Black Corporation: Joseon - Chapter 399
Chapter 399: Higher education institutions. (1)
Late summer of the 14th year of King Sejong’s reign (1432, the year of Imja). It was not long before the Mid-Autumn Festival.
After a long time, Hyang volunteered to enter Geunjeongjeon and told King Sejong.
“I have something to tell you, Soja Abama.”
“There is no budget.”
In response to Sejong’s firm answer, Hyang slightly turned her head and pouted. However, Hyang soon adjusted her expression and told Sejong again.
“The first translation of the medical book has been completed.”
“Really!”
King Sejong was pleased with Hyang’s report.
Hyang gestured to the eunuch who followed him. At the hand signal of the incense, the eunuch held out thick books to the merchant.
King Sejong, who received the book through a merchant ship, examined its contents.
“You wrote everything in Jeongeum (short for Hunminjeongeum)?”
“yes. Thanks to this, a lot of effort has been reduced.”
“Even though it has decreased, it was not a light matter. “I think we should reward those who did the translation.”
“I will consider it an honor.”
Hearing Hyang’s answer, Sejong looked back at the book and opened his mouth.
“Now, progress will be made in training military doctors.”
“That’s right.”
The book Hyang uploaded to King Sejong was Ibn Sina. Translation of ِنْ سِينَا’s ‘Complete Medical Science’ and some of the various medical books written by Claudius Galenus. It was done.
As regular flights to Alexandria became established, the city imported large quantities of medical books from the Byzantine Empire and Islamic countries.
The reason for importing such large quantities of medical books was to train medical staff, especially military doctors, in large quantities.
* * *
“Military medicine departments should be established at military academies.”
As the military training began, the local government early on emphasized the need to establish a military medical department at the military academy. The ministers reacted to Hyang’s claim with some trepidation.
“Are you saying this? Is there really a need to create a military medical department?”
“Isn’t this unnecessary spending?”
“If a war breaks out or a dispute arises and the military is deployed, we can mobilize lawmakers from Naeuiwon or nearby villages. “I have done it that way so far and there have been no problems.”
Looking at the ministers who thought it was ‘unnecessary expenditure’, Hyang strongly emphasized the necessity.
“What will you do if a war or conflict breaks out and you appoint lawmakers, but a plague breaks out in another region?”
“Then, if we mobilize lawmakers from nearby areas….”
“Are you trying to remove the lower stone and destroy the upper stone?”
“….”
“And in the future, as more and more naval front lines go out to sea, there must be at least one military doctor on each ship?”
“….”
The ministers fell silent at Hyang’s point.
“After thinking about it, I think the crown prince’s proposal is reasonable. The number of rivers controlled by our Joseon Dynasty is increasing and will increase further in the future. And just as the crown prince said, naval ships will be going further and further away. If you catch a disease in a foreign land where everything is unfamiliar, you will need someone to find out how to deal with it. Therefore, let us establish a military medical department at the military academy that is currently being prepared for establishment.”
“I follow your orders!”
King Sejong’s order was given, but progress was not rapid. It was repeatedly pushed back due to the establishment of the Social Democratic Institute and the Middle School, as well as the Giyu Rebellion and the rebellion caused by Mantemu Lee.
* * *
However, paradoxically, this pushback was fortunate for the military medical department.
Hyang looked through the report and muttered.
“They say everything in the world should not be done….”
After going through the Giyu Rebellion and the Troubles, it was discovered that there were limits to the selection of lawmakers. Subsequently, as the navy advanced to Alexandria and raids against pirates and Japanese pirates took place in the coastal waters of Joseon, the need for lawmakers became apparent.
In the end, it started as a pushover, but the ministers began to seriously reexamine the plan.
“I hope that the medical skills you will learn in military medicine will mainly focus on the treatment of external injuries.”
“I guess so, right? Even looking at the past rebellions and wars….”
Hyang raised his voice among the ministers reviewing the plan.
“We need to add not only trauma, but also disease and pharmacy.”
“You mean disease and medicine?”
“Isn’t the battlefield a clean place? Isn’t the battlefield a place where even the most important thing, clean water, is difficult to obtain? “Of course it’s a place where diseases are rampant, isn’t it?”
The ministers nodded at Hyang’s point. In particular, the military commanders, including Jo Mal-saeng, nodded so loudly that it seemed like it was putting a strain on their necks.
“I’m getting it back! “If you look at the art of war, polluting the water is one of the first methods used in clear-field tactics to break the enemy’s offensive!”
“Water can be solved with a purification machine, but if you have to fight in an unfamiliar place, it is inevitable that you will get sick. If you want to maintain proper power, you definitely need to be prepared for this! This is what we already experienced in the last Horan.”
* * *
In the process of suppressing the rebellion caused by Lee Man-ju and Muntumu, a significant number of soldiers deserted due to illness – the most likely flu, according to the report.
When we looked into the reason, we found that unlike the soldiers from Pyeongan-do, Yeongan-do, and Hamgil-do who were accustomed to the harsh environment in the north, the soldiers who came to support from the south were driven away by the harsh winter in the north.
Hyang, who later checked the related report, muttered with a dejected expression.
“Are the natural environments of South and North Korea divided even on this palm-sized land on the Korean Peninsula? Is that it? No, the people who went up were from the Gyeonggi barracks, so that’s half of them, right?”
* * *
Hyang, riding on the strong support of the military that he personally experienced, went one step further.
“And I think military medicine departments should also teach basic military techniques.”
“Do you mean the art of war?”
Not only the ministers but also the military all looked angry at Hyang’s suggestion.
In response to that response, Hyang added a more detailed explanation.
“Let’s imagine there is a plague. “The lawmakers from the region where the plague occurred will be the first to step forward, and the government will also send out members of the National Assembly and medical women, but won’t the first ones to be mobilized be the military doctors located closest to us?”
The ministers and commanders, who had been thinking about Hyang’s point, nodded.
“That is most likely.”
“We can’t afford to wait for Hansung’s support with a congressman right next to us.”
“What does it mean to cure a plague? Isn’t this a war to stop and defeat the plague that has invaded our country to kill the people of Joseon? Take a moment to recall your memories. “How similar are the efforts to prevent a plague and the efforts to prevent an invasion by foreign enemies?”
The ministers and commanders who had briefly remembered Hyang’s words nodded once again.
When a foreign enemy invades, the first thing to do is check where they have invaded and what their scale is.
Next, form a defense line around the foreign enemy’s occupied territory and block the enemy’s advance while simultaneously cutting off the enemy’s supply lines.
If you tie down the enemy’s feet in this way, you will annihilate them step by step.
This was the most basic defensive tactic written in the Art of War. And the response method when the plague began to spread was similar to this.
Ministers and commanders who understood the incense example agreed to add ‘Basic Warfare’ to the curriculum.
The problem was that the ‘basic art of war’ was ‘the art of war’.
“The Art of War by Sun Tzu? “Isn’t the standard too high?”
The commanders asked back with a look of disbelief at Hyang’s point.
“Isn’t it natural that Sun Tzu’s The Art of War is a must-read and familiar to anyone who supports martial arts? “Isn’t it true?”
“Well, that’s true, but… well. “Let’s do that.”
Hyang took a step back and muttered to himself.
‘Sometimes I feel like there are a lot of things that have changed compared to the 21st century and now.’
What was considered basic in the 21st century was often very advanced knowledge or technology in modern Joseon, or quite the opposite.
‘Anyway, my condolences to the gentlemen who will study what is the beginning and end of the art of war…’
It was the scent that made him turn his head after finishing his work.
* * *
After crossing one hill, the township, ministers, and commanders moved on to the next problem.
The next awaited problem was that of the training period, a problem related to the military academy as a whole.
Regarding the duration of this training, the military claimed 10 years and others 6 years.
“Six years! It’s too short! When it comes to depth, the military books are just as good as the scriptures! “Six years is too short!”
“To take the martial arts exam, I had to study for at least 10 years! At least!”
The ministers who stood in opposition to the military, which insisted on 10 years, also did not back down.
“10 years! Even if you study for 20 years, not 10, if you don’t get any real experience, you don’t treat me like a brat! It is better to teach only the necessary things and then finish with practical training! 10 years? “Are you going to earn that budget?”
“Even if it’s 10 years, doesn’t that include the time to learn basic subjects such as the thousand-character alphabet? Since you go through Social Democratic School and Middle School anyway, wouldn’t it be okay to skip that time?”
“This is a disdain for martial arts!”
“You’re laughing! It is said that civil servants who select civil servants can also take the civil service examination if they complete the Social Minhakdang or Junior High School! What kind of freezing to death is it? “If you think about it that way, you’re a total idiot!”
The confrontation between the two sides did not back down. But both sides had good reasons. The military wanted to acquire well-trained talent, and ministers wanted to supply talent with the necessary abilities within a limited budget.
As the confrontation between the two sides continued like this, incense intervened.
“How about going for a 6-year course first? ‘First of all’.”
“Did you say ‘first of all’?”
“yes.”
Hyang nodded and explained in more detail.
-For the first three years at the military academy, you will learn the most basic military knowledge and military techniques and how to operate a unit.
-Those who take the test after three years of training and fail to master the skills are assigned to low-level executives such as military instructor Jinmu.
-Those who pass the test will learn advanced military knowledge and unit management skills for the next three years.
-Those who have passed this 6-year course are appointed and assigned to first-level officials or authority officials depending on their rank.
-Afterwards, those who have worked with excellent grades for at least 5 years will be tested and promoted to high-level executives starting from Manho.
-Even those who start out as military instructors or military officers are promoted to general or first officer if they record excellent grades for three years. Afterwards, if you record excellent grades over the next five years, you will be given the opportunity to take the driver’s license exam.
“How is it?”
The ministers immediately agreed to Hyang’s proposal.
“It’s okay!” “Now that civil servants are promoted through a similar process, the issue of equity can be resolved!”
Hyang, who received support from ministers, looked back at the military personnel.
“What do you think?”
“Please give me a moment…”
“Sure.”