Black Corporation: Joseon - Chapter 122
Episode 122: In Arabic (1)
“You asked for artillery? And Seja, are you thinking positively?”
“Yes Abama.”
At Hyang’s answer, Sejong looked at Hyang with a face full of worry.
“You probably don’t know what a piece of artillery is, right?”
“How can you not know?”
Sejong nodded at Hyang’s answer. The person who was most deeply involved in not only the new artillery that was about to be deployed but also the various types of artillery that were still being researched was the troublesome bastard in front of me.
“Okay… then what kind of artillery do you want to give away?”
“The President of Japan is coming.”
“It’s the Japanese Commander-in-Chief…”
At Hyang’s answer, not only King Sejong but also the ministers looked relieved. However, the ministers continued to ask Hyang questions about his responsibility.
“Why are you here, President of Japan?”
“According to the report, although the ship the merchants came on this time is large, it does not seem to be strong. In the case of the Janggun Hwatong, even the Chounseon cannot mount a few guns because it cannot handle the recoil. So, even if given to you, it is a weapon that cannot be used.”
At Hyang’s words, all the ministers who had experienced the battles of the late Goryeo Dynasty and early Seon Dynasty, including the conquest of Tsushima Island, nodded. This was because we had received similar reports several times since then.
Looking at the reactions of the ministers, Hyang continued.
“The range and killing power of artillery guns below the Lee Chung-tong are similar to or slightly exceed those of the Kungsi. The rate of fire is nowhere near that of the Gungsi. So, didn’t the military, not only the Geumgun, but also the Land Guards Army and the Giseongun, unify into the Gapsikjangchongtong and the Gapsikmasangchongtong, and dissolve the existing entities below the Lee Chongtong?”
At Hyang’s point, the ministers faced reality once again.
“okay. “It was like that.”
“But since we can’t make new artillery for those merchants, I think a transplanted Fuhrer would be the most appropriate.”
When the reactions of the ministers turned favorable, Daeheon expressed his concerns.
“I understand what the crown prince said, but what if? What if those idiots copy the President? “What if they make it in large quantities and attack us?”
Hyang smiled and responded to Daesaheon’s words.
“You are worrying too much. “Our Joseon Dynasty is already armed with artillery pieces with better performance than those of the Japanese General.”
The ministers nodded and muttered to Hyang’s point.
“That’s right.”
Daesaheon’s face turned red at the mutterings of the ministers. Looking at the great scriptures, Hyang added an explanation.
“And copying also requires skill. Do you just copy the shape of the Fuhrer? If they had that level of technology, there would be no need to ask for artillery from us. “Fire artillery was an item that had already spread to many countries during the Yuan Dynasty.”
“Ah…”
Dae-Heon closed his mouth at Hyang’s words.
After Daesaheon’s remarks, there were no ministers who opposed Hyang’s opinion. King Sejong came to a conclusion after checking the reactions of the ministers.
“The ministers do not have much opposition, and I think a general unity plan would be appropriate. So, how much will the Crown Prince give?”
“I think it would be right to first judge by looking at the condition of the ship they came on.”
Sejong nodded at Hyang’s answer.
“That would be correct. “Then what about the price?”
“I plan to replace half of it with the cahuwa they brought.”
“Kahuwa?”
Sejong looked at the items.
“Kahuwa… Kahuwa… There is no such item?”
“It says black bean tea (黑豆茶).”
After hearing the scent’s explanation, King Sejong searched for items again.
“It’s called black bean tea… Isn’t there also something called mung bean tea?”
“Black beans are roasted coffee beans for drinking, and mung beans are raw coffee beans that have not been roasted.”
“Is that so? “What are the benefits of this tea?”
In response to Sejong’s question, Hyang talked about the efficacy of coffee.
“If you drink it when you are tired, you will quickly regain vitality, it will help those who cannot urinate properly, and it will have many other benefits. But most importantly, the flavor is extraordinary.”
Sejong rubbed his chin in response to the intoxicating scent.
“How do you know so well?”
Hyang, who was explaining excitedly at the thought of being able to drink coffee, suddenly looked embarrassed at Sejong’s question and made an excuse.
“I saw it in a book.”
Sejong’s eyes lit up at the word book.
“book? “I want to see my father too.”
“It got mixed in with the books we burned last time… Please forgive my carelessness!”
“this! “Treat books with respect.”
In response to Hyang’s response, Sejong lightly cautioned and moved on. But the ministers did not just ignore it.
“You burned my books? Books are precious things. “Books contain the knowledge of our ancestors.”
Hyang responded with a perplexed face to Dae-Heon’s comment that he was obsessed with Confucianism to his core.
“Because it was a miscellaneous book….”
“Huh~. It was he who said that there was something to be learned from miscellaneous books! “Don’t you think it’s an excuse?”
In response to Dae-Heon’s point, Hyang reacted as quickly as possible.
‘If it’s to overcome this difficulty… yes! If you say this is a book you’ll hate, that’s it!’
Hyang, who had found a way out, responded with a perplexed expression.
“It was a book about the relationship between a man and a woman… I felt it would be harmful to public morals, so I immediately burned it.”
“Well… you did a great job!”
As Hyang expected, Daesaheon immediately changed his attitude and praised Hyang.
However, the expressions on the faces of King Sejong and the other ministers became fierce.
This is because the books that served as the background for the rumored night life of incense were the books that had been burned – to be exact, the books that incense was said to have been burned.
“greatness! “Keuhum!”
“Kuhum!”
However, since it was not a topic worth talking about, King Sejong and the ministers all cleared their throats with uncomfortable expressions.
Daehoon Daeheon muttered with an incomprehensible expression on his face.
“why not?”
When Daesaheon saw that the gaze towards him was not kind, he was embarrassed, and King Sejong quickly changed the topic.
“Then what do you plan to do with the other half?”
In response to Sejong’s follow-up question, Hyang calmly continued to explain. Then the corners of King Sejong and his subjects’ mouths slowly rose.
“done! Crown Prince, listen! I have entrusted you with this transaction, so please take charge of the artillery issue as well. “Think of the national interest and do your best!”
When Sejong made his decision, Hyang bowed her head and responded.
“I will carry out my will!”
* * *
After coming out of the episode, Hyang slapped her mouth.
“This damn group! Can’t you tell the time and place? “Let’s relax.”
After warning herself, Hyang muttered as she walked towards the East Palace.
“Now that I think about it… why were the Muslims late in arming themselves with artillery? It was the Muslims who introduced gunpowder to the West, right? why?”
As Hyang was pondering over a sudden question, the bell in the bell tower rang to announce the time.
Daeeeng~.
When Hyang heard the sound of a bell ringing in the distance, he remembered a passage from a book he had read before.
“As expected, was it thanks to the bell?”
When cannons were first made in Western Europe, cannon makers made cannons by welding iron plates. However, apart from performance issues, the cannon made in this way had a very high risk of explosion.
However, because cannons were useful weapons, European countries conducted all kinds of research to create cannons that were safe and easy to use.
What was born in that process was a cast bronze cannon. And cast bronze cannons quickly took hold.
Cast bronze cannons were able to quickly become established because of the bells hanging in numerous churches in Europe. Bell makers who were skilled in casting bronze and large-sized objects easily created cast bronze cannons. (Note 1)
Bell makers were also involved in the casting of cannons in Goryeo as well. It was because of the availability of competent bell makers that gunpowder was able to be produced at a level that could be used in battle not long after gunpowder was introduced.
After Buddhism was introduced to the Korean Peninsula, casting technology on the Korean Peninsula developed rapidly. The King Seongdeok Divine Bell was an object that proved the casting technology of the Unified Silla period.
This casting technology was further developed during the Goryeo Dynasty.
As Buddhism flourished to its peak, many temples were built, and in the process of supplying the necessary bells to each temple, highly skilled foundry technicians were produced.
After coming to this conclusion, Hyang muttered with a bitter smile.
“Technology that was refined for a religion that preaches peace is being used for slaughter… It must be one of the common contradictions of history.”
* * *
Hyang, who had been entrusted with the entire process by King Sejong, carried out the work diligently.
“Contact the military unit and tell them to check how many Japanese rifles without trigger devices can be used.”
“Yes sir.”
Not long after, Jo Mal-saeng, who heard what the eunuch said, came to Hyang and asked a question.
“Did you say it was a Japanese gun without a trigger device?”
“exactly.”
“Wouldn’t a Japanese gun barrel with a percussion device be more useful?”
In response to Jo Mal-saeng’s question, Hyang pointed out one problem.
“Because of the width. “It’s hard to just supply the amount we use, so why don’t we give it to them too?”
At Hyang’s point, Jo Mal-saeng says, ‘Oops!’ He made an expression like this.
“ah! okay! God made a mistake!”
“no. Thanks to you, there are more items to ask them to get.”
“Which one is it?”
In his remarks, Jo Mal-saeng showed interest when Hyang found new items to add.
‘If it’s because of me, it’s definitely related to the military!’
Hyang briefly answered Jo Mal-saeng’s question.
“It’s mercury.”
“ah! okay! “If we can get the mercury right, we can increase the production of silver!”
At Hyang’s answer, Jo Mal-saeng’s face lit up with joy.
In order to obtain mercury in Joseon, it was necessary to import sandstone from the Ming and process it.
However, mercury was an item that could not be easily mass-produced because quite a few people were harmed in the process. So Joseon had to take the next best option: purchasing mercury from Japan.
“But can they get a lot of mercury?”
In response to Jo Mal-saeng’s question, Hyang leaned forward in his chair and answered.
“I don’t know much about that. However, since they used a lot of mercury to study alchemy, I just think it will be easy to obtain.”
* * *
Thanks to King Sejong’s permission, the contract proceeded quickly.
“Before completing the contract, I need to check the ships you came on.”
“Yes why?”
‘I’ll check the ship.’ At those words, Mansour and the captains’ faces became serious.
A ship was the captain’s territory. The captains’ faces were stiff because they could not allow foreigners into their territory without permission.
Hyang explained to them why they should check the ship.
“The recoil of artillery is so great that if the ship is weak, it cannot be mounted.”
“Ah… I understand.”
Two days later, naval officers and craftsmen in charge of shipbuilding went down to Jemulpo, checked the condition of the merchant ships that Mansour and his party had boarded, and submitted a report.
-Considering the size and strength of the hull, it is absolutely impossible to mount general fire barrels, and only a maximum of three gun barrels are possible.
The township confirmed the report and negotiated with Mansour based on it.
“great. Then, I will purchase 3 guns per ship, for a total of 9 guns.”
“What will be the purchase price for the 9 guns and the gunpowder chargers and pillboxes to be used?”
Mansour answered the question with a perplexed face.
“It’s hard to buy Joseon products right now, so I’ll just have to borrow some money…”
“I refuse to give the full amount in credit. So let’s do it like this. “Half of the purchase price will be paid in cahuwa, the remainder will be on credit, and I will send a few men from our navy along with you.”
“Kahuwayo?”
Mansur discussed Hyang’s suggestion with Elder Rajab.
“ah! “I will let you calculate the price at which you bought it without any problems.”
Mansour’s group’s expressions worsened at the request for additional scents. However, when Hassan secretly gave him a glance, he accepted Hyang’s opinion.
“great. But why are we bringing the Joseon Navy on board?”
“If you learn how to shoot with a gun barrel mounted on it, will you be able to hit it properly?”
“Ah…”
“It’s something that requires long-term mastery. Besides, even though our relationship started as a transaction, shouldn’t we continue our relationship for a long time?”
Hyang spoke softly with a benevolent expression.
Mansour responded with a bewildered expression at the sudden change in behavior of Hyang, who had been acting like he was going to eat her just moments before.
“Oh, that’s what I mean…”
“You will get sufficient training as you go. “Also, when you bring items in, it would be better if there was someone there to find out what was valuable.”
Hearing Hyang’s words, Mansur and his group put their heads together again and exchanged opinions.
“That makes sense.”
“Could it be that they are trying to figure out the sea route?”
Mansour seemed to think that Rajab’s words were no big deal.
“Of course it could be so. But this is a sea route that even merchants in famous countries already know, so what’s the problem?”
After a long discussion, Mansour accepted the city’s proposal.
“I will do as the prince suggests.”
“Okay. “Then let’s take the Kahuwa today.”
* * *
That evening, Mansour had great regrets.
“They said it was the entire amount, but it really was all wiped out!”
Joseon officials even swept away all the coffee that Mansour and his party had left to drink.
* * *
(Note 1) ‘Empire of Cannon Sailboats’ by Carlo Cipolla, Midge Books