I Became the Crown Prince of a Ruined Country

74 – In Changseong

After entrusting the task of building the ship to the strong team of Yeo Hong-seong and Sima-sang, there was nothing to worry about anymore. It is truly an environment in which I can fully focus on my work.

The administration of Changseong-hyeon, the operation of the upper corps, and the construction of the ship were all entrusted to others, so it wasn’t that I had no work to do. Rather the opposite. I had a lot of work to do, so I had no choice but to leave it to other people.

In the first place, if I wanted to play, would I be here?

Kaang! Caang!

Chiiyiik-!

A sharp metal sound resounding as if it would shatter your hearing.

This is where I am.

It was the forge.

“Young master, are you here?”

Perhaps by now he was accustomed to my coming, Song-Eok, the head blacksmith and director of the forge, approached me and naturally started talking to me.

“How is the progress of what you instructed last time?”

“As Young master said, we are trying to change the proportions little by little, but we haven’t had any significant results yet. I’m sorry.”

“No. If you find something missing or something new, don’t hesitate to tell me.”

“I will definitely do that.”

I looked around the smithy after hearing a brief report from Song Eok about the work that had been done so far.

The sight of the blacksmiths apprenticed to Song Eok sweating profusely in front of the hot fire or striking red-hot iron blocks made the hearts of those watching warm.

‘No, it’s not because I’m in the mood, it’s really hot.’

But since I’ve been coming here steadily, I’ve gotten used to it a bit.

When I first came, it was hard to manage my real expression. Feeling the hot heat on my face and walking a tightrope for my life, I came to realize that although I was mentally tired, the environment in which I lived was not too bad.

‘And when I first came, I was more surprised at how similar it was to the one in my memory.’

There are two major methods of metal processing.

Casting (鑄造), in which a mold is made and molten metal is poured into it to shape it.

Forging in which metal is beaten or pressed into a desired shape.

Somehow, since casting is a simpler method than forging, I naturally thought that casting was the mainstream method in this era. It’s not particularly wrong, in fact, in Cho Nara, where I was, casting was still the basis.

But Yeon was different.

In the Yan Dynasty, the casting stage had already graduated and the forging method was adopted as the mainstream.

That wasn’t all. Wasn’t there more than the sound of hitting iron for forging when I entered the smithy?

The sound of hot metal being cooled by putting it in water.

Metallurgy in the Yan Dynasty had entered a stage where even quenching was utilized in forging.

Did you only develop forging? Nor was it. Although forging technology developed, better ironware was produced, but casting technology continued to develop as casting was still superior in terms of mass production.

To be honest, even if I listened to the explanation, I wouldn’t fully understand it, but according to Song Eok, the heat treatment technology for casting iron is the best in the world.

However, there were several things I knew better than Song Eok.

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One of them was the super-strong method that I instructed Song Eok just now.

You can say that you don’t know even if you listen to the explanation, but how do you know things like the super strong method?

It was used as a central material in a very famous historical drama. It was a historical drama about a person who founded Goguryeo, and the process of implementing the super-gangbeop, a steel manufacturing method developed in the Han Dynasty, combined with the actor’s passionate performance, gave a considerable catharsis.

Then, what’s so great about Super Strong Law?

To understand this, you first need to know about the types of iron.

Iron is largely classified into four types according to the carbon content, and in order of high carbon content, they are called cast iron – steel – soft iron – pure iron.

In other words, if there is a lot of carbon, it is cast iron, and if there is little, it is pure iron.

Although cast iron is hard, it is brittle due to its lack of ductility. As the name of cast iron suggests, it was well used for casting. However, cast iron was too brittle, so it was not suitable for weaponry. Conversely, pure iron is so soft that it is soft.

Therefore, what is needed is steel. The super-strong method was a way to mass-produce such steel.

There is no reason to be thirsty for bronze if you can secure a large amount of steel.

The problem is that I know roughly what the super-strong method that appeared in historical dramas is like, but I don’t know the exact proportions or detailed construction methods.

There’s nothing I can do about it, I have no choice but to leave it in the hands of the artisans.

However, since ancient times, it has been said that time and budget are the factors that determine the perfection of technology.

Since time and budget are in inverse proportion to each other, I believe that if you put in the income you collect through the upper management, you will definitely be able to develop it someday.

‘After the ship is completed, I’ll have to turn the budget a bit more this way.’

To obtain really good steel, it is not enough to simply implement super-strong methods. There were a few more things in my head that I wanted to try.

The reason why we are trying to deal with each project one by one rather than simultaneously is because the budget is also a budget, but there is not enough manpower. It was an inevitable phenomenon since there were not many people in Changseong-hyeon.

Sitting at the forge for a long time, I thought about how to further develop my skills in the future. Seeing the actual work at the forge, I felt like I could get more inspiration.

Do you know? Also, if you look at it like this, innovative technologies besides the super-strong method will come to mind.

But I guess today is not the day.

After roughly organizing my thoughts, I robbed my seat and got up.

“Then I’ll be on my way.”

“Oh, take a look.”

After leaving the forge with Song Eok seeing me off, I wandered aimlessly around Changseong without deciding where to go.

Walking helped me think of something, and it was also to see how the people of Changseong-hyeon lived and what they lacked.

‘As a rule, desire begins with deficiency. If you know what is inconvenient in your daily life, you can make and sell a product that complements it.’

There are already dozens of items distributed by the upper class, and there are very basic soaps, detergents, and medicines made from the Osuyu tree, but the natural environment is different in Yan.

Although the headquarters of the upper division is located in Cho Nara, and I have no intention of moving it right away, my most important foundation is probably Yan Na.

If I could alleviate the inconvenience of the people of Yan, I could have tried to expand my support and influence within Yan.

‘More than that, the real problem is Jingae…….’

If the development of metallurgy and shipbuilding is a battle of time and budget, the case of Jingae is an area where such material factors do not work.

Previously, in the case of Pyeongwon-gun and Sinreung-gun, there were certain benefits I could offer them, but Jingae didn’t deserve it.

But, like Yeompa or Imok, Pyeongwon-gun’s seal is not going to be eaten….

If you are from Maegol Gyeomjae and Hwang Hwang Dae, you can approach him in a way that appeals to his old affection, but Jin Gae was originally from the Yan Dynasty.

The problem is that there is another distance from being a pure Yan person. Like me, Jingae grew up in Donghu as a hostage since childhood, and he is said to have gained great trust there.

It was similar to how I received the trust and support of Pyeongwon-gun, the greatest magnate of Jo Nara, which was no different from an enemy.

Jin-gae, who grew up like that, later returns to the Yan Dynasty and subjugates Dong-ho as a general. It was also Qin Gai who managed the great civil works to extend the Great Wall of Yan to Yangping in Liaodong.

It was Jingae, who was called the left sword of King Soyang and was loyal, but at some point, it took root in Yodong and became a semi-independent force that was not interfered with by the court.

It was possible because he had such an overwhelming reputation in Yodong and also had the support of foreigners.

It wasn’t out of Yan’s control at all, but they were sending taxes regularly. There was no denying the king’s name. However, this is because he did not make unreasonable demands because he was afraid that the relationship would go wrong if he was hastily touched in the mediation.

If you look at the relationship between Jo Jung and Jin Gai, it’s like a relationship where each other keeps only what they need to protect. In the last Yan-Jo war, Liaodong did not send troops, but only supplies.

‘I can’t seem to find a sharp way.’

How can Jin-gae support me? The troubles continued until they arrived at the place of residence, but there was no particular harvest.

But you can’t just keep putting it off until you come up with a solution.

Since when did I start working after preparing all the countermeasures? There are some things that you have to do and see first.

And if it’s not a problem that can be solved with material things, wouldn’t it be a breakthrough to go there blindly?

‘If you go to Yodong, you might see a new road.’

Just like if you want to catch a tiger, you have to go to the tiger’s den.

If you can’t come up with a way to convince Jin-gae outside, let’s go inside.

Just like looking at the lives of the people today and trying to find new products from them.

‘After the ship is completed, it departs immediately.’