Black Corporation: Joseon [EN]: Chapter 470

470. Liaodong (6)

“Hmm…. A bit of a shame. I didn’t quite manage the finishing touch. But, it’s commendable that they were willing to cross the border and relentlessly pursued the enemy to wipe out the tribe. A soldier should always possess that level of tenacity.”

Having delivered his assessment, Emperor Xuanzong instructed the Senior Grand Secretary of the Cabinet.

“Order the Five Armies 督督府 [Dudu Fu, a high-level military command] to reward the commanders and soldiers who led the unit in question. And, provide compensation in my name to the families of those who died in battle and those who were disabled.”

“Yes, Your Majesty!”

“Everyone will be moved by Your Majesty’s boundless grace. Long live the Emperor, long live, long live!”

No sooner had Emperor Xuanzong finished speaking than the officials all knelt on the floor and chanted “Long live” three times. They were genuinely impressed by the Emperor’s assessment, but even more relieved that he had not become angry and the matter had passed without incident.

“That being said….”

The officials, who had been touched by Emperor Xuanzong’s generosity, tensed up again as he opened his mouth.

Seeing the expressions on their faces, Emperor Xuanzong continued.

“According to this report, the gun-barrel used by the Joseon army can fly twice as far as the gun-barrel used by our Ming army. This part is a little concerning.”

“Allow me to speak, Your Majesty.”

The Minister of the Court of Imperial Stud, the head of the Taipusi [an office managing imperial horses and military equipment], spoke up in response to Emperor Xuanzong’s remark. In the early days of the dynasty, the Taipusi was the department in charge of horse administration related to the horses used by the military, but during Emperor Xuanzong’s reign, it also took charge of matters related to military equipment used by the military.

“Your Majesty, the gun-barrel used by ordinary soldiers has always had a shorter range than the bow. Therefore, we have used various methods to compensate for this weakness and enhance its power. For example, Joseon has adopted a one-shot-multiple-arrows method, and our Ming has adopted a one-shot-multiple-bullets method….”

“I am well aware of that. What I am pointing out now is the issue of range, so why are you talking about something else?”

“I am sorry! I was trying to explain in more detail….”

“Omit the unnecessary details and only speak about what is necessary.”

“Yes. We have put a lot of effort into improving the Dongchong [a type of firearm] imported from Joseon. And we have achieved many results so far, so if we do a little more, we will be able to create a gun-barrel that can shoot farther and has more power than the one used by the Joseon army.”

“Hoo~.”

Emperor Xuanzong sighed at the Minister of the Court of Imperial Stud’s answer and pointed out each issue one by one.

“It took three years to develop a sighting device to improve the accuracy of the Dongchong, and that was only after secretly finding out that the Joseon army’s gun-barrel had such a device attached to it. It took another four years to change the material of the Dongchong from copper to iron. So how much longer do we have to wait to make a gun-barrel that flies farther?”

“I, I am sorry!”

“Please forgive our shortcomings!”

At Emperor Xuanzong’s criticism, all the officials, including the Minister of the Court of Imperial Stud, prostrated themselves again and begged for forgiveness. Seeing the officials’ reaction, Emperor Xuanzong waved his hand.

“Enough! I am not trying to rebuke or punish you! I am just disappointed that it is taking longer than expected! It was I who ordered you to develop it yourselves without borrowing the power of Joseon, so you don’t have to blame yourselves! Stand up!”

“Your mercy is truly boundless!”

“Long live the Emperor, long live, long live!”

The throne room was once again filled with shouts of “Long live.”

As the shouts of “Long live” subsided, Emperor Xuanzong once again assessed the situation.

“So, to what extent can we expect results?”

“Currently, the range has increased by about 50% compared to the initial Dongchong. If we research a little more, we will catch up with the Joseon army, and if we do a little more, we will boast even superior performance.”

Emperor Xuanzong’s face brightened at the Minister of the Court of Imperial Stud’s answer.

“Is that so? Can I see the prototype now?”

“Yes, you can!”

“Bring it here immediately!”

“Yes!”

As soon as Emperor Xuanzong’s order was given, the Minister of the Court of Imperial Stud gave the order to a subordinate official. While the official hurried out, Emperor Xuanzong continued, looking at the report.

“This time again, the Bigyeokjincheonle [a type of Korean rocket artillery] appears without fail. Minister of the Court of Imperial Stud, you said that this Bigyeokjincheonle seems to be launching Jincheonle [rockets] with the power of gunpowder, right? How is it going?”

“Yes. We have achieved some of the initial results.”

The Minister of the Court of Imperial Stud reported on the performance of the Bigyeokjincheonle developed by the Ming Dynasty. Emperor Xuanzong frowned slightly as he listened to the report.

“Hmm…. It doesn’t seem like a bad performance, but it seems inferior to the Bigyeokjincheonle of Joseon that I have heard and seen so far.”

The Minister of the Court of Imperial Stud immediately replied to Emperor Xuanzong’s remark.

“This is believed to be an exaggeration by the Jurchen people who have experienced the power of the Bigyeokjincheonle.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes, it is.”

The Minister of the Court of Imperial Stud replied firmly.

In the process of suppressing the rebellions of Imanju and Mentemu, a small number of Jurchen people were able to escape the battlefield. The Ming Dynasty took these escaped Jurchen people into their hands and interrogated them about the battle.

In this process, the Ming learned about the Bigyeokjincheonle and collected information about the Bigyeokjincheonle through the Ming army stationed in the border area and the Jurchen people who had surrendered to the Ming.

Upon hearing the information collected in this way, the Ming Dynasty artisans all came up with one weapon.

“No matter how you look at it, it seems to be projecting Jincheonle with the power of gunpowder.”

“I heard that the Joseon army is using something called Jilleopo [an early type of Korean bomb]?”

* * *

Interestingly, Hyang and the artisans of Area 51 were the first to pick Bigyeokjincheonle as the ‘weapon that would be made with the most similar weapons first’.

Since gunpowder was used in battle, people have been studying ways to use this gunpowder more usefully – to kill people better.

“Therefore, the idea of putting gunpowder, caltrops, and broken glass into a hollow container and then detonating it would have come out right away.”

Hyang evaluated it this way while repairing the Bigyeokjincheonle.

The Jilleopo itself, which can be said to be a primitive Bigyeokjincheonle, was created not long after gunpowder was introduced to Goryeo [ancient Korean kingdom].

Therefore, what Hyang paid the most attention to when making the improved version of Bigyeokjincheonle was to increase the range and lethality.

“The ultimate goal is to create a proper impact fuze and combine it with a delay fuze….”

Hyang did not expect the Bigyeokjincheonle to last long. If a proper fuze for shells was made, it would be possible to fire shells that generate a large amount of fragments even from traditional cannons. This would eliminate the Bigyeokjincheonle, which requires a dedicated cannon, and the goal was to reduce the types of cannons through this.

“…And the close-range cannon to support the infantry will go out as a mortar.”

That was the tech tree Hyang had set up.

Of course, it was a Bigyeokjincheonle that was expected to have a short life, but Hyang had modified its lethality to be extremely bad.

* * *

“I guess you could think that way. But let’s try harder.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Having settled the matter of the Bigyeokjincheonle, Emperor Xuanzong immediately pointed out the next item.

“‘A gun-barrel that fires a large number of bullets at once’, what do you think?”

The Minister of the Court of Imperial Stud immediately answered Emperor Xuanzong’s question.

“As a result of asking the artisans, I heard that the Joseon people seem to have modified the Singijeon [Korean rocket arrow] and Hwacha [Korean multiple rocket launcher] that they had developed in the past to fit the Dongchong.”

“Singijeon and Hwacha…. I’ve heard stories about them. I heard they were quite fierce weapons. Those Joseon bastards are really good at making absurd weapons.”

At Emperor Xuanzong’s words, the Minister of the Court of Imperial Stud once again replied firmly.

“They are just imitating our Ming’s multi-barreled rockets.”

* * *

If Hyang and Choi Hae-san had heard this, they would have definitely blurted out these words.

“Hey, you son of a bitch! Do you want to die! Where are you bringing something with a different operating method!”

After gunpowder was created, the first thing people thought of as a way to use it effectively was to combine it with arrows.

The idea was to attach a bag or container filled with gunpowder to an arrow, light the fuse, and shoot it at the enemy’s camp or village.

The fired arrow would fall on the tent or roof of a house in the camp, and the gunpowder would explode and start a fire.

The next step was to use the explosive power of gunpowder as propulsion to fly the arrow farther or to fly larger and heavier arrows.

The Ming stopped here, and Joseon went further from here.

In the history before Hyang intervened, the Sosingijeon [small Singijeon] focused on extending the range, similar to the Ming, and the Jung [medium], Dae [large], and Sanhwa Singijeon focused on both the range and the lethality using explosions.

And the Hwacha was created to fire a large number of Sosingijeon at once to suppress the area, and it was mounted on a cart to increase mobility.

* * *

The Minister of the Court of Imperial Stud, ignoring all of that, explained to Emperor Xuanzong in a confident tone.

“Our Ming has been making and using various types of multi-barreled rockets since ancient times. The most representative one is the Ilhwabongjeon [a type of multi-shot rocket], which fires 32 rounds at once, and the Baekhojebunjeon [another type of multi-shot rocket], which can fire 100 rounds at once. If we modify this to use bullets instead of fire arrows, we can create something similar to Joseon, or even better than Joseon.”

“I am truly reassured to hear your words. I sincerely await the day.”

The Minister of the Court of Imperial Stud bowed his head at Emperor Xuanzong’s praise.

“I will do my best!”

“Yes, yes. What is needed for better results?”

“It’s the budget and talent.”

At the Minister of the Court of Imperial Stud’s answer, Emperor Xuanzong turned his head.

“I will approve the budget soon. The problem is talent…. Minister of Rites.”

At Emperor Xuanzong’s call, the Minister of Rites bowed his head and answered.

“Yes, the training center that Your Majesty ordered to be built will soon be producing artisans.”

“Is that so? What is the level of the artisans who will be produced in that way?”

“They say that they can be put into practical work right away.”

* * *

‘There is a shortage of talent!’

The Ming, who had only received a few prototypes and blueprints with Hyang’s trickery, immediately felt the shortage of talent.

The iron horse [likely referring to a train or armored vehicle], assembled by Joseon artisans with parts sent from Joseon, moved without problems on the rails sent by Joseon.

However, problems arose as Ming artisans stepped in.

Even though it was clearly the same railroad, the railroad made by Ming was crushed as soon as the iron horse climbed on it because it could not withstand the weight.

The same was true of the iron horse.

Just in case, they observed the assembly process of the Joseon artisans and confirmed that the size of the parts was the same as the blueprint before starting the assembly.

As a result, the artisans of the Ming Dynasty produced and assembled the parts according to the blueprint.

However, none of the iron horses worked properly.

“What is the reason! If you can’t reveal it properly, I will kill you!”

At Emperor Xuanzong’s angry roar, the artisans hurriedly began to identify the cause.

“The cause was the problem with the materials that make up the parts. The quality is too poor compared to the parts made by Joseon.”

Accordingly, an envoy was sent to Joseon, but the answer from Joseon was simple.

“That part is the artisan’s secret technique. We can’t tell you either.”

Emperor Xuanzong pondered for a moment after hearing Joseon’s answer and came to a conclusion.

“We will also create an institution to research and teach technology.”