Black Corporation: Joseon - Chapter 829

Episode 829: Gyeruk (鷄肋) (3)

“No way…”

The Europeans who found the document written and distributed in Latin by the Empire looked astonished.

“Do you remember when that proclamation came out?”

“It wasn’t long after Joseon changed its name to the Federal Empire of Korea, right?”

“Yes… if you think about it, the empire was already aware of the existence of the new land at that time. Or, it means that people have already been sent to that land.”

“Hmm…”

“The empire was already taking care of its cause back then!”

The Europeans who learned the true meaning of the proclamation looked like they had taken a hit.

During this time, the empire maintained a policy of zero tolerance toward pirates.

If the pirates encountered the imperial navy, the end was inevitably death.

* * *

Imperial ships unconditionally moved in a fleet and were escorted by the imperial navy.

Marine emergency lines patrolled the sea areas around ports of call and imperial military ports where ships transited.

In this situation, reckless pirates who tried to commit piracy on the ships of the empire continued to appear.

“once! “You only have to succeed once!”

As mentioned before, the end of most pirates who attempted such a reckless challenge was death.

Either they were drowned with their ships while fighting, or they were drowned while running, or they surrendered, or they were captured, tried, and then executed.

Some people narrowly escaped execution during the trial. However, they were sentenced to life imprisonment and had to do hard labor on farms in the southwest or mines in Liaodong until their deaths.

* * *

The empire’s policy toward pirates was very harsh, but no country took issue with it.

This was because other countries were also dealing with pirates in a similar way.

No, it wasn’t just pirates.

When it encounters a ship from another country that is not its own, even a normal ship immediately turns into a pirate ship.

It was a time when there was little distinction between civilian merchant ships and warships, so when something like this happened, a fierce battle broke out.

In this fierce battle, the winner dealt harshly with the loser.

All the property on board the defeated ship was taken away, the ship was buried along with the seriously injured sailors, and the surviving sailors were often sold on the slave market.

And the people who bought the most of these enslaved sailors were pirates from North Africa and the Mediterranean region.

Therefore, those who saw the empire’s proclamation looked like they had been hit.

“I’ve already built up enough justification….”

“Then maybe…”

“No. Among the ships that sailed the western route, those that withstood pirates and typhoons were probably disposed of by the empire.”

“Then organize a fleet…”

“To deal with the front lines of that damned empire? Do you think you have a chance of winning?”

“….”

“Especially against those damn Challenger level battle lines.”

“….”

People fell silent when the Imperial front, especially the Challenger level front, was mentioned.

* * *

At this time, Suez was firmly established as an international trade port.

Many European countries sent ships to Africa to trade with the empire.

The ships safely circumnavigated Africa and arrived at Suez, underwent maintenance there, and then moved east.

For those departing from Suez, the eastern route was the ‘golden route’.

Even if it was not an empire, it was because there was India and there was a people.

Indian spices have been famous since the Middle Ages, and the products produced by the Ming Dynasty were of quite good quality.

In particular, as the railway connecting Suez and Porto do Príncipe Henrique in the north was laid, more and more European ships flocked to Suez.

For merchants in Europe, especially Northern Europe, railroads were very valuable items.

As long as the prerequisite of safely traveling around Africa and arriving at Suez was met, theoretically, the empire’s goods could be obtained and distributed smoothly with just two ships.

One ship would go from Suez to the East, and the other would go from Prince Henry Port to Northern Europe.

There was no need to make the long and dangerous voyage around Africa to the East and then around Africa again to Northern Europe.

The maintenance of ships commissioned on the eastern route had to be done at the shipyard built in Suez. Crew shifts were also possible quickly and safely using rail.

Later, they even commissioned a shipyard in Suez to build ships and send only crew members.

As a result, the area where Suez, Prince Henry Port, and the railway connecting them are located have become the ‘goose that lays the golden eggs.’

This Suez had become the entity that brought the greatest benefit to the allies.

On the other hand, the ‘Eastern Route’, which led to the laying of a railway in Suez, became a supporting role.

With so many ships flocking together, it became a ‘red ocean’.

As the eastern sea route became a red ocean, the profits of the captains who operated the ships and the companies that hired them decreased.

To make up for these dwindling profits, captains and merchants resumed their side businesses in North Africa and the Mediterranean.

It was piracy.

And this is where the notoriety of the challenger-level front spread.

* * *

Portugal’s ships, which were well aware of the power of the imperial navy as they traveled along the eastern route in the early days, unconditionally moved with the imperial fleet.

However, after the Imperial Navy took control of the sea, ships that entered the eastern sea route often moved independently.

The reason was that it was a waste of time to wait to move with the empire’s fleet, and to occupy the space when there were few competitors.

“And what if we meet pirates?”

“pirate? “There wasn’t one?”

“Even though they exist, they are no match for those small boats!”

The Strait of Malacca, which had long been known to be full of pirates, had already been cleaned by the Imperial Navy, so all that remained were pirates riding in small boats. And even the pirates were being pursued and exterminated by the imperial army to the end.

Therefore, they chose to sail alone rather than move with the imperial fleet.

And these people who moved alone turned into pirates and started targeting other ships.

However, they had forgotten the existence of the Imperial Navy.

When it was discovered that those who had turned into pirates were attacking other ships, the Imperial Navy jumped in immediately.

The response squadron, consisting of two or three ships, surrounded the ships engaged in combat and fired threatening shots to stop the combat.

When the ships stopped fighting, the Marine Emergency Squadron took them to a nearby military port and assessed the situation.

But the challenger-level fronts responded in a different way.

The idea was to push in between the fighting ships and fire cannons at both sides.

Only after firing a salvo at both ships did the Challenger-class battle line give the order to stop fighting.

The ships, which had already been wounded in the battle that had taken place, were unable to handle the firepower of the Challenger-level battle line, so they had no choice but to raise the white flag and be taken away.

* * *

It was inevitable that the challenger-level fronts chose this tactic.

Unlike the sea emergency fronts that moved as a squadron, the challenger-level fronts moved alone.

Therefore, if the ships that were engaged in battle fled in different directions, one of them had no choice but to give up.

The captains of the Challenger-level front line who did not like this chose to beat both sides one at a time.

The reason the captains of the Challenger-class fronts chose this method was because they believed in the firepower and defense capabilities of the Challenger-class fronts.

And their choice was the right one.

The cannons aboard European merchant ships were unable to penetrate the hulls of the Challenger-class ships. No, it didn’t even cause proper damage.

And the ships that made such reckless attacks either sank under the concentrated fire of Challenger-class front-line guns or had to raise a white flag while barely avoiding sinking.

In the end, due to this radical mediation method of the Challenger-class front, the Challenger-class front gained the notoriety of ‘the scoundrels of the East’.

* * *

Since they were already well aware of the infamous Challenger-class battle line, they reacted negatively to the idea of ‘forming a fleet and pushing in.’

“Still…”

“The situation is not good.”

Others who saw these people unable to hide their regrets talked about what the problem was.

-We do not know when the empire took control of the land it calls Shinji.

-The fact that there is no news from more than one fleet that has set out to explore the western route means that there are already significant challenger-level fronts there.

-The firepower and defense of the Challenger-class front are the strongest. The current European ships are no match for us.

-In that case, we must prepare for the sacrifice of a small number of people and push forward with a massive offensive, but the problem is that the empire’s front is not just a challenger-level front.

-The Marine Emergency Front, a grade below the Challenger class, has slightly lower firepower than the Challenger class, but has greater mobility. The bigger problem is that the lack of firepower is the challenger level standard.

Compared to our European counterparts, it is overwhelmingly powerful.

“…To conclude, in the worst case scenario, even if we gather all the warships in Europe, there is a possibility that we will be no match for it.”

“Then should we give up the western route?”

“We’ll have to wait until the empire opens up.”

“Ah…”

“It’s best to think of the land called Shinji as too sour grapes for us to eat.”

At a time when ambitious Europeans were gaining spiritual victory by forcibly giving up their greed for western routes and ‘unknown lands’, rumors were heard about an ‘unknown continent in the south.’

“There is a large continent south of Majapahit? “Isn’t this a rumor?”

“There are more than one indigenous tribe with similar legends. “If you think about it, you can’t dismiss it as nonsense.”

“Hmm…”

The ambitious people who were talking about the ‘unknown southern continent’ soon pointed out another problem.

“This rumor must have reached the Empire, right? “Why is the Empire quiet?”

“According to the rumors, the empire seems to be preoccupied with Shinji.”

“okay? That’s right…”

European ambitious men and monarchs, who received intelligence that the empire was preoccupied with the new world, made the same decision at the same time.

“Then we must move first!”

“We go first before the empire moves!”

Soon, many ships began to bypass Africa again, and large orders were placed at the Suez shipyard.

The attention of all of Europe was this time focused on the ‘New Continent of the South’.

It wasn’t just Europe.

Japan, which decided to expand overseas, also jumped on this wave.

It spontaneously combusted before the empire could carry out ‘Operation Gyeruk’.

* * *

When the international situation was going like this, Hyang, who was checking the report from the Messika region, breathed a sigh of relief.

“Whoa~. “I’m glad, I’m glad.”

Hyang finished speaking with a more relaxed expression.

“Now I can really abandon South America without any hesitation.”