Black Corporation: Joseon

The envoy’s face grew tense at Hyang’s words. Swallowing hard, he carefully opened his mouth.

“Jo-! No, I apologize!”

Having made a pronunciation error due to extreme nervousness, the envoy immediately prostrated himself and begged forgiveness.

To make a pronunciation mistake before the Crown Prince! One head might not be enough to pay for this!

Seeing the envoy trembling on the floor, Hyang smiled and reassured him.

“Don’t worry about it.”

“Your grace is boundless!”

After expressing his gratitude, the envoy carefully spoke.

“You mentioned conditions—what are they?”

“First, Tsushima must become completely Joseon’s territory. Looking at Tsushima’s situation, though it’s currently paying tribute to both our Joseon and Japan, this has caused considerable problems. Therefore, we want to settle this matter definitively now.”

The envoy nodded slightly at Hyang’s words.

True, Tsushima has caused various troubles playing both sides. But… this isn’t an easy condition from the start.

After sighing softly, the envoy spoke.

“What are the other conditions?”

“Second, provide written guarantee of the Ryukyu Kingdom’s safety. You understand why, right?”

“Yes.”

“Third, no unauthorized approach to Hokkaido’s coastal areas. Provide written guarantee that only those with formal permission may approach for trade.”

“I understand.”

“And finally, we’ll increase the number of Joseon troops stationed at our trade offices and mines. You understand this too, right?”

“…Yes.”

“Ah! We’re not just imposing conditions. If your lord accepts these terms, we’ll supply gunpowder at cost and treat wounded soldiers through physicians stationed at our trade offices.”

The envoy prostrated himself and expressed profound gratitude at Hyang’s words.

“Your boundless grace overwhelms me!”

***

The Ouchi clan heads had done their best to develop their territory by adopting Joseon’s culture and institutions. However, medicine remained an area of significant disparity.

To address this, they had invited physicians from Ming and distributed medical texts to local doctors, but progress remained stagnant.

The biggest cause of this gap was the matter of medicinal ingredients.

“Though medicinal ingredients might seem similar, the truly effective ones come from Joseon.”

All Ming physicians invited to their territory pointed this out.

“Moreover, medical instruments currently made in Joseon are superior to Ming’s. If possible, it would be best to obtain Joseon’s medicinal ingredients and medical instruments.”

Following Ming physicians’ advice, Ouchi had struggled to import medicines from Joseon.

However, with the outbreak of war, gunpowder and medicines were the first resources to run dry, such was their enormous consumption.

In this situation, the offer to treat wounded soldiers at Joseon’s trade offices was like heaven-sent rain.

***

But Hyang didn’t stop there.

“Ah! There’s a condition for this part too. The trade offices will treat enemy soldiers exactly the same as Ouchi’s soldiers.”

“Pardon?”

“You must consider our Joseon’s position, right? We could be accused of interfering in internal affairs. You understand why we’re selling gunpowder for money, don’t you?”

“Ah…”

The envoy fell silent at Hyang’s explanation, thought briefly, then spoke again.

“None of these conditions are easy. Therefore, I have one more request for the Crown Prince.”

“Request? Speak.”

“Please sell us thunderbolt bombs as well.”

“Thunderbolt bombs? Do you have the cannons to fire them?”

“…”

The envoy answered by prostrating himself lower. Seeing this, Hyang spoke.

“If you accept all those conditions, we’ll consider selling thunderbolt bombs and their launchers positively.”

The envoy prostrated himself and responded loudly.

“I will certainly return with good news!”

“Remember. If even one condition is missing, the thunderbolt bomb matter never happened.”

“I’ll engrave it in my bones and heart!”

***

The envoy hurriedly returned with Hyang’s proposal.

After sending the envoy back, Hyang reported the proceedings to Sejong.

“Well done.”

Receiving Hyang’s report, Sejong nodded and showed a positive reaction. However, he didn’t stop there, immediately following with evaluation and criticism.

“I’m very pleased with how you handled the Tsushima matter. Even though Ouchi is friendly with our Joseon, forcing it could leave resentment. Giving advance notice was truly well done.”

“Thank you, Father.”

“However, isn’t selling thunderbolt bombs excessive? Couldn’t they copy and mass produce them, then use them against our Joseon?”

The ministers nodded at Sejong’s point.

Unless conducting siege warfare, thunderbolt bombs were the supreme projectile. Even when hundreds of fierce Jurchen cavalry charged, five or six thunderbolt bombs would immediately break them.

Consequently, Joseon’s fortresses, garrison forces, and long-range patrol artillery units loaded almost all their guns with thunderbolt bombs.

This was why Sejong raised concerns about Hyang’s offer to provide them to Ouchi.

Hyang immediately responded to Sejong’s criticism.

“I said we’d sell thunderbolt bombs, but I never said they’d be identical to what our military uses. The same goes for the launchers.”

“What?”

After briefly pausing at Hyang’s words, Sejong shook his head.

“You cunning devil!”

The ministers shared the same sentiment upon hearing Hyang’s response.

“Since the Crown Prince’s scheme seems good, I’ll let this pass.”

After deciding to follow Hyang’s approach regarding the thunderbolt bombs, Sejong moved on.

“Hmm… Treating wounded soldiers through physicians at trade offices. And without discriminating between sides…”

After mulling over the proposal about treating wounded at trade offices, Sejong glared at Hyang.

“Given your character, this can’t possibly be mere compassion. What are you plotting?”

The ministers simultaneously nodded at Sejong’s question. The Hyang they knew would never initiate such an expensive venture out of mere compassion.

If the Crown Prince were that kind, he wouldn’t have offered thunderbolt bombs at all!

What compassion from the master of tricks!

Hyang gave a bitter smile at Sejong’s point and answered.

“I do have compassion. But you’re right that the trade office proposal wasn’t motivated by compassion alone.”

“Very well. Let’s hear what you’re plotting.”

After taking a brief breath, Hyang began explaining.

“By treating wounded soldiers at trade offices without discrimination, we can gain at least three benefits.”

Hyang’s explanation was as follows:

• -While Joseon’s excellence is well-known in Japan, most who know this are Japanese nobles or high-ranking samurai.

By treating soldiers of the lowest class, we can make even Japan’s lowest people develop admiration for Joseon.

Why were religious figures and medical personnel the first to enter colonies during the imperial era? And wasn’t this the background for why those Japanese bastards kept spouting nonsense even in the 21st century?

***

In the 21st century, when a China-originated pandemic hit the world, Japanese net-rightists had claimed:

‘Didn’t you receive medical benefits through modern hospitals Japan built in late Joseon? Therefore, Korea has an obligation to provide medical support to our Japan!’

This nonsense made Koreans not just dumbfounded but furious.

***

“Admiration… Not bad. Then what’s the second?”

At Sejong’s positive response, Hyang continued his explanation.

“While providing treatment at trade offices, we subtly encourage submission to Joseon.”

“Accept Japanese people? Why?”

“Because what Joseon lacks most right now is people.”

Hyang explained why they should accept Japanese:

• -Among the foreign tribes who have submitted so far, those skilled in farming are extremely rare except for a few Jurchen.
• However, Japanese are skilled at farming, making them advantageous for developing agriculture in newly acquired territories.
• -Japanese by nature don’t hesitate to submit to the strong. Therefore, they’re truly suitable for work in newly acquired territories.
• -Paradoxically, the lowest class Japanese have weak attachment to Japan. For most of them, their world consists only of their village and the domain it belongs to. Therefore, if such people decide to submit, they’ll become more loyal subjects than anyone.

Sejong and the ministers all nodded at Hyang’s words. Before the economic reforms, most of Joseon’s people also knew little beyond their native villages. Such people were the most solid foundation supporting local aristocrats’ power.

That’s why Sejong’s first action through the economic reforms was breaking this connection.

And when this connection broke, common people’s loyalty to the state and king grew stronger.

Having this experience, Sejong and the ministers could immediately understand what Hyang meant by the second benefit.

“Good thinking. Then what’s the third benefit?”

“The anti-bacterial solution.”

“What?”

Sejong and the ministers tilted their heads at this completely unexpected answer.

“Why the anti-bacterial solution?”

“Hasn’t word of its remarkable effectiveness been spreading everywhere—is there some problem?”

Hyang immediately answered Sejong and the ministers’ doubts.

“Yes. While the anti-bacterial solution’s effectiveness is well-known, it still has many hurdles to overcome.”

• -We’ve discovered it shows excellent effectiveness against various inflammatory diseases. However, we still need much more research to determine which specific inflammatory conditions it suits and proper dosages.
• -Its short shelf life is also problematic. While various attempts to extend it continue, accurate results can only be confirmed through actual use.

And to obtain accurate results from such experiments, a very large sample size is needed.

“…Therefore, we must treat wounded soldiers at trade offices without discrimination. Since infection troubles battlefield casualties most, it’s the perfect place to test the anti-bacterial solution.”

Though Hyang’s explanation ended, Sejong and the ministers’ expressions weren’t good.

“While I understand it’s an excellent opportunity for us, couldn’t it become problematic? Bringing people to save them only to possibly kill them.”

Hyang immediately responded to Sejong’s words.

“We’re not testing poisons, are we? The anti-bacterial solution’s effectiveness is already proven. The current issues are determining appropriate applications, timing, exact dosages, and types and symptoms of side effects. Even the best medicine becomes poison if we don’t know how to use it properly. Therefore, we can’t miss this excellent opportunity.”

Though Hyang finished his response, Sejong didn’t immediately speak. After contemplating for a while, he finally opened his mouth.

“Permission granted.”

“Thank you, Father.”

***

After obtaining Sejong’s permission, Hyang stopped walking and muttered.

“I should prepare various laws and regulations about clinical trials with this opportunity. I hear rumors of physicians making various medicines. Better prepare early.”