However, a conclusion was not reached immediately. The situation dragged on to the point that even the nobles of the era remarked, “All they have done is agree to keep agreeing.”

The stalemate resumed, this time over the issue of reparations. Both France and the Habsburgs insisted on their own legitimacy and claimed to be the victor, demanding payment from the other.

“France invaded the territory of the Holy Roman Empire, and we repelled them! We are the victors!”

“The Lorraine region is, historically, ours to claim as well. We have merely tolerated the situation until now for the sake of peace! Therefore, we were only helping those who cried out in pain under Habsburg oppression! The French army was victorious against those oppressors! This is a righteous act!”

As they reached another impasse, the nobles of the Imperial Diet once again made their move. In the end, France and the Habsburgs were pressured into an agreement.

The terms were clear: France would acknowledge that the Lorraine region was the territory of the Holy Roman Empire. The Habsburgs would, in turn, cede the three bishoprics to France, with the explicit clarification that this was not in the name of reparations. Furthermore, both nations would renounce all claims to reparations. Finally, France would cut off all support to the lords in the non-ceded parts of Lorraine and would not interfere in the Holy Roman Emperor’s decisions regarding that region.

With this agreement, France had successfully wedged its foot into Lorraine.

As they officially became French territory, Metz was renamed Metz, Virten became Verdun, and Toul became Toul. On the day the three bishoprics were handed over, a grand banquet was held in Paris.

“This is just the beginning,” the French chancellor declared. “From now on, we will expand our influence step by step.”

“We are counting on you, my lords.”

In stark contrast to the festive air in Paris, the Habsburg palace was filled with a frigid silence.

“Never forget the humiliation of this day,” Maximilian seethed. “All of you are to prepare for our revenge with all your strength.”

“We obey your command!”

***

Amid these drastically opposed moods, both France and the Habsburgs moved quickly to analyze the war.

“No matter what anyone says, we are the victorious nation!”

This was the sentiment circulating privately within France, even if they couldn’t boast of it publicly. The actual period of combat had lasted less than a single week, yet it had produced thousands of casualties. Despite this, the French had secured a result they could proudly call a victory, a result that stood in sharp, redeeming contrast to the memory of their crushing defeat in Italy. This fed a powerful sense of national pride, and in turn, loyalty to the King and the people’s trust in his officials surged to unprecedented heights. Bolstered by this wave of support, the French government acted with newfound confidence.

However, the chancellor, shedding his usual leisurely demeanor, appeared before Charles VIII and Louis with a deeply strained expression. “If we relax now, we will be pushed back again!” he insisted.

“Is that so?”

“We suffered thousands of casualties in less than a week! We cannot take this number lightly!” The chancellor’s face was more serious than they had ever seen it. “This is the first time we have sustained losses of this magnitude since the Empire crushed us in Italy! To put it another way, the firepower of our neighboring countries has become just as powerful as the Imperial army’s was in Italy! This is absolutely not a situation to be complacent about!”

The chancellor’s words sobered Charles VIII and Louis.

“I see. Then conduct a thorough after-action review of this battle.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Following the King’s command, the military command not only re-examined the reports submitted by the commanders who had participated in the battle but also conducted direct interviews. From this, the gyeong-hwacha emerged as a key issue.

***

The gyeong-hwacha (light rocket cart) had been one of the weapons that plagued the French in Italy, but surprisingly, they had initially dismissed it.

Their assessment had been: ‘Too heavy for a single soldier to carry. The ability to suppress the enemy with a high volume of fire is good, but its sustained-fire time is much shorter than a hwacha, and its portability is far worse than a sohwacha. Conclusion: The drawbacks outweigh the benefits. It appears to be a mistake on the Empire’s part.’

This assessment led France to drop its interest in the weapon. Of course, this wasn’t the whole story; France’s own economic and technological limitations were also a factor.

However, the recent Battle of Metz had starkly revealed the limitations of their existing sohwacha (small-arms cart) and hwacha (rocket cart).

‘The hwacha’s firepower and rate of fire are outstanding, but it is too heavy. It has clear limitations in situations like urban warfare, which require constant movement.’ ‘The sohwacha is easy to handle and fires quickly, but its accuracy and power are limited.’

The moment the distance to the enemy increased even slightly, both its accuracy and its stopping power dropped precipitously. Furthermore, it was often rendered useless if the enemy’s cover was even moderately strong. While it was true that even rifle or hwacha rounds were useless against solid stone buildings, the sohwacha frequently failed to penetrate something as simple as a thick wooden door. And in Northern Europe, where winters were cold, every house had thick wooden doors.

In the end, the French military command decided to adopt the gyeong-hwacha.

“So it wasn’t an Imperial mistake after all. This leaves a bitter taste…”

Here, the aforementioned issues of France’s economy and technology reared their heads again. The problem was the magazine. To manufacture a proper magazine, one needed thin but strong steel and high-quality springs. Even with mass production lowering the unit cost, these were materials with inherent limitations. It also required a surprisingly high level of technical skill. The magazine was a component where, without proper processing and assembly, defective products were rampant.

Because of this, French soldiers using the gyeong-hwacha were issued a maximum of only five magazines each, and they were under strict orders to recover all empty ones. Of course, in a real battle, such rules went out the window.

French soldiers took as many magazines as they could carry into combat. They put the empty ones in a separate pouch, but if the situation was tight, they were often just tossed aside. The problem was that holding anyone accountable was difficult, as most of the men carrying the gyeong-hwacha were officers. Aside from their status, they would simply cover up or fabricate details in their after-action reports.

Ultimately, French technicians could only curse toward the Empire. “They just… throw these away? Those crazy bastards…”

Contrary to their words, the Imperial army also recovered its magazines as much as possible. But they had other constraints: ‘Must be able to securely store and reliably feed even larger and heavier rounds.’

Seeing these much stricter requirements compared to the sohwacha, the French technical team had to pivot.

“It doesn’t matter how it works, as long as it reliably feeds rifle rounds, right?”

“That’s true…”

The solution they devised was the ammunition feed strip. It was a brass strip that firmly held 30 rounds and was fed into the weapon. When it showed reasonably decent performance in the subsequent tests, the French Army and Navy officially adopted it.

As time passed, information about the gyeong-hwacha adopted by the French military reached Hyang through various channels. He wore a peculiar expression.

“This is a Hotchkiss… Is France just destined to be France?”

***

While France was making these moves, the Habsburgs were also fiercely analyzing the battle’s lessons, searching for answers.

‘Cannons are the only sure answer! We need more, bigger, and stronger cannons!’ ‘No, even a small cannon is still a cannon! We need many small, versatile cannons!’ ‘Conclusion: More cannons!’

Based on this conclusion, the mass production of cannons of various calibers and powers began, and spies scattered in all directions to acquire superior cannon-manufacturing technology. A significant number of these spies infiltrated the Empire, triggering another bloody struggle for the Secret Guards.

But the Habsburgs didn’t just go all-in on cannons. If cannons were the traditional method, there was also a change.

“It’s difficult to counter the French hwachas with our existing ones. We need a new hwacha like theirs.”

The Habsburg army, having taken a beating from hwachas in the urban warfare of Metz, began to meticulously disassemble a captured French hwacha to design a new one. This was the beginning of the Habsburg’s transformation, and at its center was Count Tilly.

“Having experienced this battle, it seems to me…”

Count Tilly, after analyzing the Battle of Metz, reached the following conclusions: ‘In urban warfare, firepower is critical.’ ‘Cannons are best for striking enemy strongpoints.’ ‘However, dragging cannons through a city fight is difficult. And dangerous.’ ‘We need a cannon that has sufficient armor and can move on its own.’ ‘The same goes for soldiers. It might be too much to ask for small alleys, but we need something that can control the city’s main avenues and transport large numbers of troops safely.’

“Can you build such things?”

The technicians, hearing Count Tilly’s question, looked at each other before cautiously replying, “Such a thing already exists.”

“Oho! Truly!”

“It is the Dolggyeokcha (assault vehicle) made by the Empire.”

At the technicians’ answer, Count Tilly looked puzzled. “Dolggyeokcha? As I understand it, those were made to break through trench lines, weren’t they? And they were used that way in practice.”

“We hear they were used very effectively in urban warfare as well.”

“Is that so? Then, can you build one?”

At Count Tilly’s question, the technicians’ faces became surprisingly grim. “We are researching it now. But to be perfectly honest, Your Excellency, the best option for now is to buy them from Seoul.”

“Damn…”

Maximilian I, receiving this report via Count Tilly, pressed a hand to his forehead and lamented. “The Empire again! Why is that country involved in everything! Why!”

After lamenting for a good while, Maximilian I, with a look of resignation, came to a conclusion. “It cannot be helped. Send an envoy to Seoul.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

***

Hyeon, having heard Maximilian I’s request from the visiting envoy, asked his ministers, “What are your thoughts?”

“The Byeong-type and Jeong-type models are already in production, so I believe selling the older ones is acceptable.”

“We can use the sales revenue to offset the budget for producing new assault vehicles, so I believe it is a good thing.”

After a series of positive responses, Shin Suk-ju spoke. “The problem, Your Majesty, is Italy. Venice, in particular, has a deep-seated grudge against the Habsburgs. We will need something to appease them.”

“And what would you use to appease them?”

“We sell them the assault vehicles as well. Of course, they will certainly complain if we ask them to pay the same price as the Habsburgs. Therefore, if we give them a moderate discount, we can both earn their goodwill and make a profit.”

At Shin Suk-ju’s answer, Hyeon looked at Han Myeong-hoe. Seeing Han Myeong-hoe express no particular objection, Hyeon nodded.

‘It seems they’ve already reached an agreement. It’s not a bad idea.’

“Very well. Give the Habsburg envoy our answer. And discreetly pass the news to Italy as well.”

“We obey your command!”