Black Corporation: Joseon [EN]: Chapter 56

Clangra

Hello, Bomb

56. New Weapons (4)

Sejong, after praising the elite soldiers of the Chongtong unit, got straight to the point.

“Is that Chongtong they’re carrying on their shoulders a newly made one?”

Hyang answered Sejong’s question immediately.

“Yes, Your Majesty. We have named it Gapsik Jang Chongtong (Type A Long Gun).”

At Hyang’s answer, Sejong stroked his beard and shared his impressions.

“Jang Chongtong… a fitting name. But…”

Sejong’s gaze was fixed on the gleaming barrel of the Jang Chongtong. After staring at the silver-shining barrel, Sejong turned his head to Hyang.

“It’s not made of copper?”

“That is correct. It is made of wrought iron.”

“Wrought iron?”

While listening to Sejong and Hyang’s conversation, Hwang Hee immediately interjected.

‘Your Highness, copper is expensive, but wrought iron is also costly…’

Sejong raised his hand, cutting off Hwang Hee’s words.

“Enough, the Crown Prince must have had a reason for using wrought iron. We can discuss that part later.”

“As you command.”

Sejong, having stopped Hwang Hee’s words, issued an order to Choi Hae-san.

“I wish to see its power.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Upon receiving the order, Choi Hae-san gestured to the artisans beside him. Seeing Choi Hae-san’s gesture, the artisans soon brought a panel about the size of a human torso. The panel, covered with red cloth, had rows of rivets hammered into it. Choi Hae-san pointed to the panel with his baton and began to explain.

“This is a Dujeong panel to be used as a target. Compared to the Dujeong armor actually used, the thickness of the iron plates has been increased by 1 *li*, making it 4 *li* (approximately 1.3mm) thick.”

“Is that so?”

“Set up the target.”

“Yes, General.”

The artisans carried the target to the opposite side of the demonstration ground. Sejong called out to General Choi Hae-san at the sight of the target being set up far away from where the Chongtong soldiers were stationed.

“General, what is the distance to there?”

“Approximately 250 paces (about 300m), Your Majesty.”

“Hoo!”

Sejong exclaimed, his eyes beginning to gleam. Meanwhile, the artisans, having finished setting up the target, gave a signal and quickly ran to the side, diving into a ditch made under the earthen wall.

The commander, seeing the artisans’ signal, shouted at the Chongtong soldiers.

“Stand Chong!”

At the commander’s order, the Chongtong soldiers stood the Jang Chongtong they had been carrying on their shoulders on the ground.

“Sechong (Clean the barrel)!”

“Naphwayak (Load gunpowder)!”

“Bokji (Paper wadding)!”

“Songja (Load the projectile)!”

“Yeonja (Lead bullet)!”

Following the commander’s commands, the soldiers completed all the steps and returned to the Stand Chong position, and the commander gave the order.

“Ahead Chong! Donghwamo (Copper flash pan)!”

The Chongtong soldiers lifted the Jang Chongtong, pulled the firing pin halfway, and then inserted the copper flash pan containing the fuse into the protrusion.

“Pull the firing pin! Aim!”

The Chongtong soldiers pulled the firing pin all the way back, stepped their left foot forward, turned their bodies diagonally, placed the butt of the gun against their shoulders, and aimed at the target standing far away.

“Fire!”

Poof!

In an instant, thick smoke and flames burst out and disappeared into the air.

“Immediately!”

The soldiers who had finished firing returned to the Stand Chong position, and the artisans who had hidden in the ditch retrieved the target and returned.

“Amazing!”

“Incredible power!”

Sejong and the ministers, looking at the retrieved target panel, could not hide their surprise.

There were nine holes in the target panel.

Hyang and Choi Hae-san’s faces were filled with pride as they watched Sejong and the ministers examining the target panel with surprised expressions.

“Truly amazing. I know that Chongtong has great power, but its range is far short of a bow. However, this Jang Chongtong has a range similar to a bow, and its power is incomparable—truly the ultimate weapon.”

“The artisans have worked hard.”

At Sejong’s praise, Hyang answered humbly. Choi Hae-san, who was listening to Hyang’s answer beside him, nodded vigorously. In Choi Hae-san’s eyes, tears welled up slightly.

At Choi Hae-san’s intense reaction, Sejong turned to look at Hyang. Seeing the awkward smile on Hyang’s face, Sejong sighed.

“How much did you make the artisans suffer… General Choi, tell me about the process of completing this Chongtong.”

“Yes, Your Majesty. Well….”

* * *

The process of making the Jang Chongtong began with creating a dedicated tool for making the iron body of the Jang Chongtong.

“To make the Chongtong by hammering, we must use a dedicated anvil.”

Following Hyang’s orders, the artisans used *Poongsoe* (high carbon steel) to make a dedicated anvil. While a typical anvil has a flat top, the dedicated anvil had long grooves in the shape of semi-cylinders that gradually decreased in thickness, from a large semi-cylinder to a semi-cylinder slightly larger than the target thickness of the Chongtong.

After the anvil was completed, Hyang ordered a steel core made of *Poongsoe*, slightly thicker than the bore of the Chongtong.

After the dedicated tools were made, Hyang instructed the next steps.

Following Hyang’s instructions, the blacksmiths of the Military Supplies Department, including the head blacksmith Go, began to roll the wrought iron plates of appropriate size.

After the iron plate was rolled to a suitable degree, the iron core was inserted in the middle, and then the iron plate was hammered and rolled on the dedicated anvil. As the iron plate rolled and the ends met, the artisans sprinkled a mixture of iron powder and charcoal powder on the meeting parts and then put it in the kiln. The intense heat of the kiln melted the iron powder mixed with charcoal powder, filling the wrinkles of the rounded iron plate.

When the gaps were completely filled, the blacksmiths smoothed them with a file and checked whether they were properly filled. If it was filled without any problems, the round longitudinal row was hammered to make it moderately angular.

This was to fix the Chongtong during the subsequent processing steps to make the work easier.

Finally, the Chongtong, which was heated in a kiln and then buried in ash to cool, was smoothed inside with a boring machine devised by Hyang to make it straight and smooth.

Once the inside was smoothly cut and it was confirmed that both the outside and inside of the Chongtong were straight without bending, the artisans filed the barrel to have an octagonal cross-section. After that, a female thread was cut on the back, and a stopper with a male thread – this part had a part to insert the copper flash pan – was inserted.

The work did not end there. The trigger and firing pin, and the Chongtong were combined with the wooden body made by the carpenter, and the trigger ring, front sight, and rear sight made by the brassware artisan were attached, and a part made of *Tongsoe* (copper alloy) that was firmly made and had protrusions on both sides was covered on the muzzle of the *Jongburi* (end of the gun barrel). The hardship started from then on. The barrel of the drawing produced by Hyang did not have rifling. This was Hyang’s intention.

“The number of things to make and test will increase more and more in the future, and I can’t do everything myself.”

When the five prototypes were completed, Hyang began full-scale performance testing with Choi Hae-san and Lee Cheon.

“First, let’s find out how much gunpowder it can withstand.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“The existing Yichongtong used one *nyang* [a unit of weight, approximately 37.5 grams], so shall we start with half of half a *nyang*?”

“That seems appropriate.”

Choi Hae-san, Lee Cheon, and the artisans began the test by filling half a *nyang* of Gapsik gunpowder and bullets.

For safety, the Chongtong was fixed to a fixture, a string was connected to the trigger, and then the people hid behind the protective wall.

“Fire! Fire! Fire!”

Bang!

The test, which filled Area 51 with explosions, ended with the Chongtong withstanding up to one and a half *nyang* of Gapsik gunpowder.

“Considering the purpose of this Chongtong, it seems unnecessary to use two *nyang*.”

“That is correct.”

“Then let’s try with Eulshik gunpowder.”

In the following test, the Jang Chongtong withstood up to one and a half *nyang* of Eulshik gunpowder. After confirming the results, Hyang changed the test item.

“Then let’s find out the optimal amount of gunpowder. It was said that the Yichongtong killed Jurchen soldiers wearing Dujeong armor at a distance of 40 paces (about 50m), so let’s use that as a standard.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

This time, the amount of gunpowder was reduced in reverse. The result of the test was two *don* (錢, about 7.5g) of Eulshik gunpowder. The bullet fired from the Jang Chongtong cleanly penetrated the 4 *li* thick iron plate made as a target.

After confirming the results, Hyang turned to look at Choi Hae-san and Lee Cheon.

“Looking at the power, it seems that it is possible to kill at a longer distance? The farther, the better, right?”

“Of course.”

“Then shall we try if 50 paces is possible?”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

Choi Hae-san answered excitedly. In the test conducted in this way, the Jang Chongtong with 2 *don* of Eulshik gunpowder penetrated the target up to 70 paces (about 85m). Beyond that distance, the bullets arrived, but none hit the target even after firing more than 20 shots.

’70 paces is unexpected? Now I need to start dropping hints about rifling, right?’

Although the results were better than he expected, Hyang had no intention of stopping.

And from that moment on, Choi Hae-san, Lee Cheon, and the artisans were no longer happy with their work.

“General, looking at the loading process of the Chongtong, it seems that too much time is being wasted cleaning and tamping. Let’s try without cleaning and tamping.”

“But if that process is omitted, there is a risk of the bullet flowing out….”

“Instead, wouldn’t it be possible to make the bullets custom-fit to the Chongtong?”

Choi Hae-san pondered for a moment at Hyang’s suggestion and nodded.

“It seems worth testing.”

Hyang was planning to forcibly experience trial and error based on the content of the video he saw on the internet. In the experiment conducted in this way, the Jang Chongtong caused a problem after firing 5 shots.

“Gunpowder residue is stuck, making it difficult to prepare for another shot.”

“I see.”

“After all, we have to clean….”

However, Hyang shook his head.

“General, think about it. If cavalrymen riding horses faster than people are running at full speed, would they have time to clean?”

“That is true, but….”

Choi Hae-san, Lee Cheon, and the artisans put their heads together and began to find a solution. However, people could not easily come up with the idea of rifling.

‘Do I have to intervene again?’

One rainy day, as Hyang was contemplating whether to intervene, one of the artisans, who was blankly staring out the window, jumped up from his seat.

“Ah!”

“What’s wrong!”

“How about carving grooves?”

“Carve grooves?”

The artisan pointed to the ground with his finger and explained.

“Look at that ditch. Isn’t the stagnant water flowing out along that ditch? The flame of gunpowder is also a flow, so wouldn’t it be the same? If we carve long grooves inside the Chongtong, wouldn’t the residue also escape along the grooves along with the flow of the flame?”

At the artisan’s words, Choi Hae-san and Lee Cheon looked at Hyang. Hyang nodded.

“It seems worth testing.”

According to Hyang’s decision, 7 additional Jang Chongtong were produced.

“Let’s make two pieces each of Jang Chongtong with 3, 6, 9, 12, and 15 grooves and compare them with the ungrooved Jang Chongtong.”

“Yes.”

Although they received the order, the artisans had a new concern.

‘How do we carve the grooves?’ After spending several nights worrying, a dedicated tool was made, and the artisans carved 3 to 15 grooves in the Jang Chongtong.

In the following test, Choi Hae-san, Lee Cheon, and the artisans faced a new problem. The more grooves were carved, the lower the power became.

“That would be natural. The more grooves there are, the more power leaks along those grooves.”

When Lee Cheon pointed out the cause, Choi Hae-san muttered with a troubled expression.

“Is cleaning the only answer after all?”

“What are the exact results?”

At Hyang’s question, Lee Cheon rummaged through the book with the results written down and answered.

“Up to 6 grooves, the power reduction is small, but a lot of residue gets stuck, and from 9 grooves, the residue gets stuck less and less, but the power starts to drop sharply.”

At Lee Cheon’s answer, everyone held their heads.

“Should we go with 9 lines…”

“The problem is that the power drops noticeably from then on…”

“Then is 6 lines the only answer? But that has the residue problem…”

As Hyang was about to open his mouth to stop them from worrying about problems that could not be solved at the same time, Jang Yeong-sil opened his mouth.

“Then how about twisting the grooves?”

“Twist the grooves?”

At Jang Yeong-sil’s remark, everyone’s attention was focused on Jang Yeong-sil.

Hyang, who was watching it from behind, clenched his fist under the desk.

‘Uncle, nice!’

Quickly organizing his expression, Hyang ordered Jang Yeong-sil.

“Jang Byeoljwa, please explain properly.”

“Yes, Your Highness. Well… um… if we twist the grooves like the screws we use, wouldn’t the length increase? That way, even if there are 6 grooves, there will be enough length for the residue to escape, and also, because it twists, the power of the gunpowder explosion will not escape immediately, right?”

The conference room was silent at Jang Yeong-sil’s explanation. While everyone was pondering for a long time what Jang Yeong-sil was talking about, Choi Hae-san and Lee Cheon shouted at the same time.

“That’s it!”

“That’s it! It seems that twisting is the answer, Your Highness!”

At Choi Hae-san and Lee Cheon’s words, Hyang concluded.

“Then let’s do it.”

That night, while going to bed, Hyang grumbled with a tired expression.

“Ah… the road to a rifled gun is so long and arduous… explaining the concept of surface area with length… and what about the understanding that understands it perfectly… are all the humans living in this era monsters?”

It was decided to twist the grooves inside the Chongtong, but the problem arose again.

“How many turns should we make?”

When people were wavering again in front of this problem, Hyang had to step in again.

“Make prototypes from half a turn to two turns in half-turn increments!”

“As you command!”

And the artisans had to stay up all night again to make new Jang Chongtong.