Black Corporation: Joseon [EN]: Chapter 881

881. Generational Shift (12)

Still with a distrustful expression, Wan questioned Hyang.

“What happened during the Mesica Conquest?”

“To subdue the enemy in close-quarters combat, a large number of bullets must be poured onto the opponent at once. However, the Byeongshik Hwachas [multiple rocket launchers] are difficult to move quickly alongside rapidly moving comrades due to their size. The alternative that emerged was the use of throwing bombs.”

“That issue was already pointed out in previous battles, and countermeasures have already been developed, haven’t they? One is to carry more throwing bombs, and the other is the Gapsik light Hwacha created by the Supreme Emperor.”

Hyang nodded at Wan’s words.

“That’s right. However, there were shortcomings in the urban warfare that took place in Tenochtitlan, the capital of the Mesica people.”

Hyang’s explanation can be summarized as follows:

-The attack on Tenochtitlan was inevitably going to be urban warfare.

-Tenochtitlan, the capital of the Mesica people, was an urban area filled with narrower alleys than expected.

-The enemies made good use of the characteristics of this urban area to continuously ambush our forces on a small scale.

-Naturally, our forces had no choice but to split up and fight.

-In the worst cases, they moved in units of five (伍, consisting of 5 people).

-It was not uncommon to encounter the enemy right in front of you, and in this case, hand-to-hand combat often broke out.

-In such cases, indigenous warriors cooperating with our forces usually stepped forward to deal with the enemy, but there were cases where they could not.

-In such cases, throwing bombs were used to good effect. However, if the distance was too close, throwing bombs could not be used because of the risk of our own troops being injured by the fragments.

-The best response to this was to use Gapsik light Hwachas to annihilate the enemies.

-However, in cases where enemies were suddenly encountered right in front of them, the Gapsik light Hwacha gunners often failed to fire in a timely manner.

-Therefore, veteran soldiers (古兵) or experienced officers above the rank of Jinmu [military rank] often preemptively fired to encourage their subordinates to fire.

-However, since the Byeongshik long rifle had a slow rate of fire, the enemies also had time to respond.

-As a result, veteran soldiers and officers began to use Gapsik light Hwachas.

Having explained this far, Hyang lightly moistened his throat and continued.

-In this type of urban warfare, the Gapsik light Hwacha had advantages, but it also had disadvantages.

-The disadvantage was that it was larger and heavier than the Byeongshik long rifle.

-In addition, officers such as Jinmu had to be in charge of commanding their subordinates as well as communicating with superiors.

-For these people, the large and heavy Gapsik light Hwacha was a very burdensome weapon.

“…That’s why I made this small Hwacha.”

“Hmm…”

After listening to Hyang’s explanation, Wan picked up the small Hwacha placed on the table and began to examine it from various angles.

“It’s certainly light. It’s also small, so it would be good for officers with a lot of work to carry around. How many rounds does the magazine hold?”

“It holds 30 rounds.”

“Judging from the size of the magazine, it seems to use short rifle bullets, so the effective range would be shorter than the long rifle, right?”

“Instead, pouring it out at once at close range is as good as the Gapsik light Hwacha.”

“Hmm….”

Nodding at Hyang’s words, Wan looked at Hyang with strange eyes as he examined the small Hwacha, the magazine, and the bullets that went into the magazine.

“It’s not the existing short rifle bullet?”

“The existing short rifle bullet has a rim on the bottom plate that protrudes too much, making it impossible to use in a magazine. So, I made a bullet without a rim.”

“…You have been arguing for the development of new bullets for a long time, haven’t you?”

“Therefore, the production of this small Hwacha and the new cavalry short rifle, as well as the production of new short rifle bullets, will be handled exclusively by Shinji.”

At Hyang’s very confident answer, Wan made an absurd expression.

“You even made a cavalry short rifle?”

“As expected, it was made based on the lessons learned from the last Mesica Conquest. There were many complaints that the 6 rounds of the short rifle were too few. If you miss the timing and fail to reload, you have to face the surrounding enemies with a sword, and in this process, the loss of cavalry was considerable.”

It had obsidian blades, but a spear was a spear. Fighting enemies with spears from atop a high horse, especially against multiple opponents, was a fight with a guaranteed death sentence.

“This is the new cavalry short rifle.”

After explaining enthusiastically, Hyang presented the problematic new cavalry short rifle.

“Wow~.”

Unlike Hyun, who forgot his age and exclaimed, Wan carefully examined the new cavalry short rifle.

“This also uses a magazine. How many rounds does it hold?”

“It holds 12 rounds.”

“It’s a method of inserting the magazine in front of the trigger guard. Hmm….”

After pondering for a moment, Wan soon realized one thing.

‘Why am I worrying about this? I’m the Sangwang [retired king], aren’t I? The decision to adopt it is Hyun’s responsibility, isn’t it? The problem is….’

Wan turned his head and looked at Hyun. Then he looked up at the sky.

‘It’s over.’

The empire’s new emperor was grabbing the Supreme Emperor with sparkling eyes and asking questions, and the Supreme Emperor was answering with a pleased face.

‘This is… isn’t it like a grandfather watching his grandson, who is happy to receive a new toy gift, with a pleased look? These days, the boys of the empire play war games with wooden swords, but here, they are playing war games with real long rifles and short rifles?’

Wan, who realized that the decision had already been made, soon changed his mind.

‘No! This is a good opportunity for me too! Shinji also needs to create a foundation for self-sufficiency! Of course, we don’t have to worry with just the grain coming from the huge land, but we also need industry! Then, that small Hwacha and cavalry short rifle will be helpful enough! This is also a good opportunity for me to reduce my headaches!’

Wan, who made a decision in a positive direction, looked at Hyun.

“What does Your Majesty think?”

At Wan’s question, Hyun immediately answered.

“I think the problem pointed out by the Supreme Emperor will also be a problem in Florence. The cities of Italy, including Florence, are notorious for their maze-like alleys. Therefore, the weapons that the Supreme Emperor has created will be a good answer. And, if Shinji produces them exclusively, it will be of great help to Shinji’s independence. Therefore, I will have to discuss it with the ministers, but I will try to adopt them as much as possible.”

Wan nodded at Hyun’s answer.

“That’s a good idea. By the way….”

Wan, with a much more relaxed expression, looked at the problematic small Hwacha and cavalry short rifle and said to Hyang.

“They look quite cool.”

At Wan’s words, Hyang smiled and replied.

“I think so too.”

‘Looking at the early automatic weapons, the German ones are very handsome!’

The problematic small Hwacha was made based on the MP34, and the cavalry short rifle was made based on the Mauser C96.

* * *

Hyang’s reason for making the small Hwacha was partly due to the analysis of the lessons learned from the Mesica Conquest, but the biggest reason was Hyang’s passion as a gun enthusiast.

“If a machine gun comes out, a submachine gun must come out too! That’s the rule!”

That’s how Hyang decided to ‘make a submachine gun!’ and put it into action, but it wasn’t an easy task.

“I’d like to make a Thompson or an MP38, but….”

However, the ‘reality was a swamp.’ Both submachine guns used parts made by cutting [machining].

“No matter how much I am the Sangwang, and this is Shinji….”

Shinji still relied heavily on the mainland. Developing new firearms, as well as developing new dedicated bullets, was a very sensitive matter.

If they adopted the cutting method, which consumed a lot of time and money, it would be immediately scrapped.

“At least in the case of the Gapsik light Hwacha, the firepower is good….”

Hyang, who knew what he could and couldn’t do well, looked for an alternative.

“But I can’t make a Sten or a Grease Gun, can I?”

The performance itself was a problem, but the psychological resistance of the people who would use these guns was also significant.

When Hyang showed the concept diagrams of the Thompson, MP38, Sten, and Grease Gun, the reactions of the Imperial Army officers were similar.

“‘Proposal A’ looks pretty good, but the rest are a bit….”

“I will follow your orders if you order me to use them, but….”

“I know what you mean. Tsk!”

“Ah, no! I will use them usefully!”

As soon as Hyang clicked his tongue, the Imperial Army officers turned pale and changed their words, but Hyang waved his hand with an expression that it was nothing.

“No. Don’t worry about it. It’s just a draft anyway. I haven’t decided whether to do it this way or not. I was just curious about your opinions.”

“If so….”

“They’re just things I drew as I thought of them.”

“If so, I would like you to remove ‘Proposals C’ and ‘D’.”

“…I’ll keep that in mind.”

Hyang sent the officers out and muttered while looking at the sketches of the Sten and Grease Gun.

“Is something bad still bad even if the era is different?”

The result of these trials and errors was the small Hwacha based on the MP34.

It minimized the use of cutting to reduce costs as much as possible, and reduced psychological resistance by using a traditional wooden body.

The newly proposed cavalry short rifle was the same.

“They’re complaining that 6 rounds is ‘a drop in the bucket,’ but 12 rounds with a magazine exchange is the best, right? And when Winston Churchill participated as a cavalry officer, he often got out of crises by using a Mauser alone when others were using 6-shot revolvers, right? Finally, where will this cavalry short rifle be used the most? In Bukji [Northern Territory], right? Bukji, Manchuria! When it comes to Manchuria, this is the perfect gun! Whether it’s held by the independence army, the Kuomintang army, the Communist army, or the Japanese army, no, wait, not the Japanese army? Anyway, isn’t this the gun that doesn’t have any major problems with historical accuracy no matter who holds it?”

Hyang was very busy persuading himself.

When he first thought of an automatic pistol, Hyang’s first thought was the Colt 45. However, Hyang immediately pushed it out of the candidates.

“Everything is good, but the number of bullets is insufficient. 6 rounds or 7 rounds… And, look at the Mauser? How much classic charm does it have? Compared to Glock, Colt also has classic charm, but it’s still not as good as Mauser!”

Hyang chose the Mauser purely based on his own gun enthusiast standards.

And this caused talk to come out in Gyeongbok Palace [main royal palace of Joseon dynasty].

* * *

Although Hyun had made a decision, there was a procedure. In particular, weapons-related projects, which are businesses that cost a lot of money, had to follow the procedure carefully.

Therefore, Hyun immediately put this agenda on the agenda, and the ministers carefully read the copies they received and calculated the profits and losses.

Hyang, who participated in the meeting as a consultant and advisor, looked at the atmosphere of the ministers and muttered inwardly.

‘As expected….’

Han Myung-hoi, who became the Prime Minister, seemed to have already made up his mind to agree.

-Since His Majesty has decided, we will follow it. We can find a way to solve the budget problem later.

-Especially since the Supreme Emperor is sitting there so prominently, you’re going to object? Are you trying to die?

Han Myung-hoi was almost instinctively looking at Hyang’s mood. Wan, the Sangwang, didn’t even come into his eyes.

On the other hand, Im Soon-wook, who became the Deputy Prime Minister of the Left, was constantly flipping through the report and sighing.

‘The Deputy Prime Minister of the Left will naturally object. And the Deputy Prime Minister of the Right….’

Jang Hang-sun, who moved from the Minister of National Defense to the Deputy Prime Minister of the Right, had a complicated expression.

-I want to adopt it unconditionally, but the budget is the problem.

‘Strengthening national defense is a very important matter, but we must not sacrifice the people’s livelihood for that reason.’

This was Jang Hang-sun’s belief.