Black Corporation: Joseon [EN]: Chapter 977

977. The Madman with Clear Eyes (2)

Da Vinci’s challenges continued. His second endeavor was in the field of ‘flying machines.’ After examining the actual flying machines, models, and blueprints created by Hyang, Wan, and Jang Yeong-sil, Da Vinci knelt on the spot and exclaimed, filled with awe.

“Oh, God!”

Having expressed his gratitude, Da Vinci locked himself in the workshop assigned to him. As rumors spread that ‘Da Vinci has locked himself in his workshop!’ the artisans of Area 51 began to show a gleam in their eyes, their curiosity piqued.

“Hoo-hoo. I wonder what marvel will emerge this time?”

It had been some time since artisans of 51, those who were drawn to Da Vinci’s work, began to appear one by one. Or, to be precise, it wasn’t so much following as it was a meeting of minds.

* * *

When Da Vinci first entered Area 51, the artisans subtly ostracized him.

“An artisan from the West? What’s he even good at?”

“Painting, they say?”

“Painting? If it’s painting, he should go to the Bureau of Painting; why is he in Area 51?”

“The Supreme Emperor brought him, I heard?”

“The Supreme Emperor? Well, then…”

In Areas 51, 52, and various research institutes, Hyang was an ‘untouchable’ figure. Therefore, even if what Hyang did was not immediately understood, everyone nodded and moved on.

“There must be a reason.”

“When have you ever seen that person do anything carelessly?”

Therefore, everyone kept their mouths shut at the news that Hyang had brought Da Vinci. However, the artisans who saw what Da Vinci was doing were greatly disappointed.

“I thought he was someone special…”

“He’s less skilled than a trainee artisan…”

They were greatly disappointed to see Da Vinci, who had some manual dexterity but lacked technical skills, and subtly began to ostracize him. Da Vinci, with his pride as a renowned artist and inventor from Italy, acted haughtily, thus inadvertently inviting his own ostracism.

However, as he learned the Imperial language and Jeongeum [Korean alphabet], enabling communication, the situation changed. After reading proper challenge logs and seeing the bizarre objects and blueprints created by Hyang and Jang Yeong-sil, Da Vinci humbled himself.

“Ah! I still have a long way to go!”

Having put down his pride, Da Vinci made many efforts to bridge the gap with the artisans. In the process of designing and developing the ‘Land Battleship,’ Da Vinci worked hand in hand with the artisans, and artisans who resonated with Da Vinci emerged.

“Well… maybe it’s because his name is Da Vinci, so his practical skills were all lacking, but his mind is brilliant!”

Joking like this, the artisans who resonated with Da Vinci evaluated him as follows:

-Jang Yeong-sil who can’t use a hammer.

Although his skills were inferior to those of professional artisans, Da Vinci’s creativity was unmatched by any other artisan.

* * *

Thus, the artisans who resonated with Da Vinci gathered in small groups to talk about the news of Da Vinci’s seclusion.

“What did he see this time to lock himself up?”

“Flying machines.”

“Flying machines? Hoo-hoo. He’s obsessed with something difficult again?”

“That’s him.”

“That’s true. By the way, I wonder what interesting thing will come out this time?”

Unable to overcome their curiosity, the artisans lingered in front of Da Vinci’s workshop whenever they had a chance. After repeating this for several days, Da Vinci’s workshop door burst open, and Da Vinci, with a haggard face, emerged.

“He’s out!”

As the artisans who heard the news gathered, Da Vinci handed out the blueprints.

“Take a look before I show them to the Supreme Emperor.”

At Da Vinci’s words, the artisans gathered around the blueprints.

“Let’s see.”

“Hey! Get your head out of the way!”

After bickering and examining the blueprints, the artisans stepped back with troubled expressions.

“A flying machine with a steam engine…”

“Wasn’t the steam engine too heavy compared to its output, so we excluded it?”

“If we put a multi-wing propeller on it, as Da Vinci says, it might be okay…”

“The multi-wing propeller is strong compared to its size, but it still seems too much?”

“More than that, the bigger concern is that wing. Flying by flapping like a bird? Looking at the design, that engine part must be made of iron.”

“The frame is also a problem. Even if it’s made of wood, considering the strength, the weight will be enormous.”

After pointing out the problems as they came to mind, the artisans began to contemplate the solutions.

“The propulsion engine seems to be the multi-wing propeller after all…”

“Shall we put that propeller that’s being tested on it?”

“What if we change the material of the gears and springs that go into the device that makes the wing flap? The newly released alloy iron seems to fit quite well.”

“That one that’s notorious for being difficult to handle?”

“Its temper is terrible, but it seems perfect for this.”

“What about that wood for making the frame? Balsa wood brought from Shinji [a region, possibly referring to its origin].”

“Balsa wood? It’s very light.”

“And it’s flexible like willow and doesn’t break easily, so it seems to fit.”

“I see…”

Since the creation of Area 51, the artisans, who had been trained for generations, had already reached a state of near perfection. Therefore, Hyang would often remark:

“If they had Jang Yeong-sil’s creativity, it would be the icing on the cake, no, the crowning glory…”

To solve this problem, the Empire regularly held events, and Hyang had planned to reel in Da Vinci. In any case, the artisans, finding some potential in Da Vinci’s design, refined the design and wrote a proposal with Da Vinci.

Since they were already seasoned artisans, the work was completed in an instant, and after going through the procedures, it was delivered to Hyeon through Woo – who was serving as a concurrent official.

“Hmm… a multi-wing propeller…”

Hyeon, who saw the design and proposal for a flying machine with a multi-wing propeller that he had been working on since he was the Crown Prince, gleamed in his eyes. After carefully examining the design and proposal, Hyeon signed the approval in the signature column and handed it to the eunuch.

“Authorize the development. But send it to the Supreme Emperor just in case.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Hyang, who checked the design and proposal at Sugang Palace, shook his head slightly.

“Is this a steam engine added to a design I saw on the internet? Geez… By the way, the wings are flapping?”

Hyang, who confirmed the content in the proposal that ‘it flies by flapping its wings,’ suddenly recalled a scene. It was a scene from a documentary about the development of aircraft, about airplanes that competed around the same time as the Wright brothers. There was an airplane with four or five layers of wings flapping as it taxied.

‘The result of that was… Ah! A complete disaster!’

“Hmm…”

After looking at the design for a long time, Hyang returned the design and proposal to the eunuch next to him.

“Tell them it’s okay to try.”

“Yes.”

‘I already know the result, but these attempts must continue for development.’

And as Hyang expected, the result ended in a ‘complete disaster.’ As soon as it took off from the flying platform (飛越臺) [Biyue-dae, Flying Leap Platform], which looked like a ski jump, it immediately fell to the ground and broke.

“Why?”

Da Vinci and the artisans, faced with the result of failure, thoroughly investigated the broken flying machine to find the cause of the failure.

-The very act of flapping the wings was a huge mistake.

-Even with the multi-wing propeller, there is still not enough power. To increase the power, the size must be increased, which creates a vicious cycle.

-The frame made of balsa wood was surprisingly good.

Da Vinci and the artisans, having identified the cause, immediately began to improve it. Starting with removing the device that flapped the wings, Da Vinci and the artisans continued to challenge, making improvements one by one. However, the challenges continued to end in failure. And the analysis results were as follows:

-Connecting the multi-wing propeller and the windmill-type propeller was surprisingly good.

-But the problem is the steam engine that transmits power to the propeller. It’s too big and heavy.

-Conclusion: An engine to replace the steam engine is needed.

“This is a problem that was already raised in the challenge log!”

The artisans, having confirmed the conclusion, all shouted in unison. It was a problem that had existed since the first flying machine was made.

“In the end, it means we need an engine to replace the steam engine.”

“Not just the engine, we need fuel other than coal.”

Hyang, who received reports through various channels, smiled and looked at the map.

“Chemistry is also steadily developing, and Texas is in our hands, so something interesting will happen soon. No, we don’t even need to go to Texas. It’s easy to get from Arabia. If we accumulate a little more knowledge related to electricity here, an internal combustion engine may come out.”

Looking out the window, thinking about the future, Hyang saw pillars of black smoke rising from all directions. Looking at the smoke, Hyang smiled bitterly and muttered.

“My name will be the first to be listed as the one who had a significant negative impact on the Earth’s environment.”

* * *

Da Vinci’s obsession with flying machines was persistent.

“New propeller, new engine, new fuel…”

Da Vinci wandered around Area 51, pondering the problems that needed to be solved first to successfully fly the flying machine.

“Hey! That’s a dangerous area! Get out of there! I said get out!”

“Ah! I, I’m sorry!”

Da Vinci, startled and apologizing, stepped back.

“Geez, where are you selling your soul [being so absent-minded]?”

“I’m sorry.”

Da Vinci, repeatedly apologizing, looked at the artisans and soldiers who had shouted at him.

“Huh? What is this?”

“It’s called Sanhwa Singijeon [a type of Korean rocket arrow].”

With a sullen answer, Da Vinci looked at the Sanhwa Singijeon.

“Step back! If you make even a small mistake, you’ll end up eating ancestral rites food [a euphemism for dying]!”

“Ah, I understand!”

Da Vinci, stepping back, watched what the artisans were doing. The artisans who connected the fuses to the Sanhwa Singijeon went into the trench, looked around, and lit the fuse.

“Ignition!”

Kwaaaang! Shiiiiik! Pupeopeong!

The Singijeon, which flew wildly as the gunpowder inside the body burned, separated the warheads near the target. The warheads separated from the Singijeon fell around the target and exploded wildly.

“Yeah!”

“Success!”

The artisans and soldiers cheered with excitement. The Sanhwa Singijeon, which was a kind of two-stage rocket even in the history before Hyang’s intervention, was continuously improved by Hyang. As a result of the improvement, the Sanhwa Singijeon that was tested now had become a kind of short-range multi-warhead missile, or cluster bomb.

Da Vinci, watching the artisans and soldiers celebrating their success, suddenly clenched his fist.

“This is it!”

* * *

Da Vinci, having confirmed the possibility, immediately went to the artisans who were close to them and told them.

“Use gunpowder?”

“Gunpowder? Hey!”

“Gunpowder is not allowed!”

At Da Vinci’s words, the artisans waved their hands in unison and refused. Da Vinci expressed his doubts at the artisans’ reaction.

“Why?”

“Gunpowder is dangerous! If you make a mistake, it explodes! You just go to hell!”

“When we first made the flying machine, we already used gunpowder, but it just exploded!”

The artisans repeatedly said no, but Da Vinci did not give up easily.

“The Sanhwa Singijeon flies well, though?”

“That’s?”

“The Sanhwa Singijeon flies well, so why can’t the flying machine?”

“Huh?”

“Huh?”

“Wait…”

At Da Vinci’s point, the artisans tilted their heads.