Black Corporation: Joseon [EN]: Chapter 611

611. Inauguration and Abdication (4)

Enrique and his group watched Angelo’s expression, then glanced at the other monks.

The moment the word ‘Challenge Log’ came out, their faces lit up, and their eyes showed a strong will.

“Huh…”

“Brother Giovanni, what exactly is this Challenge Log?”

Brother Giovanni answered Giovanni’s question.

“It is a collection of many challenges encountered while conducting various studies in the research center and Area 51. When these challenges are solved, the records are uploaded to the Response Log. The wish of those working in the research center and Area 51 is to have their names on the Challenge Log and Response Log. That is a symbol of being one step ahead of others. If you are not ahead of others, you cannot find the challenges first, nor can you find the answers.”

“What is Area 51?”

“You can think of it as a workshop directly under the Crown Prince. However, it is not just a simple workshop. Things that were expressed only in numbers and letters in the research center come out as tangible objects that everyone can see in Area 51. The iron horses [early cars] that the nobles ride and the steam engines were all made in Area 51.”

Giovanni’s answer made Enrique and his group’s eyes shine with greed.

“If we want to inspect that place, can we enter?”

Angelo shook his head at Giovanni’s question.

“Area 51 is a place where even Joseon officials cannot enter without a permit.”

Enrique and his group could not hide their disappointment at Angelo’s answer. However, Giovanni, who could not easily give up, continued to ask questions.

“Then, can we obtain the Challenge Log and Response Log?”

“That is impossible. When a new challenge is listed in the Challenge Log, or when something is listed in the Response Log, related content is posted on the bulletin board. What we can see is only the list of the Challenge Log. If you request an item from the challenge you want to study from that list, the managers who manage the Challenge Log and Response Log will transcribe only that part and bring it to you. Very few have seen the original copies of the Challenge Log and Response Log.”

“Wouldn’t it be possible to complete the Challenge Log by collecting those copied pieces?”

“There is a complete record of who requested what and copied it. Such petty tricks will not work.”

“Hoo…”

Giovanni, whose stomach was getting stuffy from the continuous negative answers, took a long sigh.

Giovanni, who emptied his glass several times to soothe his stomach, asked Angelo again.

“Are you really not coming back to Florence?”

“I have already given you the answer to that, haven’t I?”

“Yes, that’s right. Hoo…”

Giovanni sighed again at Angelo’s answer.

‘It would be possible to borrow the power of the Vatican. But the moment they return, all sorts of jackals will flock from all directions. There are such jackals right next to me now.’

Enrique and Mehmed II, who were sitting right next to him, were also looking at the monks with greedy eyes.

And Mehmed II revealed his intentions.

“Then, let me make a suggestion. If returning to Italy is a problem, how about coming to me? If there are any necessary facilities or personnel, I will support them all. You need a research center and Area 51? I will build them exactly as they are. If you want wealth and women, I will give them all to you. You only need to do research here, just like you do here. The only condition I require is that you break your vows. Of course, I am not telling you to abandon your faith. I am only asking you to shed the shell of a monk. If you are not a monk, you can escape the shackles of missionary work, right? Then you are not breaking the promise you made with the Prince of Joseon, are you? What do you think?”

Enrique and Giovanni looked at Mehmed II with surprise and worry at Mehmed II’s suggestion.

They were surprised by the unconventional proposal made in their presence and the boldness of building the research center and Area 51 as they were, and they were worried that the monks might accept the condition.

“What do you think?”

At Mehmed II’s urging, Angelo asked Mehmed II.

“Can you really support everything?”

“I promise in the name of Allah.”

“Can you give us 30 years?”

Mehmed II, who paused for a moment at Angelo’s question, nodded with a firm face.

“30 years… I will wait.”

“No, I am not talking about the next 30 years, but the past 30 years.”

“Are you playing games with me now!”

Mehmed II shouted, but Angelo answered with a calm face.

“I heard that it has already been nearly 30 years since the Prince of Joseon established the research center and Area 51. Can you support all the knowledge and technology accumulated in the research center and Area 51 during that time, and the scholars and artisans who studied it? We sitting in this place only know a part of what has been accumulated. However, what the nobles want from us is all that has been accumulated over that long period of time.”

“Ah…”

Angelo’s answer made Mehmed II look like he had taken a hit. However, he did not easily back down.

‘I must get them! Otherwise, I will have to keep being dragged to Joseon!’

“Can’t you get some results with just you now? No, if necessary, I will support everything so that Joseon people who can help you can move with you. Just tell me! If necessary, I will give you even gold enough to fill this entire room I am sitting in!”

“If you mean Joseon people who can help, you need the Joseon royal family, no, the First Prince of Joseon. He is the one who established and led the research center and Area 51, and almost 80% of the challenges listed in the Challenge Log came from his intellectual property.”

Mehmed II shook his head at Angelo’s answer.

“That’s a complete rejection. What about the others?”

He asked, holding onto a faint hope, but the expressions of the young monks were the same as Angelo’s.

Enrique and his group had to wave the white flag when they saw the expressions of those monks.

* * *

“I think you have seen everything you need to see, so I will leave.”

Before long, the monks left the brothel. The expressions of the monks leaving the brothel and Enrique’s group who saw them off were not very good.

For the monks, it was an unpleasant situation because it was not a simple congratulatory meeting but a blatant attempt at persuasion, and Enrique’s group was uncomfortable because they felt like they had seen the hidden power of Joseon, along with the displeasure brought about by the monks’ strong denial.

Enrique, who had escorted the monks and returned to his seat, emptied his glass and sighed.

“Hoo~. If it weren’t for the fact that they are monks, they would be so stubborn…”

Giovanni shook his head at Enrique’s words.

“They are stubborn, but isn’t there no place where they can study as comfortably as here?”

Enrique nodded at Giovanni’s point, and Mehmed II felt a burning frustration.

“I hope you will exclude Islam.”

Enrique and Giovanni sneered at Mehmed II’s words.

“Humph! Do you think we don’t have ears to hear?”

Like Enrique and Giovanni said, Islamic science was in great decline at this time. In the early days of Islamic civilization, scholarship and science flourished as various cultures such as Persia, India, Greece, and Rome mixed. However, as time passed and it became fixed as a single Islamic culture, it lost its diversity and openness, which led to the decline of scholarship and science.

Thanks to this, the scientific level of Islamic countries now was about the same as that of Europe.

Enrique and his group, who had exchanged blows with each other, continued to complain while sharing drinks.

“Joseon’s monopoly like now is not a good situation.”

“I agree. But there is no clear answer. There is no answer…”

“There is an answer. If we send international students…”

Enrique, who was mentioning ‘international students,’ stopped talking and shook his head.

“It won’t work. The Vatican will be in an uproar right away.”

“That is the same for Islam. The imams will be in an uproar…”

Mehmed II’s complaints continued, and the group emptied their glasses repeatedly.

It was Giovanni who came to a conclusion.

“In the end, the only answer is to win this war.”

“Victory is the answer?”

“After winning the war and gaining control of the passage, we must lay railroads or canals so that those fools can see the true nature of Joseon. So, we must make them realize that they are in the same situation as the barbarians who encountered the Roman Empire. Only then can we stop the nonsense about heresy.”

“That’s right…”

“That must be the answer.”

The three people came to the conclusion that ‘only victory is the best solution’.

* * *

Meanwhile, the content of the conversation between the three and the monks through the interpreter’s eavesdropping was delivered to Sejong and Hyang.

“What do you think?”

At Sejong’s question, the eyes and ears of the officials were focused on Hyang.

After thinking for a moment, Hyang soon told Sejong his thoughts.

“If they win the war, we must accept international students.”

“International students?”

“Yes.”

At Hyang’s answer, Hwang Hee carefully asked.

“If we are not careful, the essence of the research center and Area 51 may leak out.”

“We must share it to the point where they can follow to some extent, even if it is not at that high level.”

“What is the reason?”

Hyang explained the reason for Sejong’s question.

“They are aware that our Joseon is ahead and are trying to catch up. However, in the current situation, it is a distant matter. If this continues, it will cause jealousy, and the jealousy it causes will cause hatred. As a rule, there is no more foolish act in a country’s diplomacy than increasing enemies, is there?”

‘Just like a certain country that called itself a great power in the 21st century.’

Sejong nodded at Hyang’s words, but did not forget to point out the problem.

“But no matter how much we block it, the essence can leak out.”

“I think we need to adjust that appropriately. Competition is necessary. Monopoly will bring arrogance, and arrogance will lead to conceit, and conceit will lead to regression.”

“Are you trying to create a competitor on purpose? Isn’t it too dangerous?”

“There are already two competitors. Ming and Wa [Japan], right? Then we must create a situation where a large number of people compete. If we do so, we can not only take methods of mutual conflict, but also continue to stimulate us, so it is a good move.”

‘If we are not careful, we may become Galapagos Korea [isolated and behind the rest of the world]. We must avoid that.’

“Hmm…”

Sejong was lost in thought at Hyang’s explanation, and Hwang Hee stepped forward to raise an objection.

“What the Crown Prince said is truly beautiful, but it is too idealistic. What the Crown Prince said now is not a story for the next 10 to 20 years, but a story that penetrates at least 100 to 200 years. If our descendants do not know the meaning of what the Crown Prince has in mind, they will suffer great harm.”

Hyang answered firmly to Hwang Hee’s point.

“Of course, that could happen. However, even if we take that risk, competition is essential. If we do not constantly train ourselves while looking around, the coldness of history is that we will eventually go to ruin. In this ruthless world of the law of the jungle, where the winner takes all, shouldn’t we use all the numbers we can to continue the survival of our Joseon, no, the Korean Empire? That way, we won’t hear people cursing our ancestors later, will we? Rather, we should say this. There, historians and scribes.”

“Yes?”

Hyang, who called the historians and scribes, said in one breath.

“Record exactly what I said now. ‘We did our best for future generations. If you guys screw up, it’s because you’re stupid, not because of us.'”

The historians and scribes all looked at Sejong at Hyang’s unconventional words.

It was the duty of the historians and scribes to record all the words that were exchanged in this place without missing a single one, but the extent of what Hyang said now crossed the line.

Sejong, who received a silent question from the historians and scribes, put his hand on his forehead and answered.

“Record it as it is.”

At Sejong’s order, the historians and scribes diligently moved their golden pens.