Chapter 128

Chapter 128: Iron Ships.

Recently, one of the major newspapers in the empire, the Sun Newspaper, conducted an interesting survey.

-Who do you think is the best craftsman who made the current empire possible?

This survey attracted the attention of many imperial citizens.

Of course, if they just conducted the survey like this, most of the imperial citizens would choose Kim Ki-woo.

He opened the Iron Age, started mass production of iron tools using coal, and even opened the era of steel through electric furnaces.

Besides, Kim Ki-woo’s direct and indirect involvement was too extensive.

Therefore, this survey excluded Kim Ki-woo.

“Hmm… Isn’t it Sharp Teeth? He made the steam engine and invented the railway himself.”

“Surely, making the steam engine was amazing. But, the railway and the steam locomotive were not his idea, but Delicate Glass’s suggestion, right? And he also made the steamship, so I think he deserves to be called the best.”

“True. He even made the rotary propeller…”

The rotary propeller meant the screw propeller of a ship.

This was also Delicate Glass’s achievement.

From then on, from Sharp Eyes who made the first waterwheel to Hot Anvil who started mass production process.

In addition, famous craftsmen from various fields were mentioned at least once.

And when the Sun Newspaper announced the ranking of the survey.

“Boss, have you seen the ranking of the best craftsmen? You are in the top ranks. Haha!”

“Of course I should be. Didn’t I invent the railway and develop the steamship so much?”

“Stop being so shy and get back to work.”

“Yes, yes.”

Delicate Glass waved his hand at the teasing jokes of his researchers.

Of course, he was also proud that he ranked high among all-time craftsmen, but he never became complacent.

‘I still have a long way to go to be a disciple worthy of my master’s name.’

Because of this thought, Delicate Glass always pushed himself hard.

His master, Sharp Teeth, died of illness last year.

He refused to take the position of industrial director until his death, and poured all his efforts into developing steam locomotives.

Thanks to him, the current steam locomotives were incomparably faster and more efficient than the first prototype.

That’s why Sharp Teeth ranked first in this survey without any doubt.

‘I hope you are at peace with the spirits…’

Delicate Glass felt a surge of longing for his master again and prayed for a while before heading back to his laboratory.

“Welcome back, boss.”

“Good morning!”

He received a warm welcome from his laboratory staff and researchers as he passed by them.

Delicate Glass’s laboratory was very large in scale.

But Delicate Glass was not only a boss but also a researcher who always led the research on the front line.

The purpose of establishing this laboratory was only one thing.

To build iron steamships.

‘The future of ships is in iron ships.’

Delicate Glass had this thought since he made his first steamship.

Since steam engines powered ships, their size kept growing.

But there was a limit to how big ships could be with wood.

As time went by, the power became stronger and stronger, but there were problems with increasing the size of ships.

On the other hand, iron ships could offset most of these disadvantages compared to wooden ships.

The hull was made of iron, so it was much less likely to be damaged than wooden ships, and iron was easier to refine because it was iron.

Of course, iron ships had a drawback that they were too heavy compared to wooden ships, but if they were designed to have enough buoyancy, there was little risk of sinking in water.

If they had enough power from steam engines, they could achieve sufficient speed without sails.

‘And we have secured enough coal overseas. Plus…’

After learning about the oil-related research that was taking place in the empire, Delicate Glass became more certain.

‘If a power source that surpasses steam engines is created, sailing ships will surely become obsolete.’

With these thoughts accumulating, Delicate Glass focused all of his research lab’s resources on iron ships.

The construction of iron ships was an unknown field.

But was there anything that Delicate Glass had done that was not an unknown field?

He was not a man who would flinch at such difficulties.

***

Despite Delicate Glass’s pride and persistence, and the abundant support he received thanks to his reputation, the iron ship experiments failed repeatedly.

“Surely it won’t sink right away this time, right?”

“Hey! Don’t say such ominous things. This time, it will definitely succeed.”

Delicate Glass had many brilliant scholars and craftsmen under him, but they had already lost a huge amount of money as giant iron ships sank several times.

If it wasn’t for Delicate Glass’s reputation, the experiment might have been stopped.

That’s why the researchers really hoped.

That this time, it would be able to sail the sea normally.

“Remember this well. If anything goes wrong, don’t hesitate to put this on and jump into the sea. Got it?”

“Haha. If I hear it one more time, I think blood will really come out of my ears.”

“Even if blood comes out, engrave it in your mind.”

The senior researcher grumbled, but Delicate Glass didn’t change his expression and emphasized again.

What he pointed at was a primitive life jacket made by inflating rubber with air.

He had prepared them since the early stages of iron ship construction, knowing that there was a possibility of sinking.

But even with such thorough preparations, he had already caused three casualties so far.

Therefore, Delicate Glass was very sensitive about safety as the chief researcher.

He also proceeded with safety and final checks.

After finishing all of these.

Delicate Glass opened his mouth.

“Good. Then let’s start the experiment.”

“Yes!”

Following his instructions, the water gate slowly opened.

Swoosh!

And seawater poured into the dock like a waterfall.

‘Please…’

Sometimes, water leaked into the ship from the beginning, and there was nothing more draining than that.

He hoped that it wouldn’t happen this time.

Did his prayer work?

‘Phew…’

When the dock was filled with seawater and the iron ship floated up, there was no abnormality at all.

He was able to breathe a sigh of relief.

But he still couldn’t relax.

“Check for any abnormalities!”

“Yes!”

Following his instructions, the researchers scattered in an orderly manner.

“No abnormalities here!”

“Same here!”

Through this process, safety was finally confirmed.

“Good. Then let’s go out to sea. Start the steam engine.”

“Understood.”

They had already gone through countless training and practice sessions, so starting the steam engine was as natural as water flowing.

Whoosh!

And with the steam engine working, the screw propeller began to spin.

This made the heavy iron ship move forward.

Soon, the iron ship passed through the water gate and went out to sea.

“Wow!”

“Ooh!”

As the silver giant iron wire revealed itself from the dock, the surrounding imperial citizens who had gathered to wait for its appearance cheered loudly.

The completion of the iron wire and the date of the experiment were not secrets, so many spectators had flocked to see it.

Delicate Glass, who was watching them, muttered.

“I hope this time those cheers won’t turn into sighs of regret.”

“They won’t, for sure.”

He had already experienced such scenes several times and did not want to see them again.

Thus, the first day of sailing passed without incident.

And this continued until the second day, and the third day.

As time passed, the faces of the researchers changed from anxiety to joy.

“Don’t relax yet. The experiment is not over until it’s over.”

Delicate Glass’s inner thoughts were not much different from those of the other researchers, but he was the chief in charge of this huge research project, so he constantly urged them to stay alert.

However, after five days without any accidents, he finally confirmed it.

‘We did it.’

He had left a big mark on the imperial history once again.

***

The news of the iron wire construction brought another shock to the empire.

There were many factors that made the empire what it is today, but no one could deny that one of them was ships.

But who would have thought that they could make ships with only iron?

This was a moment when the long-held stereotype of ships was overturned.

“Are you saying that a ship made of only iron can float on water?”

“That’s impossible.”

The people who first heard this news were skeptical.

But when they learned that the one who did this was none other than Delicate Glass, they trusted this news more.

And then they saw the performance of this ship sailing along the coast and rivers of the empire, and the crowd that came to see it confirmed that all the rumors were true.

Among these spectators was Kim Kiwoo as well.

“Hahaha! Very impressive!”

“Indeed, it is. It seems to symbolize the great stature of the empire.”

Kim Kiwoo laughed out loud.

That’s how beautiful the iron wire looked shining in the sunlight.

‘Although I can see some flaws…’

Compared to the ships of the future, it looked like a lump of scrap metal floating on water.

The speed was not very fast due to the power limit, and the thickness was very thick.

But this was inevitable for the first prototype.

It would improve as time passed and iron wire construction technology accumulated.

‘The demand for steel is soaring again.’

Steel already consumed a tremendous amount of steel.

On top of that, there were steel bridges being built recently, steel bars used in concrete, and the booming demand for ironware, which made steel supply scarce even though they constantly increased the scale of steel industry.

And now there was an iron ship as well.

‘Well, I expected that.’

Kim Kiwoo was the one who ordered to invest most of the money in Delicate Glass’s research in the first place.

He knew very well that the future shipbuilding industry would start with iron and end with iron.

“Your Majesty! It’s been a long time since I saw you…”

“You came? Haha. You never disappoint me.”

“That’s too much praise.”

Delicate Glass bowed modestly, but his eyes were filled with deep satisfaction and joy.

‘He deserves it.’

Kim Kiwoo smiled and patted Delicate Glass’s shoulder.

“Now you should take it easy. I’m worried that your body will collapse if you keep doing research. You have a lot of money, so why don’t you enjoy your remaining life?”

Delicate Glass had amassed a tremendous fortune from the patent fees he earned through his steamship design and screw propeller.

He had so much money that he wouldn’t be able to spend it all even if he splurged, before he died.

“Very well.”

But Kim Kiwoo soon realized.

There was not even a fingernail’s worth of sincerity in his words.

Delicate Glass didn’t seem to have any intention of stopping here.

‘He’s a total workaholic.’

He felt like he was looking at himself in the early days, when he built an empire from the Creek tribe.

“Anyway, based on your research results, I will proceed with the production of iron ships. You should be aware of that.”

“As you wish, Your Majesty.”

With that, he ended his brief meeting with him and returned to the palace to hold an imperial conference.

“You have all heard about Delicate Glass’s research achievements, right?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Iron ships have many advantages over wooden ships. This will become more evident as time goes by. I want a large-scale development and production of iron ships. I will order the construction of iron ship facilities throughout the country.”

It was a project that required a huge budget.

But thanks to selling various products such as firearms, gunpowder, cotton fabrics, paper, etc. overseas, and the growing scale of state-owned businesses such as steel, the government budget was more abundant than ever.

And it was obvious that iron ships would exert tremendous power on the sea, so there was no opposition from the ministers.

Thus, the end of the wooden ship era began to show its outline little by little.