Black Corporation: Joseon - Chapter 86
Episode 86 Tragedy of Concrete (1)
While the Joseon army announced its victory near the Yalu River, the village was still busy.
“To what extent is the river connection completed now?”
“Yes sir.”
Township officials were exchanging opinions while looking at a map spread out on a large table.
‘We will solve the sewage problem by connecting rivers throughout Hanseong, focusing on Cheonggyecheon and major rivers.’
If this was the final goal of the township’s plan, what has been carried out so far was the first stage of the process, which prioritized the maintenance of small rivers in areas where all the houses were destroyed by fire.
According to the township’s plan, the exposed rivers were closely connected using sewage channels.
Most sewers were exposed above ground, but those that crossed major roads were dug into the ground and buried underground.
Of course, for that work, sewer pipes made in large quantities using slaked lime and rebar were supplied from Area 51.
* * *
“Making a sewer pipe with slaked lime and rebar? “It’s fascinating.”
“It’s called reinforced concrete.”
“Reinforced concrete? “This is my first time hearing it.”
Not only King Sejong but also the ministers who were receiving the report tilted their heads at the word they had heard for the first time in their lives.
“It is a combination of Chinese characters and the word Seoi. A mixture of slaked lime and sand gravel is called concrete. I couldn’t think of a better name to replace it with, so I used it as is. Since this happened due to Soja’s lack of talent, Abama has no shame. “I come to you Hwanggong.”
“no. Everyone knows that the crown prince has a lot of work to do and time is limited, so it is an unavoidable situation. Let’s think about how to change that unfamiliar name later. “What do you think?”
To King Sejong’s question, all the ministers bowed their heads and answered in one voice.
“This is a fitting sentence!”
However, there were those who were upset by Sejong’s decision.
They were the officers who wrote down the draftsman and the scribes of the Seungjeongwon who took shorthand of the first draft.
‘How to use concrete!’
The officers and officers froze in a moment of panic.
“But what utility is there in combining steel and concrete?”
In response to King Sejong’s question about its utility, the officers and judges came to their senses and began to make fun of Geumpil.
The place where the ‘concrete’ in question was to be placed was left blank using the punctuation mark (), which is increasingly becoming widely used around Jiphyeonjeon and research institutes.
In response to King Sejong’s question, Hyang explained its utility.
“Yes, mixing slaked lime and sand gravel is like making stone artificially. “This stone can withstand pressing force well, but is vulnerable to pulling force.”
“is it?”
The Minister of Public Works immediately answered King Sejong’s question.
“That’s right. Therefore, at quarries, stones are removed by pulling a rope through a gap created by driving a wedge.”
“I see, so?”
“Steel, on the other hand, can withstand pulling forces well, but is weak against pushing forces. So, by combining the two, we complemented each other’s shortcomings and strengthened our strengths.”
“Hoo~.”
“her! That number…”
Exclamations of exclamation came out here and there in Hyang’s explanation.
“Huh~ This is truly a symbol of the coexistence of the five elements and harmony using opposites! “What an exquisite method!”
Not only King Sejong but also the ministers seemed genuinely impressed.
* * *
“I heard you well. “I’ll be busy with disaster recovery, so it’s okay to go out.”
“I am devastated.”
After completing the report, which started with a sewer pipe and ended with reinforced concrete, the Hyang paid tribute to King Sejong.
When the scent went out, King Sejong looked back at his ministers.
“Let’s take a break too.”
“I am devastated!”
As soon as King Sejong declared the suspension of the meeting, the officers and state clerks left their seats and stormed out.
“huh?”
King Sejong, who was suspicious of the appearance of the officers and governors, quietly followed them.
“Lowering! Lowering!”
As soon as he came out of Pyeonjeon, Hyang, who was moving with those waiting and discussing the construction status, stopped when he heard a voice calling him.
“What’s going on?”
“Heh heh heh. “My uncle… that is….”
“Take a breath and talk.”
“I am very grateful, my Majesty.”
“And do some exercise. How far is it from the Book of Companions to here… Tsk!”
While the officers, who were blushing from Hyang’s scolding, were catching their breath, Hyang continued to exchange opinions with the officials.
“It’s no different… How should I use the word concrete?”
Hyang, who was talking with the officials, held out his hand without turning around.
“Paper, pencil and ink.”
“Here it is. Lowering.”
When the officer hurriedly held out the tablet and gold pen he was holding, Hyang thoughtlessly made fun of the gold pen.
“Conk… ah!”
“Lowering!”
When the fragrance suddenly screamed, everyone around was scared.
“It’s nothing. It’s nothing.”
Hyang, who hastily waved his hand to calm the people down, painted a lot of ink over the letters he had written with a gold pen. Hyang, who clearly erased the letters, wrote new letters.
‘Concrete’
“This is how it is written in Seo-yi’s script. “If you can’t think of a suitable bicep, just use these words.”
“Yes sir. “I come to you Hwanggong.”
“Then, I’m busy with work…”
After confirming once again that he had erased it properly, Hyang began to scribble.
‘Whoa! ‘I almost got into big trouble!’
On the outside, he had a calm expression, but on the inside, he forced his racing heart to calm down and crossed the threshold of Gwanghwamun.
‘Wake! Home! ‘I just almost had a major accident, on the level of a meteorite fall!’
I was so absorbed in discussing the national defense site that I almost unconsciously wrote the word ‘concrete’ in Korean.
Fortunately, I had written it halfway before realizing it and deleting it, but Hyang’s back was still damp with cold sweat.
‘If anything goes wrong, I’m done! Virtue that you do because you like it is welcome, but virtue that you are forced to do is rejected!’
“How do I move this…”
The officer, who learned the word from Hyang, pondered as he returned to Pyeonjeon.
The fellow officers and masters walking next to him were equally struggling to find the right words.
“As expected, with half a cut?”
“I think that would be best…. The problem is the ‘k’ and ‘t’. ‘Con’ is a combination of ‘pleasure’ and ‘on’…”
While they were discussing the appropriate way to transcribe the word ‘concrete’, Sejong called them.
“The officers and clerks there. “Please come here.”
“Yes, Your Highness!”
“okay. “What did you ask the crown prince?”
“Ah… I was asking how to use concrete.”
“Can you please take a look?”
In response to King Sejong’s question, the officers talked for a moment and then politely presented the tablet to King Sejong.
“It’s not a sedge… so it’s possible.”
Sejong, who was handed the tablet, read the words written on it.
“Con… Critra….”
When King Sejong read the words, the eyes of the officers and judges widened.
“Your Majesty, can you read?”
“I found out while reading the books of the children that the crown prince had rescued. But… what are these ink marks?”
“You suddenly got blackmailed.”
“suddenly? “What kind of letter was it?”
One of the officers who was quick-sighted answered King Sejong’s question.
“It was the first text I’ve ever seen in my life.”
“This is my first time seeing you? “Are you saying this isn’t Seo-yi’s text written here?”
“It looked completely different.”
“okay?”
King Sejong gave a short answer, thought for a moment and returned the tablet to the officer.
“It’s nice to see you here.”
“Here comes the Emperor.”
“really! “If you remember what it looks like, write it down and go.”
“At first glance, I remember… Ah!”
The officer gave an exclamation and wrote words on the tablet.
“You wrote two letters, and both letters started with the same shape.”
King Sejong received what the officer wrote on the tablet.
‘LOL’
“….”
After seeing the words written on the tablet, King Sejong frowned and tilted his head before returning the tablet to the officer.
The officer who received the tablet back bowed politely and returned to his quarters.
King Sejong, who had sent the officer and the chief priests away, stood like a jangseung with his back in his hands and was lost in thought
. ‘If you look at the letters or patterns written by the officer, they are letters I have never seen before in my life. Is it a Chinese or Muslim script? No, as far as I know, there are no similar letters. And there are the words of Seo-i and the characters of Seo-i, so there is no need to use the characters of Cheonchuk or Muslims, right? The same goes for the Jin characters and the Mongolian characters… So, did you simplify the Chinese characters yourself? It’s not a low possibility, but there’s no need to embarrass me like that…’
What started out as simple curiosity grew bigger and bigger in Sejong’s mind.
King Sejong remembered a meeting he had held at Jeongcho’s house not long ago.
‘Everyone knows that the Crown Prince is outstanding. But not many people know how great it is. Because he’s the one who tries not to reveal himself more than he should. ‘Why?’
Sejong, who was worried, muttered to himself without realizing it.
“I used my tricks to do only what I wanted to do. “You pathetic bastard.”
“majesty?”
“I’m just talking to myself.”
After briefly answering the Merchant Marine’s questions, King Sejong continued to summarize the situation.
‘This is a guy who has been secretly mentioning Joseon’s unique script not long after he was installed as crown prince. And most importantly, the phonology books… he already read them as soon as he came in.’
Even though books on phonology arrived through a purchasing agent requested by King Sejong, they did not go to King Sejong right away.
It had to be left alone for a considerable amount of time to avoid the eyes of ministers who liked to ask and argue.
However, when you actually go to ask for a loan, you have to hear this answer quite often.
“Your Majesty, but it is already being loaned….”
“Who is lending the loan?”
“He is the crown prince.”
“I get it.”
As Sejong searched for his memories, he realized that he had forgotten one fact.
‘If you listen to the crown prince’s answers to the questions that Nana and the ministers secretly ask… he read everything! ‘It’s not just reading!’
“Hmm…”
Sejong, who was organizing his thoughts, came to a conclusion.
‘That bastard has already produced some results! ‘You dastardly guy!’
It was the moment when doubt turned into certainty.
Sejong, who had become convinced, grinned and muttered.
“I’ve been a bit stuck lately, but it’s worked out well. “I’ll have to find some time and brush it off sometime.”
“majesty?”
“I’m just talking to myself. soliloquy. ruler! “Let’s go back soon!”
After stretching lightly, King Sejong walked towards Geunjeongjeon.
“Hey, merchant marine.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
King Sejong, who was walking leisurely, spoke to the merchant ship following him.
“Don’t you think it’s a blessing to have a talented child?”
Sang-seon, who was following King Sejong’s words, briefly remembered.
Since it was a merchant ship that stayed with King Sejong for almost 24 hours, I knew very well what King Sejong was doing these days.
After gathering his thoughts for a moment, the merchant responded.
“That’s true, but… I said it was too much or too little. “You are still young.”
King Sejong smiled slightly and responded to the merchant’s answer, which had a bone in his words.
“With people… who says they eat them?”
Hearing Sejong’s words, Sang-seon looked at Geunjeongjeon in silence.
The faces of the major and minor officials walking to Geunjeongjeon were filled with fatigue.
“Even if you don’t eat me, you push me to the point where I don’t die…”
“Huh?”
“Oh no.”
* * *
“Huh!”
Hyang, who was working hard at leading the construction site, suddenly felt chills all over his body and started shaking.
“What’s going on, sir?”
“I suddenly felt chills…” The
official quickly motioned to the eunuch as Hyang’s face suddenly turned pale.
“Bring the doctor!”
The medical examiner, who was on standby in case of a safety accident, received a call from the internal officer and hurriedly rushed to Hyang.
“Sir, let me calm down for a moment.”
“Sure.”
The medical doctor held Hyang’s wrist and felt his pulse, looked at Hyang’s body temperature and complexion, and made a diagnosis.
“You have been very tired. “You need to rest.”
“There is no time to rest for a while.”
“still.”
“I’m sleeping for 4 o’clock a day, so it’s okay, right?”
In response to Hyang’s firm response, Eui sighed slightly and answered.
“I will send you some decoction.”
“Please do me a favor.”
After the medical doctor left, Hyang looked back at the official.
“Now let’s begin the construction of Hanseong-daero.”
“Yes sir. “All preparations are now complete.”
“then. “Let’s start with the road connecting Gyeongbokgung Palace and Sungnyemun Gate as planned.”
“Yes sir.”
As the official who received the order went out of the tent, the scent caressed his still trembling body.
“What on earth? Suddenly, I felt a strong feeling…”
* * *
“We have to finish construction before the rainy season starts!”
In order to complete the road construction before the rainy season arrived, the township mobilized not only workers but also soldiers on a large scale to carry out the construction.
After digging the ground to a depth of about one foot, the gravel collected by dredging the water was scooped out and the dug holes were filled one by one.
After filling the hole to some extent, the workers began compacting the gravel using a tool that looked like an enlarged pestle.
After the gravel was compacted, the rebars made in Area 51 were loaded one by one. After installing the woven rebars on the gravel, the director shouted to the workers and soldiers.
“Pour the plaster!”
Before we knew it, the word “plaster” was replacing the word “concrete” in the field.
At the director’s command, carts filled with well-mixed mortar rushed forward and poured the mortar onto the rebar.
When all the plaster was poured, the workers standing next to it stabbed the plaster with long wooden poles so that it could fit between the rebars.
“there! They say don’t stick your feet in the rebar mortar! “I want to go up to Hoedok!”
“I’m sorry, Nari!”
One worker who had unknowingly stepped on concrete took a step back after being reprimanded by the director.
Without protective equipment such as rubber boots or waterproof safety shoes, the only thing the township could do was pour concrete using as long sticks as possible.
“Going to South America is something I can’t even dream of right now… reality is always a gutter.”
Every time he saw such a scene, Hyang complained. However, Hyang knew that if he did not take advantage of the opportunity created by the great fire, he would have to spend many times more money in the future, so he cried and proceeded with the construction.