There Is No Sejong In My Joseon [EN]: Chapter 253

“How can you call this a success, Grand Prince!”

Choi Hae-san grabbed Chungnyeong’s sleeve in shock.

The flames engulfing the open space were definitely not what they had intended.

“Eek, put out the fire, fire!”

“Where’s the water bucket, bring it quickly!”

“Well, it exploded, so isn’t it a success?”

Yi Do said nonchalantly, watching the flames blaze.

Choi Hae-san rubbed his forehead.

‘I shouldn’t have accepted the Grand Prince’s invitation.’

Normally, the presence of the Grand Princes outside the Crown Prince’s residence was insignificant compared to the Crown Prince.

This was because they were relatively more normal than the Crown Prince and didn’t cause the kind of accidents that princes often did, so there wasn’t much to talk about.

But Choi Hae-san, suffering from a strange superior, liked that normalcy.

Especially in the case of Grand Prince Chungnyeong, who was known as a model student to the outside world.

‘Grand Prince Chungnyeong is well-behaved and favored by His Majesty.’

Moreover, his relationship with the Crown Prince is good, so there’s no need to worry about the future.

If I build a friendship with a powerful Grand Prince, I might receive help in various ways.

‘We have an important event today, and we would be grateful if Judge Choi could attend.’

‘Of course. I will do my best to help with my meager skills.’

Saying that was a mistake.

Who knew the Grand Prince would be conducting gunpowder experiments?

“Why on earth did you mix sulfuric acid and saltpeter?!”

Choi Hae-san asked, lamenting.

Yi Do replied.

“Isn’t it commonly said that sulfuric acid possesses the energy of fire (火) [Hwagi, the essence of fire in traditional Korean philosophy]?”

“It is?”

The poisonous substance created by the Crown Prince melts even human flesh.

What else could it be if not the energy of fire?

“So I simply mixed it with saltpeter.”

“······Why?”

Choi Hae-san asked, dumbfounded.

“Saltpeter is a material for gunpowder, so I thought that mixing it would enhance the explosive power by riding on the fire energy (火氣) of sulfuric acid.”

Yi Do said proudly.

How could he make stronger gunpowder?

The answer was in the sulfuric acid created by his brother.

Mix concentrated sulfuric acid with saltpeter and apply heat to infuse it with fire energy.

Mix it again with sulfuric acid and soak this substance in cotton, and it’s done.

This is the process created after numerous experiments.

“In the end, my idea was right. Look at that fire.”

“It exploded on its own without anyone doing anything!”

No one lit it; it just suddenly exploded after being swept away.

“Doesn’t that mean the fire energy is overflowing? It’s all evidence of success.”

“There is nothing more dangerous than uncontrollable gunpowder, Grand Prince!”

Choi Hae-san said, jumping up and down, but Grand Prince Chungnyeong picked his ear and said.

“Well, we just need to find something that can absorb it better.”

Even an incomplete result is still a result.

No matter what others say, he just needs to make up for it.

He was just doing as he had learned from his brother.

‘Someone stop him.’

Choi Hae-san clutched his head.

Should I tell His Highness the Crown Prince?

No, rather, with the Crown Prince’s personality, he might praise the Grand Prince for doing well.

Maybe he already knows.

But if I keep leaving it like this and something goes wrong······.

“Still, Judge Choi’s input was a great help. I hope to receive some help in future research as well.”

Yi Do smiled brightly and extended his hand.

Choi Hae-san couldn’t bring himself to refuse that hand.

===

Ssangsam was pushed by his wife to come out for this construction.

Normally, with no farming to do, he should be lying down in a warm room, patting his belly, but the problem was the Annam rice he had eaten during the spring famine.

“It was truly a difficult time······.”

Ssangsam muttered.

Unlike Joseon rice, he was initially puzzled by the long grains of Annam rice [modern-day Vietnamese rice], but once it’s in the stomach, it’s all the same.

He was simply beaming at the relief grain that the country had generously provided, not realizing what a sinister thing Annam rice was.

But soon after.

Ssangsam was shocked by the condition of the relief rice.

“Ugh, what is this smell!”

“How can the Annam people live eating this stuff!”

“Why are the rice grains so scattered!”

Of course, Indica rice is not inferior to Japonica in terms of quality.

The idea that it is tasteless rice is just a stereotype of Joseon people, and there is definitely a difference in taste between countries, and you need to use the right cooking method to fully enjoy its flavor.

However, when the Joseon people simply cooked it in an iron cauldron as they always did, the unfamiliar scent of Indica directly assaulted their noses.

“What should we do······.”

“Let’s quit. Relief grain is relief grain, but I’d rather borrow rice from others than eat like this.”

Ssangsam put down his spoon and asked his wife spiritedly, but his wife scolded him.

“The whole village is borrowing relief grain; where are you going to borrow rice from?”

“······.”

Ssangsam had nothing to say when his wife said that.

He already had several bags of borrowed Annam rice piled up, so he couldn’t just let it rot.

But there’s always a way for people to survive.

When the villagers put their heads together to find a way to eat Annam rice deliciously, several methods were developed.

“Hey, I can eat this!”

“As expected, making it into noodles makes the texture irrelevant.”

“Let’s just grind it into powder and mix it with water. It’s better as misutgaru [traditional Korean grain powder drink].”

Like that, barely.

They endured and overcame the spring famine.

Fortunately, this year they were able to supply plenty of water, so this time it was a bumper crop.

But when it came time to repay the relief grain, people’s hearts were stingy.

“Do I have to repay this with Joseon rice?”

His barn was filled with rice to the point where it made him feel proud just looking at it, but the thought of taking out a few bags to repay made his chest heavy.

It was definitely better than surviving on tree bark and roots, but repaying what he borrowed as Annam rice with Joseon rice was the most disadvantageous thing.

His wife seemed to have the same thought, and she cautiously brought up the story.

“I heard there’s a shortage of people at the gulrak [mining site], why don’t you go there?”

When his wife said that, Ssangsam got angry.

“Hey, woman. What crime did your husband commit to go to such a place! Are you trying to trap me in a cave so they can’t even find my body?”

“I heard from the head clerk’s wife that the gulrak guys do all the dangerous work, and we just have to carry some broken rock fragments. If you go out and work diligently for a few days, they’ll forgive the relief grain, so how great is that?”

“Tch, nonsense.”

“If you don’t believe me, ask the neighbors. They’re all trying to go there when they have nothing else to do.”

Ssangsam grumbled again, saying it was someone else’s business, but eventually applied for the job and came out.

His wife was about to give birth, so he had to pile up rice bags to feel secure.

He had experience working on road construction and repairing weirs several times, so he chatted familiarly with the men from the village gathered in front of the government office.

“They say they’re mining, but what kind of mine is it?”

“My grandfather’s grandfather lived here, but I’ve never heard of anything valuable coming out of the mountain?”

Ssangsam, a simple peasant, had heard that the country was desperately trying to mine gold and silver.

But what could they mine in this rural village that would mobilize people?

Everyone looked indifferent, wondering if the magistrate, who was from out of town, was digging up a random mountain to look good to his superiors.

But Hwanggu, a servant of the government office, stepped forward.

He used to be a government slave until a few years ago when the country released slaves en masse and he became a commoner.

Even during his days as a government slave, he didn’t lose much favor by causing trouble with the magistrate’s power, and thanks to his service in the government office, he was quick with news, so the villagers often included him.

Hwanggu’s information was still effective.

“I heard that people have been coming down from Hanyang [old name for Seoul] for the past few days. They said they came from the East Palace.”

Then Ssangsam shut his mouth.

He was a simple peasant, but he knew what the East Palace was.

Isn’t that where they catch bad guys and lock them up in the gulrak, squeezing them to make all sorts of tools?

Not only that, but he had recently obtained a child by practicing the divination he had received from the village shaman who served the Crown Prince Daewangshin [a deity]?

If he went against what the East Palace was doing, he felt a sense of unease that he would either physically lose his head or at least be cursed.

Soon, the magistrate and people who appeared to be from the East Palace came out of the government office.

Ssangsam, who had already been trained through several works, expected ‘that’ ritual to take place soon.

As expected, the man from the East Palace opened his mouth.

“Attention! I am Choi Hae-san, a judge from the Military Supplies Command.

Today, there will be blasting work, so everyone should pay special attention to safety and not make noise at the work site.”

Unlike the man who spoke with a tired expression, the magistrate seemed very nervous in front of the man who was several ranks higher than him and a close aide to the Crown Prince.

He said with a stiff posture.

“Attention! I am Kim Yang-bo, the magistrate of Gampo. I will do my best to maintain order at the work site as you have ordered! Attention!”

After a brief overview of the work status and reports, the magistrate raised his remaining arm while holding a megaphone.

Now is the time.

Ssangsam shouted with all his might.

“Let’s go with no accidents!”

“Good! Good! Good!”

Hwanggu and the others next to him also closed their eyes tightly and screamed.

‘I thought it was a strange chant when I first heard it.’

But after Grandpa Gye, who was shouting casually, was hit by a stone fragment and passed away, he couldn’t help but memorize it.

‘Rumor has it that His Highness the Crown Prince personally gave this chant.’

The Crown Prince, who even grants children, must have some kind of divine power in this chant.

No, it definitely would.

If he kept his mind straight and mumbled this chant, he felt like danger would avoid him.

It was the same now.

“Get back!”

Upon hearing that shout, Ssangsam and the others quickly pulled the wheelbarrows and began to retreat.

At the same time, the fuse was lit, and the burning wick soon created a huge explosion.

– Kaboom!

===

Gunpowder is not something that can be stored for thousands of years.

That is the same even at this point when Crown Prince Yi Je has introduced the Corning method [a method to improve gunpowder stability].

However, the gunpowder stockpile must be maintained at a certain level, so every year, gunpowder that is nearing its expiration date inevitably pours out.

However, simply discarding the expensive gunpowder would not be a good thing.

“They always pester me to shoot some guns around this time of year.”

“I feel like I’ve shot more in the past few days than I have in a year.”

The easiest way is to push it onto the Training Command and have them use it up.

While the Training Command soldiers are using up the dumped inventory, their proficiency also increases, of course.

However, such luxurious shooting training has been stopped since some time ago.

In original history, the first place where gunpowder was used for industrial purposes was in the mines of Hungary in the early 17th century.

The use was, of course, blasting.

Since then, attempts to use black powder in the mining industry have been carried out on a large scale, and by the end of the 17th century, blasting gunpowder was used in most of Europe.

But here, Yi Je made the first move.

Since gunpowder is already being actively used for blasting in Joseon, the amount of gunpowder required from each region is enormous.

Now, the gunpowder inventory before it is discarded each year is not enough to handle it.

Choi Hae-san, who was thinking about that, felt a strange feeling for some reason.

Certainly, ‘that’ thing would have some advantages over existing gunpowder······.

‘No, no.’

Choi Hae-san quickly shook his head.

How could he try to touch something that could kill people, no matter how good it was?

He seemed to be going crazy too.

End

ⓒ Pitkong