Black Corporation: Joseon - Chapter 174
Episode 174 Feedback (3)
“What is the problem? No, I will listen to the story while looking at the real thing.”
In terms of curiosity, King Sejong was disappointed and ordered to bring the real thing.
Because of King Sejong’s order, Hyang had him bring the replica Winchester rifle in question.
“It’s really smoothly made. “It’s hard to give this kind of evaluation to the President, but he’s beautiful.”
King Sejong’s first impression upon seeing the ‘New President’ in question was ‘It’s beautiful.’ It was.
King Sejong, who returned the President to Hyang, came down from the Tang family.
“I want to see performance.”
“yes.”
King Sejong moved to the archery site built on one side of Gyeongbokgung Palace.
With Sejong watching, Hyang demonstrated shooting a Witcher rifle.
Taaaang~.
“This is truly amazing!”
When the last eight shots were fired, King Sejong let out a series of exclamations.
“You can fire eight rounds without stopping! In addition, his range is superior to that of the Masang Fuhrer, so he is truly a great Fuhrer!”
Sejong was impressed, but Hyang shook her head.
“This is a Fuhrer who cannot be used for military purposes.”
“why?”
“It’s a question of loading.”
The scent directly showed the process of loading a Winchester rifle.
“As you can see, we have to load one shot at a time. “Loading takes time, and discharging takes only an instant, so there is a big gap in the middle.”
“You just need to cross-fire!”
Jo Mal-saeng refuted this, but Hyang explained why it was impossible.
“During the last disloyal incident, I used five sacks in turns. Nevertheless, later on, due to lack of time, I had to use a gun loaded with five rounds instead of eight. Cross firing is not the answer. And…”
Hyang held up a bullet.
“As you can see, the part where gunpowder goes into is made of copper, not paper. Therefore, mass production is not possible.”
“Why isn’t copper coming in properly? A copper mine was also discovered there!”
Jo Mal-saeng did not give up and continued to refute refutation after rebuttal.
But the scent wasn’t too bad.
“The amount of copper supplied has increased, but the places where it is used have also increased proportionally. “It’s still not enough to make even the bullet casings out of copper.”
“cartridge case?”
When Sejong expressed doubt about the unfamiliar word, Hyang briefly explained.
“Yes, Soja gave it that name.”
However, Jo Mal-saeng, a man who never gave up, kept holding on.
“If we recover as many shell casings as possible….”
“Captain Cho! It may be possible to retrieve it in training, but is it possible in real life? Are you going to pick up shell casings instead of fighting?”
Jo Mal-saeng had to keep his mouth shut at Hyang’s words. Seeing Jo Mal-saeng like that, Hyang hit the final nail in the coffin.
“Even the Gap-sik Chongtong used by the Joseon military today has no rivals not only in the Japanese country but also in the Ming countries. But let’s create a new president? “What would you do if the Ming Dynasty asked you to pay tribute or provide craftsmen for a new president like the Tang Dynasty did to Silla?”
What Hyang was talking about was the Cheonbono incident that took place between the authorities and Silla. At that time, King Gojong of Tang, who coveted Silla’s Cheonbono, ordered to send a craftsman to Silla. The father-in-law, Gu Jin-cheon, who went over in this way, consistently sabotaged his work, and in the end, the Tang was unable to obtain Cheon Bo-no.
Hyang, who mentioned past events, pointed out reality.
“It is a famous country! For now, it’s best to stay one step ahead! Even if you have the technology to be two steps ahead, it’s still best to stay one step ahead on the outside! Joseon is barely budding! “You must never provoke Ming!”
At Hyang’s words, Jo Mal-saeng had a gloomy expression. Sejong, who was listening to Hyang next to him, sighed.
“Whoa~. Now, it seems the Crown Prince’s words are correct. It’s unfortunate, but let’s pretend this incident never happened. “It could irritate Myung-guk too much.”
“I follow your orders.”
In the end, Jo Mal-saeng had to give up his greed for the Winchester rifle.
* * *
Sejong, who had resolved the issue regarding the President and returned to the party leadership, proceeded with the meeting.
“Then let’s move on to the next agenda.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
The person who followed King Sejong’s orders was Yeonguijeong Lee Jik.
“Shin Young-uijeong’s transfer. I have been reflecting on this incident and looking at various situations. Meanwhile, we found many problems, but most of them could be solved through sutra. This is the light of His Majesty the Lord’s insight, and everything is a blessing for Joseon.”
Lee Jik began his speech by praising Sejong. Sejong responded to Lee Jik’s praise with a small smile.
“The Lord is putting gold on Gwain’s face.”
“It’s not gold lacquer.”
“I agree with what Captain Yeonguijeong said. “Your Majesty the Lord is a great blessing to Joseon.”
The ministers, including everyone, continued to praise King Sejong.
King Sejong was in a good mood due to the praise relay from his ministers, but it did not go beyond the limits.
“There is a saying, ‘too much is too little,’ and it is said that ‘gwarye (excessive courtesy) is proportional.’ I think the same applies to praise for a monarch. So let’s stop here. “It’s enough just to hear the pleasant words you’ve said.”
It was said with a smile, but it was a clear warning, so the ministers got straight to the point.
Once again, Yeonguijeong Lee Jik stepped forward and continued speaking.
“I discovered the problem of communication after experiencing an outrageous incident that occurred in the Samnam region.”
“It’s a communication problem…”
Sejong stroked his beard at Lee Jik’s remark. The smile on Sejong’s face had disappeared.
Lee Jik continued his explanation.
“Even excluding instances of disloyalty like this one, there are many things that need to be reported urgently, such as invasions from foreign enemies and outbreaks of plague.”
“That’s right.”
Sejong nodded and responded to Lee Jik’s words.
“A similar story came out in the military service in the past, and they told us to reorganize the post. But is this not enough?”
“Normally, it would be possible just to get to the train station. However, even for dispatchers, it takes three days even if they depart from Dongrae in the south or Gilju in the north, and in the case of dispatchers, it is said to be as fast as five days. “It’s like this in peacetime, but what if it’s an emergency like a war?”
“Right. When chaos breaks out, time is truly more precious than a thousand gold…”
Sejong nodded at Lee Jik’s words.
“Is there an alternative?”
“Yes, we are installing a beacon tower.”
“Bonghwa….”
King Sejong stroked his beard and shook his head.
‘Of course… if it’s a beacon fire, it’s fast.’
Sejong, who thought Lee Jik’s words were reasonable, asked again.
“If we want to install a beacon tower, we need to choose a suitable location. Have you solved this problem?”
To Sejong’s question, Lee Jik answered fluidly.
“Yes, since our Joseon Dynasty was founded, the ruins of the old Samhan and Goryeo castles have been organized. Among these castle sites, there are beacon fire tower sites in quite a few places, so it would be helpful to refer to this when deciding.”
“Right.”
Sejong nodded at Lee Jik’s words.
Lee Jik continued his explanation by pointing to the map that was still standing.
“As a result of discussions in Uijeongbu, we believe that if we connect the beacon line to the north, south, east, and west of Joseon, centering on Mt. Mokmyeok (Namsan) in Hanseong, it will fully play its role.”
“It’s okay.”
Sejong continued to nod his head at Lee Jik’s explanation.
Nowadays, not only in Joseon but throughout the Ming and Japanese eras, there was no means of communication faster than beacon fire.
Hyang, who was listening to the story next to him, frowned.
‘It’s a good opinion and the most reasonable opinion, but. I can’t shake off the feeling that something is lacking…’
While Hyang was wondering why he was feeling inadequate, the priests and ministers who were looking at Hyang’s expression began to get very nervous.
‘The Crown Prince’s expression is not good!’
‘Look at that cocky face!’
‘I won’t watch it! ‘I’ll never see it again!’
Sejong, who sensed a strange atmosphere amidst the silent clamor of the ministers, looked around.
“huh?”
Sejong noticed the suddenly chaotic atmosphere and found the cause. King Sejong turned his head to follow the gaze of the ministers, saw the scent, and muttered softly.
“Is it you again?”
Sejong mumbled something in his mouth for a moment, then raised his voice and called out the fragrance.
“The crown prince has some worries. Is your expression like that? “Do you think there is a problem with the installation of the beacon tower?”
In response to Sejong’s question, Hyang immediately shook her head.
“No. There is no one that can compare to the speed of the beacon fire, so how can you be dissatisfied? I just have something I’m curious about…”
“I’m curious? “What are you curious about?”
“Yes, I know that you can tell the situation by the number of fire and smoke coming from the beacon tower.”
“That’s right.”
King Sejong and the ministers nodded at Hyang’s words. Depending on the number of signal fires raised, it was possible to tell that a battle had taken place even during normal times.
“But what are you curious about?”
In response to King Sejong’s question, the ministers fixed their gaze on Hyang. In their opinion, the Younguijeong proposal was very reasonable.
In response to Sejong’s question, Hyang walked in front of the map and continued speaking.
“If we install beacon stations in a row in the north, south, east, west, and river areas of our Joseon Dynasty, as suggested by the Vice Admiral, we can quickly know the situation. Up to this point, I understand the elements. But what Soja is curious about is… Then how do you know where it happened?”
“huh?”
“uh?”
“ah!”
At Hyang’s words, King Sejong and the ministers looked at each other as if they had taken a hit.
“Of course, it is a huge advantage to be able to quickly find out when an enemy invades from any direction, north, south, east or west. However, until the dispatcher or dispatcher brings more detailed information, we have no choice but to prepare vague measures. Of course, this is better than not doing anything at all, but it is worse than knowing in detail and preparing.”
“That’s right.”
“That’s right.”
King Sejong and the ministers who were nodding at Hyang’s words looked at Hyang once again.
‘He is my son, but how can he be so thoughtful?’
‘Despite his young age, he has such insight! ‘I feel this every time, but it’s amazing!’
Hyang may or may not have known that he was looking at her with eyes filled with admiration, but he continued to point out the areas he thought were lacking.
“As Captain Yeonguijeong first said, the war is not the only thing that needs to be urgently reported. Plague is something that requires reporting and response as quickly as a war.”
“Then what are the measures?”
Hyang looked embarrassed at Sejong’s question.
“Your Majesty, I am not sure yet. I was just telling you something that just occurred to me…”
“Is that so?”
“yes.”
After hearing Hyang’s answer, King Sejong looked back at the ministers.
“I think there is nothing wrong with what the crown prince pointed out. “I hope you will think about what a good answer to this is.”
“I follow your orders.”
“Cesar, you too, think about it.”
Hyang also bowed his head at King Sejong’s command.
“I follow your orders.”
* * *
Hyang returned to the East Palace, took off his Ikseongwan and scratched his head.
“This guy’s snout is the problem… He makes a living by working.”
At the same time, the ministers gathered at the Uijeongbu Government Building talked about scent.
“Normally, I just thought it was weird, but sometimes when something like today happens, I get scared.”
“I agree. That kind of insight at that age….”
“What will happen when the crown prince ascends to the throne…”
While the officials and ministers were talking in a divided manner, Kim Jeom blurted out a word.
“I don’t know if I will be alive until the crown prince succeeds the throne, but I know this one thing for sure. “I know that the officials will not feel comfortable because they inherited the blood of the chief minister and have seen what the chief minister does.”
“Oh my…”
The ministers briefly clicked their tongues at Kim Jeom’s words. However, the complexions of the young officials who followed the ministers to the Uijeongbu government building turned dark.