Black Corporation: Joseon [EN]: Chapter 618

618. The Beginning of the Empire – The Same Day as Yesterday (6)

Sejong, holding the Byeongshik rifle, couldn’t hold back his praise.

“Again, it’s truly marvelous! Especially the rapid-fire capability, I find that very pleasing!”

At Sejong’s words pointing out the excellence of the rapid fire, the generals beside him—both from the army and navy—all nodded.

* * *

The biggest complaint from army and navy soldiers using long rifles was the slow reloading speed. Among the soldiers who couldn’t tolerate the slow reloading speed, the biggest drawback of muzzle-loading firearms, the more impatient ones would even say:

‘I’d rather carry a hwacha [multiple rocket launcher] and shoot!’

Various suggestions were made to improve this slow reloading speed. However, most of them required excessive precision, leading to reliability issues, or had serious safety problems and had to be rejected.

In the end, the issue of firing speed was only resolved after the Eulshik long rifle and the first-generation bullets came out.

As an aside, when that ‘hwacha remark’ reached Hyang’s ears, Hyang chuckled and muttered.

“Carry a hwacha and shoot instead of a minigun? Even the Terminator would struggle with that.”

* * *

Sejong, who had been examining the new rifle and marveling at it, asked Hyang again.

“The rapid-fire performance is very pleasing, but the important thing is accuracy. So, what about the accuracy?”

Hyang answered Sejong’s question immediately.

“At least up to 80 jang (approximately 240m), it will be a matter of the shooter’s skill, not the gun’s problem.”

Sejong looked a little disappointed at Hyang’s answer.

“Wouldn’t 100 jang be possible?”

“That part, I believe, is a matter of the shooter’s skill.”

“However, since not all soldiers have the same skill, wouldn’t it be better to develop and distribute guns with even slightly better accuracy?”

“Of course, there is a way to increase the accuracy of the Byeongshik long rifle I’ve shown you. However, that would make the already long rifle even longer.”

“Wouldn’t it be okay if it got a little longer?”

“You’ll immediately understand the problem if you try aiming it.”

At Hyang’s words, Sejong immediately shouldered the rifle and aimed it at the target. And soon, he realized the problem.

“The weight is leaning forward. If it gets any longer, it will be difficult to aim properly.”

“That’s right.”

‘Of course, if the technology gets a little better, we could reach the level of the K31, which is rumored to be as precise as a clock without increasing the length. But for now, this is the best we can do.’

Suppressing the lengthy explanation that was about to follow, Hyang concluded.

“In the end, we’ll have to encourage the soldiers to hone their shooting skills.”

“Yes. Using various incentives and penalties together will be very effective.”

‘If we add the characteristic of our people being good at archery, it will be the end of the story.’

Like Hyang’s mutterings, Joseon people were famous for their archery skills. Even though they weren’t a nomadic people, there were large and small archery ranges in every village, and people of all ages enjoyed archery.

This characteristic remained even when bows were replaced by guns. If you add a carrot and stick to this, the result was obvious.

With Sejong’s evaluation finished, the generals of the military lined up to examine the Byeongshik long rifle.

Among those carefully examining the Byeongshik long rifle, Yi Jing-ok asked Hyang.

“The war is over, but resentment still remains. Therefore, these long rifles will be deployed to the northern territories (北地) [border regions] first. The northern territories are places with severe dust. The Byeongshik long rifle looks precise at a glance, will it be alright?”

Hyang answered Yi Jing-ok’s question immediately.

“That part has already been thoroughly tested and improved.”

‘One of the reasons why I couldn’t reduce the size further is that. We still have a long way to go. If we had enough technology, the K31 would have been possible….’

Hyang still felt regret about the K31.

Afterward, various questions were asked, but most of them were similar to the questions Sejong and Yi Jing-ok had asked.

– Accuracy, firing speed, reliability.

These three became mandatory conditions for firearms used by the Great Joseon Federal Empire’s military and became the cause of developers racking their brains.

Increasing the firing speed decreased accuracy, and increasing precision to improve accuracy caused problems with reliability. If they managed to meet these three conditions after much suffering, ‘portability,’ which had been hidden until then, popped out and grabbed their ankles.

“The conditions are too demanding!”

Whenever such complaints came out, the military would answer like this.

“Our ancestors solved it all! How can you face them if you only whine like that!”

* * *

“Next, I will introduce the Gapshik machine gun.”

Hyang, who had been given the floor, signaled to the soldiers. The soldiers who saw Hyang’s signal pulled a small cart into the demonstration area.

“This is the Gapshik machine gun.”

At Hyang’s introduction, Sejong and the attendees began to examine the Gapshik machine gun carefully.

“Does it use a dedicated gun carriage (銃架) [wheeled mount]?”

“Yes. The hwacha’s one is too big.”

The generals nodded at Hyang’s words. The hwacha’s gun carriage was as big as that of a decent cannon. Thanks to that, when moving the hwacha, horses had to pull it.

However, seeing two soldiers pulling it, it was certain that two soldiers could be assigned as a basic unit, and it was certain that one person could pull it in an emergency.

‘Just with that, the places where it can be used will definitely increase!’

“The problem is that there is only one barrel, I’m worried if enough power will come out.”

“I agree.”

As if he heard the generals whispering like this, Hyang immediately started the demonstration.

“Now, I will show the firing of the Gapshik machine gun. Please step back.”

At Hyang’s words, the attendees stepped back, and the soldiers holding the ammunition boxes hung on the Gapshik machine gun.

Ta-ta-ta-ta-tang!

At the demonstration of the Gapshik machine gun that followed, Sejong and the attendees’ mouths dropped open.

As the demonstration ended with emptying three ammunition boxes in an instant, Sejong patted Hyang on the shoulder.

“Truly amazing! I was a little worried because it was small, but it’s no less than the hwacha at all, so a truly amazing thing has come out!”

“Thank you.”

“By the way, it’s truly exhilarating to see bullets pouring out like rain without stopping!”

At Sejong’s words, Hyang answered inwardly.

‘Of course! Isn’t Maxim the best for men!’

The Gapshik machine gun that Hyang showed was a modification of the Maxim. No, to be precise, it was a modification of the Russian version of the Maxim, the PM M1910.

* * *

While fighting the war, the Joseon army was very satisfied with the firepower of the Eulshik hwacha, but there were also considerable complaints. The biggest complaint was the enormous size of the Eulshik hwacha.

‘It’s useful for defense, but there are many problems when attacking!’

Hyang smiled as he accepted the military’s request to solve this problem.

“The answer is obvious.”

However, Hyang soon faced a problem.

“Oh, the bullets are the problem. So is the technology….”

The bullets going into the newly developed long rifles and machine guns were the bullets used by the Tiger Hunter Corps.

Using copper casings and Deokgap-style smokeless gunpowder, it was a bullet that exerted similar power to the general rifle bullets of World War I and World War II. However, there was one problem: the rim of the cartridge case protruded, making it a rimmed cartridge.

Because of this, it was impossible to use the method of pushing bullets directly from the belt like modern machine guns that use rimless bullets.

“Of course, if we overhaul the cartridge structure itself from the beginning, there’s nothing we can’t do….”

Hyang stopped talking and looked in the direction of Yukjo Street [location of government ministries] and continued.

“If I did that, the Ministry of Finance would immediately plot a rebellion.”

In the end, Hyang sighed and came to a conclusion.

“Hoo~. I can’t help it. Let’s go with Maxim. Maxim is for men!”

In that way, Hyang created not only the new machine gun but also the concept for a dedicated gun carriage, and shook his head as he looked at the drawings.

“I like it, but I have to take out the Mosin-Nagant. It smells too much like ‘Mother Russia’. Not my taste….”

Things that gave off the feeling of precision machinery were Hyang’s taste.

* * *

“Including the Gapshik machine gun and the dedicated gun carriage, the total weight is 100 geun (approximately 60kg).”

“It’s definitely lighter than the hwacha.”

“If we assign a donkey, we might be able to carry the ammunition boxes as well, and if that’s not possible, it would be good to assign one platoon (伍) [group of 5 soldiers]. Two people pull the gun carriage, and the remaining two carry the ammunition boxes.”

“Then it would be good to assign two platoons to one company (隊) [group of soldiers]. Deploying and operating them on both flanks will show the best power in both offense and defense.”

Taking advantage of their experience on the battlefield, the generals quickly thought of formations and tactics suitable for the Gapshik machine gun.

Hyang clicked his tongue at the sight.

‘Tsk! They’ve already said everything I wanted to say first!’

* * *

In that way, the demonstration ended successfully. Most of the attendees who saw the Byeongshik long rifle and Gapshik machine gun, which would be newly deployed to the Imperial Army, had very satisfied faces. However, Kim Jeom and those from the Ministry of Finance were looking at the distant mountains with detached expressions.

‘We work our butts off to earn it, and they spend it all at once….’

‘His Majesty the Emperor has given up from the beginning, and even Her Majesty the Queen Consort, who we had hoped for, has agreed, so there’s nothing we can do.’

‘There’s even talk of additional construction of the Assault Turtle Ship… I’m going to die….’

Whether Kim Jeom and the Ministry of Finance officials did so or not, Sejong did not spare praise for Hyang.

“To create such good results in such a short time, the Emperor’s contribution is truly great!”

“Everything is thanks to the researchers at the research institute and the artisans in Area 51.”

“Haha! You are so humble, it’s truly good!”

“It’s not humility, it’s the truth.”

“Hahaha! I understand! I will definitely express my gratitude to them as well!”

Sejong, seeing Hyang’s humble appearance, promised to reward those involved in the name of the Queen Consort.

However, Hyang was only telling the truth.

Hyang, who had completed the conceptual diagram, passed the work to the researchers at the research institute and the artisans in Area 51.

“I’ve thought of this framework, so please design and prototype it accordingly.”

“Yes. I understand.”

“Ah! And I hope you meet the conditions I wrote down together.”

At Hyang’s words, the researchers and artisans checked the conditions written below and turned pale.

– In the case of the new long rifle, the weight should not exceed 7 geun (approximately 4.2kg).

– The accuracy must also be such that it hits the target regardless of the shooter’s skill within 80 jang (approximately 240m).

(Omitted)

The researchers and artisans who checked the conditions required for the new long rifle and the new machine gun had detached expressions.

‘Let’s give up, it’s comfortable to give up. It’s comfortable to think of us as just His Majesty’s counting sticks.’

‘If we pass this task, we’ll get something, so let’s be satisfied with that.’

* * *

Sejong, who had promised rewards to the researchers and artisans, asked Hyang in a small voice.

“Emperor, may I ask you something?”

“Please ask.”

“It’s about the Byeongshik long rifle. Wouldn’t it be possible to load 10 or 15 bullets at once? Then you could shoot for much longer, couldn’t you?”

“Then it will take longer to reload.”

“Then wouldn’t it be possible to create a separate ammunition box like the one attached to the hwacha and attach and detach it? Ah! Speaking of hwacha, another thought comes to mind, how about applying the framework of the Gapshik machine gun to the Byeongshik long rifle? If you combine the framework and ammunition box of the Gapshik machine gun with the Byeongshik long rifle, you’ll get even better performance….”

Sejong, who had spoken up to that point, looked at Hyang’s strange expression, narrowed his eyes, and asked Hyang.

“Why is that?”

“…I will put it on the Challenge Log [list of tasks].”

‘I feel it every time, but I’m a cheat key and this guy is out of spec!’

Meanwhile, Sejong was still looking at Hyang with narrowed eyes.

‘That’s not the expression of someone who’s been enlightened by my words! This guy… he knew! But why? Hmm… this guy, this! He was planning to make excuses and get out of it later!’