Black Corporation: Joseon - Chapter 680
Episode 680 Yu Yu Sang-jong (10)
There were several reasons why Hyang gathered only the members of the imperial family and ordered them to work.
The first reason was external pressure.
No matter how upright they were, even if they were directly under the emperor’s control, there was a possibility that they would cover up their previous sins if pressure came from other high-ranking officials.
However, those gathered now were the emperor’s brothers on the side, and the emperor’s children – even the next emperor.
External pressure is applied to these people? It was something that would cause not only him but his entire family to disappear.
And my eldest brother and father were right next to me, saying, ‘I’m watching!’ or ‘Dad, I’m not sleeping!’ It was a situation where .
In addition to blocking external pressure, efficiency had to increase.
The second reason was that all of those gathered were experts in calculations.
Hyang’s younger brother, Duke Pyeongwon, and Hyang’s sons, Du and Seul, were working in the budget department of the Ministry of National Defense.
The same was true for Crown Prince Wan. In charge of the operation of the research institute and Area 51, I was struggling with various expense statements most of the time, excluding the time I was teaching.
These weren’t the only ones. With the addition of Princess Jeong and Kim Dam, who were well-known in the industry-academia sector, every single penny of the military’s expenses before and after the last war was being counted.
And the numbers that came up in this organized manner were written on oiled and dried oil paper and attached to a map.
Thanks to this, more and more materials were attached to the large map hanging on one wall.
However, as a result of such work, by simply examining the map properly, it was possible to determine the approximate situation that occurred as the war progressed on a daily basis.
And Hyang found the problem there.
“Look at this?”
Hyang, who was tracing the numbers of the people on the map with his finger, muttered with a wry smile.
“Prince, please come here for a moment.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Hyang, who had placed Wan next to him, asked while scattering the figures of a specific region with his fingers.
“Isn’t something strange?”
At Hyang’s question, Wan’s expression, who was looking at the numbers as he walked up and down the stairs, became serious.
“huh? this is?”
“Do you understand?”
“I understand!”
Everyone who was working on the conversation between Hyang and Wan stopped what they were doing and looked at them. Hyang saw that and beckoned to them.
“You can come and listen to the prince’s explanation and confirm. In particular, the Duke of Pyeongwon, the Duke of Eunpyeong, and the Duke of Bundang must come and see it.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
After listening to Wan’s explanation, the imperial officials who approached realized what the problem was.
-The day after the supplies arrived, reports of large numbers of casualties continued. If this happens, the supplies provided for casualties will end up floating in the air.
The problem is that there were many battlefields where supplies floating in the air were lost.
-The same goes for military corruption.
According to military regulations, imperial troops stationed in enemy territory are regularly paid a certain amount of military service depending on their rank.
The problem is that reports of casualties increase rapidly the day after military pay is paid.
Duke Pyeongwon and Du Seul, who confirmed the problem while listening to Wan’s explanation, looked devastated. In particular, the face of the Duke of Pyeongwon, who had been struggling with numbers at the Ministry of Defense throughout the last war, was beyond devastated.
“Why did I miss this part?”
The scent answered the Duke of Plains’ lament-like advice.
“The most important thing was victory or defeat. “This is what happened because we only focused on winning and losing.”
“Ah…”
After discovering the embezzlement that occurred during the war, the imperial family members also began investigating the manipulation of merit awards.
The imperial family, who brought back from the record office the records of the major examination that had been conducted for the honoree, including records of war injuries and documents recording testimonies of people around them to prove the meritorious service, began to shake things up once again.
* * *
In the process, the thoughts of the imperial family members who participated in the work leaked to one side at the same time.
“your majesty! Please provide typewriters to the Record Office!”
“Even though it was written in the correct pronunciation, it is difficult to recognize it immediately because the handwriting is different. What in the world would you do if you wrote Jeongeum in a cursive font? “No matter how much you wish, this is a harsh treatment!”
“I’m getting it back! Just like the purpose of the Records Institute’s founding, in order for future generations to use the current records as a reference point, they must be able to read them properly! “I’ll have to use a typewriter to transcribe everything so it’s legible!”
When Wan even went so far as to insist that the typewriter should be put into the record office, Hyang asked with a puzzled expression on his face.
“Are you saying this because you know how much records there are in the archives?”
Wan answered Hyang’s question right away.
“Isn’t that a matter for the people in charge of the records office to worry about and not for you to know?”
Hyang’s mouth instantly gaped at Wan’s answer, which was so decisive. But Wan did not back down.
“Considering the purpose of the archives, it would be absolutely unacceptable to back down just because the volume is large!”
“What would you like to do when you ascend to the throne?”
“By that time, the amount will increase even more. your majesty! Why is there such a thing as a water-sealing machine?”
In the end, Hyang decided to put a typewriter in the record office. Of course, because the amount of records in the archives was enormous, rewriting by typewriter was limited to records from the first years of the empire.
Nevertheless, the quantity was enormous.
Recording all of this, the officer added:
-… So the emperor accepted the crown prince’s petition and decided to install a typewriter in the record office.
The officer says:
Leaving records in the archives is so that future generations can immediately understand why previous generations did what they did and change them to fit the times. Therefore, it is not a bad thing to use a typewriter to make it easier for future generations to understand.
I should never commit a crime related to work.
* * *
Although there was such a skit, the imperial family members who participated in the work did their best to analyze the records.
And about 10 people who manipulated military operations were found.
Hyang received the report and ordered the merchant ship.
“Ask the Prime Minister, the left and right deputy prime ministers, the Minister of National Defense and the Chief of Staff to come immediately.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Hyang called the highest-ranking officials of the department in charge, starting with Hwang Hee, and handed out a report and gave orders.
“Read it. “Let’s talk later.”
After reading the report, the summoned officials had no choice but to kneel down on the floor and bow their heads.
“The gods were too insensitive to notice this! Please kill me!”
“Do you really want me to kill you?”
“….”
“Sang Sang has said something repeatedly, right? “If you don’t want to die, don’t commit a mortal sin.”
“Please have mercy!”
Hwang Hee, the left and right Deputy Prime Ministers, the Minister of National Defense, and the Chief of Staff, who had been scolded by Hyang, proceeded with their work in a rage.
It was the beginning of the ‘bloody downfall’.
“Why can’t I resign and stay in government office for the rest of my life?” “It’s all because of these guys!”
‘It’s not because of your sons?’
Hearing Hwang Hee’s angry words, all subordinate officials thought the same thing, but no one said it out loud.
In any case, thanks to the downward pressure that started from above, starting with Hwang Hee, those who were discovered had to receive more severe punishment.
In particular, during this process, the person who insisted on as strong a punishment as Hwang Hee was Lee Jing-ok, the Chief of Staff.
“During the last war, some people were rolling around in the mud, suffering to death, but these guys were doing this behind their backs! Grab it right now and drag it to me! “These guys are not good enough to be shot to death rather than shot!”
In the end, all those whose misconduct was discovered had to be severely punished. In addition to the confiscation of all assets, all privileges as meritorious persons were taken away, and they were also deleted from the list of meritorious persons. And depending on the nature of the crime, he was sentenced to at least 20 years of hard labor in Aoji and Fushun.
After the transition to an empire, the guilt-by-association system was abolished, so the family was not punished, but there was just no official punishment.
With all their assets confiscated, the remaining family members had no choice but to sit on the streets. As rumors spread among the neighbors, all social relationships were severed. In the end, the remaining family members had no choice but to leave the place where they had lived until then and move to Bukji or Daeseol Island.
* * *
When chaos was going on in Seoul, Ha-min visited Park Gyu-seop.
“huh? “Hyung, what’s going on today?”
“Would you mind giving me a few buckets of alcohol?”
“Why are you digging at Giru? “I will give it to you.”
Ha-min smiled at Park Gyu-seop’s joke and continued speaking.
“That’s not it, I want to tell you the truth.”
“Truth?”
“I’m also very knowledgeable about alcohol, but that alcohol wasn’t normal? So, I thought I would tell Nara the truth. “I will post your names as well, so please give me some.”
Park Gyu-seop, who pondered Ha-min’s words for a moment, nodded willingly.
“Let’s do that.”
Ha-min, who obtained three wooden liquor barrels from Park Gyu-seop, muttered softly as he loaded the barrels into the carriage.
“But why does Your Majesty suddenly show interest in alcohol?”
In this way, Miju’s alcohol was delivered to Hyang.
“Hmm… Is this a new drink created by the people? Let’s have a drink each.”
At Hyang’s words, the expressions of the ministers who drank Miju’s drink changed strangely.
“It is truly unique.”
“It’s like soju, but the flavor is very different from soju.”
“They said it was made from barley, not rice, so it seems like that.”
Nodding to the words of the ministers, Hyang emptied his glass and muttered to himself.
‘also! It’s whiskey! There’s still a lot of room for refinement, but it’s whiskey!’
After drinking a couple more drinks, Hyang gave an order.
“Send the craftsmen of Saonseo (the government office that made liquor for the palace during the Joseon Dynasty) to the North to learn how to make this liquor. And….”
Hyang wrote something on a piece of paper, stamped it with a seal, and then handed it to the merchant ship.
“Give this letter to the craftsman who made this drink.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
In this way, the two brewers of Saonseo, Hyang’s book, and the reward money arrived in America.
Park Gyu-seop, who accepted Hyang’s letter, cheered and tapped Kim Bok-ju, who made the liquor in question, on the shoulder.
“You bastard! Congratulations! A handwritten letter from His Majesty! “Heirloom of heirlooms!”
But Bok-ju was thrilled in a different way.
“This was it! After all, he is your Majesty! “Your Majesty has clearly seen the inadequacy of my drinking!”
The contents of the letter sent by Hyang were as follows.
-It is a good drink, but it is still immature. Aged for at least 8 years.
– Consider mixing it with soju made from rice for a better taste.
-Why not spend some money on the barrel for a better flavor? It might be a good idea to put the alcohol in a barrel that has previously contained fruit wine for a long period of time and let it age for a long time, so think about it.
The contents of the letter Hyang sent were the solution to Bokju’s concerns.
Bokju placed the writing in front of her and bowed deeply and shouted.
“Kim Bok-ju, a lowly citizen! “I will definitely make the best liquor for your Majesty!”
In this way, famous liquor (酩酒), later known throughout the world – a name written for intoxicating people with its color, aroma and taste – was born.
This is how the product called whiskey in history before the intervention of scents revealed its existence in the empire.
And later, ‘Who was first?’ came into competition with Scotch whiskey.
“We are not legends, we have official records! “You guys don’t have any!”
* * *
Meanwhile, Ha-min continued to look for Park Gyu-seop. After confirming the positive and negative information about Park Gyu-seop, Ha-min proposed to Park Gyu-seop one day.
“Look at you, Gyu-seop. “Would you like to do something together with me?”
“Day? What happened?”
“It’s for the greater good.”
Park Gyu-seop snorted at Ha-min’s words.
“joy! “What is the purpose of the Geom Realm?”
“It’s not just a sword world.”
Park Gyu-seop’s expression also changed as Ha-min’s mood completely changed.
“Let’s just listen to what we have to say. However, there is nothing that is not a coincidence and a strange thing. I’m telling you in advance for my brother Ha’s sake, but please know this. I will not remain silent if it causes even the slightest harm to Your Majesty. “If that happens, be prepared to die for me.”
Ha-min responded to Park Gyu-seop’s warning with a grin.
“You will never die.”
* * *
Two months later, a railroad construction site in Bukji.
“There’s a new member of the surveying team!”
The worker who was about to start the survey stopped when he heard that a new person had arrived and came out.
Park Gyu-seop was standing where the workers were gathered.
“Hello! It’s amazing that I’m working with Park Gyu-seop starting today! Please take care of me!”