There Is No Sejong In My Joseon [EN]: Chapter 234

“Shit, shit, I’m screwed.”

What should I do?

The reason I was so calm even after hearing about smallpox was because I trusted the variolation [an early method of vaccination using live smallpox virus] method.

I was confident that if I secured cowpox and somehow exploited the doctors, I could quickly obtain a vaccine.

It wasn’t even that high-tech of a vaccine.

‘But when I think about it, Jenner [Edward Jenner, the pioneer of smallpox vaccine] got it from English cows.’

Joseon [ancient Korean kingdom] and England are almost on opposite sides of the world.

The breed must be vastly different from our Korean cattle.

So, it wouldn’t be strange if cowpox didn’t exist in Joseon cows.

I was dumbfounded and groaned at this absurd situation where I was screwed because there was no livestock epidemic.

‘Should I order the Cheonghaejin [Joseon naval base] to find a route to England?’

Even if I recklessly told them to do it, there’s no way it would work.

When I was in the modern era, I received education before going to Africa.

Smallpox has been eradicated in the 21st century, but when it was rampant, the fatality rate was up to 50%.

What if that smallpox spreads to Hanyang [old name for Seoul] as it is? And if my family gets infected one after another?

Even if the adults survive, it would be difficult for half of my younger siblings to survive.

The terror of smallpox, which I had thought lightly of, finally overwhelmed me.

“Kuh······.”

As I was racking my brains for a solution that wouldn’t come, covering myself with a blanket, the royal physicians, who I thought had left after their shift, came to find me.

Crap, I don’t want to see them out of embarrassment.

Then, from outside, I heard the voice of Royal Physician Yoo Hyo-tong.

“I do not know why Your Highness is looking for a cow with smallpox, but thankfully, the Yongma [mythical horse] Your Highness obtained has contracted horsepox. Perhaps this is the symptom Your Highness was looking for······.”

Before he could finish speaking, I kicked off the blanket and flung the door open.

“······.”

The dumbfounded physicians, taken aback by my swift action, gaped.

“What are you doing? Follow me quickly!”

===

“Ttaeng-gu [the Yongma’s name] has horsepox.”

“I, I am sorry, Your Highness.”

Noh-boon [attendant’s name] said, flustered.

“No, you did well. Noh-boon, you’re useful sometimes.”

Noh-boon’s eyes widened at my words.

I had heard of cowpox vaccination in the modern era, but not horsepox vaccination.

But my intuition was screaming.

This will work.

Actually, even if it doesn’t, there’s nothing I can do. I have to proceed with the experiment using horsepox instead.

“Ttaeng-gu became like this after going to the Saboksi [horse administration]?”

“Yes, Your Highness. I heard that some of the horses in the Saboksi have been showing the same symptoms for the past few years. Even if they suffer from horsepox, they recover quickly, so there hasn’t been a significant problem······.”

I had heard that smallpox had never been found in horses before.

But now, the Saboksi is filled with horses imported from Hoshi [Mongolian tribe].

As part of Yi Seong-gye’s [first king of Joseon] ambitious northern diplomacy, horses are even coming from Taenyeongwi and Bokyeowi [Mongolian tribes].

‘So, the horses with horsepox are all from Mongolia.’

It was as if we had imported horsepox as a set without realizing it.

Originally, there couldn’t have been a more unsettling sign than this, but now it’s a jackpot.

Looking at Ttaeng-gu, who was suffering from horsepox with a gloomy face, Noh-boon lowered his head as if he was sorry.

I patted him on the shoulder as if to encourage him.

“Noh-boon, bring the gloves.”

Then Noh-boon asked with a puzzled face.

“What do you need gloves for, Your Highness?”

“To squeeze out the pus.”

Of course, you will.

===

“What is the situation in Pyeongan-do [province in Joseon]?”

“It is not good. Reports continue to come in that the epidemic is spreading south, and it seems that even the Crown Prince’s measures cannot stop it.”

Yi Bang-won [third king of Joseon] pressed his temples.

In any case, there has never been an era without epidemics, and they come and go every few years.

Rather, it would be stranger if there had been no reports of minor epidemics.

“Dispatch physicians to Pyeongan-do and have the magistrates thoroughly investigate and report the damage in each district.

Also, do not allow the epidemic to spread to the capital. Close the four gates and strictly prohibit the entry of unauthorized persons until the epidemic subsides.”

Yi Bang-won took strong measures.

These measures are not simply because he and the royal family live in Hanyang.

Hanyang is, without a doubt, the place with the most people living in Joseon.

The moment the epidemic spreads to Hanyang, the damage to Joseon would be immeasurable.

However, it cannot be said that his parental heart was not involved in this decision at all.

Those who had smallpox in their childhood or are old enough have some strength to overcome the disease.

But his children had never had smallpox and were young.

They say smallpox is more terrifying than a tiger.

Yi Bang-won’s feelings were exactly like that.

If it were a tiger, he could gather all the soldiers of this country and subdue it.

What if his children get the epidemic······.

“Your Majesty, the Crown Prince! The Crown Prince!”

Then someone woke Yi Bang-won, who was deep in thought.

“What’s going on?”

“They say the Crown Prince has smallpox!”

“What?”

Yi Bang-won jumped up.

The thoughts that had filled his head were long gone.

===

“Anyone would think someone was dying, you bastards.”

Hyo-ryeong and Chung-nyeong [prince’s brothers] are next to me, shedding tears and snot.

Actually, if it’s real smallpox, I shouldn’t let them approach, but variolation isn’t contagious.

When I think about it, it’s better if my siblings get infected since they’ll get the vaccination anyway.

Save a vaccine.

– Knock knock knock!

What was coming has come.

That’s what I thought at the loud footsteps coming from outside the room.

The door soon opened with a creak, and when Yi Bang-won’s face appeared, I smiled and said the words I had prepared.

“Father, don’t worry. I didn’t get real smallpox······.”

Before I could finish speaking, Yi Bang-won grabbed my collar and shook me.

“You crazy bastard!”

“Cough cough, let go of me.”

“Is it true that you deliberately put smallpox in your body!”

Yi Bang-won threw away all formalities and shouted.

It seems like he heard all the details.

It’ll be easier to talk.

“Cough, it’s to prevent smallpox. It’s called variolation, and it’s about building the strength to prevent epidemics by getting a mild case of smallpox in advance.”

“What nonsense is that!”

Ah, so it’s going to be like this.

I thought my father would believe me even if I said I made meju [fermented soybean block] out of red beans.

“Your Majesty, calm down. The Crown Prince is a patient. It could be harmful!”

Fortunately, the physicians, including Yoo Hyo-tong, stopped him, and my collar was barely released.

After barely pulling Yi Bang-won away, Yoo Hyo-tong calmly began to give an explanation that ‘people of this era could understand’.

“There is a plan in the old medical books to prevent serious diseases by deliberately contracting a mild case of smallpox. Also, what Your Highness put in was the pus of the newly acquired Yongma.

The Yongma is a divine creature, so wouldn’t it be possible to say that Your Highness consumed its essence?”

‘Honestly, it’s bullshit.’

I guarantee that if Ttaeng-gu is a divine creature, then a fly is a bird.

But one thing is certain.

This kind of explanation works much better for people of this era.

‘These guys are desperate.’

I thought as I watched the physicians quoting all kinds of medical books to appease Yi Bang-won.

Of course, they would be.

If they fail to stop me, they will have to spend the rest of their lives in a gulag without seeing the sunlight for failing to stop me.

“If something goes wrong,”

Yi Bang-won’s tone was calmer than before, but that made it even scarier.

“I will definitely hold you accountable.”

Um, not a gulag, but straight to the afterlife?

The physicians’ faces turned pale.

‘You guys heard that, right?’

Even the physicians who had been half-doubtful until just now would have realized.

It means that if they don’t run around and prove the efficacy, they have to write a will.

Well, it’s not bad for me.

I was confident.

===

Even though I got it on purpose, the smallpox vaccine is quite potent.

The symptoms weren’t severe, but I couldn’t help but have a throbbing headache and a fever.

– Gong gong gong!

“Crown Prince! May you recover quickly!”

In the meantime, as the news that I had smallpox spread, there was a great commotion outside.

The Crown Prince is literally the foundation of the nation.

It is a serious matter that could potentially change the succession, so people have no choice but to pay attention.

So, when the Crown Prince is sick, treasures are sent to temples in various regions to offer prayers for a speedy recovery.

But I knew that it was just a minor symptom that occurred during the vaccination process, so I firmly told Yi Bang-won that it was unnecessary.

“What will happen to us if Your Highness leaves!”

“Please recover quickly.”

Then monks and shamans gathered in front of the palace and voluntarily held Buddhist services and shamanic rituals.

I guess that means I’m popular among them.

So how do I feel?

“Namo Amitabha Buddha, Namo Amitabha Buddha!”

“Om bara om bara!”

“Namo Ratna Trayaya Namah Arya!”

– Clang clang clang!

‘You crazy bastards, be quiet.’

My head is ringing and it hurts even more.

Listening to the sound of shamans taking turns performing rituals to drive away smallpox, it felt like I was going crazy.

I ordered my subordinates to chase them all away, but their religious zeal was not something that could be easily extinguished.

In the end, I packed my bags and ran away to the Taesangjeon [royal retreat], and only then was I able to regain a peaceful recuperation life.

After ten eventful days.

I got up from my seat.

“Hoo.”

“So, smallpox won’t invade your body anymore?”

Yi Seong-gye said, narrowing his eyes.

His eyes were half filled with exasperation and half with relief.

“That’s right.”

I suffered from a fever for a while, but there was no danger to my life, and the scab that formed quickly fell off.

The physicians who went to Pyeongan-do and vaccinated smallpox patients also reported that the symptoms improved significantly.

Isn’t this enough to prove it?

Of course, even the physicians seemed unsure whether it was because Ttaeng-gu was a real Yongma or whether horsepox itself was effective.

Knowing that, I also had them vaccinate with horsepox taken from other horses.

This should prove the effect.

“A guy with so much to do is playing around like this. What if you had suddenly died?”

“It was worth it.”

If I hadn’t experimented myself, the vaccination would have dragged on, wondering if horsepox was effective or not.

In the meantime, smallpox would have swept through Pyeongan-do, and discussions would have stalled again until the next epidemic.

‘The royal physicians ran like crazy because the Crown Prince’s life and their responsibility were at stake.’

The people of Saboksi were the same.

They were about to be dismissed for failing to manage the horses properly, but they were allowed to take on the task of collecting pus instead.

The method was that they would transfer horsepox among the horses and collect pus, and the physicians would filter it and vaccinate the patients.

Then the remaining problem is whether the people will voluntarily come to get vaccinated.

Surprisingly, this problem was easily solved.

===

If there is a commonality between Joseon people and modern Koreans, it is that if they hear that something is good for the body, they will eat it or apply it.

Joseon people who loved deer antlers and bear bile were thrilled by the rumor of dragon blood coming from the East Palace [Crown Prince’s residence].

“I heard that His Highness was in critical condition with smallpox, but he drank the blood of the Yongma and recovered completely?”

“I heard that the Yongma recognized the urgency of its owner and offered its own blood?”

“Huh, a divine creature is a divine creature. After all, the dragon is the best of the divine creatures, so if it’s its blood, how can smallpox even approach it?”

How scary is smallpox?

Once it spreads in a village, every other house holds a funeral, and even those who survive have their faces covered in scars.

So, they had no choice but to be tempted by the saying that if dragon blood enters the body, even the smallpox god would not dare to approach it.

“But where can ordinary people like us get dragon blood?”

“I think they were giving it out in front of the Hyeminseo [Joseon medical institution]?”

“What?”

“His Highness said that there is no distinction between high and low status when it comes to epidemics, so he ordered that dragon blood be given to the people.”

“······!”

In fact, it was pus taken from pus, not dragon blood, and even if it was extracted from Ttaeng-gu alone, his whole body would not have been left intact, but the people’s thoughts did not reach that far.

As a result, people lined up in front of the Hyeminseo.

Ji Seok-yeong [Joseon doctor], who had struggled because of the rumor that getting cowpox would turn people into cows, would have been dumbfounded if he had seen it.

“I heard you’ve been singing about needing to take some tonic because you’ve been feeling weak lately, but you have the energy to stand in line in front of the Hyeminseo?”

“Ah, why bother making a trivial tonic when there’s dragon blood? It’s not as good as standing in line here.”

As a side effect, people began to think of variolation as a panacea, but this was also a strong motivation for vaccination, so it was being left alone.

It wasn’t just the Hyeminseo in Hanyang.

Starting with Pyeongan-do, where smallpox was prevalent, the distribution of horsepox and variolation were scheduled to begin in each region.

Of course, the biggest problem was resources.

However, this was also easily resolved with the Crown Prince’s proposal.

The two people who were talking were pointing at those who were entering first.

“Hey, don’t cut in line!”

“Hey, why are those people going in without waiting in line?”

“What do you mean cutting in line?”

“We paid money, so why do we have to wait?”

The magic pass system introduced by Yi Je [Crown Prince’s name]! (Now Yi).

Those with money can get vaccinated quickly without having to wait for the person in front of them to leave.

Unless they were extremely fond of free things, those who could afford it chose to pay and get vaccinated, so a significant portion of the resources was met here.

“It’s truly the legend of the Yongma······.”

Yi Seong-gye, looking down at the long line from a high place, said so.

Crown Prince Yi Je also agreed.

‘That’s right, Ttaeng-gu. What if you can’t understand what I’m saying and you’re useless as a warhorse?’

You saved the world.

Yi Je now thought while stroking his beloved horse.

“?”

Whether he did or not, Ttaeng-gu, who couldn’t understand, looked up at his owner with a blank face.

It was summer.

End

ⓒ Pitkong