Black Corporation: Joseon

Chapter 609

Episode 609: Opening of Heaven – Enthronement, and Presidency (2)

Henry, who saw the faces of the Joseon officials brightening, asked the interpreter what the reason was. After hearing the story through the interpreter, Henry asked another question.

“What is an excavator?”

In response to Henrik’s question, Sunwook Lee explained about the excavator.

“It is a device that uses the power of a steam engine to perform various tasks, such as digging the ground or transporting soil. If used properly, the work that hundreds of people would do all day can be done in just one or two hours.”

When Henrik and his party, who heard the explanation through the interpreter, still looked like they didn’t know, Im Soon-wook also looked embarrassed.

“How should I explain it….”

Lim Soon-wook, who was looking for a good way to explain, soon stood up with a bright smile on his face.

“Here’s a good example! “Let’s go out for a moment!”

Park Jong-woo also asked with a curious look upon Lim Sun-wook’s words.

“Is there a good way?”

“You can go to the Han River dredging site.”

Park Jong-woo let out an exclamation with a bright face at Lim Soon-wook’s words.

“ah! “There it was!”

* * *

Even while riding a horse to the dredging site, Henrik and his group did not stop asking questions.

“What is dredging?”

The interpreter answered Henry’s question right away. This was because the interpreter also had some knowledge about dredging.

“It’s literally digging up the bottom of the river.”

“Why are you digging the river bottom?”

“There are many reasons, but to name a few of the biggest reasons…”

The interpreter explained the reason for dredging the bottom of Hansu.

-Prevents flooding from occurring.

As sand accumulates on the bottom, the water depth becomes shallow and eventually the river floods even when it rains a little too much. However, this can be prevented to a large extent by dredging consistently.

-Sufficient sand can be supplied to several nearby sites.

If you look at the construction methods of the Joseon Dynasty today, iron-clad plaster is used in many areas. To make good plaster, a lot of sand with little base is needed, and sand dredged from cold water is optimal.

-It can provide decent jobs to the poor in Hanseong, or even Seoul.

If you use the wages earned from working at the dredging site wisely, you can survive for a year with ease.

“’Not even the country can provide poverty relief.’ “There is a saying, but isn’t it the leader’s duty to try as hard as possible?”

At the interpreter’s words, Henrik and the others nodded with serious faces.

“It’s a leader’s duty… I think I need to think about this.”

Henrik and Giovanni also nodded at Mehmet II’s words.

The problem of the poor was a common problem in all countries. However, in the Middle East and Europe, attempts were made to solve this problem mainly based on religious communities.

In the case of Islam, there has been a norm called ‘Zakat’ since the time of Muhammad. In Europe, many monastic orders were working to relieve the poor.

Even among the king and nobles, there were quite a few who expressed their intention to relieve the poor. However, most of them were expressions of personal faith and not national policy.

The reason for this is what the translator just said was, ‘Not even the country can alleviate poverty.’ This was the reason.

No matter how hard we tried, it was unreasonable to continue spending money in a situation where poor people were bound to continue to arise.

‘The king and officials of Joseon probably don’t know this, but how?’

This was the question of the three people.

“I’ll have to ask later when I get a chance.”

“I agree.”

As Henry and his group were nodding their heads to that conclusion, the interpreter informed them.

“We’ll be there soon!”

“exactly?”

At the interpreter’s words, all of Henry’s party straightened up in the saddle and looked forward.

“Oh oh!”

“That’s impossible!”

On a large barge floating in the middle of the river, a huge piece of iron was emitting black smoke and pumping sand from the river.

“I have never seen such a huge structure! “Can that really be made by human hands?”

Lim Soon-wook smiled and answered Henry’s question.

“Heh! “Then a ghost must have made it?”

Despite Lim Sun-wook’s answer, Henrik’s group’s surprise did not subside easily.

“I didn’t see it this time or the last time I came to Hanseong. When did you start using it?”

“It’s been about four or five years. And the railroad coming into Hanseongwoo Station would not have been easy to see because it passes through the middle and lower reaches of the Hansu River.”

After explaining up to that point, Lim Soon-wook muttered to himself.

‘I’m still fighting that part.’

* * *

Dredging of the downstream portion of the Hansu River, where Gimpo Port is located, was still an area of debate.

“If we think about the flooding problem, we have to dredge!”

“What should we do about the salt damage problem?”

Every time the tide rises in the West Sea, sea water rises along the cold water. Therefore, if the downstream part was dredged, the sea water in the West Sea could rise up to Neobeol Island – Yeouido.

However, as the depth of water downstream became shallow, even a little bit of heavy rain was bound to cause flooding.

Therefore, opinions were divided as to whether to install an underwater weir or build an embankment along the river as an alternative.

* * *

Henrik and his party soon came to their senses and carefully inspected the excavator.

“Hmm….”

“Indeed….”

Every time the excavator in the middle of the river released a shovel, Henrik and his group’s heads went up and down repeatedly following the shovel.

Henry and Mehmet II Giovanni, who had been watching the movement of the excavator for a while, looked at each other and came to a conclusion.

“I think it’ll be okay.”

“It’s a waterway… It’s definitely more economical if the unloading process is eliminated.”

“If we make it possible for large ships like Joseon’s ships to come and go, many trading ships will flock to it.”

The trio, who had a positive assessment of the waterway, soon faced a problem.

“The problem is the price of that excavator.”

“It seems like something you can’t even bargain for for 1-200 gold ducats.”

It was tempting to open my wallet and buy that excavator right away, but the pockets of the three countries fighting the war were tight.

Giovanni, unable to relieve his frustration, cursed.

“Damn the Vatican and the Council! “Why are they fighting among themselves and making it difficult to do business properly?”

* * *

The markets in Central and Eastern Europe were in disarray due to the dispute between the Vatican, the Council, and various sects. Thanks to this, dark clouds were gradually falling over the economies of Italian city-states.

Mehmet II also nodded at Giovanni’s words. Even within the Ottoman Empire, the conflict between secularists and fundamentalists was gradually getting worse.

The most stable country was Portugal.

From the beginning of its founding, Portugal placed emphasis on trade and was relatively tolerant of Jews and pagans. Thanks to this, a large number of Jewish merchants who had been persecuted in neighboring Spain immigrated to Portugal, and a small number of Muslim merchants were also active.

* * *

Giovanni, who was so upset, soon came to a conclusion.

“Anyway, I think a waterway would be better than a railroad, so let’s bargain.”

“Bargain?”

Giovanni, seeing Mehmet II’s questioning face, responded by lightly rubbing his hands together.

“I have to beg to sell that excavator at a cheaper price. Or, you can do it on credit.”

“Hmm….”

“Well….”

The other two also shook their heads at Giovanni’s words, and Giovanni steered his horse towards Lim Sun-wook and Park Jong-woo.

“I think I’ve seen it all. “Let’s go back and talk more deeply.”

Park Jong-woo, who heard the words through the interpreter, nodded.

“Let’s do that.”

As he turned around and returned to Yukjo Street, Park Jong-woo asked Lim Sun-wook.

“What decision do you think they made?”

“I think we probably came to a positive conclusion about the waterway.”

“is it?”

“The problem is the excavator. At first glance, it’s not something you can buy for a penny or two, is it? “Maybe they will try to bargain.”

Park Jong-woo snorted at Lim Soon-wook’s answer.

“joy! A bargain? Against the Joseon Ministry of Finance and Economy? “Who do they think we are?”

“You just think of it as management.”

Lim Soon-wook and Park Jong-woo looked at each other with wry smiles. Heohu, who was observing the situation on both sides in silence, muttered to himself.

‘Captain Uichon abandoned many people. So, listen to the sound of poisoning.’

If Kim Jeom heard it, it would have been very unfair.

* * *

The group returned to the conference room of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and sat down again.

“How did you see it?”

Giovanni stepped forward and answered Hu Hu’s question.

“I was truly impressed. “It seemed to symbolize Joseon’s excellence.”

“Thank you very much for your positive review. So, did you come to a conclusion?”

To Huhu’s question, Giovanni answered with a slightly troubled look on his face.

“I think it would be quite difficult to choose right now between a waterway and a railroad.”

Heohu nodded to Giovanni’s answer.

“I guess so. It will be a great event that will be recorded in history. Thinking carefully is a natural thing. “I hope you make a good decision.”

“Thank you. “Then I guess I’ll just head back for today.”

After ending the meeting, Henrik and his party left the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

When Giovanni saw Hu Hu escorting him to the entrance of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, he opened his mouth as if he had finally remembered something.

“ah! I heard that there are several monks from the Vatican in Joseon now. “I would like to treat them, but is it possible?”

Heohu looked slightly embarrassed at Giovanni’s request.

“They do not belong to us, but are under the Crown Prince’s direct command, so I cannot give you an answer right now.”

“I heard that some of them are from Florence, my hometown. “There is a fellow countryman living in a distant, foreign country, and I would like to meet him.”

“Let’s try our best.”

“Please.”

On the way back to the hotel, Henri asked Giovanni.

“I understand why you said you needed time regarding the waterway issue, but why are you suddenly asking me to meet the monks? As far as I know, they only go back and forth between the lab and the dormitory?”

Giovanni answered Henry’s question with a slight smile.

“If not from that laboratory, where would such items come from? And no matter how much you only went back and forth between the research institute and the dormitory, you probably know more about Joseon here than we do, right? “If you want to avoid losses in business, you must first secure information.”

Henry and Mehmut II nodded at Giovanni’s words.

* * *

Meanwhile, Giovanni’s request was immediately conveyed to King Sejong.

“What does the Crown Prince think?”

Hyang immediately answered King Sejong’s question.

“Unlike those who come and go for a short period of time, the monks are those who have stayed here in Joseon for a long time. “The intention is probably to obtain information about our country through them.”

“I think so too. “Then would it be better to not allow it?”

“It doesn’t look good to deny permission because there is a justification. “We will do our best to crack down on it.”

Sejong nodded at Hyang’s answer.

“That would make the most sense. “I will allow it, so you can do it yourself.”

“I follow your orders.”

In this way, permission was granted from King Sejong, and a meeting between the monks working at the institute and Henrik and his party took place.

Before going out on the day of the scheduled meeting, the monks were thoroughly searched.

After meticulously searching the monks’ clothes and bodies, the officials delivered incense orders to the monks.

“His Majesty the Crown Prince told me to tell you this. ‘You can take your mouth and tongue, but leave your hands behind.’”

At the official’s message, Angelo, a representative figure of the monks, nodded with a somber expression.

“I understand.”

Angelo, who left the lab, warned the others.

“It’s okay to answer questions, but you shouldn’t write a single sentence on paper and hand it over. If you do it wrong, everyone will be very upset.”

Giovanni and other monks all nodded at Angelo’s warning.