Black Corporation: Joseon - Chapter 342

Episode 342: Invisible War. (1)

After returning from Lisbon to Sagres, Henrique called his subordinate Jose.

“Did you call me?”

“Have you found out the whereabouts of the missing artisans?”

Jose answered Henrique’s question with a serious face.

“I figured it out. “It’s Valencia.”

bang!

In response to Jose’s answer, Henrique slammed the desk and became angry.

“Damn you Aragorns!”

* * *

At this time, relations between Portugal and Spain—more precisely, the united kingdoms of Castile and Aragon—were not good.

It started as a Roman province of Hispania, and after the fall of Rome, the Visigoth Kingdom took over. However, the feud between the nobles collapsed the kingdom and allowed the invasion of Islamic forces.

Although the Iberian Peninsula was being occupied by Islam, the nobles of the Visigoth Kingdom were biting each other.

Even in the process of the Reconquista, which began after being dominated by Islamic forces, the antagonism between the two countries did not stop.

In the first place, it was a distant possibility for Portugal and Castile and Aragon to come together.

Although they settled on the same Iberian Peninsula and believed in the same Catholicism, the situation was so different that even the words of the Castilian side called the national recovery movement Reconquista and the Portuguese called the Reconquista.

Eventually, amidst the national restoration movement, King Afon Soo I declared independence.

Unlike Castile and Aragon, which were gradually approaching integration, Portugal and Portugal declared independence, so the two countries were not on good terms.

* * *

Enrique, who was furious by slamming the desk, tried to calm his anger by breathing heavily.

Henrique got up from his seat and walked around to cool off his anger and sort out the situation.

“Things haven’t been easy….”

“That’s right. “The immediate problem is the supply and demand of seafarers.”

Aragon has boasted a strong water power since ancient times. Thanks to this, it was a country that produced many excellent sailors.

Although the relationship between the countries was not good, they were not invincible enemies like the Islamic forces. Therefore, a significant number of sailors from Aragon came to Portugal to work.

However, the United Kingdom of Castile and Aragon began to make moves to advance into western Africa. It was natural that problems would arise in the supply and demand of crew members, if not immediately, sooner or later.

When Jose pointed out the problem of supply and demand of crew members, Henrique nodded and gave orders.

“Call James.”

“Yes, prince.”

After a while, James, who was in charge of Henry’s finances, was called and came running.

After hearing the situation from Henrique, James stroked his beard and opened his mouth.

“Obviously the problem is the problem. “The number of refugees who have crossed over to the other side is significant, and the supply and demand of sailors will also be a problem.”

“Is there something we can do to change the situation to our advantage?”

“Hmm…”

James, who was still stroking his beard and thinking, looked at Henrique.

“As you know, Prince, a voyage of exploration requires a lot of capital. Although Castile and Aragon are bigger and more powerful than Portugal, they do not yet have that much capital.”

Henry’s eyes began to sparkle as he heard James’ words.

“Are they also Genoese?”

“Most likely. “Castile and Aragon are the ones who are bad at calculating money.”

“yes.”

It was Henry who nodded to James’ words.

* * *

While carrying out the national restoration movement, Portugal took a considerably more conciliatory approach toward Jews and Muslims than the United Kingdom of Castile and Aragon (later known as Spain). Unlike Portugal, where you could reside once you nominally converted to Catholicism, Spain meant unconditional expulsion or death.

Thanks to this, the competent economic class was wiped out and the economic infrastructure was destroyed, forcing Spain to entrust economic management to Genoese merchants.

In this way, Spain and Genoa were turning into a relationship of mutual symbiosis.

* * *

“Shall we attack Genoa?”

Henrik looked at James and proposed an attack on Genoa. James shook his head at Henry’s words.

“The harm is greater than the benefit. “It would be better for us to find a force to unite with.”

“A force to be united…. Venice?”

James nodded to Henry’s words and continued.

“It would be better if we could bring it to Florence as well.”

“Hmm…”

Henry pondered for a moment on James’ words and soon made a decision.

“Prepare people to send to Venice and Florence.”

“Yes, prince.”

* * *

Florence. Manor of the Medici family.

“Head of the family. “Prince Henry has sent someone.”

“Let me in.”

After a while, a messenger sent by Henry entered the room and paid homage to Cosimo.

“It is an honor to meet the great Cosimo di Giovanni de’ Medici.”

“Thank you for coming this far.”

Cosimo answered lightly and got straight to the point.

“Okay~. What story did Prince Henrique send? “I think it’s because of Spain?”

“yes. “I would like to have a long discussion with the head of the family about that issue.”

The messenger took out a letter written by Henrique from his bosom and held it out in front of him.

Cosimo, who was handed the letter by a servant in the middle, broke the seal and began to read the contents of the letter carefully.

Although it was full of all kinds of rhetoric, the content of the letter was simple.

-Invest in me!

“Hmm…”

Cosimo put down the letter and quietly calculated his profits and losses.

‘According to information sent by spies, Henry also sent someone to Venice. Venice is good at making boats, so it’s a pretty good choice. In particular, it would be better if the people on the council, starting with the governor, were Genoese, since they would all follow this closely. They may be planning to send or bring a large number of glass craftsmen to Joseon. The question is whether Henrique can safely find a new route. And that too when he was alive. If you make a mistake, you may not even be able to recover the principal you invested.’

The reason that made Cosimo worry was that Joseon goods were already steadily coming in through Alexandria.

* * *

After the Koreans found Alexandria on their own, ships passed regularly between Joseon and Alexandria.

With ships coming and going every six to eight months, merchants thought they would be able to get goods made in the ‘Land of Flowers’ at low prices.

But all the merchants’ expectations were wrong.

Although ships were coming and going regularly, demand still far exceeded supply.

To put it simply, goods were coming in steadily from Joseon, but nobles who still could not get Joseon-made goods – especially expensive crystal products – were in a hurry, regardless of the Islamic sphere of influence and Europe.

Not only crystal products, but also other glass and ceramic products were of excellent quality, draining the wallets of nobles. No, it wasn’t just the wallets of nobles. Demand was steady for mid- to low-priced products because they were of fairly good quality.

Looking at the current situation, not only Italian city-states but also middle-class households in cities belonging to the Hanseatic League had at least one or two shipbuilding products.

If you didn’t have at least one or two Joseon-made items in your home or on your person, you were treated like a country bumpkin.

In particular, for men who were a little more fashionable, wearing a visor was a must, and for women, it was popular to wear an ayam in winter and a full cap in other seasons.

Of course, as Joseon products became popular, many imitation products were distributed. However, due to the quality assurance system that made Joseon called the ‘Land of Flowers,’ those who used counterfeit products were treated worse than those who did not have them at all.

To keep up with this trend, Venetian glass craftsmen produced Joseon-style glassware, and some even imported ceramic products from the Ming Dynasty. However, all of the products imported in this way were recognized as one level lower than Joseon products.

This was also because there was no quality guarantee attached to shipbuilding products. Venice also had its own quality assurance system through its artisan guild, but was lagging behind in that it was not nationally recognized.

* * *

‘Is it beneficial to take this detour, which is sure to take longer, for goods to come in steadily through Alexandria?’

Cosimo, who continued to ponder, looked at the map and muttered softly.

“I see….”

‘Alexandria will become a powder keg.’

Alexandria was the first place where goods from Joseon were released. Only after things were released from Alexandria were they able to spread either to Islamic powers or to Europe.

Thanks to this, Alexandria was enjoying a tremendous boom. It was said that whenever Joseon goods were brought in, a river of gold flowed through the streets of Alexandria.

Alexandria was a city that anyone could see. The Mamluk Sultanate, which now rules Alexandria, was aware of this and was strengthening its defenses, but the Ottomans in the east were increasing their power again.

Even the little boy knew that Osman would not just overlook Alexandria.

‘Of course, something like that won’t happen within 10 to 20 years, but you never know. ‘If you look for a solution after something happens, it’s too late.’

Cosimo, who had been thinking about the situation in the eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East these days, gradually began to lean towards accepting Henrique’s proposal.

Cosimo thought for a while and spoke to the lion.

“It is difficult to give an answer right now. Send a messenger as soon as a decision is made. “Please tell the prince that I am deeply grateful for the good offer.”

“All right.”

After sending the messenger back, Medici immediately summoned the merchants of the family.

The merchants argued over Henrique’s proposal. There was a heated exchange of words for quite a long time, and Cosimo finally came to a conclusion.

“I accept Henrique’s offer!”

* * *

As Cosimo accepted Henrique’s offer, Henrique’s movements also became faster.

Venice’s state-owned shipyard began building Karak ships to explore the west coast of Africa.

The Karak ships built in this way were crewed by sailors hired from Venice and headed to Henrique with funds provided by Cosimo.

In this way, Henrique’s exploration began to progress at a faster pace than in history before the intervention of incense.

* * *

If Portugal was stimulated by Spain’s movements and took radical steps, the reverse was also true.

“The Portuguese are moving faster than expected!”

“We must move quickly too!”

There was a naval competition between Portugal and Spain.

And the movements of these two countries caused a chain reaction.

“Now is not the time to waste time negotiating!”

“It’s time to end negotiations for the sake of negotiation!”

Britain and France were beginning to speed up negotiations on the end of the war.

Since they also had eyes and ears and a head to think, they could not miss the value of the sea route to Joseon.

Meanwhile, another movement began to appear in the Middle East.

“There’s no law that says you have to go by boat, right?”

“yes!”

Some people began to dream of reviving the ‘Silk Road’, which had disappeared into history.

* * *

While people were busy in the west, far away from Joseon, there were people inside Joseon who were also busy.