Black Corporation: Joseon [EN]: Chapter 246

246. Prince Henry the Navigator (1)

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

Northern Moroccan coast, Ceuta.

Knock, knock.

Prince Henry, who was reviewing documents, responded quietly to the light knock.

“Come in.”

At Prince Henry’s command, the door opened and a knight entered.

“What is it?”

“Ships have returned from Alexandria.”

“Really?”

At the knight’s report, Henry stood up from his chair, his face brightening.

* * *

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

“The Joseon goods?”

“They are being unloaded over there.”

At the captains’ words, Henry moved to where they indicated.

“Unload carefully! If the goods are damaged, you won’t be able to repay it even if you work your whole lives!”

“Careful! Careful!”

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

Henry’s expression hardened as he examined the amount of cargo being unloaded from the ships.

“Is the quantity smaller than expected?”

At Henry’s remark, the manager in charge of purchasing replied, sweating profusely.

“The Italian guys were desperately trying to get their hands on them…”

“Damn bastards!”

At the manager’s reply, Henry forgot his princely dignity and swore.

* * *

Several years prior, amazing goods began to appear in the Alexandria auction market. The quality and beauty of these products far surpassed those traded in the Islamic regions and European markets at the time.

“Where are these made?”

European and Islamic merchants who gathered in Alexandria asked the Aden merchants who brought the goods about their origin.

“It’s a secret.”

“Please tell us!”

“I said it’s a secret!”

The Aden merchants remained tight-lipped, but the merchants who purchased the goods continued to press them.

Eventually, one of the merchants, who succumbed to a suitable bribe and alcohol, revealed the information.

“We didn’t obtain these goods ourselves. An Aden merchant paved the way.”

“So where is it?”

“They say it’s Joseon.”

“Joseon? Where is Joseon?”

“I don’t know that far.”

Because of this, Joseon was treated as a ‘land of mystery’ for a while.

The curiosity of these merchants was somewhat resolved the second time Joseon’s goods were released.

The merchants from the Ottaibi and Azram families of Aden, who brought Joseon’s goods for the second time, released a wider variety and larger quantity of goods at the Alexandria auction market than the first time.

The expectation that prices would fall as the quantity increased was greatly mistaken. More merchants gathered than the first time, having heard the rumors.

The merchants who gathered in this way asked the same question once again while acquiring the goods.

“Where is this country called Joseon located?”

The merchants from the Ottaibi and Azram families answered coolly.

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

“East of Kitai? Then isn’t it Zipangu [Japan]?”

“It is a country between Kitai and Zipangu.”

“Yes, thank you.”

The merchants who heard the answer expressed their gratitude and stepped back. Watching their departure, the merchants from the Ottaibi and Azram families wore satisfied smiles.

‘Why? Are you going to try to find it yourselves?’

The reason why the Ottaibi and Azram families were confident was due to the shipping routes and license issues.

Europe did not know the shipping route to Kitai at all. Of course, there were many Islamic merchants who knew the shipping route to Kitai, but they were well aware of the dangers of that route.

Finally, the merchants who knew some information about Kitai and Zipangu were well aware of the existence of the ‘trade permit.’ They knew very well that without this permit, only dangerous and unprofitable smuggling was possible.

‘Now that Joseon’s goods are being released like that, smuggling won’t be profitable!’

As Joseon’s goods became popular, the Italian merchants were the most enthusiastic in rushing in.

Based on the economic power secured through intermediary trade, Italian merchants bought Joseon goods indiscriminately.

“Once they cross the Mediterranean, they will immediately be worth several times their value in gold!”

* * *

In this situation, the merchants led by Prince Henry joined the competition between Italian and Islamic merchants.

Prince Henry’s participation in this competition was for both economic and religious reasons.

Portugal, which had driven out the Muslims from the Iberian Peninsula and established itself, invaded North Africa as soon as it gained power, securing Ceuta.

Securing Ceuta was for the purpose of taking a stake in the trade routes of the Mediterranean region and for expelling Islamic forces.

“Let’s conquer Morocco!”

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

The reason he made this claim was because of a story he heard from a merchant in Ceuta.

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

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

“If we conquer Morocco and secure that gold trade route, Portugal can become a powerful nation in an instant!”

At Henry’s claim, the king and other princes all agreed. They also had heard similar rumors. It was a well-known story that a significant amount of gold entering Morocco came from somewhere in the south of Africa.

However, Henry’s ambition was immediately blocked by reality.

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 the newly established nation of Portugal.

In the end, Henry steadily expanded Portugal’s stake in the Mediterranean trade route and at the same time proceeded with the exploration of the west coast of Africa.

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

In that situation, information and goods about ‘Joseon’ arrived.

* * *

The beginning of Henry’s explosive interest in Joseon was the gold pen.

While disguised as an ordinary merchant and wandering around the market in Alexandria, Henry heard the cry of an Islamic merchant.

“Buy pens! Buy pens from Joseon!”

“Joseon? That Joseon of rumors? Why are there goods that should be in the auction market here?”

Intrigued by the mention of the rumored country that merchants were making a fuss about, Henry walked over.

“Let me see the pen from Joseon.”

“Yes, sir! It’s a very good pen called a gold pen in Joseon!”

At Henry’s words, the merchant quickly took out a box containing the gold pens and opened the lid.

“Oh!”

Henry exclaimed as he looked at the contents of the box with the lid open.

Inside the box were silver glittering gold pens and a pen holder to hold the gold pens. The patterns engraved on the gold pens were beautiful, but the pen holder, which boasted splendid patterns and gloss with mother-of-pearl lacquerware, was also an extraordinary item.

As Henry showed interest, the merchant continued to introduce it enthusiastically.

“Isn’t it amazing? Do you see the flower pattern engraved on the inside of this box? It has three flowers! It’s not as good as the five-flower one made of gold, but it’s still a high-quality product!”

“If it’s such a high-quality product, why are you selling it here instead of putting it up for auction?”

At Henry’s question, the merchant replied with an embarrassed expression.

“When I went to Joseon following the elders, I spent all my money to buy just one item… And, there are light and easy-to-obtain quill pens, so no one buys expensive silver pens.”

“People with a lot of money would buy it, right?”

“Those people don’t know me.”

“Hmm…”

At the merchant’s words, Henry examined the merchant’s appearance and nodded.

“Certainly…”

The merchant in front of him was young enough to be called young. And his clothes were clean, but they were not fine clothes.

‘He’s a rookie. He’s trying to make a sale on his own to gain experience.’

Henry understood the merchant’s situation, who was struggling to sell the gold pen.

It was one of the ways many merchants trained the merchants who would follow them. They gave young people who had learned enough at the company some funds and had them find and sell goods, allowing them to accumulate their own experiences rather than experiences taught by others.

Henry felt a strange sense of kinship with the merchant’s situation. Feeling like himself, who had set out to conquer Morocco and failed, Henry asked the price.

“How much is it?”

* * *

Henry, who bought the gold pen and returned to his lodgings, inserted the gold pen into the holder and dipped it in ink to write a sentence on the paper.

“Oh!”

Henry exclaimed after using the gold pen.

This exotic silver pen, called a gold pen, had a very amazing writing feel. The letters flowed so smoothly, like a ship passing through a calm sea. And it didn’t matter whether it was expensive paper or rough cheap paper.

Henry examined the gold pen in detail. It was certainly a mixture of silver and other metals, ensuring the necessary strength while being thin. Ink was drawn up along the groove in the middle of the pointed nib, allowing him to write.

However, what impressed him the most was the very end of the nib. It was not simply pointed, but slightly rounded to allow it to be written without difficulty even on paper with a rough texture.

“Amazing.”

Smiling at the pleasure of obtaining a more amazing item than expected, Henry suddenly had another thought.

“Should I make and sell these? The French would go crazy for them…”

While assessing the possibilities, Henry looked at the warning written on the inside of the box lid.

The contents of the warning, written in Kitai characters, Arabic, and Latin, were as follows.

-Those who illegally copy without Joseon’s permission, or the country, will not engage in any transactions.

“Arrogant. That’s quite the confidence.”

Henry laughed at the warning, but soon thought differently.

‘There are rumors that the Joseon goods on the market are all amazing. What if a country that makes such things directly engages in trade?’

Thinking that far, Henry sighed.

“Hoo~, it’s not just simple confidence.”

* * *

Having become interested in Joseon in that way, Henry obtained the Joseon goods that were actually on the market and confirmed their value with his own eyes.

“These are items that will bring definite profits!”

With conviction, Henry immediately ran to his father and brothers and persuaded them to unconditionally purchase goods from Joseon.

Henry’s persuasion was successful, and Portugal also jumped into the competition to purchase Joseon goods.

However, the situation continued to be dominated by Italy, which had overwhelming financial power, and Henry uttered profanity.

* * *

As the competition became more intense, Henry’s interest in Joseon only grew.

“What kind of people live in that country that they can make such things?”

From the porcelain bowls and tea sets with beautiful patterns to the subtle but captivating fragrances, the products from Joseon all caught the eyes of merchants and people.

In the end, interest in Joseon was not only Henry’s.

In the process, information about the location of Joseon was released.

-A country located between Kitai and Zipangu.

Hearing the rumor, Henry looked at the gold pen stuck in the pen holder and muttered to himself without realizing it.

“Could it be… Prester John?”

Henry was reminded of the name of the powerful Christian nation that was said to be somewhere in the East, which had appeared since the Crusades and in Marco Polo’s Travels [a 13th-century travelogue describing Polo’s travels through Asia].