Joseon Needs a Coup - Chapter 350



Only Noblemtl

#2-7. New Age, New Gun(3)

“No, what are you doing here?”

“Master, may I talk to you for a moment?”

“You should have made an appointment beforehand. If you come here suddenly like this, it will be difficult even if you are my son-in-law.”

“When I come running like this, it is because I am bringing something that will bring great honor and wealth to you, father-in-law. Besides, right now… I would appreciate it if you would treat me not as your son-in-law, but as a businessman who has come to sign an important contract.”

“… You’ve always been like that.”

I entered a fancy building in Myeongdong and went straight into the chairman’s office, despite the secretaries’ attempts to stop me. My father-in-law looked displeased at first, as if he had broken his long-awaited break, but his expression quickly softened after hearing what he said next.

“I don’t know what it is, but please try to solve it.”

“Master, no, Chairman. What do you think if we were to develop firearms here that our military, and perhaps even armies of other countries, would use for decades to come?”

“… The money you’re making now is probably like a child’s pocket money. Did you have another extraordinary idea?”

“That thought just occurred to me. If I were to be officially hired by the military and just receive the license fee, I would become a millionaire overnight.”

Then the old man offered me tea as if he was interested. He was famous for offering tea only to investors who made good suggestions. In other words, if you made a story or suggestion that was out of the blue, you would be kicked out without even getting a cup of tea.

“Hmm, is this the new gun you were thinking of… … .”

“Yes, Chairman. And now our army will crush our enemies with powerful infantry firepower armed with these new firearms.”

“… Is there any logic to persuade the Ministry of Finance and the Bureau of Accounting?”

It goes without saying that in order to secure a budget, then or now, something was needed to convince the organization that held the finances.

“First, we have to create it and prove its usefulness. And then I will prove what happens after that. Why it must exist and how it will change the landscape of warfare in the future.”

I continued talking after taking a cup of tea.

“Just as Gatling created the machine gun that changed the course of war, and Hiram Maxim created the Maxim gun that saved our homeland and sent countless Japanese to the Samdo River, you are creating a new weapon that will serve our future empire.”

I said this while tapping the epaulettes on my shoulder with my hand. The splendid ranks and medals on my shoulder and chest also meant that they weren’t just for show.

“Your words are always so clear. So, what can I do to help you?”

“Please scout this guy.”

“Hmm? Weren’t you supposed to be entrusted with the development contract?”

“This is absolutely necessary, as it introduces such a new concept.”

“Your name… it wasn’t three letters, but rather a single line of your name in English,” he said.

“John… Moses… Browning? He looks like a sheep. Who is this guy?”

“He is a firearms engineer who frequently collaborates with Belgium’s FN and leading American firearms companies under contract with the chairman’s Hongik Precision. It would not be an exaggeration to say that he is the father of the greatest firearm of this century.”

“Hmm… Is that it? I guess I’m not really getting the hang of it.”

I said this while adding strawberry jam to my moderately brewed black tea as I liked. Roha said that this was a bad habit of Russians that ruined the taste of black tea, but thanks to the Russian officer corps, it was already a habit among most of the Marshal’s staff to put jam in their black tea.

“What’s the best-selling gun in the company, Mr. Chairman?”

“That machine… It’s an Auto-5 shotgun. It’s going to be chaos with the gunners and the police officers all gone.”

“The person who designed it is the one I was talking about.”

Yes, it is at times like this that you should take out the Future Card. The ‘Adult Card’ that always appears in every game is no different. By paying for future knowledge, you can engage in something that can change the current landscape.

The old man thought about it for a moment, then he seemed to do some math, nodded, and held out his hand to me.

“Let’s do that. However, after the contract is signed, you must sign an exclusive contract with us for this new firearm.”

“Of course, Mr. Chairman. You will never be disappointed.”

I, too, held the hand of my father-in-law and created the beginning of something that would probably occupy a corner of the military history of this world, the history of modern warfare. Of course, I had to process the appropriate documents and have meetings for this, but it didn’t matter.

***

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Slowly but surely, the sharp and murderous sound of gunfire echoed throughout the shooting range. It continued to fire continuously, but after a while, it stopped firing with a clicking sound. Around it, bullet shells were scattered like toys that a child had messed up, and the soldiers holding new firearms had expressions that could not contain their excitement.

“Shooter, safety in control!”

“Safe during adjustment!”

Amidst the pungent smell of gunpowder, the marksmen from the assault infantry were repeating the instructions of their shooting instructor. The early carbines produced with John Browning, who had made a contract with the help of his father-in-law, and Winchester, who had been chosen as a business partner for cooperation in the local area, had finally arrived in the country.

The appearance was exactly like that of the M1 carbine. The first batch of 500 units came here, and the remaining 500 units will come in as soon as they are produced. During development, they also set requirements similar to those of the carbine.

The most important conditions were that it had to be used primarily within the 100-200m range, which is the main infantry engagement distance on the Korean peninsula, while being much more accurate and powerful than existing pistols, being easier to handle and lighter than the Mosin-Nagant, the main rifle of infantry, and being able to fire semi-automatically.

In general, since he had already prepared the concept and working structure of the firearm, Browning did develop it 20 years ahead of what his half-brother Jonathan Browning was originally going to develop… but since they developed it together, he probably didn’t regret it that much.

“It was quite a headache bringing this in, Director.”

“Thank you for your hard work. It’s fortunate that the Minister of Finance helped me quickly.”

Since this was an item that was purchased with Hongik Precision’s business expenses and the operations director’s personal funds, it had to go through a fairly complicated customs clearance process.

Thanks to the great consideration of the Ministry of Finance, which can be said to be the superior organization of the customs office, the goods that would have been imported with a 3.3% tariff were generally exempted from tariffs.

“Isn’t that squeamish customs officer acting too stiff?”

“Well, that’s true. I had to open them all one by one, so it was a bit difficult.”

The adjutant reporting right next to him and Army Vice Minister Kim Jeong-woo, who was previously the chief of the Military Equipment Depot and was newly appointed as the chief of the Military Equipment Depot after the war, spoke while looking at the new rifles packed in boxes.

“The Minister of Finance took the lead and resolved the issue, so let’s leave it at that.”

“Tsk, even Admiral Yi Sun-sin can’t do much for civilian officials.”

“The healthier a country is, the more its people control its military. Do you want to become like the Japanese, who are now in a lawless state?”

“Surely not. Since the director says no, we have no choice but to follow.”

… In one way or another, there were certainly some who were uncomfortable with the civilian control of the military, both inside and outside the military. This was especially true for those who had served since the Joseon military era. It was perhaps reminiscent of the days of Heungseongun when the military was given preferential treatment in external affairs, but since the last war, the military’s status had risen significantly, and there was also an atmosphere of going along with that trend.

“… Let’s talk about new guns again.”

I looked back at the shooting range as if I was annoyed. The other Marshal’s staff members were impressed by the sight of them emptying one magazine, replacing it with the next magazine, and continuing to fire. However, they were all shooting single shots, and this alone was not enough.

I went straight down to the shooting range and approached a soldier who had just finished shooting and was about to receive a new magazine.

“Don’t shoot it in one shot, shoot it in rapid succession.”

“yes?”

“Give it here.”

I took the gun from the soldier who asked me as if I was dumbfounded, and immediately stood up and aimed at the target while maintaining the firing position. Then, I received a magazine full of 30 rounds from the soldier who was acting as the assistant shooter.

I almost shouted, ’30 rounds of Idol bullets, no more!’ without realizing it, but I held it in and pulled the bolt back, putting the rounds in the chamber, and then pulled the trigger.

Tata tata tata tata tata tang! Tata tata tata tang!

When was the last time I fired continuously like this? Even when I was in the military, I only shot at 50, 100, 150, 200, and 250m targets with single shots… Oh, right. I remember when I shot 140 K2 blanks at KCTC. I fired so many times that the cartridge case holder was completely filled with blanks, and the gun wouldn’t fire properly.

And just like that, the 30-round magazine was empty in an instant. The rate of fire may not be the same, but it felt like a split second.

Everyone who was demonstrating this at the shooting range looked at me with surprised eyes. Since it was a carbine that was originally developed as a substitute for a submachine gun, it was inevitable that it would fire fully automatically, but it was bound to be a surprise to those who saw it for the first time.

“This is the future our infantry must have.”

After saying this, I handed the gun to the shooter and returned to my original position. The pungent smell of gunpowder that stimulated human emotions seemed to be all over my body, but I didn’t care.

“It concentrates its firepower much faster than the rapid fire of an assault rifle.”

“One rifleman can handle five riflemen.”

Now I finally got the reactions I wanted. In particular, the evaluations of the assault infantry commanders were dramatic. After watching me shoot, my brother, who had recently been appointed commander of the 1st assault infantry brigade, ran down and received another gun, and immediately started shooting at the target in rapid succession, just like I was doing.

The human-shaped target at a distance of 100 meters was riddled with holes like a honeycomb.

“No, this is really light and convenient to carry around? What on earth is this thing for?!”

It was also well-received by other assault infantrymen who had undergone test firings. They said it was light, compact, and could fire without any problems even in situations other than trench warfare.

Well, it makes sense since it weighs only 2.5kg, which is much lighter than the K2.

“It’s much lighter than the Asik rifle and has a larger magazine capacity. If I just have this, I can wipe out anyone who comes.”

… it was clear that the carbine developed here would play a pivotal role in the future formation changes for victory.

It has already been proven in numerous battles how much of a shock effect infantry armed with automatic weapons and grenades can have, and what kind of synergy effect can be created when automatic weapons are added to existing friendly infantry tactics. However, it is still in the realm of hypothesis here.

“If you operate it with the Madsen gunners and arm the entire platoon, you can wipe out any fort or high ground. Look at the weight of this, brother. It’s about the same weight as carrying your nephew. But the folding buttstock on the back is a bit weird. Of course, I’m more used to wooden buttstocks, so that’s why… … .”

Just like the original carbine, it was produced in folding and fixed-stock versions. And strictly speaking, these would be classified as Assault Carbine and Assault Rifle respectively. The former was intended for cavalry units that needed great mobility, or for armored units and non-combat units that would be created in the future, while the latter was intended for elite infantry units, including assault infantry brigades.

And I looked at the deputy chief of the Takjibu, Eo Yoon-joong, who was looking down at these rifles while wearing a fancy suit. He shrugged. There was no denying that they were excellent guns, but the only thing left was the issue of budget distribution.

“How are you, sir?”

“Very good. But it’s a bit burdensome since we’ll have to supply new bullets from scratch.”

The carbine cartridge had to be made entirely new. Of course, Browning and Winchester had solved this problem. I heard that they had made it based on the cartridge they had made in 1906. However, as he said, producing it from scratch and supplying it to the military was a completely different matter.

But I had a pretty good argument for this. Henry Ford, who was selling cars in the United States right now, said, ‘For every dollar you lower the price of a car, you get 1,000 new customers.’ This was true not only for weapons, but also in most markets.

“It all comes down to economies of scale, sir. I think if we were to supply these to the entire military, and even the United States Army, we could get the guns and ammunition to a pretty good price point.”

“Not just our military, but the United States Army?”

“Yes, General Pershing is very interested in this rifle.”

… Originally, in history, he was a gentleman who said that the dense firepower of riflemen was the answer, but after experiencing the last war, he seemed to have realized a lot. He even sent me letters asking me about this and that, saying that instead of dense firepower, only the powerful firepower of individual infantrymen could overcome the enemy’s stubborn defense line.

“Huh, is that the officer who came as an observer last time? He’s already a general.”

“Yes. That was over ten years ago. I was recently appointed to command a brigade in charge of the Mexican border, and it seems that the local situation is not good, so I am preparing for it. Thanks to that, I have been told that I would like to ‘personally’ purchase some of the initial stock if possible.”

Somehow, I felt that there were many questions about infantry tactics, firepower, and mobility in the letters recently. He said that he wanted to arm his subordinate infantry in that way, but he was having a hard time because he didn’t have enough hand grenades. Anyway, I suggested a new plan to him, and naturally connected him with Winchester and Pershing.

And the result was the same as now. Minister of Finance Eo Yun-joong, who understood the story roughly, nodded with his arms folded.

“… Hmm. Well, not bad.”

It was a great opportunity to pursue a reasonable price through mass production and at the same time conduct field tests, because we thought we didn’t have anything ready to have field experience right away.

“Very well. I will have the 1916 budget allotted for the acquisition of new rifles… as you have submitted through the Accounting Office.”

“Thank you, inspiration. It will be a choice you won’t regret.”

I said it with a smile on my face. If this rifle was supplied to the military, and even introduced to the US military just before World War I, it would be a huge success. Since the short-stroke gas piston method had also been patented at the time, it was only a matter of time before it would sell and make a fortune.

Just as I was about to board the Ford vehicle that I had recently purchased from the Marshal’s Office to head back in a good mood after such a successful shooting test, one of the staff members was talking seriously on the phone at the shooting range, and then he came over to me.

“Chief of Operations, this is an urgent report from the Records Bureau. Something serious has happened in the border area. You should go to the Marshal’s Office immediately.”

… and sooner than expected, and in an unexpected way, the place was being prepared for the first domestic field test of carbine rifles. The opponents would not know that they were the test subjects.