Black Corporation: Joseon

Chapter 507

Episode 507 Roses have thorns. (5)

“No motion!”

When the carriages carrying King Sejong and his party arrived, Manho, who commanded the soldiers in charge of the defense of Daehogun, gave an order.

Cheek!

At Manho’s command, the soldiers all took an unmoving posture and raised their heads.

After a while, King Sejong, wearing armor, got out of the carriage and Manho gave another command.

“Military courtesy!”

“insect!”

“I’d like to meet your Majesty the Lord!”

At the same time as the soldiers bowed, the officials bowed in unison.

King Sejong raised his hand in response to the soldiers’ military salute and walked away.

“Good work.”

“You worked hard.”

“It was really hard.”

While praising the soldiers and officials, King Sejong entered the pioneering headquarters created in Daehogun.

King Sejong’s party, which entered the courtyard of the pioneer headquarters built on the basis of a military camp, was soon split into two.

Queen Soheon, her concubines, and the court ladies who would attend them entered the newly built building first, and King Sejong headed to the headquarters building just as he had at the bridgehead. In response to King Sejong’s actions, Shin Suk-ju, the head of the officials, carefully advised him to take a break.

“First of all, how do you feel about Pushim?”

“The road to get here was so enjoyable that I didn’t have time to pile up anything like travel.”

“yes?”

As the official tilted his head at King Sejong’s words, the carcasses of all kinds of animals were being unloaded from the carriage at the end.

“That one?”

“Shinji is great for hunting while riding a horse.”

At Sejong’s words, Shin Sook-ju nodded without realizing it.

“Ah…”

The best entertainment for himself as well as the soldiers and officials assigned to Shinji was hunting.

The forest area in the northeastern region where Dongbing Port was located was overflowing with all kinds of beasts, but Shinji was also overflowing with all kinds of game. However, what is different from the northeastern forest or Gaema Plateau is that there is a lot of wide flat land, so you can ride and hunt more comfortably.

Thanks to this, even King Sejong, who was reluctant to move to the point where he preferred Gyeokbang (Joseon-style golf) to hunting, came to enjoy hunting while riding a horse.

“uh? “Isn’t that a bison?”

In particular, the huge bison scattered across the wide plains were the best game.

And even here, King Sejong maintained his individuality.

“I tried grilling it and it tasted really good. I also like that it has a less spicy taste than regular beef. Our people will also be very happy. “I’ll have to come up with a good move whenever I have time.”

Shin Sook-ju slightly hesitated at Sejong’s words.

“According to the natives of Shinji, it is said that it is impossible to obey because of its violent temper.”

“okay? “Then what should I do?”

Hearing Shin Sook-ju’s words, King Sejong stopped and was lost in thought.

‘If the indigenous people who have settled in this land say it is impossible, then it is really difficult… Does that mean it is a shame to give up? The taste is good, but the amount from one fish is quite high….’

Sejong, who was mulling this over and over, soon looked back at Shin Suk-ju with a brightened complexion.

“Is it really necessary to obey?”

“yes?”

“According to the reports I have received so far, this Shinji has few people compared to the size of the land. “If that’s the case, wouldn’t it be okay to pick a suitable place for the bison to grow from the beginning, restrict people’s access, and then let them out and raise them?”

“Ah…”

Shin Sook-ju nodded loudly at Sejong’s words.

‘It is indeed the chief minister! ‘You have gone beyond what a mere man can think of!’

“ruler! “Then let’s go inside and sort out the situation here!”

“Yes, Your Highness!”

* * *

“huh? “Have you prepared anything in advance?”

King Sejong, who arrived at the conference room under Shin Sook-ju’s guidance, looked back at Shin Suk-ju with sparkling eyes.

All kinds of reports were neatly organized on the desk in the conference room, and a newly updated map of Daeho County and nearby areas was hung on the wall.

Shin Sook-ju answered King Sejong’s question by lightly bowing her head.

“Yes, you said that the first thing you did at the beachhead was to check the tasks so far, so I prepared it just in case.”

“is it? Good job! Can we look forward to it in the future?”

Shin Suk-ju bowed deeply and answered King Sejong’s question.

“I will do my best!”

‘Oh yea! ‘I too am on my way to success!’

Shin Suk-ju was excited to have caught the eye of King Sejong. However, this was a misjudgment by Shin Sook-ju, who had not yet experienced King Sejong in person.

‘I look forward to it.’

This means, ‘I will beat you to death.’

* * *

Sejong, who looked inside the conference room for a moment, soon walked in front of the map.

“huh? It looks a little different from the map I saw at the beachhead pioneer headquarters. “Is it newly updated?”

“yes. “It was updated 15 days ago.”

“Hmm…”

While listening to Shin Sook-ju’s answer, King Sejong looked at the map.

It was a map created in accordance with the concept of scale introduced by Hyang. However, unless you were an expert, it was difficult to figure out all the information the map contained on the spot, so King Sejong turned to Shin Suk-ju.

“Are you going down from east to south?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

King Sejong, who was looking at the map while listening to Shin Sook-ju’s answer, pointed out a place on the eastern coastline with his finger.

“How far is it from here to Dongbo No. 1?”

The place that King Sejong pointed to was the first port built on the eastern coast by the Joseon army on its expedition to the east.

It was the first place to build a weir because it was an area with optimal conditions for building a port.

And I don’t know if it’s a coincidence, but in history before the incense became involved, the place was called ‘Boston’.

Shin Sook-ju answered King Sejong’s question by searching through documents.

“It is about 1,100 ri (about 440 km) east of Malho Lake in Daeho County.”

“1,100 liras… hmm….”

King Sejong, who had been examining the map while listening to Shin Sook-ju’s answer, immediately turned around and sat down.

As soon as King Sejong sat down, the officials looked at him with great nervousness.

King Sejong, who carefully examined the documents written by the officials, looked at Shin Suk-ju and the officials.

“So there are no major problems with the construction of infrastructure?”

“That’s right.”

“Why are indigenous people’s wealth so underdeveloped? The report said, ‘Wait-and-see attitude is the mainstream among indigenous people.’ Shouldn’t we be more proactive?”

Shin Sook-ju stepped forward and responded to King Sejong’s point.

“In order to encourage active participation, you must prepare for the worst case scenario. However, we do not currently have the force to annex the indigenous villages that occupy the area around this Great Lake.”

“What other means besides force?”

“It is not easy because the quantity coming from the home country is small. “Completing the steel mill and other industrial facilities, especially the iron horse and railroad mill, is a top priority.”

In response to Shin Sook-ju’s words, King Sejong tapped the desk with his fingers and asked.

“Does that mean… that we will have no choice but to be recognized as the ‘Thunder Rod Tribe’ for the time being?”

“That’s right. Everything starts with the completion of the steel mill. “We need to quickly complete the railroad construction that is currently underway by making railroad tracks from the steel mill.”

After Joseon sent a significant amount of railroad tracks and three iron horses, construction of a railroad connecting the bridgehead and Daeho County began.

The basic plan was that the railroads sent from Joseon would head from the bridgehead to Daeho-gun, and the railroads from the steel mills in Daeho-gun would be used to build a railroad heading toward the bridgehead.

“Yes, the completion of the steel mill can be said to be the true beginning. “Can you make it on time?”

The official in charge of the construction of the steel mill stood up and answered King Sejong’s question.

“As long as there are no major changes, we will be able to meet the deadline!”

“I think I saw you in Area 51?”

“yes! “My name is Jeongtaek, the facility manager in charge of facility development at Area 51!”

“You can trust Area 51. “Please do your best.”

“I will do my best!”

After hearing Jeongtaek’s answer, Sejong looked at the map again and called Jeongtaek.

“Director of Facilities Department.”

“Yes, Your Highness!”

“Are all the shipbuilding engineers dispatched to Shinji now at the beachhead?”

“Yes, that’s right! “The shipyard at the beachhead is building Challenger-class battleships and transport ships!”

According to the plan drawn up by the township, once a ship was built at the beachhead shipyard, crews were to be immediately deployed for transportation operations.

“Hmm…”

Sejong, who was thinking about something while listening to Jeongtaek’s answer, called Jeongtaek again.

“Facilities Manager: Where does the wood used in the facilities being built here in Daeho-gun come from?”

“It comes from the forests near and east of Daehogun!”

“How is the wood quality?”

“It’s as dense and strong as the trees from the Northeast woodlands!”

“What if we make it out of wire?”

“It will be the best material!”

“good!”

Sejong made a decision right away in response to the facility manager’s answer.

“Make sure that the craftsmen and workers working at the bridgehead’s shipyard are moved here to Daeho-gun as soon as the ships currently being built are completed.”

“yes?”

“majesty?”

All the officials in the conference room looked puzzled by King Sejong’s unexpected order.

Sejong got up from his seat and moved to the map, tracing the eastern coastline of Shinji with his finger and continuing.

“Right now, I think the best thing to do is to build a shipyard near Dongbo No. 1 and send naval forces from the mainland to inspect the eastern coast. “That’s how we monitor the coast, establish a military port in a place suitable for use as a port, and place battle lines.”

Shin Sook-ju immediately raised a counterargument to King Sejong’s words.

“I beg your Majesty, but expanding the military port like that would be an excessive waste of time, money, and manpower.”

“right. Therefore, the existing standard step-by-step expansion should not be done.”

“yes?”

“It is about maximizing the strengths of our challenger-level front and sea emergency front.”

Sejong talked about the plan he had in mind.

-First, we explore north and south based on Dongbo No. 1 and build a military port, and the distance between military ports is set at a minimum of 600 ri (about 240 km).

-However, due to limitations in manpower and resources, it is initially limited to 3,000 ri (approximately 1,200 km) from north to south centered on East No. 1 Weir.

“If we do this, 10 military ports will be created no matter how many ports there are in the north and south. Is that correct?”

“yes.”

As Shin Suk-ju and the officials nodded, King Sejong continued his explanation again.

-Afterwards, if the manpower and equipment are properly filled, additional naval ports will be installed between the first military ports built.

-If the first round is centered around the challenger-level fronts, then from the second round, the emergency fronts will be deployed to increase efficiency.

After finishing his explanation, King Sejong explained the purpose of why he had to do this.

“In this way, we must build a strong wall on the east side of this new site to prevent others from approaching. Of course, it would be impossible for Joseon to occupy everything in Shinji. However, the best thing to do is to build a wall as much as possible to prevent others from advancing and at the same time treat the inside as our own. “If you go out from the inside, you may encounter greater difficulties later.”

Shin Sook-ju and the officials nodded at King Sejong’s explanation.

“I follow your orders. “I will begin preparations right away.”

“Write out the order and bring it to me.”

* * *

That night, Sejong, who was left alone in the conference room, looked at the map and muttered.

“If you look at the current situation in Europe, it is a situation where survival is at stake. In a match like this, there is almost no draw. Winners and losers are definitely determined. However, for the survival of the nation, the loser will definitely find another route and will eventually attempt to find a western route. And since he’s a loser, he’s probably even more greedy. “Build as strong a wall as possible before they show up!”

And that decision created the notoriety of the challenger-level front.