Black Corporation: Joseon

Chapter 538

Episode 538 Conspiracy (4)

The death of the Duke of Braganza and his son literally froze the banquet hall.

Just a moment ago, some people were trying to object to Pedro’s words, but after the death of the Duke and Duchess, they only kept their mouths shut and rolled their eyes.

bang! Tatang! Tatang!

-Wow!

-Kill it!

-Suppress!

-Don’t stop shooting!

-Ahh!

The frozen nobles began to flinch as gunshots and shouts and screams suddenly came from outside.

‘Are the guards moving?’

‘Hopefully…’

‘It’s over…’

At the noise coming from outside, the expressions of the nobles in the banquet hall were divided into various expressions.

* * *

It was customary for nobles to always be accompanied by at least 10 bodyguards when they moved. Of course, escorts accompanied us today as well, and they were treated to meals and drinks at a place set up in a separate building.

“Hey! “This kind of drink!”

“As expected, the duke’s treatment is different!”

The guards belonging to the Duke of Braganza looked slightly uncomfortable as they were evaluated by the guards who had received the strong wine and rich food.

“greatness! “Keuhum!”

“Whenever His Excellency holds a banquet, please come! “You will truly understand what hospitality is!”

“ha ha ha! “Really!”

“I’m looking forward to it!”

The guards of other families did not hide their expectations at the words of the guards belonging to the Braganza family.

Tatang!

Just then, a gunshot was heard from the main house.

“What is this sound?”

“It’s a gunshot!”

As soon as they heard the gunshot, they immediately realized that a crisis had occurred and jumped out of their seats.

Craddangtang! bang!

When they burst through the door, Duke Pedro’s soldiers were already aiming their rifles at the windows of the second and first floors of the main building.

“Don’t move!”

“Drop your weapons!”

At the command of Duke Pedro’s commander, the Duke of Braganza’s commander raised his sword.

“charge! “Let’s rescue our lord!”

“Wow!”

As soon as the words were out, the guards charged towards the main house.

“The distance is not long! “You only have to endure one shot!”

The guards did not charge without thinking due to intoxication.

The number of soldiers pointing guns at them was about 200 at most, and the distance from the outbuilding to the main building was about 30 fathoms (about 54m).

If they were aiming at an arquebus or musket, they would have to be within 20 fathoms (about 36m) to become dangerous, and at that distance they would have been able to enter the main house before even firing two shots.

However, the first problem was that Pedro’s soldiers were holding Korean-made rifles, and the second problem was that the number of musketeers targeting them was 800, not 200.

When used by properly trained people, the Joseon-made senior rifle guaranteed a certain accuracy within at least 30 fathoms.

And although the number of soldiers targeting them from the spears was 200, an additional 600 soldiers were waiting behind them.

“shooting!”

Ta-ta-tang!

As soon as the commanders’ orders were given, Pedro’s soldiers pulled the trigger in unison and held out their empty guns. The soldier behind him immediately replaced the loaded gun, and the soldier who received the new gun pulled the trigger again. And behind them, other soldiers were reloading their empty guns.

* * *

As time passed, the noise outside gradually became quieter.

As the noise died down, despair began to appear deeper and deeper on the nobles’ faces.

‘It’s over. It’s over.’

‘I guess I’ll have to live like a dead rat for a while.’

‘The regent’s reign will continue for a long time.’

The nobles were able to roughly guess how the political situation would unfold in the future.

After a while, Duke Pedro’s commander came in smelling of gunpowder and reported to the Duke.

“The suppression is over.”

“What is the damage?”

“It’s mild.”

“Good job. But don’t relax.”

“Yes sir.”

After finishing the report, the commander gave a military salute and left the room.

Duke Pedro walked to Afonso V, escorted by private soldiers.

“Stop!”

As Duke Pedro approached, the captain of the guard who was guarding Afonso V’s side blocked Pedro by covering Afonso V’s body. Duke Pedro spoke confidently as he saw the guard captain blocking him, ready to draw his sword at any time.

“Get out of the way. “I have to tell His Majesty.”

“Please speak there.”

“I will do it.”

Hearing the guard captain’s words, Pedro stopped in place and opened his mouth.

“I inform your Majesty. A band of disloyal men attempted a rebellion. “I should have announced this in advance, but there are many hidden eyes and ears in weightlifting, so I had no choice but to do it this way.”

King Afonso V asked in a very frightened voice at Pedro’s words.

“Did you say treason?”

“yes. With the already dead Duke of Braganza as their leader, they attempted to overthrow His Majesty and establish the Duke of Braganza as king. To this end, we obtained testimony that they were trying to receive military support from Spain.”

“Hmm…”

Afonso V groaned at Pedro’s detailed explanation. The content was too specific to be seen as just a statement to deal with a political opponent. And Afonso V was well aware that the Duke of Braganza and those in command were friendly to Spain.

In the end, Afonso V had no choice but to side with Pedro.

“Let the regent take care of it. “Please do your best to ensure the safety of the country.”

Pedro bowed and responded to Afonso V’s permission.

“I will do my best.”

* * *

This incident, later called the ‘Bloody Banquet’, led Pedro to carry out a large-scale purge.

First, among the nobles who attended the banquet, 30 great nobles belonging to the Duke of Braganza’s faction and their children were executed on the spot.

Immediately afterwards, he returned to the palace with Afonso V and proceeded with the next work.

First, all remaining relatives of the executed nobles, including Braganza, were executed, and all their fiefdoms were confiscated and turned into the king’s direct territory. And those who were part of the aristocratic faction but did not engage in direct activities had their fiefdoms confiscated and then expelled out of the country.

Next, Duke Pedro posted a proclamation throughout the kingdom.

-All trials taking place within the kingdom are handled by judges dispatched from the kingdom!

– Taxes will be collected by the kingdom’s tax collector according to the set tax rate!

-All nobles can only have the number of guards according to the law to be determined in the future!

To put it simply, the power that the kingdom’s nobles had wielded – judicial power and tax collection rights – was returned to the king.

This was a more radical policy than that pursued by his maternal grandson, Joao II.

* * *

In history before the intervention of the county, the Duke of Braganza, who won the civil war, pursued a thoroughly aristocratic politics.

Thanks to this, the wealth and power of the nobility greatly increased, the king’s power greatly decreased, and the growth of the bourgeoisie stopped.

King Joao II, who grew up seeing the tyranny of the nobles and the incompetent and weak appearance of his father, began to participate in politics and strongly pressure the nobles from the time he was crown prince.

Naturally, the nobles rebelled and plotted a rebellion centered around Fernando, the Duke of Braganza at the time. King Joao II, who was closely watching the movements of the nobles, moved one step ahead of them and arrested and executed the Duke of Braganza.

By executing the Duke of Braganza, the center of the noble faction, Joao II put further pressure on the nobles. Accordingly, the nobles again plotted a rebellion centered around Diogo, the 3rd Duke of Viseu, a close relative of the royal family, but this time, Joao II crushed their plot by executing the Duke of Viseu.

During this series of purges, King Joao II confiscated all the lands of the nobles and restricted their exercise of judicial power.

And now, Pedro, who became the victor in the history that changed with the intervention of the county, implemented stronger policies than those implemented by his maternal grandson, King Joao II.

* * *

“… The reason we want to implement this policy is so that our kingdom can become as wealthy and powerful as Joseon.”

King Afonso V’s eyes sparkled at Pedro’s words.

“You mean Joseon?”

“Yes, Your Majesty. According to letters sent by those staying in Joseon, Joseon was located between a huge empire called Kitai, now called Ming, and a barbaric country called Jipangu. But isn’t Joseon a country that exists proudly and is even known to us despite being in such a dangerous position?”

Afonso V nodded at Pedro’s words. Pedro continued speaking while observing Afonso V’s reaction.

“Isn’t our position in Portugal similar to that of Joseon? Next to us, the wicked Spain is targeting us, and above us, France is oppressing us. In this situation, in order for our kingdom to become strong, we must thoroughly examine Joseon and take care of what will be helpful to us.”

“okay.”

Before he knew it, Afonso V was immersed in Pedro’s explanation.

“If you look at Joseon, everything follows the king’s decision. The officers’ job is to advise the king to make the right decisions and faithfully carry out his orders. And these officials could not be appointed simply because they were nobles, but only intellectuals who had passed a rigorous selection process. And becoming a king is only possible if there is ‘God’s will.’”

“Do you mean ‘God’s will’?”

Pedro gave a short answer to Afonso V’s question.

“In Joseon, it is called ‘Cheonmyeong (??).’”

* * *

As trade with Joseon greatly increased, interest in Joseon greatly increased in Europe.

Letters sent by monks nesting in the institute founded by Hyang were one of the few means of satisfying this interest.

Although the letters were covered in a lot of ink, Europeans learned little by little about Joseon through these letters.

At first, Pedro, like most Europeans, was able to satisfy his intellectual curiosity.

However, while working with Henrik Cosimo, Pedro became interested in learning more about Joseon, including its political aspects.

And what further strengthened Pedro’s desire was the word ‘heaven’s will’ written in one of the letters.

“‘Heaven’s will’? Is it like the ‘anointing’ of the Old Testament? “That’s fun.”

Pedro, curious, wanted to know more about this, but there were no letters written in detail about it. In the end, Pedro gave orders to the captains through Henry.

“Please find out in more detail what this ‘will of heaven’ is!”

And the captains who accepted this order swore in unison.

“Holy shit! “You think we are scholars!”

But an order is an order. As soon as the captains arrived in Joseon, they contacted translators and customs officials to resolve this problem.

“Heaven’s will? What fortune do you have? If it’s a dot, throw it away~ Find the author’s brave applause.”

“That’s not it…”

Amidst all the misunderstandings and misunderstandings, the interpreters and customs officials were able to figure out what they were asking.

“I think you’re asking about ‘mandate of heaven’.”

“Right.”

The customs officials and translators who understood what the captains were asking soon began to explain.

“This is a bit of a long story…”

Although they were low-ranking officials, the customs officers also passed the civil service exam with confidence.

Eventually, the captains, tired of hearing explanations from customs officials and interpreters, waved the white flag.

“Write it down, please! “I’ll give you a treat!”