Black Corporation: Joseon - Chapter 445

Episode 445 Seo Yi (西夷) comes to Joseon. (2)

After the battle, on the way to Malacca, Henrique asked the guide.

“Are there many pirates on the way to Malacca?”

“many. There are a lot of them on the way to Malacca City and on the way around Temasek to Luzon. No, it’s better to think that everything on the way to Joseon is crowded.”

Henrik and the captain’s faces became serious at the guide’s words.

“If there are that many…”

While Henry was struggling to speak, the captain continued with a question.

“I saw earlier that the pirates were causing a lot of damage. “Do you always attack me like that?”

The guide nodded to the captain’s question.

“Pirates are as persistent as sharks. What makes it worth it is that the value of the cargo loaded on Joseon ships is enormous, right? “If you rob it properly, all the surviving pirates can live and play for years.”

Henrik and the captain nodded at the same time at the guide’s words. But Henrik had another question at the same time.

‘Where do pirates get their personnel?’

* * *

The value of cargo coming from the ‘Land of Flowers’ was enormous. Thanks to this, pirates were not the only ones targeting the cargo.

Even on the land route from Suez to Alexandria, there were many thieves targeting these cargoes or sales proceeds and products.

The reason it was in past tense was because the bandits who attacked it so much were massacred every time, making their existence almost rare.

According to rumors, the Joseon army used weapons similar to the Archebus in an amazing way. It was an added bonus that the unbelievable story was that when they ran out of bullets, they killed more bandits with bows and arrows, and the even more unbelievable story that when the Joseon army fired an arrow with a bow, it would fly 1,000 cubits (approximately 480 meters) and catch the bandits. .

* * *

Because Henry knew that the desert bandits had become extinct, he became curious as to why the pirates’ persistent challenge was possible.

In the end, Henrik asked the guide the reason.

“From what I saw earlier, the damage caused by the pirates was significant. How can we gather all those people?”

The guide answered Henry’s question with a sarcastic expression.

“There are people everywhere who have difficulty making a living.”

Henrik and the captain nodded in response to the guide’s answer.

* * *

As the guide said, there have been no pirate attacks since that one battle.

After a peaceful voyage, the Joseon fleet and the merchant ships that followed Henry’s fleet arrived in Melaka.

As the Joseon ship docked at the port, the port became noisy.

“You welcome Koreans?”

“Because I spend my money well. “We usually stay here for one to three days, so we can supply and prepare accordingly.”

“How long does it take to get to Joseon?”

“About 20 days if I ride the wind well?”

The guide who explained up to that point looked at the challenger-level battle line with eyes full of greed.

“For that ship, it would take fifteen days, but…”

Henrik and the captain’s eyes widened at the guide’s words.

“A guy that big is that fast? “It didn’t look like that?”

“I deliberately went slowly because there were many boats going together. “It’s incredibly fast without a bunch of luggage following you.”

“No way…”

“I saw it myself. Thanks to you, I was able to fight off pirates and become a guide.”

At the guide’s answer, Henrique’s heart suddenly felt heavy.

“This is it…”

The guide’s next words, whether he knew how Henry was feeling or not, were a sight to behold.

“I only heard this through rumors. “They say that if you go to mainland Joseon, there are ships faster than those ships.”

“Huh….”

* * *

After resting and resupplying in Melaka, Henry’s fleet left Melaka with other ships following the Joseon fleet.

As it passed Temasek and Luzon and moved further northeast, the size of the fleet grew.

Every time a new, unfamiliar-looking ship approached, the guide explained the nationality of the ships to Henrik and the captain.

“Those ships are from Siam (today’s Thailand).”

“Those ships are from Nam Viet (now Vietnam).”

The guide also explained what the ships mainly carry. Henrik’s eyes brightened again at the guide’s explanation.

‘It’s the golden scent I’ve only heard about! If you can monopolize properly, your kingdom will become the best in the world! And my position will become stronger! If necessary, we must succeed in monopolizing even by mobilizing the entire fleet!’

It was Henrik who dreamed of monopolizing the trade route, even if it meant resorting to military force.

‘Those Joseon ships are a bit burdensome, but if we make this voyage successful, we can gather investors on a large scale! Then you can further increase the size of your fleet! Then it’s completely possible!’

However, upon arriving near Joseon, Henrique’s plan of ‘monopoly based on force’ was in vain.

It was while meeting the sea creatures that roam the coastal waters of Joseon.

“What kind of country is this… Oh Lord….”

Enrique looked up at the sky and lamented after seeing the sea emergency fronts moving around as if they were flying over the sea in two small ships.

And as he got closer to Mokpo, seeing not only the Challenger-class emergency fronts but also Panok ships swarming around, Henri completely lost his will to ‘use force.’

It wasn’t just that there were a lot of ships. This was because I saw a large number of guns mounted on each ship.

“What a country like this…”

Every time he saw such a scene, Henrik kept saying, “What a country like this…” In the end, Henry couldn’t hold back his anger and screamed.

“What kind of country is this? Everywhere you look, there are only cannons! This is not the ‘Land of Flowers’ but the ‘Land of Cannons’!”

In the end, Henrik realized that there was no answer through force and decided to do his best in negotiations.

“Negotiation is the only way. Negotiation is the only thing….”

* * *

When the quarantine period ended, the ships staying at Dalido moved one by one to the trade port in Mokpo.

Challenger-class ships and large private merchant ships docked first, followed by ships belonging to the Mansour Merchant Marine, followed by ships from other countries.

Because of this order, Henry’s fleet was assigned almost last.

When the ship carrying Henry safely docked at the dock, the pier was laid and interpreters and officials came aboard. Thanks to the advance message from the challenger-level front and the presence of an interpreter who could speak Latin, the work progressed surprisingly quickly.

“Who is the commander of this fleet?”

In response to the interpreter’s question, the captain introduced Henry to the interpreter.

“This is you. “He is the Prince of Portugal.”

“Princeps autem regni Portuguese (Prince of the Kingdom of Portugal)?”

“exactly.”

“Really?”

“That’s right.”

The interpreter, who checked again but received the same answer, immediately reported it to his superior.

“I am the prince of the Western Kingdom of Portugal!”

“The prince of Portugal? “Is there a country called Portugal?”

“yes. From what I learned, there is such a country among the countries in the Western Region!”

Upon hearing the interpreter’s report, an official from the Ministry of Finance and Economy immediately summarized the situation.

“Let us allocate the best building among the guesthouses!”

“yes!”

“And send an urgent message through the light-emitting communicator! For detailed instructions, check out Iron Horse…. Ah, the last train has already left today! First, take them to the building!”

“yes!”

Officials and translators in charge of immigration records were busy following orders from Ministry of Finance and Economy officials.

I couldn’t tell right now whether he was bringing good news or not, but in any case, he was a prince of a country. It had to be treated with proper formality.

* * *

“What country…”

As he walked to the empty pavilion under the guidance of the interpreter and officials and looked around, he muttered words that had now become a habit. No, it wasn’t just Henrik. The attendants, guards, and captain who served him looked all around with similar expressions.

Even though it was a foreign country far away from Portugal, the scenery of Joseon was very unfamiliar.

The main street running through the center of Mokpo was neatly paved with cimento. Even the alleyways that had not been paved yet were solidly packed dirt roads. And on both sides of the road, whether paved or unpaved, there were covered ditches that looked like sewers.

The houses around the road were also a sight to behold. Whether the houses had walls made of cement and roofs made of tiles, or houses with mud walls and roofs covered with grass, most of them had glass windows.

In Europe, expensive glass windows were still installed in houses that, at first glance, were not well off.

This was the same for restaurants located throughout the streets. At first glance, there were expensive glasses and ceramic dishes passing around every table in a restaurant where ordinary people would normally go.

That wasn’t all.

Common people in Europe were everywhere drinking Ponsu, which was only available on saints’ birthdays or festivals, and boxes filled with empty Ponsu bottles were piled up in front of stores that appeared to sell Ponsu.

And….

“Sniff! “What is this smell?”

There was an inexplicable bad smell – I later found out that it was the smell of the intestines that Koreans eat – and there was something fragrant mixed in between them.

When I turned my head to follow the trace of the smell, I saw a large pot of oil frying something, and people were moving around putting the fried food in paper bags or bowls. And in the other hands of those holding the fried food, bottles filled with phone water were held in straw baskets.

Experiencing the confusion caused by harmony and disharmony, Prince Henry and his party entered the empty house.

The interpreter who assigned accommodations for Henry and the rest of the group spoke with a kind smile.

“Water for washing will be ready soon. “Please wait a moment.”

“I understand.”

Henry answered briefly and looked around the room.

“That’s unusual.”

There was a clean bed on one side of the room, and a large round desk in the middle. And in the center of the desk was a lamp with a white shade.

Intrigued, Henry took off the lampshade and looked inside.

“It’s empty. Are you adding candles or oil later? By the way…”

After examining the white glass lampshade and transparent lamp pipe, Henrik secretly became greedy.

“Does it look good?”

* * *

It was around sunset when Prince Henry came out after washing his body.

As Henry, who had changed his clothes with the help of an attendant, was sitting on a chair and looking at the increasingly dark scene outside, a man who appeared to be a servant from the guest house entered the room carrying a basket.

After politely bowing, the servant removed the lampshade and tube from the lamp in the middle of the room and opened the lid of the copper stand.

Henrik observed the servant’s behavior with curious eyes.

The servant opened the lid of the copper stand, took a small, blue-grey, square stone out of the basket, placed it in the stand, and then took a kettle out of the basket.

The servant tilted the kettle and filled the stand with water, immediately closed the lid and waited for a moment. After a while, the servant took a burning wooden stick from the basket and placed it on the copper pipe rising above the lid.

At that moment, a yellow flame rose from the spout of the copper coffin, and the servant put on the lantern and lampshade with familiar hands.

After finishing all the work, the servant bowed politely again and went out.

Prince Henry, who had been absently observing the glowing lamp, looked back at his attendant.

“Have you ever seen anything like that?”

“doesn’t exist! “Is it magic to make a fire with water and stones?”

Henrik, who was staring blankly at the lamp amidst the servant’s fuss, muttered again.

“What kind of country is this….”