63

While the commotion over the princess's search for a consort unfolded, the court was also in an uproar.

The cause of the disturbance was the "candy monopoly."

"It has been decided that the candy will be monopolized, but what method do you think is best for this?"

In response to Sejong's question, the ministers immediately provided their answers.

"It is best to grant retail rights to suitable merchants."

Following this, the ministers engaged in a heated debate, suggesting various merchants like Song Sang and Gyeonggang Merchant.

To Sejong's ears, it sounded like, "I received it from Song Sang, I received it from Gyeonggang Merchant."

As he quietly observed the ministers arguing, Sejong's expression grew increasingly stern.

Finally, he slammed his fist on the table and shouted, "Enough!"

At Sejong's roar, the arguing ministers immediately fell silent and bowed their heads.

Sejong's reprimand continued above their bowed heads.

"Are you all listening to me and thinking? How many days has it been since I declared that I would implement reforms and discussed the necessary measures and preparations for them?"

"We are deeply sorry!"

"Look back at the answers you just gave to my question! Are your answers truly for the sake of reform? Or are they answers for the gifts that will come to your homes? Are they answers for Joseon, or answers for your own storerooms?"

Under Sejong's scolding, the ministers all bowed deeply and lowered their heads.

"Please kill us!"

As the ministers cried out in unison for their lives, cold sweat began to bead on their foreheads at Sejong's next words.

"You ask to be killed, yet… how will this policy be created? I will decide whether to grant your wishes based on the results."

"Gasp!"

Startled by Sejong's warning, the ministers raised their voices in unison.

"We will do our utmost!"

"We will dedicate our lives!"

Watching the trembling ministers, Sejong glared at the chief ministers who were bowing at the front.

"I will speak to the chief ministers. I placed you in your positions because I believed in your evaluations. However, I have been quite disappointed lately."

"We are deeply sorry!"

"Please kill us!"

The chief ministers lay flat on the ground, almost sticking to it, bowing their heads.

Sejong's eyes were cold as he looked at them.

"I hope you do not disappoint me any further. I warn you, if you show any shortcomings compared to the rumors I have heard about you, I will have no reason to keep you in your positions. Do you understand? Left Minister and Right Minister."

"We will remember this!"

"We will never disappoint you!"

The two who were publicly called out, Hwang Hee and Maeng Sa-seong, responded with pale faces drenched in cold sweat.

Unlike the frozen atmosphere among the ministers, Sejong continued the meeting in a dry voice.

"Now, let us move on to the next agenda."

"Yes! The next agenda is..."

"The next is..."

"Tsk!"

Seeing the ministers hurriedly checking the next agenda, Sejong clicked his tongue.

He was not pleased with their flustered demeanor.

As Hyang began to intervene in earnest, various variables arose.

Among these variables, some were anticipated by Hyang, but many were unexpected.

One of the unexpected variables was that Sejong's standards for evaluating the ministers had become exceedingly high.

"Why can't they think of what even a ten-year-old child can?"

"Why can't they think ahead? If I have to tell them everything in advance, why would I place them in the positions of chief ministers?"

Comparing them to Hyang, who could solve problems on his own and sometimes even ahead of time, Sejong's evaluation standards had become akin to Hyang's.

And the sacrifices for this heightened standard were Hwang Hee and Maeng Sa-seong.

"I have heard from Father that you are both exceptionally capable. The evaluations from the surrounding officials are the same. So why is this?"

They were individuals recognized for their abilities by Sejong's father, Taejong.

However, as Sejong observed the work performance of the two after placing them in the chief minister positions, he could not hide his disappointment.

"Am I expecting too much? Or were the evaluations of the two too lenient? It seems too lenient given that many share the same opinion, yet it seems too high given their visible shortcomings..."

As he watched Hwang Hee and Maeng Sa-seong, who were performing below his expectations, Sejong found himself in deep contemplation.

"Can I truly entrust them with important tasks? For the success of the reforms, I need someone outstanding."

As Sejong's disappointment grew, Hwang Hee and Maeng Sa-seong felt as if they were facing death.

They had taken the positions of chief ministers after the purge of the esteemed elder ministers, so they had to do their utmost for survival and to maintain their power.

However, the first challenge they faced upon taking their positions was the enormous wall of "reform."

"What on earth… is that family filled with monsters?"

Having read through over twenty books detailing the measures related to reform, Hwang Hee lamented while drinking with Maeng Sa-seong.

If the late king, Taejong, maintained his power through terror and suppressed his officials, now the current king was tightening the reins on his officials through work.

Not only that, but he was not merely throwing tasks at them; he had meticulously prepared everything to a degree that made it difficult to handle carelessly, evaluating how the ministers would respond.

If the ministers merely followed along, they would become useless burdens draining the budget.

They had to find and supplement the shortcomings in the measures to live up to the name of a minister.

For the chief ministers, it was not just about simple supplementation; they had to come up with improvements that yielded even greater results.

Of course, all of this was not a clearly stated standard from Sejong.

However, every time he examined the measures presented by the ministers, he could feel it strongly.

And the rumors regarding this had already spread throughout the capital.

After finishing their daily tasks, men at the tavern, emptying their cups, began to discuss the hot topics of the capital.

"These days, the most common phrase heard in the Six Ministries is, 'Is this the best?'"

"Is this the best?"

"Exactly!"

"Then, it's my turn now. Do you know what the next most common phrase is?"

"Considering what I've heard..."

"Ha ha ha! That's it! And finally..."

"Tsk tsk tsk!"

"Ha ha ha ha!"

The men laughed heartily as they emptied their cups.

It was a moment that brought down the pride of the arrogant officials.

However, the expressions of the officials who caught wind of the rumors were not very pleasant.

After all, it was the phrase they most frequently heard from their superiors.

And the origin of it all was Sejong.

"Is this the best?"

Every time Sejong asked this, the ministers would break into a cold sweat.

And for Hwang Hee and Maeng Sa-seong, an additional line was added.

"Compared to what I've heard, it's..."

Finally, as he irritably cleared the reports, Sejong clicked his tongue.

Ultimately, just a few months after taking their positions as chief ministers, the desire to resign was growing stronger for the two.

"I want to quit!"

In the end, the ministers who had been scolded by Sejong had to rack their brains to find new measures.

"Indeed... we should send someone directly from the Ministry of Finance, shouldn't we?"

"From the Ministry of Finance? To all eight provinces of Joseon? How far?"

"For the monopoly to work properly, it needs to be at least at the level of the provincial governor..."

"If that happens, the Ministry of Finance's offices will be completely empty!"

"So what should we do? If we suggest leaving it to the merchants, we will all be dismissed."

"No, if we are just dismissed, that would be fortunate. Have you forgotten what happened last time?"

All the ministers knew that Sejong wanted the Ministry of Finance to manage it directly.

However, due to the lack of personnel, they were unable to come up with a clear answer and were going around in circles.

Ultimately, to resolve the situation that felt like a hamster wheel, Hwang Hee stepped forward.

"Let’s look to the past."

"Look to the past? Hmm..."

As Sejong stroked his beard and pondered, Hwang Hee explained in more detail.

"Yes, indeed. For the expansion of finances through the monopoly to be effective, it must be directly managed by the Ministry of Finance. However, the number of officials currently in the Ministry of Finance is far too few. Therefore, we should supplement that number through the civil service examination."

Hwang Hee's explanation continued, but Sejong's expression did not improve.

After a moment of contemplation, Sejong tossed the question to Hyang.

"It seems a bit lacking... Seja, what do you think?"

Receiving the toss from Sejong, Hyang immediately responded.

"While implementing the civil service examination is a good idea, it is time-consuming and costly."

"That is true."

"Therefore, if I may express my opinion, I suggest that we immediately deploy the students of Sungkyunkwan to practical duties."

"The students of Sungkyunkwan?"

"Yes, Your Majesty. Think back to the events of the year Im-in."

"Im-in year? Im-in year... Ah!"

In the fourth year of Sejong's reign, the governor of Jeolla-do submitted a petition. - The students of Sungkyunkwan, who care for their elderly and sick parents, were appointed as the head of their hometowns to take care of them.

However, since they were lacking in attendance days at Sungkyunkwan, they were restricted from taking the civil service examination, and they requested a solution.

Upon receiving the petition, Sejong allowed the students caring for their elderly parents to take the civil service examination regardless of their attendance days through the Ministry of Rites.

As Sejong nodded, recalling the event, Hyang continued.

"The greatest goal of the students of Sungkyunkwan is to take the higher civil service examination and become officials. Therefore, what problem would it be to deploy them to practical duties a few years earlier?"

Hwang Hee interjected in the middle of Hyang's words.

"While the Crown Prince's words seem reasonable, what is the purpose of taking the higher civil service examination? It is to select those with outstanding abilities. Just because they are students of Sungkyunkwan, if we send them to positions without discretion, we might end up placing a cap on someone incompetent."

As Hwang Hee pointed out the issue, Hyang looked incredulous.

"What do the students of Sungkyunkwan take exams for every month? Shouldn't we select those with excellent grades first? Moreover, this can also be seen as a type of examination. Those who understand practical duties should be the ones to become officials for the administration to run smoothly, shouldn't they?"

At the mention of practical duties, some ministers sighed and nodded their heads.

In particular, the heads of the Ministry of Finance were nodding vigorously.

Meanwhile, Hyang continued speaking.

"Moreover, there is a crucial reason why the students must handle budget-related tasks. The more they understand the importance of the budget, the more likely they are to create sound policies rather than engage in empty discussions. Therefore, this could be the most important examination."

"... I believe the Crown Prince's words are correct."

Faced with Hyang's rebuttal, Hwang Hee had to wave the white flag.

Seeing this, Sejong reached a conclusion.

"Order Sungkyunkwan to supplement the officials of the Ministry of Finance. Furthermore, establish the monopoly office directly under the Ministry of Finance at least down to the county level."

"We will obey your command."

The ministers bowed their heads in response to Sejong's decision.

It was only natural that the voice of the Minister of Finance, who had decided on the personnel supplement, was the loudest.

However, Hwang Hee's face was tightly scrunched up.

This was because Sejong's gaze toward Hwang Hee was not very friendly.

Ultimately, that day, after leaving the office, Hwang Hee vented his frustrations by drinking heavily.

"Damn those rich people!"

As the monopoly office directly under the Ministry of Finance was being established nationwide, urgent news arrived from Ming.

"The Emperor of Ming has passed away!"

The news of the death of Emperor Yongle had come.

Upon receiving the urgent news, Sejong discussed countermeasures with the ministers.

"Let us form a mourning delegation as quickly as possible."

"We will obey your command."

"Do you know anything about the new emperor, the Crown Prince?"

At Sejong's question, the ministers fell silent.

Seeing their reaction, Sejong clicked his tongue.

"Tsk!"

As soon as Sejong clicked his tongue, the ministers reflexively exclaimed.

"We are deeply sorry!"

"Enough! Immediately find a renowned fortune teller and include them in the mourning delegation! Also, select someone among the royal physicians who is skilled in observation to join the delegation!"

"We will obey your command!"

While the delegation was hastily being assembled to mourn the death of Emperor Yongle, Sejong sought out Hyang.

"Will you also be able to acquire books through this delegation?"

"While it is not a delegation for a good cause, I cannot miss the opportunity, can I? Once the construction of the trading post in Shandong is completed, it will not be this hectic."

"I see."

Nodding at Hyang's response, Sejong rummaged through his sleeve and pulled out a piece of paper, handing it to Hyang.

"Then, please find books related to this."

"Yes? Yes."

Receiving the paper and reading its contents, Hyang looked at Sejong with wide eyes.

"Your Majesty, is this phonology?"

"Correct."

"Could it be! Already?"

Hyang barely managed to calm his trembling heart and asked Sejong for the reason.

"Your Majesty, may I ask the reason?"

"I am frustrated. Frustrated. The ministers filling the hall are only ministers in name. They are just food thieves. If they only do what they are told, what need is there for ministers? New people are needed. However, looking at the situation in Joseon, that is not an easy task."

Shaking his head and sighing, Sejong continued.

"There are too few people. No, there are many smart people, but many are buried because they do not know the damn characters. If we create and spread a script that they can easily learn, they will have opportunities, and I can find capable individuals, so it would be killing two birds with one stone, wouldn't it?"

Hyang nodded unconsciously at Sejong's explanation.

However, he wanted to know more.

"But why phonology?"

"The characters you found in the books of the scholars all express sounds. I thought that expressing sounds would be easier to read and understand than expressing meanings."

"Then, wouldn't it be possible for Your Majesty to issue a direct order?"

At Hyang's question, Sejong chuckled.

"Those damn ministers would let that slide without a second thought."

"Ah..."

Thus, Hyang became Sejong's purchasing agent.