“Come on, give me some water!”
“You punk! You can’t go on like this! Sob sob sob!”
As Hongjin spread rapidly throughout Seoul and its outskirts, the sound of crying and calling out the child’s name increased in each household.
The two doctors, Jeon Ui-gam and Hye-min-seo, began to search for medicine and prescriptions to treat measles.
Hanseongbu, Jeonuigam, and Hyeminseo, which were in charge of the Hanyang region, prepared the Hongjinguryojeolmok, a plan to deal with infectious diseases, in accordance with King Jeongjo’s instructions.
The Hongjin Guryojeolmok consists of 12 articles, which set out detailed standards for infectious disease countermeasures, including designation of competent authorities, dispatch of doctors, treatment targets, management and reporting of medicinal materials, publicity about the disease, procurement of medicinal resources, prevention of fraud in drug payment, securing a horse exclusively for emergency consultations, and reporting of medical statistics.
Three doctors from the Jeonui Gam and Hyemin Seo, each well-versed in treating Hongjin, were selected to work day and night, and in the case of seriously ill patients, they also provided treatment to patients on the ward.
Moreover, King Jeongjo generously gave 27,000 pills of Ansinwon (安神丸), which contained expensive medicinal herbs, to the people.
“It’s been over two months since Hongjin was rescued, but his power hasn’t diminished. I’m really worried.”
Contrary to recorded history, Hong Jin’s power did not diminish.
“Your Majesty, they are making soap and mouth plugs in the Crown Prince’s Palace as a way to reduce Hong Jin’s power.”
These were the words of Jo Jin-gwan, a third-rank official in charge of issuing royal decrees under the Office of Royal Secretariat.
“Soap and a mouth gag? What does that mean?”
“I don’t know the details, but I heard that they are gathering together the stems of the ginseng and the safflower and making lye water. And I heard that Your Majesty has ordered the preparation of lard.”
Lye was a typical alkaline mordant used in making soap.
Since ancient times, regardless of East or West, it has been a representative alkaline mordant, and lye was made by burning wood, grass, and straw.
“Lyre?”
King Jeongjo could not understand what Do Seung-ji was saying at all.
“I heard it from the person I was working with, so I don’t know any more.”
“It’s admirable that the young crown prince intends to reduce the number of Hong Jin, but I’m concerned that he might be doing something absurd. Listen! Get ready to go to the Crown Prince’s Palace!”
King Jeongjo wanted to see the words of the Minister of State with his own eyes.
King Jeongjo, who was impressed by the crown prince’s ability to overcome illness, gave orders to the Crown Prince’s Palace to listen to everything Crown Prince Munhyo said.
* * *
“Bring me more sieves and mortars.”
The front yard of the Donggungjeon was filled with steamers used for steaming rice and rice cakes, and next to them, soybean stalks and sesame stalks were being burned to create ash.
Behind them, hot steam was rising from the pots boiling water.
“Eunuch Seo, even if there are instructions from your majesty, is it okay to continue working?”
A servant girl from the East Palace said, putting down a bowl full of lard.
“Huh! I don’t know. I wonder if Your Majesty thinks this is a game….”
Even Eunuch Seo, who was serving the Crown Prince, could not understand the current situation where he was burning ginseng, soybean stalks, and rice straw and pouring ash water.
“The wood must be boiled thoroughly to remove all traces of ash.”
Crown Prince Munhyo inspected the steamers placed in the yard and gave meticulous instructions, not missing a single one, just like his mother-in-law.
‘Goat’s fat and beech ash are the best, but they are not readily available.’
“Lay down more straw than you have now, and place a damp cloth on top. Then put the ashes in.”
Prince Munhyo gave instructions to his servants as if he had done it many times before.
‘The hardest part of making soap is adjusting the concentration of lye (caustic soda), but I’ve never tried it before.’
Although I have never made soap myself, I happened to observe a handmade soap making process while living in the US.
It started because the explanation of the guide and the instructions on the soap making process came to mind.
“It’s not like the soap Hamel brought, but it’s only for washing hands.”
Soap was first introduced to Korea by the Dutchman Hamel, and the Marseille soap he introduced was made by heating 72% olive oil and vegetable oil.
“I brought salt.”
The eunuch brought a sack of salt from the storage room.
Salt was needed to remove impurities.
“Dissolve salt in water.”
“Your Majesty, as you said, the lye has turned yellowish brown.”
“Go and get some eggs and chicken feathers.”
I chose two to check the exact concentration of the lye.
If the egg sinks halfway, the lye concentration is just right. If it sinks quickly, the lye concentration is too weak. If it floats to the surface, the lye concentration is too strong.
The right concentration is when the chicken feathers start to dissolve in the lye solution.
“Here it is.”
“First, try adding the eggs slowly.”
I put the egg in the lye water poured into a large container and it stayed in about two-thirds of the water.
‘Hmm, is the concentration ambiguous?’
“Try adding chicken feathers too.”
When the woman put a chicken feather in Prince Munhyo’s words, the feather began to melt after a while.
“This is enough. When the egg sinks to the middle, as it is now, or the chicken feathers melt, the lye solution is ready. Add this to the lard and heat until well mixed. While heating, add the prepared water and stir.”
“How much should I stir?”
Eunuch Seo asked curiously.
“After mixing the three ingredients well and stirring until they become soft, add them to the prepared salt water.”
When placed in salt water, only pure soap floats to the top.
When the soap base is washed several times to remove all glycerin and other impurities, it becomes soap powder.
If you adjust the moisture content here and add fragrance, moisturizers, and even coloring, it becomes modern soap, but there was no need to go that far now.
That was when.
“Bring your Majesty here!”
As soon as he heard the neutral eunuch’s voice, Jeongjo entered the East Palace with hurried steps.
“Abba Mama, please come quickly.”
“What is all this about?”
Jeongjo looked around and asked with a slightly embarrassed expression.
“I was making soap.”
“Soap?”
“I am making the soap that Hamel, a southern man who drifted to Jeju during the reign of King Hyojong, brought back.”
“Hmm, there was a record of that. But why do we make soap?”
“This soap cannot cure the current epidemic, but it can help prevent people from getting it.”
Prince Munhyo answered Jeongjo’s words without hesitation.
“What does that mean? You can’t cure it, but you can prevent it?”
‘Whew! It’s hard to explain everything.’
“After I overcame the rosacea, I became interested in the disease and began reading medical books. Then, exhausted, I fell asleep for a moment, and Halba Mama appeared to me in a dream and taught me this method.”
Crown Prince Munhyo answered King Jeongjo’s words confidently. He felt that this was the only way to convince the king at such a young age.
“What?! Abamama appeared in my dream and told me?”
“Yes, he told me to make soap and subdue Hong Jin’s power. And he told me to find Lee Heon-gil and care for the suffering people.”
“Who is Lee Heon-gil again?”
“Lee Heon-gil is the person who made a great contribution by treating Hongjin in the capital city during the year of Eulmi.”
These were the words of Jo Jin-gwan, the Senior Secretary who accompanied King Jeongjo.
“Oh my! Should I really believe everything you say? Surely you’re not joking?”
Jeongjo could not completely believe what Crown Prince Munhyo said.
The things that the young prince was doing now were things that even adults would not be able to easily do.
Although the crown prince had always shown himself to be intelligent, he had never before been seen with the confidence to answer King Jeongjo’s questions without hesitation.
“I, like Abba Mama, did this out of a heart for the people. Moreover, it was revealed to me by Halba Mama, whom I have never met before.”
“What else did he say to you?”
“He said he would see me again.”
“Haha! I really can’t tell if what you’re saying is true.”
Jeongjo shook his head at the crown prince’s words and said.
“If you look at the soap I am making, you will know that everything is true.”
The way to convince King Jeongjo was to demonstrate the efficacy of the finished soap.
‘Hmm, it doesn’t seem like they’re just playing… … .’
“So, how long do you think it will take to finish the soap you mentioned?”
“I can make it by Shinsi (15:00-17:00).”
“Okay. I’ll come back then.”
After hearing Crown Prince Munhyo’s blunt answer, Jeongjo left the Crown Prince’s Palace.
* * *
It was a dark brown soap in Jeongjo’s hand.
For a first-timer, the shape and scent were not bad.
This is because when the mold was formed, the essence of angelica was mixed in to give it a fragrance.
“How do you use this?”
“It was written in Hamel’s records that after wetting it with water and making foam, he washed off any dirt that got on his hands or feet.”
“How can you prevent redness with soap?”
“Looking through the records, I found that rosacea has been prevalent in ten-year cycles. This type of epidemic is more likely to strike when the body is dirty and poorly fed…”
In Joseon, where the cause of the disease was not clearly understood, the common people used a superstitious folk remedy of hanging a hat or piece of clothing on a tree branch as a treatment for measles.
“Wait a minute, how do you know such details? You haven’t even taken any medical books out of the hospital to look at them.”
‘Phew! I didn’t think that far ahead… … I don’t know.’
“Little one, there is something I have not been able to tell you.”
“What was it?”
“When I was suffering from erysipelas and on the verge of death, King Sejong appeared and told me what would happen next and what to do about it.”
“Sejong appeared?”
“Yes, you told me never to tell anyone, but since Abama asked, I cannot lie, so I will tell you the truth. How could a young child know such knowledge?”
‘Hmm, the Crown Prince has changed a lot since he recovered from his illness… … .’
King Jeongjo pondered Crown Prince Munhyo’s words. He certainly looked different after recovering from his illness.
“So, what Abamama told me in my dream was a lie?”
“Yes, this is all what Sejong told me.”
“Haha! I don’t know if I should believe you.”
Jeongjo was skeptical about how much of what Crown Prince Munhyo said was true.
“Abba Mama, I have deliberately put ashes on my hands in order to use the soap. Ashes are not easily washed away with water, so if this soap washes them away, you will know that what I said was not a lie.”
At Crown Prince Munhyo’s words, Jeongjo looked at the Crown Prince’s hand.
As he said, there was a lot of black ash on his palm.
“Hmm, seeing it is a hundred times better than hearing it. Give it a try.”
“yes.”
As soon as King Jeongjo finished speaking, the Crown Prince took the soap in his hand and dipped his hands in the basin.
Then, he began to lather his hands with soap, and his crow-black palms turned white, revealing their white flesh.
“This is my first time making soap, so there wasn’t as much foam as I expected. If I make it a few more times, I’ll be able to make even better soap.”
Prince Munhyo wiped his wet hands with a towel and showed them to King Jeongjo.
“Huh! So what you said was not a lie.”
Jeongjo looked closely at the crown prince’s cleansed palm and said.
“They say that just washing your hands thoroughly can prevent rosacea and other diseases.”
“So, does this gag also prevent redness?”
What Jeongjo held in his hand was a mask made of cotton by the ladies.
Like modern masks, it has strings attached to both ends so that it can be hung over the ears and fit snugly over the nose and mouth.
“Yes, you can reduce the risk to the clinician caring for the patient by covering their mouth and nose with a gag, and you can also use a gag on the patient to prevent saliva from coming out of the mouth when they cough.”
It wasn’t a perfect mask, but it did a good job of blocking droplets and saliva.
“Are you saying that Hongjin spreads it through the saliva coming out of his mouth?”
“I don’t know much about that. But King Sejong said that covering a patient’s mouth would prevent the spread of disease, so I thought about a mouth muzzle.”
“Haha! Listening to you, it really does seem quite possible. I can’t believe it was Sejong who told me all this.”
King Jeongjo also had a great interest in medicine and was very knowledgeable.
“Perhaps that’s why you told me not to speak.”
“Hahaha! It seems King Sejong is fond of you. Make more of these soaps and mouth guards and distribute them to those in need.”
“Your kindness is truly invaluable, Father.”
“Hahaha! You care more about the people than I do. I must find Lee Heon-gil, as the Crown Prince has mentioned, and quickly break Hong Jin’s momentum.”
Jeongjo decided to believe the crown prince’s words.
Because he knew full well that the young prince had never learned this knowledge. Moreover, he had seen the dirty ashes being washed away.
‘Phew! Thank goodness you seem to trust me.’
When King Jeongjo showed that he agreed with Crown Prince Munhyo’s words, he felt relieved.
If it was dismissed as a childish prank, it would be because the future that Prince Munhyo was looking at would not be smooth.
