< Chapter 37: Laughing and Crying Over Fandom (2) >
Chapter 37: Laughing and Crying Over Fandom (2)
In the original history, Princess Jeongso should have died in February. The issue was the cause of death. In the records he had skimmed through in the 21st century, the cause of death was unclear.
Some records said it was measles, while others stated it was smallpox.
"50% chance, where is it!"
Xiang knew that when Princess Jeongso died, King Sejong was deeply shocked. She had bet everything on the 50% chance and vaccinated Princess Jeongso with cowpox.
And that 50% chance turned out to be correct.
* * *
As the nationwide implementation of cowpox vaccination neared completion, Sejong firmly decided to wrap things up. Sejong summoned the Minister of Personnel and gave an order.
"Is the list of officials who have not paid their taxes completed?"
"Yes, it is completed."
"Bring it to me."
A short while later, the official from the Ministry of Personnel brought the list and submitted it to the Minister, who then passed it to Sejong. As Sejong examined the list, he spoke.
"There are so many."
"A total of 143 people."
The list submitted by the Minister of Personnel contained names, families, places of residence, and the extent of their wealth.
After examining the list, Sejong issued an order.
"Remove all the names on this list from the local registers. If any of them have passed the minor examinations and are receiving tax exemptions, immediately revoke all such privileges. Finally, prohibit their descendants from serving in government for three generations."
"Understood, Your Majesty!"
This decision caused a significant upheaval among the local gentry.
* * *
As Sejong's orders were carried out, the local literati experienced a storm.
"This is too harsh!"
Those whose names were removed from the local registers protested vehemently, but few agreed with their claims. Most reactions were as follows:
"Tsk, tsk, tsk. You should have been more modest. How much is that measly tax?"
"As a noble and an official, you should have lived up to your name."
"You need to know shame and propriety! Get out of here! What kind of place do you think this is, not being a noble?"
Those who were expelled shouted at the closed gates of the local registry office.
"How clean are you, anyway!"
The repercussions of Sejong's orders did not end there.
"What are these petitions?"
Sejong looked at the Chief Secretary as a mountain of petitions suddenly flooded in. The Chief Secretary, with a troubled expression, answered the question.
"These are petitions from fathers asking for their daughters' divorces to be granted."
"Divorces to be granted?"
Sejong unrolled the scrolls and read the contents. The contents of the petitions were largely the same.
-My son-in-law lacks shame and propriety, losing his qualifications as a noble. After such an incident, he should naturally reflect and repent, but he claims he is innocent, shows no remorse, and even drinks and beats my daughter. I request that their divorce be granted.
Unlike the Goryeo era, where marriage and divorce were relatively easy, in the Joseon era, the marriage and divorce of the yangban class were very complicated. To divorce, one had to file a complaint with the local magistrate and even submit a petition to the king.
After examining all the petitions, Sejong made a decision.
"Beating one's wife is not the conduct of a noble. However, we cannot make a decision based solely on one side's words. Order the local magistrate where the complainant resides to investigate the facts. If the content of the complaint is true, grant the divorce and ensure a fair division of property."
"Understood, Your Majesty."
As Sejong's orders were carried out, many couples were divorced. It wasn't just divorces that were produced. The number of broken engagements, which required even less complicated procedures, was several times higher.
* * *
Sejong's reforms were being prepared methodically over a long period. However, there was one area that unexpectedly moved quickly, and that was the military.
While Sejong was in the middle of discussing state affairs with his ministers, he took a moment to visit the Donggung Palace.
As the eunuch standing in front of Xiang's door was about to announce him, Sejong lightly waved his hand.
"Shh, I want to see the Crown Prince's usual demeanor."
The eunuch, with a troubled expression, pointed to one side and replied.
"His Highness the Crown Prince is currently in the Haeyuso."
"Haeyuso?"
"It's the toilet."
"Aha! Haeyuso... what a charming name."
Sejong nodded and looked in the direction the eunuch pointed. In a corner of the Donggung Palace, a palace maid stood holding a piece of cloth in front of a room.
Swoosh~
As a loud sound of water was heard, the palace maid quickly opened the door and went in. A short while later, Xiang, holding a book under one arm and looking refreshed, came out and bowed deeply upon seeing Sejong.
"Father, you have come? I am ashamed to show my ugly appearance!"
"Ugly appearance? ... Anyway, were you reading a book even in the toilet?"
"It's surprisingly easy to read."
"Indeed... I like reading too, but..."
Xiang's answer made Sejong shake his head with a look of exasperation.
* * *
The flush toilet, more accurately the toilet installed in the Haeyuso, was something Xiang had firmly decided to create since the time he was the Yuanzi.
For this reason, from the point when he was appointed Crown Prince and had his gold seal made, and when he felt he had gained some recognition of his abilities from Sejong, Xiang began attempting to create the flush toilet.
However, the creation of the flush toilet encountered significant obstacles from the start.
The flush toilet Xiang was familiar with was made of porcelain. However, the historical context of the Joseon era posed a problem.
The place that supplied various porcelain items to the royal family was the Siyongbang, and the porcelain items supplied here were through tributes. Ultimately, he had to find a kiln that produced porcelain himself, and the closest one was in Gwangju, Gyeonggi Province.
After the Neobeolsim incident, Xiang's range of activities was limited to Hanyang, and he had no intention of going to Gwangju, Gyeonggi Province.
"If it were the 21st century, I could just drive there, but this is Joseon, right?"
In the end, Xiang had to find an alternative. While searching for various alternatives and digging through his memories, Xiang finally found a solution.
What Xiang found was a scene from a movie featuring a pure-hearted, passionate horseman who kept shouting 'Anaksunamun' until the end.
He remembered the iron flush toilet in the train's toilet, which was a key element in the movie.
As soon as he recalled this, Xiang drew a conceptual diagram and a rough design and immediately sought out the Gong Yajang from the Military Equipment Bureau.
That's when it began. The trials and tribulations of Gong Yajang started.
Although Xiang had drawn a design, it was more of a conceptual outline. The actual measurements had to be determined through experiments by Gong Yajang.
This was true even in the 21st century. When Xiang—known as Jin-ho in the 21st century—tried to make a steam engine with his friends, Xiang handled the concept and overall design, while his friends had to do all the calculations.
"I'm a liberal arts student. Why should a liberal arts student do the calculations?"
In any case, after numerous trials and errors, Gong Yajang finally created the iron flush toilet.
"Good job, good job!"
Upon seeing the completed flush toilet, Xiang greatly praised Gong Yajang. It wasn't just words; Xiang rewarded Gong Yajang with a hundred seom of rice, and the other yajangs with varying amounts of rice according to their ranks, from ten to a hundred seom. Receiving an unexpected reward, Gong Yajang bowed deeply and shouted.
"Please entrust me with anything! I will do my best to make it!"
"I trust and expect you!"
Whenever Gong Yajang recalled this incident later, he would slap his own mouth.
"This damn mouth of mine is my nemesis!"
In any case, after seeing the flush toilet and the toilet where it was installed, Sejong wanted to install flush toilets in the Geunjeongjeon as well. However, his intention was thwarted by the royal physicians.
"To confirm the health of His Majesty, we must examine his excrement! But in this state, we cannot do so!"
"Is that so? I understand... ."
Although Sejong took a step back due to the opposition of the royal physicians, he did not give up his intention.
"I will install them someday!"
In the end, flush toilets were not installed in the Geunjeongjeon, but they were installed in many other places, including the Donggung Palace. The places where the flush toilets were installed were where the queen and the concubines resided. Squatting over a chamber pot was not a comfortable experience, especially for pregnant women. The flush toilet was the best solution. Of course, it was a hardship for the eunuchs and palace maids who had to clean the waste containers installed under the toilet and refill the water tanks.
Later, the flush toilet began to spread to the civilian population, leading to various issues. To address these, Xiang inevitably had to overhaul the public health system.
* * *
After coming out of the Haeyuso, Xiang moved to the study with Sejong. Sejong, sitting across from Xiang at a large table, immediately spoke.
"Crown Prince, while reviewing the diagrams you created, I had a question."
"What is your question, Your Majesty?"
"You mentioned many aspects, but you did not mention the military at all. Surely you didn't do this out of ignorance?"
In response to Sejong's question, Xiang smiled.
"If I had mentioned the military, it would have caused even greater turmoil."
Sejong nodded at this.
"That's true."
"What do you think, Father?"
Sejong answered Xiang's question resolutely.
"The military must also be reformed. We should not just focus on individual martial prowess but also emphasize intellect."
Xiang nodded in agreement with Sejong's words.
In the fourth year of Sejong's reign, Sejong had established new criteria for the military examinations.
"The purpose of the examinations is to select talented individuals. This applies to the military examinations as well. From now on, even if someone cannot hit a target from 200 paces, they should be selected if they are well-versed in the classics."
While some said this was favoring civil officials and belittling military officials, Xiang thought differently.
"Even Jedi can die in a crowd. Father's words are not wrong. From now on, we need intelligent people."
'Who said that? I can't remember... Anyway, I'll use it!'
Muttering to himself, Xiang immediately spoke.
"I think this way. For the state, civil and military officials are like the two arms of a person and the two wheels of a cart. A person cannot live with just one arm, and a cart cannot move with just one wheel. I believe the state is the same with civil and military officials."
Sejong nodded strongly in agreement with Xiang's words.
"Your words are truly correct! That's why I am considering reforms. However..."
Sejong sighed.
"The ministers sitting in that hall will immediately object to this. National defense is a matter that costs a thousand, no, ten thousand gold, and they will mention the military regime of the previous dynasty."
"However, we cannot belittle the military. If we do, this Joseon will collapse. Consider the precedent of the Song Dynasty."
Xiang, having taken a sip of tea brought by the eunuch, continued.
"There was an empire called Rome in the West. They had a saying: 'Si vis pacem, para bellum.'"
"What does that mean?"
"It means, 'If you want peace, prepare for war.' It's the principle of 'be prepared and there will be no trouble.'"
"Be prepared and there will be no trouble... ."
Sejong, tapping his fingers on the table, pondered the phrase. Seeing this, Xiang added.
"We don't need to go far. Look at the end of the previous dynasty. How many people suffered due to the Jurchens and the Japanese pirates? While national defense does consume a lot of resources, if we are not prepared when an incident occurs, we will have to spend several times more resources and manpower."
"You are right. Your words... ."
Sejong, nodding thoughtfully, made a decision.
"Indeed. If reforms are necessary, they must be carried out!"
As Sejong made his resolve, Xiang clenched his fist under the table.
'Yes!'
With his resolve firm, Sejong asked Xiang again.
"Reforming the military is not something that can be done overnight. It requires time to solve each issue one by one. Where do you think we should start? The northern army dealing with the Jurchens? The southern army dealing with the Japanese pirates? Or the central army defending the capital?"
Xiang answered Sejong's question immediately.
"We need to divide the army into land and naval forces. The naval forces, or more accurately, the cavalry naval forces, must not be underestimated."
< Chapter 37: Laughing and Crying Over Fandom (2) > End