Chapter 447

Episode 447 Seo Yi (西夷) comes to Joseon. (4)

Hyang moved to the front of the map and pointed at the map with a long pointing stick.

Hyang continued speaking by pointing out with a pointer the western coastline of Muju, which was newly recorded through Maeng Jin-ho’s exploration.

“As you can see, the northern part of this coastline is north of Daeseol Island. Looking at the climate of Jongjang Island and the Dongjin Islands, the natural environment here is not good. Therefore, let’s leave this area alone first.”

“Leave it alone? Are you saying we should postpone the exploration?”

Hyang nodded at Sejong’s point.

“yes. “It would be a waste to explore even this area with our current shipbuilding capabilities.”

“It’s a waste... I see.”

Although Hyang used the harsh expression ‘waste’, King Sejong and the ministers nodded with an expression of understanding.

Sejong, who was looking at the map while listening to Hyang’s explanation, asked Hyang.

“Then which would be better?”

In response to King Sejong’s question, Hyang drew an imaginary horizontal line with a pointer.

“In Soja’s opinion, it would be a good idea to start right here.”

The point where the scent drew a straight line was the middle part of the area historically called British Columbia in Canada before the scent intervened.

‘If I remember what I saw while wandering around at the time, if we head east from here, we can bypass the northern part of the Rocky Mountains! If you take a detour from there, you can enter the Great Plains of North America right away! Plus, you don’t have to go through those crazy desert areas of Nevada, Arizona, or Texas!’

“Hmm...”

King Sejong and the ministers, whether they knew what Hyang was thinking or not, looked at the map and looked at the possibilities of Hyang’s proposal.

King Sejong, who had been looking at the southern and eastern margins of the coastline recorded by Maeng Jin, this time turned his gaze to the west.

King Sejong looked at the European countries crowded on the western side of the map with eyes full of concern.

‘There is no mistake in what the crown prince said before. They also know that the world is round, so they will try to move east. The only problem is how wide the sea is between the eastern end of the landless area and those western countries, especially England. According to Maeng Jin-ho’s report, the size of that Mujuji must be enormous, and if so, it must contain many things. Leaving it in the hands of other countries would be a mistake, not a mistake that should be avoided. But...’

Sejong, who had been pondering over and over again, let out a long sigh.

“Whoa~. Whether you go east or south, problems abound. “If we do something wrong, it could end up in a situation where the Seoyi people and our Joseon Dynasty are trying to bite each other’s tail.”

“Of course that is a possibility. Or, there is a possibility that our Joseon Dynasty and the Westerners will clash in the middle of that terra incognita. But...”

Hyang paused for a moment, quenched his throat, and continued speaking again.

“There is a big difference between those Westerners and our Joseon Dynasty. “If we take advantage of that difference, we can create a situation where Joseon has a huge advantage.”

“difference? Hmm....”

When the fragrance mentioned ‘difference’, Sejong fell into thought again. At that time, Hwang Hee joined the conversation.

“Are you talking about our attitude towards the natives?”

“That’s right.”

King Sejong and the ministers nodded at Hyang’s answer.

* * *

Meanwhile, Joseon’s attitude toward the indigenous people living in the newly acquired territory was ‘more candy, more candy, Hunminjeongeum, and a hot club.’

When making contact with the natives, they adopted a peaceful atmosphere as much as possible and opened the door through trade. Next, a clear bridgehead was secured through material exchanges using monopoly stores.

As they built up connections, the process of learning each other’s languages continued, and Hunminjeongeum played a key role in that process. This was because most of the native people contacted had language but no written language. Having a written language to properly record their words attracted the indigenous people.

And in this way, it was a natural process for natives who were familiar with Hunminjeongeum to learn the Korean language.

This was because the biggest characteristic of Hunminjeongeum was that all pronunciations were fixed. There was no case in Hunminjeongeum where one vowel or consonant was pronounced differently depending on the time, and this allowed the natives to quickly become accustomed to the Korean language.

Of course, in this process, there were natives who rejected everything and treated Koreans only as enemies. In this case, Joseon did not insist on continuous appeasement. However, if they attacked Koreans or their residences first, they would pursue them until the end and erase their existence.

However, records from Mansur or the slave market in Alexandria show that they rarely used such methods. For them, the native villages were just an excellent source of slaves.

* * *

King Sejong and the ministers nodded at Hyang’s remarks that mentioned this part.

“Since the Crown Prince is so trustworthy, the future of our Joseon Dynasty is truly bright.”

King Sejong, who was listening to the answers of the ministers with a satisfied face, gave an order to Jo Mal-saeng.

“Do your best in your exploration. “The bridgehead needs to be built quickly so I can go there.”

Hearing Sejong’s words, Hwang Hee opened her mouth with a very nervous expression.

“Are you thinking of proxy cleaning when you say that?”

“Wouldn’t Zen Wi be better than Daericheongjeong?”

The air inside Geunjeongjeon instantly became heavy at King Sejong’s remarks mentioning his abdication. Sejong, seeing the faces of the ministers full of worry, smiled and comforted them.

“There will never be anything like what the previous king did. Rather, wouldn’t it be able to establish itself as a good precedent?”

While Sejong was saying that, he suddenly seemed to have an idea and asked Do Seung-ji.

“How are your descendants and royal descendants these days? “Are there any problems with math?”

“It is said that it is difficult to find a partner your age, perhaps because you have inherited the qualities of His Highness and the Crown Prince.”

Sejong’s face brightened at Do Seung-ji’s answer.

“Is that so? Then what about humanity?”

“They say Inseong is also looking forward to the future.”

“Thank goodness.”

When King Sejong looked relieved, Hwang Hee asked him.

“Why did you suddenly ask about the qualifications of the third son and the king’s grandson?”

King Sejong gave a simple answer to Hwang Hee’s question.

“Because I know the crown prince’s personality well.”

“ah!”

It was Hwang Hee who nodded vigorously in response to Sejong’s answer.

At that moment, the scent pierced my ears.

“Ah-oh! “Who is going to curse at me?”

* * *

That afternoon, Janggye came up from Mokpo using an iron horse. The contents of the account were a record of the movements of Prince Henry and his party who stayed at the guest house.

“You showed great interest in lanterns? Mansour is like that too, so it seems like the crown prince’s boast that this class will make money is true.”

Kim Jeom immediately responded to Sejong’s words.

“There has been a steady stream of favorable reviews among the author’s people. We are fortunate to have been able to mass-produce it at the right time.”

Sejong laughed and joked at Kim Jeom’s answer.

“ha ha ha! “It seems like the Left Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister of Finance and Economy are the favorites!”

Kim Jeom lowered his head with a smile at Sejong’s joke, but inside he was gritting his teeth and grumbling.

‘Do you know how much money it cost to build that damn kiln!’

* * *

In other words, carbide was the product of Hyang’s fierce challenges.

“To produce better iron and metal materials, we need a blast furnace with better performance.”

The quality of the iron and metal materials that Joseon currently produces is far superior to that of the Ming and Japanese countries, as well as the Middle East and Europe, but it still feels lacking in flavor.

“Jumping into the center of the world is all well and good, but from now on we are being chased. We can’t just sit back and relax.”

Hyang continued speaking while looking at the Jeonjeonrok on the bookshelf.

“You should not just write down your fantasies, but also what you have tried.”

It was Hyang’s decision that further raised the value of ‘Dojeonrok’.