Black Corporation: Joseon [EN]: Chapter 450

450. Prophecy (1)

Two days later, Henrique and his party visited Gyeongbok Palace.

“Hoo.”

Passing through Geunjeongmun Gate, Henrique let out a soft exclamation at the scenery before him.

Gyeongbok Palace, set against the backdrop of Mount Bukak, radiated a magnificent aura.

“Splendid….”

Admiring the harmony between nature and Gyeongbok Palace, Henrique entered Geunjeongjeon Hall.

From Gwanghwamun Gate, past the courtyard of Geunjeongjeon, to the foot of the stairs leading to Geunjeongjeon, Henrique entered Geunjeongjeon Hall, greeted by the salute of the Royal Guards lined up on both sides. He saw Sejong.

At the end of the path between the officials lined up on the left and right, a raised platform stood, and a middle-aged man sat on a chair upon it.

And below the platform, to the right, a young man in attire similar to the king’s was looking at Henrique and his party with curious eyes.

‘That young man must be the rumored First Prince.’

As Henrique speculated about the young man’s identity, Pedro, Henrique’s closest aide, stepped forward to introduce Henrique.

“This is Prince Henrique of Portugal, Duke of Viseu, Commander of the Order of Christ, and uncle to His Majesty the King (Infante Dom Henrique de Avis, Duque de Viseu, Regina Castelle et Legionis, Dux quoque milites Christi, Regis avunculi sui).”

The interpreter, who had been contemplating Pedro’s lengthy introduction and its many titles, informed Sejong.

“He is Henrique de Avis, Prince of Portugal and uncle of the King.”

“Is that so?”

Sejong, with a slightly puzzled expression at the interpreter’s considerably shortened words, inquired again.

“But a prince? Is he a Grand Prince [a prince of higher rank]?”

Hyang answered immediately to Sejong’s words.

“Grand Prince seems to be the most appropriate equivalent.”

Sejong nodded slightly at Hyang’s words and introduced himself.

“Tell them that I am the King of Joseon.”

“Yes.”

The interpreter immediately translated Sejong’s statement into Latin.

“He is the Great King of the Great Joseon Kingdom (Ipse est magnus, rex magnus Joseon regnum).”

This introduction was Hyang’s doing.

The interpreter, who was hearing this sentence for the first time, looked at Hyang with a puzzled face.

“Your Highness, adding the word ‘Great’ and using the word ‘Majesty’ may cause issues with the suzerain state [Ming China].”

“Will there be anyone from Ming China at the meeting with the Portuguese?”

“No.”

“Then, how would Ming China know?”

The interpreter nodded immediately at Hyang’s words.

“Ah! That’s right! Then there’s no problem! Rather, this is how it should be! We don’t need to be looked down upon by those Westerners!”

“That’s right!”

* * *

Henrique’s face stiffened slightly at the introduction that did not reveal the name and only said ‘King,’ but he quickly composed himself.

‘I heard that there are countries that revere the king’s name and do not reveal it carelessly. This country seems to be like that.’

After that, greetings and introductions continued in accordance with the etiquette of both sides.

As the slightly tedious introductory procedure came to an end, Sejong immediately got to the point.

“What is the reason that someone in such a high position as Grand Prince has come all the way to Joseon?”

At Sejong’s question, Henrique smiled and replied.

“I have purchased many Joseon products through Alexandria. I was greatly impressed by the excellent technology, quality, and beauty. So, I have always dreamed of visiting Joseon, and I finally had the opportunity to come this time.”

“What do you think now that you are here?”

“It is a truly beautiful country. The nature is beautiful, and especially, the people of Joseon, young and old, all have smiles on their faces, so it is truly beautiful. Isn’t the sight of people always smiling the world that rulers dream of?”

The last words held Henrique’s genuine sincerity.

Sejong, who sympathized with Henrique’s words, nodded.

“That’s right. Making the people live in peace is what a monarch must do.”

“That’s right.”

The atmosphere remained consistently amicable.

Henrique, holding a coffee cup brought by a eunuch, savored the aroma of the coffee with a delighted expression.

“I didn’t expect to find coffee here.”

“It’s been introduced for quite some time, and more and more people are enjoying it.”

* * *

As Sejong said, the number of people enjoying coffee was gradually increasing, centered on Hanseong [the capital city of Joseon]. At first, the main consumers were officials who worked late into the night, but before long, it became a familiar drink to the general public, not just the upper class.

“Well, it’s been over 10 years since it was introduced….”

Hyang scratched his head while reviewing the report.

“But, they like it *too* much, right? As someone said, is the love of coffee engraved at the DNA level?”

Saying that to himself, Hyang looked at other parts of the report.

“Soon, a tearoom selling only black bean tea may appear? Then, a ‘chatterbox’ [a place for conversation]? Hmm…. How should I write the Chinese characters….”

Hyang was lost in imagination and straying off track again.

* * *

Henrique, who had been delighted with the coffee and held the cup tightly, suddenly looked at the coffee cup with surprised eyes.

“This cup is…?”

The coffee cup, which emitted a clear milky white luster with a warm color, was surprisingly thin.

Sejong, who saw Henrique unable to take his eyes off the coffee cup, smiled slightly and asked.

“Do you like the teacup?”

“It’s truly beautiful. And this is the first time I’ve seen such a thin porcelain cup.”

“We just started making it recently.”

“Is that so?”

At Sejong’s question, Henrique fixed his gaze on the teacup again.

‘This is money!’

And Kim Jeom and Hyang, who were sitting on one side watching the meeting, began to look at each other with greedy eyes.

‘It was worth spending money on the kiln!’

‘That’s right! If you can’t recognize *that*, you’re blind!’

* * *

‘Now that I have a kiln with good firepower!’

Hyang, who had completed a kiln that could produce much higher temperatures than existing ones, couldn’t be satisfied with just carbide [a type of material].

“What would be good…. There was definitely something….”

Hyang seriously pondered the use of the newly developed kiln.

“Metal refining is basic, so there’s no need to mention it…. There was something, I definitely saw it somewhere….”

As he was worrying, Hyang grabbed a teacup to clear his head. The moment he put the teacup to his mouth, Hyang jumped up from his seat.

“This is it!”

Hyang, who had the idea for ‘Bone China’ or ‘Bone Ash Porcelain,’ soon called the potters and began experimenting.

“Mix in the powder of burnt cow bones?”

The potters, who were initially skeptical, began to work more enthusiastically than Hyang as decent results began to appear little by little.

In a way, potters were close to artists. The potters, who realized that they were making materials that could get closer to the best ceramics they had dreamed of, enthusiastically devoted themselves to the experiment.

As a result of the enthusiastic work of the best experts in ceramics – regardless of manufacturing method and materials – satisfactory results came out a year before Prince Henrique arrived in Joseon.

“Then, let’s mass-produce it!”

“Mass production, you say?”

When Hyang mentioned mass production, the potters had slightly dumbfounded expressions. They didn’t like the idea of making dishes to be mass-produced with these good materials.

“Shouldn’t we spread these good things widely?”

That’s how bone ash porcelain was made in three grades:

Something that ordinary people can buy if they save up a little and spend more money.

Something that ordinary people have to save up a lot to buy.

Something that only really rich people can buy.

The number of flower decorations was determined according to the grade.

And Kim Jeom, who heard the results and pricing policy made in this way, immediately called the Minister of Finance and the managers and ordered.

“Open the vault!”

As an aside, Hyang had to worry just before deciding on mass production.

It was because of the supply problem of bone powder that goes into bone ash porcelain.

“Can we get enough cow bones?”

Hyang, who was full of worries, soon ordered the managers to investigate how many cows and pigs were slaughtered in Joseon.

And Hyang shook his head when he received the results.

“These meat addicts!”

More cows and pigs than he had imagined were slaughtered and served on the people’s tables.

“Such consumption in an era without refrigerators!”

* * *

“Are you going to sell this too?”

At Henrique’s question, Sejong answered immediately.

“It has excellent value as a product, and it can spread the name of our Joseon more widely with its beauty, so shouldn’t we sell it?”

At Sejong’s answer, Henrique immediately made a suggestion.

“Our Portugal wants to have a monopoly.”

However, Sejong shook his head at Henrique’s suggestion.

“That’s not possible. I have already promised to supply it to the Mansour Trading Company in Arabia. Therefore, we can sell it separately, but a monopoly is not possible, because I promised in the name of the king.”

“That’s a shame.”

Henrique couldn’t hide his disappointment, but he quickly corrected his expression.

“Then, if we pay the right price, will you sell it to us?”

“Isn’t that obvious? Within the quantity that our Joseon can sell, we will sell it to Mansour’s trading company or Portugal at the same price.”

“Thank you so much!”

Henrique expressed his gratitude sincerely.

“And, since it is not appropriate to talk about business in this place, let’s discuss that part with the working-level people later.”

“I understand.”

Henrique immediately accepted Sejong’s decision. It was an unplanned opportunity that arose because of that teacup. It was not appropriate for himself, a prince, and Sejong, a king, to talk directly and make decisions about such matters.

The aides who heard Henrique’s decision looked at each other with ambition.

‘This is an opportunity!’

‘If this goes well, we can gain more wealth and power!’

The aides, burning with ambition, did not notice Kim Jeom and the Minister of Finance smiling faintly.

‘Welcome! Let’s have a pleasant consultation time!’

* * *

As a postscript, bone ash porcelain, which entered Europe and the Middle East through Mansour and Portugal, was a huge hit.

After Joseon’s porcelains entered Alexandria through Mansour, there was a perception that Joseon was the best, unconditionally.

In that situation, as bone ash porcelain entered the market, the word for porcelain became synonymous with ‘Joseon.’ And bone ash porcelain was called ‘Bone Joseon’ instead of ‘Bone China’.

In the history before Hyang intervened, the word for porcelain was ‘China’, but bone ash porcelain changed that to Joseon.

And, in later years, a fierce debate broke out between China and Korea over this notation.

“The origin of porcelain is ours!”

“Are there only one or two countries that made earthenware? These guys claim that everything is their origin as soon as something comes out!”

“Earthenware and porcelain are different! You learned porcelain technology from us!”

“So what? Who were the guys who went crazy and bought Goryeo [ancient Korean kingdom] porcelain when they had the chance?”

“Anyway, it’s wrong to call porcelain Joseon! We have to change it!”

“Why are you yelling at us when Europeans want to call it that? If you were going to make it, you should have made it properly!”

And Japan couldn’t even join in such a debate.

* * *

As the meeting was drawing to a close, Hyang joined the conversation.

“Father, may I have a word with them for a moment?”

“I allow it.”

“Thank you.”

Hyang, who received Sejong’s permission, asked Henrique.

“I heard that there are Western monks among the group you came with. Where are they now?”