Black Corporation: Joseon - Chapter 275
Episode 275 How the bobcat catches up with the stork. (1)
‘There was a problem with the parcel. There is no answer.’ As this evaluation emerged, retired craftsmen returned to the workshop.
“Welcome, King Noya (old man, an expression of respect for your old father).”
“Thank you for your hard work.”
When the leader welcomed him with full of respect, Wang Sam gave a light reply and got straight to the point.
“There was a problem with the parcel?”
“Yes noya.”
“Let me take a look.”
Wang Sam tilted his head when he saw the package the artisans brought.
“In terms of size, this is not a parcel but a fire lance, right?”
In the Ming Dynasty, small chongtongs like the sajeon chongtong used by Joseon were called hwachang. Like the Joseon army, it was called a spear because it was used on a long handle.
The leader answered Wang Sam’s question right away.
“As mentioned above, it is a small artillery piece….”
“Do high-ranking people know the types of artillery?”
Wang Sam, who was grumbling as he remembered the high-ranking people in the Forbidden City who only gave orders, asked the question again.
“Why did an order suddenly come down to make something like this?”
In response to Wang Sam’s question, the leader talked about the conflict between Joseon and Jurchen that took place in Liaodong. Wang Sam, who listened to the story, glared at the leader.
“When I heard it, it was Hwachang, so why do they call it Hwapo?”
“I thought so too, but since you said poro above….”
“So, the intention was to make it Hwachang and make it poro after watching it?”
“yes.”
“Tsk!”
Wang Sam clicked his tongue as if he did not like it. But he too could understand the leader’s feelings.
‘If he doesn’t like it, not only he will die, but all of his family will die…’
Wang Sam, who knew what would happen if he escaped the emperor’s attention, set out to solve the problem.
“That aside, the parcel broke? “How much gunpowder did you put in?”
“It’s one and a half nyang (about 50g). King Noya. And as for how I put it in…”
Wang Sam was shocked after hearing the leader’s explanation.
“You put one and a half nyang in this small package? “Isn’t that crazy?”
“I heard a rumor that they do that in Joseon…”
“You idiot! If we had done that in Joseon as you said, not a single Joseon army would have survived!”
“But those rumors…”
“Rumors are rumors! You should have seen it with your own eyes! And yet you are the leader!”
After scolding the leader who kept making excuses, Wang Sam continued.
“listen carefully. Joseon is the people who learned gunpowder technology from us. Both Korea and Korea use the same gunpowder. “What does that mean?”
The leader immediately responded to Wang Sam’s point.
“It means that our methods were wrong.”
“Yes! As far as I know, in Joseon, like us, the amount of gunpowder that goes into a parcel is around 1 nyang, and after the gunpowder is chopped, the iron pills are added layer by layer. “If you want to do it like you did, you’ll have to make cannons, not parcels!”
“I know! i know!”
The leader complained to Wang Sam.
“But what you want above is something with a range of at least 30 shots (about 100m)…”
“You idiot! Then you should have found another way! All you have to do is add a lot of gunpowder! “You guys listen carefully too!”
Wang Sam looked back at the leaders and craftsmen and raised his voice.
“You guys know full well what gunpowder is! “This is how they do things, knowing full well what will happen if one and a half taels of gunpowder goes into such a small thing!”
“I’m sorry!”
“That’s it! “Tell me what you guys think!”
At Wangsam’s command, the craftsmen brought out what they had been thinking about.
This situation did not only occur in this workshop.
There were three weapons workshops in Beijing. The weapons made and adopted here were soon copied and spread throughout the Ming country. Therefore, all artisans had to rack their brains for their own honor and future survival.
What came out of that process was an object similar to the Sajeonsajang Chongtong before the incense was involved.
“You can fire 4 rounds of fine long gun together. “Chasojeon (次小箭) can load one round.”
Wang Sam added to the leader’s explanation.
“I can’t get the range I want from the above with a three-shot fight, so let’s skip that and tell the top that it’s possible with a small fight.”
“yes.”
The head craftsman who created the prototype soon contacted officials and submitted the prototype.
In addition to Wangsam’s workshop, other workshops also submitted prototypes every few days.
Emperor Seondeok, who was looking at the prototypes uploaded from the workshops, gave an order to the eunuch.
“Bring in the soldiers who saw the Joseon army’s battle in Liaodong.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
A few days later, soldiers called by Emperor Xiande entered the Forbidden City.
“It is an honor to meet you, Your Majesty! “Long live, long live, long live!”
Emperor Seondeok gave a light response to the soldiers who saluted the three cheers and gave an order to the eunuch.
“Bring them with you.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
After a while, the eunuchs came inside carrying a large table. Prototypes made by workshops in Beijing were placed on a table covered with white silk.
Emperor Seondeok asked the soldiers.
“Did the small artillery pieces of the Joseon army you saw in Liaodong look like this?”
In response to Emperor Seondeok’s question, the soldiers examined the prototypes in detail. After looking at it for a while, one of the soldiers opened his mouth.
“The minors couldn’t see it closely because they had to look at it from a distance, but it didn’t happen like this.”
“I’ll buy it back.”
When the other soldiers agreed, Emperor Seondeok asked back with a serious face.
“Are you sure?”
“yes. “It certainly looked different from this one.”
In response to the soldiers’ response, Emperor Seondeok lightly gestured.
“I get it. Thank you for your hard work. “I will reward you for your hard work in rough terrain.”
“Hwang Eun is devastated! Long live! Long live!”
After sending out the soldiers, Emperor Seondeok looked at his cabinet secretary.
“I guess I’ll have to send an envoy to Joseon.”
The Cabinet Secretary, who immediately understood what Emperor Seondeok said, pointed out the problem.
“Will Joseon respond properly? “Isn’t there also a story about Cheonbono (千步弩) from Silla back in the day?”
Emperor Seondeok silently nodded at the assistant cabinet secretary’s point.
In order to obtain Cheonbono, the most powerful weapon among Silla’s weapons, Tang put pressure on Silla and brought Gu Jincheon, an old master, to Tang. Gu Jincheon, who was dragged into the party, continued his sabotage, citing various reasons.
In the end, Gu Jincheon’s subsequent records could not be found anywhere.
Citing the historical incident, the Cabinet Secretary expressed a negative opinion. However, the Cabinet Secretary had to keep quiet when asked the following questions.
“Then does the Cabinet Secretary have an answer to solve this?”
“…”
Emperor Seondeok continued, looking at the cabinet secretary who was silent.
“I also don’t trust Joseon to act honestly. I would do that even if I were the king of Joseon. But you just need to know how to use something. Because we have craftsmen and gunpowder. “You won’t be treated like Cheon Bo-no back in the day.”
“That’s true…”
While answering Emperor Seondeok’s words, the Assistant Cabinet Secretary could not shake off a feeling of uneasiness.
‘What did I miss? ‘What have I missed?’
“your majesty.”
Among the subjects who were listening to the conversation between Emperor Seondeok and the assistant cabinet secretary, a military officer stepped forward.
“What’s going on?”
“Wouldn’t it be okay to make it impossible for Joseon to use tactics even if it wanted to?”
“They make it impossible for me to write even if I want to? how?”
When Emperor Seondeok showed interest, the military officer put a little more force into his voice.
“We are asking for their small artillery and at the same time giving them a short period of time.”
“They give you a short period of time?”
“Yes, for example, they only give us ten days or fifteen days. In addition, the quantity is also quite large. For example, the time is 10 days and the quantity is about 1,000 doors.”
“That’s okay.”
When Emperor Seondeok responded positively to the military officer’s explanation, one of the cabinet members pointed out the problem.
“If we were told to hand over 1,000 guns at once, North Korea would strongly protest.”
The attache who first spoke to the bachelor’s point immediately responded.
“I guess so. So, 1,000 questions are used as bait. What you need is at most 230 questions. So, while pretending to give a reasonable discount, we are shortening the period. If that happens, Joseon will have no time to make an easy move.”
“What a brilliant idea! What does Subo think?”
“I think it’s okay.”
Subo immediately agreed. This was because while listening to the military officer’s explanation, many of the things I had been concerned about disappeared.
Emperor Seondeok made a decision right away when even the cabinet secretary agreed.
“Then let’s send an envoy right away!”
* * *
According to custom, the king who made the decision sent a messenger in advance to notify Joseon that the envoy would be on his way.
Joseon received the message sent by the messenger and was put on emergency alert.
“Why on earth?”
Starting with King Sejong, all the ministers could not hide their doubts. It was not a regular envoy, but an urgent envoy.
In particular, the question grew deeper and deeper thanks to the messenger who only told us the date and time of his arrival but never revealed why he was coming.
“The most likely one is the conquest of the last two thousand states.”
Lee Maeng-gyun immediately refuted Heo Jo’s words.
“Hasn’t that part already been approved by the emperor? Changing one’s words is a matter of honor to the emperor, so would you do it carelessly?”
“But other than that, there are no problems between Joseon and Ming, right?”
While various arguments were going on, King Sejong looked back.
“What do you think the Crown Prince is?”
“Soja thinks it is probably due to the conquest of Manchuria. However, it seems to be a different problem than the problem of the region we have chosen as our stronghold.”
“another pair of boots?”
“These are the weapons used by our Joseon military.”
“Ah…”
King Sejong and the ministers nodded at Hyang’s answer.
It was an opportunity to showcase all the new weapons that Joseon had developed so far.
As Hyang said, it was enough for Ming to send an envoy.
“I expected it, but the reaction was quick.”
“That’s right.”
The ministers all nodded at Sejong’s words. Weapons, especially those used in large quantities, were not the type of thing that could be hidden forever.
Moreover, dealing with Lee Man-ju and Muntemu was not something that could be won even if they fought with these weapons hidden.
The place where the battle took place was also where the eyes and ears of the people were located.
It was something I did at the risk of being exposed, and considering what I gained from it, it was worth it.
The only thing that King Sejong and the ministers regretted was that Myung responded faster than expected.
But Hyang thought the opposite.
“Response quickly? “I think it’s very late, right?”
“huh?”
Hearing Hyang’s words, King Sejong and the ministers looked at Hyang once again.
“Tell me why.”
In response to Sejong’s question, Hyang immediately explained the reason.
“How many years has it been since the Gap-sik long rifle and horse-mounted rifle were made and used in combat? During this time, battles took place in the north more than once. But only now has Myung reacted. This means that the surveillance network established by the Ming Dynasty in Liaodong was weaker than expected.”
“You might think so.”
“That’s right.”
Sejong, who was nodding at Hyang’s explanation, asked Hyang again.
“Then what do you think caught Ming’s attention?”
“It’s a long gun.”
Jo Mal-saeng intervened in Hyang’s assertion.
“Other weapons also showed great power?”
In response to Jo Mal-saeng’s question, Hyang explained the reason.
“There are similar weapons in the Ming Dynasty, both Singijeon and Hwacha Bigyeokjincheonroe. But that’s not the case with long guns. Of course, it has a firearm, but it is nothing compared to our long guns.”
“It is.”
Jo Mal-saeng nodded at Hyang’s words.
Sejong, who was listening to Hyang’s story, became serious.
“The story of Cheonbono from old Silla comes to mind.”
“That’s right.”
Hyang intervened in the words of King Sejong and the ministers.
“The artisans cannot be handed over. “No, if it’s Ming, I might not ask you to hand over the craftsmen.”
“why?”
“Because they too will know the story of Cheonbono.”
“Ah…”
“It’s a good thing, but…”
While they were convinced that the reason the people were coming was because of the long guns, King Sejong and the ministers struggled to find a solution.
Hyang, who was watching this, suddenly asked an unexpected question.
“Abama mama, what must the baboon do to catch up with the stork?”
“huh?”