Black Corporation: Joseon - Chapter 479
Episode 479: Daejeongjeong (代理聽政) (4)
The number of officials who went on business trips with King Sejong and his wife was considerable. The expressions of the officials accompanying King Sejong were largely divided into two. One side had a bright face, and their representative was Anpyeong.
‘It’s been a long time since I’ve been on a business trip! Looking at the schedule, it looks like I’ll be meeting a lot of talented people and singers, so it’s going to be a good time for the first time in a long time! ‘And for free!’
‘There are fewer people to talk to, so there’s less work to write down! ‘It’s a fortune! It’s a fortune!’
There were people who were happy with such bright faces, but on the other hand, there were also people who became depressed. And the representative of those who became so prosperous was Park Yeon.
‘If you keep moving like this with Joo-sang, you will have to get your daily results checked every day! I already heard that! Testing assignments every day! ‘Nothing like that happened to me except when my writing teacher gave it to me when I was young!’
‘The good times are all gone! ‘I have to face His Majesty the Prime Minister and receive approval every day!’
‘Who recommended me!’
King Sejong went on a business trip, accompanied by officials who had mixed feelings.
Sejong, who was sitting in a private cabin of a special train, looked at the map with sparkling eyes.
“Let’s see… Where did you eat lunch today…” * *
*
As Gangnyeongjeon and Junggungjeon became empty, the busiest place in Gyeongbokgung Palace became Donggungjeon.
Officials from the six ministries and the Prime Minister’s Office came in and out of the Seunghwa Hall in the East Palace carrying documents, and sometimes even ministers and the Prime Minister had to be called to the Seunghwa Hall.
And the faces of the officials and ministers who were called in and came out after talking with Hyang turned white.
“The crown prince is not easy….”
“I was prepared because I’ve experienced this a few times before, but after being hit so hard, I feel completely blind.”
“I’m going to die…”
While the officials and ministers who had been through a lot of hardship at Seunghwadang were sighing, the incense in the office was burning brightly.
‘Even so, I am a person who passed the level 5 administrative examination of the 21st century Ministry of Finance and Economy. Don’t take it lightly! I’ll make sure you take it on anyway!’
* * *
Although the scent was burning and working enthusiastically, it soon got caught on an unexpected reef and became stranded.
“Whoa~.”
Hyang sighed as he looked at the documents in front of him and placed his hand on his forehead.
“What happened to bad handwriting in Joseon, where calligraphy is a basic passive skill?…”
The reef that held Hyang down was bad writing.
“Calligraphy is one of the six arts that a gentleman must master…”
It was basic for all documents coming and going in the Joseon Dynasty to be duly written. However, many of the reports coming from low-level administrative agencies were written in cursive or cursive.
And this problem became more serious as Hunminjeongeum became popular. This was because an official standard font had not yet been established.
Combined with that situation and the habit of writing in cursive or cursive, documents written in extremely bad handwriting were created.
And these documents written in bad handwriting were hidden among properly filed documents, and came out like a trap, trapping Hyang.
Of course, to prevent this problem of bad handwriting, documents submitted to King Sejong were always written in writing.
“It is difficult to make a proper judgment based on these documents alone. Please bring the materials you referenced when filling out these documents.”
The problem was that whenever King Sejong issued an order like this, the relevant ministry went into chaos.
Therefore, Sejong put pressure on Hyang whenever he could.
“How far has the development of the object you mentioned before progressed?”
Every time that happened, Hyang responded with an embarrassed expression.
“There’s still more time… and budget…”
“Hey!”
As always, Sejong, who was about to throw a tantrum when Hyang mentioned ‘time and budget’, soon let out a long sigh.
This was because I was fully aware that there was no room in the budget for the research being conducted at the research institute and Area 51.
* * *
The budget consumed by the research institute and Area 51 was enormous.
It took nearly 10 years and a huge budget to create a steam engine that could be used immediately on the front lines.
Of course, I made and researched many things that immediately brought in a lot of money just by making them. However, there were many fields, such as pure production studies or material properties studies, that seemed to only eat up budgets with little visible results.
“If economic science and physical properties are not properly supported, the results of the research institute and Area 51 will be nothing more than a pavilion!”
Every time a criticism was raised from the Ministry of Finance and Economy, the village protested as above. And Sejong also gave strength to this scent’s claim.
“It is natural that in order to produce proper results in any work, the foundation must be strong. At first glance, pure economics and physical properties seem like they only eat up money, but there are quite a few results created based on them. Therefore, it is not a good idea to waste money on research like this.”
* * *
Sejong, who knew about the situation at the research institute and Area 51, refrained from making a fuss and asked Hyang again.
“When I listened to your explanation before, it didn’t seem difficult to make, but was it actually that difficult?”
“The framework itself is not complicated, but it is difficult to create materials that maintain the framework.”
“To what extent?”
“It’s a little more difficult than the razors and stylus sharpeners that are just starting to be made.”
“Is it that much?”
In response to Sejong’s question, Hyang explained the reason.
-It was not an easy task to engrave letters on paper with only the strength of one’s fingers based on the principles of leverage and rotation. The driving part that moves like that had to be very light and remain strong at the same time.
-The type itself that engraves letters on paper also has quite difficult requirements. The exact shape had to be engraved in a size smaller than half a grain of rice, and it had to have the strength to withstand tens of thousands of impacts from hitting the paper.
“…There are many other obstacles, but these two are the biggest.”
“I see.”
“That’s why physical properties are important. “If you know the physical properties of various metals properly, you can combine them to create more useful alloys.”
“Additional budget is unreasonable.”
Hyang clicked her tongue inwardly at Sejong’s firm answer.
‘Tsk!’
* * *
Hyang, exhausted from deciphering the document with Hunminjeongeum scrawled in cursive, called an eunuch.
“Go and fetch General Lee Cheon from Area 51.”
“Yes sir.”
After some time, Lee Cheon arrived at Seunghwadang and bowed to Hyang.
“Did you call me, Your Majesty?”
“yes. When will the prototype of the typewriter be released?”
“If the results of the newly developed bamboo belt are good, it will be the end.”
“Is that so?”
Hyang’s face brightened at Lee Cheon’s answer.
* * *
The development of marine steam engines had a tremendous impact on improving the quality of steel and developing new iron alloys and processing technologies.
Based on the data obtained during the development process, higher quality steel could be mass-produced, and razor blades, stylus sharpeners, and typewriter parts could be made based on advanced processing technology.
“The typewriter will be finished soon.”
“That’s right.”
Thanks to this, both Hyang and the craftsmen in Area 51 expected optimistic results, but surprisingly, the part that was easy to see turned out to be a reef.
That part was a printing ribbon.
At first, they simply used cotton string soaked in ink, but several problems arose. If the string was completely dry, it wouldn’t print properly, and if it got too wet, food would splatter in all directions.
To solve this problem, Hyang and the development team began development using graphite powder as a substitute.
While conducting various experiments by mixing ink powder with water or oil and making and combining printing ribbon materials with various types of fabrics such as cotton, linen, and silk, the scent came to purify vicariously.
* * *
Hyang, whose face lit up when he heard that a typewriter had finally been made after a long period of trial and error, praised Lee Cheon.
“Thank you for your hard work!”
“How can it be my fault? “It was you who first came up with the framework.”
Under Hyang’s reign, Icheon gave credit to Hyang.
What Lee Cheon said was true.
* * *
As soon as Hunminjeongeum was officially promulgated, Hyang immediately called Jang Yeong-sil and the craftsmen together.
“…Because of this problem, His Majesty the Lord has created a new script and will use it. There are probably quite a few people who have already encountered this character, but as you can see, it is a phonetic character, so it is a convenient character that can be written exactly as it sounds. So, I came up with a little plan.”
As soon as he spoke, Hyang immediately unfolded his plan. It was a concept drawing, just a blueprint without exact dimensions.
Jang Yeong-sil, who was looking at the design of the incense, nodded.
“I’m sure… it will take a lot of experimentation, but I think it can be made. But it is truly amazing. “How did you come up with this idea?”
“Well, it just so happened….” ‘
Is this the result of shopping in Hwanghak-dong in the 21st century?’
It was the result of a 21st century virtue that brought back memories of disassembling an old typewriter found in Hwanghak-dong down to its single screw.
Of course, after repeated disassembly and assembly, the typewriter became a complete piece of junk, and some who found out about it said that they had destroyed the precious typewriter.
It was assigned to Jang Yeong-sil to properly design a typewriter that was a copy of the final version of Gong Byeong-woo’s three-set typewriter.
However, Jang Yeong-sil also had difficulties in the beginning because of the old Hangul, which had already disappeared when Gong Byeong-woo’s typewriter was created.
“OK! “Let’s stick together!”
Jang Yeong-sil, who faced a difficult problem, was on fire.
* * *
“Still, wasn’t this result possible because the general properly commanded the craftsmen of Area 51? “It is worthy of praise.”
“Thank you.”
“If you get successful results, please immediately make a few and send them to Seunghwadang.”
“How many will we make?”
Hyang, who had been counting for a moment in response to Icheon’s question, immediately answered.
“First of all, twenty. Is that possible?”
“We have already made a mold to print the parts, so if we are successful, we will be able to make 20 units within 15 days.”
“Then I would like to ask you something.”
“yep!”
Lee Cheon, who answered firmly like a military officer, immediately returned to Area 51.
Fifteen days later, Icheon sent craftsmen to Seunghwadang to teach them how to use twenty typewriters.
Hyang, who heard the story through an insider, gathered all the officials from Cheomsawon in one place.
“…So I made a typewriter like this. I will receive support from twenty people here. These are the people who will learn how to use this typewriter, and will be in charge of transcribing documents that need to be appraised among the documents coming to Seunghwadang, and approving documents that will be sent from Seunghwadang to the Ministry of Education and the Prime Minister’s Office. “I will receive support.”
Even after Hyang finished speaking, no officials immediately raised their hands.
‘Does this seem like I’m just taking on more work for no reason?’
‘I’m so busy right now…’
While everyone was just watching, Han Myeong-hoe asked Hyang a question.
“Lowering. “Then do those who use the typewriter also carry out other tasks?”
“no. “I am solely responsible for document preparation.”
At that moment, hands rose up like crazy from all directions.
“I will do it!”
“No, I am qualified!”
“Please just leave it to me!”