Black Corporation: Joseon

Episode 987: The Clear-Eyed Madman (12)

The inside of the conference room instantly became chaos due to the shouts of the ministers. As time passed, the commotion did not subside. Han Myeong-hoe, who was sitting at the head of the table, slammed the desk and screamed.

bang!

“Quiet! Be quiet!”

All ministers fell silent at the shouts of Han Myeong-hoe. Han Myeong-hoe criticized the ministers who had become rulers.

“What on earth are the ministers of the empire doing? Who knows that they don’t know how to scream and are doing this!”

“I’m sorry for showing you such an indecent behavior.”

“I’m sorry.”

The ministers apologized to Myunghoe one by one. However, Han Myeong-hoe’s criticism continued.

“If there is a problem, you should point it out and find a solution. What if all you do is scream? What if you just raise your voice? If that’s the case, from next time, you’ll get angry and embarrass me! Don’t deal with people like this!”

“So I’m sorry…”

“Tsk!”

Han Myeong-hoe, who interrupted the ministers by clicking his tongue, glared at the Minister of Finance.

“I know very well that the finances of the empire are determined according to revenue. I also know that it is best to have revenue and expenditure aligned perfectly with each other. However, in everything in the world, something unexpected always happens, and aren’t there things you have to prepare for this? “I think that’s the case, too?”

The ‘prepared thing’ that Han Myeong-hoe was talking about was silver produced from the empire’s silver mines. In the empire, silver was a tool of currency and gold was a tool of wealth. And the silver and gold mines were operated directly by the empire as state mines. Therefore, gold and silver from state-owned mines went straight into the warehouses of the Imperial Ministry of Finance and were being piled up.

And using this gold and silver, the empire was guiding its governance in the most sound direction possible. The Minister of Finance and Economy looked embarrassed at the mention of Han Myeong-hoe.

“Of course, it is possible to solve the problem by opening the warehouse and taking the silver out. But then there is the problem. Doesn’t it end with just building a building like Parkmun-gwan? If you do it wrong, the silver could be released uncontrollably. If that happens, the empire’s “The situation is going to be a mess.”

“But you’ve done well so far, haven’t you? Isn’t that too harsh?”

Other ministers nodded at Han Myeong-hoe’s words. As the Minister of Finance and Economy was about to open his mouth, Lim Soon-wook spoke first.

“Then, would you like to take charge of the Ministry of Finance and Economy? What do you think, Prime Minister? Would you please try taking charge of the Ministry of Finance and Economy? Would you like to take charge of the Ministry of Finance and Economy?”

“Big! Big! I apologize for being harsh.”

“Keuhum!”

Seeing Han Myeong-hoe hastily apologizing, Lim Soon-wook responded by clearing his throat loudly. However, since he could not keep repeating the same story forever, Soonwook Lim began to speak his thoughts.

“If you listen to the story just now, it is clear that the size of the palace is enormous. Your Majesty said that you are building the Forbidden City, but if you add a little more, it could be as large as the Forbidden City or the Abang Palace. It is currently being excavated in Gyeongju. “Think about the amount of artifacts.”

The ministers nodded without realizing it at Lim Sun-wook’s point.

* * *

Even now, about 10 chests were coming into Suganggung from Gyeongju almost every day. At first, it was supposed to go through Gyeongbokgung Palace first, but as the volume increased, the prefecture changed the procedure.

Starting with Han Myeong-hoe, Vice Ministers who could not overcome their curiosity gathered together to watch and express exclamations. However, as time passed, I became increasingly tired of the huge amount of artifacts that kept coming up.

“I only dug about 1/100th of Gyeongju, but there are so many? Only 1/100th of it?”

“No matter how old it is, it is a thousand-year-old city…”

* * *

Knowing the situation in Gyeongju, where relics are still pouring in, the ministers all nodded to Lim Sun-wook’s point. Lim Soon-wook, who confirmed that the ministers understood, added more force to his voice.

“It is appearing like that in Gyeongju alone now, but if you think about the old sites of Baekje and Goguryeo, as well as the old sites of Buyeo and Balhae… it might become as big as the Forbidden City. I don’t know about Abang Palace… but anyway! That’s what we started with. It’s become a troublesome problem because we can’t just let our ancestors’ relics rot carelessly. That’s why I think it’s best to build a museum just like a child grows up and becomes an adult.”

“It’s like a child growing up…”

Han Myeong-hoe, who was thinking about Lim Sun-wook’s suggestion, asked if his thoughts were correct.

“What Director Lim is saying is, let’s start with a budget that doesn’t strain the budget and gradually increase the size?”

“That’s right. Again, just looking at the example of Gyeongju now, it’s hard to tell how many relics will be produced in the future. In any case, it is certain that expansion will continue from generation to generation, so let’s not overdo it from the beginning. Instead, the site for Park Mun-gwan should be located in the right place. “We have to be sure. Even now, villages are continuously being built outside the four main gates of Seoul.”

The ministers all nodded at Lim Soon-wook’s words. Likewise, Han Myeong-hoe, who was nodding, grumbled slightly.

“Who said, ‘Send the people to Seoul and the horses to Shinji and the North?’…” * *

*

Even during this period, the real estate problem in Seoul was serious. As the empire expanded and became more powerful, the number of officials responsible for administering the empire gradually increased. Those who increased the most were local government officials, but the number of officials working at Gyeongbokgung Palace and Yukjo Street in Seoul also increased.

Because of this, it became impossible to find agricultural land inside the four main gates. In place of the lost farmland, residential areas and markets were established. Nevertheless, there was always a shortage of housing in Seoul. Therefore, Wan and Hyeon had to adjust the administrative districts of Seoul and Gyeonggi-do near Seoul. First, Seoul was changed to Seoul Province (道), and the surrounding area was renamed from Gyeonggi-do to Seoul.

Afterwards, four stations were built near the four main gates of Seoul and a railway network was established with nearby areas. Additionally, a separate railroad was built to connect these stations with the railroad in central Seoul. Of course, it was not completely completed and construction was still in progress.

-It is more efficient to connect them directly to Seoul Station rather than creating those four stations separately.

This appeal continued, but Wan and Hyeon did not accept it for the following reasons.

-If connected directly, the inside of Seoul will become too crowded as people will come and go in a disorderly manner.

-For the sake of showing off, there will be more and more people who will come all the way to Seoul to purchase documents that will be purchased at the marketplace and monopoly in the village where they live. This is a hardship for those engaged in commerce outside of Seoul, so this should be prevented as much as possible.

-Also, although they have become obsolete, the four main gates are the gates of the castle wall that defend the city. Therefore, it must be possible to close it when necessary.

But the fact that people flocked to Seoul was itself a problem. And to solve this problem, various solutions have been mobilized as far back as the reign of King Sejong. However, this problem still caused headaches for the emperor and ministers.

“Why?”

Hyang gave a simple answer to Hyeon’s complaint.

“That’s because the power is in Seoul.”

“Ah…”

* * *

In this way, the construction of the museum began. The place that the government chose as the museum site was near Gwanaksan Mountain. Hyang had a strange expression after reading the report about this.

“At that time, it was the site of a university, and now it is the site of a museum… This is also a strange relationship. If this continues, how will the saying, ‘If someone asks about the future of the country, raise your head and listen to the music’ change? ‘Who is the empire?’ Will it change to ‘If you ask about the glory of , raise your head and see Gwanak.’”

As a side note, in the distant future, the Imperial Museum located in Gwanak became the largest museum in the world. It was also nicknamed ‘the museum with the least belongings’. This was because many of the artifacts owned by famous European museums were looted from places such as Africa and Egypt.

But the most famous assessment was this:

‘It would take your whole life to see everything in the Imperial Museum.’

Another story was also famous.

-Something you should never challenge even if you risk your life.

Seeing everything in the Empire’s three halls – the Archives, Herbarium, and Museum.

* * *

“They say work brings work… and then there’s something to spend money on… Sigh~.”

The Minister of Finance and Economy, who was studying the report, let out a long sigh and glared at the Minister of General Affairs in front of him.

“What did the Prime Minister say?”

“I didn’t go. It was obvious that I would just tell them to consult with the captain anyway.”

The Minister of Finance and Economy nodded at the Minister of General Affairs’ words and stood up.

“Ha~. Okay. Let’s go together.”

After a while, Han Myeong-hoe, who checked the report presented by the Minister of General Affairs who came with the Minister of Finance and Economy, looked at the Minister of General Affairs with bright eyes.

“Let’s select people to do record work at the Archives? Are there finally no more criminals to enter the Archives?”

“…..”

“Was it a joke?”

Han Myeong-hoe whetted his appetite at the silent answers given by the Minister of General Affairs and the Minister of Finance and Economy.

* * *

Those who entered the records office were mainly officials caught in bribery and other forms of corruption, those who asked for favors from them, and those who had committed crimes such as fraud, including document forgery. If found guilty, almost all of their assets were confiscated and they had to work at the records office for a set period of time.

This record work was one of the worst punishments, with less physical hardship but great mental fatigue. High-ranking people expected that the number of crimes that would be punished by the Recorder would definitely decrease, but the number of people was steadily increased every year. Therefore, a joke like this was going around among high-ranking officials.

“Seeing as there is no shortage of people in the archives, it seems that the ‘poor evil theory’ is correct.”

* * *

“But what happened that there are suddenly not enough people in the record office?”

In response to Han Myeonghoe’s question, the head of the General Affairs Department answered in a sour voice.

“What could it be? Even though the workload has increased, it has increased too much.”

“Has the workload increased?”

“Do you know how many documents are currently being uploaded from Gyeongju? Documents recording the Seokguram Grotto repair process, ledger documents related to the costs involved in the repair process, documents from other excavation sites in Gyeongju… What are the records office’s iron rules?”

Han Myeong-hoe answered the Minister of General Affairs’ question right away.

“From the beginning to the end… all the documents are organized and recorded. Hmm. It will definitely increase.”

“It’s not just about racing, there’s also an encyclopedia.”

“Oh my…”

The Minister of General Affairs’ answer made Han Myeong-hoe understand the seriousness of the matter.

“There has been a flood of documents.”

“Flood? Tsunami.”

In the end, Han Myeong-hoe called the deputy prime ministers.