Chapter 105
Chapter 105
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 105
Chapter Title: Great Hanyang Fire (3)
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In English-speaking countries, firefighters are called "fire fighters."
They are known as those who battle against the flames.
It's said that firefighters in 21st-century Korea are the same—every one of them approaches firefighting with the resolve of a warrior heading into battle: either they die, or the fire goes out.
Firefighters truly stake their lives to fight the flames.
But this is the Joseon era, with no fire suits, oxygen tanks, or fire hoses, so just how dangerous must it be to suppress a massive blaze...
"If we can't contain the fire here, both your homes and mine will all burn to ashes."
If they just fled in fear of the fire, all of Hanyang would truly become a pile of rubble, countless people would die.
And even those who survived would surely lose their livelihoods.
So I had to drive everyone here into a war against the fire—to extinguish the flames as quickly as possible and save as many lives as I could.
Better to die fighting than to die running away.
"Putting out the fire is dangerous and frightening. But if you follow my orders exactly, you'll all survive, and you'll even receive the ample rice I'm providing."
When I, dressed in official robes, shouted this loudly, the chaotic crowd fell silent, no longer milling about restlessly.
"The fire is spreading with the east wind right now. So demolish and clear away everything flammable west of where the fire has caught."
"Are we really smashing houses and warehouses alike?"
"Smash them all. They'll burn anyway if the wind carries the flames over. Better to destroy that one house to block the fire's path and save several others."
When we think of firefighting, we imagine dousing the flames where they've caught.
But in a world without fire trucks or hydrants, securing enough water for such a huge blaze is practically impossible.
So the best approach is to exploit the nature of fire itself—remove all the "flammable materials" in its path to block its way.
They sometimes use backfires too... but that's a last resort even for professional firefighters.
If a novice like me tried that, I'd just end up burning all of Hanyang.
"Any houses demolished on my orders—I will compensate for the rebuilding costs, even if I have to take out loans myself."
"......Pardon?"
"As a servant of the state drawing the nation's salary, this is only natural."
In any case, if I end up in debt, the Ministry of Finance—with its now ample budget—will surely bail me out somehow to keep me from ruin.
And in the worst case, Iron Fist King Taejong would cover my losses from his privy purse.
But if it came to using his privy purse, I'd be tied to the Chief State Councillor position for life... so I hope it doesn't escalate that far.
"Able-bodied men, grab hammers, hoes—anything good for smashing. Demolish the houses I point out, then cover them and the surrounding area with dirt."
"Yes, my lord."
"This is to protect our homes, property, and families. We must stake our lives on it now."
Since being born in Joseon, I'd never once held a tool like a hammer.
But in this situation, I couldn't play the noble, preserving my body while barking orders from afar.
If I didn't lead by example, this firefighting effort wouldn't proceed properly.
I picked up the large hammer we used at home.
"I'll take the lead. Everyone, follow me!"
I'm scared too, plenty scared. But what can I do?
To get them into the thick of it, I had to dive in myself—otherwise, the suppression would fail.
If people die because of something I couldn't do, I'd accept it as unavoidable...
But I absolutely couldn't stand by and watch people die because of something I could have done.
I didn't want to be a husband or father my wife Gyeol or our unborn child would be ashamed of.
With my resolve firm, I pointed to a house in the fire's projected path.
"The flames will reach these nearby houses soon! Hurry and demolish before they do! After smashing, cover with dirt so it can't catch. Move!"
As soon as I pointed, I swung my hammer too, joining in breaking down this house's wall.
Along the way, I designated several more houses, and each time, people rushed in to start demolishing.
Dozens—maybe over a hundred—smashing together meant houses collapsed in moments.
"Those with shovels, cover the debris with dirt! After dirt, fetch water from nearby wells and douse it! Hurry, hurry!"
Even as I shouted this, the fire crept slowly closer.
If the flames neared our work area, we'd wrap up and move elsewhere to smash more, blocking as much as possible—that was best.
"This is how we protect your homes, property, and families! It's hard, but keep pushing!"
I said this while issuing orders to others, but otherwise kept swinging my hammer—poorly, but relentlessly.
Smashing walls, more walls, again and again.
My Ming Dynasty celadon-dyed official robes—worth over ten seom of white rice—were turning to rags... But was now the time to care about that?
With people dying before my eyes, their homes and property burning.
"We have to contain the flames somehow!"
Damn it—in actual history, Queen Sohyeon rallied the full guard to protect Jongmyo Shrine and Changgyeong Palace from the fire...
I'm doing all this—shouldn't someone send reinforcements?
"Inspector General, my lord! Look there—the flames are weakening bit by bit!"
I looked where the nameless commoner pointed, and sure enough, the fire's intensity was visibly fading.
Passing our demolished, dirt-covered, water-doused zones, it had nothing left to burn, losing momentum.
This insanely grueling work was working.
Strength trickled back into my exhausted, collapsing body.
"Keep it up like this! We'll extinguish it if we do!"
I continued the firefighting, oblivious to how much time passed.
In the process, I got injured and bled, got splashed with embers and burned.
Compared to those burning to death in the flames—what did this matter?
Compared to those whose homes collapsed or burned, losing everything and left dazed—what pain was this?
So as long as I drew breath, I'd keep struggling to save one more person.
Glancing around briefly, I spotted a tall man, beanpole-like, frozen stiff in terror.
Such fellows needed removing from the site ASAP.
Fear is highly contagious, after all.
"You, the tall one there!"
The man I pointed to jumped in surprise.
"Y-yes? My lord!"
"Run to the palace as fast as you can and relay this: Inspector General Kim Dae-bung is fighting the fire at Anguk-bang, but we're short on manpower and struggling to contain it. Request reinforcements! Go, run!"
No sooner said than he bolted like his life depended on it.
As I led the suppression in this do-or-die frenzy, a military officer approached me.
Among the Ten Garrisons, the nearest to Hanyang was Chungmuwi, so maybe from there?
No, could be Royal Guard or Guard of the Inner Palace.
"Kim Sa-myeong of the Royal Guard's Deputy Division! Her Majesty the Queen has sent myself and 100 men here as reinforcements."
Looking past him, I saw over a hundred able-bodied men following.
We'd been desperately shorthanded—this was a huge relief.
Like I'd died and come back to life.
Not that I'd been in immediate mortal danger, mind.
"But... what happened to your robes? Did you join the firefighting yourself?"
"Isn't it obvious? If I didn't lead, would the commoners have followed to extinguish it?"
"My apologies, my lord."
"I overreacted and snapped when I shouldn't have. Sorry. But could you relay a message to Her Majesty for me?"
"What message?"
From the situation so far, the arsonist wasn't some mere pyromaniac satisfied with just starting fires.
They were exploiting the chaos for theft or kidnapping people to sell as slaves—pure villains.
So anyone not helping extinguish but scavenging valuables amid the chaos was almost certainly an arsonist.
"Anyone ignoring orders to fight the fire and scavenging valuables instead—that's your arsonist. Also, issue a military decree to Hanyang citizens: punish non-participants per military law as requested."
"Yes, Inspector General."
"Go quickly alone. I'll put your reinforcements to work and keep suppressing."
I'd promised rewards for joining—fair enough.
But ordinary folk won't risk their lives for rewards.
Threatening public force—heads roll for ignoring suppression orders—would better hasten the end.
"You've worked hard."
"Just doing what's necessary. Now run!"
"Yes, my lord."
Kim Sa-myeong dashed off to Gyeongbok Palace with my message.
In the actual Great Hanyang Fire, they only caught some culprits—hopefully this time we nabbed them all.
Punishing them wouldn't revive the dead or restore property, of course...
But I couldn't stomach those pig-dog spawn setting fires, looting big, and living high off it.
'Arson in this era is murder outright.'
I led the effort till sunrise, pouring my all into it.
Lifetime-avoided manual labor—endless demolition—drained every ounce of energy; my throat had long gone hoarse.
But if I stopped from exhaustion, suppression would slow—so I had to endure somehow.
"Everyone, hold on somehow!"
As I kept at it, someone approached.
"My lord, the fire's out."
"Really?"
"Yes, my lord."
Hearing that, I collapsed on the spot.
No regrets.
When I opened my eyes, an utterly unfamiliar ceiling came into view.