He Became King Sejong’s Lifelong Prime Minister - Chapter 74

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Gunpowder and Hygiene (3)

 

I came to observe the process of making saltpeter.

 

I had expected it to smell quite a bit since this was a place where gunpowder was made using nitrate-rich soil soaked with feces and urine, but the smell was far worse than I had anticipated.

 

“This is driving me crazy, seriously.”

 

We haven’t even entered the saltpeter production area yet and it’s already this bad…

 

I can barely handle it now, so what am I supposed to do?

 

Gapseok, who came with me, suddenly covered his nose and mouth and started running off somewhere.

 

He emptied his stomach contents cleanly into some bushes.

 

If it weren’t for my yangban dignity, I would have wanted to vomit like him too.

 

“I think I’m going to lose my mind.”

 

I now understand why Old Man Chamji mistook my coming here as making excuses to go on an outing.

 

When other officials visit this place, they surely can’t stay long because of the stench, so they’d just dry heave a few times, stamp their visit seal, and return.

 

They’d pretend to have done their work, have a drink or two, then leisurely return to their departments.

 

Still, humans are creatures of adaptation, and as I continued standing in front of the foul-smelling Saltpeter Manufacturing Facility, I gradually became numb to the smell and it became bearable.

 

As I tried to collect myself, I saw one of the Saltpeter Craftsmen approaching me.

 

“Oh my, what brings such an esteemed My Lord to this place?”

 

“I am Kim Dae-bung, Military Affairs Assistant Director. I came here to personally observe the saltpeter-making process and find areas that need improvement.”

 

“… Ah, so you are the renowned Kim Jeongnang, My Lord.”

 

The Saltpeter Craftsman nodded as if he knew who I was.

 

He must have either seen me submitting my written memorial in front of Lee Bang-won holding an iron mace near Gwanghwamun, or heard someone talking about it.

 

“I never imagined that Kim Jeongnang, My Lord, would come to such a humble place. But I’m truly grateful that you’ve come here. To make saltpeter, we handle nitrate-rich soil collected from toilets and old kitchens. Since this stuff is soil soaked with urine and feces, the smell is extremely toxic. It’s this bad just being nearby, but if you go inside, the stench becomes even more unbearable.”

 

“I can imagine.”

 

“The smell is so toxic that Assistant Military Equipment Director Kim, who supervises the Saltpeter Workshop, and the Clerks only come once a day, and stay at the Military Equipment Office at other times.”

 

I decided to give Assistant Military Equipment Director Kim and the Clerks a good beating.

 

I understand well that it’s difficult to oversee saltpeter production because the smell here is so toxic.

 

However, if your job is to supervise saltpeter production, shouldn’t maintaining a permanent presence be the basic requirement?

 

But if the saltpeter workshop manager says they only come once a day… how exactly are these people doing their work?

 

“The smell is certainly toxic.”

 

“Yes, I’ll explain everything in detail, so please don’t go inside. That would be better for you.”

 

If I had heard such words anywhere else, I would have immediately entered complaint mode.

 

‘Call the site supervisor right now! How are you managing the Saltpeter Workshop to be saying such nonsensical things!’

 

I would have caused a commotion, turning everything upside down.

 

However, the smell produced during saltpeter production is a stench at a level that humans cannot endure.

 

“I understand your concern for This Magistrate well. However, just as Gunpowder Craftsmen like you go around civilian houses collecting nitrate-rich soil and process it to make gunpowder for the country’s sake… This Magistrate has also come here to find ways to improve saltpeter production for the country. Shouldn’t I properly inspect the site?”

 

No one in this world wants to do harsh and dirty work.

 

Joseon is no different.

 

No, here they even pay less money compared to other occupations, considering people who do harsh and dirty work as replaceable at any time.

 

Of course, the Gunpowder Craftsmen and gunpowder-making artisans here are exceptions.

 

Joseon has a bad system of exploiting artisans cheaply.

 

But since it’s a country with an obsessive fixation on gunpowder, they gave Gunpowder Craftsmen official positions and salaries for making gunpowder.

 

Salary might be small money to the Yangban who were born with golden spoons in the Joseon Period, but that’s only small by Yangban standards.

 

“What is your name?”

 

“Maldong, Kim Maldong.”

 

“Maldong, thanks to you enduring the stench to make gunpowder, Joseon was able to repel the savage Jurchen Tribes and the ruthlessly cruel Japanese Pirates. And today, This Magistrate has come to the Saltpeter Workshop as Jeongrang of the Ministry of War to find ways to produce more gunpowder. But nothing will be accomplished if I avoid this mere stench. Don’t worry and guide me inside.”

 

People often say ‘there is no hierarchy among occupations.’

 

But while that’s what they say, reality is different.

 

The salary received, the treatment, and the weight of responsibilities differ according to occupation.

 

Some people move hundreds of billions of won with a single keystroke, while others create or eliminate thousands of jobs with a single stamp.

 

However, the world cannot function with only high-ranking officials alone.

 

This world only functions when people with various occupations are in their proper places.

 

Therefore, I believe all occupations are precious and should be respected.

 

Except for criminals, that is.

 

In that sense, Joseon’s Gunpowder Craftsmen should also be respected.

 

“Yes, My Lord. Please come this way.”

 

Maldong led me inside the Saltpeter Workshop.

 

Inside, several cauldrons were installed.

 

The Gunpowder Craftsmen were putting nitrate-rich soil into the cauldrons, adding water, and boiling it diligently.

 

Since nitrate-rich soil is earth where organic matter like feces, urine, weeds, and animal carcasses have decomposed… the stench is truly no joke.

 

The Gunpowder Craftsmen who do this kind of work are truly remarkable.

 

“When you put nitrate-rich soil and water in the cauldron and keep boiling it, the saltpeter in the soil dissolves into the water. After continuing to boil it like that, you filter out the soil and keep refining the water with dissolved saltpeter to create saltpeter.”

 

“The process itself is simpler than I thought.”

 

“The process is simple, but collecting the nitrate-rich soil is really difficult. You need to gather 60 seom of nitrate-rich soil to barely obtain 100 geun of saltpeter… and nitrate-rich soil isn’t something you can use by just scooping up any dirt. We have to go around all sorts of places for soil collection, not just Hanseong but nearby Yangju County and everywhere else.”

 

Joseon’s annual gunpowder production is about 2,500 to 4,000 geun.

 

About 1,000 geun of this is made in Hanyang, and collecting this nitrate-rich soil is really no ordinary task…

 

“Maldong, you keep talking about nitrate-rich soil… but This Magistrate thinks that nitrate-rich soil is ultimately earth formed by the accumulation of human waste essence.”

 

Maldong tilted his head upon hearing my words.

 

Since I was saying something different from what he knew after spending his whole life making gunpowder, he must have found it absurd.

 

However, since my status is that of a yangban official, he couldn’t carelessly ask back what kind of nonsense I was spouting.

 

“Didn’t you say with your own mouth that nitrate-rich soil is earth soaked with urine and feces? Then if we collect the very source – urine and feces – and ferment them, we should be able to extract enough saltpeter.”

 

To put it bluntly, soil isn’t necessary for gunpowder production – nitrate-rich soil, or rather, soil.

 

Adding useless impurities like soil only makes extracting potassium nitrate very inconvenient.

 

“Listening to My Lord’s words, it doesn’t seem entirely wrong.”

 

“So how about we try it this way?”

 

I explained to Maldong the method that could be literally called a saltpeter bed, breaking it down for him.

 

Mix manure with rice straw, willow ash, and humus that can be gathered from the mountains to create a rectangular-shaped compost heap.

 

After making the compost heap, sprinkle urine on it to maintain a certain level of moisture.

 

Then when you see white crystals blooming on the compost heap, put it in a cauldron and boil it to refine the saltpeter solution.

 

“… Will this method really work?”

 

“If it works, the Soil Collection Corps won’t have to suffer going here and there looking for nitrate-rich soil anymore. And His Majesty will bestow a very great reward upon you all.”

 

“Then I will test it as My Lord has commanded.”

 

“Assistant Military Equipment Director Kim will come and teach you the detailed methods step by step while supervising.”

 

After saying that, I immediately went to the Military Equipment Office.

 

Then I found Director Kim who serves as Assistant Military Equipment Director.

 

“Director Kim.”

 

“Yes, Jeongrang My Lord…”

 

“Are you reluctant to work these days? When I went to the saltpeter production site today, I couldn’t see our Assistant Military Equipment Director Kim who should be stationed there.”

 

“… I’m sorry, please forgive me.”

 

Cold sweat poured down Director Kim’s face.

 

“If I go directly to the Military Equipment Office Chief and tell him about this situation, he would be quite pleased, wouldn’t he?”

 

Just as in the military where you must complete certain positions to get promoted, to become a high-ranking official, you generally must perform designated duties.

 

The Military Equipment Office Chief position is also one of the essential courses for high-ranking officials.

 

In other words, if problems arise while serving as Military Equipment Office Chief and you face ‘dismissal’ or ‘removal from office,’ all the effort and hardship you’ve endured aiming for high-ranking official promotion becomes worthless.

 

Now then, would the Military Equipment Office Chief spare Director Kim who would become the culprit of such a terrible situation?

 

“Or perhaps I should submit an official report to the Minister of War or Chief State Councilor saying that gunpowder production seems likely to face disruptions.”

 

Gunpowder production is directly connected to Joseon’s national defense.

 

Therefore, if even the slightest problem occurs here, it could shake all of Joseon’s national defense.

 

Of course, since the Gunpowder Craftsmen are doing their work well, there probably wouldn’t be any major issues even with an inspection… but during that inspection period, there would be ‘unnecessary overtime work.’

 

The head of the Military Equipment Office, who became the source of this problem, would be grilled so thoroughly by Chief State Councilor Hwang Hee that it might be better for him to just die.

 

Director Kim, who caused this situation, would simply become a living corpse.

 

“… Please just kill me, My Lord.”

 

“I’m trying to attempt a new gunpowder formula. This is the book that contains the method…”

 

I whispered an incantation to pump some fighting spirit into Assistant Military Equipment Director Kim.

 

“If there’s even the slightest mistake, I don’t even know what I might do.”

 

I could feel Director Kim’s body trembling.

 

Here, I cast the final spell to make this fellow work with the resolve to die.

 

“To correct one wrong thing, I’m prepared to throw away my promotion prospects and high-ranking positions entirely. I’ve long since stopped fearing things like dismissal from office or exile.”

 

In Joseon, even Ministers cannot escape Myeonsillye.

 

But I’m exempted from Myeonsillye at any Government Offices I go to, and even my Father-in-law, who entered as a mere 9th rank nobody, finished his Myeonsillye with just buying a meal.

 

Why is that? It’s because no one knows what kind of disaster might occur if a person like me goes on a rampage.

 

Assistant Military Equipment Director Kim knows this well too.

 

And such a person as myself has threatened—no, requested cooperation—to blow up together…

 

“If I fail, I will approach this with the resolve to jump straight into the Han River!”

 

Three months later, the Royal Court was turned upside down.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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