Innovation and Revolution (11)
The reason Yi Yeon had spent three months on Ganghwado was not only because of Yi I, but there were other reasons as well.
Once Yi I had produced copper wire, Yi Yeon summoned the alchemy furnace.
To coat the wire with insulation, hydrocarbon compounds were required, so he checked the progress on the oil refinery plant under construction in Geompo.
Yet he heard an unexpected remark.
“Is this all packed inside?”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Even on Ganghwado, they were already producing coke from asphaltite.
At first they had brought it from the Anju mine.
But during transport by ship, it had absorbed moisture and deteriorated, so they decided to produce it locally.
The result was that the byproduct of coal coking, coal tar, could be filled into a massive concrete tank.
“Well done! You have truly done well!”
“It is nothing, Your Majesty. I only stored it because you said it was something absolutely necessary.”
Unexpectedly, they had obtained coal tar, but there was a catch.
Hydrocarbon compounds extracted from coal made it difficult to produce synthetic rubber.
From petroleum, however, any hydrocarbon could be made.
“It is said that aromatic compounds smell strongly, but that is not important.”
What mattered was that toluene was required to make rubber and TNT.
Yi Yeon worked with the alchemy furnace to produce toluene from coal tar.
Then he melted the roots of the Russian dandelion to make rubber.
At the same time, benzene, xylene, and naphthalene were extracted as byproducts.
These were also important for later use.
But they did not make TNT yet.
It had excellent performance and stability, but it was not needed now.
Yi Yeon first oxidized the benzene to make phenol.
Next he oxidized methanol to make formaldehyde,
then mixed the two to produce phenolic resin.
Because it had good heat resistance, it would be used as an insulating coating for the copper wire.
Throughout the process, the alchemy furnace learned many things.
To speed up chemical reactions, a catalyst was required,
and metal catalysts had to be shaped like nets to increase surface area and maximize effect.
He naturally learned that by opening and closing valves, only the needed compounds could be extracted.
Thanks to this, the oil refinery plant in Geompo was partially completed.
Previously, they had blindly connected pipes by looking only at blueprints, but now they connected pipes according to the principles, starting with the necessary ones.
As a result, naphtha could be extracted, the compound most produced and used in petrochemicals.
It was then steam-cracked to make ethylene and propylene.
Propylene was oxidized to acrylic acid, and the acrylic acid was polymerized to make various acrylic products.
Rubber was added to acrylic resin, dissolved in acetone, and durable ink was produced.
Dyes were added to the ink to print the banknotes, and the second elder saw them and said, “It is truly remarkable, Your Majesty. However, the middle of this one is blank—what are you planning to draw?”
“That is why I called you here. Your elder brother said that placing portraits of the late kings on the back would suffice, but I thought of something else.”
“What is it?”
The second elder’s eyes widened with interest.
As the Joseon Bank president, the second elder held the authority and responsibility to issue and manage all currency used in Joseon.
Yet he had not interfered at all in currency issuance so far.
That was why Yi Yeon had called him aside.
Like the elder, the second elder had only done what he was told and had never searched for work on his own.
So Yi Yeon wanted to test his intention while also educating him.
Anyway, he was the Joseon Bank president.
“Elder brother, first we intend to make four kinds of banknotes: ten won, fifty won, one hundred won, and five hundred won.”
“Oh, is that so?”
“So, I would like you to choose pictures or patterns for the back and front.”
“Yes?”
The second elder flinched and slid his body back slightly, looking as though he thought, *Why should I have to do such a bothersome task?*
So he asked firmly, “Do you not want to?”
“It is not that I do not want to, but… how can I do it? There are other deputies too.”
“Elder brother!”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“You are the Joseon Bank president.”
“That is true, but…”
The second elder placed the banknote he was holding on the floor and let out a long sigh.
Then he asked, “Your Majesty, if you absolutely, absolutely promise never to blame me, I will try.”
“Yes, there will be no blame. So think calmly and come up with something that can symbolize this country, Joseon.”
“Yes, Your Majesty!”
The second elder answered vigorously, but Yi Yeon did not expect much.
With simple thoughts, the result would be simple too.
So he asked Heo Nanseolheon to help separately.
To assist the second elder.
* * *
First day of the tenth month in the lunar calendar, 1569.
The harvest this year had been abundant as well.
The spring had been dry and there had been much worry, but fortunately rain had come in time.
Thanks to that, transplanting could be done even in places with insufficient reservoirs, and a bountiful harvest could be gathered.
But rumors of hwarang had spread everywhere.
“Do those vicious creatures really come all the way down here?”
“Yes, Commander.”
“When was that?”
“It was two weeks ago, and also a month ago.”
“That means they crawl down whenever night falls?”
“That is correct, Commander. They come down even when the full moon rises and even when it is the new moon or the last quarter moon.”
“Hmm…”
Yi Sun-sin was in Gurye, Jeonra.
Right in front of the huge Gwaneumsa Temple.
Leading one hundred firepower troops.
“Understood. As soon as the sun rises tomorrow, I will search the entire Geumisan Mountain as well as this area. Rest assured.”
“Thank you, Commander. However, I ask you to refrain from wanton killing.”
“Yes, I will do so.”
The answer was given that way, but this time they would completely wipe them out.
The royal decree had come for that.
Yi Yeon had heard that when hwarang began in autumn, they would become even more fierce in winter, so he had ordered them to be wiped out completely.
Protecting the ecosystem was good, but people came first.
So the academy classes led the entire firepower army to encircle Geumisan Mountain.
While training, they also intended to catch the animals that harmed people.
Yi Sun-sin called his assigned squad leaders.
“Study this map well and move without mistakes. Otherwise, friendly fire may injure you. Understood?”
“Yes! Squad leader!”
The firepower army was divided into private, private first class, corporal, and sergeant.
Because they were rough men, ranks and command had to be established.
Most were corporals.
To be recognized as a rapid-firer, one had to wear a mark that looked like a chicken spouting fire, but some wore another mark.
They were the ones with a circle containing ten crosses, like this.
Yi Sun-sin called them separately and gave them orders.
“You must never go forward and protect the friendly troops from the rear. Understood?”
“Yes, Squad leader!”
However, a soldier who looked difficult raised his hand.
“Question. Squad leader.”
“Speak.”
“If a harmful animal is found, is it all right to shoot it?”
“It is fine if you can kill it with one shot. However, if not, you must wait and look for an opportunity. It is said that no beast is as fearsome as a wounded one. Understood?”
“Yes, Squad leader!”
The next morning.
As soon as the sun rose, gongs rang from everywhere.
Following the sound, more than ten thousand fully armed firepower troops entered the mountains according to the plan.
Hwang Jin also led one hundred firepower troops up the valley.
“Keep your mind firm! If you get distracted by beautiful autumn leaves, you may live only a short life. Understood?”
“Yes! Squad leader!”
When Hwang Jin had become squad leader and visited his first unit, he had found that his men had more cheek than he expected.
They had seemed difficult, so he had joked.
Each time, Hwang Jin would take off his rank insignia and say he wanted to fight.
The result was disastrous.
After subduing him by force, they stripped him naked.
That was why the squad led by Hwang Jin was the one that listened best.
They would suffer humiliation if they cheeked.
In contrast, the squad led by Jeong Yeo-lip was the freest.
He treated everyone equally.
But in the unit led by Kim Myeong-won, the first gunshots rang out with the sound of axes flying.
Bang!
After that, gunshots rang one after another from everywhere.
Because the order had been given to remove without mercy any animal that showed teeth to humans, including tigers, there was no need to be gentle.
At the entrance to Gwaneumsa Temple, Gyeongmyeong, who was commanding everything, asked Vice Principal Kim Myeong-won, “Vice principal, do we really have to do this much? Could we not mobilize the villagers and drive them like a hunt?”
“I would like that too. But Your Majesty told me not to do so.”
“Could you tell me the reason?”
“Yes, since the operation has started, I will explain the purpose of this operation.”
Kim Myeong-won gathered all the academy professors.
They needed to understand the nature of the operation to teach the classes.
“Everyone knows. Your Majesty said he would attack Tsushima Island.”
“Of course. It is said that the lord of Tsushima Island was frightened and sent his successor as a hostage, but he is an untrustworthy person, so he must be eliminated.”
“That is correct. So the training is done here because the layout is similar to Tsushima.”
“Ah…”
Everyone knew.
Tsushima Island was ninety percent mountains, so even if occupied, complete eradication would be difficult.
Some even called it a dilemma.
Leaving them alone would make it a nest of Japanese pirates, and occupying it would consume too much power just to manage it.
In such an impossible situation, they had endured the Japanese invasions of Sampho in 1510 and the Japanese disturbances of Eulmyo in 1555.
After that, Japanese pirates had repeatedly appeared on the South Sea and West Sea coasts and committed evil acts.
Yet from the time of King Sejong, no king or minister had proposed attacking Tsushima Island.
They had judged it realistically impossible to fully conquer Tsushima Island.
Instead, they had cut off diplomatic relations with Japan and severed trade with Tsushima Island.
It had been a strong diplomatic move, but nothing had improved.
And recently, trade had started again.
Japan needed paper, pencils, umbrellas, and glass mirrors, while Joseon needed iron and copper, so the lord of Tsushima Island, located in between, had profited greatly by mediating the trade.
But again, Japanese pirates had landed on the South Sea coast.
The lord of Tsushima Island said he did not know about it, but even if it were true, Yi Yeon had no intention of leaving them alone.
If they were left alone, nothing good could come to Joseon.
At the same time, he did not want to occupy and manage Tsushima Island.
There was a hundredfold larger catch just a little further, and he might become ensnared while coveting Tsushima Island like a dilemma.
After much deliberation, Yi Yeon decided to use a new method.
Kim Myeong-won spread a Tsushima Island map on the table that he had specially brought.
Then he pointed with his finger and explained, “Here, this place is where the lord of Tsushima Island lives and is closest to Japan. And here is the best place to dig a canal.”
“If we occupy Tsushima Island, will we dig the canal first?”
“Yes, Your Majesty said that if Tsushima Island is occupied, there is no need to manage the north side. People do not live there, he said. But it cannot be left alone, so we will dig a canal here to divide north and south islands. On the north island, we will release the captured beasts as soon as they are caught.”
“Beasts?”
“That way there will be no one hiding or sneaking Japanese pirates there, he said.”
“Ah…”
Only now could they understand why this harmful animal extermination operation was so different from before.
Previously, they had stood in a line and pushed forward to completely eliminate them.
But this time, they would drive them.
Even into caves and places with nets set.
That way, after capture, they could be sent to Tsushima Island.
“In short, Your Majesty said he would turn that place into a great natural zoo.”
* * *