Black Corporation: Joseon - Chapter 536

Episode 536: Conspiracy (2)

While a war of wits with the Ming or what could be called a ‘blind-face’ was going on over the Oirat issue, Joseon was still busy moving about.

The biggest thing among them was the migration of Tsushima residents to Joseon, starting with the flight from Tsushima.

Japanese ships filled with Tsushima Island residents headed for Dongrae, escorted rather than escorted by Joseon naval front lines.

The Japanese from Tsushima Island who arrived in Dongnae recovered from their illness in a camp prepared by Joseon. After taking a break, the Japanese in Tsushima Island headed to the railway station under the watchful eye of the Joseon military.

Wow! Beep! thud!

“Wow!”

“It’s an oni! “Oni!”

“Namu Amitabha Buddha! “Namu Amitabha Buddha!”

The residents of Tsushima Island who saw the iron horse causing a heavy vibration with a loud whistle sound went into an uproar.

“Calm down! “That’s the train you’ll be riding on!”

“Calm down!”

After the Joseon soldiers from Hang-wae (降倭) shouted and struggled, the residents’ disturbance subsided. When the commotion subsided, the residents looked at the iron horse with faces full of curiosity.

“That’s the rumored iron horse…”

“That’s amazing…”

“Look at how big it is.”

The residents of Tsushima Island, who had been looking at the iron horse with curious eyes, boarded the train and headed north.

The place chosen for their residence was Nokdundo Island. And the lower-level samurai who moved with them became members of the Pocheong (捕廳), which was in charge of security in the area.

In this way, low-level samurai who became Pocheong police officers were selected under thorough surveillance and evaluation by Korean Podo military officers.

* * *

Unlike the residents of Tsushima Island and low-ranking samurai who went directly north, the island’s leader, Todoungwa (都都熊瓦 So Sadamori) and the Shoni clan (少弐氏) went up to Hanseong via another vehicle.

Dodoungwa, who was sitting in the passenger seat and looking at the scenery beyond the window, sighed softly.

“You missed the opportunity because of your pride…”

* * *

During the last conquest of Tsushima Island, Dodoungwa acknowledged the need to invade Joseon and at the same time demanded that the residents be relocated to Joseon and provide suitable land or islands. They were able to protect Tsushima Island by using brinkmanship tactics.

Dodoungwa’s pride was greatly damaged by this alone. However, as the Joseon navy became powerful at an incredible rate, the opportunity for revenge disappeared. And giving up the military port to the Joseon navy due to the overwhelming difference in power inflicted an indelible wound on Dodoungwa’s pride.

From then on, Dodoungwa completely closed his eyes and ears to Joseon. Even though he was able to obtain information about Joseon through Doju’s vassals and merchants who traveled to Joseon for trade, Dodoungwa strongly opposed it.

“Anyone who opens their mouths about Joseon in front of me will immediately be truthful!”

And the result was the current situation.

The people he ruled were taken away by Joseon, and he lost all his official positions and was left to hope for Joseon’s mercy.

Looking at the scenery outside the window, Dodoungwa lamented his situation.

“If we had properly looked into the situation and made an effort, we could have escaped this situation…” * *

*

After arriving at Hanseong, Dodoungwa and the Shawnee group headed to Gyeongbokgung Palace.

When Do Do-woong and his party arrived at the front yard of Geunjeongjeon at Gyeongbokgung Palace, local government officials came out to greet them.

“Welcome to Joseon’s embrace. “I hope you can live in peace in the arms of Joseon.”

After giving a short welcome speech, Hyang left and Hwang Hee stayed behind to deal with the group.

“First, I will tell you where the Doju family will live. “I have already prepared a place for you near Heunginjimun, so you can stay there.”

“Thank you.”

“And since the reward will be paid until the governor dies, there is no need to worry about poverty. The bonus to be paid every month will be a vice-minister level bonus.”

“Thank you.”

In response to Hwang Hee’s explanation, Do Do Woong Wa continued to bow his head and say thank you.

“Subsequently, a residence was also assigned to the Soi family. We have prepared a place for you to live near Gwanghuimun. The two eldest brothers will be paid a salary equivalent to that of a manager every month.”

“Thank you.”

The Shawnee brothers also bowed their heads in gratitude at Hwang Hee’s words. For them, this alone was a blessing in disguise. Ouchi, the family’s enemy, had not only taken control of the Kyushu region but also all of Japan. It would have been a much better choice to put down roots in Joseon.

Hwang Hee, who was explaining her residence and treatment, continued with an expression that seemed to indicate she had forgotten something.

“ah! You forgot this. The payment of Bongrok I just mentioned applies only while the parties are alive. If the person concerned dies, only the eldest son will be treated downgraded to level 1. And when the eldest son dies, the payment of Bongrok will stop. Therefore, if you want your descendants to live in peace, encourage them to constantly cultivate their studies and achieve success.”

“Yes….”

“This is not discrimination, but is applied equally to all of our Joseon royal family and public servants, so I hope you won’t complain.”

“yes.”

* * *

Joseon’s method of treating people of national merit, such as members of the royal family and public servants, was firmly established through the process of founding the country and the civil service.

In the case of the royal family, in the case of a grand prince, the eldest son was appointed as a prince. And the military was the only place where bonuses were paid to relatives of the royal family. Afterwards, he was recorded as a member of the royal family, but there was no title.

The same was true in the case of public servants. Only those with meritorious merit received support from the state.

In a departure from this custom, there were cases where support was provided even to grandchildren – but only to descendants. These included people who died or were injured in war or in the process of maintaining public order.

-He lost his life or was maimed in the process of protecting his country and people, so it is natural to honor and emulate his actions.

“It’s best to get rid of ridiculous ways of thinking like, ‘When you need it, my child, and when something happens, your child.’”

* * *

Meanwhile, the Portuguese ship that left Joseon arrived safely in Suez.

The Portuguese sailors who got off the ship after dropping anchor in Suez shook their heads as they looked at the Korean ships unloading next to them.

“It’s a lot bigger, but it’s hard to chase after it…”

Joseon’s challenger-class ships and their improved merchant ships were famous for their large size, but they were even more famous for their speed.

Even when fully loaded, there were no ships that could chase the Challenger class if the wind was right.

The interesting thing was that, except for the first year or two, the Challenger class never sailed with all sails.

The reason for this was the strong firepower, another characteristic of the challenger-class front.

As it was not uncommon for a fairly large pirate fleet to be annihilated by a single Challenger-class ship, the merchant ships of countries trading with Joseon moved along with the Challenger-class ships.

It was a common sight for merchant ships traveling the Joseon route to follow the challenger-class battle line like ducklings swimming after their mother duck. Thanks to this, we no longer had to sprint to keep pace with those merchant ships.

On the contrary, the pirates were becoming more and more difficult to conduct business and were crying.

This was because the Joseon Navy’s naval ports were built in Yugu and Temasek (now Singapore), making it difficult for them to move freely. The existence of a military port was a threat, but a bigger problem was the wires deployed at the military port.

“Fucking Hae-eung!”

The pirates cursed the sea emergency lines stationed at those military ports.

Because it was smaller than the challenger-class front, it could not move as far, but its speed was the problem. The speed of response was easily overtaking the challenger-level front lines.

Once it was caught by the emergency front, that was the end of it. The pirates had to choose between surrendering under a white flag and being imprisoned or being sunk and becoming meat.

Escape was a case of extreme luck. Funnily enough, when such a case occurred, tributes poured into temples and shrines near the pirates’ stronghold.

Keeping in mind the short operational radius of the sea emergency front, some pirates attempted to operate outside of it, but they too did not end well. This was because the places they chose either had no merchant ships at all or moved together with challenger-level battle lines.

* * *

The Portuguese ship, which did its best to anchor in Suez along the challenger-level front, headed straight for Alexandria.

Every time they transported goods, they had to endure the territorial aggression of Alexandrian merchants, but now they had no other option. This was because regions other than Alexandria did not have adequate port facilities and were overflowing with bandits.

Therefore, a common opinion was formed among Portuguese merchants.

“We need our own port that is closer and safer to Suez than Alexandria. “For this, we can cooperate as much as we want.”

The Portuguese cargo that arrived in Alexandria began to be loaded onto ships heading to Portugal.

“for a moment! Passing through customs is prohibited!”

When customs officials in Alexandria tried to stop the shipment, Portuguese merchants gave them large pockets.

“Hehehe. This time… we are moving because a precious person is in urgent need…”

“Precious person? in haste?”

The customs officials who listened to the merchants recalled a rumor they had heard some time ago. It was a rumor that King Afonso V was marrying the daughter of Pedro, Duke of Coimbra, regent of Portugal.

‘Is it a gift?…’

The customs officials, who were shaking their heads, cleared their throats as they accepted the pouch gently handed to them by the merchants.

“greatness! Huh! Good! Let’s just skip it this time! But not next time!

“Yes yes. Is it possible?”

After safely completing the shipment through customs, the merchants sailed at full speed toward Portugal.

* * *

The merchants who arrived safely in Lisbon immediately moved the unloaded cargo to the Duke of Coimbra’s mansion.

No one was alone in seeing a huge number of boxes entering the mansion, and the story about this immediately reached Afonso, the Duke of Braganza, a political enemy.

“A lot of boxes from Joseon entered Pedro’s mansion? Hmm…”

After hearing the story, Afonsu stroked his beard. Soon Afonsu nodded.

“Is that really it?”

* * *

Last year, in 1445, Pedro married his daughter Isabella to his nephew, Afons V.

After the marriage, Pedro said this to Afonso V:

“I beg your Majesty, but I was lacking and could not ask for the gift in time. “It is scheduled to arrive from Joseon next year, so please wait a little longer.”

“You mean in Joseon?”

Afonso V, pleased with Pedro’s words, smiled and nodded.

“yes. Let’s wait. What’s wrong with waiting a few months? “No offense at all!”

* * *

Afonsu burst into laughter as he remembered what happened last year.

“okay. It’s good for me to waste that much. “It’s a good thing.”

Afonso was prepared to fight with force against Pedro. For victory, a large number of troops were needed, and sufficient funds were needed to achieve this.

And now his opponent, Pedro, was spending money without even thinking about it.