There Is No Sejong In My Joseon [EN]: Chapter 256

– Hearing the news that Hwangmae is pregnant fills me with joy as her brother. I am sending treasures, so use them for the auspicious event.

As soon as the envoy who visited Joseon heard the news of Hwangmae’s pregnancy, he rushed to the capital, and it wasn’t long before Eunuch Hwang Eom returned with another edict.

Hwang Eom’s face was pale, as if he had been badgered relentlessly.

I heard he came all the way to Liaodong by boat because of Emperor Yongle’s urging; is that why?

“Ah! Cherishing descendants is human nature. You must uphold the imperial decree, assist Hwangmae’s well-being, and ensure she faces no hardship whatsoever······.”

This guy is so long-winded.

As if I wouldn’t take care of it myself.

He doesn’t even help, yet he’s showing off his sister-doting side. Well, she’s not really his daughter, but his younger sister.

Hwang Eom, who was reading the edict, couldn’t possibly miss this lukewarm reaction.

After finishing the edict, Hwang Eom finally got to the main point.

“As stated in the imperial decree, His Majesty has sent gifts to Hwangmae. Please, take a look.”

With that, Hwang Eom began to unpack the gifts he had brought.

“!!”

The eyes of the royal family members and officials gathered widened.

“Why are there so many riches?”

I asked, looking at the mountain of gifts.

There were piles of white gold, silk, brocade, gold belts, and fine clothes.

The meritorious subjects, including Yi Cheon-woo, couldn’t take their eyes off them.

But I couldn’t rebuke them.

I was the same.

‘How much is all this worth?’

It was such a large amount that I wondered if they had used a ship just for this.

Hwang Eom didn’t chide me for looking like I was going crazy over the riches, even though I had been indifferent when he delivered the edict.

Hwang Eom is inherently arrogant, but he is quick to read the room.

Moreover, he is one to be tough on the weak and submissive to the strong, so there was no way he could complain in the current situation where the hierarchy was clearly defined.

Hwang Eom said respectfully.

“The Emperor said that since it is unknown whether it will be a boy or a girl, he told me to prepare gifts for both. That is why the amount has increased.”

A buy-one-get-one-free event!

‘I knew it, damn it.’

If I had known this would happen, I would have gladly shared the news of the pregnancy sooner.

“Indeed, I can never match the Emperor’s broad and profound mind.”

Truly, he is my brother-in-law.

To give so much wealth as if sending a gift certificate for the birth of a nephew or niece.

The majesty of the Chinese Emperor is indeed great.

I was sincerely moved by the grace of my older brother-in-law.

There’s a reason why my wife follows him like a father.

“I am so grateful that I don’t know how to repay you.”

Only then did Hwang Eom, now elated, gently admonish me.

“Originally, etiquette lies not in material things, but in the sincerity of respect and love. If His Highness sets his mind to it, even if Joseon’s products are insufficient, how could there be no way to repay?”

No, man.

Don’t bite just because I made an empty statement.

I’m especially uneasy about the wording that emphasizes sincerity.

Surely, the psychopathic Emperor Yongle isn’t planning another expedition and asking me to dispatch troops.

‘We sent Waegu [Japanese pirate] soldiers during the Annam conquest, so should I buy and send Jurchen soldiers this time?’

But what Hwang Eom wanted was not troop dispatch.

He grabbed my sleeve and subtly pulled me aside, saying.

“Your Highness.”

Hwang Eom looked around cautiously, then asked.

“Is there anything besides red ginseng that can boost yang energy?”

“······Did the Emperor issue a special order?”

My energy drained away.

‘This guy has a cute side.’

For the Emperor of the Central Plains to send a close aide to secretly order an aphrodisiac.

But it’s a hundred times better than dispatching troops.

‘He even sent gifts because our child was conceived, so it’s possible he’s asking if we have any aphrodisiacs as well.’

Let’s start praising Emperor Yongle again.

“As far as I know, the Emperor has recovered quite a bit of his yang energy after taking red ginseng, so what’s going on?”

I asked, genuinely concerned about my brother-in-law’s health.

“It was certainly the case until a few years ago, but since human aging is inevitable, all of us eunuchs are very worried. That is why I am making this personal request.”

Although it is packaged as the eunuchs’ voluntary loyalty and Hwang Eom’s personal request, there is no way that Emperor Yongle’s intentions are not reflected.

Yongle has aged quite a bit, and he has to take breaks from taking red ginseng on a regular basis, so it’s no wonder he feels frustrated.

‘A midlife crisis.’

How frustrating it must be for the Son of Heaven, who governs all things under the heavens, to not be able to control his own body.

I’m in my prime, so I don’t really sympathize, but I can’t help but feel sorry for him as a man.

“I don’t have anything in mind right now, but I will look for something for the Emperor.”

“His Majesty will surely be pleased with those words alone! I will definitely convey the Crown Prince’s loyalty to His Majesty!”

Hwang Eom, having achieved his goal, returned to Ming with a beaming smile.

Since I received something, I said I would look for something.

I need to come up with an idea.

===

However, ideas did not come easily.

‘Red ginseng, eel, oysters, blueberries, omija [magnolia berry], chives······.’

I tapped the notepad with a pencil.

Even if I write down everything that comes to mind, that’s all.

Unless I make Viagra, all I can do is suggest diet and exercise.

At least red ginseng has blood vessel dilation effects and has the Korean ginseng brand, so it worked for Yongle.

‘Should I just make Viagra?’

But there’s no way I know how to make that.

Even if I knew the recipe, it’s questionable whether I could make it in this era.

‘Should I just pack and send a load of Yagwanmun [a type of herb known for its supposed virility-enhancing properties]?’

“Look at what the Crown Prince sent!”

Now with a somewhat swollen belly, Ju So-hwa lifted up a beautifully embroidered skirt.

The gifts weren’t just what the Emperor had sent.

The Crown Prince had also separately prepared baby clothes, and Ju So-hwa seemed to like this more than the riches.

‘Then should I put all the money received into the Naesu Byeoljwa [a special financial account of the royal household]?’

To use as slush funds.

“What if it’s a son?”

“The Crown Prince sent separate items for boys and girls, so it’s okay.”

I can’t keep up with my brother-in-law’s meticulousness either.

Just as Ju So-hwa was squealing and opening the items sent from her parents’ house.

– Thump!

A faint explosion was heard in the distance.

As soon as I heard the sound, I got up and checked Ju So-hwa’s reaction first.

“Ah, those guys. I told them to do it far away.”

As I shouted, feigning anger, Ju So-hwa smiled faintly and shook her head.

“I’m okay.”

“Oh, really?”

Phew, that’s a relief.

Well, it’s a bit far from the East Palace [residence of the Crown Prince], so it’s not enough to startle people. I think this level of noise can be easily overlooked, right?

However, Ju So-hwa’s words were not over yet.

“But shouldn’t our baby only hear good things?”

Ju So-hwa lowered her eyes and stroked her belly, and I jumped up.

“I’ll go out and chase them away right now.”

===

“Hey, hey, stop everything and gather around.”

At my words, Do and the artisans of the Military Supplies Office poked their heads out from inside the trench.

“From now on, you guys move to the Military Supplies Office’s annex.”

“Huh?”

Grand Prince Chungnyeong, with his chubby cheeks sticking out from his helmet, wore a very annoyed expression.

“We’ve dug all the trenches here, how can we move back outside the capital again?”

“It’s because of your nephew?”

“D, did it reach the East Palace? I knew the explosive power was strong, but······.”

From what I heard, even the experimenters were surprised by the much larger explosion than expected.

“Anyway, are you going to move or not?”

“If that’s the case, there’s nothing we can do.”

Do answered quickly.

Since it was related to the Crown Prince, he had that much sense.

“How did the experiment go?”

“It was a success.”

Do handed over the research notes.

As the days go by, instead of exploding randomly like in the initial experiments, they are getting much more stable results.

‘It’s all thanks to me, though.’

This is not self-praise.

In fact, the progress in the smokeless gunpowder experiment is thanks to my advice.

“As you said, using oil allowed us to create a new gunpowder.”

Following nitrocellulose, now nitroglycerin.

In fact, both require mixed acid, but nitroglycerin is a bit more 까다롭다 [difficult/tricky] in that it requires the manufacture of glycerin first.

Hydrolyze the oil to separate glycerin and fatty acids, and combine it with mixed acid ‘appropriately’ to create a reaction solution.

It sounds easy, but nitroglycerin is such an unstable substance that if you make a mistake in this process, it will explode.

Surely my brother won’t volunteer to do that himself.

That’s why I tried to keep him close and watch him.

“Don’t worry, 형님 [older brother]. Judge Choi has found an amazing material to prevent the gunpowder from exploding randomly.”

As Do handed me a strange dough, Choi Hae-san began to rattle on without being asked.

“When I went down to Gampo-hyeon a while ago, I thought it might be better to absorb the gunpowder into clay rather than cotton.

In particular, this stone has a mysterious property that absorbs water and oil well, so I thought it might be able to stabilize the gunpowder properly······.”

However, Choi Hae-san’s last words did not reach my ears.

I muttered, looking at the dough.

“This is······.”

‘Diatomaceous earth, this is.’

I reported that Do had caused an accident, and he was running around saying he was going to develop a mine, but he still did something.

I would have scolded him otherwise.

Even if it’s unstable, there are ways to use it, but at least it has to be used and transported normally.

From that perspective, it was clearly a great idea.

“Did you connect a wick to this and detonate it?”

“Yes, from now on, I’m thinking of shaping it more.”

At this point, it can be called rudimentary dynamite.

Diatomaceous earth dynamite is weak, so it is not used much in modern times.

However, in this era, it was clear that this alone would be an incredibly powerful explosive material that could not be compared to anything else.

Mass production will be another problem since the ratio must be properly adjusted, the process must be established, and equipment and facilities must be prepared.

‘As expected of the explosion demon king.’

Ugh, I remember the dream I had last time.

Grand Prince Chungnyeong was stirring things up, saying he was developing gunpowder at that time, so I must have had such a 태몽 [prenatal dream].

Whether or not, Do was recording the experimental results and organizing the research.

“It was definitely effective to properly extract the fire energy. Because it contains the fire energy of sulfur and the fire energy of oil, a powerful explosion occurred.”

“That is correct, 대감 [high-ranking official].”

······I want to tell him that he is completely wrong in terms of theory, but I couldn’t easily deny it.

Even if it is a pseudo-theory, the process of constructing the theory itself is valuable.

It’s a hundred times better than relying solely on knowledge based on experience like now.

If we repeat the establishment and modification of the theory, the wrong things will be revealed someday.

‘I wish that 오행설 [Five Elements Theory] would be abolished.’

Logically speaking, if that were true, I wouldn’t have to worry about the aphrodisiac problem like this.

If that’s the case, eating nitroglycerin containing fire energy doesn’t make your body feel hot······.

‘Wait, nitroglycerin?’

I scratched my head at the sudden feeling of déjà vu.

I feel like I read it somewhere a long time ago.

I narrowed my brows and slowly recalled my memories.