Black Corporation: Joseon

Chapter 104

In the 9th year of King Sejong’s reign (1427, the year of Jeongmi), in the month of May, an incident occurred. Seo Dal, the son of Seo Seon from the Ministry of Law and Punishments, severely injured Pietro, a glass craftsman.

The origin of the incident was truly absurd.

The reason was that as Seo Dal was walking down the street, both Raphael and Pietro passed by him without any courtesy.

“Have you ever seen such insolence? Do they know who I am? Bring them to me immediately!”

The humble servant who had been following Seo Dal’s orders stepped forward to restrain him.

“Young Master, they are foreigners. Haven’t you heard? They are people that the Crown Prince values highly!”

“I don’t want to hear it! Regardless of the Crown Prince’s favor, one can’t simply overlook such rudeness! Bring them to me at once!”

“Young Master—”

“Do it now!”

At Seo Dal’s command, the humble servant sighed softly and signaled to the other servants.

Upon the his gesture, the servants picked up their clubs and began to chase after Pietro and Raphael.

“Run!”

Without a second thought, Pietro and Raphael, who had been heading toward Area 51, began to sprint away at the sight of the men with clubs coming after them.

“Damn it all! Did you woo another woman from some household again?” Raphael shouted at Pietro while running.

Getting used to the Korean language, Pietro had found the interior of Area 51 stifling and had rented a place outside. Living outside with Raphael, Pietro’s flirtatious Italian nature had been fully exposed.

Because of this, he had been beaten up or chased several times. Hence, the reason they ran as soon as they saw men with clubs was obvious, and that’s what Raphael was getting at.

In response to Raphael’s words, Pietro replied with a look of indignation.

“Not this time! Probably not!”

“Probably? What the hell are you talking about!”

* * *

“Caught him!”

“I didn’t start it, I swea—”

“What nonsense!”

At the end of the chase, Seo Dal’s servants caught Pietro and began to beat him mercilessly with their clubs.

At that very moment, soldiers from Area 51, who had initially escaped with Raphael, rushed over.

“You fools! How dare you assault an official dressed in official attire! Arrest them all!”

Upon hearing the report that Pietro had been severely injured, Hwang sighed deeply.

“Phew~. Did he woo another woman from some household again?”

“No, Your Highness. He was beaten unilaterally for not showing respect.”

“What kind of nonsense is this?”

After receiving a report from the captain of the security forces in Area 51, Hyang delved into the details of the incident. Learning the origin and development of the issue, Hyang slammed his desk.

“Who does this damn scoundrel think he is? Where is he abusing his power now? We must counter such abuse with more abuse!”

Hyang immediately rushed to Sejong.

“Your Majesty, have you heard?”

“I have. It is indeed a vile incident.”

“The criminal Seo Dal must be severely punished. It’s a serious crime to beat a government official dressed in official attire! Also, there have been continuous allegations that the criminal had been carrying out all sorts of evil deeds, relying on the influence of his own father. This is also a grave crime!

‘We must eliminate this from its roots before the social norm of ‘innocent if you have authority, guilty if you have none; innocent if you have money, guilty if you have none’ takes hold!”

“Hmm…”

As Sejong pondered over Hyang’s words, Seo Seon, looking devastated, approached Sejong with a scroll.

“What is it?”

“It is my letter of resignation. I take full responsibility for not disciplining my son properly, leading to this incident. I intend to resign and take on his punishment.”

“Your Majesty, I wish to refute the words of the Minister of Law and Punishments. Please allow me to do so.”

“Granted.”

With Sejong’s permission, Hyang criticized Seo Seon.

“Do you really think that resigning will make all sins disappear? Even if you resign and return to your hometown, you will still live a prosperous life, leveraging your wealth and influence. Is that a punishment? Your Highness! I beseech you! Sentence the criminal as dictated by law!”

Upon hearing Hyang’s words, Seo Seon immediately fell to his knees and pleaded earnestly.

“Your Majesty, the criminal is my only son! Please bestow your mercy!”

In the end, Seo Seon was dismissed and his noble titles were revoked. Seo Dal, who caused the incident, received 100 lashes and was demoted, banned from the palace for three generations. His servants and slaves who had participated in assaulting the government official were all sentenced to death.

“We are innocent!”

“Shut up! You assaulted a person in official attire, which means you knew he was a government official. What is unjust about this? It’s come to light that you committed numerous crimes using Seo Dal as an excuse. Execute the sentence immediately!”

On the day Seo Dal was to be flogged, Hyang gave an order to the soldiers.

“Strike with all your might!”

“Yes!”

That day, Seo Dal was left crippled after receiving 100 lashes exerted with full force.

Having taken in his now-crippled son, Seo Seon returned home, shedding tears of blood.

“My son may have committed a crime, but this is too much! Your Highness! I will never forget this!”

***

Back in the capital, Hwang Hui sighed deeply upon hearing this news through a messenger.

“So, what did my wife say?”

“If I think about all the grudges she’s held…”

“I understand.”

Could it have been the influence of destiny? The course of history was subtly altered.

The daughter of Hwang Hui who had married Seo Dal could not bear an heir.

If Hwang Hui had not been her father, she would have been in a situation where there would be no question of her being sent away. However, because of Hwang Hui, she was able to hold her position. Yet, after the birth of a son by Seo Dal’s concubine, she faced the sorrows of a difficult married life.

Eventually, Hwang Hui had to send a formal petition to King Sejong, requesting permission for his daughter’s divorce.

Handing over the petition, Hwang Hui let out a long sigh.

“Heo-eo~, why do I still feel uneasy when the issue has been settled?”

Unfortunately for Hwang Hui, an even larger issue awaited him.

It was an incident involving both of his sons.

That summer when the Seo Dal incident occurred, a heavy rain poured down during the monsoon season. Polluted water leaked from the Gahaksan gold mine into the nearby fields.

“Old Jang! Old Jang! Quickly go check the fields! There’s a disaster!”

“Eh?”

Running to his fields upon hearing his neighbor’s cries, Farmer Jang Dol was frozen in shock.

The field was filled with foul-smelling muddy water, and the rice plants that were growing well were turning yellow.

“What on Earth is going on…?”

“Immediately dispatch investigators to find out the cause!”

Upon receiving the report, King Sejong dispatched investigators right away.

For Sejong and his court, the mine in Gahaksan was a valuable asset.

Joseon kept the development of gold and silver mines a secret to avoid Ming interference.

Most of the mines were located in remote areas like Gangwon-do.

As a result, while the secret was maintained, transporting and storing the mined gold and silver became problematic.

King Sejong issued an order to the prospectors.

“Focus the investigation on areas close to Hanyang.”

Thus, the discovered locations were Bupyeong’s silver mine and Gahaksan’s mine.

In terms of scale, Bupyeong’s silver mine was larger, but precisely for that reason, Sejong decided to forgo Bupyeong for the time being.

“If Ming finds out that a lot of silver is produced in our Joseon, they will attack. Keep it hidden for now.”

“An excellent decision, Your Majesty!”

So, the chosen location was the mine in Gahaksan. Although the amount was small, it was the perfect mine for Sejong as it could produce gold, silver, and copper, giving him a suitable excuse to tell the Ming.

“We’ve found the mine, but as you can see, the mining yield is too small! Ming should not concern themselves!”

***

Upon hearing news of the accident near Gahaksan, Hyang immediately knew the cause.

“It must’ve been the waste from the mine.”

During the refining process of gold, silver, and copper, a high concentration of acids were used. As a result, wastewater containing heavy metals was generated in large quantities.

Additionally, the water leaking out of the tunnels was also heavily mixed with heavy metals.

In such circumstances, the fields nearby were inundated due to the heavy rainfall during the monsoon season, mixing with the wastewater and tunnel leakage.

After personally inspecting the site, Hyang, along with the investigators, reported the situation to Sejong and suggested a solution.

“We need to purchase all the damaged fields.”

“I’ve heard the soil is poisoned. Buy it… Why not remediate it instead?”

“Remediation isn’t cheap either. It’s better to buy the land and then create a large-scale purification facility. Who’s to say something like this won’t happen again?”

Ultimately, Sejong issued an order to the Ministry of Taxation to buy the contaminated fields.

* * *

During the process of compensating the farmers and purchasing the contaminated fields, Hwang Hui’s sons conspired to scheme.

“Brother! Brother! Have you heard the rumors?”

Hwang Bosin, who found his older brother Hwang Chisin, caught his attention with the rumor.

“What rumor?”

“The country is buying the fields around Gahaksan!”

“It’s not a rumor; it’s a fact.”

At Hwang Chisin’s reply, Hwang Bosin looked around cautiously and quietly got to the point.

“Brother, let’s have some fun.”

“Fun? What fun?”

“Let’s smell the money.”

At Hwang Bosin’s words, Hwang Chisin looked intrigued.

“Money? Good, but how?”

“You know the lands being compensated? The Ministry of Taxation is in charge, right?”

“Yes.”

“You should take care of it. The Ministry of Taxation has been swamped lately, and people are complaining. Wouldn’t they be happy if you stepped in?”

“You mean… tampering with the land register?”

“You got it! Change low-grade land to high-grade, and we can increase the value by at least double. How much will the compensation be then?”

Hwang Chisin nodded at Hwang Bosin’s suggestion.

In Joseon, land tax was collected based on ‘gyeol’, a unit of area that could produce 300 catty of grain. Therefore, the area of a ‘gyeol’ differed depending on the quality of the soil. Roughly, the area of one high-grade ‘gyeol’ was 4/9 that of one low-grade ‘gyeol’.

This was exactly what Hwang Bosin was targeting.

“We lost our public offices, can’t even accept bribes… It’s been so long since we’ve smelled money, right? Even now, the concubine is asking for a gold ring; you need wealth to either give it or not!”

After pondering for a moment, Hwang Chisin nodded in agreement.

“Alright, let’s do it!”

In the end, Hwang Hui’s two sons collaborated to forge the land registry documents, upgrading low-grade fields to high-grade, and then embezzled the difference in compensation money they received as a result.

The eldest son of Hwang Hui, who worked in the Ministry of Taxation, specifically in land management, manipulated the documents, while the younger son deceived the landowner to produce a receipt confirming they had received the proper amount.

***

The secret was eventually discovered due to Hyang.

“Seems like you’ve taken on work again today… At this rate, I wouldn’t be surprised if you end up at the Royal Audit Office.”

While grumbling, Hyang, who was checking the records that had come up from the Ministry of Taxation, raised an eyebrow.

“Why do the costs for purchasing contaminated land in Gahaksan look like this?”

Gahaksan was a neighboring town where Hyang lived in the 21st century. Because of such a connection and its importance as a source of revenue, Hyang knew quite a bit about Gahaksan.

“This is weird… Eunuch!”

Calling his aide, Hyang immediately gave an order.

“Go to the Ministry of Taxation and bring the land registry for the Gahaksan area. Also, bring the copy stored in the record room.”

“Yes, Your Highness!”

After cross-checking the land registry stored in the Ministry of Taxation and the copy stored in the record room, along with the land records that had come up during the recent compensation process, Hyang confirmed that the documents had been manipulated.

“These wretched scoundrels! I must inform Father!”

Upon hearing from Hyang that official documents had been manipulated, King Sejong became furious.

“What unforgivable deeds! Summon the Royal Inspector immediately!”

“Yes, Your Majesty!”

After summoning the Royal Inspector, Sejong immediately issued an order.

“Even if it requires a thorough investigation of all the officials in the Ministry of Taxation, find the culprit!”

“I accept the command!”

Following King Sejong’s orders, the Inspectorate General scrutinized every single official in the Ministry of Taxation.

As a result, they discovered Hwang Hui’s children.

With both sons imprisoned, Hwang Hui’s wife, now in a grim mood, sent another servant to Hwang Hui.

Upon hearing the news from the servant, Hwang Hui felt as if the sky was falling. Staring blankly at the sky, Hwang Hui began to write his letter of resignation.

“It’s not the end with this…”

Even in the history before Hyang’s involvement, Hwang Hui’s sons had caused a major incident by forging official documents. And this time too, they had caused a big problem.

***

Author’s Note.

Seo Dal’s case is based on the real-life murder case at Sinchang Estate, which I adapted for the story.

Hwang Hui’s son’s case is adapted from incidents involving his real-life sons, Hwang Jungsang and Hwang Bosin, who were involved in crimes like theft in the royal palace and were dismissed from their positions.

The incident where the fields were destroyed due to contaminated water leakage from the Gahaksan gold mine is based on a real event that occurred during the great flood in 1972.