He Became King Sejong’s Lifelong Prime Minister - Chapter 75

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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 (4)

King Sejong was dumbfounded upon hearing the new official report in Pyeonjeon Hall.

I was thinking ‘What am I hearing?’ and then wondered ‘Is this really happening?’

This was understandable since he had heard content so novel that he couldn’t have even imagined it himself.

“Chief Royal Secretary, please read aloud again only the main parts of the official report submitted by Deputy Military Officer Kim Hak-ji.”

The Chief Royal Secretary read the main parts of the official report again.

“I, Deputy Military Officer Kim Hak-ji, have tested the new saltpeter production method proposed by Ministry of War Jeongrang Kim Dae-bung. Before starting, I could not shake off the doubt of whether saltpeter could really be obtained this way, but if the Ministry of War Jeongrang’s words were correct, we could obtain saltpeter easily and abundantly by collecting only human waste instead of nitrate-rich soil, so I devoted myself wholeheartedly to the experiment.”

Kim Hak-ji wrote the official report as if he worked hard because he somewhat agreed with Kim Dae-bung’s proposal, but the reality was a bit different.

In fact, Kim Dae-bung had threatened Kim Hak-ji that if he didn’t cooperate with him, he would face very sad consequences.

Some parts of that process were omitted and some were embellished, but no one was interested in such things.

This was because in the crucial situation where Joseon was being reborn as a firepower-based Joseon, the personal affairs of a mere deputy military officer who barely held his government position through hereditary appointment were not a subject of interest.

“Ministry of War Jeongrang Kim Dae-bung told us to pile up human waste, urine, ash, mountain soil, and rice straw like a compost heap, leave it like fermenting soy sauce, and manage it by occasionally sprinkling urine to keep it from drying out. Following his instructions, after three months passed, saltpeter began to bloom white on the compost heap.”

King Sejong and the ministers had already heard this content once through the Chief Royal Secretary.

They also knew all the content written after that.

However, just like university acceptance letters and job offer notifications that are never boring even when read two or three times consecutively, but feel new and pleasant each time you see them…

Even though they were hearing the same content again, far from being boring, it was surprisingly amazing, very astonishing, and overwhelmingly joyful.

“As a result, we were able to obtain 15 geun of saltpeter from a compost heap with length, width, and height each measuring 3 cheok. According to the method proposed by Ministry of War Jeongrang Kim Dae-bung, it should originally be aged for a minimum of six months to a maximum of two years, so if we follow that properly, we believe we can obtain even more saltpeter.”

Human waste, humus brought from mountains or forests, rice straw, urine, ash.

Collecting these things to that extent is also not an easy task.

However, collecting these things is much easier than gathering nitrate-rich soil, which until now had been a pain and nuisance just to extract.

Moreover, the amount of saltpeter obtained from the same volume is incomparably greater from Kim Dae-bung’s proposed saltpeter field, and with more aging, we can obtain even more saltpeter than the current results?

King Sejong smiled contentedly after hearing the report again.

“All of this is possible because I have capable subjects, is it not.”

Jo Mal-saeng didn’t miss this timing and began flattering.

“Jiang Taigong was once just an ordinary fisherman, and even a wastrel who was abandoned by his wife. However, when King Wen’s Father highly valued his talents and employed him, his true worth was revealed. Though Kim Dae-bung’s intelligence cannot dare compare to Jiang Taigong, Your Majesty’s intelligence and insight are comparable to King Wen’s Father, which is why such great achievements have been accomplished, is it not?”

In Joseon, a Confucian nation, Confucius is a sacred and inviolable figure.

With slight exaggeration, insulting Confucius could be considered tantamount to denying the national ideology.

And what that Confucius praised endlessly was the Zhou Dynasty era, and King Wen’s Father was the father of the Zhou Dynasty’s founder.

In other words, Jo Mal-saeng’s flattery elevated King Sejong by suggesting he was essentially on the same level as the Zhou Dynasty founder whom even Confucius truly respected.

King Sejong didn’t find his flattery unpleasant to hear.

“The Minister of War’s words seem a bit excessive.”

“I humbly apologize.”

“However, Kim Dae-bung has devised a new Saltpeter Production Method, greatly reducing the effort and cost involved in making gunpowder that is essential when we must fight against the Jurchen barbarians to the north and Japanese pirates to the south… I highly value his contribution and will grant him a great reward. The State Council shall discuss what reward would be appropriate for Kim Dae-bung and report back, and the Ministry of War shall quickly inform the gunpowder craftsmen of this news so that from now on all gunpowder shall be manufactured using the method Kim Dae-bung presented.”

“Your grace is immeasurable.”

A smile appeared on Jo Mal-saeng’s lips.

Then he looked toward where Hwang Hee was.

Hwang Hee is an excellent minister who is slightly more incorruptible and slightly more capable than himself.

Therefore, until he retires, it would be difficult for himself to ascend to the position of Chief State Councilor…

But if he could continue riding on Kim Dae-bung’s shoulders like this…?

He could certainly aim for positions like Left State Councilor or Right State Councilor.

“The Ministry of Taxation shall generously provide when the Ministry of War requests budget, and the Ministry of Public Works shall also cooperate with the Ministry of War’s affairs to the fullest extent.”

Minister of War Jo Mal-saeng smiled once again upon hearing King Sejong’s command.

It was because he felt that his time had come.

**

This is the first time I’ve seen the Ministry of War officials so happy since I transferred here.

Though it’s only been a little over six months since I transferred here…

While I don’t care whether others are pleased or not and am focused on my own work, the other officials are gathering in small groups to discuss the good things that will happen in the future.

“Old Man Chamji, you look very pleased today.”

“I’ve always had headaches from the northern barbarians up north and the Japanese Pirates down south. Now that we’ve obtained plenty of saltpeter… when those bastards come attacking, we can unleash gunpowder without holding back, can’t we? Just thinking about that makes me smile naturally.”

“We’re among ourselves here, so be a bit more honest. Is that really all there is to it?”

“Hehe, you rascal, there is actually one more thing, but how did you know? A colleague who passed the civil service exam at the same time as me became Assistant Minister of Finance and used to subtly mock me for going to the Ministry of War as Assistant Minister. Now the situation is completely reversed, isn’t it? Just thinking about that makes me smile naturally.”

High-ranking officials are positions appointed by those the king deems suitable.

In other words, if there are no major moral flaws, the person who achieves the greatest accomplishments during their tenure becomes Chief State Councilor.

But Old Man Chamji from the Ministry of War can now legally claim part of my achievements thanks to my success in mass-producing gunpowder… so his chances of promotion have greatly increased.

Well, honestly, such political circumstances don’t matter much to me.

If I’m competent, promotion will come when the time is right.

Even if I don’t get promoted much, what’s truly important is conducting my public service life without regrets after retirement.

“How can we effectively collect human waste in Hanyang?”

The success or failure of the new gunpowder formula I created depends on how well we can collect excrement.

Since we’re going to collect human waste anyway, we should also pursue improving the sanitary conditions of the Common People throughout the Eight Provinces of Joseon, including Hanyang.

The road ahead is still like a great mountain, a great mountain.

Being satisfied and settling down here would be far too premature.

While I was racking my brains to move forward to the next stage, Jo Mal-saeng approached me.

A suspicious smile was hanging on his face.

“All the Ministry of War officials are happy, expecting to either get promoted or receive excellent performance evaluations this time thanks to Kim Jeongnang. But you yourself, Kim Jeongnang, don’t seem particularly pleased. Do you think that way because you believe there’s still a long road ahead?”

“As you well know, Your Excellency, even though I’ve devised a new method for making gunpowder… if the system for operating that method isn’t properly established, we can’t achieve great utility. Moreover, as an official, one should naturally focus on public duties with a mindset of putting public service before personal gain, rather than on promotion or wealth and glory.”

Even in my previous life, I could have taken the golden path at the Ministry of Strategy and Finance, no, the guaranteed success track if I had just closed my eyes once.

However, I couldn’t abandon the principles I had to uphold as a civil servant, so I gave up on advancement.

Because of that, I was suddenly demoted to a strange place while on the promotion track.

When I was demoted, people around me criticized me, asking why I did that… but I have no regrets.

Even in Joseon, I will continue to live while maintaining that same mindset.

Here, since the kings I serve are Lee Bang-won and King Sejong, just by walking the righteous path, both advancement and wealth and honor follow naturally…

‘This place is indeed better for being an administrative official.’

“Minister of War, have you ever thought about how much human waste and urine is discarded daily in Hanyang?”

Jo Mal-saeng tilted his head at my question.

However, he soon realized my intention and smiled brightly.

“Collecting nitrate-rich soil was causing great inconvenience to the common people, but collecting waste from houses in Hanyang that don’t need to use human waste and urine as manure for farming would be no problem at all.”

“Yes, that’s right. To achieve maximum effectiveness with the new method I’ve created, we must collect all human waste in Hanyang that doesn’t need to be used as manure. No…”

Joseon has several fairly large counties besides Hanyang.

Places like Pyongyang, Gaeseong, Uiju, Jeonju, and Naju.

If we collect human waste and urine from such places as well, we can make enormous amounts of gunpowder.

“Shouldn’t we turn all the human waste from the large counties considered major towns in the Eight Provinces of Joseon into gunpowder? Actually, it wasn’t because Joseon lacked sulfur that we couldn’t make gunpowder, was it?”

“That’s exactly right.”

And then I brought out the magic words to stimulate Jo Mal-saeng, who was as capable as Hwang Hee but liked advancement and bribes a bit more.

“If we can produce more than 10,000 geun of gunpowder annually, His Majesty will evaluate the Minister of War’s abilities very highly. Then the three ministries… ah, it’s nothing.”

Jo Mal-saeng, who heard my words, said:

“Kim Jeongnang, do whatever you want. From now on, if there’s anyone who opposes Kim Jeongnang, that person is opposing this Jo Mal-saeng, and touching Kim Jeongnang is… disrespecting this Jo Mal-saeng.”

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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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