Black Corporation: Joseon

Just days after the Flying Sphere’s successful experiment, Jo Mal-saeng handed a proposal to Hwang Hui.

“A proposal to submit to His Highness the Crown Prince.”

“Let’s see… hmm…”

Taking the proposal, Hwang Hui nodded slightly while muttering as soon as he saw the title.

“‘Military Utility of the Flying Sphere’… as expected…”

As if he’d already guessed, Hwang Hui immediately opened the last page after seeing the title.

“So you need 320? Your Excellency Jo!”

At Hwang Hui’s shout, Kim Jeom snatched the proposal from Hwang Hui’s hand, examined the contents, and suddenly leaped onto the desk.

With movement unbelievable for someone in his mid-70s, Kim Jeom vaulted over the desk and grabbed Jo Mal-saeng’s collar.

“It’s requested because it’s absolutely necessary! Unavoidable expenditure!”

As Jo Mal-saeng insisted on its necessity even while being grabbed by the collar, Kim Jeom gripped tighter and shouted:

“Absolutely necessary? You had nothing to say when we didn’t have Flying Spheres until now! Talk sense!”

“Calm yourself, sir!”

“Stop them! Stop them!”

Though ministers rushed to separate Kim Jeom and Jo Mal-saeng’s grappling, they sweated profusely against Kim Jeom’s strength as he lost his reason.

“Sir, let go and talk! Let go and talk!”

“How can someone past seventy have such strength!”

After much wrestling, Kim Jeom finally released Jo Mal-saeng’s collar and returned to his seat. Watching Kim Jeom still glaring and breathing heavily at Jo Mal-saeng, Hwang Hui made his conclusion.

“Even without the Department of Defense’s argument, anyone with even a little knowledge of military tactics would know the Flying Sphere’s usefulness.”

All ministers nodded at Hwang Hui’s words.

As scholar-officials were expected to know not only Confucian classics but also military tactics, mathematics, and medicine as general knowledge, they weren’t ignorant of the Flying Sphere’s military utility.

Watching the ministers’, especially Kim Jeom’s, reactions, Hwang Hui continued:

“However, that number is the problem.”

“The military calculated the minimum number needed.”

“Minimum my foot! Are you going to wallpaper everything with Flying Spheres instead of signal towers?”

“Calm yourself, sir.”

Stopping Kim Jeom’s words, Hwang Hui handed the documents back to Jo Mal-saeng.

“This number is completely unreasonable. Review the numbers again. As is, I cannot submit this to His Highness.”

“His Highness would likely approve it though?”

“That’s precisely why I must stop it, isn’t it? That’s my duty, so I’m rejecting it under my authority. Revise and return.”

At Hwang Hui’s firm answer, Jo Mal-saeng had to take back the proposal.

“I understand. I’ll recalculate and return.”

“Good. Then let’s move to the next agenda.”

***

After the meeting, the ministers filed out of the conference room one by one.

Outside, the ministers discussed Kim Jeom.

“Isn’t Master Uichon (義村, Kim Jeom’s courtesy name) truly amazing? To have such overflowing energy at that age…”

“Indeed.”

“The tonics we’ve been sending must have been extraordinary.”

While having such half-joking, half-serious conversations, the ministers glanced at the Minister of Finance and continued:

“I’m curious about something – from Master Uichon down, all the finance officials are so rough. I wonder if the position makes the person, or if they only choose such people?”

“I agree.”

As the ministers whispered like this, the Minister of Finance suddenly shouted:

“Whose fault do you think this is!”

***

Amusingly, there were such sayings circulating at this time:

-Even thugs from the sword world lower their tails before finance officials.

-If someone in official robes has a good build, they’re either from the Department of Defense or the Ministry of Finance.

Such public assessments were surprisingly true. Many officials working in the Ministry of Finance were well-built. Of course, not just large-framed, but muscular overall.

Looking at the work environment of the time, this was inevitable.

Analyzing enormous amounts of data and calculating with only counting rods and abacuses required maintaining intense concentration for long periods. And maintaining such concentration for long required physical stamina.

Thus, the following golden rules were created in the Ministry of Finance:

-Calculation is done with the body, not the head!

-Good proposals come from sturdy bottoms!

And the assessment that even sword world thugs lowered their tails came from the nature of their work.

The Ministry of Finance’s core work was allocating budget for state operations using tax revenue and profits from various monopoly businesses. And conflicts with other departments in this process were natural.

Usually, results were decided through battles of numerical data. However, some departments tried to gain advantage by intimidating the Ministry of Finance. Departments like Defense and Territory Development.

Naturally, finance officials’ expressions and speech became rough from facing those trying to dominate through fierce expressions and tone.

Moreover, among scholar-official families where public service was the highest honor, it was common for brothers and relatives to work in different departments. And there were often attempts to use these blood ties for favors, and the finance officials’ notoriety worsened in the process of refusing these.

-Even neighborhood dogs won’t eat the shit of finance officials.

When such sayings circulated in the marketplace, families began immediately arranging marriages for unmarried sons or daughters who became finance officials.

Besides the age restriction, long service as a finance official itself was a detracting factor.

Though being a finance official was the worst job in some ways, few sought transfers to other departments or resigned.

This was because the Ministry of Finance was named first when asking which department among the court’s various departments held the most powerful authority.

And nothing was as addictive as working in an institution that could make even the king watch his step.

***

Three days later, Jo Mal-saeng submitted another proposal.

“120 units… is this your best?”

“It’s cut down as much as possible.”

At Jo Mal-saeng’s answer showing resolute will to ‘not back down further,’ Hwang Hui sighed.

“Whew~. I’ll submit it to Seunghwadang.”

As Hwang Hui gathered the proposal, the Minister of Finance and Kim Jeom glared at Jo Mal-saeng as if to devour him. However, this time Jo Mal-saeng glared back at the two.

***

“Hmm…”

Examining the proposal submitted to him, Hyang looked at Jo Mal-saeng after seeing the number in the final section.

“120 units? Is this your best?”

To Hyang’s question, Jo Mal-saeng immediately answered.

“The more the better for best. However, I think 320 units would be optimal.”

A small smile appeared on Jo Mal-saeng’s face as he answered Hyang. Hyang had done many things for the military – from weapons to uniforms to salaries. Therefore, he judged Hyang’s statement to mean the number was too small.

However, Hyang’s following words shattered Jo Mal-saeng’s expectations.

“Even 120 is too many. Looking at the proposal, you plan to deploy them at every fort and garrison in the north, every naval base in the south, naval bases being built at strategic points on routes to India and Alexandria, and still not satisfied, on every warship passing through those sea routes – it’s too excessive.”

“But strategically speaking…”

“While more might be best looking only at strategy, shouldn’t we consider the budget too? That Flying Sphere isn’t a cheap item, is it? Starting with the envelope that traps hot air, it must be made with silk, and top-quality silk at that. Plus considering silk’s lifespan, we must periodically repair or completely replace the envelope’s fabric, and thinking of that cost, it’s too many. And deploying one per warship? Even Challenger-class warships lack proper space to operate Flying Spheres.”

In history before Hyang’s intervention, until nylon’s creation, hot air balloon envelopes were mostly made of silk. Thus, hot air balloons were only operated by wealthy individuals for entertainment or in small numbers by militaries.

This generalization problem was only solved when hydrogen or helium could be mass-produced, and internal combustion engines with good power-to-weight ratios were created.

When airships and airplanes using mass quantities of cheap and sturdy but heavy canvas were made.

At Hyang’s point, Kim Jeom and the Minister of Finance chimed in with bright faces.

“That’s right! Yes! You saw exactly right!”

“That’s right!”

Unlike Kim Jeom and the Minister of Finance who were gleefully agreeing, Jo Mal-saeng protested with a face like he’d eaten shit:

“The Flying Spheres deployed on warships are limited to carrying just two people to reduce size. Starting with that point, we calculated considering many aspects! And the defense budget is increasing!”

“That it’s increased more than the court’s expected increase – that’s the problem. Sir, we can’t give the Department of Defense everything they ask for.”

“If we show some flexibility in that area…”

“That flexibility is decided by me and the Ministry of Finance. And in my opinion, it’s beyond the range where flexibility applies.”

“However…”

“To proceed with this plan as is, we’d have to reduce deployment of improved artillery and Type Eul rifles. Which would you choose?”

At Hyang’s words, Jo Mal-saeng answered with an almost crying expression:

“We cannot reduce artillery. Artillery is… we’ll reduce the number of Flying Spheres.”

Thus, the number of Flying Spheres was reduced to 32 units. They would be deployed focusing on major military strategic points in the north and important naval ports like Jemulpo, Dongnae, and Tsushima.

But Hyang continued:

“You must create an additional 36 Flying Spheres to generate profit.”

“Generate profit, you say?”

“Deploy them at entertainment complexes in Joseon’s major administrative districts to carry citizens.”

“Ah!”

“Ah! Such a method!”

The moment Hyang finished speaking, the ministers exclaimed in admiration. Going up in the sky to look around would certainly be hugely popular.

Hwang Hui immediately picked up on Hyang’s suggestion:

“We should exclude Hanseong, right?”

“That’s right.”

“Why Hanseong? Ah!”

Kim Jeom, who was about to question Hyang and Hwang Hui’s answer, immediately stopped and nodded.

Gyeongbok Palace was in Hanseong. Citizens looking down on the king would be the height of disloyalty.

Therefore, though thinking of profit, they had to give up Hanseong which could bring the highest profits.

***

While working like this daily to resolve state affairs, Hyang was pondering something else.

“How should I handle this? Wait until they sprout buds themselves? Or should I throw the bomb?”

Hyang continued rifling through Research Institute and Area 51 reports while muttering to himself words others wouldn’t understand.

“Now that hot air balloons have appeared… the problem is that waiting passively for what I throw might become established… what should I do?”

After agonizing for days, Hyang finally reached a conclusion.

“Right! Let’s throw the bomb! Better to roll it while we have talented people! We might fall behind again if we’re not careful! Shit! We can just say ‘the Crown Prince did Crown Prince things!'”

Having firmed his resolve, Hyang took out blank paper and began writing.

-Thermodynamics (熱力學)

“Must gather the fragments obtained so far into one theory! Must start while we have mathematical monsters from Lee Soonji onward!”

Following Hyang’s decision, thermodynamics, which originally began with Benjamin Rumford in 1789, would sprout nearly 330 years early.

And the Research Institute’s researchers would be saddled with a massive bomb.