Black Corporation: Joseon

Chapter 246

Prince Henry the Navigator (Infante Dom Henrique, o Navegador)

Northern coast of Morocco, Ceuta.

Knock, knock.

At the light knocking sound, Prince Henry, who had been reviewing documents, answered in a low voice.

Come in.

At Prince Henrys command, the door opened, and a knight entered.

What is it?

The ships have returned from Alexandria.

Is that so?

At the knights report, Henrys face brightened, and he rose from his chair.

***

Watching the cargo being unloaded from the ships docked at the pier, Henry turned to the captains.

What about the goods from Joseon?

They are being unloaded over there.

At the captains words, Henry moved to that location.

Unload carefully! If the goods are damaged, you bastards wont be able to pay it off even if you work your entire lives!

Careful! Careful!

Amidst the shouts of the supervisors managing the unloading of the cargo, the sailors and slaves were carefully unloading the cargo boxes.

Examining the amount of cargo being unloaded from the ships, Henrys expression hardened.

Isnt the quantity less than expected?

At Henrys observation, the manager in charge of purchasing answered, sweating profusely.

Those Italian bastards put up a fierce fight

Fucking mongrels!

At the managers response, Henry spat out a curse, forgetting his dignity as a prince.

***

From a few years ago, extraordinary goods had begun to arrive at the auction houses in Alexandria. In terms of quality and beauty, these products were far superior to the goods being traded in the Islamic and European markets at that time.

Where were these made?

European and Islamic merchants who had flocked to Alexandria asked the Aden merchants who had brought the goods about their origin.

Its a secret.

Come on, tell us!

I said its a secret!

The Aden merchants kept their mouths firmly shut, but the merchants who purchased the goods kept trying.

And so, one merchant, swayed by a suitable bribe and alcohol, finally opened his mouth.

We didnt obtain these goods ourselves. One merchant from Aden paved the way.

So where is that place?

He said it was called Joseon.

Joseon? Where is Joseon?

I dont know that much.

Because of this, Joseon had to be treated as a land of mystery for a while afterwards.

This curiosity of the merchants was resolved starting from when Joseon goods were released for the second time.

The merchants who brought Joseon goods the second time, from the Ottaibi and Azram families of Aden, released an even more diverse and larger quantity of goods to the auction houses in Alexandria.

The expectation that prices would fall due to the increased quantity was greatly off the mark. Even more merchants had flocked than the first time, having heard the rumors.

The merchants who had gathered in this way asked the same question again while obtaining the goods.

Where is this place called Joseon located?

The merchants from the Ottaibi and Azram families answered frankly.

It is located east of Kitai (a transliteration of Khitan, another name for China).

East of Kitai? Then isnt it Zipangu^[1]?

Its a country situated between Kitai and Zipangu.

I see, thank you.

Having received an answer, the merchants expressed their gratitude and withdrew. Seeing this, the merchants from the Ottaibi and Azram families smiled with satisfaction.

Why? Are you going to try to find it?

The reason the Ottaibi and Azram families were so confident was due to the issues of sea routes and permits.

Europeans didnt know the sea routes to Kitai at all. Of course, there were quite a few Islamic merchants who knew the routes to Kitai, but they were well aware of the dangers of those routes.

Lastly, the merchants who had some information about Kitai and Zipangu were well aware of the existence of trade permits. They knew that without these permits, only dangerous and unprofitable smuggling was possible.

Now that Joseon goods have been released like this, smuggling wont be profitable!

As Joseon products became popular in this way, the ones who rushed in most enthusiastically were the Italian merchants.

Based on the economic power they had secured through intermediary trade, the Italian merchants bought up Joseons goods indiscriminately.

These are goods that will turn into several times their weight in gold once they cross the Mediterranean!

***

It was in this situation that the merchants led by Prince Henry entered the competition being waged by the Italian and Islamic merchants.

Prince Henrys involvement in this competition was for both economic and religious reasons.

Portugal, which had been established after driving out the Muslims from the Iberian Peninsula, invaded North Africa as soon as it gained strength and secured Ceuta.

Securing Ceuta^[2] was for the purpose of claiming a share in the Mediterranean trade routes and for expelling Islamic forces.

Lets conquer Morocco!

Henry, who had made the greatest contribution to the occupation of Ceuta, persuaded his father and other brothers to conquer Morocco.

He came to make this argument because of a story he had heard from a merchant in Ceuta.

-There is a trade route where gold travels from the south of Africa, across the desert, to Morocco in the north.

Upon hearing this story, Henry strongly advocated for the conquest of Morocco.

If we conquer Morocco and secure that golden trade route, Portugal can become a great power in an instant!

The king and the other princes all agreed with Henrys argument. They, too, had heard and seen things. It was a famous rumor from long ago that a considerable amount of the gold entering Morocco came from somewhere in southern Africa.

However, Henrys challenge immediately ran into the reality of the situation.

What blocked Henry and Portugal were the mountains and deserts of Morocco.

Conquering Morocco by crossing these mountains and deserts was beyond the capabilities of Portugal, a newborn nation.

In the end, Henry continued to steadily expand Portugals share in the Mediterranean trade routes while also conducting explorations of the western coast of Africa.

If the land route is difficult, we can go by sea!

It was in this situation that information and goods related to Joseon came in.

***

The start of Henrys explosive interest in Joseon was the golden pen.

Disguised as an ordinary merchant and wandering around the market in Alexandria, Henry heard the shout of an Islamic merchant.

Buy pens! Pens from Joseon for sale!

Joseon? That rumored Joseon? Why are goods that should only be at the auction houses here?

Curious at the mention of goods from the country that merchants were going crazy over, Henry walked over there.

Lets see these so-called pens from Joseon.

Yes, sir! These are excellent pens called gold pens in Joseon!

At Henrys words, the merchant hurriedly took out a box containing the gold pens and opened the lid.

Oho!

Henry let out an exclamation upon seeing the contents of the opened box.

Inside the box were a silver-gleaming gold pen and a handle in which to insert the pen. The patterns engraved on the gold pen were beautiful, but the handle, boasting vivid patterns and luster with mother-of-pearl lacquerware, was also an extraordinary item.

As Henry showed interest, the merchant continued his enthusiastic introduction.

Its remarkable, isnt it? Do you see the flower pattern engraved on the inside of this box? It has three flowers! Although not as good as the ones made of gold with five flowers, its still sufficiently high-class!

If its such a high-class item, why are you selling it here instead of putting it up for auction?

At Henrys question, the merchant answered with an embarrassed expression.

When I went to Joseon following the elders, I spent all my private funds to buy just one And people dont buy pens made of expensive silver when there are light and easily obtained quill pens.

Wouldnt wealthy people buy them?

Such people dont know me.

Hmm

At the merchants words, Henry looked over the merchants appearance and nodded.

Indeed

The merchant in front of him was so young that it would be more fitting to call him a boy. And while his clothing was clean, it was not of good quality.

A newcomer. Hes running it alone to gain experience.

Henry understood the merchants efforts to sell the gold pen.

It was one of the ways that quite a few merchants raised those who would succeed them. They would give some funds to young people who had sufficiently learned the trade within the merchant group and have them obtain and sell goods, allowing them to purely accumulate their own experience rather than being taught by others.

Seeing such a merchant, Henry felt a strange sense of kinship. It felt like himself, who had set out to conquer Morocco only to fail.

With that feeling, Henry asked the price.

How much is it?

***

Having bought the gold pen and returned to his lodging, Henry inserted the pen into the handle, dipped it in ink, and wrote sentences on paper.

Oho!

Henry let out an exclamation after trying out the gold pen.

This foreign silver pen, called a gold pen, had a truly astounding writing feel. The letters flowed as smoothly as a ship sailing on a calm sea. And it wrote well on both expensive paper and rough cheap paper.

Henry examined the gold pen closely. It was definitely an alloy of silver and other metals, thin but with the necessary strength. The groove running along the center of the pointed nib allowed the ink to be drawn up and the letters to be written.

However, what impressed him the most was the very tip of the nib. It was not simply pointed, but slightly rounded to allow smooth writing even on rough-textured paper.

Remarkable.

Smiling with the joy of having obtained an item more impressive than expected, Henry suddenly had another thought.

Should I try making and selling these? The French would go crazy for them

As he was gauging the possibility while examining the box, Henry saw the warning engraved on the inside of the box lid.

The warning, written in Chinese characters, Arabic, and Latin, was as follows:

-Those who reproduce without permission from Joseon will not engage in any trade with the country whatsoever.

How arrogant. Such great confidence.

Henry, who had been chuckling while reading the warning, soon thought differently.

The rumor is that all the Joseon goods on the market now are extraordinary. If a country that makes such goods were to directly engage in trade

Having thought that far, Henry sighed.

Whew~ Its not simple arrogance.

***

In this way, Henry, who had become interested in Joseon, obtained Joseon goods that had actually come on the market and confirmed their value with his own eyes. 𝔣𝖗𝔢𝖊𝔴𝖊𝔟𝔫𝔬𝖛𝔢𝖑.𝔠𝔬𝔪

These are goods that will bring definite profits!

With this conviction, Henry immediately rushed to his father the king and his brothers and persuaded them that they must purchase Joseon goods no matter what.

Henrys persuasion was successful, and Portugal also joined the competition to purchase Joseon products.

However, they kept being pushed back by Italy, which put forth enormous capital, and it was then that Henry had spat out a curse.

***

As the competition intensified in this way, Henrys interest in Joseon only grew.

Just what kind of people live in that country to be able to produce such goods?

Porcelain dishes and tea sets engraved with beautiful patterns, subtle yet captivating fragrances, etc.the products coming from Joseon invariably caught the eyes of merchants and people alike.

In the end, interest in Joseon was not Henrys alone.

In the process, information about Joseons location was released.

-A country located between Kitai and Zipangu.

Upon hearing that rumor, Henry, gazing at the gold pen inserted in the pen holder, muttered to himself without realizing it.

Could it be Prester John?

The name of a powerful Christian nation said to exist somewhere in the far east, appearing since the days of the Crusades and even in Marco Polos travelogue, occurred to Henry.

Another name for Japan. Also called as Land of Gold by Marco Polo[]A city in Spain[]

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