Hi there! My na is Kirara and as you might have guessed, I absolutely adore everything that sparkles. My love for reading webnovels and light...
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After about ten days had passed, Hyang had fully regained her health. King Sejong summoned Soedori, who had been imprisoned in the palace.
“The crown prince has recovered. Are you confident that he won’t catch smallpox?”
“I am confident. It’s my own experience, and those who live with have also not caught smallpox.”
“This king is still worried. Therefore, I will administer the cowpox vaccine to all those in Hanyang who have not yet suffered from smallpox. Can you prepare enough for everyone?”
Soedori thought for a mont before answering Sejong’s question. “We would need at least 50 cows infected with cowpox.”
“Choose enough from the royal cattle you raise. How long will it take?”
“We will be ready within 15 days. However, cowpox lasts for a short ti, as little as a week and as long as ten days, so we need an exact date to proceed.”
“Be fully prepared and on standby so that you can proceed as soon as you receive a ssage from the royal dical center. And…” King Sejong paused for a mont, glanced at Hyang standing next to him, and continued, “I am appointing you to the position of Mokchambong (Chief of Shephards) at the royal pasture on Nureub Island.”
“I am deeply grateful for your kindness!” Upon hearing King Sejong’s words, Soedori deeply bowed. Although he was considered a commoner, he was now given a position closer to that of a low-ranking official.
“Go and prepare imdiately.”
“I shall obey your command!” Soedori, filled with joy, left the palace.
anwhile, King Sejong, who had returned to his quarters, looked at Hyang. “First of all, Crown Prince, congratulations on your recovery.”
“Thank you, Father.”
“However, I will not tolerate such incidents happening again. Be sure to report beforehand and obtain permission from the officials.”
“I will rember that, Father.”
Sejong then unknowingly muttered under his breath. “What a glib tongue… Oops!” Sejong glanced at the scribes in the room, but they were already busy writing. He then cleared his throat and continued speaking, “Although that Soedori seems confident that the cowpox vaccine will prevent smallpox, this king is still worried. Therefore, we will conduct an experint on the people in Hanyang. What do you think, Crown Prince?”
“It is a wise decision. However, I would like to add a few things.”
“Additions? Let’s hear them.”
“First, the royal physicians and their attendants should be the first ones to receive the cowpox vaccine. If the vaccine causes smallpox to spread, we will send out the vaccinated physicians and attendants. By doing so…”
“We can more confidently verify whether Soedori’s claim is true or false?”
“Yes, Father.”
“Hmm…” King Sejong, who was considering Hyang’s suggestion for a mont, looked back at the Minister of Personnel, who was in charge of the Royal Clinic.
“Once the preparation for the cowpox vaccine is sowhat complete, have half of the physicians and female dical practitioners at the Royal Clinic receive the inoculation first.”
“Half, not all of them?”
“Looking at the example of the new… I an, the Crown Prince, it takes at least two weeks to properly recover. So, I think it’s appropriate to divide them into two groups.”
“I will do so.”
Hearing the Minister of Personnel’s response, King Sejong looked back at Hyang. “Is there anything else you’d like to add?”
“Yes. When administering the cowpox vaccine, it would be better to visit each and every household personally and perform the inoculation, rather than calling people together.”
“And the reason is?”
“It’s because cowpox vaccination is unfamiliar. People are afraid of smallpox, but who would willingly step forward to receive a never-before-seen cowpox vaccine?”
“That’s true. So, let’s visit everyone personally and make sure they are inoculated? That makes sense.”
“In addition, when visiting to perform the inoculation, officials from the Ministry of Personnel should accompany and conduct a census.”
“Brilliant! What a clever strategy!”
King Sejong applauded Hyang’s suggestion. Conducting a census was truly a difficult task. Many commoners fled whenever a census was conducted to avoid taxes and labor services. As a result, even the capital Hanyang, where the royal palace was located, did not have a proper census.
“Killing two birds with one stone! What else would you like to add?” King Sejong, pleased with Hyang’s proposal, asked, his face beaming into a smile.
Hyang promptly responded to King Sejong’s question. “Your Majesty might not be convinced yet, but I am certain that this cowpox vaccine will be successful. Therefore, it is only natural to implent this cowpox vaccination not only in Hanyang but also nationwide.”
“That’s possible.”
“In that case, Your Majesty should receive contributions from the nobles in the provinces, as well as the high-ranking officials.”
King Sejong’s face imdiately grew serious at Hyang’s suggestion. “Receive contributions from the nobles?”
“Yes, Your Majesty. Just like smallpox, a cow that has been infected with cowpox once will not contract it again. This ans we must continually obtain new cows to be infected with cowpox. This alone requires considerable expenses. In addition, dispatching physicians, female dical practitioners, and officials to conduct the census also entails costs.”
“That’s true.”
At the suggestion of Hyang, not only King Sejong but also the ministers nodded in agreent.
“It’s difficult to ask the common people for money as well. Most of them are struggling to get by even after the spring season.”
“Sadly, that’s true. It’s all because of this king’s incompetence and lack of virtue.”
The ministers collectively bowed their heads at King Sejong’s self-bla. “No, Your Majesty! The common people know well of Your Majesty’s great virtue! It’s an inevitable natural disaster, so please don’t worry!”
“Don’t worry, Your Majesty!”
Hearing the ministers’ unanimous agreent, Hyang secretly clicked his tongue. ‘These nobles would normally bla the king’s incompetence… Is it different this ti?’
As the ministers’ conversation died down, Hyang continued, “How can we take money from the people in this situation? However, isn’t the situation different for the local landowners and aristocrats? Though it’s my personal opinion, if we collect the value of half a cow from the hundred-stone landowners, three cows from the thousand-stone landowners, and twenty cows from the ten thousand-stone landowners, we should be able to cover the costs.”
“Hmm…”
Not only King Sejong but also the ministers began to calculate the profits and losses in Hyang’s words. After a while, the Right State Councilor opened his mouth. “Although the Crown Prince’s idea is a good one, will they willingly give it up?”
“We have to make them give it up. If they voluntarily give it up beforehand, we can erect a monunt praising their virtue or grant them a plaque. If they don’t, we must collect it forcibly. If they still refuse until the end…” Hyang paused for a mont, his eyes cold and sharp, “…Then we can simply not protect the village they belong to.”
“It seems a bit harsh, doesn’t it?” the Right State Councilor pointed out, and the Minister of Personnel raised his voice in opposition, “It’s not harsh! Even just a hundred-stone landowner is the highest-ranking person in their village! If they are an aristocrat and an elder, they should naturally step forward as a matter of course! If they refuse that, they don’t deserve the title of an aristocrat! What kind of aristocrat only recites the classics but doesn’t act accordingly? They should practice what they preach!”
This ti, the Left State Councilor intervened, “But isn’t the cost the problem?”
“Even if the cows are expensive, can’t a hundred-stone landowner afford the value of half a cow? They just don’t want to pay!”
With the conflict between the ministers and the Minister of Personnel, the ministers began to divide into two sides and argue.
“Aristocrats should naturally contribute!”
“But the state can’t force them to do so!”
Watching the ministers’ argunt, King Sejong looked at Hyang with tired eyes. “You certainly have a talent for stirring up trouble in calm waters.”
“Thank you for the complint.”
“Does that sound like a complint?”
Upon this, Hyang showed a subtle smile, and King Sejong clicked his tongue softly, “Tsk!”
Seeing Hyang’s reaction, Sejong clicked his tongue softly again while watching the ministers’ debate and then clicked his tongue loudly, “Tsk, tsk, tsk!”
“Hmm! Ahem!”
When Sejong clicked his tongue, the ministers cleared their throats and straightened their postures.
“I have listened to your opinions well. Let’s discuss the issue of cost again after seeing the results of the preliminary test to be conducted in Hansung[simple_tooltip content=’Another na for Hanyang.’][1][/simple_tooltip]. The departnts of Personnel and Finance should thoroughly check and report everything from the census of households to the expenses incurred during the test. It seems better to discuss further after seeing the results.”
“We accept your command.”
As the issue of ‘vaccination for Hansung residents’ seed to be sowhat resolved, Hyang quickly opened his mouth. “Your Majesty, I have a request to make.”
“A request?”
As soon as Hyang ntioned ‘request,’ Sejong and the ministers were all on edge. This was because every ti Hyang made a request, a whirlwind of events ensued.
“… Is it absolutely necessary to make that request?”
“I believe it is essential.”
At Hyang’s answer, King Sejong let out a long sigh, “Sigh~. Go ahead and speak.”
“Yes. Firstly, I would like to talk about the Royal Infirmary.”
“The Royal Infirmary?”
“Yes. It was a subject brought up by the departnt of Personnel a few years ago, but the issue was that the physicians were only interested in passing the exam and getting promoted. As a result, they focused solely on morizing the books containing dical prescriptions and neglected the actual treatnt.”(Note 1)[simple_tooltip content=’Not sure, but the author inserted a footnote here: Sejong 3, March 18.‘][2][/simple_tooltip]
“I see, I rember that.”
Following King Sejong’s response, the Secretary of the Ministry of Personnel interjected, “Your Majesty, when I recall, we did have a public debate on that issue. At that ti, His Highness ordered that promotions be based on treatnt performance.”
“Indeed, I rember.”
King Sejong nodded and looked at Hyang. Hyang was currently holding the horse’s reins.
“At that ti, Your Majesty made a wise decision.”
“What was the problem then?”
“It’s the sa problem as this ti. There are many physicians, but there are still many illnesses they don’t know about, and many treatnts they don’t know.”
“I see. Then we must obtain more dical books from Ming.”
“New Chinese dical books can help, but they are not the answer. The mountains and rivers in northern kingdom are different from those in our Joseon, and so are the people. Therefore, during King Jeongjong’s reign, ‘Hotown Redies to Save Lives[simple_tooltip content=’향약제생집성방 (鄕藥濟生集成方, Hotown Redies to Save Lives) is a dical book from the Joseon Dynasty in Korea. The book was compiled during the reign of King Jeongjong and focuses on various redies and treatnts for illnesses using local herbs and dicines found in the Korean peninsula.
The primary purpose of this book was to provide practical and accessible knowledge on traditional Korean dicine and treatnts, catering to the specific needs and circumstances of the local population. This compilation recognized the differences between Korean and Chinese dicine and emphasized the importance of adapting dical knowledge to the unique conditions, resources, and people of Joseon.’][3][/simple_tooltip]’ was compiled. It must be supplented.”
“Supplent… That makes sense. What do you think, Minister of Personnel?”
Upon King Sejong’s question, the Minister of Personnel nodded in agreent, “I believe that the Crown Prince’s words are indeed reasonable!”
“Any other opinions?”
There was no one among the officials who contradicted King Sejong’s question.
“Good. Minister of Personnel, cooperate with the Royal Infirmary and Jiphyeonjeon (Royal Research Institute)[simple_tooltip content=’집현전 (集賢殿, Jiphyeonjeon) was an important institution in the Joseon Dynasty of Korea. It was established by King Sejong the Great in 1420 as a royal research institute and library. Its primary purpose was to foster the developnt of scholars and the study of various academic fields, including Confucianism, literature, history, science, and technology.’][4][/simple_tooltip] to supplent the dical books.”
“I accept your command.”
After deciding to supplent the ‘Hotown dicine Compilation for Saving Lives,’ King Sejong turned to Hyang. “Anything else?”
“Yes. I have observed the discussions of the King and the ministers regarding state affairs, and there was one problem.”
“What problem?”
“When a problem arises in the managent of state affairs, the ministers recall and reflect on similar cases from their mories. Isn’t that what just happened?”
“Indeed.”
“In particular, the elder ministers here have experience working in the previous dynasty.”
“That’s true.”
“Similar problems tend to repeat themselves. In as short as 10 years or as long as 30 years, not only the elder ministers but also young officials will have retired. What will you do then? When a generation without mories or experience to reflect on will manage the country’s affairs.”
“That would be problematic…” at Hyang’s point, Sejong answered with a serious face.
As Sejong beca serious, the Left State Councilor interjected, “Indeed, 30 years from now, old people like will have returned to the soil, and even these rosy-cheeked young n will have retired. However, policies and systems are like a flowing river that continues endlessly, so there will still be experienced people by that ti. Even if problems arise, they will be able to solve them.”
“Is today the sa as yesterday, and tomorrow the sa as today?[simple_tooltip content=’It is used to question whether the current situation remains the sa as before and whether it will continue to be the sa in the future.’][5][/simple_tooltip]” Hyang imdiately refuted the Left State Councilor’s words, which left the old man speechless.
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Kirara
Hi there! My na is Kirara and as you might have guessed, I absolutely adore everything that sparkles. My love for reading webnovels and light novels is just as bright and shiny, and I have a passion for bringing these stories to life through translation. If my translations are your cup of tea, kindly consider fueling my passion by purchasing a Ko-fi or subscribing for early access to advanced chapters of all my translated works.
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