Black Corporation: Joseon [EN]: Chapter 735

735. Dagger (5)

“Please, kill me!”

‘It’s over…’

Hyang muttered inwardly at Jang On’s cry. However, Hyang could understand him to some extent.

‘Well, if it’s Jang Yeong-sil…’

As if knowing Hyang’s thoughts, Jang On desperately defended himself.

“The late Director Jang Yeong-sil, wasn’t his skill so miraculous that it reached the heavens? Even those of us who have lived with him for over a decade are constantly amazed by his ingenuity. It is only natural that naive natives would see his miraculous talent as something not of human origin! The deceased, well aware of this, forbade them from deifying him during his lifetime, but the natives are so foolish….”

“Enough. I understand what you’re trying to say.”

Hyang raised his hand to stop Jang On’s words.

‘Even I suspect Jang Yeong-sil might be an alien, so how much more would they?’

While Hyang was thinking that, Jang On and the other artisans were pale, carefully watching Hyang’s expression.

The reason they were so pale was that deifying Jang Yeong-sil itself was an enormous act of blasphemy.

Since ancient times, only the emperor was considered equal to heaven. However, for a mere subject, even just an artisan, to be deified meant that the person was on the same level as the emperor.

This was naturally considered blasphemy, no, disloyalty, and they would have no excuse even if they were punished.

While Jang On and the artisans were trembling in fear, Hyang, recalling memories of Jang Yeong-sil, asked Jang On.

“Did the Supreme Emperor also know about this?”

“Yes.”

“What did he say?”

“He said not to blame those who had not known the vastness of the world until now. However, he ordered that it be strictly forbidden from now on.”

“Hmm…”

After thinking for a moment at Jang On’s words, Hyang made a decision.

“The Supreme Emperor’s words are without a single flaw. Therefore, abide by them as they are.”

“I obey your command.”

“I will not question your guilt this time, but if such a thing happens again in the future, I will immediately question your guilt.”

“We will engrave it in our hearts!”

“It would be good to collect and display those things made by the natives separately, and put a nameplate in front of them with the following inscription: ‘These were made by those who admired Jang Yeong-sil’s miraculous talent and demonstrated their own skills.’ Do you understand what I mean?”

“We will do it immediately!”

Jang On and the artisans, who had narrowly escaped death, answered in unison.

And Jang On and the artisans immediately carried out Hyang’s orders.

Leaving only a tombstone and altar in front of Jang Yeong-sil’s grave, Jang On and the artisans created a small exhibition hall nearby. In that space, with only pillars and a roof, various sculptures made and brought by the natives were displayed, and at the entrance of the exhibition hall, a stone monument engraved with Hyang’s words was placed.

As a side note, this exhibition hall would later be transformed into an exhibition hall preserving the traditional crafts and culture of the Shinji natives.

***

Recalling the past anecdote, Hyang solidified his resolve.

‘Equality of the four classes has been legalized, and the class system has been considerably diluted in reality. Except for the government slaves who are political prisoners.’

As Hyang said, the class system in the Empire had been considerably diluted. In particular, private slaves, who were treated as property and subject to additional taxes, had almost disappeared. Most of the private slaves remaining now were too old to be self-sufficient. The Imperial Court, recognizing this problem, rather appropriately reduced taxes in such cases.

However, there were still many government slaves. However, the concept of government slaves had changed a lot from the past. Now, those who worked as government slaves in mines and various difficult labor camps were political prisoners and their descendants.

Of course, Sejong had created a remedy for those who became government slaves from birth because they were descendants of political prisoners, making a law to grant them freedom after three generations.

The problem was that there were hardly any who continued as descendants of political prisoners for three generations.

Although the class system had been diluted a lot, excluding government slaves, subtle discrimination still existed.

Therefore, Hyang had the idea of using Jang Yeong-sil.

‘The weight of the name Jang Yeong-sil for the artisans is enormous. If I use this well, I can dilute the bad habits of despising artisans and merchants, and use it as a powerful growth engine. Then, indeed….’

Solidifying his resolve, Hyang muttered softly.

“I should contact Seoul.”

***

“Then let’s decide to do it that way…”

Hyang’s gaze, having found a way to use Jang Yeong-sil’s name, turned to the last remaining blueprint.

“Combine the Eulshik Hwacha [multiple rocket launcher] with a steam engine?”

“Yes, the Eulshik Hwacha is driven by people turning it by hand or stepping on a pedal.”

“That’s right.”

Hyang nodded at Jang On’s words.

When the Eulshik Hwacha was first made, it was moved by turning the axis by hand. However, this method was slow in firing speed. To improve this, Hyang attached a device like the pedal of an old sewing machine to the Eulshik Hwacha.

By attaching pedals to the left and right of the Eulshik Hwacha and having two soldiers sit and step on the pedals to rotate the Hwacha’s barrels, the firing speed of the Eulshik Hwacha was significantly increased, and the advantage of belt feeding shone.

However, this made the Hwacha bigger. Due to the problem of this size, the existing hand-cranked Hwacha was assigned to the Eulshik Hwacha that moved with the cavalry or infantry, and the modified version was deployed to fortresses and front lines.

Jang On continued his explanation.

“So, if we use a steam engine to turn the Eulshik Hwacha, we thought it would have a much faster firing speed than turning it by hand or foot, so we devised it.”

Hyang shook his head at Jang On’s explanation.

“There seem to be several problems? The first thing that catches my eye is putting a steam engine that uses fire next to a place full of gunpowder? It’s too dangerous. Secondly, combining a steam engine with each Eulshik Hwacha is more expensive than the ship itself. Thirdly, if you combine the Eulshik Hwacha and the steam engine, the weight will be enormous, and it will be too much effort to turn it left and right.”

Jang On immediately bowed his head at Hyang’s criticism.

“The late Director Jang Yeong-sil also ended it with just the blueprint because of that problem. However, he said that if the steam engine problem is solved, it would be good to make an Eulshik Hwacha that uses half-chi [a traditional Korean unit of measurement, approximately 15 cm] bullets or even larger bullets, as you showed us earlier.”

“That’s a reasonable decision.”

Hyang nodded and added.

“Put the deceased’s instructions in the Challenge Log [a record of ongoing engineering challenges and experiments] so that future generations can continue to ponder it.”

“I obey your command.”

After giving that order, Hyang stroked his chin, looking at the problematic ‘similar DP-28’.

‘It’s a good gun, but it’s a bit disappointing. Especially that damn pan is not to my taste.’

Hyang, who was hesitating between reason and personal desire, finally made a decision.

“This also looks good, but there is a problem. That round tray, a thing for storing bullets, what did you name it?”

“It is named Tanggo because it is a thing for storing bullets.”

“Tanggo….”

‘If the magazine runs out, is Tanggo broken? It’s very unfamiliar? Let’s change it!’

Hyang immediately corrected the name because of the very unfamiliar feeling.

“It would be better to use the character ‘chang(倉)’ which means storage rather than ‘go(고)’ and call it ‘tanchang(탄창)’ [magazine].”

“Yes. I will fix it right away.”

Having renamed Tanggo to Tanchang, Hyang continued to speak.

“That tray-like round magazine is inconvenient to carry. It would be okay for the cavalry to hang it next to the saddle. But it doesn’t seem easy for the infantry to carry.”

“According to what the military requested, it was said that two people would operate it, so I think it would be okay if one person carried the Hwacha and the other carried it.”

“Still, isn’t it cumbersome? I think it should be modified. Bring paper and a writing brush.”

“Yes!”

At Hyang’s command, Jang On and the artisans rushed out and brought paper and a writing brush.

“Here it is!”

The eyes of Jang On and the artisans, who politely handed over the paper and writing brush, were shining.

For the artisans who had gone through Area 51, Hyang was a being comparable to Jang Yeong-sil.

– You can’t make a proper blueprint, but your ideas are the best in the world!

This was Hyang’s evaluation among the artisans.

‘To actually see His Majesty designing it himself! This is the greatest luck of my life!’

‘What luck! I have something to be proud of for generations to come!’

‘What kind of Hwacha did you have in mind?’

“Hmm… hmm….”

Hyang, holding the writing brush in his hand, explained while drawing.

“The basic framework is the same as what the late Director Jang Yeong-sil thought. It uses the power of gunpowder to fire bullets. However, if you use the smoke from the gunpowder right away, the soot can block the barrel and cause it to break down. So, attach a push rod like this to make the smoke push the push rod.”

“Ah!”

“And the magazine is made in a box shape like this and inserted on top. This way, even if the spring inside the magazine breaks down, the bullets will continue to come down, so there is no need to worry.”

“Ah! That’s right! Indeed!”

Jang On and the artisans exclaimed in admiration as they listened to the drawing and explanation.

However, the part that Jang On and the artisans admired the most was the concept of replacing the barrel.

“…If you replace the barrel of the Hwacha like this, you can also solve the overheating problem. Of course, if the enemies rush in so much that there is no time to replace it, it will be a problem, but I think that part is a problem for the commanders to solve.”

“That’s right!”

Hyang, looking at Jang On and the artisans nodding repeatedly, took a light breath and asked.

“Hoo~ I’ve been pondering like this for now, how is it?”

As soon as Hyang’s question was over, Jang On and the artisans prostrated themselves on the floor and shouted.

“His Majesty the Emperor has bestowed grace and broadened our horizons! The imperial grace is boundless!”

“The imperial grace is boundless!”

Hyang waved his hand with an embarrassed smile at the shouts of Jang On and the artisans.

“What imperial grace… How is it? Does it seem okay?”

“It’s the best! We will make a proper blueprint and prototype soon!”

“Good work.”

Looking at the spirited Jang On and the artisans, Hyang muttered inwardly.

‘If you make it properly, a light machine gun that swept the world will come out.’

What Hyang showed the artisans was the Bren light machine gun. It was one of the light machine guns that swept the world, as Hyang evaluated.

It was one of the guns whose structure he had seen as much as he wanted through a Yanduk who had built a friendship when he went to the United States.

“Please name this Hwacha.”

At Jang On’s request, Hyang immediately answered.

“It’s a light Hwacha that you carry alone, so let’s call it Gyeonghwacha [light Hwacha]. And since it’s the first product, let’s attach ‘Gap(甲)’ [first] and call it Gapshik Gyeonghwacha [Type-1 Light Hwacha].”

“Yes. I will do so!”

Hyang, who was organizing the situation while listening to Jang On’s answer, suddenly remembered something and continued to speak.

“Ah! Remember the prototype Hwacha that Jang Yeong-sil made earlier? That small one.”

“Yes? Yes.”

“Add a clause to the documents related to that prototype Hwacha that ‘barrel replacement should be easily possible.’ If the barrel can be easily replaced, it will be very useful.”

“Ah! That’s right! I will add it right away! I will upload it to the Challenge Log right away!”

Hyang shook his head at Jang On’s words.

“Have you forgotten why Director Jang Yeong-sil gave that order? Keep it in storage for the time being.”

“Yes.”

Jang On couldn’t hide his disappointment, but Hyang also had a reason.

‘If the military sees it, they will surely make a fuss about adopting it right away. There are already many things to spend money on, but if they start to change everything from bullets, the Ministry of Strategy and Finance will stage a coup. The situation is still relaxed, so it is best to bury it.’

Hyang, who solved one problem like that, let out a refreshing expression and shouted inwardly.

‘I feel like I can live now! After all, the fun of life is doing what you like! What is life?’