Black Corporation: Joseon

Startled by the report that “The Crown Prince has committed suicide!”, King Sejong rushed out of his palace. Then, he met Hyang as he turned around the corner of the building.

“Uh? Father? Where are you hurrying off to?”

“It’s the Crown Prince!”

When King Sejong saw Hyang, he rushed towards him and examined his body all over.

“Why are you like this, Father?”

“Phew~. You’re not hurt anywhere,” King Sejong breathed a sigh of relief and looked at the messenger, who had followed him in a hurry.

“What? The Crown Prince committed suicide?”

“I received the report…”

Not only Sejong but also the rest of the ministers looked at the messenger, who had reported the news.

“Oh, eunuch! What’s the meaning of this!” the troubled messenger rebuked and turned to the servant who had reported to him, who was currently standing next to Hyang.

“Eunuch Kang! Speak up. Didn’t you tell me this? The gods are unjust!”

Upon messenger Oh’s words, King Sejong and the ministers all looked at the servant standing next to Hyang.

At that moment, the voice of Queen Soheon was heard. “Your Majesty! What’s going on? How could the Crown Prince have committed suicide!”

As the king, queen, and ministers all glared at the person in question, Eunuch Kang turned pale.

“You! Why did you even think to say something you shouldn’t have? Explain it now!”

At Sejong’s command, Eunuch Kang prostrated to the ground and opened his mouth, “Your Majesty! For heaven’s sake I have never told a lie! Have I ever made a false statement?”

When Eunuch Kang spoke, King Sejeong looked at him. He and his attendants who followed after him then turned their attention to Hyang to which the latter opened his mouth with a puzzled expression.

“Ah, perhaps Eunuch Kang misunderstood the treatment I received.”

“Treatment? Misunderstanding?”

Seeing King Sejong’s face showing complete incomprehension, Hyang turned his head back.

“Let me show you. You, come forward.”

“Yes? Yes! Your Highness!” In response to Hyang’s call, an elderly man among Hyang’s entourage who followed him came forward and bowed deeply to King Sejong.

“T-This lowly servant greets Your Majesty!”

“Who are you?”

“I am called Soedori, and I take care of the royal livestock in Neobeol Island 1.”

“Seodori?”

“My name means one who strikes cows well.”

Even as Sejong heard Soedori’s reply, his expression showed that he didn’t quite understand. Eventually, Sejong looked back at Hyang. “Crown Prince, explain the reason. Leave nothing out!”

“Yes, Father. In fact, while reading medical texts from the Northern Kingdom (China)…”

According to Hyang’s explanation, the course of events went as follows:

Records in Chinese medical texts from the Song and Yuan dynasties mentioned a practice called ‘Variolation’ to prevent smallpox. Not only in Chinese texts, but also in the medical texts of the Western barbarians, the variolation method was described. As Hyang delved deeper, both Chinese and Western texts stated that the variolation method had a high probability of failure. Variolation involved taking pus from a person recovering from smallpox and pricking it into the body of a person who had not yet contracted the disease or making a powder from the scabs and having the person inhale it through the nose.

Naturally, this method was very risky. Taking pus from a person who had not fully recovered had little effect, while in the opposite case, the person could immediately contract smallpox and face a life-threatening crisis. While reading medical texts that detailed the risks of variolation, Hyang found an unusual sentence in a Western text:

Among cowherds, there were a significant number of people who did not contract smallpox. The common factor among them was that they had contracted cowpox while tending to cows that had the disease. This is worth further investigation.

Upon discovering this sentence, Hyang immediately headed to the remote island to verify the facts. When Hyang arrived at the remote island, he gathered the cowherds. As expected, their faces were lined with wrinkles due to hardship, but all of them, except for one, appeared clean.

“Among those gathered here, raise your hand if you have suffered from the disease.”

At Hyang’s words, only one person raised their hand.

“Did you suffer from it after becoming a herder?”
“No, sir. I was like this before I entered the ranch.”

“Who is the oldest person here?”

Upon Hyang’s question, a man named Soedori came forward.

“Has the epidemic never occurred on this Neobeol Island and its surrounding areas?”

“No, sir. It happened at least once a year.”

“But why?” Hyang paused. It was because the old man named Soedori, who stood before him, seemed to know something. “You seem to know something. Is there any secret technique involved?”

“It’s not exactly a secret technique.”

According to Soedori’s explanation, the story was as follows: Soedori’s family had been raising livestock for the royal family since the time of King Gongmin of Goryeo. As Soedori grew older, he too began to raise cows.

One day, a cow that Soedori particularly cherished got stuck with an illness called cowpox. Although cowpox was not fatal to cows, there were cases where unlucky cows would die due to inflammation in their udders. Soedori took care of the cow without sleeping for days, but eventually, the cowpox was transmitted to him. Soedori suffered from a high fever for several days and went through a lot of hardship.

However, his father looked at him with a peaceful expression. “Son, you won’t have to worry about the evil spirits for the rest of your life.”

After recovering from his illness, Soedori asked his father about the reason why he said that. His father gave a simple answer, “I don’t know the reason, but if you get cowpox, the evil spirits won’t come for you.”

“I see. If that’s the case, why didn’t you tell a physician or the officials about it? Then many people wouldn’t have been bothered by the evil spirits then.”

Soedori answered Haeng’s question with a bitter smile. ” Do you think people would just accept it? Of course, I told the physicians, but all I got was insults and being chased away. They said how could such a trivial cow-caught disease could stop the likes of evil spirits?”

“So, you’re the only one who avoided contracting the disease?”

“Well, I’m also human… I couldn’t bear to see my family turn into lepers. So…”

Although Soedori trailed off, Hyang could deduce the rest. “You forcibly infected these people with the disease?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

At Soedori’s answer, Hyang clenched his fists tightly.

‘We’ve safely completed the human trials! We couldn’t eat, but we’re making progress! No, if we stop now, we’ll be cowards!’

“I need to try that remedy as well.”

“Your Highness!”

“Your Highness!”

The officials and guards who accompanied Hyang were shocked, but Hyang didn’t care.

“We’ll soon have to perform the royal procession, so hurry up. Is there a cow with the disease?”

“Since there are children who need to receive treatment every year, we intentionally infect at least one cow for them.”

“Excellent!”

—”…That’s why I received the disease’s pus.” Having finished speaking, Hyang examined King Sejong’s face.

King Sejong’s face was pale, and Queen Soheon was on the verge of fainting. There was no parent who could maintain their composure knowing their child, who seemed fine in the morning, had received an unknown treatment for a disease they had never heard of before.

“You, brat!” King Sejong, who shouted angrily, raised his hand, and Hyang immediately knelt down.

“Father, mother! How many people die of this disease every year? If we can save those dying people, what’s the problem?”

“There’s no reason for you to be the first to step forward! You are the Crown Prince!”

“Where is the distinction between noble and humble when it comes to human lives? And we have healthy people here already, so why are you scared?”

At Hyang’s response, King Sejong placed his hand on his forehead and sighed, “Sigh~. You, brat… Can’t you be quiet for just one day? Do you think you’ll get a boil if you do? Sigh~,” King Sejong, who sighed again, turned to Soedori. “So, what happens after receiving the disease’s pus?”

“For the next five days, His Highness will have a high fever, so it is not advisable to move. Then, boils will appear on the shoulder that received the treatment but do not pop them. Wait until they naturally form scabs. After about ten days, His Highness can get up and move around.”

“Is that so? Take this man into custody! But do not torture him, and make sure he is fed three meals a day.”

“Yes, Your Majesty!”

Following Sejong’s command, Soedori was taken away.

“If anything happens to the Crown Prince, I will immediately take your life. However, if your words prove true, I will bestow a great reward upon you.”

At Sejong’s words, Soedori bowed deeply and was led away to the prison by the guards. As Soedori disappeared into the distance, King Sejong looked at Hyang, who was still kneeling and tried to say something while pointing a finger at him. However, King Sejong held back his words and turned away.

“You will suffer for the next few days, so go and rest. The officials should take care of the Crown Prince wholeheartedly.”

“We accept your command.”

The officials who received King Sejong’s command led Hyang to the Eastern Palace. Following them, King Sejong gave another order to the ministers.

“Ministers, return to the side hall first. I will briefly observe the situation in the main hall before entering.”

“We accept your command.”

After the ministers who had paid their respects left, King Sejong looked at Queen Soheon. “Are you alright?”

“I am fine, Your Majesty. How are you?”

“Hoo…” Sejong answered with a long sigh. He gazed toward the Eastern Palace and continued speaking, “”I can’t determine whether that child will be a blessing or a curse to our Joseon. At times, he seems like a sage with no equal in the world, but at other times, he’s like a thunderbolt that would not be satisfied even if it struck a boulder for a hundred days…”

◈◈◈

Meanwhile, sitting in his room, Hyang chuckled as he examined a medical text written in Latin.

“So, only Jenner2 was the first to know about vaccination, huh…”

The medical text titled “A Treatise on Diseases” was written by an Italian monk whose name was unknown.

While managing cows with cowpox, cowherds showed similar symptoms to those of the infected cows. Based on my observations, these cowherds were not affected by smallpox during its outbreak. Although it piques my curiosity, it could be a simple coincidence. Especially since the doctrine states…

The monk who wrote the text ended it with a negative statement, quoting Catholic doctrine. In other words, the monk, like the physicians of Joseon, had reached the same conclusion.

‘How can the disease of humans be prevented by the disease of a beast like a cow?’

Hyang muttered to himself as he saw that both Eastern and Western doctors had reached the same conclusion in the medical texts he had reviewed for references.

“Didn’t Teacher Samcheonpo say that? Newton was not the only one who saw the apple falling. But only Newton left his name in history because he took a step further…….”

Hyang chuckled as he mulled over Teacher Samcheonpo’s words.

◈◈◈

As Soedori predicted, Hyang’s fever started rising that night.

“Have my court officials and royal physicians check and record the Crown Prince’s condition without missing a moment!”

Following King Sejong’s order, the court officials and royal physicians stayed close to Hyang and observed every single move. The physicians monitoring Hyang’s condition reported their findings to King Sejong and the ministers every morning and evening.

“According to the physicians, it’s just like what that Soedori guy said. If that’s the case, isn’t Soedori’s statement true? What do you all think?”

The ministers pondered over King Sejong’s question. After a while, Left State Councilor Lee Won spoke up, “Since the Crown Prince’s symptoms almost match what Soedori said, it seems that the secret technique Soedori mentioned is indeed effective.”

“That’s right. Then, it means we can prevent the epidemic… What about implementing it nationwide?”

King Sejong’s suggestion was met with opposition from Right State Councilor Jeong Tak. “I think there might be problems with carrying it out on the entire population without exception. It could be a mere coincidence.”

“Do you think it’s a coincidence, even though Soedori and his family have proven it over several decades?”

“The number is too small.”

“Hmm…” After a moment of contemplation, King Sejong reached a conclusion. “If the Crown Prince recovers completely, administer the cowpox vaccination to the palace women and the people of Hanyang. The number of people in Hanyang should be enough to determine whether it’s true or false.”

“We will follow Your Majesty’s command.”

The ministers unanimously responded to King Sejong’s order. They had no reason to object.

Translator’s Notes

 

Lol. Hyang’s giving headaches to both his parents in his previous and current lives.

Footnotes

“너벌섬” (Neobeol Island) is an island located off the coast of the Korean peninsula that was used to raise and care for animals owned by the royal family.[↩]Mostly known as Father of Immunology, and the one who discovered and created the world’s first vaccination.[↩]