Black Corporation: Joseon - Chapter 11
[Episode 11: Germination…carcinogenesis? (4) ]
Episode 11 Germination… Carcinogenesis? (4)
Starting with a sentence he had heard many times – a chain letter – Hyang explained to King Sejong the usefulness of Arabic numerals.
King Sejong listened to the fragrance presentation(?) with a serious face and was lost in thought while stroking his beard.
Sejong, who continued his thoughts in silence, came to a conclusion.
“I think it’s a good opinion, but I don’t think it’s right for me to make the decision alone. “Come back tomorrow when the inquiry starts and explain.”
“Yes Abama.”
After finishing the work, Hyang bowed to King Sejong and left the position.
Sejong, who was watching Hyang quietly retreat, opened his mouth.
“Hyang-ah.”
“Yes Abama.”
“I am truly proud of your intelligence. But you are still young. “Right now, focus on your physical and mental growth rather than focusing on national affairs.”
“Yes Abama.”
At Sejong’s praise, Hyang’s face brightened and she bowed her head. Sejong, who was excitedly watching the disappearing scent, smiled.
“Now you look like a child of that age.”
Sejong, who was examining the documents without erasing his father’s smile, clicked his tongue.
“Tsk! “I forgot to ask you about this.”
* * *
When the assembly began the next day, King Sejong called for incense as promised. Hyang, who attended the assembly, explained Arabic numerals to the ministers.
“… That is why I think it is much more useful to express numbers using the thousand axis numbers, which people call ‘Arabic numerals.’”
After finishing the explanation, Hyang bowed to King Sejong and sat down to one side.
After the explanation of the scent was finished, King Sejong looked around at the ministers.
“What do you think of the crown prince’s proposal?”
The first person to answer King Sejong’s question was Hojo Judge Kim Jeom.
“I think it is very useful in expressing numbers.”
“New Judge Lee Jo, heoji. I think God is also very useful.”
Judge Hojo, who had the most work to write numbers, voted in favor, and Lee Joe, who had the most work to write, gave his consent.
Sejong came to a conclusion when the judges from the two departments most closely related to numbers agreed.
“Then, test the use of this water in two departments for a month. “If the results are good, we will implement it nationwide.”
“I follow your orders!”
Once the agenda regarding numbers was decided, Sejong moved on to the next agenda.
“I think the Crown Prince should listen to this agenda together and make a decision. Let’s count.”
“Yes Abama.”
“The emperor of the Ming Dynasty sent an edict.”
The unexpected words made Hyang look blank.
“yes?”
Sejong, who saw the crown prince’s face, explained the whole incident.
– King Sejong, who was very fond of the gold pen made by the crown prince, ordered the military inspector general to produce a gold pen to present to the emperor. Emperor Yongrak, who accepted the gold pen decorated with silver thread on the gold tip and two yellow-lacquered dragons on the hilt, was very satisfied.
Emperor Yongrak, who was very fond of the golden pen, sent an edict through Seongjeolsa of Joseon, who had come to congratulate the emperor on his birthday.
– Offer 10,000 gold pens as a tribute.
– We know that Joseon’s products are in short supply, so give 9,000 pieces of goods of the same quality as those already offered, and 1,000 pieces of goods slightly inferior.
King Sejong and the royal court were troubled after receiving Emperor Yeongnak’s official letter.
There were a total of 4 grades of gold pen sold with government permission. The special grade was used by the royal family and was the highest quality product with pure gold and silver thread. The next grades 1 to 3 had nibs made of gold, silver and copper.
Emperor Yongle said that it was okay to be lower in grade, but he would be satisfied only if he achieved grade 1.
* * *
“If it’s 10,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,500,000,500,500,500,500,500,500,500,500,500,500,500,500,500,000,000
,- ”
“Why did the Crown Prince make such an object? No, why did His Majesty the Lord present it to the truth so that he could be proud of his child…”
“Your Excellency!”
“Huh!”
When Champan, who was next to him, warned him, Kim Jeom hurriedly closed his mouth and looked around. Fortunately, he was now in Hojo’s office, and only Champan was around him.
“Whoa~.”
Kim Jeom, who breathed a sigh of relief, warned Champan.
“Tell me what you didn’t hear.”
* * *
Hyang was lost in thought after hearing this situation. Hyang, who was shaking his head and making various calculations, looked at Sejong.
“Abama. “How about starting a business?”
“Sale?”
“Business! “How could that be!”
“Daesaheon, be quiet. Crown Prince, keep talking.”
As soon as Hyang uttered the word ‘business’, Saheonbu Daesaheon Seongeom seemed to have a fit and tried to object. However, his attempt was blocked by King Sejong. At Sejong’s command, Hyang opened her mouth and continued speaking.
“If the Ming sent an edict to demand gold pens as tribute, it means that there was a significant response from the Ming. Think of the vast territory of Ming and the number of people living there. No, if you just consider the number of writers, how many times more than our Joseon Dynasty? “If you contact the company that makes gold pens, they will be able to make more than the amount for tribute.”
In response to Hyang’s question, King Sejong and the ministers did some calculations in their heads. And the conclusion was immediately reached.
‘You can benefit!’
After seeing the reaction of King Sejong and the ministers, Hyang continued his explanation.
“We are having merchants accompany the envoys there. “Not like now, where a small number of people go along vocally, but officially.”
-The merchants who will accompany you to the top pay 2 stones of white rice (approximately 320 kg) per person. The government guarantees their lodging and safety until they arrive in Beijing.
– The government supports the commercial activities of merchants by leasing buildings around Hoedonggwan (會同館), an exclusive accommodation for Joseon envoys in Beijing.
– Merchants adjust and pay 20% of the profits earned from sales. However, for expensive products such as ginseng, 40% of the profit is paid.
– If officials belonging to the envoys and their servants have goods to sell, they consign them to merchants. Profits are also paid to the court at the same rate as merchants.
-Hojo accurately records the items and quantities of the goods the merchants and the envoys plan to sell before the envoys depart. In addition, he had Hojo officials accompany the envoys and clearly record the sales situation.
“… I think it would be good to do it as above.”
“Hmm…”
After Hyang’s explanation, King Sejong and the ministers began to review. While reviewing the pros and cons of the plan mentioned by Hyang, Seong Eom opened his mouth.
“I believe that the plan of the new Crown Prince Daesaheon should never be adopted.”
“Why?”
“Your Majesty’s plan will certainly result in a lot of wealth. However, as it is said in the ancient history, if a lot of wealth comes in, not only the royal family but also the people will be stained with luxury, and this will lead to tyranny that imposes heavy taxes on the people.”
“I agree with the opinion of the new ambassador. It is considered a true royal government when both the monarch and the people are pure and poor, rejoice in the path of peace, prosperity, and freedom, build virtue, spread a beautiful fragrance throughout the world, and have other nations admire them. .”
“I agree with the opinions of the previous two people in the new royal decree. How could you involve lowly merchants on a mission to see His Majesty, the Emperor of the Shang Dynasty? This tarnishes the reputation of our Joseon Dynasty. I understand that your crown prince is very intelligent, but it seems that you do not know much about state affairs and diplomacy. “I hope that you will study a little more and become familiar with state affairs and diplomacy based on the royal road.”
In short, ‘Does this young guy get involved in state affairs and diplomacy without knowing what they are?’ That was what he said. Hyang’s eyebrows rose upward at the remarks of Daesagan and Daesaheon Yejopanseo.
“Whoa~.”
Hyang, who took a small breath and calmed down her boiling anger, looked back at Sejong.
“Abama. “Can I give you a small answer?”
“I agree.”
Sejong also didn’t sound good, as if he wasn’t feeling well. After receiving Sejong’s permission, Hyang began to refute.
“I ask Daesaheon. Did you say that when wealth comes in, the royal family becomes engrossed in luxury and this leads to tyranny?”
“That’s right. If you look at the old history…”
“If you look at the ancient history, the people’s hard work was squeezed to bring about that luxury. Am I talking about squeezing out the hard work of the people? “Aren’t you bringing it from outside?”
“Maybe you can come in from outside like that once. However, there is no guarantee that it will continue to come in like that, right? It might sell well the first time because it’s amazing, but there’s no guarantee the next time. If that happens, the people will have to bear the burden.”
“Is Daesaheon alive only today?”
In response to the young Hyang’s cheeky question, Daesaheon Seongeom made an expression that said he was not praying.
“What is that!”
“Does the merchant have anything to sell? There are many other items too! And how confident are you that a gold pen is something that will only be sold once?”
“Where are the people among me and the ministers who use golden pens? It was the first time I bought it because it was amazing, but it couldn’t match the quality and elegance of a brush! “It’s like a children’s toy!”
As Seong Eom said, Judge Kim Jeom, who was sitting quietly, intervened.
“What Daesaheon said was wrong. Do you know how much gold pen you are using each month? The first grade consumes 60 nibs per month, and a total of 400 nibs of silver and copper nibs are consumed. This figure is consumed only by the government, and more than 1,000 nibs are sold per month in the private sector. “More than 600 first-grade gold nibs are being sold.”
Seong Eom’s eyes widened as he heard Kim Jeom’s explanation.
“In one month?”
“In one month.”
In response to Kim Jeom’s answer, Seong Eom muttered without even realizing it.
“Huh… How could such a frivolous thing…”
Hyang suddenly interjected after hearing Seong Eom’s words.
“I’m sorry. “It’s frivolous because it was made by a young person.”
“Huh!”
Realizing that he had made a mistake, Seong Eom immediately bowed his head towards King Sejong.
“Your Majesty! Please forgive my slip of the tongue!”
“I forgive you.”
“I am devastated!”
While Seong Eom was wiping away the cold sweat, the scent continued its attack.
“Daesaheon and Daesagan opposed it, citing the example of Sangjeo Okbae (象箸玉杯), but this trip to the top is absolutely necessary for the people. shell! Go to my room and get a book. The title is ‘Under the Heaven and Earth’.”
“Yes mama.”
After some time, the eunuch came back out of breath and handed out a book to Hyang.
After finding the part he wanted, Hyang handed out the book to the civil servant.
“Give it to Abama.”
“Yes mama.”
As Sejong, who had received the book, examined its contents, Hyang continued speaking.
“That book is one of the miscellaneous books I asked the envoys for. As the title suggests, ‘The Land of the World’, this book records the geography and special products of China and several nearby countries. According to the book, rice is harvested twice a year in Jiangnan, Ming Dynasty, and in Daewue Kingdom, located further south than Ming, rice is harvested three times a year. Therefore, you must use the profits earned from the merchants who accompanied you on your envoy to buy rice from Gangnam or Daewol and bring it back. And with the rice we saved, we must save the people suffering from hunger.”
Hyang, whose mouth was dry from continuing to talk, paused for a moment and swallowed his saliva. The scent that moistened my dry mouth continued its attack.
“Did it say to be humble and rejoice in the remote islands of poverty? Do you think that the people were poor because they wanted to be poor? The people are now in poverty. Anbinakdo? In the summer, they die from drought, and in the winter, they freeze to death due to cold waves, and in the spring, they starve to death! In such a situation, even if the monarch has accumulated virtue, who will praise that virtue? Is the status of the country a problem when the people are dying of hunger? The author is said to have this to say: ‘If a child starves for three days, even a nobleman will climb over a wall.’ What parent can stand still when their child is starving? The king is the father of all his people! “Shouldn’t we do something when our children are crying from hunger?”
“My baby spoke well!”
The court froze at Sejong’s sudden shout.
The local government and ministers looked at King Sejong with their mouths open, and the officers also stopped recording and looked at King Sejong.
As Hyang looked at King Sejong, she remembered her first birthday party. Hyang internally clicked his tongue as he reflected on the situation in which he and his older brother, Yangnyeong, had a war of words and almost ended up grabbing him by the collar.
‘Tsk! You’ve been patient with that personality for a really long time.’
[Episode 11 Germination…Carcinogenesis?(4)] End
ⓒ Gukppong
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