Black Corporation: Joseon

Chapter 8 — Sprout…. Sprout of Cancer? (1)

On October 27th, the third year of Sejong’s reign (1421), Hyang was installed as the Crown Prince. Finally, he was officially recognized as the successor of the next reign—not only a prince anymore.

The others didn’t know, but the night when the installation ceremony ended, Hyang tightly clenched his fist, as he was very happy.

“Finally, the time has come!”

* * *

“Let’s see… the policies that our king has carried out till this day are…”

Hyang folded his arms after pushing back the scripture on the table. He was reviewing all the policies that had been carried out by King Sejong in his head.

“In the first year after the coronation, it was a mess because Prison of Kang Sang-in happened, so there is nothing except a reshuffle…”

After that, King Sejong steadily carried out his policies.

He gave tax exemption for the starving farmers in Gangwon-do; he met the officials dispatched in the provincial by himself; he expanded the Hall of Worthies and added Four Books (the Analects, Mencius, Doctrine of the Mean, Great Learning) as an exam subject for the military. After that, the Invasion of Daemado Island took place. 

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

A policy that refused the salt farmers’ request to reduce the tax on salt and simultaneously expanded the monopoly of salt was being executed.

“Exclusive right to sell salt… well, it really makes money.”

King Sejong paid as much attention to national prosperity and defense as he did to the public welfare. The most important thing in national prosperity and defense was the security of the budget. The exclusive selling right of salt was used for this security of budget.

To resolve the national budget problem, King Sejong had sent a credential to the Ming Dynasty. The content of the credential was about the bowl made of gold and silver to be excluded from tributary items.

However, Hyang didn’t give a good evaluation.

“It’s fine to exclude gold items from the tributaries, but the problem is, that much of the tributary is being stolen by the envoy. What should I do about this…”

Besides that, there were many that Hyang thought to be problems. However, the most concerning was the land and smuggler problem.

“For the problem of the great landlords and ministers’ opposition to the land possession limit, the tax system needs to be changed. And then the smuggler… not to mention the trade, this part of contempt in the business itself needs to be changed first…”

Hyang let out a long sigh as he considered other various kinds of minor improvements and solutions.

“I can come out with several solutions, but there is one big constraint for that… the government of Joseon has no money. Ah, has no gold.”

‘Gold’ was the ultimate solution Hyang had thought of.

• Money circulation is essential in order to certainly improve the land system and taxation system. However, the circulation of the money continually failed. King Sejong will try again sooner, but according to history, he will fail.
• However, the reason money circulation keeps on failing is that the government couldn’t guarantee the existence of the currency through the new method of money-making.
• Most of the money-making methods by the rich such as local landlords and high-ranking officials are through goods such as grain and cotton. However, the lifespan of things like grain and cotton is short. Therefore, in order to preserve their wealth for a long time, the rich change the goods into something such as gold and silver.
• In order to seize the wealth accumulated by the rich, radical taxation policies and land policies are necessary.
• However, executing radical policies like this will arouse the rich’s opposition.
• To suppress this opposition, the central government—in particular the King—must possess a definite military power.
• However, possessing a certain military power meant that it required an equally large budget. What to do to solve that problem?

Hyang had kept thinking over and over again and showed a dejected expression.

“No matter how much I revise the plan, if I can’t resolve the first problem, which is money, I will only get back to the same repeat mark. Only the king’s decision could solve this motherfucking repeat mark. Luckily, this is possible for King Sejong the Great. My role is… seasoning him?”

Hyang nodded at his conclusion.

“I’ve become the crown prince, but since I was just an eight-year-old, my authority is still weak. It’s best to throw something like bait occasionally. And the start is…”

Hyang stared at the brush in the holder on the side of the desk.

“That is the start.”

* * *

[December 10th in the 3rd year of King Sejong. The crown prince made a golden brush and offered it to the king. The king tried the brush and praised it for its convenience in rapid writing. The crown prince petitioned the king for the historian and others who needed to write fast to use the brush and the king gave his permission.]

Around the middle of November, Hyang went to the arsenal bureau(1)). The highest senior ranking official among those who were in charge of the arsenal bureau hurriedly came out when he heard the news of the Crown Prince’s visit. 

“I greet His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.”

“You’ve worked hard.”

The senior official lowered his head even more at Hyang’s praise.

“Is it fine for me to look around for a while?”

“It’s an honor!”

When Hyang was about to take a step under the guidance of Lee Chang-ho—the senior official of the arsenal bureau, the craftsmen of the arsenal bureau who had heard about the Crown Prince’s visit came out and showed their respect.

“We greet His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.”

“Thank you very much for your hard work. I'm really thankful because you guys are here so that the defense of our Joseon becomes stronger.”

The craftsmen who were prostrating themselves were touched by the crown prince's praise and answered.

“We don’t deserve the Crown Prince’s praise.”

“It is really an honor for us!”

The craftsmen, who were touched by the praise of someone as high as the sky, took a lead and guided Hyang to every corner in the arsenal bureau.

There were some reasons for Hyang to visit the arsenal bureau, but the biggest reason was the arsenal bureau is the place to make weapons.

‘Weapons, explosives… from now on I'll often come here, so it’s better to leave a mark here. I do want Jang Young-sil, but he is from the royal tailor. He is a high scholar and backer of King Sejong, so…’

Hyang pushed back his regret of Jang Young-sil while he was looking around the arsenal bureau and got down to business.

“Who is the most talented at handling gold and iron in this place?”

“Gold and iron?”

“That’s right. There is something he needs to make.”

“Someone profound in handling gold and iron…”

At the Crown Prince's question, the senior official of the arsenal bureau pondered over all the blacksmiths’ faces. The senior official who was looking for someone who was suitable enough suddenly thought of one person.

“There is someone who is decent enough.”

Not long after, a middle-aged blacksmith entered the senior official room after got summoned. 

“Did you call for me?”

“I did. Blacksmith Gong, the Crown Prince said he has something to order.”

When he heard Crown Prince Hyang had requested for him, Blacksmith Gong courteously showed his respect to the Crown Prince.

“This lowly person greets His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.”

“Please don’t lower yourself. How could a blacksmith of the arsenal bureau in charge of our Joseon national defense be such a lowly person?”

“Tha, thank you, Your Royal Highness!”

Blacksmith Gong prostrated himself because he was very touched by Hyang’s praise.

“Raise up. There is something I urgently need your help with.”

“Please give me your order! I will do it by risking my life!”

‘The status of a blacksmith of the arsenal bureau wouldn’t be low, but how much did they suffer that…’

Hyang drew a bitter smile because the response of Blacksmith Gong was more than he had expected. Then he took out a paper from his sleeve and handed it out.

“Can you make it this way?”

“This is…”

“This is an item that will replace the brush.”

The thing that Hyang gave out was a blueprint of a pen nib.

Blacksmith Gong examined the blueprint that was given by Hyang with a serious face. Then he began to talk.

“It holds the ink, but the ink will flow down while it is being used… the point is the ink cannot flow out all at once; and if it doesn’t flow out at all, that is also unacceptable.”

“On top of that, it shouldn’t get stuck in the paper, so the bead that will be installed at the tip of this nib should be round. One more, this slit where the ink flows out. There is no use if it’s too wide or too thin. Blacksmith Gong, how thin is the slit you can make?”

Blacksmith Gong pondered over Hyang’s question for a while before answering.

“With all my capability, I could make it to five mo.” 

“Five mo?”

When Hyang wondered as he tilted his head, the senior official of the arsenal bureau by his side explained.

“It is five mo of a chon.”

Upon hearing that, Hyang calculated inside his head.

‘A chon is the same as a chi, a chi is around 3cm, because it is hal-pun-ri-mo… 1 of 10000? That is possible? Anyway, it is approximately around 0,15mm? Is this possible manually?’(2))

Hyang was dumbfounded at the unexpected result, then quickly set his expression right and asked a question.

“There is a possibility that you’ll not only make one but dozens. On top of that, the time for you to make it isn't months but as fast as possible.”

Blacksmith Gong calculated over Hyang’s question, then answered.

“Because it will touch water, we must not use an iron but gold or silver, so it’ll not get rusty. And because it will be turned into thin plates, if I make the mold correctly then it is possible for me to make 20 in a day. If there is a problem, then it is that slit.”

Hyang rushed into calculating after blacksmith Gong’s answer.

‘A sharp lead around 0.5 milli is okay, right?’

“When used to write, the thickness of the stroke can be a bit more than 1 ri.”(3))

“Then, I’ll try to set the slit standard to be 1 ri for now.”

“So when can I see the end product?”

“If you give me two days-.”

“I’ll give you three days. So, can you show me the best result?”

“Your wish is my command.”

“I believe in you.”

On the way back to the palace with the escort from the officials of the arsenal bureau, Hyang turned to the eunuch attending him.

“Eunuch Jo.”

“Yes, Your Royal Highness.”

“Is there any property that I can use personally?”

“I will check on the Royal Properties Office, Your Royal Highness.”

Three days later, Hyang visited the arsenal bureau once more.

Blacksmith Gong gave a fine wooden box containing five pen nibs to Hyang.

“I made it with five types of thickness. Please choose the thickness you like.”

“Okay.”

Hyang wrote on the waste paper near him and compared the result. Then he chose the nibs he liked.

“Make 100 for this one. However, for the 10 of them…”

Blacksmith Gong carefully noted down the options Hyang talked about and quickly replied.

“It is possible, Your Royal Highness.”

“And can you carve a plum flower in the body of this golden brush?”

“I can, Your Royal Highness.”

“Then, how many days do you need?”

“Ten days is enough, Your Royal Highness.”

Hyang thought over Blacksmith Gong's answer for a moment, then made a conclusion.

“I give you an extra two days to do that. Instead, there shouldn’t be any defects. Can you do it? I’ll offer it to the King.”

“I will make it with no single defect in it.”

“All right, I entrust you with this. Ah, you should keep this as a secret until I offer it to the King.”

“Your wish is my command.”

As he finished his business, Hyang left the arsenal bureau with a joyful expression. The arsenal bureau senior official—Lee Chang-ho, turned to face Blacksmith Gong after sending Hyang off.

“He is someone who is completely out of his age.”

“I agree, Sir. I heard this year he is eight years old, but looking only at his speeches and manners it is possible to mistake him as a man in his prime age.”

“Well, that's true, and you got a great deal.”

Lee Chang-ho couldn’t hide his envy as he looked at the paper in Blacksmith Gong’s hand.

Before Hyang left the arsenal bureau, he left a thank you note for Blacksmith Gong.

‘The Best Artisan of the Promising Joseon. Lee Hyang, the Crown Prince.’

Blacksmith Gong trembled with emotion when he was handed a piece of paper with a stamp of the Crown Prince’s palm next to his name.

“I will tell the wood factory supervisor and ask him to make the coolest picture mounting. This is something that is worth being an heirloom.”

* * *

Two weeks later, Hyang visited King Sejong, who was in the middle of a discussion with the officials. During his visit, Hyang presented the pen nib and pen barrel to King Sejong.

King Sejong fixed the nib to the barrel and tried to write with it while listening to Hyang’s explanation. He was very satisfied.

“What a piece of work! This is very comfortable to use and above all, the arm and wrist are comfortable! You made a very good item, Crown Prince! You did splendid work, Crown Prince! Historians, record nicely what the Crown Prince did today!”

“I don’t deserve your generous praise.”

Hyang remained humble at King Sejong’s praise. King Sejong was looking at the nib and the barrel that was decorated with lacquerware before he saw a floral pattern at the pen nib.

“Is this flower the plum flower?”

“That’s right. I thought it was suitable as a symbol of the royal family, so I carved it.”

“This is beautiful!”

King Sejong used the pen in the paper once more before turning to Hyang.

“I will make good use of this.”

“It is an honor. However, there is a favor I want to ask.”

T/N:

(1) Arsenal Bureau (Gungi-gam): A bureau under the Ministry of Military Affairs that was in charge of manufacturing weapons, flags, armor, utensils, and miscellaneous items. Sometimes called Gungi-si and at Gojong’s era called as Gigi-guk.↻

(2) Hal-Pun-Ri-Mo: An ancient unit of measure(?) Sometimes it is still used tho. 1 hal = 10 pun = 100 ri = 1000 mo. But since hal mostly counted as 10-1, 1 mo counted as 10-4. 1 chon = 10 pun = 3.03cm. So, 5 mo of 1 chon which is 3.03 cm = 30.3 mm/1000*5 = 0.1515 mm.↻

(3) 1 ri = 0.3 mm↻