He Became King Sejong’s Lifelong Prime Minister - Chapter 137

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Matchlock Gun and Northern Expedition (1)

Today, as soon as I arrived at court, I headed to Gungi-si.

This was because I heard news that the matchlock gun production I had requested during my time as Jeongrang of the Ministry of War had been completed.

“With one shot from a matchlock gun, you get one shot, I get one shot. Even Xiang Yu or Guan Yu would be finished with just one hit.”

Matchlock guns have an infinitely shorter effective range than rifles like the K2, extremely low accuracy, and slow loading speed.

However, they have the advantage of being able to kill even powerful enemies that arrows and spears could never hope to defeat with just one shot.

Moreover, anyone with ten proper fingers can learn the loading method within 1-2 hours at the fastest, and then immediately start shooting.

In the case of bows, which were long-range weapons of the pre-modern era, it takes several weeks or more of rigorous training to reach the level of hitting a target 30 meters away.

Spears also require at least 5-8 weeks of training to be used meaningfully.

Considering that, it’s truly a miraculous weapon.

“Even the Jurchen barbarians and Japanese bastards won’t be able to move before matchlock guns.”

The thought of supplying these matchlock guns to all of Joseon’s forces and sweeping away those evil bastards makes me feel so good.

I’m humming without realizing it, and my steps are infinitely light.

I should go find Gungi Sijeong My Lord to check the completion quality, then ask him to mass-produce them in enormous quantities.

Fortunately, the Minister of War has now been replaced with Lord Choi Yun-deok, who grinds his teeth at the mere mention of Jurchens.

If I persuade him that using matchlock guns would allow us to drive all Jurchens out of Joseon… he’ll provide a lot of help.

“Gungi Sijeong My Lord, where is the completed matchlock gun now?”

For some reason, Gungi Sijeong My Lord personally brought the matchlock gun and handed it to me.

I don’t know why he would personally hand it over instead of having slaves or subordinates do it…

Well, what does that matter?

Joseon infantry armed with matchlock guns will soon take their first steps toward conquering Manchuria.

“It’s very well made. I’m so excited thinking about how when I pull the trigger, the connected match cord will descend to ignite the gunpowder in the open pan and immediately fire the bullet.”

“We’ve already tested it several times at Gungi-si. It’s certainly true that matchlock guns are much better than Il-chongtong (Joseon’s personal firearms). Although mixing wrought iron and steel to make the gun barrel is incredibly complex, we can make firearms without using precious copper. So we can make them cheaply too.”

The neighboring country Japan produces a lot of gold, a lot of silver, and a lot of copper.

So those bastards mined a whopping 30% of the total silver produced worldwide from the early 16th century to the early 18th century, and after that, they mined and sold tremendous amounts of copper.

Professors who studied Joseon’s monetary history even say this:

‘The reason King Sukjong was able to create the Sangpyeong Tongbo was precisely because Japan exported copper like crazy.’

Come to think of it, conquering Manchuria is definitely necessary, but Japan, which has far superior agricultural productivity than Joseon and tremendous mineral resources, should also be embraced by Joseon someday.

Japan was a country that was truly like hell for poor common people to live in anyway, during the Edo period, no, even before the 20th century. They would probably prefer becoming Joseon people too.

They would like it because taxes would definitely be reduced.

Since they were people who always had to live trembling in anxiety due to endless wars, they would also greatly enjoy embracing Joseon and living a peaceful life without war.

“The Il-chongtong had difficulty even hitting a target just 4 jang (12m) away, but with the matchlock gun, if you shoulder it and shoot, you can sufficiently hit a target 20 jang (60m) away.”

“The longer the barrel, the farther and more accurately it flies. Just like the Pyeonjeon.”

“Did you get inspiration from the Pyeonjeon to make the barrel long? Well, Scribe Kim, you’re remarkable.”

“May I try shooting it once?”

“Do so. There’s an archery range over there, so test it there.”

After receiving the matchlock gun, I requested that they place a thin iron plate instead of a target.

Then I carefully loaded the matchlock gun and fired it at the iron plate.

Naturally… it was a hit.

“This would pierce armor in one shot. If you demonstrate this before His Majesty, he would be greatly pleased.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes, without a doubt. He would definitely be greatly pleased.”

When King Taejong Lee Bang-won and King Sejong, who have difficulty controlling their anger when they see the Jurchen tribes, witness the matchlock gun demonstration, they would clap and rejoice, saying that one shot of that could sweep away all the Jurchen tribes.

Gungi Sijeong suddenly approached me and whispered in my ear in a very small voice.

“I heard that the position of Vice Minister of War happens to be vacant, so this time I should be able to enter that position, right?”

“… How would I know that? It’s a matter for His Majesty to decide.”

“Do you know how much I suffered making that matchlock gun? The craftsmen said it would take 3 years to properly make that thing. But because I coaxed them this way and that, bought them alcohol with my own money, and gave them spending money while having them work, the deadline was shortened like this.”

Honestly, I also thought it would take 3 years to make the matchlock gun.

The Japanese boast that they created it themselves in 2 years, but in reality, since they copied a finished product as is, it wasn’t particularly difficult work.

However, the craftsmen of Gungi-si had to create something that had never existed in Joseon based only on my crude blueprint, so how difficult must it have been.

In that process, Gungi Sijeong My Lord must have really suffered a lot.

“Then would it be alright to bring the Minister of War here?”

“Why are you bringing him here?”

“While His Majesty decides on appointing the Vice Minister of War who is a high-ranking official, it’s the Minister of War who recommends suitable candidates. He’s someone who would like the matchlock gun more than anyone when he sees it, so you could speak to him then.”

“Let’s do that. Scribe Kim, rest here for a while. I’ll send someone to immediately tell the Minister of War that I want to show him a new weapon.”

Not long after that, a giant of a man appeared who looked like he could turn someone’s jaw with a single slap.

The massive build felt beneath his red official robes…

Indeed, he looks like the commander-in-chief who stood at the very front more than anyone else and led the project when pioneering the Four Counties and Six Garrisons.

“Scribe Kim, you made a new weapon?”

“Gungi Sijeong My Lord here made the weapon I designed.”

“A new weapon. Yes, I heard stories about it while I was in the Northern Region. It can be fired more conveniently than the Il-chongtong, and it’s a gunpowder weapon made with iron instead of copper, right? How’s its power?”

Instead of answering his words, I showed him a thin steel plate with a hole punched clean through it.

Seeing that, Choi Yun-deok’s mouth stretched from ear to ear.

His breathing seemed to get a bit rough too, but that’s probably just my imagination, right?

“The power seems superior to or similar to the Il-chongtong. Since it’s a gunpowder weapon, it must be easy to handle too.”

“Yes, that’s right. You just need to put in gunpowder, load ammunition, and fire. There’s no need for something like a ramrod that pushes the bullet using the force of the exploding gunpowder.”

“You really don’t need that piece of wood?”

“Yes, it’s not necessary.”

When loading gunpowder weapons like the Il-chongtong, the most difficult process is inserting the bullet into the gun barrel.

You might think what’s so difficult about that…

But bullets are fired by receiving the force of exploding gunpowder, and to prevent that force from leaking out in strange directions, the bullet must fit perfectly in the gun barrel.

So the process of forcibly shoving in something that fits tightly is absolutely necessary.

This process usually consumes all the time when loading, but if the ‘ramrod’ is omitted from the process of inserting the ramrod and loading ammunition, the time consumption is reduced by that much.

“And this thing can control the timing of firing by pulling this trigger. I think the Minister of War understands what this means better than I do.”

“Just as thousands of arrows are fired at once to suppress a large army, if we make thousands of these matchlock guns, we could stop more than thousands of cavalry.”

“Even cavalry in iron armor would be finished with just one shot from this.”

“But wouldn’t it take a long time to reload this once? If soldiers only carry matchlock guns, our battle lines would be broken through.”

“If spearmen with long spears protect the soldiers with matchlock guns, they won’t dare approach, and their battle lines will easily crumble.”

This is precisely the Tercio Tactics that ended the age of mounted archery.

Choi Yun-deok would have quickly recognized the value of these tactics and operations.

As if proving my thoughts correct, Choi Yun-deok looked at the Gungi Sijeong, grinned, and gave an unreasonable order.

“How many matchlock guns can you make per day?”

“Currently, 10 guns per day is our maximum.”

“The Ministry of War will provide the Military Equipment Office with as much budget as possible. No, that won’t be enough, so I’ll submit a petition to His Majesty requesting that all available budget be put into matchlock gun production.”

“… My Lord?”

“This is for the great task of eliminating the Jurchen tribes that disturb Joseon. So make it possible to produce 30 guns per day, no, 50 guns per day. Work together with Judge Jang over there (Jang Yeong-sil). If there’s insufficient money or the Minister of Finance opposes this, call me immediately. I’ll settle it myself.”

Under Choi Yun-deok’s pressure, the Gungi Sijeong broke out in cold sweat.

However, his pressure didn’t end there.

“Don’t you want to become a senior official? If you want to become a senior official, you’ll have to somehow achieve 50 guns per day production.”

And not long after, Choi Yun-deok submitted a petition to King Sejong.

The content stated that with matchlock guns alone, they could completely subjugate all the Jurchen tribes.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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