Black Corporation: Joseon

Chapter 687

Episode 687: Virtue never rests. (1)

A lot of things happened inside and outside the empire, but the empire was still working hard.

And among them, one of the places that worked the hardest and was most divided was Area 51.

…

_

_ The craftsmen standing behind them also had similar expressions on their faces and were whispering.

“The design is right, right?”

“You did it right. “The test product made by carving wood worked well.”

“And the researchers at the research institute said that in theory there would be no problem.”

As the conversation continued, the craftsman in front took a deep breath and placed his finger on the brass box.

“Then let’s get started!”

As he spoke, the craftsman looked at the numbers written on the paper next to him and began to turn the circular indicator attached to the box lid.

“6 4 3….”

After turning all the numbers on the first line, the craftsman turned the numbers on the lines below.

After turning the two rows of numbers, the craftsman finally checked the numbers coming out through the holes in the lid and the numbers written on the third row of paper, and clenched his fist.

“You got it right!”

“Hey!”

“at las!”

The craftsmen who were cheering came closer and moved on to the next step.

“Then check again!”

“It’s good! “Someone bring me some mountain branches and an abacus!”

Five days later, Hyang, who was working at Geunjeongjeon, received a visit from Wan.

“So what happened?”

In response to Hyang’s question, the craftsman who followed Wan into Geunjeongjeon politely held out a brass box.

“What is that?”

“Semtle is coming.”

“Semtle? “Bring it here and see.”

Hyang, who took the tray with shining eyes, shouted inwardly.

‘me! me! Have you seen this before? ‘I saw it on the Internet!’

What the craftsmen created was similar to ‘Pascal’s calculator.’

* * *

Even before the introduction of the Gyeongjang, the industrial and academic skills of Joseon’s noblemen and merchants were at a considerable level. One of the liberal arts that noblemen had to master was industry and academia, and there were many who studied industry and academia to relieve the stress they received from learning Confucian classics.

They learned industry-academia using industry-academia books imported from China as textbooks. The most basic was the Sangmyeong arithmetic method, and then I learned the Yanghwi arithmetic method and the industrial-academia enlightenment method. In particular, the level of enlightenment between industry and academia was so great that even higher order equations were introduced.

And these problems of industry and academia were solved by Joseon’s noblemen using mountain branches.

After establishing the research institute, Hyang introduced and distributed the abacus. It was judged that it would be better than Sangaji in the process of researching and solving more high-level industrial-academia theories and problems. In addition, as the economy develops, the abacus is also placed in the boom, where the units to be calculated increase exponentially.

However, the response from those in charge was more lukewarm than expected.

“Everything can be calculated using mountain branches, so why bother learning something new to use it?”

To that extent, Joseon’s noblemen were experts in the use of mountain branches.

However, as time passed, even Joseon’s mountainous area began to reach its limits.

Problems began to arise immediately from the Ministry of Finance, which was in charge of setting and distributing the empire’s revenue and expenditure budget.

‘You can feel safe if you check at least five times.’

The increased size of the empire’s governance has led to the above-mentioned words being circulated publicly.

And this was also true of the private sector.

In the process of calculating income and expenditure and adjusting the price according to the local price of silver, a kind of key currency, while trading with foreign countries such as Ming and Yugu, Seomla and Daewol, Sangaji began to show its limitations.

Lastly, even in the laboratory and Area 51, mountain branches began to show their limits. A miscalculation of a single number completely changed the results of the research and caused ships that were supposed to float to sink, which led to the need for a replacement for the mountain branches.

Astute craftsmen saw this social phenomenon and smelled money.

“There is an abacus, but the abacus also requires a person’s mental calculations! “There are limits!”

“If you make something that replaces eggplant and an abacus, you can make a lot of money!”

Soon, a research storm began among the empire’s metal and woodworking craftsmen to invent new means of calculation.

It wasn’t long before craftsmen learned what the most basic performance requirements were.

-Be able to add and subtract at least eight digits.

-You must be able to immediately check the number using the celestial scale.

-Accurate calculations must be possible through machine power, not human mental calculations.

-It must be large enough to be carried and fairly durable.

Craftsmen who learned of the above basic performance requirements spurred further research.

But the answer didn’t come out right away.

The artisans, tired of research, quietly turned their heads to Area 51.

“I think those monsters will come up with some kind of answer….”

“If even those monsters can’t make it, it must be something truly impossible, right?”

While such words were circulating outside, the craftsmen in Area 51 were also worried.

“I think there might be an answer to this…”

“What did we miss?”

“I just can’t figure it out…”

It was a situation where there was no easy answer, but the craftsmen of Area 51 had a secret trick.

It was Jang Yeong-sil.

The craftsmen, tired of struggling to find an answer, wrote a letter and sent it to Jang Yeong-sil. Although the contents of the letter were detailed, they were simple to summarize.

-Help me!

A few months later, the letter Jang Yeong-sil sent from Shinji contained just one line.

-You left the sawtooth, are you going to use it when you have to eat during a bad harvest?

“ah!”

“A truly master of sawtooth!”

Recalling the memories of Jang Yeong-sil, who even created a doll that moved automatically using springs and gears, the craftsmen began full-scale research based on the hints given.

Meanwhile, Hyang, who heard the story, could barely contain his hips shaking.

“You have to be patient! You have to endure it! I’ve finally reached the level where I can find and solve problems on my own! “You can add the spoonful later!”

While Hyang was barely able to endure the temptation, craftsmen completed a calculator similar to Pascaline.

* * *

Hyang, who was looking at the calculator with a happy expression, handed it back to Wan and ordered.

“I want to see how you use it. “The Left Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister of Finance and Economy are welcome to come and have a closer look.”

“Hwang Eun is devastated!”

Heo Hoo and the new Minister of Finance and Economy, Lee Gyeon-gi, came flying, appreciating the order from the village.

* * *

In the demonstration that followed, Heo Hu and Lee Gyeon-gi carefully checked how to use the sample. Heo Hu and Lee Gyeon-gi, who spontaneously said the numbers and checked the results of addition and subtraction, had expressions of half satisfaction and half dissatisfaction.

“It seems like the Ministry of Finance and Economy will most likely use it once it becomes available. What do you think?”

Heo Hu and Lee Gyeon-gi answered Hyang’s question by bowing their heads.

“There is no mistake about adding and subtracting large numbers, so it is a truly useful item, but I am a little disappointed.”

“I’ll buy it back. “It is useful, but it is a bit disappointing.”

“What is that regret?”

“When entering numbers, there will be a large error if you do not know the number of digits properly from the beginning. Of course, the problem can be easily solved by writing backwards from the lowest digits, but it is not easy to check the results.”

“The Left Deputy Prime Minister’s words are correct.”

After hearing Heo Hu and Lee Gyeon-gi’s words, Hyang nodded and muttered to himself.

‘It’s definitely difficult to recognize digits without the proper tools.’

Thinking that the two people’s point was correct, Hyang thought for a moment and then came up with an answer.

“Why not just color it? “Wouldn’t it be easier to recognize if we divided each number by four digits and colored them in a different color?”

Everyone who pondered Hyang’s words for a moment soon exclaimed with bright faces.

“ah! “Such a trick!”

“Then it will be so easy to recognize!”

“I can’t believe there was such a simple number!”

“Your Majesty indeed!”

“Your Majesty’s presence in the empire is truly a great blessing for the empire!”

The inside of Geunjeongjeon was overflowing with words praising the incense. Hyang raised his hand with an embarrassed expression.

“Please stop giving undeserved praise as it is too much for you. So does that mean it’s okay to paint that frame?”

“That’s right!”

“great. Now, let’s use the same method for the document. Wouldn’t it be easier to read a document if you put a ‘comma()’ every four digits? There is no need to combine numbers and consonants for no reason.”

Hearing Hyang’s words, the ministers closed their mouths again and were deep in thought.

Until now, the way to record numbers in official documents was in the format of ‘Cheonchuksu + Jeongeum’. For example, if it was ‘43567’, it was written as ‘43,567’.

While I was wondering which method would be useful, Kim Jeom came forward and answered.

“For numbers with large units, the current method is easy to use at a glance, but for small numbers, the suggestion you made seems to be more useful.”

Following Kim Jeom’s remarks, Wan gave an additional explanation.

“The current method is good in the eyes of the people, but for writing down the results of academic studies or precise calculations, it is better to use only Cheonchuksu.”

And after the ensuing discussion, Wan’s proposal was accepted.

The existing method was used to post gazettes on the bulletin boards of government offices for the public to read, but in other parts, the incense method was used.

And this method soon became fully established. It was because it was so convenient to use.

“I can’t believe I didn’t know this simple thing all this time!”

As a side note, through this process, the East-West reversal occurred once again. When indicating the number of digits, Asians are accustomed to dividing numbers into four digits. On the other hand, Europe was accustomed to cutting into three digits.

In history before the intervention of Hyang, the Asian region had to endure inconveniences and follow Western methods in the aftermath of the West East Point.

However, due to the butterfly effect caused by the scent, people in the West began to feel uncomfortable using Eastern-style digit expressions.

* * *

Hyang praised the craftsmen who made the frame and ordered them to prepare for its production.

Accordingly, Area 51 proceeded with the standard design and began preparing a bid to select the companies in charge of production.

While he was busy, an item was delivered to Hyang from Shinji.

And Hyang, who took the item, looked so helpless that he mumbled.

“Isn’t this guy really an alien?”

The object that Hyang picked up was a sewing machine made by Jang Yeong-sil.

The basic structure of the frame made by Jang Yeong-sil was similar to that made by the craftsmen of Area 51, using sawtooth.

However, the way the numbers were entered was extraordinary.

While the choice made by the craftsmen of Area 51 was to turn a circular instruction board, what Jang Yeong-sil created was a row of keyboards with numbers from 1 to 0 engraved on each number cell. Thanks to this, unlike the counting machines made by craftsmen, which had to constantly check the numbers in the number column and turn the instruction board, Jang Yeong-sil’s machine could be entered by simply pressing the numbered keyboard.

In addition, while the items made by the artisans of Area 51 could only be used for addition and subtraction, Jang Yeong-sil’s items were incredible items that could even be used for multiplication and division.