There Is No Sejong In My Joseon [EN]: Chapter 8

I was worried about making mistakes, but working hard to produce [saltpeter for] Nobun’s musket was worth it.

The musket accurately pierced the center of the *Dujeong* armor [a type of Korean padded armor] placed far away.

“Hiek!”

Some officials were surprised and shouted at the sparks and smoke that erupted at the same time as the firing. But Lee Seong-gye was indifferent.

‘I can hit that distance with my eyes closed even with a bow.’

But the real twist starts here.

“Bring the armor!”

At my command, a military officer ran out and carried the armor on his back.

I placed it on the platform in front of Lee Seong-gye and Lee Bang-won.

“What is it?”

Lee Seong-gye asked.

“Look at the condition of the armor.”

A clear hole was engraved in the *Dujeong* armor.

It is a trace of the bullet passing through the front and back of the armor.

“If it were an arrow, it would have bounced off or been embedded in the armor. But the bullet penetrates even the armor like this, so its lethality cannot be compared to that of an arrow.”

“Indeed!”

Lee Bang-won clapped his knees and shouted.

“No matter how strong the bow is, it is not easy to penetrate dense iron pieces. But the musket makes it useless.”

The officials who finally understood my explanation exclaimed.

“I knew the firearm was strong, but I didn’t know it could be used like this.”

“Its destructive power is as good as a personal cannon.”

But that wasn’t the end.

My gaze turned to Lee Seong-gye.

Lee Seong-gye looked up at the sky and sighed deeply.

“There are more advantages you haven’t mentioned yet.”

As expected of Lee Seong-gye.

He quickly grasps the core.

I glanced at Nobun, who was proudly showing off after shooting the gun, and said.

“The person who demonstrated just now is a eunuch.”

Nobun was embarrassed that I suddenly brought up his lack of manhood.

“That’s right.”

It is a well-known fact that the lack of testicles reduces male hormones.

Of course, muscle mass also decreases.

People of this era knew that much, so they understood my words intuitively.

“Drawing a bow requires great strength, but a gun doesn’t?”

“That’s right. Anyone with the strength to pull the trigger can use it.”

Of course, having only muskets does not eliminate the need for soldiers’ physical strength and muscle strength, but theoretically, that was the case.

“It’s not that difficult to learn either. Grandfather, how long does it take for an archer to master archery?”

“It takes 10 years.”

“Nobun mastered this shooting skill in just a few days.”

It was thanks to me sticking next to him and making him practice repeatedly all day long.

“A weapon that even a child can learn in a few days and defeat a giant. That is the musket.”

“As expected, it’s a game changer.”

Lee Bang-won nodded with a serious expression.

“Have you ever heard of such a weapon? Or have you ever seen similar words in old historical records?”

“We have never heard of it.”

“That’s right. It is truly unprecedented. Zhuge Liang [a famous strategist from the Three Kingdoms period] made wooden oxen and flowing horses for the war, but how can it be compared to a musket?”

Then he added a word.

“As expected, my son is a prodigy.”

“······.”

For a moment, the officials looked at each other.

In the midst of the silence,

“That is indeed true! The Heir Apparent is a genius of the century!”

Ha Ryun, the Left State Councilor standing near the grandfather and father, opened the gate [started the flattery train].

“It is truly a blessing for the dynasty that the Heir Apparent, who will inherit the great lineage, is so bright!”

Then the officials who were watching started pouring out flattery.

“How can he be so wise when he is only nine years old!”

“The Heir Apparent has the aura of a king!”

“Haha, sweet words are good to hear, but they are not what a monarch should listen to, so please refrain from them appropriately.”

Lee Bang-won said so as if he was in trouble.

‘Anyone can see that he’s enjoying it.’

He brings up the words himself and pretends to decline.

Only my innocent face turned red.

At that time, there was someone who poured cold water on the atmosphere.

“Your Majesty, it is not appropriate for a gentleman to keep harmful weapons close. It is not enough to encourage the Heir Apparent, but how can you praise him for this?”

The air froze instantly at someone’s words.

‘Is Kim Dan, the Censor-General, crazy?’

‘Does he know who he’s talking to?’

The officials’ murmuring could be heard from here.

Lee Bang-won’s expression hardened.

It seemed that his father’s good mood had disappeared with those words.

‘Am I going to see Kill Bang-won’s purge here?’

My heart was pounding, but before Lee Bang-won could open his mouth, a roar erupted from another place.

“Shut up!”

It was Lee Seong-gye.

“If keeping weapons close is harmful, then am I, who personally wielded a sword and bow to cut off the heads of enemies, also a hypocrite?”

The voice echoed all around.

At Lee Seong-gye’s command, the Censor-General shrank his head like a turtle.

“Ah, no, Great King Father. That’s not what I meant······.”

“If anyone utters such nonsense again, I will take it as an insult to me, the founder of this country!”

‘Oh, really?’

Did my grandfather just take my side?

Lee Seong-gye, who silenced the Censor-General with a single word, looked at me and said.

“I also acknowledge the wonderful use of muskets. But there are still problems left.”

“What is it?”

“At one time, the gunpowder stored in the entire Military Supplies Department was just over 6 *geun* [approximately 3.6 kilograms]. The country is stable now, so it has increased a little, but even so, this country’s gunpowder is woefully insufficient to use muskets. How will you solve this problem?”

It was a much more reasonable point than the Censor-General’s barking.

But I also had a solution to that problem.

“To make gunpowder, you need sulfur, charcoal, and saltpeter. Is that right?”

“That’s right. Among these, sulfur can be obtained through trade with Japan, and charcoal is also easy to manufacture, so the problem is limited to the production of saltpeter. That’s why the country operates a soil collection army.”

Come to think of it, I remembered hearing it from Jinhyuk *hyung* [older brother or male friend].

During the Joseon Dynasty, the soil collection army was notorious for breaking into any house and scraping the soil under the eaves or around the toilet to obtain saltpeter.

But it was easy for me, who had made and used black powder myself.

“You can make saltpeter fields.”

The reason why the soil collection army takes soil from people’s homes is because potassium nitrate is present due to the excrement that has seeped into it.

Instead, it is more efficient to spray human or animal excrement and ash water on the field and then refine the soil from there to obtain saltpeter.

Of course, it will be difficult to mass-produce complete saltpeter because impurities are mixed in this process and it takes a long time.

But in any case, the production volume will definitely increase compared to the current method of collecting soil little by little.

“If the soil collection army is turned to cultivating this saltpeter field, much more saltpeter can be obtained.”

“I see.”

Lee Seong-gye closed his eyes.

Is he admiring me for answering without hesitation?

‘That’s not unreasonable either.’

I won.

At this point, Lee Seong-gye will have no choice but to agree.

“To solve even the shortage of gunpowder, admirable!”

Lee Bang-won shouted.

The unpleasantness of the Censor-General pouring cold water was already gone from his mind.

“Even Yeongseongbuwongun (Choe Mu-seon) [a Goryeo dynasty general and scientist] would not have achieved such a great feat. Isn’t that right, Father?”

He would want to deny it, but he is also the best general in Joseon.

I smiled and approached him to hear his reaction, and Lee Seong-gye trembled and said.

“I······ lost.”

“Pardon? What did you say?”

“The times have changed as you said!”

Lee Seong-gye looked at a distant place as if lamenting.

“The back waves of the Yangtze River push the front waves [a Chinese idiom for the new replacing the old].”

His expression looked somewhat lonely.

‘Tsk. I feel bad asking him to grant my wish if he’s like this.’

I know in my head that it’s natural to be pushed out when you get old, but if you actually realize that your time has passed, you’ll naturally be depressed.

“It’s okay.”

I said, looking at Lee Seong-gye.

This time, it’s a bombardment of famous quotes!

“If I saw further, it was because I was standing on the shoulders of giants [a quote by Isaac Newton].”

“?”

When I quoted Newton’s words, Lee Seong-gye looked at me as if asking what I was talking about.

“If great generals like Grandfather and Choe Mu-seon had not worked hard at the end of the Goryeo Dynasty, how could I have known the techniques of gunpowder and cannons? The reason why I was able to invent the musket is all because knowledge was accumulated in the previous generation.”

Lee Seong-gye’s eyes sparkled.

“The foundation was laid in Grandfather’s generation, which led to the invention of the musket. It’s not that the front waves were pushed back by the back waves. It’s about becoming one and moving forward.”

To be honest, my knowledge has nothing to do with Lee Seong-gye or Choe Mu-seon.

But I can at least give some lip service.

“Wo, Heir Apparent.”

Lee Seong-gye’s eyes turned red.

‘The old man has a lot of tears.’

Grandfather’s age is 68.

It’s a time when he’s full of emotions.

I decided to understand him with a generous heart.

And I reached out to my grandfather.

Then Lee Seong-gye grabbed my hand.

“Yes, Heir Apparent. You have truly defeated this grandfather.”

I slipped my hand out.

Then I reached out to Lee Seong-gye again.

“······?”

“??”

“What, what do you want?”

“You admitted defeat, so you have to grant my wish.”

Lee Seong-gye’s expression collapsed in an instant.

“I spent a lot of money this time making muskets. You have to fill it all.”

Someone told me when I was in modern times.

Lee Seong-gye, the richest man in Joseon, had the entire Northeast region as his territory.

“You are!”

Lee Seong-gye shouted with a disgusted expression.

“A ghoul who only seeks wealth!”

“Isn’t it cute for a grandson to ask his grandfather for pocket money?”

Is it that difficult to give pocket money to your grandson?

It’s not like I’m asking for it for free, isn’t it clearly the price of a bet?

The argument continued for a long time.

I would have achieved my goal if our grandfather and grandson’s whispering appearance had not attracted the attention of my father and officials.

Damn it.

===

Lee Seong-gye, who returned to his residence, dismissed everyone around him.

“Audacious fellow.”

Lee Seong-gye clicked his tongue.

He thought Bang-won had given birth to a guy just like him, but a guy even worse than him came out.

What’s with asking for money at such a touching moment?

‘Tsk, a ghoul-like guy.’

Lee Seong-gye, who was stroking his beard and clicking his tongue,

suddenly stopped.

‘Am I, smiling?’

He felt the corners of his mouth rising without him knowing.

It was unbelievable.

He, who had never smiled sincerely since the Prince’s Revolt, was smiling.

‘Is it because of that guy?’

– It’s not that the front waves were pushed back by the back waves. It’s about becoming one and moving forward.

His grandson’s words seemed to echo in his ears.

His gaze turned to the bow he was holding in his hand.

It was a strong bow that he had used since he followed his father, Yi Ja-chun, when he was young.

There were several flaws due to the passage of time, but it was still a usable famous bow.

‘Do I still have a usable corner left?’

He thought that he would just become an old man in the back room and wait for the day he died.

Even more so after Jo Sa-ui’s rebellion failed.

But─

‘Even if the musket replaces the bow someday, the world will fear this bow until then.’

Has that audacious guy given him something to do?

The old man looked at his bow for a long time.

Until the night was over and dawn broke.

===

30 rolls of silk for research and development costs, and 2 rolls of silk each to the blacksmiths who cooperated.

I had a mind to spend generously when giving out, but I felt bad when half of the silk I had disappeared.

The plan to extort pocket money from my grandfather to cover this also failed.

‘Such a stingy old man.’

A few days after returning to the palace in Gaeseong.

News came that the mass production of muskets was being discussed in earnest in the court.

‘I’m the producer, so won’t I get royalties?’

While I was struggling to make a flush toilet with that thought.

My lackey, no, my close attendant Nobun, rushed in.

“Heir Apparent!”

“What’s going on?”

“That, the Military Supplies Department Chief who disobeyed your orders without permission has returned.”

“Is that so?”

I threw down the ceramic toilet lid and quickly got up.

That bastard is finally here.

The guy who fed me a huge load of crap and ran away to Hanyang has finally returned.

“Nobun, lead the way.”

I rolled up my sleeves and headed to the Military Supplies Department.

How dare you treat the client’s order like dog poop?

‘I’ll make you into a pineapple in the deep sea [Korean slang for severely punishing someone].’

I made up my mind like that.

End

ⓒ Pitkong