete king, I will not kill them. However, their crime is not light, so they will be punished as follows;
– First, all the official positions, ranks, merits,nds, and wealth bestowed upon the criminals will be confiscated.
– Only the assets of the criminals themselves will be considered for confiscation, without touching those that were passed to their wives and children beyond thest five years.
– Furthermore, I order them to serve as document organizers. They will be assigned to the Six Ministries and serve in document management.”
“Gulp!”
Everyone was horrified at the word ‘document management,’ since it meant dealing with a considerable amount of records, some even connected to previous dynasties.
Sejong’s judgment left Jo Mal-saeng utterly copsed.
Above his head, Sejong’smand continued.
“I alsomand other ministers. I will give you one month. Those who have received bribes above the legal standards must return them to the state immediately. If anyone is discovered after one month, not only will they face additional penalties, but they will also serve in document management!”
“We ept themand!”
* * *
As the ministers crowded out after the meeting, the officials who had been protesting swarmed the chief state councilor and chief eunuch.
“What happened?”
At the officials’ query, the chief state councilor and chief eunuch looked at Jo Mal-saeng.
With a face that seemed to have aged 10 years, Jo Mal-saeng, supported by those around him, was leaving the hall.
Seeing him, the chief state councilor opened his mouth.
“Death would have been better.”