Black Corporation: Joseon [EN]: Chapter 1150

1150. Whose Responsibility Is It? Yours! (2)

Looking at the tense officials, Woo continued.

“Right now, I cannot help but feel devastated. How could our empire be so scorned? We must make an example of them this time! Listen, all of you!”

At Woo’s cry, the officials bowed their heads in unison and replied.

“Your Majesty, give us your command!”

“From now on, let all the empire’s affairs be conducted with only war in mind! Immediately requisition all merchant ships from every merchant guild! Furthermore, let not only the imperial workshops but also private workshops produce materials necessary for the war! Let the women of the towns weave cloth to make uniforms! Let the village blacksmiths make parts for weapons! Let all imperial citizens act with the mindset of soldiers on the battlefield! This is to be done according to already established laws, so punish severely those who disobey!”

“We shall obey your command!”

“And, I command the army going to the battlefield! If one soldier of the empire sheds blood, make a hundred enemies shed blood! If the enemy fires one bullet, fire a hundred bullets, and if the enemy uses one pound of gunpowder, we will use a hundred pounds, no, a thousand pounds of gunpowder to punish them thoroughly!”

The Minister of National Defense bowed his head and replied to Woo’s command.

“I will ensure that this is conveyed to every soldier of the empire!”

“Good. I will say it again to you all! Our empire’s national principle is to benefit all mankind, and we have treated others with the manners of a gentleman, regardless of who they are. However, we must not show goodwill to those who abandon morality! If the opponent tries to lay a hand on us, we must respond by raising a club!”

“We shall obey your command!”

Thus, the empire officially entered the war.

As Woo solidified his resolve, the empire began to fully transition into a wartime system. Private merchant ships docked at the port were immediately requisitioned by the Imperial Navy, and the sailors were reassigned to the Imperial Navy.

Private transport ships returning from voyages were also quickly converted to the Imperial Navy as soon as their quarantine period ended. The shipowners accepted the reality with grim faces.

“Since war has broken out, there’s nothing we can do. As citizens of the empire, we must uphold our duty, mustn’t we?”

“Ugh! Those damn French bastards!”

“Think positively! By being incorporated into the military registry, we get free maintenance, don’t we? That alone is a small benefit, isn’t it? We serve the country and get our ships repaired for free. Isn’t that great?”

It wasn’t just the shipowners.

Although Woo gave the order, it did not extend to mobilizing women in towns or small blacksmiths in rural villages. Instead, the workload of the merchant guilds exploded.

Merchant guilds that produced and traded fabrics began to mass-produce cloth for military uniforms and bandages, and merchant guilds that produced various metal products began to mass-produce parts for rifles and cannons.

Interestingly, the items related to weapons that the imperial government delegated to the private sector were limited to parts. They also used a rather clever trick.

For example, if there were 10 parts in a rifle and 100 parts in a cannon, one merchant guild would be assigned to produce one rifle part and about 5 to 10 cannon parts. Therefore, the merchant guilds producing the parts could only know the specifications of the parts they were in charge of and not the whole picture.

As always, it was Districts 51 and 52 that assembled these parts into complete weapons.

It wasn’t a good method in terms of quality control and productivity, but the imperial government had no choice. This was to avoid the possibility of private individuals illegally manufacturing private firearms. Furthermore, they were confident that even with this method, there would be no major problems with compatibility and productivity.

The empire’s system of weights and measures had long been unified and in operation. In simple terms, one ‘cheok’ [a traditional Korean unit of length, approximately 30.3 cm] in Bonji and one ‘cheok’ in Shinji were the same length. Therefore, if produced according to the specifications written on the order form, they would be the same size and weight regardless of the producer.

Of course, differences in quality were unavoidable.

* * *

The rapidly changing 모습 모습 [Korean: appearance, state] of the empire as it officially declared war and moved into a wartime system was clearly visible to the French diplomats stationed in Seoul. Although confined to the mansion used as the embassy and residence, the French desperately tried to find out what was happening outside.

“I suppose it’s fortunate that we still get the gazette [official government publication]?”

Count Lertel, the French ambassador to the empire, looked at the gazette in his hand with a cynical expression. The empire had blocked outside access, but it was showing considerable convenience in other areas.

The daily gazette was delivered without fail, and they were provided with sufficient food supplies.

“Or are they giving it to us so we can clearly see what you’ve done?”

Count Lertel’s adjutant, Viscount Brienne, shrugged lightly and replied.

“I suppose they’re giving it to us to see.”

“I suppose so. By the way… Have you heard anything about our compatriots outside?”

“Those working at the research institute are doing well, I hear.”

“Those people are already half imperial citizens.”

“The merchants and sailors are temporarily detained in makeshift camps. The same goes for the merchant ships. I haven’t heard of any untoward incidents.”

Count Lertel nodded lightly at Viscount Brienne’s report.

“The empire is surprisingly clean in that regard. Hmm… Then…”

Count Lertel trailed off, looking at the gazette again, then turned to Viscount Brienne.

“Judging from the contents of the gazette these days, it seems certain that the empire has taken its eyes off Persia, doesn’t it?”

“Certainly, Persia is hardly mentioned. In that respect, it seems the dreamers in Paris have done well this time.”

“Isn’t that right?”

Responding lightly to the viscount’s words, Count Lertel looked at the gazette and let out a light exclamation.

“Ha! The empire is always amazing, no matter how many times I see it. I’ve never seen such a quick response.”

“I agree. It’s just the beginning, but if the guilds that have been assigned work start producing results properly, a tremendous amount of supplies will head to the front lines.”

“A war of attrition and firepower is the empire’s specialty…”

Count Lertel, who had been answering absentmindedly, suddenly became serious, closed his mouth, and returned to his desk to rummage through documents. After frantically searching through the documents, Count Lertel soon picked out a few documents, checked their contents, and turned to the viscount.

“Do you remember what I just said?”

“Are you referring to your statement that a war of attrition and firepower is the empire’s specialty?”

“Yes. What was the purpose of the plan that the dreamers in Paris came up with? It was to make the empire take its hands off Persia, wasn’t it?”

“That’s right. And it seems to have succeeded, doesn’t it?”

At the viscount’s question, the count sighed deeply.

“Hoo~. It succeeded, but it succeeded too well.”

“Yes?”

“As the viscount said, if you look at the gazette now, Persia isn’t even mentioned. Instead, only France is mentioned from beginning to end. Success is success. But, as I said earlier, the empire’s specialty is a war of attrition and firepower. Now! What about the amount of supplies that the current empire, which is not its usual self but has resolved to ‘put every drop of sweat from every citizen into the war!’ will produce?”

“…It would be a tremendous amount.”

“Can our France handle that?”

“…….”

All that remained was silence.

* * *

While Count Lertel and Viscount Brienne were realizing the fatal misjudgment of Paris, Hyang, Wan, Woo, and former and current officials were gathered in Gyeongbok Palace [the main royal palace of Korea’s Joseon dynasty], discussing future actions.

“…Considering the circumstances that led France to do this, it’s because of Persia. Then, how about we temporarily take our hands off Persia to match their tune?”

The Prime Minister stepped forward and replied to Hyang’s proposal.

“Everyone is already moving for victory. There is no need to take our hands off Persia.”

“But, we need to wait a little longer before everything is properly coordinated, don’t we? Or am I wrong?”

“That is true.”

In response to the Prime Minister’s answer, Hyang looked at Woo and opened his mouth.

“The sight of everyone in the empire united and moving for victory is truly beautiful, but it should not continue for long. Therefore, I think it is reasonable to leave Persia to Ming [Chinese dynasty] and Japan for the time being.”

“Ming and Japan, you say?”

“That’s right.”

At Hyang’s suggestion, Woo closed his mouth and began to calculate inwardly.

‘Certainly, war is tiring for everyone. Persia is not only ours but also Ming and Japan…’

While Woo was diligently calculating the gains and losses, discussions were also taking place among the officials.

“Since many of the supplies currently being supplied to Persia are also made in Ming and Japan, I don’t think it matters.”

“That’s true, but isn’t quality the problem? Even if we look at the bullets that go into the Florence rifles, there are rumors that if the bullets made in the empire fly 100 ‘jang’ [a traditional Korean unit of length, approximately 2.3 meters], Ming’s bullets fly 80 ‘jang’, and Japan is grateful for even 60 ‘jang’.”

“According to the reports, Persia and the Ottomans are fighting within 50 ‘jang’, right? If you think about it that way, 60 ‘jang’ is more than enough, isn’t it?”

“That’s true, but my stomach churns when I think about Ming or Japan showing off.”

“From a diplomatic point of view, that ‘showing off’ is a headache.”

Wan, who was listening to the stories coming from the officials, said to Hyang.

“That showing off is a problem. Especially in the case of Ming, they might make a judgment as foolish as France’s.”

“That could be the case. But, you see…”

After quenching his thirst for a moment, Hyang shared his opinion.

“If we properly show what happens to the opponent when the empire, with its eyes turned, truly exerts its full power, I don’t think they will make that misjudgment. Especially Ming, who has been hit hard twice before, right? The memory of that time will be refreshed, and they won’t even want to utter the ‘mis’ of misjudgment for a while.”

Woo, who had been contemplating for a moment at Hyang’s words, opened his mouth.

“Since I have already said that I will make an example of them, I believe that the proposal made by Tae Tae Sang Hwang [honorific title for a retired emperor] is reasonable.”

Thus, it was decided to move according to Hyang’s proposal.

-Completely crush France by mobilizing everything.

-Give negotiations to the dogs.

Once the final goal was decided, detailed plans began to be made accordingly.

-According to the reports that continue to be delivered, the supply lines heading from Suez to Gibraltar are still intact.

-Then, send the maximum amount of supplies that can be mobilized right now to Gibraltar.

-Send all the imperial army garrisons on all routes from Hainan Island to Suez to Suez, leaving only enough supplies to fight with full force for one month.

This was also Hyang’s proposal, and the Minister of National Defense and the Minister of Finance, who heard this, muttered with slightly pale faces.

“The transport fleet will be overwhelmed.”

“Even if wartime production takes hold, it won’t be easy to fill the emptied granaries.”

The Prime Minister, who heard the muttering of the Minister of National Defense and the Minister of Finance, gestured with his eyes, asking a silent question. The Minister of National Defense, who saw the Prime Minister’s gesture, explained the reason in a small voice.

“According to the Imperial Army’s doctrine, each garrison is required to store enough supplies to fight with full force for at least three months. If the Imperial Army is attacked in the area, the doctrine is to immediately notify the higher command and hold out until support arrives.”

“Then, are we moving two months’ worth? I understand that the transport fleet will be busy, but why does the Minister of Finance look like that?”

“The amount of supplies that the Imperial Army can fight with full force for one month is the amount that other countries can last for three months. So how much supplies will it take to fill those granaries?”

“Huh….”

“And when war breaks out, several times that amount of troops and supplies arrive within one to three months of holding out like that.”

“……”

The Prime Minister’s mouth closed at the words of the Minister of National Defense. However, the Minister of National Defense continued to speak.

“If you think about it that way, several times the amount of supplies that are currently being sent to Gibraltar will continue to be sent to Gibraltar before long, and France and Spain will take it all on.”

“……”