Black Corporation: Joseon

Three days later, Hyang visited the Research Institute.

Hearing that Hyang had come to the Institute, all researchers, starting with Won, came out to greet him.

The researchers who came out to welcome Hyang had unexpectedly worried looks in their eyes.

Why on earth is he coming?

Every time he comes, he just dumps loads of homework on us…

Representing these researchers’ feelings, Kim Dam asked Princess Jeong-ui, his wife, in a small voice:

“Do you know anything about this?”

To Kim Dam’s question, Princess Jeong-ui shook her head and answered:

“Your humble wife knows nothing.”

Entering the conference room with these worried researchers, Hyang stepped onto the platform and looked around at them.

“I’m truly pleased to see you here despite your busy research activities.”

Starting with this simple greeting, Hyang soon walked to the blackboard and wrote the large character for ‘heat’.

After writing both ‘열’ and ‘熱’, Hyang continued:

“Heat is essential for human life. Without heat, we couldn’t endure winter, and we’d easily get sick from being unable to cook food. And heat is needed in the process of melting iron and copper to make tools.”

While the researchers nodded at Hyang’s words, suspicion bubbled up strongly.

Why is he telling us things we already know?

Whether knowing these researchers’ thoughts or not, Hyang continued:

“Now! We’ve created steam engines. The principle of steam engines is using heat to boil water and utilizing that power. And recently we launched Flying Spheres too. In other words, we’re using the power of heat.”

As he spoke, Hyang wrote the characters for ‘force’ (‘역’ and ‘力’) next to ‘heat’.

“Ah!”

“Could it be!”

At that moment, Lee Soonji and Kim Dam simultaneously exclaimed in admiration and shock. Seeing their reactions, Hyang nodded slightly.

As expected…

Confirming his prediction was correct, Hyang asked Lee Soonji:

“Deputy Director Lee Soonji, do you understand what I’m trying to say?”

At those words, Lee Soonji answered with a voice trembling from excitement:

“Many equations and recorded results related to heat were created in the process of developing steam engines and improving blast furnaces. Are you asking us to find the laws that penetrate these equations and data, Your Highness?”

“That’s right.”

At Hyang’s words, all the researchers’ faces turned pale.

***

Many trials and errors continued in making steam engines, improving blast furnaces, and creating heat treatment processes for better steel, and just as many results remained as data.

What Hyang was saying now was to reanalyze all these data and equations made for experiments to find the most fundamental laws.

***

Looking at the frozen researchers with pale faces, Hyang continued:

“The devices using heat’s power, including steam engines made so far, have reached a satisfactory level of power and size through repeated trial and error improvements. However, thinking of the future, we cannot rely on trial and error forever.

Ships launched on the sea are getting bigger and bigger, and the engines to move them will grow too. The same goes for iron horses. In such situations, creating results through trial and error alone?

This can only be an enormous waste of human resources, money, and time.”

The researchers all nodded at Hyang’s words. They too had begun hitting walls with similar problems.

“But if we know the most basic laws, we can eliminate completely nonsensical parts, and by plugging variables into the laws and related equations, we can predict results to some extent. You surely understand what a huge advantage this is?”

To Hyang’s question, the researchers answered by nodding.

Watching the researchers’ reactions, Hyang added more characters to the blackboard.

‘Thermodynamics, 熱力學’

“If we can discover the laws about this problem and find and prove the connections existing between the many equations we’ve made so far! We can turn one of the abstract principles dissolved in all things into concrete numbers and equations to help even more people!”

At Hyang’s words, the researchers’ spirit began to change. They were people with strong pride and self-respect, using the grand phrase ‘Only mathematics can answer’ (唯數能答) as their motto.

Seeing the researchers’ spirit begin to blaze, Hyang wrote new characters on the blackboard.

‘Energy (氣力)’

“Looking at steam engines and Flying Spheres, they all use hot air (熱氣). Then what is hot air? What is the power that hot air has? I’ve named this part ‘energy’. It means the ability to do work.”

At Hyang’s words, the Joseon researchers all nodded. Since the saying ‘lacking energy to work’ was so common, they could immediately understand the meaning.

Hyang continued writing characters on the blackboard.

“In Western terms…”

Hyang wrote the word ‘Εnergia’ on the blackboard. Seeing the word Hyang wrote, the monks all nodded at once.

Seeing the researchers’ reactions, Hyang continued:

“What is the existence of this energy, and what kinds are there? Is it measurable? If so, how do we calculate its power? We must observe, analyze, and contemplate to discover these aspects.”

At Hyang’s words, ‘?’ appeared simultaneously on all the researchers’ faces.

“If it’s hard to understand, let me give examples. What’s the relationship between hot air and fire energy? Which is primary and which is secondary?

Thinking simply, since fire makes heat, fire energy could be primary and hot air secondary. However, we often see paper igniting without any spark inside a hot furnace. Then hot air could be primary and fire energy secondary.

Let’s consider another example, lightning. How is lightning’s thunder energy (雷氣) created, and what characteristics does it have? And from stories of houses and trees burning or people dying when struck by lightning, we must also contemplate thunder energy’s power and ability, and methods for humans to utilize it. I’ve termed all this collectively as ‘energy.'”

At Hyang’s explanation, the researchers seemed to understand somewhat, but still looked somewhat confused. Finally, Angelo stepped forward to ask a question:

“I understand about thermodynamics. But is it necessary to research energia together?”

To Angelo’s question, Hyang immediately answered:

“The most basic part of thermodynamics is knowing hot air’s properties, and to properly know hot air’s properties, shouldn’t we know its correlations with other energies?”

“Ah… I see.”

Angelo nodded at Hyang’s explanation. Looking at such Angelo, Hyang cautioned the researchers:

“Ah! In the process of researching this thermodynamics and energy and establishing theories and equations, it’s absolutely forbidden to commit the folly of forcing it to fit what you’ve learned so far. What we’re about to research must truly walk an untrodden path. Let’s not make the mistake of killing the cow while trying to straighten its horns.”

At Hyang’s words, Jeong In-ji posed a question:

“Does that mean we shouldn’t be bound by Master Zhu’s theory of principle and material force?”

“That’s right. We must start from nothing, without being bound by yin-yang material force or five elements material force.”

At Hyang’s firm answer, Jeong In-ji muttered inwardly:

It’s truly fortunate everything was swept away in the Gapsin Rebellion.

Though Jeong In-ji stepped back, Giovanni stepped forward this time.

“But we might accidentally blaspheme God’s providence.”

At Giovanni’s words, Hyang’s face turned fierce.

“You don’t mean the providence recorded in the Bible, do you?”

Hyang’s speech had suddenly changed to informal. At Hyang’s question, Giovanni nodded.

“That’s right.”

“Don’t you think that Bible is too thin to record all the providence of everything in existence? And, I’ve read it, but most of that Bible records the acts of prophets, the founder’s acts, and the acts of apostles who followed that founder, right? Which part discusses God’s providence regarding all things in existence? Surely you’re not saying everything is possible just from Genesis?”

“…”

Struck at the vital point by Hyang’s questions, Giovanni closed his mouth.

After Giovanni’s statement, there were no more objections. Jeong In-ji, who had roughly grasped the situation, began wrapping things up.

“Should we register it in the Challenge Records as Moving Mountains grade?”

“Yes, Moving Mountains highest grade.”

“Indeed…”

Jeong In-ji nodded at Hyang’s words. It seemed even 100 years, at least three generations, wouldn’t be enough to see the end of the research Hyang had described.

“Whew~”

Sighing at the feeling of facing an unfathomable mountain, Jeong In-ji looked at Lee Soonji and slightly shook his head. Lee Soonji’s face was now shining so brightly it could be recognized from ten li away.

That mathematical monster…

Thus, ‘classical physics’ would be born at least 200 years early – based on Newton’s birth – compared to history before Hyang’s intervention.

And Won, who watched this whole scene from the side, gave a bitter smile.

Father’s throwing a super-sized sky-piercing thunder bomb and leaving.

Having accumulated knowledge through education at the Royal Academy and Military Academy, Won could understand how tremendous the task Hyang had thrown was.

The problem is I’m also caught in that thunder bomb’s blast radius…

Having thought that far, Won unconsciously let out a small sigh.

“Whew~”

Looking for a solution to this bleak situation, Won soon found a suitable escape route.

“For the time being, I should just focus on improving the Flying Sphere with Chief Jo at Area 51.”

***

After leaving the conference room this way, Hyang immediately headed to the Censorate.

“We greet His Highness the Crown Prince!”

The interpreters working at the Censorate immediately paid respectful greetings upon seeing Hyang.

“Good work. You’re working hard.”

At Hyang’s praise, the interpreters all bowed their heads with moved expressions.

“Your grace is boundless!”

After praising the interpreters’ hard work this way, Hyang got to the main point.

“For a while, somewhat relax the censorship standards for letters Western monks send home.”

“What?”

“Just let through anything they write about research in their letters unless it’s too deep.”

At Hyang’s words, the interpreters just gaped. After a moment of silence, one interpreter opened his mouth.

“Um… Your Highness. We are merely interpreters. When they write equations, we cannot judge their importance.”

“That’s right, Your Highness. Among their written contents, we could immediately judge importance and selectively delete things about devices like steam engines, but with equations, the custom until now has been to just delete them all.”

At the interpreters’ words, Hyang pondered briefly before speaking:

“Send all letters with such equations to me.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

After finishing his business at the Censorate and coming out, Hyang smiled bitterly and muttered:

“My work has increased again. By the way, if things go well, will those damn things that made me give up mathematics appear? Things like calculus or probability and statistics… Even now just thinking about them makes my teeth grind.”