Chapter 153
One of the standards used in history to measure a nation’s level of civilization is its steel production.
They say that countries producing large quantities of steel have greater industrial capabilities and superior productivity.
As far as I can tell, that is not wrong.
Indeed, every period of rapid development in human history has been accompanied by a sharp increase in iron production.
“Ironworks Director, molten iron will soon pour out of the blast furnace!”
There may not be a single project or business in this world that can afford to fail...
But as far as I am concerned, I sincerely hope this ironworks succeeds, whatever else may happen.
If an ironworks is established here in Jeryeong, Hwanghae Province, and operates successfully, this place will become the starting point from which ironworks of similar or even greater scale will be built throughout the country.
Then steel production will continue to increase, and once exactly twenty years or so have passed...
It will become possible to equip every Joseon soldier with a dujeonggap that can properly stop bullets and arrows, rather than a paper-stuffed jipogeomsimgap.
Just imagining it makes my heart race.
Even if our current technological limitations make it impossible to send tanks racing across the Manchurian plains and through China...
Imagining Joseon legions heavily armed with dujeonggap conquering the Central Plains puts me in an excellent mood.
“Open the blast furnace!”
Not long after those words were heard, molten iron began gushing from the blast furnace.
When we first succeeded at the ironworks near the iron mine we had built in Pocheon, both Jang Yeong-sil and Jeong Bun celebrated by shouting manse at the tops of their lungs.
But today, for some reason, both of them were quiet.
Perhaps because this was their second success, they were not overwhelmed by the same immense emotion as the first time.
No—even so, their eyes had already grown red.
I would have to pretend not to notice, at least today.
“Once this molten iron cools, we should put it straight into the reverberatory furnace. That will remove the impurities from the iron one more time and allow us to obtain steel or wrought iron.”
The craftsman in charge of the site nodded and replied.
“Yes, my lord. In particular, to conduct experiments with the newly installed reverberatory furnace at the Jeryeong Ironworks, we prepared some pig iron in advance. We adjusted the process so that refining would finish just as molten iron began pouring from the blast furnace. Come over here and see for yourself.”
The craftsman in charge led me to a reverberatory furnace shaped like a gigantic hearth.
In fact, its actual structure was similar to that of a hearth or an ondol.
There was a separate place for putting in charcoal and a separate place where the iron melted.
The inside of the reverberatory furnace was designed so that the flames did not directly touch the iron; instead, the iron melted using only the heat produced by combustion.
Four artisans took turns pumping the bellows there, working diligently while constantly adding charcoal.
It would be possible to operate this with only two people if we wanted to minimize the labor...
But if we ran it with two people, they would have to work for fifteen hours without resting at all, doing nothing but pumping the bellows and adding charcoal.
‘Someone will die.’
For that reason, each reverberatory furnace was staffed by four people—two skilled craftsmen and two unskilled workers.
They were instructed to work in pairs and take turns.
“Even with four people assigned to a single reverberatory furnace, it looks incredibly exhausting.”
“This is no ordinary task, my lord.”
The craftsmen responsible for the reverberatory furnace worked as sweat poured from their entire bodies.
“The iron has melted completely!”
When one of the craftsmen said this, molten iron immediately poured out from beneath the reverberatory furnace.
This was the decarburization process: as the charcoal burned, the carbon on the surface oxidized into carbon monoxide, minimizing the carbon within the iron.
Once that cooled, it would probably become steel.
At that moment, everyone’s gaze turned toward Jang Yeong-sil at once.
Since Jang Yeong-sil was the one who had designed the blast furnace and reverberatory furnace, judging whether they had succeeded or failed was his responsibility as well.
“It is a success. Congratulations, Ironworks Director.”
“Excellent. Then from now on, we should build two more blast furnaces and about sixty more reverberatory furnaces of the same size.”
“Yes, I must have misheard...?”
“You heard correctly. I said that we must build two blast furnaces and sixty reverberatory furnaces. We need at least that many if we are to equip even the soldiers serving in Pyeongan and Hamgyeong with breastplates by the year after next.”
"That will require an enormous amount of wood for fuel. Will that be all right?"
It is said that Britain cut down more and more of its trees in pursuit of industrial development until it nearly brought the country to ruin.
Joseon also logged so much after the eighteenth century that its forests seemed on the verge of disappearing, causing natural disasters such as landslides to increase dramatically and one side effect after another to arise... We would have to take measures.
That is why I have insisted that we find bituminous coal in southern Manchuria, a region where Joseon can exert a certain degree of influence, to use instead of firewood for fuel.
Within the next three or four years, bituminous coal would be used here in place of wood charcoal or charcoal as well.
"I hear that very high-quality coal is found in Liaodong, north of Hwanghae Province—that is, near the border. Jurchen prisoners also say that black stones that burn well are found there, so I intend to try using them. And for now, the important thing is to produce large quantities of iron. We will not be able to use coal as it is, so Lord Jang Hogun will have to research how to process it as well."
Joseon currently cannot properly supply its soldiers with weapons and armor because its productive capacity is insufficient, not because the budget is too small to arm them properly.
So if we supply them with plenty of iron and make use of Hanyang’s various workshops, where division of labor has been introduced, along with the Military Supplies Office...
We should probably be able to provide at least breastplates to the soldiers serving on the front lines in about two years.
It was obvious that the Minister of Taxation would foam at the mouth when he heard this plan, but what could I do?
I had already determined that it was sufficiently feasible after examining the flow of the Ministry of Taxation’s budget over the past two years, and His Majesty King Sejong and Yi Bang-won, who practically gnash their teeth at the Jurchens, would approve it as well.
.......
Jang Yeong-sil stood there, staring blankly like a man who had fainted.
“And Assistant Administrator Jeong (Jeong Bun) will manage the civil-engineering work at the ironworks, so I do not think there is any need for Lord Jang Hogun to devote himself to building the blast furnaces and reverberatory furnaces. Come to the site and supervise things for only about two and a half shijin (five hours) a day, discussing whatever needs to be discussed with the craftsmen building the blast furnaces and reverberatory furnaces. Spend the rest of your time making things such as spinning machines, looms, and cotton gins.”
“Yes, my lord.”
When a person suddenly takes on too many tasks, they are liable to go into shock and become depressed.
In such a state, they cannot work properly, and their efficiency drops sharply.
Besides, it was not as though Jang Yeong-sil had accepted bribes like Jo Mal-saeng and been sentenced to lifelong forced labor...
If he had been shocked, depressed, and dejected, I needed to give him new motivation and restore his vitality.
“Lord Jang Hogun.”
“Yes, my lord.”
“I heard that you were extremely poor when you were young. Do you still remember those days?”
“How could I ever forget them?”
“When I was magistrate of Jinhae, the poor would say that the agony of hunger was a pain no one could understand without experiencing it, and that there was no misery like shivering in the cold and going to sleep in winter because one had no proper clothes to wear.”
When we think of the Industrial Revolution, the first thing that comes to mind is the steam engine, but few people know that the first thing made using steam engines was clothing.
In premodern times, a family was considered middle class if every member could afford to buy and wear new clothes once a year.
That was why, as soon as clothing began to be mass-produced with the power of steam engines, countries throughout Europe, including France and Germany, bought it without fail.
Even when supply exceeded demand, it sold like crazy because there was even more demand beyond that.
“If Lord Jang Hogun properly produces the cotton gin, spinning machine, and loom, the number of people shivering in the winter cold will be greatly reduced.”
“Will it not disappear entirely?”
“There is such a thing as poverty that no country can eradicate, no matter how hard it tries. Not everyone will be able to wear warm clothes through the winter. However, people now take it for granted that commoners freeze to death in winter, whereas once the three tools I mentioned are produced, such deaths will be regarded as extremely shocking. That is because even the poor will be able to prepare padded cotton clothes for the winter.”
The greatest reason clothing was scarce in premodern times was the labor it required.
Raw materials such as wool and cotton were relatively plentiful, but making clothes required far too much labor.
More precisely, weaving thread into cloth required an insane amount of labor.
This problem would be largely resolved once the spinning machine, loom, and cotton gin were invented.
“I understand, my lord.”
I could see the flames of motivation burning in Jang Yeong-sil’s eyes once more.
As I always say, when assigning someone a task, it is incredibly important to explain why they are doing it and how important it is.
“Heaven knows how hard you work and what a splendid job you are doing; the earth knows, and His Majesty knows it very well too. This time as well, I will submit a memorial reporting that the work entrusted to Lord Jang Hogun is a task capable of saving tens of thousands of people.”
After praising him like that, it was time to give him the ‘money’ that would put his mind at ease.
In plain terms, anyone could make a speech sound impressive, so words alone did not provide much comfort...
But money possessed enough power to justify even the dreadful meddling that came with holiday visits.
Once you lifted someone’s spirits and moved them with words, then gave them money as well, no one could resist.
“Take this.”
“What is this?”
“It is a small silver ingot. The Lord of Tsushima sent it to me... Use it to supplement your household finances.”
Silver was extraordinarily precious in Joseon at this time.
How precious was it? Joseon could endure paying tribute in ten thousand warhorses, but it could not endure paying tribute in gold and silver.
So receiving this would surely move him deeply.
“May I really accept this?”
“I am giving it to you privately because I know how hard Lord Jang Hogun has worked. What problem could there be?”
Oh, and our household had far more small silver ingots than this.
The Lord of Tsushima sent them from time to time through our brother-in-law’s merchant group based in Jinhae.
I had merely given that man some ‘information Joseon could never know,’ but seeing him continue to bow his head so obsequiously even now...
As expected, information was king.
“Assistant Administrator Jeong (Jeong Bun), leave work as you are today. As for Jikjang Yi Sun-ji, calculate only the number of laborers needed here today, the wages to be paid to them, and the cost of building the houses, then leave work as well. All the craftsmen except those who must guard the blast furnace right now should go to Mandeok’s Tavern. I have already promised to pay, so eat and drink as much as you like there, whether it is liquor or meat. Come back to work the day after tomorrow.”
When spending, it was important to spend generously, and when working people hard, it was important to encourage them so they could grow beyond their limits.
When you did that, people ended up performing beyond their limits.