Black Corporation: Joseon - Chapter 653

Episode 653: The Woodpecker’s Strange Neighbor (2)

As they gained a taste for the monopoly, the lives of the natives began to change little by little.

As time passed, not only the warriors of the Joseon tribes, but also other people gathered in increasing numbers, and the Koreans began to occupy a large area around ‘a particularly large lake’ – known in history as Super Rio before the intervention of the Hyang.

In the eyes of the natives of the Iroquois League, these Koreans were truly interesting people.

From the warriors to those who arrived later, if they were familiar with the natives, they got along with them and laughed a lot.

Of course, when I got angry, I got really angry, but I quickly calmed down. However, when something happened, he acted resolutely.

Of course, this situation was not good for both the natives and the Joseon people, so the elders of both sides often stepped in to diffuse the situation. However, even after that, they avoided becoming more involved with the person they had rejected.

In addition to these points, the biggest characteristic that the Joseon people had was their ‘voracious curiosity.’

Joseon’s shamans called ‘Uiwon’ – of course, later found out that they were not shamans – soon became close friends with the tribal shamans and delved into all kinds of medicinal herbs and treatments.

The Koreans who followed the warriors observed the tribe’s farming practices and carefully examined the crops they were growing. And when the harvest season came, they gave cotton and other things as gifts, took a lot of the harvested items with them, and learned how to cook them.

What Koreans showed the most interest in was Maize. From now on, it will be written as corn.

Other Koreans continued to search for something by wandering around the mountains and forests around the lake, digging stones and digging tunnels.

Meanwhile, the Korean people did not just accept it unconditionally. After taking a seat in the federation, Joseon’s lawmakers implemented the Ceasefire Act on the federation’s residents.

“Do you see that face over there? That’s what happens when you get a bad disease. “You need to get this treatment to stop it.”

Shin Suk-ju, who was in charge of interpreting between the natives and the Koreans, insisted on getting vaccinated, citing her disfigured face from smallpox.

The federation’s chiefs and mothers, who saw real smallpox victims with their own eyes, agreed to and actively supported cowpox vaccination.

Interestingly, a Korean named Shin Suk-ju became an important figure among the chiefs and mothers of the federation.

Shin Sook-ju was someone who could communicate not only with the language used by the tribes of the Confederation, but also with the Algonquin and Wyandotte people who were hostile to the Confederation. (Note 1)

No, she could use many of the languages used by the indigenous tribes that the Joseon people had come into contact with. The genius of language was Shin Sook-ju.

Therefore, whenever a meeting was held not only with the Korean settlements but also with other tribes approaching the territory of the Federation, Shin Suk-ju was always present.

And Shin Suk-ju, who had such an unexpected task, looked up at the moon every night and cried.

“This is not why I passed the state exam… I would rather work all night…” *

* *

Around the time Woodpecker went through menarche and was recognized as an adult, the Joseon chief and his mother arrived.

By this time, people in the league also knew a certain amount about Joseon.

-A tribe from beyond a large body of water called the ‘sea’, which is larger than a lake.

-And it’s not a tribe, it’s a country. A country is made up of dozens or hundreds of tribes like themselves.

This served as an opportunity to greatly expand the cognitive scope of the alliance and its surrounding tribes, the Algonquin and Wyandot tribes.

Not only the tribes of the Iroquois Confederacy, but also the Algonquin and Wyandotte tribes all vaguely knew about the sea. This was because among the collateral branches of the tribe, those who lived at the eastern end knew the sea.

-A large lake filled with salty water that is much larger than the lakes they know.

This was the sea they knew, and since there were almost no people who went to the sea and returned, they thought the sea was ‘the end of the world.’

Of course, the Vikings came hundreds of years before Joseon arrived. However, because they were so few in number and their stay was short, they had no influence on the natives, and Joseon became the first foreigner to inform them of the existence of other countries and people.

* * *

The arrival of the Joseon ‘chiefs’ and mothers caused quite a culture shock to the Confederate chiefs and mothers.

It was shocking to see the absolute respect and loyalty shown by the Joseon people who lived with them, but the attire of King Sejong and Queen Soheon was also shocking.

The red war robe with a shiny gold leaf pattern and the red ginseng were of a different class.

King Sejong and Queen Soheon, who arrived at the Joseon people’s residence near the lakes, soon arranged a meeting with the chiefs and mothers of the confederation.

The taste and appearance of the food prepared by the fellow servants was something that the leaders of the federation had seen for the first time.

The federation’s chiefs were impressed by the alcohol served at the banquet, and the federation’s mothers could not take their eyes off the clothes and accessories worn by Queen Soheon.

“I hope we can maintain a good relationship in the future.”

The chiefs and mothers who heard King Sejong’s words through Shin Suk-ju responded immediately.

And not long after, the Confederate chiefs were surprised again.

Sejong, who had only recently arrived here, began to speak his language fluently.

“How is this possible?”

King Sejong smiled and answered the question of the senior chief with whom he had developed a close relationship.

“Hunminjeongeum is useful in times like this.”

Later, after hearing this story through a letter, Hyang nodded and muttered.

“When English was introduced in the late Joseon Dynasty, Koreans spoke English more fluently than Japanese, right? “The pronunciation was also clearer.”

* * *

With the arrival of King Sejong, the Joseon people began to make Shinji their own in earnest.

Efficiency was greatly increased as the time it took to send reports to Joseon and receive orders was reduced.

The artisans who came with King Sejong began building production facilities on one side of the lake. As materials arrived from the beachhead, new facilities began to be built one by one, and preparations were soon completed.

Once Area 52 finished preparing, it was the miners who got busy.

Thanks to the discovery of large coal mines and iron ore by prospectors dispatched in advance, resource supply progressed faster than expected.

Once the most important coal and iron ore were supplied smoothly, the craftsmen of Area 52 began operating the steel mill.

Amid the great success of the steam engine, which was assembled in parts, Sejong began to lay a railroad connecting the bridgehead using steel materials from the steel mill.

“Even if you don’t have an iron horse, the railroad itself is a great help!”

* * *

After King Sejong’s arrival, the Algonquin and Wyandotte of the Iroquois Confederation, as well as all indigenous people around the passage created by Joseon, paid close attention to Joseon’s movements.

Every time a ship arrived at the beachhead, a large number of people disembarked, and with them, all kinds of strange objects that they had never seen before entered Area 52.

The iron farming tools coming out of Area 52, where black and white smoke billowed out, became extremely important to the indigenous people who used to rely only on stone and wooden tools.

Using iron farming tools, rocky land could be cleared easily and the digging could be done deeper, increasing harvests.

Cattle brought in by the Joseon people were also important. At first, I thought it was brought in to obtain ingredients to prevent smallpox. However, the importance of cows was learned when the Joseon people showed them how to use cows for farming.

We learned that horses and cows bring greater abundance and safety.

That wasn’t all.

The most powerful people in Shinji were, of course, Koreans. In front of their military power, their number was not a big advantage. In particular, the Eulsik boxcar that came with King Sejong was terrifying.

Sejong used these strengths very cleverly.

King Sejong summoned the chiefs of the tribes who had been in hostile relations until then and began to mediate between them.

King Sejong entered into mediation, speaking the languages of various tribes as fluently as Shin Suk-ju.

“What good is it if we fight like this? “Isn’t it best to get along with each other?”

“But there is always a shortage of land for farming, and the tribesmen are hungry. “We have a responsibility to solve this problem.”

“Isn’t that land out there? “Wouldn’t it be okay if we reclaimed land?”

“Water is absolutely necessary for farming. “In particular, if you want to grow maize, you must have a lot of water.”

“It’s not rice farming, so what…”

Sejong grumbled a little, then immediately adjusted his expression and continued speaking.

“Wouldn’t that problem be solved by digging a waterway?”

“Isn’t the problem that digging a waterway is not an easy task?”

“Of course, if you dig it with your bare hands or a wooden tool, it will be a problem. “Our Joseon has an answer.”

In this way, whenever the chiefs raised a problem, King Sejong gave a prompt answer. And because the answer was correct, the chiefs had no choice but to accept King Sejong’s proposal.

And in the process, the chiefs bowed their heads to King Sejong one by one.

In this way, they began to mediate between tribes and hire natives as laborers on the other side.

Officials in charge of mines and logging sites visited nearby tribes and offered bait.

“Do you want to buy things from the reseller?”

“Why are you saying the obvious?”

“Then why don’t you come and work? “If you work, I’ll give you money.”

“What is money?”

“If you have money, you can buy things from the monopoly store.”

The indigenous people who were shocked by those words went into the mines and logging sites and started working. And when the appointed day arrived, the natives who had received the ‘money’ looked back at the officials with eyes full of suspicion.

“You can buy things at the reseller with this?”

The natives could not believe it. What they received was a small piece of cloth or something with various patterns engraved on it, and several pieces of scrap metal.

“I heard you can live! Oh my! “Have you been deceived?”

The natives who visited the monopoly office with doubts asked the same questions to the sales office manager and received the same answer. In addition, monopoly representatives gave special lectures on banknotes and coins.

As people who made money working in Joseon’s mines and lumberyards bought the goods they wanted at the monopoly, the local natives flocked to the mines and lumberyards.

“I will work too!”

Those who worked in mines and lumberyards were not the only ones who discovered Joseon’s taste for money.

To provide meals to those working in mines and logging sites, Joseon purchased food from nearby tribes. Of course, the payment was made in Korean currency, and those who received this money also went to the monopoly store and bought goods.

As this situation continued, the natives quickly became accustomed to the monetary economy and the culture of Joseon.

Sejong, who was checking the situation, shook his head.

“It was said that the monopoly would be the most powerful weapon… This son of a bitch…”

– The best weapon to not only win the hearts of the people, but also turn the Yi people out there into Koreans and turn their land into a powerhouse of Joseon. is not a gun or knife, it is a monopoly!

In this way, Hyang emphasized the usefulness of the monopoly. And it has been proven to be the correct answer through several examples. And it was the right answer that worked even here in Shinji, where everything was different.

Sejong, recalling Hyang’s words about the usefulness of the monopoly, shook his head and grumbled.

“I should have made them work hard from the beginning instead of letting them do only what they wanted to do…”

* * *

Note 1)

In the last episode, I wrote that they were the Huron people, but after researching, I found out that this was of French origin. Therefore, we modified it to the Wyandotte tribe.