Chapter 720

Episode 720: Seonwi (2)

Seeing Hyang’s surprised expression, Sejong responded with a light smile.

“What is surprising? Although I occupy the position of a king, I am also the father of only one person. You know your children’s personalities. No, especially since he was the king, he should have known better.”

“Ah...”

Hyang nodded at Sejong’s answer.

The existence of a prince was a being of antinomy.

For the stable existence of a country, it was good to have many princes. Only then could the succession continue stably even if the first-ranking prince died in an unexpected accident.

On the other hand, the fact that there were many princes meant that there were many competitors, and there was a high possibility that a fierce battle would break out over the throne.

Therefore, Hyang also paid a lot of attention to the traffic control of his children, including the Wanduseul brothers.

‘At least I could take a breather because the first law had completely nailed down the succession structure...’

After muttering to herself for a moment, Hyang asked King Sejong.

“What did your father think about Jinpyeong?”

“It’s like a wild boar.”

“yes?”

“Wild boars are only good at charging. No, once you start charging, you don’t look left or right. Isn’t Jinpyeong’s personality exactly like that? “Think of the railroad tracks.”

Hyang smiled bitterly and nodded at Sejong’s words.

“I guess so.”

‘When the rebels invaded the palace, the first thing they said as soon as they arrived was whether the railroad was safe...’

King Sejong, who lightly quenched his thirst with black bean tea, continued.

“If it were Jinpyeong’s temperament, he would even start a rebellion for the sake of the railroad that he risked his life for. Knowing this temperament, didn’t the emperor keep Jinpyeong out and make him stick to the railroad?”

“That’s right.”

In response to Hyang’s affirmation, Sejong spoke to Hyang with a serious face.

“The emperor must never lose sight of his health. Only then will the crown prince, who has been crowned, be able to safely solidify his imperial authority.”

“yes?”

Seeing Hyang’s puzzled appearance, Sejong explained in more detail.

“Even a wild boar, which doesn’t care what to do once it charges, stops charging in front of a tiger. To Jinpyeong today, the emperor is that tiger. “It would never be okay to feel relieved that Jinpyeong was dragged to Shinji.”

Hyang immediately bowed her head and responded to Sejong’s words.

“I will keep this in mind.”

‘It’s been a while since I remember Mr. Samcheonpo.’

-You know what? Even Grand Prince Suyang of the world was eager to rub his palms in front of King Munjong? Suyang, who was busy showing off his dancing skills while wearing a dress with the sleeves cut off to his shoulders, kept saying ‘You are the best!’ in front of King Munjong! If King Munjong hadn’t died so quickly, Suyang would have ended up as one of those great armies!

It was a scent that once again awakened awareness of Jinpyeong.

* * *

Hyang, who had sorted out some of the talented people who would go from Joseon to Shinji with Hyang, asked King Sejong.

“It is truly unfortunate that Jang Yeong-sil died.”

“I agree.”

Sejong also responded with a similar expression to Hyang’s regretful words.

To Hyang and Sejong, especially to Hyang, Jang Yeong-sil was like ‘MacGyver’s utility knife.’ Even if I only made a rough concept drawing and handed it over, a proper blueprint and model were created before I knew it.

Most of Hyang’s many inventions, which are already considered legends in the world, were revealed to the world through Jang Yeong-sil’s hands.

“You have weakened rapidly since your last visit to our headquarters.”

“It’s largely my fault.”

Sejong shook his head at Hyang’s self-reproach.

Hyang continued his explanation by pointing fingers.

“Let’s see... The crown prince is 10 years old this year, so he has 4 years to come of age, plus at least 2 more years to complete the entire curriculum, and the time it takes to get married and see his ancestors... This is heaven. It’s up to you to decide, so let’s move on. In any case, 6 years from now will have to pass before you will be in charge of management of the research institute and Area 51, and won’t you have to endure there for at least 5 years before you can move on to proxy administration? Plus, it takes at least 5 years to watch Daejeongjeong... hmmm... at least 16 years? But if you’re going to set a time limit, wouldn’t it be better to just cut it to 20 years instead of cutting it prematurely? “Then it’s 20 years.”

Wan just blinked at the calculation of the scent. Of course, deep inside, I was furiously calculating to refute Hyang’s calculations.

‘shit! There are no empty corners! There’s an empty corner...’

Wan, who was furiously racking his brain to find a loophole, soon smiled in remorse.

“I will have to issue a ban on marriage throughout the empire soon.”

“Why the golden marriage order?”

“If the crown prince gets married early and looks after his ancestors, wouldn’t it be easier for him to do things from now on?”

“....”

Hyang closed her mouth at Wan’s words and grumbled inwardly.

‘If this continues, won’t child marriage become a royal tradition?’

Interestingly enough, the scent prediction came true. Even as time passed and late marriage became the trend, the imperial family promoted marriage as soon as a person became an adult.

Meanwhile, Sejong, who was sitting next to him and listening to the conversation between Wan and Hyang, burst out laughing.

“ha ha ha!”

‘Now this bastard knows how I feel! ‘The guy who always escaped like a loach ended up getting hit!’

“ha ha ha!”

It was Sejong who could not hold back his laughter.

* * *

Three months later, Hyang finally arrived at Shinji.

“It took four months even though I was on a sailboat... I guess I’ll have to work on a steam engine.”

The scent from the ship lightly relaxed and grumbled.

It was not a direct flight from Wonsan to Shinji, but a voyage that included time to visit the northern islands, including Daeseoldo, to meet residents and comfort officials. It took four months, including times when we were stranded due to bad weather.

However, even considering all that, four months was too long, and the company chose to improve the steam engine as a solution to this problem.

After arriving at Chosi, the bridgehead of Shinji, and resting from their travels, Hyang and his party soon began moving toward the east.

The good news was that there was a railway line from Chosi to Mishigama (Indian name for Michigan), the center of the east.

“What Tae Sang-tae placed the most emphasis on was the construction of railroads.”

“To properly digest Shinji, you definitely need a railroad.”

Hyang, who was nodding at the official’s explanation, looked at Jinpyeong, who was studying the map right next to him.

“What do you think is best to do?”

Jinpyeong, who was looking at the map, answered Hyang’s question right away.

“First of all, I think we need to expand the east-west crossing railway connecting Shinji and Misagama. Nowadays, iron horses travel on a single line. “Right now, there is only one iron horse going back and forth per day, so there is no big problem, but if we think about the future, we need to at least expand it to a double track.”

“That would be natural. “Then what’s the problem?”

Jinpyeong answered Hyang’s question right away.

“It’s a matter of manpower.”

“The problem is manpower, not budget?”

“There is no big problem with the budget because there is compensation coming from people, but manpower is a problem. Construction in the North is not yet finished, and more and more manpower must be sent to Suez. “We don’t have enough manpower.”

At Jinpyeong’s point, Hyang looked back at the officials present.

“It seems like the people who built this railroad will be fine, but are they keeping their workforce in good hands?”

“yes. Experienced people are kept in charge of maintenance. And if additional manpower is needed, we can increase the number as quickly as possible. “The people of Shinji love working on the railroad.”

In response to the official’s answer, Hyang immediately asked back.

“Is it a monopoly?”

“This is the exclusive store.”