Black Corporation: Joseon [EN]: Chapter 665

665. A Little Seasoning Makes Deokjil Delicious (6)

The location where Hyang’s invitees gathered was the artillery testing ground in Area 51. It was a vast space, stretching over 10 li (approximately 4 kilometers) from end to end.

The first thing that caught everyone’s attention was the glider, the same one that had successfully flown near the Han River just a few days prior.

Wan and the young artisans wore mixed expressions of joy and sorrow as they gazed at the glider in this space usually reserved for cannons.

On one hand, it was a monumental achievement, a testament to the self-powered flight they had all dreamed of. On the other hand, it seemed to render all their previous work meaningless.

“Has everyone arrived?”

Startled by Hyang’s voice from behind, Wan and the young artisans quickly bowed.

“We greet His Majesty the Emperor.”

“Good work. You may dispense with the formalities. I am here not as the Emperor, but as the senior director of the research institute.”

At Hyang’s words, Wan and the artisans straightened up. Hyang, observing them, turned to Wan and asked,

“I ask the director: does this glider look familiar?”

“Yes?”

Wan carefully examined the glider and shook his head.

“I’m not sure.”

“Have you forgotten the things you made when you first said you would fly in the sky?”

At Hyang’s repeated question, Wan and the artisans scrutinized the glider again. After a long moment, Wan and the artisans exclaimed simultaneously.

“Ah!”

“Now that you mention it!”

Wan turned to Hyang and replied,

“Although the shape is very different from what the director and artisans made, the framework does seem similar.”

“Can you tell me what is different?”

“The bird-head shape is gone, and a vertically rising empennage [the tail assembly of an aircraft] has been added.”

“And?”

“And… uh….”

Wan and the young artisans, examining the glider from nose to tail as if searching for lice, soon began pointing out the differences one by one.

“Much more iron was used than what we made!”

“But it wasn’t used excessively!”

“The area of the wings attached above and below is at least twice as large as what we made!”

Wan, who was examining the glider with the artisans, tilted his head.

“With this, it will be difficult to maintain the shape…. Ah! So that’s why these wires are in place? Are the wires supporting the shape of the wings?”

“The Crown Prince is correct. And what kind of difference does this change make?”

At Hyang’s words, Wan and the artisans huddled together, sharing their opinions. After a lengthy discussion, Wan answered Hyang.

“According to what we discovered back then, the larger the wings, the more wind they catch, making it easier to float. This is the same reason why the wings of large cranes or eagles are large.”

“That’s right. But why did you fail, and I succeed?”

“That is….”

When Wan and the young artisans failed to answer properly, Hyang’s blunt words cut through the air.

“Why attach a bird’s head? It’s hard to balance and hard to control.”

“Ah!”

At Hyang’s criticism, Wan and the young artisans realized their mistake. Hyang’s tone had already shifted to a more informal one.

“It was good to imitate the shape of a flying bird, but you should have thought about it one more time.”

“Ah….”

“And the bigger mistake… Crown Prince, do you remember what I said back then?”

At Hyang’s question, Wan, after a moment of reflection, replied with a reddened face.

“You said that someone who can barely crawl is trying to sprint.”

“That’s right. I already considered attaching a steam engine in the report I submitted back then. Do you know why that’s a problem now?”

“Yes. The weight is too much.”

“That’s right. You went too far ahead in a situation where you couldn’t even make a properly floating device.”

Finishing his words, Hyang ordered Jang Yeong-sil, who was standing to one side.

“Bring the internal combustion multi-wing propeller and explain it.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Jang Yeong-sil brought the turboprop engine, a product of ‘Plan A,’ and explained its workings.

Wan and the young artisans listened with sparkling eyes to Jang Yeong-sil’s explanation. The opportunity to see the invention of Jang Yeong-sil, the ‘living myth of artisans,’ and hear the explanation from the man himself was rare. Therefore, Wan and the artisans listened intently, not wanting to miss a single detail.

After the explanation, Hyang asked Wan and the artisans.

“Did you understand what the problem is?”

“Yes!”

“If that problem is solved and a proper engine is completed, or if you make a small and powerful steam engine that operates with a similar framework to this, not only the glider but also a self-powered flying vehicle can be completed with even better performance!”

‘Another steam engine…. Even though I’m a steampunk enthusiast, even you….’

Impressed by Wan’s answer, Hyang ordered Jang Yeong-sil again.

“Bring that.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

After a while, Jang Yeong-sil returned with other artisans, pulling a cart covered with packaging.

When Jang Yeong-sil removed the packaging, a scaled-down model of the glider, reduced to 1/3 of its original size, was revealed.

“Find out what the difference is from that.”

Wan examined the scaled-down model and reported to Hyang.

“More iron was used than in the large glider. And there is no windmill.”

“If you fly this, will it fly?”

“It seems difficult because of the weight.”

“What if there is a powerful propulsion engine?”

“Even then, it seems impossible because of the weight.”

At Wan’s answer, Hyang gestured to Jang Yeong-sil. At Hyang’s gesture, Jang Yeong-sil brought two medicine bottles and attached them to the wings of the scaled-down model.

“Is that a medicine bottle from Soshin Electric?”

“No? It’s a bit bigger than that?”

Amid the artisans’ murmuring, Jang Yeong-sil lit the fuse connected to the medicine bottles.

Kwaaa!

After a moment, with a loud noise and smoke, the scaled-down model soared into the sky. The glider, sparkling its wings, flew nearly half the distance of the shooting range before falling to the ground.

Seeing that, Hyang asked Wan.

“It flew? And quite well.”

“…”

* * *

When the demonstration ended, Wan and the artisans were completely dispirited.

‘What have we done?’

‘Writing characters in front of Confucius [showing off one’s skill before an expert]…. We are exactly like that.’

Seeing Wan and the artisans so discouraged, Hyang continued to speak.

“What do you think is the reason why Jang Yeong-sil and I showed you this today? Was it just a simple boast?”

“…”

At Hyang’s question, Wan and the artisans had no answer. They couldn’t even guess what Hyang wanted to say. In the end, Wan stepped forward as the representative and essentially waved the white flag.

“I am still ignorant and do not know my father’s deep intentions. Please give us the answer.”

“Then let me rephrase the question. There is a saying among Europeans, ‘All roads lead to Rome.’ What do you think this means?”

“Isn’t it similar to ‘Manryugwijong’ [all rivers flow into the sea], as the monks who serve the fire spirit say?”

“That may be true. But think differently.”

Wan, thinking hard at Hyang’s words, looked at Hyang with a surprised expression.

“Could it be that you are talking about the Hundred Schools of Thought of the Masters [a philosophical and intellectual golden age in ancient China]?”

“That’s right. ‘All roads lead to Rome.’ If you think about it differently, it means ‘There is not only one way to get to Rome.’ This is in line with what you are doing now. Is the only way to realize the goal of ‘flying in the sky’ a flying vehicle, or a glider?”

“Ah….”

At Hyang’s words, Wan and the young artisans all nodded. Hyang continued to speak to the young people.

“The reason why I held this demonstration today is not to boast to you. I did this because you were forgetting the great ambition of ‘flying in the sky’ that you had at the beginning and were only clinging to flying vehicles and steam engines. Ah! However, you should not make the mistake of immediately abandoning the flying vehicle and clinging to the glider. Flying vehicles have their own uses, and gliders have their own uses. What you must not forget is that you must not forget your original intention, but you must keep your eyes wide open.”

At Hyang’s words, Wan and the young artisans simultaneously bowed their heads and answered in a loud voice.

“We will engrave it in our hearts!”

With Hyang’s teaching over, the young artisans returned to the flying vehicle development room. Meanwhile, Wan, who remained until the end, carefully spoke to Hyang.

“It was truly a teaching like gold and jade [precious and valuable]. I will engrave it in my heart.”

“You must. This applies to state affairs as well.”

“But, if we look so broadly, it will take a lot of time and budget….”

“That’s what you have to solve. Aren’t you the director?”

“…”

Wan was on the verge of tears at Hyang’s words and closed his mouth.

As an aside, Jang Yeong-sil’s turboprop engine and rocket-powered glider, which were shown at the demonstration that day, were sealed in the deepest part of the Area 51 warehouse.

The problem was this rocket-powered glider. Because there was only a demonstration without a proper explanation, the accompanying officer recorded it like this:

-A glider made of metal all over flew about 5 li with a loud noise, spewing out huge flames and smoke.

Later, when the Imperial Records were released, this part became the core material of conspiracy theories.

-A crashed UFO is hidden in Area 51. Judging from the officer’s description, it is clearly a rocket, no, a UFO.

-Because the technology level at the time was so primitive, they couldn’t finish the repair properly.

-The background of the great leap period, the subsequent stagnation period, and the transcendental technological development of the early empire was the technology acquired from UFOs!

When this conspiracy theory became a global issue, the Federation’s response was simple and clear.

“Write nonsense, write nonsense.”

“Then open all 51 areas and 52 areas, no, the remaining 50 areas!”

“Area 51 and Area 52 are top-secret facilities. They cannot be opened. And what exists in the Federation are only Area 51 and Area 52.”

“That doesn’t make sense! Then you have to go to Area 1 and Area 2. Why do you start with 51 and 52!”

“It is a historical fact that the emperor’s naming skills at the time were the worst.”

“Don’t lie!”

“Believe me when I say something! Do you want to fight? Shall we fight?”

“Why do you mention war whenever you say something! You historical thugs!”

* * *

Hyang’s words to Wan and the artisans in Area 51 soon spread to the officials.

Most of the officials who heard Hyang’s words through rumors nodded.

“Keep the original intention, but keep your eyes wide open…. That’s a really good saying.”

“It’s a word like gold and jade.”

Many people gave positive evaluations, but there were also those who gave negative evaluations.

The representative of such people was Lee Sa-cheol, the Minister of Education.

Three days after the demonstration in Area 51, Lee Sa-cheol submitted a memorial to Hyang.

The contents of the memorial were summarized as follows:

-What Your Majesty said to the Crown Prince seems right at first glance, but it is not right.

-Saying that there is not only one way to the goal can be interpreted as teaching that it is okay to walk not only the right path but also the wrong path in order to achieve the goal. In other words, it can be a teaching that it is okay to harm others for one’s own benefit.

-Therefore, even though there may seem to be many ways to go, there is only one right way, which is the same reason why we learn the meaning of the ancient sages through Zhu Xi’s teachings [a prominent figure in Neo-Confucianism].

“Hoo~.”

Hyang, who received and read Lee Sa-cheol’s memorial, sighed deeply and glared at Lee Sa-cheol, who was in Geunjeongjeon [the main hall of Gyeongbokgung Palace].

After taking a breath, Hyang asked Lee Sa-cheol.

“Minister of Education, I will ask you. Answer.”

Not only Lee Sa-cheol, who was answering, but also the surrounding officials were very nervous. This was because the tone that came out of Hyang’s mouth was one they had never heard before.

“When climbing a mountain, one person climbed along a path that had been known for a long time, and another person took a risk and climbed a rough rock to climb faster. In this case, did the latter take the wrong path? Did he harm someone else?”

“No, Your Majesty.”

“What I said is the same as that, but is it not right?”

“The example Your Majesty just gave is an extreme example to justify Your Majesty’s words.”

“So you’re saying my intention is wrong?”

“It seems right at first glance. However, since the people are inherently foolish and greedy, they often distort Your Majesty’s intentions no matter how good they are. Therefore, I think it is right to prevent such teachings from the beginning.”

“You bastard!”

As soon as Lee Sa-cheol’s words were finished, Hyang’s roar echoed through Geunjeongjeon.

“What is your job? It’s education! It is your job to nurture the future pillars of the country who will be responsible for the empire’s endless development and well-being! But what does what you are saying now mean?

Originally, the people are foolish and greedy?

Have you forgotten that you are also one of the people!

Yes! Like you said, it is extremely bad to violate human ethics and morals and harm good customs for the sake of a goal! Isn’t that what education is for! This is not allowed because of this, and that is not allowed because of that, so only learn what I teach and do it as it is. Is this your education? Is your education to nurture pillars that broadly examine and spread the meaning of Hongik Ingan [a founding principle of Korea emphasizing benefit for all humanity], or to nurture livestock that understand letters and words!”

“Your Majesty. That’s not it….”

“Shut up! It is said that a scholar has a firm heart, keeps his eyes wide open, and examines everything broadly. But you are not a scholar, but trying to raise livestock! The empire does not need an official like you! Submit your resignation immediately!”

“Your Majesty!”

Lee Sa-cheol called out to Hyang, spitting blood, but Hyang shouted at Hwang Hee.

“Prime Minister, listen! Immediately accept that person’s resignation and submit it to me!”

At Hyang’s words, Hwang Hee quietly bowed his head.

“I will obey the order.”

In this way, Lee Sa-cheol became the first ‘person subject to voluntary resignation’ among the imperial officials.