Black Corporation: Joseon - Chapter 79

Episode 79 SimCity Hanseong, SimCity Joseon (3)

It was unclear whether she was entrusted with the position by King Sejong or was lured into it, but Hyang did her best.

The first thing the township did was to establish an organization with the long name ‘Hanseong Fire Damage Recovery Temporary Headquarters’ in Area 51.

In District 51 of the township, there were several craftsmen with great knowledge of architecture, and various facilities related to research were continuously built.

The township held a meeting at the conference hall in Area 51, where executives such as Jeong In-ji and other executives sat in the front row and middle executives sat in the back row.

“First, let’s check the exact damage situation.”

“Yes sir.”

Following Hyang’s order, Lee Cheon, who was given the title of ‘Deputy Headquarters Manager’, stepped forward.

At Lee Cheon’s gesture, the soldiers hung a large map of Hanseong on the wall, and Lee Cheon explained the situation with a long pointing stick.

“First of all, let’s check the damage to the buildings. First of all, the damage to the building is 106 haengrangs to the north of Insunbu, private house 1630 in the central part of Jeonso, 150 private houses in the east, 90 private houses in the south, 8 haengrangs in Jeonokseo, 8 haengnangchae around the bell tower, and 200 nearby private houses. In total, there were 2,070 private houses that burned down. “This figure excludes the number of palace and government buildings that were destroyed.”

“What are the casualties?”

“We rescued 9 men and 23 women who died. “After comparing the family register, the number of casualties identified was 23 elderly people, 15 children, 46 men, and 89 women.”

“The damage is great.”

Zheng Chu shook his head at Li Cheon’s report.

* * *

However, in actual history, the damage was even greater than this.

More than 2,400 houses were burned down, and the dead were recorded as follows.

-Excluding the elderly and children, there were 9 men and 23 women who died. The people who died in the fire at home were not even identified.

However, as cowpox vaccination was carried out, family registers were maintained and land registers were compiled, which made it possible to estimate the number of deaths as accurately as possible.

The existence of Area 51 played a role in reducing fire damage.

As Area 51 occupied most of the southern part of Hanseong (the central area of Seoul in the 21st century), the number of private houses in the southern area decreased. Another reason was the nature of Area 51, which handled a lot of explosives and dangerous items.

“If you make one mistake, there will be a major accident!”

Hyang underwent emergency response training and disaster prevention training so rigorously that it could almost be called neurotic.

Training wasn’t just limited to Area 51.

What if an accident that occurred internally spreads externally? Otherwise, we also conducted meticulous training to prepare for situations where external abnormalities spread internally.

Thanks to this, the southern region suffered surprisingly little damage in this fire.

As the fire began to spread, those staying in Area 51 immediately began responding.

“Extinguish unnecessary fires immediately! Disaster Prevention Team to the location immediately! Resting soldiers should also return to their positions! Watchtower, keep an eye on the situation!”

“yes!”

It moved smoothly under the command of Lee Cheon, who was in charge of operating Area 51.

Thanks to the quick response, there was no major danger inside Area 51.

“The fire is spreading!”

“Move according to measure number 2!”

“yes!”

The doors to Area 51 opened and ox carts with water tanks and pumps rushed out.

Those dispatched from Area 51 did their best to stop the fire spreading south.

This was because the houses blocking the spreading fire were where their families lived.

After such desperate efforts, the number of houses destroyed by fire in the southern part of Hanseong was reduced to only 90, rather than the original 350 or so.

* * *

In the process of tallying and reporting the damage, there were places that Jeongcho and others intentionally did not mention.

But the scent pinpointed that place.

“Even if it is the case in the west, there is almost no damage to Bukchon?”

“That’s…”

As Yi Cheon trailed off, Hyang added.

“I know it too. “I’m just saying it.”

“I apologize.”

The place pointed out by the scent was a wealthy village in Bukchon.

Bukchon, a luxury residential complex where government ministers and influential noblemen reside, suffered little damage in this fire.

Most houses had tiled roofs rather than thatched roofs, which would ignite immediately with a spark, and each house had a high wall and a large yard, so the possibility of a fire spreading was low.

Lastly, because there were many slaves in each house, even if a fire broke out, it could be put out immediately.

In the process of preventing this fire, the landlords in Bukchon did not give up their slaves easily, making this excuse.

“We must stop the fire from spreading!”

Sejong was gritting his teeth at this.

“Just wait and see!”

* * *

After checking the damage, Hyang got up from his seat and went forward.

Hyang stood on the podium, looked at the people gathered in the conference room, and opened his mouth.

“As you can see from the sign, we have been tasked with rebuilding the area affected by this fire.”

“When you say reconstruction, do you mean rebuilding even the burned houses?”

Hyang shook her head at Jeong In-ji’s question.

“I don’t have enough money for that. Our goal is to change the structure of Hanseong to prevent fires like this from happening again. The starting point is the area destroyed by this fire, and the ending point is the entire Hanseong. “The estimated duration is 5 years.”

The eyes of those gathered sparkled at Hyang’s words.

Almost a generation has passed since Lee Seong-gye moved the capital to Hanyang. Joseon was a country where social change was slow, but unlike when it was founded, various inconveniences began to appear.

“Move the map onto the table.”

“Yes sir.”

At Hyang’s order, the soldiers took the large map off the wall and spread it on the large table in the center of the conference room.

Hyang pointed to the map with his pointer and opened his mouth.

“First of all, all work begins with the maintenance of Cheonggyecheon…”

* * *

“… So, Cheonggyecheon and the major streams flowing inside Hanseong are connected with waterways to collect sewage and discharge it into Hansu. The benefits gained through this are that sewage treatment within Hanseong becomes easier, divisions between each room and building can be clearly established, and quick preparations can be made in the event of a flood, as well as a fire like this one.”

A biography of Geunjeongjeon.

Hyang explained the ‘Hanseong reconstruction plan’ to King Sejong and the minister.

After hearing the description of the scent, King Sejong stroked his beard.

“It’s bigger than I expected.”

“We are expecting a deadline of five years. “First of all, the focus will be on rebuilding the areas destroyed by this fire, and we will gradually expand the area thereafter.”

“Hmm, I see… But what is a paved road?”

“It literally comes down to paving the road. If you look at the roads in Hanseong now, when it rains, the ground turns into mud, making it difficult for not only rainwater but also people to pass. “We are packaging this so that even if it rains, the passage of people and rainwater will not be inconvenient.”

“It’s okay…”

While Sejong was nodding, Hwang Hee asked a question.

“Does paving a road mean laying paving stones? “Wouldn’t that be too much of a budget?”

The other ministers also nodded to Hwang Hee’s point.

In order to secure budget for those who lost their homes and property in this fire, Hojo officials had completely given up on entering the house.

Thanks to this, King Sejong served fish meals twice to the officials of Hojo who were suffering from overwork.

Hyang nodded at Hwang Hee’s point.

“That’s right. Paving stones cost a lot of money. So I won’t use paving stones. To be precise, we will build paving stones.”

“Make paving stones?”

At Hyang’s answer, the eyes of King Sejong and his ministers began to sparkle fearfully.

“How do you make it?”

“It will be made of slaked lime.”

“With slaked lime?”

Lime was not an unfamiliar product in Joseon.

As it was a common mineral, it was widely used in construction, and the following records were recorded in the Geography of the Annals of King Sejong.

-Ganghwa Island’s local products include bluestone (a type of turquoise) and rocks. The bluestone is carved and used as tombstones, and the rocks are cut and altered for use.

Here, tampering meant putting it in a lime kiln, baking it, and then using it. (Note 1)

“Making a road with lime… is that possible?”

“it’s possible!”

Hyang answered confidently.

Sejong strengthened his decision at Hyang’s confident answer.

“good night! I will trust you! “Try it!”

“I am devastated!”

Although he liked the crown prince’s grand plan and supported it, King Sejong did not forget reality.

“Roads are important, but what is most urgent is creating shelter for those who lost their homes in this fire. “What should we do about this?”

Hyang answered King Sejong’s question without hesitation.

“You are correct. As I just said, roads are important, but it is clear that reconstruction of areas destroyed by fire is the most urgent. So…”

At the gesture of Hyang’s hand, the inner officer passed the line.

On the next page of the chart, there was a projected floor plan after the area destroyed by the fire was restored.

“This is the projected reconstruction plan for the area that was burned down this time. As you can see, we have established a regulation requiring one well to be dug for every five households to secure water for domestic use and fire prevention.”

“Can we secure that many wells?”

The Minister of Public Works answered Hwang Hee’s question.

“it’s possible. “It may be surprising, but Hanseong is not a place with a lack of water.”

Seoul – especially the Hanyang area during the Joseon Dynasty – was a place with a lot of groundwater.

Among the experiences told by Hyang’s father, uncle, and uncle in the 21st century, there was a story that water flowed next to the tracks at Jongno subway station, and they thought it was a burst sewer, but it turned out to be groundwater.

In fact, there was an article that stated that the biggest management problem for high-rise buildings in the Jongno area of Seoul is groundwater management.

(Note 2)

“But why is there a water seller?”

The assistant judge’s answer to Hwang Hee’s question was simple.

“There is a problem that requires digging a little deeper.”

“Oh my…”

Hwanghee, who was about to click her tongue, quickly stopped. In this blackout, there were only two people who got away with clicking their tongues.

One was King Sejong, who made this annoying habit popular, and the other was his son, Hyang.

Hyang continued his explanation while receiving support from the public prosecutor.

“Digging a well is like killing two birds with one stone. One way is to give people who lost their homes in a fire a job and an opportunity to save money to rebuild their homes. The other is securing the domestic water and firefighting water I just mentioned.”

“It’s okay… But is there a reason why the road needs to be built at an angle?”

“If you look at the alleys in Hanseong now, they look like a tangled maze. Please look at this fire. The thatched houses that were close together caught fire in an instant, and the people trapped in the maze-like alleys had to die and be injured in the flames. Therefore, we need to widen the roads and organize the sections so that people can easily escape in case of an emergency.”

King Sejong and the ministers nodded at Hyang’s words.

“And making it this way is also good for public safety. Even if Pocheong’s Sun-gwan and Byeol-sun chase the criminal in the maze-like alleys of Hanseong, they will not be able to easily find him if he hides himself in this alley. To solve this, we need to deploy a lot of people, which will create a gap elsewhere. But if you organize it like this, efficiency increases.”

“It’s okay.”

While King Sejong was nodding, Hwang Hee, who was examining the map, pointed out a place.

“If you look at your map, it says there are communal baths here and there, but are they really bathhouses?”

“That’s right.”

Hwang Hee pointed out the problem in Hyang’s answer.

“A bathhouse collects a lot of water, so it is good for fire prevention. However, as we saw in the previous social situation, there is a problem that men and women gather naked to take a bath, making it a hotbed of promiscuity.”

“I know very well. Therefore, the new public bathhouse will separate men and women from the entrance, separate the buildings themselves, and block the space between the two buildings with a wall.”

“Is it really necessary to build a bathhouse like that?”

Hyang nodded loudly at Hwang Hee’s words.

“Of course there is! “You need to bathe often to prevent the plague!”

“huh?”

* * *

When King Sejong and the ministers showed interest, Hyang spoke to the internal affairs officer and submitted a report.

“Here are the medical records for those working at Area 51 and their dependents.”

“Medical records?”

“Because it is a place where many dangerous substances are touched, many people get hurt. Let’s all talk! As you can see from the section on skin diseases and other diseases, the number of skin diseases has decreased significantly after taking baths regularly. “Based on the opinions of the doctors in charge of treatment at the time, skin diseases have decreased, but as the body has been kept clean, the number of minor illnesses has also decreased significantly.”

“Hmm…”

At Hyang’s words, King Sejong and the ministers were torn between practical utility and Confucian justification. When I saw that scene, I sprayed MSG.

“And if you use this bath well, it can help with the circulation of currency.”

“how?”

King Sejong showed great interest in Hyang’s words.

“Wouldn’t it be too much to carry cotton cloths and rice every time you want to take a bath?”

“ah!”

Ironically, this very issue led King Sejong and his ministers to support public baths in Hyang.

—–

Note 1) Song Jong-taek. Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at Dankook University. Ceramist February 2009.

Note 2) On-site tracking 1234. June 10, 1999. KBS.