"I will give it more thought regarding the personnel. Since the officials at the research institute are working so hard, we should provide support."
"Your grace is boundless!"
With a positive response to Jeong Ch'o's plea, Sejong entered a formal inspection with his ministers.
"Here are the ledgers."
The ledgers, which recorded all expenses used by the research institute, were spread out, and the ministers began to scrutinize them carefully.
While the ministers conducted the inspection, Sejong toured the various instruments and equipment used or produced at the institute, led by Hyang.
"It's done."
"Is that so? What do you think?"
Sejong asked, and Hwang Hee replied.
"There are no irregularities in the ledgers."
"Is that so?"
"However, 60% of the funds were allocated to Area 51. An inspection of Area 51 is necessary."
Upon hearing Hwang Hee's words, Sejong looked out the window.
Seeing the sky had turned from afternoon to evening, Sejong made a decision.
"Prince, we will conduct an inspection of Area 51 tomorrow."
"Your command is received, Your Majesty."
* * *
The next early morning, Sejong set out from the palace with his ministers.
"Area 51... What does it mean?"
Sejong asked, and Hyang looked slightly awkward.
"Is there some secret story behind it?"
"It's not that. It's just that I borrowed the name of a renowned research institute from the Westerners. I was embarrassed to tell you, and I thought we might be criticized for using too much of the Westerners' knowledge before fully understanding our own."
'There was a rumor that aliens landed in Area 51 in the 21st century, but no aliens have landed in Joseon, right?' Sejong nodded at Hyang's answer.
"You're right. As the saying goes, 'too much is as bad as too little.' You should be careful not to overdo it and maintain a balance."
"Yes, Father."
"By the way, it's good to ride horses like this between father and son."
"Yes, it is."
Sejong and Hyang were both dressed in armor and riding horses. Sejong was riding a white horse, and Hyang was riding a dark-colored horse, moving side by side towards Area 51. The ministers were also riding horses, following behind Sejong and Hyang.
The area prepared by Hyang was located a bit to the southeast of the Military Equipment Bureau. In 21st-century geography, the Military Equipment Bureau was near Seoul City Hall, and Area 51 was in the Hyeonjeong-dong area.
"Quite a large plot of land."
"Yes, so a considerable amount of money was spent on land acquisition."
"You did well. No matter how important the state affairs are, we must not arbitrarily take the people's property."
'At least, unlike the 21st century, they only charged the market price for state affairs!'
* * *
As Sejong and Hyang's party arrived at the main gate of Area 51, the commander of the guards stationed there stepped forward.
"Stop! Only authorized personnel can enter! Show your credentials!"
In response to the commander's words, Hyang rode his horse to the front and took out a small wooden token from his robe, presenting it to the commander.
"Here it is."
After verifying the emblem on the wooden token, the commander stepped back and performed a military salute.
"Chung!"
At the commander's signal, the guards opened the main gate wide.
Hyang, who had returned to Sejong's side, guided him.
"Father, let's go in."
"Let's do that. The security is truly thorough."
"Even I cannot enter without the credentials."
Sejong was surprised at Hyang's answer.
"Is that so? Our prince has really put a lot of effort into this."
"Security is the most important aspect here."
After passing through the main gate, Sejong shook his head and looked at Hyang with a somewhat exasperated expression.
"Almost obsessive."
Contrary to the expectation that they would enter directly after passing through the main gate, Sejong's party moved along a white corridor to the right. The corridor was blocked on both sides by high wooden fences, and soldiers stood at regular intervals behind the fences, monitoring the corridor.
Seeing the soldiers performing military salutes towards him, Sejong looked back at Hyang.
"What kind of work is being done inside to warrant such strict security?"
"Confidentiality is a matter of life and death."
"Hmm..."
Meanwhile, the ministers following behind Sejong and Hyang all had serious expressions.
"Is this a research institution with such strict security?"
"What are they researching?"
"This is definitely a waste of budget!"
Amidst the various comments, Hwang Hee glared at Jeong Ch'o.
"Minister! What did you do while the prince was involved in this? Aren't you also a minister of this Joseon? With such a large expenditure, you should have reported it!"
In response to Hwang Hee's rebuke, Jeong Ch'o replied calmly.
"I just let it be. In my heart, I felt it was insufficient. Ahem!"
"What?"
Although Hwang Hee raised his voice, Jeong Ch'o continued to mutter to himself, looking into the distance.
"A noble should move with dignity. Being so casual, where will it lead…."
"Hey! Minister Jeong!"
Despite Hwang Hee's loud reprimand, Jeong Ch'o continued to mutter to himself.
"That's why they say you can't pass on a desk-bound nature. Even if we discuss it after seeing the site, it won't be too late…."
"Minister Jeong!"
Just as Hwang Hee was about to get off his horse to grab Jeong Ch'o, the second gate opened, and Sejong and Hyang entered.
"Hmm…."
Upon entering, Sejong let out a sigh of admiration. The vast plot of land—Hyang had roughly calculated it to be about two-thirds the size of the 21st-century Hyeonjeong-dong, Myeong-dong, and Eulji-ro areas—was filled with buildings, and black smoke was rising from one side. Soldiers from the training camp and the Royal Guard, as well as craftsmen from the Military Equipment Bureau and the Board of Works, were lined up to welcome Sejong's party.
"Salute!"
"Chung!"
Following Commander Choe Hae-san's order, the soldiers performed a military salute, and the craftsmen knelt on the ground and bowed.
"Good work."
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
Sejong's praise continued, and Choe Hae-san gave orders to the soldiers.
"Dismissed!"
The soldiers and craftsmen returned to their positions. Sejong and his party dismounted and moved forward, guided by Choe Hae-san and Lee Cheon.
"Truly an impressive facility."
"Thank you, Your Majesty. However, most of the facility was overseen by the prince."
"Is that so? What are the main activities here?"
"The improvement of gunpowder, the development of new gunpowder, the improvement of cannons and muskets, the development of new cannons and muskets, the development of new armor, and the development of new tactics for using these new weapons."
As soon as Choe Hae-san finished speaking, Lee Cheon continued.
"To put it simply, we are working on everything related to the military, except for ships."
"Hmm?"
Sejong, listening to Choe Hae-san and Lee Cheon, looked around. The uniforms of the soldiers and military officials were significantly different from those he had seen before.
'He said everything, even the uniforms are different?'
"Hmm…."
Sejong, sniffing, looked at Hyang.
"Let's see what has been done so far."
"Yes, Father. Generals."
"Yes! Your Majesty, this way."
Choe Hae-san and Lee Cheon led Sejong and the ministers to a wide open field. On the field, there were long tables and several pieces of equipment.
Choe Hae-san, leading the group to the tables, began his explanation.
"First, I will show you the gunpowders."
"Gunpowders?"
"Yes."
Choe Hae-san pointed to the plates on the table. The plates, made of copper, contained small amounts of gunpowder.
"First, on the far left, is the gunpowder our Joseon army has traditionally used. In our institute, we named it Class A gunpowder.
Next is Class B gunpowder, which has adjusted the components of Class A gunpowder. Beside it is the explosive silver developed by the prince, and next to that is the explosive oil also developed by the prince.
Beside that is the prototype of cotton gunpowder made using various acids, including nitric acid, and cotton. Lastly, there is the Class D gunpowder, which makes the cotton gunpowder easier to use."
"Hmm…."
Sejong, who had been examining the gunpowders, asked a question.
"How are these gunpowders different from each other? And what do you mean by making them easier to use?"
"I will explain."
Choe Hae-san explained how they made the gunpowder easier to use.
The process of improvement started almost the same as the traditional method.
- Mix the raw materials of gunpowder well, then sprinkle water to make it sticky and form it into small soybean paste-like shapes, and dry them.
- Crush the dried gunpowder lumps and sieve them.
Up to this point, it was the same as the traditional method. The traditional method involved mixing the sieved gunpowder with clean oil for storage, but Hyang added a few more steps.
- When sieving the crushed gunpowder lumps, use sieves of various sizes. The finest powder that passes through the finest sieve is used for muskets, and the next size powder is used for cannons.
- Mix the sieved gunpowder powder with graphite powder.
"Graphite?"
Sejong, hearing the unfamiliar word 'graphite' for the first time, showed his confusion. Hyang, seeing Sejong's reaction, interjected.
"It's a mineral I added to the list when the Resource Bureau was established and sent prospectors."
"But? What is its utility?"
"It prevents water penetration and stops the gunpowder from self-detonating due to friction. There are many other benefits, but I will explain them later."
Hyang's vague answer made Sejong squint and look at him.
'What is this guy up to again…'
"Hmm… I understand. General, continue."
"Yes, Your Majesty. As the prince explained, when we mix the gunpowder with graphite, or rather, coat it with graphite, it becomes much easier to store. Of course, we also added a step where we double-box the gunpowder, filling the space between the inner and outer boxes with charcoal and covering it with oiled paper to prevent moisture penetration, but the graphite does the most significant work."
"Coating?"
Another unfamiliar word made Sejong raise his eyebrows. Hyang quickly interjected.
"It's a term from the Westerners. Since a lot of Western knowledge was used in the improvement of gunpowder, Western terms are often used. We are in the process of translating them into our language, but…."
Sejong raised his hand to stop Hyang.
"I understand the situation. The important thing is not that, so General, please continue."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Hyang, watching Sejong's reaction, clenched his fists behind his back.
'Success! We've passed the 80% mark in the cover-up!'
As he started to delve deeply into the work, Hyang had to think about how to handle the English words that kept slipping out. As a result, the library was filled with books from the Eastern Roman Empire and Europe.
Whenever English words slipped out, Hyang would say the following to get through the crisis.
"I'm sorry. I've been reading too many Western books…."
The problem was that as this happened more frequently, the people working with Hyang also became accustomed to using English, Latin, and German words.
In any case, Choe Hae-san continued his explanation.
"Next is the Class B gunpowder we improved this time. The most significant change is in the raw material components. We removed sulfur."
"Removed sulfur?"
Choe Hae-san's statement made Sejong and the ministers start to murmur.
"Can gunpowder still explode without sulfur?"
"It can explode."
Choe Hae-san's answer made the Minister of Finance's eyes light up. Although the prospectors had found a few sulfur mines, their locations were not ideal, making the mining costs quite high.
'We can save the budget! Jihwaja!'
Unlike the Minister of Finance's enthusiasm, Sejong asked seriously.
"Is there no problem with removing sulfur? For example, does the explosive power decrease?"
"The explosive power is almost the same."
"But adding sulfur to gunpowder has been a practice for a long time, so there must be a reason for it. Is it really okay to remove sulfur?"
"You raise a valid point."
After taking a deep breath, Choe Hae-san responded to Sejong's question.
"When sulfur is removed from gunpowder, one characteristic appears, which is both an advantage and a disadvantage."
"What characteristic?"
"Fire cannot be easily set with a regular fuse."
"Then it's useless…. Ah!"
Sejong, who was about to point this out, looked at Hyang and Choe Hae-san.
"So, only our Joseon army knows how to ignite this gunpowder! That's why it's both an advantage and a disadvantage! Our army can use it, but even if the enemy captures it, they can't use it, turning the disadvantage into an advantage! Is that it?"
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Sejong's words made Hyang, Choe Hae-san, and Lee Cheon bow their heads in response. Sejong was repeatedly impressed.
"Truly a clever move! So, are there other advantages?"
"Yes. The biggest advantage is that the production cost is significantly reduced by not using sulfur. Both sulfur and saltpeter corrode the insides of muskets and cannons, but removing sulfur has reduced the corrosion. This means the lifespan of muskets and cannons is extended. Lastly, there is less smoke when firing."
Sejong, hearing Choe Hae-san's explanation, stroked his beard with a face full of questions.
"Despite so many advantages, why didn't the Ming Dynasty… Ah! It's the ignition problem you mentioned earlier, right?"
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Sejong's self-answering question made Choe Hae-san, Lee Cheon, and Hyang nod. Hyang nodded even more vigorously.
'Thank you, internet!'
The idea of removing sulfur from black gunpowder came from a search on the internet in the 21st century. However, there was only one website with related information, and it did not provide exact ratios, so Hyang and the craftsmen had to go through many trials and errors.
After much trial and error, they were able to determine the optimal mixing ratio and the type of wood to use for charcoal. This information was classified as top-secret and stored in a vault built deep within the institute.