Black Corporation: Joseon

Episode 1022: The name of the firewood is the arms race (15)

Thanks to the Hyang’s decision to use ‘genuine quality’, the number of people in the research center quickly increased. The number of scholars and international student researchers, who initially numbered a little over 100, had increased to a whopping 30,000 during the current era. But this was not reckless expansion.

“The reason why the pace of scientific and technological development was faster in the 19th century than in the 18th century, in the 20th century, and in the 21st century was because of the concentration of talent and capital.”

What Hyang used as a model was the ‘Manhattan Plan’. It was modeled after the ‘Manhattan Project’, which brought together prominent people, including manpower, and invested a huge budget to produce results in a short period of time.

-Gather proven personnel in one place and compete with them.

-Everyone will make desperate efforts to grab the carrot of fame and money.

-Then we can compress time.

-conductor!

This trick was carried out exactly as it was. However, the most important background for the success of Hyang’s scheme was the Hyang and the imperial family’s deep pockets. The township and the imperial family spent at least half of the budget needed to operate the institute. Thanks to this, researchers at the institute were free from the pressure of coordination symbolized by the Ministry of Finance and Economy.

“Research costs a lot of money, so refrain from doing it?”

“Rather, I thought it was right to focus on more helpful experiments and research…”

“Can you figure out what would be more helpful?”

“…….”

“Ha! Then I will unpack my personal belongings!”

Because it was this way, the government could no longer interfere with the research institute. However, the imperial family did not just lose money. This was because, even if it was not a right-wing attack, even if it was only a struggle or a horsemanship-level response, if it was properly technologicalized, enormous profits could be recovered.

However, there was one place that was pushed out of this policy. It was a scientific research institute. It was a place in charge of research on Neo-Confucianism and other Confucian ideas, but it only increased from 50 people at first to about 200 people.

Rather, the ‘Sahagwon (史學院)’ and ‘Gyeongsehakwon (經世學院)’ established during the Wan period were on the scale of even larger scale. Even the emperor and court had excuses.

-The History Academy and the Gyeongse Academy have more than one department to deal with!

In the case of private academies, various fields of history were being studied, including ‘war history’ and ‘architectural history’. In the case of the Gyeongsei Academy, complex issues such as ‘production and distribution’, ‘sound distribution of capital’, and ‘distinction between investment and speculation’ were being academically studied.

However, the biggest reason was that the shadow of the ‘Giyu Rebellion’ still remained dark.

* * *

Regardless of this background, the discovery of ‘oxygen’ could be seen as the greatest fruition.

-Is air just one substance? Or is it a mixture of several substances?

-Is this world really made up of the five energies of the five elements?

Oxygen was discovered in the process of solving this problem listed in the challenge record. The township and county, which confirmed that the report was more accurate, called in the scholars and researchers in charge of the study and greatly praised them. Afterwards, Hyang returned to his room with an expression on his face that made up his mind.

“Now that we have oxygen, let’s relax a little more!”

* * *

Hyang’s first work was with steam engines installed on naval battleships, starting with destroyers. The oil produced from refining petroleum was more useful militarily than coal in many ways.

-Much safer than coal.

When using coal, the combustion chamber’s fire pit was always open. This was because stokers had to continuously supply coal through the crater. Naturally, there were many cases where sparks flew out, resulting in frequent safety accidents. However, if refined petroleum oil such as diesel was used, it was safe because there was no need to keep the crater open.

-Can carry more than coal.

In the case of coal, no matter how much the warship’s storage tank was filled, it was impossible to fill it all. Even though it looked like it was full on the outside, there were quite a few gaps between the coal grains. But refined petroleum oils had nothing like that.

But there were also drawbacks.

-It is said to be safer than coal, but it is not completely safe.

As large and small accidents occurred during the distillation and storage of oil, the empire had to prepare countermeasures. The officials in charge of this complained and grumbled.

“Is there no perfect fuel?”

“I thought there would no longer be problems like those caused by coal…”

As coal was widely used, starting with iron horses and as a heating fuel for houses, many accidents such as dust explosions and gas poisoning occurred. Of course, the county put a lot of effort into preventing these accidents, but they could not be completely prevented due to issues with people’s perception and technical limitations.

However, in the face of such accidents, many craftsmen created new technologies and devices to provide solutions, and officials created laws and systems. After hearing this, Hyang licked his lips and muttered.

“Tsk. It’s not for nothing that the saying ‘safety rules are written in blood’ comes about. People only know when they experience it…”

And a similar problem occurred again in oil. However, in many ways, refined petroleum oil was more useful than coal, so the Imperial Navy chose heavy oil among refined petroleum oils instead of coal as fuel. And the flavor was like MSG.

It has been a known fact for a long time that ‘fire needs air to burn.’ Therefore, steam engines made from petroleum were equipped with blowers that supplied the air needed for combustion. The township gathered researchers and technicians in charge of manufacturing steam engines for the navy.

“It is said that combustion requires a substance called oxygen in the air, and the more oxygen there is, the better combustion occurs.”

“Is that so?”

“The problem is that right now it’s difficult to collect just that oxygen. So I thought, wouldn’t the more air you blow in, the more oxygen there will be?”

The researchers and artisans were lost in thought at Hyang’s words. As the silence continued, one of the craftsmen opened his mouth.

“Come to think of it… I think that’s why I work with the bellows at the blacksmith shop.”

“aha!’

In this way, researchers and craftsmen began working on improving the blower that runs on the combustor. What came out was a kind of ‘Supercharger.’ As Haepyo, whose

engine was replaced with a new steam engine created in this way, showed better maneuverability, the Imperial Empire The Navy adopted this new engine.

* * *

The second place where the incense struck MSG was the self-igniting bomb. The incense that called Da Vinci got straight to the point.

“…. Therefore, oxygen in this air is needed for combustion. It means that it will happen. What do you think?”

“Well.”

Looking at Da Vinci, who tilted his head, Hyang explained in more detail.

“If you put a can full of air into the propulsion part of an autonomous bomb and load it with appropriate fuel… ..”

“Ah!”

Before Hyang could finish his words, Da Vinci’s eyes began to sparkle frighteningly.

“That way, we don’t have to use gunpowder as a propellant!”

“Is that so? Let’s research it.”

“Yes!”

Da Vinci answered vigorously and immediately went back to Area 51 and called Kang Baek-du and Gong Yajang. After hearing the story through Da Vinci, Kang Baek-du and Gong Yajang stroked their chins and calculated the possibilities.

“It looks okay. ……”

Next to the field manager who gave a positive evaluation, Kang Baek-du placed his hand on his forehead.

“Why didn’t I think of this?’

Anyway, Da Vinci and his group took a hint from Hyang and started working on the self-exploited bomb once again. Through much trial and error, Da Vinci and his team finally created a plausible propeller. It consisted of a high-pressure air tank, a tank containing high-purity alcohol as fuel, and a multi-wheel motor that converted the exhaust gas from the combustion chamber into power.

The newly created self-explosive bomb equipped with an engine was immediately put into testing.

“Maintaining depth of field is the problem…”

“Once that part is solved, it seems like almost everything has been solved…” After

checking the results, Da Vinci and his group once again worked hard to solve ‘maintaining depth of field.’

* * *

The scent continued to spread MSG here and there. The first place where incense hit MSG was in the Imperial Army.

“How about changing the steam engines used in assault vehicles and tow trucks?”

“It’s already being studied.”

“okay?”

Watching what the Imperial Navy was doing, the Imperial Army was also seriously considering replacing its steam engine. The problem of stokers supplying coal to steam engines was the same for the Imperial Army.

– Even if only the stoker is removed, the size can be reduced and the defense power can be strengthened.

-If you listen to the Navy guys, they say that the new steam engine is more powerful. If so, it means that larger and more powerful artillery can be mounted.

-Then I guess I should change it?

This was the biggest reason why the Imperial Army decided to change its institutions. Later, after hearing the army’s passionate background, Hyang placed his hand on his forehead.

“These deep-rooted canvas lovers…”

* * *

The touch of incense was not limited to the military. Area 51 also faced new homework. Hyang came to see Woo and got to the point.

“Now that I think about it, don’t you think there might be a more direct way to use that combustion?”

“Yes, what do you mean?”

“Didn’t you say that a fire can start in an enclosed space as long as there is air, oxygen and fuel?”

“Yes that’s right.”

“Then, is it not possible to use the power of fire directly?”

“therefore.”

Looking at Wu, who still had an expression of uncertainty, Hyang spoke again.

“I thought about it this way. If you look at long guns or artillery, don’t they use a little bit of gunpowder to make the bullets and bullets fly a long distance? That’s the firepower created by the explosion of the gunpowder. Wouldn’t that explosion be seen as a kind of combustion?”

“ah!”

Only then did Wu understand Hyang’s words and made a decision.

“I will register it in the challenge record right away! The grade is…” After

thinking for a moment, Woo decided on a grade.

“It would be better if you don’t use horseback riding.”

In this way, the Empire began full-scale research on internal combustion engines. Hyang, who was returning from doing business at Area 51, looked up at the sky and muttered to himself.

‘This will increase my notoriety one more time… But what do you know? I will already be dead by then. Are you going to kill me again?’

* * *

Returning to Sugang Palace, Hyang looked over the reports and sighed.

“Whew~ All that’s left now is electricity… but progress is still slow. It’s so unexplored that I can’t even grasp the concept…”

Hyang, who was contemplating about electricity with his arms folded, muttered softly. .

“How should I solve the problem so that it can be known that I solved it well…”

At that moment, the scholars and researchers studying thunder energy at the research institute simultaneously shuddered.

“What a chill all of a sudden…”

* * *

While Hyang was thinking about rice cakes, Hyeon had a different idea.

“If you look at the past Italian war, the effectiveness of naval gunfire to hit the enemy on the coast was great. It was also said that the naval gunfire was quite useful in the Battle of the Yellow Sea and the Liaodong War. However, the number of artillery guns loaded on the front was limited. “What if…you can pour in a large amount of bombs at once?”