Black Corporation: Joseon

As the new year turned to the 14th year of King Sejong’s reign (1432, the year of Imja), in February.

The Challenger, which had sailed for Alexandria, returned. Like its sister ships that had arrived earlier, the Challenger was quarantined at the isolation facility set up in Dali-do. On its deck, an elderly foreigner and a young man, both thickly dressed, were gazing at the sea beyond the harbor.

“My disciple, do you truly have no regrets?”

“I have no regrets.”

“Life in an unfamiliar place will not be easy.”

The disciple smiled and replied to the old man’s words.

“Hahaha! I’m already used to wandering! Don’t worry about me!”

Hearing his disciple’s answer, the old man looked at the young man with a face full of guilt and gratitude.

“I’m sorry and thankful.”

The old man nodded slightly at his disciple’s words.

On the deck of the Challenger where they stood, there were other Westerners dressed similarly. They too were looking at the scenery of Joseon with expressions mixed with anticipation and concern.

***

In Alexandria, Mansur and Oh Ha-seok had done more than just sell goods.

Oh Ha-seok and Mansur had searched for suitable stallions and mares to be used as breeding horses, visiting the nobles and merchants of Alexandria.

The upper class of Alexandria showed sincerity in their dealings with Oh Ha-seok and Mansur, as they were certain to profit from the continued trade with Joseon.

As the transactions went well thanks to the goodwill shown by Alexandria’s upper class, Mansur and Oh Ha-seok set out to fulfill the orders given by Hyang.

“You want me to find people? Do you mean slaves?”

“No. Please find us alchemists.”

“Alchemists?”

“Yes.”

“Hmm… Let me look into it.”

“While you’re at it, if you could also find some mathematicians…”

“Urgh…”

Thus, they began searching for alchemists and mathematicians through the connections of Alexandria’s upper class, but the results were not good.

“Go to Joseon? Are you mad?”

“I don’t want to abandon where I live and go to some unknown foreign land.”

“I’m receiving sufficient support here.”

All the alchemists and scholars who were invited to go to Joseon shook their heads.

Faced with this situation, Oh Ha-seok and Mansur looked troubled.

“Oh my… This won’t do…”

“His Highness did say ‘if possible’, but still, he’ll be greatly disappointed if we bring back nothing. Why on earth won’t they go? The conditions are quite good…”

In response to Oh Ha-seok’s grumbling, Mansur shared his thoughts.

“I think it’s because they’re already receiving sufficient support from the nobles and great merchants here. The conditions offered by the Crown Prince aren’t enough to motivate them to move.”

“Why do the nobles support them? Is it because of that alchemy?”

Oh Ha-seok, who had heard about alchemists from Mansur on their way to Alexandria, asked with a face still full of disbelief.

‘No matter how many times I think about it, how can human hands create gold? It’s truly an absurd notion!’

To Oh Ha-seok’s question, Mansur shook his head lightly and answered.

“It’s not just about the gold, but also because of the ‘Philosopher’s Stone’ or ‘Elixir’, which are said to be the most important catalysts in making that gold.”

“Philosopher’s Stone? Elixir? You haven’t explained these before. What are they?”

“They say that when an alchemist reaches the highest level of their craft, they can create these. They’re catalysts that can turn lead into gold when used in alchemy, but it’s said that if a person consumes them, they can achieve immortality.”

At Mansur’s explanation, Oh Ha-seok asked in a cynical tone.

“Immortality… It seems there are plenty of people like Qin Shi Huang here too. So, has anyone actually made these things?”

“There are lots of rumors, but that’s all.”

At Mansur’s answer, Oh Ha-seok smirked and muttered.

“If we only listened to rumors, gold would be rolling around like pebbles on the streets of our Joseon…”

As Oh Ha-seok muttered, recalling the rumors circulating on the streets of Alexandria, Mansur perked up his ears.

“Pardon?”

“Ah, it’s nothing. Anyway, isn’t there any way to find even one person?”

“Hmm…”

After pondering for a while, Mansur looked at Oh Ha-seok with a reluctant face.

“I think we’ll have to meet with the Italian merchants.”

“Italy? You mean those merchants working for that Medici person?”

“That’s right.”

“Hmm… Medici…”

Oh Ha-seok considered Mansur’s suggestion.

“Wouldn’t he want immortality too?”

“That’s true, but the Pope in Vatican doesn’t like alchemy. He says it misleads people.”

“Is that so?”

Oh Ha-seok’s face brightened at Mansur’s words, and he immediately made a decision.

“Then let’s go meet the Italian merchants!”

***

“I’ll inquire with Cosimo.”

The Medici merchant who heard Mansur and Oh Ha-seok’s request answered immediately and added:

“I’ll do my best to achieve a good result.”

“Please do.”

“I’ll do my utmost.”

The merchant responded to Oh Ha-seok’s request, promising to do his best.

As a merchant, he had no choice but to do his best. It was because of the order Cosimo had given before returning to Florence.

“Do your utmost to establish a solid relationship network with Joseon!”

Although they had forged a relationship through a personal meeting at Mansur’s house, it was still a relationship that could be severed at any time.

That’s why Cosimo had given such an order to the merchant.

To the merchant who had been looking for opportunities to carry out the order he had received, Mansur and Oh Ha-seok’s request was a gift from God.

After sending Mansur and Oh Ha-seok away, the merchant hurriedly wrote a letter and sent it to Florence.

Using the fastest ship among those owned by the Medici family, Cosimo, upon receiving the merchant’s letter, immediately made a decision.

“Find people who can go to Joseon!”

The people now pacing on the deck of the Challenger were those who had come through this process.

***

Most of those who came to Joseon were from the territories of the Eastern Roman Empire that had fallen to the Ottoman Turks.

These people, who had fled to Italy to escape the war, were still in difficult circumstances.

Although quite a few nobles and merchants supported them, the church didn’t leave them alone.

The fact that they believed in Greek Orthodoxy rather than Catholicism, that they studied alchemy tainted with mysticism, that they delved more into philosophy and mathematics than faith in God, and so on.

Seeing these people with so many things they disliked, the Vatican continued to judge them as heretics.

Although there were rarely incidents of burning at the stake like during the Black Death, the alchemists and scholars still had to endure criticism from the Vatican.

Therefore, when they were offered the chance to go to Joseon through the Medici merchants, they left Italy without hesitation.

***

While they were in quarantine in Dali-do, a messenger carrying a report written by Oh Ha-seok rushed to Hanseong.

After reading the report sent by Oh Ha-seok, King Sejong turned to Hyang and said:

“It says they’ve brought mathematicians and alchemists as per your order. Read it.”

“Yes, Father.”

As Hyang began to read the report handed to his through the merchant ship, Kim Jeom asked him:

“Is it truly possible to create gold through alchemy?”

“As I explained last time, I’ve never heard that it’s possible.”

“Yet they keep trying?”

“They believe that the challenge itself is a form of training towards a higher state.”

“A higher state…”

At Hyang’s words, Kim Jeom’s face showed a slight disappointment.

Seeing Kim Jeom’s face, the ministers inwardly muttered:

‘That man has been handling money since his days at the Ministry of Finance, he’s lost his humanity, truly lost it…’

“Some problematic individuals have arrived.”

Hyang reported to King Sejong with a voice full of concern as he checked the report.

At Hyang’s words, King Sejong immediately asked:

“Are you referring to the Western monks?”

“Yes.”

Hyang answered promptly.

There were worrisome individuals listed in the report submitted by Oh Ha-seok.

-Five Western monks.

King Sejong nodded at Hyang’s point.

“Monks… Indeed… We must consider the possibility that they might cause the same harm as the Buddhist monks.”

At King Sejong’s remark, the ministers’ faces also grew serious.

The harmful effects of Buddhism played a significant role in Joseon’s decision to adopt ‘Neo-Confucianism’ as its national ideology.

As a result, under King Sejong’s rule, there were only two Buddhist sects remaining. Only 36 main temples remained.

In this situation, monks who believed in the Western God had entered the country.

‘If this were the 21st century, there would be no problem due to religious freedom, but this is the Joseon era. If we’re not careful, the Catholic persecution that occurred in the 19th century could happen now. Of all things to bring back, why such a bomb…’

Hyang, grumbling inwardly at Oh Ha-seok who was far away in Dali-do, said to King Sejong:

“We brought them because we need them, but we must prevent any problems they might cause. Therefore, if they come to Hanseong, we must make them promise ‘not to proselytize.’ If they can’t make that promise, we should send them back immediately.”

King Sejong reacted negatively to Hyang’s words.

“Those who believe in God are willing to risk their lives for proselytizing. Will they really make such a promise? No, even if they promise upfront, they might easily break it behind our backs.”

“If they do that, it would be sullying the name of the God they believe in. If they act in such a way, we must immediately charge them with the crime of deceiving the world and the people, and punish them severely. Of course, we should inform them of this in advance.”

“That’s good…”

As King Sejong nodded at Hyang’s suggestion, he turned to the ministers.

“What do you think, gentlemen?”

“Wouldn’t it be better to just send them back?”

“Sending them back would be fine, but their knowledge is also valuable, so I think the Crown Prince’s suggestion is appropriate.”

After a continued debate on how to handle the monks, the ministers concluded to adopt Hyang’s plan.

With the decision on how to deal with the monks settled, Hyang brought up the next agenda.

“We should move the research institute out of the palace on this occasion.”

“That’s right. Having many outsiders wandering around the palace would surely cause problems. Then where should we move it? Should we move it to Area 51? Wouldn’t that be the best?”

When King Sejong mentioned Area 51, Hyang shook his head.

“That won’t do. There are too many confidential facilities there. If any of them later decide to return to their homeland, we could suffer losses.”

“Aren’t there already two Western craftsmen in Area 51?”

As King Sejong refuted, referring to Raphael and Pietro, Hyang explained the reason.

“Those craftsmen only know about glass and nothing else. But the people coming now are scholars. They’ll quickly figure things out with just a little thought.”

At Hyang’s explanation, Lee Jik stepped forward.

“However, looking at the current situation, there’s frequent traffic between the research institute and Area 51. If Western scholars work at the research institute, they’ll inevitably travel to Area 51, and naturally, they’ll learn about confidential matters, won’t they?”

“If such a situation occurs, we can restrict their access to only the parts related to their work. But if they’re inside Area 51, they can naturally see everything.”

After continued exchange of opinions, policies regarding the location of the research institute and access to Area 51 were established.

Thus, preparations began for the emergence of the world’s first academic institution, and the world’s first ‘international graveyard of engineering nerds’.

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