Black Corporation: Joseon - Chapter 244

Episode 244: Secret Envoy (6)

Nam Ki-ju’s expression as he looked at Kyoto from a hill near Kyoto was strange.

“It looks like China, not Japan.”

Kyoto’s city center was square-shaped on a large flat area with walls built into a lattice shape.

As sea routes became more active, Joseon envoys often went to China via sea routes. It looked almost similar to the ancient capitals of China that they passed through on their way to Beijing, a Ming Dynasty, in charge of escorting envoys.

“Please go.”

“Let’s do that.”

Nam Ki-ju and his party, who had been admiring the shape of Kyoto for a moment on the hill, began moving toward Kyoto upon hearing the words of a retainer sent by the shogun.

* * *

Nam Ki-ju and his party passed through Raseimon (らせいもん 羅生門), the southern main gate of Kyoto, and headed north along Suzaku-daero (朱雀大路).

At the end of the street, a palace with high walls appeared again.

“This is the Gosho (御所) where the Tenno (天皇) resides.”

Nam Ki-ju briefly asked the words of the shogunate retainer in charge of guidance.

“Then do I have to go in and have an audience with a person of high rank?”

At Nam Ki-ju’s words, the vassal smiled slightly and shook his head.

“You don’t have to do that.”

“Is that so? All right.”

Nam Ki-ju ended the vassal’s words with a short reply.

This was because Nam Ki-ju had also heard in advance about the political situation in the Japanese country.

Nam Ki-ju, who arrived at the shogun’s residence escorted by the shogunate cavalry, cursed under his breath while forcibly preventing himself from bursting into laughter.

‘shit! It’s someone else’s country, but it’s going well for once!’

The layout of the shogunate’s buildings and the imperial palace was an extremely disrespectful arrangement.

Gyeongbokgung Palace in Hanseong and the Royal Palace in Kaesong, built in the Joseon Dynasty, did not allow other buildings to be built behind the palace.

This was for safety reasons, but also a matter of etiquette.

To compare a building to a person, the person who could sit behind the king was the eldest member of the royal family, such as the king or queen consort, who served as regent.

It was impossible for a subject to sit behind the king. And this was also true of the layout of the building.

Of course, like the Forbidden City in Beijing, an exception could be made if a palace was built in the very center of the city, with the idea that the emperor – Zhonghua (中華) – was the center of the world. However, if the palace was located in the north, as in Kaesong and Hanseong Kyoto, this arrangement was a Buddhist scripture among Buddhist scriptures.

Even if he was treated as a traitor for insulting the king, he had nothing to say.

However, the shogunate building was located right behind the imperial palace. Although it was not as large as the imperial palace, it was a large and imposing building.

Because of this, even Nam Ki-joo, who is famous for not expressing his emotions, momentarily lost his expression and cursed inwardly.

‘They say the country of Japan has two kings! There really are two of them!’

But since it was someone else’s business anyway and thinking about what had to be done, Nam Ki-ju suppressed her emotions as much as possible.

* * *

Nam Ki-ju and his party, who entered the shogunate, had an audience with Ashikaga Yoshinori, the 6th shogun.

“Meet the King of Japan.”

“Thank you for coming this far. First, let’s take care of the travel issues and then talk.”

Nam Ki-ju, who heard Yoshinori’s words through the interpreter, bowed his head and answered.

“I appreciate your kindness.”

That night, after a grand banquet, Yoshinori met separately with Ouchi and the Tsushima retainers.

“Why didn’t your family heads come with you?”

Generally, when a messenger came from Joseon, at least those fleeing Tsushima headed to Kyoto with the messenger.

However, this time neither the Tsushima lord nor the head of the Ouchi family came together, but only the vassals.

To Yoshinori’s question, the Ouchi family’s retainer bowed his head and answered.

“The head of the family suddenly became unwell…”

“He became unwell?”

“You suddenly came down with a severe cold… so here you are instead…”

The retainer of the Ouchi family, who was lying face down on the floor, took out a letter from his arms and lifted it above his head.

The shogunate’s retainer who took the letter on Yoshinori’s behalf broke the seal on the letter and confirmed that there was no problem. After confirming that there was no problem with the envelope and its contents, the shogunate’s retainer presented Yoshinori with a neatly folded letter.

“Hmm…”

Yoshinori opened his mouth after reading the contents of the letter, glaring at the retainer of the Ouchi family.

“It’s just a shame that I can’t come because I have a severe fever due to a cold. “I hope you get well soon.”

“I am devastated!”

“Then what about Tsushima?”

“You couldn’t come because the pirates’ movements were detected just before you arrived.”

“okay? Because it’s a pirate… huh~. It’s not a big problem. “Escape will be difficult.”

Tsushima’s vassals also presented letters to Yoshinori.

After reading the letter, Yoshinori waved his hand.

“Good work. Tell your master my words. ‘I’ll just skip it this time.’ Do you understand?”

“hot!”

The vassals of Tsushima and Ouchi responded with sweat and politely retreated.

Yoshinori, who was watching this, looked back at his retainers.

“Why do you think Tsushima and Ouchi couldn’t come?”

One of the vassals answered Yoshinori’s question.

“They are probably preoccupied with calculating the profit and loss of the proposal made by Joseon.”

“Maybe so.”

Yoshinori nodded at the vassal’s answer.

‘There is something we need to discuss urgently, so I will send a news agency.’ Joseon’s communication also briefly stated the agenda to be coordinated.

There were two agendas conveyed by Joseon.

One was leasing a port in Tsushima Island, and the other was that he wanted to open a business in the Ouchi area.

‘I would like to provide detailed information and coordination through the dispatching telecommunications company.’ The shogunate was eagerly awaiting the arrival of the Joseon messenger because of the Joseon communication that ended with this.

“Looking at the current situation, it should be seen that Tsushima, Ouchi, and Joseon have accepted their opinions, right?”

“It will be so.”

“Then what should I do? Should I put my palms together or place a fishing pole? Tsushima and Ouchi are both people I don’t like.”

Hearing Yonori’s words, the retainers began to murmur and exchange opinions.

The retainers who shared their opinions gave advice to Yoshinori.

“If Joseon provides sufficient benefits to our shogunate, it would be a good idea to accept it.”

“why? “You two don’t listen to me very well?”

“Aren’t Tsushima and Ouchi enmity with each other?”

Yoshinori clapped his hands in response to the vassals’ answers.

“yes!”

From the shogunate’s point of view, both Ouchi and Tsushima were disfavored tribes. Ouchi was a magnate who built up his capabilities by putting as much effort into trade as they did. The former shogun, worried about this, hatched a plan, and the head of the Ouchi family, who fell for this plan, rebelled and was killed.

Afterwards, he appointed someone who seemed to listen well to him as the head of the family, but a civil war broke out and he was kicked out, and the current head of the family, Morimi, took over as head of the family. They tried to make this an issue, but as all the powerful clans around Ouchi recognized Morimi as the head of the family, the shogunate also had to recognize Morimi as the head of the family.

The same was true for Tsushima. In Kyushu, Tsushima was a member of the Shoni family who did not listen to the shogunate and obeyed them.

The good news was that Ouchi and Tsushima, or more specifically the Shoni family of Kyushu, were enemies. Ouchi’s move to recover his lost power was to advance into Kyushu, and in the process, the Shawnee family suffered enormous damage.

Because the shogunate wanted to weaken the Shoni clan, the indigenous ruling power of Kyushu, the shogunate gave the Ouchi family the position of Kyushu Dandai, and the Ouchi and Tsushima became impatient, unable to support each other.

Therefore, Yoshinori came to a clear conclusion.

“I really like it. “Let’s take Joseon’s words in moderation and move in a direction that will benefit us.”

“hot!”

* * *

The meeting went smoothly thanks to the shogunate having decided on the direction in advance. Of course, it was smooth sailing as there were no major wars of words or disagreements, but the progress of the meeting itself was not fast.

With Yoshinori left behind, Nam Ki-ju’s party and the shogunate’s vassals coordinated their opinions.

“Let us proceed with the lease of Tsushima’s military port as agreed upon between Joseon and Tsushima.”

“great.”

“Then let’s move on to the next item on the agenda. “It’s the opening of a superior office, but Joseon wants two locations?”

“yes.”

At first, Joseon decided to open only one trading office. But soon, criticism about this emerged.

“If we only decide on one territory for the Daenae clan, the shogunate may object. We also need to provide suitable bait to the shogunate.”

Since the objection was reasonable, a meeting regarding it was held. And the number of new offices opened increased to two.

“Where and where do you want Joseon?”

Nam Ki-ju answered the shogunate vassal’s question right away.

“First, I would like to open a superior office in one of the lower gates (Shimonoseki) or the upper gate (long gate Nagato), and one place recommended by the shogunate.”

“Is that so?”

The retainers looked perplexed after hearing Nam Ki-ju’s answer.

‘There’s so much to choose from!’

In the end, the vassals had to declare a suspension of the meeting.

Because it was like this, the atmosphere of the meeting was good, but it took up a lot of time.

After so many time-consuming meetings, the location where the Chosun Sangbo would be opened was decided.

They were Nagato and Naniwa (Osaka).

Once all the agreements were reached, Nam Ki-joo returned home with a relieved heart.

Nam Ki-ju muttered to herself as she looked out at the sea from the panok ship heading to Shimonoseki.

‘Did the emissaries do well?’

* * *

“My lord! “I’m back!”

When the retainer lying on the ground announced his return, Morimi responded calmly.

“Good work. So, where has it been decided to open the store?”

“This is Nagato.”

Morimi frowned at the retainer’s answer.

“You are indeed the shogun. “I used my little hair.”

Shimonoseki was a traditional trading district, and Ouchi had been well equipped with defensive facilities since ancient times.

However, as Nagato was designated, Ouchi had to expend troops and wealth while expanding defense facilities in Nagato as well.

That’s why Morimi said ‘small hair’.

“My lord! “God forgive me for my mistakes!”

When the retainer asked for forgiveness, Morimi replied with an expression that it was no big deal.

“Okay. Anyway, I thought Nagato had a higher chance. The first place Joseon pointed out was Nagato. And…”

Morimi, who was speechless for a moment, continued speaking as he lifted the teacup next to him to his mouth.

“Meanwhile, an emissary arrived from Joseon.”

“You mean an emissary?”

“okay. “The telecommunications company was bait.”

Hearing Morimi’s words, the retainer swallowed his saliva.

“What did Joseon offer?”

“Joint development of Iwami Silver Mine.”

“omg!”

Iwami’s silver mine had been discovered for some time, but it was not properly mined. The reason was that the Japanese technology had not yet been able to penetrate deep into the depths.

Morimi and his fellow retainers continued their conversation with bright faces.

“With shipbuilding technology, the amount of mining will increase several times!”

“The fact that even the wages are paid by Joseon is just the icing on the cake!”

“That’s right! This will give us some breathing room to expand our military base!”

Morimi, who was nodding at the words of his retainers, looked slightly disappointed.

“It’s just that the distribution rate is a little disappointing. It’s 30% of 60%… Of course, since Joseon decided to pay the wages, it’s not a big loss…”

“It’s a profitable business because you can learn Joseon’s mining technology!”

“It would have been nice if I had acquired smelting technology…”

Morimi, unable to hide his disappointment, gave orders to his vassals.

“Try putting some lines into the name. “Please see if I can find a smelting engineer.”

“hot!”

After giving orders to his vassals, Morimi savored his appetite once again.

“By the way, did you say Kim Jong-seo? It seemed really useful…”

The same reaction was shared by Won Do-jin, the savior thief.

“Did you say Hwang Bo-in? Joseon has a lot of talented people.”