Black Corporation: Joseon [EN]: Chapter 945

945. Corsica Naval Battle. (1)

The rumors of the crushing defeats of Spain and France in the Milan and Genoa regions spread like wildfire throughout Italy.

The leaders and residents of Venice, the Papal States, and the Kingdom of Naples, upon hearing these rumors, began to waver, worried about their future.

And what dealt them a fatal blow were the posters.

The posters plastered on the walls of Florence, Milan, and Genoa stirred unrest not only among the young and middle-aged men of those regions but across the social spectrum.

Before long, dozens of posters flowed into Venice, the Papal States, and the Kingdom of Naples through various channels.

“These are the posters that have been appearing in Genoa, Milan, and Florence recently.”

“How did you get these?”

“The merchant who gave them to me said he secretly tore them off the walls.”

“They’re too clean for that, aren’t they? There’s not a single tear or rip on them.”

“Well….”

“Is ‘Well…’ and a shrug all you have to say?”

“That’s not what’s important right now.”

“…That is true.”

As they muttered and examined the posters, the intelligence officers of Venice, the Papal States, and the Kingdom of Naples all wore serious expressions.

“First of all, they’re openly mentioning Venice.”

“They’re saying they’ll devour the north first and then the south? Those hungry pigs!”

Most of the leaders of the Papal States and the Kingdom of Naples were furious upon seeing the posters.

“Let’s conscript troops too!”

“That’s right!”

“Let’s ask His Holiness to excommunicate them!”

“That’s right!”

Thus, large-scale conscription began in the Papal States and the Kingdom of Naples as well.

Soon after, Pope Alexander VI officially declared the excommunication of Lorenzo de Medici and other leaders for:

– The crime of colluding with heretics and destroying the peace of Italy.

“‘Heretics’? ‘Colluding’? Ha!”

Hyang, after reading the proclamation, scoffed briefly with a dumbfounded expression and tossed it aside.

“It’s not even worth reading. Use it as firewood.”

“Yes, Your Majesty!”

“I didn’t block the passage of clergymen, and now I’m hearing this nonsense. Gonfaloniere [Standard bearer; a high-ranking magistrate in Florence], since we’re already excommunicated, shouldn’t we just block the passage of clergymen altogether?”

At Hyang’s words, Lorenzo wore a troubled expression. Blocking the passage here would sever the connection with Cardinal Giovanni di Lorenzo de Medici in Rome—who would later become Pope Leo X in the history before Hyang intervened.

– Even between enemies, one line must be left open.

Even if it wasn’t for the above will left by Cosimo de Medici, cutting off all ties with the Vatican was not an easy decision.

Seeing Lorenzo’s expression, Hyang nodded.

“Indeed, it would be excessive. It was my shortsightedness, so don’t worry about it. However, I believe it is necessary to strengthen the inspection of clergymen entering and leaving Florence to maintain confidentiality and prevent internal unrest. I propose this to the Gonfaloniere.”

Even though Florence’s ally was the Empire and Hyang was the former Emperor, the owner of this place was Lorenzo. Therefore, Hyang phrased it as a suggestion rather than an order.

Upon hearing Hyang’s suggestion, Lorenzo immediately nodded.

“I think that would be a good idea.”

To Lorenzo’s decision, Hyang added,

“This proclamation is not aimed at the Gonfaloniere and the members of the council. It is a vile plot to divide the Gonfaloniere and the residents. Let’s use Savonarola too.”

“That’s a good idea. I’ll call someone soon and tell them the story.”

Interestingly, Savonarola was already moving before Lorenzo even asked for help.

* * *

“Brothers! Brothers of Florence, brothers of Milan, brothers of Genoa! Hear my words! The Pope of Rome has excommunicated our leaders! It is a lamentable thing!”

Savonarola traveled around Milan and Genoa, delivering fiery speeches.

“They said we destroyed the peace! What is the peace they speak of? It is peace to protect their own interests! It is not the peace that contains the interests of us Italians, the future of us Italians! Brothers, sisters! Open your eyes! We must prevent those from Spain and France from ruling over our heads!”

“Woo-hoo!”

They responded to Savonarola’s fiery speech with enthusiastic shouts.

Of course, there were those who refuted this.

“If you put it that way, isn’t the ‘Nation of Flowers’ [referring to the Empire] foreign too? Didn’t they also incite war for their own interests!”

“Nonsense!”

Savonarola, enraged, shouted as if spitting blood with a face reddened.

“They are shedding blood with us! We are not the only ones shedding blood! And the sage who leads them has given us an honest answer!”

* * *

Just before the war broke out, Savonarola visited the embassy where all the delegations had left.

It was by invitation from Hyang, who accepted Savonarola’s request for a meeting that he had wanted for some time.

“Welcome. It’s nice to meet you.”

“It is an honor to meet the sage of the East.”

At Savonarola’s words, Hyang lightly waved his hand and replied.

“Sage is too much of a title. I am just a child rejoicing at picking up shells on the beach in front of the vast ocean of truth.”

“Oh!”

Savonarola was even more enthusiastic about Hyang’s answer, which borrowed Newton’s words.

“What Your Majesty has said is the truth! I will try harder!”

“Those who seek and preach the truth must always strive.”

After that, Hyang and Savonarola continued their conversation for a considerable amount of time. The longer the conversation went on, the more Savonarola began to admire and even worship Hyang.

The climax of the event was having dinner together.

Savonarola was speechless when he saw the dishes made of clean white porcelain and bronze, the plain silver cutlery, and the simple but unadorned food.

“Ah… Our Empire’s tableware must be unfamiliar to you. I will order them to bring you tableware that you can use.”

“Ah, no! I have had a lot of exposure to the food of the ‘Nation of Flowers.’”

Thanks to the butterfly effect created by Hyang, the Empire’s food had spread quite a bit. In particular, as Florence and the Empire joined hands, restaurants selling the Empire’s food took root in Livorno and other major cities of Florence and along major streets. Thanks to that, the Empire’s spoons were not unfamiliar tableware.

“What I’m curious about is that the food Your Majesty eats, as well as the dishes, are very simple. Shouldn’t Your Majesty always be able to eat good food?”

At Savonarola’s question, Hyang smiled and replied.

“There is an Eastern proverb called ‘Sangjeo Okbae’ [象箸玉杯 – ivory chopsticks and jade cups]. To put it simply, it means ‘ivory chopsticks and jewel-made cups,’ and one of the things that a ruler should be most wary of is extravagance. To elaborate further….”

As Hyang explained the meaning of Sangjeo Okbae with examples, Savonarola immediately shouted with a face full of joy.

“This is the truth! The truth that teaches the attitude that a ruler should have! Your Majesty! Thank you so much!”

In this way, Savonarola came to worship Hyang.

* * *

This is why Savonarola was furious as soon as words criticizing Hyang and the Empire came out.

“When I met His Majesty, he said this to me! ‘It is natural for the Empire to prioritize its interests as it is a country. However, that interest must be mutually satisfying, not just satisfying one side. Satisfying only one side is extortion!’ Look at the behavior of France, Spain, and the Habsburgs now! If that’s not extortion, then what is it!”

Most of those who had been arguing against Savonarola’s point shut their mouths.

“But….”

“Woo-woo!”

“Get out of here!”

Of course, there were those who stubbornly tried to argue against it. However, they shut their mouths or hurriedly disappeared in the face of jeers and curses coming from all directions.

Thanks to Savonarola’s passionate and almost fanatical persuasion, the Pope’s ‘excommunication order’ did not have a significant effect.

Rather, it was used as material to promote the unity of Italians by questioning the origins of the Pope and the King of Naples, which started in Spain.

– Italy for Italians!

Hyang, looking through the reports coming up from everywhere, sighed with a serious face.

“Hoo~. Nationalism… It’s a double-edged sword. And it’s starting to smell like fascism… Hoo~.”

Hyang sighed once more and looked out the window.

“As far as I know, Savonarola’s end wasn’t very good, and it looks like it won’t be good this time either. A rabbit hunt after the hunt is over… [referring to the idiom of discarding someone after they’ve served their purpose].”

Savonarola’s influence was growing stronger among the Italians in the Florence, Milan, and Genoa regions.

They are using that influence very well right now, but it was certain that it would become a problem if it grew any bigger.

Savonarola’s political colors were too different to share a stake in the politics of a unified Italy.

“I should see it as similar to Khomeini or ISIS. If I’m not careful, the tail will wag the dog [lose control]. I have to get him out at the right time.”

Hyang’s face was not very good when he mentioned ‘removal.’ This was because ‘physical removal’ was the most likely, not just ‘political removal.’

* * *

Even in a situation where someone’s tragic end was decided, Florence, Milan, and Genoa were steadily raising troops.

And information about this continued to flow into Venice.

The situation in Venice, which had become the ‘last piece of Northern Italy,’ was not very good.

From the leadership of Venice to the lowest poor, they were divided into two and extreme confrontation broke out.

– The trend is unification! We should rather actively cooperate with unification!

– No! Our sovereignty and independence of Venice are more precious than anything else! We must cooperate with the Habsburgs and endure!

The ‘Unification Faction’ and the ‘Autonomy Faction’ clashed without an inch of compromise.

“Italy for Italians!”

“We are Venetians!”

“We must take the lead in the unification of Italy! That’s the only way we have a future!”

“Do you think that unification will be easy! We have lived separately until now! We cannot give up our sovereignty!”

“Look at the power they have!”

“We can ask the Habsburgs for cooperation!”

“Are those who shout for autonomy reaching out to foreign powers? That’s absurd!”

“I’d rather reach out to foreign powers than bow down to those guys! Especially to Genoa! This is a matter of pride!”

When ‘Genoa’ was mentioned, even the Unification Faction hesitated. They didn’t like Genoa very much either.

“Yes! It’s true that it’s hard to endure when you see the power those guys have! But that doesn’t mean we can curl up our tails and crawl in advance! We can’t stand Venice being under Genoa! Even if we lose, we have to give them a proper blow to solidify our position!”