Black Corporation: Joseon - Chapter 464
Episode 464: Caesar’s, God’s (4)
On the ship returning to Lisbon, Henry was looking at the water with a serious expression.
“Your Excellency the Duke. “You don’t look good.”
Hearing the captain’s words, Henri immediately straightened his expression.
“It’s nothing. “Are we going to get on board soon?”
“yes. We will reach Ceuta in two days.”
“I understand. “I’m going to go in and get some rest.”
“Yes sir.”
* * *
Upon arriving in Lisbon via Ceuta, Henry went straight to the royal palace and had an audience with Apuns V.
“Henrich, Duke of Viseu. “I returned safely.”
When Henry knelt politely and announced his return according to etiquette, King Apunsu V, who was sitting on the throne, responded with a smile.
“Good job, Duke. “How is the Pope?”
“yes. “You looked good.”
King Apuns V breathed a sigh of relief at Henry’s answer.
“Whoa~. Thank goodness. “As for the servant, please take the chair for the duke.”
After a while, the conversation between Henry, who was comfortably seated in a chair, and the King resumed.
“So how is Florence? Was it as glamorous as it sounds?”
“Yes…”
Henry began to tell the young king various things about Florence. The young king, who had never been outside the palace, looked dazed as he listened to Henry’s story.
“What a wonderful place. I really want to go there sometime. The same goes for Joseon.”
“You will be able to visit when you grow up.”
In response to Henry’s answer, Apunsu V asked with shining eyes.
“I guess so?”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
* * *
Feeling tired from the long conversation, Apuns V came down from the throne with a small yawn.
“Then let’s meet again later at the banquet.”
“All right. your majesty.”
After completing the audience, Henrik immediately moved to Regent Pedro’s office.
“Good work.”
“thank you.”
After a short and concise exchange of compliments and thanks, Pedro got straight to the point.
“How was your meeting with Cosimo de’ Medici? Have you been promised continued investment?”
“to. And I got an interesting offer.”
“Interesting offer?”
Henrique told Pedro about the railway connecting Suez to the Mediterranean and the connection with the Ottomans for this.
“Ottoman?”
Pedro’s first reaction after hearing the whole story was not much different from Henrik’s.
“Does Cosimo de’ Medici not know about the relationship between Portugal and Islam?”
“No, I know very well.”
“But are you offering that? “Are you sane?”
“He was of sound mind.”
“And yet you made that offer and you accepted it?”
Despite Pedro’s angry scolding, Henrik responded with a calm expression.
“I thought it was a pretty good offer.”
“hey!”
“Cosimo he mentioned Jerusalem.”
Pedro, who was so excited that he was about to scream, stopped for a moment when he heard the word ‘Jerusalem’.
“Jerusalem?”
“yes.”
“Please explain in more detail.”
Pedro, who calmed his excitement because the ‘carrots’ that Cosimo presented looked quite appetizing, reviewed Cosimo’s proposal with a serious face.
“Hmm… not bad.”
“That’s right.”
“Of course, you know that there are many problems that need to be solved, right?”
“I know very well.”
There were still many issues that needed to be resolved, such as how to share the maintenance costs of the railroad and what the profit distribution ratio would be.
Pedro, who was quietly considering Cosimo’s proposal, looked at Henrik.
“Are you confident that trade with Joseon will bring benefits in the future?”
Many of the products brought and sold from Joseon had a long lifespan. Therefore, there was a high possibility that demand would decrease over time, and this was what Pedro pointed out.
To Pedro’s point, Henrik answered firmly with a face full of confidence.
“I am sure. And in the East, there is not only Joseon, but also India, Kitai, and Zipangu. “If we can secure that railway, there will be no need to bypass Africa.”
“That’s true…”
As Pedro nodded, Henrik pointed out the most important problem.
“If that happens, there will be less need to be indebted to the nobles.”
When Henry mentioned ‘nobles’, Pedro’s face became fierce again.
* * *
Regent Pedro’s long-cherished wish was to reduce the authority of the nobles and strengthen the royal power.
The previous king, Joao I, was able to ascend to the throne because of the support of the bourgeoisie.
Therefore, Pedro had no choice but to concentrate on maintaining the support of the bourgeoisie and strengthening the royal power.
As a result, after becoming regent, Pedro continued to enact laws that reduced or limited the power of the nobility.
Thanks to this, the relationship between the nobles and Pedro was not very good.
This was a similar situation for Henrik.
In order to continue his expensive exploration of Africa, Henry had no choice but to take on debt under the guise of investment. And most of those investors were nobles.
As a result, the areas acquired through exploration had to be handed over to nobles.
The areas handed over to the nobles were lands like Altoran. The most representative region was the Madeira Islands, including Porto Santo Island.
In this system, lumber for dye extraction, wheat, and more recently sugarcane began to be cultivated, allowing the nobles who owned this system to earn enormous amounts of wealth.
But Henrik was in a situation where he didn’t have much left. The only way to break even was by supplying slaves to work on the island’s farms.
Therefore, hostility toward nobles was a common denominator between the two.
“Noble…”
Pedro, who was thinking about the word noble, looked at Henrik.
“You know what? Count Barcellus is gathering nobles.”
Henrik’s expression became fierce at Pedro’s words.
“The bastard of a lowly concubine!”
* * *
Apunsu, Count of Barcellus, was the illegitimate son of Henry I, his father. Having received the favor of King Joao I, he was able to marry the only daughter of Nuno Álvarz Ferreira, a founding creditor, and obtain the enormous wealth of the Ferreira family.
But he was still full of dissatisfaction.
“Among my father’s children, I was the most favored! “Why am I the only count?”
Apunsu, who was dissatisfied with his title, began to attract nobles who were opposed to Regent Pedro’s policy of oppressing the nobility. And at the same time, he was doing his best to win the favor of Apunsu V.
* * *
“… This is the situation. So you must capture the king’s attention. “It’s possible, right?”
Henrik nodded to Pedro’s question.
“It may not have been possible in the past, but it is possible as long as we hold the best card called Joseon.”
“request.”
“I will do my best.”
Henrik immediately bowed his head in response to Pedro’s request.
After concluding the agreement regarding Baron Barcellus Apunsu, Pedro returned to the main topic.
“And contact Cosimo de’ Medici and politely ask him to come to Lisbon. “There is something I want to ask you directly.”
“Do you think he has another intention?”
“that’s right. These days, rumors are circulating among the bourgeoisie about the ‘Western Route.’”
“Western route?”
“You know about the theory of a spherical Earth, right?”
Henrik, who was nodding his head in response to Pedro’s question, understood the true meaning and asked back.
“Are you thinking that since the Earth is round, you can go to Joseon if you go west?”
“okay. If that idea is proven to be true, Florence, Venice, and Genoa will come to an end. “I suspect that he may have taken measures to prevent this.”
Henrik wanted to deny Pedro’s words as a joke, but he couldn’t.
The person standing in front of him was a prince recognized as the most knowledgeable not only in Portugal but also in all of Europe.
He was never one to talk nonsense.
Therefore, after thinking about it for a long time, Henri shook his head and answered.
“To be honest, the ‘Western Route’ may exist, but we cannot confirm it at this time.”
“Can’t confirm right now? why?”
“There is no information about the sea west of Lisbon. On the eastern sea route, there is a place called Africa where you can take refuge for supplies and recreation, but there is nothing in that sea. To explore such seas, we need bigger and stronger ships than those we use today. Exploration will be possible only if the ships are at least the same as those used by Joseon. “Also, we need more precise measuring instruments to determine location.”
“That means…”
“Even if Cosimo de Medici has other intentions, it is beneficial to stay with him for at least 20 to 30 years.”
“is it? Even so, I must see him.”
“All right. “I will send a messenger.”
* * *
Cosimo, upon hearing Pedro’s request, immediately accepted it.
After leaving Florence, Cosimo secretly met with Pedro. When meeting Pedro, Cosimo was polite and courteous. Although he held the title of duke like Henry, Pedro was the king’s regent.
After a brief exchange of greetings, Pedro slowly continued the conversation, mentioning Henrik, who was not present.
“It would have been nice if the Duke of Viseu had been here as well, but he left for Joseon again not long ago.”
“Is that so? “This is a bit disappointing.”
Pedro, who was observing Cosimo’s face without hiding his regret, got straight to the point.
“I heard it through the Duke of Viseu. “You want to build a railway from Suez to the Mediterranean?”
“yes. I am confident that this will be of great benefit to Portugal as well.”
“Of course you can. Because there is no need to bypass Africa. But…”
Pedro picked up the Korean-made teacup on the table, moistened his lips, and continued.
“Will products coming from Joseon continue to be popular in the future? It’s good, but it’s expensive and doesn’t last long. Doesn’t that mean there is a high possibility that the market will gradually decrease?”
Cosimo nodded at Pedro’s point.
“Of course that is a possibility. However, Joseon products were not only available to nobles. “Joseon products are something that even commoners want to buy if they have money, so they are marketable.”
“Aren’t there a lot of counterfeit products circulating?”
“Because of those counterfeit products, people want to get the real thing even more.”
“In the end, is it marketable enough?”
Cosimo nodded to Pedro’s question.
Seeing that, Pedro pointed out another problem.
“You talked about joining hands with the Ottomans, but do you not know Portugal’s position?”
“There is a saying in the East: ‘The enemy of my enemy is my friend.’ “What is Portugal’s biggest obstacle to trade with Joseon?”
“Alexandria. The Mamluks…”
Pedro’s eyes began to shine as he mentioned those who had benefited the most from trade with Joseon.
“We will use the Ottomans to keep the Mamluks in check?”
“you’re right.”
“But the Ottomans are also Islamic.”
“But if you consider national interests, he is a good opponent. Christ said this, right? ‘To Caesar what is Caesar’s, to God what is God’. You must have heard from the Duke of Viseu, right? “Jerusalem for God and the railway for His Majesty the King.”
“And for you?”
“I will have a small fee left over.”
Pedro, who was listening to Cosimo and analyzing the situation, soon stretched out two fingers.
“I am confident that I will be able to gain sufficient benefits through the next two voyages, including this one, and I will cooperate fully if the problem in Jerusalem is resolved.”
“thank you.”
“step! “Do not forget that the issue of Jerusalem must be resolved.”
Cosimo responded to Pedro’s words with a slight smile.
“It is quite possible. There are more than one king who needs his own strong power.”
In this way, the framework of May Day began to be established.