Black Corporation: Joseon [EN]: Chapter 197

197. The Beginning of Spring (2)

“Then, let’s review the construction plan again.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

At Sejong’s command, the Minister of Public Works gestured to the officials behind him.

Soon, the Chief of Public Works, with a large map erected beside him, respectfully bowed to Sejong.

“Begin.”

“Understood.”

The Chief of Public Works, having paid his respects to Sejong, politely bowed to the ministers and began to speak.

“I will now report on the road paving plan starting this year.”

‘Why do I feel like I’m hearing a familiar BGM [background music]?’

It was as if Hyang was hearing a BGM that had been used for weather forecasts for generations.

The Chief of Public Works, after politely paying his respects, turned the page with a long pointer.

Flap!

“The lines drawn on this map are the main roads connecting major regions of Joseon.”

“Hmm….”

“Oh ho!”

Sejong and the ministers expressed their interest with humming sounds.

The road network drawn on the map was the result of the officials of the Ministry of Public Works racking their brains and working late into the night.

To create this road network, the officials of the Ministry of Public Works requested cooperation from the Ministry of War and even the research institute.

“Does it encircle all of Joseon?”

“Yes, it does.”

The Chief of Public Works answered politely to Sejong’s question.

The red solid line, representing the road network, encircled the outline of the Korean Peninsula.

To the north, the red solid line followed the Yalu and Tumen Rivers, and in other parts, it followed the coastline.

Inside, a red line was drawn in an X shape, centered on Hanseong [present-day Seoul, the capital city].

The Chief of Public Works pointed to the red solid line with his pointer and continued his explanation.

“First, we will start with the northeast direction. The northeast route starts from Heunginmun Gate in Hanseong, passes through Pocheon and Cheorwon, and arrives in Wonsan. After that, we plan to build an outer road along the coastline from Wonsan to Nokdundo.”

“So, can we consider Wonsan as the real starting point for the northeast direction?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“What is the reason for choosing Wonsan?”

At Sejong’s question, the Chief of Public Works turned the map to the next page.

The next page showed an enlarged map of Wonsan.

“As you can see, Wonsan is a naturally endowed good harbor. The long Wonsan Peninsula protects ships from high waves. In the future, when pioneering the virgin lands of the east, we will need to transport supplies by road, but ships will play the biggest role. Therefore, we chose Wonsan, which has the best location as a port, as the starting point.”

“I see. I understand.”

As Sejong understood, the Chief of Public Works continued his explanation.

The Chief of Public Works continued his explanation with fluent speech. Thanks to the concise but easy-to-understand explanation, Sejong and the ministers were able to understand quickly.

“That chief seems more needed in the Ministry of Rites than in the Ministry of Public Works.”

“I think the Ministry of Personnel would be better than the Ministry of Rites.”

As the ministers of each ministry subtly began to covet the chief’s fluent speech, the Minister of Public Works began to block them off.

“Don’t even dream about it until I die and go into my coffin.”

“Tch!”

At the Minister of Public Works’ firm response, the other ministers only smacked their lips.

* * *

The explanation that had been flowing smoothly stopped at the ‘Mungyeong Saejae’ [a mountain pass] section.

“Why must we pass through Joryeong (Saejae) in Mungyeong? I have heard that Joryeong’s terrain is rough. Isn’t this a wrong choice of route?”

At Sejong’s question, the chief explained the reason.

“Yes, Your Majesty. There are four main routes from Dongnae to Hanseong. One is to pass over Mungyeong Saejae, which we have chosen as the main road. The second is the same route up to Sangju, but then passes through Hwaryeong, passing Boeun and Chungju. The third is the road called Jwaro (Left Road), which passes through Chupungnyeong, and the fourth is the road called Uro (Right Road), which passes over Juknyeong.”

“I know that as well. Tell me the reason.”

The chief paused for a moment and then opened his mouth.

“Yes. The reason we did not choose Jwaro and Uro is because they require a large detour. Uro was excluded because the terrain of Juknyeong is as rough as Joryeong, and it also passes through the Danyang Gorge. Chupungnyeong on Jwaro has a low pass. However, it requires an even larger detour and was excluded because of the Geumgang Gorge as well. The Hwaryeong road is the best, but it was also excluded because it requires a detour to Boeun and Cheongju.”

However, Sejong continued to point out problems.

“Yes, I understand that the road through Joryeong is the shortest distance. But how will you solve the rough terrain of Joryeong?”

At Sejong’s question, the chief turned the paper on the map.

The next paper showed a road that was bent in a zigzag shape.

“We have named this form of road ‘Serpentine Road’.”

“It’s a road that looks like a snake has passed by. Is there a reason for making it that way?”

“Yes. Although the overall moving distance definitely increases, it requires less force and is suitable for climbing rough hills.”

“Are you sure?”

At Sejong’s question, the chief nodded his head.

“Yes. Researchers at the research institute confirmed the results while paving the road on Mokmyeoksan (Namsan) [a mountain in Seoul] located in District 51.”

At the chief’s answer, the gazes of Sejong and the ministers focused on Hyang.

‘Is it you again?’

‘Is it the Crown Prince again?’

As the gazes gathered, Hyang said in an embarrassed voice.

“The road to Mokmyeoksan was a bit rough, so I did some research.”

“Report it properly.”

“I did?”

“….”

Sejong, who had paused for a moment at Hyang’s answer, soon changed his expression and ordered the chief.

“Yes. Since you have already confirmed the results, I will not point out any more. However, considering the winter in our Joseon, the terrain of Joryeong is dangerous. Develop a detour using Hwaryeong as well. It will take additional time and budget, but it is absolutely necessary for the safety of the people.”

“Understood!”

The Minister of Public Works and the chief answered in unison.

Behind them, the officials of the Ministry of Public Works took out paper and golden pens to record Sejong’s additional orders.

Next, the roads being built along the Yalu River, the Tumen River, and the coastline were pointed out.

“What is the reason for installing roads around the outside like this?”

“Yes. If you look at the terrain of our Joseon, 2/3 is mountains. Crossing these mountains is the biggest difficulty. Therefore, the best way to travel north and south in Joseon was by boat. However, water transport must be large in scale, so it is difficult for the people to use easily. But, if we build roads along the coast and riverbanks like this, we can move more comfortably.”

“Hmm….”

At the chief’s explanation, Sejong stroked his beard and calculated the pros and cons.

“But won’t it take too long?”

At Sejong’s question, the chief turned to the next page. The next page was filled with blue lines on the map of the Korean Peninsula.

“These are auxiliary roads connected to the main roads. If we link them well, we can minimize time loss.”

The chief immediately moved on to the next page.

The next page showed red and blue lines intertwined, connecting the entire area of Joseon in a tangled manner.

“It’s okay, but….”

Sejong, looking at the picture, could not hide his expression of regret.

“Can’t we reduce the time spent on transportation a little more?”

At Sejong’s question, Hyang stepped forward.

“There is one way, but it is impossible now.”

“What way is that?”

“It is to dig tunnels in the mountains to make roads.”

“Why is that impossible? We are already digging tunnels in the mountains to mine ore, aren’t we?”

“The scale is different. In mines, the size is only large enough for one or two people to enter, but to use it as a road, at least one or two carts must pass through. It takes too much time, cost, and manpower to dig such a large tunnel.”

At Hyang’s answer, Sejong was disappointed.

Hyang, who would come and whine for a budget at every opportunity, was saying that it couldn’t be done because of the budget.

“Seeing you bring up the budget, it seems like it’s really impossible.”

“It is very difficult with the current level of technology in Joseon. But, if some more time passes, it will not be impossible forever.”

At Hyang’s words, Sejong smiled slightly.

“It is comforting.”

After that, the explanation and Q&A continued, and a few additional items were added.

“It seems that we have decided on what is roughly needed, so proceed as is.”

“Understood.”

“This is an important task that will boost the vitality of Joseon, so I hope everyone will do their best.”

“We will keep that in mind!”

With this meeting, Joseon’s land transportation began to evolve.

* * *

As soon as Sejong’s approval was given, road construction began throughout Joseon.

Roads began to be improved from Hanseong to the east, west, south, and north. At the same time, roads began to be laid from Anju and Wonsan in the north, Nokdundo, Mokpo in the south, and Dongnae towards Hanseong.

Once this X-shaped road was completed in the first phase, the outer ring road would follow.

As road construction began throughout Joseon, many people began to move.

Laborers participating in the construction, those supervising them, and merchants and prostitutes selling all kinds of goods with the goal of earning the money earned by the laborers moved.

“The world is changing!”

“That’s right. If we do well, a better world might come.”

“A good world will come. The King is such a wise ruler.”

“Yes! A wise ruler has appeared!”

Filled with vitality, the people began to have uncertain hope.

However, not everyone liked it.

In the court, memorials opposing road construction began to pour in.

The contents were almost the same.

“The roads in the village where I live are narrow and rough, but there is no difficulty in people coming and going and goods coming and going.

But now that construction is underway to build new roads, how can this not be a tragic event?

It is a tragic event because wealth and people are mobilized for unnecessary work, and it is a tragic event because prostitutes and gamblers flock to the construction site to deal with the men gathered there, defiling the purity of the village.

Finally, wide roads are harmful to national defense, so how can it not be a tragic event?

If the enemy rushes in on well-paved roads, they will rush in like a whirlwind.

Therefore, the construction must be stopped….”

Sejong, reading the memorial, folded it nervously and pushed it aside.

“The scholars only know one thing and don’t know two! Can they still be called educated people after doing this!”

As Sejong burst into anger, Hyang smiled bitterly.

‘Something similar happened just before the Imjin War [Japanese invasions of Korea, 1592-1598], right?’

* * *

Just before the Imjin War, although it was concluded that ‘the Japanese army will not invade,’ the castles in various places began to be repaired as a precaution.

As soon as these repairs began, memorials opposing the repairs were raised, most of which contained the following:

-The moat of the castle that protects our village is narrow, but no one can jump over it.

The walls are low, but no one, no matter how agile, can easily climb them.

Even in this situation, mobilizing the people to repair it is unnecessary and a tyrannical government, so it is right to stop it immediately.

* * *

‘And what happened when the Imjin War broke out? They were all swept away?’

Hyang, with a bitter expression, thinking of those who opposed with narrow views, said to Sejong.

“Father, they don’t seem to trust you.”

“Me?”

“What they are opposing is that they do not trust the soldiers of our Joseon. Doesn’t that mean they don’t trust the insight of Father, who commands those soldiers?”

“That’s how it is….”

Sejong, nodding at Hyang’s words, looked at Hyang and smiled.

“If you weren’t the Crown Prince, you would have become the best traitor. You are a truly scary fellow.”

At Sejong’s evaluation, the ministers nodded their heads without realizing it. Just now, Hyang’s appearance of driving those who raised memorials into disloyal people with just a few words was frightening.

The historian who recorded all of this added the following:

-The historian says.

The Crown Prince’s eloquence is so outstanding that it is frightening.

When the Crown Prince ascends the throne, the ministers must be careful of what they say.