Chapter 30
Chapter 30
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 30
Chapter Title: Hall of Worthies GPT (8)
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There's one fact that even I can agree on with the hardcore Confucian boomers.
Joseon is a country that revolves around the common folk—more precisely, the 'farmers'.
If farmers don't produce food, then no king, no scholars, no merchants—nobody can escape starvation.
Therefore, in this era, without any exaggeration, improving 'agricultural productivity' is equivalent to economic growth.
Raising the harvest yield by 10% is the same as boosting the entire nation's economic growth rate by 10%.
So, for Joseon's sound and explosive economic growth, it's only natural that I'm stepping up to introduce new farming methods and tools, right?
"Oh, Lord Kim the Scribe—no, wait, you're not a Scribe anymore?"
Jang Yeong-sil had only become an official two months ago.
So, it seemed he hadn't quite shaken the habit of calling yangban officials 'Lord'.
Still, he didn't toss aside his hammer just because he was an official now, and he didn't lose his original spirit by only picking up a brush. That was what I liked most about him.
People tend to rot away the moment they lose their original intention—or, put differently, their essence.
Jang Yeong-sil remained a craftsman until his dying day.
That's why I wanted to give a man like him the chance to benefit Joseon far and wide.
Ah, hold on—how does Jang Yeong-sil even know who I am?
I'm no minister or anything; I'm just a Hall of Worthies junior scribe, rank 6-9...
"It's an honor to meet you for the first time, Chief Craftsman. I am Kim Dae-bung, currently serving as Scribe of the Hall of Worthies. My courtesy name is Jukheon."
"Jukheon—no, Scribe Kim..."
Jang Yeong-sil still couldn't shake his old habits, so calling me 'Scribe Kim' seemed to grate on him terribly.
To escape this awkward situation as quickly as possible, I should get down to business.
"I've felt this ever since my days as magistrate of Jinhae, but farming is truly the foundation of the world. As subjects, it's our duty to develop superior farming methods and tools, spread them widely, and ensure farmers reap greater harvests."
"......But studying the classics..."
"Scholars across Joseon's eight provinces pass the civil service exams and serve His Highness, allowing us to distribute food and wealth evenly to the people—that's all well and good. But wouldn't it be more important to first increase the amount of wealth we have to share? And that hinges on 'superior tools' and 'superior farming methods'."
Confucius and Mencius believed Confucian principles would save the people, but in reality, it was technological progress that did.
After the Industrial Revolution—and more precisely, after Fritz Haber performed the miracle of 'making bread from air' with his atmospheric nitrogen fixation process—starvation in this world gradually became a rarity.
As a result, in modern society, unless you're in famine-struck Africa amid war, it's hard to find anyone starving to death.
Even in slums of developing countries, deaths from 'hunger' have become scarce.
As someone who knows future history, I can't help but hold technicians like Jang Yeong-sil in high regard.
This is my sincere belief.
"His Highness must have granted you your position because he values your expertise in areas other officials can't touch—technologies that increase the amount of rice the people can eat."
Listening to me, Jang Yeong-sil grabbed my hand with a deeply moved expression, his eyes welling up red.
"......Even now, some officials look down on me as a slave-born upstart and treat me with contempt. To think there's a young official who values me so highly... Thank you truly. I may be ignorant compared to other officials, but I can do things they can't..."
Having lived his life solely devoted to tech development, this middle-aged guy was refreshingly naive compared to exam-passing, silver-tongued officials.
Good. Now that I've earned his trust and goodwill, I can pile on the work freely, right?
If I ask him to make farming tools to help poor commoners like before...
He'd make them with utmost diligence.
That would drop a work bomb on the Ministries of Finance and Public Works for tool distribution, and they'd scramble for the solutions I've already prepared.
With countermeasures ready, I just need to respond leisurely.
"Could you spare me a moment?"
"Helping you, Scribe Kim, feels like repaying His Highness's grace."
"Let's serve our king and love our country together to repay that grace, Chief Craftsman."
"Loyalty to king and devotion to country is a man's natural duty. Indeed, absolutely. If there's a way to repay His Highness—who freed my elderly mother and allowed her a comfortable old age in my stead—I'd roll up my sleeves for any hardship. One who forgets grace isn't human."
Success! I've won over Jang Yeong-sil. Time to dive into tool development.
"First, take a look at this."
"Isn't this a waterwheel?"
"Yes, it is. But unlike ones powered by water flow, this is pedaled directly by people to draw up water."
"It'll make irrigating paddies or channeling water along field ditches much easier."
"Isn't it no exaggeration to say that a harvest's success or failure—famine or bounty—depends on how well you supply water?"
"As you say, Scribe Kim, farming's fate lies in irrigation. That's why Grand King Taejong banned transplanting seedlings."
In early Joseon, getting caught using transplanting meant a beating with rods.
It wasn't malice from yangban hating rich commoners; reservoirs were so scarce that even slightly less rain ruined crops.
But what if irrigation became easier?
No more need to ban transplanting—commoners could use it for higher yields and incomes.
In short, everyone wins.
Yangban, merchants, commoners alike.
"And this is a tool I've named the Dragon's Tail. Inside is a spiral device that draws up water. As it turns, it lifts water and redirects flow."
The Dragon's Tail is a water pump using flow instead of power—like an Archimedes' screw.
Place several along the mid- or lower Four Rivers where water abounds, dig channels, and you massively extend irrigation range.
That means reclaiming wasteland becomes far easier, giving countless commoners a shot at their own 'land'.
"What an incredible tool. With just these two, farming would be vastly simpler."
"These aren't the only ones I've devised."
"Oh? More?"
"Yes. While magistrate of Jinhae, I came up with a bunch in my spare time."
Might be my imagination, but a high official just passed by Jang Yeong-sil and me.
He glanced at me and muttered something like, 'The workaholic maniac from the Hall of Worthies is here!'
Nah, must've misheard.
I just want happy commoners and officials clocking out on time...
I'm merely striving for Joseon's progress.
Who'd call work for the people's broad benefit 'maniac'?
Thinking of the Office of Special Crafts—it handles clothing too.
Should I just unleash blueprints for sewing machines, spinning wheels, looms?
Their director would be overjoyed to death.
Once made, clothing production could jump at least tenfold.
I felt a twinge of annoyance for a second, but seeing Jang Yeong-sil beaming over my sketches melted it away.
"These could truly benefit Joseon."
"Yes, exactly. And when building canals, isn't hauling earth the hardest part? That's where this crane comes in..."
I roughly sketched Jeong Yak-yong's crane design.
Even my sloppy drawing of the pulley structure...
I'd botched it, but Jang Yeong-sil got it instantly.
"I see. The rope runs over this round wheel, reducing weight like a bucket on a well pulley."
"Your insight is remarkable, as expected."
"It's nothing. This is basic."
Jang Yeong-sil downplayed it, but he looked thrilled.
His face lit up with a bright smile, shoulders naturally lifted.
Sometimes it's best to play dumb even when you know...
"Ploughs and other tools don't need complex structures like now."
"Wouldn't sturdy, precise ones be better, even if a bit complex?"
"If every village artisan matched your skill or the Office's craftsmen, sure. But as Jinhae magistrate, I saw their work wasn't that refined. Plus, these tools will first be made by conscripted artisans for nationwide rollout—their shoddy skills mean poor quality."
According to some alternate history forum post, even with identical tech, soil, and weather...
Tenant farms yield 30% less than owner-operated ones.
Much less expect conscripts to painstakingly craft precise tools?
Hell, it'd be more realistic for heaven to pity a guy who's never dated and drop a beauty in his room.
Former: 0%. Latter: 0.000000001%.
"I loved crafting since my government slave days, studying diligently. But other slaves thought hard work just meant more tasks—a loss. No way they'd pour effort into complex, precise items."
"So, make them simple and rugged enough for rough handling."
"Got it. I'll keep that in mind."
And so, Jang Yeong-sil and I kept discussing 'work'.
Before we finished, an elderly gentleman in blue official robes appeared and barked at us.
"Time to clock out—go home and rest!"
"My apologies, sir."
I can't make other officials pull overtimers because of me.
Yeah, this much is enough to dump on him.
If quick-on-the-uptake Jang Yeong-sil focuses on my proposed tools...
Joseon's ag tech will skyrocket soon.
The fallout will come my way, but with solutions ready in my head...
I can coast for a while.
"Sorry for the inconvenience."
After a polite bow, I left the Office of Special Crafts.
Then someone shouted loudly from behind.
"......These farming tools were all designed by Scribe Kim?! Oh no, on-time clock-outs at our Office are doomed."
Not Jang Yeong-sil's voice. Good enough.
Exactly one week later, a work bomb dropped on the blissfully on-time-clocking Ministries of Finance and Public Works.