Black Corporation: Joseon - Chapter 277
Episode 277: How the bobcat catches up with the stork. (3)
The ministers had serious expressions and listened to Hyang’s explanation. Heo Jo, who had been listening closely to Hyang’s words, opened his mouth.
“First of all, there is something I would like to ask you. ‘Tie the stork’s feet.’ This comes to mind. “I think God means to interfere with what the Ming is trying to do. To do that, wouldn’t we need helpers to help Joseon?”
“you’re right. That’s why Abama said it wasn’t appropriate. “The only helpers who can interfere with Ming’s work are Northern Yuan and the Japanese Empire, and they will cause more harm than good.”
The ministers all nodded at Hyang’s answer. There was a very high possibility that using Bukwon or the Japanese government to hold back the Ming Dynasty would be a self-inflicted suicide.
This was because even if Joseon supported them, there was a very high possibility that they would attack Joseon, who seemed easy and not a burden.
* * *
After the explanation of the ‘helper’ was over, the attention of the ministers focused on the second plan mentioned by Hyang, ‘making them go down the wrong path.’
“Please explain the second option.”
At the request of the ministers, Hyang motioned to the eunuch.
“Go to the research center and ask for the ‘Dong Chong’.”
“Are you talking about Dongchong?”
“That’s right. Dongchong.”
“I understand.”
After receiving the order from the local government, the eunuch went out to Geunjeongjeon.
* * *
Arriving at the laboratory attached to the East Palace, the emissary immediately conveyed Hyang’s orders.
“The crown prince asked me to hand over the gun.”
“Dongchong?”
The lab’s internal officer, who tilted his head for a moment, immediately nodded.
“ah! Shit gun! “Please wait a moment.”
“Dung gun?”
While the eunuch belonging to Geunjeongjeon was tilting his head, the eunuch who had gone inside brought out a long wooden box and handed it to him.
“Here it is.”
“Thank you.”
* * *
“Here I am.”
“Good job. “Put it here.”
The emissary who returned from the research institute placed the box in question on the desk where the ministers were sitting around.
As I opened the lid of the box, the scent continued.
“I have a long gun to show you.”
“huh?”
The expressions of the ministers who saw the long gun taken out of the box instantly became complicated.
“The shape is a bit unusual?”
“I guess so.”
Hyang responded lightly and politely presented the rifle in question to King Sejong.
“This is the guide that Soja thought of.”
Sejong, who was examining the rifle handed to him, looked back.
“The shape is unusual.”
What Hyang introduced was a gun.
“Please take a look at the scriptures.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Ministers who were handed rifles through an internal official took turns examining them and evaluating them.
“It’s very heavy.”
“It looks a bit dull.”
Among the various evaluations, the one who gave the most detailed evaluation was Jo Mal-saeng.
“There is no shoulder attachment and all aiming parts have been removed. And….”
Jo Mal-saeng, who was examining the muzzle and percussion part, looked back.
“Do you have any steel wire? “No, that’s not the problem; this long gun doesn’t use wide silver?”
“yes.”
“Is it performing properly?”
“It is far inferior to a full-length rifle, but it is far superior to existing rifles.”
“Huh…”
At Hyang’s explanation, Jo Mal-saeng put down his gun, making a sound that was unclear whether it was admiration or lamentation.
“So what do you think?”
After seeing that the ministers had finished observing, King Sejong asked a question. In response to King Sejong’s question, the ministers carefully weighed their profits and losses in their minds. However, since most people were illiterate about firearms, it was not easy to come up with an answer.
Seeing this, King Sejong ordered Hyang.
“Please explain why the crown prince made this long gun.”
“Yes Abama.”
After taking a moment to catch his breath, Hyang soon entered into an explanation.
“First of all, the research institute and Area 51 began developing this long gun, called the copper gun, when the armored long gun was completed and began deployment. This was because it was certain that if Jangchong experienced combat in the north, it would be exposed to the Ming. “I have already explained this part to you.”
King Sejong and the ministers all nodded at Hyang’s words. Looking at the reactions of the ministers, Hyang continued his explanation.
“Therefore, I expected that if the Ming learned of the existence of long guns, some kind of demand would inevitably come from Joseon. “It may be possible to ask for a craftsman like in the old Cheonbono’s ancestral rites, but since I know this part from the Myeongdo ancestral rites, I expected the possibility to be low.”
“That is so.”
Maeng Sa-seong nodded and accepted what Hyang said. Because it was natural that he would have done so.
“So, I thought that the Ming would most likely demand the actual long guns from Joseon.
Of course, I am sure that the people will expect us to do some tricks.
That’s why I made this gun. “It is clearly superior in performance to the Hwachang of the President or similar Ming Dynasty used by our Joseon Dynasty, so it blinds the Ming Dynasty and makes them go down the wrong path.”
“Seja, what is the exact performance?”
“A soldier with normal marksmanship can hit the head armor from a distance of 10 shots (approximately 30 meters). If you are a skilled soldier, you can hit a target from a distance of 20 shots (approximately 60 meters) if you are lucky. And it penetrates the parietal shell within at least 30 chapters (about 90 meters).”
“Isn’t it too excellent?”
“At this level, people will be less suspicious.”
“That’s true, but…”
Sejong understood Hyang’s explanation on the one hand, but couldn’t hide his disappointment on the other.
Hyang took out a round lead bead from the box.
“This is Joranhwan used in this gun. It is made of lead and weighs 1 nyang (about 34 g).”
“It looks completely different from the ammunition our military uses?”
Let’s pretend that Jo Mal-saeng knows something. The scent immediately explained the reason.
“The cone bullets used by our military only work well in rifled rifles. If you give them bullets that can’t even fit a gun with reduced performance, they will think up a way to utilize that performance, and if that happens…”
“The thing you want to avoid so much will happen.”
Hyang nodded at Sejong’s words, which he interrupted.
“That’s right, Abama.”
The bullet used in the armored rifle was the Lorentz bullet. It was a bullet that could be called ‘the terminator of full-length rifle bullets.’ Of course, it was not 100% identical to the original Lorenz bullet, but the shape was definitely the Lorentz bullet.
“He’s a guy who even made guns, so you can’t just ignore this, right?”
* * *
The scent that even explained the bullet went on to explain other parts as well.
-Delete the shoulder part (butt plate).
-Aiming device removed.
-Removal of steel wire.
The above three operations are measures to reduce the accuracy of the gun. Myeong-guk will also work hard to increase the hit rate, and this is to ensure that time is wasted. In particular, the removal of the aiming device was something the company was determined to do. The rifle also had an aiming protrusion.
“It might take quite some time to come up with the idea of attaching such a simple part. Why did the term ‘Egg of Columbus’ come about?”
It was a scent that tried every trick it could to gain as much time as possible.
-Deterioration of the firing mechanism. The technology of detonating using wide silver must never be passed on. However, since the existing wick percussion method may raise suspicion, we try to use a percussion method using a specially designed matchmaker.
The ministers who heard the explanation up to this point were all impressed.
“It’s truly amazing!”
“That’s right! “It is definitely superior to the existing method, but it is definitely inferior to the method used by our Joseon military!”
Hyang smiled bitterly at the praise from the ministers.
‘It’s a mess to be clever… It’s just retracing history backwards… Of course, it’s retracing hundreds of years.’
After the ministers’ praises had almost died down, Hyang explained the last part.
“The part of this gun that we paid the most attention to was the barrel.”
When Hyang pointed out the barrel of the gun, the ministers once again paid attention to the barrel.
Jo Mal-saeng, who was closely examining the copper gun placed on the table, looked back at the incense.
“Are you made of bronze?”
“That’s right. “This is a trap made using the knowledge of craftsmen.”
“Huh…”
At Hyang’s explanation, Jo Mal-saeng once again let out a groan, unable to tell whether it was admiration or lamentation, and the ministers focused their attention on Jo Mal-saeng.
Jo Mal-saeng, feeling the gaze of other ministers, explained the reason.
“Our Joseon guns have barrels made of iron.”
“The difference between iron and copper…”
Only the material had changed, but when Jo Mal-saeng showed an unexpected reaction, the ministers began to worry about the reason.
After a while, Kim Jeom opened his mouth.
“ah! “Are you making it more expensive to produce?”
“That’s one reason too.”
“huh?”
The ministers continued to think, but could not easily find an answer.
“Seja, please explain. “I don’t know much about it other than the cost.”
“Yes Abama.”
According to King Sejong’s order, the reason why the incense was made of bronze was explained.
-Until the Hyang Dynasty made gun barrels out of steel, guns in both the Joseon Dynasty and Ming Dynasty were made of bronze. Therefore, the craftsmen of the Ming Dynasty would not be suspicious of this bronze barrel.
-For the same reason, the gun barrel was made of cast iron. This was because before the creation of long guns under the leadership of the Hyang, both the Joseon Dynasty and the Ming Dynasty made barrels out of castings (of course, firearms were still produced out of castings). Producing castings is a process that requires considerable difficulty. This is because it is dangerous if there is any defect inside the barrel made of cast iron. It will take a considerable amount of time to resolve this.
-Finally, bronze is a material that has great limitations in improving performance.
“limit?”
“It’s heavy, Abama.”
Hyang held up the gun and continued his explanation.
“The barrel of this gun is about 2 inches (approximately 7 cm) shorter than the barrel of a standard long gun. However, this gun is much heavier. “The heavier the weight, the more effort it takes for the soldiers to handle it.”
“Right.”
It was a weapon carried by soldiers, whether it was a copper gun or an armored rifle. It was certain that if the weight was heavy, the soldiers would get tired faster.
“If the master craftsmen are trying to improve performance, this is where the master craftsmen will take up the most time. The most important aspect of a long gun’s performance is ‘how far can it shoot? ‘How well can you guess?’ no see. There are four ways to solve this problem: one is to increase the amount of gunpowder, the other is to make the barrel longer, the third is to install an aiming device, and lastly, to dig up the steel wire. Bronze makes the first and second conditions difficult.”
“Right.”
Sejong, who unconsciously nodded his head in response to Hyang, looked at Hyang and muttered to himself.
‘Scary guy! How many traps are dug for one gun? They have made it impossible to even dream of improvement or improvement!’
This reaction was also the same among ministers.
‘I’m scared, I’m scared! ‘He didn’t just teach me the wrong way, he completely blindsided me!’
‘I can’t believe he can sell traps like that at that age!’
‘Read, read, read!’
Sejong, who was shaking his head slightly at the trap that had been dug so tenaciously that made him shudder, asked Hyang.
“Seja. “How long do you think it will take for the Ming craftsmen to overcome this obstacle?”
“It is difficult to predict because we do not know the level of craftsmen. However, if we assume that the dexterity of the master craftsmen is similar to that of our Joseon craftsmen. If you’re lucky, 5 years. If not, at least 10 years. However, this number is only if the Korean military did not acquire the long guns actually used.”
“Then in the meantime, we should diligently run away, right?”
“That’s right.”
“Do you have something in mind?”
“We have done it to some extent.”
Kim Jeom’s face turned white at Hyang’s answer.