Black Corporation: Joseon - Chapter 838

Episode 838: Pursuit in Europe (5)

“Whew~.”

Wan let out a long sigh and continued speaking.

“It’s Europe, so you said it was Chimsobongdae? Tsk!”

When Wan clicked his tongue, the ministers instantly flinched and became silent. But the ministers also had something to say.

Kim Jong-seo spoke on behalf of the ministers.

“Your Majesty, there is no mistake in what you said. However, everything in the military does not change just because the weapons change. A military strategy that matches the changed weapons must be prepared. Please think about the Li Manchu Rebellion and the Battle of Liaodong all those years ago.”

* * *

What played the biggest role in Joseon’s transformation into an empire was its economic growth, but what played an equally big role was its powerful army with enormous firepower.

However, the Joseon military at that time was not powerful from the beginning.

When the ‘Lee Man-ju Rebellion’ took place, the Joseon army’s tactics were a mixture of medieval and modern times.

The tactic of the Joseon army at the time was to use a type of tercio tactic in which long sword units heavily armed with plate armor stood in front of a line of riflemen armed with full-length rifles using percussion caps to protect the riflemen.

This alone was a powerful force, but it was not enough to deal with the Ming.

This was because it was not possible to overcome Ming’s volume war with Tersio tactics alone.

Afterwards, as Joseon’s military scale steadily grew, the Eul-sik long gun, a breech-loading long gun, and the Eul-sik hwacha, a Gatling machine gun, were created, and artillery also developed greatly, marking the beginning of real change.

However, as Kim Jong-seo said, Joseon did not become an empire just by changing weapons.

Instead of the traditional method of having the armies of both sides clash head-on on a wide plain, they used trench warfare and mobile warfare as their main tactics to subdue the Ming.

That is why Kim Jong-seo pointed out this point.

* * *

Wan immediately began to refute Kim Jong-seo’s words.

“The captain is right. It’s true that not only weapons must change, but also strategic strategies. But… In the previous battle at Suez, the Portuguese and Ottomans became accustomed to using Korean rifles and freight cars and used their own tactics. Is that it? “Our imperial army set an example by laying a railroad in Suez.”

As Wan said, in the latter half of the Suez War, the Ottomans, Portugal, Florence, and France introduced large quantities of imperial rifles and freight cars and deployed them into battle.

And after trial and error using the sacrifices of soldiers in actual battle, they came up with their own tactics.

In addition, during the construction of the railway in Suez, a large-scale improvement was made by observing the battle that took place between the Mamluk army disguised as bandits and the imperial army.

“….”

The ministers could not easily open their mouths at Wan’s point. Looking at the ministers, Wan continued speaking.

“The Emperor said this while worrying about Europe.”

* * *

Hyang added these words when talking about Pok-eun.

“The biggest reason why we need to pay close attention when a large amount of silver is created in Europe is that none of the European countries are on good terms.”

The description of the scent was summarized as follows.

-Once again, the biggest problem is that none of the European countries are on good terms with each other. Portugal and Spain are like this, England and France are like this, and France and the Holy Roman Empire are like that.

-And the countries mentioned above have already come into contact with our empire’s Japanese-style rifles and Japanese-style freight cars. Once the width is made, it will soon catch up with Japanese rifles and freight cars.

-And if countries armed with new weapons become confident, it will not be long before a war breaks out.

-If war breaks out, it will become more serious from then on.

-War is an event that costs a lot of money. Therefore, new and excellent weapons will not come out like mushrooms. Instead, the level of craftsmen will increase significantly. As weapons used in war are manufactured in large quantities, they will continue to be refined.

-This is the problem. Once the war is over and some breathing comes back, European countries will use these craftsmen to create more lethal and dangerous weapons.

“Ah…”

Wan nodded repeatedly while listening to Hyang’s explanation. Looking at Wan like that, Hyang muttered to herself.

‘Neither jet engines nor rockets fell from the sky at any moment. The concept and basic technology existed before the war. Therefore, not only Germany, but also Britain and the United States developed jet fighters. ah! Except Japan.

Wait… Should the atomic bomb be included in this category or should it be an exception?’

“your majesty?”

“ah! I thought about something else for a moment. “How much did you say?”

Hyang, who had been distracted from her thoughts for the first time in a long time, came to her senses at Wan’s call and continued speaking.

* * *

“…Wouldn’t Europe, which has in its hands weapons made with the technology honed while fighting each other like this, become a source of worry for our empire?”

At Wan’s point, Hwang Bo-in bowed his head and continued.

“your majesty. I know very well that European countries are enemies with each other. And if you use the skills you’ve honed while fighting, you’ll also end up with something to worry about. It takes a lot of money to make a gun, but even more money goes into making the bullets and gunpowder to use in a gun. “With the current situation in Europe, it is difficult to raise an army to a level that will cause concern to the empire.”

The ministers all nodded at Hwang Bo-in’s remarks.

Because the current situation of the imperial army was like that.

Every year, the budget requested by the Imperial Army was increasing, but it was impossible to meet all of the Imperial Army’s demands.

Therefore, a fierce power struggle took place between the Ministry of National Defense and the Ministry of Finance and Economy every year when the budget was set.

Hwang Bo-in continued to bow his head and speak.

“Your Majesty, it is clear that the fact that silver was made in Europe is something that should not be taken lightly. However, it is not right to attach too much importance to this. If you do something wrong, the empire’s livelihood will be ruined and the people’s lives will become difficult. It is said to be ‘slow but ox-walking’. I think it is reasonable to move steadily while continuing to monitor movements in Europe. “It would be too sensitive to move quickly now.”

“So, given the current situation in Europe, there is still time?”

“That’s right.”

“Hmm…”

Wan was lost in thought at Hwang Bo-in’s answer.

‘It seems a reasonable idea at first glance…’

Hwang Bo-in’s analysis was accurate.

* * *

It was after the Age of Exploration that Europe began to dominate Asia in earnest.

This was made possible by securing overwhelming economic and military power based on Africa and the New World.

But with the intervention of fragrance, many things changed.

In history before the intervention of the Xiang Dynasty, the countries of Northeast Asia, which lived like frogs in a well with the bar closed, were actively engaging in foreign trade and strengthening their military power.

In particular, the biggest change was securing and developing new lands since the time when the empire was Joseon.

If we succeeded in securing North America and then Central America as per the plan initiated by King Sejong and supplemented by Hyang, it was certain that the pie that would go to European countries would be greatly reduced.

In other words, to the extent that it was reduced, Europe’s economic power would decrease and its military power would also decrease.

* * *

“Hmm… you might think so. But… The problem is that governance. “Isn’t there a possibility that European countries will join hands and fight against the empire in order to obtain more wealth?”

Hwang Bo-in responded to Wan’s point with a slight smile.

“Didn’t you come up with ‘Operation Gyeruk’ to prevent them from joining hands like that? Of course, before we could do anything, they started doing things among themselves.”

“Isn’t it one thing to find the ‘New World’ they talk about, and another thing to join hands to invade our empire?”

Hwang Bo-in responded to Wan’s persistent criticism without hesitation.

“your majesty. Even when people hold hands, the strong and the weak are divided and superiority is determined. Is it any different from country to country? Please think about the Spring and Autumn Period in the central plains. “There will be no joining hands until the loser (the head of the feudal lords) is determined.”

Wan refuted Hwang Bo-in’s words again.

“And they will fight fiercely to determine the loser, and their swords will become sharper. This is it… Don’t you feel like you’re just saying the same thing over and over again?”

Hwang Bo-in took a moment to catch his breath and answered Wan’s words.

“Of course it will. Yes, Your Majesty. It is natural for people to try to avoid things that would cost them money. They know full well how powerful the empire is. Therefore, instead of targeting the empire, they will target Ming and Japan. “I’m probably going to target people the most.”

“It’s famous and Japanese… Hmm….”

“That’s right. Aren’t Ming and Japan famous for silver?”

Wan, who thought for a moment about Hwang Bo-in’s words, nodded.

“If you think about silver….”

* * *

Myung, no, Jungwon has produced and used a lot of silver since ancient times. In the case of Japan, a significant amount of gold and silver was being mined from newly developed silver and gold mines as well as silver mines that had been jointly developed since the Joseon Dynasty.

On the other hand, the empire was ‘officially’ an importer of silver. Silver coming from Japan’s joint mines and silver purchased from the Ming accounted for 80% of the silver distributed in the empire, and the remaining 20% was domestically produced.

However, the actual production from domestic mines was much higher than that. The empire was gradually collecting and storing the excess silver that it had hidden.

It was to prepare for any unexpected situation.

Because of this background, when Europeans heard the term ‘Silver of the East,’ they first thought of Ming and Japan. In fact, the amount of silver exchanged between Europe and Ming Japan was significant and was increasing every year.

Therefore, Hwang Bo-in judged that European countries would target Ming and Japan rather than the empire.

* * *

As Wan appeared to be convinced, Hwang Bo-in added strength to his voice.

“Your Majesty, if I were to summarize the current situation, it would be like this.”

-France made a fortune and it is certain that other countries will soon make a fortune too.

-This is definitely a problem. But there is no need to act rashly.

-It is certain that Europe’s military power will become stronger with the acquisition of silver, but this military power will not be directed directly to the empire.

-Before that, there will be a big war that will decide who will be the loser of Europe.

-It is certain that from now on they will turn their eyes to the east.

-The most likely targets for them are Ming and Japan.

Hwang Bo-in, who explained up to this point, took a moment to catch his breath and concluded his speech.

“Just as your Majesty is concerned, the problem is that their blades are becoming sharper. Therefore, it is right for us to prepare as well. However, it is foolish to blindly buy a new knife or sharpen all of your knives. “I think it would be most appropriate to carefully examine how long and sharp their knives are, and then select a suitable knife and sharpen it.”

Wan nodded at Hwang Bo-in’s words.

“That’s right, no matter how sharp a new knife is, a kitchen knife can’t be used against a long sword. So let’s look at this part first.”

Due to Wan’s decision, not only the main branch but also Shinji’s army began to turn upside down.

And Hyang, who learned the whole story through a letter sent by Wan, was troubled.

“Oh, I’m worried… should I add seasoning or not…”