Black Corporation: Joseon

Chapter 277

The ministers listened attentively to Hyang’s explanation with serious expressions. Heo Jo, who had been carefully listening to Hyang’s words, opened his mouth.

“First, I would like to ask about ‘tying the stork’s feet.’ I think it means to hinder what Ming wants to do, but wouldn’t we need an ally to help our Joseon for that?”

“That’s right. That’s why Father said it was inappropriate. The only potential allies to hinder Ming’s actions are the Northern Yuan or Japan, but the losses would outweigh the gains with them.”

At Hyang’s answer, all the ministers nodded. Using the Northern Yuan or Japan to hold Ming back was too likely to backfire.

Even if Joseon supported them, there was a very high possibility that they would attack Joseon, which seemed easier than Ming, which would be burdened.

***

Once the explanation about ‘allies’ was over, the ministers’ interest shifted to Hyang’s second method, ‘making them go down the wrong path.’

“Please explain the second method.”

At the ministers’ request, Hyang gestured to the eunuch.

“Go to the research center and ask for the ‘Dong Gun.'”

“The Dong Gun, you say?”

“Yes. The Dong Gun.”

“Understood.”

The eunuch who received Hyang’s order left Geunjeongjeon with quick steps.

***

Arriving at the research center attached to the Eastern Palace, the eunuch immediately conveyed Hyang’s order.

“The Crown Prince has asked for the Dong Gun.”

“The Dong Gun?”

The eunuch belonging to the research center tilted his head for a moment but soon nodded.

“Ah! The Dung Gun! Please wait a moment.”

“Dung Gun?”

While the eunuch from Geunjeongjeon was tilting his head, the eunuch who had gone inside came out with a long wooden box and handed it over.

“Here it is.”

“Thank you.”

***

“Here it is, Your Majesty.”

“Good work. Put it here.”

The eunuch who had gone to the research center placed the box in question on the table surrounded by the ministers.

As he opened the lid of the box, Hyang continued.

“This is the long gun to be shown to Ming.”

“Huh?”

Upon seeing the long gun taken out of the box, the ministers’ expressions momentarily turned complex.

“The shape is a bit peculiar.”

“Indeed, it is.”

Hyang, who answered lightly, respectfully presented the problematic long gun to Sejong.

“This is the deception plan I have devised.”

Examining the long gun he received, Sejong turned to Hyang.

“The shape is indeed peculiar.”

What Hyang had presented was a musket.

“Take a look, ministers.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

The ministers, who received the musket through the eunuch, took turns examining it and made their evaluations.

“It’s quite heavy.”

“It looks a bit dull.”

Amid various evaluations, the one who assessed it most thoroughly was Jo Mal-saeng.

“There is no shoulder rest, and all the aiming components have been removed. And…”

Jo Mal-saeng, who was examining the muzzle and trigger mechanism, turned to Hyang.

“There are no rifling grooves? No, that’s not the issue. Does this long gun not use mercury fulminate?”

“Yes.”

“Will the performance be adequate?”

“It falls far short of the Gapsik Jangchong, but it is far superior to their existing guns.”

“Oh my…”

At Hyang’s explanation, Jo Mal-saeng let out a sound that could be either admiration or lamentation as he put down the musket.

“So, what do you think?”

Sejong asked a question, seeing that the ministers had finished their observations. At Sejong’s question, the ministers inwardly weighed the pros and cons diligently. However, as most of them were laymen when it came to firearms, an answer did not come easily.

Seeing their reaction, Sejong ordered Hyang.

“Crown Prince, explain why you created this long gun.”

“Yes, Father.”

After taking a brief breath, Hyang soon began his explanation.

“First of all, the development of this long gun, which the research center and Area 51 call the Dong Gun, began when the Gapsik Jangchong was completed and started to be deployed. It was certain that once the long guns experienced real combat in the north, they would be exposed to Ming. I have already explained this part.”

At Hyang’s words, Sejong and the ministers all nodded. Seeing the ministers’ reaction, Hyang continued his explanation.

“Therefore, we anticipated that if Ming learned of the existence of the long guns, they would definitely make some kind of demand to Joseon. They could demand craftsmen like in the ancient tale of the thousand-step crossbow, but we expected the possibility to be low as Ming would also know the historical anecdote.”

“That is indeed the case.”

Maeng Sa-seong nodded at Hyang’s words and continued. It was natural for him to have done the same.

“So, I thought the highest possibility was that Ming would demand the actual long guns from our Joseon.

Of course, Ming would certainly expect us to play some tricks, but still.

Therefore, I created this Dong Gun. Starting with a performance that is definitely superior to the guns used by our Joseon or Ming’s similar fire lances, we will deceive Ming’s eyes and make them go down the wrong path.”

“My son, what is the exact performance?”

“With ordinary marksmanship, a soldier can hit>(approximately 30m). An exceptionally skilled soldier can hit the>(approximately 60m) with luck. And it can penetr>(approximately 90m).”

“Isn’t that too superior?”

“It needs to be at this level for Ming to have less suspicion.”

“That may be so, but…”

At Hyang’s explanation, Sejong understood on one hand but couldn’t hide his regret on the other.

Hyang took out a round lead pellet from the box.

“This is the lead ball used in this Dong Gun. It>(approximately 34g).”

“It has a completely different shape from the bullets used by our military.”

As Jo Mal-saeng pretended to know, Hyang immediately explained the reason.

“The conical bullets used by our military only perform optimally in long guns with rifling grooves. If we provide bullets that don’t even match the gun with deliberately lowered performance, they will contemplate to achieve that performance, and if that happens…”

“The very thing we want to avoid will occur.”

Hyang nodded at Sejong’s interjection.

“That’s right, Father.”

The bullet used in the Gapsik Jangchong was the Lorenz bullet. It could be called the “terminator of bullets for muzzle-loading rifles.” Of course, it was not 100% identical to the original Lorenz bullet, but its shape was definitely that of a Lorenz bullet.

“As someone who even made guns, I can’t just let this pass, can I?”

***

After explaining the bullets, Hyang continued to explain other aspects.

-Removal of the stock (buttstock).

-Removal of aiming devices.

-Removal of rifling grooves.

These three measures were taken to reduce the accuracy of the Dong Gun. It was intended to make Ming also ponder over improving accuracy, consuming time in the process. In particular, the removal of aiming devices was Hyang’s deliberate decision. The musket also had aiming protrusions.

“Perhaps it will take quite some time for them to come up with the idea of attaching that simple component. There’s a reason why the saying ‘Columbus’ egg’ exists.”

Hyang was employing every possible trick to buy as much time as possible.

-Deterioration of the ignition mechanism. The technology of mercury fulminate primers must never be handed over. However, using the existing fuse ignition may raise suspicion, so the ignition method is modified to use specially designed firecrackers.

Hearing the explanation up to this point, the ministers were all impressed.

“Truly ingenious!”

“Indeed! It is definitely superior to the previously used methods, but it is clearly inferior to the methods used by our Joseon military!”

At the ministers’ praise, Hyang inwardly gave a bitter smile.

‘Ingenious, my foot… I just traced history in reverse… Although, I did trace back hundreds of years.’

As the ministers’ praise died down, Hyang explained the final part.

“The part I paid the most attention to in this Dong Gun is the barrel.”

As Hyang pointed to the barrel, the ministers once again focused their attention on it.

Jo Mal-saeng, who was closely examining the Dong Gun on the table, turned to Hyang.

“Is it made of bronze?”

“Yes. It is a trap made using the craftsmen’s knowledge.”

“Oh…”

At Hyang’s explanation, Jo Mal-saeng let out another groan that could be either admiration or lamentation, and the ministers focused their attention on him.

Feeling the other ministers’ gazes, Jo Mal-saeng explained the reason.

“The barrels of our Joseon’s guns are made of iron.”

“The difference between iron and bronze…”

The ministers began to ponder the reason why Jo Mal-saeng was showing an unexpected reaction when only the material had changed.

After a moment, Kim Jeom spoke up.

“Ah! Is it to increase the production cost?”

“That is also one reason.”

“Huh?”

The ministers continued to ponder but couldn’t easily find an answer.

“My son, explain it. I’m also not sure about anything other than the cost.”

“Yes, Father.”

At Sejong’s order, Hyang explained why he had made it out of bronze.

-Until Hyang made gun barrels out of steel, both Joseon and Ming made cannons out of bronze. Therefore, Ming’s craftsmen would not be suspicious of this bronze barrel.

-For the same reason, Hyang produced the barrel by casting. Until Hyang led the production of long guns, both Joseon and Ming made guns by casting (of course, cannons were still being produced by casting). Producing by casting requires a considerable level of difficulty. If there is even the slightest defect inside the cast barrel, it is dangerous. Significant time will be consumed to solve this.

-Lastly, bronze is a material that has severe limitations in performance improvement.

“Limitations?”

“Weight, Father.”

Hyang held up the Dong Gun and continued his explanation.

“The barrel of this Dong Gun is about 2 chon (approximately 7cm) shorter than the barrel of the Gapsik Jangchong. However, this Dong Gun is much heavier in overall weight. The heavier the weight, the more effort is required from the soldiers handling it.”

“I see.”

Whether it was the Dong Gun or the Gapsik Jangchong, they were weapons carried by soldiers. If the weight was heavy, it was certain that the soldiers would tire more quickly.

“If Ming’s craftsmen try to improve the performance, this is where they will spend the most time. The most important aspects of a long gun’s performance are ‘How far can it shoot? How accurate can it be?’ There are four ways to solve this problem. One is to increase the amount of gunpowder, another is to make the barrel longer, the third is to attach aiming devices, and the last is to add rifling grooves. Bronze makes the first and second conditions difficult.”

“I see.”

Sejong, who was unconsciously nodding at Hyang’s answer, looked at Hyang and muttered inwardly.

‘Scary fellow! How many traps did you set in a single gun? You made it impossible for them to even dream of modification or improvement!’

The ministers had a similar reaction.

‘Scary, so scary! You didn’t just teach them the wrong path; you completely blinded them!’

‘To be able to set traps to that extent at that age!’

‘Vicious, so vicious!’

Sejong, who was shaking his head slightly at the relentlessly set traps that sent shivers down his spine, asked Hyang.

“My son, how long do you think it will take for Ming’s craftsmen to overcome these obstacles?”

“It is difficult to predict as I am not well aware of the level of Ming’s craftsmen. However, assuming that the skills of Ming’s craftsmen are similar to our Joseon craftsmen, it will take 5 years if they are lucky, and at least 10 years if not. However, these numbers are based on the assumption that Ming does not obtain the actual long guns used by our Joseon military.”

“Then, we should diligently run away in the meantime, right?”

“Yes.”

“Do you have something in mind?”

“I have prepared to some extent.”

At Hyang’s answer, Kim Jeom’s face turned pale.