It was unclear whether the responsibility given to Sejong was a heavy burden or a trap, but Hyang did his best.
The first thing Hyang did was establish an organization with the long name "Hanseong Fire Damage Recovery Promotion Temporary Headquarters" in District 51. In District 51, there were several skilled craftsmen who had expertise in construction, as various facilities related to research were continuously being built.
Hyang, along with executives like Jeongcho and Jeong In-ji, sat in the front row, while the mid-level executives sat in the back row of the large conference hall in District 51, where Hyang conducted the meeting.
"First, let's confirm the exact damage situation."
"Yes, Your Highness."
At Hyang's command, Lee Cheon, who held the title of 'Deputy Director,' stepped forward.
At Lee Cheon's gesture, soldiers hung a large map of Hanseong on the wall, and Lee Cheon explained the situation with a long pointer.
"To begin with, regarding the damage to buildings, the northern part of Insunbu has 106 rooms completely burned down, 1,630 houses in the central area, 150 houses in the eastern area, 90 houses in the southern area, 8 rooms in Jeonokseo, and 200 houses around Jongru and nearby. In total, there are 2,070 houses that have been completely burned down. This figure does not include the losses among the palace and government buildings."
"What about casualties?"
"Nine men and twenty-three women were rescued but died. After comparing with the household registry, the casualties identified include twenty-three elderly, fifteen children, forty-six men, and eighty-nine women."
"The damage is significant."
Jeongcho shook his head at Lee Cheon's report.
However, in actual history, the damage was even greater.
The number of lost houses alone exceeded 2,400, and the records regarding the deceased stated the following: - Excluding the elderly and children, there were nine men and twenty-three women who died.
The number of those who died in the fire at home could not even be determined.
However, by conducting household registrations and organizing land records, it became possible to estimate the number of deceased as accurately as possible.
Furthermore, the existence of District 51 contributed to reducing the fire damage.
District 51 occupied most of the southern area of Hanseong—equivalent to the central area of Seoul in the 21st century—resulting in a decrease in the number of houses in the southern region.
Another reason was the nature of District 51, which handled various explosives and dangerous materials.
"One mistake could lead to a major disaster!"
Hyang, who could almost be called neurotic, rigorously trained for emergency response and disaster prevention.
The training was not limited to just inside District 51. They also meticulously trained for situations where an accident occurring inside could spread outside or where an abnormal situation from outside could infiltrate inside.
Thanks to this, the southern region suffered surprisingly little damage in this fire.
As the fire began to spread, those staying in District 51 immediately began to respond.
"Put out any unnecessary sparks immediately! Disaster response team, move to your positions now! Soldiers on break, return to your posts! Watch the situation from the watchtower!"
"Yes!"
Under Lee Cheon's command, those in District 51 moved in an orderly manner.
Because of their quick response, there was no major danger inside District 51.
"The fire is spreading!"
"Follow Plan 2!"
"Yes!"
The gates of District 51 opened, and horse-drawn carts equipped with water barrels and pumps rushed out.
Those dispatched from District 51 did their utmost to stop the fire spreading southward.
The houses they were protecting were the homes of their families.
After desperate efforts, the number of houses lost to the fire in the southern region of Hanseong was reduced to just 90, rather than the original historical figure of over 350.
During the process of tallying the damage, Jeongcho and others intentionally omitted certain areas.
However, Hyang pointed out that place.
"While the west may be acceptable, there is almost no damage in Bukchon?"
"That is…."
As Lee Cheon hesitated, Hyang added, "You know it too. I just wanted to mention it."
"I apologize."
The place Hyang pointed out was the affluent neighborhood of Bukchon.
Bukchon, a high-end residential area where government officials and powerful aristocrats lived, suffered almost no damage in this fire.
Most of the houses had tiled roofs instead of thatched roofs, which would catch fire easily, and each house had high walls and wide yards, reducing the likelihood of the fire spreading.
Additionally, there were many servants in each household, so if a fire did break out, they could extinguish it quickly.
During the process of preventing this fire, the homeowners in Bukchon used such excuses to avoid letting their servants go.
"We must prevent the fire from spreading!"
Sejong gritted his teeth at this.
"Just wait and see!"
After confirming the damage situation, Hyang stood up and moved forward.
Standing on the podium, Hyang looked at those gathered in the conference room and spoke.
"As you can see from the plaque, we have been tasked with the mission of rebuilding the areas affected by this fire."
"By rebuilding, do you mean to reconstruct all the burned houses?"
At Jeong In-ji's question, Hyang shook his head.
"We lack the resources for that. Our goal is to change the structure of Hanseong so that fires like this do not happen again. The starting point is the area lost in this fire, and the endpoint is the entirety of Hanseong. The estimated time required is five years."
At Hyang's words, the eyes of those gathered sparkled.
Since the relocation of Hanyang by Lee Seong-gye, nearly a generation had passed.
Although social change was slow in Joseon, various inconveniences began to emerge compared to the time of the founding.
"Move the map to the table."
"Yes, Your Highness."
At Hyang's command, the soldiers took down the large map hanging on the wall and spread it out on the large table in the center of the conference room.
Hyang pointed to the map with a pointer and began to speak.
"First, the beginning of all work is the maintenance of Cheonggyecheon…."
"... Thus, we will connect Cheonggyecheon and the main streams flowing within Hanseong into a drainage system to discharge wastewater into Han River. The benefits gained from this will make wastewater treatment easier within Hanseong, clearly define the divisions between rooms and buildings, and allow for quick preparation against fires like this one, as well as floods."
In the main hall of Geunjeongjeon, Hyang explained the "Hanseong Reconstruction Plan" to Sejong and the ministers.
After listening to Hyang's explanation, Sejong stroked his beard.
"The scale is larger than expected."
"We anticipate a timeline of five years. The focus will initially be on rebuilding the areas lost in this fire, and then gradually expanding the scope."
"Hmm, I see… But what do you mean by paved roads?"
"Literally, it means paving the roads. Looking at the current roads in Hanseong, when it rains, the ground turns into mud, making it difficult for both horses and people to pass. By paving them, we ensure that even in the rain, it won't be inconvenient for people and horses to travel."
"That sounds good…."
While Sejong nodded, Hwang Hee raised a question.
"When you say you will pave the roads, do you mean laying stones? Wouldn't that require too much budget?"
Hwang Hee's point was echoed by other ministers.
Due to the budget needed for those who lost their homes and property in this fire, the officials of the Ministry of Finance had completely given up on their own homes.
Because of this, Sejong had issued two edicts for the overworked officials of the Ministry of Finance.
In response to Hwang Hee's point, Hyang nodded.
"That's correct. Laying stones requires a lot of resources. Therefore, we will not use stones. To be precise, we will create the stones."
"Create stones?"
At Hyang's answer, Sejong and the ministers' eyes began to shine with interest.
"How will you create them?"
"We will make them using quicklime."
"Quicklime?"
In Joseon, lime was not an unfamiliar substance.
Being a common mineral, it was widely used in construction, and the Annals of Sejong recorded the following:
- The local products of Ganghwa Island include turquoise and rocks, with turquoise being carved for use as gravestones and rocks being cut and modified for use.
The modification here means that they are placed in a lime kiln and baked before use.
"Making roads with lime… is that possible?"
"It is possible!" Hyang answered confidently.
Sejong, encouraged by Hyang's confident response, made up his mind.
"Good! Crown Prince, I will trust you! Give it a try!"
"Your grace is boundless!"
While he was pleased with the Crown Prince's grand plan, Sejong did not forget reality.
"While roads are important, the most urgent matter is to provide shelter for those who lost their homes in this fire. How will we address that?"
In response to Sejong's question, Hyang answered without hesitation.
"That is indeed a valid point. As I just mentioned, while roads are important, the most pressing matter is the reconstruction of the areas lost in the fire. Therefore…."
At Hyang's gesture, a court attendant brought forth a diagram.
The next page of the diagram displayed the anticipated floor plan after the reconstruction of the areas lost in the fire.
"This is the anticipated reconstruction plan for the areas lost in this fire. As you can see, to secure living water and fire-fighting water, we have stipulated that one well be dug for every five households."
"Will that many wells be secured?"
In response to Hwang Hee's question, the Minister of Construction replied.
"It is possible. Surprisingly, Hanseong is not a water-scarce area."
Seoul—especially the Hanyang area during the Joseon Dynasty—had abundant groundwater.
Among the experiences shared by Hyang's father, uncle, and great-uncle in the 21st century, there was a story about how water flowed next to the Jongno subway station tracks, which they initially thought was a burst sewer but turned out to be groundwater.
In fact, there were articles stating that managing groundwater was one of the biggest issues in managing high-rise buildings located in the Jongno area of Seoul.
"But why are there water carriers?"
In response to Hwang Hee's question, the Minister of Construction provided a simple answer.
"There is a problem that we need to dig a bit deeper."
"Oh dear… tsk."
Hwang Hee, who was about to click his tongue, hurriedly stopped.
In this court, only two people could click their tongues without consequence.
One was Sejong, who had popularized that irritating habit, and the other was his son, Hyang.
With the support of the Minister of Construction, Hyang continued to explain.
"Dug wells serve a dual purpose. They provide work for the disaster victims who lost their homes and give them a chance to gather resources to rebuild their houses. The other purpose is to secure the living water and fire-fighting water that I just mentioned."
"That sounds reasonable… But is there a reason to create roads in various directions?"
"Looking at the alleys of Hanseong now, they resemble a tangled maze. Just look at this fire. The closely packed thatched houses caught fire in an instant, and the people trapped in the maze-like alleys were engulfed in flames and suffered injuries or death. Therefore, we must widen the roads and organize the layout so that in case of emergencies, the people can easily escape."
At Hyang's words, Sejong and the ministers nodded in agreement.
"And, if we do this, it will also be good for public safety. Right now, in the maze-like alleys of Hanseong, even if the police chase criminals, they can easily hide in these alleys and evade capture. To resolve this, we would need to deploy many personnel, creating gaps elsewhere. However, by organizing the layout like this, efficiency will increase."
"That sounds good."
While Sejong was nodding, Hwang Hee, who was examining the map, pointed to a spot.
"Your Highness, your map shows public bathhouses at intervals. Are they really bathhouses?"
"Yes, they are."
At Hyang's answer, Hwang Hee raised a concern.
"While bathhouses are good for gathering water for fire prevention, as seen in the past, having men and women bathing together can lead to moral decay."
"I am well aware of that. Therefore, the newly constructed public bathhouses will have separate entrances for men and women, and the buildings themselves will be separated with walls in between."
"Is it really necessary to go to such lengths for bathhouses?"
At Hwang Hee's words, Hyang nodded vigorously.
"Of course! Regular bathing is essential to prevent epidemics!"
"Huh?"
As Sejong and the ministers showed interest, Hyang instructed a court attendant to submit a report.
"This is a record of the mandatory health checks conducted on those working in District 51 and their families."
"Mandatory health checks?"
"Since they handle many dangerous materials, there are many injuries. Putting that aside! If you look at the section on skin diseases and other ailments, you will see that the incidence of skin diseases has significantly decreased after regular bathing. When we compile the opinions of the physicians who treated patients at that time, it shows that while skin diseases decreased, general ailments also reduced significantly due to maintaining physical cleanliness."
"Hmm…."
At Hyang's words, Sejong and the ministers pondered between practical benefits and Confucian principles.
Seeing this, Hyang added a little more.
"And, if we utilize these bathhouses well, it can help with the circulation of currency."
"How so?"
Sejong showed great interest in Hyang's words.
"Isn't it unreasonable to carry cloth and rice every time just to take a bath?"
"Oh!"
Interestingly, it was this very issue that led Sejong and the ministers to support Hyang's public bathhouse initiative.