Black Corporation: Joseon

Seeing Hyang’s expression of open-mouthed amazement, Jang Yeong-sil instead showed a surprised look.

“I’ve been working with Your Highness for nearly 10 years, but this is the first time I’ve seen you make such an expression.”

At Jang Yeong-sil’s question, Hyang quickly composed himself and answered.

“Ah, I was momentarily surprised to see a device more astonishing than I expected. But how does that work?”

“Ah, when thinking about contracting mountains or moving heavy objects, we usually have many people working together, or use cranes and windlasses, right?”

“That’s right.”

“However, there are often cases where space is too tight to install cranes or windlasses. Or sometimes, a job that would be easy with 4-5 people has to be done by just 2-3 people struggling. I’ve been pondering a bit about what to use in such cases.”

As he explained, Jang Yeong-sil carefully assembled the structures hanging on one wall.

When the assembly was complete, Hyang asked in a trembling voice.

“Could it be an exoskeleton?”

At Hyang’s question, Jang Yeong-sil exclaimed in surprise.

“To recognize it at a glance, as expected of Your Highness! That’s correct. It’s a device that mimics the human skeleton to be worn. Right now, it’s made of wood as we’re in the process of proving the concept, but if it works properly, we’ll make it out of iron to ensure durability.”

“How will you power it?”

At Hyang’s point, Jang Yeong-sil’s expression darkened.

“That is indeed the problem. I thought of using a steam engine as the power source, but considering the size of the steam engine and the management of heat and fuel… Sigh~”

After a short sigh, Jang Yeong-sil continued with a face full of regret.

“It’s the same with the process of transmitting the user’s movements. Right now, it’s just mimicking movement, so thick and sturdy cotton threads are possible, but if we were to actually make it, we’d have to use iron ropes, and then no one would be able to move it…”

Before Jang Yeong-sil could finish speaking, Hyang interjected.

“There would also be the issue of controlling the force. Using that would allow at least 2-3 times the strength of an ordinary person, but that much force isn’t always needed.”

“That’s right!”

Jang Yeong-sil nodded strongly at Hyang’s words and continued.

“That’s correct! So I thought about adjusting it before use, but that’s too inconvenient…”

“Before that, how would you transmit the power generated by the steam engine?”

“That’s also under research…”

As Jang Yeong-sil trailed off, Hyang suddenly shouted.

“Director Jang! I’m disappointed in you! How can a person do this?”

Momentarily bewildered by Hyang’s sudden rebuke, Jang Yeong-sil immediately prostrated himself on the floor.

“Please forgive me! I’ve used time and resources privately for my personal research! And yet, I haven’t achieved proper results, which is a great sin! Please forgive me!”

Jang Yeong-sil begged for forgiveness, stating what seemed to be the most obvious reason for Hyang’s anger, but Hyang’s scolding continued.

“Why did you conduct this research alone? To do such interesting research by yourself! Don’t you know proper etiquette?”

“Pardon?”

Surprised by this unexpected reason, Jang Yeong-sil unconsciously raised his head to look at Hyang.

‘Is he joking… He’s serious!’

Seeing Hyang’s face, Jang Yeong-sil had no choice but to prostrate himself again.

“I apologize! As it was just a thought from an ignorant craftsman, I didn’t report it, thinking it would be worthless! Please forgive me!”

“Even if it seems worthless to you, it could be worth thousands or tens of thousands of gold to others! If you have any other research, bring it immediately! Right now!”

“Yes, yes!”

At Hyang’s order, Jang Yeong-sil hurriedly moved to bring concept drawings and blueprints of what he had been conceptualizing and handed them to Hyang.

As Hyang examined the blueprints Jang Yeong-sil had brought, he genuinely became angry with Jang Yeong-sil.

“You just kept these precious things tucked away? Such interesting things!”

“I’m deeply honored!”

“I’ll take these, discuss them, and then register them in the Challenge Record, so be aware of that.”

“It’s an honor!”

“Really, people should have a sense of propriety… Interesting things should be done together, not trying to have fun alone…”

***

After calming down from this commotion, Hyang remembered the reason he had come here.

“Ah! The reason I came here today is that I want Director Jang to make a spring mechanism.”

“A spring mechanism, you say?”

“That’s right.”

Hyang told Jang Yeong-sil about the propulsion system issue for ships equipped with steam engines.

“…so, the Development Department wants to conduct experiments with steam engines attached, but it seems premature to me. If the current method proves completely unsuitable, we’d have to start over from the beginning, which could lead to unnecessary repeated expenditures. If that happens, wouldn’t Minister Kim Jeom and all the officials from the Ministry of Finance come rushing in to cause an uproar?”

“That would indeed be the case.”

At Hyang’s words, Jang Yeong-sil nodded unconsciously.

Even to his knowledge, the budget consumed by the research institute and Area 51 was enormous. If not for their achievements so far, it would have been reasonable to call for their immediate abolition.

Having confirmed Jang Yeong-sil’s understanding, Hyang explained the purpose for needing the spring mechanism.

“So, I think it’s better to experiment using scaled-down model ships.”

Jang Yeong-sil nodded at Hyang’s explanation.

“That’s certainly true. Then, what size would be appropriate?”

At Jang Yeong-sil’s question, Hyang spread his arms to indicate a suitable size.

“About this big? About the width of my chest should be appropriate.”

At Hyang’s words, Jang Yeong-sil immediately replied.

“I understand. Then, I’ll create both the spring mechanism and the model ship. By when should I have them ready?”

“Is five days possible?”

“It should be possible.”

“Then, let’s plan on receiving them within five days… Ah! When making the spring mechanism, it should be designed so that the direction of the power axis can be easily changed.”

“The direction, you say?”

After pondering for a moment at Hyang’s words, Jang Yeong-sil soon nodded.

“I understand why it needs to be that way. I’ll make it accordingly.”

“Then I look forward to it.”

Having finished his business, Hyang stood up. Gathering up the blueprints that Jang Yeong-sil had neglected, Hyang cautioned him again.

“I’ll say it again, please don’t just tuck away things you’ve thought up like this.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

As Hyang was about to leave Jang Yeong-sil’s office, he suddenly turned around as if something had occurred to him.

Jang Yeong-sil, who had followed to see Hyang off, tensed up when Hyang suddenly turned.

“Your Highness?”

“Ah, I just had a sudden thought about the exoskeleton and power issue we discussed earlier. Let’s go inside and talk.”

“Pardon? Yes.”

Re-entering the office and sitting down, Hyang spread a blank paper on the conference table and began to speak.

“About that exoskeleton. There’s no need to have all four limbs like a person, is there? And there’s also the issue of attaching a steam engine…”

Trailing off, Hyang began to draw on the blank paper.

The pictures Hyang drew were of construction machinery like excavators and cranes.

“If we use pulleys and iron ropes to transmit power and control movement like this…”

Listening to Hyang’s drawings and explanations, Jang Yeong-sil immediately understood and nodded.

“Ah! It would be of great use in civil engineering and construction work! I’ll think about it carefully!”

“I plan to add it to the Challenge Record as well.”

“Haha! It will be a good competition!”

Meanwhile, Jang Yeong-sil’s apprentice, who had been listening to their conversation from the side, became crestfallen.

‘I can’t understand a word of what they’re talking about! I thought I was quite smart, but am I just a frog in a well?’

While Jang Yeong-sil’s apprentice was despairing in a corner, Hyang, having finished his conversation with Jang Yeong-sil, stood up with a satisfied look.

“Then, I look forward to future developments.”

“I will do my best!”

***

After seeing Hyang off and returning, Jang Yeong-sil sat down in his chair, let out a light sigh, and turned to his apprentice.

“Truly an extraordinary person, isn’t he?”

“Yes.”

“I feel this every time I see him, but His Highness the Crown Prince is a divine person. He’s someone heaven has sent down for our Joseon.”

“Isn’t the person that such a great individual values highly you, Master? You are your disciple’s pride.”

At his apprentice’s words, Jang Yeong-sil shook his head.

“Compared to His Highness the Crown Prince, I am but a firefly under moonlight. Didn’t you just see? Despite seeing the blueprints and models for the first time, he immediately identified problems and even thought of applications. Who else in Joseon today could do this? As far as I know, there’s only one other person besides His Highness.”

“Who might that be?”

To his apprentice’s question, Jang Yeong-sil answered firmly.

“His Majesty the King.”

***

While Jang Yeong-sil was lecturing his apprentice, Hyang’s steps as he returned to his office seemed to be floating.

“Hehehehe…”

A smile as wide as a washbasin was plastered on Hyang’s face as he looked at the blueprints and various concept drawings he held in his arms.

‘With this, the chances of running out of ideas have decreased!’

As things had been progressing under Hyang’s leadership, he had been gradually feeling a sense of crisis.

‘If I’m not careful, I might run out of things to geek out about later! I might end up just being a king instead of geeking out! My dream is in danger! I’ve failed at pacing myself!’

Hyang was bitterly regretting his failure to pace himself.

But there was no help for it. The talents at the research institute and Area 51 moved passively, and he couldn’t resist the things that seemed immediately realizable rolling around before his eyes.

‘This will disrupt my life plans! I need to find a solution right away!’

And so, the Challenge Record was created.

‘But it’s still a bit lacking…’

Even so, to Hyang, who felt a 1% deficiency, Jang Yeong-sil’s works were a gift from heaven.

Most of the concept drawings and designs drawn by Jang Yeong-sil were things that made one want to take off their official robes and enter the blacksmith’s shop right away.

Looking at the blueprints with such a happy face, Hyang quietly muttered, thinking of Jang Yeong-sil.

“That man is really out of the ordinary…”

He had felt it before when making the golden brush, but the skill level of Joseon’s craftsmen at this time was not to be underestimated.

“If only there hadn’t been the custom of looking down on craftsmen and the wars…”

It was a time when there were many craftsmen with such high skill levels that Hyang, who had first confirmed the skills of the craftsmen, would complain, but Jang Yeong-sil was in a league of his own.

Jang Yeong-sil’s skill could be seen in the anecdote of the water clock before Hyang’s intervention, and the record that no one could repair the broken water clock.

With Hyang’s intervention, Jang Yeong-sil’s fate changed greatly.

With Hyang as his backing, he would no longer be dismissed from his position later. And as he created various objects that Hyang wanted, Jang Yeong-sil crossed a kind of boundary.

No, it wasn’t just Jang Yeong-sil who had crossed this boundary.

People symbolized by the research institute and Area 51 began to emerge in droves, crossing boundaries swept up in the storm of “scientific and technological revolution”.

Yi Soonji, Kim Dam, Princess Jeong-ui, and others who had been on the verge of crossing the boundary line but were blocked by the walls of Neo-Confucianism and social conventions, began to cross the boundary line and climb even higher.

***

Two days later, the researchers and craftsmen who came to work at the research institute and Area 51 had to gasp when they saw the bulletin board.

“How many are there in total?”

“I’ve given up counting…”

People were left dumbfounded looking at the notices that covered not only the bulletin board but also the adjacent wall.

As people examined the items evenly distributed from “Lone Army’s Struggle – Lower” to “Moving Mountains – Upper”, they soon realized one fact.

“Is the proposer for all of these Director Jang?”

“It seems so.”

“Come on, that man should have some sense of propriety! How could he dump all of these at once!”

While people were grumbling about Jang Yeong-sil, the craftsmen from the Technical Verification Department came to his defense.

“It’s not like that…”

‘The Crown Prince squeezed everything out of Jang Yeong-sil!’

‘The Crown Prince ordered that everything must be reported from now on!’

Hearing the craftsmen’s words, people instead looked sympathetic.

“Director Jang, that man, his good days are over~”