After examining the rail track factory, Hyang began to feel increasingly uneasy.

I’m getting more and more anxious about this. The Venerable Emperor’s words don’t seem to have been just foreshadowing.

Just before Hyang left for the New Frontier, Sejong had said something significant about it.

• There is something that will be Jang Yeong-sil’s last and the emperor’s beginning. Of course, the budget issues will give you a headache.

“At first I thought it was just about a few instruments, but it seems that’s not the case…”

With anxiety gradually rising, Hyang’s expression became increasingly serious.

“It’s not like I don’t know how the Venerable Emperor manipulates people. No, I know him too well.”

Sejong was the type of person who made his subordinates work as hard as he himself did.

And he didn’t just dump work on them and command, “Do it!”

He was the kind who accurately identified what someone liked and what they were good at, then placed them in the optimal position and assigned them work.

Or he would grasp a fatal weakness, shake it, and simultaneously offer an appropriate carrot—usually power—to make them work.

If Jinpyeong, Anpyeong, and Kim Jeom were prime examples of the former, Hwang Hui and Jo Mal-saeng were representative examples of the latter.

And Hyang was a combination of both.

Of course, the largest part was what Hyang had brought upon himself.

Hyang’s creation of the research institute and Area 51 was for the purpose of indulging his hobbies under the pretext of “enriching the country and strengthening the military.”

Since he had produced definite results in this area, Sejong never stopped supporting him.

However, Sejong had realized that Hyang was pursuing his hobbies through the research institute and Area 51.

And Sejong never let this go. Using the budget as a weapon, Sejong effectively controlled Hyang whenever necessary.

Additionally, Sejong made full use of Hyang’s position as Crown Prince.

Knowing this well, Hyang was beginning to feel increasingly anxious.

“Your Majesty, have you found some problem with this factory?”

Seeing Hyang’s increasingly serious expression, Jang On cautiously asked him.

Coming to his senses at Jang On’s question, Hyang shook his head.

“Not at all. I just have something to think about. Now that we’ve seen the track factory, let’s move on.”

“Yes, Your Majesty. Then I’ll escort you to the research and development buildings. Please board the imperial carriage.”

“Let’s do that…”

***

“You call these research and development buildings? Shouldn’t they be called a city rather than buildings?”

As soon as they arrived at the entrance and disembarked from the imperial carriage, Hyang asked Jang On with a dumbfounded expression at the scale of the research and development buildings. Beside him, Jinpyeong also nodded vigorously with a similar expression.

At Hyang’s assessment, Jang On replied with an embarrassed smile.

“Because this is a place where dangerous materials, gunpowder, and firearms are frequently used, we’ve spaced the buildings apart, resulting in this layout.”

“Area 51 in Seoul has a much tighter space, yet such incidents hardly ever occur there. Of course, spacing is good, but isn’t it better to give strict warnings about safety? If so much space is consumed from the beginning, won’t there be shortages later?”

“Since people tend to forget… the Venerable Emperor commanded that it would be better to space them out. And the Venerable Emperor said that if there’s no space for buildings, we can simply expand further outward.”

“Is that so? Then it can’t be helped.”

Everything leads back to the Venerable Emperor!

While grumbling inwardly, Hyang continued his observations.

“It’s good that you’ve secured safety by spacing out the buildings, and it’s also good that you’ve enlarged the buildings to provide ample space for manufacturing and experimentation. But with such vastness, moving equipment must be difficult. How did you solve that? Hmm… Did you build many mobile capstans?”

“We did build many capstans, but there are limitations to capstans alone.

So the former director created a new device.”

“A new device?”

As soon as he heard the words “new technology,” Hyang’s eyes lit up. Seeing Hyang’s reaction, Jang On was about to speak when a bell sound came from one side.

Ding-a-ling! Hiss! Hiss!

“That device is arriving just in time. There it is.”

At Jang On’s words, as Hyang examined the device in question, he inwardly exclaimed.

It’s a forklift!

“The former director and we called this device a forklift.”

Hearing the familiar name, Hyang’s expression involuntarily became dejected.

“I beg your pardon, but here, the forklift takes precedence over everything. I apologize, but please step back a little.”

As a forklift carrying a large piece of metal approached, Jang On moved Hyang’s party back. As they stepped back, the forklift passed in front of them.

“It’s quite a spectacle.”

Watching the forklift pass by, Hyang involuntarily uttered the word “spectacle.” And as Hyang said, it truly was a spectacle.

On either side of the slowly moving forklift’s front, people with red flags walked ahead, whistles in their mouths, watching left and right.

And on both sides of the forklift’s cab, artisans hung, monitoring the surroundings. Next to the chimney emitting black smoke, a small bell was constantly ringing.

After the forklift passed, Jang On began his explanation.

“While capstans are useful, their arms are long, which poses many constraints.”

“That’s true.”

Hyang nodded at Jang On’s words. The arm, corresponding to the boom of a modern crane, was quite long. Therefore, while it was convenient to use in open spaces, there were various constraints in spaces like building interiors.

With Hyang’s positive response, Jang On’s voice grew more confident.

“However, in the case of the forklift, it has teeth like the branches of a jige (carrying frame) attached underneath, which has fewer spatial constraints. Thanks to this, it can be very useful when lifting and lowering items and assembling and disassembling in the development building. Also, it’s truly convenient because we can easily lift or lower items when maintaining them.”

“I see. But I don’t recall receiving any reports about the forklift?”

At Hyang’s pointed question, Jang On’s face turned pale as he answered with a stammering voice.

“W-well, the Venerable Emperor, who saw the jige, instructed us not to report until we had confirmed that it could be properly utilized.”

“Hmm… I understand.”

Hyang could only nod with a groan. What could he say when it was done on Sejong’s orders?

This is no longer suspicion but certainty…

As Hyang was grumbling inwardly, Jinpyeong interjected.

“Seeing things like this, I suspect there might be some remarkable iron horses as well, don’t you think?”

“The former director contemplated this, and there is one prototype being made now.”

At Jang On’s answer, Jinpyeong immediately turned to Hyang.

“Brother, I mean, Your Majesty!”

“Sigh~ Alright, let’s go. Lead the way.”

“Yes. Please board the imperial carriage.”

***

The imperial carriage carrying Hyang’s party arrived at the iron horse development building. Disembarking from the carriage, Hyang looked at the enormous iron horse development building with a dejected expression.

“I’m not even surprised anymore.”

“Your Majesty! Let’s go inside quickly!”

“Alright, let’s go.”

Guided inside the development building, Hyang whistled lightly upon seeing iron horses being assembled or completed.

“Whew~ They look as sturdy as those made in the homeland.”

“The first ones we made were quite terrible, but now I’m confident they’re not lacking.”

Listening to Jang On’s confident answer while examining the iron horse, Hyang looked at the large wedge-shaped pilot attached to the iron horse and asked Jang On.

“The pilot is much larger than those in the homeland?”

“The deer and bison in the New Frontier are quite large, so we attached a larger pilot.”

“But the deer living in the northeastern forest region of the homeland are also quite large?”

“These are even larger.”

“Hmm…”

Searching his memory as he listened to Jang On’s words, Hyang nodded.

That’s true… The deer I saw during my American tour just before returning from my runaway incident were quite large.

Reflecting on the memory of the super-large accident he had in the 21st century, Hyang nodded and turned to Jang On.

“That’s possible. So, is this usable?”

“It’s usable at moderate speeds. However, there are limitations because in the areas where rails are laid, deer roam in groups of tens or hundreds, and in the southern regions currently being pioneered, herds of bison roam in groups of hundreds or thousands.

So when such large herds of animals are around, it’s best to either stop momentarily and wait for them to pass or chase them away and then increase speed as much as possible to make up for the delay.”

“There was hardly any such incident when I came this time?”

At Hyang’s observation, Jang On immediately replied.

“The cavalry probably took care of it in coordination with your timing.”

“Ah, I see…”

Nodding lightly at Jang On’s answer, Hyang pointed out another issue.

“With the current iron horses, there must be a limit to how much the speed can be increased?”

At Hyang’s point, Jinpyeong beside him nodded vigorously. Jinpyeong’s biggest complaint was the speed of the iron horses.

The speed of commonly used iron horses was similar to that of a galloping horse.

It wasn’t slow, but considering the vast plains of the Northern Territory, faster iron horses were needed!

This was the consensus among railway officials, and Area 51 was also continuously making improvements to address this.

At Hyang’s point, Jang On smiled slightly and replied.

“That’s why the former director contemplated this.”

With these words, Jang On gave a hand signal to the artisans standing behind him. Seeing Jang On’s hand signal, the artisans soon ran somewhere.

A moment later, the door of one of the garages attached to the development building opened, and an iron horse appeared.

Wheeeeeee!

The iron horse that appeared blew its whistle loudly. Seeing the iron horse, Hyang’s eyes widened as much as possible, and Jinpyeong, filled with joy, shouted.

“That’s right! This is an iron horse!”

The newly revealed iron horse boasted an enormous size.

“It makes the current iron horses look like children.”

“Yes, it’s a bit larger.”

“A bit isn’t the right word…”

At the word “bit,” Hyang shook his head back and forth.

To think I would see a high-speed steam locomotive in this era…

The massive iron horse before Hyang’s eyes had a shape and size similar to the monstrous steam locomotives that roamed in the twilight of steam locomotives in the 1930s.

“This is it! This is exactly it!”

Unlike Jinpyeong, who was gleefully excited seeing the massive iron horse, Hyang carefully examined it and asked Jang On questions.

“It’s quite large… How many stokers do you employ?”

“Two. However, for smooth operation, it’s set to carry four. We also plan to have not one but three drivers.”

“Three drivers?”

“One handles the iron horse, one monitors the surroundings, and the last one rests.”

At Jang On’s words, Hyang immediately pointed out an issue.

“For safety, make it four. Monitoring the surroundings also consumes tremendous mental energy.”

“I understand.”

“That makes the resting space an issue…”

At Hyang’s observation, Jang On showed a small space created between the iron horse and the tender.

“We’ve created small rooms on both sides for resting spaces. And here is the toilet.”

“That’s good…”

Hyang’s face grew increasingly serious as he nodded.

This looks like it would have consumed an enormous budget… This is infuriating!

Hyang had had to endure tremendous criticism whenever he had requested time and budget from Sejong in the past.

And that same person! Wow! This is unfair!

Hyang’s face wrinkled with an inexplicable sense of injustice.