Black Corporation: Joseon [EN]: Chapter 479

479. Acting as Regent (4)

The number of officials accompanying King Sejong and his wife on the trip was considerable. Their expressions largely fell into two categories. One group, represented by Anpyeong, wore bright, cheerful faces.

‘How long has it been since I’ve been on a trip! Looking at the itinerary, it seems like we’ll be meeting a lot of entertainers and female singers, so I’ll be living the high life for the first time in a while! And it’s all free!’

‘With fewer people to talk to, there will be less to write down! It’s a godsend!’

Then there were those with gloomy expressions, like Park Yeon.

‘If I keep traveling with His Majesty like this, I’ll have to have my daily work checked every day! I’ve already heard such rumors! Daily assignment checks! I haven’t had such a thing since my childhood tutor gave them to me!’

‘The good times are all gone! I have to face His Majesty every day and get approval!’

‘Who was it that recommended me!’

With this mix of eager and reluctant officials, Sejong embarked on his journey.

Seated in the private compartment of the special train, Sejong scanned the map with sparkling eyes.

“Let’s see… Where should we have lunch today….”

* * *

With Gangnyeongjeon [the King’s residence] and Junggungjeon [the Queen’s residence] empty, the busiest place in Gyeongbokgung Palace became Donggungjeon [the Crown Prince’s residence].

Officials from the Six Ministries [the main administrative divisions of Joseon] and the Office of the Prime Minister carried documents in and out of Seunghwadang [a building in Donggungjeon], and at times, even ministers and the Prime Minister were summoned there.

The faces of those who emerged from Seunghwadang after meeting with Hyang were pale.

“The Crown Prince is no pushover….”

“I had prepared myself because I had experienced it a few times before, but being properly dealt with still leaves me reeling.”

“I’m going to die….”

While the officials and ministers who had endured a harrowing experience in Seunghwadang were sighing, Hyang, sitting in his office, was burning with passion.

‘So what if I’m from the 21st century and passed the 5th grade administrative exam for the Ministry of Economy and Finance? Don’t underestimate me! Since I’ve taken this role, I’ll do it properly!’

* * *

Although Hyang was working enthusiastically, he soon ran into an unexpected snag that tied him up.

“Hoo~.”

Looking at the documents in front of him, Hyang sighed deeply and rubbed his forehead.

“How can there be such bad handwriting in Joseon, where calligraphy is supposed to be a basic skill….”

The snag that tripped Hyang up was, indeed, bad handwriting.

“Calligraphy is one of the six arts that a gentleman must master….”

In the Joseon court, it was expected that all documents would be written in a standard script. However, many of the reports coming from lower-level administrative agencies were written in cursive or semi-cursive script.

This problem became subtly serious as Hangul [the Korean alphabet] was disseminated, because an official standard script hadn’t yet been established.

In that situation, the habit of writing in cursive or semi-cursive script combined to create documents written in extremely poor handwriting.

These poorly written documents were hidden among the properly written ones, popping out like traps and catching Hyang off guard.

Of course, documents going to Sejong were always written in a standard script to avoid this problem.

“It is difficult to make a proper judgment based on these documents alone. Bring the materials that were referenced when writing these documents.”

The problem was that when Sejong gave such an order, the relevant ministry was thrown into chaos.

Because of this, Sejong put pressure on Hyang whenever he had the chance.

“How much progress has been made on the development of the device you mentioned before?”

Each time, Hyang replied with a troubled expression.

“Still, it needs a little more time… and the budget….”

“Hey, you!”

Sejong, who was about to burst out as Hyang mentioned ‘time and budget’ as always, soon let out a long sigh.

He knew very well that there was no room in the budget for the various studies being conducted at the research institute and Area 51, and the expenses involved.

* * *

The budget consumed by the research institute and Area 51 was enormous.

Just making one steam engine to be put on the front line took nearly 10 years and a huge budget.

Of course, they also made and researched many things that would bring in a lot of money as soon as they were made. However, there were also many fields, such as pure mathematics and material properties, where there were almost no visible results and seemed to only eat up the budget.

“If pure mathematics and material properties are not properly supported, the results of the research institute and Area 51 will be castles in the air!”

Whenever the Ministry of Economy and Finance pointed this out, Hyang argued as above. And Sejong also supported Hyang’s argument.

“In order for a task to produce proper results, it is natural that the foundation must be solid. Pure mathematics and material properties may seem to only eat up money at first glance, but there are many results that are created based on them. Therefore, it is not good to be stingy with money for such research.”

* * *

Knowing the situation of these research institutes and Area 51, Sejong, who had held back from bursting out, asked Hyang again.

“According to your explanation before, it didn’t seem difficult to make, but was it actually such a difficult device?”

“The framework itself is not complicated, but there are difficulties in creating the materials that maintain the frame.”

“To what extent?”

“It’s a little more difficult than the razors and pencil sharpeners that have just begun to be made.”

“Is that so?”

In response to Sejong’s question, Hyang explained the reason.

-It was not easy to carve letters on paper with just the force of a finger, based on the principles of leverage and rotational conversion. The drive unit that moved in that way had to maintain very light weight and strength at the same time.

-The type itself, which carves letters on paper, also has quite difficult requirements. Accurate shapes must be engraved on a size smaller than half a grain of rice, and it must have the strength to withstand the impact of hitting the paper thousands or tens of thousands of times.

“…There are several other obstacles besides these, but these two are the biggest obstacles.”

“I see.”

“That’s why material properties are important. You need to properly understand the material properties of various metals to combine them and create more useful alloys.”

“Additional budget is impossible.”

Hyang clicked his tongue inwardly at Sejong’s firm answer.

‘Tch!’

* * *

Tired of deciphering documents scribbled in Hangul in cursive, Hyang called a eunuch.

“Go and bring General Yi Cheon from Area 51.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

After some time, Yi Cheon, who arrived at Seunghwadang, paid his respects to Hyang.

“Did you call me, Your Highness?”

“Yes. When will the prototype of the typewriter be available?”

“It will be finished if the results of the newly developed ink ribbon are good.”

“Is that so?”

Hyang’s face brightened at Yi Cheon’s answer.

* * *

The development of steam engines for ships had a huge impact on the improvement of steel quality, the development of new steel alloys, and processing technology.

Based on the data secured during the development process, steel of better quality could be mass-produced, and parts for razors, pencil sharpeners, and typewriters could be made based on advanced processing technology.

“The typewriter will be completed soon.”

“That is correct.”

Thanks to this, not only Hyang but also all the artisans in Area 51 expected optimistic results, but unexpectedly, a part that was easily overlooked appeared as an obstacle.

That part was the printing ribbon.

At first, they simply used a cotton string soaked in ink, but several problems arose. If the string dried completely, it would not print properly, and if it was too wet, the ink would splatter everywhere.

To solve this problem, Hyang and the development team began developing it using graphite powder as a substitute.

Hyang began acting as regent while conducting various experiments by mixing graphite powder with water or oil, and making the material of the printing ribbon from various types of cloth such as cotton, hemp, and silk.

* * *

Hyang, whose face brightened at the report that the typewriter was finally being made after a long period of trial and error, praised Yi Cheon.

“You have worked very hard!”

“How can it be my merit? Your Highness was the first to conceive the framework.”

In response to Hyang’s praise, Yi Cheon gave the credit to Hyang.

Yi Cheon’s words were true.

* * *

As soon as Hangul was officially promulgated, Hyang immediately called Jang Yeong-sil [a famous Joseon inventor] and the artisans together.

“…Because of this problem, His Majesty the King created new characters, and we will use them. Many people have already encountered these characters, but as you can see, it is a convenient script because you can write as you hear. So, I’ve put together a rough framework.”

At the same time as he spoke, Hyang immediately unfolded the concept diagram. It was a concept diagram, but it was a blueprint without accurate dimensions.

Jang Yeong-sil, who was examining Hyang’s concept diagram, nodded.

“Certainly…. We will have to go through several experiments, but it seems like we can make it. But, it’s truly amazing. How did you come up with this idea?”

“Well, it just happened….”

‘Is it the result of shopping in Hwanghak-dong [a district in Seoul known for its secondhand goods] in the 21st century?’

It was the result of 21st-century 덕질 [a Korean term for being a passionate fan or enthusiast], recalling the memory of disassembling an old typewriter obtained from Hwanghak-dong down to the last screw.

Of course, after repeating the disassembly and assembly, the typewriter became completely useless, and some people who found out about this criticized him for destroying the precious typewriter.

Properly designing a typewriter that copied the final form of the Gong Byeong-woo three-set typewriter was assigned to Jang Yeong-sil.

However, Jang Yeong-sil also had a hard time in the beginning because it was because of the old Korean that had already disappeared when the Gong Byeong-woo typewriter was made.

“Okay! Let’s get to it!”

Jang Yeong-sil, who was faced with a difficult problem, burst into flames [became highly motivated].

* * *

“Still, isn’t it because the general properly commanded the artisans of Area 51 that this result came out? It is worthy of praise.”

“Thank you.”

“When a successful result comes out, please make a few and send them to Seunghwadang immediately.”

“How many should I make?”

Hyang, who was calculating for a moment at Yi Cheon’s question, soon answered.

“First, twenty units. Is that possible?”

“The molds for stamping out the parts have already been made, so if it is successful, we will be able to make twenty units and send them up within fifteen days.”

“Then, I’ll ask you to do that.”

“Yes!”

Yi Cheon, who answered firmly like a military officer, immediately returned to Area 51.

Fifteen days later, Yi Cheon sent twenty typewriters and artisans to teach how to use them to Seunghwadang.

Hyang, who heard the story through a eunuch, gathered all the officials belonging to Cheomsawon [an office in the Joseon dynasty] in one place.

“…So, I made this typewriter. I will receive support from twenty people in this place. These are the people who will learn how to use this typewriter, transcribe the documents that need to be written among the documents that come up to Seunghwadang, and write the documents that go from Seunghwadang to the Six Ministries and the Office of the Prime Minister. I will receive support.”

Hyang’s words were over, but none of the officials raised their hands right away.

‘Isn’t this just taking on more work for no reason?’

‘I’m already busy enough to die….’

While everyone was just looking at each other, Han Myeong-hoe asked Hyang a question.

“Your Highness. Then, will those who use the typewriter also do other tasks in parallel?”

“No. They will only be in charge of writing documents.”

At that moment, hands shot up into the air like crazy from all directions.

“I will do it!”

“No, I am the right person!”

“Just leave it to me!”