Black Corporation: Joseon - Chapter 720
Episode 720: Seonwi (2)
Seeing Hyang’s surprised expression, Sejong responded with a light smile.
“What is surprising? Although I occupy the position of a king, I am also the father of only one person. You know your children’s personalities. No, especially since he was the king, he should have known better.”
“Ah…”
Hyang nodded at Sejong’s answer.
The existence of a prince was a being of antinomy.
For the stable existence of a country, it was good to have many princes. Only then could the succession continue stably even if the first-ranking prince died in an unexpected accident.
On the other hand, the fact that there were many princes meant that there were many competitors, and there was a high possibility that a fierce battle would break out over the throne.
Therefore, Hyang also paid a lot of attention to the traffic control of his children, including the Wanduseul brothers.
‘At least I could take a breather because the first law had completely nailed down the succession structure…’
After muttering to herself for a moment, Hyang asked King Sejong.
“What did your father think about Jinpyeong?”
“It’s like a wild boar.”
“yes?”
“Wild boars are only good at charging. No, once you start charging, you don’t look left or right. Isn’t Jinpyeong’s personality exactly like that? “Think of the railroad tracks.”
Hyang smiled bitterly and nodded at Sejong’s words.
“I guess so.”
‘When the rebels invaded the palace, the first thing they said as soon as they arrived was whether the railroad was safe…’
King Sejong, who lightly quenched his thirst with black bean tea, continued.
“If it were Jinpyeong’s temperament, he would even start a rebellion for the sake of the railroad that he risked his life for. Knowing this temperament, didn’t the emperor keep Jinpyeong out and make him stick to the railroad?”
“That’s right.”
In response to Hyang’s affirmation, Sejong spoke to Hyang with a serious face.
“The emperor must never lose sight of his health. Only then will the crown prince, who has been crowned, be able to safely solidify his imperial authority.”
“yes?”
Seeing Hyang’s puzzled appearance, Sejong explained in more detail.
“Even a wild boar, which doesn’t care what to do once it charges, stops charging in front of a tiger. To Jinpyeong today, the emperor is that tiger. “It would never be okay to feel relieved that Jinpyeong was dragged to Shinji.”
Hyang immediately bowed her head and responded to Sejong’s words.
“I will keep this in mind.”
‘It’s been a while since I remember Mr. Samcheonpo.’
-You know what? Even Grand Prince Suyang of the world was eager to rub his palms in front of King Munjong? Suyang, who was busy showing off his dancing skills while wearing a dress with the sleeves cut off to his shoulders, kept saying ‘You are the best!’ in front of King Munjong! If King Munjong hadn’t died so quickly, Suyang would have ended up as one of those great armies!
It was a scent that once again awakened awareness of Jinpyeong.
* * *
Hyang, who had sorted out some of the talented people who would go from Joseon to Shinji with Hyang, asked King Sejong.
“It is truly unfortunate that Jang Yeong-sil died.”
“I agree.”
Sejong also responded with a similar expression to Hyang’s regretful words.
To Hyang and Sejong, especially to Hyang, Jang Yeong-sil was like ‘MacGyver’s utility knife.’ Even if I only made a rough concept drawing and handed it over, a proper blueprint and model were created before I knew it.
Most of Hyang’s many inventions, which are already considered legends in the world, were revealed to the world through Jang Yeong-sil’s hands.
“You have weakened rapidly since your last visit to our headquarters.”
“It’s largely my fault.”
Sejong shook his head at Hyang’s self-reproach.
“That’s not it. Even though he himself did not know his exact date of birth. I just knew that he must have been in his 70s. And when I was young, I suffered from government labor, and as I got older, I continued to work in a place overflowing with strong fire and iron energy… so I said that it was time for me to go.”
“Did you see the last of him yourself?”
Sejong nodded to Hyang’s question.
“Even though I came from a problematic background, I was more loyal than anyone else, so if I don’t go, who will? In particular, he was the one who had no children or wives other than the disciples he taught…”
Jang Yeong-sil’s existence was truly mysterious both in history before Hyang intervened and in history afterward.
There was no record of when he was born or when he died, and there was no information about his family.
“Still, I have a lot of regrets. I wonder if there will be someone with that level of skill in the future…”
Sejong smiled slightly at Hyang’s words.
“If you go to Shinji, you will be able to see Jang Yeong-sil’s last work.”
“yes? “Please tell me in detail what you mean.”
“There is something that will be the end of Jang Yeong-sil and the beginning of the emperor. Of course, there will be some headaches due to budget issues.”
At Hyang’s words, Sejong just smiled and said something he didn’t know what he meant.
* * *
May, Year 11 of the Imperial Calendar (1459).
The selection ceremony took place right before Dano.
With the Manjo White Crown gathered in the front yard of Geunjeongjeon, Hyang handed over the throne to Wan.
After the ceremony, the front yard of Geunjeongjeon was transformed into a banquet hall.
It was a banquet attended by not only members of the imperial family but also officials.
In the center of the banquet hall, courtesans who were considered the best in the entire empire were showing off their singing and dancing skills.
Among the most popular courtesans at entertainment centers that have now become commonplace in Liaodong, these were the courtesans that Anpyeong, who had already earned the nickname ‘Duke of Entertainment,’ selected again.
While the attendees were having fun watching the songs and dances of courtesans whose beauty could be considered one of the few in the empire, a different atmosphere was being created at the head of the table.
“Are you leaving in two days?”
In response to Wan’s question, Hyang nodded slightly.
“exactly. “We have already sent our luggage, so we will be leaving in two days.”
“So now it will be difficult to see you often? “It’s a shame.”
Hyang smiled and accepted Wan’s words.
“It wouldn’t be a good thing for the Emperor to see me often, would you?”
“….”
Wan closed his mouth at Hyang’s words. As Hyang said, among the situations that had to be moved to Shinji, the only good thing was the national wedding that would be held by his eldest son, who was now crowned crown prince.
In that case, most of the rest were related to the safety of the empire and could not be decided on one’s own and would require the advice of the person in charge.
After seeing Wan’s expression, Hyang added.
“It is not good for the emperor that I have to come often while he is in Shinji. All decisions must be made by the emperor alone. “If I or Tae Sang-tae intervene, it will only undermine the imperial authority.”
Wan bowed his head and responded to Hyang’s advice.
“I will keep this in mind.”
Not long after, Wan, who was moderately drunk, asked Hyang a question.
“Anyway… Since Shinji is so large, there must be a lot of places to experiment with flying machines and monks, right?”
“I guess there are a lot.”
Wan’s eyes lit up at Hyang’s answer.
“I’m looking forward to 10 years from now!”
Hyang smiled mischievously at Wan’s words and asked back.
“Is it really possible in 10 years?”
“What do you mean by that?”
Hyang continued his explanation by pointing fingers.
“Let’s see… The crown prince is 10 years old this year, so he has 4 years to come of age, plus at least 2 more years to complete the entire curriculum, and the time it takes to get married and see his ancestors… This is heaven. It’s up to you to decide, so let’s move on. In any case, 6 years from now will have to pass before you will be in charge of management of the research institute and Area 51, and won’t you have to endure there for at least 5 years before you can move on to proxy administration? Plus, it takes at least 5 years to watch Daejeongjeong… hmmm… at least 16 years? But if you’re going to set a time limit, wouldn’t it be better to just cut it to 20 years instead of cutting it prematurely? “Then it’s 20 years.”
Wan just blinked at the calculation of the scent. Of course, deep inside, I was furiously calculating to refute Hyang’s calculations.
‘shit! There are no empty corners! There’s an empty corner…’
Wan, who was furiously racking his brain to find a loophole, soon smiled in remorse.
“I will have to issue a ban on marriage throughout the empire soon.”
“Why the golden marriage order?”
“If the crown prince gets married early and looks after his ancestors, wouldn’t it be easier for him to do things from now on?”
“….”
Hyang closed her mouth at Wan’s words and grumbled inwardly.
‘If this continues, won’t child marriage become a royal tradition?’
Interestingly enough, the scent prediction came true. Even as time passed and late marriage became the trend, the imperial family promoted marriage as soon as a person became an adult.
Meanwhile, Sejong, who was sitting next to him and listening to the conversation between Wan and Hyang, burst out laughing.
“ha ha ha!”
‘Now this bastard knows how I feel! ‘The guy who always escaped like a loach ended up getting hit!’
“ha ha ha!”
It was Sejong who could not hold back his laughter.
* * *
Three months later, Hyang finally arrived at Shinji.
“It took four months even though I was on a sailboat… I guess I’ll have to work on a steam engine.”
The scent from the ship lightly relaxed and grumbled.
It was not a direct flight from Wonsan to Shinji, but a voyage that included time to visit the northern islands, including Daeseoldo, to meet residents and comfort officials. It took four months, including times when we were stranded due to bad weather.
However, even considering all that, four months was too long, and the company chose to improve the steam engine as a solution to this problem.
After arriving at Chosi, the bridgehead of Shinji, and resting from their travels, Hyang and his party soon began moving toward the east.
The good news was that there was a railway line from Chosi to Mishigama (Indian name for Michigan), the center of the east.
“What Tae Sang-tae placed the most emphasis on was the construction of railroads.”
“To properly digest Shinji, you definitely need a railroad.”
Hyang, who was nodding at the official’s explanation, looked at Jinpyeong, who was studying the map right next to him.
“What do you think is best to do?”
Jinpyeong, who was looking at the map, answered Hyang’s question right away.
“First of all, I think we need to expand the east-west crossing railway connecting Shinji and Misagama. Nowadays, iron horses travel on a single line. “Right now, there is only one iron horse going back and forth per day, so there is no big problem, but if we think about the future, we need to at least expand it to a double track.”
“That would be natural. “Then what’s the problem?”
Jinpyeong answered Hyang’s question right away.
“It’s a matter of manpower.”
“The problem is manpower, not budget?”
“There is no big problem with the budget because there is compensation coming from people, but manpower is a problem. Construction in the North is not yet finished, and more and more manpower must be sent to Suez. “We don’t have enough manpower.”
At Jinpyeong’s point, Hyang looked back at the officials present.
“It seems like the people who built this railroad will be fine, but are they keeping their workforce in good hands?”
“yes. Experienced people are kept in charge of maintenance. And if additional manpower is needed, we can increase the number as quickly as possible. “The people of Shinji love working on the railroad.”
In response to the official’s answer, Hyang immediately asked back.
“Is it a monopoly?”
“This is the exclusive store.”