Chapter 71: People (4)
The new researchers including Lee Sun-ji and the existing researchers were wrestling with numbers, doing their utmost to solve the tasks assigned by Hyang.
With the addition of personnel, some tasks were easily resolved, but quite a few were not.
Among the remaining difficult problems, the most representative one was the correction of the calendar.
Late at night.
"Hmm... I don't understand..."
With a book filled with formulas spread open before him, Lee Sun-ji tilted his head sideways.
What he was pondering now was that too many variables were being inserted into the formula for correcting the calendar.
"Leap years... leap months, leap days, and the solar terms..."
They could simply follow existing customs by adding leap months and adjusting the solar terms in the almanacs brought from China, but then there would be no point in revising the current calendar.
"No, that's not right. If we adjust the formula based on the data we've investigated now, the accuracy will certainly improve. But... ugh~"
Lee Sun-ji stretched with a strange groan and continued muttering to himself.
"We have to make corrections every year, and then every 2 or 3 years we need corrections for the corrections... This doesn't make sense. The teachings of the sages, and even the teachings of Buddha, were truly simple."
In Lee Sun-ji's view, the teachings of sages and Buddha were truly concise.
As a result, Lee Sun-ji held the following value:
'Truth must be simple and concise!'
According to that value, the formula being created now was truly a mess.
Corrections had to be made every year, and every 2 or 3 years a leap month was added, but even those 2 or 3 years were variables.
In other words, an absurd situation was unfolding where corrections for corrections were repeated endlessly.
Because of this unsolved problem, Lee Sun-ji kept postponing his departure from the office and continued pondering.
Lee Sun-ji started moving the teacups nearby and muttered.
"This is the Earth... With this Earth at the center, the sun, moon, and stars spin around, creating day and night..."
Placing a teapot in the center and spinning teacups around it, Lee Sun-ji suddenly stopped the cups he was rotating.
"Wait! What if the center of this rotation isn't this Earth we live on?"
Lee Sun-ji raised his finger and traced an imaginary orbit as he began calculating.
Waving both hands like a madman while muttering, Lee Sun-ji reached a conclusion.
"If the center of rotation becomes the sun, the equation holds! Just place the sun at the center!"
Lee Sun-ji brought over a stack of blank paper and began rapidly writing down formulas.
As if possessed by a god, Lee Sun-ji frantically wrote formulas until at some point, he put down his pen and clenched his fist.
"Just as I thought! The variables for variables have disappeared! Hahaha! Woah!"
Lee Sun-ji burst into laughter like he had lost his mind and let out a strange cry.
A pleasure greater than the first experience of the joy of rain and clouds was striking his entire body.
Lee Sun-ji rose from his seat, opened the window, and shouted.
"The center of the world is not this Earth! This Earth too is merely one dependent variable!"
* * *
Having found a solution through the sudden enlightenment of the previous night, Lee Sun-ji devoted himself to organizing the formulas he had discovered.
Giving up leaving work was basic; he frequently skipped meals, and rumors began to circulate among the researchers.
"That oddity has gone mad!"
Jeong Cho and Jeong In-ji, who came to check on the situation after hearing the rumors, saw the papers piled high beside Lee Sun-ji and their jaws dropped.
"What in the world..."
Jeong Cho and Jeong In-ji, who had been examining the situation unfolding before them with surprised faces, soon looked at the contents written on the papers.
"Hmm... huh?"
"Oh?"
Since Jeong Cho and Jeong In-ji had expertise in arithmetic, they soon recognized the value of the formulas Lee Sun-ji was writing.
With a thoroughly tense expression, Jeong Cho looked back at Jeong In-ji.
"I will report to His Highness immediately, so you watch over this friend here."
"Understood, Your Excellency."
After some time passed, Hyang, who had received the urgent report and rushed from District 51, examined the problematic papers.
Hyang's face was seriously contorted as he examined the contents written on the papers.
'Damn! Even I can't handle this level!'
Others didn't know, but Hyang was someone who had chosen the humanities track in the 21st century because of mathematics. What he was most confident in was the classical method of solving things with his body.
Though he couldn't understand it completely, Hyang, who grasped the general content, ordered Jeong Cho and Jeong In-ji.
"Immediately have the royal physician on standby!"
"Understood!"
"And, until this Junior Minister finishes his work and formally reports to His Majesty, treat this matter as classified."
"We will obey the command!"
"And... it seems I've won the argument, no?"
"Mmm..."
At Hyang's question, Jeong Cho and Jeong In-ji made groaning sounds.
* * *
After the research institute was established and the revision of the calendar proceeded, an argument had broken out between Hyang, Jeong Cho, and Jeong In-ji.
The subject of the argument was 'The Earth is round' and 'The Earth revolves around the sun.'
To revise the calendar, astronomical observation was essential, and in that process, a collision of concepts had occurred.
The argument that 'the Earth is round' easily led to Hyang's victory.
This was because there was an observation report stating that 'the horizon viewed from high mountains facing the sea forms an arc,' along with help from the Huihui Muslims.
However, the heliocentric theory sparked quite a long argument, as Hyang, who only had entrance exam education level knowledge, could not make a perfect rebuttal.
And with that argument ending in a draw, an armillary sphere could not be placed on the research institute's display platform.
"Argh! Galileo and Copernicus, the evils of entrance exam education where I only know about annual parallax!"
Knowing only the names but not the content, Hyang, unable to win the argument, looked up at the sky and lamented the evils of entrance exam education.
* * *
One month later, Hyang gathered King Sejong and the ministers to hold a presentation on 'Calendar Correction.'
The person in charge of the presentation was Lee Sun-ji. Having taken a heart-clearing pill to relieve tension, Lee Sun-ji proceeded with the presentation calmly.
"...That is all."
When Lee Sun-ji finished the presentation, King Sejong, who had been listening attentively until the end, commended Lee Sun-ji.
"You have worked hard. It was truly an excellent theory. Crown Prince, what do you think of this Junior Minister's theory?"
"I compared it with past almanacs and records of solar and lunar eclipses, and there were no errors."
"Then, should we consider that our own calendar has finally been created?"
At King Sejong's question, Hyang corrected the term.
"It is a correction method, Your Majesty."
"Right, it is a 'correction method.'"
King Sejong nodded with a bitter expression and looked at the ministers.
"What do you all think?"
At King Sejong's question, Hwang Hee answered as the representative.
"It would be appropriate to apply the calendar correction immediately and use it. However, the problem is after making it into books and using them for education. The books will inevitably be released outside, and then there are parts that will cause problems. There is a need to remove several passages."
"Remove passages?"
At King Sejong's question, Hwang Hee answered.
"The part stating 'This world is spherical' and 'The world revolves around the sun.' If mishandled, the suzerain state will raise issues."
"Hmm... that is true."
At Hwang Hee's point, King Sejong nodded.
The worldview until now was 'The world is flat. And the center of the world is China.'
But the theory coming from the research institute now denied this.
However, removing the passages did not sit well with King Sejong.
Of course, Ming was the suzerain state and they had to watch Ming's intentions due to the difference in national power, but he didn't like it because it wounded his pride.
"Is there no other method?"
At King Sejong's question, Hwang Hee answered again.
"We just need to emphasize that it is merely a simple natural principle."
"A simple natural principle? Hmm... I see."
As King Sejong nodded, Hwang Hee added.
"To make that claim, we need solid physical evidence that can prove this. The evidence currently presented by the research institute is quite insufficient."
"That is true. I command the Crown Prince."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"You know what needs to be done, right?"
"Yes, I will gather more evidence to prove the theory and make it solid."
"You understand well. Then, what should you ministers do?"
At King Sejong's question, Yi Jik stepped forward and answered.
"We must make them understand that this is merely a simple natural principle and does not violate the customs of serving the great."
"You understand well. Minister of Rites, your responsibility is weighty."
At King Sejong's words, the Minister of Rites bowed his head and answered.
"I will obey the royal command with all my devotion!"
"Then, let us end here."
As King Sejong declared the end of the presentation, the ministers brushed off their seats and came outside.
"Sigh..."
"Minister of Rites, good work."
"Minister of Rites, a difficult path has opened for you too."
As other ministers who came out together said a word each, the Minister of Rites shouted.
"Really! Why does His Highness the Crown Prince do unnecessary..."
"Minister of Rites!"
The Minister of Rites, who was about to say something about the Crown Prince and the research institute, immediately shut his mouth at Hwang Hee's sharp rebuke.
"Unnecessary? Do you really think so?"
"Well, until now, we've been doing it moderately..."
"You foolish person! Have you forgotten that many suffered because we couldn't properly match the solar terms due to that moderation? And you still call yourself a minister!"
"I am ashamed."
At Hwang Hee's criticism, the Minister of Rites had to lower his head.
In Joseon, where agriculture was everything in the economy, matching the solar terms was a very important matter.
If these solar terms were not properly matched, all the people's blame was directed at the king, and the king had to respond by reprimanding those involved.
"I know the burden on you and the Ministry of Rites has increased! But solving that is the proper duty of the Ministry of Rites! How can you only seek your own comfort! If you want to live so comfortably, submit your resignation and leave! I'm sick of taking abuse as a minister too! Sick of it!"
Hwang Hee showed his sincerity in the last sentence.
Thus, to avoid conflict with Ming, the problematic passages were removed from the books distributed to Seoun-gwan. And the originals were treated as top-level secrets and stored in a safe.
* * *
After the declaration of the Gyeongjang era, the ministers changed significantly.
No, they had no choice but to change.
They had to change because of King Sejong's verbal lashings that burst out whenever work was even slightly unsatisfactory.
At the forefront of these changing ministers were the Chief State Councillors.
This was because if the work conducted by the Six Ministries or their subordinates was inadequate, the Chief State Councillors were the first to be scolded.
Thanks to this, the personalities of the Chief State Councillors also became quite prickly.
Not only Yi Jik and Hwang Hee, but even Maeng Sa-seong, who was known for being good-natured, had made it basic to fire off harsh words when work was inadequate.
"Bah! After becoming a Chief Councillor, the man has changed! He's become a completely wretched fellow!"
This was the common evaluation shared while watching the three prickly men.
However, the Chief Councillors also had something to say.
"Then do your work properly!"
"Why should I be scolded by His Majesty? Am I a scapegoat?"
"If you don't want to be scolded, don't create reasons to be scolded!"
"If you feel wronged, write a petition or submit your resignation! Submit your resignation!"
Thanks to being forced to change, the Chief Councillors' work processing became faster.
A representative example was when returning after completing the inspection of District 51.
Hwang Hee, having sensed that King Sejong wanted mass production, had事先 told the Minister of Taxation to prepare records regarding iron production volume and presented them to King Sejong.
As a price for such changes, the cases where the Chief Councillors heard the words they hated hearing the most decreased.
"Compared to what I heard... you're quite..."
Those exact words.
* * *
Such Hwang Hee and the Chief Councillors were worrying about one problem these days.
The problem they were worrying about was 'iron supply and demand.'
With the mass production of Gapsik-jang Chongtong and Bigyeok-jincheon-roe decided, the court needed large quantities of iron, specifically soft steel (yeongang).
Until the Goryeo era and early Joseon, it was an iron tax system where iron was directly collected as tribute from the people, but the farmers' resistance was fierce, so the system had to be changed.
The alternative chosen to replace the iron tax system was the ironworks mobilization system, where ironworks were established near iron mines and farmers were mobilized during the agricultural off-season to produce iron.
However, this system also had many problems, as the forced mobilization of farmers caused farmers' resistance and lowered motivation.
Eventually, the answer King Sejong came up with was simple.
"We will purchase those that meet the established specifications and quality!"
However, the Chief Councillors and ministers in charge of practical work had headaches.
"There's no budget! No budget!"
Eventually, the Chief Councillors, who couldn't find a good answer even after putting their heads together, informed King Sejong that there was a problem.
"Your Majesty, we have tried to implement according to the method Your Majesty bestowed, but there is a problem."
"A problem? Hmm... Is the budget the problem?"
"That is correct."
At the Chief Councillors' answer, King Sejong clicked his tongue for the first time in a while.
"Tsk!"
But this time, the Chief Councillors also had something to say.
"Your Majesty, to solve the budget problem, we are diverting from the volume coming in through the ironworks mobilization system, but there is a part that must be used, so if we subtract that amount, there is little leeway."
"Your Majesty, the problem in purchasing the insufficient parts even after such diversion is the budget."
"Your Majesty, to solve this budget problem, we need to solve the tax collection problem, but preparations are still inadequate."
"It's not just taxes that are the problem. When purchasing iron, we must pay for it, but the grain and cotton cloth to use as payment also have limits. To solve this, currency operation is essential, but again, preparations are..."
"Good heavens..."
At the Chief Councillors' answers, King Sejong was also frustrated. He wanted to carry out work ambitiously, but Joseon's insufficient capacity was holding him back.
"Let us think about it a little more."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
After sending the Chief Councillors out, King Sejong sighed.
"Hoo... What kind of country... It's not even a case of all style and no substance..."
Hyang, who heard the rumor, clicked his tongue.
"Tsk! Is building up really this difficult..."
Hyang found blank paper and began writing.
"The best option would be a state-run enterprise, right? POSCO! How great would that be?"
* * *
King Sejong, having received the petition containing 'Let's create a state-run enterprise to handle iron supply and demand,' immediately slapped his knee.
"That's it!"
However, the ministers who read Hyang's petition shook their heads.
"How can the nation engage in commerce..."
"Even if it's a state-run enterprise, it pursues profit, so how can the court pursue profit?"
"Tsk!"
At the ministers' reactions, King Sejong clicked his tongue.
As soon as King Sejong clicked his tongue, the ministers tensed up and reconsidered their statements.
"Do you all think so shortly? If the court makes iron, will only the court profit? Doesn't iron come from all over the eight provinces of Joseon? In areas where iron is produced, the price is cheap, and in areas where it isn't, the price is expensive, causing the people to suffer. Can't you think that if the court produces iron directly, this difficulty can be resolved? And why don't you also know that the price stabilization problem can also be solved?"
"Ah..."
"Let's think before we speak, please!"
The ministers were reduced to cowed silence at King Sejong's sharp rebuke.