Black Corporation: Joseon

Moving to the front of the map, Hyang pointed at it with a long pointer.

Pointing to the western coastline of the unclaimed land newly recorded through the Maengjin’s exploration, Hyang continued:

“As you can see, the northern region of this coastline is further north than Daeseoldo. Judging from the climate of Jongjangdo and these eastern islands so far, the natural environment on this side is not good. Therefore, we’ll leave this area for now.”

“Leave it? You mean postpone the exploration?”

At Sejong’s point, Hyang nodded.

“Yes. With Joseon’s current capabilities, exploring this area as well would be a waste.”

“A waste… I see.”

Although Hyang used the strong expression ‘waste’, Sejong and the ministers nodded with expressions of understanding.

Examining the map while listening to Hyang’s explanation, Sejong asked Hyang:

“Then where do you think would be good?”

At Sejong’s question, Hyang drew an imaginary horizontal line with the pointer.

“In my opinion, it would be best to start right here.”

The point where Hyang drew the straight line was in the middle of the region called British Columbia in Canada in the history before Hyang’s intervention.

‘If I remember correctly from when I wandered around back then, if we move east from here, we can bypass the northern Rocky Mountains! If we bypass there, we can immediately enter the Great Plains region of North America! And we don’t have to go through that crazy desert area of Nevada, Arizona, and Texas!’

“Hmm…”

Whether knowing Hyang’s thoughts or not, Sejong and the ministers looked at the map, considering the possibilities of Hyang’s proposal.

Looking at the blank spaces to the south and east of the coastline recorded by Maengjin, Sejong then turned his gaze westward.

Sejong looked with eyes full of concern at the European countries crowded in the west of the map.

‘The Crown Prince’s previous words are certainly correct. They also know the world is round, so they will attempt to move eastward. The problem is just how wide the sea is between the eastern end of that unclaimed land and those Western countries, especially England. If Maengjin’s report is correct, the size of that unclaimed land is enormous, and if so, it will contain many things. Letting another country have that would be a poor strategy, no, an absolute mistake that must be avoided. However…’

After much deliberation, Sejong let out a long sigh.

“Sigh~ Whether we go east or south, problems are piled up. If we’re not careful, it could become a situation where Joseon and the Westerners are aiming to catch each other’s tails.”

“Of course, that possibility exists. Or there’s a possibility that our Joseon and the Westerners could clash in the middle of that unclaimed land. However…”

Pausing briefly to wet his throat, Hyang continued:

“There is a big difference between those Westerners and our Joseon. If we use that difference, we can create a situation greatly advantageous to our Joseon.”

“Difference? Hmm…”

When Hyang mentioned ‘difference’, Sejong fell into thought again. At that moment, Hwang Hui joined the conversation.

“Are you perhaps referring to the attitude towards the natives?”

“That’s right.”

At Hyang’s answer, Sejong and the ministers nodded.

***

So far, Joseon’s attitude towards the natives living in newly acquired territories was ‘candy, more candy, Hunminjeongeum, and a hot stick’.

When making contact with the natives, they took the most peaceful approach possible and opened channels through trade. Then, they secured a firm foothold through barter exchanges using government monopoly stores.

As relationships were built this way, the process of learning each other’s languages followed, and Hunminjeongeum played a crucial role in this process. This was because most of the natives they contacted had spoken languages but no writing systems. Having a proper writing system to record their language attracted the natives.

And it was a natural progression for natives familiar with Hunminjeongeum to learn the Joseon language.

This was due to the characteristic of Hunminjeongeum, its biggest feature being that all pronunciations are fixed. There were no cases in Hunminjeongeum where a single vowel or consonant is pronounced differently depending on the situation, and this made it easy for natives to quickly become familiar with the Joseon language.

Of course, there were natives who rejected everything and only treated Joseon people as enemies. In such cases, Joseon did not insist on continuous persuasion. However, if they attacked Joseon people or their settlements first, Joseon pursued them to the end and erased their existence.

But according to records about the slave markets in Alexandria, either through Mansur or otherwise, the Westerners hardly used such methods. For them, native villages were merely excellent sources of slaves.

***

Sejong and the ministers nodded at Hyang’s remarks mentioning this point.

Seeing this, Hyang put more strength into his voice.

“In that unclaimed land, gaining the assistance of the natives is the first thing that both our Joseon and the Westerners must resolve. Considering what the Westerners have done to the natives in Africa, our Joseon can be at an even greater advantage. If our Joseon can win over the natives first, even the Westerners coming from the east to the unclaimed land won’t be a big concern.”

“Indeed…”

“Oh…”

While the ministers were nodding continuously at Hyang’s explanation, Sejong looked at Hyang with a slight smile.

“So that’s why you wrote in your proposal that we should dispatch a large number of doctors from the early stages of exploration.”

At Sejong’s point, Hyang nodded.

“That’s right. That unclaimed land is unknown territory to us. Of course, there will be diseases we don’t know about, and there may be diseases of ours that the natives of the unclaimed land don’t know. To establish countermeasures for the former, and to use the latter case to increase our Joseon’s influence, we need to deploy many doctors from the early stages of exploration.”

‘It was like that even in the 21st century, wasn’t it? No matter how much they’re paid for their work, when they save a family member who’s at death’s door due to illness, doctors receive gratitude so deep that people’s heads touch the ground!’

After Hyang’s lengthy explanation ended, Sejong looked at the ministers.

“The Crown Prince’s proposal seems good, what do you all think?”

“Indeed, it is so!”

“I think it’s the best course of action!”

When even the ministers all agreed, Sejong reached a conclusion.

“Then, add the Crown Prince’s proposal and readjust the plan. Fortunately, the exploration fleet hasn’t departed yet, so I think the burden will be less.”

“…Yes.”

***

After the meeting ended, Hyang, leaving the main hall, muttered quietly while returning to Area 51.

“It’s an unavoidable choice… Trying to swallow both South and North America with Joseon’s current capabilities would lead to a situation where we can’t even lick our lips without tearing our mouth. Even if we put aside the North American natives, South America has already established the framework of nations, and their customs are such that if Father and the ministers saw them, they’d have a fit… But it’s a shame about rubber… Tsk!”

Hyang clicked his tongue in regret.

***

As the Challenger ships began passing through Southeast Asia on their way to and from Alexandria, Hyang quietly assigned a task.

-Investigate trees that produce a substance with excellent elasticity when their sap is dried.

It was Hyang’s order thinking of the natural latex that came from Vietnam and Indonesia regions in the 21st century, but the result was a complete failure.

-No such trees found.

Hyang had to click his tongue upon receiving the brief report.

“So, it spread from the Amazon after all?”

Because of this, although he was once again filled with dreams after receiving Maengjin’s report, Hyang had to face the wall of reality once more.

There were limitations to exploration with the amount of human and material resources that Joseon could currently mobilize.

Therefore, Hyang had to give up his desire for rubber.

“Just for now, just for now!”

Although Hyang was trying to convince himself, he also knew that this ‘for now’ would be quite a long time.

“Even when playing games, why do you send Marines and SCVs everywhere? It’s not just to find enemies, but to look for minerals, right? There’s no way we’ll have cases like ‘We’ve arrived in North America. We’ve obtained gold!’ or ‘We’ve arrived in South America. We’ve obtained rubber!’ And I can’t go around shouting ‘We must go south! There’s rubber and saltpeter mines there!’ If I’m not careful, it might be revealed that this is my second life… Sigh~ I have to give up.”

Hyang muttered with a face full of regret.

Although he gave up on rubber, no, South America, because of the risk of revealing his ‘second life’ if he wasn’t careful, Hyang couldn’t give up on the eastern region of North America.

“Considering the value that neighborhood has, we shouldn’t just lick our lips, we should sink our teeth into it.”

***

While Hyang was muttering like this and returning to Area 51, Sejong asked the ministers:

“Isn’t the Crown Prince truly reliable?”

“Indeed, he is.”

“With the Crown Prince being so reliable, the future of our Joseon is truly bright.”

Listening to the ministers’ answers with a pleased expression, Sejong gave an order to Jo Mal-saeng.

“Do your best in exploration. The sooner a bridgehead is established, the sooner I can go.”

At Sejong’s words, Hwang Hui opened his mouth with a very tense expression.

“Does that mean you’re considering regency?”

“Wouldn’t abdication be better than regency?”

At Sejong’s mention of abdication, the atmosphere in the main hall instantly became heavy. Seeing the ministers’ faces full of concern, Sejong smiled and comforted them.

“There will absolutely be no such thing as what the previous king did. Rather, couldn’t it become a good precedent?”

As he was saying this, Sejong suddenly seemed to remember something and asked the Chief Royal Secretary:

“How are the royal grandson and great-grandsons these days? Are there no problems with their studies?”

“Yes, it seems they have inherited Your Majesty’s and the Crown Prince’s qualities, making it difficult to find peers who match them.”

At the Chief Royal Secretary’s answer, Sejong’s face brightened.

“Is that so? Then, how about their character?”

“Their character is also said to be promising for the future.”

“That’s fortunate.”

As Sejong showed an expression of relief, Hwang Hui asked Sejong:

“Why did you suddenly ask about the qualities of the royal grandson and great-grandsons?”

To Hwang Hui’s question, Sejong answered simply:

“Because I know the Crown Prince’s personality well.”

“Ah!”

At Sejong’s answer, Hwang Hui nodded vigorously.

At that moment, Hyang was busily scratching his ear.

“Ow! Is someone talking about me?”

***

That afternoon, an official report came up from Mokpo via Iron Horse. The content of the report was a record of the activities of Prince Henry’s party staying at the guest house.

“He showed great interest in the lighting stone? Just like Mansur, it seems the Crown Prince’s boast that this lighting stone would make money is correct.”

At Sejong’s words, Kim Jeom immediately continued:

“It’s also receiving endless praise among the people in the marketplace. It’s fortunate that we were able to start mass production at such an appropriate time.”

At Kim Jeom’s answer, Sejong threw a joke with laughter:

“Hahaha! It seems the Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister of Finance like it the most!”

Kim Jeom smiled and bowed his head at Sejong’s joke, but inwardly he was grinding his teeth and grumbling.

‘Do you know how much money went into making those damned furnaces!’

***

The lighting stone, that is, carbide, was the product of Hyang’s fierce challenges so far.

“To produce better iron and metal materials, we need better performing furnaces.”

Although the quality of iron and metal materials currently produced by Joseon was far superior to not only Ming and Japan but also the Middle East and Europe, Hyang still felt it was lacking.

“It’s good that we’ve jumped into the center of the world, but from now on, we’re in a position of being chased. We can’t just sit idle.”

Hyang continued speaking while looking at the Challenge Log on the bookshelf.

“We should write down not just mere fantasies, but also what attempts were made.”

It was Hyang’s decision that further increased the value of the ‘Challenge Log’.