Black Corporation: Joseon [EN]: Chapter 722

722. Goodwill (4)

This *Jang-guk* [Korean soybean paste stew] began to spread to Shinji along with the Imperial Army and the Monopoly, and many natives also tasted this *Jang-guk*.

“What a taste!”

The natives also knew how to appreciate flavors, so before long, dishes similar to *Jang-guk* began to circulate among them.

Meanwhile, some natives with culinary talent began to add salt and spices to the pemmican they made, imitating the dried meat that came from the Empire.

“…So, meat cakes with various flavors began to appear.”

Hyang began to show more and more curiosity at the cook’s explanation.

“Do the natives like spices?”

“There may be those who have not yet encountered them, but there is no one who has only eaten them once.”

“Unexpected.”

At Hyang’s words, the cook explained in more detail.

“When natives make meat cakes, they add fruits as well as grain flour. When you look at these fruits, some of them not only fill the stomach but are also added to get rid of the gamey smell.”

At the cook’s explanation, Hyang nodded as if he understood.

“Is it like the *Zanthoxylum piperitum* [Sichuan peppercorn] that we used a lot in the mainland?”

“That’s right.”

Hyang, who was constantly nodding at the cook’s explanation, asked a question to the manager next to him.

“You mentioned military supplies earlier, and I’m curious about the process.”

“I will tell you. It starts with….”

* * *

Natives who came into contact with spices through the Monopoly began to actively use spices when making pemmican.

Seeing this, the Imperials who tasted the newly made pemmican all nodded and said similar things.

“As expected, people’s tastes are all the same….”

“I thought the tastes of the Shinji people were very unique.”

The Imperials who were tasting the new pemmican soon realized one thing.

“This is interesting, isn’t it?”

“Right?”

“It’s not like our sauces….”

The pemmican newly made by the natives had slightly different flavors depending on the tribe that made it, or who made it.

It was similar to how the soybean paste and soy sauce made in the homes of the mainland Empire tasted slightly different from house to house.

Before long, among the Imperials living in Shinji, it became a new pastime to obtain and taste various types of pemmican from nearby tribes.

And the Imperial Army cavalry stationed in Shinji began to use this pemmican as combat rations.

Preserved foods such as pemmican were not unfamiliar to the Imperial Army cavalry. There was the dried food that Hyang had made and supplied, and there was also dried meat that they bought and ate personally. And, looking a little further back, there was *Borts* [Mongolian dried meat], which was introduced during the Mongol invasions.

Thanks to this, the Imperial Army cavalry became familiar with pemmican faster than other Imperials. On the saddles of the Imperial Army cavalry going on long-distance patrols and on the wagons carrying supplies, there was always a sack containing pemmican.

Eating hot *Jang-guk* with pemmican in the vast plains or dense forest was another delicacy.

And this *Jang-guk*, which was made by adding pemmican, was like a notice of arrival for the Imperial Army cavalry to the nearby tribes.

The smell of soybean paste in the *Jang-guk* could be smelled from afar.

Thanks to this, both the tribes that had submitted to the Empire and the tribes that had not yet submitted could smell this *Jang-guk* and prepare.

And the Imperial Army cavalry used this very cleverly.

It was used as a distraction when going to subjugate a tribe that had engaged in hostile actions against the Empire.

The Imperial Army cavalry ate dry rations and drank water to replace meals, or sent a small detachment to the opposite side to boil *Jang-guk* and spread the smell.

In this way, the hostile tribe was made to confuse the location of the Imperial Army cavalry.

After that, the Imperial Army cavalry put muzzles on the horses, put overshoes on their hooves, and approached the hostile tribe while moving slowly and reducing noise.

Secretly approaching in this way and striking the back of the head of a hostile tribe that was careless or had their attention focused in the wrong direction was the tactic that the Imperial Army cavalry stationed in Shinji used most often.

Soon, a small pastime arose among the Imperial Army cavalry who had become accustomed to pemmican.

It was to take turns eating the pemmican made by the tribes in their garrison area and evaluate the taste. And this gradually expanded to the point where they exchanged pemmican with other Imperial Army units.

And, after some time, they discovered that pemmican made by a few specific tribes perfectly suited the tastes of the Imperials.

“If we do this well, we can make money?”

The Imperial Army and managers who smelled money here contacted the tribe and signed a supply contract.

In addition, the mixing ratio of the pemmican made by the tribe was registered as intellectual property.

Not only that, but some pemmican that received particularly good responses were even mass-distributed throughout Shinji by the Monopoly.

* * *

After listening to the explanation up to that point, Hyang could not hide his curiosity and continued to ask questions.

“As far as I know, the natives have almost no concept of owning property or wealth, is that not the case?”

At Hyang’s question, the manager answered with a slightly embarrassed face.

“That was the case at first. However, as they became accustomed to using the Monopoly and the number of people who entered the Empire as managers and soldiers increased, they became very accustomed to the concept of property and wealth. Looking at the current situation, it is very common to see natives who are quicker at calculations than ordinary Imperials.”

At the manager’s answer, Hyang muttered inwardly.

‘As expected, the power of capitalism!’

While admiring the powerful influence of the Monopoly and emptying his bowl of *Jang-guk*, Hyang learned another fact and muttered inwardly.

‘This… at least one more reason to push down to the Mexico area. I need to get chili peppers too.’

Pepper or *Zanthoxylum piperitum* alone could not keep up with the unique spicy and hot taste of chili peppers. Therefore, Hyang once again felt the need for a southern advance.

‘We found something similar to rubber in India, but the profitability is insufficient. Using dandelion sap that I saw on the Internet in the 21st century is difficult to even discuss profitability without DNA manipulation. Chili peppers, along with potatoes and sweet potatoes, have their starting point in those southern regions… In conclusion, only a southern advance will do.’

* * *

It was two months and ten days after Hyang left Choshi on a steel horse that he arrived in Mishigama.

Arriving in Mishigama and getting off the steel horse, Hyang shook his stiff waist and clicked his tongue.

“It’s a ridiculously large land.”

‘Well, even if you take a plane, it takes almost a day to cross this place from east to west….’

Jinpyeong, who was also loosening his stiff body next to him, nodded at Hyang’s words.

“That’s definitely true. I heard that Bukji was also large, but Shinji is a completely different place. We should not only pay attention to the railroad, but also pay attention to the steel horse. We thought it was very fast in the mainland, and we felt it was a little slow in Bukji, but here it’s as slow as a turtle….”

Hyang nodded at Jinpyeong’s complaint.

* * *

Even after the steel horse established itself as a full-fledged means of transportation, continuous improvements continued.

The main focus was on durability, and the next was speed. Through continuous improvements, the steel horse boasted overwhelming durability and reliability compared to the steel horse of the Ming Dynasty.

No, it was more accurate to say that the quality of the steel horse made by the Ming Dynasty was too poor compared to the Imperial product.

In any case, the next task for the steel horse, which had secured reliability, was speed.

Through continuous material improvements, the speed of the steel horse was able to stably maintain a speed of 200 *li* per *shijin* [A *li* is approximately 500 meters, and a *shijin* is two hours] from 180 *li* per *shijin*.

Converting to the metric system, it went from 36 km/h to 40 km/h. Of course, it could go up to 70-80 km/h with overload, but stable operation could not be guaranteed.

The steel horses that arrived in Shinji were these improved steel horses. However, the enormous size of Shinji turned these steel horses into turtles.

* * *

While nodding at Jinpyeong’s grumbling, Hyang worked hard to defend the steel horse.

“The steel horse was slow, but shouldn’t we also count the time it stopped in the middle?”

As Hyang said, it did not come non-stop from Choshi to Mishigama.

It had to stop three times a day for Hyang’s meals, and each time it had to spend at least half a *shijin* (about an hour).

Among the passenger cars connected to the steel horse, 4 cars were allocated for the kitchen – 1 car for Hyang and major VIPs, another 1 car for escort troops, eunuchs, court ladies, and lower-level managers, another 1 car for dishwashing, and the last 1 car for storing drinking water and water for use – and even though meals were prepared in advance during operation, that time was consumed.

In addition, for safe travel, operation was stopped at night. When the sun went down, a tent was set up next to the stopped steel horse, and Hyang and his party slept there.

In addition, for Hyang’s health, operation was stopped and rested for one day every ten days.

As a result, it took two months and ten days from Choshi to Mishigama.

* * *

“Even so, it’s too slow. If the steel horse is to properly establish itself in Shinji, it must be faster than it is now. I heard that when His Majesty the Emperor made the specifications for the railroad that the current steel horse runs on, he expected a speed several times faster than this.”

At Jinpyeong’s words, Hyang smiled slightly and replied.

“That’s right. However, there will be considerable errors because the standards were set using a reduced model without proper actual measurement.”

When the railroad was first laid nationwide, Hyang used the speed of trains familiar to him in the 21st century as a standard. Of course, not a high speed like the KTX [Korean high-speed rail system], but the speed of a typical diesel train.

“Narrow gauge is not allowed! We have to go right from the start, even if it costs a lot of money! If we do it wrong, we’ll end up like Japan!”

Hyang, who knew about the problems of Japanese railways through the Internet – most of them were narrow gauge except for the Shinkansen [Japanese bullet train], so they could not transport goods efficiently – insisted on standard gauge.

The problem was that he knew the word standard gauge, but he did not know the exact specifications.

To solve this problem, Hyang made reduced models of steel horses with various wheelbases (the distance between the left and right wheels) and conducted experiments by creating model railroads with various curvatures and widths.

Of course, since it was impossible to experiment with all possible cases, he conducted repeated experiments by creating 5 steel horse models and 10 railroad models, and had to create calculation formulas based on the data obtained here.

This was naturally a formula created by eating the blood, sweat, and tears of the researchers at the research institute. However, Lee Soon-ji was very happy.

The specifications of the railroad determined by that calculation formula could theoretically run up to 500 *li* per *shijin* (100 km/h).

And Jinpyeong was pointing this out.

* * *

“But wouldn’t it be faster than it is now?”

“That’s right.”

“Then we should research it.”

“The problem is the budget.”

“I know that a lot of the compensation coming in from the Ming Dynasty will be coming into Shinji?”

“There are many places to use it, aren’t there? We have to save it.”

At Hyang’s answer, Jinpyeong looked at Hyang with strange eyes.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“What His Majesty the Emperor always said to His Majesty the Supreme Emperor was time and budget….”