The Gongdan and the Firepower Military Academy (10)
Governor of Hanseongbu Park Sun had cut through the path.
The king had insisted that the top priority was building large roads linking the Gongdan together, and Park Sun had agreed that his words were right.
He recruited laborers by posting this notice:
"Those who bring thirty inspection seals will receive three chickens, thirty eggs, and a free smallpox vaccine for their entire family."
Yi Yeon had witnessed the harsh lives of the lower-class people in Hanseongbu for himself and had personally experienced the vaccine, so he set these conditions.
He knew the old saying, "Even a cow gets eaten if it is called public property," but he doubted it would work here.
After the vaccination, the injection site would hurt and the whole body would ache, so one would not be able to exert strength.
People would hesitate. They would not be able to work and would starve.
That was why he had decided to pay one month's wages for food and shelter during the recovery period.
In addition, he would supply chickens and eggs so the vaccinated could regain strength.
For those who wanted the vaccine immediately, he simply said, "Pay the fee and it is yours."
Free service for the well-off would make them suspicious and refuse.
'The human psyche is truly mysterious.'
It worked. Early in the morning at the various Medicine Bureau outposts, he heard that countless commoners were lining up to wait.
In the meantime, he had recovered every coin invested in the Medicine Bureau, and funds were already accumulating for future operations.
* * *
Back from Ganghwado, Yi Yeon immediately headed for Geunjeongjeon.
He felt a slight cold coming on, but he was on his way to meet Togus, the chief of the Oirat Choid tribe, who had come about the smallpox-infected cow.
The night before, he had spent late hours explaining the upcoming matters to Yi I and Kim Ji, then slept in the study.
Since it was during high tide, the sound of waves came loudly, and memories of everything that had happened resurfaced.
That must have been why it had become a problem.
Yi Yeon wiped his runny nose with the linen cloth Kim Yang-bo had given him and entered Geunjeongjeon.
"His Majesty has arrived⋯!"
The ministers, who had been in the middle of a meeting, sprang to their feet, clasped their hands over their bellies, and bowed deeply.
"We pay our respects to Your Majesty."
Now the ministers came to Geunjeongjeon only on special occasions; it had become routine.
To the left under the throne was a raised platform for the speaker, and to the right was a table for recording the minutes. They gathered in Geunjeongjeon even for minor matters to discuss countermeasures and prepare plans.
The king had ordered it that way, and it was no reason to refuse, because it was the form of the ideal state they had long dreamed of — a Neo-Confucian paradise.
Because of that, they could no longer form factions or plot in secret.
If they met separately, their discussions would leak out, and then they would be dragged to the mines.
When Yi Yeon sat on the throne, the ministers bowed respectfully, took their seats, and began to watch him.
Everyone wore bright expressions.
"You have worked hard."
"No, Your Majesty."
The voices carried strength.
It was understandable. News was circulating that tax revenue for the year was expected to exceed three million sacks.
Half of it came from commerce.
Yi Yeon smiled happily and looked toward the superintendent.
The superintendent then shouted loudly.
"His Majesty has summoned you!"
The guards at the entrance brought in the chief Togus and his two sons.
They bowed deeply before the throne and presented their respects.
"It is with immeasurable joy that this humble servant pays respects to His Majesty, the true ruler of Joseon!"
"It is with immeasurable joy!"
His Joseon speech was awkward and hard to understand, but Yi Yeon smiled brightly anyway.
Thanks to them, the terrible plague known as smallpox would be eradicated with the smallpox vaccine.
In addition, they had brought a cow and goats for milk, sheep for warm clothes and blankets, and countless horses for military use — all like treasures to the court.
That was why he had longed to see them, and now it was possible.
"I have troubled you by coming this far. Welcome."
"We are truly grateful that Your Majesty has accepted our humble tribe."
"We are grateful! Your Majesty!"
Yi Yeon invited them to sit on chairs and asked about their settlement in Yadeok.
Togus repeatedly expressed thanks, calling the place the most wonderful spot.
He then listed one by one how the Hwaryeokgun soldiers had caught the wild animals that were troubling the area, praising them without end.
"Your Majesty! The Hwaryeokgun of Joseon truly is a heavenly army sent by the gods!"
"Is that so?"
"Yes, Your Majesty. This humble servant swears there is not a single lie in what I say."
He had sent them only to train the Hwaryeokgun, but it must have been a huge shock.
He continued to recount every feat of the Hwaryeokgun without end.
There was nothing else to do. Even a huge Siberian tiger would be neutralized by lead shot from close range with a thunderous sound.
One reason humans could hunt wild animals easily was because of shotguns.
Thanks to the blunderbuss — a shotgun with a flared muzzle that appeared often in pirate movies — humans could hunt even swift wild beasts without difficulty.
Shotguns had also proved powerful in war.
In the American Revolutionary War, General Washington adopted the buck-and-ball method with muskets and seized the advantage.
In the trenches of the First World War, American forces gained superiority once they began using shotguns.
For that reason, Yi Yeon decided to make shotguns the mainstay of the Hwaryeokgun.
They were more effective for handling nomadic herders on horseback who moved quickly, dealing with wild beasts, or crushing large bands of Ming troops.
"⋯⋯. So they processed the bear skins they brought and handed them over. Please accept them, Your Majesty!"
Togus spread the largest and most colorful bear skin wide before the throne.
'It really is huge!'
The first black bear he had ever seen was much larger than he had imagined.
When he had sent the Hwaryeokgun, he had warned that if they harassed or looted the people, they would be sent to the mines.
He had considered it basic military discipline.
Because of that fear, the Hwaryeokgun brought nothing of their own, not even the carcasses of the bears they had hunted.
The chief Togus had turned them into bear-skin rugs and brought them anyway.
"Thank you. I accept your kindness with gratitude."
"Your kindness is boundless, Your Majesty!"
As they talked, Yi Yeon was unexpectedly surprised that Togus and his sons spoke fluent Ming perfectly.
Even better than the interpreters.
"All the tribesmen speak fluent Ming. Your tribe must have a talent for languages."
"No, Your Majesty. We just traveled everywhere."
"Can you speak any other languages?"
"Yes, Your Majesty. I cannot claim to speak every language of the nomads, but I can understand all of them."
"Then how about we teach your translators?"
"I will leave behind a child who speaks even better than I do."
Yi Yeon felt a lump in his throat.
Since the founding of the nation he had known the importance of interpreters and established an academy to teach them.
But there had been many problems.
Language had to be learned by listening directly to sounds, so the traditional interpreters had always been in charge.
As a result, corruption had been rampant.
He had known about it but could not do anything about it.
The lineage of interpreters had to be preserved.
'Now I won't have to see such a sorry sight anymore.'
There was a native-language language-training academy nearby, so he no longer had to close his eyes to their corruption.
"Thank you. Instead, I would like to send those who want to learn the language to your place. What do you think?"
Hearing the disheartened interpreters, Togus turned to his eldest son.
He was smiling brightly.
"Hah!"
Togus frowned in displeasure and bowed to the king.
"Your Majesty, we will follow your command."
"Thank you. As repayment, I will bestow upon you and your son official titles. And if you have any requests, tell me."
Togus immediately prostrated himself on the floor as if he had been waiting.
With a serious expression he began, "Your Majesty! Although it is a great honor, may I ask that you allow other tribes besides ours to be brought as well?"
"Hmm, what happened?"
"The eldest son begged me to bring his tribe too, crying."
"Did you like this place?"
"Yes, Your Majesty. The eldest son’s tribe lives at the western end of the Silk Road, the Kazakh tribe. The problem cow was taken from there as well."
Yi Yeon muttered, recalling the word "Kazakh."
"There is something to bring from there⋯?"
He thought there must be something important to this era that needed to be brought, but he could not quite grasp it.
Yi Yeon tilted his head, then shouted loudly.
"That’s right! Dandelion!"
Togus’s head snapped up in surprise.
"No, no. I did not say anything to make you startled. Rather, there are many dandelions in the place where the eldest son’s tribe lived, do you not?"
When Togus looked at his eldest son, the boy explained to his father in a small voice.
After hearing the boy’s story, Togus turned to Yi Yeon.
"That is correct, Your Majesty. There are many dandelions there, so they mainly raise goats."
Goats, which could eat anything if it was grass, ate even tough dandelion leaves well.
That was why the eldest son’s tribe raised the most goats.
'Dandelions contain far more essential nutrients — vitamins, minerals, and so on.'
They would mix them with frog legs, which were rich in protein and fat, to create feed.
'There will be no more worry about feed.'
Dandelions, like weeds, and frog legs could grow anywhere with only water.
And now!
'We can make it.'
Making and circulating banknotes had not been easy.
'It had taken more than two hundred years to settle.'
There was nitric acid solution, but it only helped prevent counterfeiting.
'The most important thing is durability.'
To prevent the printed parts from smearing even when soaked in sweat, rubber was needed that would protect the ink and cause the particles to adhere strongly.
'That way people could trust it.'
Yi Yeon believed durability mattered more for banknote circulation than public recognition.
If the printed parts smeared and were damaged easily, counterfeiting could not be detected, and such banknotes would be avoided in use.
'Ignoring that and issuing banknotes could shrink coin circulation.'
Without active circulation, counterfeits would go undetected and spread, eventually threatening the entire currency.
That was why he had been waiting.
Until he found rubber that could make trustworthy, durable banknotes.
But now rubber could be obtained.
"I welcome anyone who obeys Joseon law and follows me to Joseon. Also, if you can write in Joseon language and Joseon script, I will treat you as Joseon people and deal with you equally."
"Your words are truly appreciated, Your Majesty!"
Yi Yeon asked Togus a few more things, then presented saddle and glass mirrors as gifts and rose from his seat.
Runny nose kept flowing, and his head felt dizzy.
Back at Gangneungjeon, Yi Yeon immediately opened the drawer.
He took out his notebook and quickly flipped through it.
He had not recorded the Russian dandelion that could make rubber, so he compared the notes with what he remembered.
"Correct!"
He had written down everything he had known in preparation for this moment.
'There is not a single mistake.'
Fortunately, the content he remembered matched the notes perfectly.
While studying in America, he had experimented with making rubber from the roots of Russian dandelions that grew like weeds everywhere.
It was a mass experiment that everyone had done because acetone and toluene could make latex rubber without allergies.
'Acetone can be extracted from sugar beets, and toluene from coal distillation or petroleum.'
This method was far simpler and more convenient than the industrial synthesis of rubber from petroleum that required high temperature and pressure.
At first he had planned to send people to Southeast Asia to bring rubber.
But he erased that idea.
'Where exactly would it be?'
Instead he changed the plan to collect Russian dandelions that grew wild in the Kazakh region.
But the thought had not come to him at all.
'Am I getting stupid?'
It did not seem so.
He saw that runny nose was flowing even more.
"It is best to sleep when it is like this."
What they had already achieved meant Joseon could still thrive.
Even if he disappeared suddenly.
But he could not rest easy because he did not trust human hearts or the politics those humans made.
'Before we build a system that cannot fail, I cannot die.'
So he lay down and slept at once.
'After a good rest, I will be fine.'
He wanted to know the test results at the Hwaryeok Military Academy, but now it was best to take care of his health.
* * *