Black Corporation: Joseon - Chapter 106

Episode 106: Hwang Hee’s Choice, and Yuri (2)

After that, Raphael and Pietro were hectic.

The first thing they did was train Joseon craftsmen for mass production of plate glass.

‘We are looking for craftsmen who will create a new object called glass! We are looking for applicants among craftsmen who make pottery, pottery, tiles, and bricks!’

In response to the announcement from the government, apprentices who worked in government and private houses, as well as craftsmen and apprentices who worked in pottery and tile factories, applied one by one.

“hey! “Now that you can make a living, why are you giving up and leaving!”

Their colleagues discouraged those who decided to change jobs.

This was because Sejong and Hyang placed emphasis on artisans, and it was a stable job that broke away from the traditional tradition.

But those who left also had reasons.

‘There are many craftsmen doing the same work anyway! You have to learn new skills in a new place to survive! It’s worth the challenge!’

They were people who sought new opportunities and took on challenges.

As these people came with a sense of challenge, they did their best not to miss a single thing, and naturally, the Joseon craftsmen quickly acquired the skills.

As the skills of Joseon craftsmen improved, mass production of plate glass became possible.

“If mass production is possible, we should do it right away!”

“The budget…”

“Fuck this! Get rid of your Insunbu! What is life? “I’ll give Abama Mama some calves later!”

According to the town’s decision, mass production of plate glass proceeded.

As funds were properly invested and plate glass was produced in large quantities, the county immediately changed the outer doors of the East Palace from those covered with window paper to those with glass.

‘The Crown Prince is changing the doors of the East Palace!’

After hearing the rumor, King Sejong immediately visited the work site with his ministers.

“Is this the glass?”

“That’s right.”

“It’s so clear. “It’s truly amazing that something like this can be made from sand and limestone.”

Sejong, who was admiring the transparent glass, looked at the doors that had already been installed. Sejong, who happened to see the glass sparkling in the sunlight, immediately ran over to it.

“The outer doors of Geunjeongjeon and Gangnyeongjeon should also be changed to glass doors.”

Hyang immediately bowed her head at Sejong’s decision.

“We will prepare and execute immediately!”

‘I caught it!’

As Geunjeongjeon and Gangnyeongjeon were plastered with glass doors, Queen Soheon and her concubines who saw this also requested that glass doors be installed in their residences.

Their request was immediately approved, and soon the palaces in Hanseong began to surround the outside with glass doors.

As glass was used in large quantities in the palace, rumors began to circulate in Hanseong.

* * *

Gyejak House near Seosomun.

The men standing to buy the plot were having a conversation.

“Hey, have you heard that rumor?”

“rumor? “What rumor?”

“I heard that the king completely changed the doors and windows of the palace to crystal rather than hanji?”

“With modifications? It must have cost a lot of money, right? Doesn’t this mean taxes are going up? Even now, it’s hard to make a living…”

Another man standing next to the man who was worried about taxes answered his words.

“It’s not a real crystal. “The person who lives next door to us goes to the Crown Prince’s workshop and said that it is made by melting sand.”

“sand? “That sand that’s spread across the riverside over there?”

“okay.”

“Huh~.”

“Wow. Is it a big deal? “You make crystals out of sand?”

Everyone around them who heard the explanation could not hide their surprise.

“It’s interesting, but isn’t it ‘just a pie in the sky’ to those below us anyway? Isn’t this something that costs a penny or two? “That’s something like that, only the nobles of Bukchon would use it.”

When one of those listening to the story reacted skeptically, the man who was explaining it added another comment.

“Atta, you idiot! Among the items rumored to have been made by the crown prince, were there any items that were designated for use only by noblemen? “Were there any items designated for use only by noblemen?”

Everyone around him looked surprised at the man’s words and nodded.

“huh? “Is that really true?”

“really!”

“I asked the man next door, and he said that although it is a bit expensive, we can install windows if we save up some money.”

“okay?”

“Shall we save some money too?”

While the people were whispering, the owner of Gyejak House shouted.

“ah! I won’t buy it! “What nonsense are you blocking the entrance to someone else’s store?”

“ah! Address one!”

“I have two!”

As people pointed out, there were no restrictions on users from Hyang’s first work, Geumpil. Thanks to this, anyone, be it a nobleman, a commoner, or even a commoner, could buy what they wanted as long as they had the money to pay for it.

This had an unexpected result: the almost instinctive sense of obedience to the nobles among the common people was gradually fading away.

* * *

As the mass production of plate glass passed into the hands of shipbuilding craftsmen, the fragrance passed on another task to Pietro and Raphael.

“You said you could make a bottle out of glass, right?”

“yes.”

“Can you add color to glass?”

“yes. “Is that so?”

After confirming once again, the scent gave orders to Raphael and Pietro.

“Make me a brown glass bottle. The size is roughly divided into 4 types with 1 horse being the largest. “It’s possible, right?”

Raphael asked back at Hyang’s words.

“It’s possible, but why is it brown?”

“A lot of acid is used in the research center, Area 51, and other places, and this is to store the acid.”

“Ah…”

Raphael and Pietro nodded at the scent’s words.

When making glass crafts, etching work was often used for metal decoration. The use of acid in etching work was essential, so it was quickly understood.

The brown glass bottle made at the behest of Hyang was soon widely welcomed by acid users.

After seeing the response, Hyang reallocated Joseon craftsmen and began mass production of brown bottles.

* * *

Hyang’s ‘plucking and eating mulberries’ continued.

Raphael and Pietro’s faces hardened as the scent became more frequent.

“Can you make white glass this time?”

“The white one?”

In response to Raphael and Pietro’s question, Hyang reached into his sleeve and took out a piece of paper.

“This is the lamp I was thinking of. “The white glass will be used for the lampshade of this lamp.”

“Hmm…”

Pietro’s eyes twinkled as he examined the shape of the lamp created by the scent.

Raphael and Pietro were equally qualified as journeymen, but their skills were slightly different.

Raphael, befitting his sincere personality, showed his strengths in simple yet mass-produced areas such as plate glass and glass plates, while the free-spirited Pietro showed his strengths in flashy or creative areas.

Hyang, who understood the personalities of these two, whistled lightly and liked it alone.

“Is this almost a cheat key?”

Thanks to this, Pietro was in charge of making the lamp. Pietro demonstrated his skills by joining forces with the late leader.

After receiving the results, Hyang greatly praised Pietro and Yajang and presented the first successful product to King Sejong.

“Abama loves reading and studies government affairs until late at night, so she is always straining her eyes. “I was worried about this, so I made this object.”

“Thank you.”

King Sejong was very satisfied as he lit the lamp, pleased with Hyang’s thoughtfulness towards him.

“How bright!”

Due to the rarity of the material called beeswax, candles were a valuable item not only in Joseon but also around the world at the time. Therefore, in Joseon, lanterns were mainly used by everyone from the royal family to the people.

In order to use this lamp as lighting, a candle holder with a fancy copper plate attached was used, but the copper plate attached to the candle holder had a very poor reflector ability.

However, the lamp shade made by Hyang performed much better than the copper plate of the candlestick, and King Sejong, who was satisfied with it, soon ordered mass production for use in all government offices.

Of course, there were side effects.

The pride of the officials who heard this news collapsed at once.

“shit! “Are you telling me to work at night now?”

Accordingly, the township recruited new craftsmen to work in the glass workshop.

“If we think about the future, more and more artisans will be needed! “It’s impossible to stop like we are now!”

In this way, the size of the glass workshop gradually increased, and the township purchased land right next to Area 51 and built a large glass workshop.

* * *

In the midst of this, Pietro joined forces with Chief Go and caused an accident.

“huh? “What is that bitterness in your eyes?”

“Ah, prince.”

“Your Majesty!”

When the eunuch frowned again at Pietro’s title and corrected it, Pietro corrected the title and explained in poor Korean.

“Your Majesty the Crown Prince. “It’s made to protect your eyes.”

“Protect your eyes?”

“What I do most is look at the flames in the kiln? It hurts my eyes. “That’s why I made it.”

“Hmm… give it to me.”

After examining the items Pietro had made, Hyang looked back at the late manager.

“Do you see a lot of fire too?”

“Yes sir. That’s why blacksmiths like me have trouble with their eyes as they get older.”

“Hmm…”

Pietro, who was looking at the object in his hand and looking at him thinking, became increasingly pale.

‘If that’s the case, make sure to mass-produce it…’

After a while, Hyang returned the item in his hand and ordered.

“To mass produce. “I shouldn’t listen to people calling me rude.”

The late manager, who didn’t immediately understand Hyang’s words, looked at Hyang.

“yes?”

“Are you the only ones suffering because of the fire in the kiln? “Why are people so mean?”

Hearing Hyang’s words, Go Yajang immediately bowed his head.

“I am truly devastated that you care so much about lowly craftsmen like us!”

Hyang smiled and responded to the sight of the late leader who was so moved that he even cried.

“To the point of ruin… Ah! “If you make it, give yourself two.”

“yes! “We will make it the best!”

In this way, the world’s first sunglasses were born.

It was a truly interesting coincidence that in the past history of fragrance, the origin of sunglasses was that Hollywood actors whose eyesight was damaged by strong lighting on set began to wear them.

Sejong, who received the sunglasses as a gift, was satisfied once again.

Although I had just turned 30, my overworked eyes were complaining of pain at even the slightest amount of light.

However, if I used ‘Chailgyeong’, which has a light scent, my eyes were comfortable even when taking a walk in broad daylight.

King Sejong, who was greatly satisfied, gave orders to Hyang.

“I’m going to make a few more. “I guess I should spend some money and give some gifts.”

“Yes Abama.”

In this way, sunglasses with the name ‘Cha Il-gyeong’ became a trend-setting item as the king and crown prince began to use them, and King Sejong’s favorite subjects also began to use them as gifts.

Not only in Hanseong, but also throughout Joseon, those who had money and were fashionable wore this chailgyeong regardless of gender, and this trend soon spread to the Ming and Japanese countries as well.

* * *

Joseon craftsmen who learned how to make plate glass worked hard to create it.

One of these hard-working craftsmen, Han Seok-gu, was dissatisfied with the plate glass he made.

“Couldn’t we make it a little more straightforward and a little bigger?”

The cylinder method taught by Pietro and Raphael was more efficient than other plate glass manufacturing methods that had been used so far.

However, there were limitations to the size and the problem was that the thickness was not uniform. To solve this problem, a method of pressing and spreading with hot steel sesame seeds was used, but it required a lot of work and there was a risk of burns.

In the end, Han Seok-gu, who was wandering around looking for a suitable solution, took a hint from the fact that water and oil do not mix and found a new plate glass manufacturing method.

“No matter what the bottom of the water is, the top is always smooth and level. The same goes for the oil that goes on top of it.”

Han Seok-gu continued his thoughts.

“Glass is the same as water when it is molten. No, we need someone like water to float on glass like oil!”

After coming to a conclusion, Seok-gu Han found the optimal material.

“No mercury. “Iron… glass completely boils over… the same goes for copper… what is better?”

After much trial and error, what Han Seok-gu found was tin.

By pouring glass water onto a large mold containing molten tin and gently pulling it with an iron shovel, larger plate glass could be made more easily than with existing methods.

“This is truly magnificent!”

After receiving the report, Hyang highly praised Han Seok-gu and ran to King Sejong to request one thing.

“I understand the patent, but should I give you a stake?”

“yes. Then, craftsmen will become more attached to their work and develop new skills.”

“So how much share will you give?”

“It’s 1 ri.”

“It’s appropriate, but are you going to give us a stake every time a new technology comes out?”

“No, we will only allow equity in profitable technologies.”

King Sejong, who thought for a moment about the explanation of the scent, immediately gave his consent.

In this way, Han Seok-gu became the first Korean to acquire a stake through his own technology.