The sudden appearance of Jewish investors in the Empire’s capital markets spurred immediate action. The officials at the Investment Safes and the Ministry of Finance sent urgent requests for cooperation to the Ministry of General Affairs, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Ministry of Defense.

Through a multi-departmental effort, the officials were able to identify the backgrounds of the Jews who had invested in the market, and a report was immediately sent up the chain of command.

Emperor Hyeon received the report and looked at his assembled ministers.

“So, to summarize: these Jewish immigrants have deposited their assets into our Investment Safes. The problem, you’re saying, is their former profession. Many are from legitimately old merchant families, but just as many… were primarily engaged in usury?”

“That is correct, Your Majesty.”

“Usury…” Hyeon stroked his chin. Of all the domestic issues affecting the people’s livelihood, the private financial sector was the one he watched most closely.

***

When King Sejong first began his reforms, one of the very first problems he had attacked was predatory moneylending.

The interest rates of the time were so incomprehensibly high that it was commonplace for people to sell themselves or their children into slavery just to cover their debts, flooding the nation with private slaves. And, grimly, self-sale was often the better outcome.

Even more common was the practice of trapping the illiterate with loan documents intentionally filled with complex, archaic Hanja, tricking them into cycles of debt they could never escape. Worse still, under the guise of “ensuring smooth collection,” these lenders employed violent thugs to beat and terrorize their debtors.

(As an aside, when the Secret Guards was first established, many of its members were recruited from the ranks of the Sword Guilds. During this selection process, however, any man who had previously worked as muscle for a moneylender was rejected on sight, without a single question being asked.)

The damage caused by these usurers was so extensive that Sejong launched a campaign aimed at their complete eradication. As a result, many members of the local gentry, who generally possessed the necessary capital to operate such ventures, suffered the loss of their honor and wealth. They faced severe punishments, including sentences of hard labor in the mines or execution.

After aggressively purging the illegal lenders, Sejong and his court began offering legitimate loans through the National Bank.

And yet, predatory lending, did not disappear. It couldn’t.

No matter how low the criteria for a state loan were set, there were always those who fell through the cracks.

“This is a failing of my own virtue!” Sejong had lamented, and he’d tried to lower the lending standards even further.

But this time, his ministers and even Hyang had stood united against him.

“If we lower the standards any further, Your Majesty, it is no longer a loan! It is simply charity!”

“The money in the Bank is also the precious property of the people, earned through their blood and sweat!”

“If the people who deposit their money in the Bank do not receive even a minimal return, they will stop entrusting it to us! They will go back to hoarding it in their storehouses. If that happens, the state will run out of money to function!”

Met with such fierce opposition, Sejong had glared at them. “Then what is the alternative? Those people are also the citizens of our Joseon!”

It was Hyang who had provided the answer.

“We bring it into the light, Your Majesty.”

“Bring… private lending… into the light?”

“Yes. We recognize it as a legitimate, registered business. In exchange, we forbid them from charging a single pun (a cent) of interest above the state-regulated cap. Furthermore, their collection procedures and methods will be forced to adhere to the laws set by the state.”

“Hmm…” That had sparked the interest of Sejong and the court.

And so, the official, legal ‘Lending Business’ was born, created to serve those who could not secure loans from the Bank.

But, as time passed, just as before, illegal loan sharks began to appear, operating just like their predecessors. They thrived in the shadows, passing clients by word of mouth. To this day, the Emperors and their ministers were locked in a bloody, exhausting battle of wits to hunt down these illegal operations.

***

It was this long and difficult history that had Hyeon looking so grave.

“Are there any signs that these individuals are attempting to restart their old trade here in Seoul?”

“Not yet, Your Majesty. But the possibility remains… significant.”

Hyeon nodded grimly. “Of course it does. It is human nature. When finding a new, proper path is difficult or frightening, people tend to revert to the path they know. The problem here is that their ‘familiar path’ is usury.”

Han Myeong-hoe spoke up. “And with them, the scoundrels will return. Thugs who rely on their own brute strength to attach themselves to these lenders and torment the people.”

“That, too, is a problem,” Hyeon agreed. “But… we cannot sanction them just for their former profession. For now, we will do nothing but watch. We cannot be the ones to break the law just because of who they used to be.”

“We accept your command!” the ministers replied.

This was the guiding philosophy of the Empire: —Virtuous Law is demanded of the Emperor; Rule of Law is demanded of the State.

***

Though the matter of the former usurers was settled, the discussion was not over.

“By the way,” Hyeon mused, “it seems that among all the peoples who have immigrated, only the Jews are so heavily concentrated in commerce, moneylending, and… scholarship. I see many scholars as well. What do you suppose is the reason?”

Shin Suk-ju stepped forward to answer. “It appears to be a result of the perception of them in their former lands, Your Majesty.”

“Perception?”

“Yes. There is a prevailing tradition in the lands that follow Catholicism that the Jewish people were responsible for the death of that faith’s progenitor.”

“Hoh. A form of guilt by association, then?”

“It is… functionally similar, Your Majesty,” Shin Suk-ju said carefully. “After that, for various reasons, they were forced from their ancestral homeland of Palestine and scattered. But, Your Majesty, as the saying in the market goes, ‘A rolling stone dislodges the stone that was set.’ How many people would truly welcome outsiders who look different, speak differently, and believe differently? They were pushed into professions like commerce and moneylending. One cannot flee with land. But one can always hide and move with gold and jewels.”

“I see.” Hyeon nodded, understanding. “Then, what explains the large number of scholars?”

This time, Lim Sunwook replied. “To properly engage in scholarship, one must have a great deal of wealth. Why else would the idiom ‘the achievement of the firefly and the snow’ even exist?”

“So, they used the wealth they earned to educate their children and make them scholars. But… why?”

“Your Majesty, the disdain for merchants is little different in Europe than it is here. For the Jews, who were already held in such low regard, was their choice not obvious without asking? A scholar, however, is treated differently everywhere. It was a natural and logical path for them to take.”

“I see…” Hyeon murmured. “As the proverb says, ‘There is no grave without a story.’ Hmm…”

He fell silent for a moment, thinking, before addressing the court again.

“I have an order for you.”

“Please, command us, Your Majesty!”

“To this day, our Empire has selected and employed talent regardless of origin or background. The Jewish people will be no exception. I forbid you from pre-judging them.”

“We obey your command!”

“However,” Hyeon’s voice grew sharp, “while the hardships their ancestors endured are truly unfortunate, that history cannot and will not become their red-letter iron-scroll. Never, ever forget the word fairness.”

“We will carve it into our bones, Your Majesty!”

The red-letter iron-scroll was, in essence, a “get out of jail free” token, dating back to ancient China. It was an official pledge given to men of great merit, promising them immunity from prosecution for any crime save for high treason.

In essence, Hyeon’s command was twofold:

• Do not be prejudiced against them just because they were pariahs in Europe.
• Do not, out of pity for their past, turn a blind eye if they break our laws.

Hyeon needed to stress this point due to the mindset of his own people. When judging others, Imperial citizens often veered toward one of two stark extremes: “His ancestors were that kind of people, so you really think he’s any different?”

Or, conversely, “Consider what his ancestors endured—imagine the suffering he’s faced. Just let it go and give him a break.”

This was why Hyeon had to hammer home the concept of “fairness.”

That night, after concluding his duties, Hyeon visited Hyang to discuss the matter. Hyang listened and nodded.

“You did well. The persecution they received is a tragedy, but that tragedy cannot be allowed to become their red-letter iron-scroll. If it does… if we allow that, it will only give rise to a much greater problem.”

“A greater problem… Your Highness, are you perhaps referring to… those people?”

“I am.”

At Hyang’s flat confirmation, Hyeon quietly bowed his head, his own thoughts running silent.

‘He still has no intention of forgiving ‘them’, does he…’

The ‘them’ Hyeon was thinking of were the families who had been implicated by guilt by association in the old Giyu Rebellion.

***

The men who had directly participated in the rebellion had all been executed. But their families, bound by guilt by association, had been stripped of their status, made into public slaves, and sentenced to hard labor in the mines.

Decades had passed. Joseon had become an Empire. Most of the original convicts were dead. And now, even the children born into that slavery were old or gone. In recent years, memorials had begun to arrive at the palace, petitioning for their status to be restored.

—”The treason their ancestors committed was a sin worthy of death. But those who remain do not even know of that sin. It is right and proper to show mercy.”

—”To grant them mercy would be a profound display of the Emperor’s filial piety toward the Venerable Emperor and the Empire Emeritus.”

—”Surely, all the people of the Empire will praise such a virtuous act!”

Hyeon had taken these petitions to Hyang to gauge his opinion.

“First,” Hyang had said, “let me see these memorials.”

Hyang had read them, his face impassive, before handing them back.

“They are not worth a second thought. My blood still boils when I remember that day.”

Hyeon had bowed, knowing Hyang was referring to the the day of rebellion, the day the rebels had stormed the palace.

“I understand,” Hyeon had said. “But… to be frank, I worry that this will tarnish both of your ‘good names’.”

“The Venerable Emperor once said to me, ‘I am not a Sage King.’ The same is true for me,” Hyang had replied, his voice cold. “I am not a Sage King, nor am I am a Wise King. I simply did what I had to do. Show mercy? That would be a pretense. A facade. And I will not engage in it.”

Hyeon had been able to do nothing but bow.

And so, the last descendants of the Giyu Rebellion were left to live, and die, in the mines.

***

Recalling that conversation, Hyeon now replied to Hyang in the present.

“I understand. I will issue the order again, to ensure they are processed with fairness, and without discrimination.”

“It is the only way,” Hyang said. “The Empire, now and in the future, will become a place where people from all different backgrounds live together, not just those from the heartland. The moment discrimination based on origin takes root, the Empire will begin to crumble. You must never forget that.”

“I will carve it into my heart.”

The conversation seemed to have reached its conclusion, but then, a new thought seemed to strike both men at the same time. Hyang was the first to speak.

“Speaking of… distinctions,” Hyang said, using the same word, which also meant ‘discrimination’, “I heard that the Northern Territories and the New Frontier are quite busy, setting their sights on your great-great-grandson’s future partner?”

A rare, genuine smile broke out on Hyeon’s face.

“They are. It seems the Northern Territories were bitterly disappointed when they were passed over during Prince Woo’s bride selection. The New Frontier, in turn, are determined not to be outdone by them. And just recently, Daeseol-do has also thrown its hat into the ring.”

“How very interesting,” Hyang mused.

“Indeed, it is.”

Both men shared a look of keen, political amusement. Thanks to Crown Prince Woo “working hard” (by producing an heir), the event in question was now only a few short years away.