Black Corporation: Joseon [EN]: Chapter 1115

1115. The Growing Embers (3)

Davinci returned to Area 51 with a peculiar expression after visiting Sugang Palace at Hyang’s summons.

“How much more trouble is this going to be?”

Goh Yojang, seeing Davinci’s expression, immediately cut to the chase. At Goh Yojang’s question, Davinci presented the blueprint he had been holding.

“It’s something His Majesty envisioned. He calls it a ‘self-propelled carriage, an automobile’.”

“A self-propelled carriage? I seem to recall hearing about it somewhere…”

Goh Yojang, after a moment of searching his memory, suddenly turned pale.

“Could it be ‘Jang Youngsil’s cherished desire’?”

“Something similar. I suppose we should be grateful it doesn’t involve clockwork mechanisms?”

“Hoo〜.”

Upon hearing Davinci’s words, Goh Yojang let out a long sigh of relief.

* * *

‘Jang Youngsil’s cherished desire’ referred to the self-propelled palanquin [a covered litter or sedan chair, typically for one person] that Jang Youngsil had attempted to create but was stopped by Hyang. Jang Youngsil’s ‘love for clockwork’ was famous enough to be recorded in history. And despite Hyang’s intervention, he conceived and even built a model of a palanquin that moved on its own using clockwork as its power source. And Hyang found out about this and thoroughly reprimanded him.

“Do not even think about a self-propelled palanquin until I give my permission! No, let me correct that. Never even dream of a self-propelled palanquin powered by clockwork!”

“……”

“Are you refusing my command?!”

Faced with Hyang’s firm order, Jang Youngsil had no choice but to answer.

“I obey your command.”

Later, when a practical steam engine was created, Jang Youngsil was the most enthusiastic in the process of creating iron horses and locomotives based on it. However, Jang Youngsil did not like the iron horses and locomotives that were created in this way.

“Noisy, too much smoke, and complicated to handle. Clockwork is the best in times like these… Hoo〜.”

Jang Youngsil still couldn’t let go of his attachment to clockwork.

Nevertheless, Jang Youngsil faithfully carried out Hyang’s orders, but eventually began to show signs of declining health due to stress. Hyang, noticing this, immediately sought out Jang Youngsil. Seeing Jang Youngsil slowly going mad, Hyang saw a reflection of his past self.

In the end, Hyang backed down.

“I will allow you to create models.”

At Hyang’s words, Jang Youngsil bowed deeply on the spot and shouted.

“I will repay this grace even in death!”

And in both Bonji and Shinji, Jang Youngsil continued his research on various clockwork-powered vehicles whenever he had the chance. After Jang Youngsil’s death, related drawings, research materials, and models were discovered, and his junior artisans considered their feasibility. The results of their analysis were as follows:

-The body of the carriage can be fully utilized with improvements to the materials.

-However, the clockwork-powered engine does not generate enough power compared to its size.

-We also considered replacing it with a steam engine, but the steam engine is also too weak in output compared to its size.

-Therefore, it is difficult to achieve its full performance unless a small, high-output engine is developed.

With the final conclusion, Jang Youngsil’s self-propelled palanquin sank below the surface.

* * *

Goh Yojang, having recalled his memories, examined the blueprint again.

“Heo…”

Davinci questioned Goh Yojang’s reaction, which was a mixture of admiration and self-reproach.

“What is it?”

“This design… it seems to be based on Jang Youngsil’s design. I saw Jang Youngsil’s drawings when I first started being called an artisan. I had completely forgotten about it since then, but it seems His Majesty has not forgotten. Hoo〜. We, who can be said to be Jang Youngsil’s direct disciples, had completely forgotten about it. It is something to reflect on.”

Goh Yojang, regretting his indifference, soon regained his composure.

“Alright! Enough with the regrets! I will make up for it by successfully completing the task His Majesty has given us!”

Goh Yojang, having composed himself, examined Hyang’s blueprint once more.

“First, is it a cargo cart?”

“His Majesty said to start with a cargo cart first, and then finally create a carriage that wealthy people would covet.”

Goh Yojang, pondering Davinci’s words for a moment, chuckled and muttered.

“He’s trying to do something that the Ministry of Finance will like.”

“Why is the Ministry of Finance suddenly coming up?”

“If it’s a carriage that wealthy people will covet, it will be expensive, right? Then a lot of taxes will be attached to it, won’t they?”

“Ah-ha!”

“He’s been emptying the Ministry of Finance’s coffers all this time, so he’s ‘giving medicine after giving the disease’ [a Korean idiom meaning to compensate for harm caused].”

“Hahaha!”

Goh Yojang and Davinci, having relieved their tension with a mixture of jokes and serious talk, refocused their attention on the design.

“The more I look at it, the more I can’t help but admire His Majesty’s insight.”

“Huh? Where?”

Goh Yojang pointed to the requirements that came with the blueprint.

-The cargo cart must be able to carry at least 270 kwan (about 1 ton) of cargo.

“This weight is enough to carry about five sacks of unpolished rice. That’s perfect for both ordinary farmers and merchants.”

“Is that so?”

Goh Yojang continued to nod and admire.

“With this size, it can travel on most new roads without any problems. Also, it doesn’t take much effort to load and unload cargo. And this part here is very impressive.”

Goh Yojang pointed to a sentence that Hyang had added in small letters.

-In the worst case, it must be able to carry and move up to 320 kwan (about 1.2 tons).

“When loading cargo, it is not uncommon to overload it, is it? You know that even now, carts traveling around the capital are prohibited from overloading, right?”

“I know it well.”

Davinci replied in a slightly disgruntled voice.

* * *

As the Empire grew, Seoul also became more and more prosperous.

People flocked from all over the Empire, and all kinds of goods poured in. Naturally, the first thing to go wrong was the roads.

Even though asphalt, one of the byproducts of petroleum refining, was overlaid on the concrete roads, the roads were still damaged in various places, and complaints were received. The main reason for this road damage was that the carts traveling on the roads were always overloaded.

Carts loaded with sacks of grain, merchants’ goods, and even moving luggage were stacked like towers, and the roads, unable to withstand the load, collapsed. In response, the Imperial Court strictly prohibited overloading, but overloading did not decrease significantly. For the common people and small business owners, overloading was an unavoidable choice.

“His Majesty knows that, so he wrote ‘the worst-case scenario’.”

“I see…”

‘And…..’

Goh Yojang, examining the blueprint again, shook his head lightly.

“To turn the space where the clockwork was placed into the place for the internal combustion engine, that’s a really brilliant idea.”

The clockwork and the clockwork housing were shaped like a large cylinder standing upright. And the internal combustion engine, which had just been put into practical use, was radial and slightly smaller in size.

“He put the internal combustion engine and the windmill to cool the heat of the internal combustion engine in the place where the clockwork was. He solved the most troublesome problem.”

“I see…”

Davinci, listening to Goh Yojang’s explanation and examining the blueprint, also began to shine his eyes.

“Hmm… this part here, the part that transmits the output from the engine to the wheels and the part that controls the direction of the cart, we can refer to that of the assault vehicle… Hmm…..”

After a moment of contemplation, Davinci turned to Goh Yojang.

“If we do well, we can create the result faster than expected, and with less cost than expected?”

“Isn’t that right? Then I’ll call the kids together!”

* * *

In this way, the self-propelled palanquin that Jang Youngsil dreamed of came into reality in a slightly different form. Hyang, receiving reports on the development situation in Area 51, looked up at the sky with a strange expression.

‘Originally, we should have gone from automobiles to tanks, but this time it’s the other way around…..’

Hiding the complex emotions that only he could harbor, Hyang examined the sketches of the cargo truck and luxury carriage designed by Davinci.

“Hmm… everyone is so tall [referring to the height of the people in the sketches]. Once the internal combustion engine is properly in place, we should also challenge the liquid-cooled internal combustion engine.”

As Hyang was finishing up and coming outside, he saw soldiers looking at the model of the cargo truck and talking about this and that.

At the sight, Hyang sighed.

“The Minister of National Defense will be crying and begging again.”

The imperial ministers, having heard the news of the development of the cargo truck, gathered in the Prime Minister’s conference room to talk.

“Do you think that cargo cart will be useful?”

“It seems okay.”

“It’s not just okay, it’s amazing. There was no difficulty with carts pulled by oxen and horses, so will that cargo cart be used?”

“I agree.”

Most of the ministers were giving negative evaluations. The cargo cart could carry a considerable amount of cargo, but carts pulled by draft animals could also carry that much.

“And, it doesn’t take much skill to drive oxen and horses, but wouldn’t you have to learn a separate skill to drive that cargo cart? Most of the people who need that cargo cart are barely making a living from day to day, so is that possible?”

“I agree.”

“And, oxen and horses can be fed grass and feed, but that cargo cart has to be fed oil, right? Is that oil cheap?”

“That’s right…..”

While most of the ministers were evaluating negatively, on one side, the Minister of National Defense was pleading with the Minister of Finance.

“You can come and fleece me again this time, so please allocate more budget! If necessary, I’ll give you all the defensive emplacements I have now!”

“Geez! Why are you in such a hurry! The actual thing hasn’t even come out yet! Let’s talk after we see the real thing!”

“Why is there a saying that you should buy it before it’s even made!”

“Ah! Come on!”

The ministers who were watching the quarrel between the Minister of Finance and the Minister of National Defense tilted their heads.

“Huh? The Minister of National Defense is like that, but the Minister of Finance’s reaction is strange?”

“Really? Why is he so lukewarm?”

“It’s strange. In other cases, it would be a situation where he would be grabbing the Minister of National Defense by the collar…..”

Faced with the Minister of Finance’s unexpected reaction, the ministers began to rethink their judgment.

-One of the characteristics of the Minister of Finance is that he is incredibly good at finding ‘things that make money’. You have to be good at this to become the Minister of Finance.

-If it was an item that didn’t make money, the Minister of Finance would have been the first to jump up and down.

-But, he’s surprisingly reserved? Especially, he’s treating the Minister of National Defense so gently?

The ministers who thought that far all changed their minds.

‘This cargo cart makes money!’

In the end, in the ensuing morning assembly, the ministers expressed their opinion to Woo that it would be good to produce and sell the cargo cart. As time passed, Hyun in Shinji sent a report related to this.

-In Shinji, carts pulled by oxen and horses are also useful, but I think cargo carts are more optimal.

-I believe that linking cargo carts and railroads will further increase the efficiency of logistics distribution in Shinji.

-I think this is the same for Bonji and other regions of the Empire.

The report sent by Hyun was the decisive blow, and the ministers unknowingly stroked their chests.

“We narrowly avoided it!”