Black Corporation: Joseon [EN]: Chapter 217

217. Challenger (5)

“Steering Room? Hmm….”

Sejong paused, contemplating Hyang’s response.

‘Steering… So it must be…. But….’

Sejong pondered the meaning, but no clear understanding came to him.

He could have dismissed it like his ministers, thinking, ‘The Crown Prince is just being the Crown Prince,’ but Sejong’s nature wouldn’t allow it.

Ultimately, Sejong had to ask Hyang.

“As I understand it, the rudder is located at the rear of the ship, connected to a long pole controlled by the boatmen. However, the steering room you mentioned doesn’t seem to have such a pole, so I’m curious about its principle.”

Hyang answered Sejong’s question immediately.

“The principle of adjusting direction by moving the rudder on the stern from side to side is the same. Only the control method has been slightly modified.”

“Slightly?”

At Sejong’s question, Hyang opened the door to the steering room.

Inside the steering room, which could easily accommodate four or five adult men, stood a thick wooden pillar. The wooden pillar, about chest height for an adult man, had a large wheel attached to it.

“This is the steering wheel. You control the rudder by turning this wheel.”

“Hoh?”

With sparkling eyes, Sejong re-entered and examined the mechanical devices connected to the steering wheel.

Sejong was filled with admiration as he looked at the steering mechanism composed of long metal rods, gears, pulleys, and ropes.

“Truly ingenious!”

“It allows for more precise rudder control with less force.”

“I see!”

After inspecting the steering mechanism, Sejong turned to Hyang.

“Can this device be installed on the Panokseon [a type of Korean warship]?”

“We are researching it.”

“I hope it can be installed.”

“If the performance is confirmed, it will be installed immediately.”

As Hyang assured, the steering wheel began to be installed on the Panokseon.

In the steering room, located in a compartment below the command pavilion of the Panokseon, the helmsman could control the direction of the ship.

This provided a significant advantage in battle.

Previously, the helmsman was exposed, making them vulnerable to casualties during combat, which often made it difficult to control the ship. However, the situation changed with the helmsman steering from within the steering room, protected by thick wooden planks.

The commander’s orders from the pavilion were immediately conveyed, giving them an advantage in battle, which enhanced the Panokseon’s combat power.

* * *

As an aside, this steering wheel was later called ‘the nightmare of historians’ or ‘the prince’s bad taste.’

Among the items that emerged from Joseon [historical Korean kingdom] during the ‘Great Leap Era,’ there were more than a few that transcended their time.

Still, many of the items created—such as long-lasting metal type and wire mesh—could be explained to some extent by the technological and scientific levels and historical context of the time.

However, the items called ‘nightmares’ or ‘bad taste’ were beyond such explanations.

For example, detonators were one such item that even ordinary people could recognize.

The steering wheel was one of those ‘nightmares.’

The sudden appearance of the steering wheel caused historians to suffer from insomnia.

Interestingly, people at the time when the steering wheel was first created, both in the East and the West, simply thought, ‘Oh? This is quite useful!’ and moved on.

However, for scholars who had to reorganize this into academic knowledge in later generations, it was not that simple.

“Let’s say we can build Challenger-class ships! There were pointed-bottom ships in Goryeo [another historical Korean kingdom] and even Silla [yet another historical Korean kingdom], and they were common in neighboring countries! No, if we say we built the Challenger-class based on information brought by merchants from the Middle East, a major trading region, it’s somewhat explainable! At the same time, there were carracks and caravels in Europe!”

The scholars threw down their materials and burst into frustration.

“But what is this steering wheel! At that time, both the East and the West used the tiller system! (Note 1) Moreover, the Eastern rudder was even more primitive than the Western one! But how did the steering wheel come out of nowhere! There’s no intermediate process!”

In the history before Hyang’s intervention, the steering wheel did not properly appear until the 1700s.

While many historians around the world were expressing their grievances, Korean historians were rather nonchalant.

“There was already a saying at that time: ‘The Crown Prince is just being the Crown Prince.’ It was a time when geniuses appeared one after another.”

“Even if they are geniuses, there’s a limit!”

“There are records, records. There’s the Veritable Records [historical records of the Joseon Dynasty], and the National Archives has very well-organized records and blueprints.”

When Korean historians mentioned records, scholars from other countries had to shut their mouths and suppress their anger.

What the Korean scholars said was correct.

Everything was clearly documented in the Veritable Records of the Joseon Dynasty and the records held by the National Archives.

The records contained detailed and accurate information according to the six principles of journalism.

The most reliable evidence was the blueprints, component performance standards, and production logs.

The accuracy of the blueprints drawn to precise scales and ratios, the standards documenting the specifications of the necessary components, and the documents meticulously recording the production and experimental processes was unparalleled.

In fact, there were more than a few cases where devices and ships made with the technology of the time, based on those blueprints and records, worked properly.

Therefore, when ‘records’ were mentioned, scholars from other countries had to shut their mouths.

As this happened frequently, all sorts of conspiracy theories emerged.

“Lee Hyang was an alien!”

“There are records of when he was born and when he died, what nonsense are you talking about?”

“There are records that the real Lee Hyang was sickly as a child! The real Lee Hyang died young, and an alien….”

When such ‘over the line’ remarks came out, the government stepped in.

The spokesperson for the Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs called reporters from various countries and issued a statement.

The statement was full of diplomatic and political rhetoric, but the content was simple.

“Do you want to die? Do you want to die? Should we kill you?”

For Koreans, the monarchs who led the ‘Great Leap Era’ were inviolable beings.

* * *

After examining the inside and outside of the new ship, Sejong turned to Hyang.

“Now I want to see it float.”

“Yes. Then we will hold the launching ceremony.”

Shortly after, an ancestral rite table was set up at the shipyard where the experimental ship was located. All the artisans and officials gathered in neat attire, and the ceremony began.

Starting with the announcement of the start of the ceremony, the rite proceeded calmly, and it was time for the reader to read the prayer.

Sejong stood in front and read the prayer.

“Yu~ Secha (維歲次) [an invocation], Gyeongsul year, July….”

Sejong read the prayer with all his heart.

‘I inform the gods of heaven and earth and the Dragon King of the sea, please allow this ship to safely do its job.’

Following the offering and secondary offering, he bowed and burned the prayer.

Sejong lit the prayer paper with a candle placed on the ancestral rite table and flicked the prayer paper upwards.

The prayer paper, released from Sejong’s hand, blazed and soared into the sky on the wind.

At the sight, Sejong and all those attending the ceremony could not hide their joy.

“An auspicious sign!”

* * *

Having gained confidence from the auspicious sign seen at the end of the ceremony, the artisans were emboldened and prepared for the launching of the experimental ship.

“Release the fixtures!”

At the order of the head shipwright, the artisans released the fixtures that were holding the hull in place.

“All released!”

“Good! What is the status of the mooring ropes? Is everything prepared?”

“Yes!”

After confirming everything, the head shipwright shouted loudly.

“Good! Let the water in!”

“Let the water in!”

The artisans who received the order began to open the floodgates that blocked the small waterway.

Shortly after, seawater rushed in through the waterway.

“Will there be enough water?”

Hyang immediately answered Sejong’s concern.

“We timed it for high tide, so it should be enough.”

Although he answered immediately, Hyang was slightly worried.

‘If you calculate the time it was diverted to the side, it’s a bit close….’

As the water level filling the dock rose, the experimental ship began to lift little by little.

“It’s floating! It’s floating!”

Amid the artisans’ shouts, Sejong and the ministers watched the situation with sweaty hands.

Finally, the experimental ship floated naturally on the seawater filling the dock.

“Lay the gangway!”

A gangway was laid on the safely floating experimental ship, and the artisans rushed in to inspect the interior.

“No problems!”

“No leaks!”

After confirming that there were no flooding issues, the head artisan proceeded to the next step.

“Now we balance it!”

Following the instructions of the head artisan, who checked the ship’s tilt through observation devices installed on land, pre-made lime-stones were moved to the bottom of the hull.

“You used lime-stones instead of ordinary stones?”

Hyang immediately answered Sejong’s question.

“Ordinary stones have irregular shapes and take up a lot of space. However, using lime-stones made in advance to match the internal shape of the hull can minimize the waste of space.”

“I see….”

After a tedious and meticulous process, the balanced new ship still floated gracefully.

“Is all that’s left now is to go out to sea?”

Hyang immediately answered Sejong’s question.

“No. First, we will load cannons, gunpowder, large arrows, and iron balls, and verify how much can be loaded while loading other materials and food. If that process goes smoothly, we will put the captain and sailors who will command the ship on board and begin a test voyage at sea. If the test voyage also passes safely, and the short-distance solo voyage also passes safely, it will finally be able to stand on its own.”

Sejong could not hide his disappointment at Hyang’s explanation.

“I thought it would end with the launching, but there is a truly difficult process left.”

“Everything is a new ship, so there is no other way. That new ship is literally going down a path that no one has ever taken before. We must meticulously prepare, execute, and record everything from beginning to end. Only then will the operation of the ships that will be built and deployed after this become easier.”

“I understand that well. It’s just that I wanted to ride that ship and sail through the blue sea, and that’s a pity.”

“When that ship is deployed in actual combat, you will be able to fulfill that wish.”

“I would like to, but I have too much to do.”

“Don’t you have capable ministers?”

At Hyang’s words, Sejong looked back at the ministers. The ministers, who received Sejong’s gaze, bowed their heads in unison and replied.

“We will do our best!”

“Thank you!”

“It is a natural duty as your servants!”

Sejong wore a pleased expression at the ministers’ response. However, Hyang, who was standing next to him, clicked his tongue inwardly.

‘Why do the old men’s voices sound so watery…. Tsk tsk tsk….’

* * *

“Is everything finished now?”

“There is still one thing left. We must give it a name.”

“A name….”

At Hyang’s words, Sejong stroked his beard and pondered.

According to Sejong’s memory, existing warships were named after the regions where the navy was stationed. Therefore, if there were several warships belonging to that base, they would add the numbers one, two, and three to the end.

‘Then the first thing to decide is which naval base this ship will be assigned to…. But it’s a shame to decide that way.’

Sejong, who was disappointed with naming it in the existing way, pondered and pondered.

As he pondered, Sejong glanced at Hyang.

Seeing Hyang’s sparkling eyes and moving lips, Sejong burst into laughter.

“You rascal! You already decided and were pretending not to know! Alright! What is the name you are thinking of?”

“Challenger!”

“Challenger? Challenge….”

After thinking for a moment, Sejong nodded.

“Considering what this ship will do in the future, it’s a fitting name! Let’s decide on that!”

“Thank you for your grace!”

At Sejong’s decision, Hyang immediately bowed and answered loudly.

It was the moment when the ‘Challenger class warship,’ which accounted for the largest number of Joseon’s naval warships, swept through all the seas east of Africa for decades, and gained all sorts of notoriety starting with ‘the thugs of the East,’ was born.

* * *

Note 1) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiller