Reforms and the Heavenly Army (5)
Following the upper official, Yi I arrived before Yi Yeon. He performed the utmost respect, bowing deeply.
“Your Majesty, you summoned me?”
Yi Yeon looked at the man before him and smiled wryly. He was far younger than the Yi I he remembered from the banknotes of his past life.
Those unbelievable tales from the past came flooding back.
*'He could speak and read before he turned one. At three he imitated the writings and paintings of Mother Shin Saimdang. At four he disputed his tutor and found fault with everything.'*
It was not only these anecdotes that were absurd. He had passed the nine civil service examinations as the top scorer, become a monk after his mother’s death, and suddenly descended the mountain one day to pen the “Self-Awareness Essay.”
Yi Yeon asked quietly, still bowing.
“Did you earn the rank of Jojang simply by taking the examinations?”
Yi I replied in a low voice, “Your Majesty, I fear I cannot bear such words. This humble subject merely possessed fortunate timing.”
“The saying ‘good fortune is also a form of ability’ exists, you know.”
Yi I flinched and lifted his head to meet Yi Yeon’s gaze. The phrase “good fortune is also a form of ability” was something he had never heard before, and his eyes brimmed with shock.
*'Though called “seven fortune and three skill,” one could say fortune itself decides all things. Yet His Majesty calls it skill too.'*
Having witnessed countless times where fortune decided victory or defeat, Yi I had no choice but to acknowledge the truth.
“I am deeply moved. Your Majesty has bestowed upon this humble subject another great enlightenment.”
“Indeed? Then let us work together.”
“Please speak your command, Your Majesty. If I am to serve alongside Your Majesty, I shall follow joyfully no matter the task.”
*'Good!'*
Yi Yeon rejoiced inwardly.
The man was brilliant yet modest; how difficult it would have been to recruit him had he not come of his own accord. Yi Yeon was overjoyed.
A strange feeling came over him. He swept the audience hall with his gaze.
The officials arguing over the number of apples were still present, but Lee Jun-gyeong and Sim Tong-won watched with keen interest.
*'The old ginger is indeed hot, they say. That proverb was true.'*
They were listening intently, clearly wondering why the king would summon Yi I alone and begin a private conversation.
No matter. Yi Yeon needed none of their concern.
Lee Jun-gyeong, the Yeonguijeong, handled matters with perfect efficiency and was utterly incorruptible. Sim Tong-won, who had once been troublesome, had since reformed.
The only one who remained sharp was Won Hon, the Jwahangpanseo of the Ministry of Military Affairs, a member of the Won clan.
*'I cannot know what manner of man he is, but he must be removed at once.'*
Yi Yeon had no intention of keeping close anyone who had slandered Admiral Yi Sun-sin during the Imjin War and nearly ruined the Joseon army.
Only one person—the historically proven brother of Won Gyun, Won Yeon—would be recruited.
*'No need to take risks.'*
Yi Yeon did not trust the sluggish and corrupt military.
Therefore he left Won Hon, whom the ministers had recommended, in charge of the Ministry of Military Affairs for now.
To remove him would risk unknown consequences.
*'No. He might become an enemy, so I must keep him close.'*
That way he would not turn traitor.
The two men bowed as they met Yi Yeon’s gaze. Yi Yeon returned the greeting with a brief nod, then spoke again to Yi I.
“I have a matter to ask of you, Yi I.”
“Please speak, Your Majesty. This humble subject is all ears.”
“I have noticed you show great interest in the first steps of mathematics I compiled. What do you think?”
“I am deeply honored, Your Highness. This humble subject cannot yet evaluate it.”
Yi I bowed low and refused to voice his opinion.
The notation for arithmetic operators was nothing special, but he had immediately grasped their utility. That was why he was moved.
Therefore he considered any evaluation to be a breach of etiquette.
Yi Yeon said no more.
*'One cannot let a fish that has been caught slip away.'*
He wanted to hear the genius’s evaluation.
But pressing him might backfire, and talent itself might leak out.
*'I only studied a little better than others by modern standards.'*
Yi Yeon had seen with his own eyes how his ministers excelled not only in memory but in logic, so he always stayed cautious.
Even so, he had to capture Yi I before the man escaped.
So he withdrew the large trap he had hidden in his heart.
“If you wish to compile an even deeper work on mathematics, could you assist me, Yi I?”
“Is this true, Your Majesty?”
Yi I was so astonished he nearly spoke something he should not.
Unaware he had spoken, he simply stared at Yi Yeon.
Yi Yeon raised a hand to stop the upper official who was about to intervene and said calmly, “Indeed. So I ask for your help.”
Yi I gulped down his saliva and immediately bowed.
“This humble subject is overjoyed. Your Majesty.”
“Then I shall summon you next month. I require time to organize the mathematics we shall discuss.”
“I understand, Your Majesty.”
Only now did Yi I realize what had happened. He retreated quietly to his seat, full of expectation to learn the new academy.
Sim Tong-won’s eyes flashed as he watched.
He knew Yi I had filed a memorial accusing him of treason.
Yet the king had done nothing.
He had merely warned that certain lines must not be crossed.
So, playing it safe, he had overheard Yi I speak irreverent words to the king.
Sim Tong-won asked Lee Jun-gyeong with a voice laced with irritation, “Yeonguijeong, what do you think of assigning Yi I to teach the young? They say he stayed at a monastery as a child, yet his manners are appalling. How dare he speak such disrespectful words so casually?”
“I agree. Still, I was moved by His Majesty’s scholarship, and His Majesty did not rebuke him. For this once, we may overlook it.”
“Hmph. Very well.”
Sim Tong-won glared at Yi I with a reluctant expression.
He wanted nothing more than to accuse him on the spot, but the crime was too heavy. He could only swallow his anger.
Yi Yeon watched Sim Tong-won and shook his head.
*'You’re fortunate indeed. Without the Queen Dowager’s intercession, you would already be finished.'*
Queen Insun had chosen Yi Yeon as king against Sim Tong-won’s opinion. That was why the queen held a grudge and had requested the memorial.
Yi Yeon declared the audience over.
The educational institutions he had planned would be addressed at the next meeting.
He would not even tell the ministers the number of apples he had brought.
* * *
Ganghwado, covered in thick snow.
Inside the workshop where double walls had been built with baked yellow-tiled bricks, people moved busily.
Then someone carelessly spilled sodium carbonate made by burning halophytes on the floor.
Hwa Gye-ju frowned, displeased.
“Tsk, you careless fool.”
“Forgive me, Director.”
Hwa Gye-ju shook his head.
It was the second mistake; he could not overlook it.
“You don’t seem suited here. Go to the docks at Geompo.”
“Director, please forgive me this once. I will be far more careful from now on.”
“Careful won’t save you. The compounds we use here are dangerous, but the ones used at the docks can cost you your life. You would be better off at the docks.”
Hwa Gye-ju boldly dismissed the man who wished to stay.
Originally he would have been expelled for a single mistake.
The work here was too perilous.
But since he was from Ganghwado, one leniency had been granted.
After expelling him and cleaning up, Hwa Gye-ju personally carried sodium carbonate and poured it into the solution of slaked lime (Ca(OH)₂).
This was the process for making sodium hydroxide (NaOH), required for paper production.
Watching the bubbling chemical reaction with foam rising, Hwa Gye-ju glanced at the small glass window he had recently installed and murmured, “His Majesty has no idea he has been reborn from the heavens…”
* * *
Yi Yeon, who had taught Hwa Gye-ju the three great acid-making methods, summoned him for the next stage.
“What did I say is the most important and most produced acid?”
“Sulfuric acid, Your Majesty.”
“Correct. With only sulfuric acid, the other acids are easy to produce. And as a byproduct, other materials can be created.”
Again Yi Yeon wrote the chemical formula on the blackboard.
2NaCl + H₂SO₄ → 2HCl + Na₂SO₄
“With seawater and sulfuric acid, hydrochloric acid can be made, and as a byproduct sodium sulfate (Na₂SO₄). Now, do you know what sodium sulfate can be used for?”
“I am deeply honored, Your Highness. This humble subject does not know. Please instruct me.”
Yi Yeon smiled knowingly and continued.
“Sodium sulfate is not greatly harmful to the human body, but it can pollute the environment. Do not simply discard it. Understood?”
“Yes, Your Majesty. This humble subject will remember.”
Yi Yeon had repeated the warnings about safety and the environment countless times.
He had seen the disaster sites of his past life, and had heard the reports of accidents unending.
He intended to prevent them before they happened.
*'I cannot lose Hwa Gye-ju.'*
Now he was as good as a disciple.
The first disciple he had ever taught since becoming king.
“The first thing I want you to make with the stored sodium sulfate is glass.”
Yi Yeon grabbed a handful of sand he had collected from the Han River and let it trickle through his fingers as he spoke.
“Glass can be made from this sand. When melted and cooled, it becomes transparent like water passing through paper, so it can replace paper as windows.”
“What?!”
Glass Production
Hwa Gye-ju jumped in surprise, as he always did.
Each time, Yi Yeon felt an inexplicable thrill.
The middle-school hormonal surge in his body still flowed freely.
“However, melting this sand is not easy. You saw it being used for firing, did you not? Ordinary methods cannot melt it into glass. Therefore I have thought of a way. Do you know how to melt it easily?”
“Could it be by mixing sodium sulfate with it, Your Majesty?”
“Correct. Matter is truly mysterious; when mixed, new properties appear. I experimented, and when this sodium sulfate, limestone, and soda ash were mixed with the sand, it melted even over low heat.”
After speaking, Yi Yeon crossed his arms like a charlatan, closed his eyes, and nodded slightly.
Hwa Gye-ju saw him as the reincarnation of a celestial spirit.
The candlelight reflecting off Yi Yeon’s figure everywhere in the laboratory was too fantastical.
Yi Yeon continued his explanation, writing each component on the blackboard.
*Sand (SiO₂): Silicon dioxide. The basic material of glass.
*Soda ash (Na₂CO₃): Sodium carbonate. Lowers the melting point of sand.
*Limestone (CaCO₃): Calcium carbonate. Creates sturdy glass.
*Sodium sulfate (Na₂SO₄): Like soda ash, lowers the melting point and prevents foaming for high-quality, transparent glass.
Yi Yeon knew the Solvay Process for making soda ash from seawater, but ammonia was unavailable at the moment, so he taught the halophyte method instead.
“This knowledge will make our nation far richer. Study it well and remember it. Never expose it. Understood?”
“Yes, Your Majesty. This humble subject will guard the secret with his life.”
Not only this; Yi Yeon had taught Hwa Gye-ju more that day.
Sodium sulfate could produce another material.
“When elementary schools are built and more children attend, paper will be needed in greater quantities. I have ordered a paper factory at Geompo. But we must have sodium hydroxide, called caustic soda. That way we can produce paper quickly. Sodium sulfate can also be converted to sodium sulfide to make exceptionally strong, durable paper.”
Yi Yeon planned to use finely chopped bamboo paper for the wad in a slamfire shotgun.
*'Even if someone made cardboard beds with kraft pulping using sodium sulfide and sold them at a high price.'*
Therefore he saw no need to worry about the durability of paper shotgun shells.
*'It will need to be waterproofed with wax or oil. It cannot break like a cardboard bed.'*
Now only the projectile remained in the shell.
Yi Yeon decided to make it versatile as well.