There Is No Sejong In My Joseon [EN]: Chapter 20

The Magistrate of Geumju sighed.

Finding silver and gold mines had been a national policy since the founding of the nation.

Even King Taejong was no exception, ordering the magistrates to find mines in every region.

Thus, the Magistrate of Geumju was also searching for mines within his jurisdiction when he heard that silver was being found in a mine in his district.

‘This is an opportunity!’

With the country searching for silver, if he, as the magistrate, could successfully gather and offer it, his contributions would be recognized, and his future would be secure.

Such were the hopes of the Magistrate of Geumju, but the Quartermaster from Gaeseong stated firmly:

– The silver ore from this district is difficult to use. Regrettably, you must abandon it.

The Magistrate of Geumju nearly shouted in disbelief at the unexpected news, having just discovered a silver mine.

He anxiously bit his fingernails.

‘I need this to succeed to advance to the central government!’

As a local official, he was neither particularly incompetent nor outstanding.

Just one of the many unremarkable magistrates, he would naturally be pushed aside without any achievements to catch the King’s eye.

The Magistrate of Geumju even considered clinging to the Quartermaster’s pant leg, even though the man was decades younger.

‘Is there, is there no way?’

‘What can we do when there’s nothing to gain from mining it, and the effort required is too great?’

The Quartermaster replied firmly.

The desperate Magistrate of Geumju even contemplated squeezing the residents of his district to forcibly extract silver.

However, he soon abandoned the idea.

‘What if it reaches His Majesty’s ears?’

He was well aware of King Lee Bang-won’s temperament.

Meddling recklessly could lead to losing everything.

‘A white elephant!’

Too good to throw away, but not profitable to use.

As the Magistrate of Geumju was pondering the same dilemma as Cao Cao [a famous Chinese warlord] a thousand years ago, news arrived from Gaeseong.

“His, His Majesty the Retired King is coming to Geumju? And the Heir Apparent too?”

His head began to ache.

Even in modern times, the news of a high-ranking official’s visit would prompt immediate cleaning and preparations, so the Magistrate of Geumju felt burdened by the added work.

Even if attracting the attention of the powerless Retired King or the young Heir Apparent would yield no benefit, the thought of incurring their wrath made him resentful.

“Why does it have to be this place!”

The Magistrate of Geumju lamented, racking his brain about how to receive them.

He had met the Retired King a few times and knew his temperament, but the problem was the Heir Apparent.

The Heir Apparent’s actions were a hot topic in Gaeseong.

The problem was that while it was a hot topic, no one provided accurate information.

‘What kind of person is the Heir Apparent?’

‘Well, he’s definitely remarkable, but… it’s hard to explain.’

‘He declared he wouldn’t study until a teacher who had read all of Zhu Xi’s [a renowned Neo-Confucian scholar] commentaries appeared, didn’t he?’

‘Last time, he created a cosmetic product for women, but the officials protested, and it was banned in Joseon [ancient Korean kingdom]. Damn it, if it weren’t for those guys, I wouldn’t be nagged by my wife….’

…It didn’t sound like good news.

‘Is he an ignorant prince? He doesn’t like studying, so I shouldn’t bring that up. But what makes him so remarkable?’

“The Heir Apparent is arriving!”

“The Heir Apparent is approaching!”

The shouts of the advance party could be heard in the distance.

The Magistrate of Geumju hurriedly asked the approaching eunuch.

“I was told that His Majesty the Retired King would also be coming? I was clearly informed of that.”

“He said he didn’t want to bother looking at the magistrate’s face and turned his carriage to a nearby hot spring.”

The Retired King was acting as he always did, but the Magistrate of Geumju was relieved.

‘It’s a relief!’

It was better to cater to one person than to worry about two.

The Heir Apparent on horseback and an official holding the reins appeared in front.

As the eldest son of His Majesty and the future successor, the Magistrate of Geumju bowed deeply.

‘Please don’t find fault.’

The Magistrate of Geumju bowed and prayed, opening his mouth.

“You must be tired from your long journey, Heir Apparent! I, Jeong Heung-in, the Magistrate of Geumju, have prepared a feast in a scenic location to welcome you. It is humble, but our residents of Geumju have prepared it with sincerity…”

The magistrate hurriedly delivered his prepared speech, but the Heir Apparent wasn’t listening at all.

Instead, he turned his head and asked.

“Where is the silver mine here?”

“……?”

The magistrate, taken aback by the Heir Apparent’s sudden question, involuntarily raised his head to look at him.

“I heard that silver is mined here, so I came.”

Seeing the Heir Apparent smiling, the magistrate was speechless.

At that moment, a sentence that his friends had commonly added when telling him about the Heir Apparent came to mind.

‘Anyway, he’s different from ordinary people.’

The Magistrate of Geumju felt like he finally understood what that meant.

===

While coming to the Geumju government office, my grandfather escaped.

‘There’s a hot spring around here, right? I’m going to take a bath. You deal with the magistrate.’

That’s all he said before leaving.

Well, I’m staying at a place called Anyangsa anyway, so I can meet him there again at night.

Anyangsa is a temple located in Anyang according to modern administrative districts.

In Joseon, Siheung, Anyang, and Gwangmyeong were all lumped together as Geumju.

Staying here was solely my grandfather’s decision.

“It’s more comfortable to stay at a temple than to go down to the lower village and cause trouble.”

“Is it okay to cause trouble for the monks?”

“It’s fine as long as I’m happy.”

Anyway, instead of the escaped Retired King, I had no choice but to move to the government office of Geumju alone.

The magistrate treated me with such deference that his head almost touched the ground.

“This Geumju district is a prosperous land for the people, but there is nothing special to see.”

“It was like that when I came.”

As with most of Joseon, it’s just a place where people live by farming the fields.

Gaeseong is the old capital of Goryeo [previous Korean dynasty] and the current capital of Joseon, and commerce is also prosperous, but this country is fundamentally an agricultural nation.

“But there is a silver mine, right?”

“Yes, but a Quartermaster from Gaeseong came down and said that mining silver would not be very profitable.”

“I came down after hearing that.”

“If you were expecting something, I’m sorry… How about enjoying a hot spring with His Majesty the Retired King, eh?”

The magistrate asked in surprise.

“I came down because I have a secret to increase the profitability of the silver mine.”

The magistrate’s eyes widened at my words.

“Yes? You said you can extract more silver from the ore?”

“That’s right.”

“Oh, my!”

The magistrate’s eyes shook as if he couldn’t believe it.

“Re, is such a thing really possible?”

“I told you it is.”

‘Have I been living a lie?’

I guess my reputation hasn’t spread to this neighborhood yet.

The people at the Military Supplies Command would believe me even if I said I made meju [fermented soybean block] from red beans.

“If the magistrate prepares a cast iron brazier and some broken earthenware, I will show you the secret.”

“I’ll prepare it right away!”

The magistrate, who seemed to have forgotten about the feast, answered loudly.

He’s more passionate than I thought.

‘Is he the type who likes engineering inventions?’

I should talk to him later.

The Magistrate of Geumju quickly ordered the workshop to bring out a large brazier.

“Apply ash all over the inside.”

At my command, the artisans applied the fierce ash from burning oak to the inside of the brazier.

“If you mix lead with silver ore and melt it, the silver in the stone will mix with the lead. Put this silver-mixed lead back into the brazier, cover it with broken earthenware, and melt it by burning charcoal.”

This way, the lead melts first and is absorbed into the ash, leaving only pure silver.

It was much more efficient than the existing method of relentlessly burning silver ore to remove all other elements and leave only silver.

That was the secret to the explosive growth of silver production in the world, the cupellation method.

‘I heard this was also made in Joseon.’

I stole it, but it’s okay because we’re the same Joseon people, right?

Actually, it doesn’t matter even if it’s not okay.

‘The lead mixed with ash can be separated again and used to make white porcelain powder.’

“Since silver can be easily obtained in this way, this is truly a win-win situation.”

“Oh!”

The Magistrate of Geumju couldn’t help but admire.

“I gathered all the artisans in Geumju and had them put their heads together, but I couldn’t come up with such a plan! You are truly a divine being!”

The Magistrate of Geumju praised me incessantly, but I was thinking about something else.

‘He’s a passionate person after all.’

Even though he doesn’t get anything in his own pocket unless he embezzles the silver he mines, he gathered all the artisans and even had them research it.

Moreover, he stood by my side and watched this even while the demonstration of the cupellation method lasted all day.

You can’t do this unless you’re having fun.

“With this, we will be able to extract silver from the mine that we thought we would just leave idle. How can we not be happy?”

“That’s right, that’s right.”

I nodded vigorously.

“In my opinion, the magistrate doesn’t seem like someone who should rot here.”

“Yes?”

The Magistrate of Geumju’s eyes widened.

How can I leave someone with this much passion alone?

“I was greatly impressed by the magistrate’s hard work. This cupellation method was created by me, but the magistrate has worked just as hard as I have. This is impossible without constant effort.”

“Yes, yes. That’s right.”

The magistrate bowed his head and said.

“People like the magistrate should be given important positions in the central government. I will tell my father about the magistrate’s hard work.”

“Re, is that really true?”

I was quite pleased to see someone showing interest like this, after only seeing people who looked down on everything as the work of artisans.

“I am just grateful for the grace of His Highness, no, the Heir Apparent!”

The magistrate prostrated himself and said.

‘Is he that happy?’

As expected, if you have virtue, people will gather on their own.

I’m also very happy to meet a passionate guy.

I should use people like this.

At that time, a child came out of the inner office (the magistrate’s residence), rubbing his eyes.

“Father……”

“You, I told you to stay quiet and read a book today.”

The magistrate pretended to scold the child.

He’s not really scolding him, he’s just saying that in case I don’t like it.

I waved my hand to dispel the misunderstanding.

“Ah, it’s okay. But is that child the magistrate’s son?”

“Yes. He is six years old this year. He is quite bright, although not as much as the Heir Apparent.”

“Um, okay.”

I said without any soul.

I’m also a child, but he’s a little younger than me.

Originally, parents think their children are geniuses no matter what they do at this age.

But I’m a nice person, so I decided to play along with the magistrate.

“He looks very bright. I hope he becomes a great scholar in the future.”

The magistrate is overjoyed after I give him a word of blessing.

“May I have my son greet the Heir Apparent?”

“Yes, well, there’s no reason not to.”

“Inji, come here.”

Hmm, his name is Inji.

I’ve heard that name somewhere.

The magistrate said he was a Jeong, so his full name is….

“Wait.”

Jeong In-ji?

End

ⓒ Pitkong