Fly Away, Filth
Suyang Daegun hurried to the Iryeowon the moment Munjong's queen selection ended. He'd glimpsed two expressions on his brother's face that he'd never seen before.
The first was when he laid eyes on the daughter of the Pyeongtaek county magistrate. Even Uncle Hyoryeong seemed utterly stunned.
It had been twelve years since Queen Hyeondeok passed away. Selecting a new queen explained the look, at least.
The second was right here with this Biru. What on earth is it...?
Munjong's orders had been simple: Make Biru, and ship it to Hwanghaedo the instant it's ready.
With those words, Suyang received two blank sheets of paper. Biru for the yangban, and Biru for the common folk. The one for the people had to be made in a rush.
No sooner had he arrived at the Iryeowon than Suyang pored over the instructions. Boil lye water with oil, then let it solidify. The recipe detailed the amount of lye, the oil temperature, and the precise ratios.
On paper, it seemed straightforward. Suyang chuckled for a moment.
Brother is a genius. And I'm the only one in Joseon who can pull this off.
He was wrong. Three Iryeowon slaves hung the cauldron and got to work. The first batch, using ash from burned rice straw, was a total failure. It came out runny as gruel.
The ratios were right. The temperature too. So the problem had to be in the lye or the oil, Suyang figured.
Maybe it's not lye from rice straw?
Just then, servants from his estate arrived. He ordered them to scour Hanseong for every kind of wood—pine, oak, anything.
If it wasn't rice straw but proper firewood, it'd take six hours to burn. As officials and slaves stoked the flames through the night, Suyang rested briefly in his office, pondering.
The relay stations could reach in a day if we push. But loading carts with Biru? Five days at least.
He recalled the official who'd collapsed after transporting red ginseng from Pyeongando days earlier. Looked like Jeonsi-byeong. Munjong thought so too.
Biru takes five days. People die in one.
Suyang rose and summoned his estate servants.
"From now on, scour every daegun's household. Gather as many horses, carriages, and servants as you can."
The servants blinked, hesitant. "My lord, it's the hour of the dog."
"I'll take full responsibility."
His tiger-like glare silenced further questions. They scattered from the Iryeowon.
By morning, Biru made with oak ash lye had set. The lye was thick, inseparable from the oil. They conscripted more servants from the daegun households to make ash, bought lard, added cauldrons, boiled and solidified batch after batch.
At dusk, the first proper batch had hardened. Suyang wet his hand and rubbed. Bubbles formed.
Everyone held their breath. He rinsed his hand—the skin felt smooth. Ink stains were gone.
"Ship it to Hwanghaedo as fast as it's made!"
Seated in his office, Suyang gathered his thoughts.
How does Brother come up with this stuff...?
He'd long stopped counting how many times that question had crossed his mind. Still, he tallied once more.
Agriculture first. Rice transplanting, seeders, grain storage, superior seed selection. Gang Hui-meng's handling it. Plus farming rest periods, animal husbandry, fishing, salting—all need thought.
Suyang pressed on.
Standardize salt production quotas. The pollock roe white salt failed.
He reviewed Joseon Jeongpum.
Hongsam with Hong Dal-son, Eojeonghwan with Gwon Ram, Heuksan juice with Han Myeong-hoe. All going well. Soon we'll present to the Ming Emperor. Biru belongs here too.
Munjong was remaking the entire country. And only then did it hit Suyang.
Inventions are worthless if they don't reach the people.
Suyang arrived home past midnight, two days later.
"I heard from the servants. You worked hard."
"No one else could do it."
Suyang handed Paryeong Yoon-ssi a lump of Biru. "This is Biru. Try it on your face and hands."
Missing her trembling fingers, he headed straight to the inner chamber.
Yoon-ssi called a maid for a basin of water. She wet the Biru and rubbed. Bubbles rose—fine ones, no fishy stench like with stone alkali.
After rinsing, her face felt smooth, not rough.
What's the point? He won't even look at me...
She returned to the chamber. Not the outer quarters, but here—Suyang snoring away, not waiting for her.
She opened her diary.
A cool summer that feels like frost will fall any day.
It was the weekend already. I opened the variant annals. The day Danjong received the petition about the Hwanghaedo Jeonsi-byeong outbreak.
"When the contagion threatened to spread in Hwanghaedo, Your Highness preemptively dispatched relay agents to boil water for drinking and provide Biru for handwashing, greatly stemming the disease. The Sage King's wisdom shines thus, moving the entire nation's people to tears of gratitude."
Same date, same person, same Hwanghaedo. But utterly changed.
Do-yun had shared just three things: Boil your water. Wash your hands. Quarantine patients.
Munjong enacted them in five days. Lives that would've been lost were saved.
No Gatong lately. From July, specialist exams ramped up. Even with fewer chats, hospital work and prep flew by.
Another weekend. A Gatong from Munjong at last.
Sang Songpo? Unfamiliar. A search: Northwest Kyushu, near modern Nagasaki. Tsushima, Iki, Matsuura—the main pirate bases.
Rumors of surgeonfish hotpot reached Kyushu? This area becomes the Nanban trade hub later. But not yet—Portugal's arrival is nearly a century off.
Before thoughts deepened, another Gatong.
Tsushima lord Jong Jeong-seong. In original Danjong Annals, dead by June 22. Neither envoy nor Joseon knows yet.
March: Ouchi. April: Shogunate. July: Matsuura and Tsushima.
They're lining up. No need for Joseon to reach out.
Iron keels aren't easy.
Munjong changed subjects.
Not Hokkaido—Kyushu? Heart raced. Munjong said it outright.
Ships enable Hokkaido, even Kyushu. If Joseon claims Nagasaki first...?
One reason for mentioning Hokkaido: Recalling 1467's Onin War. Ashikaga shogunate crumbles, Sengoku era dawns.
Just build ships by then.
Kyushu differs. While Suyang Daegun plotted his coup in original history, Ouchi prepped to seize it. Both succeeded: Sejo took Joseon, Ouchi monopolized Tsushima trade.
Both sparked by Munjong's death, Tsushima lord's death, young heirs.
Thoughts halted. Gatong to Munjong first.
Not "Understood," but "I trust you." Unusual.
Long pause, then another.
August 2. Checked Annals just in case. Record of Taepaeksung (Venus) appearing by day. Taebaek Juhyeon—Joseon saw it as the sun (emperor symbol) weakened, clashing with yin-laden Venus.
Maybe not real, but fabricated in Nosan-gun Diary (Danjong Annals) for legitimacy.
Anyway, August 2, 1452: Two suns over sky and wedding hall, certain now. Tsushima envoys will witness too.
Munjong followed up.