Chapter 551

Episode 551: Ignition. (1)

First month of the 30th year of King Sejong’s reign (Mujin year, 1448).

In the large conference room of the Liaodong Committee, Ju Ji-jin looked back at the generals.

“Are you almost ready?”

Jo Byeong-deok came forward and answered Joo Joo-jin’s question.

“That’s right. The training of 350,000 troops has been completed, and the integration of the additional 50,000 troops sent from Beijing is almost complete.”

“What about artillery?”

“We have prepared 200 guns, including 3 Hwaryong guns and large and small artillery pieces.”

In response to Jo Byeong-deok’s answer, Joo Ji-jin immediately asked a question.

“Isn’t the number of Hwaryongpo too small? “There’s still time, so why not manufacture some more?”

There was a reason why Joo Jin-jin wanted to increase the number of Hwaryongpo.

* * *

There were several failures in the early stages of development, but Wang Chong and Jain still completed the Fire Dragon Cannon.

The reason they were able to create the Hwaryongpo in such a short period of time was because it was something they had already made once.

Rather, the fact that he experienced failure again even though he had experience making it was proof that Hwaryongpo was a difficult product to make.

In any case, the Hwaryongpo created in this way showed Ju-jin and the generals that it was as powerful as its size.

The Hwaryong gun, mounted on a proper fixed facility, fired a steel shot putter weighing 400 pounds (about 240 kg) nearly 5 ri (about 2 km).

The shot put that flew like that created a hole about 4 feet long (about 1.2m) in the ground and bounced and rolled.

Jo Byeong-deok, who saw the hole created by the shot put, was greatly impressed and reported it to Joo Ji-jin.

“This is truly amazing! Even after creating a puddle four feet deep on the solidly frozen ground, he still had enough strength to bounce back! “This is truly amazing!”

“Is it such a power that the general is so impressed by it?”

Jo Byeong-deok nodded his head loudly in response to Joo Ji-jin’s question, who had little knowledge about artillery.

“Excellent power is coming! If the ground had not frozen, the hole would have been at least 1 sheet (approximately 3 meters) deep! “At that level, it would be enough to tear down even the rumored walls of Joseon!”

* * *

Because of such an incident, Joo Jin-jin proposed increasing the number of Hwaryongpo.

Jo Byeong-deok couldn’t hide his disappointment and responded immediately to Joo Ki-jin’s suggestion.

“As the saying goes, the more the better. However, there is not enough time to manufacture it and to train the soldiers who will operate it. In addition, there are not enough craftsmen to take care of repairs on the battlefield.”

“is it? “It’s a shame.”

Joo Joo-jin also could not hide his disappointment in Jo Byeong-deok’s answer.

* * *

Hwaryongpo was not only difficult to make, but also difficult to handle.

The gun barrel, which had a length of nearly 3 pieces (approximately 9 m) and a thickness of 1 foot (approximately 30 cm), was highly likely to bend downward without being able to overcome its own weight.

Therefore, the gun barrel of the Hwaryongpo was divided into two and was to be used in combination when it arrived on the battlefield.

A screw was drilled into the joint of the gun barrel to ensure a tight connection. There were thick nodes around the joint, and the nodes had grooves carved at regular intervals. When they arrived at the installation site, workers would insert a strong steel bar into the groove and turn it like a watermill to assemble the gun barrel.

At least 400 people were required to not only carry out this complex disassembly and assembly process, but also to install a stand that could withstand the enormous recoil generated when fired and the weight of the 4,800-tube (approximately 18 tons) Hwaryong gun.

In addition, it was natural for problems with the gun barrel to occur in the process of firing a huge iron ring over 5 ri using only the power of gunpowder, so craftsmen had to constantly check its condition.

In the end, in the situation of Joo Jin-jin, three Hwaryong guns were the best and maximum.

* * *

“I can’t help it. It’s a shame, but let’s skip this part. How much gunpowder did you secure?”

Jo Byeong-deok checked the documents and immediately answered Joo Joo-jin’s question.

“It’s 2,400 pipes (about 9 tons).”

“Is that enough?”

“It is enough.”

Jo Byeong-deok answered confidently. Even in a situation where gunpowder weapons had become the mainstay of war thanks to Hyang’s intervention, this amount was enormous.

Converting the ‘2,400 kwan’ mentioned by Jo Byeong-deok to geun, it was 15,000 geun.

In history before the intervention of Hyang, the report of the Gungigam in the first year of King Sejong was as follows.

-The amount of gunpowder needed per year is 4,000 geun, but we currently only have 3,300 geun.

In other words, within a few months after Joo Jin-jin came to Liaodong, he secured five times the amount of gunpowder that Joseon had in the first year of King Sejong (history before the intervention of Hyang).

“And raise Jin’s alert status to level 1! “It lasts until they leave!”

“ancient!”

* * *

Two days later, Lee Hwi-deok met Han Sam-nam again.

“An answer came from Hanseong. The troops to escort the envoy will arrive in two days. “You can go to Hanseong with them.”

Han Sam-nam’s eyes sparkled at Lee Hwi-deok’s words.

“Has the answer already come? “How quick!”

Lee Hwi-deok responded to Han Sam-nam’s words with an expression that said it was no big deal.

“We Joseon people like speed.”

“is it?”

Two days later, the cavalry to escort Han Sam-nam and his party arrived at Insanjin.

“It’s strict...” Han Sam

-nam, who saw the Joseon cavalry surrounding him in a way that was more like a convoy than a guard, frowned slightly at the strictness of the military discipline. However, Han Sam-nam, who soon corrected his expression, asked the cavalry commander in a calm voice.

“Where are you going to get to Hanseong? I heard a rumor that there are famous colorful villages on the way. Are you stopping by those places?”

The cavalry commander answered Han Sam-nam’s question in a dry voice.

“After riding the iron horse in Uiju, I will go straight to Hanseong.”

“is it? Too bad. Tsk.”

Han Sam-nam licked his appetite, showing his disappointment. It was because I was truly sad.

‘It was the best opportunity to check the advance route... I guess I’ll just have to figure out as far as Uiju.’

* * *

Thanks to riding the iron horse, Han Sam-nam and his party were able to arrive at Hanseong right away.

After smelling the incense at Seunghwadang, Han Sam-nam politely bowed and presented Joo Ki-jin’s personal letter on a silver tray.

“This is a personal letter from His Majesty the King of Dong.”

“I will accept it on behalf of Abama.”

After receiving Joo Ji-jin’s personal letter through the inner office, Hyang broke the seal and checked the contents.

After checking the contents of the personal letter, Hyang looked at Han Sam-nam with a strange expression. Hyang, who was looking at Han Sam-nam with a mixture of displeasure and contempt, opened his mouth.

“I checked the letter carefully. “I will write a reply soon, so rest at the envoy hall.”

“yes.”

When Han Sam-nam disappeared, Hyang checked the contents of the letter once again and looked shocked.

“Huh! “I hope everyone reads it.”

“yes.”

The ministers who received Joo Ji-jin’s personal letter through an internal official took turns checking the contents of the letter.

“Huh...”

The expressions on the faces of the ministers who confirmed the contents of the personal letter were not much different from the scent.

“What do you think?”

Hwang Hee answered Hyang’s question on behalf of the ministers.

“I wrote a lot of rare bullshit.”

When profanity was thrown out at an official event, the officers and officers looked at Hwang Hee in surprise.

But Hyang immediately nodded.

“Is that so? “It’s been a long time since I’ve seen such bullshit.”

Kim Jong-seo opened his mouth at Hyang’s words.

“The writing skills are not good enough to even be included in the archives.”

“It’s not rude, it’s full of proportion. “Who did you learn it from? Tsk!”

The contents of the personal letter Joo Gi-jin sent to Joseon were as follows.

– Under the order of His Majesty the Emperor, I opened a royal office in Liaodong.

-I am the eldest son of His Majesty the Emperor and have been entrusted with the defense of Liaodong.

-But why doesn’t Joseon send an envoy to greet me? Are you looking down on me, who will be responsible for the security of North Korea? If not, send an envoy right away.

-As I am the eldest son of His Majesty the Emperor, I believe it is appropriate for the crown prince of Joseon to come.

Because this was the content, not only the government but also the ministers all came forward and called it ‘bullshit.’