abcnovels
Chapter 630
Chapter 630
Episode 630: Their Choice (10)
The reason Heo Hu laughed was that the license fee part was a trap created for negotiation.
Norihiro and the Japanese envoys who fell into that trap ended up paying only the license fee.
“When will you realize that skipping the steel and width parts was the worst mistake you could make?”
Contrary to Hu Hu’s sarcasm, Norihiro and the envoys’ choice was inevitable.
-The level of steel itself is still far from being replaced by Japanese technology, and ignition powder cannot be made at all. In particular, there is no substitute for the ignition agent part, even if it is ‘worth the price’.
Because of this background, Norihiro and the Japanese envoys were persistent in demanding the portion of the license fee that seemed to have a chance. Since
both sides had these circumstances, after a bit of tug-of-war, the license fee was paid in imperial silver coins for one rifle. It was decided that the price of a 1-nyang food wagon would be reduced to 7 imperial silver coins per car.
“Thank you so much! Great job! “This blessing will never be forgotten by me or the shogunate!”
Seeing Norihiro bowing deeply and thanking Heohu, he waved his hand in response as if it was out of the question.
“I haven’t done much! All of this is just a conclusion drawn by His Majesty in the hope that the good faith between the Empire and the Japanese nation will continue!”
“Your Majesty’s grace, Norihiro, will never forget!”
After completing the consultation with the Japanese government, Heo Hu massaged his stiff neck and looked full of emotions.
“haha. At first, I didn’t like this…”
* * *
In the early days, those who specialized in selling weapons to foreign countries were Kim Jeom, Park Jong-woo, and officials from the Ministry of Finance and Economy.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs was almost entirely responsible for receiving foreign envoys and communicating with Kim Jeom and Park Jong-woo.
As a result, words began to emerge within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
-It makes no sense for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to be excluded from transactions between states!
In the end, as soon as Mehmet II and Henry’s party returned, Hu Hu came forward and insisted that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs take charge of this task.
“What should I do?”
Kim Jeom answered Hyang’s question right away.
“I think the Minister of Foreign Affairs’ answer is reasonable. Since it is a matter between countries, it would be right for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to take charge of it. My only concern is that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is not used to this type of transaction…”
Kim Jeom paused for a moment and continued with a slight smile.
“That part will be easily resolved with the help of the Ministry of Finance and Economy.”
Hyang and Hwang Hee both broke into a cold sweat when they saw the smile on Kim Jeom’s face as he answered like that.
‘That man is angry!’
And this atmosphere was also felt by officials of the Ministry of Finance and Economy.
“We did all the hard work, but you’re sneaking a spoonful of it?”
“Hey you guys! “I won’t bother you with work!”
The officials of the Ministry of Finance and Economy who came together like that showed the officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs what a ‘bad sister-in-law’ is like.
“No, you’re going to peel it all off and show me? why?”
“It’s a matter between countries, so in order to build trust…”
“Same goes for your wife!”
“The price is expensive? Thinking about what to do in the future, should we cut back a little more? hey! “What country are you a subject of?”
“Oh shit! It’s not cheating, it’s just not telling! “Ah, don’t you know that it’s different?!”
While being harassed by the Ministry of Finance and Economy officials, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials complained.
“Are we officials or businessmen?…”
“Why do we have to be criticized by those in the Ministry of Finance and Economy…”
“These guys don’t even know about the foreign capital of diplomacy…”
This was similar to Heo Hu.
“I don’t know whether I am the foreign minister of this empire, a swindler, or a charlatan.”
Kim Jeom responded to Heo Hu’s words with an expression that said it was no big deal.
“The national interest of the empire is at stake, so what if it’s a broker? And you’re a charlatan… I swear I’ve never told a lie? “Of course, it’s true that I didn’t tell you all the facts.”
“If we think about the trust between nations….”
“I’ll say it again, I never told a lie. “They just didn’t tell us everything.”
“But…”
When Heo Hu expressed his objection again, Kim Jeom screamed.
“Did I do that out of my own self-interest? It’s for the national interest. “If it’s for your own benefit other than the comfort of the empire, how about being a charlatan or a charlatan?”
“But…”
“Have you forgotten what your predecessor, Vice Admiral Han Jae (Lee Maeng-gyun) was like? In order to trick the Emperor of Ming, he even starved himself and pretended to be sick! What have you learned! As far as I know, I heard something that Captain Hanjae said to you and the officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs before he graduated! “What was that!”
To Kim Jeom’s question, Heohu answered with a stutter.
“’A person in charge of diplomacy must wear at least a thousand masks in order to protect the national constitution and national interests.’ “He said.”
“You say that even though you know that!”
Although they did their work while grumbling, it wasn’t long before officials at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs became accustomed to the task of turning away envoys from other countries.
However, psychological resistance still remained. Therefore, on the day when Japanese envoys were leaving, officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs went to Gibang and had a drinking party.
“It’s finally over!”
“The trickery is over now!”
“I got sick of hearing just the firstborn of a long gun, but that’s over now!”
“Is that really true?”
In response to a sudden question, external affairs officials searched for the person who made the problematic statement.
“What’s the problem!”
“I’m so excited, but I’m hitting the candle!”
Colleagues poured out their criticism, but the official who made the controversial statement filled his glass with a somber expression.
“Did you forget? “There’s still one left.”
“huh? “Where is left?”
“Portugal.”
As soon as the word ‘Portugal’ was said, all the surrounding Foreign Ministry officials threw their glasses and swore.
“Holy shit!”
* * *
Something similar was happening at the court of Lisbon, Portugal.
The roar of Pedro, Duke of Coimbra, who resigned from his position as regent last year and took office as prime minister of the kingdom, resounded throughout the palace.
“Duke of Viseu! What on earth does that mean! Do you think the conditions demanded by Joseon or the Korean Federal Empire make sense?”
Despite Pedro’s reprimand, Henrik did his best to continue persuading him.
“But if you look at the performance of the long guns that the Empire will provide…”
“Stop talking about guns! “Does it make sense to give up national interests because of those guns?”
“Didn’t you see that performance!”
* * *
Henry, who returned to Portugal, presented 20 Japanese-style rifles and two Japanese-style wagons gifted from Joseon to King Afonso V.
And on the day of the demonstration of the rifle and boxcar that were presented as gifts, King Afonso V, Pedro, and the Portuguese nobility could not help but be amazed by the overwhelming performance of the rifle and wagon.
“If we arm our soldiers with these weapons, we can resolve the sluggish war situation!”
If I were to describe the situation on the African front at this time in one word, it would be ‘stagnation.’
Like Portugal, Spain and the Mamluks also used a combination of musketeers and long spearmen in battle.
Due to the clash of weapons and power of similar performance, the situation on the battlefield was a boring repetition of advancing and retreating.
However, the new weapons introduced by the Empire seemed to be able to solve this situation at once.
A breech-loading rifle that did not require standing to reload did not require protection from long spearmen and was certain to greatly increase the survival rate of riflemen.
It wasn’t just the survival rate that increased. The elimination of the need for pikemen wearing heavy armor and carrying long, heavy polearms greatly increased the mobility of musketeers and allowed them to use a variety of tactics.
On the contrary, the Eulsikhwacha was the optimal means of inflicting fatal blows on enemies crowding in.
Therefore, not only Pedro but also other Portuguese nobles and officials began to talk about importing large quantities of imperial weapons right away.
However, this atmosphere changed when Henry returned to the court and spoke about the conditions proposed by the empire.
* * *
“okay! Performance is acceptable! Still, weren’t the conditions set by the empire too high? I give it a 4/10! How is this different from stealing!”
Despite Pedro’s comments, Henrik continued his persuasion.
“If you only think about war, what the Prime Minister said is correct! But think about after the war! Whether it’s laying a railroad or digging a waterway, the empire’s help is absolutely needed! That’s it! Think of Ottoman! “We are together now, but we need an empire to keep this relationship going even after the war!”
Pedro fell silent at Henry’s words, and nobles and officials also had different opinions and a war of words began.
Eventually, as the commotion began to grow, Pedro reported to Afons V.
“your majesty. Considering the gravity of this issue, I think we need to think more carefully and decide. “How about giving the ministers and nobles some time to think?”
Afonso V, who was still young, immediately nodded to Pedro’s words.
“That’s how you do it.”
Pedro, who received permission from Afonso V, gave orders to the nobles and officials gathered in Daejeon.
“Let’s adjourn here for today and meet again tomorrow. In the meantime, please think carefully about this matter. “I look forward to hearing good opinions.”
At Pedro’s order, the nobles and officials paid their respects to Afonso V and his wife and left Daejeon.
When all the nobles and officials, including Henry, left the palace, Afonso V asked Pedro.
“Prime Minister. “I want to ask you something.”
“Please ask.”
“It appears that the Prime Minister had no particular objection to the ‘public construction’ mentioned by the Empire. Is there a reason?”
Pedro immediately answered Afonso V’s question.
“As the Duke of Viseu said, it is because of the relationship with the Ottomans after the war. If Portugal and the Ottomans of Florence are directly involved without construction, a conflict will inevitably occur. And if this conflict develops into an armed conflict, it is the Ottomans who have the greatest advantage. However, if the construction is created and profits are distributed from the construction, sufficient benefits can be obtained permanently while keeping Ottoman in check.”
“Ah…”
Afonso V nodded at Pedro’s explanation. But Pedro’s expression was not very good.
“That’s why I’m worried. “I’m scared of an empire that can think like this.”
“Then wouldn’t it be right to ignore the Empire’s offer? ah! Is it because of Ottoman?”
“That’s right. In the end, the best answer is to moderately reduce the empire’s stake and take that share for ourselves.”
‘The problem is that in order to do that, we have no choice but to open our hands to the empire. Whatever the outcome, the empire will not suffer any loss. That’s why the empire is even more scary.’
Pedro couldn’t bear to say anything.
* * *
Florence around the same time.
Cosimo, who received Giovanni’s report, looked dejected and burst into laughter.
“ha ha ha! “I thought there was no merchant who could compete with Cosimo de’ Medici, but that was my pride!”
“yes?”
“I took a good hit. I took a good hit! ha ha ha!”
Cosimo, who laughed like that, looked refreshed and ordered Giovanni.
“You must return to the empire immediately and negotiate. Instead of saying that we, Florence, will actively cooperate with the empire, we ask them to reduce the empire’s share to 35/100 and secure the remaining 5/100 for us. Secretly, of course.”
“yes?”
Cosimo continued his explanation in more detail.
“We provided military funds and mercenaries to Portugal, but overall, it is difficult to get a large share compared to the Ottomans and Portuguese. Because those are the two countries that directly carried out the war. So, if you think about the future, you know that the construction the empire mentioned is a more advantageous proposal for us, right?”
“yes.”
Giovanni nodded at Cosimo’s words. Cosimo, who had quenched his thirst with wine, continued.
“The biggest problem is that Mehmed II accepted the empire’s offer. The fact that the person most likely to be the next sultan accepted the empire’s proposal means that the remaining 6/10 should be shared between the three. In that case, no matter how hard we try, it will be difficult to get more than 1/10th of the stake. But if we can secure at least 15/100 for our share, we can extract the maximum benefit between the Empire and Ottoman Portugal.”
“ah!”
After hearing Cosimo’s explanation, Giovanni immediately stood up.
“We will leave as soon as we are ready!”