Black Corporation: Joseon [EN]: Chapter 981

981. The Madman with Clear Eyes (6)

After finalizing ‘what to use, for what purpose, and how,’ Da Vinci, Kang Baek-du, and the artisans began developing the ‘Self-Propelled Fire Bomb’ in earnest. The easiest part was the propulsion system.

“Will the propeller even work properly underwater?”

“It feels like it’ll just fizzle out, right?”

Da Vinci and some artisans were worried about this aspect, but Kang Baek-du, a naval officer, and the artisans who had made Singijeon [Korean rocket artillery] were confident.

“That might have been true for the gunpowder of old. These days, gunpowder is fine.”

“It’s not uncommon for fire bombs to explode after passing the target and falling into the water.”

Da Vinci stroked his beard after hearing Kang Baek-du and the Singijeon artisans.

“So, you’re saying it’s perfectly usable even underwater… Still, we need to establish a definite principle. The most painful lesson I’ve learned since coming to the Empire is that we shouldn’t rely solely on experience.”

The results of the experiment were as follows:

-Gunpowder can burn sufficiently unless it’s already wet.

“The conclusion is that we just need to waterproof it, and the best way to do that is to seal it, right?”

“So, we just need to block it tightly so that fire can’t get in.”

Kang Baek-du and the artisans who made Singijeon stared blankly at Da Vinci’s conclusion.

“Why? Is there a problem?”

“Do you know what it becomes if you block it all up like that? That’s a regular fire bomb.”

“Ah…”

With that small misunderstanding cleared up, they began developing the propulsion unit. The propulsion unit, which combined the gunpowder charging unit and the combustion chamber, showed a plausible shape and performance. However, the problems started after that. All sorts of issues began to pop up. The fire bomb, unable to withstand the powerful propulsion force from the rear, writhed wildly and failed to travel in a straight line.

“But if we reduce the propulsion, the speed won’t be sufficient…”

While Da Vinci and the artisans were pondering, Hyang, who had been watching with interest, casually offered a suggestion.

“How about modifying the shape of the body? Since it’s a device that moves quickly underwater, wouldn’t it be good to refer to the shape of a fish?”

‘If the torpedo shape I know comes out from the start, I’ll definitely be considered strange, right? I need to go through some trial and error.’

“Ah!”

“You have enlightened our foolishness!”

Thus, Da Vinci and the artisans bought dozens of fish from the fish market to examine their shapes. The shape that Da Vinci and the artisans paid attention to was the mackerel.

“It’s a fish known for being fast, so let’s try to imitate this shape.”

“Yes, sir!”

Hyang, who was enjoying this spectacle from the side, muttered inwardly.

‘If it’s a mackerel, wouldn’t it be closer to a submarine than a torpedo?’

Through various trials and errors, Da Vinci’s self-propelled fire bomb was gradually refined into a plausible shape.

“No matter how I look at it, it’s closer to science fiction than reality… I should leave it as a long-term project. If that thing is completed properly, it will become a deadly weapon for the time being.”

Hyang, who was reviewing the manufacturing process and even the reports without missing a thing, and giving his own positive evaluation, added quietly.

“The real core, the gyro part, is at a level that needs to be put on the challenge log, phew~. It may seem like a waste of resources in some ways, but we need to leave traces like this. That way, we’ll keep thinking about it and strive for survival.”

Hyang remembered the fierce technological war—more fittingly called a war than a competition—that had taken place over the long history of humanity, and from the late 19th century to the 21st century in the short term.

“I don’t know how long it will last, but if we want to survive as an empire for at least 200-300 years, we need to keep leaving challenges to tackle. No, we need to instill the habit of challenging.”

This was Hyang’s resolution.

* * *

The development of the self-propelled fire bomb went as Hyang had expected. By refining the shape of the body and attaching long fins from head to tail, they were able to minimize the writhing of the fire bomb during cruising.

“It’s still writhing? Then it’s unusable.”

“But that’s the best we can do.”

“Start thinking from the beginning again.”

“Yes…”

At Hyang’s command, Da Vinci and the artisans reviewed everything from the beginning again. As a result, the body of the self-propelled fire bomb became thinner and longer, and the warhead became sharper. And those characteristic long fins became more firmly established.

“It feels like we’re almost there?”

“Right?”

“Come on! Let’s put in a little more effort!”

“Let’s do it!”

The artisans and Da Vinci, who thought they had overcome the most difficult hurdle, encouraged each other and tackled the next task. However, the next task was one of the most difficult parts: ‘maintaining depth.’

“It’s called underwater cruising, but it just means cruising at a depth that’s hard to see with the naked eye from the outside.”

“Did you say hard to see with the naked eye?”

“That’s right. To the point where you can only recognize it when it’s right in front of your nose? That would be good.”

At Hyang’s words, Da Vinci and the artisans took ships to Hansu [likely refers to the Han River estuary in the West Sea], the West Sea, and the East Sea to conduct experiments.

-How far down do we have to go to be invisible to the naked eye?

The results of dozens of repeated measurements were as follows:

-The higher the altitude, the deeper you can see.

-However, based on the deck of a Challenger-class battleship, it’s hard to find with the naked eye even if it’s only half a *jang* (about 1.5m) below the surface.

-Conclusion, the optimal depth is 1 *jang* (about 3m) below the surface.

“We’ve found the right depth, but how do we maintain this depth?”

After a fierce deliberation to solve the problem, Da Vinci and the artisans came up with the answer: ‘fill it with water.’

-Prepare an empty space in the body of the self-propelled fire bomb in advance. Divide this space into several compartments.

-Attach stoppers to the shell of the fire bomb facing the compartments.

-Open the stoppers just before firing. Open the stoppers allocated to the desired depth and fire.

-After that, the empty space will be filled with water while cruising, adjusting the depth.

“Good!”

“I think that’s the answer!”

However, the results of actually making and experimenting with the real thing were not good. The speed at which water filled the depth control compartments was too slow.

“Why?”

“Whyyy?”

Da Vinci and the artisans racked their brains over the unexpected results. However, the answer did not come easily, and Da Vinci and the artisans thought of the challenge log.

“Should we register it in the challenge log?”

While they were seriously considering whether to register it in the challenge log, the most experienced artisan among the spectators interjected.

“Put another stopper on it. The guys trying to get in and the guys trying to get out are using the same hole, so do you think it’ll be easy to get in and out?”

“Ah!”

“What did you learn when you made the steam engine, tsk tsk tsk.”

The artisan, clicking his tongue, looked around at his colleagues and continued to complain.

“Don’t they teach that kind of thing at the middle school or the engineering academy these days? It’s such a basic skill.”

In the end, this issue was brought to Woo.

“That makes sense.”

Woo, who thought it made sense, immediately ordered an investigation and found that there was a problem with the education content.

-They are only teaching old technologies.

-Even after graduating from the engineering academy, there are too many things they have to relearn on the job.

“This is a big problem.”

In the end, Woo reported this issue to Hyun, and a major revision was made to the curriculum and content.

* * *

After countless trials and errors, the self-propelled fire bomb finally appeared. The results of the experiment conducted by the Navy with the finished product were half successful.

-The speed and power are good.

-However, the range is shorter than expected. The problem is that the maximum range is only half that of the standard cannons mounted on Challenger-class battleships.

It is obvious that they will suffer damage from enemy shelling if they approach to use the self-propelled fire bomb.

-Also, considering the space occupied by the firing device and the risk of storage, it is difficult to use it mixed with other cannons.

“The speed and power are truly satisfactory, but the other aspects are too lacking. If it weren’t for that, it would be a truly good weapon.”

Hyun turned to Hyang at the answer of the Minister of National Defense and the Navy admirals.

“Do you have any good ideas?”

“Hmm…”

Hyang, who seemed to be contemplating for a moment, told Hyun his thoughts.

“What do you think about creating a dedicated battleship?”

“A dedicated ship? But battleships are not cheap.”

The Minister of National Defense and the Navy admirals all nodded at Hyun’s point. Hyang lightly clicked his tongue at the sight.

“Tsk!”

As Hyang clicked his tongue, Hyun and everyone else tensed up at once, and Hyang continued.

“Didn’t I mention something before? About the new engine combined with the multi-wing engine. It’s about putting a powerful new engine on a small battleship. The size is small, but the power is good, so the speed will be incomparably fast, right? And because the size is small, it will be difficult to hit with enemy artillery. It’s too far to catch with a gun. It’s about operating it with about 2 or 4 of those on such a battleship. Of course, we have to operate at least 10 or more ships together, not just one or two.”

“But if it’s such a small ship, it will be difficult to operate in the open sea.”

When one of the Navy admirals pointed out the problem, Hyang clicked his tongue again.

“Tsk! Does it look like I’m suggesting using it for open sea operations? I’m talking about something that defends the Empire in the coastal waters! Think about the Empire’s mainland, Daeseol Island, and Seonam Island!”

“Ah!”

At Hyang’s point, Hyun and the others finally brightened up. The strategy of the Imperial Army was a defense-oriented strategy. However, that defense had a strong characteristic of ‘blocking far away from the Empire.’

Because of this, many people raised the issue, saying, ‘If the enemy comes to the Empire’s coastal waters, we need a way to prepare.’

-The only problem is not the enemy coming from afar. Think of Ming and Japan!

It was a reasonable problem, so the Ministry of National Defense and the Navy devised countermeasures to respond to it. However, as befitting the Imperial Army, where ‘artillery is the beginning and the end,’ the most promising countermeasure was a gunboat similar to a monitor ship [a type of small, heavily armed warship with low freeboard].

“This is not my taste…”

Hyang was dissatisfied with this.

“Is that why I supported the self-propelled fire bomb? Without me knowing?”

In any case, the utilization method proposed by Hyang was definitely scratching the itchy spot of the Imperial Navy, and the Imperial Navy accepted Hyang’s proposal and created the ‘High-Speed Gunboat.’ The interesting thing was the number of self-propelled fire bombs mounted.

-2 or 4 rounds

The Navy’s choice for Hyang’s proposal was 2 rounds.

-The pronunciation of 4 is the same as ‘death (死)’ and the size must be increased further to mount 4 or more rounds. 2 rounds is optimal. And the high-speed gunboat created in this way played its part in the crisis of the future.

* * *

Not long after the adoption of the self-propelled fire bomb was decided, strange information came to Hyang.

-Leonardo da Vinci has gone into seclusion.

-It’s not a seclusion for new ideas, but close to hiding.

“Huh?”

Hyang, who checked the document reporting Da Vinci’s abnormality, immediately summoned Da Vinci.

“What’s bothering you? Or are you sick somewhere?”

At Hyang’s question, Da Vinci replied with a tired face.

“Ah, no. I’m just feeling empty. I can’t figure out what I want to do.”

Hyang nodded at Da Vinci’s words.

‘Is it burnout? It’s understandable. But I need to motivate him a little more…’

After thinking for a while, Hyang thought of something and said to Da Vinci.

“Do you remember when you drew my portrait in Italy and got scolded?”

“Yes.”

“Then…”

Two weeks later, strange rumors began to circulate from the medical school.

-A madman has entered the dissection room!

-He is transferring everything from the dissected deceased to a painting!

It could have been a monstrous event, so it became a problem, but it immediately subsided at the word ‘Imperial Order.’ And not long after, the veteran doctors of the medical school, who confirmed the results of the ‘madman,’ immediately sought out Hyun.

“All of that painter Da Vinci’s paintings must be printed and made into medical books!”

“It’s an invaluable treasure for surgery!”