Black Corporation: Joseon - Chapter 296

Episode 296 Departure. (2)

Just as the hull was being repaired and the equipment needed for safe navigation was being completed, Mansour’s merchant ships arrived.

As always, Mansour, who arrived at Jeolla Woosuyeong and was taking a rest while undergoing a brief inspection, caught the eyes of challenger-level front lines.

“Have the Catholics finally come to Joseon?”

Frightened, Mansur sought the captain of his fleet’s flagship.

“Look! “You’re in big trouble!”

“Are you saying it’s a big deal? “There was nothing wrong with the ship or the cargo?”

“That’s not the problem! The Catholics are here! “Catholic bastards!”

“yes?”

“Come and see! Let’s go check it out together! “You too!”

Mansour led the captains to a place where they could see the ‘Catholic ships’ in question.

“Hmm…”

“Huh…”

Mansour continued speaking again, observing the expressions on the captains’ faces when they saw the ships in question.

“Right? “It’s the Catholic guys’ ship, right?”

“It seems so…”

“Hmm…”

The captain of the flagship opened his mouth while examining the ships with a very serious expression.

“It’s not a Catholic bastard’s ship. “I’m sure.”

“huh?”

The captain of the flagship explained in detail to Mansour.

“It looks similar, but it is slightly different in many ways. The biggest difference is the number of gun ports. At least among the Catholic ships I’ve seen, none has had so many gun ports breached. “According to my experience, there is only one crazy country that has that many crazy artillery pieces.”

“Where is that place?”

The captain of the flagship gave a short answer to Mansour’s question.

“This is Joseon right here.”

“huh?”

After hearing the answer, Mansur traced his memory.

‘surely!’

The Joseon battle line he encountered when he first came to Joseon was also equipped with over 20 artillery pieces.

The captain, seeing Mansour’s worried face, added his words.

“And look at that player. The player’s shape is slanted, right? If you look at the ships of Spanish or Portuguese bastards, they come down almost vertically. And looking at the shape, the bow and stern are not as high as those of the Iberian bastards. When I looked at the various features…”

The captain paused for a moment and carefully examined the ship in question once again. Even after looking at it again, the captain was convinced that his conclusion was correct and told Mansour about his conclusion.

“I am sure this ship was made by Joseon.”

In response, Mansour looked at the ships in question with eyes full of doubt.

“A country in the far east makes ships similar to those in the far west? Without any interaction? how?”

While Mansour was pondering an unanswerable question, the words of Hassan, who worked as an official in Joseon, came to mind.

‘This Crown Prince of Joseon is an unusual person. As he steps forward, Joseon is changing in an unbelievable way. The king of Joseon is a scary person, but the Crown Prince is an even scarier person.’

Mansour, recalling Hassan’s words, shook his head.

“No matter how genius he is…”

* * *

Mansour’s fleet, which finished maintenance in Woosuyeong, Jeolla Province, headed north toward Jemulpo.

“It would be nice to just go straight up.”

The captain responded immediately to Mansour’s complaint.

“Just like when I first came to Joseon, if you move just one ship, you can go right away. But it moves like this, but it goes straight? “It will be fish food in the middle.”

“….”

Mansur fell silent at the captain’s words.

* * *

While continuing trade with Joseon, Mansour made efforts to obtain information about Joseon and neighboring countries.

“Of all the businesses, the most profitable one is the weapons business. “The weapons themselves make money, but arranging weapon craftsmen can also make a big profit.”

In search of items that could make money, Mansour diligently gathered information.

Among them, the ones caught were ‘Waegu’ and ‘Yeojin’. I learned that these two beings caused Kitai – China – and Joseon to become pathologically wary of foreigners.

“The problem is that there are no weapons to sell.”

Kitai and Joseon during this period had the world’s best weapon manufacturing technology. In particular, in the case of Joseon, they gave up attempts at cloning altogether.

“Shall we sell it to Jipang (Japan)?”

When Mansour said this, Hassan was shocked and tried to stop him.

“There are a lot of damn thieves in the cane! “The moment the leader sells weapons or craftsmen to the staff, trade with Joseon will end!”

Due to this situation, Mansour had no choice but to focus on trade with Joseon. And in order to maintain good relations, he repeatedly went up to Jemulpo via Jeolla Usuyeong.

* * *

Arriving in Jemulpo, Mansur handed over the goods ordered by Joseon to officials from the Ministry of Finance and settled the payment.

“Please enter Gyeongbokgung Palace in three days.”

“All right.”

Mansour responded politely to the official’s message.

As promised, three days later, Mansour entered Gyeongbokgung Palace.

Mansour, who went through a simple inspection and entered Geunjeongjeon under the guidance of an eunuch, bowed deeply in accordance with Joseon-style etiquette when he saw King Sejong.

“Mansour, a lowly merchant, comes to see you.”

“I had a hard time coming. “It’s really reassuring to see that everything is okay.”

“Your Majesty’s sincerity is ruined.”

After the meeting was over, we finally got to the main topic.

* * *

The reason King Sejong called Mansour was to hear information about the Kingdom of Heaven. Therefore, according to principle, only the ministers of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Defense, and the Ministry of Finance and Economy should have remained, but all ministers of each department and even the prefectures remained in their positions.

“You may have heard it last time, but this year, Joseon also decided to send out its fleet. Your hometown is a destination, but Cheonchukguk is also an important destination for our Joseon. So, if you know anything about Cheonchukguk, please tell me everything.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

After answering King Sejong’s command, Mansour calmed his voice and waited for the question.

The first person to ask a question was Hyang.

“From the knowledge I gained through books, I heard that Cheonchukguk is a country with a very large land area. “Then who is the monarch who rules the Heavenly Kingdom now?”

Mansour answered the question immediately.

“Currently, Indie… Heavenly Kingdom is in a state of division. “There are a lot of dynasties, big and small.”

King Sejong and the ministers murmured at the same time in response to Mansour’s answer.

“Is this the Spring and Autumn Warring States period?”

In response to Mansour’s answer, Hyang immediately followed up with a question.

“Then, among the numerous monarchies, which one is suitable for our Joseon to trade with?”

Mansur, who searched his memory for a moment in response to the question of incense, soon selected a suitable kingdom.

“In my opinion, the Sultanate of Bengal is the best. “We have good relations with the Ming Dynasty and even have a famous trading port called Chittagong.”

“is it? “What is the route to get there?”

“The kingdom of Melaka in the middle—now part of Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia—is making great efforts to keep its sea routes safe.”

Jo Mal-saeng intervened in Mansour’s answer.

“Is the pirates’ rampage serious?”

In response to Jo Mal-saeng’s question, Mansour closed his mouth for a moment and gathered his thoughts. Once everything was sorted out, Mansour answered Jo Mal-saeng’s question.

“When meeting a fleet in the ocean, the opposing fleet is usually one of two types. One is the ships of merchants (Chinese merchants) and the other is pirates.”

When ‘pirates’ were mentioned, the atmosphere inside Geunjeongjeon became serious. Malsaeng Jo hurriedly asked a question.

“To what extent is the pirates’ military force strong? Are there pirates armed with artillery?”

“I have never seen pirates armed with artillery before. Armed force…. Since the grace of Your Majesty, we laid fire on the small men’s ships, we have never met pirates who felt threatened.”

“Oh oh!”

With Mansour’s answer, the atmosphere inside Geunjeongjeon brightened again.

After Jo Mal-saeng’s question was finished, Kim Jeom came forward and answered.

“What are the favorite products of the monarch and people of Cheonchukguk?”

“Mirrors made by Catholics have been gaining popularity for some time now.”

In response to Mansour’s answer, King Sejong and the ministers thought the same thing at the same time.

‘Is this the beginning of the competition the crown prince spoke of?’

* * *

Until recently, mirrors were one of the items that Mansour bought in large quantities. I had been looking for mirrors in various price ranges, but on my last visit, I only purchased expensive items.

After receiving the report, Kim Jeom called Mansour and asked him the reason, and Mansour answered the reason.

“The Catholics started producing mirrors. Of course, the quality is so poor that it cannot be compared to Joseon mirrors, but the price is cheap.”

* * *

After that, various questions and answers continued. The meeting ended only in the evening. At the end of the meeting, King Sejong gave orders to Mansour.

“As I said last time, we want to trade with the Heavenly Kingdom. Your help is important for this to succeed. So I hope you do your best. “This is something that must succeed for our Joseon and your future.”

Mansour bowed his head at King Sejong’s request.

“I will do my best.”

* * *

Ahead of departure, Mansour began to select items to take to Alexandria and sell. But Mansour was full of worries.

“Joseon will also trade in Alexandria from now on, right?”

“I guess so. why? “Are you worried that your business will go bankrupt?”

Mansour nodded in response to Kim Jeom’s question. Kim Jeom, who looked at Mansour’s face full of worry, immediately answered.

“Then, focus your purchases on small and expensive items. “We will take things like pottery, cotton, and gold pens.”

“Ceramics…”

One of the things that ‘damn Catholics’ buy by sight was ceramics, so when Mansour looked disappointed, Kim Jeom replied with a slight smile.

“Shouldn’t we also see a surplus?”

“That’s true, but…”

“If you’re that worried, go outside. “There are many products sold by the author that are not available here.”

“Is that so?”

“That’s right.”

“I understand.”

Mansour accepted Kim Jeom’s advice and came forward as an author along with an interpreter.

At that time, construction work was in full swing on the street to lay the tracks for the train to run on.

“What are the iron pillars on the ground used for?”

“Are you saying this is a railroad track that trains run on?”

“What is a train again?”

“We use water and fire to pull the carts.”

Mansour, who was tilting his head at the interpreter’s explanation, asked again.

“Using water and fire? “How do you do it?”

The interpreter smiled and answered Mansour’s question.

“If you knew that, would you rather stay here than I am in Area 51?”

“Area 51…”

When Mansour heard the interpreter’s answer, an old memory came to mind. When told that many of the objects made and used by Joseon come from Area 51, Mansour asked Hassan.

“Can I see Area 51?”

Hassan’s face instantly turned pale at Mansour’s question. Hassan broke out in a cold sweat and tried to stop Mansour.

“Don’t even bring up the 5 characters from Area 51!”

Said, who was next to him, was equally white and sweating.

* * *

Mansour, who was walking down the street and looking at various items, caught his eye on one item.

It was the fan that stole Mansour’s attention.

“Welcome! huh? “Are you a Hohoe person?”

As the clerk looked at Mansour with a curious expression, the interpreter intervened.

“You know those ships that came into Jemulpo? “I am the owner of those ships.”

“Is that so? “Then how can I help you?”

After hearing the interpreter’s words, the clerk put on a business smile and immediately went to work.

While walking the streets like that, Mansour was able to reap a harvest that was more fruitful than expected. This was because there were a lot of products with good marketability.

“You must keep the date.”

The merchants who heard Mansur’s demands through the interpreter responded by beating their hearts.

“Don’t worry! ‘On-time delivery is the life of a merchant’ is our motto!”

And the Joseon merchants kept their promise.

After completing all preparations, Mansur’s corps left Jemulpo.