Gunpowder and Sanitation (5)

One of the most important skills a civil servant needs is the ability to cooperate on the job.

In truth, interdepartmental cooperation matters in any organization, but given the nature of civil servants, who must carry out their work according to fixed rules and procedures, the degree to which it is required is even greater.

As a civil servant of Joseon, I came to the Hanseongbu office today to request cooperation in promoting a new policy called ‘making saltpeter fields’ for the dramatic increase of gunpowder production.

“Left Deputy Mayor, I am Kim Dae-bung, a junior secretary of the Ministry of War. I have committed the rudeness of asking to see you so suddenly today, so please be generous and forgive me.”

“What is there to forgive? I know it’s because of urgent official business. Hanseongbu is a government office in Hanyang too, so how could I not understand that much? Don’t worry about it.”

The Hanseongbu office and the provincial governor’s office of Gyeonggi Province are both in Hanyang.

So they count as civil servants working in Hanyang—neither local civil servants like those at Seoul City Hall nor central government officials.

If he is the Left Deputy Mayor, that would make him, in Seoul terms, the deputy mayor, and by rank a senior second-rank high official, so there is no way he wouldn’t know about the series of events that rocked the court.

“Thank you for understanding. Since this is urgent and important, I’ll start by telling you why I came. To make saltpeter, we need human waste. So I’d like to receive Hanseongbu’s manpower and budget to gather it. Could you help me?”

Even if I’m one of the more capable people among the fifth-rank officials, showing up unannounced to meet the Hanseongbu Left Deputy Mayor without even setting an appointment in advance is rude...