In the original history, Princess Jeongso was supposed to have died in February.
The problem was the cause of death.
The records I had casually read in the 21st century were unclear.
Some records said it was chickenpox, while others noted smallpox.
"Where's the 50% chance!" Knowing that Sejong was deeply shocked by Princess Jeongso's death, Hyang had pinned everything on that 50% chance and vaccinated her with cowpox.
And that 50% chance turned out to be correct.
As the nationwide vaccination campaign came to an end, Sejong was firmly wrapping things up.
He summoned the Minister of Interior and commanded, "Has the list of the gentry who did not pay the tax been completed?"
"Yes, it has been completed."
"Bring it to me."
A short while later, an official from the Ministry of Interior brought the list and presented it to the Minister, who then handed it over to Sejong.
As Sejong examined the list he received from the Minister, he spoke, "There are truly many."
"There are a total of 143 individuals."
The list submitted by the Minister of Interior contained names, clans, places of residence, and levels of wealth.
After reviewing the list, Sejong issued an order.
"Erase all those listed from the local records. If any of them have passed the minor examination and are receiving tax exemptions, immediately revoke all their benefits. Lastly, their descendants shall be prohibited from serving in government for three generations."
"I will carry out your command!"
With this decision, a great upheaval occurred among the local gentry.
As Sejong's orders were executed, the local Confucian scholars experienced a storm of turmoil.
"This is too excessive!" Those whose names were removed from the local records protested vehemently, but not many agreed with their claims.
Most responses were as follows:
"Tsk, tsk, tsk. You should have curbed your greed. How much is that tax worth anyway?"
"If you are a noble and a gentry, you should uphold your name, shouldn't you?"
"You must know shame and propriety! Get out of here! This is no place for someone who is not a noble!"
Those who were expelled shouted towards the closed gates of the local Confucian academy, "How clean are you!"
The repercussions of Sejong's orders did not end there.
"What are these petitions?" Sejong suddenly looked at the mountain of petitions that had piled up.
The Chief State Councillor answered with a troubled expression, "These are petitions from fathers asking for permission to divorce their daughters."
"Permission to divorce?" Sejong unfurled a scroll and read its contents.
The petitions were quite similar in nature.
"My son-in-law lacks shame and propriety and has lost his qualifications as a noble. In such a situation, it is only natural for him to reflect and repent, yet he claims innocence and shows no remorse, even going so far as to commit violence against my daughter while drunk. Therefore, I ask for permission for my daughter and son-in-law to divorce."
Unlike the Goryeo era, where marriage and divorce were easy, during the Joseon era, the marriage and divorce of the yangban were very complicated.
For the yangban to divorce, it was basic to submit a petition to the local magistrate and even to the king.
After reviewing all the petitions, Sejong reached a conclusion.
"To use violence against one's lawful wife is not befitting of a noble. However, I cannot reach a conclusion based solely on one side's words. Command the local magistrate of the area where the petitioner resides to verify the facts. If the contents of the petition are true, allow the divorce and order a fair division of property."
"I will carry out your command."
As Sejong's orders were issued, many couples began to divorce.
It was not just divorces that increased; the number of broken engagements, which required no complicated procedures, multiplied even more.
Sejong's reforms were being prepared gradually over a long time.
However, there was one place that was surprisingly moving quickly, and that was the military.
While discussing state affairs with his ministers, Sejong took a moment to visit the Crown Prince's palace.
When the court attendant standing in front of the Crown Prince's door was about to announce him, Sejong lightly waved his hand.
"Shh, I want to see the Crown Prince's usual appearance."
At Sejong's words, the attendant, with a troubled expression, pointed to one side and replied, "His Highness the Crown Prince is currently in the restroom."
"The restroom?"
"The toilet."
"Ah! The restroom... what a poetic name."
Nodding, Sejong looked towards the area the attendant indicated.
In a corner of the Crown Prince's palace, a palace maid stood holding a cloth.
Suddenly, a loud sound of water splashing echoed, and the maid quickly opened the door and entered.
A moment later, Hyang emerged with a refreshed face, a book tucked under one arm, and rushed over to bow before Sejong.
"Father, you have come! I am deeply sorry for showing such a disgraceful sight!"
"Disgraceful? What are you talking about... But still, you read even while in the restroom?"
"It surprisingly reads well."
"Well... I do like books, but..."
At Hyang's response, Sejong shook his head in disbelief.
The restroom, or more precisely, the toilet, was something Hyang had firmly resolved to create since the time he was the Crown Prince.
For that reason, after being appointed as the Crown Prince and feeling that he had gained some recognition from Sejong, Hyang attempted to make a toilet.
However, the production of the toilet faced a significant obstacle from the start.
The toilet that Hyang was familiar with was made of porcelain.
But the historical context of the Joseon era posed a problem.
The place supplying various ceramics for the royal family was the Office of Royal Cuisine, and the ceramics supplied there were based on tributes.
Ultimately, he had to find a kiln that produced porcelain, but even the closest one was in Gwangju, Gyeonggi Province.
After the Neobeol Island incident, Hyang's activities were limited to Hanyang, and he had no intention of traveling to Gwangju, Gyeonggi Province.
"In the 21st century, I could drive there in no time, but now it's Joseon, right?"
In the end, Hyang had to find an alternative.
While searching for various alternatives and rummaging through his memories, Hyang finally found one.
What he discovered was a scene from a movie featuring a pure-hearted macho mummy who shouted "Anaksunamun" until the very end.
The key scene of the movie was the metal toilet in the restroom where the little boy escaped from the train.
As soon as he recalled this, Hyang created a conceptual diagram and a rough design and immediately sought out the craftsman at the Military Supplies Office.
That was when the craftsman's arduous journey began.
Although Hyang had made the design, it was merely a conceptual arrangement.
The actual measurements had to be tested by the craftsman himself.
This was true even in the 21st century.
When Hyang—known as Jin-ho in the 21st century—and his friends made a steam engine, Hyang was responsible for the concept and overall design, while all the calculations had to be done by his friends.
"I'm in the humanities. How could a humanities person do calculations?"
Anyway, after countless trials and errors, the craftsman finally produced the metal toilet.
"Well done, well done!" Upon seeing the completed toilet, Hyang greatly praised the craftsman.
Not only did he praise him with words, but he also rewarded the craftsman with a sack of rice and distributed rewards to the other craftsmen based on their ranks.
The craftsman, who received an unexpected reward, bowed deeply and exclaimed, "Please entrust me with anything in the future! I will give it my all!"
"I trust and expect that!"
Later, whenever the craftsman recalled that time, he would slap his own mouth.
"This mouth of mine is my enemy!"
In any case, when Sejong saw the toilet and the restroom where it was installed, he wanted to install a toilet in the main hall as well.
However, Sejong's intentions were thwarted by the objections of the court officials.
"To check the health of Your Majesty, we must check the excrement! But in this state, we cannot do so!"
"Is that so? I understand..."
Sejong took a step back in light of the officials' objections, but he did not bend his will.
"I will install it someday!"
In the end, while a toilet was not installed in the main hall, quite a few were installed in various places, including the Crown Prince's palace.
The places where toilets were installed were where the queen and concubines resided.
Squatting over a chamber pot was never a comfortable task.
Especially in a situation where one was pregnant and had a growing belly, a toilet was the best item.
Of course, for the court attendants and palace maids who had to clean the excrement containers placed under the toilet and fill the toilet tank with water, it was a hard job.
Later, this toilet began to spread to the common people, leading to various problems.
To resolve these issues, it was inevitable that Hyang would completely overhaul the public hygiene system.
After emerging from the restroom, Hyang moved to the study with Sejong.
With a large table in the center, Sejong, facing Hyang, immediately spoke.
"Crown Prince, I came to you with a question after reviewing the diagram you created."
"What question do you have?"
"You mentioned several parts, but there is one part you did not mention—the military. Surely you are not unaware of it?"
At Sejong's question, Hyang smiled brightly.
Seeing this, Sejong shook his head.
"You sly one..."
"If I had mentioned the military, there would have been an even greater uproar."
Sejong nodded in agreement.
"That is true."
"What do you think, Father?" At Hyang's question, Sejong replied firmly, "The military must also be reformed. We should not only focus on individual strength as we have until now but also place greater importance on intelligence."
Hyang nodded at Sejong's words.
In the fourth year of Sejong's reign, he had established new standards for military examinations.
"The purpose of the examination is to select talented individuals. This is the same for military examinations. From now on, even if someone cannot hit a target from 200 paces, if they are well-versed in the classics, they should be selected."
This led to claims that civil officials were being favored while military officials were being looked down upon, but Hyang thought differently.
"Even Jedi can die in a gang fight. Father's words are not wrong. From now on, we need smart people."
'Who was that again? I can't remember.
Anyway, I'll make good use of them!'
Muttering in his heart, Hyang immediately spoke.
"I believe that in a nation, the civil and military officials are like a person's two arms and also like the two wheels of a cart. A person cannot live with only one arm, and a cart cannot move with just one wheel. I think the civil and military officials are just like this in a nation."
Sejong nodded vigorously at Hyang's words.
"What you say is truly correct! That is why I am also thinking of reform. However..."
Sejong sighed.
"The ministers who are glued to their seats will immediately challenge that statement. National defense costs a fortune, no, a fortune, and they will mention the military regime of the previous dynasty."
"However, we cannot look down on the military. If we do, Joseon will collapse. Think of the precedent of the Song dynasty."
After wetting his throat with tea brought by the court attendant, Hyang continued, "There was an empire in the West called Rome. I have heard that they had a saying: 'Si vis pacem, para bellum.'"
"What does that mean?"
"'If you want peace, prepare for war.' It is the same as being prepared to avoid disaster."
"Being prepared to avoid disaster..."
Sejong tapped his fingers on the table, pondering the phrase.
Seeing this, Hyang added, "We need not look far. Look at the late years of the previous dynasty. How many people suffered due to the Jurchens and the Japanese pirates? While it is true that national defense consumes a lot of wealth, if we are not properly prepared when a crisis arises, we will have to expend several times that wealth and manpower."
"You are right. You are right..."
As Sejong nodded, he reached a conclusion.
"Yes. If it needs to be reformed, then it must be reformed!"
As Sejong solidified his resolve, Hyang clenched his fist under the table. 'Yes!'
Once Sejong had made up his mind, he asked Hyang again, "Reforming the military is not something that can be done overnight, so we must take our time and resolve it one step at a time. Where do you think we should start? The northern army that must deal with the Jurchens? Or the southern army that must face the Japanese pirates? Or the central army that must defend the capital?"
To Sejong's question, Hyang immediately replied, "We must divide them into the army and the navy. We must never underestimate the navy, or rather, the naval forces."