Black Corporation: Joseon

Chapter 775

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Chapter 775: A disaster brought about by oneself… (10)

The clan leader and other captains expressed doubts about the proposal of Jonathan Brow, the captain of the flagship ship leading the fleet.

“Saving slaves?”

“Captain Brow. Are you trying to use slaves as sailors?”

In response to a barrage of questions, Captain Jonathan Brough explained his thoughts step by step.

-Nowadays, it is not easy to find a sailor even if you add more money as a down payment.

-If you are unable to properly hire skilled sailors, you will have to hire people with little or no experience as sailors.

-Then, it would be a good idea to buy slaves and use them as sailors.

-If you promise freedom to slaves in return for a successful voyage, they will work hard with only the lowest pay.

The clan leader and other captains nodded at Brow’s explanation.

“It seems like a good method…”

“The problem is the cost of buying slaves. “If you do it wrong, it could cost you more money than paying extra to save the crew.”

Captain Thomas, who was listening to the clan leader’s point, answered on Captain Brow’s behalf.

“There will be virtually no cost overruns. “It is rumored that the slave market in Ceuta is overflowing with slaves these days.”

“Ceuta is overflowing with slaves? why?”

“It is said that the railway to be built in Suez is nearing completion. They say that thanks to this, slaves who are no longer needed are coming back to the market.”

“Hmm… Then aren’t there just things that don’t work properly?”

Captain Brow responded to the representative’s concerns.

“Probably not. According to rumors, people from the ‘Land of Flowers’ take good care of their health and work well. It is said that those who could not work were completely removed at the beginning of construction. It is said that the people of ‘Land of Flowers’ were thorough in that part.”

“Hmm…”

Hearing Captain Brow’s explanation, the clan leader stroked his beard and began to calculate in his mind.

As Captain Brough said, those dispatched from the empire did their best to manage slaves.

In the early days of construction, slaves were managed by people sent from Portugal and the Ottomans.

But their management was a mess.

Slaves had to do harsh labor while eating poor meals. If you were injured in an accident during construction, you could not even dream of proper treatment, so it was not uncommon for you to become crippled and be abandoned in the desert.

Seeing this, railroad construction workers dispatched from the empire stood up.

“Shit! “If we do it that way, any construction project will fail!”

In the end, railroad construction workers even took charge of the management of slaves. All the Alliance had to do was supply slaves.

The reason railroad construction workers took on the management of slaves was for both practical and superstitious reasons.

“Even cows must be fed properly before they are put to work!” “If I feed you like that, will you be able to work properly?”

“If you are injured, you should treat it properly and think about using it again! Or don’t miss the chance and provide slaves on time!”

If ‘smooth progress of construction’ was the realistic reason, Superstition was fear of the vengeful spirits of dead slaves.

Just as sailors believed in all kinds of superstitions and jinxes, those working on the railroad also believed in superstitions and jinxes.

Regardless of whether it was the headquarters of the empire or the new northern territories, laying a railroad was a life-threatening task.

The scene was a place where not only all kinds of wild beasts and bandits, but also all kinds of heavy equipment and gunpowder roamed around.

Even the slightest carelessness could lead to death or disability, and because of this, those in charge of construction were sensitive to superstitions and jinxes.

Before starting construction, it was basic to hold a prayer to pray for safe progress, and when looking at indigenous religious facilities similar to Seonangdang, it was basic to divert the route or hold a grand ceremony and demolish them.

This was the same in Suez.

First, a farewell service was held to pray for the empire’s successful construction, and priests and imams offered blessings to the site.

In this situation, it was natural for the people of the empire to go into an uproar when they saw slaves dying indiscriminately.

“Even if the thieves attacked and died! But no matter how much those five ghosts are slaves, they shouldn’t be killed like that! How can I appease their vengeful spirits? “What are you going to do when the sun breaks on the laid railroad tracks?”

“It’s sad that you die or get injured, but if you die like that, I’ll do it even if it means turning into a ghost!”

As practical reasons and superstitions overlapped, the imperialists took full responsibility for the management of slaves.

As the imperialists took full charge of slave management, the treatment of slaves changed significantly.

Immediately, the quality and quantity of food eaten by slaves improved. Additionally, work was stopped when it was too hot and ample rest and water were provided.

Slaves who were injured in accidents or suffered from illness were able to receive sufficient treatment, and if they lost their lives, they were buried respectfully and a joint memorial service was held.

As the imperialists stepped forward, the construction of the Suez railway accelerated and progressed smoothly.

* * *

“It’s okay, but the catch is that they are slaves who can only move when controlled with a rod.”

Seeing that the clan leader was still skeptical, Brow added.

“All you have to do is pick the useful ones and then let them choose. “Would you rather be a sailor or go to a sugarcane farm?”

At Brow’s words, the clan leader nodded with a bright face.

“ah! “There was a way!”

The places that bought the most slaves at the slave market in Ceuta were sugarcane plantations located in the Azores and Portuguese colonies in Africa.

Sugar produced from sugar cane plantations in the Azores and Africa was the main source of income for the Portuguese nobility.

Sugar produced from sugar cane farms was a valuable product sold not only in Europe but also throughout the empire.

Of course, there were people who suffered damage from this sugar. There were hundreds of sugarcane farmers.

The price of sugar produced using slaves was cheaper than sugar produced by Ming Dynasty farmers. Thanks to this, as time passed, Portuguese sugar began to increase its market share in the imperial and Japanese sugar markets.

To go one step further, Portuguese sugar began to encroach on the Ming sugar market as well, and Ming began to think about countermeasures.

* * *

In the end, the clan leader accepted Brow’s proposal.

Fortunately, the minimum number of crew members needed to move the ships in the fleet was secured.

“Then let’s go! Where should you go first? Is it also Ceuta?”

When asked by the clan leader who joined the voyage, Brow shook his head.

“no. Calais comes first.”

“Why Calais?”

“We must join the trading ships going to Italy. “It’s to avoid pirates.”

At this time, Calais was an English territory. And it was England’s largest trading port. It was a gathering place for English trading ships heading to Italy, Alexandria, and various parts of the Mediterranean.

The trading ships gathered at Calais passed through the Mediterranean in groups.

This was due to the Barbary pirates who settled in North Africa, especially Morocco and Algeria.

The area at the entrance to the Mediterranean Sea has long been home to many pirates.

As time passed, Muslims and Jews who were pushed out during the Reconquista’s recovery of the Iberian Peninsula joined the pirates, and their power grew stronger.

In order to prevent the attacks of pirates, which became more powerful, trading ships chose to organize and move in large fleets.

Brow explained in more detail.

“The total number of ships in our fleet is five. The bigger problem is that there are too few sailors. “It is best to bury it on board the fleet departing from Calais.”

“Hmm… I see. “Then let’s go to Calais first.”

Three days later, Brough’s fleet departed the port of London.

It was a fleet consisting of two Karak ships and three caravels, and was the first exploration team to set out to find the ‘Western Route’.

Many Londoners gathered at the Port of London to watch the departure of the exploration team, which was called the ‘Brough Fleet’ after the last name of Brough, the chief captain of the fleet.

“Wow~.”

“God bless you!”

“I wish you success!”

The fleet moved towards Calais with the support and blessings of London citizens.

Members of other clans were busy moving as they watched the fleet getting further and further away.

“You may have missed the title of ‘first’, but you must not miss the title of ‘success’!”

“Go to the shipyard right away and check the situation!”

* * *

The captains of the ‘Brow Fleet’ that arrived in Calais were busy.

On the one hand, I inquired about the departure date and size of the fleet departing for the Mediterranean Sea, and on the other hand, I went around looking for additional sailors to join the voyage.

Naturally, as the captains were busy moving around, rumors spread, and upon hearing these rumors, a group of scholars approached them.

“You said you would join the voyage?”

“That’s right.”

“Why scholars?”

“If the existence of the ‘Western Route’ is proven, it will be a lasting achievement in academia. So please make sure to join us.”

After hearing the scholars’ request, Captain Brow and the clan representative looked at the scholars with suspicious eyes.

The scholars who saw that expression quickly added words.

“We are not French!”

“I’ll even finance it!”

Five scholars seemed to like the second answer and joined the voyage.

* * *

The ‘Brow Fleet’, which spent 15 days in Calais, joined the fleet heading to Italy and departed.

As he slowly headed south and passed the ‘Pillars of Hercules’, Captain Brough spotted ships in the distance and took out his monocle.

“They are Portuguese.”

Brow checked the flags hung on the masts of ships in the distance and gave orders to the sailors.

“Raise the flag! Make it clear that we are an English ship!”

“yes!”

At Captain Brough’s command, a flag with a red cross on a white background was raised to the top of the mast.

Brow explained the situation to the representative.

“In some ways, the Portuguese and Spanish are similar to pirates. If you don’t know the nationality of the ship in front of you or if it looks easy, you will attack it without fail. No, even if you know, they attack you.”

“Even if you know, they attack you?”

“Trade ships traveling between Africa and the Mediterranean make money. So you must not be left behind until you reach Ceuta.”

At Brow’s warning, the clan leader looked at the Portuguese ships in the distance with a face full of worry.

* * *

The Brow fleet, which safely passed the entrance to the Mediterranean Sea, parted ways with the trading fleet near Ceuta.

“Be careful from now on! “Now it’s really just us!”

“yes!”

Brow’s fleet headed for Ceuta at the fastest possible speed, keeping watch in all directions.

The Brow fleet, which safely arrived in Ceuta, soon caught the attention of Ceuta’s merchants and the Portuguese navy.

“Why did the English ships come?”

“There are quite a few ships for saving slaves, right?”

“The ships are all brand new.”

Soon, rumors about the purpose of the Brow fleet began to spread, and the expressions on the Portuguese’s faces became strange.

“Western route?”