Call It Donguibogam
"Is that really true?"
"It is, Your Majesty. I have verified it myself, and this book contains a method to treat Mama (smallpox), and the logic behind it is flawless."
"Can... can it really be true that human effort can cure Mama? Minister Heo, explain it to me in detail."
"Yes. The story begins with a physician named Jin Gwang-ryeol, who lived in Saneum, as he treated a shaman named Wol-ah."
Heo Jun slowly explained the contents he had seen in the book so that those unfamiliar with medicine could understand. He spoke of how Jin Gwang-ryeol, while treating Wol-ah, accidentally encountered Geotap, a group of heavenly physicians. He recounted how he became a true physician under their tutelage, traveled the eight provinces of the country to treat the sick, and even tested various methods on sick horses to cure the Mama that had spread in Hadong-gol, Dongnae.
Seonjo, listening intently to Heo Jun's story, let out a small gasp of awe.
"You mean he slaughtered sick horses to feed the patients, taught them how to apply acupuncture, and even had them sleep with the horses to treat them?"
"That is correct. He attempted every method that a physician of his time could possibly conceive."
"And did the patients recover? Is that the cure?"
"No. It was a horrific failure. All the patients in Hadong-gol died, and Jin Gwang-ryeol fell into despair."
"It was all a failure? Then, how on earth did he treat the patients?"
"That is..."
At Seonjo's urging, Heo Jun immediately unfolded the next part of the story. He told of how Jin Gwang-ryeol, craving even greater medical knowledge, entered the Royal Infirmary, met his rival No Min-guk, competed with him to hone his skills for decades, faced him in a Guchimjihee (acupuncture duel), proved he had reached the level of the legendary Hua Tuo, was appointed as the Royal Physician, listened to the new advice of Geotap, and finally, the moment he faced Mama through his own sacrifice.
Seonjo's gasps grew louder with every word.
"...Then, did Jin Gwang-ryeol graft Mama onto his own body?"
"That is correct. He utilized the fact that Mama never strikes the same person twice."
"I see... That is truly a novel idea. Whether it is the Mama of a horse or a small Mama, it doesn't come twice, so one receives the mildest form of Mama in advance to prevent the severe one. Is that what you mean?"
"Exactly. Your Majesty, as a physician, I am certain that even if it differs from the book and fails, it is a path we must attempt. It is worth that much."
"Yes... The circumstances fit perfectly. It certainly makes sense."
Hope began to dawn. It felt as if the scattered fragments of clues had suddenly found their places, completing the answer. He was convinced. This would work. As Seonjo followed this train of thought, the face of a child appeared in his mind. *But how does that young Heo Gyun know about such things?*
A voice from outside the royal quarters answered his question.
"Your Majesty, Heo Gyun, the third son of Heo Yeop, has arrived."
"Let him enter."
"Gyun, what is this about now? Why did His Majesty call for you?"
"...I was bored just staying at home, and I was worried about the state of the country, so I wrote a book. A medical text. It seems His Majesty has seen it."
"A medical text? You’ve been holed up in your room for the past few days without moving, and you were writing something like that?"
"Yes. Kim Deok-su of the Hanyang merchant guild helped me obtain medical texts. I used those as references..."
"Ugh... You should have spent that time writing the third volume of Culinary Duel: Jang Geum. When is the third volume coming out, anyway?"
"Pardon?"
"Ah... Never mind. His Majesty is waiting, so let’s go in."
I feel like I just heard something strange. Regardless, I took my father's hand and entered the royal quarters. Seonjo, sitting on the throne, and a man with a white beard standing next to him stared at us. Is the white-bearded man Heo Jun? It must be Heo Jun, right?
"Gyun, go over there and sit."
"Yes, Father."
Father went to his designated spot and bowed his head, and I knelt on the cushion just as I had when I visited the royal quarters last time. Watching us, Seonjo asked me directly.
"You have come."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"You are a teacher to the Prince, so as a father, I should show you courtesy and offer greetings, but the situation is urgent, so I will skip the formalities. I will ask you directly. Is it true that you wrote this book?"
"It is true, Your Majesty."
"Is that really so? Then how on earth did you come up with such ideas? I have heard that even the physicians of the Royal Infirmary, who have dedicated their entire lives to medicine, did not know of such techniques. How could you, who have never even seen a medical text..."
Deep suspicion filled Seonjo's eyes. Well, it *is* absurd. How would a six-year-old kid know such things? Instead of offering various explanations, I opened the bundle I had placed beside me and said,
"It was not my own idea."
"What?"
"None of the medical techniques written in that book were my own ideas. Your Majesty, please look at this first."
"What is that?"
"It is a medical text circulating among the common people. It is knowledge left behind by nameless physicians of the past."
"...A medical text? Eunuch, bring it here!"
"Yes, Your Majesty."
It was a yellowish, aged paper with black mold blooming here and there. It was so decayed that the powder would scatter if you held it in your hand, making it impossible to even guess the era in which it was made. Seonjo, having received the aged paper from the bundle, handed it to Heo Jun.
"You, read it."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
As Heo Jun read the paper, his pupils began to tremble slightly. As expected of Heo Jun. To recognize the value of the modern medicine I had fabricated in an instant. I really went through hell to write that stuff. After Heo Jun finished reading all the fabricated medical texts, he gasped in shock.
"Heo... Could all of this really have happened?"
"What do you mean?"
"Your Majesty, please look at this. The stories in the book were not fiction. It is said that these were events personally experienced by a physician named Jin Gwang-ryeol who lived in Saneum during the reign of King Sejong."
"What?!"
Seonjo, having received the paper from Heo Jun, quickly scanned the contents. It was true. The processes by which Jin Gwang-ryeol, who ran a small pharmacy in Saneum during the distant era of King Sejong, personally healed patients were recorded in the form of a diary. It was exactly as I had heard from Heo Jun just moments ago.
"That is not all. There is also a record that a physician named Yu Ui-tae, who lived in Dongnae during the reign of King Taejo, succeeded in preventing epidemics like malaria and pestilence with a medicine made by mixing oil and ash. Yu Ui-tae called that medicine 'soap,' and the method for making it is written here as well."
"If it is malaria and pestilence, aren't those epidemics with damage comparable to Mama? Is there a medicine for that?"
"There is more. A physician named Han Heon-ja of Geoje during the Silla Dynasty found a medicinal herb called mugwort, and it is said to be a specific cure for stomach cancer and boils!"
"Stomach cancer and boils are incurable diseases, aren't they?!"
"The essence of blue mold? If we study this, we can cure nine-tenths of the diseases that exist in the world?!"
"Nine-tenths?!!!"
Caught in the whirlwind of modern medicine, Seonjo and Heo Jun couldn't regain their composure and shouted in disbelief. Ah, yes, that is what modern medicine is. I smiled broadly at their reactions, which truly made the person who fabricated it feel satisfied. After the storm had passed and Seonjo finally regained his senses, he said,
"Why have such excellent medical techniques not been passed down to later generations? Child, how did you think to collect such things?"
"Well... I thought that since Mama has been a rampant disease since the distant era of Dangun, there was no way it hadn't been solved during that long time. It was just that we didn't know about it, and the wisdom of our ancestors who lived in the past world is by no means light. With that thought, I collected medical texts circulating among the common people through Kim Deok-su of the Hanyang merchant guild and compiled them into a book."
"To have such deep thoughts at such a young age. As an adult, I feel ashamed of myself."
"No, Your Majesty. I am just lucky to be sitting on the shoulders of giants; I have done nothing."
It’s time to back out. If I push my luck any further, my "restful life" will be in jeopardy. I began to spin my tale, recalling the lines I had prepared in advance.
"Jin Gwang-ryeol, Yu Ui-tae, and Han Heon-ja, all mentioned in the medical texts, are physicians who achieved great feats worthy of being remembered in history. However, unfortunately, unlike me, they did not have giants around them."
"Giants?"
"Yes, Your Majesty."
I paused for a beat.
"They likely did not have a father who silently supported them so they could fully unfold the will they held in their hearts."
I looked at my father.
"They probably did not have a teacher who could discern the right and wrong of knowledge."
I looked at Heo Jun.
"And they likely did not have a sage king who would recognize that value."
I looked at Seonjo.
"That is why their achievements were buried in history and disappeared. Because they would have had no wealth to write books, no teacher to recognize their knowledge, and no sage king to acknowledge that value. No one would have believed the absurd story of grafting Mama onto one's own body."
"...That is true."
"But I am different. I have a father who has always supported me and allowed me to have expensive books, a teacher who can judge the right and wrong of the books I have written, and above all, a sage king who listens to the words of a six-year-old child. If it weren't for the power of the giants here, the writing I produced would have remained as a child's scribble and been buried in history."
"...So you are saying that because the Gun-Sa-Bu (King, Teacher, Father) became one and believed in you, the will of Confucius has finally blossomed?"
"That is correct."
"Hahaha, Hahahaha!!"
As expected, praise makes even a whale dance. Upon hearing my words, Seonjo burst into laughter, and my father and Heo Jun showed smiles with their lips stretched wide, dripping with honey. This is why one must be humble. After laughing for a long time until the royal quarters seemed to shake, Seonjo said,
"Yes, I understand your heart. I feel like I want to give you gold and silver treasures right this instant, but the situation in Hanyang is urgent, so I will call you again after we put out the immediate fire. I will highly commend your hard work once the task is finished, so you may withdraw now with your father."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Gold and silver treasures! It was worth the hell I went through. I bowed deeply to Seonjo and let out a long sigh. It was a magnificent fabrication.
After the Heo family withdrew, the two remaining in the royal quarters began a meeting to put out the immediate fire.
"Minister Heo. How many sick horses are needed to treat the Mama spread in Hanyang?"
"Looking at the method of the procedure, three—no, two should be enough. We can first apply acupuncture to the people around the sickbed, and then treat the remaining people sequentially after the Mama has receded."
"Good. I will send out couriers to the Saboksi (Bureau of Royal Stables) and the surrounding horse farms to search for horses infected with Mama, so Minister Heo, you should instruct the physicians of the Royal Infirmary on Jin Gwang-ryeol's medical techniques in the meantime."
"I understand, Your Majesty."
What else was there? As Seonjo was reviewing the tasks to be done one by one, the moldy aged paper caught his eye. That’s right. There was that.
"And Minister Heo."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"After hearing that child's words, it seems there is quite a lot of medical knowledge scattered across the eight provinces of Joseon, is that correct?"
"It seems so. Even though it is the same country, I knew that the medicinal herbs and prescriptions of Hamgyong-do and Jeolla-do were different, but I never expected that such diverse knowledge would be scattered about."
"That is the same for me. Hmm."
Holding the aged paper in his hand, Seonjo nodded with satisfaction, recalling what had happened just moments ago.
"A giant who rescues knowledge buried in history. That is something I truly like. So, would you be willing to take charge of this matter and handle it?"
"If you mean the task... are you perhaps speaking of compiling a medical text?"
"Yes, the child who climbed onto our shoulders has personally shown us the way, so we cannot refuse to go. I will support it even if I have to empty the royal treasury and the Naesusa (Royal Household Department), so gather all the medical knowledge scattered across the eight provinces of Joseon. Can you do it?"
"Your grace is boundless, Your Majesty!"
"And the name of the medical text shall be... since it is the treasure of the country [寶] created by the righteousness [義] of a child [童]."
"Call it Dongui Bogam."