Black Corporation: Joseon - Chapter 229

Episode 229:

Japanese Empire (2) “The situation surrounding Joseon is like this, so we need a way to resolve it. I will give you five days. “I hope that the ministers will continue to think carefully and come up with good opinions.”

The ministers all bowed their heads in response to King Sejong’s command.

“I follow your orders!”

After giving orders to his ministers, King Sejong looked back.

“Same goes for you, Crown Prince.”

“I follow your orders.”

* * *

After receiving the order and returning to the laboratory’s office, Hyang pouted his lips and grumbled.

“This is it… Let’s just build a steam locomotive…”

In Hyang’s opinion, the problem related to the Japanese Empire was one of the most difficult problems.

“The problem with this damn country is its name…”

What Hyang was referring to was the name of Japan.

The official name of Japan was ‘Japan’. Therefore, if you look at the records of official documents regarding envoys sent by the shogunate, they are always recorded as ‘King’s messengers from Japan’.

It was the same for Myeong-guk. When Ming Dynasty sent envoys to Japan, the letters they sent together always had the words ‘Emperor of Japan’ written on them.

However, both Ming and Joseon Dynasty people called them Wae (倭).

However, this derogatory title was not applied only to the Japanese kingdom. Derogatory names existed in both the Ming and Joseon Dynasties.

Therefore, the scent had no choice but to end with a taste.

“Tsk! This is a problem that will not be solved until the human race perishes…. Since the term ‘Japan’ is more popular than Japan, let’s continue to refer to it as ‘Japan’… Let’s get to the point. Let’s get to the point….”

* * *

After coming to his senses, Hyang immediately organized the situation.

“First of all, the question is whether Japan’s current political system is truly beneficial to our country.”

-The current political system of Japan is the shogunate system. The Shogun of the Tang Jin shogunate, Ashikaga Yoshinori, is firmly in control of power. According to rumors, it is said that they are carrying out a considerable reign of terror, which is a cause for concern.

This was the part where the scent was predicted to be correct. If you look at the history before Hyang intervened, this Shogun ended up being assassinated.

-However, giving power to the Japanese emperor is absolutely not beneficial to our country, let alone possibility.

When Japan’s central government went into disarray, it was the Japanese who immediately became angry.

-What Joseon should be most concerned about is the safety of coastal areas and the safety of maritime transportation routes.

-The Joseon side alone is not efficient in ensuring this safety. Joseon must secure maritime control at least up to the northern part of Europe.

After summarizing the situation up to this point, Hyang sighed.

“This is what has been said up to this point. “It’s a bone.”

In order to find a trick to solve the difficult problem, Hyang continued to think and worry.

-In order to ensure the safety of Guju, Guju Jeoldo and Mr. Daenae must take control of Guju.

The second problem arises here. Kuju Jeoldosa is known to be loyal to the shogunate, but Daenae is the problem.

-If we look at the records of Daenae Seonggyeon (大內盛見 Ouchi Moriharu Ouchi Morimi), who currently rules over the Daenae Clan, he rose to the position of ruler through bone-and-mesh competition. This means that he is a person with great ambition.

-If Daenae Clan becomes stronger by supporting him, he may challenge the shogunate’s dominance.

-But if we don’t support him, it will be difficult to promote the European region.

“Hmm…”

Having summarized the situation up to this point, Hyang folded his arms and looked at the document and map, contemplating his next move.

“Should we mobilize all the ships and destroy all the ports?”

Hyang, who thought of extreme measures, immediately shook his head.

“There is no justification. And if you do that, you will be in an all-out war with Japan. Joseon does not yet have the stamina to withstand an all-out war. And the number of ships is so small that holes are bound to be created.”

According to the records that Hyang read, the Japanese who invaded Goryeo and Joseon came in large numbers using small and medium-sized ships rather than large ships. If the Japanese pirates started rampaging again and flocked to small and medium-sized ships like before, a complete interception would not be possible.

The same was true of blocking the Japanese ports. The ports of this period were not ports that took a huge amount of time and money to rebuild if destroyed, like ports in the 21st century. Any place that was sheltered from waves and had a depth of water suitable for ships could be used as a port.

The same was true for the Japanese ships. Of course, it did not cost much at all, but compared to an iron ship, it was less expensive and less time consuming.

Hyang, who had been calculating ways to use force, shook his head.

“So, in order to resolve this situation, the Army must eventually take over… In any case, the Army is a numbers game, and Joseon is a rat in that regard.”

At this time, the population of Joseon was slightly short of about 6 million. (Note 1)

However, Japan had a larger territory and a larger population than Joseon. And this situation has never been reversed.

Moreover, in the 21st century, villages that were familiar with international news tended to be negative about military annexation.

“Even if we fight for life or death among ourselves inside, we hate those who invade from outside more. “If you do it wrong, the roots of the pillars may collapse while you are installing them to maintain the occupied territory.”

Hyang let out a long sigh.

“Whoa~. The problem is that Japan is not Africa. “Britain was lucky.”

This was a misunderstanding of the scent.

* * *

Until the era of imperialism, most of the African continent was operating in tribal units. Because of this, Britain easily expanded its colonies by using the tactic of doing nothing. However, in places where a certain degree of national identity had already begun to emerge, quite a bit of hardship had to be endured.

A representative example was the Zulu War.

And in the 20th century, it had to suffer from continuous resistance.

* * *

“If Joseon wants to expand by force, it is a question we should think about after the population exceeds 10 million. 10 million…. It must take at least one generation (about 30 years).”

At this time in Joseon, it was not surprising to see grandchildren even if they were in their 30s.

To put it bluntly, it was a situation where there were almost no contraceptives and childbirth occurred when fertility was at its best. And until then, ‘multiple births and multiple deaths’ were common due to hygiene issues, but the situation was steadily improving due to the intervention of Hyang.

Therefore, the scent was derived through its own calculations.

“In the end, no matter what happens, we have to increase the population first. “Even if you have a lot of people, you can do anything.”

* * *

“The bottom line is that economic invasion is the best. “This too is risky, but it is still better than other methods.”

After coming to a conclusion, Hyang sighed again.

“Damn samurai… make sure they suffer!”

Having decided on a strategy, Hyang searched through reports to find appropriate tactics – economic tools.

“What is appropriate…. What….”

Hyang, who was searching through information related to Japan, shook his head.

“It’s all just a rumor, and it’s not as fresh… the most recent one is from half a year ago…”

Hyang, who was complaining about the quality of information, took out a piece of paper and held a gold pen in his hand.

“The first thing to do is to install a superior in mainland Japan. “Things that come across the sea may be more reliable, but their freshness is too low.”

Hyang wrote ‘Seoul Installation’ on a piece of paper and unfolded the map. It was a map created by compiling information obtained through news agencies sent from Joseon and merchants coming from Japan.

The map depicted the approximate shape of Japan’s three islands and displayed the names of the families that ruled the area and the names of major regions.

“Hmm… where would be better?”

Hyang looked at the map as if he was selecting an item from a shelf.

Hyang’s actions seemed to suggest that the superior could be installed anywhere in Japan.

But this was not Hyang’s arrogance.

As the renovation progressed, the level of Joseon’s commerce and industry, especially the craftsmen, improved greatly. The quality of the products they were making was rapidly improving, from luxury items with five golden pear blossoms to flower shoes made by a local kibachi.

Thanks to this, Ming and Japanese merchants were eagerly purchasing Joseon goods. While famous merchants focused on purchasing high-end products, Japanese merchants purchased mid- to low-priced products in large quantities.

Even though it was a mid- to low-priced product, considering the technological level of the Japanese country, it was more than enough to make a huge profit.

Because of this, the township was confident of installing the official. This was because there would be no foolish Japanese lords who would miss out on the benefits that could be gained when a superior was established in their territory.

“No, if you look at the personalities of Waeguk kids, there will be people like that.”

Hyang looked at the map with a more serious expression.

After searching the map for a while, Hyang focused on one place.

“A long gate (Nagato) would be good. Since it is under the control of the Daenae clan, it is good to keep an eye on the sympathy…”

Hyang, who was examining the map like that, saw the area to the east of Jangmun and snapped his fingers.

“You forgot this area! If I do well, I will be able to control Mr. Daenae!”

The place pointed out by the fragrance was a place written as Seokgyeon (石見). And in Japanese, it was a place called Iwami.

It was the site of a mine known as Japan’s largest silver mine from the Warring States Period to the Edo Period.

Hyang, who confirmed the stone dog, searched through related reports and summarized the situation.

“There are rumors of a silver mine, but no rumors of full-scale development.”

After reading the record, Hyang said, ‘Huh?’ He made an expression like this.

“what? If you look at the novels you read in the 21st century, isn’t this the place where you absolutely have to eat? Because of the enormous silver mine. “But why not yet?”

The full-scale development of the Iwami Silver Mine began in 1526, almost 100 years later.

However, Hyang, who did not know that fact, came up with the most plausible reason.

“It would have been difficult to dig deep with the current level of metal smelting in the Japanese kingdom…”

This was true to some extent.

The technological level of the Japanese country did not surpass that of Joseon until the Japanese artisans were taken away on a large scale through the Japanese invasions of Korea.

* * *

Hyang, who had written down the location of the boss and the Iwami Ginkwang on a piece of paper, muttered with his arms crossed.

“This isn’t enough… Isn’t there some good card?”

As Hyang was thinking about finding a suitable card to placate the Japanese lords, the eunuch’s voice was heard from outside.

“Someone from Area 51 has arrived.”

“Let me in.”

After a while, an official came inside and bowed to Hyang.

“Is there a problem?”

“The cotton gin that you ordered has finally been completed.”

Hyang’s face lit up brightly at the official’s report.

“This is truly good news! “Give me the report!”

“I am here.”

After receiving the report from the official, Hyang quickly looked at its contents.

After confirming the contents of the report, the township gave orders to the officials.

“Tell the people involved that they did a good job and prepare a reward according to the internal regulations.”

“yes!”

When the official left, Hyang clenched his fists.

“Awesome cards came in! “The race is on!”

With a repentant smile, Hyang added a sentence to the paper.

-Consignment of cotton cultivation.

Hyang, who wrote the sentence, had a confident expression on his face.

“If the cotton gin is completed and mass cultivation of cotton is successful, cotton cotton will be cost-effective! And…”

Hyang paused for a moment and glared at the map of the Japanese country.

“The first step to subordinating Japan’s economy to our Joseon has been completed!”

* * *

Note 1) Korean history as seen by an economist (13) Korean economy. 2014.05.19

https://www.hankyung.com/news/article/2014051670741