Black Corporation: Joseon - Chapter 49
Episode 49: Laughing at virtue, crying at virtue. (14)
“What is this bastard doing these days…”
Sejong, who was taking a short break from government affairs with the ministers, looked out the window and muttered. ‘This bastard’ that Sejong was talking about was Hyang.
* * *
After spending a considerable amount of money on people, buildings, and budget, Hyang did not appear often at Jeongjeon.
“Can I skip the afternoon contest?”
“Is it something you have to miss?”
“Yes.”
“… Do it.”
In response to Hyang’s firm response, King Sejong gave his permission after much deliberation.
As soon as Sejong’s permission was given, Hyang began to move busily with the people she had gathered.
The problem was that they were busy but didn’t tell us what they were doing. No, I did inform you.
“We are conducting research for the lives of the Joseon people and for Joseon’s national defense. But there is a problem.”
“Problem?”
“It’s taking some time to document my knowledge of arithmetic and my experience.”
“Is that so? Hmm…”
Sejong, who had been staring at the scent for a long time in silence, nodded.
“As for Abby, I will trust you.”
“Trust me Abama. You will never be disappointed.”
A few days after the Mid-Autumn Festival, Hyang and New Year’s Day were announced at a gathering of King Sejong and ministers.
“This time, officials from the Sozawa Research Institute conducted research.”
“So what was it?”
“There are formulas that adjust the chronology taken from the Ming to suit our Joseon Dynasty.”
“Hoo?”
King Sejong and the ministers expressed interest in Hyang’s announcement. Hyang continued his presentation while receiving the attention of King Sejong and the ministers.
“You may remember the old ceremony that took place a few years ago. Due to a mistake made by Seo Woon-gwan, the time was off and the person in charge at the time, Cheon-bong Lee, was hit with a stick. You will also remember Abama.”
Sejong nodded at Hyang’s point.
“I remember.”
The incident in question occurred in the 4th year of King Sejong’s reign.
A solar eclipse was predicted on the afternoon of January 1, the 4th year of King Sejong’s reign. According to the precedent, King Sejong and his ministers wore traditional uniforms and prepared for the old ceremony. However, the solar eclipse began one angle later than the time Seo Guan had expected. Thanks to this, Lee Cheon-bong, who was in charge of solar eclipse forecasting at the time, was in trouble.
Hyang continued his explanation, citing past events as examples.
“The reason such a terrible thing happened at the time was because China’s calendar did not match our Joseon calendar. In order to correct this, we studied arithmetic formulas to modify the calendar.”
Hyang stopped speaking and gestured to the eunuchs standing behind her. The eunuchs who saw Hyang’s gesture handed out thick books to King Sejong and the ministers.
“The 1st chapter of Calendar Law Modification Science and Technology? That’s very straightforward.”
“I am also considering changing my name if necessary.”
After reading the title, Sejong opened the book and looked at the contents. The formulas for modifying the seasons written in the calendar used by the Ming Dynasty to suit the circumstances of Joseon were complicatedly recorded.
“It’s okay. It will help in many ways.”
“As you can see from the title, it is not yet finished.”
At Hyang’s words, King Sejong looked at the title and contents again and then looked at Hyang.
“Of course, that’s the title. If you look at the content, it seems like it’s already worth using, right?”
King Sejong, who was also well-versed in arithmetic, highly evaluated the value of the formulas written in the book. But Hyang shook his head.
“There are still many errors. What is written in the book now is only a rough estimate. This needs to be corrected. Otherwise, there will be errors every year.”
“But?”
At Hyang’s answer, Sejong licked his lips with regret.
“Then don’t wait for the right thing. Work hard.”
“Yes Abama.”
With the answer, Hyang locked himself in the lab with the others again.
Then, even though the end of the year was just around the corner, there was no news. No, it wasn’t complete news.
The number of people increased as those who were good at arithmetic were recruited from among the Muslims as industrial and academic scholars, and through the regular commerce of the Sangsang established in the Ming Dynasty, the Daetongtongwe (大統通軌), a calendar calculation book of the Ming Dynasty, was brought in and people spread throughout Joseon. They were busy measuring the constellations by sending them.
And every time he did something like this, Hyang wrote a report without fail and submitted it to King Sejong.
“A celestial observation instrument? What is this?”
“It’s literally an object that observes celestial bodies.”
“The report is a bit weak, isn’t it?”
In response to King Sejong’s comment, Hyang looked at the looks of the officers and ministers and answered in a low voice.
“I will post a separate report later. This level is just appropriate for the public.”
“Huh?”
Sejong sighed as he pondered the meaning of Hyang’s answer.
“Whoa. I know what you mean.”
That night, King Sejong climbed into the pavilion alone, looked in the direction of the East Palace, and sighed.
“Phew~. This father and country are helpless, so you are carrying a heavy burden.”
The astronomical observation instruments that Hyang mentioned were Hocheonui (澤天儀), Daeganui (大簡儀), and Soganui (小簡儀). To make these objects, Jang Yeong-sil and the craftsmen forgot all night and concentrated on their work.
Until the results were released, the institute’s officials traveled around the country with observation devices brought in officially or smuggled from the Ming Dynasty.
However, the reason Hyang did not report all this in detail was because of diplomatic relations with the Ming Dynasty. Observing astronomical objects could have been a major diplomatic issue considering the relationship between the four major powers and the Ming Dynasty. For that reason, the calendar was also expressed in a way that ‘corrected the calendar given by the Ming Dynasty’ rather than ‘using an independent calendar’, and the astronomical observation organization also wrote a report using a simple astronomical observation device. In this way, even if Myung said something else later, the Hyang took steps to prevent direct damage to King Sejong.
Sejong sighed because he knew why the scent was like that.
* * *
For that reason, he was suppressing his curiosity, but what King Sejong was really curious about was the military field.
After reporting that Icheon and Choi Haesan would be brought in to develop a new president, Hyang did not submit a report.
“Why doesn’t the crown prince submit the report?”
“This is an extremely secret matter, so please give us a little more time.”
“Don’t you know that it’s difficult to execute the budget without a report?” ”
Please give me a little more time. And while we’re talking, just a little more budget…”
“You bastard!”
Even though Sejong was so angry, The scent was kept secret until the end. It wasn’t just the scent. The same was true for Choi Haesan and Icheon.
No matter how much King Sejong and his ministers cajoled and coaxed them, their closed mouths would never open.
“Do I have to wait until that bastard reveals it?”
Sejong suppressed his curiosity, but what Hyang was doing was getting bigger and bigger.
Due to major events that occurred in the Ming Dynasty and the Jurchen Dynasty, King Sejong changed the pace of military reform he had been planning to proceed more quickly.
As part of the reform, the existing training center (訓鍊觀) was expanded into a training center (訓鍊院), and the local government requested support from King Sejong.
“Ask us to support the military officers and soldiers at the training center? Why?”
“We need people who can actually handle the newly created weapons.”
“Hmm…”
Sejong, who was looking at the incense with narrowed eyes, made an expression that he couldn’t help it.
“Use it! I can’t help it. I’ll allow it.”
“And a little more budget…”
You bastard! get out! ‘
In this way, many of the military officers and soldiers from the training center were drafted and assigned to the township. The township that received manpower support built a training ground for them to train at, under the foot of Namsan Mountain in the southeast of the place where the military spirit was located.
The interesting thing was that the military officers and soldiers assigned in that way also kept their mouths shut.
Among the military officers and soldiers selected in this way, it was not that there were those who liked to speak out, but for some reason, everyone kept their mouths shut regarding the work that Hyang was doing.
In addition, the area where the military officers and soldiers so selected were training was surrounded by high, dense fences and soldiers were under tight security. Loud explosions were heard every day from inside, which was hidden like that.
Thanks to this, King Sejong and his ministers, as well as all the residents of Hanseong, were focused on this forbidden place – the sign on the gatepost blocking the entrance to the training center read ‘Area 51’.
As time passed, rumors slowly began to spread, roughly speaking, ‘A great Fuhrer has been developed.’ ”Weapons are being made only for each person, not for each person. ‘ etc. were rumors. And along with that rumor, a new word became popular and that word was ‘Game Changer.’
“Game changer? What does that mean?”
“They say it’s what they say.”
King Sejong nodded without realizing it in response to the eunuch who reported the rumor.
“Cesaro.”
Sejong guessed the source and looked at his watch. Sejong checked the time on his watch and quenched his appetite.
“Now is the time to feel disciplined.”
* * *
It was a scent that was causing Hojo’s headaches as he did various things, but it was not easy for King Sejong or the ministers to say anything to the scent. Although Sejong and the ministers were all suffering from heavy work, This was because the intensity of work at the village was also very difficult.
Regardless of whether it was summer or winter, I woke up at 6 a.m. sharp, attended the morning competition, and received martial arts training in the afternoon. At other times, I worked at the research institute and in the military. Kigam and did his work by going back and forth to Area 51. To reduce the time spent traveling back and forth, Hyang started riding horses, and the procession of Hyang and his guards moving around on horseback became a new specialty of Hanseong. After a busy
day like that, Hyang sat down. The time to wake up was Hashmal (just before midnight). King Sejong and Queen Soheon actually liked it because they slept later than that before building the research institute.
“I was worried because I didn’t sleep so much, but I’m glad! ”
“That’s right.”
Hyang-hyang, whether aware of the situation or not, measured his height by leaning against the doorpost every day before going to bed. Watching his height grow day by day, Hyang-hyang was satisfied.
“It’s a full-fledged growth period, so you should sleep well! By the way… horseback riding is helpful in many ways, right? ”
This kind of Hyang’s upright daily life was welcomed by the ministers, because the person who was like a sister-in-law who always gave them a headache was gone.
Of course, in the case of important events that took place in the second half of the Gapjin year, Hyang was always on the sidelines, but that was welcome. However, as the end of the year approached, it became difficult for the ministers to hold back their curiosity.
This was because Naegeumwi was included among those who became so angry as soon as the Mid-Autumn Festival was over.
As for Naegeumwi, it seemed that King Sejong knew something, but even King Sejong kept his mouth shut. It was the same:
“Your Highness! I believe that His Majesty the Crown Prince needs to check the results of what he has been doing these days.”
“Move! A considerable amount of money is currently going into the Crown Prince’s research institute. We need to check whether the budget has been used properly.”
Finally, as December entered, the ministers, unable to overcome their curiosity, rose up.
Seeing the ministers’ unity, King Sejong nodded.
“I agree. Please bring the Crown Prince.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
* * *
A moment later, the horse carrying the propaganda officer rode out of Gwanghwamun.
After about half an hour passed, I took a deep breath and entered the side hall. When Hyang, who had bowed to Sejong, sat down, Sejong opened his mouth.
“I know very well that you have been working on a lot of things since last spring. Among them, I am well aware that there are some things, such as the correction of the calendar, that, although unfinished, have shown good results. Showing such results at such a young age is truly something to be praised.”
“I am devastated.”
Hyang bowed her head at Sejong’s praise.
“But the praise ends there. There were many other things that happened, but the officials and ministers did not hear proper reports. This is different from the promise you first made to your officials and ministers. What did you write in the plan you submitted when you first created the research institute? Didn’t they say they would thoroughly disclose the costs spent at the research institute? ”
“I apologize. But since it was something that had to be kept secret…”
“Is there a secret that must be kept not only by the governor but also by the ministers? ”
“Because it was related to our country’s national defense, confidentiality had to be maintained as much as possible until the finished product was delivered. It’s because you never know.”
“Hmm…”
Sejong was lost in thought for a moment at Hyang’s answer. Sejong, who was looking at Hyang’s prostrate form, opened his mouth.
“I will only trust your words and keep the budget because it is confidential. It cannot be enforced. Even if it is an intermediate process, it must be reviewed. This is because you should avoid wasting your precious budget on useless things. Therefore, I will be grateful for what you do. How long will it take to prepare? ”
Hyang, who had calculated for a moment in response to King Sejong’s question, answered,
“Please give me five days.”
“Good. I will carry out a full-fledged audit in five days.”
* * *