Black Corporation: Joseon

Episode 986: Clear-Eyed Madman (11)

Ten days passed and a huge sculpture was created at the entrance of Seokguram Grotto.

“Huh…..”

The masons of the Empire Seonggonggam, who had gathered to support the repair of Seokguram Grotto, looked amazed when they saw the huge sculpture in front of them. The sculpture, which was shaped like an open book, was worthy of being called a ‘masterpiece’ in itself. Only when creating the first large shape did he borrow the help of his students and masons, and all subsequent processes were carried out by Michelangelo alone.

“The book that is wide open and the book support that supports it are all one… How… This is ridiculous…” Do-byeon

(都邊首), who oversees the left and right sides of the Seon Gong-gam’s mason organization. Jang Mal-ryong continued to express his admiration.

“It reminds me of an old man who served me when I was a baby mason and had just tasted stone powder. He was the one who handled the hard granite as if it were clay…”

Jang Mal-ryong sat down on the ground with a very tired face. Looking at Michelangelo drinking water, I recalled the distant past.

“He created that huge stone object by himself…”

Jang Mal-ryong was not the only one who admired the plaque created by Michelangelo. Not only the Seongonggam’s stone master, but also the recorders sent to record and the eunuchs sent by the county could not keep their mouths shut. And on one side, Michelangelo’s students were looking at him with a mixture of admiration and pride.

‘He is truly a teacher! Who would believe that a master like that is around the same age as me?’

‘Did you see it? Did you see it? He is my teacher!’

This was also the case for European painters and painters who recorded this scene in pictures.

‘In just 10 days…’

‘Da Vinci was amazing, but this guy is no slouch either.’

Meanwhile, Michelangelo, who was sitting on the ground catching his breath, was relieved to see people admiring the plaque.

‘It looks like you passed the first hurdle…’

* * *

Michelangelo decided that being asked to carve such a huge block of granite and make a plaque was clearly a test of the situation.

‘What I handled in Italy was marble, so you’re testing whether I can handle granite as well! ‘If you don’t give me even the slightest satisfaction, I’ll fire you right away!’

If he had been Michelangelo in Italy, he would have thrown down his sculpting knife and left the scene as soon as he was tested like this.

“What are you looking at me for?”

And Michelangelo’s reputation was so high that this was taken for granted. However, Michelangelo, who came out to tour Seokguram Grotto, could not miss this.

‘It is nothing short of worthy of being called a masterpiece of masterpieces! I cannot pass on the honor of repairing such a masterpiece to someone else!’

That is why Michelangelo did his best to carve the plaque. And in return for that effort, I was able to treat granite like marble for a while.

* * *

Michelangelo passed the ‘first gate’ that he had not even thought about before and began repairing Seokguram Grotto in earnest. During this process, Michelangelo continued to cooperate closely with the masons of Seongonggam, especially Dobyeonja Jang Mal-ryong. The repair of Seokguram Grotto was a large-scale project.

“You can’t call it repair by just carving out a few stones and adding more, right?”

“Send it like that.”

“Hmm….. I guess we’ll have to cut down the mountain first.”

Jang Mal-ryong looked embarrassed at Michelangelo’s words.

“Then it would be quite a big deal, and I think we need to get permission first.”

“Do I need to get permission again?”

“budget.”

“Ah…”

And so the related request went up to Seoul. Five days later, a document was delivered from the prefecture and township. The current document was simple and clear.

-Permitted. A representative from the Ministry of Finance and Economy will come.

“And Tae Sang-tae…”

After checking the document sent by Hyang, Michelangelo and Jang Mal-ryong let out a long sigh.

“Whoa. I’m in the middle of a mountain.”

-Record all disassembly and reassembly processes with pictures and documents.

– Be sure to record where repairs were made and how they were repaired.

-Be sure to keep this in mind. If it was divided into 100 parts during the disassembly process, all 100 parts must be included in the restoration process.

If there are any parts left over, dismantle them all and start again.

“It would be better to build a new Seokguram Grotto.”

Michelangelo nodded to Jang Mal-ryong’s complaint. However, there was a reason why the scent was so picky.

“The evaluation of the restoration work carried out during the Japanese colonial period was such that there was a saying, ‘It was worse than not done at all.’ We have already hired experts to do the work, so we need to do it properly.”

And Hyang’s motivation brought about a stir at the scene.

“I’m offended, but I think this is beyond the point of being picky.”

The eunuch sent by the fragrance immediately responded to Michelangelo’s complaint.

“Tae Sang-tae said this. ‘The repair of Seokguram Grotto does not end just this once. As time goes by, repairs will be needed again. At that time, future generations need something to refer to. What you are doing now is not just repair, but a path for future generations. He said, ‘It is to clean the face.’”

At the eunuch’s words, Michelangelo and Jang Mal-ryong immediately returned to the workshop.

“If I don’t want to be criticized by future generations, I have to do it right.”

“Right.”

* * *

Michelangelo and Jang Mal-ryong were once again full of enthusiasm and devoted themselves to their work, but soon clashes of opinions arose here and there. The area where the most conflict occurred was various scientific knowledge applied to Seokguram Grotto.

The best example of this conflict of opinion was the floor slab issue. There was a conflict of opinion between the two over whether or not condensation had been intentionally created on the floor.

“You said humans did this on purpose back in the day? That’s ridiculous! This just happened because the underground water flow path changed!”

“No matter how you look at it, it seems like it was done on purpose. The water vein doesn’t change that often.”

As the conflict of opinion between the two sides arose, the eunuch who saw this immediately delivered urgent news to Hyang. And less than two days later, the scent appeared in Gyeongju. Hyang, who visited the repair site, listened carefully to the opinions of Michelangelo and Jang Mal-ryong and came to a conclusion.

“I think what Do-jae-yeon said is right?”

“Haona…..”

“I know very well what you want to say.”

Hyang interrupted Michelangelo, who was about to retort, and continued his words.

“Have you ever seen the Colosseo in Rome?”

“yes.”

“Can’t you believe that such a huge building was built more than hundreds of years ago?”

“…..no.”

“Let’s get rid of the prejudice that people in the past had less talent than they do now. There may be more skills and knowledge that have been lost. Don’t forget that.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

After sorting out the situation, Hyang smiled and told a joke that wasn’t a joke.

“You’re not the only one who has that question. Do you know about the pyramids?”

“Yes, I know it is a huge building in Egypt. I know that many luxury people still go to see it.”

“It is said that the pyramid was a famous sight even in the ancient Greek and Roman times. The Greeks and Romans who visited the pyramid at the time said the same thing, right? ‘No, they built this in the long, distant past? How?’”

“Ah…”

After the incense was cleaned up, Seokguram Grotto repairs were back on track.

* * *

However, as time passed, the scent that received regular reports became perplexed.

“I don’t know if this is a good thing or a bad thing… It’s getting bigger.”

Seokguram Grotto repairs were moving beyond simple repair work. If anything suspicious was discovered during the repair process, work was immediately stopped and discussion took place.

-Did it change over time or was it planned this way from the beginning?

The problem was that both Michelangelo and Jang Mal-ryong were weak in this area. After receiving the report, the township selected scholars from the research institute and sent them to the site to resolve the situation. The problem was that even scholars had different opinions, which often led to fierce debates.

In order to resolve this debate, more and more scholars gathered at the Seokguram Grotto site and each came up with their own hypotheses.

“Let’s think positively. Integration has increased the speed of research in the field of natural science, which had been moving slowly, right?”

Hyang, who gave a positive evaluation, paused for a moment and immediately began writing a plan.

“I told you to row when the water comes in! It’s time for there to be a lot of useful ruins still left! Let’s do this properly!”

It was a time when quite a few relics from not only the Three Kingdoms period but even earlier still remained.

‘There is a very high probability that something like the Japanese colonial period or the Korean War will not occur, but we still don’t know!’

Concerned about what might happen, Hyang decided to study in earnest the old ruins remaining in the empire’s headquarters and northern regions.

‘Of course I won’t have to play on the field. However, you must not miss the moment when the world’s people, and even those in power, are paying attention!’

As traces of various scientific construction techniques were discovered in Seokguram Grotto, the attention of upper class figures began to focus.

– These technologies were used in the old days? really?

This curiosity was leading to interest in the old Three Kingdoms period, which remains only in records. And Hyang never wanted to miss this. And the prefectures and ministers who were captivated by the scent soon formed a large-scale academic investigation team.

The first place the academic research team headed to was Gyeongju. The academic investigation team began a thorough investigation of old ruins scattered throughout Gyeongju. And here, too, there was plenty of MSG flavoring.

-Excavation and investigation of ruins should not be carried out recklessly.

-All processes and excavated objects must be recorded in documents and pictures.

(Shortly.)

It was an application of perseverance and research techniques that had begun to be applied in the mid to late 20th century, and surprisingly, this was welcomed by the educated class of the empire.

“Ahm! Everything must be recorded! These are all precious things to leave behind for future generations!”

As time went by, the scent grew to the point where I got tired of it.

“These record lovers…”

Hyang, who had been complaining like that, grumbled once again as she wrote the plan.

“The Ministry of Finance and Economy will be in trouble again.”

The plan written by Hyang was ‘Regarding the establishment of a museum.’

“Just by looking at the name, it is a museum, so you can tell what it is going to be used for. Considering the number and type of relics that have been excavated and their value, we definitely need a place to properly collect and manage them.”

Hyeon looked at Hyang’s plan and nodded while sighing.

“The problem is the budget. Suddenly, there are a lot of places to put money…”

“Shouldn’t you spend it when you have to spend it?’

“That’s true. Phew~”

Hyeon sighed and put a seal on the plan.

“When you have to do something, you have to do it. And it’s not about building the Forbidden City, it’s about future generations, and it’s a good cause.”

Afterwards, the ministers who learned of the township’s plan through the prefecture’s order gathered in the conference room.

“Is it possible to prepare a budget?’

The Minister of Finance answered Han Myeong-hoe’s question with a frown.

“It is possible. But we have to reduce other areas…”

But before the Minister of Finance could even finish his words, shouts erupted from all directions.

“That’s not right!”

“This is something that cannot be said!”

“I’m still tightening my belt as much as possible!”

“You’re telling us not to even breathe!”