Black Corporation: Joseon [EN]: Chapter 514

514. Distance and Closeness (7)

‘Although your lifespan will increase, your life will be full of hardship.’

Just like Grand Prince Gwangpyeong and Grand Prince Pyeongwon in the prophecy, they worked tirelessly.

* * *

Upon reaching adulthood and receiving their titles, the two entered the court.

“Who cares about status when it comes to enriching and strengthening this nation!”

Following Sejong’s orders, the Grand Princes, Princes, Princesses, and Royal Concubines all had to find work.

Interestingly, even the great Sejong initially hadn’t intended to make the Princesses and Royal Concubines work.

However, the situation changed when Princess Jeongso declared she would become a doctor, followed by Princess Jeongui announcing she would study mathematics at the research institute.

With the King’s eldest and second daughters stepping up to work as a doctor and at a research institute, the other Royal Concubines felt compelled to find fields where they could contribute.

Fortunately, Sejong’s children possessed various talents, allowing them to be recognized as useful individuals and avoid unnecessary scrutiny.

Among the Grand Princes and Princes who began working for the country, many found their place in Area 51 and the research institute, thanks to Jinpyeong’s influence.

* * *

After his ‘truck accident,’ Jinpyeong, now committed to the path of a ‘Cheoldeok’ [railroad enthusiast], worked hard to fulfill his dream. However, some things couldn’t be solved with effort alone, most notably the budget.

“Get out of here, you brat!”

Every time he requested additional funding, Jinpyeong was turned away not only by his father, Sejong, but also by Hyang, forcing him to find alternatives.

“For now, I’m covering it with my own stipend, but it’s not enough.”

As the reforms progressed, changes were also made to the stipends paid to the royal family. Instead of increasing the greatly reduced stipends compared to the previous Goryeo dynasty, they were changed to a system of payment in money rather than actual land. Moreover, in the early stages of the reforms, the stipends were significantly reduced due to a lack of funds for national reform.

It was only near the end of the reforms that these reduced stipends were somewhat normalized.

In this situation, there was a limit to how much Jinpyeong could invest from his own pocket. Due to his status as a Grand Prince, he had considerable expenses.

In this situation, Jinpyeong came up with a simple yet effective solution:

-Lure in his younger siblings!

With this goal in mind, Jinpyeong led the young Grand Princes and Princes to the very room where he had his ‘truck accident’.

“Wow~.”

“Wow~.”

The young Grand Princes and Princes couldn’t close their gaping mouths as they repeatedly exclaimed in admiration at the model of the iron horse, puffing steam as it moved.

“How is it? Amazing, isn’t it?”

“Yes!”

“Would you like to research this iron horse with me?”

“Yes, I would!”

* * *

In this way, a considerable number of Grand Princes and Princes came to work in Area 51 and the research institute, but there were also those who didn’t.

Grand Prince Gwangpyeong and Grand Prince Pyeongwon were prime examples.

Grand Prince Gwangpyeong, who had loved poetry and prose from a young age and showed talent in literary composition, ended up working with Anpyeong.

And Grand Prince Pyeongwon, who was very interested in military affairs, especially the navy, ended up working in the Ministry of National Defense.

However, from a certain point on, they both began to sigh frequently.

* * *

“Poetry and prose are one thing, but even folk songs….”

Grand Prince Gwangpyeong complained to Anpyeong, who had not only tasked him with collecting and classifying folk songs passed down among the people but also with writing and composing new ones.

“Brother! I can accept collecting folk songs! But asking me to write and compose them is too much!”

Anpyeong immediately responded to Gwangpyeong’s protest.

“I’m doing it too. It’s tough, but it’s kind of fun after a while? Think about it. The people of Joseon singing the new folk songs you wrote.”

“Still….”

“Ah! The Crown Prince has obtained permission from Father. New folk songs are also recognized for intellectual property rights.”

“How much money will that make? It’s not like officials can go into every *gibang* [house of courtesans] and marketplace throughout Joseon and count how many times someone sang it.”

“But, won’t they know who wrote it for generations to come?”

Gwangpyeong’s expression became strange at Anpyeong’s words.

He also didn’t want to end up as just another royal family member who only left behind a single line of his name in the history books.

In the end, Gwangpyeong waved the white flag.

“I understand. I will try my best.”

“That’s my brother!”

With Anpyeong’s farewell behind him, Gwangpyeong grumbled as he returned to his office, looking in the direction of the Crown Prince’s palace.

“That person, who isn’t even a singer, is pointlessly singing new folk songs….”

* * *

“I wanted to ride a warship and go out to the distant sea… Haa….”

Grand Prince Pyeongwon was also dissatisfied with his work.

“I want to work in the military.”

“Is that so? I’m truly grateful!”

Jo Malsaeng and the high-ranking officials of the Ministry of National Defense and the military, upon learning of Grand Prince Pyeongwon’s wishes, unceremoniously stuck him in the Ministry of Finance.

“He’s a Grand Prince, isn’t he? He’ll be a great help in securing the budget.”

“Yes! Yes!”

Grand Prince Pyeongwon, who received the position of Deputy Director General – equivalent to Jong 4 rank before the reforms – was fighting with numbers in the office instead of fighting waves at sea, and he had to listen to complaints and appeals related to the budget instead of hearing heroic tales.

The front line where he waged battles was the conference room where he argued with the Ministry of Economy and Finance regarding budget allocation.

“Why me….”

At first, Grand Prince Pyeongwon wore a distressed expression, but as time passed, he became quite enthusiastic about his task.

“The territory of Joseon is expanding, but the strengthening of military power is not keeping pace! To solve this, we need a budget, and even more of it!”

Grand Prince Pyeongwon, considering the current situation to be urgent, fiercely argued with the Ministry of Economy and Finance, striving to secure even a single penny more.

And watching Grand Prince Pyeongwon’s efforts, Jo Malsaeng and the high-ranking officials of the military smiled contentedly and cheered him on.

* * *

As time passed, the envoys from Oirat arrived in Hanseong under the strict escort – more like a procession – of the Joseon army cavalry.

“Welcome. I am the Crown Prince of Joseon.”

“I am an envoy sent by the Taishi [chieftain] of Oirat. It is an honor to meet His Highness the Crown Prince.”

The Oirat envoy bowed respectfully to Hyang.

“You must be tired from your long journey. We have prepared accommodations in Bukpyeong Hall, so please rest first.”

“Thank you.”

That evening, a banquet hosted by the Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs was held in Bukpyeong Hall.

While exchanging drinks with the Oirat envoy, the Vice Minister tried to discern the reason he had come to Joseon in advance. However, the envoy was a formidable individual, and Joseon was unable to determine his purpose until the official talks began.

* * *

The talks began, and after a long exchange of pleasantries and diplomatic formalities, the Oirat envoy finally got to the point.

“Our Oirat wishes to purchase weapons from Joseon.”

“Weapons, you say? I haven’t heard that Oirat is in a state of emergency?”

The Oirat envoy immediately replied to Heo Hu’s question.

“Oirat has a vast land but a shortage of people. Recently, the number of bandits targeting trade routes has been rapidly increasing. To suppress these bandits, we need weapons from Joseon.”

The envoy’s explanation seemed plausible, and Heo Hu nodded before asking again.

“So, what kind of weapons do you want?”

“We want Joseon’s cannons.”

Heo Hu’s eyes widened at the Oirat envoy’s words.

“Cannons?”

“Yes.”

“Why do you want Joseon’s cannons?”

“I have seen Joseon soldiers operating cannons in Liaodong. Cannons mounted on large carts and moving with the cavalry are the perfect weapons for our Oirat.”

After a moment of silence at the envoy’s explanation, Heo Hu opened his mouth.

“This is something I cannot answer immediately. Let’s stop here for today.”

The envoy bowed his head at Heo Hu’s words and requested.

“I hope that a decision will be made that benefits both Joseon and our Oirat. Our Oirat is prepared to pay a sufficient price.”

“I will keep that in mind.”

* * *

When Heo Hu reported the contents of the talks, Hyang and all the ministers were puzzled.

“Why cannons?”

Hyang was the one who questioned it most strongly.

‘Why cannons? At this time, cannons only use unitary rounds [single projectile ammunition], right? Using unitary rounds against bandits? That’s terrible cost-effectiveness!’

That question was not only in Hyang’s mind, Hwang Hee opened his mouth first.

“Minister of National Defense, wouldn’t long rifles be better than cannons against bandits? Cannons would be a wasteful item?”

“I have a similar thought. Hmm….”

Jo Malsaeng, nodding at Hwang Hee’s answer while thinking hard about something, called a subordinate official.

“Go and summon General Yi Jing-ok.”

“Yes.”

* * *

Yi Jing-ok, who had been busily working in the north with Choi Yun-deok, Hwang Hee, and Kim Jong-seo, had recently returned to Hanseong.

Upon returning to Hanseong, Yi Jing-ok, who had obtained the title of ‘General,’ was appointed as the head of the ‘Great Northern Operations Division.’

Based on his experience in the north, he became the head of the department that studies strategies and tactics related to the ground war with the Jurchens of Liaodong and, furthermore, with the Ming.

* * *

Yi Jing-ok, after hearing Oirat’s request to ‘buy cannons,’ organized his thoughts for a moment and opened his mouth.

“It is a sufficiently possible matter.”

“What is the reason?”

Yi Jing-ok began to explain the reason for Hwang Hee’s question.

-Both the Gap-type long rifles used by the current Joseon army and the iron cannons used by the Ming are muzzle-loading [requiring loading from the front of the barrel]. This makes it difficult for cavalry to use them continuously on horseback. Even if they are not cavalry but infantry, the rate of fire of bows overwhelms the rate of fire of long rifles. Our Joseon army cavalry, which has solved the problem to some extent through high-intensity training, combat experience, and equipment improvement, prefers the Eul-type mounted rifle unless long-range sniping is required.

-Again, the vast majority of cases in which our Joseon army cavalry uses Gap-type long rifles is when long-range sniping is required. If it is the Gap-type long rifle sold by our Joseon to the Waegu [Japanese pirates] or the iron cannon of the Ming, its range and rate of fire are inferior to the bows used by Oirat.

Therefore, Oirat would have judged that long rifle types are not very important.

-However, with cannons, not only is their power significant, but their ability to suppress the enemy with their cannon fire is also considerable. In particular, our Joseon cannons have good mobility, so Oirat may want them.

“Hmm….”

“Hoo….”

“Maybe….”

The ministers nodded at Yi Jing-ok’s explanation. However, Hyang shook his head slightly and asked Yi Jing-ok.

“It seems like a reasonable opinion, but the bandits in the area where Oirat is located are also cavalry, aren’t they? Can unitary shells exert great power against highly mobile cavalry?”

Yi Jing-ok nodded at Hyang’s point.

“Certainly, there is such an aspect. Therefore, our cavalry also mainly used tactics to draw them into the fire net of the ‘*Bigyeokjincheonle*’ [a type of Korean bomb] against the Jurchen cavalry.”

“Then, why do you think Oirat requested cannons?”

Yi Jing-ok hesitated for a moment at Hyang’s repeated question before answering.

“The most likely reasons are two. One is that they confused ordinary cannons with ‘*Bigyeokjincheonle*’. The other is that they are thinking of dealing with something other than bandits.”

“Something else?”

“I think it’s a fortress wall.”