Black Corporation: Joseon

Chapter 473

Episode 473 Ki Beom-seon (機帆船) (1)

February, the 24th year of King Sejong’s reign (1442, Imsul year).

A sudden storm struck the Saeokwon (司譯院).

It all started with complaints from Foreign Ministry officials.

“no! “Why are the interpreters at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs worse at speaking foreign languages than the officials at our Ministry of Foreign Affairs?”

“I can’t use it properly!”

Complaints from working-level officials even reached the new Minister of Foreign Affairs, Heo Hu.

“Are the qualifications of the ministry’s interpreters poor?”

“That’s right, sir.”

“Hmm...”

In response to the Vice Minister, Heo Hu snorted and became lost in thought. After pondering for a moment, Heo Hu checked the situation with the Vice Minister once again.

“If the quality of interpreters was such a problem, wouldn’t it have been said a lot even when the former minister was in office?”

“That’s right. Even then, word continued to enter the Saejeokwon.”

“But it’s still the same?”

“That’s right.”

“Why is Captain Hanjae.... Ah, with his noble personality, I would have assumed that good things are good things.”

The Vice Minister nodded silently at Heo Hu’s words.

* * *

Lee Maeng-gyun, who was in charge of Joseon’s diplomatic affairs with the start of the Gyeongjang, resigned last year due to old age.

When the resignation was first submitted, King Sejong rejected it. However, because Lee Maeng-gyun’s condition was so bad, King Sejong had no choice but to accept Lee Maeng-gyun’s resignation.

And according to the news heard this year, when the year changed, Lee Maeng-gyun was lying down and doing his best today. After hearing the news, King Sejong sent a royal doctor, but the doctor who returned reported to King Sejong that there was no longer any hope for Lee Maeng-gyun.

“We are like a lamp whose wick has already burned out and its oil has run out.”

“It’s really unfortunate.”

Sejong muttered with a face full of sincere regret.

King Sejong was disappointed, but compared to the history before Hyang intervened, Lee Maeng-gyun lived a truly peaceful last year.

In history before the intervention of Hyang, Lee Maeng-gyun’s later years were not very good.

In the 22nd year of King Sejong’s reign (1440), Lee Maeng-gyun’s wife, out of severe jealousy, beat her female servant to death. Lee Maeng-gyun, who was dismissed as a reprimand, went into exile in Hwanghae-do, was released, and died on his return.

However, when Hyang intervened, this history went wrong. As part of the religious order, a large number of Sanobi were exempted from service, and among them was the female servant in question.

In addition, he was overworked every day because of his intestines and had no time to make his wife jealous.

Finally, thanks to the medicine exchanged among ministers, he was able to hold out for two more years.

* * *

Heo Hu lightly clicked his tongue when he remembered the attitude of Lee Maeng-gyun, who moved like a blade in diplomatic battles with the Ming or Japanese countries, but handled his work smoothly in other matters.

“Tsk! “That guy... is the situation serious?”

“Yes, it is being said that it is faster and more accurate to use Shin Suk-ju as a translator than to communicate or translate through interpreters.”

“It’s serious.”

Heohu, who was muttering while stroking his beard, came to a conclusion.

“Okay. I’ll try my hand. On your way out, please call Master Dojo.”

“yes.”

After a while, Saekwon Dojejo Shingae visited Heo Hu’s office.

“Did you find it?”

“exactly. There’s a lot of talk these days. “The interpreters are of poor quality.”

Shin-gae responded to Heo Hu’s criticism with a perplexed face.

“That’s because the interpreters’ morale is not good....”

“The morale is not good?”

“It started in the year of Gyechuk (1433), so it has been almost 10 years.”

‘I didn’t know it would take this long! Of course, we have gained a lot so far...’

* * *

Developing a marine propulsion system was a series of trials and errors.

First, the ‘Archimedes’ screw’ method proposed by Jang Young-sil was too inefficient. We experimented with improving it in numerous ways, but it was not very efficient, either absolutely or relatively.

In the end, Hyang made a decision.

“It’s unfortunate, but let’s give up on this method!”

“yes.”

Jang Yeong-sil looked very disappointed in Hyang’s decision, but it was an inevitable result.

‘Even in the 21st century, if you see something that isn’t being used, there’s a reason for it!’

“Since this is the situation, let’s study pinwheel propulsion devices.”

“yes.”

All researchers, starting with Jang Yeong-sil, agreed with the Hyang’s decision.

From then on, it was again a series of trial and error.

We began the experiment keeping in mind everything from the shape, size, and number of pinwheel blades to the materials.

After experimenting with all kinds of alloys, from steel alloys to bronze and brass, with different composition ratios, we were able to find the most economical and high-performance material possible at the current level of shipbuilding technology.

After finding the material, various experiments were conducted to find a more efficient shape.

Just when we thought the material and shape had been decided and the research team was done, they faced a new problem.

The researchers floated a model ship that had been accurately scaled to scale on the waterway and activated the steam engine. After confirming that the pressure of the steam engine was properly raised, the researchers activated the propulsion device.

“What is this vibration!”

The researchers who activated the propulsion device were shocked. This was because the model ship caused unexpected vibrations.

Thanks to this, researchers began to study the cause of this vibration.

While researching day and night in the laboratory and Area 51, Hyang muttered to himself.

“Usually in cases like this, it was a resonance problem between the shaft and the propeller engine... The problem is that this is the part where I am the worst at advanced mathematics...” Since it was the

part where I was weakest, the scent was a subtle hint. It ended with just giving away.

However, the monsters in the lab who heard the hint – Princess Lee Soon-ji, Kim Dam, Jeong Jeong, etc. – immediately took direction and started digging in.

“We have named this part resonance. And if we express this with a formula...”

Hyang screamed inwardly as she looked at Lee Sun-ji explaining things by writing down formulas on a chalkboard and Princess Kim Dam-jeong looking proud next to her.

‘You solved this with only a mountain branch and an abacus? Without a computer? Are you people?! ‘They’re monsters!’

The scent cried out like this, but there was something it forgot.

Neither Newton nor Galileo nor Einstein had a computer. No, not only in the 1950s, but also when making the first stealth aircraft, they even used a slide rule to calculate logarithms.

In any case, researchers and craftsmen who found a solution to some extent through these formulas went straight to remodeling.

Meanwhile, the profits gained by shipbuilding through the development process of steam engine propulsion for ships were enormous.

“This is the real benefit.”

While reporting to King Sejong, Hyang added: Sejong, who heard Hyang’s words, nodded.

“I see. The things I have learned in that way are the most precious treasures. “They need to be properly documented and taught.”

Hyang immediately responded to Sejong’s words.

“That’s right. We will have to gather gifted students from all over Joseon.”

“I agree.”

In this way, the foundation of the ‘Chosun Dynasty Society’, the most powerful authority in the world, was created.

It took nearly 10 years to hit that wall, tear it down, and digest what I gained in the process. And later, historians evaluated these 10 years as follows.

-The 10 years that marked the most brilliant period in the history of Joseon’s science and technology.

* * *

Note 1) This is a true story.

Source – Annals of King Sejong, read in one volume. Written by Park Young-gyu. Woongjin Knowledge House.