Black Corporation: Joseon - Chapter 8

[Episode 8 Germination… Carcinogenesis? (1) ]

Episode 8 Germination… Carcinogenesis? (1)

October 27, 3rd year of King Sejong’s reign (1421). Hyang was appointed as the crown prince. He was finally officially recognized as the next successor by Wonjae.

No one else knows, but that night after the investiture ceremony, Hyang clenched his fists and was happy alone.

“The time has finally come!”

* * *

“Let’s see… the policies our king has implemented so far…”

Hyang sat with his arms crossed, leaving behind the scriptures spread out in the library, and reviewed in his head the policies that King Sejong had implemented so far. .

“In the first year of his reign, there was an uproar due to Kang Sang-in’s imprisonment, so there was not much except a partial cabinet reshuffle…”

After that, King Sejong steadily implemented his policies.

He provided tax exemptions for starving farmers in Gangwon-do, met local officials dispatched to the provinces in person, expanded Jiphyeonjeon, and made martial arts students take the Four Books (Analects of Confucius) exam. After that, there was the conquest of Tsushima Island.

Among King Sejong’s policies, the one that caught Hyang’s attention was related to salt.

The salters’ petition to lower the salt tax was rejected, and at the same time, a policy of expanding public salting was implemented.

“Monopolying salt… it does make money.”

As much as King Sejong paid attention to stabilizing the people’s livelihood, he also paid attention to making the country rich and its military strong. The most important thing in building a wealthy nation and strong military was securing a budget. The monopoly of salt was intended to secure this budget.

To solve the national budget problem, King Sejong sent a state letter to the Ming Dynasty. The content of the national record was that vessels made of gold and silver were excluded from the list of tribute items.

However, the scent was not evaluated very well.

“It’s okay to exclude gold and silver items from the tribute list, but the problem is that that much is being taken away by the envoy. “What should I do about this…”

There were many other things I thought were problematic about the scent. But what I was most concerned about was the land issue and the smuggling trade issue.

“If the Land Ownership Restriction Act is a problem due to opposition from large landowners and ministers, the tax system must be changed. And smuggling… This part, which looks down on not only trade but also commerce itself, must be changed…”

Hyang, who was thinking about various other minor improvements and solutions, let out a long sigh.

“We can come up with several solutions, but the biggest limitation is one… The North Korean government has no money. No, there is no gold.”

The final solution Hyang thought of was ‘gold’.

-In order to most definitely improve the land system and taxation system, currency circulation is essential. However, currency circulation has continued to fail. Sejong will try again soon, but if history goes by, he will fail.

-However, the reason why currency circulation continues to fail is because the government was unable to guarantee the existence of currency as a new means of wealth accumulation.

-The wealth of the wealthy, such as local landowners and high-ranking officials, is mostly in kind, such as grain and cotton cloth. However, grains, cotton cloth, etc. have a short lifespan. Therefore, the wealthy exchange things in kind for things like gold and silver in order to preserve the wealth they have acquired for a long period of time.

-In order to absorb the wealth accumulated by the wealthy, taxation and land policies that are so extreme are necessary.

-However, implementing such a radical policy will lead to backlash from the wealthy.

-In order to suppress such opposition, the central government, or more precisely the king, must possess solid military power.

-However, having a solid military power requires a large budget. How to solve that problem?

Hyang, who continued to think over and over again, had a dejected expression on his face.

“No matter how many times you revise your plan, if you don’t solve the first problem, the money problem, you’ll just keep drawing a loop. The only thing that can solve this damned problem is the king’s decision. Fortunately, it is possible with King Sejong. What should I do… act as seasoning for him?”

Hyang nodded at his conclusion.

“He became the crown prince, but he is only eight years old, so his strength is still weak. The best thing to do is to throw a piece of rice cake as you pass by. And that begins…”

Hyang looked at the brush in the pencil case placed on one side of his desk.

“That’s the beginning.”

* * *

-December 10, 3rd year of King Sejong’s reign. The crown prince makes a gold pen and presents it as a tribute. The king tried it and praised it for being easy to use with quick pen. The crown prince requested that officers and officials who needed quick writing use it, and the king granted permission.

Mid-November. Hyang looked for a sense of military discipline. At the sound of the crown prince’s arrival, Jeong, the highest ranking person among those in charge of the military affairs, rushed out.

“Meet the Crown Prince!”

“Thank you for your hard work.”

Jeong bowed his head even more under Hyang’s praise.

“I’d like to take a look around for a moment, is that okay?”

“Glory comes!”

As Hyang was about to take a step under the guidance of Lee Chang-ho, the military inspector, craftsmen belonging to the military inspector, who heard the news that the crown prince had visited, came out in droves to pay homage.

“Meet the Crown Prince!”

“Thank you for your hard work. “I am truly grateful that Joseon’s defenses are strengthened because of people like you.”

The craftsmen who were prostrating themselves to the crown prince’s praise responded with emotion.

“The crown prince is praising me so much that I don’t know what to do with myself!”

“What an honor!”

The craftsmen, who were moved by the praise of someone as high as the sky, took the lead and guided the soldiers to various places.

There were many reasons why Hyang found military energy, but the biggest reason was that military energy made weapons.

‘Weapon gunpowder… I’ll have to come here often from now on, so I should put some saliva on it in advance. Jang Yeong-sil is coveted, but he belongs to the royal family and the background is Jeongcho and the Great King…’

Putting aside his regrets about Jang Yeong-sil, Hyang looked around at the various places in the military and got to the point.

“Who here is the best at handling gold and iron?”

“You mean gold and iron?”

“I see. “There’s something I need to make.”

“He is good at handling iron and gold…”

In response to the crown prince’s question, the military sentiment reflected on the faces of the field commanders. After looking for a suitable person for a while, the military inspector soon came up with one person.

“There is someone worth using.”

After a while, the middle-aged field manager came into the gungi inspector’s room at the call of the gungi inspector.

“Did you call me?”

“okay. Gong Yajang (冶匠). “The Crown Prince says she has something to order.”

Hearing that the Crown Prince Hyang had called him, Gong Yajang politely bowed to the Crown Prince.

“Cheongeo-i meets Crown Prince Mama.”

“Don’t say things like that. “Why is the military captain in charge of our Joseon’s national defense so lowly?”

“I am devastated!”

Gong Yajang was so moved by Hyang’s praise that he quickly bowed down.

“Stand up. “I have an urgent favor to ask of you.”

“Just give orders! “I will risk my life to make it for you!”

‘If you’re a field commander with a sense of military discipline, your status must not be low, but how much trouble must you have suffered…’

At the reaction of the field commander, which was much more than expected (?), Hyang smiled bitterly and took out a piece of paper from his sleeve and held it out.

“Can you make it like this?”

“This is…”

“It’s a replacement for a brush.”

What the scent was emitting was the blueprint(?) of the pen nib.

Fieldmaster Gong, who was looking at the blueprint(?) held out to him with a serious face, opened his mouth.

“It holds ink, and as it is used, the ink flows out… The problem is that it doesn’t work whether the ink flows out all at once or not.”

“In addition, the bead added to the tip of this nib must be round to prevent it from tearing due to the grain of the paper. There’s one more thing. This is a gap where food flows. If it’s too wide, it’s useless, and if it’s too thin, it’s useless. “How thin can a gap in the ball field be?”

In response to Hyang’s question, Gong Yajang thought for a moment and then answered.

“If you do your best, even hair is possible.”

“Dammo?”

When Hyang tilted his head, the military officer next to him explained.

“This is dat mo from one village.”

At those words, Hyang made calculations in his head.

‘If it’s 1 inch, then every inch is about 3cm, so… 1 in 10,000? Is that possible? Anyway, roughly 0.15mm? ‘Is this possible by hand?’

Hyang, who was surprised by the unexpected result, immediately changed his mind and asked a question.

“You can make not just one, but dozens. “It also has to be made as quickly as possible, rather than taking months of painstaking work.”

In response to Hyang’s question, Gong Yajang calculated for a moment and then answered.

“Because it comes in contact with water, you have to use gold and silver instead of iron to prevent it from rusting, and since it is made by pounding thin plates, if you make the mold properly, you can make 20 pieces a day. “The problem is that gap.”

In response to Gong Yajang’s answer, Hyang immediately calculated.

‘A 0.5mm sharp lead would be fine.’

“When writing, the thickness of the strokes should be slightly thicker than 1 li.”

“Then, first, let’s set the standard for the gap to 1 ri.”

“Then when can I see the results?”

“If you give me two days…”

“I’ll give you three days.” “Show me the optimal result.”

“I obey the Crown Prince’s orders.”

“I trust you.”

On the way back to the palace after being seen off by the military magistrates, Hyang looked back at the eunuch who was serving him.

“Jo Nae-gwan.”

“yes. mama.”

“Do I have any wealth for personal use?”

“I will check with the domestic budget office. mama.”

Three days later, Hyang regained his sense of discipline again.

Gong Yajang put five pen nibs in a well-made wooden box and presented them to Hyang.

“We made it in five different thicknesses. Please choose the thickness you like.”

“Sure.”

Hyang compared writing letters on nearby scrap paper and chose the pen nib he liked.

“Make me 100 of these. “Only 10…”

Gong Yajang, who listened carefully to Hyang’s options, answered right away.

“it’s possible. mama.”

“And can you engrave a plum blossom on the body of this golden pen?”

“It is possible. mama.”

“Then how many days will it take?”

“Ten days is enough. mama.”

After thinking for a moment about Gong Yajang’s answer, Hyang came to a conclusion.

“I’ll add two more days on top of that. Instead, there should not be a single defective product. Is it possible? “I will present the truth to the chief minister.”

“We will make it without a single defective product.”

“then. Please. “Ah, I would like you to keep this a secret until I reveal the truth to the Chief Minister.”

“I will do so.”

After finishing her errand, Hyang left with a cheerful expression on her face and a feeling of military exhaustion. Lee Chang-ho, the military prayer inspector who saw off the incense, looked back at Gong Yajang.

“You are truly a man of your age.”

“That’s right. “I heard that you are turning eight this year, but looking at what you say and do, you can almost say that you are an adult.”

“By the way, you really gained something great.”

Lee Chang-ho could not hide his envy as he looked at the paper in the ball manager’s hand.

Just before leaving the military headquarters, Hyang left a message expressing gratitude to Gong Yajang.

‘The best general of the Joseon Dynasty. Crown Prince Lee Hyang’ Gong Yajang,

who was handed a piece of paper with his name written on it with his palm, trembled with emotion.

“I will talk to Soga, the woodworker, and ask him to make the most beautiful engraving. “This is something that can be considered an heirloom.”

* * *

Fifteen days later, Hyang visited King Sejong, who was in the midst of a discussion with his subjects. Hyang visited Sejong and presented him with a pen nib and a pen stand.

Sejong, who listened to the explanation of the scent and wrote with the pen nib on the pen stand, was very satisfied.

“This is truly a treasure! It’s very comfortable to use, and most of all, it’s comfortable on the arms and wrists! Crown Prince made a very nice product! Crown Prince did a great job! Officers, please keep a good record of the crown prince’s affairs today!”

“I don’t know what to do with the undeserved praise.”

In response to King Sejong’s praise, Hyang maintained a humble attitude. Sejong, who was examining the wonderful pen stand and nib decorated with lacquerware, saw a floral pattern engraved on the nib.

“Is this flower a plum blossom?”

“That’s right. “I engraved it because I thought it was suitable as a symbol of the royal family.”

“Feel so good!”

Sejong, who once again used pen on paper, looked back.

“I’ll put this to good use.”

“I am devastated. “Yes, I have a request.”

[Episode 8 Germination…Carcinogenesis?(1)] End

ⓒ Gukbbong

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