Black Corporation: Joseon [EN]: Chapter 876

Similar concerns were voiced by the first group of instructors upon arriving in Florence.

“They were horrified at the thought of just 10,000…”

“They’d faint if they heard about the Liaodong War [a major conflict in the early 20th century].”

“They don’t even believe it.”

* * *

Although Giovanni had already been briefed in Seoul, the Imperial Ministry of National Defense estimated that Florence could field a standing army of 15,000 men.

The military officer who reported on this matter at the time added:

“Of course, this isn’t exact. It’s based on rumors from Imperial merchants who stayed in Florence and Italians who entered Imperial trade ports. If we get accurate population data from Florence and recalculate, the numbers may change.”

Therefore, the instructors who arrived in Florence requested the relevant data from the Florence City Hall officials.

The officials, upon receiving the instructors’ request, responded with puzzled expressions.

“Is it absolutely necessary right now?”

“Isn’t it obvious? We need to know the exact number of men who can be mobilized into the army to adjust the ratios of the various corps and coordinate the training process.”

“Haa… The truth is…”

At the instructors’ words, the officials sighed deeply, their faces troubled, and explained the problem.

The instructors who heard the officials’ explanation wore dumbfounded expressions.

“Is it possible that Florence and its affiliated cities and towns don’t have household registers? Then how do you collect taxes?”

“Tax collection is handled by the ward chiefs in the respective districts, and in the villages, by the village heads and the responsible tax collectors.”

“Is accurate taxation even possible that way? Even laymen like our soldiers don’t think accurate tax collection and payment are possible.”

Although they said this, those in charge of budgeting in the Empire, regardless of the ministry, knew taxation well.

They needed to know how much tax revenue was coming in to avoid losing out in the budget war against the Ministry of Finance.

Naturally, among the Imperial Army instructors dispatched to Florence were supply and administration experts.

To move the army effectively, proper supply was essential, and for proper supply, accurate budget management was essential.

At the instructors’ pointing out, the officials replied with embarrassed expressions.

“We are well aware of that problem. That’s why there’s a saying: ‘The people who know the affairs of the city dwellers best are the loan sharks, and in the countryside, the priests.'”

“Why on earth?”

According to the Florence officials, the biggest reason for this was the low survival rate of the residents—especially infants—and the poll tax [a tax levied on every adult, without reference to income or resources].

If an epidemic broke out, mass deaths would follow, making the household registers a mess. Also, although it has almost disappeared now, reducing the number of family members to avoid the poll tax was commonplace.

Therefore, as the officials said, loan sharks in the city and priests in the countryside knew the residents’ affairs best.

Loan sharks did so for the purpose of human trafficking in lieu of debt in case of emergency, and priests kept records of births, deaths, marriages, and migrations through baptisms, last rites, and weddings.

* * *

“Huh…”

The instructors who heard the officials’ answer still wore dumbfounded expressions and shouted inwardly.

‘Is this even a country?’

Although the instructors faced unexpected difficulties from the very beginning, they soon regained their composure and began to look for alternatives.

“Then, please request the church’s cooperation to secure accurate population data.”

“It’s not easy. The priests will only cooperate if they have orders from the Vatican.”

“Hoo…”

The instructors, who barely suppressed the urge to grab the officials by the collar, left the city hall and returned to the guesthouse in the Medici Palace.

The ambassadors, who received the report from the instructors, frowned and looked at each other.

“How can a place that calls itself a country…”

“Proper household registers are essential for proper education…”

While Shin Suk-ju and Seong Sam-mun were troubled, Yu Eung-bu wore a look of understanding.

“I heard that our Empire was the same before Emperor Won began his reforms. That’s why the first thing Emperor Won did was to organize the household registers and land, wasn’t it?”

“Ah…”

At Yu Eung-bu’s words, Shin Suk-ju and Seong Sam-mun nodded.

* * *

Even in the early days of King Sejong’s reign, Joseon’s household registers and tax administration were a mess.

This was because of the chaos that occurred during the transition from Goryeo to Joseon, the invasions of the Japanese pirates, and the massive displacement of people due to famines and epidemics.

Therefore, the first thing they focused on when starting the reforms was organizing the household registers and land.

Based on properly organized household registers, full-scale reforms were carried out.

* * *

Although the situation was not easy from the start, the ambassadors sought their own solutions.

“I will visit Lorenzo de’ Medici tomorrow and talk to him. He is said to know many people in the Vatican, so we may be able to get help.”

“Ah! I heard that one of the Medici family’s businesses is money lending, so that might be helpful too?”

At Seong Sam-mun’s suggestion, Shin Suk-ju nodded. When Shin Suk-ju accepted the suggestion, Seong Sam-mun continued.

“Then I will look into how this educational project in Florence is progressing. If we roughly examine the number of children learning in schools and those who have graduated in Florence and the Florence area, we can estimate the size of the army.”

“There was such a way.”

“That’s a great idea.”

Shin Suk-ju and Yu Eung-bu couldn’t help but admire Seong Sam-mun’s idea.

In the case of the Imperial Samin Schools [local schools in Joseon dynasty], by the time they entered the school, were educated, and were about to graduate, they were old enough to be recognized as adults.

If Florence was similar, it was possible to roughly estimate how many men of military age were available.

Following Seong Sam-mun, Yu Eung-bu also talked about his role.

“I will examine the army of Florence starting tomorrow. Especially the mercenaries. Whether they can be used somehow, or whether we have to sort out the good from the bad, or whether we have to get rid of them all… Hoo~.”

Stopping his words, Yu Eung-bu sighed deeply.

“No matter how I look at it, I’m worried that I’ll have to use the very last resort.”

At Yu Eung-bu’s lament, Shin Suk-ju asked with a worried face.

“Is it that bad?”

“Didn’t you see it on the way here? They look decent, and their armor is shiny, but their military discipline is a mess. It reminds me of the European history book that the founding Emperor showed us. It was written that their ancestors, the Roman soldiers, were the best soldiers in the world who maintained strict military discipline, but their descendants are… Tsk!”

Yu Eung-bu clicked his tongue with a displeased expression.

He was not at all pleased with the appearance of the mercenaries who escorted them from Livorno to Florence.

The mercenaries hired by the Italian cities were mostly composed of cavalry.

The sight of the cavalry moving on horseback, covering their chests with well-made plate armor and their faces with helmets, was truly magnificent.

However, Yu Eung-bu, who had built up experience through numerous battles, frowned as he watched them.

“What a wonderful facade!”

He couldn’t smell the blood of the battlefield at all from the mercenaries guarding them.

Every time they took a break in the middle, Yu Eung-bu carefully examined the mercenaries.

“Eing! Tsk!”

Each time, Yu Eung-bu couldn’t hide his discomfort and frowned and clicked his tongue. And each time, the accompanying Florentine officials were on pins and needles.

“Is there a problem?”

“No. I’m just uncomfortable from sitting for too long. Tsk!”

Yu Eung-bu roughly brushed it off and walked to where the instructors were gathered and talked.

“What do you think?”

At Yu Eung-bu’s question, pointing his chin at the mercenaries, the instructors answered with troubled expressions.

“They seem to ride horses well.”

“They also march well.”

“On the battlefield?”

“…”

At Yu Eung-bu’s question, the instructors answered with silence.

“When I was your age, the founding Emperor, ah! He was the Crown Prince at that time. The founding Emperor told us, ‘Be an army that does ‘marching well’ not an army that ‘only’ does marching well. He also said that the army’s greatest virtue is victory.”

“Ah…”

At Yu Eung-bu’s words, the instructors all nodded and repeated them.

* * *

When he said this to Yu Eung-bu, Hyang muttered softly on the way back.

“Come to think of it… when World War II broke out, an Italian officer who saw the German army evaluated them that way? ‘Poor marching discipline.’… Well, whether in movies or on the internet, the Italian army’s march was unique.”

In the final part of the movie depicting the resistance of Europeans—plus Japan—isolated in Beijing due to the Boxer Rebellion [an anti-foreign uprising in China in 1900], there was a scene showing the armies of the imperialist powers entering Beijing.

In that scene, the Italian army was entering at a double march.

Also, in the 21st century, there were videos circulating on the internet of the Italian ‘Bersaglieri’ [a corps of the Italian Army] military band running and playing at a double march.

Hyang, who remembered the notoriety of the Italian army during World War II—except for a few units including the Bersaglieri—warned the Imperial Army officers.

* * *

Although he was greatly disappointed on the way from Livorno to Florence, Yu Eung-bu still went on an inspection of the mercenary unit.

“There’s always a ‘maybe’…”

With a faint hope, Yu Eung-bu set out on an inspection with Lorenzo de’ Medici to the mercenary unit’s garrison.

“Welcome!”

The condottiero [a leader of a mercenary company] leading the unit rushed out to greet them at the news that the employer had visited.

“It’s been a while.”

“It’s been a while. Is this person here… the rumored Imperial soldier?”

At the condottiero’s question, seeing Yu Eung-bu properly dressed in the Imperial Army uniform, Lorenzo nodded and replied.

“This is Yu Eung-bu, the Imperial ambassador and general of the Imperial Army.”

At Lorenzo’s introduction, the condottiero politely paid his respects and introduced himself.

“I am Piero Colleoni.”

“Nice to meet you.”

After a brief introduction, Yu Eung-bu immediately got to the point.

“I want to see the unit’s training.”

“I’ll show you right away.”

The training of the Medici family’s mercenaries was spectacular. The cavalry, wearing shining breastplates, moved in formation as one and repeatedly charged and retreated towards a virtual enemy camp.

The ground shook as countless horses ran, and the cavalry’s shouts echoed in the sky.

“How is it?”

At Colleoni’s question, Yu Eung-bu replied briefly.

“The training is well done.”

‘Damn it! If I had five Hwachas [Korean rocket artillery], I’d send them all to hell!’

Whether he knew Yu Eung-bu’s inner thoughts or not, Colleoni confidently took the words.

“Isn’t it? I dare say, there will be no one who can stand in the way of my unit! I can swear to the Virgin Mary!”

At Colleoni’s question, Yu Eung-bu asked with a calm face.

“Can you keep that word even in front of cannons, Hwachas, and long rifles?”

“Yes?”