Chapter 06

Winter, 1859 — Heungseon-gun Yi Ha-eung’s Residence, Hanseong

I brought over a plate, filled it with saltwater, and placed it by the window.

After three days, half the water had evaporated. After five days, almost all of it was gone. And after seven days, nothing remained but a layer of white powder at the bottom of the plate.

I wrapped the plate in a cloth.

My personal servant, Gak-sim, had been watching from the side. She asked,

“Young Master, what is that?”

“The most expensive plate in the world.”

Gak-sim’s eyes widened, but she did not ask anything more.

Winter, 1859 — Daejojeon Hall, Changdeokgung Palace

I sent everyone away except for one senior court lady from Daejojeon, who remained standing by the wall.

Inside Daejojeon, there were only Queen Dowager Sinjeong Jo, myself, and the court lady standing against the wall.

Queen Dowager Sinjeong Jo spoke first.

“What have you been studying lately?”

“I have finished the Four Books and Three Classics, and I am now reading Gyeongseyupyo.”

Queen Dowager Sinjeong Jo’s eyebrows rose slightly.

Gyeongseyupyo was a treatise on reforming Joseon’s institutions written by the Silhak scholar Jeong Yak-yong. It contained extensive material covering the entire administration of the country, including government offices, land, taxation, and the military. It was a weighty book for a twelve-year-old to be reading.

“What have you learned from Gyeongseyupyo?”

“I learned that for the country to become wealthy, the people must become wealthy first. And I also learned that to make the people wealthy, salt must come first.”

Queen Dowager Sinjeong Jo set down her teacup.

“You said salt must come first?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Queen Dowager Sinjeong Jo slowly tilted her head as she looked at me.

Her eyes said she wanted to hear more.

“Your Majesty, what happens if you put saltwater into a plate and leave it there?”

“When the water dries up, only the salt will remain.”

“Yes. One day, I put saltwater into a plate, and when the water disappeared, only white powder remained. Seeing that, I began to think.”

I paused for a moment before continuing.

For a long time, Joseon had produced salt by boiling seawater in large iron cauldrons using a method called jayeom. Because of this, a great deal of firewood was required, a lot of manual labor was involved, and the amount produced was inconsistent.

But if seawater were contained behind embankments in a wide, shallow area such as the tidal flats along the western coast, sunlight and wind would dry the water, allowing salt to accumulate naturally.

There would be no need to burn even a single piece of firewood. No cauldrons would be needed, nor fuel.

This method did not yet exist in Joseon, but a single experiment with a plate had proven the principle.

“The tidal flats along the western coast are wide and shallow. If we build embankments and trap seawater inside them, sunlight and wind will dry the water. Salt will form without burning even a single piece of firewood. If the entire expanse of the western coastal tidal flats could become a plate holding Your Majesty’s prosperity, then what would be impossible?”

Silence descended upon Daejojeon.

The way Queen Dowager Sinjeong Jo looked at me had changed.

It was not the gaze of someone impressed by my intelligence.

It was the gaze of someone calculating something.

“How do you know it is possible?”

“The plate proved it.”

“You would discuss matters of state based on a single plate?”

“I learned that something small must be proven first before something large can be moved.”

Queen Dowager Sinjeong Jo remained silent for a while.

“There is someone in the Pungyang Jo clan who owns land along the western coast.”

“I know, Your Majesty.”

“Did you say all this with that land in mind?”

“That is for Your Majesty to decide. I merely told you about the plate.”

Queen Dowager Sinjeong Jo gave a small laugh.

It was the first time I had seen that expression on her face.

“You are clever.”

“I am deeply honored, Your Majesty.”

Queen Dowager Sinjeong Jo called over the senior court lady standing by the wall.

“Send ten bolts of silk used by the Inner Court and twenty gama of rice to the residence of Heungseon-gun.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

I bowed deeply.

Inside, I had already finished the calculations.

If I sold the ten bolts of silk and twenty gama of rice, I would have enough money to buy the land in Gahak-ri.

Spring, 1860 — Daejojeon Hall, Changdeokgung Palace

Queen Dowager Sinjeong Jo summoned two elders of the Pungyang Jo clan.

The elders entered with their backs bent respectfully.

“Your Majesty, you summoned us?”

“Sit.”

Queen Dowager Sinjeong Jo took a sip of tea.

She did not hurry.

Keeping the other party nervous was one of Queen Dowager Sinjeong Jo’s methods.

“Does the clan own any land around the tidal flats on the western coast?”

“Yes, Your Majesty. We have several plots near Incheon.”

“Acquire more.”

One of the Pungyang Jo elders raised his eyes.

“What is the purpose of that land…?”

“It is land that produces salt.”

The room fell silent.

Queen Dowager Sinjeong Jo slowly explained the story of the plate.

If embankments were built and seawater contained within them, sunlight and wind would dry the water and produce salt. There would be no need to burn even a single piece of firewood. The entire expanse of the western coastal tidal flats could become salt fields.

The elder’s face hardened.

But a hardened face meant that the calculations had begun.

“Your Majesty, is that truly possible?”

“The plate proved it.”

“When you say ‘the plate’…”

“Try it yourselves. Put seawater in a bowl and leave it under the sun.”

The two elders exchanged glances before bowing once more toward Queen Dowager Sinjeong Jo.

“Move before the Haedong Kim clan notices.”

The elders bowed even more deeply.

Spring, 1860 — Servants’ Quarters, Heungseon-gun Yi Ha-eung’s Residence, Hanseong

Kang-soe, a servant of the residence, came carrying a sheet of paper.

“Young Master, it is the land deed.”

I unfolded the paper.

It was for three plots of barren hills in the Gahak-ri area of Siheung County, Gyeonggi Province.

The land had been purchased under the name of Kang-soe, a servant of the residence.

It had been bought using the money obtained by selling Queen Dowager Sinjeong Jo’s gifts, combined with the profits from the lignite business.

Kang-soe looked over the deed and asked,

“Young Master, what is on these hills? There is nothing there.”

“There is nothing there now.”

I folded the deed and placed it in a drawer.

“But when the time comes, there will be everything.”

Kang-soe tilted his head in confusion but did not ask anything further.

The plan was falling into place one step at a time, but I could not stop here.

I still had not fully figured out why Kim Ja-geun, leader of the Haedong Kim clan, had sent a letter to Heungseon-gun Yi Ha-eung.

Was it simply an attempt to win him over?

Or was Kim Ja-geun trying to obtain something from Heungseon-gun Yi Ha-eung?

I needed to know.

Only then would I be able to see the weakness of Kim Ja-geun, leader of the Haedong Kim clan.

There were three years left until King Cheoljong’s death.

Kang-soe spoke again.

“Young Master, we have run out of charcoal briquettes. We need to make more.”

“Mine more lignite from Gahak-ri. Every stone on that land belongs to us.”

Kang-soe’s eyes sparkled.

“Yes, Young Master.”

It was a barren-looking hill.

But beneath that hill was lignite, and the charcoal briquettes made from that lignite were gradually changing the markets of Hanseong.

Summer, 1860 — Heungseon-gun Yi Ha-eung’s Residence, Hanseong

Gak-sim came running in before the morning had even properly begun.

“Young Master, something terrible has happened.”

I closed my book.

“What is it?”

“There is an epidemic. People have started collapsing around Chilpae Market. They say three people died just this morning, and rumors have been spreading since yesterday evening that people are suffering from diarrhea and vomiting.”

An epidemic.

Horyeolja.

Cholera.

The infectious disease that had begun spreading in the autumn of 1859 was raging through the following summer.

This disease would eventually claim the lives of hundreds of thousands.

A horrifying period was approaching, when hundreds of people would die every day.

I knew this was coming.

The memories of my thirty-two-year-old modern self clearly remembered that in 1854, British physician John Snow had established a correlation between the water from a well in London’s Soho district and the outbreak of cholera.

Cholera spread through contaminated water.

Dirty well water, streams contaminated by human waste, and unwashed hands were all involved.

Boiling water killed the germs.

Burying human waste in the ground prevented it from spreading.

These were simple facts, yet the Joseon court did not know them.

It had not even attempted to find out.

Then I have to tell them.

“What does the court say?”

“They say they are going to summon a shaman and perform a ritual. They say it is because a ghost has entered people.”

I stood up and looked at Gak-sim.

“Call everyone in the residence. Servants, slaves, everyone living in the servants’ quarters. All of them.”

“Right now?”

“Right now.”

Summer, 1860 — Courtyard of Heungseon-gun Yi Ha-eung’s Residence, Hanseong

People gathered in the courtyard of the residence.

There were about twenty of them.

I stood before them.

At first, everyone looked bewildered.

But their expressions changed when I began to speak.

“Listen carefully to what I am about to say. You all know that an epidemic is spreading through the markets, right?”

Heads nodded here and there.

“The epidemic is not caused by ghosts. It is caused by dirty water.”

Murmur! Murmur!

A wave of unease swept around the courtyard.

“Do you know that sewage is flowing into the stream near Chilpae Market? If you drink contaminated water, you will catch the disease. No one in the households that did not use that well has fallen ill.”

A middle-aged servant cautiously spoke up.

“Young Master, how could it not be caused by ghosts? A person can be perfectly healthy one moment, then suddenly collapse, clutch their stomach, and die…”

“It may appear that a healthy person suddenly collapses, but they must have previously drunk dirty water or eaten something contaminated. If no one in this residence falls ill three days from now, that will be the proof. You do not have to believe me right now. Just follow my instructions.”

Everyone fell silent.

“Draw water from the wells right now and boil all of it. Do not drink even a single sip of unboiled water. Human waste from the latrines must be buried deep underground. Stay away from the streams. Wash your hands at all times. If you follow these four rules, you will not catch the epidemic.”

Their expressions showed that it was impossible to tell whether they believed me or not.

But I was the young master of the residence, and I had personally come forward and issued the orders.

They had no choice but to obey.

“Understood?”

“Yes, Young Master.”

Summer, 1860 — Reception Hall of Heungseon-gun Yi Ha-eung’s Residence, Hanseong

That afternoon, Heungseon-gun Yi Ha-eung summoned me.

Heungseon-gun Yi Ha-eung was sitting in the reception hall, opening and closing his folding fan.

The look in his eyes as he watched me was unusual.

“I heard you gathered the servants in the courtyard today and said something to them.”

“I told them how to prevent the epidemic.”

“I heard you said that boiling water before drinking it would solve the problem. On what basis did you say such a thing? Are you a physician? Have you read medical texts?”

“I have not.”

“Then?”

I looked directly at Heungseon-gun Yi Ha-eung.

“Father, do you know where the people who died around Chilpae Market got their drinking water?”

“What does that have to do with anything?”

“They drank water from wells near the stream. Human waste from the latrines is flowing into that stream. Every one of the people who died drank water from that well, while no one in the households that did not use that well has collapsed.”

Heungseon-gun Yi Ha-eung stared at me without saying anything.

His fanning stopped.

“Dirty water is the cause. If we stop the cause, we can stop the disease as well.”

“How could a thirteen-year-old know such a thing?”

“I observed it, Father.”

Snap!

Heungseon-gun Yi Ha-eung placed the fan down on his knee.

He did not seem convinced.

But he did not stop me either.

That was enough for me.