Black Corporation: Joseon [EN]: Chapter 473

The Powered Junk (1)

February, Year 24 of Sejong (1442, Imsul Year).

A sudden storm swept through the Office of Interpreters.

The trouble began with complaints from officials in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

“Seriously! How is it that the interpreters at the Office of Interpreters are worse at foreign languages than our officials in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs?”

“They’re completely useless!”

The complaints from the working-level officials reached Heo Hu, the new Minister of Foreign Affairs.

“The interpreters at the Office of Interpreters are incompetent?”

“That is correct, sir.”

“Hmm….”

Heo Hu made a humming sound at the Vice Minister’s reply and fell into thought. After pondering for a moment, Heo Hu confirmed the situation with the Vice Minister once more.

“If the interpreters’ competence is such a problem, there must have been a lot of talk about it when the previous minister was in office?”

“That is correct. Complaints were continuously made to the Office of Interpreters even then.”

“And it’s still the same?”

“Yes, it is.”

“Why didn’t Minister Hanjae…. Ah, with that man’s personality, he probably let it slide, thinking it was best to let sleeping dogs lie.”

The Vice Minister nodded silently at Heo Hu’s words.

* * *

Yi Maeng-gyun, who had been in charge of Joseon’s diplomatic affairs since the beginning of the Great Reform, resigned last year due to old age.

When he first submitted his resignation, Sejong rejected it. However, Yi Maeng-gyun’s condition was so poor that Sejong had no choice but to accept his resignation.

And news arrived this year that Yi Maeng-gyun was bedridden and on his last legs. Sejong sent the royal physician, but the physician returned and reported to Sejong that Yi Maeng-gyun was beyond hope.

“His heart has already burned out, and he is like a lamp with no oil left.”

“It is truly regrettable.”

Sejong muttered with a face full of genuine regret.

Sejong was regretful, but compared to the history before Hyang’s intervention, Yi Maeng-gyun was spending a truly peaceful end of his life.

In the history before Hyang’s intervention, Yi Maeng-gyun’s final years were not so good.

In the year 22 of Sejong (1440), Yi Maeng-gyun’s wife beat a female servant to death out of intense jealousy. As a result, Yi Maeng-gyun was dismissed from his position as punishment and exiled to Hwanghae Province, and died on his way back after being released.

However, this history was twisted as Hyang intervened. As part of the Great Reform, a large number of government-owned slaves were freed, including the female servant in question.

In addition, he was too busy with overwork every day due to the Great Reform to cause a situation where his wife would be jealous.

Finally, thanks to the restorative medicines exchanged among the ministers, he managed to hold on for two more years.

* * *

Heo Hu lightly clicked his tongue, recalling Yi Maeng-gyun’s attitude, who moved like a blade in diplomatic battles with the Ming [China] or Japan, but handled other tasks vaguely.

“Tsk! That man…. Is the situation that serious?”

“Yes, it is said that it is faster and more accurate to go through Secretary Shin Suk-ju than to have conversations or translations with the interpreters.”

“That’s serious.”

Heo Hu stroked his beard and came to a conclusion.

“I understand. I’ll take care of it. On your way out, have the Director-General of the Office of Interpreters come to see me.”

“Yes, sir.”

Shortly after, Shin Gae, the Director-General of the Office of Interpreters, visited Heo Hu’s office.

“You were looking for me?”

“That’s right. There’s a lot of talk from below these days. It is said that the interpreters are incompetent.”

Shin Gae replied with a troubled face at Heo Hu’s criticism.

“That is because the interpreters’ morale is not good….”

“Morale is not good?”

“Yes, with the establishment of the Appeals Court, the perception of legal officials has greatly improved. However, interpreters are still treated as miscellaneous subjects, so the morale of the interpreters is not good. In addition, unlike in the past, the way to profit in the process of going on embassies is blocked, so many skilled interpreters with long experience have moved to private merchant groups.”

“The interpreters are actually being treated preferentially as professional technical officials due to the reforms His Majesty has implemented?”

“Although the salary has increased, it is somewhat lacking compared to the profits earned from embassies in the past.”

“So they quit and left?”

As Heo Hu’s expression changed fiercely as he asked the question, Shin Gae hurriedly replied.

“However, the interpreters who came in later are faithfully performing their duties and are satisfied with their treatment! Isn’t the path open for them to rise to the rank of *Danghagwan* [a mid-level official rank] if they do well as interpreters? The current problem is just that the newly appointed interpreters are still inexperienced!”

Heo Hu, who was glaring at Shin Gae’s reply, came to a conclusion.

“Come up with a plan regarding this and write a report.”

“Yes….”

Shin Gae answered with a tearful face at Heo Hu’s work order. Writing a report meant that it would be made into an official document, and such a document would go through the proper channels and reach Sejong.

* * *

Shin Gae, who came out of Heo Hu’s office, sighed deeply as he looked at the ceiling of the hallway.

“Hoo~. Why does this have to happen when I’m the Director-General….”

Shin Gae, who suddenly lamented his miserable situation, gnashed his teeth.

“Fine! Let’s all die together! I can’t die alone!”

At the same time, Heo Hu, who was in his office, uttered similar words.

“I’m sure I’ll hear about this issue, but I can’t die alone….”

* * *

And so, in February of the 24th year of Sejong, the report of Shin Gae, the Director-General of the Office of Interpreters, was submitted to Sejong.

-Currently, there are not many people in the Office of Interpreters who are fluent in Chinese, and even if they are fluent, their pronunciation is not accurate, so there are not many suitable interpreters who can smoothly interpret whenever Ming envoys come.

-It is often the case that those who have stayed in Ming for a few months are more skilled than those who have worked as interpreters in the Office of Interpreters for several years, so a solution is needed.

-In order to solve this problem, we propose that interpreters working in the Office of Interpreters be prohibited from using the Korean language within the Office of Interpreters.

-If they violate this, they will be held accountable and dismissed.

-And this plan applies not only to Chinese, but also to Jurchen, Mongolian, Japanese, Latin, etc.(Note 1)

Shin Gae’s proposal was submitted to Sejong through Heo Hu.

Sejong, who reviewed Shin Gae’s proposal, handed the proposal to Hwang Hee and said.

“It seems good. Discuss it with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and then implement it.”

“I obey your command!”

Following Sejong’s decision, a path of suffering was opened for the interpreters of the Office of Interpreters.

Later, this incident was called the ‘Shin Gae’s Water Ghost Incident’ within the Office of Interpreters.

* * *

May, Year 24 of Sejong.

A report sent from the shipyard in Wonsan was submitted to Sejong.

-The experimental ship equipped with a steam engine has been completed.

Sejong, who confirmed the report, looked back at the ministers with a bright face.

“Isn’t this the greatest of all great events, so shouldn’t we go and see it?”

“That is correct, Your Majesty.”

The ministers all agreed with Sejong’s words. They also knew the importance of the matter well.

The exploration of the distant New Continent [the Americas] was still progressing slowly. Through continued voyages, they were gradually finding more optimal routes, and even though more ships were moving at once, this was the situation.

The biggest reason for this sluggish situation was that the ships were too slow. To be more precise, the New Continent was too far away.

Therefore, the need for a new ship that could travel longer distances quickly was desperate.

In this situation, the report from Wonsan came up.

Sejong, who read the report again, looked back at Hyang.

“It took quite a long time this time?”

At Sejong’s question, Hyang bowed his head slightly and replied.

“It has been almost 10 years since we started in Gyechuk year (1433).”

‘I didn’t even know it would take this long! Of course, we have gained a lot during that time….’

* * *

Developing a marine propeller was a series of trial and error.

The ‘Archimedes’ screw’ method first introduced by Jang Yeong-sil was too inefficient. They tried to improve it in many ways and experimented with it, but the efficiency was not good either absolutely or relatively.

In the end, Hyang made a decision.

“It’s a pity, but let’s give up on this method!”

“Yes.”

Jang Yeong-sil looked very disappointed at Hyang’s decision, but it was an inevitable result.

‘There was a reason why they didn’t use it even in the 21st century!’

“Since this is the case, let’s research a windmill-type propulsion device.”

“Yes.”

From Jang Yeong-sil to the researchers, everyone agreed with Hyang’s decision.

From then on, it was a series of trial and error again.

Starting with the shape, size, and number of windmill blades, they began experimenting with everything in mind, including the material.

After experimenting with all kinds of alloys from steel alloys to bronze and brass with different composition ratios, they were able to find the most economical and best-performing material possible at the current level of Joseon’s technology.

After finding the material, they continued to experiment to find a more efficient shape.

When they thought it was over as the material and shape were determined, Hyang and the research team faced a new problem.

The researchers, who floated a model ship accurately reduced to scale in a waterway, started the steam engine. The researchers, who confirmed that the pressure of the steam engine had risen properly, activated the propulsion device.

“What is this vibration!”

The researchers who activated the propulsion device were horrified. This was because the model ship caused unexpected vibrations.

Thanks to this, the researchers began to study the cause of this vibration.

While the research institute and Area 51 [a secret research facility] were researching day and night, Hyang muttered alone.

“Usually, in this case, it was a resonance problem between the shaft, propeller, and engine…. The problem is that this part is advanced mathematics, in other words, the part I’m most vulnerable to….”

Because it was the part he was weakest at, Hyang ended up just giving a slight hint.

However, the monsters in the research institute—Lee Soon-ji, Kim Dam, Princess Jeong-ui, etc.—immediately caught the direction and began to dig in.

“We have named this part resonance. And if we express this in a formula….”

Hyang screamed inwardly as he watched Lee Soon-ji explaining while writing formulas all over the blackboard, and Kim Dam and Princess Jeong-ui, who were making proud expressions next to him.

‘You solved this with just counting rods and abacus? Without a computer? Are you human! You’re monsters!’

Hyang shouted like this, but there was something Hyang had forgotten.

Neither Newton nor Galileo, nor even Einstein, had a computer. No, even when they made the first stealth aircraft in the 1950s, they even did log calculations with just a slide rule.

In any case, the researchers and artisans who found a solution to some extent through these formulas immediately began to modify it.

Meanwhile, the benefits that Joseon gained through the development process of the marine steam engine propeller were enormous.

“This is the real benefit.”

Hyang added this while reporting to Sejong. Sejong nodded at Hyang’s words.

“I see. Those things that you have learned in that way are the most precious treasures. We must properly document and teach them.”

Hyang immediately responded to Sejong’s words.

“That’s right. We will have to gather talented people from all over Joseon.”

“I agree.”

In this way, the foundation of the ‘Joseon Mathematical Society,’ which had the most powerful authority in the world, was created.

It took almost 10 years to hit the wall, break it down, and digest what was gained in the process. And these 10 years were later evaluated by historians as follows.

-10 years that opened the most brilliant period in the history of Joseon’s science and technology.

* * *

Note 1) This is a true story.

Source – Sejong the Great Annals read in one volume. Written by Park Young-gyu. Woongjin Knowledge House.