Black Corporation: Joseon

“The katanashi has arrived!”

Following the retainer’s announcement, an elderly blacksmith and his apprentices knelt before Mochiyo. Mochiyo approached and spoke.

“There’s something I need you to examine.”

The title ‘katanashi’ referred to the domain’s finest sword craftsman. Thus, even Mochiyo spoke carefully to him.

The katanashi responded respectfully.

“What shall I examine?”

At the katanashi’s question, Mochiyo ordered nearby samurai:

“Bring and open any box containing the guns sent from Joseon.”

“Hai!”

At Mochiyo’s command, the samurai brought one of the stacked boxes and opened it.

“Hooh…”

Walking to the opened box, Mochiyo let out a light exclamation. Inside, four guns were firmly secured.

Seeing the gun barrels gleaming silver in the sunlight, Mochiyo internally repeated his amazement.

Truly extraordinary! Such beautifully gleaming iron! I’d believe it was a legendary sword!

Staring at the barrels as if enchanted, Mochiyo soon shook his head.

Get a grip! Don’t be seduced by appearances!

Quickly regaining his composure, Mochiyo took one gun from the box and presented it to the katanashi.

“This is Joseon’s teppō. Compare it with ones we’ve made and captured from the Shogunate. Right here. Right now.”

“Hai!”

Acknowledging Mochiyo’s order, the katanashi quietly instructed his apprentices:

“Bring our bronze guns and the captured teppō.”

“Hai!”

While the apprentices fetched the guns, the katanashi meticulously examined the Joseon gun.

“My, my… How could this… Incredible…”

As he inspected the Joseon gun, words of either amazement or lamentation continuously spilled from the katanashi’s mouth.

“Is there a problem?”

The katanashi, entranced by the Joseon gun, answered Mochiyo’s question with what seemed like lamentation:

“No matter how I look at it, Joseon must have someone blessed by Oinari-sama. No ordinary forge could produce such a masterpiece.”

“Is it that impressive?”

“Hai.”

Right then, the katanashi’s apprentices returned with the bronze guns and captured Ming firearms.

The katanashi began explaining to Mochiyo while comparing the Ming firearm with the Joseon gun.

“Looking closely at the muzzle, you’ll see this Ming teppō has a rolled and joined barrel. But the Joseon teppō has no seams.”

“No seams? Is that significant?”

The katanashi nodded at Mochiyo’s question.

“No seams means it was made as a single tube from the start. This means it can better contain the gunpowder’s force. Also, there’s no risk of failure from poor seam joining.”

“Then is it cast?”

The katanashi shook his head at Mochiyo’s question.

“Not cast either. Casting couldn’t produce such smoothness, and cast iron shatters under strong impact. For cast iron to handle gunpowder’s force requires complex refining processes, and achieving such a smooth surface would be difficult. Hah…”

Sighing deeply once more, the katanashi concluded:

“In conclusion, Joseon has crafted gun barrels by refining tubes made of the finest steel – steel worthy of forging legendary swords. Just considering the barrel alone, it’s beyond Ming’s level. That they can send several boxes of such weapons can only be explained by Oinari-sama’s blessing.”

The katanashi’s evaluation, invoking the fox-formed deity, was the highest praise possible.

However, when Korean craftsmen later heard this story from returning envoys, they smiled wryly and muttered:

“A fox spirit’s blessing? If that were enough, we’d have hunted down every nine-tailed fox in Joseon’s mountains to solve our problems.”

“Joseon has something scarier than foxes – the Crown Prince.”

***

While Hyang’s obsessive research changed many aspects of Joseon, the greatest changes came in ironworking.

Until King Sejong’s coronation, Joseon’s iron-making and refining technology had lagged behind Ming.

In developing curved-fire weapons like the Wangu, attempts to make iron castings like Ming’s had failed due to inferior heat treatment technology.

But everything changed with Hyang’s intervention.

Without Hyang’s involvement, mass steel production technology – which would have been passed down by a few until late Joseon before vanishing during the colonial period – led to the establishment of proper large-scale ironworks.

Continuous carrot-and-stick approach drove Joseon’s iron-making and refining technology levels to skyrocket.

Thus, technology that had lagged behind Ming in early Sejong’s reign had far surpassed Ming by late Reformation.

Steam engine development accelerated this progress further.

The birth of a power source incomparably stronger than human or animal power enabled mass production of higher quality iron materials.

Hyang’s analysis confirmed this:

“Even analyzing conservatively and objectively, we’ve surpassed early Industrial Revolution levels…”

Analyzing Joseon’s situation, Hyang muttered seriously:

“For continued growth, we need markets and population. Population is being addressed through encouraging childbirth and expanding territory while incorporating natives. The problem is markets… Looking at current conditions, most cutting-edge technology is being applied primarily to military applications…”

Tapping fingers on the desk, Hyang stared into the distance and muttered:

“Though it’s asking for divine punishment… Wouldn’t a war break out somewhere? Preferably far from Joseon… Europe would be nice. Why are those constant fighters so quiet now?”

While subtly hoping for war in Europe, civil war erupted in Japan.

Receiving reports of “Japanese Civil War Outbreak!” Hyang glared slightly at the sky and muttered:

“Of course…”

***

After hearing the katanashi’s assessment, Mochiyo dismissed him.

“Is that so? Well done. You may leave.”

At Mochiyo’s words, the katanashi bowed respectfully and withdrew. Even while leaving, his eyes remained fixed on the Joseon rifle.

With the katanashi’s highest evaluation, the high-ranking samurai present focused on the boxes.

Their interest had grown following the katanashi’s extreme praise.

However, those with negative opinions spoke first.

“Though Joseon’s guns are superior, such superiority likely means longer production time. In battle, quantity matters as much as quality. Major battles will surely break out in spring, and insufficient guns by then would be problematic. If the numbers are too few, we’d be better off producing more bronze guns and melting these for quality spears and swords.”

The returned envoy immediately countered this negative statement:

“Joseon says they can make 300 per month!”

“Three hundred per month!”

The envoy’s statement shocked not only the opposing samurai but Mochiyo as well.

The Ouchi domain’s maximum gun production was thirty per month.

That was with every blacksmith they could muster.

The main reason for low production was that blacksmiths weren’t making only guns.

Production was limited because most war-related items – from swords and spears to arrowheads and armor plates – required blacksmiths’ work.

Getting 300 guns monthly would immediately solve Ouchi’s concerns.

The envoy’s statement dramatically shifted the balance. However, military faction samurai, wary of the civilian faction envoy, continued raising objections.

“But the price is too high! Twelve silver yang per gun! Our domain’s bronze guns cost seven silver yang! One Joseon gun costs as much as two of ours!”

The civilian faction countered the military faction’s resistance:

“Think about time, not just price! Our domain manages thirty monthly at best! But this is three hundred monthly! With major battles coming in spring, is price really the issue?”

“Right! Considering time, the price is quite manageable!”

“Still too expensive!”

As voices rose on both sides, Mochiyo exploded:

“Silence! What disgraceful behavior!”

At Mochiyo’s rebuke, the retainers immediately shut their mouths and bowed deeply.

“We- we apologize!”

Having silenced both factions, Mochiyo turned to the envoy.

“Surely you understood the price issue?”

“Hai! This one understood the price concern. However, given time constraints and the superior performance of Joseon guns, we had no choice.”

“Superior? Still just one gun, isn’t it?”

“Joseon’s guns don’t use match cords!”

“What?”

At the envoy’s response, not only Mochiyo but even the military faction samurai focused their attention on him.

***

Watching the demonstration by samurai who had accompanied the envoy, all the samurai’s eyes gleamed.

Whatever else, they were warriors who would face battle. Naturally, they’d be interested in weapons superior to their enemies’.

“With bronze guns, match cord maintenance requires the most attention, but having flints like this would certainly be more convenient.”

“The match cord was cumbersome when reloading after firing, but now we needn’t worry about that.”

“Without match cord concerns, firing speed will increase significantly.”

As the samurai continued their positive evaluations, the envoy delivered the finishing blow.

“Joseon’s guns don’t end there.”

The envoy took a spike-type bayonet from one side of the box and attached it to the gun.

“Attaching this blade allows for close combat response.”

“Oh!”

Finally, Ouchi decided on bulk purchase of Joseon guns.

***

The day after deciding to purchase Joseon guns, Mochiyo gathered his retainers.

“From yesterday’s Joseon guns and the bladed weapons seen at mines and trading posts, their quality is truly superior.”

All retainers nodded at Mochiyo’s words.

‘Even Joseon’s kitchen knives are legendary swords.’

Such jokes circulated throughout Japan.

“Thus, separate from purchasing guns and gunpowder from Joseon, we’ll bulk purchase swords too. Our domain’s blacksmiths will focus on producing spear blades, arrowheads, and armor. This alone will reduce their burden and allow for better armament.”

An elder retainer pointed out an issue with Mochiyo’s declaration:

“But this will strain our finances.”

“We’ll handle it with silver mine output first, and any shortfall we’ll repay after victory! To the victor go the spoils!”

Thus, Ouchi placed massive weapons orders with Joseon.

Hearing the story through envoys, Hyang looked at Kim Jeom. Seeing Kim Jeom’s barely contained smile, Hyang internally muttered:

Your face might split from grinning!