There Is No Sejong In My Joseon [EN]: Chapter 52

Division of labor!

Primitive task sharing was already happening in the existing Military Arms Office, but it wasn’t enough.

What was needed now wasn’t a craftsman who could handle every process, but a system suitable for mass production.

“Division of labor, you say?”

“That’s right.”

I said to Deok-man, who had a bewildered expression.

“We will apply new processes not only when producing sewing machines but also when producing other things. White powder, muskets, and heavy equipment production, all of it.”

I had thought about developing machine tools and equipment, but since they couldn’t be made overnight, I decided to set up the system first.

“Choi Hae-san.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“How have you been producing white powder until now?”

At the sudden question, Choi Hae-san scratched his head.

“How do you mean? We grind lead flowers [a lead-based pigment] to make powder, mix it with other powders to make lumps, and then put it in baked white porcelain containers.”

“And one person did all of that, right?”

“That is correct.”

With several artisans gathering to make them one by one, there was no way efficiency could be achieved.

I ordered each process to be separated.

“Separate those who make lead powder, those who mix it with other materials, and those who package it in white porcelain containers, so that each person only does their assigned task.”

“Yes?”

“The same goes for the important sewing machines. Assign different people to make each part, and have one side handle the assembly.”

When I ordered him to do so starting today, Choi Hae-san looked troubled.

The reactions of the artisans standing next to him were also subtle.

I clicked my tongue.

‘Have I not gained their trust yet?’

I thought I had developed instruments one after another, and above all, I had crushed the ironworkers’ noses with the railroad construction, but I still seemed to be treated like a child.

However, Deok-man asked.

“Is that all, Your Highness?”

“W-Well, yes?”

As the artisans buzzed, I licked my lips.

Did they not understand?

I was going to explain it one more time, and if there was still resistance, I would suppress them with my position.

“I thought Your Highness was going to make another great instrument…”

“Something that would do the work for us even if we stood still?”

“Then what would we live on?”

“It’s a bit disappointing. I thought we could see Your Highness’s magic again.”

What was all this?

So, it was controversial because it seemed too simple?

I was slightly embarrassed when Deok-man stepped forward and said.

“Everyone will follow Your Highness’s words! I will do so immediately.”

“Is that so?”

Well, since Deok-man, the most senior, said that, I guess I could trust them.

===

“Production line! Give it to us quickly!”

The word ‘line’ came from me.

As always, I just attached some Chinese characters to it.

For reference, I used the characters for ‘stack’ (摞) and ‘pull’ (引).

The division of labor was progressing smoothly.

On one side, they were scraping and grinding lead flowers obtained by heating lead.

The result was moved right next door.

In this line, people with their noses and mouths covered with thick cloths began to mix rice flour and arrowroot powder into the lead powder, stirring it around and around.

Others put the finely dried, rectangular parallelepiped white powder into white porcelain containers, and these were put back into boxes and stacked.

Not only white powder but also other processes were proceeding similarly.

“The speed is much faster. Before, each person was in charge of making one, so the work was tangled and complicated, but thanks to the Crown Prince’s organization of the process, we can accurately grasp the quantity, and above all, we only do our assigned work, so our hands are much faster.”

It was good news.

The factory handicraft industry was rapidly taking hold.

It was the most suitable method for small-variety mass production.

Watching the work proceed faster than I had expected, I was inwardly impressed.

‘These people are definitely not stupid.’

I felt it in Africa too, but the problem is not that people in this era lack work skills or intelligence.

They just don’t know how.

The artisans were as talented as the people I had met in modern times.

“When work is finished today, give the artisans some meat. Thanks to everyone’s active cooperation, I think we will easily achieve the target amount.”

I ordered Choi Hae-san to do so and walked around the Military Arms Office, gently encouraging the artisans.

===

The artisans in the Military Arms Office were used to seeing the Crown Prince walking around like this, but the newly selected and educated people looked at it with curious eyes.

A man named Moon, who had entered because he had no way to make a living, was the same.

“For someone like the Crown Prince to come into the Military Arms Office and take care of the artisans’ work one by one…”

He asked the master craftsman hammering iron next to him with an unbelievable face.

“I’ve only heard rumors that the Crown Prince has a violent personality, but how is such a thing possible?”

The eyes of the blacksmiths who were listening to the words of the rookie Moon changed.

“Hey, you! What are you talking about?”

“Although His Highness squeezes his subordinates, his foundation is more benevolent than anyone else.”

“Is that so…?”

“You’re supposed to be a Taoist, but how can you have such a poor eye for people?”

No one believed it, but this man named Moon said that he had learned sorcery and even held a government post.

It was a mystery why such a human had drifted into this Military Arms Office.

Moon said proudly, not knowing it was a teasing remark.

“There was a time when I made a name for myself in Jin Yang and the king personally told me to make it rain…”

“Hey, Moon. Shut your mouth and eat.”

“…”

“Oh, it looks like snack time is almost over.”

Before, it didn’t matter how long it took, as long as they finished their work, but since the division of labor process started, it was different.

If one line of work was delayed, everything else would be delayed, so strict timekeeping became essential.

That point was slightly unsatisfactory to the Joseon people, who had never had such a concept, but there was no way around it.

Everyone had experienced the hardship of having work piled up while others were just talking among themselves, leaving their work behind, and only they were suffering.

They thought this was better.

Of course, in this case, there was a disadvantage that it was difficult for rookies like Moon to learn professional skills, but Crown Prince Lee Jae simply solved it with one order.

“Ah, supplement that with separate education.”

It was like doubling the hardship, but what could they do?

It wasn’t like they had land to cultivate, and they couldn’t use the ‘sorcery’ they had learned for some reason.

Moon sighed.

At that time, one of the blacksmiths spoke to him.

He was a classmate who had entered to receive blacksmith training with him.

“Moon, do you know that story?”

“What do you mean?”

“That our Crown Prince is actually the reincarnation of Chiwoo [a legendary figure in Chinese mythology, known as the God of War].”

“That’s right, that’s right. I heard that from the existing ironworkers. The steel mill that went up to Hanyang this time was also created when the Crown Prince pointed his finger at it, right?”

“Even the oldest Deok-man said so.”

Deok-man’s faith was famous in the Military Arms Office.

They said that he was purifying his body every day and hammering iron these days because he was afraid of bad luck.

The juniors waved their hands, saying it was excessive, but Deok-man’s will was firm.

‘The gods have descended on Joseon. How can I handle iron carelessly when that person is looking into the Military Arms Office every day?’

“No, well, not that much.”

Moon clicked his tongue.

However, the blacksmiths’ conversation continued.

“They say it’s the third reincarnation after Chiwoo and Bihyeong [a figure from Korean legends known for his supernatural abilities]. The elders say it’s an achievement that only a heavenly goblin can do.

Why, don’t the monks also say that? Just as one can be born as a trivial creature in the next life, and animals can be born as humans, so can gods be born as humans.”

“I heard it was the reincarnation of King Seoktalhae [one of the early rulers of Silla, an ancient Korean kingdom].”

The blacksmiths were adding flesh to each other’s stories and creating such a faith by combining Buddhist doctrines they had picked up from somewhere.

“Even this time, isn’t it achieved by the Crown Prince’s mysterious plan? Simply dividing the work among ourselves has greatly increased efficiency.”

The blacksmiths agreed, saying yes, yes.

It was the process of a kind of faith that had arisen from the Military Arms Office artisans being transmitted to the newly introduced ones.

However, this was just a bizarre anecdote being passed from mouth to mouth, and it was not enough to be seen as proper proselytizing.

In the first place, they were not particularly literate, so they could not create such a sophisticated faith.

However, only Moon, who unintentionally listened to this story, was different.

He was a diviner from Jinju, and Lee Bang-won called him because of his great talent and entrusted him with matters related to astronomy.

Then, when a shooting star appeared a year ago, he was banished for saying that Crown Prince Lee Jae’s collapse was due to a warning from the sky, incurring the king’s wrath.

In fact, he had been treated as a quack because all the fortunes he had read and put out so far were wrong.

Anyway, after being banished for incurring the king’s wrath, he could no longer act as a Taoist, so he decided to stay in Gaeseong for the time being, intending to look for another opportunity.

First of all, he had to prepare a livelihood, so he entered the Military Arms Office.

Then, when he overheard this rumor, a strange idea began to sprout in Moon’s heart.

“Hey, Moon. You’ve been acting like a Taoist somewhere, haven’t you? Do you think His Highness is really sent by God?”

“Haha.”

Moon also had faith in such wonders as he was a Taoist.

However, what was important now was not his belief itself, but the thought that he could use this to regain his reputation as a Taoist.

He opened his mouth.

“I thought that the shooting star that fell last year was an ominous sign that a precious person would die, but in reality, it was not.

Didn’t Gang Gam-chan [a famous Korean general of the Goryeo dynasty] also ride the Mungok star [a star associated with military prowess and auspicious events]? It is certain that the god of the sky rode that meteor and was born on this land.”

Strictly speaking, Lee Jae was not born last year, but when Moon spoke with a lot of weight, the artisans nodded their heads without realizing it.

“Originally, the gods of the sky also descend to earth. It is true that His Highness handles unheard-of divine weapons, which Chiwoo did in the old days.

Also, according to the Classic of Mountains and Seas [an ancient Chinese text describing mythical geography and creatures], Chiwoo made his subordinates cause rain and wind, which is…”

As Moon began to explain by bringing out old historical facts that he had never heard of, the artisans were soon immersed in his story.

As someone who had been acting as a Taoist for a long time, he was skilled at systematizing haphazard stories and adding Taoist grounds.

The primitive Chiwoo faith was gradually taking shape with Moon’s joining.

Moon Ga-hak, a sorcerer who was executed in the original history for claiming that he could summon heavenly soldiers (天兵) and divine soldiers (神兵), was thus taking a truly bizarre step.

“Who’s talking about me so often these days? Why are my ears so itchy?”

‘Should I develop a cotton swab?’

The Crown Prince Lee Jae, the object of that faith, was still completely unaware.

End

ⓒ Pitkong