Black Corporation: Joseon - Chapter 849

Episode 849: Daily Life in the Empire (8)

These changes in the empire continued even after Hyang handed over the throne to Wan and moved to Shinji.

Sejong, who was in charge of Shinji before Hyang took charge of Shinji, created a new sport called Shinjigyeokbang or Shingeukbang.

King Sejong originally liked private rooms, and the political purpose of having a quiet conversation while moving around with two or three or four people was added, and Shingyeokbang was born.

The natives of Shinji, who had few special means of entertainment, quickly fell in love with Shingeokbang.

But there was a big problem in the Shingeokbang.

This was because there was a limit to the number of people competing at one time. No matter how hard we tried, the maximum was 4 people. If more people started competing at the same time, smooth progress was impossible. If there was a competition with a large number of participants, the players had to divide each group into groups of four and enter the room sequentially.

Naturally, as the problem of supply and demand arose, applications for building a private space were flooded in, but the local government did not easily grant permission.

“It’s easy to go because the land is overflowing, but we have to think about nature conservation issues and future work. “Let’s promote other things instead.”

In this way, Masanggyeokgu and Masangjae were introduced as substitutes for incense.

This also had a military purpose.

“Thanks to Jinpyeong, the railroad is being laid step by step, but it is impossible to cover this dirty vast land with railroads. In conclusion, training cavalry is essential. “The environment is also the best.”

As Hyang said, the vast plains of Shinji were the best environment for raising cows and horses.

“If it weren’t for the transportation problem, there would already be a lot of cattle moving around by now.”

Although the scent was disappointing, livestock farming is still the biggest source of income for the indigenous people of Shinji.

To be precise, it was the processed meat industry represented by pemmican.

* * *

For Native Americans, pemmican was a must-have food for survival.

Before the arrival of the Empire – Joseon at the time – farming was at a primitive level and most people survived by hunting and gathering.

In order to survive the long winter with the food obtained in this way, a storage method that could preserve it for a long time was needed, and this is how pemmican was born.

When they first encountered pemmican during contact with the natives, the imperial people gave a strange look.

“This is subtle…”

However, the imperialists, who knew that pemmican’s best advantage was that it could be preserved for a long time, began to use all kinds of methods.

No matter what anyone said, the people of the empire were more serious about eating, especially meat, than anyone else. Even Europeans acknowledged this.

-People in the ‘Land of Flowers’ love meat very much. More than us Europeans.

And the most representative person was King Sejong. Therefore, even while King Sejong was busy pioneering new lands, he paid considerable attention to making pemmican and various types of processed meat.

Of course, the first thing to do was to bring in the cows and increase their number.

This part also had hidden military and economic purposes.

In order to solve the food supply problem for soldiers, food that could be preserved for a long time was essential.

Economically, it was to establish a stable and permanent relationship between the new paper and the main paper.

Shinji was a land with infinite potential, but it required enormous funds to develop it.

For the time being, this was possible with war reparations obtained from the Ming Dynasty. However, when this compensation was depleted over time, it had to be paid for through taxes from the people.

If things were handled incorrectly at that time, it was certain that the people of the empire would rebel against the emperor and the court. In addition, discrimination against the indigenous people of the new land would become routine.

The same was true for Shinji. If they were to become dependent on the main branch, at some point the natives of the new area would rebel and the union between the local area and the new area would collapse.

The optimal way to solve this was to ‘build a complementary relationship, not a dependency’.

The system that Kim Jeom, who has now become a historical figure, dreamed of was the answer.

And the starting point was agriculture and the processed meat industry.

* * *

Thanks to Sejong, which had great expertise in meat and meat dishes, quite good results were produced in the area of processed meat, including pemmican.

The evaluation of these processed meat products released on the market by people who tasted them was quite good.

“Is it delicious?”

“It feels different from beef jerky?”

“I think if I boil soup with this, it will come out with an interesting flavor.”

With such favorable reviews, Shinji’s processed meat products became established in the imperial market.

And it began to expand its markets further and further along the empire’s trade routes.

Conversely, as the empire imported more and more spices, it developed increasingly close ties with the Sultanate of Bengal.

* * *

The story went sideways for a moment, but there was a problem in defending Shinji with the railroad alone.

To compensate for this, a lot of cavalry was needed.

However, there were limits to what the main branch and the northern branch could handle, and the only answer was to foster it within the new area itself.

However, horses were an unknown animal to the natives of Shinji, so it was difficult to approach them easily.

The best way to solve this problem was to have fun and introduce Gyeokgu and Masangjae as a scent.

And as time passed, Gyeokgu and Masangjae became the favorite pastime of the Shinji natives.

It was human nature to want to do something if you liked it, and the number of natives applying to join the cavalry began to increase.

No, even if they did not apply for the military, they would ride the pack horses they had at home and compete in hard-fought games at the village level.

“If the water comes in, you have to row!”

After receiving the report, the township soon organized a regular competition.

Now, the plan was to connect the general entertainment centers that were establishing themselves in Shinji, take turns in fierce ball games, and record the wins and losses to determine the rankings.

The competition organized in this way drew an enthusiastic response from the indigenous people of the new area.

* * *

As Gyeokgu became popular, Gigigi also began to gain popularity.

The game of hitting a ball using a wooden stick was a familiar pastime for the people of the empire.

Although horseback riding was becoming popular, horses were still expensive animals.

Even for well-established farms, it was common for each household to have one or two pack horses. It was not possible to drag such a precious pack horse every time to compete, so those who came from the empire began playing with the equipment they were familiar with.

And the neighboring natives, who saw this, began to join in and enjoy the game.

As a result, Janggigi began to spread among the natives even faster than Gyeokgu. This was because one could participate in the match without saying a word.

The problem occurred here.

Even for those who came from our hometown, the rules were different depending on their hometown. In that situation, as it spread among the indigenous people, it became a situation where there were no rules and they became rules.

As a result, the match progressed quite roughly, and it was common for big fights to break out when the emotions between each other became strong.

In particular, since it was a match with clubs that were perfect for beating up people, when the fight broke out, it immediately turned into a bloody brawl.

And as this happened frequently, the doors of trouble were wide open for lawmakers and soldiers in charge of public security.

“There is no reason to stop them from doing it…”

“You can’t just arrest them because they got hurt while playing…”

In the end, they had no choice but to write an appeal to Hyang.

Hyang sighed after seeing the influx of complaints.

“Whoa~. Because he was infamous along with Seokjeon… In some ways, the horse-riding Gyeok-gu was more calm…” Even

in the headquarters of the empire, Jang Ki-gi was infamous along with Seokjeon.

However, because it was not possible to let go, the village gathered officials from the headquarters and put their heads together on how to create rules.

Officials from the main branch also actively participated because they had memories of seeing blood while fighting as a child, and soon integrated rules were created and distributed throughout the new area.

-Proceed with the device match according to these rules!

-If you violate it, it will be considered a crime and you will be punished!

In this way, Gigigi became established as an official sport of its own.

As a side note, the ‘Ice Machine’, which was played on a frozen lake in the winter, was notorious as a game that still retains the most extreme form from the early days.

Because people were covered from head to toe in protective gear to prevent injuries from slipping or falling on the ice, violent physical fights became a part of daily life.

* * *

As the rules were established like this, an interesting thing happened: the rules of the device system established in Shinji spread to the mainland.

This was because the rules were different for each neighborhood, and if a fight broke out, a fight would break out, as was the case in the main district.

As the integrated rules were applied, Janggigi also developed its own framework and became one of the games held at entertainment complexes.

As it became established in a general entertainment center, Gigigi grew explosively.

Unlike archery, which requires various types of bows depending on the time and place, and requires a horse that costs a lot of money to maintain, and is immediately a crime if it is not in a permitted archery area, it is difficult to distinguish between a bow and a ball that meet the standards. This was possible because all you needed was a dyed vest.

Thanks to this simplicity, it grew explosively and became the first sport where competitions were held across the entire empire, regardless of whether it was the main region or the new northern region.

* * *

While the empire was changing rapidly inside, the outside of the empire was also changing rapidly.

The busiest and most unstable place was Europe.

As Hwang Bo-in predicted, an arms race was sparked.

At the forefront of this fierce arms race were Britain, France, Portugal, Spain, and the Ottomans.

The arms race began with the development of wide silver.

As the silver that the empire had kept secret was developed in Europe, countries that were recognized as strong in Europe began an arms race in earnest.

And behind that shadow were Milwi and Florence.

* * *

Milwi, who received intelligence about the ‘development of silver’ from Giroux in Paris, immediately conveyed the information to Seoul.

After delivering the intelligence, the executives of the Secret Service in charge of Europe gathered together.

The executive presiding over the meeting looked at the executives present and opened his mouth.

“Do you agree that this is a ‘secret situation’?”

All other executives nodded to his question.

“I agree.”

Since it was an era when quick communication was impossible, several crisis situations were assumed and corresponding sealing orders were issued to the secretaries who went overseas.

Among ‘situations detrimental to the security of the empire,’ the highest level was armor.

With the consent of the executives, the executive in charge of the meeting took out a small wooden box from one side and placed it on the table.

Next, the executives present took out small keys from their pockets and inserted them into the key holes in the box.

It was a box that, if all the keys were not inserted in the designated order, a self-destruct device inside would activate and burn all confidential instructions inside.

Inside the box that was safely opened, there were several sealed documents with the title of a Level 1 situation.

And in those situations, there was also something with ‘pom’ written on it.

All executives who saw the title could not hide their surprise.

“You said that you created all of these anticipated documents…”

“I don’t think the rumor that he sits and looks out a thousand miles is an exaggeration…”

The executives who mentioned the rumor about the incense soon composed themselves and released the sealed document. After opening the envelope and checking the order, everyone could not hide their doubts.

“huh?”

The first page of the order that came out of the envelope contained only one line of command.

-Spill it.