The Gongdan and the Firepower Military Academy (7)
After exchanging enthusiastic greetings with the workers from the Yeokgye, Yi Yeon strode forward to meet the chief, extending his hand.
The chief, too, reached out and swallowed hard.
He had practiced the new form of greeting for the king hundreds of times after learning it from Kim Yang-bo, but his hand still trembled visibly from the tension.
Yi Yeon simply grasped it, shook it gently, and said, “You must have worked hard.”
“Ah, no! Your Majesty! T-this servant is overwhelmed!”
He was so moved by the royal hand he had never even dared to imagine that tears welled up and he collapsed on the spot.
“Damn it… Is this too much?”
Yi Yeon knew that repeated physical contact deepened bonds, so he had instructed Kim Yang-bo to do exactly this from now on.
Yet the effect far surpassed his expectations.
“Haha! Don’t do that.”
“H-humiliating as I am, Your Majesty.”
Yi Yeon patted the chief’s shoulder as he helped him stand.
“A lord and his servant are like father and son, and excessive courtesy is no courtesy at all. Don’t do it from now on. And since I value your heart, you’ll understand.”
“I-I will obey, Your Majesty.”
The chief wiped away his tears and flashed a radiant smile, as though the entire world had been handed to him.
Yi Yeon then offered his hand to Yi I and Kim Ji, who were watching from nearby.
They, too, were at a loss for what to do.
They had not prostrated themselves before the king gave the chief this treatment.
Their loyalty skyrocketed.
Even now Yi I dropped by whenever he had time after finishing his heavy work at the Science Bureau.
Completely smitten with the steam engine, he could not stay away.
The master craftsmen at the Yeokgye on Ganghwado were the greatest in Joseon; they would craft whatever design they were given.
Yet they insisted on watching the process firsthand.
While applying the new knowledge they had heard from the king, they were creating wonders.
Yi Yeon followed Yi I toward the newly built steel mill, casting a sidelong glance at the workers who still stared at the chief with envious eyes.
An astonishing sight greeted them.
Curious, Yi Yeon opened his mouth to ask, but Yi I explained at once.
“Your Majesty, we are producing ductile iron by pouring the molten steel from the blast furnace into this Bessemer converter and mixing it with magnesium extracted from Baekunam.”
Yi Yeon nodded, excitement surging through him.
‘What? It’s already this far?’
What he had estimated would happen by the end of next year was already underway before his eyes.
The blast furnace and converter were assembled from iron plates shipped from the Anju Steel Mill; they were quick to build, especially since only the interior was lined with refractory bricks.
But the facilities linked to them could not be rushed so easily.
Especially the new Bessemer converter, shaped like a giant banana milk carton, was small in size yet undeniably the world-changing design.
‘How many have they churned out?’
Mining rights from the Ming had not yet been secured.
Internal issues were always being deferred.
Yet they could not simply wait.
So Yi Yeon had been sending salt, daily necessities, and coal from Joseon settlers and Jurchens in Liaodong.
As a monarch who kept his word at all costs, he had no choice but to press forward without regard for repercussions.
With a thousand firefighters ready, they stood prepared for any emergency.
The result was an avalanche of coke.
When powdered anthracite mixed with clay failed to plug the blast furnace exit and caused an explosion, the mill had to shut down for a while.
Yet the usefulness of coke far outweighed the loss.
‘To have developed like this…’
Yi I and Kim Ji were undoubtedly brilliant, but perhaps overzealous bosses.
‘They said we’d have trouble if we rushed it…’
Yet something felt off.
They had been told to stop the blast furnace because it was dangerous, but all facilities were already shut down by the time they arrived.
‘What…!’
Yi Yeon chuckled and asked, “How many days off did you give the workers when I came?”
“T-that…”
Kim Ji hesitated. Yi I answered for him.
“Fifteen days, Your Majesty.”
“Fifteen days?”
“Yes, Your Majesty. Mid-autumn is approaching, so people with families nearby were told to visit their hometowns. That is in accordance with Your Majesty’s instruction to rest properly when resting.”
“Hm… So that’s why they looked so happy.”
“I-I apologize for the lack of insight, Your Majesty.”
‘Somehow…’
The workers looked exhausted, yet their faces were bright.
They had worked tirelessly, received a full fifteen-day vacation, and even special bonuses for good results.
“Still, don’t push them too hard from now on. Accidents could happen.”
“I will obey, Your Majesty.”
Yi Yeon confirmed that it was historical tradition to work when it was time to work and rest when it was time to rest.
Yi I led the way again and explained the next stage.
“The ductile iron we obtained is poured into this rotary furnace. As you can see, steel pipes are being mass-produced.”
“Whoa!”
Yi Yeon let out a stunned breath. He had used the English word out of habit, but it was not because Yi I had trouble with pronunciation.
The second steel mill was hidden behind a mountain, so it could not be seen from the harbor.
He had only heard about it; now, inside, he saw an endless array of steel pipes stretching in every direction, exactly as he remembered from his previous life.
“How many steel pipes are produced per day?”
“Twenty before. Now we’re at a hundred.”
“How did you manage to increase the output so much?”
“It is thanks to Your Majesty’s guidance.”
“What do you mean, my guidance?”
“We turned the rotary furnace using the method you taught us, and the output increased dramatically.”
“You say my method…”
Yi Yeon grinned and followed Yi I’s gaze as he turned his head.
Giant windmills stood in a row.
“You used one of these windmills?”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Yi I had once asked why they did not simply blow wind into the blast furnace instead of using manpower.
Yi Yeon had told him to try the windmill. Ganghwado had plenty of wind, after all.
He had assumed they were using the windmill for that purpose.
He had not expected them to apply it to the rotary furnace as well.
‘So that’s why it seemed so efficient.’
“By the way, how do you turn the rotary furnace?”
“We used the method you taught us.”
“Really?”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Yi I glanced at Kim Ji and shouted, “What are you waiting for? Show him already!”
“Yes, Your Excellency.”
Kim Ji jumped under the windmill, lifted a large iron rod, and the machine roared to life with a loud “Click-click!”
But the rotary furnace remained idle.
“…?”
Yi Yeon looked between Yi I and Kim Ji in confusion.
Yi I smiled and pointed at the windmill. “Your Majesty, the windmill will not operate if its rotational speed is insufficient. So we created the ‘power transmission device’ you mentioned and applied it.”
“What?!”
Yi Yeon was speechless. That was not what he had meant to teach them.
While working on steam engines with Stephen, they had once connected the device directly to a power machine and the steam pipes burst from overload.
He had not been injured because they were far away, but the scalding steam had been terrifying.
That was why he had warned them to be careful and mentioned the power transmission device.
Now they were using it on the windmill.
‘This is truly a genius way of thinking.’
Yi I did not simply copy what he heard; he applied it in countless ways.
Seeing the astonished king, Yi I smiled brightly and yelled at Kim Ji, “Make it run!”
Kim Ji lifted another iron rod. Only then did the “Click!” sound echo, and flames erupted as the long rotary furnace began to spin.
“How is it?”
“Whoa!”
Creating a power transmission device that cut and connected power using thick circular iron plates was not difficult.
Once the principle was understood, casting was straightforward.
But using a chain instead of a leather belt to transmit power was something else entirely.
Yi Yeon was again amazed.
“Impressive.”
“It is all thanks to Your Majesty’s teachings.”
“But how did you learn to make that chain?”
“We adapted the drawing you showed us when you explained bicycles. But do you call that a chain?”
Before Yi Yeon could answer, a hiccup sounded beside him.
It was Jeong Dae-nyeon, who had followed them silently until now.
His voice shook as he asked, “Your Majesty, what… what is this, hic!”
Jeong Dae-nyeon quickly covered his mouth when the hiccup returned.
He had thought the factory where the king showed them was simply the largest forge he had ever seen.
But the moment he stepped into the harbor he witnessed an unbelievable scene.
Over a thousand men with short hair stood waiting in strange uniforms, and they greeted the king with thunderous cheers.
They did not prostrate themselves.
Yet the king waved at them and shook the hand of the eunuch who had served as his attendant.
Among them was Yi I, the Chief of the Science Bureau.
It had only been the beginning.
After circling around the mountain from the pier, a vast facility suddenly appeared.
Mostly made of iron.
From then on his throat burned.
Even the *Book of Later Han*, which recorded every use of iron as wealth, made no mention of such facilities.
While he was stunned, the king and Yi I conversed naturally.
It was a conversation he could not follow at all.
So he simply trailed behind them.
Yet the enormous windmills and long furnaces turned simply by lifting iron rods.
Even a small waterwheel would find it difficult.
Yi Yeon accepted the water Jeong Dae-nyeon offered, waiting until the hiccup stopped.
At his age, past sixty, his health concerned him.
“Are you all right?”
“I am deeply grateful, Your Majesty. I have shown a foolish sight.”
“No. By the way, what do you think?”
“I have no idea what anything is.”
“Then watch more closely. You will understand. This is what this place does.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
It was probably too soon to explain; Yi I had felt the same when he first came.
Yi Yeon shifted his gaze back to Yi I and asked, “By the way, how are the joints of those steel pipes made?”
“We shape them using high-temperature clay and cast them with the help of the Do-gye.”
“One by one?”
Even in the twenty-first century, the ceramic mold casting method was used, but after casting one had to make another mold, which was extremely inconvenient.
Yi I’s answer was even more surprising.
“Yes, Your Majesty. But since it is inefficient, we are considering other methods.”
“Which one?”
“We are studying the extrusion method.”
“Huh…?”
“Your Majesty said ductile iron and steel have different melting points, and by applying pressure we can draw out pipes. We are planning to use that.”
“You’re already planning to apply it?”
“That way we can place water pipes in the gongdan you are planning, can we not?”
Yi Yeon laughed heartily and clapped.
“Exactly! That’s it!”
Yi I’s words delighted him beyond measure.
In fact, the rotary furnace had originally been intended only for cannons, where its efficiency would be greater than with smaller pipes.
Yet Yi I, upon hearing about the irrigation facilities in passing, had begun preparing to manufacture steel pipes for water supply using the extrusion method.
Yi Yeon was extremely pleased.
They were already doing it on their own.
But he still worried about Yi I’s health.
“Are you sleeping well?”
* * *