The Innovation and Revolution (13)
On the first day of the eleventh lunar month in 1569, Yi Yeon married Lady Park, whose heart was as kind as her appearance suggested. He had been delighted beyond measure, inwardly exclaiming “Wow! Wow!” several times over. After all, he had met countless beauties in his previous life, but never one like this. Her height was extraordinary. “It looks like she’ll top one hundred and sixty centimeters.” Thanks to the diligent height-training he had begun upon ascending the throne and her excellent diet, Yi Yeon himself stood nearly six chi—around 180 centimeters. Yet her headdress still brushed his eyes. Her figure was likewise impressive. Since sugar and flour were almost unheard of in this age, her looks echoed the women revered in his past as the “bagel beauties.” The same word, “good-natured,” but the era had simply shifted its standards. Moreover, her smile was radiant, as bright as her porcelain skin. Her voice, when she spoke shyly, was pleasant to hear. It was no wonder he had fallen for her so quickly. For the time being, however, he had only held her hand and slept beside her. It had taken time to overcome the mental chasm between worlds. Now, as spring approached, Yi Yeon prepared to head for Ganghwado. “I shall return soon,” he said. “I pray with all my heart that Your Majesty will achieve your wish and come back safely,” replied Queen Insun, her voice trembling with quiet worry. When no news of the expected child arrived, she had grown timid. Yi Yeon stepped forward and embraced her tightly. “I’ll be back before you know it. Don’t fret.” “I understand, Your Majesty.” He kissed her forehead and left the palace, ignoring the shocked stares of the palace maids. * * * * It had been ages since he had set foot in Hwado Port. Yi Yeon made straight for the shipyard. The modified hanok ship had reportedly been completed. As he silently examined the new vessel, Yi I could not contain himself. “Your Majesty, what do you think?” The shipyard had been built by digging canals and piling embankments along the tidal flats. It used a semi-dry dock system. The overall length was just over one hundred meters, with half of it—fifty meters—flooded by the tide. Yi Yeon tapped the bulbous bow that protruded like a dolphin’s mouth. “The lines are handsome, but I wonder how it will perform.” “I share that curiosity, Your Majesty. Therefore, shall we conduct the launch?” “It might fail, you know. Are you sure?” Yi I surveyed the site with confident assurance. “So many people have examined it dozens of times. If it fails, we shall accept Heaven’s will and improve it.” No one but Yi I would have spoken so boldly. Who would dare to build a ship out of iron? Yet Yi I knew how to calculate displacement, and his confidence flowed from that knowledge. He had worked out that even with iron plates twice as thick as those currently in use, the hull would never sink. Seeing this, Yi Yeon made his decision. “Excellent! Then let us proceed with the launch at once.” He had not informed the ministers of what he planned. Yet this was the world’s—and Joseon’s—first ironclad ship launch. Even if it had been built by bolting iron girders to a wooden hull and welding steel plates, the occasion still demanded a grand ceremony. When the signal was given, everyone sprang into action. While Yi Yeon ascended the platform reserved for the launch, the laborers hastily untied the ropes that held the vessel and removed the wedges supporting the rollers made of logs. A series of deep “krung” sounds echoed from all sides, as if begging to be sent out to sea. Of course, they could not simply be released. Wearing a flowing dragon robe of white silk embroidered with gold, Yi Yeon followed the ship’s guide and performed the proper kowtow. Though he could have dismissed the formalities, he carried them out faithfully. After all, a monarch who led countless subjects knew that such rituals were essential. He then raised a clear glass bottle filled with moon-flavored liquor and shouted, “Heoxin! Protect this country of Joseon!” With all his strength he hurled the bottle toward the new ship he had named Heoxin. —Crack! The bottle shattered on the sharp prow and fell away. Every onlooker let out a thunderous cheer. “Waaah…” They had vowed to cheer only after the vessel was safely afloat, yet the moment had come. Yi Yeon lifted his hand in response. He picked up a gilded axe. “Heoxin! Now I release you. Roam freely across the oceans!” A finger-thick rope was chopped through. The massive log rolled free and struck the hull with a dull boom. —Thud… The great bronze propeller behind the ship began to submerge. At the same moment, drummers struck their instruments while the men danced wildly. The spectators, hearts pounding, clenched their fists tightly, yet the rollers continued to roll. The Heoxin slid smoothly into the water and then rocked left and right, carving enormous waves. Yet it showed no sign of sinking. Instead, it stood proud and steady. Only then did everyone erupt into mad cheers. “Waaah…” “Long live the Cheon! Long live the Cheon! Long live the Cheon!” “Long live the Great Joseon!” “Long live! Long live!” “Long live the Great Joseon!” “Long live! Long live!” Everyone chanted along with the cry of “long live” as if in chorus. Yi Yeon smiled contentedly and waved his hand once more. No one here would have carried the news to Ming. They were all those who believed Joseon stood supreme. Therefore, there was no need to hide anything. It was simply a moment to be savored. Amid the chanting and cheering, a deep boom echoed from the Heoxin. Slowly, the ship began to move and moored at the end of the Ganghwado pier. At that very moment, Yi I hurried up to the emperor, bowed deeply, and reported, “Your Majesty, I shall take my leave.” “Why so formal?” “My, Your Majesty?” Startled, Yi Yeon grinned and shrugged off his dragon robe. “Stay here. I will return.” “I cannot permit it, Your Majesty. It is far too dangerous.” “Even though it is floating so well?” “Still, it is impossible. This is the maiden voyage. Who knows what might happen?” “So that is why I am going. In this weather, even if something goes wrong with the ship, I can swim well enough to make it back. Not you, of course.” “H-however…” Ignoring Yi I’s protest, Yi Yeon descended the pier. He had waited too long for this moment to restrain himself. “Your Majesty! Your Majesty!” Yi I called out helplessly and followed. Behind him came Kim Ji and Jeong Geol, while the palace guards flanked them in pursuit. No one dared block the path of the king. When Yi Yeon reached the end of the pier, he rapped his knuckles against the outer hull. —Clang! The heavy metallic ring brought a satisfied nod. He had saved acetone and phenol over the years specifically to paint the Heoxin. Although the hull was made of magnesium-coated steel plates that would corrode in seawater, he had produced dense hydrochloric and sulfuric acids to create Bisphenol A. He had also fermented corn to produce glycerol and then reacted it under high temperature and pressure to yield Epichlorohydrin. “With this BPA and ECH, I can finally make epoxy resin.” He added copper oxide to the newly created epoxy and applied the resulting paint to the bottom of the hull. To prevent barnacles. For the upper hull he used a limestone-and-graphite-filled epoxy that would not show in the water as gray. A more heat-resistant, waterproof, and chemical-resistant paint was still beyond reach. —Squeak! Someone opened a hatch midway along the Heoxin. It was Na Dae-yong. He leaned out, spotted the king, and immediately dropped into a deep bow. “I-I greet Your Majesty.” “Did you captain this ship?” “Yes, Your Majesty. I am the one who swims best and has the sturdiest frame, so I was chosen for the first voyage.” Many others who had never even tested the ship boarded with him. A sixty-meter-long vessel with a fifteen-meter beam. Alone, one could not operate the steam engine, connect the propeller shaft, or even scan the surroundings. Following Na Dae-yong’s guidance, Yi Yeon climbed the ladder straight to the upper deck. At last the vast deck opened before him. “How many men operate each cannon?” “A crew of five, Your Majesty. For the smaller guns, two men each.” “Perfect!” The Heoxin carried eight one-hundred-millimeter swivel cannons and eight sixty-millimeter cannons, all balanced. A total of fifty-six men were required to man them. While Yi I ascended, his worried eyes fixed on the king. Yi Yeon deliberately looked away and pointed to another ship still under construction at another yard. “When will that vessel be finished?” “Even if it takes a month, all work will be completed, Your Majesty.” “Can it be done in two weeks?” “I am deeply honored, yet it would be difficult.” “Is it not enough to simply lay the upper deck?” “That may be true, but the operating method differs.” “Surely you did not install two propeller shafts?” “That is correct, Your Majesty.” “Magnificent! Truly magnificent…” Grinning proudly, Yi I raised a thumbs-up. He had once told Yi Yeon that installing two propeller shafts would allow the ship to move sideways as well as fore and aft, like a crab. Turning in place was the easiest. The revolutionary ship, which he had compared to a turtle with its lid sealed, was already being built with two propeller shafts. “A warship that sweeps across the battlefield.” “Could the steel plating be of different thicknesses?” “No, Your Majesty. We have fastened thick wooden planks together in double layers.” “Won’t the interior become cramped?” “All sixty-millimeter cannons are already installed, and we have added another deck. It is fine.” “Still, a powerful main armament will be needed, won’t it?” “That task can be left to the Heoxin, I believe.” “I suppose so…” Disappointment flickered in his voice. Just as he had imagined a combination of the hanok ship and the turtle ship would dominate the battlefield, the revolutionary ship lacked the one-hundred-millimeter cannons needed for a devastating broadside. “What if we mounted two one-hundred-millimeter cannons at the bow and two at the stern?” “I would love to, but the recoil would be too severe.” “Because the ship is unbalanced fore and aft?” “Exactly, Your Majesty.” Although a rhythm machine that could draw out steel was available, forging cannons from steel was no simple matter. Nodular-cast-iron cannons were easy to make—just pour molten iron into a mold and spin it. Steel cannons required shaping a massive heated ingot by hammering, then milling it on a lathe. Yet the moment they faced the explosive force of cordite—three times stronger than black powder—the nodular cast iron shattered. That was why they had decided on steel cannons, but they had not even finished the lathe. Still, they were using nodular-cast-iron guns, but with reduced powder charges. The range had nevertheless increased because the instant expansion of cordite far surpassed that of black powder. That was also why the revolutionary ship could not carry one-hundred-millimeter cannons. The recoil was so violent that even the recoil mechanism would have to be placed amidships, which was impossible. Finally the Heoxin set sail. As it moved, it fired one cannon after another—sixty-millimeter, then one-hundred-millimeter. The southern marker buoy on Seogmo Island, two kilometers away, was already riddled with holes. “Truly magnificent.” “All credit belongs to Your Majesty’s teachings, Your Majesty. Without your explanation of the recoil mechanism, we would never have been able to fire so steadily.” Once again Yi I gave every accomplishment to the king. It was the kind of speech only a genius like Yi I would make—sometimes it sounded like mockery. “But isn’t this an iron hull?” “Of course, Your Majesty.” “It fits the name so well…” While the ship sailed, Yi Yeon watched the cannons firing continuously without pause and took a deep breath. This was merely an experiment; the ingots were being thrown away. But if he sent shells packed with explosives, the world would turn to hell. Still, he could not yield. “There is no choice…” Looking at the setting sun sinking toward Tsushima, Yi Yeon hoped the daimyo of Tsushima would make a wise judgment. * * * *