Black Corporation: Joseon

Chapter 1037: That thrilling name… Biography. (5)

When Jews suddenly appeared in the empire’s capital market, officials in charge of investment safes and the Ministry of Finance immediately requested cooperation from the Ministry of General Affairs, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Ministry of National Defense. Through the cooperation of various ministries, officials discovered the identities of Jews who had invested in the capital market and immediately reported this to the authorities. After receiving the report, Hyun looked back at the ministers.

“So, the property these Jews brought with them was put into an investment safe? The problem is their previous occupation. There are many who come from long-standing merchant families, but there are also many who made a business of usury?”

“That’s right.”

“It’s usury…”

Hyeon stroked his chin. One of the areas of people’s livelihood that the empire paid the most attention to was the private finance industry.

* * *

One of the first things King Sejong dealt with when he started making sutras was usury. It was common for people to sell themselves or their children as slaves due to unimaginably high interest rates, which led to an overflow of slaves. No, the sisters were in a better case.

It was more common to create borrowed documents full of all kinds of Chinese characters and hit people with short learning curves on the back. What’s worse is that they hired vicious thugs and committed violence against those who borrowed money under the pretext of smoothly collecting interest or principal. As a side note, when Milwi was first created, people from the sword world joined as main members. Those who were immediately excluded from this selection process without asking or questioning were those who had been hired by usurers.

Because the harmful effects of usurers were so great, King Sejong began a large-scale eradication. In this process, many local nobles lost all their honor and property and were forced to work in mines and were sentenced to hard labor or executed. This was because most of those who had enough capital to engage in usury business were local noblemen.

King Sejong and the government, who actively cracked down on usurers, provided loans through the National Battlefield. However, usury private loans did not disappear easily. Even though the standards were set very low to solve the people’s debt problem, there were many who failed to pass the standards.

“It is the vice of Gwaine!”

Sejong, who was saddened by the situation, tried to lower the standards even further, but not only the ministers but also the prefectures opposed it.

“If we relax the standards any further, it’s not a loan, it’s just a red line!”

“The money brought into the battlefield is also valuable property collected through the blood and sweat of the people!”

“If you do not pay at least a minimum of interest to those who entrusted their money to the battlefield, the people will not entrust their money to the battlefield and will instead save it in the treasury! Then there will not be enough money to run the country!”

Faced with such strong opposition, King Sejong glared at the government and ministers.

“Then what is the alternative? They are also our people of Joseon!”

It was Hyang that answered King Sejong’s command.

“It’s about making private loans more positive.”

“Private loans are being made benign?”

“Yes, the private loan business is recognized as a business. Instead, collecting interest exceeding the interest rate set by the government is prohibited, and the procedures and methods of receiving principal and interest must also follow the laws set by the government.”

“Hmm…”

King Sejong and the minister showed interest with sparkling eyes at Hyang’s suggestion. In this way, a ‘loan business’ emerged for those who could not receive loans even on the battlefield. However, as time passed, in addition to these official moneylenders, those who practiced usury like before began to appear.

In order to crack down on this usury business that was going on secretly in the dark, the emperors and their subjects engaged in a bitter battle of wits with the usurers.

* * *

Because of these circumstances, the controversy over the origins of the Jews became serious.

“Are there any moves by them to restart the usury business in Seoul?”

“Not yet, but the possibility is quite high.”

Hyun nodded after hearing the answer.

“That’s right. It’s human to only follow the familiar path when finding a new path is difficult or scary. The problem is that the familiar path is usury.”

Han Myeong-hoe responded to Hyeon’s words.

“Robbers who believe only in their own strength and harass the people by lending money to usurers will appear again.”

“That’s a problem too. But we can’t impose sanctions based on his previous job…let’s wait and see. We can’t step forward and break the law just because he was a former usurer.”

“I follow your orders.”

The ministers all bowed their heads at the county’s decision.

-What is required of an emperor is the rule of virtue, and what is required of a country is the rule of law.

This was the philosophy by which the emperors governed the country.

* * *

The issue of Jewish moneylenders was dealt with, but the discussion continued.

“By the way. Among the immigrants to the empire, it seems that only the Jews have many people engaged in commerce or usury. Oh, there are also scholars. What do you think is the reason?”

Shin Sook-ju stepped forward and answered Hyeon’s question.

“I think it’s because of the perception of them.”

“recognize?”

“It is because of the tradition that the Jews were the ones who killed the Catholic doctrine that Europeans believed in.”

“Hoo~. Is it guilt by association?”

“It looks similar.”

Shin Sook-ju’s words continued.

“Afterwards, for one reason or another, they left their original home in Palestine and were scattered to all directions. However, as the author says, ‘A stone that has rolled down is removed from the stone stuck in it,’ there are many people who welcome people from outside the country, even people with different appearances and beliefs. “I think that’s why I got involved in commerce and usury. You can’t run away with land, but you can hide gold or jewelry and get hired.”

“Right.”

Hyun nodded and pointed out another problem.

“Then why are there so many scholars?”

This time, Lim Soon-wook came forward to answer Hyeon’s question.

“In order to study properly, you need a lot of wealth. Why did you have the ability to learn snow and snow?”

“So, you’re saying that you used the money you saved to educate your children and turn them into scholars. Why?”

“The disdain for merchants was not much different between us and Europe. It was the Jews who were looked down upon even more, so wouldn’t it make no difference? However, scholars were treated differently, so it would have been natural for them to choose them.”

“I see. As the author says, ‘There is no tomb without a story.’ Hmm…” Hyeon, who

thought about something for a moment, gave an order to the ministers.

“I will order the officers.”

“Please give your order.”

“Until now, our empire has selected and used talented people regardless of their origins. Therefore, the Jews are no exception. Please do not make any predictions in advance.”

“I follow your orders.”

“It is unfortunate that they had a hard time because of their ancestors, but that cannot be an iron fist. Never forget the word fairness.”

“I will keep this in mind.”

The proviso iron fist was a type of indulgence that originated in ancient China. It was mainly given to founding contributors and was an official proof that they would not be charged with anything other than treason. In other words, to paraphrase Hyeon’s words, it was as follows.

-They are looked down upon in Europe, so you should not discriminate against them based on prejudice.

-But that doesn’t mean we can feel pity for them and turn a blind eye to illegal activities.

The reason Hyeon emphasized this was because of the imperial people’s way of thinking. When evaluating others, the imperial people’s values were polar opposites.

-My ancestors were like that. Do you think that guy would be any different?

-Think about what happened to those ancestors. How unfair would that guy be? Please take a look.

For the most part, the county emphasized ‘fairness.’ After finishing work that day, Hyeon found incense and talked about it. After hearing Hyeon’s story, Hyang nodded.

“Well done. It’s unfortunate that they suffered persecution, but that shouldn’t be their iron fist. If that happens, it will lead to even bigger troubles.”

“If you say it’s an even bigger problem… are you talking about a conspiracy?”

“exactly.”

In response to Hyang’s response, Hyeon quietly nodded and muttered to himself.

‘The Emperor still has no intention of forgiving them.’

The ‘they’ that Hyun thought of were those involved in the old Giyu rebellion by association.

* * *

All those who directly participated in the rebellion were executed, but all those who were tied up were made government slaves and did hard labor in the mines. As time passed, Joseon became an empire, and most of those who were punished at the time died. And as there were very few descendants left behind despite being punished, appeals began to be filed to restore their identity.

-The treason committed by their ancestors deserves death. But those who remain now are those who do not know that sin. It is appropriate to show mercy.

-It reveals the emperor’s filial piety toward Emperor Won and Tae Sang-hang, who showed mercy to them.

-Of course all the people will praise this.

After seeing the appeal, Hyeon went to Hyang and asked him what his intention was.

“First, I want to see the appeal.”

After reading the appeals in question, Hyang responded to Hyeon.

“It’s not worth thinking about. I still get shivers when I think about that day.”

Hyeon bowed his head in response to Hyang’s reply that mentioned Beomgwol (犯闕).

“I understand. But I am honestly worried that this will tarnish the reputations of the two of you.”

“Emperor Wen once said this to me: ‘I am not a holy lord.’ “This is the same for me too. I am neither a saint nor a great prince. I just did my best. Show mercy? That’s just a pretense.”

In response to Hyang’s response, Hyeon only bowed his head. And those mentioned in the appeal were not allowed to leave the mine until they died.

* * *

Hyun, who remembered the past, answered Hyang.

“I understand. I will order again to handle it fairly and without discrimination.”

“That is the best. It is the same now, but the future empire will be a place where people from different backgrounds, not just from the mainland, gather and live. If discrimination occurs because of different origins, then the empire will begin to collapse. Keep this in mind. It’s something you have to do.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

The conversation seemed to end like that, but both Hyang and Hyeon had other thoughts. The first person to speak was Hyang.

“Speaking of discrimination, something comes to mind. I heard that Bukji and Shinji are busy with the goal of becoming a companion for their eldest grandson.”

In response to Hyang’s question, Hyeon smiled and nodded.

“That’s right. In the case of Northern Ji, I think it was very unfortunate that they were pushed out during Wu’s selection. Shinji thought that they couldn’t be pushed out either. And Daeseoldo also joined in.”

“That’s interesting.”

“That’s right.”

Both Hyang and Hyeon looked intrigued.

Thanks to Wu’s efforts as soon as he became crown prince, the event in question was now only a few years away.