How To Live as a Civil Servant in Murim

“ This is the last letter. If you read it, you’ll understand…”

The state public stopped talking and waited. Yeon Woo-hyuk was puzzled and asked again.

“Why is that?”

“If you think you know before I explain, you can tell me now. It’s a good thing if we solve it right here!”

“I’m not sure about this, but…”

Yeon Woo-hyuk said cautiously.

“I think we should go and check it out.”

Actually, it wasn’t that I couldn’t guess at all, but I wasn’t sure what kind of incident it was, so I thought I’d have to go and check it myself.

Yeon Woo-hyeok noticed that the public, who was already disapproving of it, might get angry. Surprisingly, however, the state public was not angry.

“okay? really?”

“yes. Sorry for my lack of talent.”

“no. It’s great enough that you’ve solved it now. You can be proud. Which judge could have resolved the difficulties so quickly?”

“thank you?”

As soon as the other person seemed to feel better again, Yeon Woo-hyuk became more and more confused.

‘Do you have manic depression?’

“Get ready. I will go and check it myself.”

Gong Gong left the room at the last word. Yeon Woo-hyuk asked Joong-gwan Heo a question.

“What mistake have I made? If you seemed too pretentious…”

“No, you are right. Mmm. I don’t know either.”

Yeon Woo-hyuk and Heo Jung-gwan were not lacking in intelligence, but I couldn’t guess at all. It was indeed a real challenge.

Alumni, trustworthy friends of the people (2)

As I walked outside, lost in my thoughts, I saw the palace judge talking to a low-ranking official. Yeon Woo-hyuk bowed lightly.

“Come for a second.”

“What are you doing?”

“You can solve this guy’s troubles here.”

At the call of the palace judge, Yeon Woo-hyeok felt a little proud.

When a judge solves the affairs of other officials, it means intervening in various civil cases and handing down judgments. Of course, it was an opportunity for a hermit-crazy bastard like the palace judge to get his share.

Giving him such an opportunity meant that he acknowledged and respected Yeon Woo-hyuk’s ability.

“I will do my best. What do you think?”

“That’s it…”

The lower official started complaining.

There is a village about twenty li south of Hankyung, and this official had a fairly large field there.

If there is a field, there will be a reservoir and a weir nearby. This facility was more important than expected in farming.

However, since last year, there has been a conflict with a nearby munpa.

-Here, Sudang is closer to our side, so why are you guys using it as you please?

– What are you talking about? Obviously, this allowance is the closest to here…!

– Stop talking nonsense and get out!

It was an embarrassing military officer to be called a munpa, but it was quite large in the village, and the governor seemed to have business skills. As soon as he learned that the owner of the field was a government official, he quickly bribed the Hankyung.

If you are a high-ranking official of the Hankyung, who is at the level of a general manager or a judge, they do not take care of even low-ranking officials. From then on, it was just a matter of who would pay more bribes.

And it was clear that this low-ranking official here had the connections of a palace judge.

“Oops.”

From noble mtl dot com

“I will die of regret. Murim people who will drown in sh*t! It’s like a band of firefighters who don’t even care about the laws of the country!”

Judge Gung nodded beside him as if he understood.

There is no group of thieves as troublesome as the Murim people.

Besides, the situation is pretty annoying right now.

Originally, issues related to farming in the village were sensitive issues, so unless you were a person in power, you did not touch them. It was a problem that the villagers were likely to resist to the death as their lives were at stake.

In other words, if an unrelated official gave a bribe, saying, ‘We have the right to that reservoir and there are grounds for this and that’, it was not easy for the lower level official to overturn it unless there was a decisive objection. It seemed like the best thing to do was to just leave it alone if the logic boils over.

Yeon Woo-hyuk listened quietly and asked.

“Was the non-military field originally farther away?”

“How did you know? you’re right!”

If the field bought by the opposing ruler had originally been closer, it wouldn’t have been unfair.

However, as far as the official knew, the field the governor bought was originally a field farther from the reservoir.

The palace judge spoke from the side.

“Perhaps it was the wrong measurement last time or it has changed over time. It is common.”

I wondered if it would make sense for the distance to change while the ground was still, but if the original surveying technique was poor, the distance would change every time I measured it.

Judge Gong did not pay much attention to the low-ranking official’s resentment because he had seen the difference between the length he measured yesterday and what he was doing over and over again.

It is highly likely that he noticed now that the land of the opponent’s reference was originally closer.

“The fields and the pond are probably quite far from the village. How do you measure the distance?”

“There is an irrigation system outside the village. It’s like the pride of the town, so it’s still well maintained. That’s the mark, so we start from there and measure the distance. If you go all the way to the west, you will find fields.”

“Are you going to measure the direction with a chimpan?”

“yes. of course. You have to get the direction to measure, right?”

“Next time you measure, check the inside of the sleeve of the person next to you. It was probably changed direction by inserting a jinan iron (指南鐵). Then the length of the walk increases.”

“…?!”

At the unexpected words, the lower official opened his eyes wide.

“That, like that…?!”

“Looks like a fairly old field, but the sudden change in length is strange, even if you made a mistake. It’s a trick, but if it’s like walking west after seeing the irrigation, it’s just a slight turn.”

“Persimmon, thank you! thank you! I’ll check!”

The lower official withdrew gratefully as if he had met Buddha in hell. Yeon Woo-hyeok looked at Judge Gung and said.

“Fortunately, it worked out well.”

However, the palace judge was shaking his head instead of being satisfied.

“It is my fault. my fault. I should have told you first!”

“yes? what is that…”

“Do you know how long ago I was asked to do that case?”

“I do not know.”

“A year ago.”

“yes…?”

Yeon Woo-hyuk wondered what was important about being asked a year ago. Judge Gong pounded his chest with his fist as if he was going to die of frustration and shouted.

“I mean, I kept getting hermits with that excuse for a year!”

“……”

Yeon Woo-hyuk, who finally understood the meaning, was at a loss for words because he was dumbfounded.

‘Aren’t you crazy?’

“To solve it all at once like that. no. It’s my fault for not knowing you could solve such a problem at once!”

“Ha, but the judge. It’s the same management, but isn’t it a little… harsh to deliberately extend the period like that?”

“I am just doing my job. That guy is just doing his job.”

It was the confidence that someone would think that a judge’s job was to rip off a hermit from a fellow official for a year. While Yeon Woo-hyeok was speechless, the palace judge continued his explanation.

“As long as that guy is working as a judge, he will manage and check the food around here. If you go and open it, you’ll find out, but it’s probably about half full of sand. From that guy to that guy’s predecessor, he must have taken the metallurgical metallurgy. But I’ve never used that as an excuse to extort his hermit. Then when he borrows my power, he must pay the price!”

“Ah… yes…”

“Anyway, don’t feel sorry for him.”

The palace judge snorted and said. As much as I knew Yeon Woo-hyuk’s temperament, I guessed what he was thinking.

“If he had treated the villagers well, would he have sided with the newly arrived military officers? Probably even the military officers said they would pay for the water at first. What kind of guts did the guys who came to the foreign land have to be tyrannical? But he refused. Because he only knows the answer to himself. That’s why the military officers joined hands with the villagers. The villagers also have a grudge, so they helped.”

“…!”

Yeon Woo-hyeok admired Judge Gung’s discernment.

I don’t know how the case unfolded, but Judge Gung made an accurate guess based on the context, befitting someone who had served as a judge for a long time. It was truly an amazing sight.

With that eye in mind, he only focused on making money, but…

“If there was a story like that, it seems like I just told you.”

“done. Because nothing will change anyway.”

“?”

“That guy is so stupid that he can’t write even if he tells me. He was probably going to take out the pass holder, but what if villagers or military officers ask where the certificate is after getting rid of it? Moreover, the head of the branch has already sided with the military governor. I have face, but I can’t change my words right away. If that guy realizes that too, he will give up and compromise with the military officers. There will be a corner where even the military officers will be stabbed, so I will give in moderation.”

“Your judge is truly a great judge!”

“I could have received one more year, so what are you talking about like a famous judge!”

“yes…”

Yeon Woo-hyuk, who was insulted for being flattered, shut his mouth.

‘ah. that’s right.’

Yeon Woo-hyuk, who belatedly remembered the alumni issue, opened his mouth. It wasn’t something to brag about publicly, but since I was away, it was better to tell Judge Palace.

“Senior Judge. I need to be away for a while.”

“do whatever you want.”

Originally, there were strict rules about not doing what one wanted, but the palace judges didn’t care much.

The position of judge could be given as many excuses as needed, so it was okay to come after touring the mountains and rivers 100 miles away. Who said what to say if you said you went and came to solve the problem?

“for a moment. Are you going to help the beggars again?”

“You mean open?”

“The open guys pay surprisingly. There are plenty of guys worse than that. The same guys from last time.”

“ah.”

“Think of those guys as bottomless poison. If you do well once, they’ll keep whining. If they solved the problem, they should try to solve it by themselves with a grateful heart.

One of the categories that the palace judges disliked were the powerful families outside Hankyung.

It would be better if it was a powerful family, but I wanted to put it in prison if I believed only in the family’s reputation and asked for a judge to come and solve the problem.

“Geosa Jeong is not a beggar… but he is not. Middle officials came out of my alumni, and they asked me to help them with their work.”

“At classmates?”

“yes. So I think I will be out of Hankyung for a while.”

The palace judge stood still without saying anything.

Then, he sighed and moved to the annex he was using.

Soon after, Judge Gung returned with a box. Judging by how it swayed even when I put it on my chest, it must have been quite heavy.

“There’s no way you’ve amassed a fortune, take this and give it away!”

“What is this?”

Yeon Woo-hyuk was puzzled and opened the box. As soon as it was opened, a dazzling silver light emanated from the inside.

Surprisingly, this large box was filled with heavy nuggets of silver!

“This, this…?”

Eun was also surprised, but I couldn’t believe that Judge Gung gave it to me. Aren’t you the kind of person who would choose death over silver?

Judge Gung showed his hatred for his alumni in his eyes and spoke as if chewing.

“You have to sacrifice that to save your life.”

“Pan, judge adult…!”

Yeon Woo-hyuk was slightly moved.

He had never imagined that the palace judge would take care of him like this.

“But it’s okay. The middle officials I met were not very interested in these riches.”

“…shut up and just take it!”

I still feel sick to my stomach, but when the young judge kept talking nonsense, the palace judge got a fever and shouted.

What the hell does that guy think of an alumni?!

***

“Hey, what are you worried about?”

Heo Joong-gwan looked at Yeon Woo-hyuk and asked.

Uncharacteristically for a young judge, he seemed to be troubled.

“That’s it…”

Yeon Woo-hyeok revealed the situation before and after to Judge Gung to help with this task, and even said that Judge Gung had entrusted Eun-ja with good wishes.

“The judge seems to have thought that it was an expression of s*xuality, but I was worried that it would be rude to tell you this.”