Chapter 31
- Corrupt Officials (2)
Chuncheon Dohobu Government Office.
From morning, the voices of farmers, gathered at the main gate entrance, pleading incessantly, were clamorous.
"Lord, it cannot be. If you take the only cow we have, how are we to do our farming?"
"Then you should have offered proper tribute! Instead, we will process this cow as defense tax payment, so be aware."To the farmer, who kept bowing and pleading, the clerk, with his bulging eyes, coldly cut him off."
But matters of livelihood are not easily given up.
"Lord, if we have no cow, how are we to farm?"
"That is not my concern, is it?"
"But if we cannot farm, we cannot pay taxes either."
"What? Are you daring to threaten the government now!"
"N, no, that is not what I meant..."
"What are you doing? Why haven't you given this one a good thrashing?"No sooner had the words fallen than the Warden, a large man with a chestnut burr-like beard, appeared and roughly grabbed the leading farmer by the scruff of his neck."
He was a local official, a so-called 'Fierce official,' who ruled the people with fear and violence.
Soon, the sound of flogging and wailing began to echo outside the government office.
- Thwack, thwack
"Aigo, I'm dying. Aigo..."
At the sound, the faces of the people gathered outside turned ashen, and they quickly scattered.
And,
In the center of the Dongheon (the main building of the local government office), sat one man, resting his chin on one hand, watching the whole situation with amusement.
Dohobusa (Prefect) Jo Sang-ro of Chuncheon.
Even at a glance, his face was covered with greed and avarice.
"Those people always try to climb on top of you if you speak to them nicely. By the way, Lee Bang (Clerk), what happened to what I told you to prepare last time?"
At the casually thrown words, the Clerk quickly approached, bowing and answering.
"Don't you worry. The items to be sent to the ministers of the Uijeongbu and the Six Ministries in Hanyang are all prepared by grade."
"Are you doing it without any problems?"
"Of course, Dohobusa (Prefect)."
The corners of the Dohobusa's mouth curled up.
Having entered officialdom through Inherited official position and serving in a capital office, he had been demoted and wandering in unimportant posts for nearly ten years due to bribery allegations.
But the position of a local official was perfect for him, who was born with a greedy nature, to amass wealth.
In particular, the geographical location of 'Chuncheon Dohobu' had a peculiar advantage, which was that it was located on the border between Gyeonggi Province and Gangwon Province.
'Thanks to the mad King setting up Restricted area around Gyeonggi Province and driving out the people, they are flocking here. Thanks to that, I have been able to collect a lot of defense tax, so there is nothing bad for me.'
The displaced people who had lost their homes and moved in were nothing more than prey to be exploited for him, not subjects to be cared for.
The day he would rise to a central position again with the wealth he had squeezed from them was not far off, so he could not help but raise the corners of his mouth.
"But why hasn't Lee Bang (Clerk) been seen since morning?"
"I heard that there was a special tribute today, so he went to the Hwajeon Village in Sudeok Valley."
"A special tribute...?"
The Dohobusa's greedy eyes narrowed.
Lee Bang (Clerk) was a man whose attitude was frivolous, but his calculations were accurate and his movements were diligent.
Unless there was something special, he would not fail to show his face in the Dongheon until after noon.
Perhaps the special tribute that Lee Bang (Clerk) was bringing was the mountain village girl he had been eyeing for some time.
Perhaps there had been friction with the mountain villagers.
"Pick out a few quick-witted soldiers and send them that way."
"Yes? But why..."
"Lee Bang (Clerk) is bringing something precious, so shouldn't we send a welcoming party?"
The Dohobusa wore a bitter smile with eyes full of ugly desire.
* * *
"W, wh, what are you saying? Attacking the government office?"
"That's what I said. I cannot turn a blind eye to corrupt officials who harass my people."
Yeonsangun wore an expression as if he was asking a perfectly natural question.
Although they had already all entered the room and securely locked the paper door, Royal guard Shin Su-hyeok lowered his voice lest anyone should hear.
"Your Majesty, there are only four of us. Even though it is a remote Dohobu in a backwater area, there will be soldiers on duty, so how can we carry out this task with just us?"
In fact, it was an extremely natural thing to say.
In Joseon, there was the 'Gamyung' (Provincial Office), which governed the eight provinces, which would be equivalent to a 'provincial government' today, and below that was the 'Mok' (Garrison), which governed large towns.
And the next largest unit after the 'Mok' was the 'Dohobu' (Prefecture), which would be equivalent to a small to medium-sized city today.
The number of troops belonging to the Dohobu varied from region to region, but it was at least several hundred or more, no matter how small.
It was not a level that could be easily subdued with the strength of a few people.
"Then, wouldn't it be simple if we revealed our identities?"
At Gong-gil's words that there was a King on their side, Su-hyeok shook his head.
"Then there would be no point in coming out in disguise. Besides, what if they don't believe us?"
Well, he couldn't exactly walk around with a certificate on his face saying he was the King.
If they rashly stormed the government office in disguise and were mistaken for a band of robbers, then something truly irreversible could happen.
"First, we just need to find some excuse to create a meeting between the Dohobusa and me. Is there no way?"
"..."
Everyone looked at each other, at a loss for a good idea, when Ji-young hesitated and carefully opened her mouth.
"Um... there is one way..."
"...What is it?"
Ji-young pointed to the kitchen located on one side of the bark-roofed house.
"That is it. What is being cooked inside."
Ji-young's eyes gradually began to sparkle as she looked at what she was pointing at.
"...If we have that, we can go anywhere."
* * *
Inside the kitchen attached to the bark-roofed house in the Hwajeon Village.
Yeonsangun had been wearing a displeased expression for some time.
"Ugh, is this really the only way? I don't really like it..."
"It was Your Majesty who told us to think of a way."
"Hmph, but I was waiting without even eating..."
Yeonsangun wore a dissatisfied expression, but Ji-young paid no attention and checked the fire in the stove.
What was cooking in the pot with the lid open was a huge bear paw,
'Bear paw'.
"I have never seen anyone who craves power and wealth not interested in rare delicacies. If he gets to taste this Bear paw dish, that Dohobusa will surely not be able to resist meeting us."
Ji-young had seen it countless times.
The sight of nouveau riche people pouring money into expensive ingredients such as bear paws, shark fins, or foie gras made from forcibly feeding geese in fancy first-class restaurants.
These are luxurious foods that are banned in the international community due to issues such as rare animal poaching and animal abuse.
But there is a reason why they stubbornly continue to be passed down.
The pleasure on the tip of the tongue and the desire to show off by tasting a rare delicacy that costs several months' salary for an ordinary person is incomparable to anything else.
'So there is no way that corrupt official will refuse this Bear paw dish!'
In most cases, rare ingredients also have extremely difficult cooking methods.
The more precious the ingredient, the more unique its properties, and the fact that it can only be eaten after undergoing a difficult cooking process further increases its value.
'Especially this Bear paw, bear paw is an ingredient that is second to none in terms of difficulty to cook.'
There is a famous anecdote that well illustrates how difficult it is to cook bear paws.
When King Cheng of Chu in the Spring and Autumn period was captured while fighting the enemy, the dish he wanted to eat as his last meal was this 'Bear paw'.
The reason was that he intended to buy time until reinforcements arrived by using the characteristics of the Bear paw cooking method, which takes a long time.
There is also a terrible anecdote about Bear paw.
It is said that King Zhou, the tyrant of the Yin Dynasty, executed a cook because the Bear paw was not cooked properly, and Duke Ling of Jin not only killed the cook but also displayed his body in front of the crowd.
What all these stories have in common is that it takes a very long time to cook bear paws, and the method is also very difficult.
So a properly cooked Bear paw dish is that much more valuable.
'So this Bear paw dish will definitely capture the Dohobusa's heart!'
If that happens, a way to save this village and that girl will open up.
Perhaps it was the first time since Ji-young came to the Joseon Dynasty that she was making food to save someone else's life, not her own.
Ji-young took a deep breath and calmed her mind.
The Bear paw cooking method is also described in detail in the ancient cookbook <Recipes of the Joseon Dynasty>.
She was planning to combine it with Western cooking methods.
'You shouldn't boil it in too hot water. It must be cooked gently over low heat.'
The bulging part of the bear paw is made of collagen.
When the temperature reaches 60 degrees or higher, it turns into gelatin and changes to a soft texture.
However, if it is cooked in 100-degree water, that is, boiling hot water, the gelatin component will dissolve in the water, which may cause the shape of the bear paw to be crushed.
If that happens, not only will the shape be distorted, but the texture will not come alive properly.
'That's why you have to maintain a low heat continuously...'
The problem is that it is impossible to precisely control the heat like a modern gas stove.
But there is a way.
'If you open the lid of a large pot and boil water, the area where the water surface comes into contact with the air is large, so a lot of heat is lost in real time.'
Because of this, the water does not reach 100 degrees and does not boil, naturally maintaining a temperature between 85 and 95 degrees.
A technique called simmering.
It refers to a cooking method in which food is cooked gently at a temperature just before the water boils.
'Maintaining the temperature like this is the best in the current situation.If you mix lime with water and boil it according to the recipe in the ancient cookbook, the texture will become even softer.
In addition to this, there was an additional ingredient needed: herbs to remove the gamey smell while boiling the bear paw.
'If it's a herb that can be used in this era, in a mountain village...'
The first thing that came to mind was 'Zanthoxylum schinifolium'.
It is the fruit powder commonly called 'sansho' in modern times and is often added to loach soup.
If 'Korean mint', commonly called 'Agastache rugosa', is added to it, it would be even better.
It is a grass that emits a strong fragrance that is called 'Korean mint' overseas.
Fortunately, those two wild herbs grow commonly in the mountains of Korea, so they were easily obtained with the help of the Village Chief's granddaughter, Sun-i.
At the moment when the Bear paw, which had been simmered overnight with lime and wild herbs, was taken out of the cauldron, it was difficult to even breathe.
'Hoo...'
Fortunately, it was perfectly boiled in all aspects, including color and texture.
"Oh, is it finished now?"
Ji-young shook her head at Yeonsangun, who was drooling as he looked at the precious figure.
"No, there is still one last step left."
It was time to unfold the last cooking method that would captivate the Dohobusa's heart at once.
'The real secret is from now on.'
A sense of tension swirled in Ji-young's eyes as she repeated the words in her mind.
