Chapter 165: Purge (5)
"Everyone, gather!"
Upon receiving Jeong-cho's command, the officials of the research institute immediately gathered in the front courtyard of the institute.
"Everyone has gathered."
"Thank you for your hard work."
After receiving Jeong-cho's report, Hyang, who was standing on the steps of the research institute, went straight to the main point.
"We will have to suspend the research institute's work for the time being."
At Hyang's statement, the officials of the research institute looked at each other and murmured.
When the murmuring had somewhat subsided, Hyang explained the reason.
"In relation to this rebellion, a great deal of manpower is needed in the process of selecting those who participated in the treason. Accordingly, requests for cooperation have come from the Ministry of Taxation and the Ministry of Justice."
"I understand that the Ministry of Taxation already has sufficient manpower?"
Jin-pyeong stepped forward to raise a counterargument to Hyang's explanation. Hyang answered Jin-pyeong's objection.
"The Ministry of Taxation must collect taxes and circulate currency in time for this harvest season. Due to this rebellion, harvesting throughout all of Joseon has come to a complete halt. If we miss the timing, this year's entire farming will come to naught."
The officials, led by Jin-pyeong, who had been complaining loudly, fell silent at those words.
"But, the locomotive research is..."
"Shh..."
Jin-pyeong, who was about to say something with lingering attachment to the locomotive, immediately closed his mouth when he saw Hyang's eyes turn sharp.
Since the suppression of the recent palace invasion, Jin-pyeong had been in a situation where he found Hyang difficult to deal with yet also respected him. That was why he immediately closed his mouth when Hyang's expression turned fierce.
With Jin-pyeong closing his mouth, no more murmuring occurred.
"Then, bring in the carts!"
At Hyang's command, eunuchs and Royal Guard soldiers pulled in carts. In front of about twenty carts piled high with hundreds of books, Hyang continued speaking.
"These are the lists of traitors received from the Ministry of Taxation and the Ministry of Justice, the household registers of the relevant regions, and the genealogical records seized from the traitors' families. With these, you need to sort out those who fall under the scope of joint punishment."
"...Yes."
* * *
Carrying out the investigation into those who participated in the treason and their families under Hyang's command, the officials of the research institute sighed.
"The noble families of the Three Southern Provinces will have their seeds dried up."
People commonly say things like 'The three clans will be exterminated. The nine clans will be exterminated.' when caught attempting treason, but until now, cases where three clans and nine clans were truly exterminated were rare.
Taking the most recent example, even those swept up in 'Kang Sang-in's Incident' only had Kang Sang-in and Sim On's brothers executed, and while their families were cast out as government slaves, others were mostly unharmed.
However, in this rebellion, there were very few who could be considered such exceptions. Because they had gathered under the pretext of performing ancestral rites for Chuseok and caused the rebellion, almost everyone in the families had become involved.
The situation of the wives' families of the ringleaders was the same. Although a traitor's wife might become a royal slave, her family was usually not touched, but there were more than a few families where even the wife's family had participated in the rebellion.
"This is just unbelievable!"
Lee Sun-ji, who was organizing the registry of names, threw down his brush and shouted in anger.
"No matter how ignorant one might be of how the world works, there should be limits! How can they be this stupid!"
The command Sejong had sent down through Hyang was simple.
- While it is customary to apply the Great Ming Code, since our Joseon also has laws, handle it fairly and accurately according to those laws.
While giving this command, Sejong had added the following:
"If it were up to my thinking, I would like to exterminate not just nine clans but ten clans like the Emperor of Ming did. However, since there are laws, we must duly follow them."
However, whether Joseon's laws or the Great Ming Code, the scope of joint punishment for treason was almost identical.
Furthermore, in this rebellion, most cases involved clan members who had gathered to participate in ancestral rites forming factions and rising up. Therefore, the problem was that there were extremely few people who could be spared even when joint punishment was applied.
This was exactly why Lee Sun-ji was angry.
"Please. Be patient!"
"Patience! Patience!"
Colleagues nearby stepped forward to stop Lee Sun-ji, but he could not contain his anger.
"Look at this! Just look at this!"
At Lee Sun-ji's words, his colleagues examined the petition Lee Sun-ji had been reviewing and sighed without realizing it.
"Heh~."
At his colleagues' reaction, Lee Sun-ji raised his voice.
"Even a frog in a well should know some limits! How does it make sense that even an eleven-year-old participated in treason!"
"Haa~. It just means there were that many stupid humans."
"I agree."
At Lee Sun-ji's words, even the colleagues who had been stopping him had to sigh.
Even if not fifteen years old, the age when one is officially recognized as an adult, according to the principle that one is treated as an adult if married, there were more than a few families where boys in their early teens had participated in the treason.
In the end, all the men of the families had participated in the treason, and as a result, there were more than a few families that would cease to exist.
* * *
After nearly half a month of continuous overtime work, Hyang, who had produced the results, sighed while looking at the thick scrolls.
"Haa~. Damn! Why is the thickness of the summary so lethal..."
Looking at the scrolls and thick books placed before his eyes, Hyang stood up with an expression of resignation.
"Still, I have to make the report... Eunuch! Load all of these onto the cart!"
"Yes, Your Highness."
* * *
"Your Majesty, the Crown Prince enters."
"Let him enter."
Hyang, who had entered Geunjeongjeon, respectfully bowed to Sejong and then looked back at the ministers. Seeing the ministers' faces, which had boasted a milky luster not long ago, now become rough and dry, Hyang made a pitying expression.
'Just a few days ago they were boasting their dewy skin, but the old folks have suffered.'
"Is the organization finished?"
Hyang, who had been looking at the ministers with a pitying face, came to his senses at Sejong's question and immediately answered.
"Yes, Father. Eunuch."
"Yes, Your Highness."
The eunuch standing behind Hyang handed three thick scrolls to the Chief Eunuch.
Sejong, who received the scrolls through the Chief Eunuch, untied the knots and examined the contents of the scrolls.
"Heh..."
Sejong, who had untied the scrolls Hyang submitted and examined the contents, let out an involuntary sigh.
"That so many people committed such foolish acts..."
At Sejong's sigh, Hyang immediately answered.
"It means that among those who held the highest positions in those local areas, there were that many who did not know the ways of the world."
"I suppose so..."
Answering with a bitter voice at Hyang's words, Sejong examined the numbers written at the very front.
Each scroll summarized the situation of Chungcheong, Gyeongsang, and Jeolla, where the rebellion had occurred this time.
"As you can see from the scrolls..."
Hyang orally explained the summarized contents.
The scale of those who participated in the uprising in the relevant regions was as follows:
- Chungcheong
23 families, 1,218 people.
Private soldiers 654.
Slaves 7,855 souls.
- Gyeongsang
32 families, 2,198 people.
Private soldiers 3,421.
Slaves 24,328 souls.
- Jeolla
26 families, 1,887 people.
Private soldiers 10,578.
Slaves 21,894 souls.
"What large numbers. Especially Yeongnam and Honam..."
Sejong, who had been listening to Hyang's explanation, looked back at the ministers.
"Wait! I thought the possession and cultivation of private soldiers was prohibited long ago?"
At Sejong's words, Jo Mal-saeng stepped forward to answer.
"That is correct, Your Majesty. However, it appears that influential families in the Three Southern Provinces raised them under different names. Such as guests or strong men."
At Jo Mal-saeng's answer, Sejong quietly nodded.
Indeed, even his own older brother Yangnyeong had gathered private soldiers under the excuse of 'strong men skilled in hunting.'
"With this incident, we must strictly enforce regulations so that no one raises private soldiers any longer."
While examining the report and contemplating new policies to implement, Sejong asked the ministers again.
"What is the reason for the large number of private soldiers and slaves in Yeongnam and Honam?"
At Sejong's question, Kim Jeom immediately answered.
"Yeongnam and Honam have been famous grain belts since ancient times, so there was much looting by Japanese pirates. Therefore, each family raised many private soldiers. The reason there are many slaves is not only because they give out much tenant farming, but also because there are many fields they cultivate directly by mobilizing slaves."
"And all those many fields were tax-exempt lands?"
At Sejong's question, Kim Jeom immediately answered.
"That is correct."
"Hmm..."
Having heard Kim Jeom's answer, Sejong began to contemplate while examining the scrolls again. After contemplating alone for a while, Sejong looked back at the ministers.
"Future generations may call it a cruel measure, but a decision must be made. Let us cut them out."
At Sejong's decision, the ministers tightly closed their eyes. The words 'I will cut them out' meant a merciless purge.
'But, there is no justification to stop it!'
'An armed uprising...! There is no justification!'
In the end, all the ministers could only bow their heads and give the same answer.
"We receive your command!"
The historian who recorded all these events added the following at the end:
- Thus, when His Majesty decided to cut out those who had committed treason, not a single minister opposed his will.
The historian comments:
A momentary choice destroyed oneself and one's family; who can be blamed?
* * *
Although it was decided to impose extreme punishment on all scholar-officials related to the treason, that was not the end of it.
"What is this book?"
Sejong, who picked up the thickest book among the books submitted along with the scrolls, examined the title.
"Record of Loyal Men Among Rebels (逆中忠人錄)?"
When Sejong expressed doubt at the title, Hyang immediately answered.
"It is a list of those who, although belonging to traitorous families, did not participate in the rebellion and kept their loyalty to the end."
"Is that so?"
Sejong, his eyes gleaming, examined the names of those listed. But before long, he was filled with regret.
"There are quite many who died."
"There are many who were killed even though they did not participate in the treason."
At Hyang's answer, Sejong's voice became fierce.
"Thus the crimes of the traitors have increased. To harm one's own blood relatives just because they did not follow one's will—can such people still be called scholar-officials! Minister of Justice, hear me!"
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
"Execute all members of families who killed their own blood relatives by quartering! They must not die easily!"
"Yes, Your Majesty."
After that, discussions continued regarding how to handle those related to the uprising. Since the punishment for the rebels was already decided, the center of the discussion was about those who had rendered merit.
After quite a long discussion, standards for rewarding those who had performed meritorious deeds in this uprising were established.
1st Class Meritorious Subjects.
Commanders of the army that blocked the palace invasion. Commanders of the army that blocked the uprising. Commanders at each level who died in the process of blocking the palace invasion.
2nd Class Meritorious Subjects.
Mid-level and lower-level commanders of the army that blocked the palace invasion. Mid-level and lower-level commanders of the army that blocked the uprising. Soldiers who died in the process of blocking the palace invasion. Elders of families who resisted those who started the uprising.
3rd Class Meritorious Subjects.
Commanders at each level who died in the process of suppressing the uprising. Heads of families who resisted those who started the uprising.
4th Class Meritorious Subjects.
Those who died or were injured in the process of blocking the uprising.
Through these established standards, rewards were bestowed upon those involved.
Through the award system created at Hyang's proposal, many received medals and rewards.
However, in the process of distributing rewards, Sejong gave them a choice.
"If you want land, I will give land; if you want a pension, I will give a pension. Choose."
At Sejong's proposal, those who were to receive rewards fell into contemplation.
If they chose the pension, a pension of a different amount determined according to established standards would be paid for a fixed period, and at the same time, the meritorious subject's children would receive benefits of admission to the military academy or special appointment to office.
For local scholar-officials, a plaque written in Sejong's own hand reading 'House of Loyalty and Righteousness' was additionally given.
However, if they chose land, unlike the pension, all such additional benefits were completely stripped away. Additionally, the land received as a reward was completely tax-exempt for five years, and then taxed at half for another five years—that was all.
In the end, most of the meritorious subjects had no choice but to select the pension.
And it was Hyang who created this policy. While initially planning this policy, Hyang had muttered to himself.
"I didn't know I'd apply car option tactics like this..."
* * *
The rewards for meritorious subjects ended this way, but the suffering of the families of those who participated in the treason was just beginning.
Since the youngest participant in the treason was eleven years old, the male lines of the families involved in the treason had dried up completely.
Furthermore, the laws regarding slaves changed, and with the tax system changing, no one among the meritorious subjects wanted to receive slaves.
"Shall we send them North?"
"If it were one or two, sending them North would be fine, but the number is too large. We cannot make the entire northern region a land of traitors, can we?"
After various discussions, the punishment decided upon was labor in mines.
The families of those who participated in the uprising were all dragged to iron and coal mines to perform forced labor for thirty years.