Black Corporation: Joseon

Chapter 510

Episode 510: Far and near. (3)

“Hmm... It looks like the decision has been roughly made, so let’s report it to the crown prince tomorrow.”

The ministers did not object to Hwang Hee’s decision.

The next day, Hwang Hui and the ministers who entered Seunghwadang reported this to Hyang.

“... After discussing this, I think it is more beneficial to accept the plan sent by His Majesty the Lord.”

Hwang Hee finished speaking, but Hyang did not open her mouth right away.

After a moment of silence, Hyang asked Hwang Hee.

“Is it really a good idea to teach the indigenous people of the new land and put them into practical work? How are we going to provide the people in charge of training?”

Hwang Hee responded to Hyang’s point.

“For the assignment of teachers, we plan to first select those who have accumulated sufficient experience in Daeseoldo and Jongjangdo.”

“Is that so? So how will you solve the problems of officials? Since we are currently in the process of laying the foundation for Shinji, only a small number of people have joined, but in the future, many people will be needed to create a proper organization. And wouldn’t there be a problem with the fusion of officials from the indigenous people of Shinji and officials from Joseon?”

Hwang Hee responded as if she had been waiting for Hyang’s point.

“Officials will also be selected mainly from those who have extensive experience working with indigenous people in foreign countries such as Daeseoldo and Jongjangdo.”

Hyang pointed out the problem in Hwang Hee’s words.

“Most officials in Joseon wish to work in Hanseong. But would the officials be happy if I told them to go to a further foreign country after suffering in a foreign country?”

Hyang’s point was reasonable.

The final destination of those who entered the military service was Tang Shangguan. And it was a common belief that the best way to rise to the level of a party official was to work in Hanseong. For this reason, there was even an appeal due to the issue of the term of office of local officials in the early days of Gyeongjang.

Hwang Hee smiled slightly and responded to Hyang’s comment.

“Of course, it is true that officials wish to work in Hanseong. Why is that so? This is because Your Majesty is in Hanseong. “But where is your Majesty now?”

“This is Shinji.”

“That’s right. Your Majesty, you are looking at me. Do you think there are people who cause trouble or work loosely? In addition, as now, there will be rotations at five-year intervals and personnel evaluations will follow.”

Hyang nodded to Hwang Hee’s explanation and muttered to herself.

No matter how generous a person was, he would not have been able to work messily in front of the king, who had the final authority over personnel matters, with his eyes wide open.

‘These guys are masters of manipulating people!’

“great. Then, we will decide to implement Abamama’s amendments.”

The ministers responded to Hyang’s decision by lowering their heads.

After organizing the agenda, Hyang moved on to the next agenda.

“And moving on to the next point, there is a lot of material that is now being transferred to Shinji. However, considering the amount of materials being sent now, the amount of materials that will be delivered in the future, and the efficiency of development, I believe that the construction of a transportation route from the bridgehead to Daeho County and a garrison to defend it is the most urgent.”

“I’ll buy it back.”

“However, there are limits to sending manpower from Joseon, and hiring indigenous people from Shinji still seems unreasonable.”

“I’ll buy it back.”

The ministers nodded at Hyang’s point. Even now, various construction projects were continuing throughout Joseon and in the northeastern Daeseoldo region. In this situation, it was unreasonable to organize a large number of personnel who were familiar with construction and send them to the new location.

Not only was there an economic issue, but there was also a security issue. For this reason, the construction currently underway in Shinji was being carried out by engineers. Therefore, it was a natural result that the speed was not proper.

“Wouldn’t it be unreasonable to send additional engineers?”

Jo Mal-saeng answered Hyang’s question right away.

“I think it’s unreasonable. We have already sent all but the minimum reserve forces to Shinji. Considering the current situation in Liaodong, we cannot send them all.”

* * *

Joseon eroded a significant portion, but the remaining part of Liaodong was still vast. And among the Jurchen people who remained in that vast area, there were still those who were hostile to Joseon. There were many people who leaned in the shadow of Ming and were wary of Joseon.

Therefore, the situation in Liaodong was always imminent. If something happened in Liaodong, Joseon’s plan was for the Joseon army to immediately cross the Yalu River and establish the first line of defense.

And the people responsible for crossing the river and building a defense line were the engineers.

The first to speak was Kim Jeom.

“This one item can replace the work of dozens of people, so it is truly useful! “Is mass production possible?”

Hyang slightly shook his head and answered Kim Jeom’s question.

“We still need some finishing touches. That’s why I’m sending it to Shinji. “If you are overworked here and there, you can easily discover problems that were not discovered before, and the efficiency of improvement work will also improve.”

“Ah...”

When Kim Jeom made a regretful expression, Hyang looked at Jo Mal-saeng.

“These pieces require additional organization. Due to the size of these units, one can be mounted on a single Challenger-class ship. Even when everything has been disassembled. “If we take the disassembled items and the craftsmen who will reassemble them in Shinji, there will probably be no space left.”

“Yes, it appears. But here comes the word. “It looks like it would be great to use these equipment, especially the excavator, for military purposes. Is it possible?”

“For military use? “What are you going to use it for?”

Jo Mal-saeng answered Hyang’s question right away.

“It looks very useful when destroying castle walls.”

“ah!”

“aha!”

At Jo Mal-saeng’s words, the Hyang and ministers all exclaimed in exclamation.

At Jo Mal-saeng’s words, an image of an excavator doing demolition work came into Hyang’s mind.

‘If this is the case, should we make a jackhammer? No no! All it takes is that big iron ball from Hollywood movies!’

Jo Mal-saeng, who saw the positive response from the local government and ministers, continued speaking excitedly.

“Of course, it will have to be armored to protect the handler from enemy attacks, but I think the power of that excavator will be enough to handle it. “If an excavator with such a tight body approaches a castle wall and swings that big shovel, even a fairly large castle wall would collapse right away.”

Jo Mal-saeng’s hometown and ministers imagined the scene. After a while, Hwang Hee pointed out the problem.

“What if the enemy has artillery and attacks the excavator with artillery? “There must be a limit to wearing gloves, right?”

Jo Mal-saeng answered Hwang Hee’s question right away.

“Then we can fire the guns first. After taking out the enemy’s artillery with our artillery, we will use excavators to create a wide path in the castle wall. “That shovel blade would be good at destroying it, but wouldn’t it be just as good at clearing away the broken walls?”

“He is like that too.”

While Hwang Hee was nodding, Heo Hu raised a counterargument.

“Many of the Japanese castles are located on high ground. Wouldn’t it be difficult to use those excavators?”

Jo Mal-saeng’s answer to Heo Hu’s point was truly meaningful.

“All the castles of the Ming Dynasty are on the plains.”

Heo Hu, who was astonished by Jo Mal-saeng’s answer, looked at the other ministers.

Ministers who had endured the government for a long time, including Hyang and Hwang Hui, did not show any particular reaction.

Looking at that scene, Heo Hu knew for sure.

‘It’s not just about deteriorating relations with Ming! Everyone is prepared to take on the famous! Does that mean everyone is like that? ‘Even the chief minister thinks the same thing!’

While Heohu was shocked, Hyang quickly got things done.

“I think the Minister of Defense’s plan is good. “What do you think, Prime Minister?”

“I think it’s good too.”

Hyang, who received Hwang Hee’s approval, asked Jo Mal-saeng.

“Then to which branch will the military excavator be assigned?”

“Of course he’s an engineer! Wouldn’t it be icing on the cake if we added some artillerymen to protect the excavators?”

When Jo Mal-saeng mentioned artillerymen, Hyang muttered to himself.

‘If you just put artillery on it, it becomes a tank... Oh, it’s a shame that the reclining seat and rear-loading cannon are still missing! If it comes out well, just put it on! Steam engine tank! Steampunk! ‘It’s just my taste!’

In this way, the world’s first ‘combat armored engineer’ was born.