Chapter 16 — The Only Correct Answer (2)
Doyul thought.
There’s no doubt that Kim Dorim is legally a slave.
But if you change the question just a little, everything changes.
If Kim Dorim was a slave...
Then from what point in time should he be considered one?
Isu muttered with a confused expression.
"He must be considered a slave... but y-you're saying he wasn't a slave? What does that even mean?"
"..."
Kim Jiseok remained silent.
Even he hadn't immediately understood Doyul's words.
Ugh. This might take some explaining.
Doyul slowly opened his mouth.
"First, let us examine Han Jaesuk's argument. Han Jaesuk says that because Kim Dorim was a distinguished statesman and is now elderly, the matter should be overlooked with mercy."
Isu stared at Doyul with a puzzled expression.
"That is based on a misunderstanding of virtuous rule."
"...!"
"The law clearly states that a slave's descendants are also to be treated as slaves. Therefore, Han Jaesuk's argument is not valid."
"R-Right!"
Isu, who had been listening quietly, misunderstood Doyul's point and eagerly agreed.
"You must have misspoken earlier! There's no way you would give the wrong answer, Scholar! Magistrate! He must be saying that Lee Monggyu's argument is correct!"
Isu tried to defend Doyul on his own.
But Doyul smiled and immediately destroyed that kindness.
"However, Lee Monggyu's argument is also wrong."
"...Huh? What do you mean?"
Blink. Blink.
"Kim Dorim did not act intentionally. Confiscating all his property would be excessively harsh, and such a measure would create even greater problems."
"...Scholar!"
Lee Isu spoke anxiously.
"Even the magistrate said Lee Monggyu's argument is correct! Perhaps you should change your answer while you still can..."
"Enough. Let him continue."
"M-Magistrate?"
Kim Jiseok stopped Isu.
"...I want to hear the rest."
He says Kim Dorim should be treated as a slave, but not as someone who had always been one.
What kind of strange wordplay is this?
Unlike Isu's eyes, which burned like fire, Doyul's gaze was perfectly calm.
Like still water.
What kind of trick is this? You truly never fail to surprise me.
Doyul smiled.
"I would like to ask something. Both Lee Monggyu and Han Jaesuk's arguments are based on the premise that a slave took the state examination. Is that correct?"
Kim Jiseok thought for a moment, then nodded.
"That is correct."
"Then let me ask again. If we begin by assuming that Kim Dorim was already a slave at the time, problems arise no matter which argument we choose. In that case, can it really be said that following either of those arguments is proper?"
Kim Jiseok's expression shifted.
"...Hm?"
"If every possible conclusion damages something important, should we not reconsider the premise itself?"
"...What exactly are you trying to say?"
"Therefore..."
Doyul smiled brightly.
"What if Kim Dorim was a yangban when he took the examination..."
"......?"
His eyes gleamed.
"...and only now, when his grandfather's slave status has been revealed, does he become a slave?"
"W-What does..."
"...Good heavens?"
Kim Jiseok was visibly shocked.
Isu also stared in disbelief.
"What are you saying?! Is status some kind of object that can change whenever you please?"
Isu had been rooting for Doyul.
But...
"Scholar! Even if it's you, I can't accept such a bizarre argument!"
Doyul's words appeared to deny everything Isu understood about status and principle.
So he had no choice but to object.
"Status is status precisely because it cannot simply change! If he was a slave, then he was a slave! If he was a yangban, then he was a yangban! How can you say he was a scholar at first but later became a slave? That's absurd sophistry!"
Doyul had expected strong resistance.
"...Haha."
He smiled awkwardly, but his eyes remained sharp.
Retroactive effect meant applying a legal consequence backward to events that had already occurred.
In other words, something determined in the future would alter the legal meaning of the past.
Applied to this case, it was simple.
If Kim Dorim's slave status is applied retroactively, then he was a slave from before he was even born.
That means he falsely passed himself off as a yangban.
Naturally, his state examination would become invalid.
And the argument would then continue that all wealth he had accumulated through that official career should also be confiscated.
But...
What if they did not apply the slave status retroactively?
What if it operated only prospectively?
...Then Kim Dorim has a way out.
The problem was Joseon's social customs.
Status was absolute.
Most people viewed it as fixed and unchanging.
An agitated Isu raised his voice.
"That is a strange argument! A slave merely deceived the world. His bloodline never changed!"
Ugh. What a temper.
"Kim Dorim's grandfather was a slave, so naturally Kim Dorim was a slave too! Protecting the stability of Joseon is far more important than showing mercy to one distinguished statesman!"
Doyul silently listened.
Then he asked.
"Are you saying Kim Dorim must be treated as a slave for the sake of Joseon's stability?"
"Of course!"
Doyul answered calmly.
"Then that is even more reason not to treat him as though he had always been a slave."
"Huh?"
"If we consider him a slave from the very beginning, far greater chaos will result."
"...What do you mean?"
Isu looked completely lost.
But Kim Jiseok slowly nodded.
"...Hm. There is some sense in that."
Oh. The magistrate caught on quickly.
Doyul explained to Isu.
"The problem states that Kim Dorim had many children. Correct?"
Isu recalled the question and answered.
"Yes."
"And since Kim Dorim was a distinguished statesman, countless families would have wanted marriage ties with him. Most of his children were probably married into other families."
Isu thought about it, then nodded.
"...Probably. But what does that have to do with your argument?"
Doyul smiled and struck directly at the weakness.
"If a yangban has a child with someone of low status, what happens to the child's status?"
"...? If either parent is of low status, the child becomes lowborn without question... Ah!"
Only then did Isu understand.
"Exactly. If Kim Dorim becomes a slave retroactively, then all of his descendants also become slaves. And every family that married into his household would suddenly have married slaves and produced slave descendants."
"..."
"If children they had raised as noble became lowborn overnight, how much chaos would that cause?"
"...B-But!"
Under Joseon law, if one parent was lowborn, the child was also lowborn.
Therefore, if Kim Dorim were treated as having always been a slave, all of his descendants would also become slaves.
And that damage would spread to entirely innocent families connected by marriage.
That was Doyul's point.
"Would it be right to transfer suffering onto people who did nothing wrong? It would also create a dangerous precedent. What happens if similar situations arise again in the future?"
"..."
Isu fell silent.
"It would throw entire families into chaos. It might even shake the foundations of Joseon itself. That is why interpreting Kim Dorim as someone who had always been a slave is far too dangerous."
Isu stammered out a rebuttal.
"I-I understand what you're saying, Scholar, but! We can't give Kim Dorim special treatment!"
Dun!
"Just because punishing him creates problems doesn't mean we can conveniently make an exception only for him! That wouldn't be just!"
"Oh."
Doyul looked at Isu with genuine approval.
...He's actually pretty sharp.
Isu continued, stumbling over his words.
"T-That isn't right! No matter how complicated the circumstances are, principles still matter!"
Doyul smiled.
Then he answered firmly.
"You're correct. Giving Kim Dorim special treatment without legal grounds would obviously be wrong."
Isu froze.
"Huh? Didn't you just say we shouldn't treat Kim Dorim as someone who had been a slave...?"
"Yes. He definitely was not a slave in the past."
Tilt.
"......Then?"
Isu hesitated.
"S-So is Kim Dorim a slave or not?"
Doyul began explaining slowly.
"He certainly must become a slave."
"You just said he wasn't..."
"Just because he must become one now does not mean he was one before."
"...Huh? Huh? ...Whaaaaaat?"
Isu's brain overloaded.
"U-Uaaaaaagh! My head feels like it's going to explode! W-What in the world are you saying?!"
Kim Jiseok, however, reacted differently.
"...Could it be?"
Realization flashed across his face.
"So that's what you meant when you said he is a slave but was not a slave. Good heavens! What an ingenious answer!"
"...Thank you."
Isu looked between the two of them in complete confusion.
"W-What are you two talking about?"
Doyul smiled at him.
Looks like the magistrate understands.
That leaves only Isu.
"I understand that we must limit the consequences to Kim Dorim himself! B-But... if Kim Dorim becomes a slave, won't his children become lowborn anyway? What difference does it make?"
Isu looked close to tears.
"And what is this bizarre statement that he wasn't a slave before, but is one now supposed to mean?!"
From here on... this is extra tutoring just for you.
Doyul slowly opened his mouth.
"Do you agree that we should not transfer punishment onto innocent people?"
Isu answered with a face that looked ready to cry.
"Of course! But is there really a way to avoid it?"
"There is."
"What? H-How?"
Doyul recalled one of the legal provisions that had been implanted into his mind.
[On manumission: Among those who would otherwise fall into slave status, persons of advanced age or those with special circumstances worthy of consideration may be ordered to make a payment or contribution in exchange for release from low status.]
...Without this provision, I couldn't have solved the problem.
That was why Doyul had initially believed the question impossible.
It required actual knowledge of Joseon's statutes.
"The Gyeongguk Daejeon contains a provision concerning manumission."
"Of course I know that. But..."
Isu asked with a confused expression.
"Manumission through payment applies when someone who has committed an offense has circumstances deserving sympathy and can redeem himself with money. Kim Dorim was supposedly a slave from the beginning, so isn't that completely differ..."
Isu's eyes suddenly widened.
"...No way!"
Doyul confirmed that Isu had finally understood, then stepped toward Kim Jiseok.
Payment for manumission was a system in which grain or money could be offered in exchange for forgiveness.
It was sometimes used where someone facing severe punishment had exceptional circumstances.
"...Ha. Haha."
Leaving the stunned Isu behind, Doyul addressed Kim Jiseok.
"I will present my final answer."
"...Speak."
"Neither Han Jaesuk nor Lee Monggyu's position can be the correct answer. If Kim Dorim is treated as someone who had always been a slave, every possible judgment creates grave harm."
"Hahaha..."
"But if we interpret Kim Dorim as someone who has now fallen into circumstances requiring slave status, then the situation changes."
Kim Jiseok also let out a laugh of amazement.
How can such a talent exist...?
"If we interpret Kim Dorim not as a person who was always a slave, but as a person who has now become subject to slave status under the law, then he may seek manumission through payment."
Kim Jiseok continued Doyul's reasoning.
"And if Kim Dorim seeks manumission through payment... His Majesty would naturally grant it."
"Most likely."
Kim Dorim had been a distinguished statesman.
He had never known of his grandfather's status.
His circumstances were deserving of sympathy.
And refusing manumission would cause enormous chaos across numerous noble families.
There was no reason for the king to reject it.
"Therefore, to respect the law while preventing unnecessary harm... the only proper answer is to treat Kim Dorim not as someone who had always been a slave, but as someone who has now become subject to slave status, and then allow him to seek manumission through payment."
"Indeed...!"
Kim Jiseok was deeply impressed.
Doyul smiled and concluded.
"Kim Dorim once stood beneath only one man and above ten thousand. For such a distinguished statesman, being forced to surrender wealth for his manumission and suffering the loss of his honor would already be sufficient punishment."
Watching from the side, Lee Isu froze in shock.
So all of that...
Everything he said from the beginning...
Was leading toward manumission through payment!
