Black Corporation: Joseon

Chapter 927

Episode 927: The Imperial March 2 – Assault return, running on the ground. (15)

Louis was cornered to the point where his face turned white due to Hyang’s comments. However, soon after, Louis regained his complexion and came forward to refute Hyang’s words.

“The greatest virtue of a subject or an aristocrat is to prioritize the promotion of the national interest. In any case, the relationship between countries is one of the best of the jungle. What is the sin of the powerful putting their own interests first? You mentioned trust, but is the empire really keeping trust well?”

Hyang responded to Louis’s point without hesitation.

“That’s why the Empire doesn’t make friends very well. And once you make a friend, you have to remain faithful until the end. And it’s the law of the jungle….” After

quenching her throat for a moment, Hyang continued speaking.

“Is it true that the rule of law only applies between countries? Even among people competing for profit, the law of the fittest applies. The law of the fittest is an instinct. But have you ever thought about this?”

“What do you mean?”

“It’s an instinct to eat the jungle. It’s an animal instinct. But why were people able to escape from the bondage of beasts? ah! It would be more correct to say ‘how’ rather than ‘why’. “If people had followed their instinct to eat the flesh and put their own interests first, wouldn’t they still have lived like animals?”

“After God created man, he commanded him to rule over all things….”

“You should only talk about religious matters to the priest. “Please answer rationally.”

“….”

Louis was at a loss for words at Hyang’s words. This was because I did not properly understand the meaning of the scent.

‘A religious story? Are you denying that God created humans?’

Although Louis was educated at a high level in classical humanities and philosophy, he was unable to overcome the wall of creationism.

Hyang smiled bitterly as he looked at Louis’ expression, clearly not understanding the question itself.

‘Ah, it’s a time when the theory of evolution hasn’t even been invented yet. And atheists don’t even think about this.’

Hyang, once again realizing what kind of era we were in, continued speaking.

“If only the law of the fittest that you spoke of was the absolute truth, this world would still be full of ‘the fight of all against all (Bellum omnium contra omnes).’ And we would still not be able to escape the era of barbarism. But look at the world today. “Hasn’t the era of barbarism passed?”

Louis nodded at Hyang’s words. Looking at Louis like that, the scent was heading towards a conclusion.

“The reason the world escaped the era of barbarism was because we overcame the instinct of the fittest of the fittest. Rather than just looking at the immediate benefits, we learn that greater benefits can be gained through small concessions to each other. The same goes for international relations. In particular, a country with power and a country that wants to be looked up to by other countries should not follow its instincts. Justification and trust come first. Justification and trust. “Because of that, you have to stay still or move even though you know you will lose money.”

‘In the 21st century, there were several great countries that were criticized for ignoring this and doing whatever they wanted. is not it? Rather, was that honest?’

The image of the great country that Hyang spoke of was a fairly classic image. That’s why some ‘honest’ politicians from countries that are recognized as ‘big countries’ in the 21st century said this.

-That is pretense and hypocrisy!

-There is no need for pretense and hypocrisy in pursuing national interests!

‘And international relations went to shit.’

While Hyang was muttering to himself, Louis argued again.

“So is that what the Empire does?”

“What does it look like to you?”

Louis’ mouth closed again at Hyang’s words. Anyone could see that the empire was acting strictly for its own benefit. But at the same time, the empire also had the strongest cause.

‘To be honest, I’d like to say that I’m running a fraud to deceive the world, but…’

Hyang concluded, whether or not he knew how Louis felt.

“Once again, the Empire has few friends. The standards for making friends are a bit strict. But if we become friends, we try our best to be good friends. Of course, in some people’s eyes, this may be considered pretense and hypocrisy. But…”

Hyang smiled and looked at Louis.

“But isn’t it cooler than those who go back and forth openly?”

As the fragrance spoke, Louis also came to a conclusion.

“In the end, you are saying that you will reject my, or France’s, proposal.”

“It’s your proposal, not France’s, is it? And France sees such a proposal as impossible and has gone too far.”

“Haa~.”

Louis sighed, stood up and bowed to Hyang.

“Maybe I’ll see you on the battlefield next time. Please take care.”

“I hope you are healthy too.”

After seeing Louis off, Hyang turned around and muttered softly.

“Why am I going to the battlefield? it’s crazy?”

Meanwhile, after the meeting between Hyang and Louis, the ‘friendship theory’ mentioned by Hyang became a hot topic among the ambassadors.

“It is true that our empire has few friends.” Seong Sam-mun and Yu Eung-bu nodded at Shin Suk-ju’s words. “If this war is to end successfully, I think we will have to engage in active diplomacy.”

At Shin Sook-ju’s next words, Seong Sam-moon and Yu Eung-bu shook their heads.

“why?”

“Is there a need to be proactive?”

“Why…”

Shin Sook-ju, who was about to raise her voice in response to Seong Sam-moon and Yu Eung-bu’s reaction, closed her mouth.

‘Well, if you think about the current situation of the empire…’

If you look at the current situation of the empire, there was no need to engage in active external activities.

As the development of the Northern and New Territories was on track, the empire’s internal market was actively running.

To put it in the extreme, there would be no problem even if we declared isolation from the country right now and closed the doors.

Therefore, among the imperialists, the number of people advocating ‘isolationism’ was increasing one by one.

-Trade? Do you have to do that?

-Most of the things sold outside are luxury goods, right? Even the items that come in are hardly in good condition.

One of the main reasons for the spread of isolationism among the people of the empire was that, except for spices and black beans, there was almost nothing that was imported from Europe and other countries.

The city smiled bitterly at the report that isolationism was spreading.

“Did I try too hard to make money?…”

-I am very anxious about the Korean Peninsula and Manchuria alone!

-Take advantage of the opportunity when it comes!

-Eating the ground is the rule of the country!

With this idea, the side effect of actively expanding the territory of the empire occurred.

-Why should I worry about the outside world when I have so much territory right now?

It was an incomprehensible thought for someone with memories of the 21st century, but it was a natural thought for people of this era.

“I have acquired places that can be called ‘cheat keys’…”

Hyang nodded, thinking about the reason why ‘isolationism’ spread not only among the general public but also among the ministers of the government.

* * *

As the meeting between Hyang and Louis broke down, the negotiations quickly headed toward catastrophe.

France, having confirmed that it had already reached the point of no return, took an active part in pursuing an alliance with the Habsburgs of Spain.

‘The independent unification of Italy by Italians.’

This motto raised by the Empire also led the Papal States and the Kingdom of Naples to join the alliance promoted by France.

To be precise, those who had been moving secretly were now moving openly.

“Well… now I know Pia for sure. “It’s not a bad thing, is it?”

Lorenzo nodded at Hyang’s words.

November 1490.

A new post was posted on the wall of the Imperial Embassy.

What’s interesting is that this post wasn’t posted by the Empire.

A joint statement from the participating countries, excluding the Empire and Florence, was attached.

After hearing the story, Hyang smiled bitterly.

“These people will only post it at their embassies. Ah… wasn’t there an embassy in Florence?”

Hyang muttered something to herself and took the statement on the desk in her hand.

The contents of the questionnaire, which was lined with the seals of the participating countries, were simple.

-We neither agree nor support the Italian unification movement promoted by Florence and the Empire!

-What the Empire and Florence are pursuing now is a dangerous action that will harm not only the peace of Italy but also the peace of Europe!

-We ask the Empire and Florence to preserve peace in Italy and Europe!

-Maintaining the current system is the only answer! Empire and Florence agree to this!

-If you refuse, war will break out, and all responsibility for this lies with the Empire and Florence!

After reading the statement, Hyang’s bitter smile became even deeper.

“After Pontius Pilate, passing it on became a tradition.”

After a while, the scent that greeted Lorenzo, who arrived at the embassy, got straight to the point.

“What do you want me to do with the ball?”

Lorenzo answered the question about the scent right away.

“The unification of Italy is my lifelong belief.”

“There will be many sacrifices.”

“I and the citizens of Florence are already prepared. What will you do with the Empire?”

“The Empire will stand together with its ally Florence.”

After a while, a new post was posted on the embassy wall.

There was only one word written on the large poster.

-VETO! (Reject!)

Florence residents who saw the post shouted.

“Wow!”

“It’s war!”

“Long live Florence! Long live a unified Italy!”

“Long live the Empire!”

Louis, who received the empire’s response at the same time, smiled bitterly.

“It’s concise. So it’s more like an empire.”

* * *

With war decided, envoys from each country left Florence as quickly as possible.

‘Protection from excited Florentines.’

In the name of this, the Florentine and Imperial cavalry surrounded the envoys and guarded them.

However, the envoys sitting in the carriage had even worse expressions.

This was because the armament of the surrounding cavalry, especially the imperial cavalry, had completely changed.

Cavalry spears and cavalry 6-barreled cavalry rifles have been the armament of the imperial cavalry until now.

However, no spears were visible among the imperial cavalry armored forces surrounding the envoy’s carriage.

Instead, a long gun was stuck on one side of the saddle, and instead of the six-shot cavalry rifle, a new cavalry rifle – the one that had been hanging on Hyang’s waist – was attached to his waist.

The only thing that didn’t change was the cavalry sword swinging from the saddle.

As the envoys looked at this, their hearts became increasingly frustrated.

“What have we seen so far?”

* * *

Upon returning to Paris and reporting the results to Charles VIII, Louis concluded:

“The real enemy in this war is not Florence, but the Empire. You must keep this in mind. “Maybe we will lose.”

‘It’s not a possibility, but it could be a certainty….’

Charles VIII’s face also became serious upon hearing Louis’ report that hid his true feelings.

“Is it that much?”

“The Empire intends to fight with all its heart.”