“Ugh….” Lee Eun-taek, the Minister of the Ministry of Taxation, groaned as he placed a book in front of him. “This won’t work, and that won’t work….” While moving the financial documents scattered on one side of the desk back and forth, Lee Eun-taek suddenly threw them all away and shouted, “There’s no answer! There’s no hole to pull the budget from! Ugh!”
“Hey!” As Lee Eun-taek lost his composure and went on a rampage, the nearby officials rushed to hold him back. “Catch him! Catch him!” “Calm down! Calm down!” Once the commotion settled, Lee Eun-taek was immediately dragged in front of Minister Kim Jeom.
“Do you still have strength left? You even flipped the desk.” “I apologize, my lord.” “What on earth is the problem?” “There’s no budget, my lord.” At Lee Eun-taek’s response, Kim Jeom’s face crumpled in despair. “Damn it….”
The biggest issue in the gradual reforms being carried out by King Sejong was the budget.
Since the founding of the nation, Joseon had drastically reduced the budget for the court.
They were well aware of the suffering of the people during the late Goryeo period due to excessive taxation.
It was only natural that they reduced various taxes as much as possible and cut down on expenditures to manage the government with the decreased revenue.
As a result, King Sejong set the duration of the reforms to ten years.
The goal of the reforms was to gradually change the revenue system, reform the administration at both central and local levels, and ultimately strengthen Joseon’s capabilities to expand outward.
King Sejong also understood the importance of the budget needed for this process, which is why he focused on conducting monopoly businesses.
Coincidentally, the monopoly on sugar proposed by the Crown Prince was a boon that could greatly expand the finances.
However, establishing monopoly offices down to the county level consumed a significant amount of funds for facility investments, leaving little room for budget management.
Additionally, the decision to purchase key components for the artillery from private sectors further drained the budget.
In fact, King Sejong was well aware of this issue.
That’s why he always kept track of the budget limits, starting from the purchase of key components for the artillery to the construction of the national steel mill.
However, it did not sit well with him to slow down matters directly related to national defense due to budget constraints.
To resolve this, King Sejong took bold measures.
His strategy was to seize control of the finances of the Internal Affairs Bureau.
The Internal Affairs Bureau was an institution created to manage the wealth inherited from the Goryeo royal family and the private properties of the Lee Seong-gye family in Hamgyeong Province, which also managed land and wealth allocated to the royal family.
King Sejong took control of this aspect.
Gathering the royal relatives, King Sejong made the following request: “For the rise of our Joseon, the sacrifices of various elders and brothers are needed.” No one dared to oppose the king’s request, so the royal family members all agreed.
Once they agreed, King Sejong handed them each a written agreement.
The content of the agreement, which was personally written by King Sejong and sealed with the royal seal, was as follows:
- For the next five years, they would receive 70% of their current salary.
For the following five years, they would receive the same amount as their initial salary, and thereafter, an additional 20% would be added.
Since it was quite a reasonable offer, the royal family members held back their complaints.
This agreement was recognized as the first national bond of Joseon.
Thus, funds that could be mobilized were injected from the Internal Affairs Bureau, but overall, the situation remained tight with little leeway.
The main reason for this was the research institute for incense and the steel mill being built in Pyongan Province.
“Father, the budget….” “Get out, you brat!” Such conversations occurred two or three times a month, as the incense research institute was an institution that consumed the budget as if it were drinking cold water.
However, the incense had a point. “No! I’m not just spending recklessly! What can I do when the budget itself is like this?”
As proven during the last audit, the incense never wasted the budget.
The problem was that the absolute amount of the Joseon court’s budget was simply too small.
Moreover, the location of the steel mill in Pyongan Province was problematic.
The steel mill, constructed under the command of Kim Deok-soo, the ancestor of the Kim family of Anju, was located about 200 li (approximately 80 km) from the border.
Due to the location issue, a new unit had to be organized and deployed for defense, which was the decisive reason for the budget running dry.
Although the budget was running dry, it did not mean that the treasury was completely empty.
Funds to operate the court were prepared, but the emergency funds that had been set aside were completely depleted.
After confirming the situation, Kim Jeom smacked his lips. “Tsk, if we can just get past the Mid-Autumn Festival, it will be resolved.”
At Kim Jeom’s words, the subordinate officials chimed in. “The problem is whether we can get through until then. If there’s a flood or an epidemic, it’s all over.” Kim Jeom shouted back at his subordinates. “You all have a problem with being so pessimistic! What harm is there in living a bit more positively!” “I apologize.” “If you’re sorry, then don’t create situations to be sorry about! Go do your work! Can’t you see those scrolls piled up over there?” “Yes, yes!” Under Kim Jeom’s fierce command, the subordinate officials hurriedly returned to their places.
Left alone at his desk, Kim Jeom let out a long sigh. “Ha~. The lack of budget is indeed a problem, but… there’s no answer.” Struggling to find a solution to the daunting problem, Kim Jeom sighed again and complained, “Ha~. Should I just write a petition asking to be sent as a local official?”
“You brat, get out!” After being chased out for requesting additional funds, the incense headed towards the East Palace, grumbling. “These days, they don’t even call me the Crown Prince… damn it, what is a budget….”
As he lamented over a situation that he couldn’t find an answer to, he noticed monks moving behind the inner court attendants. “What are those monks doing?” At the incense’s question, the attendant immediately replied, “It seems they are going to preach in the Queen’s Palace.”
“Even if they walk around openly….” Just hearing the word ‘Buddhism’ made him think of the ministers who would get riled up, and the incense stopped in his tracks. “Your Highness?” “I found it! Let’s attack Japan, no, let’s sell to Japan!” “What?” The attendant’s head tilted in confusion, but the incense hurriedly retraced his steps towards the Geunjeongjeon Hall.
“What’s going on all of a sudden? I’ll say it again, there’s no budget.” Sejong drew the line first at the incense’s reappearance.
However, the incense was undeterred. “Father! How about doing some book business?” “Book business?” “Selling Buddhist scriptures to Japan!” “Huh?” At the incense’s words, Sejong’s eyes widened.
Even the ministers who had not yet left were taken aback.
Looking at the relationship between Joseon and Japan at that time, it was not particularly bad.
In the early days of the nation’s founding, the first measure taken to prevent the harm from Japanese pirates was a diplomatic solution.
At that time, the Joseon court publicly declared a severance of relations with Japan while secretly strengthening friendly ties.
They established diplomatic relations not only with the shogunate but also with local lords such as the Kyushu governor, the Ōuchi clan, the Sō clan, and the Daewoo clan.
While this friendly policy was gradually becoming effective, an unexpected obstacle arose.
Ouchi Yoshihiro and the lord of Tsushima, Sou Kitashige, had died.
Wada Saimon seized control of Kyushu and Tsushima, promoting the Japanese pirates’ plundering of Joseon, rendering Joseon’s efforts ineffective.
However, the ties of friendship between Joseon and the Japanese lords still remained.
Just before the expedition to Tsushima in the first year of Sejong’s reign, Joseon informed the Japanese lords of the expedition.
Upon learning of Joseon’s intention to invade Tsushima, the Kyushu governor responded as follows: “The Japanese pirates are thieves of Japan, so we demand that Joseon punish them severely with military force.”
“Japan has requested our Buddhist scripture woodblocks more than once, hasn’t it?” At the incense’s question, Sejong and the ministers nodded. “That’s true.” “Just recently, they did the same.” In April of that year, an envoy from the Japanese king—more precisely, the shogun of the Muromachi shogunate, whom Joseon recognized as the ruler of Japan—had requested the Tripitaka woodblocks.
At that time, Sejong had refused this request. “There is only one set of Tripitaka woodblocks, and it has been passed down since our ancestors, so I cannot give it away freely.”
The Japanese king’s requests were persistent; sometimes they even threatened war, and there were instances where envoys were detained.
However, they could not give away the Tripitaka woodblocks, and since severing relations would block the copper supply route, Sejong could only treat the envoys well and send them off.
Ultimately, discussions arose in the Ministry of Rites about producing Buddhist scriptures and woodblocks in response to Japan’s demands.
However, it was unthinkable to produce Buddhist scriptures in Joseon, where the national policy was to promote Confucianism and suppress Buddhism.
“So, we will print exactly ten copies of the Tripitaka. One copy will go to the Japanese king, another to the Kyushu governor, and yet another to the Ōuchi clan as a gift. While the Japanese king may not know, the Kyushu governor and the Ōuchi clan will appreciate our Joseon.”
At the incense’s words, Sejong nodded.
“That makes sense. Then what about the remaining seven copies?”
“We should create competition among the other Japanese lords. We will sell them to the one who offers the highest price.”
“Oh!”
“Aha!”
Sejong and the ministers exclaimed in admiration at the incense’s words.
Japan, which was significantly behind in culture, desperately wished to obtain the civilization of Joseon and Ming.
Especially, Buddhist scriptures were rare, which was why the Japanese king had requested them.
“If that’s the case, wouldn’t it be better to print about fifty copies instead of just ten?”
“Tsk!”
At Maeng Sa-seong’s question, Sejong clicked his tongue.
“Have you forgotten that the more rare something is, the more its value increases? Why do you think the Crown Prince decided on ten copies?”
“I apologize!”
“Don’t do anything to be sorry about!”
After scolding Maeng Sa-seong, Sejong looked at the incense with gentle eyes.
“So, are we saying we will sell ten copies?”
“Yes. The name Tripitaka and the limited quantity of just ten copies will make its value skyrocket in Japan.”
“That’s true.”
“And have the monks create or transcribe the Buddhist scriptures. They will take these scriptures to Japan and sell them. This way, Joseon will gain two benefits internally, and Japan will gain three benefits externally.”
“Two benefits internally, three benefits externally?”
At the incense’s words, Sejong and the ministers leaned in closer.
After taking a moment to drink, the incense explained what those benefits were. “The first internal benefit we can gain is that we can reclaim the lands still held by the temples.” “Ah!” Since the founding of Joseon, the policy of promoting Confucianism and suppressing Buddhism had been consistently pursued.
King Taejong had merged numerous Buddhist sects into seven, confiscated 80,000 temple slaves and turned them into government slaves, and seized 60,000 gyeol of land.
Continuing this, Sejong merged the seven sects into two, the Seon and Gyo sects, and left only 36 main temples nationwide.
They also confiscated 3,000 gyeol of good land out of 11,000 gyeol and seized almost all remaining slaves.
“From the proceeds of selling the scriptures, we will give a certain percentage to the monks to help support their livelihoods. This way, they can live even without land. This will stabilize public sentiment, providing us with another benefit.” “I see.” Sejong nodded at the incense’s explanation.
Despite consistently pursuing the policy of promoting Confucianism and suppressing Buddhism, the presence of Buddhism had not faded away in the palace or among the people.
“It might help to loosen things up a bit. Then, what are the three benefits we can gain from Japan? The first that comes to mind is that the Kyushu governor and the Ōuchi clan will become closer to us.”
“Indeed. It is a great benefit for powerful lords like the Ōuchi clan and the Kyushu governor to become close to our Joseon. Another benefit is that by selling the scriptures, we can bring in rice or silver from Japan, allowing us to escape the pressure of the budget. The final benefit is that we can spread the Buddhist scriptures, clearly recorded as being made in our Joseon, to Japan, making the Japanese people admire our Joseon.”
At the incense’s explanation, Sejong smiled and added, “Other benefits are good, but the last benefit is the one I like the most. What do you all think?” “It is indeed a great idea!” “Then we must put it into action. Send someone immediately to the main temples of Seon and Gyo.” “I will obey!”
Three months later, the Ōuchi clan in Kyushu was bustling with activity to welcome the envoy from Joseon. “Thank you for coming such a long way.” Mori Haru, who had succeeded his deceased brother as the lord of the Ōuchi clan, warmly welcomed the Joseon envoy. “Thank you for your hospitality. Fortunately, we crossed over without any typhoons.”
As Mori Haru graciously welcomed the envoy from the Ministry of Rites, the envoy returned the courtesy.
While serving tea to the envoy, Mori Haru got to the main topic. “So, what brings you all the way to this distant place? Are the bandits causing trouble again?” “It is still quiet. I have come here to convey the orders of His Majesty. Here is His Majesty’s letter.” The envoy took out a scroll from his robe and untied it.
Standing straight in front of Mori Haru, the envoy read the letter from Sejong. “To the lord of Japan, the Ōuchi clan, listen….”
Once the reading of the letter was finished, Mori Haru respectfully bowed deeply. “I am truly grateful for your concern. My family’s roots trace back to Baekje, so I am even more thankful.” “Here, a gift from His Majesty to the lord.” At the envoy’s gesture, an official from the Ministry of Rites entered carrying a large wooden box wrapped in silk. “What is this?” “Do you know the Tripitaka of Haeinsa?” “I know it well.” “It is the Buddhist scriptures printed from that Tripitaka.” “Oh!”
With trembling hands, Mori Haru untied the silk wrapping.
As the knot came undone, a glossy wooden box revealed itself.
On the lid of the box, a Buddha statue was carved in relief and covered in gold leaf.
With trembling hands, Mori Haru touched the Buddha statue and declared to the envoy, “To receive such a precious item… our Ōuchi clan will fully cooperate with Joseon in the future!”
A similar experience occurred with the envoy who visited the Kyushu governor.
The shogun of the Muromachi shogunate, who was also referred to as the king of Japan, Ashikaga Yoshimochi, had a slightly disappointed reaction.
Afterward, fierce competition ensued over the remaining seven copies of the Tripitaka.
After the competition, the seven copies of the Tripitaka were sold for a staggering price of 500 kan (approximately 1.87 tons) per copy.
It wasn’t just the copies of the Tripitaka.
Other Buddhist scriptures printed or transcribed by different temples were sold for at least 200 nyang per copy. “They are indeed precious Buddhist scriptures, but aren’t they too expensive?” “Do you think these are ordinary Buddhist scriptures? There are only 36 temples recognized in our Joseon! The high monks from those temples wrote each character with a brush and carved the woodblocks! Just looking at them fills one with devotion! They are anything but ordinary!”
The rarity of being from ‘only 36 temples’ created a premium.