Black Corporation: Joseon [EN]: Chapter 418

418. Cargo Culture

The Eulshik Hwacha [a type of multi-rocket launcher] was a hit with the military, who valued firepower, and with Sejong, but it became the bane of the Ministry of Economy and Finance.

“Of course, I admit that it will be of great help to national defense…”

“The problem is that damn production cost.”

“No, the Hwacha itself is fine. The problem is the ammunition.”

“Ah…. That ammunition…. Haa~.”

Whenever the ‘Eulshik Hwacha’ was mentioned, the officials at the Ministry of Economy and Finance sighed.

The sighs of the Ministry of Economy and Finance officials were not just about the Eulshik Hwacha itself.

‘In the future, military weapons will become more and more precise. Then, they will become more expensive, which means it will give us a headache.’

The officials at the Ministry of Economy and Finance were filled with worry as they realized what the Eulshik Hwacha and its ammunition meant.

* * *

The ammunition that made the Ministry of Economy and Finance officials sigh was a further modification of the ammunition used in the next-generation rifle that Sejong named the Eulshik Rifle.

The ammunition for the Eulshik rifle was an integrated cartridge made by attaching a paper cartridge to a copper base plate with a primer embedded in it.

Because its performance was better than expected—Hyang had anticipated it to some extent—Hyang also modified the horse-mounted rifle’s ammunition into an integrated type and modified the cylinder. As this new horse-mounted rifle was re-supplied, the Jurchens had to suffer even more.

The ammunition for the Eulshik Hwacha was made with a copper single structure instead of a copper and paper composite structure for the cartridge of this new ammunition.

Therefore, Kim Jeom and other officials from the Ministry of Economy and Finance were shocked to see the cartridge cases falling like a shower as much as the bullets pouring down like rain.

“Copper cartridge cases! That expensive copper!”

“Even though a copper mine was discovered!”

* * *

During this period, copper was as important as iron in Joseon’s industry, if not more so.

From simple tableware such as spoons and bowls to gaskets for steam engines, piston rings, and sealing packings for lever-type water pumps, there was almost no place where copper was not used.

Thanks to this, Joseon made all-out efforts to obtain copper. Finding stable import routes was basic, and exploration work continued not only on the Korean Peninsula but also in newly acquired territories of Joseon.

After such desperate efforts, a copper mine was discovered on Daeseol Island, but it was not a mine with abundant veins.

Therefore, Joseon’s exploration work had no choice but to continue.

* * *

In this situation, the appearance of cartridge cases made entirely of copper shocked the officials at the Ministry of Economy and Finance.

“Is that something that will end after firing one or two shots?”

“That guy fired hundreds of shots even in the demonstration! That thing is going to be loaded on fortresses and ships? No way!”

“If a war breaks out…. Per unit….”

“Don’t! Don’t even calculate it, don’t even talk about it!”

Because it was certain that a huge amount would be consumed if a real war broke out, the Ministry of Economy and Finance formally requested that other materials be used instead of copper cartridge cases.

“…There’s been a lot of talk from the Ministry of Economy and Finance, how about using the same ammunition as the Eulshik rifle?”

At Sejong’s words, Hyang sighed and replied.

“Haa~. It’s not that I haven’t thought about that part. But….”

Hyang explained why it was impossible.

-The biggest reason is that paper cartridges are weaker than copper cartridges. The Eulshik rifle is loaded by hand and fires single shots, so it is possible to cope with paper cartridges.

However, the Eulshik Hwacha performs loading and ejection with the power of a machine. This means that more force is applied than manpower, and the paper cartridge may tear during the loading and ejection process.

If this happens, the Eulshik Hwacha will immediately become useless. Of course, the Eulshik Hwacha has several measures installed for emergency treatment. However, if paper cartridges are used, smooth operation is almost impossible.

-Second, it is advantageous for long-term storage.

The paper cartridges of the paper packs currently in use and the integrated cartridges used in the Eulshik rifle are vulnerable to moisture. Of course, it is possible to use oiled paper even in rainy weather, but it is difficult for long-term storage.

This is fatal to the navy. They are warships of the navy that spend most of their time at sea. Therefore, looking at the current situation of the navy, they are using only the minimum amount of paper packs in preparation for any possible situation, and the rest are stored separately.

“…Therefore, we have no choice but to use copper cartridge cases.”

Sejong, who had been contemplating this and that at Hyang’s answer, opened his mouth.

“If we make it with iron…. Ah, iron would break.”

“That’s right.”

Hyang nodded at Sejong’s self-question and answer and muttered.

‘Was it Germany in World War II and the Soviet Union during the Cold War that used iron cartridge cases?’

In the end, Sejong, unable to find a good answer no matter how hard he thought, had no choice but to demand an alternative.

“However, the Ministry of Economy and Finance’s opposition makes sense. It’s not like it’s just 100 or 200 rounds, but the Eulshik Hwacha will easily fire 1,000 to 2,000 rounds once it fires, right?”

“So, I’ve been thinking of my own plan.”

The plan that Hyang came up with was a ‘cartridge case receiver.’

Underneath the gun carriage on which the Eulshik Hwacha was mounted, there was something similar to a large cauldron.

The cartridge cases ejected from the cartridge case ejection port would fall down and be collected in the cartridge case receiver.

In the end, the Ministry of Economy and Finance and the military had to be satisfied with this compromise.

* * *

As a side note, the Joseon army’s ‘cartridge case obsession’ that started from this period continued repeatedly.

Unless it was an unavoidable situation, the Joseon army desperately recovered cartridge cases.

Of course, it wasn’t to the extent of ‘those guys will pick up cartridge cases even on the battlefield,’ as soldiers from other countries say, but in training situations, it was basic to recover almost 100% of the cartridge cases.

Thanks to this, Korea was the first to develop and attempt to deploy consumable cartridge cases and caseless rifles in actual combat.

* * *

Another story about the Eulshik Hwacha was that the word ‘Hwacha’ became a symbol.

‘Support fire weapon that fires continuously with the power of mechanical devices’ was given the name ‘Hwacha’ regardless of its size.

In the history before Hyang’s intervention, the firearms called light machine guns were named ‘Light Hwacha,’ and large-caliber autocannons were named ‘Medium Hwacha.’

This was not only applied to Northeast Asian countries.

In the West, the names ‘Hwacha’ and ‘Hoaza’ became familiar among people. Regardless of East or West, the image of ‘support fire weapon that fires in bursts = Hwacha’ was imprinted.

Of course, it was officially written as ‘Machine Gun’ or ‘Maschinengewehr’ [German for machine gun], but the word ‘Hwacha’ became more familiar to ordinary soldiers and people.

Of course, Hyang was the cause of this situation.

“Machine gun is familiar, but it’s a bit unsettling….”

Hyang, who knew well that most of the words familiar to 21st-century Koreans had gone through the hands of the Japanese when tracing their origins, had a suspicion close to certainty that the name machine gun was also one of them. That’s why Hyang consciously pushed the name ‘Hwacha.’

“If it’s really necessary, someone will step up and change it later….”

Hyang maintained his ‘not my business?’ attitude as always.

* * *

Even after a series of upheavals over the Eulshik Hwacha issue, things that troubled the Ministry of Economy and Finance continued.

One busy but relatively peaceful afternoon.

Kim Jeom, who was struggling with approval documents, was handed a report by his subordinate.

“It’s from the Ministry of Land Development.”

“Why from there?”

“They said they’re asking for a review before submitting it to the State Council?”

“Hmm….”

Kim Jeom tilted his head and opened the report, then shouted after reading the contents.

“Have you ever seen such thieves!”

The contents written in the report can be summarized as follows.

‘The railroads that were laid with so much effort are being stolen.’

* * *

The agenda that turned the Ministry of Land Development and the Ministry of Economy and Finance upside down was immediately brought to the State Council the next day.

“Does the fact that the railroads are being stolen mean that the tracks on which the iron horses [trains] and passenger cars run are being stolen?”

At Sejong’s question, Kim Jeom stepped forward and answered.

“That is correct.”

“The reason?”

“It is because the iron used for the tracks has very excellent quality.”

“Huh….”

At Kim Jeom’s answer, Sejong sighed with a dumbfounded expression.

According to Kim Jeom’s report, the reason why this happened was because of the tracks laid on the railroads.

The tracks from the steel mills throughout Joseon were made of wrought iron, but their quality was very good.

Of course, the production of steel was not small, but it was prioritized for making steam engines and other machinery, including iron horses, and military weapons.

And it was literally wrought iron, but it was a very strong metal compared to other metals, so there was no shortage in using it for railroads.

And it was Hyang who insisted on making the tracks with wrought iron.

“As I said before, the famous Eiffel Tower was also made of wrought iron!”

It was wrought iron tracks laid under these circumstances. However, because its quality was excellent, those who coveted it emerged, and those who put it into practice came out.

“Huh….”

Sejong sighed again and looked around at the officials.

“How much has been stolen in total?”

“At least 20%….”

At the answer of the Minister of Land Development, Sejong could not contain his anger and slammed the armrest.

“Even though 20% has been stolen, the report has only just come up! Isn’t this negligence on your part!”

The Minister of Land Development immediately answered at Sejong’s anger.

“It took some time to conduct an internal audit because the situation was suspicious!”

The Minister of Land Development immediately explained the detailed reason.

When the report came up that the tracks had been stolen, the person in charge of the area immediately contacted the nearby military unit and the police station to investigate the incident.

And separately from this, new tracks were supplied to the scene where the incident occurred. This was because the completion should not be delayed.

However, in this process, those who were quick-witted came out. They stepped forward and embezzled it behind the scenes, and then reported to the superiors that it had been stolen.

“As a result of the investigation, here is a list of those who actually committed the theft and those who were arrested for embezzlement.”

Sejong, who was examining the list submitted by the Minister of Land Development, ordered in a voice full of anger.

“The thieves who committed the theft stole the country’s property, so punish them severely according to the law! The same goes for those who embezzled! Apply all applicable laws and execute the highest penalty!”

“I will obey your command!”

It seemed like one agenda was about to pass, but the problem did not end easily.

“The theft committed by our Joseon people can be dealt with in that way, but the problem is the Jurchens.”

“The Jurchens?”

Sejong was momentarily confused when the Jurchens suddenly popped out. At that sight, the Minister of Land Development immediately continued with additional explanations.

“Almost 70% of the stolen tracks occurred in the north.”

Sejong nodded at the explanation of the Minister of Land Development.

“If it’s the Jurchens in the north, are they the Jurchens who have not yet submitted [to Joseon rule]?”

“That is correct.”

Sejong nodded at the answer of the Minister of Land Development.

“I see. The Jurchens would be drooling over it. Hmm….”

As Sejong made a knowing expression, the Minister of Land Development opened his mouth again.

“Since their crimes are incessant, I think it would be good to carry out a large-scale subjugation.”

“Impossible.”

Sejong shook his head at the proposal for a large-scale subjugation.