81
After the meeting in the main hall concluded, the Minister of Revenue returned to his office with a heavy sigh.
"Ah~, no matter how much I work, it never seems to end. Should I just resign? No, the king wouldn’t let that happen easily..."
As he pondered seriously whether to resign or not, a court attendant came looking for him.
"Minister, are you here?"
"I'm here. What is it?"
"The Crown Prince sent this for you."
"Huh?" The attendant handed a silk-wrapped bundle to the Minister of Revenue.
"He said to convey his gratitude and that he looks forward to your continued support."
"Please tell him I am deeply grateful for such a generous gift."
"Yes."
After the attendant left, the Minister stared silently at the bundle for a long time.
"Somehow, I feel like opening it will lead to nothing good..."
Hesitating, the Minister finally untied the knot of the bundle.
Inside was a small wooden box.
"Ah~."
With a sigh, he opened the box and was taken aback.
"The Crown Prince and his gifts..."
Inside the box lay a rare mountain ginseng that looked precious even to the eye.
Meanwhile, within the inner quarters of the Minister's residence, the scent of medicine filled the air.
"What is this all about...?" Lady Kwon, the Minister's wife, complained while fanning the medicinal pot over the stove.
The medicine being brewed was a precious tonic that had been personally bestowed by King Sejong not long ago.
Although she could have simply sent a maid to do it, she chose to brew it herself to avoid any gossip about treating the king's gift carelessly.
However, Lady Kwon's complaints were of a different nature.
"What good does it do to take tonic? What good is it!" Her husband was always busy when he returned home.
It was hard to blame him, as he was exhausted from working on state affairs rather than indulging in leisure.
Lady Kwon fanned the flames irritably.
"A tonic that isn’t even worth the price of the herbs!"
As late February arrived, reconstruction efforts began in earnest.
Hyang, who had set up a temporary site office near the bell tower, meticulously took charge.
"First, let’s connect Cheonggyecheon with the nearby rivers, and at the same time, we will organize the areas affected by the fire and work on the wells."
A government official who joined from the Ministry of Construction confirmed the situation once more.
"Should we prioritize connecting Cheonggyecheon with Jongno and the fire-affected areas?"
"That would be the most appropriate."
"From a manpower allocation standpoint, that makes the most sense."
"Then let’s proceed with that. By the way..."
Hyang looked at the construction official in front of him with a newfound expression.
"You seem quite familiar with this sort of work?"
At Hyang's question, the construction official smiled slightly and replied, "Ironically, my first task was the construction of this very capital."
"Huh? What is your rank?"
Hyang examined the official's uniform, which was old but neat, and noted its blue color.
"I am a sixth-rank inspector."
"Looks like you started from the ground up?"
"Indeed."
Seeing the bittersweet expression on the inspector's face, Hyang encouraged him.
"This is fate; let’s create something together."
"I will do my utmost!" The inspector bowed deeply in response to Hyang's words, having understood their meaning.
Although he had been working hard until now, he showed even more enthusiasm at Hyang's encouragement.
Hyang muttered quietly to himself, "There must be many like him."
In the 21st century, there were many capable and diligent individuals who, surprisingly, did not receive recognition.
There were various reasons for this, but as time passed, the sad sight of those who had given up and merely did their assigned tasks overlapped with the back of the inspector walking away.
Watching that back, Hyang made another decision.
"To truly transform this entire Joseon, we need many capable individuals. The only solution is to sift through those with experience and ability!"
That night, upon returning to the East Palace, Hyang took out a piece of paper and began drafting a new proposal.
It was a lengthy title: "Establishment of a Specialized Agency for National Land Development Management."
The proposal aimed to gather those with skills and experience from all six ministries to create an agency responsible for comprehensive management.
The first step in the reconstruction of the affected areas was to organize the plots.
"What should we use as the standard for plot organization?"
At Hyang's question, the staff exchanged glances before responding immediately.
"Wells."
"That’s right. We need to dig wells and organize the plots accordingly to properly align the roads and drainage."
"Then let’s proceed with that. The prototype of the drilling machine has also been completed, so it would be good to check its efficiency."
"Drilling machine?" The staff tilted their heads at Hyang's words.
The next day, three drilling machines were brought out from District 51.
"Is this it?"
"Yes."
The craftsman responsible for developing and testing the drilling machine stepped forward to explain its benefits to the staff.
"It takes much less time than digging wells by hand."
"Is that so?"
"The greatest advantage of saving time is that we can quickly determine the usability of the well once it is dug."
"Really? Then let’s give it a try."
"Yes."
The drilling machines, divided into three large areas, immediately began their work.
"Hmm... this looks promising."
The chief of the drilling team, examining the map and terrain of the temporarily designated area, pointed to a spot likely to have water veins.
"Let’s dig here! Set it up!"
"Yes!"
At the chief's command, the team members moved swiftly.
They set up a sturdy tripod made of iron and installed the drilling mechanism on top.
Finally, they connected the spiral drilling tool to the mechanism with an iron rod.
Once the first installation was complete, the team attached an iron rod about one jang (approximately 3.3 meters) long to the mechanism and brought in an ox to tie to the rod.
"Go!"
"Mu~."
With a light tap on the ox's rear, it began to move slowly.
As the ox turned in circles, the connected mechanism began to drill the tool into the ground.
"Hmm..."
As the drilling machine started operating, all those in charge of the area gathered to observe the drilling process.
"It seems fine?"
"It looks usable."
Encouraged by the positive reactions from the managers, the chief of the drilling team puffed out his chest.
"With this, how well have we dug wells in District 51? If strong men were to dig for days and still find no water, how disheartening would that be? But with this, that time is drastically reduced!"
"Hmm... that is true..."
"Water!"
After two days of drilling, water gushed up through the drilling hole.
Those watching from the surroundings erupted into applause.
"Water!"
"Wow! Look at that water gushing up!"
As the water surged, the chief of the drilling team dismantled the machine.
Subsequently, the gathered managers and residents determined whether it would be a well with good quantity and quality of water.
"This seems fine."
"It looks like it will be a good well."
Once the conclusion was reached, the chief of the drilling team gathered the equipment and people to move on to the next well.
He called the remaining managers together.
"Now that we need to build proper wells, let’s move quickly! There’s a mountain of work to do!"
"Yes, sir!"
At the reconstruction site, the drilling machines showcased outstanding performance.
With the drilling machines playing a significant role, securing water sources progressed rapidly, and thus the organization of plots accelerated as well.
Based on the wells, the layout of houses and drainage was determined, and housing areas were allocated to the displaced people based on the household registry and land registry.
"It’s good, but..."
Although they received the land, the faces of the displaced people did not brighten easily.
It was due to the issue of funds to build houses.
"Ahem! Who is the head of the household that received this land?"
Startled by the manager's sudden appearance while he was lost in thought, the head of the household replied quickly.
"It’s me, sir. What brings you here?"
"Do you have the money to build a house?"
"Ha~. I’ve spent it all, so there’s no way I have any left."
"Hmm... So, the country has decided to lend money this time. Do you have a moment?"
At the official's words, the head of the household spread out a mat that had been lying to one side and extended his hand to the manager.
"Ah! I’ll make time for this! Please, have a seat!"
After listening to the manager's explanation for a while, the head of the household tilted his head slightly and asked, "I understand what you’re saying, but what does 'grace period' mean?"
"You will only pay interest for the period you desire, and then repay the principal afterward. So, if it’s a three-year grace period and three years of repayment, you will only pay interest for the first three years, and then for the next three years, you will pay both interest and principal in installments."
"Ah!"
"The interest rate is only 30% per year. You know that the lowest interest rate is 50%, right? But those who only charge that are called benevolent."
"That’s true."
"So, think it over carefully."
"But where do I go to borrow the money?"
"Come to the Ministry of Revenue. Then."
As the manager finished explaining and stood up to leave, the head of the household quickly got up from his seat.
"Wait, at least have a glass of cold water before you go."
"No, I have many more houses to visit. So think it over well."
After the manager left, the head of the household squatted in a corner of the yard and began to calculate.
"So, to build a house, I need funds... I earn this much in a year... If the interest is 30%..."
He was moving small stones around in one corner of the yard as he calculated.
Three days later, having made up his mind while calculating, the head of the household sought out the Ministry of Revenue.
"Um... sir..."
Hesitating at the door of the Ministry, he caught the attention of a passing official.
"What is it?"
The official, exhausted and weary as he crossed the threshold of the office, turned his head at the call.
Seeing the appearance of the person who spoke to him, the official seemed to understand what was going on.
"Are you here about a loan?"
"Yes."
"Go inside and keep going right; there should be a room."
"Yes? Yes. Thank you."
Gratefully bowing at the official's explanation, the head of the household stepped over the threshold of the Ministry.
He quickly found the place in question.
He headed toward a gathering of people who looked similar to him, waiting for their turn.
After that, things progressed swiftly.
"Park Soon-bok... a family of five?"
"Yes, sir."
"Then you’ll need at least three rooms?"
"Yes, sir."
"Then the cost will be..."
Thus, Park Soon-bok, who received loan counseling, came out with a piece of paper.
"Go to the Ministry of Construction?"
Holding the paper in his hand, Park Soon-bok moved toward the Ministry of Construction.
"Let’s see... Park Soon-bok... what year were you born?"
The official at the Ministry of Construction checked the handwritten registry against the paper.
"Three rooms... the amount of materials needed is..."
The official at the Ministry of Construction listed the materials needed for building the house and confirmed them with Park Soon-bok.
"...that’s it. There’s nothing missing, right?"
"Yes. But do I have to use a tiled roof? That’s expensive."
"What if there’s another fire? Are you planning to lose everything again?"
"That can’t happen!"
"This time, a cheaper tile has come out, so give it a try. If you don’t like it, you can earn money later and change it."
"... Yes."
After confirming all the quantities of materials needed for construction, the official at the Ministry of Construction handed over the papers.
"Sign here."
"Yes? Yes."
At the official's command, Park Soon-bok dipped his thumb in ink and diligently stamped it.
"Now, keep this paper and this one safe. One is a receipt listing the materials, and the other records how much you borrowed and when you will repay it."
"Yes."
"The materials will..."
The official paused for a moment, rummaged through a stack of books beside him, and continued.
"They will arrive at your building site in four days. You’ll need to find workers on your own. You can take turns with your neighbors to build, right?"
"That’s right."
"Then it’s all done. You can go now. Next!"
Having come out of the Ministry building, Park Soon-bok blinked in disbelief and muttered to himself.
"What is this... it’s not some kind of trick..."
As the reconstruction of the affected areas began in earnest, the labor force became insufficient.
Day laborers flocked in from other regions of the capital, but it was still not enough.
This was due to the simultaneous construction of many houses and roadworks.
Ultimately, King Sejong issued an order to the military.
"Extract available troops from the 12 guards protecting the capital!"
"Understood!"
Thus, the soldiers drafted began to sweat profusely at the construction sites.
Meanwhile, some generals were discussing the situation from a distance.
"Hmm... It seems that the Crown Prince's suggestion isn’t entirely wrong?"
"Indeed."
These were generals belonging to the General Staff of the Joseon Army.
While a major reform was taking place in the Joseon Army, Hyang had proposed the establishment of a new corps.
The corps Hyang proposed was the engineering corps.
However, most of the generals reacted negatively to Hyang's suggestion.
"There are hardly any soldiers who can’t chop wood or hammer; creating a separate corps is unnecessary."
Such negative reactions from the generals shifted toward "It is necessary!" during the process of restoring the capital after the great fire.
Eventually, after further discussions, the engineering corps was established.
"Even if the spear and sword rust, the shovel blade shines!"
"One shovel a day!"
"If I am given a shovel and a pickaxe, I will move mountains and rivers!"
Thus was born a corps that created all sorts of rumors and legends.