Black Corporation: Joseon

When Hyang returned, Sejong declared the end of the demonstration.

“With this, I will conclude the demonstration. I will provide alcohol and meat for the hardworking soldiers, so enjoy the feast.”

“Wahhh!”

“Long live the King! Long live!”

Although the demonstration was over, Hyang shook his head and got up from his seat. “I just can’t stand it. I can’t resist my curiosity.” Hyang, who had left his seat, continued to search for and investigate the artillerymen and gunners.

“I’m sorry for holding you up like this when our Majesty has provided a feast.”

“Not at all!”

“Absolutely not!”

At Hyang’s apology, the artillerymen and gunners vehemently denied, shaking their hands.

“I won’t let you feel disappointed, so please help me a little.”

“Not at all!”

“Just give us the order!”

“Thank you. First of all… What is inconvenient about using these cannons?”

In response to Hyang’s question, the artillerymen took a moment to think and then shared their issues.

It’s difficult to use. Other than the Ilchongtong placed on a mini-carriage, all other types are used by placing them on a pole and even a sturdy soldier finds it hard to fire more than two shots.The distance to fully suppress the enemy is too short. If a small one is fitted into this Ilchongtong (hand cannon) and fired, it can fly about 200 steps (approximately 240 meters), but it’s difficult to hit accurately. Considering the time taken to reload, a shooting method of firing multiple rounds at once is used, but in that case, the enemy must be drawn in to at least 50 steps (approximately X meters). To definitely hit, it has to be shot from within 40 steps, or even 30 steps.

“Hmm… I see.” Hyang, who had been nodding his head and taking notes of the soldiers’ words, looked at the Ilchongtong they were holding.

“Is this the it? May I hold it for a moment?”

“Yes, sir.”

Hyang, who held the weapon handed over by the soldier, murmured softly, “So, the problem is the center of gravity? How much does this one weigh?”

In response to Hyang’s question, Choi Hae-san, who was next to him, answered promptly, “It weighs about 3 geun 8 ryang (approximately 2.2 kg) and is about 1 cheok 4 chon 4 bun (approximately 44.6 cm) long.”

“What about the length of the handle?”

“There’s no exact standard, but it should be at least 4 cheok (approximately 1.2 m).”

“The lengths vary quite a bit for that, don’t they?”

At Hyang’s remark, Choi Hae-san replied with a perplexed expression, “The difference is a little depending on the cheok (尺, traditional unit of length) used.”

“Damn…” Hyang clicked his tongue at Choi Hae-san’s response. He then noticed that the size of the one-muskets the soldiers were holding varied.

This was a problem penetrating the Joseon era. The standard of the measurement (cheok), the unit to determine the length, was ambiguous in Joseon. What Hyang had heard was that various lengths such as Huangzhong unit system1, architectural unit system (營造尺)2, and ceremonial artifact unit system3 were used.

“Isn’t the unification of measurements basic in manufacturing?”

“When we receive it as a tribute…”

“Tsk!” While clicking his tongue and looking at the Ilchongtong (hand cannon), Hyang tilted his head. ‘Even if the center of gravity is heavily biased towards the front, if you look at the size of the soldiers, it doesn’t seem like they can’t shoot twice and cause a fuss, right?’

No matter how much he thought about it, Hyang, who couldn’t understand, asked a question with a slight hope, “How much gunpowder is put in the cannon?”

“1 yang (approximately 37.5 g).”

“What?!”

“Your Highness! What happened?!”

Nearby soldiers, commanders, and Choi Hae-san rushed at the startled Hyang. Hyang hastily waved his hand, “It’s nothing! Nothing at all! I was just surprised because more gunpowder was put in than I expected!”

“Ah, yes…”

Upon hearing Hyang’s answer, the people finally relaxed.

‘I’ve figured it out! The culprit was this!’

Thinking that he had found the root cause of the problem, Hyang hurriedly organized his place. “I have all the information I need now. General, I’ll send meat and alcohol through my servant. Please distribute it to them.”

“Thank you, Your Highness!”

“Thank you, Your Highness!”

Both commanders and soldiers expressed their gratitude at Hyang’s words. Seeing this, Hyang waved his hand lightly. “This is for those of you who work tirelessly (day and night without rest) for Joseon. Please eat well, regain your strength, and solidify the defense of Joseon.”

“We’ll bear it in mind and follow your words!”

After the demonstration ended, Hyang spoke with Choi Hae-san on the way back to the palace.

“Does the operation of the cannons involve working in pairs?”

During the day’s demonstration, the artillerymen moved in pairs. One soldier held the barrel of the cannon tightly while another soldier beside him lit the fuse. After firing, a waiting soldier handed over a pre-loaded cannon, and the soldier holding the wick prepared to fire the new cannon by inserting the wick into the barrel.

In response to Hyang’s question, Choi Hae-san answered immediately, “Basically, we operate in pairs.”

“How do you manage when operating alone?”

“We hold the handle with the right hand and light the fuse with the left, or we secure the barrel under the right armpit, hold it with the left hand, and light the fuse with the right hand.”

“That must be inconvenient, isn’t it?”

At Hyang’s point, Choi Hae-san nodded. “Yes, it is. So while the two-person operation is the standard, it leads to the problem of consuming more manpower, making it difficult to expand the number of artillerymen.”

Choi Hae-san’s regretful expression was identical to a face Hyang had seen in a popular 21st-century commercial.

-‘It’s great for the men, so what can I say?’

Hyang nodded at Choi Hae-san’s explanation. “I see. To properly fire an Ilchongtong alone, even if not at the level of the tri-bicep and dual-kidney (三頭穴腎, a phrase indicating extreme physical prowess), one had to be at least at the level of the dual-bicep and quad-kidney (二頭四腎, referring to considerable physical strength).”

“Ha, ha, ha! That’s right!”

Back in the palace, Hyang opened an empty book and murmured, “The culprit was the amount of gunpowder.”

In the 21st century, when Hyang was in America making gunboats, he met numerous enthusiasts. Among the enthusiasts he met, a significant number were firearm enthusiasts, especially those collecting and shooting classic steam-powered guns.

Later, he had formed a close relationship with one such enthusiast, who had collected guns ranging from rifles of the American Revolutionary War period to firearms from World War II at a museum-level scale. Not content with just collecting firearms, the man also enjoyed shooting, and even purchased black powder in bulk to create reloaded bullets.

Just before returning to Korea, when Hyang visited his house, he had the chance to watch him reloading ammunition for a Henry rifle.

“This is the gun that appears in Western movies, right?”

At Hyang’s question, the enthusiast laughed and replied, “That’s a Winchester, this is what you could consider its predecessor.”

“How much gunpowder do you put in?”

“30 grains.”

[In the context of firearms, a grain is a unit used to measure the mass of bullets and the propellant (“powder”) used in ammunition. It’s one of the smallest units of weight in the imperial system, where 1 grain is approximately equal to 0.0648 grams.]

As the enthusiast continued to explain while reloading, the amount of black powder going into the 44-40 bullet was 30 grains.

“That seems a small amount for 30g?”

“No, No. 30 grain(gr). not gram.”

“Ah…”

For reference, the amount of black powder that was put in at that time was about 2g when converted to grams. With those 2g, they were able to shoot a lead bullet weighing about 14g at the speed of sound.

“Black powder has about half the power of smokeless powder, but with one nyan (traditional Korean unit of weight), it should produce at least the power of a cal 0.50… But because they hold it in such a sloppy position, problems occur…”

Hyang recalled a video she had seen on the internet in the 21st century.

It was footage of a demonstration at a Middle Eastern weapons expo. It was a shooting experience event with a large caliber hunting rifle. The Arabs, who clumsily held the gun, were unable to overcome the recoil and rolled around here and there. The video ended with someone, who seemed to have received proper training, shooting perfectly without making such a fool of themselves.

Recalling the video, Hyang sighed. “There’s no proper aiming device, so they have no choice but to aim visually, to get any effect they have to stuff in arrows or balls, and to get the bullets they’ve stuffed in to properly exert their power, the amount of gunpowder has to increase, and then the soldiers die… it’s a vicious cycle. Sigh~“

Hyang, who had let out a sigh, came to a conclusion. “I guess I have to start by making a proper personal weapon. But before that…”

The next day, Hyang went straight to General Choi Hae-san.

“General, I have a question.”

“I will answer sincerely.”

“Are the wicks that go into the guns all the same thickness?”

“That’s correct.”

“Could we possibly get those wicks now?”

“Please wait a moment.”

After asking for Hyang’s understanding, General Choi Hae-san called for someone and gave an order. A little later, the person who received the order handed the wicks over to General Choi Hae-san.

“Here they are.”

“Could you light the candle for me, please?”

“Uh? Yes.”

Hyang, who received the wicks, held a wick to the candle as soon as the flame lit up.

Chiik!

With a harsh smoke, as soon as the wick caught fire, Hyang blew it out immediately.

“Fuh!”

Fssst!

When Hyang blew, the burning wick fizzled and went out. Hyang performed the same experiment with other wicks and similar results came out. Seeing the results, Hyang nodded. “As expected… General, do you see what the problem is?”

At Hyang’s question, General Choi Hae-san nodded. “Yes. The wick is weak to the wind.”

“Was there no report about this problem?”

“No, there wasn’t. If the wick goes out due to the wind, they just replace it and light it again.”

At the response of General Choi Hae-san, who seemed to think it was not a big deal, Hyang’s expression sharpened. “On the battlefield where time is pressing? Please immediately contact the military inspector and find a wick of appropriate thickness.”

“I understand.”

A fortnight later, a report came from the military inspector to Sejong through the Ministry of Law Enforcement.

“Following the order of the Crown Prince, we conducted an investigation and found that the diameter of the line holes (fuse holes) of various types of artillery and guns was 7 ri (approx 2.1 mm), but the fire suddenly went out when firing, so we experimented with adding 1 ri to the diameter and the fire did not go out. However, there was no adjustment depending on the distance of the shots and the depth of the target hit. I respectfully suggest that the diameter of the line holes of artillery and guns should also be increased by 1 ri to a total of 8 ri.”

After confirming the report, Sejong gave an order to the Minister of Law Enforcement. “The content of the report is absolutely correct, so adjust the diameter of the line holes of all artillery and guns to 8 ri.”

“I understand!”

Sejong, who had given the order to his minister, had a pleased expression on his face. “As expected, of the Crown Prince.”

At this, Hyang still did not know, but changing the thickness of the fuse was something that had been done in real history during the reign of King Munjong4.

Sejong knew only about the wick incident, but Hyang was busily moving under the water.

“The Crown Prince hasn’t been seen lately.”

At the words of Jeong-cho, Lee Cheon replied, “He found something very important in the documents from the Western scholars and has been conducting experiments in the separate annex building for five days already.”

“Experiments?”

“Yes. Through the Military Inspector and the merchants, he had obtained various types of acid solutions and mercury.

“Is that so?”

Upon hearing Lee Cheon’s reply, Jeong-cho turned his gaze towards the separate annex building set up on one side of the Eastern Palace.

Following Hyang’s request, two separate annex buildings were set up right next to the Eastern Palace. The larger of the two buildings was the main building where Jeong-cho and others worked, and the smaller one was assigned as a space for Hyang to conduct experiments alone. And this small building had become the place that the members of the Research Institute wanted to enter the most.

“The Crown Prince is coming!”

At the announcement of the inner guard, everyone who had been conversing casually straightened their posture. A little later, Hyang, holding a long wooden stick and a blueprint scroll, entered.

“Everyone, please sit down.”

“Yes.”

Centered around a large table, the people began a conversation under Hyang’s leadership.

“Have you all had your meal?”

“Yes. And you, Your Highness?”

“I have. It’s the prime of my life, so I need to eat well.” Hyang, who lightened the atmosphere with a light joke, checked the progress of the work. “Sir Jeong, how is the revision of the calendar method?”

At Hyang’s question, Jeong-cho responded with a slight bow, “There has been considerable progress. We’ve accurately identified the discrepancy between the recent established calendar method and our calendar system, and we’re creating rituals to correct it.”

“What about in the case of solar and lunar eclipses?”

“We are also creating equations for those.”

Upon hearing Jeong-cho’s response, Hyang’s face brightened. “You’ve worked hard. So when can we expect the results?”

“We should be able to finish by the end of this year.”

Upon hearing Jeong-cho’s response, Hyang’s eyes narrowed. “By the end of the year is too late. I would like to see the results before Chuseok (Korean Thanksgiving) at the latest.”

“Before… Chuseok?”

Upon hearing Hyang’s order, Jeong-cho’s face paled. Even now, he and his fellow scholar were pulling all-nighters as if it was a meal. They had planned to finish by the end of the year, fully prepared for the hard work. But the Crown Prince wanted it even sooner.

Seeing Jeong-cho and his fellow scholar’s faces turn pale, Hyang added, “If necessary, recruit more officials who are good at arithmetic. If it’s too much for two people, three can do it, if three can’t, then four or five can do it, can’t they?”

At Hyang’s words, Jeong made a distressed face. “We are short of volunteers…”

There had been a rumor going around among the officials working in the palace and the six ministries.

‘If you go to the Royal Library, the king will make you suffer, and if you go to the Research Institute, the prince will make you suffer.’

“I’ve told you before, bring them under my name. Why are you so hesitant, considering your high rank?”

At Hyang’s reproach, Jeong-cho bowed his head. “I accept your order.”

Footnotes

Measurements based on pitch system[↩]Measurements used during constructions[↩]Measurements used when creating ritual instruments[↩]King Munjong is his reigning name, after Hyang took the throne in the future (if according to real history).[↩]