Black Corporation: Joseon

The Ouchi clan was expanding their military power so obviously that anyone paying even slight attention could notice.

Moreover, their key figures had changed.

Morimi, who had been leading the clan until now, stepped back citing old age, and Mochiyo, the posthumous son of the previous clan head, assumed the position of clan leader. Additionally, Morimi’s son Norihiro was adopted by Mochiyo and took the position of family heir (katoku).

This established a stable succession structure that would prevent future problems.

After completing these succession arrangements, Morimi spoke to Mochiyo with a relieved expression.

“The timing was perfect. Kami-sama (God) is helping our clan.”

Mochiyo prostrated himself deeply at Morimi’s words.

“Ha! Indeed!”

“Raise your head! From now on, you must lead the clan!”

“From now on, this position is yours.”

Having yielded the clan leader’s position to Mochiyo, Morimi lightly patted his shoulder.

“Now do your utmost to fulfill the clan’s long-cherished wish.”

“Ha!”

Morimi patted Mochiyo’s shoulder again as he heard his firm response.

“I’ll say it again – the timing was perfect. If the previous Shogun were still alive, things would have become complicated.”

“Indeed.”

***

To strengthen the shogunate’s power, the previous Shogun had actively interfered in daimyo succession processes.

He insisted on appointing as successors those who would follow or likely follow his orders, rather than the designated heirs within daimyo families.

In this situation, as daimyos who didn’t follow the Shogun’s wishes met mysterious assassinations, the daimyos had no choice but to follow Yoshinori’s will.

This was true for the Ouchi clan as well. When arranging for Mochiyo to inherit the position, Morimi had to channel considerable funds to Yoshinori and his close associates through Mochiyo.

While this succeeded in securing Mochiyo’s inheritance, succeeding as clan head and passing the heir position to Norihiro were separate matters.

While Mochiyo, who had earned some trust from Yoshinori, becoming clan head might not have been a major issue, it would certainly have been very difficult for Morimi’s son, who kept his distance from Yoshinori, to take the heir’s position.

It was in this situation that Yoshinori was assassinated.

Less than a month after hearing news of the Shogun’s assassination, the Ouchi clan finalized and informed the shogunate of their succession arrangements, including the clan leadership succession.

The shogunate could say nothing about the Ouchi clan’s decision. The Shogun was only eight years old, and neither the Hosokawa clan who became his guardians nor his birth mother Hino Shigeko, who became regent, had sufficient capability to suppress the Ouchi clan.

Incidentally, the Ouchi clan informed Joseon of their clan head succession and heir confirmation before informing the shogunate.

Receiving personal letters from Morimi and Mochiyo through an envoy, Sejong replied as follows:

-It is truly regrettable that Ouchi Morimi, who has built friendly relations with our Joseon, must step down due to old age. Also, as the newly appointed clan head Ouchi Mochiyo promises continued friendship, our Joseon sincerely hopes that this spirit will endure long into the future.

Along with this reply, a large quantity of precious medicine was delivered to Morimi through the envoy.

“To provide such precious medicines in such quantity! We are truly grateful!”

The envoy bowed deeply with sincere joy upon receiving the medicine. However, the watching Joseon ministers muttered internally:

They’ll be quite busy paying for those medicines.

***

It was because of these situations in Ming and Japan that Sejong, Hyang, and the ministers grew serious.

If war broke out in Ming or internal strife erupted in Japan, what would collapse first was the internal structure of these nations.

Whether war or civil strife, once it broke out, it became like a hungry ghost that endlessly devoured people’s lives and wealth.

To procure war funds, they would squeeze the people’s blood, and people who couldn’t endure this would become refugees or bandits – such was the pattern of history until now.

Therefore, it was clear that if conflict beyond a certain scale broke out, trade routes would be blocked. This was obvious just from how Chinese pirates and Japanese pirates had flourished during periods when China and Japan suffered from conflict.

If maritime trade routes were blocked, Joseon’s situation would certainly become serious as well.

Of course, if Joseon properly mobilized its naval power, it wouldn’t be impossible for Joseon to control these trade routes.

The problem lay in supplying the war funds that would be consumed in this process and exploring the unclaimed territories in the east.

If they committed major forces to securing and managing trade routes, the exploration of unclaimed territories that had just gotten on track would certainly come to a halt.

If they missed their timing in this process, there was a high possibility of fierce competition with approaching Europeans from the west.

“In the end, we need to secure clear superiority in both quantity and quality.”

As Hyang summarized the situation, he circled the word ‘quantity’ and his expression grew gloomy.

We’re confident about quality but not quantity. The sea is vast and ships are limited. No, ships aren’t the problem. Gunpowder is…

Continuing to dig into the problems, Hyang wrote ‘gunpowder’ and circled it.

Should we abandon black powder…?

While the artillery units of the land and naval forces were using smokeless Deokgap-style powder, the basic forces of the land army – the gun troops – were using black powder called Eul-style powder.

The dual supply system is a problem… Explosive power is a problem… It would be more efficient to standardize everything that uses gunpowder, from land to sea, with Deokgap-style powder… But the problem is glycerin…

The dynamite used at civil engineering sites – called paper tube explosives (jitongpok) in Joseon – and Deokgap-style powder contained large amounts of explosive oil (nitroglycerin). Though they were collecting waste oil from restaurants and households to supply glycerin for this nitroglycerin, it was still insufficient.

What should we do about this…?

As Hyang pondered solutions, he lifted his head and looked around to clear his troubled mind. As his eyes wandered aimlessly, they fell on a map, and Hyang jumped up from his seat.

“I forgot about the South!”

The Southern Fleet, established to secure trade routes, was scheduled to depart soon.

“Once the Southern Fleet establishes itself in Temasek, we can obtain large quantities of coconuts!”

Having found a solution of sorts, Hyang immediately began writing a report.

Sources? How many people have visited that area already?

***

While these events were unfolding in Hanseong, Henry was traveling around Joseon by iron horse.

While marveling at Joseon’s outstanding scenery, Henry was able to select and contract for items he hadn’t seen in Hanseong but had good commercial value.

However, what captured Henry’s heart most strongly was the iron horse.

“Truly useful indeed.”

Returning to Hanseong amazed at the iron horse’s utility, Henry broached the subject on the final day of consultations.

“Traveling around Joseon, I’ve found it to be a truly beautiful country.”

The official in charge of practical matters smiled and responded to Henry’s praise.

“Our Joseon is indeed famous for its beautiful scenery.”

“The iron horse seems to play a great role in traveling to see such beautiful scenery over long distances.”

“Yes, these days more and more people are taking pleasure trips by iron horse.”

“Is that so… Hmm, could Joseon provide us with these iron horses?”

The smile vanished from the official’s face at Henry’s words. With a stiffened expression, the official carefully asked Henry:

“What do you mean by providing iron horses?”

“The iron horse seems very useful as it can transport people and cargo over long distances without rest. Thus, I would like to lay railways in my country and colonies.”

At Henry’s explanation, the official immediately stood up.

“This seems beyond my authority to decide. May I report this and return?”

“You may.”

Receiving Henry’s permission, the official bowed and hurried out. Watching the officials quickly disappear, Henry ordered Pedro:

“Prepare maps of Africa and Arabia.”

“Your Highness? This could risk leaking confidential information.”

“It’s worth the risk. Prepare them.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

After some time passed, the officials returned.

“The minister says ‘This is not something to be decided unilaterally.’ He says he will obtain His Majesty’s answer within two days at the latest.”

“I shall wait. Then let’s conclude our trade discussions with what we’ve discussed so far.”

“We shall do so.”

***

Two days later, Prince Henry sat face to face with Kim Jeom.

“This is the Left Deputy Prime Minister.”

Following the interpreter’s introduction, Kim Jeom gave Henry a light bow.

“I am pleased to meet the prince of Portugal.”

“I am pleased as well.”

After brief introductions, both sides got straight to the point.

“You requested iron horses?”

“Yes.”

“Do you know how much an iron horse costs? Five iron horses could build one of the large ships of Joseon that you’ve seen.”

“Hah!”

Henry’s breath caught at the price beyond his imagination.

Are they trying to make an unreasonable profit!

Suspecting price gouging, Henry studied the expressions of Kim Jeom and the officials seated before him. However, Kim Jeom went even further.

“It’s absolutely impossible to properly operate iron horses for profit with just one or two. You need at least ten to start, but would your country be able to afford that? Moreover, buying just iron horses would be useless. You need to lay tracks for the iron horses to run on, and you need passenger cars and freight cars to transport people and cargo. That’s why even our Joseon had to prepare for quite a long time.”

At Kim Jeom’s words, Henry seemed to suddenly understand.

They’re worried about whether I’m serious about buying!

Having grasped what the Joseon people were concerned about, Henry organized his thoughts once more. Based on what Kim Jeom had said, Henry answered his question honestly.

“If it’s that expensive, it would be too much for our kingdom alone. So what if Joseon joined hands with us?”

“Join hands, you say?”

“Yes. Portugal and Joseon could jointly lay railway tracks across Africa.”

“Across Africa, you say?”

“Indeed. Pedro!”

“Yes, Your Highness!”

As soon as Henry gave the order, Pedro spread out the maps, and Henry pointed to Africa’s southeastern coast before drawing an imaginary straight line northward.

“We could lay tracks like this, then we could transport African slaves, ivory, and other precious goods, as well as Joseon’s products.”

Kim Jeom shook his head as he examined the map while listening to Henry’s explanation.

“Why should we go all the way down there?”

“Pardon?”

“We Joseon have no need to go down to southeastern Africa. Slaves? Slaves are of no particular use to us. We can obtain ivory and other precious goods readily enough in Alexandria.”

“But they’re expensive.”

“Considering the time to travel to southeastern Africa, ship lifespans, and crew safety, we’re not taking much of a loss. And…”

Pausing briefly, Kim Jeom traced along the imaginary line Henry had drawn as he continued.

“Iron horses need more than just tracks. They need solid ground to support the tracks firmly, and safe waypoints along the route for necessary water and fuel supplies. How far is it from south to north?”

“About 2,700 leagues,” (League. About 8,640km, actual north-south length of Africa is about 8,000km).

After estimating the distance based on the interpreter and officials’ advice, Kim Jeom responded to Henry.

“Do you think it’s possible to lay over 22,000 li of tracks? We think the existing land route is sufficient for us.”

“Existing land route?”

“From Suez to Alexandria.”

After this brief answer, Kim Jeom continued.

“Of course, we might consider it if it were shorter than that.”

In the end, the negotiations regarding iron horses ended in failure.

***

In Geunjeongjeon Hall, Sejong turned to Hyang after hearing the story.

“Will that Portuguese prince give up?”

“He will. If they try to lay tracks as we suggested, war would break out immediately.”

Sejong and the ministers nodded at Hyang’s answer.

The route Joseon had chosen as optimal was the border region between the Mamluks and Ottomans. What would happen if Portugal interfered there was crystal clear.

“But…”

Lee Maeng-gyun, who had been listening to Hyang’s story, carefully spoke up.

“What would happen if Portugal seriously undertook this endeavor?”

Silence fell over Geunjeongjeon at Lee Maeng-gyun’s question.

After a long silence, Sejong spoke.

“Then that prophecy might come true. Though it wouldn’t be what we wanted.”