Thanks to Hyang’s decision to ‘pay to win’, the number of personnel at the research institutes swelled rapidly. The initial handful of scholars, international students, and researchers, who had numbered just over one hundred in total, had grown to a staggering scale of nearly thirty thousand by Hyeon’s reign.
This was not, however, a reckless or indiscriminate expansion.
“The reason the pace of scientific and technological advancement accelerated from the 18th to the 19th century, and again from the 19th to the 20th, and even more so into the 21st, was the concentration of talent and capital.”
Hyang based his model on the ‘Manhattan Project.’ He shaped his strategy after that project, which brought together exceptionally brilliant manpower in one place, allocated a colossal budget, and delivered results in a remarkably short time.
His grand scheme was simple: gather verified personnel in one location and force them to compete. He knew they would all strive desperately to seize the carrots of honor and wealth, and in doing so, time itself could be compressed. All he needed to be was the conductor.
And he had executed this scheme exactly as planned.
But the most critical factor enabling the success of Hyang’s scheme was the deep pockets of both Hyang himself and the Imperial Household. They personally covered at least half of the institutes’ operational budgets. Thanks to this, the researchers were free from the pressure of the royal court, symbolized by the Ministry of Finance.
“What’s that? ‘Refrain from research because it costs too much?'”
“No, that’s not… We just believe it is right to focus on experiments and research that are more beneficial to the state…”
“And do you possess the insight to determine what is ‘more beneficial’?”
“…”
“Hah! Fine! In that case, I shall fund it with my own private wealth!”
Because this was his standard response, the court could no longer interfere recklessly with the research institutes. This was not to say the Imperial Household was simply burning money. Even if a submitted solution wasn’t a world-changing The Foolish Old Man Moves Mountains, one rated A Lone Army Fights Hard or Grinding an Axe to Make a Needle could, once properly commercialized, return an enormous profit.
However, there was one place left behind by this policy: the Confucian Research Institute (Institute of Neo-Confucian Studies). Tasked with the study of various Confucian philosophies, including Neo-Confucianism, its staff had barely grown from an initial fifty members to just two hundred.
In contrast, the ‘Academy of History’ and the ‘Academy of Statecraft’, both established during Grand Emperor Wan’s reign, had become far larger. The current Emperor and the court had their excuses.
“The Academy of History and the Academy of Statecraft must cover more than just one or two disciplines!”
The Academy of History, for instance, studied diverse fields like ‘Military History’ and ‘Architectural History’. The Academy of Statecraft likewise conducted academic research into complex matters such as ‘Production and Distribution’, ‘The Sound Circulation of Capital’, and ‘The Distinction Between Investment and Speculation’.
But the biggest reason for the Confucian Institute’s stagnation was that the shadow of the ‘Giyu Rebellion’ still loomed large.
***
Regardless of this internal political background, the discovery of ‘oxygen’ could be seen as the most significant fruit of their labor.
“Is air a single substance, or is it a mixture of multiple substances?”
“Is the world truly composed of the five Elements?”
While addressing this problem documented in the Challenge Records, oxygen was discovered. Upon verifying the report, or rather the academic paper, Hyang and Hyeon called together the scholars and researchers involved, offering them high praise.
Later, having returned to his chambers, Hyang wore an expression of firm resolve.
“Now that we have oxygen, it’s time to unleash a little more.”
***
The first thing Hyang targeted was the steam engines installed on the Navy’s warships, starting with the new destroyers. The oils produced from refining petroleum were militarily superior to coal in several ways.
First, it is much safer than coal. When using coal, the firebox of the combustion chamber had to be kept open constantly, as stokers were always shoveling coal. This frequently led to safety accidents from sparking embers. However, using refined petroleum oils like light oil meant the firebox did not need to be kept open, making it far safer.
Second, more of it can be stored. With coal, it was impossible to completely fill a warship’s coal bunker. Even if it looked full, significant empty space existed between the individual lumps of coal. Refined petroleum, being a liquid, had no such issue.
But it had drawbacks as well.
While safer than coal, it is not perfectly safe.
A series of accidents, both large and small, occurred during the petroleum distillation and storage processes, forcing the Empire to devise countermeasures. The officials in charge of this grumbled, clicking their tongues.
“Is there no such thing as a perfect fuel?”
“I really thought we were done with the kinds of problems we had with coal…”
As coal had become widely used for everything from ‘iron horses’ (trains) to residential heating, accidents like dust explosions and gas poisoning had become frequent. Naturally, Hyang had expended great effort to prevent such accidents, but they could not be completely eliminated due to issues of public awareness and technological limitations.
However, in the process of experiencing those accidents, many artisans had created new technologies and devices to find solutions, while officials had established new laws and regulations. Hyang, receiving reports on this, clicked his tongue and muttered, “Tsk. The saying ‘Safety regulations are written in blood’ didn’t come from nowhere. People just don’t learn until they’ve paid the price…”
And now, similar problems were cropping up again with petroleum.
Still, after weighing all the pros and cons, refined petroleum was vastly more useful than coal, leading the Imperial Navy to adopt it—specifically heavy oil—as its standard fuel.
And this was where Hyang “added his MSG.”[3]
The fact that ‘fire needs air to burn’ had been known for a long time. Consequently, petroleum-fueled steam engines were already equipped with blowers to supply air for combustion. Hyang summoned the researchers and technicians in charge of producing the naval steam engines.
“They tell me that this substance in the air called ‘oxygen’ is required for combustion, and the more oxygen there is, the better the combustion.”
“Is that so?”
“The problem is that, for now, it’s difficult to isolate only the oxygen. So, I was thinking: the more air we force in, the more oxygen we get, wouldn’t you agree?”
At Hyang’s words, the researchers and artisans fell into thought. Amid the silence, one of the artisans spoke up.
“Come to think of it… that must be the same reason we use bellows in the forge.”
“Aha!”
And so, the researchers and artisans began work on improving the blower attached to the combustion chamber. What emerged was a type of ‘supercharger’.
When the Sea Seal, refitted with this new supercharged steam engine, displayed even greater maneuverability, the Imperial Navy officially adopted the new engine.
***
The second project Hyang “spiced up” was the self-propelled torpedo. He summoned Da Vinci and got straight to the point.
“…And so, the gist is that this ‘oxygen’ in the air is necessary for combustion. Does that give you any ideas?”
“Hmm, I’m not sure.”
Seeing Da Vinci tilt his head, Hyang elaborated.
“What if we put a tank full of this air into the torpedo’s propulsion section, along with a suitable fuel…”
“Ah!”
Before Hyang could even finish his sentence, Da Vinci’s eyes began to glitter fiercely.
“If we do that, we won’t need to use gunpowder as a propellant!”
“Exactly, right? Look into it.”
“Yes!”
Da Vinci replied energetically and rushed back to Area 51 to summon Kang Baek-du and Master Gong. After hearing the idea from Da Vinci, Kang Baek-du and Master Gong stroked their chins, calculating the possibilities.
“It seems plausible…”
As Master Gong gave his positive assessment, Kang Baek-du slapped a hand to his forehead.
Why didn’t I think of this?
In any case, Da Vinci’s team, armed with the hint from Hyang, began to overhaul the torpedo once more. After much trial and error, they finally succeeded in creating a plausible propulsion system. It consisted of a high-pressure air tank, a tank for the fuel (high-purity alcohol), a combustion chamber, and a turbine that converted the exhaust gas from the combustion into motive power.
The torpedo, fitted with its new engine, immediately entered testing.
“The depth keeping is the problem…”
“If we can just solve that part, I think we’ve almost got it…”
After reviewing the results, Da Vinci and his team buckled down once again to solve the challenge of ‘depth keeping’.
***
Hyang continued to sprinkle his “MSG” far and wide. His next target was the Imperial Army.
“What do you think about replacing the steam engines in the assault vehicles and artillery tractors?”
“We are already researching that, Your Majesty.”
“Oh, are you?”
The Imperial Army, having observed the Navy’s progress, was already seriously considering an engine replacement of its own. The problem of requiring stokers to feed coal to the steam engines was just as much an issue for the Army.
If we can just get rid of the stokers, we can reduce the vehicle’s size and strengthen its armor. And according to those Navy bastards, the new steam engine is more powerful. That means we can mount bigger and more powerful cannons. Well, we have to make the switch then, don’t we?
This was the biggest reason the Imperial Army decided to change its engines. Later, when Hyang heard the Army’s reasoning, he clapped a hand to his forehead.
“These deep-rooted cannonphiles…”
***
Hyang’s touch was not limited to the military. A new assignment was dropped on Area 51. Hyang visited Crown Prince Woo and got straight to the point.
“You know, I’ve been thinking. Doesn’t it seem like there should be a way to use that combustion more… directly?”
“Yes? What do you mean by that, Your Majesty?”
“They said that as long as you have air that is, oxygen and fuel, you can create a fire even in a sealed space, correct?”
“Yes, that is correct.”
“If that’s the case, then shouldn’t we be able to harness the power of that fire directly?”
“So, you mean…”
Seeing Woo’s still-confused expression, Hyang spoke again.
“Think of it this way. When you look at a rifle or a cannon, a small amount of gunpowder launches a bullet or a shell a great distance, right? It does so with the firepower generated by the gunpowder’s explosion. Couldn’t that explosion also be seen as a form of combustion?”
“Ah!”
Finally understanding Hyang’s point, Woo made an immediate decision.
“I will register this in the Challenge Records at once! As for the rating…”
Woo pondered for a moment before setting the grade.
“Grinding an Axe to Make a Needle, Top-Tier, seems appropriate.”
And with that, the Empire formally began research into the internal combustion engine.
As Hyang returned from his business at Area 51, he looked up at the sky and muttered to himself, ‘This will just add one more black mark to my infamous reputation… But what do I care? I’ll already be dead by then. Are they going to kill me again?’
***
Back in Sugang Palace, Hyang sighed as he looked over the reports.
“Hoo~ All that’s left is electricity… but progress is still so slow. It’s such uncharted territory that they haven’t even grasped the basic concepts…”
Folding his arms, Hyang pondered the problem of electricity and muttered, “Now, how should I ‘drop the breadcrumbs’ for this one so they say it was done well…”
At that exact moment, the scholars and researchers at the institute studying Lightning Energy simultaneously shuddered.
“Why did I just get a sudden chill…?”
***
While Hyang was plotting how to drop his next hint, Hyeon was having a novel idea of his own.
Reviewing the recent Italian War, the naval gunfire used to strike enemies on the coast was highly effective. Furthermore, in the Yellow Sea Naval Battle and the Liaodong War, the Navy’s bombardment was said to be quite useful. But… there’s a limit to the number of cannons a battleship can carry… What if… what if we could unleash a massive volume of fire all at once?