Black Corporation: Joseon

Kim Jongseo was the first to break the silence.

“I see several issues. If goods travel along that route, there will be considerable risks due to distance and climate. The burden of increased transportation costs that would follow becomes the first problem. The second is that the new territories only serve to supply food and resources to the mainland while consuming goods. They are people too – once they understand their circumstances, they’ll likely recognize the unfairness, and a self-production movement might arise there as well.”

Many ministers tilted their heads at Kim Jongseo’s observation.

According to the records we’ve received, these are people who can’t even manage proper food, clothing, and shelter?

As if aware of the ministers’ thoughts, Kim Jongseo continued immediately.

“While the natives of the new territories currently can’t even maintain proper living standards, the situation could change dramatically once they learn our Joseon’s writing and civilization. Consider the example of the Jurchen.”

“Ah…”

Only then did the ministers nod at Kim Jongseo’s follow-up.

Observing their reactions, Kim Jeom, who had been listening, spoke again.

“We have absolutely no intention of limiting the new territories to merely supplying what we lack and consuming our surplus. Of course, that would be the easiest approach. However, doing so would make it difficult to keep the new territories within Joseon’s embrace. And if the new territories break away, we would face serious difficulties before long. Therefore, what His Majesty and we envision is forming a loose but resilient community, made possible through fair competition and evaluation.”

Lee Sachul immediately countered Kim Jeom’s words.

“Is fair competition and evaluation truly possible? Have you forgotten about people’s prejudices?”

Kim Jeom responded with a sardonic smile.

“Have you forgotten what Lord Bangchon said?”

“Lord Bangchon?”

As Lee Sachul looked at Hwang Hui, he recalled Hwang Hui’s past words.

‘Isn’t it natural to feed and raise well those who work well, and eat those who don’t, whether they’re bull or cow, brown or black?’

Remembering Hwang Hui’s words, Lee Sachul unconsciously nodded.

“I see. Acting carelessly with prejudice could lead to consequences from those in power.”

“Indeed. There are already more than a few officials from the outer regions receiving the nation’s stipend in this court, and there’s no law saying they can’t become senior officials. And with time, such prejudices will fade.”

Hearing Kim Jeom’s words, Hyang muttered internally.

There’s also a great risk of falling into pure meritocracy.

But before Hyang could speak, Lee Sachul pressed the issue again.

“However, if mishandled, ability could become paramount above all else, becoming an iron-clad guarantee that shields all wrongdoing.”

Kim Jeom immediately responded to Lee Sachul’s rebuttal.

“Isn’t preventing that the role of education?”

“Well, that’s true, but…”

Lee Sachul trailed off. Watching him, Hwang Hui spoke up.

“Before reformation, only a few nearby nations knew of our Joseon. But now, even distant nations know us, and we know them. Our current situation, where we derive enormous profits from them, can only be described as riding a tiger^[1].”

Hwang Hui, who had passed his ninetieth year, straightened his back and continued in a clear, ringing voice.

“In such urgent circumstances, for our Joseon’s national essence to continue unbroken, we must stay one step ahead of others! For this, we must value people’s abilities rather than their appearances! Of course, as Lord Seongji pointed out, there could be problems with falling into pure meritocracy! But that aspect must be prevented through education! I believe that is education’s duty! We must not forget ‘Do not teach those who are not worthy, those without talent cannot inherit virtue'^[2]!”

Quoting Wang Xizhi’s famous words, Hwang Hui glared at Lee Sachul. Seeing that gaze, all the ministers thought the same thing.

Lord Seongji, your good days are over…

The same was true for Lee Sachul himself.

I’m going to catch a lot of flak from now on.

Lee Sachul, who succeeded Jo Gyesaeng as Minister of Education, wasn’t well regarded.

Good at maintaining and complementing the status quo, but doesn’t move forward.

In Sejong’s court, which emphasized reform, Lee Sachul became Minister of Education because of his “excellent status quo maintenance ability.” Through reformation, many educational institutions were established starting with the Public Education School, and new systems were created. Naturally, there were side effects, and someone was needed to steadily maintain these systems.

Thus, Lee Sachul was chosen as the right person for this role.

***

With frequent digressions extending the time, Kim Jeom’s long explanation finally ended, and Hyang began summarizing.

“I believe you all understood the Deputy Prime Minister’s explanation well. This is why we’re focusing all our efforts on integrating the new territories now. If we properly integrate the new territories, our Joseon will become a nation that even Ming cannot treat carelessly. Of course, our Joseon is a country that dreams of the benevolent governance spoken of by ancient sages and considers benefiting humanity as our highest priority. Therefore, we won’t try to force submission like certain others, and we’ll treat all nations under heaven as brothers. However, even among brothers, isn’t it better to be the elder rather than the younger? So please, do your utmost best.”

The ministers all bowed their heads and responded to Hyang’s request.

“We shall engrave it in our bones and remember!”

“We shall break our bones and renew ourselves!”

Years later, historians would evaluate this day as ‘The day Joseon once again solidified its national system.’

The nation that Sejong, Hyang, and the ministers dreamed of would come to be known by various names over time: ‘Joseon Federal Empire,’ ‘Joseon Federation,’ ‘Korea,’ and more.

However, other nations’ evaluations weren’t particularly favorable.

‘They’re definitely capable, but they know it too well, making them insufferable.’

‘They fight among themselves about who’s better, but when someone from outside bothers them, they unite and beat them up as a group.’

***

After the meeting, the ministers began leaving Seunghwadang one by one.

“Hey, Jibong.”

Hwangbo In turned his head at Kim Jongseo’s voice.

“What is it?”

“Isn’t legislative work under the Ministry of Justice’s jurisdiction?”

Hwangbo In nodded at Kim Jongseo’s question.

“Yes. It’s handled by the ‘Legislative Review Office’ under the Ministry of Justice. Why?”

“You should prepare in advance because I think there will be wailing coming from there soon.”

Hwangbo In’s expression turned serious at Kim Jongseo’s words.

-A man who could make even a male shaman cry with just a touch.

This was the Kim Jongseo that Hwangbo In knew. And now this man was giving a warning.

“This isn’t like a club appearing in the middle of the night – why would there suddenly be wailing?”

“Think about it. We just discussed federation and such things – will this end with just a few words and sentences? Obviously, laws related to this will need to be created. Though we follow the scholarly tradition of Confucianism that reveres the School of Principle, we don’t ignore the importance of law, do we?”

Hwangbo In nodded at Kim Jongseo’s explanation.

“Th-that’s true. It will be a big task. I should prepare well in advance.”

As soon as Hwangbo In finished speaking, Kim Jongseo continued.

“That’s not the only issue. We’ll also need to create suitable laws for the new territories.”

“Couldn’t we just use existing codes like the Joseon National Code or the Supplementary Six Codes as they are?”

Kim Jongseo shook his head at Hwangbo In’s words.

“The land is different, the people living there are different, and the customs are different – do you think the National Code would work properly? And according to the reports coming in, though the natives of the new territories may not have proper living standards, they have quite excellent systems. His Majesty will surely not overlook this.”

At Kim Jongseo’s words, Hwangbo In stopped walking and fell into thought.

“Should we send additional people to the new territories…”

“That’s one approach, but I think His Majesty will definitely send a draft.”

Recalling Sejong’s behavior, Hwangbo In felt slightly relieved at Kim Jongseo’s words.

“Then the burden will be somewhat lighter.”

“How can you say that after experiencing His Majesty and the Crown Prince all this time? Were they ordinary people? The new territories may be far away, but if you don’t want clicking tongues starting right from Seunghwadang, you’ll need to prepare thoroughly.”

At Kim Jongseo’s words, Hwangbo In froze pale white. Seeing this, Kim Jongseo lightly patted Hwangbo In’s shoulder.

“So, prepare thoroughly in advance. I’ll go ahead~.”

Watching Kim Jongseo’s back as he walked away casually after those words, Hwangbo In muttered quietly.

“Dammit… giving me both the disease and the cure? Should I force-feed him some tonic medicine…”

***

Meanwhile, Hyang, organizing documents in Seunghwadang and reviewing the situation, let out a snicker.

“As expected, their analytical and judgment skills are truly the best…”

Satisfied with the ministers showing analytical and judgment abilities unbelievable for people of early Joseon, Hyang pulled out a blank paper.

“The next generation like Kim Jongseo and Hwangbo In are useful too, but legends are legends after all… I should use them thoroughly while they’re here. At times like this, it’s truly fortunate that Father welded their official hats in place.”

While Hyang was muttering and plotting something, all senior officials including Hwang Hui shivered from an inexplicable chill.

***

These days of rolling and rolling continued endlessly.

“They need to recruit additional craftsmen for the Arsenal in Area 51?”

“Yes.”

Checking the personnel recruitment report Wan brought, Hyang questioned him again.

“There are already quite a few craftsmen working in the Arsenal, yet we need more? Is this really necessary? Too many personnel increases the possibility of security problems.”

Wan immediately answered Hyang’s point.

“As you can see from the report, with current manpower we’re struggling to meet delivery deadlines for both our military’s muskets and Portugal’s order.”

“Hmm…”

Examining the figures while listening to Wan, Hyang calculated the numbers.

“Considering final inspection and quality control, 3,000 muskets in 5 months. That’s 600 per month. Accounting for holidays, 30 per day. Unlike before, gun barrels come in with primary processing done, and we don’t need to cut rifling anymore – yet we’re short on people?”

“Yes. We’re also behind on upgrading the military’s Type A muskets to Type B, and on inspecting and maintaining the cannons for delivery to Oirat. We lack manpower.”

“Though there’s quite a bit of work, it doesn’t seem enough to warrant new recruitment…”

Unable to understand despite the report and Wan’s explanation, Hyang stood up.

“This won’t do! Let’s go to Area 51 together!”

“What?”

***

Arriving at the Arsenal in Area 51, Hyang immediately began inspecting the site and analyzing problems.

After walking around various parts of the Arsenal analyzing issues, Hyang soon found the cause.

“As expected, it was a line problem…”

When establishing mass production through division of labor, Hyang had set up appropriate production lines. However, with increasing production volume and the introduction of steam engines, the line configuration had become inefficient.

“We need to improve this…”

While contemplating solutions, Hyang found the answer in memory.

“Stop work immediately and everyone gather at the training ground!”

“What? Yes.”

The solution Hyang thought of came from a movie about the founding of an internationally famous hamburger company.

Drawing virtual lines with lime on the training ground and positioning the craftsmen, Hyang continued moving their positions around to find the optimal arrangement.

Finally, after wrestling with it all day and finding the best arrangement, Hyang turned to Wan.

“You recorded that arrangement?”

“Yes. I’ll implement the changes immediately.”

“Good work. Ah! And I’d like a copy of the records too.”

“What? Yes.”

After receiving the copy, Hyang immediately moved to the research institute to find Jeong Inji.

“…Therefore, I’d like to establish a department for researching more efficient production methods.”

The report Hyang handed over with these words bore the title ‘Production Studies (tentative name).’

This was the beginning of what would be called ‘Industrial Engineering’ in the history before Hyang’s intervention.