Black Corporation: Joseon

Chapter 94

“So, how would you like the payment to be processed?” 

Through the translation of Hassan, the elders heard Hyang’s question. They responded to Hassan, who immediately conveyed their answer to Hyang. 

“They say they do not quite understand your question.” 

“Simply put, do you want to receive the payment in gold, or would you prefer to choose other goods in exchange?” 

After a moment, 

“We thank Your Highness. However, they ask if it would be possible to see the goods first before making a choice.”

“That’s a good idea. We can also verify the quality of the goods, can’t we, Minister of Taxation?”

At Hyang’s question, Kim Jeom nodded. 

“Yes, certainly, certainly.”

Seeing Kim Jeom’s very affirmative response, Hyang faintly smiled. 

‘You’ve finally got the hang of spending money… you’ve changed a lot.’

Just as Hyang said, the chief justices and administrative officials were slowly becoming addicted to the ‘pleasure of spending money.’

What they were spending on was not individual luxuries, but the strengthening of the nation’s capabilities.

The expansion of trade and subsequent increase in tax revenue, supplemented by a larger budget, was enhancing the central government’s control over the provinces.

Moreover, as evidenced in the recent subjugation of the Jurchens tribe, strengthening national defense also provided the momentum for their long-term strategy of ‘Eastern Expansion.’ Therefore, the administrators were gradually becoming addicted to ‘earning and spending money.’

“Let’s go see the samples.”

Hyang and the Minister of Taxation led the elders to a warehouse on one side of the palace. As they walked towards the warehouse, Hyang conversed with the Minister of Taxation.

“Right now, we’ve dedicated this warehouse, but if the glass craftsmen do their job well, we’ll have to build a better exhibition hall, won’t we?”

“Absolutely. I’ve been looking for a suitable location already.”

It had been a while since Hyang and the Minister of Taxation were in such perfect agreement.

The warehouse they entered was unlike any ordinary warehouse. In contrast to regular warehouses built with thick walls and heavy doors focused on securing goods, this one had large windows that let in ample light.

“Let’s go in.”

Upon entering, Hyang showed them the samples.

“These are different types of paper.”

“Oh~.”

The elders were quite impressed with the various paper samples. 

Papermaking technology had traveled from China to the Islamic world mainly through warfare and had become fairly common. 

However, the price remained relatively high. In Europe, although paper mills had been built, valuable documents were still written on parchment, and more commonly on papyrus. This state of affairs continued until the time of Leonardo da Vinci and Galileo Galilei.

Thus, the paper they were now looking at was of the highest quality, and the elders could not help but be interested.

That was the reason Hyang presented the paper first. Paper from Joseon was highly regarded even in Ming.

After Hyang initiated reforms to break the monopoly of the paper industry and instigate competition among civilian merchants, both the quality and variety of paper rapidly increased. Moreover, it became one of the lucrative export items in trade with Ming and foreign countries.

“The quality is good, but they say the price is a concern.”

“We have cheaper options too.”

At Hyang’s response, Hassan nodded knowingly.

“Are you referring to the yellow paper?”

At Hassan’s question, Hyang nodded. Hassan immediately explained to the elders, who showed interest.

“We can’t keep relying on these expensive papers! We must find an alternative!”

Yellow paper was a product Hyang painstakingly developed to meet the growing demand for paper in the research institute and Area 51.

While traditional Hanji paper¹ could be recycled by washing, the low rate of recycling at the research institute and Area 51 burdened the finances.

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Eventually, Hyang came up with a new ‘hybrid.’ 

Instead of using traditional mulberry, he used common miscellaneous trees. After pulverizing the trees into small pieces with a mechanical shredder, he boiled them to make pulp. The traditional manual papermaking process was replaced by mechanical methods.

“Right now, we’re using mechanical power, but as soon as steam engines are completed, we’ll switch immediately!”

“While it’s not as high-quality as the paper made by craftsmen, it’s sufficiently usable. Especially, the production cost is very pleasing.”

Upon calculating the quality and production cost, Jeong Cho  and Jeong Inji, along with Lee Cheon, made the passing evaluation, and Hyang immediately took action.

Hyang bought nearby land in Area 51 and built a large paper mill.

The characteristic of the paper Hyang made was that it was yellowish, as its name ‘Hwangji'² suggests.

“Bleaching is possible, but what about environmental pollution? I don’t know about that part either.”

Even though he was knowledgeable, Hyang didn’t know everything, so he completely omitted the bleaching part. As a result, yellowish paper was produced.

When Hwangji was mass-produced, both the research institute and Area 51 were liberated from their paper problem. Also, upon receiving a report about Hwangji, King Sejong immediately summoned his ministers.

“What do you think about replacing papers for general office use with Hwangji?”

“It’s a truly wise decision!”

As soon as King Sejong spoke, Minister of Taxation, Kim Jeom, praised the idea enthusiastically.

Ultimately, due to Hojo’s fervent approval, Hwangji was used in the royal court, and later even in provincial administrative agencies.

Over time, among commoners, Hwangji began to be called ‘Akji’

Among the papers sent from government offices, good news—like being awarded—came written meticulously on high-quality paper, attached to a silk scroll. On the other hand, bad news—like paying taxes, appearing in court, joining the military, or engaging in labor services—came written on yellowish paper.

After checking the quality and price of the yellow paper, the elders immediately decided.

“The quality is good, and the price is reasonable; this is certainly profitable!”

“Even considering the shipping costs to our hometown, we will still make a profit!”

Although they were resolved, the elders did not make an immediate decision.

“Is there any other product?” they asked.

“Of course, there is.”

‘If we didn’t have other goods, we wouldn’t be merchants,’ they thought.

At Hyang’s gesture, an officer from the revenue service opened the lid of a box next to him.

“It’s called soap,” said Hyang, introducing the product.

***

Soap was a by-product obtained during the process of extracting glycerin for making nitroglycerin. Looking at the first-ever soap, Hyang chuckled.

“It’s ironic. Typically, you make soap to obtain glycerin, but I did the opposite.”

The first soap had an ugly, unappealing color. Initially named Sukgan, which means alkali, due to its rock-like appearance, it was soon renamed to Bijo (soap) since it removed skin issues and was made from fats.

This newly-born soap went up to Sejong, who was suffering from a skin disease at that time. The soap helped dramatically improve Sejong’s condition.

“It’s a wonderful product! Produce it in large quantities immediately; many commoners are suffering from skin diseases.”

“As you command!”

Hyang confidently replied to Sejong’s order, as he had just figured out how to efficiently extract soybean oil.

However, when actually using soybean oil, they discovered the yield was low.

“Why?”

While searching for a reason and solution, Hyang discovered that used cooking oil had a higher yield.

“So, that’s why they used waste cooking oil?”

Although he found a solution, it was an incomplete one.

“Traditional cooking doesn’t use much oil. We can’t just fry pancakes every day, nor can we waste good oil…”

While pondering a solution, Hyang saw some chicken porridge that came from the royal kitchen and snapped his fingers.

“This is it!”

He immediately chose one of the royal chefs to create ‘fried chicken’.

“It’s delicious,” said Sejong after tasting the dish, and it soon became one of his favorite foods.

“Since it’s oily, let’s also fry some garlic with it.”

“Understood.”

Fried chicken was not just popular with Sejong. Soldiers and officers in Area 51 loved it, too. Whenever chicken was on the menu for dinner at the district’s communal dining hall, some people would even skip lunch to save room.

Due to its immense popularity, the royal poultry farm on Nobeol Island began raising chickens on a large scale.

It wasn’t just limited to Nobeol Island.

Hearing rumors about fried chicken, some merchants sought out Hyang, knocking on the doors of Area 51.

“We’d like to obtain the recipe for fried chicken and the oil,” they said.

Upon hearing this, Hyang immediately summoned the revenue officer. Once seated, the officer went straight to the point.

“How much are you willing to pay?”

Thus, the consumption of soybean oil increased, enabling mass production of soap through the extra waste oil that was generated.

***

After listening to how to use soap and actually using it, the elders nodded.

“It’s a product that’s worth its value. But I want to know why one has a scent and the other doesn’t.”

“The scented one is for washing your face and bathing, and the unscented one is for laundry.”

Hearing Hyang’s answer, the elders nodded, when suddenly one elder urgently shouted, ‘Goryeo!’

After listening to the elder’s words for a while, Hassan interpreted for Hyang.

“He’s asking if you can sell spices.”

At Hassan’s words, Hyang smiled.

“Ah, you know well. Since the era of the Samhan, spices have been famous…”

Spices and aromatic oils were among the rare luxuries around the world. The Korean peninsula also heavily used them since the ancient Goguryeo era.

Being frequently used, they became one of the main trade goods even during the Goryeo era.

Massive profits were made by importing raw materials from China and exporting processed products. And these exported spices flowed into Islamic regions.

Hyang pointed to the ceramic jars and small boxes displayed on one side.

“The aromatic oils are in there, and what’s in the boxes is scented powder.”

Upon hearing the explanation, the elders took out the stopper from their jars to smell it, or picked up a little scented powder to confirm its scent, nodding their heads.

“They say the quality is very good.”

“Of course. These were made by recognized artisans.”

Listening to Hassan’s interpretation, the elders nodded. Their eyes were fixed on their jars as they returned them to their places.

For a while, the elders who were staring blankly at the jars started talking with Hassan.

At the end of the brief conversation, Hassan interpreted for Hyang.

“They’re asking if they can purchase just the jars.”

“We don’t sell them separately, but…”

Hyang signaled again to an official. At his gesture, the official moved. There were wooden boxes that looked precious at a glance, stacked up diagonally. The official carefully opened the lids of the boxes.

“Wow!”

Seeing the contents of the boxes, the elders exclaimed. Hyang said to Hassan,

“Ask them whether they prefer celadon or white porcelain.”

Upon Hassan’s interpretation, the elders unanimously answered. Hassan smiled at their response.

“They say both.”

“Hahaha!”

Hearing that, Hyang laughed heartily.

In the end, the elders not only received their purchase payment in goods instead of gold but also spent all the funds they had brought to purchase goods.

What they focused on buying were toiletries, spices, and pottery.

Checking the quantity, Minister of Taxation Kim Jeom said to Hassan,

“The requested quantity will be delivered within three days.”

“Yes.”

Upon hearing Hassan’s interpretation, the elders expressed their gratitude. Hyang said to Hassan,

“Also explain that this time we’re sending it as a gesture of gratitude, but from next time there will be tariffs. Let them know beforehand to avoid confusion later. Also, tell them they can’t buy goods without a trade license.”

“Yes, will do.”

Hassan immediately interpreted, and a response came shortly after.

“They’re asking about the tariff rate and how to obtain a trade license.”

“When the goods are delivered, we’ll let them know.”

Shortly after, Hassan interpreted the elders’ answer.

“They’re asking for the benevolence of the king.”

“I’ll discuss it with the king.”

Three days later, the goods arrived at the Islamic community. As the elders and those who came with them checked the quantity and quality of the goods, Hassan took out a scroll and presented it.

“We’re giving it to you as a gesture of gratitude this time. When you come next, purchase a license and pay the taxes.”

“How much?”

“For one time, it’s 50 gold pieces, which is 500 ducats. For a two-year license, it’s 2000 ducats. The purchase tax rate is 1%, and the selling tax rate is 1.5%.”

Hearing Hassan’s answer, the elders huddled and exchanged opinions.

“It seems a bit expensive?”

“Considering the goods we’re taking, it seems reasonable.”

“It’s not reasonable! It’s really cheap! Didn’t he say that without a license, we can’t buy goods? That means our family alone can monopolize it!”

“Ah, right!”

Having reached a conclusion, the elders said to Hassan,

“Convey our gratitude for the benevolence to the king and prince of Joseon. Tell them we’ll return as soon as possible.”

“Understood.”

As soon as Hassan’s words ended, the person in charge of inspection responded.

“Everything’s fine!”

“Then let’s go back to the ship as quickly as possible!”

***

The ship carrying the elders sailed back at full speed. The sailors who had been promised rewards did their utmost to keep moving.

Due to supply issues, they reduced the number of ports they had to pass through by taking on as much supplies as possible each time they docked.

Whenever they encountered headwinds, they would break the routine of resting at nearby ports and instead move zigzag, never stopping.

As a result, the only ones who suffered a loss were the pirates who had ambushed them. They always managed to escape the pirates’ ambush by moving more swiftly than anticipated.

Thanks to their efforts, when they returned to their homeland, they made an enormous profit from the goods they had brought from Joseon.

“Excluding the initial capital, it’s 72,000 ducats! That’s three times the profit!”

“Prepare a ship to Joseon immediately!”

It was the birth of the ‘Great Eastern Trade Route,’ which not only stirred up the Islamic regions but also excited merchants across the Mediterranean.

1. Paper made from bark of mulberry trees. It’s expensive.[↩]
2. Paper made from a mixture of bamboo, straws, and paper mulberry barks.[↩]