The place where gunpowder is made was mostly in the countryside, and I think I understand why.
The smell of urine and feces fermenting is so strong that it feels like my nose will twist off.
It’s almost at the level of biochemical weapons.
“Ugh, the smell! I’m going to die. Help…”
As I unconsciously brought my hand to my mouth, a soldier on guard here casually brought over a bucket.
“You can throw up in here.”
Well, I can’t barf in a place like this and maintain my noble dignity, but right now, my nose is two sizes too big.
At least it’s better than throwing up on the ground.
After I emptied my stomach, I felt a bit better.
‘Good thing I didn’t skip breakfast today.’
The other servant next to me threw up twice the amount I did.
“Looks like I made a bad impression.”
“The smell is so terrible; even we’ve thrown up occasionally after a month of working here.”
They gave ample warnings to the soldiers who volunteered for this post and even pay them quite generously.
Even the lowliest soldiers get four gold coins a year, and the skilled craftsmen get even more.
We thought it would be enough to give them a recommendation in my name when they applied for non-commissioned officer positions after finishing their service.
‘We should raise their salary a bit more.’
After I finish this, they’ll probably try to cut my pay, but I’ll make sure to protect these friends’ salaries, even if I have to talk to His Majesty.
“You’ve worked hard. Here’s a small token of my appreciation.”
I handed them two silver coins.
It was too much money to give to just two soldiers, but anyway, it would all go to the squad’s party fund.
To feed about thirty soldiers with meat and drinks, that much is needed.
Serving as a soldier must be tough, so they deserve to be well compensated.
“Loyalty, thank you! Chief of Security!”
As I entered, the stench intensified a bit further.
And before my eyes, a vast field of ores spread out.
A huge mound of excrement measuring 2 meters wide, 5 meters long, and 1.5 meters high filled my field of vision, making me dizzy.
And they even put a roof over it to keep it from getting wet, which is just so hard to comment on.
‘Did they say that 1 ton produces about 2 to 4 kg of gunpowder?’
It feels a bit underwhelming, but…
Compared to the days when we’d dig the earth like mining and get only 500 to 800 grams from a ton, this is a revolution.
“I can’t see any white crystals that are just lumps of saltpeter yet.”
They were called “mocho” in Joseon, and when those crystals start to rise, it means it’s time to extract the ore.
They typically need to be fermented for a year.
Wanting to see saltpeter crystals after just one month feels a little selfish.
After spending a long time here, I seemed to have adapted to the smell a bit as I started to see my surroundings more clearly.
The prisoners were working with expressions that looked like they were about to die.
They were shoveling and flipping over that mound of excrement and even adding straw for ventilation and fermentation before putting it back into its original shape.
They were even sprinkling urine to maintain moisture.
Usually, people would chat while doing this work.
Yet, everyone was silently working, looking like they really might die.
“I think assigning the prisoners was a good call.”
The servant I brought replied.
“It’s truly impressive how the Young Baron has transformed these worthless and useless criminals into useful beings. It’s a thankless task, but someone has to do it.”
There’s a philosophy that punishment should be aimed at reform, not just cruelty.
That’s not necessarily wrong.
Unless you give a life sentence, all prisoners will eventually be released back into society.
If reform fails, they come back out and commit crimes again, creating victims.
‘Rehabilitation is more beneficial than punishment.’
Also, since they’re people too, it’s the right thing to open paths for them to live like humans.
However, nobody in this era seems to think that way.
“Sometimes there are those who are forced into committing crimes. Like a case I saw last year when I was a junior clerk in the Florence court. There was one who ended up in court for killing a piece of trash who raped his daughter.”
That incident caused quite a stir among the nobles.
There was a scumbag who, after raping his daughter, tried to get away without even taking “responsibility,” and the story of the commoner who killed him.
The deceased wasn’t exactly from a noble background either…
So, he garnered a lot of sympathy and understanding.
‘In our empire, where the knightly spirit is alive, it was indeed a very desirable act of revenge.’
The presiding judge, unusually, sentenced him to just an hour in prison, and the nobles rewarded the protagonist of this heartwarming story with huge donations.
“Excluding such cases, there are those scumbags who steal food just because they’re a little hungry and threaten others. How can you reform such vile people? They’re no better than beasts, so all we can do is hand down harsh punishments as a warning.”
The idea that punishment must be justified and focused on rehabilitation only applies in a world with human rights.
“Most criminals who commit crimes are poor, so I think letting minor offenders finish their sentences and then stay here to build a family is a great act of mercy.”
This is the typical mindset of this era.
Human rights, rehabilitation? The base thought is just to catch all criminals.
But here I am, this mere servant, talking too much and knowing too much.
“You’re quite knowledgeable; you mentioned being a court clerk. Which family do you come from?”
Being a court clerk isn’t a job anyone can just do.
“I’m the third son of the Heritz Young Baron family. Initially, I was going to continue working as a clerk, but becoming a servant for the Medici Young Baron family seemed like a better future, so I moved here.”
…For such a trivial young baron’s household to have such impressive individuals.
Does that mean our family is now a sizable corporation?
As I was having these thoughts while patrolling, I noticed the soldiers and gunpowder craftsmen supervising the prisoners from a bit of a distance.
“Is that how you mix it? The mound of excrement won’t combine properly that way!”
“If anyone tries to run, I’ll send them to Deus!”
The prisons of an era without any sense of human rights are truly dreadful.
I should really avoid committing any crimes, seriously.
No, I need to make sure I don’t get caught up in any political battles with the nobles.
‘If I don’t commit treason, I won’t have to do such hard labor…’
While patrolling, I saw a supervisor running over from the other side in a panic.
“Young Baron! If you’ve come, you should go straight inside. Why are you in such a smelly place…”
Hearing those words, I felt a wave of displeasure.
It’s not good for the overall supervisor to belittle the site.
But I soon brushed that thought aside.
“Well, it’s not that I’m getting used to this smell; you’re still doing well to endure it without holding your nose. You seem to come here often.”
“It’s an important task that you entrusted to this old man who retired three years ago, so I have to give it my all.”
“While the smell is terrible, I need to see the site to understand how things are working. What’s been going on here? Let’s talk while we walk to the office.”
Upon hearing my words, the supervisor started to speak fluently.
“During the first week, we focused on creating the saltpeter field one day and breaking the will of the prisoners who were trying to escape the next day. The smell is awful, it’s dirty, and it’s hard, and they aren’t even getting paid, so it’s understandable…”
As a site supervisor, I like that he sees the workers not as criminals but as people.
“Still, since these are people paying their debt, we beat the ones trying to escape to set an example and maintain order. None of them are trying to run now.”
It sounds like there’s a word that hints at “collective responsibility” connected to his omissions.
If one tries to escape, it might be better for them to die than face what’s coming, or even if someone tries to run, they’ll face outrageous labor demands.
‘It’s hard to say anything about them wanting to prevent prison breaks.’
“And although it hasn’t even been a month yet, I am certain this method will work.”
“How can you be so sure?”
The supervisor smiled broadly as he said.
“Gunpowder craftsmen can taste the soil and know how much gunpowder it will yield. I tasted it myself, and it’s quite excellent.”
That was true even in Joseon, so is this a global thing?
“If we let it ferment for a year, we should get six times the yield compared to traditional methods. Considering the effort to obtain the soil has been eliminated… I estimate we’ll get about ten times.”
Just because gunpowder production increases tenfold doesn’t mean our military power becomes insanely strong.
However, the war capacity will increase, improving our chances of victory.
‘It’s like a marathon; it’s not about who runs the fastest but rather who maintains their pace best.’
“Impressive,” I said.
Well, the saltpeter field is all set now, and I’ll leave the remaining tasks to the Chief of Security.
Now, it seems I only need to come to work once a week.
The remaining part is simply waiting for a year.
“If we succeed in production after a year, I’ll welcome you as an official vassal of our Young Baron family.”
“Thank you.”
And then I spoke with the supervisor for several hours.
After a year when the results came in, I announced in front of all the generals in Florence and numerous nobles.
“From now on, the empire won’t have to worry about gunpowder.”
And after I made that statement, the meeting room erupted into chaos.
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