Black Corporation: Joseon - Chapter 690
Episode 690: Rip-off (1)
The data organized by the surveyors in Suez was delivered directly to the Empire through the Empire’s front lines and merchant ships arriving at Suez.
And based on the data delivered, employees of the budget department of the National Railroad Administration began to estimate how much it would cost, and the construction team studied construction methods.
“As expected, even if we take away all other factors, the problem is how to deal with this sand.”
“That’s right.”
The subordinate nodded at the manager’s words.
“That’s right. So, the method that the construction department is thinking of is to apply the method of laying a railroad in the forest area of the northeast.”
“How in the Northeast Woodlands? “Hmm…”
Hearing his subordinate’s words, the head of the budget department stroked his chin and was lost in thought.
*
…
And based on this railway network, long railway lines will continue to run west and east.
Thus, the ultimate goal was to connect the railroad to the Northwestern Great Lakes (now Lake Baikal), where the Joseon exploration team had confirmed the location, and to the Eonwol Peninsula (now Kamchatka Peninsula).
Building a railroad from the Duman River to Dongbing Port was not difficult, except for the bitter cold of midwinter. This was because solid land continued along the coastline leading to Dongbing Port.
The problem was the railway that had been carved out of the forest area north of Dongbing Port.
Building a railroad through dense forest to the North Great Lakes was not as easy as expected.
The soil in the forest area was a mess. Humus accumulated over an indescribably long period of time had been deposited, causing the soil to sink. Beyond the forest area, there was an uninhabited area where it was difficult to find people. And in the winter, the frozen ground became muddy as the days warmed up, creating swamps and wetlands here and there.
As problems that were difficult to find answers arose overlapping, those in charge of construction at the time responded with skepticism.
“Do I really have to let this go?”
“Should we just take a detour?”
A bypass plan was also proposed, but the Liaodong region at this time was under the control of Ming.
In the end, Jinpyeong of the world also looked embarrassed and visited Sejong and Hyang.
“What would you like me to do?”
“Hmm…”
Sejong looked embarrassed as Jinpyeong looked for an answer. King Sejong showed genius not only in politics, literature, and Neo-Confucianism, but even in music, earning him the reputation of being ‘outside the standard.’ However, King Sejong also could not immediately find the answer to this question.
In the end, King Sejong chose the easy way.
“What does the Crown Prince think?”
At those words, Hyang grumbled internally.
‘ah! Why me!’
However, King Sejong as well as Jinpyeong and the ministers were all only looking at the scent. Hyang desperately rolled his head, but soon his face became bright and he opened his mouth.
“You just have to dig as deeply as possible.”
Sejong immediately reacted to Hyang’s words.
“To lay a railroad, of course you have to sell land. Dig deep into that too. But that’s the answer?”
Hyang nodded at Sejong’s point.
“We dig deeper than digging a railroad track in ordinary land. And we are building a bridge like a railway bridge across the Han River.”
“huh?”
“Eh?”
In Hyang’s answer, Sejong looked like he knew something, while the others looked like they had no idea.
Looking at the expressions of those people, Hyang continued.
“There is an old saying, ‘A tree with deep roots cannot be blown over by the wind.’ The reason why the beautiful giant trees of the northeastern forest can grow straight without falling over is because they are rooted in solid ground that can firmly anchor their large bodies. In other words, even if the topsoil’s geology is messy, the subsoil is solid. So, dig up the ground until you find solid ground. Then, we build pillars on the ground and build a railroad bridge on top of them. If the remaining space is filled with soil later, the railroad will remain intact regardless of whether the ground is frozen or muddy.”
“ah!”
Jinpyeong and the ministers simultaneously exclaimed exclamations at Hyang’s explanation.
“It may take some time, but I think it’s the best way!”
“It is indeed Cesaro!”
Hyang heaved a small sigh of relief at the sight of not only Jinpyeong and the ministers but also King Sejong admiring them.
‘Whoa~. It’s so hard to maintain that image!’
* * *
In this way, railroad construction began in the northeast forest area using the method suggested by the township.
The workers mobilized for the construction began digging deeply into the land in front of them.
“How long are you going to keep digging?”
“Do you know me? “They just dig until I tell them to stop.”
As they grumbled and dug for a while, the workers were able to discover deep permafrost.
“Is it still frozen even though the sun is shining?”
The faces of Jinpyeong and its officials immediately brightened after discovering the permafrost.
“It starts here!”
In this way, piers and bridges were built with iron mortar in the permafrost, filled with gravel, and then laid railroad tracks.
As an aside, in history before the intervention of the township, the way in which Tsarist Russia constructed the Trans-Siberian Railway at the time was almost similar.
Of course, not only was manpower and budget sucked up like a swamp, but the construction period was several times longer than other sites.
These difficulties could be solved by creating and deploying excavators and towing vehicles using steam engines. However, it was still a difficult section and one that caught the attention of Ministry of Finance and Economy officials.
* * *
Hearing the suggestion, ‘Use the construction method used in the Northeast forest zone,’ the manager weighed the situation and quickly came to a conclusion.
“If the opinion comes from the construction team that knows the best about railroad laying, that would be the answer. good! “Please come up with an estimate based on the cost of that construction method!”
“yes!”
A month later, Kim Jong-seo visited the railroad construction site.
“I heard you got an estimated quote?”
“Yes that’s right.”
“Let me take a look.”
“yes.”
Kim Jong-seo, who received the quotation from the vice president of the railroad construction, suddenly looked around and asked the vice president.
“But is Duke Jinpyeong still in the North?”
“That’s right.”
Kim Jong-seo clicked his tongue slightly in response to the vice president’s answer.
“Tsk! What good is such a desolate place? Seoul is the best after all…”
Kim Jong-seo checked the numbers on the estimate while grumbling and shook his head slightly.
“This is the perfect number to criticize…”
“Shall we reduce it a little?”
“No, it needs to be increased further. “I will report it to Your Majesty first.”
Kim Jong-seo took the quotation and headed back to Gyeongbokgung Palace.
* * *
“This is the first estimate written by the railroad construction company.”
“let’s see.”
Hyang received the quote from Kim Jong-seo and frowned slightly when she saw the numbers.
After concluding the numbers and submissions several times, Hyang looked back at Kim Jong-seo.
“What do you think, Captain?”
“I think it’s too cheap.”
“The same goes for Jim. “Tell me to write it again and bring it back to you.”
“I follow your orders!”
* * *
Kim Jong-seo, who returned to the railroad construction, returned the estimate to the vice president and delivered Hwang’s orders.
“Your Majesty assessed that the amount was excessively low. “Please recalculate.”
The vice president expressed his disapproval at Kim Jong-seo’s words.
“Even now, there are evaluations internally that we have been greatly ripped off, right?”
“Whoa~.”
Hearing the vice president’s words, Kim Jong-seo sighed briefly and continued.
“Look. Do you know where construction is taking place now? It’s Suez in the distance. Suez. “It’s a place that takes at least three months by boat.”
“Isn’t it two months?”
“Do you think you’ll be able to achieve speed carrying all those heavy metal blocks?”
“….”
“Even if a Challenger-class battleship or merchant ship is large, it would be impossible to move it while carrying an entire iron horse. “Then we have to dismantle the iron horse, right?”
“That’s right.”
“Then the craftsmen who will assemble the iron horse on site should also go together, right?”
“That’s right. So, that part has already been applied….”
“What should I do if I get sick while going to an unfamiliar and unfamiliar land? “There are costs for treatment, costs for sending replacement personnel, and time spent in the process, right?”
“That part has already been applied….”
“I mean, put it on a bit more generously. “Would you trust their medicine?”
“Ah…”
Only then did the vice president nod.
Kim Jong-seo looked at that and continued his explanation.
“The same goes for the iron horse part. “The higher you go from Suez to the North, the more you will use iron horses to transport materials, right?”
“That’s right.”
“Looking at the report, I heard that the fresh water quality in that area is that bad? Doesn’t that mean that there are a lot of iron horses that will break down before they can be properly operated? Then, the cost of repairing those iron horses. “And since it is in no condition to be repaired, we need to budget enough money to discard it and replace it with a new one.”
“I expected that too….”
“That expectation is too low. Isn’t this just a standard based on the phrase ‘water quality is poor’ written in the report? Isn’t this a situation where you don’t know and I don’t know how bad it really is? So, you should grab as much as possible. “Isn’t that right?”
“… That’s right.”
“And so is the railroad with the iron horses. Wouldn’t the railroads be wasted if such heavy materials were transported back and forth? Then, you need to budget enough money to replace that part. “There’s already a lot of sand everywhere, so how quickly will it wear out?”
Kim Jong-seo went on to explain in detail why the estimate was set low.
“Now you understand why His Majesty gave the order, right?”
“yes.”
“Then correct it again. “It’ll take a day or two, right?”
The vice president’s face turned pale at Kim Jong-seo’s words.
“You have to give it at least six days….”
“The calculator does all the calculations, so why does it take so long? Submit it within three days.”
“…yes.”
“Then good luck!”
After handing over his work, Kim Jong-seo got up from his seat and leisurely left the office. The vice president grumbled as he watched Kim Jong-seo walk hurriedly toward the carriage.
“Do you know what kind of all-rounder Semteul is? This will continue to be overtime again. But it’s something that can’t be written down roughly…. Phew~.”
The vice president let out a long sigh. It had some common characteristics with Sejong, including its scent. What I did roughly was to pick it up in an amazing way. And if you get caught like that, you start crying from then on.
Meanwhile, employees of the Budget Department, who had been hit by an unexpected overtime bomb, shook their heads.
“I don’t know who it is, but I’m sure they’ll rip you off!”
At the same time, Kim Jong-seo, who was heading to Geunjeongjeon on a carriage, looked out the car window and strengthened his resolve.
“Go as fast as you can, finish as quickly as possible, and come back! “No one can interfere with my life in Seoul!”
* * *
Three days later, Kim Jong-seo visited the railroad construction again.
“Let’s see….”
Kim Jong-seo frowned after seeing the revised quotation.
“It’s a bit small….”
“This is an estimate calculated with as much margin as possible!”
“Still write it down. “Give me a gold pen.”
Kim Jong-seo, who received a gold pen from the vice president, changed the numbers in several parts and then changed the first digit of the final amount.
“It looks nice now. “Please appraise it and bring it to me.”
“…yes.”
Not long after, a re-written estimate with the numbers changed by Kim Jong-seo was posted.