Chapter 60
**CHAPTER TITLE: Gongdan and the Firepower Military Academy (13)**
“Ugh!”
Yi Yeon bit back the burp threatening to escape.
Two days in a row of roasted chicken had left his stomach so full it felt bloated.
‘I need some soda too.’
Soda could be made with nothing but sodium carbonate, the same stuff people called soda back in his old world.
But he couldn’t use it yet. Sodium carbonate was required for making glass, and he still had other priorities.
‘Once the steam engine is finished, I’ll fix that first.’
Right now he was still producing sodium carbonate the hard way—via the Leblanc process, which dumped ammonia straight into the environment.
The Solvay method, where you just mixed saltwater, limestone-derived carbon dioxide, and ammonia and boiled it to get sodium carbonate and calcium chloride, would be perfect.
‘Fertilizer too.’
It would take time, but the Haber-Bosch process for massive ammonia production had to be done.
‘Only then can we crank out smokeless gunpowder and fertilizer without mercy.’
With ammonia flowing freely, nitric acid and nitrogen fertilizers would follow.
‘That’s essential for the next phase.’
Nitrocellulose and nitroglycerin—the smokeless gunpowder of the future—could be made by mixing nitric and sulfuric acids. The key fertilizer element that made rice grow so well came from reacting ammonia with carbon dioxide.
He had thought Chuseok would at least give him a break. But no.
He rose early, paid his respects to his mother, then headed to the Jongmyo Shrine with the royal family.
After the unbearably dull ceremony, he returned just as the sun was setting.
So yesterday he had locked the Gyeongbokgung gates without a word to the courtiers who had been hoping for a grand banquet.
Only his mother, Cho-hui, and his two older brothers were invited to Gyeonghoeru for food, drink, and rest.
The roasted chicken fried in peanut oil from Ganghwado left everyone stunned.
The touch of Colonel So’s hand made it somehow even better than the best chicken he had ever tasted in his previous life.
So he ate until he couldn’t move.
He also handed out roasted chicken to the sentry soldiers on duty and gave them fat special rewards.
Loyalty, after all, came from a full pocket.
Once the court robes were properly checked by the senior chamberlain, the senior steward knelt and spoke.
“Your Majesty, it is time to depart.”
He had done a mountain of work in the meantime.
Just like when he and Stephen had filmed that YouTube channel.
After running without rest, he was finally about to meet the heroes he had been waiting for.
“Let’s go.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
As Yi Yeon stepped down from the jeongjeon throne onto the raised dais, the senior steward bellowed:
“His Majesty descends!”
The court officials lined up along the rank stones stretching all the way to the jeongjeongmun, hands pressed to their stomachs, heads bowed.
“We see His Majesty!”
At the same moment, a grand fanfare sounded.
‘How cool!’
The first time he had been dragged to this place, his mind had been a total mess.
The headache had been so bad he just prayed for it to end quickly.
But today felt completely different.
The civil and military officials filling the courtyard.
The sturdy guards surrounding them.
And the graduates of the Hwaryeok Military Academy kneeling one-legged in the long line stretching to jeongjeongmun, performing their military salute.
He felt as if he owned the whole world.
Yi Yeon raised his hand.
The trumpet band stopped playing.
Then the senior steward shouted:
“Rise!”
“Loyalty!”
The graduates stood in unison, voices ringing out.
Just as he had taught them that morning.
He walked down the end of the dais while the flag flapped in the breeze, nodding with a satisfied smile.
“I am Yi Yeon, monarch of Joseon, this country.”
Every single person thrust both hands into the air and roared:
“Long live Your Majesty! Long live Your Majesty! Long live Your Majesty!”
‘So this is what it feels like to be a king.’
An overwhelming rush of emotion flooded him.
“Today is the day I will present the future of this nation—the leaders who will make Joseon great. I hope everyone enjoys this moment together.”
“Long live Your Majesty! Long live Your Majesty! Long live Your Majesty!”
The entire crowd erupted in cheers.
The graduates wore excited expressions, while Yi Yeon smiled contentedly and stepped back behind the dais.
The senior steward then shouted loudly:
“All civil and military officials are to be seated!”
The courtiers settled their bottoms onto the foldable wooden chairs laid out beneath the awnings.
After every ceremony, officials seemed to complain of back pain, so he had ordered these chairs that could be folded away.
Once everyone was seated, the senior steward began calling the graduates one by one.
They answered in loud voices and stepped forward.
Yi Yeon reached out, shook each hand, and patted each shoulder.
He wanted to imprint the excitement into their minds and study every face of the heroes he had longed to meet.
‘This is the man who became a heroic figure!’
He couldn’t show it, so he simply smiled.
Then he presented them with the new uniforms he had prepared and bestowed the black lacquer belt.
The clothes had buttons, just like those worn by the workers at the government workshop, and the belt had a handguard and scabbard carved with the pattern of the white jade.
Yi Yeon couldn’t help but let out a soft laugh.
He had actually gotten to shake the hands of the heroes he had wanted to meet so badly.
It was overwhelming.
Before he knew it, an hour had passed and the sun stood high in the sky; the noon drum sounded.
Between the booming notes, Yi Yeon glanced sideways at the senior steward as he walked back to the dais.
‘He’s amazing.’
He had told the steward about today’s event, and the schedule prepared with the inner servants had no single deviation.
Even the clocks they used were only the sun dial and water clock—nothing more.
When Shin Rip came forward, Yi Yeon spoke briefly and firmly.
“Stand at ease!”
Shin Rip turned sharply and shouted:
“Stand at ease!”
The graduates planted their feet and took their backpacks off with a crisp sound.
Even though it was only a morning lesson, they looked disciplined.
Their forms were different, of course.
Yi Yeon took a long breath and spoke loudly.
“Soldiers, listen. I will protect this country of Joseon together with all of you and expand our territory. If you do not share my vision, you may leave this place.”
Not a single graduate showed any reaction.
They had come for exactly this purpose, so they thought his words were nonsense.
Yi Yeon didn’t drag it out.
A hundred words were no substitute for a single sight.
“⋯⋯. The Hwaryeok Army that these soldiers will command is waiting for you. So change into your uniforms immediately and prepare to follow. Understood?”
“Loyalty!”
Murmurs rippled through the crowd.
The graduates had suddenly turned and sprinted away.
But Shin Rip and the Crown Prince’s guards calmly herded them toward the warehouse built alongside the jeongjeongmun.
The senior steward and inner servants began preparing the procession.
In the meantime, the graduates emerged in the simple yet stylish officer uniforms made of white silk.
The first in line shouted,
“The trumpet band played behind them, and under the escort of the Jeonjinwi guards, Yi Yeon and the officials left Gwanghwamun.
The seemingly endless procession was magnificent.
The people who had rushed to the six official roads to watch the event never stopped shouting “Long live Your Majesty!”
Soldiers lined both sides of the road; no one could lift their heads while lying prostrate, but their eyes followed the line.
The procession entered Uijeongdae and turned west.
Then a little later it turned north again.
The people following behind were all buzzing with excitement.
They had just celebrated a bountiful Chuseok and were about to witness something they would brag about for the rest of their lives.
After passing Seochon, the line entered Japhatgol, home of the Changuimun, also called the North Small Gate.
The people could not follow.
Soldiers blocked the way.
“This is as far as you go. You may not come closer.”
“Why, my lord?”
“Above us is the Hwaryeok Military Academy, where today’s demonstration of the Hwaryeok Army’s power will take place.”
“What does that mean, my lord?”
“I don’t know the details. Ask no further.”
Yi Yeon had decided to build the Hwaryeok Military Academy close to Gyeongbokgung.
That way he could visit often.
So he had ordered a plot taken in the exact spot where the old Gyeongbok High School had once stood.
It was near his private research lab, the site had been cleared of graves, and it was ready for immediate development.
As the procession entered the vast open field after the mountain had been leveled, a thousand Hwaryeok soldiers shouted in unison:
“We see His Majesty!”
Too loud—the trumpet band fell silent and the courtiers shrank back in shock.
There were even horses spooked, but the guards quickly calmed them.
Yi Yeon stepped down from the palanquin and climbed onto the platform prepared for him.
‘How cool!’
The sight of a thousand soldiers lined up in neat rows left him breathless.
Until now the Hwaryeok Army had been training in a mountain valley on the eastern side of the Changuimun.
In Pyeongchang-dong, the area Koreans back home called a rich neighborhood.
It housed the state rice warehouse and was a dead-end street that no one had ever approached.
Yi Yeon raised his hand; the soldiers dropped to one knee and saluted:
“Loyalty!”
He placed his hand over his left heart and saluted back.
Shin Rip then shouted loudly:
“Rise!”
“Rise!”
The soldiers stood with perfect discipline.
Yi Yeon told Shin Rip:
“No time to waste. Let’s proceed immediately.”
“As you command, Your Majesty!”
Shin Rip walked forward carrying the funnel and flag he had made, the graduates spreading out behind him.
The Crown Prince’s guards escorted the officials and lined them up neatly on the side.
The whole operation moved with lightning speed, as if they had rehearsed it a hundred times.
Shin Rip raised the white flag and shouted:
“All units—form into the combat formation!”
The soldiers moved in perfect unison and spread out into a single line.
Only then could they see it: they weren’t carrying round bundles on their backs. Instead, they carried flat, rectangular packs.
Shin Rip lowered the white flag and raised the yellow one:
“All units—prepare for combat!”
The soldiers set the packs in front of them, opened them, and pulled out multi-barreled guns and ammunition.
Once everything was ready, Shin Rip turned and gave Yi Yeon a crisp military salute.
Yi Yeon smiled in satisfaction and nodded slightly.
When Shin Rip turned again, Yi Yeon told the courtiers beside him:
“You should plug your ears.”
“What?”
“You could damage your eardrums from the noise.”
“Ah…”
The courtiers thought of the grenades they had seen demonstrated and covered their ears tightly.
The other officials watching them touched their own ears lightly.
In that instant Shin Rip raised the red flag and shouted:
“One minute of firing!”
The Crown Prince’s guards quickly relayed the order.
“Fire!”
The two hands of the soldiers lined up twisted the firing strings with frantic speed.
“Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!”
The thunderous reports never stopped.
Soldiers who could fire more than ten rounds per minute were called “rapid-fire gunners” and received a 300-ryeol bonus plus a badge with a chicken head on it.
As a result, more than half the unit were now rapid-fire gunners.
‘A thousand soldiers fired over ten thousand rounds in one minute.’
Cavalry would have been wiped out the moment they charged.
Even ten thousand cavalry would melt away in an instant once he switched to lead bullets and then bullet-proof ones.
As predicted, the dummy figures wearing armor at fifty and one hundred meters in front of the Hwaryeok Army began disintegrating without a trace.
Thick white smoke filled the entire field and kept roaring like frying beans.
The courtiers couldn’t close their mouths in shock.
The graduates were no different.
The power they had only heard described had made every boast about swinging a sword or shooting a bow sound pathetic.
They finally understood.
Why the entrance exam had asked such questions.
And what the king had meant that morning.
‘If there is a military like this, there is nothing in the world to fear.’
He felt confident, but he was also afraid.
‘Will I be able to command an army like this?’
Jeong Yeo-lip unconsciously clenched his teeth.
Yi Sun-sin clenched both fists.
Only Gwon Yul, the oldest among the graduates, smiled with satisfaction.
The youngest, Hwang Jin, could barely contain his excitement.
‘Wow, that was amazing.’
Their thoughts were different, but everyone was buzzing with the same feeling.
The acrid smoke stung their eyes and lungs, but instead of making them stop, it only intensified their gazes.
It was a sight they would never forget.
Even the flying dirt that came with the smoke never reached them.
The courtiers were no different.
Some had crouched down in fear, but most had clenched their fists in excitement.
The trumpet band and soldiers waiting at the foot of the hill felt the same shock.
The people far away felt the same.
A sound they had never heard and smoke that rose like clouds accompanied by sparks of flame.
“What was that?”
“They said the Hwaryeok Army was demonstrating. They must have shot those multi-barreled guns.”
“For real?”
“Then what else?”
The people discussing it had tensed their shoulders.
If the enemy had done that, they would have been terrified. But the Hwaryeok Army was the Joseon army.
The news spread faster than lightning through every alley and every town.
“I heard the king has created an army of a thousand.”
“What kind of talk is that?”
“I heard the sky itself was surprised and the sun ran away inside the clouds.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“I don’t know the details, but the king’s thousand-man army can kill a hundred thousand troops with a single shot.”
“Really?”
“If that’s true, I can stretch my legs and sleep from now on.”
“How can you stretch your legs in a house that’s too small?”
“That’s what I’m thinking too. I was about to head to the Gongdan being built in Hanyang for that reason.”
“What kind of talk is that?”
Rumors always spread. The demonstration had now become a topic of Gongdan.
“You’ve never heard that living while staring at the ground is worse than going to the Gongdan to haul dirt and work?”
“I’ve heard that. And that even people like us can go?”
“Why not?”
“They said anyone who’s healthy can come.”
“For real?”
“For real. Anyway, I’m going to sort everything out and go. If you have the guts, come with me. You can’t live here your whole life while looking over your shoulder.”
After that day, the people flocked to Hanyang exactly as Yi Yeon had predicted.
With winter approaching, the numbers only grew.
Pak Sun, the governor of Hanseong, received the report and was stunned.
“How far ahead did you plan this?”
The king had ordered that each Gongdan should house fifty thousand people.
That way all the people flocking to Hanyang could be accommodated, and the Gongdans could be expanded around them to develop the nation.
“I made a terrible mistake…”
The total population of Hanyang was only about fifteen thousand.
So he had merely given a general answer and laid out a site that could hold thirty thousand.
That was enough to move everyone in the capital and still have room for newcomers.
“What now?”
At that moment the king’s earlier words flashed through his mind.
‘I can tolerate mistakes, but I cannot tolerate lies or hiding the truth.’
Pak Sun hurriedly put on his official robes and headed straight to Gyeongbokgung.
Because even a passing word from the young king had to be kept.