Black Corporation: Joseon [EN]: Chapter 1107

1107. The Emperor’s Melancholy (1)

“Hoo~.”

Woo sighed softly as he finished reviewing the stack of documents before him.

“The official work is done, but the real headache is this homework.”

Woo grumbled, glancing at the separate pile of documents.

“Among flavors, the familiar one is the most tempting, and among people, the familiar one is the most… troublesome.”

Woo trailed off, picking up one of the problematic documents.

“Those who know the burdens of this position best are the ones acting like this.”

The problematic documents were support requests sent privately by Hyang, Wan, and Hyun—or, more accurately, documents badgering him for ‘some funds!’ Hyang and Wan started pestering Woo for money because Wan had figured out how to improve the newly developed power engine.

-Increase the size of the combustion chamber, which we’re calling a ‘cylinder,’ and increase the number of cylinders.

Having figured this out, Hyang and Wan, along with the artisans, began experimenting, gradually increasing the number of cylinders from two. However, it wasn’t easy. Even though the Empire possessed the most advanced technology in the world at the time, they had to go through countless trials and errors.

And in other words, they consumed a tremendous amount of the budget, even with Hyang’s interference, ignoring the glares coming from all directions.

“Well, I don’t know everything, and I can’t help it if the technology can’t keep up yet….”

Hyang muttered in his own defense. After these trials and errors, Wan and the artisans created a plausible framework.

“We’ve named it the ‘Starfish Type.’”

“It certainly looks like a starfish.”

“But it also carries the meaning of a heartfelt wish.”

“Ah… I see.”

Hyang nodded at Wan’s explanation.

Starfish was originally ‘Bulgasari (不可殺伊)’ [a mythical creature that cannot be killed]. That is, it meant ‘cannot be killed.’

It contained the desperate wish that the ‘unexplained malfunctions’—or ‘deaths,’ as the artisans put it—that they had experienced countless times in previous experiments would not happen this time.

And so, the first experimental model of the starfish-type power engine worked well.

“Success!”

“Success!”

“We finally succeeded!”

As the experimental model worked properly, the artisans, starting with Hyang, were filled with enthusiasm and rolled up their sleeves.

“Now! Let’s make something that we can actually use!”

“But we don’t have any money!”

“Huh?”

At the sound of ‘We don’t have a budget!’ Hyang and Wan hurriedly assessed the situation.

“….Certainly, we wasted a lot of the budget on trials and errors.”

“If you consider the experience gained through those trials and errors, it wasn’t entirely wasted.”

“That’s true, but it still stings, doesn’t it? Hmm… But we can’t stop the experiment here. Should we take a little from the airship project?”

“That project has already been squeezed dry. If we divert more from there, the Board of Audit and Inspection won’t stand for it.”

“Tch.”

Hyang clicked his tongue at Wan’s words.

‘The revolving door [using funds from one project for another] has reached its limit.’

“Let’s see…. Then I’ll have to empty my own pockets.”

“I think I’ll have to do that too.”

Hyang and Wan decided to use their private funds. However, this was not easy either. Although it was called private funds, most of it belonged to the imperial family, and Hyang and Wan’s own share was small.

Hyang clicked his tongue after receiving the financial report.

“Self-inflicted.”

The Imperial Overlaw contained laws regarding the enrichment activities of imperial family members.

-Wealth earned by imperial family members using their personal capital belongs to the individual, provided they pay taxes at the legal rate.

-However, if imperial assets were used as capital, the profits must be shared with the Imperial Treasury Department according to the equity ratio.

-This applies equally to all imperial family members. The Emperor is no exception.

And Hyang was the one who proposed this.

“This is to prevent incompetent members of the imperial family from ruining the imperial assets in the future. It would be fortunate if they only ruined the imperial assets, but they could ruin the entire country if they do it wrong.”

This clause was created according to Hyang’s argument, and thanks to this clause, Hyang and Wan’s pockets were now close to empty.

“I can’t reduce the donations I’m making in my name….”

“That’s right.”

In the end, Hyang and Wan had no choice but to write a letter to Woo requesting support.

* * *

“Hoo~.”

Woo sighed repeatedly as he looked at the problematic requests.

“Even if the Grand Emperor [referring to a retired emperor with significant influence] can do that, the Emperor Emeritus [a retired emperor] shouldn’t be doing this….”

Sejong, the Founding Emperor, was adept at doing various things within the allocated budget. Thanks to this, Hyang received little pressure when Sejong stepped down as Emperor Emeritus. Rather, he even stepped forward to allocate additional budget. However, as Wan became Emperor and Hyang became Emperor Emeritus, the pressure for additional budget increased.

Therefore, the story that Wan, who was the Emperor at the time, suffered all sorts of hardships between the ministers and Hyang remained as a legend. The problem was that Wan, who had stepped down as Emperor Emeritus, was doing exactly what Hyang had done.

“Hoo~. But I can’t reject it… I’ll have to gauge the Prime Minister and the Minister of Economy and Finance’s reactions again.”

Woo sighed lightly and organized the documents.

-The Grand Emperor Emeritus and the Emperor Emeritus say they need it! But you’re not giving it? You can’t give it? Really? Are you confident you can handle what will happen afterwards?

-And the two of them aren’t asking for money because they’re being extravagant! They’re doing it for the country! National affairs!

With this context, it was certain that the budget would be immediately allocated and paid. The only thing that bothered him was having to listen to the nagging of the ministers, especially the Minister of Economy and Finance.

-Your Majesty! If we have to create a budget every time this happens, what’s the point of reviewing the budget for the next year every year-end! We can just do it haphazardly! Nevertheless, every year-end, all ministries suffer from budget allocation problems! That’s because the country runs properly!

This was the nagging of the Minister of Economy and Finance that was trotted out when things got too severe.

Interestingly, this nagging was passed down from generation to generation by successive Ministers of Economy and Finance, starting with Kim Jeom. And no further remarks were made beyond this line. If they crossed the line any further, some monstrous being still alive would stir [a reference to a powerful, possibly retired figure who would intervene].

In the end, the additional budget was allocated and paid as Hyang and Wan wanted a few days later.

“Hoo~. Will it be quiet for a while now?”

Woo began to examine the documents with a relieved expression. However, before long, Woo had to put his hand on his forehead again and grumble.

“Agh! Again! Why!”

This time it was a request from Hyun.

* * *

The scale of Hyun’s request was different from the start.

-Development of new power engines for the turrets, barbettes [armored enclosures protecting the base of a turret], and cannons of the new battleship.

-This power engine uses electricity as fuel.

-If positive effects are confirmed, it is judged reasonable to replace not only the battleships the Empire is building but also the new battleships already deployed.

-The problem is that there is no budget allocated for this research.

-Considering the current situation, it is not right to start research from the next session. I think the sooner the better.

-In particular, the second of the new battleships in question is about to be launched, and the third is in the final stages of construction. The later it is, the more the cost of modification will increase.

“The conclusion is that he’s telling me to shut up and give him money….”

Woo put his hand on his forehead and continued to grumble, rereading the documents sent by Hyun.

“But the mentioned parts have been continuously pointed out as problems….”

* * *

The part that Hyun had a traffic accident with [encountered difficulties with] was the ‘ironclad.’

-A huge, monstrous ship made of steel frames and covered with steel skin, crossing the ocean without sails.

After seeing the Assault Turtle Ship, Hyun burned with the determination to build such an enormous ship. And as a result of that determination, the Empire’s new main battleship began to grow in size, but soon reached its limit.

This was when ironclad ships appeared in Europe, and Ming created a proper ironclad ship, not the monstrous ‘Double-Headed Flame Dragon.’

-Mounting powerful cannons that can neutralize newly emerging ironclad ships.

-Securing defensive power to withstand enemy shells.

Based on the second condition, the concept of ‘shell defense’ and the concept of ‘absolute survival zone (vital part)’ were created.

Unlike the second condition, which found a solution, the first condition was the problem.

-Powerful cannons are naturally large.

-If you line them up on the left and right sides of the hull, the battleship becomes unnecessarily large.

-However, making it like the Assault Turtle Ship is not effective. Other countries’ battleships have now secured excellent mobility.

-Then what’s the answer?

To solve this problem, Hyun repeatedly pondered in between his duties.

What Hyun found while worrying was the rotating turret.

-Stack the gunpowder and shells used in the cannon in layers like building a tower.

-And. Place a strong iron plate-made barbette on top of this tower and place the cannon.

-And place this tower along the centerline of the hull.

-And rotate this tower to aim at the enemy ship and bombard it.

-If you place the cannon on the centerline of the hull, the entire hull will absorb the recoil. This allows you to load even larger cannons.

-Also, if you place the gunpowder and shell storage directly under the barbette and surround it with armor, you can efficiently strengthen the defense.

“….I think it’s better to load three or four cannons with a sure hit than 20 moderately powerful cannons.”

“But the accuracy is low.”

“Can’t that part be solved with training?”

“Think about it. Isn’t a big and powerful hit better than small ones?”

“Even so, three or four feels a bit small…. It should be at least over ten….”

“Let’s think about that part a little more.”

In the end, a new concept of new battleship was created. And Hyang, who saw the design of the battleship in question, looked up at the sky and muttered softly.

“I’m telling you clearly…. I didn’t do anything!”

Hyang, who was diligently explaining to someone, looked at the design again and sighed deeply.

“What is this… Why is a pre-dreadnought [an early type of battleship] already coming out….”

* * *

In this way, a new concept of battleship was born, but there was a fundamental problem.

The problem was how to rotate the turret.

At first, they thought of using a shaft connected to the steam engine in the engine room to rotate the turret, but this made the structure too complicated. The method that came out to solve this was to attach a power engine to each turret.

And this became a fundamental problem.