Black Corporation: Joseon

Episode 992: Clear-Eyed Madman (17)

“Oil?”

When the scent showed interest, the craftsman who made the comment in question excitedly continued to explain.

“Yes, I think oil would be good. With the thermal power of oil, I think it would be okay to replace coal. No, it is quite possible.”

“If it’s oil…”

“If it’s oil… Hmm…”

When the word ‘oil’ came out, the craftsmen nodded.

* * *

Even during this period, oil was not an unfamiliar product, regardless of whether it was in the East or the West. The name ‘oil’ itself comes from ‘Monggyepildam’ written by Sim Gwal, a technocrat during the Song Dynasty. Additionally, the bitumen that was applied to Noah’s ark in the Bible was asphalt derived from petroleum.

There were also records of purified products produced through primitive distillation methods being used for heating in China and Japan. In the Middle East, its existence has been known since around the 9th century, and it was widely used by the military and civilians. It was used as a flame weapon in the military and as kerosene for lamps in the civilian world, and the oil fields in the Baku region were famous for its production.

* * *

Oil was not an unfamiliar object, but it was also not a familiar entity. And the fragrance pointed out the reason.

“Oil… It’s a good product, but it’s not easy to find, is it? To put it another way, it’s just that it’s an expensive product. Oh, what’s your name?”

To Hyang’s question, the father-in-law bowed down and answered.

“My name is Kang Chil-seong, a small man!”

“So how will Craftsman Kang Chil-seong solve this problem?”

To Hyang’s question, Kang Chil-seong answered refreshingly.

“Oil is not something that is easy to find, but it is not difficult to obtain. With a little time and money, you can get it.”

“how?”

“You can get it in the area where the northern and northeastern forests border, and you can get it in the new area.”

“In Shinji?”

‘I’ve never heard of it?’

When Hyang expressed his doubts, Chilseong answered in more detail.

“There is news that arrived around the time when the Great Emperor was in Italy. It is said that it was discovered near Messika, south of Shinji.”

“Right.”

At Kang Chil-seong’s explanation, Hyang nodded as if she finally understood.

‘Is it the Daekyung oil field or the Texas oil field? Or Mexican oil fields?’

Hyang, who was looking at strong candidates, became curious and continued to ask questions.

“But how did you find the oil?”

“It is said that they found it while digging a well. They say that because of that, it is being treated as a miserable place.”

“uh!”

‘Are you filming a movie?’

Hyang, who burst out laughing at Kang Chil-seong’s answer, quickly adjusted her expression and settled the situation.

‘It was discovered, but it was buried because we didn’t know how to properly purify it or how to use it. If so, let’s solve this part first.’

Hyang, who had lost his mind, began to secretly spread bait.

“Then are we going to use that oil as fuel?”

Chilseong immediately answered Hyang’s question.

“No, if you use petroleum as is, too much smoke and soot will come out. Kerosene produced by distilling petroleum is suitable.”

“It’s kerosene…”

Hyang trailed off, looking at the reactions of those around him. The response of the craftsmen who heard Chilseong’s words was positive.

“Kerosene would be fine.”

“Kerosene is fine.”

“I forgot the kerosene.”

Hyang was internally delighted after seeing that not only the craftsmen but even Da Vinci were reacting positively.

‘I came out as an excuse! Hit hard MSG!’

“Big! Big!”

Hyang, who caught the attention of the craftsmen with a light cough, began to throw rice cakes.

“You said you were distilling petroleum. Does distilling petroleum only produce kerosene?”

“It produces kerosene and bitumen.”

“Hmm… Hey, I have something to ask Da Vinci.”

“yes.”

“When I was young, I played a prank out of curiosity. I mixed all the paints that painters use. Do you know what color I got?”

Da Vinci answered Hyang’s question right away.

“It will be black. It may not be completely black, but it will be close to black.”

“That’s right. Now! Then why did I ask this question?’

“…….”

The surroundings suddenly became quiet. Da Vinci and the craftsmen all looked at the incense with perplexed faces.

‘Why are you suddenly answering a Zen question?’

‘Isn’t that something that should only be done by people who have learned a lot?’

While I was grumbling internally, Field Manager Gong opened his mouth with an uncertain expression.

“Are you saying… that it won’t be just kerosene and bitumen?”

“That’s highly likely. Even if you look at gold, silver, or at least iron and copper, aren’t gemstones a mixture of all kinds of things that need to be refined? But just the two of us? “I don’t believe it.”

At Hyang’s explanation, Da Vinci and the craftsmen nodded with an expression of understanding. Then they lowered their heads and frowned.

‘There’s more work to do!’

‘While making a blade, you suddenly create a new power engine, and as if that wasn’t enough, you start distilling oil! You’re a distiller!’

Hyang, who seemed to have sensed the intentions of the craftsmen, continued with an encouraging speech:

“It may not seem like it has anything to do with the blade we are trying to make, but it is deeply related. If my guess is correct, wouldn’t we be able to obtain a better fuel than kerosene? And if more can be obtained by distilling oil, wouldn’t oil also be useful?”

Incense’s words stimulated the curiosity of da Vinci and the craftsmen.

‘A better fuel?’

‘Coal is a good firewood, but it also has many obstacles.’

Hyang, who noticed that Da Vinci and the artisans were slowly crossing over, threw the last bait.

“What if? “If we can find that kind of fuel, wouldn’t other flying machines be able to fly properly?”

At that moment, the inside of the workshop became hot like an active volcano. Da Vinci and the craftsmen’s eyes began to shine like the sun. On behalf of them, the craftsman answered Hyang. .

“I will prepare as quickly as possible!”

In response to Gong Yajang’s reply, Hyang smiled and nodded.

“I have high expectations.”

“I will do my best! What are you doing! Move!”

“Yep!”

Looking at the backs of the craftsmen rushing away, Hyang sighed softly and muttered.

“Huh~. It’s not easy to throw away rice cakes, but if we don’t do this, the ‘Ihyang alien theory’ will really come out in the distant future.”

However, despite Hyang’s tricks, one of the things that conspiracy theorists talk about the most in the future is ‘Ihyang was an alien!’ * * *

The craftsmen quickly began preparing for the ‘petroleum distillation experiment.’ The only preparations they could do were a sword and a thermometer. An empty lot

located

on one side of Area 51 – to be exact, an empty space where experiments using fire were permitted. Hyang, who was looking at the scene where the ox ring was placed and other preparations continued, called out to Gong Yajang.

“Wouldn’t the ox ring be enough?”

“Yes? So, I got the biggest ox ring I could find?”

“No matter how I look at it, it looks too small. And in order to conduct the experiment properly, you have to keep filling the water bowl on top of the oxbow. Wouldn’t that be too inconvenient?”

Gong Yazhang, who was looking at the oxbow, nodded at Hyang’s point.

“That’s definitely true. I guess I’ll have to make my own ox ring for the experiment.”

In response to Gong Yajang’s reply, Hyang clenched his hand holding his back.

‘I caught it!’

However, as time passed, Hyang shook his head when he saw the extra-large ox ring made by artisans.

“That’s not it…”

What the craftsmen made was to enlarge the size of the existing ox ring – especially the cooling water bowl.

” ‘You don’t like it?’

Hyang nodded in response to the question asked by Gong Yajang, who was fidgeting at Hyang’s expression.

“No matter how I look at it, it still seems like a hassle. In particular, it seems like it’s too much of a hassle to fill the water bowl on top. That’s why…”

Hyang stopped talking for a moment and took out a piece of paper from his sleeve.

“I have an idea, take a look.”

Upon hearing that Hyang had painted it himself, all the craftsmen around, including Da Vinci, gathered. What the scent drew was a single distillation machine.

“How about making the lower part of the ox ring like this and pulling out a long tube instead of the upper one. Then, wrap the tube around this water tank here.”

Gong Yajang answered Hyang’s question right away.

“I’m going to make this right now! Guys!”

“yep!”

Hyang smiled in remorse as he looked at the craftsmen rushing in once again.

“Oil distillation, whiskey distillation, that’s it.”

What Hyang said was not wrong. To meet the rapidly increasing demand for whiskey in England in the 19th century, continuous stills were created to replace single stills. And the place where the continuous still was brought and put to good use was in the oil refining business.

“Oh, by the way! Now that I think about it, there was a report that we need to make more sojugori because the production of multi-colored liquor is not enough, right? Once that is completed properly, we will have to place an additional order.”

* * *

Once the single-stage distillation machine was properly completed, Hyang personally led the craftsmen and began experimenting. No, not only craftsmen were mobilized. Starting with alchemists, many scholars in charge of chemistry at the research institute had to be brought in to participate in the experiments.

“Okay! Check the thermometer plugged into the water tank over there and the spout of the distiller. Record the temperature the moment the first oil comes out of the spout, and cool the water in the water tank at regular intervals of about 10 degrees as the temperature rises, right? Every time the temperature of the water in the tank rises by 10 degrees…”

“Your Majesty! I apologize, but I missed the record! Please tell me again!”

“Tsk!”

The experiment began amid such big and small confusion and commotion. It was the ‘first official’ experiment in which the time, place, and who conducted the experiment were accurately recorded.

It was a monumental day that cynical environmentalists would later say was ‘the first day of full-scale environmental destruction.’

* * *

After repeated experiments over several days, artisans and scholars obtained by-products, including various types of oil. Among the results, the most noticeable ones were gasoline and lubricants.

“It catches fire as soon as there is a spark, so I think it would be good for use in a flying machine.”

“The characteristic of oil produced at the highest temperature is that it is difficult to ignite. In other words, it does not catch fire at a certain temperature. This means that it is very good for use as a lubricant.”

Now, it was craftsmen and scholars who figured out a good use for it before the fragrance even mentioned it. And the imperial army, hearing rumors of these results, began to move slowly.

“If it’s oil, wouldn’t it be possible to fill it by pressing it more tightly than coal?”

“Do you think it’s possible?”

“I think it would be very useful on the naval front, right?”

This was mouth-watering information for the Imperial Army, which had been suffering from problems with fuel supply and storage for some time. In particular, it was very good information in that it was possible to use oil, which had been treated as a waste of money in the North and New Territories because it had no use other than bitumen and kerosene.