Meanwhile, New Frontier was experiencing its own commotion.
The cause was the self-powered flying vessel.
After completing his business trip to the main territory, Jang Yeong-sil reported his return to Sejong.
“I have returned, Your Status Majesty.”
“Well done. You must be tired from the long journey.”
“Not at all, Your Majesty. As it was work I enjoyed, I didn’t feel the strain.”
“Is that so?”
Smiling and nodding at Jang Yeong-sil’s response, Sejong soon asked with a face full of curiosity:
“So, what did you create in the main territory?”
“Yes, we created something called a glider, Your Majesty.”
“A glider?”
Jang Yeong-sil explained the glider in detail to Sejong. Constantly nodding and offering encouragement with interjections like “Hmm?” and “Oh!” while conducting his own analysis, Sejong immediately asked a question as soon as the explanation ended.
“Well then, did this glider seem to have significant utility?”
At Sejong’s question, Jang Yeong-sil shook his head.
“It’s still merely a luxury item, Your Majesty. Though human power can lift it, it’s limited to about 300 chang (approximately 900 meters) in distance and about 20 chang (approximately 60 meters) in height. We need an engine that’s light and compact yet produces several times the power of human strength.”
“Then a steam engine would be impractical.”
Sejong immediately grasped the problem from Jang Yeong-sil’s words. Jang Yeong-sil promptly nodded.
“Indeed, Your Majesty.”
Hearing Jang Yeong-sil’s response, Sejong stroked his beard and muttered:
“That fellow isn’t one to stop there… Were there any improvement plans or alternatives?”
“Research into developing small, high-output engines and alternative fuels to coal has been registered in the challenge records. Additionally, I was able to participate in improving the self-powered flying vessel developed by His Highness the Crown Prince.”
Sejong’s eyes lit up as he moved closer to Jang Yeong-sil.
“Self-powered flying vessel? Explain in more detail!”
“I have prepared a written report…”
“Show me at once!”
At Sejong’s command, Jang Yeong-sil quickly rummaged through his bag and produced the report for Sejong.
Watching Sejong practically snatch the report and read its contents, Jang Yeong-sil felt a strange sense of déjà vu.
This scene feels familiar… Ah!
That’s how Hyang had thoroughly questioned Jang Yeong-sil in Area 51.
Having realized the source of his déjà vu, Jang Yeong-sil grumbled internally:
How can father and son be so identical!
Sejong thoroughly checked all details about the self-powered flying vessel.
“Hmm…”
After reviewing the document’s contents back and forth several times, Sejong nodded.
“Indeed… It’s definitely superior to regular flying vessels that can’t freely control their direction of movement. Even though it’s expected to move at patrol ship speeds and can only make round trips of 300 to 400 li, it’s still clearly superior.”
Jang Yeong-sil nodded in agreement with Sejong’s conclusion.
“Indeed, Your Majesty.”
Sejong then fell into silence. As his silence lengthened, cold sweat began running down Jang Yeong-sil’s back.
The air is getting chilly. Something feels ominous…
When Sejong finally spoke, Jang Yeong-sil’s anxiety became reality.
“Begin production in Area 52. It won’t take long, will it?”
“…We shall do our utmost, Your Majesty.”
***
Early spring of Imperial Year 4, Area 52 of New Frontier.
The self-powered flying vessel that had tormented the craftsmen all winter was finally complete.
“Oh! It’s flying, it’s flying!”
Watching the self-powered flying vessel float gently skyward and move by rotating its propellers with a satisfied expression, Sejong turned to the New Frontier Commander who accompanied him.
“Wouldn’t this be extremely useful for military purposes?”
The Commander immediately nodded at Sejong’s question.
“Most certainly, Your Majesty. This New Frontier has lands so vast they make even the northeastern forest regions seem trivial. Cavalry reconnaissance definitely has its limitations, but if we deploy these devices in large numbers, they would provide definite assistance.”
“It would be even more useful if equipped with light signaling devices, wouldn’t it?”
“Indeed, Your Majesty.”
At the Commander’s response, Sejong looked at Jang Yeong-sil and the craftsmen.
“Truly well done, most impressive. I believe your outstanding skills made this success possible.”
“You praise us too highly, Your Majesty.”
“It’s not excessive praise. I’ll soon grant you reward money and vacation time.”
“We are overwhelmed by your grace!”
At Sejong’s words, Jang Yeong-sil and the craftsmen prostrated themselves in gratitude. While the reward money was welcome, the word “vacation” especially delighted them.
We probably can’t travel to the main territory, but a vacation is still a vacation!
However, Sejong’s next words froze them in place.
“After your vacation, we’ll need to make quite a few more of these self-powered flying vessels. Let’s start with about five.”
“…We shall comply with Your Majesty’s command.”
Jang Yeong-sil and the craftsmen responded with crestfallen expressions. While moving the vessel back into Area 52 after it landed from its flight, they tried to find something positive.
At least we’re getting a vacation!
Meanwhile, not long after, Hyang’s proposal from the main territory was delivered to Sejong.
“…Through this process, the self-powered flying vessel was created. This self-powered flying vessel is extremely useful for aerial surveillance of wide areas. Therefore, I believe it would be beneficial to manufacture and use them in New Frontier as well. I am sending the blueprints along with this.”
After reading Hyang’s proposal, Sejong picked up his golden brush and wrote a brief reply:
-Already built and in mass production.
As Area 52 was entering summer, four additional self-powered flying vessels were completed.
They were completed quickly through a division of labor between craftsmen who had gained experience from building the first one and other craftsmen.
The five completed self-powered flying vessels were evenly distributed throughout the already secured territories and began reconnaissance activities.
When the natives saw these self-powered flying vessels in flight, chaos erupted.
Among the natives living around Area 52, many had been curious about the section.
However, their curiosity had previously ended there.
“They make many fascinating things, but… wouldn’t being a warrior be better?”
“To receive proper respect, you must become a warrior! Or perhaps an official would be good too!”
In this situation, the appearance of vessels that could fly—not just float like the ones they’d seen before, but fly under their own power—was enough to change the natives’ perceptions.
“The craftsmen who can create such things must be blessed by the gods!”
“I want to become like those craftsmen!”
When natives with such ambitious dreams volunteered and begged to become craftsmen in Area 52, Sejong issued orders through his officials:
“First master Jeongeum and learn the imperial language! We will prioritize accepting those who properly master Jeongeum and the imperial language!”
When Sejong’s order was conveyed, even natives who had shown lukewarm responses until then flooded into the schools teaching Jeongeum and the imperial language.
Thanks to this, the imperalization of the natives began to accelerate.
On another front, native tribes that had previously refused to integrate with the empire began rushing to enter its embrace.
Although the empire had established a thin line-like territory crossing east to west through New Frontier, along with the Five Great Lakes and parts of the eastern coast, territorial expansion had been slower than expected.
Despite using the versatile tool of government trading posts and mobilizing already subjugated natives to persuade tribes that hadn’t yet submitted, the results were quite unsatisfactory.
These tribes refused persuasion for the following reasons:
-Wariness of the empire itself. -Already having sufficient food, clothing, and shelter, thus not feeling the need for trading posts. -The tribes that had already been persuaded to join the empire were their enemies.
Tribes refusing to join the empire for such reasons were scattered everywhere.
“Wouldn’t it be resolved immediately if we used force to teach them a lesson, as we did with the Jurchen?”
Though suggestions for hardline measures came up, Sejong rejected them.
“With the Jurchen, it was possible because of deep-rooted historical grievances. However, we have no such history with the tribes of New Frontier. Using force in this situation would only needlessly increase our enemies. Moreover, there were already armed conflicts during the process of opening the corridor, and not a few tribes witnessed the empire’s terrifying nature then. Yet they still refuse like this. We must keep this in mind. Therefore, taking time to use conciliatory measures is the only correct answer.”
Since Sejong’s decision was reasonable, the empire insisted on conciliatory measures alone. Of course, they made sure to completely annihilate any tribes that showed their teeth first, demonstrating why the empire was the empire.
It was against this backdrop of stagnant territorial expansion in New Frontier that the self-powered flying vessel appeared.
The self-powered flying vessels primarily conducted reconnaissance in border areas where unconvinced tribes’ territories met imperial territory.
Native warriors guarding the borderlines to watch the empire were shocked to see self-powered flying vessels flying through the sky.
“What is that?”
“A bird I’ve never seen before!”
“That’s no bird!”
The alarmed tribal chiefs and warriors utilized their networks to gather information.
“What? The empire made it?”
“You’re saying humans made that? Is that possible?”
The chiefs, warriors, and shamans who confirmed this information gathered to share opinions.
“A ship that flies through the sky! This means they are representatives of the gods!”
“Might they be borrowing the power of demons?”
“Looking at how they fight, they seem closer to demons…”
“But seeing how they perfectly heal the injured and sick, they must be divine representatives!”
The chiefs, warriors, and shamans exchanged opinions about future measures through heated debates and even physical fights.
After such difficult and bloody exchanges of opinions, many tribes flocked to the empire declaring their intention to become one with it.
Receiving reports about this, Sejong chuckled in disbelief and muttered:
“Hah! It reminds me of old times. They called the railroad ‘the dragon’s path,’ didn’t they?”
While New Frontier’s imperial territory was expanding faster than before thanks to the unexpected butterfly effect created by the self-powered flying vessel, Sejong was reviewing another matter.
“So, how are the qualities of the natives who’ve entered Area 52? Are they useful?”
At Sejong’s question, Jang Yeong-sil bowed his head and responded:
“Their qualities are not bad, and their enthusiasm for learning is very strong. Particularly, their intense enthusiasm for the self-powered flying vessel reminds me of Duke Jinpyeong in the past.”
“Jinpyeong?”
At Jang Yeong-sil’s assessment, Sejong unconsciously muttered:
“Indeed, birds of a feather flock together? It would be interesting if Jinpyeong came to New Frontier.”
While chaos was erupting in New Frontier over the self-powered flying vessel, a small commotion was also occurring in the main territory.
The students who had come from Europe were the protagonists.
After seeing the research institute and Area 51, the foreign students were literally blown away.
They participated passionately in advanced studies and frantically absorbed new knowledge.
And whenever they had a chance, they visited Area 51. Even though they could only see authorized areas, they constantly exclaimed in admiration and sketched everything, afraid to miss even a single detail.
Receiving such reports, Hyang quietly muttered:
“Has Jinpyeong come in multitudes?”