Chapter 498

Episode 498: Lord of war. (4)

“Katanashi (sword master) has arrived!”

Following the vassal’s cry, the old blacksmith and his disciples knelt before Mochiyo. Mochiyo walked in front of him and opened his mouth.

“There is something I need you to take care of.”

The term ‘Katanashi’ referred to the best swordsmith in the territory. That’s why Mochiyo didn’t speak rudely to him either.

Katanashi politely responded to Mochiyo’s words.

“What should I see?”

In response to Katanashi’s question, Mochiyo gave an order to the samurai nearby.

“Bring any of the boxes containing firearms sent from Joseon and open them.”

“hot!”

At Mochiyo’s order, the samurai took one of the boxes piled on one side and opened it.

“Hoo~.”

Mochiyo walked in front of the open box and let out a light exclamation. Inside the box were four long guns securely fixed.

When Mochiyo saw the barrel of the gun shining silver in the sunlight, he let out a series of exclamations in his mind.

‘This is truly amazing! Iron that shines so beautifully! I would believe it if I said it was a famous sword!’

Mochiyo, who was staring at the barrel of the gun as if fascinated, immediately shook his head.

‘Come to your senses! ‘Don’t be fooled by appearances!’

Mochiyo quickly came to her senses, took out a bag from the box, and held it out to Katanashi.

“Check out how the Joseon’s metal gun we made compares to the one captured from the shogunate. In this place. Right Now.”

“high!”

Katanashi responded to Mochiyo’s command and immediately gave orders in a low voice to the disciples who followed him.

“Go and bring us the copper guns we made and the captured artillery.”

“high!”

While his disciples brought guns, Katanashi meticulously inspected the long guns sent by Joseon.

“Huh~. Huh~. “This is it... this can’t be right...”

A series of words came out of Katanashi’s mouth as he examined the Joseon’s long guns, and I couldn’t tell whether they were exclamation or lamentation.

“Is there a problem?”

Katanashi, who was staring at Joseon’s guns as if fascinated, answered Mochiyo’s question as if he were lamenting.

“No matter how you look at it, it seems that there is someone in Joseon who receives the blessings of Oinari-sama (the Japanese god of blacksmiths). “It is impossible to produce something like this from an ordinary blacksmith shop.”

“Is it that great?”

“high.”

Just in time, Katanashi’s disciples returned with a bronze gun and a captured iron cannon from the Ming Dynasty.

Katanashi began his explanation to Mochiyo by comparing the iron cannons of the Ming Dynasty and the long guns of Joseon.

“If you look closely at the muzzle, you will see that the gun barrel of this famous country was rolled up and joined together. “But Joseon’s deck is seamless.”

“No seams? “Is that important?”

Katanashi nodded in response to Mochiyo’s question.

“The fact that there are no joints means that it was made as one pipe from the beginning. What this means is that the fire energy of gunpowder can be contained better. Also, there is no need to worry about the joints bursting due to poor jointing.”

“So is it a fetish?”

Katanashi shook his head in response to Mochiyo’s question.

“But it’s not like it was cast. Casting cannot come out this smooth, and cast iron will break when subjected to strong impact. In order for cast iron to withstand the heat of gunpowder, it must go through a complex smelting process and it is difficult to achieve such a smooth surface. “Phew~”

Katanashi let out another long sigh and concluded.

“To conclude, Joseon made gun barrels by trimming steel tubes made of the best steel that could be used as a material for making famous swords. When it comes to the barrel alone, it is at a level that even Minguk’s can’t match. But I can only say that it is Oinari-sama’s blessing that we are able to send so many boxes of these things.”

In response to the opposition from the Mudan faction, those from the Munchi faction protested.

“Don’t just think about price, you have to think about time too! No matter how much we use in our territory, it’s only 30 dragons a month! But 300 bags a month! “There will be a joint battle right away in the coming spring, but the price is the problem now!”

“That’s right! “Considering the time, it’s a price you can afford!”

“But it’s still too expensive!”

As the voices of both sides grew louder, Mochiyo screamed.

“Be quiet! “What a disgrace!”

In response to Mochiyo’s reprimand, the retainers immediately shut their mouths and bowed closely.

“I apologize!”

Mochiyo, who had shut the mouths of the Munchi faction and the Mudan faction, looked back at the lion.

“You probably didn’t know about the price issue, right?”

“hot! God also knows the problem of price. However, there was a problem of time and the performance of Korean-made long guns was so excellent that we had no choice.”

“great? “But isn’t it just a long gun?”

“Joseon’s long guns do not use matchlocks!”

“huh?”

At the lion’s answer, not only Mochiyo but also the samurai of the Mudan sect focused their attention on the lion.

* * *

All the samurai’s eyes lit up when they saw the demonstration of the samurai who accompanied the lion.

One way or another, they were also samurai who would go to battle. If there was a weapon that was superior to the weapon the enemy had, it was bound to attract attention.

“When shooting a copper gun, the most important thing to pay attention to is the management of the firelock, and it is certain that it will be much more convenient if the flintlock is fired like that.”

“The fire fighter had trouble reloading after firing, but it’s good that you don’t have to worry about that.”

“You don’t have to worry about firefighting, so the firing speed will be even faster.”

While the samurai were receiving positive reviews, the lion struck the final blow.

“Joseon’s long guns do not simply end with this.”

The lion picked up the spiked bayonet contained on one side of the box and attached it to the long gun.

“If you combine the spear blades like this, you can respond to close combat as well.”

“oh!”

In the end, Ouchi decided to purchase large quantities of Korean-made long guns.

* * *

The day after the purchase of Joseon-made long guns was decided, Mochiyo called his vassals together.

“The quality of the Joseon-made rifles I saw yesterday and the Joseon-made blades I saw at mines or at Joseon’s superiors are of excellent quality.”

All the retainers nodded at Mochiyo’s words.

‘Joseon’s blades and kitchen knives are also famous swords.’

This kind of joke was going around all over Japan.

“So, in addition to purchasing long guns and gunpowder from Joseon, we will also purchase long swords in large quantities. The blacksmiths in the territory will be responsible for the production of spear blades and arrowhead armor. “At least that much will reduce the burden on the blacksmiths in the territory and allow them to arm themselves more faithfully.”

A senior retainer pointed out a problem with Mochiyo’s declaration.

“But there will be financial problems.”

“First of all, you can deal with what you got from the silver mine, and then pay back what you still lack after you win! “Winner takes all!”

In this way, Ouchi ordered a large amount of weapons to Joseon.

After hearing the story through the messenger, Hyang looked at Kim Jeom. Looking at Kim Jeom’s face who couldn’t hide his smile, Hyang muttered to herself.

‘Your mouth will be sorely torn apart!’

* * *

Note 1) Joseon’s weapons and armor. Written by Min Seung-gi. Garam Planning.