Chapter 154
Chapter 154
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 154
Chapter Title: Joseon Steel Mill (5)
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One of the benchmarks in history for gauging a nation's level of civilizational development is none other than its steel production.
The more steel a country produces, the greater its industrial capacity and productivity—or so they say.
Even in my view, that doesn't sound wrong at all.
After all, every time humanity experiences rapid advancement, there's always a surge in "iron production."
"Ironworks Superintendent, the molten iron will soon pour out of the blast furnace!"
In this world, there probably isn't a single project or venture where failure is an option...
But for me right now, above all else, I desperately want this steel mill to succeed.
If a steel mill is built here in Jaeryeong, Hwanghae Province, and operates successfully, it will serve as the starting point, leading to similar or even larger facilities sprouting up across the nation.
Steel production will keep rising, and in just about twenty years...
It'll be possible to equip every soldier in Joseon not with paper-stuffed zippo armor, but with proper two-layered plate armor that can actually stop bullets and arrows.
Just thinking about it gets my heart racing.
Even if our current technological limits make it impossible to run tanks across the Manchurian plains or into China...
Imagining a heavily armored Joseon legion in two-layered plate conquering the Central Plains puts me in such a good mood.
"Open the blast furnace!"
No sooner had those words rung out than molten iron began gushing from the furnace.
The first time we succeeded at the steel mill near the iron mine in Pocheon, Jang Yeong-sil and Jeong Bin had both shouted "Long live the heavens!" at the top of their lungs in joy.
But today, for some reason, both of them are quiet.
Since this is the second success, it probably doesn't hit with the same overwhelming emotion as the first time.
No, even so, their eyes are already turning red.
Today, I should pretend not to notice.
"Once that molten iron cools, we need to load it straight into the finery forge. That'll remove the impurities from the iron one more time, yielding steel or wrought iron."
The on-site foreman nodded at my words and replied.
"Yes, my lord. We've prepared crude iron in advance specifically for testing the new finery forge installed here in Jaeryeong. We've timed the smelting to finish just as the molten iron pours out. Come this way and see for yourself."
Where the foreman led us was a massive reverberatory furnace that looked like a giant hearth.
In truth, its structure was similar to a hearth or ondol underfloor heating.
There was a separate chamber for the charcoal, and a separate one for melting the iron.
Inside the finery forge, the flames didn't touch the iron directly; it was a system that melted the metal solely with the heat from combustion.
Four artisans were taking turns working the bellows there, diligently feeding in charcoal as they labored.
If we wanted to minimize manpower, two could handle it...
But running it with just two would mean they'd have to bellow and feed charcoal nonstop for 15 hours straight without a break.
'They'd drop dead.'
That's why we assigned four per finery forge: two skilled artisans and two unskilled laborers.
Working in pairs on shifts.
"Even with four men per finery forge, they look utterly exhausted."
"This is no ordinary task, my lord."
The artisans manning the finery forge were sweating buckets from head to toe.
"The iron's fully melted!"
At those words from one artisan, molten iron promptly poured from the base of the finery forge.
This process is decarburization, where the burning charcoal oxidizes the surface carbon into carbon monoxide, minimizing the carbon content in the iron.
Once that cools, it'll probably be steel.
At that moment, all our eyes turned to Jang Yeong-sil.
Since he designed the blast furnace and finery forge, judging success or failure was his call.
"It's a success. Congratulations, Ironworks Superintendent."
"Excellent. Then from now on, we just need to build two more blast furnaces of the same size and about sixty finery forges."
"Pardon...? I must have misheard..."
"You heard right. Two blast furnaces and sixty finery forges. That's the minimum if we want to armor at least the chest plates of soldiers serving in Pyeongan and Hamgyong Provinces by the year after next."
"But that would require an enormous amount of wood for fuel. Is that alright?"
Indeed, even England chopped down so much wood for its industrial growth that the country nearly collapsed.
In Joseon, from the 18th century onward, relentless logging left the mountains barren, leading to a surge in landslides and natural disasters, along with all sorts of side effects...
So we do need to address it.
That's why I've insisted on sourcing bituminous coal from southern Manchuria—where Joseon can exert some influence—as a wood substitute for fuel.
In another three or four years, bituminous coal should replace charcoal and wood here.
"I've heard there's excellent-quality coal in the Yodong region near the border north of Hwanghae Province. Even the Jurchen captives say black stones that burn well come from there, so we'll use those. Right now, the priority is producing lots of iron anyway. We can't use raw coal as-is, so Jang the Guard Commander will need to research how to process it."
Joseon isn't failing to properly equip soldiers with weapons and armor due to lack of production capacity—it's not a budget issue.
So if we supply plenty of iron and leverage the division of labor in Hanseong's workshops and the Military Armory...
In about two years, we should be able to outfit frontline soldiers with chest plates at least.
The Minister of Finance will foam at the mouth when he hears this plan, but what can he do?
I, who knows last year's and this year's finance budgets inside out, deem it feasible, and King Sejong—who grinds his teeth at the mention of Jurchens—and King Taejong will approve it.
"......."
Jang Yeong-sil stood there dumbfounded, as if he'd fainted on his feet.
"Jeong the Second Deputy Minister will handle steel mill construction oversight, so Jang the Guard Commander has no need to obsess over building blast furnaces and finery forges yourself. Just come to the site for two and a half si-jin (five hours) a day to check in and discuss with the artisans building them. Spend the rest of your time developing things like spinning machines, weaving looms, and cotton gins."
"Yes, my lord."
Dumping too much work on someone all at once can send them into shock and depression.
In that state, they can't perform properly, and efficiency plummets.
Besides, Jang Yeong-sil isn't some Jo Mal-saeng taking bribes and sentenced to lifelong servitude...
If the shock leaves him downcast, we need to give him fresh motivation to revive his spirits.
"Jang the Guard Commander."
"Yes, my lord."
"I've heard you were extremely poor in your youth. Do you still remember those days?"
"How could I forget them?"
"When I was magistrate of Jinhae, the poor all said the same thing: the agony of hunger is unbearable for anyone who hasn't experienced it, and nothing is as heartbreaking as shivering through winter nights without proper clothes."
When we think of the Industrial Revolution, steam engines come to mind first, but few know that the very first product made with them was "clothing."
In pre-modern times, if an entire family could afford new clothes once a year, they were considered middle class—clothes were that precious.
That's why, once steam-powered clothing production kicked in, countries like France and Germany snapped it all up without hesitation.
There was more supply than ever, but demand outstripped it wildly, so it sold like crazy.
"If Jang the Guard Commander can properly develop the cotton gin, spinning machine, and weaving loom, the number of people freezing in winter will drop dramatically."
"It won't disappear entirely?"
"There will always be poverty no nation can fully eradicate. Not everyone can bundle up warmly for winter. Right now, we accept winter deaths among the people as inevitable, but once those three inventions come along, such tragedies will be seen as shocking outrages. Because even the poor will be able to wear padded winter clothes."
The reason clothes were so scarce in pre-modern times boiled down to labor.
Raw materials like wool and cotton were plentiful enough, but the labor to turn them into garments was immense.
Specifically, the labor to spin thread and weave fabric was insanely high.
The spinning machine, weaving loom, and cotton gin will largely solve that.
"Understood, my lord."
I could see the fire of determination reignite in Jang Yeong-sil's eyes.
Indeed, when assigning a task, explaining why it's being done and how crucially important it is makes all the difference.
"Heaven knows, earth knows, and His Highness knows full well how much hardship Jang the Guard Commander endures and how excellently he performs. This time too, I'll submit a report praising how his work will save tens of thousands of lives."
After such high praise, it's time to offer the "money" that brings peace of mind.
Anyone can spin pretty words, so they alone don't console deeply...
But money has the power to justify even the most meddlesome holiday meddling.
Motivate with words, then add cash—nobody can resist that.
"Here, take this."
"What's this?"
"Silver nuggets. The Tsushima lord sent them to me... Use them to bolster your household."
In Joseon today, silver is incredibly precious.
So precious that they could endure tribute demands of 10,000 horses but buckled at gold and silver.
Receiving this will move him deeply.
"Can I really accept this?"
"I'm giving it privately because I know how hard Jang the Guard Commander has worked—no one else. What problem could there be?"
Oh, and our house has far more of these nuggets.
The Tsushima lord sends them periodically through my older sister's trading post based in Jinhae.
I merely fed him some "information utterly unknowable to Joseon," and he's still kowtowing so devotedly...
Information truly is king.
"Jeong the Second Deputy Minister, you can head back for the day. This lowly official, Yi Soon-ji, will just calculate the number of laborers needed here, their wages, and the construction costs before leaving. All artisans except those who must watch the blast furnace—head to Man-deok's tavern. I've already promised to foot the bill, so eat and drink your fill there. Then report back the day after tomorrow."
Go big when rewarding, and push them to grow beyond their limits with encouragement when working them hard.
That's the key.
People end up performing beyond their capabilities that way.