The data compiled by the surveyors in Suez was immediately delivered to the empire via imperial warships and merchant vessels arriving at Suez.
Based on this delivered data, the Railway Bureau’s budget department staff began calculating cost estimates, while the construction team researched construction methods.
“As expected, even excluding everything else, dealing with this sand remains the problem.”
“Yes, sir.”
The subordinate nodded at the department head’s words.
“Yes, sir. The construction department says they plan to apply the method used for laying tracks in the northeastern forest region.”
“The northeastern forest method? Hmm…”
At his subordinate’s words, the budget department head stroked his chin in thought.
***
*Flashback*
When first laying railway tracks, the most challenging region was the northeastern area – specifically, laying tracks from the Tumen River to Dongbing Harbor and connecting tracks from Dongbing Harbor to the northern forest region.
This railway network would then continue to extend both west and east.
The ultimate goal was to connect railways all the way to the Great Northwestern Lake – now Lake Baikal – and the Wolwol Peninsula – now the Kamchatka Peninsula – whose locations had been confirmed by Joseon’s expedition teams at the time.
Laying tracks from the Tumen River to Dongbing Harbor posed no major difficulties except for the bitter winter cold, as solid ground continued along the coastline leading to Dongbing Harbor.
The problem was the railway cutting through the forest region north of Dongbing Harbor.
Laying tracks through dense forest to the Great Lake was not as easy as one might think.
The soil quality in the forest region was terrible – ground where feet sank deep into leaf mold accumulated over an immeasurable time. Beyond the forest region lay uninhabited areas where people were hard to find. And when the weather warmed, the ground that had been frozen solid in winter turned muddy, creating swamps and wetlands everywhere.
When overlapping problems with difficult solutions emerged, those in charge of construction at the time showed skeptical reactions.
“Do we really have to lay tracks here?”
“Should we just make a detour?”
The detour option came up, but the Liaodong region at this time was under Ming control.
In the end, even the great Jinpyeong wore a troubled face as he sought out King Sejong and Hyang.
“What would be the best course of action?”
“Hmm…”
Seeing Jinpyeong seeking an answer, Sejong wore a difficult expression. Sejong had earned Hyang’s evaluation as ‘exceptional’ by showing genius in politics, literature, Neo-Confucianism, and even music. But even Sejong couldn’t immediately find an answer to this problem.
Finally, Sejong chose the easy way out.
“What does the Crown Prince think?”
At those words, Hyang grumbled internally.
‘Ah! Why me!’
However, not only Sejong but also Jinpyeong and the ministers were all looking at Hyang. After desperately racking his brains, Hyang’s face brightened as he spoke.
“We just need to dig as deep as possible.”
At Hyang’s words, Sejong immediately objected.
“Of course you dig to lay tracks. And dig deep at that. But that’s the answer?”
Hyang nodded at Sejong’s point.
“We dig deeper than when laying tracks on normal ground. Then we build bridges like the railway bridges over the Han River.”
“Huh?”
“What?”
At Hyang’s answer, Sejong’s expression suggested he understood something, while others wore completely bewildered expressions.
Seeing people’s expressions, Hyang continued.
“There’s an old saying that ‘A tree with deep roots doesn’t fall in the wind.’ The reason the massive trees in the northeastern forest region can stand straight without falling is because they’ve rooted in solid ground that can firmly anchor their huge bulk. In other words, this means that even if the topsoil quality is terrible, the subsoil is solid. So, we dig until we reach solid ground. Then we erect pillars on that foundation and build railway bridges on top. If we then fill the remaining space with soil, the tracks will remain intact regardless of whether the ground freezes or turns to mud.”
“Ah!”
Jinpyeong and the ministers let out exclamations of admiration at Hyang’s explanation.
“Though it will take some time, it seems like the best method!”
“As expected of the Crown Prince!”
Seeing not only Jinpyeong and the ministers but also Sejong expressing admiration, Hyang let out a small sigh of relief.
‘Whew… Maintaining this image is really hard!’
And so, railway construction in the northeastern forest region began using Hyang’s proposed method.
The workers mobilized for construction began digging the ground before them deeply, unconditionally deeply.
“How long do we keep digging?”
“How should I know? They just said to dig until they tell us to stop.”
While grumbling like this and digging for quite a while, the workers discovered the permafrost layer deep below.
“It’s still frozen even though the weather’s warmed?”
Upon discovering the permafrost layer, Jinpyeong and the officials soon brightened.
“This is where we start!”
And so they began erecting piers and bridges with iron-reinforced bamboo on the permafrost layer, filling them with gravel before laying tracks.
As a side note, in the history before Hyang’s intervention, Imperial Russia used a very similar method when constructing the Trans-Siberian Railway.
Naturally, it consumed manpower and budget like a swamp, and the construction period took several times longer compared to other areas.
These difficulties could be resolved once steam-powered excavators and tractors were created and deployed. However, it remained a difficult section and one that made Finance Ministry officials grab the backs of their necks in frustration.
***
After considering the situation upon hearing the proposal to ‘use the construction method used in the northeastern forest region,’ the department head soon reached a conclusion.
“If it’s an opinion from the construction team who knows railway laying best, that must be the answer. Alright! Bring me an estimate based on the costs for that construction method!”
“Yes, sir!”
A month later, Kim Jong-seo visited the railway construction office.
“I hear the expected estimate is ready?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“Let me see it.”
“Yes, sir.”
After receiving the estimate from the railway construction vice president, Kim Jong-seo suddenly looked around and asked.
“By the way, is Duke Jinpyeong still in the north?”
“Yes, he is.”
At the vice president’s answer, Kim Jong-seo clicked his tongue softly.
“Tsk! What’s so good about such a desolate place… Seoul is always the best…”
While grumbling like this and checking the numbers in the estimate, Kim Jong-seo shook his head slightly.
“These numbers are perfect for getting cursed at…”
“Should we reduce them?”
“No, we need to increase them. I’ll report to His Majesty first.”
Kim Jong-seo gathered the estimate and headed back to Gyeongbok Palace.
***
“This is the first estimate prepared by the railway construction office.”
“Let’s see.”
Hyang, who received the estimate from Kim Jong-seo, lightly furrowed his brow at the numbers.
After reviewing the numbers and items several times, Hyang turned to Kim Jong-seo.
“What does Your Excellency think?”
“I think it’s too cheap.”
“I think the same. Tell them to rewrite it and bring it back.”
“I receive Your Majesty’s command!”
***
Returning to the railway construction office, Kim Jong-seo returned the estimate to the vice president and delivered the imperial order.
“His Majesty evaluated that the amount was calculated excessively low. Calculate it again.”
At Kim Jong-seo’s words, the vice president showed reluctance.
“Even now there are internal evaluations saying we’re overcharging considerably…”
“Sigh…”
At the vice president’s words, Kim Jong-seo let out a short sigh and continued.
“Look here. Do you know where this construction is taking place? It’s far-off Suez, Suez. A place that takes at least three months by ship to reach.”
“Isn’t it two months?”
“Do you think ships can maintain speed while loaded with those heavy metal pieces?”
“…”
“Even with the size of Challenger-class warships or merchant vessels, it’s unreasonable to transport entire iron horses. Then we’ll have to disassemble the iron horses, right?”
“That’s correct.”
“Then craftsmen who can assemble the iron horses on site must go too, right?”
“Yes. And we’ve already factored in that part…”
“What if they fall ill in an unfamiliar and harsh land? There are treatment costs, costs for sending replacement personnel, and the time consumed in that process should be counted as costs too, right?”
“We’ve already applied that part too…”
“I’m saying add more generously. Would you trust those foreigners’ medicine?”
“Ah…”
Only then did the vice president nod.
Seeing this, Kim Jong-seo continued his explanation.
“The same goes for the iron horse part. You’ll use iron horses to transport materials as you go up north from Suez, right?”
“Yes, sir.”
“According to the report, the freshwater quality there is that bad? That means many iron horses will break down before proper operation, doesn’t it? Then, we need to generously estimate costs for repairing those iron horses. And costs for cases where they’re beyond repair and need to be scrapped and replaced.”
“We anticipated that part too…”
“That anticipation is too stingy. Didn’t you set the standard just by looking at the phrase ‘poor water quality’ written in the report? Neither you nor I know just how bad it really is, right? So we need to estimate as generously as possible. Don’t you agree?”
“… Yes, sir.”
“And the same goes for the tracks the iron horses run on. Won’t the tracks wear down from constantly carrying such heavy materials? Then we need to generously estimate costs for replacing those parts too. How quickly will they wear out with sand overflowing everywhere?”
Kim Jong-seo continued explaining in detail why they had estimated too low.
“Now you understand well why His Majesty gave the order, right?”
“Yes.”
“Then revise it again. Two days should be enough, right?”
At Kim Jong-seo’s words, the vice president’s face turned pale.
“You need to give us at least six days…”
“The calculator does all the calculations, so what takes so long? Submit it within three days.”
“…Yes, sir.”
“Then good luck!”
Having passed on the work, Kim Jong-seo rose from his seat and leisurely left the office. Watching Kim Jong-seo’s back as he walked casually toward his carriage, the vice president grumbled.
“Does he think the calculator is omnipotent? This means more overtime work again. But we can’t just write it carelessly… Sigh…”
The vice president let out a long sigh. Sejong and Hyang had a common characteristic. They had an uncanny ability to pick out things done sloppily. And once caught, that’s when the wailing began.
Meanwhile, the budget department staff who were hit with an unexpected overtime bomb shook their heads.
“Whoever it is, they’re definitely going to get overcharged!”
At the same time, Kim Jong-seo, riding in his carriage toward Injeongjeon Hall, looked out the window and strengthened his resolve.
“Go as quickly as possible, finish as quickly as possible, and return! No one can interfere with my Seoul life!”
***
Three days later, Kim Jong-seo visited the railway construction office again.
“Let me see…”
Looking at the revised estimate, Kim Jong-seo severely furrowed his brow.
“Still a bit low…”
“We calculated with maximum allowance!”
“Still too low. Let me have that gold brush.”
After receiving the gold brush from the vice president, Kim Jong-seo changed some numbers in several sections and then changed the first digit of the final amount.
“Now it looks better. Make a clean copy and submit it.”
“…Yes, sir.”
Shortly after, the estimate was resubmitted with the numbers Kim Jong-seo had changed.