Black Corporation: Joseon [EN]: Chapter 157

Helo Night

157. Committing Palace Trespass (3)

“A throwing bomb, you say?”

“Yes. You could call it a small, portable version of the Bigyeokjincheonleoe [a type of powerful cannon] that regular soldiers can use.”

“Hmm….”

As the Royal Guard Captain examined the throwing bomb in his hand, Hyang gestured to a soldier standing nearby.

“I’ll show you how to use it.”

“Yes, sir.”

As the soldier stood beside him, Hyang twisted open the bottom cap of the throwing bomb. The bottom of the opened canister was sealed with paper, which bulged out in the middle.

“This bulging part contains the detonator. And the fuse connects this to the warhead above through the canister.”

After explaining the main parts, Hyang handed the throwing bomb to the soldier.

“Throw! Throw! Throw!”

The soldier, having received the throwing bomb, shouted a warning in all directions. He then slammed the bulging bottom of the throwing bomb against the defensive wall, threw it far away, and ducked below the wall. Simultaneously, Hyang and the Royal Guard Captain also hid below the defensive wall.

Bang!

Shortly after, a loud explosion erupted. As the throwing bomb exploded without issue, Hyang turned to look at the Royal Guard Captain.

“What do you think?”

The Royal Guard Captain, who had been examining the site of the explosion, stroked his beard and said,

“It’s similar to the Jillyeopo cannon.”

“It’s even easier to use than that. You don’t need to carry a fire source.”

“I see….”

The Royal Guard Captain nodded and turned to Hyang.

“How many do we have in stock right now?”

Following the Royal Guard Captain’s decision, a large quantity of throwing bombs was carefully divided and brought into Gyeongbok Palace.

Meanwhile, as the situation grew increasingly serious, Hyang called the Royal Guard Captain and asked,

“Has a plan been prepared for His Majesty’s evacuation?”

“Not yet….”

“What about an emergency evacuation plan for Her Majesty’s residence, the Junggungjeon [the Queen’s residence]?”

“Not yet….”

At the Royal Guard Captain’s answer, Hyang let out a small sigh.

“Haa~.”

‘There’s a reason why the king couldn’t escape and was captured every time a coup occurred.’

Seeing the Royal Guard Captain’s face, which couldn’t hide his shame, Hyang calmly took out a piece of paper.

“Let’s prepare one.”

While creating an evacuation plan for emergencies, Hyang called the Crown Princess, the concubines, and a very small number of trusted eunuchs to explain the escape plan.

“That’s all. Remember it well, and if an emergency occurs, act accordingly.”

As Hyang finished speaking, the Crown Princess asked Hyang,

“Will you not be joining us, Your Highness?”

To the Crown Princess’s question, Hyang answered firmly,

“I must stay behind and suppress the rebels.”

At Hyang’s answer, the Crown Princess bit her lip and made a surprising statement.

“Then I will stay as well.”

“Crown Princess! It’s dangerous!”

“If something happens to Your Highness, would I be truly alive? Whether I live or die, I will be with Your Highness!”

At the Crown Princess’s words, Yangje and Yangwon also stepped forward.

“I will stay as well!”

“Me too….”

At the statements of the Crown Princess, Yangje, and Yangwon, Hyang wore a troubled expression.

“Heo….”

However, Hyang did not stop trying to persuade them.

“If an emergency occurs, there will be a great battle, it’s dangerous.”

At Hyang’s words, the Crown Princess smiled and retorted,

“Have you forgotten? My rifle marksmanship is better than Your Highness’s.”

“Ah….”

Hyang had no choice but to shut his mouth.

* * *

On the first night, while chatting with the Crown Princess to ease the awkward atmosphere, the topic of rifles came up.

Hyang, intrigued by the Crown Princess’s claim that she was confident in her archery skills, taught her how to shoot the Gapsik Jangchongtong [a long rifle] and Gapsik Masangchongtong [a musket].

And the result was….

‘Everyone in the neighborhood! We have a sniper here!’

Hyang let out a silent scream when he saw the Crown Princess penetrate the center of a target 50 paces (about 60m) away with the Gapsik Masangchongtong, which was notorious for its declining accuracy beyond 30 paces (about 36m).

“How do you feel about shooting the rifle?”

“It’s even better than archery!”

The Crown Princess replied with a flushed face.

The Crown Princess, who had become interested in rifle shooting, made it a daily routine to take Yangje and Yangwon to the shooting range.

As they shot so frequently, feedback was inevitable.

“Your Highness, I have something to say….”

As the Crown Princess hesitated and spoke, Hyang smiled and asked,

“Yes, what is it?”

At Hyang’s question, the Crown Princess, who had been hesitating, got to the point.

“After shooting the rifles frequently, there’s a bit of a problem….”

At the Crown Princess’s words, Hyang’s face became serious.

“A problem? Is something not feeling well? Should I call the royal physician?”

“It’s not that. It’s just that I was wondering if it would be helpful to have something to support the Gapsik Masangchongtong….”

“Something to support it? Tell me about it.”

As Hyang showed interest instead of scolding her, the Crown Princess explained with a little more confidence.

“It would be nice to have something like the Gapsik Jangchongtong, something to support the rifle against the shoulder.”

“Hmm?”

At the Crown Princess’s words, countless images flashed through Hyang’s mind. Images of pistols with stocks that he had seen on the internet in the 21st century.

‘A six-shot revolver with a stock?’

As he pondered whether it would suit the gun, Hyang remembered seeing a similar pistol in a Western movie and nodded.

‘It might be okay.’

“I understand. I’ll think about it.”

“And I’ve heard that the longer the rifle, the better it shoots at long distances, so I’d like the length to be increased as well.”

“I’ll think about that too.”

“Thank you, Your Highness.”

“Then…. Let’s sleep!”

“Ah-heung!” [an expression of contentment]

It was a passionate honeymoon.

* * *

And, not long after, Hyang created the custom Masangchongtong that the Crown Princess wanted. Hyang, looking at the custom Masangchongtong with a detachable stock and an extended barrel, burst into a chuckle.

“Goodness…. I must be the only guy who made a custom pistol to give to his wife.”

And Hyang, who went to the shooting range with the Crown Princess with the custom pistol that was created in that way, had no choice but to be amazed.

The Crown Princess had turned the center of a target 80 paces (about 96m) away into a honeycomb.

As an afterword, the military, who saw the newly improved Masangchongtong, visited Hyang and begged.

“Please supply that rifle to the military!”

“Why?”

“It’s the best weapon for the cavalry! The Masangchongtong is useful in close combat, but its effective range is short. The Gapsik Jangchongtong can only be used as a club after firing one shot!”

“Ah….”

In the end, Hyang’s custom pistol was supplied to the cavalry under the name of ‘Eulsik Masangchongtong’.

When the artisans received the blueprints for the Eulsik Masangchongtong, they tilted their heads, looking at the Western letters written at the top of the blueprints.

“What does this say?”

“I don’t know. I guess His Highness the Crown Prince’s eccentricity has been activated again.”

Next to ‘Eulsik Masangchongtong’ at the very top of the blueprint, it was written in English like this:

-Queen’s custom

* * *

When the Crown Princess mentioned her marksmanship, Hyang had no choice but to shut his mouth.

“Then even if the others….”

“I am the same.”

“As for rifle marksmanship, I am also good enough to take care of myself.”

“Tsk….”

At the words of Yangwon and Yangje, Hyang could only smack his lips.

As Hyang and the Crown Princess became closer through rifle shooting, Yangje and Yangwon also devoted themselves to practicing marksmanship. Thanks to this, the two were evaluated as having better marksmanship than the Royal Guards, and Hyang had to make and present custom pistols again for the peace of his family.

As a result of this butterfly effect, Sejong had to suffer for a while.

This was because Queen Soheon and the concubines subtly nagged Sejong.

Sejong examined the reason why the reactions of the Queen and concubines suddenly became lukewarm. As a result, Sejong, who learned that the gift that Hyang had given to his women was the cause, muttered to himself.

“Then should I make and present a cannon?”

At Sejong’s words, the head eunuch shook his head.

“Surely not?”

‘If you do that, they will shoot the cannon from the Junggungjeon to the Gangnyeongjeon [the King’s residence].’

In the end, Sejong had to empty his pockets.

* * *

As the ‘Seje Reform’ was announced, the local gentry, especially those in the southern provinces, had no choice but to strengthen their resolve.

“Now we’re at a dead end! We have no choice! Let’s rise up!”

The number of gentry who advocated for uprising increased, but there were also many gentry who dissuaded them.

“Stop it! That’s treason! Let’s write a petition instead! A petition!”

“How many times have we written petitions so far, and what was the answer? It was like reading scriptures to a cow’s ear [a Korean proverb meaning a waste of effort]! Now there is no other solution but force!”

“Even if we rise up, it will only be treason!”

There were fierce pros and cons about the armed uprising, but everyone agreed on one thing.

“If we stay like this, it’s over!”

“But there is no justification! No justification!”

When those who had decided to rise up were agonizing over finding a justification, a few found a plausible justification.

“It would be good to eliminate treacherous subjects!”

“Eliminate treacherous subjects?”

“It is because treacherous subjects are blocking the eyes and ears of the King that we are in this state! So we must eliminate those treacherous subjects and brighten the eyes and ears of the King!”

“Ooh!”

“That’s right!”

“Eliminate treacherous subjects! Eliminate treacherous subjects!”

Those who agreed to the uprising began to gather those who would join them under the justification of ‘eliminating treacherous subjects’.

Once a certain number of influential people gathered, the discussion began to gain momentum in earnest.

“The problem of manpower….”

“Doesn’t each family have private soldiers? Let’s mobilize them.”

As the Japanese pirates were rampant, the gentry in the southern provinces had been raising private soldiers under the justification of ‘preventing Japanese pirates.’

However, the gentry, who had learned some military tactics, pointed out other problems.

“That alone is not enough. We need to fill the numbers.”

“That can be done by mobilizing the slaves.”

“The slaves?”

The gentry, who had been thinking deeply about the words ‘mobilizing the slaves,’ all nodded their heads.

“That’s good. Just whispering the words ‘manumission’ [freeing them from slavery] will make them fight with their eyes turned upside down.”

“The problem of weapons….”

“It will be okay to give the slaves only bamboo spears.”

“Hmm….”

After a series of discussions, the gentry, who had established a certain plan, put their heads together to solve the last remaining problem.

“When is the best time to raise an army?”

“It can’t be too hot, and it can’t be after the harvest. Because winter is right after the harvest.”

After much discussion, the date of the uprising was set for ‘three days after the Chuseok Festival [Korean Thanksgiving]’.

“Since all the family members gather during the Mid-Autumn Festival, we can gather even more forces.”

“And we can prevent the impiety of missing the Mid-Autumn Festival ceremony.”

“Let’s pray for the success of the uprising to our ancestors and the gods of the sky through the ceremony.”

“Let’s do that!”

However, when many people gather, words are bound to leak out, and some local officials who received intelligence informed the capital of this.

And a few days later, the local officials who had reported the intelligence were greeted by the Geumgun [royal guards] who had come secretly.

“This is the royal decree sent by His Majesty.”

At the words of the Geumgun, the local official examined the Geumgun with suspicious eyes.

“Without notice? And why are you dressed like that?”

In a typical case, a properly dressed military officer or official would come and read or deliver the document in front of everyone. However, the person in front of him was wearing ordinary clothes, and he was looking for him, saying that he was a guest from the capital.

At the local official’s question, the Geumgun looked around and whispered softly.

“It’s confidential. Receive the royal decree here.”

“Ah….”

At the words of the Geumgun, the local official untied the seal of the letter, put down the letter, and bowed deeply.

The letter, stamped with Sejong’s royal seal, was written in Sejong’s own handwriting.

The local official read the contents of the letter with trembling hands.

-Refrain from rash actions as it is to wipe out the sedition of the rebellious people. If something happens, do your best to move the head of the household register and the land register to a safe place.

After confirming the contents, the local official looked at the Geumgun.

“I have confirmed it.”

“Then, please return the letter.”

“Why?”

“It’s a royal order.”

“Ah….”

At the words of the Geumgun, the local official returned the letter without saying a word. The Geumgun, who received the letter back, immediately burned the letter. The local official was anxious at the sight.

“No! That precious thing! It’s His Majesty’s handwriting!”

“It’s a royal order.”

“Damn it….”