Black Corporation: Joseon - Chapter 830

Episode 830: Gyeruk (鷄肋) (4)

When ‘Operation Gyeruk’ was first proposed and a plan was created, everyone except Hyang thought that the target of this operation was the ‘unknown continent’ in the south. This was because information from South America had not yet arrived.

This was due to the policies of Sejong and Hyang.

In order to protect Shinji from Europe, King Sejong and Hyang focused on taking control of the eastern part of Sinji first.

To this end, most of the power of the Imperial Navy, which was growing in size in Shinji, was concentrated in the east.

The western region was all about maintaining the northern route connecting the main site and the new site.

Of course, just in case, the Imperial Navy stationed on Daeseol Island was monitoring Japan’s movements.

If Japan launches a ship to the east, that would also be a headache.

In the end, Hyang was the only imperialist who knew of the existence of the South American continent at this time.

However, the scent that was included in the category of ‘gyeruk’ even on the South American continent was a series of concerns.

“It was easy to give up on Australia, but South America is still at stake.”

The scent couldn’t hide the disappointment and it whetted my appetite.

“Tsk! South America, not any other place, is the real joke. Tsk tsk tsk….” Hyang

, who continued to taste his mouth, let out a swear word.

“Damn rubber….”

Because of the rubber, the scent was something I couldn’t let go of my lingering attachment to South America.

* * *

The scent’s obsession with rubber wasn’t just because of electricity.

Rubber was an important item that could once again give impetus to the imperial economy, which was now slowly entering a period of stagnation.

The first part that could be used was waterproof material.

When it rained, people used shurubs (Korean for umbrellas) made of greased paper in urban areas of the empire, and in the countryside, they used hats and hats.

Soldiers and police officers who needed to have both hands free wore long guns made of oiled leather.

As a side note, this outfit, especially the combination of long guns and cavalry boots, which Hyang borrowed from the trench coat design, was quite cool, and it wasn’t long before the city’s fashionable people were imitating it and wearing similar outfits.

The difference between a soldier and a police officer was the hat.

Soldiers and police officers wearing hats made of felt just walked around, but fashionable people wearing hats made of horsehair or silk covered them with hats.

The problem was that oiled paper and leather were not completely waterproof.

Clothing wasn’t the only place where waterproof materials were needed.

It could now be usefully used in the packing and gaskets of small-head water pumps, which were becoming essential items in every household in the empire.

Of course, in areas that had to withstand high temperature and pressure, such as steam engines, packings or gaskets made of copper had to be used, but in many other areas, rubber could take their place.

Considering the price of copper, this could bring enormous economic benefits.

In addition, rubber has endless uses, starting with the wheels of rickshaws and tow trucks.

That’s why I became obsessed with the scent of rubber.

However, the problem was where the rubber trees were located.

In the past, a type of rubber tree was discovered in India, but it was evaluated as unprofitable and had to be closed down.

“The rubber trees in Southeast Asian rubber plantations that were famous in the 21st century almost all came from South America… Wow.”

At that point, Hyang couldn’t help but sigh.

“The conclusion is that we have to search the Amazon, but this is not possible with manpower…”

Hyang, remembering the size of the Amazon, could not help but shake his head.

* * *

In the end, Hyang almost gave up on South America.

“Wandering around Amazon does more harm than good. Europeans who are crazy about money are perfect for that part. If the Europeans find it, it’s better to move then. “When Europeans still don’t know its value.”

Fragrance, which chose the next best option, decided to hand over South America to Europe.

As time passed and the ‘Mesica Incident’ occurred, Hyang had the opportunity to meet with the defected natives.

In the process of talking with them, the Hyang confirmed that the natives were aware of the existence of rubber and gave a separate order to Lee Jing-ok.

– After organizing the messica, check for the existence of the tree where chicle is said to come from.

At this time, the name ‘rubber’ did not even exist, so the indigenous people used the word ‘chicle’ for incense.

And two months after clearing out Messika, a report was posted saying that chicle radishes had been found.

After checking the report, Hyang looked much more at ease.

“Whoa~. Now I can really throw South America at ease. Of course, if possible, I should obtain the saltpeter mine in Chile.”

Hyang continued speaking while looking at the map hanging on the wall.

“Now we are importing it from India without any worries, but the UK is worried. No, I’m worried about all of Europe. For Europeans, India is still a golden country. So, I am using my hands…”

* * *

By acquiring saltpeter in large quantities from the Sultan of Bengal in India, the post-Joseon empire was able to escape the problem of gunpowder shortage.

Of course, it was necessary to spend a considerable amount of money importing large quantities of saltpeter, but compared to the cost of producing saltpeter using traditional saltpeter production methods, it was overwhelmingly cheaper.

Additionally, by selling the empire’s goods on the market, they were ultimately making a profit.

As time passed and Joseon defeated the Ming Dynasty and became an empire, the Sultan of Bengal became interested in the empire’s weapons.

It was because of the Delhi Sultanate dynasty that became independent.

Although there was no major war after the two wars, war could break out again between the Bengal Sultanate and the Delhi Sultanate at any time.

In particular, rumors were spreading that the Beli Sultanate was becoming rich through trade with the empire.

In response, the Sultan of Bengal demanded that the empire sell weapons.

In response to the Bengal Sultanate’s request, the empire quickly sold the remaining Gap-style rifles that had been sold here and there.

Not only were they selling long guns, but they were even selling new firearms that were rotting in warehouses.

This was because it was a weapon perfectly suited to the tastes of the Bengal Sultanate, which had to engage in defensive warfare.

Afterwards, instructors were selected and dispatched to the Bengal Sultanate to properly use the imperial weapons introduced.

* * *

The instructors who arrived in the Sultanate of Bengal trained the soldiers and officers of the Sultanate of Bengal and established contacts with the main leaders of the Sultanate.

But along the way, there were also things that couldn’t be laughed at.

One of the most famous of them was the ‘Yakpo Incident’.

The armored rifle was a full-length rifle using a percussion cap. Therefore, in order to fire a bullet, you had to tear the paper package containing gunpowder and bullets with your teeth, pour in the gunpowder, and then push the paper and bullets into the loading rod.

However, the paper that packaged the gunpowder and bullets became a problem.

“If the paper gets wet, problems arise?”

“That’s right. However, since the paper packaging the bullets and gunpowder is oiled, there is no need to worry about any moisture.”

The expressions of the officers and soldiers of the Sultan’s army turned sour at the instructor’s answer.

“Do you have any problem?”

“Oil is the problem.”

During this time, oil was generally used in cooking. And most of that oil was of animal origin. Vegetable oil was mainly used for flavoring purposes.

“Some of our soldiers are Hindus and others are Muslims. Hindus cannot eat cows and Muslims cannot eat pigs. The same goes for oil. But I heard that the imperial people eat both beef and pork. “Then isn’t the oil that soaked that paper also the fat of cows or pigs?”

The imperial instructors responded to the sultan’s army officer’s comment with a look of bewilderment.

“Soybean oil and palm oil?”

“huh?”

Afterwards, the Sultanate’s soldiers bit into the paper packaging without any hesitation.

* * *

Armed with imperial weapons, the position of the Bengal Sultanate was strengthened.

However, the empire was not optimistic about the situation.

At this time, India was home to many large and small states, including the Delhi Sultanate and the Bengal Sultanate.

And those countries were repeating mergers and alliances for their own survival and growth.

To borrow an expression from Hyang, it was ‘India’s version of the Warring States Period.’

To survive these difficult times, Indian monarchs were desperate to strengthen national defense.

They also approached the empire, but the empire rejected their proposals.

This was because the stock of old weapons had been exhausted.

If old weapons were produced again to sell to them, the production of weapons to be supplied to the imperial army would be disrupted.

At this time, the imperial army was in full supply of military rifles and freight cars.

Eulsik rifles and freight cars that had been replaced with assault rifles were piled up in warehouses, but selling them was problematic.

I sold Japanese style long guns to the Sultanate of Bengal, but selling Japanese style long guns to others would have caused more harm than good.

In addition, the big players had already booked Japanese rifles and freight cars.

The allies who were waging war over Suez at the time were the big players.

Indian monarchs who were rejected by the empire turned their eyes elsewhere.

The place their eyes focused on was the Ming and Japanese countries.

Indian monarchs who examined the weapons of the Ming and Japanese countries made the following evaluation.

-The guns of the Japanese are worse than those of the Ming Dynasty, and the guns of the Ming Dynasty are inferior to those of the Empire.

However, due to the circumstances, among the monarchs of India, those with economic power purchased firearms from the Ming Dynasty, while those with less economic power purchased firearms from the Japanese Empire.

And their choice was the choice of Asian countries at the time.

Countries that were close and economically cooperative with the empire were able to purchase the empire’s weapons. However, countries that could not do so purchased weapons from the Ming or Japanese countries based on their own economic power.

The highest level is the Empire, followed by the Ming and finally the Wa.

This perception was the same not only in weapons but also in other fields.

If people had enough money, they bought things from the empire, and if they didn’t, they bought things from the Japanese kingdom.

And this perception remained the same even after Japan changed to Japan.

Therefore, Japan had to make a lot of effort to break away from this perception.

However, when Japan was actively trying to expand overseas, strong competitors appeared.

These were European countries.

* * *

The main products of Europe that advanced into Asia were slaves and weapons.

Europeans sold slaves they rescued from African slave traders to sultans in India and Southeast Asia.

Europeans who started the trade with slaves later entered the arms market.

Through the religious conflicts that took place in Europe and the subsequent Suez War, European weaponry improved greatly, but it was still not enough to catch up with the empire.

But Europeans could not give up the arms market.

Those purchasing weapons were the country’s leaders, and only by maintaining good relations with them could future transactions proceed smoothly.

This choice of Europeans was different from the one they made towards African leaders.

If it had been Africa, they would have intimidated it with guns and cannons to open trade or colonize it.

However, this method could not be used in Asia after the intervention of Hyang.

This was because when Europeans brought out cannons, Asians also brought out cannons.