Black Corporation: Joseon - Chapter 81
Episode 81: SimCity Hanseong, SimCity Joseon (5)
After returning to his office after the meeting at Jeongjeon, Judge Hojo sighed.
“Ha~ Even if you work endlessly, there is no end to it. Should I just resign? no. Joo-sang is not the kind of person who will just let his resignation go…”
When he was seriously contemplating whether to resign or not, an internal officer visited him.
“Is Captain Hopan there?”
“It’s here. “What’s going on?”
“His Majesty the Crown Prince sent me to give you this.”
“huh?”
The naekwan presented a cloth wrapped in silk to Panseo Hojo.
“When he took this down, he said, ‘Please continue to treat me well.’ “He said.”
“… Please tell me that I am devastated by this beautiful gift.”
“yes.”
A long time had passed since the eunuch left, but Judge Hojo glared at Bogi without saying a word.
“For some reason, I tried to solve it. I have a feeling that nothing good will happen…”
Panseo Hojo hesitated and untied the knot of the wrapping cloth.
Inside the wrapping cloth was a small wooden box.
“Haa~.”
Panseo Hojo opened the wooden box with a sigh and sighed.
“A statue or a crown prince….”
Inside the box was wild ginseng, which looked precious.
* * *
Meanwhile, the scent of medicinal herbs was wafting in the main house of Hopan’s house.
“What are we going to do with this?…”
Ms. Kwon, the wife of Jeonggyeong, complained while fanning a fan on a brazier with a medicine boiler on top.
The medicine currently being brewed in the medicine boiler was a health medicine that had been given by King Sejong himself some time ago.
It would have been possible to just have a female servant, but if Myeong-saek took the precious medicine given by the king, there would be backlash, so Mr. Kwon was preparing it himself.
But Mr. Kwon’s complaints were different.
“What if I give you some medicine? “What are you doing?”
Her husband was a busy man when he came home.
It’s hard to put into words because it wasn’t because he was playing in the gibang, but because he came in exhausted from doing government work.
Mrs. Kwon was fanning herself nervously and grumbling.
“A medicine that doesn’t even cost the price of medicine!”
* * *
In late February, reconstruction work began in earnest.
The township, which had set up a temporary field office near the bell tower, took the lead in meticulous detail.
“First, let’s simultaneously proceed with land readjustment and well work in the area connecting Cheonggyecheon and nearby rivers and in areas damaged by fire.”
The official who joined from Gongjo checked the situation once more.
“Would it be okay to connect Cheonggyecheon with Jongno and the fire area first?”
“That would make the most sense, right?”
“It makes the most sense in terms of staffing.”
“Then let’s do it. By the way…”
Hyang looked at the air conditioning manager in front of him with a new expression.
“You seem familiar with this kind of thing?”
In response to Hyang’s question, the Gongjo official smiled slightly and answered.
“Funny enough, God’s first work was the construction of Hanseong.”
“Huh? “What is your rank?”
Hyang looked at the official uniform of this ‘living history level’ official. The color of the old but neat official uniform was blue.
“The 6th rank inspector is here.”
“It looks like you started from scratch?”
“Of course.”
Hyang, who saw the expression of bitterness on the Air Conditioning Inspector’s face, encouraged him.
“This is also our fate, so let’s create a piece of work together.”
“I will do my best!”
In response to Hyang’s words, the Gongjo Inspector bowed deeply and responded. This was because he also understood what the scent meant.
Although Hyang had worked hard until now, Hyang muttered softly as he saw the inspector showing even more enthusiasm for Hyang’s words.
“I’m sure they aren’t the only ones like that, right?”
Even in the 21st century, there are many people who are capable and sincere, but surprisingly do not see the light of day.
There may have been many reasons why they did that, but as time passed, the sad faces of those who gave up and only did what was given to them were seen overlapping the backs of the mutual aid inspectors walking over there.
Hyang, who was looking at the back, made another decision.
“We need a lot of capable people to transform the entire Joseon Dynasty in the future. “The only answer is to select people with experience and ability!”
When Hyang returned to the East Palace that night, he took out a piece of paper and started creating a new plan.
‘A matter regarding the establishment of a specialized organization for national land development management.’ It was a plan with an incredibly long title.
Regardless of Article 6, the idea was to create an organization in charge of comprehensive management by selecting people with practical skills and experience.
* * *
The first thing to do in rebuilding the damaged area was to organize the division.
“What should be the standard for district reorganization?”
The working-level staff, who took a moment to notice Hyang’s question, responded immediately.
“Here comes the well.”
“you’re right. “You have to dig a well and organize the plot accordingly to build roads and sewers properly.”
“Then let’s do it. “A prototype of the drilling machine has just been made, so it would be nice to check its efficiency.”
“Drilling machine?”
They were working-level staff who tilted their heads at Hyang’s words. The next day, three drilling machines were transported from Area 51 and arrived.
“Is this it?”
“That’s right.”
The craftsman in charge of the development and test operation of the drilling machine came forward and explained the benefits of the drilling machine to the working staff.
“It takes less time than digging wells by hand.”
“is it?”
“The best benefit of reducing the time is that we can quickly determine whether or not the well can be used when drilling it.”
“is it? “Then let’s get started.”
“yes.”
The drilling rigs, which were deployed one by one by dividing the damaged area into three major areas, began work immediately.
“Hmm… I think it would be nice here.”
First, the drill leader, who examined the map and topography of the temporarily designated area, designated a place likely to contain a water vein.
“Let’s dig into this place! Install it!”
“yes!”
The crew members moved quickly at the command of the drill leader. A tripod made of sturdy iron was erected and a drilling propeller was installed on it.
Lastly, the spiral-shaped drilling hole and iron pillar were connected and inserted into the propeller.
After the first installation was completed, the team members connected an iron pole about 1 piece (approximately 3.3m) long to the propeller, dragged the cow, and tied it to the iron pole.
“This!”
“Hmm~.”
When I lightly tapped the cow’s butt, the cow began to move slowly.
As the cow slowly circled, the propeller connected to it began to turn and drive the borer into the ground.
“Hmm…”
When the drilling machine started operating, everyone in charge of managing the area gathered together to observe the drilling process.
“Do you think it’s okay?”
“It seems useful.”
In response to the managers’ favorable response, the drill manager responded by putting strength on his shoulders.
“How well did you dig a well in Area 51 with this? How devastated would it be if the men dug for several days and no water came out? But if you use this, that time is drastically reduced!”
“Hmm… That’s right…”
Shoot!
“It’s water!”
After two days of drilling, water rose through the borehole. Everyone watching around applauded.
“It’s water!”
“Hey! Look at the water rising!”
As the water rose, the driller’s crew removed the driller. Afterwards, the gathered officials and residents decided whether it would be a well with good water quantity and quality.
“Do you think this will be okay?”
“I think it will be a good well.”
When the conclusion was reached, the drill leader packed up the equipment and people to dig the next well. The officials who remained behind were called together.
“Now we have to make a proper well, so move quickly! “I have a lot of work to do!”
“Yes, Nari!”
The drilling machine performed exceptionally well at the reconstruction site. With the drilling machine playing a major role, water sources were quickly secured, and land readjustment also accelerated accordingly.
The layout of houses and drainage channels were determined around wells, and housing areas were distributed to the victims based on the family register and land register.
“It’s good, but…”
Even though they received housing, the faces of the victims did not straighten up easily. It was because of financial problems to build a house.
“Ahem! “Who is Australia that received this land?”
The worried landlord responded in surprise when an official came and asked for Australia.
“It’s my name, Nari. “What is going on?”
“I need to build my own house. Do you have the money?”
“Whoa~. “It’s completely burned down. There’s no way it’s there.”
“Hmm… So this time, the country decided to lend us money. Do you have a moment?”
At the official’s words, the householder unfolded the mat on one side and held out his hand to the official.
“Oh! You have to make time that wasn’t there before! “Please sit here first!”
The homeowner, who had been listening to the manager’s explanation for a while, slightly tilted his head and asked a question.
“I understand what you’re saying, but what is deferment?”
“You will pay only the interest for as long as you want and then repay the principal. So, with a 3-year grace period and 3-year repayment, only interest is paid for the first 3 years, and the interest and principal are repaid in installments for the next 3 years.”
“aha!”
“The interest rate is only 30% per year. If you have ever used long interest, you would know that the cheapest interest is 50%, right? However, the Jeonju that receives only that is called Bodhisattva. “Isn’t that right?”
“That’s right.”
“So think about it carefully.”
“But where do I go to borrow money?”
“Please come to Hojo. then.”
After the official finished explaining, he left the room and the landlord quickly got up from his seat.
“No, just have a glass of cold water and leave.”
“That’s it. There are many more houses to visit in the future. “Then think carefully.”
After finishing the explanation, the official scribbled words and walked towards the next house.
“Let’s go take a look!”
After seeing the official off, the homeowner squatted down in a corner of the yard and started counting.
“So, if you want to build a house, you need money… What I earn in a year… If the interest is 30%…”
It was the homeowner who was counting while moving small stones around in one corner of the yard.
* * *
Three days later, after thinking about it, the landlord made up his mind and went to see Hojo.
“Hey… Sir…”
The owner of the house, who was hesitating in front of Hojo’s door, happened to catch a government official who was passing nearby.
“What’s going on?”
The official, who was crossing the door of the government office with a limp look on his face from exhaustion, turned his head when he heard the words that grabbed him.
The official, who saw the behavior of the person who spoke to him, seemed to understand what was going on.
“Are you here because of a loan problem?”
“That’s right.”
“If you go inside and turn right, there will be a room.”
“yes? yes. Thank you.”
In response to the official’s explanation, the owner of the house bowed low, expressed his gratitude, and crossed the threshold of the house.
The location of the problem was quickly found.
The homeowner headed to a place where people with similar behavior to the homeowner were gathered together and waited for his turn.
After that, things proceeded smoothly.
“Park Soon-bok… A family of five?”
“Yes, Nari.”
“Then there must be at least three spaces?”
“Yes, Nari.”
“Then the cost is…”
Park Soon-bok, who received loan counseling, received a piece of paper and walked out.
“Go to Gongjo?”
Park Soon-bok, holding the paper in his hand, walked towards the air conditioning office.
“Let’s see… Park Soon-bok… what year was he born?”
The official of the Ministry of Public Works confirmed his identity by holding a copy of the family register and confirmed the contents written on the paper.
“3 rooms… “The amount of materials needed is…”
The official of the Ministry of Public Works confirmed to Park Soon-bok the amount of materials needed to build the house.
“… It’s more than enough, but there’s nothing lacking, right?”
“yes. But should I use a tile roof? “Is that expensive?”
“What if it catches fire again? “Are you going to steal it all in one go?”
“That won’t work!”
“Cheap roof tiles came out this time, so give it a try. “If you try it and don’t like it, you can save money and change it later.”
“… yes.”
The mutual aid officer handed out papers to Park Soon-bok, who confirmed all the materials needed for construction.
“I’ll stop there.”
“yes? yes.”
At the command of the Gongjo official, Park Soon-bok applied the seal to the thumb of his right hand and diligently stamped it.
“Now, take this paper and this paper with you and keep it. “One is a receipt listing the materials, and the other is a record of how much you borrowed and how much you will be paying back.”
“yes.”
“Materials…”
The official paused for a moment, looked through the books piled up next to him, and continued.
“I will arrive at your home in four days. The workers take care of themselves. “Maybe we can take turns building it with our neighbors?”
“That’s right.”
“Then it’s all over. Let’s go out. next!”
Park Soon-bok, who came out of the public building like that, just twitched his eyes and muttered.
“What is this… this isn’t a goblin game…”
* * *
As reconstruction of the damaged area began in earnest, there was a shortage of workers. Day laborers flocked to the area from other parts of Hanseong, but it was not enough.
This was because many houses were being built at the same time and road construction was underway at the same time.
In the end, King Sejong gave orders to the military.
“Recruit the available troops from the 12 companies guarding the capital!”
“I follow your orders!”
The soldiers who were drafted in this way sweated hard at the construction site.
Meanwhile, there were generals on one side watching the scene and discussing their opinions.
“Hmm… I don’t think the Crown Prince’s suggestion is entirely wrong?”
“That’s right.”
They were generals belonging to the Joseon Army General Staff Headquarters.
While major reforms were being carried out in the Joseon military, Hyang proposed the creation of a new branch.
The branch of service suggested by Hyang was an engineer.
However, most of the generals reacted negatively to Hyang’s suggestion.
-There are very few soldiers who cannot use an ax or a hammer, so it is unnecessary to create a separate class.
The negative reactions of these generals were ‘necessary!’ in the process of recovering from the Great Hanseong Fire. direction changed.
Eventually, after repeated discussions, the Corps of Engineers was established.
‘Even if the spear sword rusts, the blade of the shovel shines!’
‘One step, one shovel!’
‘If I were given a shovel and a pickaxe, I would move mountains and rivers!’
It was the birth of a class that gave rise to all kinds of rumors and legends.