Black Corporation: Joseon - Chapter 834
Episode 834 Pursuit in Europe (1)
Not everyone in Europe was only interested in ‘discovering the New World’.
In order to catch up with or move ahead of the empire that was already ahead in many fields, many scholars and engineers devoted themselves to research and development.
But what they spent the most time on was finding a sponsor to finance them.
They also had families to support and assistants and employees to pay.
In addition, money was needed to obtain the materials and the imperial-made smelter and smeltong, which were one of the most useful tools.
Therefore, they met with nobles and merchants to seek sponsors.
The good news was that during this time, European Catholic clergy also began to show considerable flexibility.
In addition, European monarchs came forward and began to actively support them.
It was one of the butterfly effects caused by scent.
* * *
When Seoul was called Hanseong, the questions asked by incense to the monks who came across the sea to work at the research institute were still ongoing.
-Is performing ancestral rites in gratitude for the grace of ancestors an act of filial piety or idolatry? Is this really breaking the Ten Commandments?
-Does the Bible you translated into Latin have no errors compared to the original?
The Catholic hierarchy at the time, which was already complicated by many issues, fiercely fought over the answer to the question posed by the incense.
The answer to the first question was still being debated, but it was slowly coming together.
The answer to the second question was even more dramatic.
The number of monks and theologians who began to study the Hebrew or Aramaic scriptures they had found with great difficulty increased significantly, and new translations came out.
That wasn’t all.
Until then, there was only a Latin version of the Bible, but Bibles translated into English, French, and German began to appear in various versions.
The clergy’s reaction to the appearance of these translations was divided.
One side was those who accepted only the traditional Latin text, and the other side were those who welcomed the Bible in their own language.
Not only that, but the general public also welcomed the Bible in their own language. This was because you could read the Bible as long as you knew how to read texts written in your native language.
As a result, the number of religious people who came closer to the people increased.
* * *
As the religious world went through changes like this, society’s perception also began to change.
The most stark examples were alchemists and witches.
In the past, people would be burned at the stake for being heretics or for giving their souls to the devil.
However, in order to catch up with the empire’s advanced iron and alloy technology, these alchemists became the most important, and the number of cases of persecution of them as heretics greatly decreased.
No, the social status of alchemists rose significantly, and the number of people aspiring to become alchemists began to increase.
And finally, alchemy began to be registered as an official department in university departments.
It was the same with the witch.
The case of witches was even more dramatic, and it was the empire that played the biggest role in this change.
Thanks to the active support of King Sejong and Hyang, the medical science of the empire was developing rapidly.
Medicine was developing rapidly, but pharmacy was also developing at a rapid pace.
And the result was ‘Hyangyakjiseongbang’.
Under the orders of King Sejong, the Hyangyak Collection Book, which organized the types of medicinal herbs growing naturally on the Korean Peninsula and their utility, was continuously being revised.
As Joseon transformed into an empire and its territory expanded, information about new medicinal ingredients continued to come in.
It was not simply a record of the names, shapes, and benefits of medicinal herbs.
-There are some herbs in Bukji and Shinji that have similar medicinal effects to this herb found in this area.
-There is a herb that grows only in Shinji, and the effectiveness of this herb is… (summary)
As the list of medicines that can be replaced depending on the region or the information on medicines that have unique medicinal properties for specific diseases are constantly being revised, the herbal medicine collection room is being compiled. It got thicker and thicker.
As a side note, as time passed, the subjects that those studying medicine and pharmacy in the empire were most afraid of were subjects that used the Herbal Medicine Collection as a textbook.
* * *
According to the decision of the township, the herbal medicine mixture was exported to Europe.
Of course, the part related to Shinji was missing.
European medical practitioners who accepted the herbal medicine collection carefully examined the contents of the book.
“So, for these symptoms, you use a mixture of this herb and this herb?”
Doctors who saw the content wanted to apply it right away, but there was a problem.
“Which one is the herb and which is the poisonous herb? “It’s all grass?”
Although there were professional herbalists in Europe, their numbers were very small.
Doctors who were looking for a solution were able to find the answer in the preface to the herbal medicine collection room.
-The temperament of the mountains and rivers of Joseon is different from that of China, so it is difficult for Chinese medicine to be effective on the people of Joseon.
-So, I asked the elderly, shamans, and shamans to find medicinal herbs, confirmed their effectiveness, and recorded them. I hope that by using these, I can easily overcome the disease.
“Is that so?”
The doctors who read the preface containing King Sejong’s will immediately took action.
He started by visiting elderly people and herbalists in nearby villages, asking about medicinal herbs and recording them.
In this process, the existence of witches was highlighted again.
“Actually, it is. “There is an old witch hiding deep in the western forest…”
The farmers and herbalists carefully revealed their secrets to the doctors with whom they had become close friends.
The doctors who discovered the secret went to the witches. The first reaction of many witches to an unwelcome visit was to hide deeper in the forest.
However, thanks to the doctors’ persistent contact and persuasion, the witches revealed their knowledge of medicinal herbs.
And furthermore, witches began to work as assistants to doctors.
In this process, many misunderstandings about witches were resolved, and witches who had been hiding in the shadows began to come out into the sun again.
Of course, there were conditions.
-If you openly tell fortunes, practice witchcraft, or cast a curse, you will be burned at the stake!
-Swear your faith in God and faithfully perform the Sacrament of Confession!
Witches who promised to keep these conditions and had a certificate of guarantee that they were faithfully keeping their promises were allowed to live in villages and towns.
* * *
As Europe moved away from religious solemnity, more and more things began to change rapidly.
This was a change that continued rapidly for at least 100 years compared to the history before the intervention of incense.
The first change that was seen was that mercantilism became the mainstream ideology.
Until then, Europe also looked down on merchants.
Although he was very interested in the wealth that merchants had, he looked down on them.
It was impossible to meet kings, aristocrats, and high-ranking religious figures unless they were magnates or big capitalists who controlled Europe’s finances like Cosimo de’ Medici. All I had to do was deal with their agents.
However, his values changed as he became exposed to the way imperial officials treated merchants and the various policies created to encourage commerce and industry.
-If the people live well, of course the monarch will live well too! No need to squeeze it!
As values changed, mercantilism became the trend among European leaders.
As the values of leaders were changing, society was also changing.
The Renaissance era had begun in earnest. Of course, it was a little different from the historical Renaissance before the intervention of incense.
-purple! The brilliant appearance of the ‘Land of Flowers’!
-Learn from the monarch who created that splendor!
In this social movement, European intellectuals studied King Sejong and Hyang.
As this research deepened, a movement began to arise to introduce an imperial system in addition to a return to the classics.
-We too, like an empire!
-Let’s change it to something like ‘Land of Flowers’!
It was an empire that suddenly became a ‘utopia’.
As this movement deepened, the imperial language became another official language after Latin.
Of course, in intellectual society, the imperial language already had almost the same status as Latin. However, before we knew it, it had become a situation where not only nobles but also wealthy people had to be able to speak a word or two of the imperial language to be treated well.
* * *
The empire was a country that people wanted to emulate politically and culturally, and wanted to make their own country do the same.
But economically, it was the empire that had to catch up and be ahead.
This was because the empire was reaping too many benefits.
The empire boasted quality that was far ahead of most products. Therefore, European merchants imported the empire’s products and sold them to the people.
This was because it was more profitable to import and sell the empire’s products than to sell products made by domestic artisans.
Fortunately, British cast iron cannons and French lace were internationally famous exports.
Although British cast iron cannons had limitations in performance, they were cheaper than bronze cannons and became a popular product in Europe.
French lace was a popular product sold not only in Europe but also in the Ming Empire.
It was especially popular in the empire, where it was fashionable among noble ladies to wear lace decorations on their sleeves.
-I won’t get my sleeves dirty!
He boasted of his wealth with lace decoration.
When French lace was just beginning to become popular among the wealthy, the Emperor at the time smiled bitterly.
“I heard there was a trend among noblemen in the late Joseon Dynasty to grow their little fingernails, right? To boast that you can make a living without working. Hmm…”
Hyang thought for a moment and made a decision.
“For now, let’s wait and see. “Already, people are starting to say that we are stealing too much from Europe.”
* * *
In this way, the empire was making huge profits in most fields except for a small number of products.
This trade imbalance was a serious problem for European monarchs who had just become absorbed in mercantilism.
“So much gold and silver is going into the empire….”
Realizing the seriousness of the situation, European monarchs began providing active support to develop their own industries.
* * *
The field they most actively supported was steam engines.
Before the Iron Horse began operating in Suez, it was just a story from a distant country. But the story changed when the Iron Horse became operational in Suez.
European monarchs and nobles, who saw with their own eyes the enormous economic benefits provided by iron horses, began to actively support the development of steam engines.
And this led to a chain reaction.
In order to make a high-performance steam engine, high-quality iron was needed, which required advancement in iron-making technology.
Not only steel but also alloy parts used in important parts needed performance improvement.
To solve this problem, the knowledge of alchemists was essential. Thanks to this, the alchemist’s social status rose rapidly.
While Europe and Ming and Japan were busy moving to position themselves as empires, the empire was also moving.
On the one hand, they were focusing on research and development as they had done so far, and on the other hand, they were moving to monitor the movements of other countries.
The Imperial Army’s intelligence agency as well as the Secret Service were quietly infiltrating Europe.