Black Corporation: Joseon - Chapter 281

Episode 281 Chik-chik-chik-pok-pok-pok-pok! (2)

King Sejong and the ministers who were questioning Hyang’s words soon nodded.

“I guess it’ll be okay.”

“That’s right.”

“In this case, it is a good thing that the plan was postponed.”

“It is said that everything in the world is a Saeongjima(塞翁之馬)….”

Following King Sejong’s positive response, the ministers also responded similarly and added.

* * *

According to Lim Sun-wook and Hyang’s suggestion, a plan was made to first operate a stagecoach connecting the east, west, south, and north of Hanseong.

The plan was ready right away. However, the actual implementation was delayed due to problems with horses to pull the carriage.

In the case of the small carriages ridden by the nobility of the Ming and Goryeo Dynasties, there was no problem even if they were small Joseon horses or Yeojin horses.

However, the stagecoach that would run inside Hanseong was very large.

“We cannot achieve profitability with the wagons we have been using so far.”

Lim Soon-wook also nodded at Hyang’s words.

“That’s right. “To make a good profit, you have to transport at least 30 to 40 people at a time.”

“The problem is that if that happens, the current Joseon Horse or Yeojin Horse will not be possible.”

It was calculated that if small Joseon horses or Yeojin horses were used, at least six horses would have to be attached to each carriage, so all officials had to find new measures.

Accordingly, it was concluded that the horses to pull the stagecoach would be the western stage horses brought in through Mansour, especially the very large horses.

The problem was that although stallions and mares were continuously being brought in through Mansour, only about 20 to 30 horses could be brought in at a time, and especially for very large horses, only about 2 to 4 horses were allowed.

In order to intensively manage the horses imported in this way, horse farms were established near Hanseong and Gyeonggi Province. (Note 1)

The purpose of the horse farms established in this way was to breed and manage the western horses brought in through Mansour and to crossbreed them with Joseon horses and Yeojin horses. The goal was to raise better breeds of horses through training.

In this way, foals were born at horse farms built in Hanseong and Gyeonggi, but it took at least 4 to 5 years for the horses to become adult horses, so the operation of the stagecoach in Hanseong had to be postponed until then.

However, when the first generation of horses born at the horse ranch reached maturity, a war broke out in Liaodong.

In order to pursue Lee Man-ju and Muntemu and intercept them by blocking their path, it was inevitable for not only the cavalry but also the infantry to move quickly.

Therefore, among the horses at the horse ranch, all adult horses except stallions were conscripted into the military, and Hanseong’s stagecoach operation was pushed back again.

And as Hyang completed the iron horse, the iron horse came to pull the stagecoach instead of the horse.

* * *

Seeing that the reaction of King Sejong and the ministers was positive, Hyang motioned to the eunuch.

The Nae-gwan, who saw the gesture of incense, brought a large chart.

Hyang continued speaking as he turned the cover.

“This is the Hanseong Circular Train using iron horses proposed by the research institute and Area 51.”

When I turned the cover, the picture that appeared was a picture of an iron horse made by Hyang, a small freight car that supplied the coal and water needed for the iron horse, and two passenger cars connected to each other.

Hyang explained, pointing to the carriage with his pointing stick.

“This carriage can accommodate 60 passengers. “Because we operate two such passenger cars connected, we can carry 120 people.”

“What is the calculation standard?”

In response to King Sejong’s question, Hyang turned over the paper with the chart.

The next page showed a carriage seen from above.

“Seats are built along the left and right walls of the carriage, so 15 people can sit on each side. And if you attach a pole to the ceiling in front of the seat and hang a hook on the pole to create standing seating, you can accommodate 30 more people. So there are 60 people. Of course, if you ignore the appropriate spacing and load as much as possible, you can ride up to 130 people.”

“130 people? “Are you sure?”

Hyang immediately answered King Sejong’s question, saying he couldn’t believe it.

“We did an experiment at Area 51. “In that way, we were able to successfully pull the two carriages, each filled with 130 people, and a total of 260 passengers.”

“That’s amazing.”

“Of course, if you burn it like that, you can’t even dream of comfort.”

‘At least we don’t make hell iron in this era!’

It was a scent that I made a firm promise to myself while explaining it to King Sejong.

The ministers exchanged various opinions regarding the explanation of the scent.

“If you add the two vehicles together, there are 120 people… Will this message come out?”

The ministers’ questions were directed at Kim Jeom. Kim Jeom, who received the attention of King Sejong and the ministers, answered immediately.

“Wouldn’t it be decided based on the distance between routes and stops, and the interval between operations?”

At Kim Jeom’s answer, King Sejong and the ministers’ eyes turned to Hyang again.

Hyang turned over the paper of the chart again. The newly revealed piece of paper contained a route map based on the map of Hanseong.

“It looks like the Chinese character for Jeong (丁), by the way… If we go along that route, it looks like we will have to go through Sungnyemun Gate or rebuild the walls. Is that correct?”

“That’s right.”

Hyang explained while scanning the route map with a pointing stick.

“The most basic axis is the axis that travels back and forth between east and west of Hanseong. The largest station will be built in front of Yukjo Street.”

“I understand that well, but the problem is the route that passes through Sungnyemun Gate. “Why was that route created?”

“Iron horses and carriages require constant maintenance. However, Hanseong is already full of houses and people, so it is not possible to build facilities for maintenance. So, we are creating a maintenance site on the west side of Area 51 and the north side of Maponaru. “And I would like to build a housing village for officials who do not own a home on the land between Sungnyemun Gate and this repair shop.”

As soon as Hyang finished speaking, the eyes of the officers, governors, and other young officials began to sparkle.

As the proverb, ‘Send people to Hanyang and horses to Jeju’ proves, from this time on, Hanseong was slowly showing signs of population concentration.

As people with different stories gathered in Hanseong, including the families of noblemen who passed the civil service examination and became central government officials, and those who came to Seoul in search of an unexpected opportunity, the number of people making money by renting out houses increased, and the number of people experiencing sorrow while living in rented rooms also increased. .

In particular, new officials who came from Korean-American families and could not receive support from their parents or family had to live in rented rooms.

And living in this rented room was not easy at all.

In history before the intervention of Hyang, Kim Jong-jik (1431-1492), a 15th-century Joseon civil servant, wrote a poem as follows:

-Some of the houses in the castle (城中幾屋廬) were all houses where I stayed (as a resident), but sometimes I was driven out (有時被驅逐) and I often wandered east and west (東西漂轉頻) ( Note 2)

Because of this, the eyes of the young officials began to sparkle fearfully.

Hyang continued his explanation by pointing out the southern route with a pointer.

“The first thing officials or officials consider when renting a house is that it will be easy to move in and out.” Because of this problem, rents for rented houses near Yukjo Street and Gyeongbokgung Palace are very expensive. However, if we build a housing complex on the outskirts of Hanseong and assign train routes, we can solve the housing problem of officials and lower Hanseong’s expensive taxes to some extent.”

“Hmm… I see. “What do you think, Minister of Finance and Economy?”

Kim Jeom answered King Sejong’s question right away.

“It’s worth thinking about!”

“is it?”

While listening to Kim Jeom’s answer, King Sejong slightly raised his head and looked inside Geunjeongjeon.

The officials and officers who were there to assist the ministers were concentrating on the meeting like never before.

‘It seems okay, but there’s something strange about it, right?’

Sejong, who felt something strange, recalled the description of the scent.

After briefly remembering, Sejong realized what he had missed.

“Seja, then when will the train start and end?”

“We will start driving when the sun rises and end when the sun sets.”

“Then the southern route won’t be a problem? Even now, it is routine for officials to work late into the night. If they leave the office after dark, won’t they have to walk a long way home?”

In response to King Sejong’s question, all the officials in Geunjeongjeon shouted in their hearts at the same time.

‘So please reduce the work!’

However, as he was the son of the father, Hyang immediately gave King Sejong his answer.

“You just need to organize a special episode for that part. In the morning, it runs at 2-hour intervals (approximately 30 minutes), and around the time of departure, it also runs at 1-hour intervals for 1 o’clock (2 hours), and after sunset, it runs at 1-hour intervals until sunset (10 p.m. or 10 p.m.). It runs for up to 30 minutes. The reason we used the time of release as the standard is because this is the time when Sungnyemun Gate closes.”

Sejong, who had been calculating for a moment at Hyang’s explanation, nodded.

“It’s okay. “After that time, most officials still sleep in their dormitories anyway.”

“That’s right.”

The middle- and lower-level officials who were listening to the conversation between the two fathers and sons had to hold back tears.

‘Ugh!’

‘Please tell me not to go home at all!’

After that, there was a discussion about the interval between trains running east and west of Hanseong, but there was no major difference of opinion, so it was moved on.

However, what focused the attention of the ministers was the space that the railroad tracks would occupy.

“The iron horses and carriages are quite large, but can they be accommodated in that turning space at the end of the line?”

Hyang immediately answered the question from the Minister of Construction (formerly known as Air Conditioning).

“Experiments at Area 51 are sufficient.”

The Iron Horse, which appeared for the first time this time, was slightly larger than the Rocket built by George Stevenson. Therefore, there was not a lot of space required for U-turns to change the train’s route at the end point.

Afterwards, after various opinions were coordinated, King Sejong came to a conclusion.

“Then let’s operate the iron horse instead of the stagecoach.”

“I follow your orders.”

After organizing the agenda, King Sejong looked back.

“Seja, this is the housing village for officials without homes that you mentioned earlier.”

“Please ask, Abama.”

“It’s a good idea, but wouldn’t there be a lot of shortcomings in just having a house?”

“I thought about that too. As a significant number of houses are being built, a sales office and battlefield clinic will also be placed. The same goes for police stations and fire stations. In addition, we will also establish a city mayor and a social democratic school middle school.”

Sejong, who had been imagining the scent in his head for a moment, nodded his head.

“I’m sure the officials’ relatives will like it.”

“It will be so.”

“What do you think?”

The ministers who received King Sejong’s question immediately bowed their heads.

“Gods also experienced a lot of sorrow from living in rented rooms when they were young. “If you create a residential village like this and allow homeless officials and their relatives to live there, their praise will ring through the sky.”

“is it? “Then let’s research it.”

“yes.”

In this way, the second ‘planned city’ in Joseon history was created.

The first time was that the township took the lead in the process of restoring the area destroyed by the Great Hanseong Fire, and this was the second time.

Later, this residential village created under the leadership of the local government became the greatest gold ssaragi land in Joseon.

The fact that all kinds of convenience facilities were in place from the beginning made life convenient, but the biggest reason was the social school and middle school located in this residential area.

As they were children of officials working in the government, the level of education at social democratic schools and middle schools was above average.

In addition, as all of his neighbors were government officials, he boasted of an enormous network of connections. Eventually, wealthy merchants and landowners built houses near this residential area and enrolled their children and grandchildren into the residential community’s social school.

* * *

Note 1) Research on horse ranch during the Joseon Dynasty. Hongdu Lee, Professor at Hongik University. Northeast Asian History Journal No. 55.

Note 2) Lee Hwang and Kim Jong-jik, civil servants during the Joseon Dynasty, also ‘lived in a rented room’. Reporter Joo Young-jae. Kyunghyang Shinmun. 2015.03.09.

http://news.khan.co.kr/kh_news/khan_art_view.html?art_id=201503080851491