There Is No Sejong In My Joseon [EN]: Chapter 324

325.

Unlike the globe, which still had many parts to be filled, this side was showing visible results.

“You’ve finally completed the clock.”

At my exclamation, Yi Cheon bowed his head and said,

“All thanks to His Majesty’s most virtuous grace.”

‘Is he mad at me or something?’

Trying to get away with flattery using ambiguous words like ‘virtuous grace’.

Yi Cheon, quickly reading my expression, stepped forward and added,

“If not for the pendulum principle Your Majesty taught me, I would never have been able to create such a thing.”

“Oh, Master Byeoljang [a military rank in Joseon] is too modest. Even if I taught you the detailed design, it would have been impossible without your craftsmanship.”

I said, waving my hand.

Joseon had several clocks. They had repaired and installed water clocks and sundials that had been passed down from ancient times.

‘Angbuilgu [a sundial] or Jagyeokru [an automated water clock], when you think about it, aren’t that different from those.’

(Enough to be on the Korean History Proficiency Test) As they are considered major inventions of King Sejong’s era, they must be very elaborate objects…

‘Would it be worth making them now?’

That’s why I ordered Yi Cheon to invent the grandfather clock.

Springs were already being used here and there, and Yi Cheon was able to make and bring it after I devised and handed over the escapement [a mechanism in clocks].

As expected of an engineer who left his name in history books. I feel like I spoon-fed him half of it, though.

‘Now that I’ve kicked him out, I miss Min In-saeng [a Joseon scholar].’

Even though he exaggerated a bit, his writing skills were comparable to Sima Qian [a Chinese historian].

Originally, the historians would always add strange comments like ‘absorbed in useless devices’ whenever something was invented, but Min In-saeng didn’t do that, probably because he was impressed by the typewriter.

Regardless, Yi Cheon replied.

“As you commanded, I have divided the day into 24 hours and marked them. Please let me know if there are any parts that are not suitable.”

I don’t know why Westerners divided the day into 12 AM and 12 PM.

In fact, I’m not even sure if that’s how Westerners decided it.

But in this Joseon, there’s no reason to set it that way.

If I were to push the 12-hour system, I could do that, but wouldn’t it be easier for everyone to set it to the 24-hour system from the beginning? I used the 24-hour system when I was in the military too.

“It would be good to keep one of these grandfather clocks in the palace and replicate them to place between Yukjo Street [the main street in Joseon] and the market.”

That area has the most floating population in the capital.

It’s also the boundary where government offices and the public meet.

“Wouldn’t there be any unforeseen events?”

Since the grandfather clock is a new invention, he’s worried that if it’s left alone in front of the market, passersby might steal or break it out of curiosity.

Especially since it’s a valuable item.

But I wasn’t worried.

“Wouldn’t it be possible to build a tower and install it on top of that?”

That’s what concrete and cement were made for.

Concrete fortresses being rebuilt in Liaoxi are easily going up, so a clock tower that’s only about the size of a ten-story stone pagoda is nothing.

‘The bigger problem is something else.’

That is, what the invention of this clock and the establishment of the clock tower mean.

The traditional timekeeping methods of the twelve branches [traditional Korean time system] and the five watches [another traditional Korean time system] were not included in this clock.

Some will complain that they are not used to the new timekeeping method, and some will not care.

In fact, I think the latter will be more common. Most Joseon people are surprisingly not very interested in the existing timekeeping methods. Except for sunrise and sunset.

But someone will object like this.

Time belongs to the Emperor.

===

The Crown Prince faction.

Those who were drawn into this, whether voluntarily or involuntarily, when His Majesty was the Crown Prince, had now become a significant faction in the court.

It couldn’t be helped.

Unlike King Sejong, who had to continue to coexist with the old subjects left by his father for a while even after King Taejong abdicated, Yi Bang-won cut off his interest in state affairs quite early.

Important ministers like Ha Ryun died before Yi Bang-won or were swept away by his hand, and the old subjects who remained in the court all resigned together when Nam Jae, a meritorious subject of the founding, took the lead.

With all the stellar seniors (or corrupt meritorious subjects) gone, it was only natural that those who had been at the forefront since the Crown Prince’s days, receiving His Majesty’s favor (?), would rise to prominence.

However, until now, although they were all lumped together and called the Crown Prince faction, they were not all the same.

First, there were the military officers who Yi Jae had discovered.

It was only natural that the military officers’ position had strengthened due to the Jo Wang’s subjugation war and the establishment of the Mumyo Shrine [a shrine for meritorious subjects].

In particular, Choi Yun-deok and Kim Jong-seo, who had distinguished themselves in this war, were even being mentioned as potential future prime ministers.

However, due to the fact that the King personally led the war during the Jo Wang’s subjugation war, his presence as the commander-in-chief was slightly blurred, and Yi Jae did not allow them to settle down in the center.

Kim Jong-seo, for example, was sent back to the north, and those who had rendered meritorious service were greatly promoted in rank but were scattered with the task of ‘the great task of fostering a strong army’.

Next, there were the Jongsil [royal family members], including Grand Prince Chungnyeong, Yi Do.

The existing Jongsil, including Yi Cheon-woo, would be receiving shares of Cheonghaejin [a military port] and drumming their bellies in their own homes, but originally, there were no people as trustworthy as the Jongsil as the King’s trusted royal guards.

Grand Prince Hyoryeong has half devoted himself to Buddhism, but the Seoja [illegitimate sons] of the Sangwang [retired king] are working hard to establish their position in Liaodong (or so the vassals believed).

It was widely expected that Grand Prince Seongnyeong would also play a role when he grew up.

However, the most promising figure among these Jongsil was Grand Prince Chungnyeong, Yi Do.

The Jiphyeonjeon [Hall of Worthies] is still widely recognized as a place where each department issues research reports for reference, and no practical authority is given.

However, although a position makes a person, a person can also determine the status of a position depending on who sits in it.

If a power game breaks out in the court right now, this group of Jiphyeonjeon scholars, led by Grand Prince Chungnyeong, will never be pushed back.

Third, there was the group of engineers such as Choi Hae-san, Yi Cheon, and Jang Yeong-sil.

These were the ones who were doing the work in the technology development and dissemination that the King was very interested in.

Even in the previous era, they were just simple technicians who could not hold high positions from birth, but under the reign of the King, anything was possible.

Even Park Ja-cheong, the construction king who only dug into civil engineering and became a minister, is being reappointed by his descendants.

Perhaps the Mun-gwan [civil service examination] graduates saw such hope, and Park Seo-saeng, originally from the Eon-gwan [Office of Interpreters], and Jeong Bun, who also passed the Mun-gwa Daegwa [higher civil service examination], followed the waterwheel development and civil engineering projects and gradually attached themselves to this side.

“It’s quite cute. Don’t you think so?”

Although there was talk of a split in the old Crown Prince faction, just looking at the divided aspects, it was nothing more than a group of people gathered by their respective positions.

There was always a subtle power struggle between departments, so it was not yet divided enough to be called a faction.

High-ranking officials such as Hwang Hee, Maeng Sa-seong, and Heo Jo were so large that they had taken a step back from these divided groups.

In other words, they were not in a position to compete with these groups but rather to mediate when disputes arose.

‘There’s no reason to lose His Majesty’s trust by rolling around in the mud directly.’

The one who is most skilled at handling this conflict is the Minister of Personnel Affairs, Hwang Hee.

There were more than a few people who were forcibly compromised and the situation was ended before they realized it, after being caught up in his smiling face saying, ‘Gap’s words are right. And Eul’s words are also right.’

However, even the smiling angel Hwang Hee is just a vassal in front of the King. This means that it is impossible to gloss over with a smile.

In fact, Hwang Hee asked with a serious face.

“Did you say you were going to set a new timekeeping method?”

I heard a story about making a new clock a while ago.

I expected it to be an extraordinary object since it was made by His Majesty, but I didn’t expect him to change the timekeeping method itself.

But no objections are allowed.

The King had to do whatever project he was interested in.

It seemed that the work had already been decided, and it was time to discuss the practical details.

Just as the ministers took the lead when Hangul [Korean alphabet] was created, they, the powerful figures of the court, had to promote the project that the King was pushing for.

“Following His Majesty’s orders…”

“Your Majesty, our country has followed China’s reign title and used its calendar since ancient times in order to show our sincerity in serving the great power.”

However, Minister of Rites Heo Jo opened his mouth as if he was not interested in such a role and only ever spoke frankly.

‘Ugh…’

Hwang Hee also thought that he usually spoke frankly, but somehow he felt like he had become the King’s yes-man when he was next to Heo Jo.

“Oh, I never said I was going to create a new calendar. I just said I was going to change the way we count time.”

He meant that the calendar was a different story, but Heo Jo, who was well-versed in etiquette, said.

“The calendar is just a symbol of the fact that the Emperor controls time. Furthermore, the sun, moon, and days are not different from each other, so if you change the way you count time, how is that different from changing the calendar?”

Hwang Hee felt that Yi Je’s mood was slowly becoming uncomfortable.

Originally, he didn’t care about Ming’s opinion, and after the Yongle Emperor, he had become openly indifferent to serving the great power, so it was not difficult to notice this.

Just as he was about to step in to mediate before the emotions of both sides escalated.

“However, since the Emperor has already entrusted us with the affairs of Saeoe (塞外) [lands outside the Great Wall], what harm would it do if Your Majesty set a new timekeeping method? Please dispose of it as you wish.”

“?!”

‘T, this!’

Hwang Hee felt like he had been hit on the head.

Heo Jo, who had always had the image of speaking frankly, was subtly throwing such curveballs.

The King had no reaction when he, who had been in favor from the beginning, spoke, but when Heo Jo, who had no compromise on such issues, agreed, his face brightened rapidly.

‘Minister of Rites, when did you learn such a clever trick!’

Hwang Hee even felt a slight sense of betrayal.

However, Heo Jo stood crookedly with a face that said, ‘I’m just speaking frankly as an expert in etiquette.’

“Now that I think about it, the Emperor has entrusted us with the affairs of the world. Isn’t that right?”

“Your Majesty is right.”

Strictly speaking, the Hongxi Emperor never said that.

Wang Hao only unofficially sounded out Zheng He, who was in charge of Hesiang [eunuch agency], to collect tribute on his behalf.

The Hongxi Emperor, who heard this, only expressed his positive intentions unofficially.

Therefore, the official position of the Ming Dynasty’s Ministry of Rites was ‘If there are barbarians who want to pay tribute, let the Joseon envoys bring them in together when they enter the country.’

However, the Joseon court all interpreted this as a request to take on the role of the big brother who supervises the tributary states as Baekgu Jikuk [a term for Joseon’s role as a protectorate].

Now that Cheonghaejin has taken the place of Zheng He’s fleet, it was not practically wrong.

Heo Jo took it one step further from here.

“Entrusting us with the task of collecting tribute means that the Emperor will continue to oversee the Jungwon [Central Plains], but Saeoe will be entrusted to us instead.

Since we have already received the Emperor’s delegation, how can it be said that it violates the etiquette of serving the great power even if we change the timekeeping method?”

I don’t care about the time in Jungwon. That is what the Emperor will oversee.

But what about outside the Great Wall, where the Ming Dynasty has cut off all interest due to the backlash from the Yongle Emperor’s foreign expeditions?

It was the interpretation of Heo Jo, Joseon’s foremost expert in etiquette, that the Joseon King was left to do as he pleased, whether he changed or stopped the time.

Of course, the Hongxi Emperor never said that.

But even if they realize it, there’s nothing the Ming Dynasty can do.

Joseon is already sharing the burden of defending the north.

It’s not like they’re openly telling them to take their Emperor’s calendar because they don’t need it, and they’ll just gossip behind their backs and move on if they’re just going to change the 12 o’clock to 24 hours.

“That’s right. It’s like my eyes are opened by the Minister of Rites’ bright teachings.”

As Yi Je’s praise fell, the expressions of the assembled vassals also brightened.

But that didn’t last long.

“Since we are changing the timekeeping method with the Emperor’s delegation, we should also take a look at the miscellaneous weights and measures. I’m counting on your help.”

As Yi Je said, exhaling sharply as if he had been waiting for this, the three people were dumbfounded.

The revision of the timekeeping method was just the beginning.

End

ⓒ Pitkong