Black Corporation: Joseon [EN]: Chapter 736

736. Dagger (6)

In Shinji, Hyang was incredibly busy creating various plans targeting Europe and addressing numerous requests from the mainland.

“This isn’t what I had in mind…”

Hyang frowned, looking at the reports and approval documents that showed no sign of decreasing.

Initially, Hyang’s plan was as follows:

– Given Supreme Emperor Sejong’s personality, he would have laid a solid foundation over more than 10 years.

– Then, I could just go to Shinji, make some upgrades, and focus on my hobbies.

– Variables? Just solve them with improvisation.

– Manpower issues? There are natives, aren’t there? Like Sejong showed, using Hunminjeongeum [the Korean alphabet], various incentives, and appropriate discipline can quickly solve the problem.

– Conclusion: A little hardship at the beginning, and then it’s smooth sailing!

This wasn’t just Hyang’s wishful thinking.

According to Sejong’s reports from Shinji, he had indeed laid a solid foundation.

Not only Sejong’s reports but also various other records—material request forms, troop support request forms, etc.—confirmed that a solid foundation had been established in Shinji.

Therefore, Hyang was confident in the success of the plan, having selected and brought a large number of personnel—especially naval personnel—necessary for smooth upgrades.

However, the reality Hyang faced upon arriving in Shinji was simple:

– Dreams are dreams because they are dreams.

Hyang sighed, placing a hand on his forehead.

“Hoo~. I’m such an idiot for forgetting what kind of land Shinji was in the first place, and that this is a time without computers…”

It was Hyang’s mistake to overlook the fact that Shinji was the size of a continent and that everything had to be done manually.

The plan to educate the natives of Shinji and utilize them as human resources was successful.

The problem was that even with all the talent they recruited, it was still overwhelming to properly manage this vast Shinji.

In the end, there was only one viable solution to solve this:

– Accept people from Europe.

– However, accept them only as individuals or units, not as entire nations.

“And to make this successful, we must complete the sea defense and seize Gibraltar…”

Hyang sighed, placing a hand on his forehead as he summarized the situation.

“Hoo~. Is this a never-ending loop…”

Although he sighed and despaired, Hyang didn’t give up there.

“Think about the times you tried to get limited edition goods! A true fan never gives up! Let’s go!”

Hyang, burning with renewed determination, wrestled with the documents once more.

* * *

While Hyang was struggling in Shinji, Europe began to grow wary of the Empire in another location.

The place where Europe began to be wary of the Empire was Suez.

By taking on the task of laying railroads in Suez, the Empire acquired the right to build a port where the Imperial Navy could be stationed through an additional treaty.

Accordingly, the Imperial Navy moved swiftly.

Along with the engineers in charge of the railroad construction, engineers from the Imperial Joint Construction Corps arrived.

* * *

Among the things the Empire created, operated, and used, many were considered timeless.

And among those things, there were various laws and systems.

The appointment of women to management positions, guaranteed maternity leave, and pro-natal policies were representative examples, and the Imperial Joint Construction Corps was one of them.

– Responsible for the construction, maintenance, and repair of various buildings and facilities needed by the Imperial Army.

This was the purpose for which the Imperial Joint Construction Corps was created.

Regardless of whether it was the Imperial Army or Navy, all buildings and facilities needed in places bearing the name of the Imperial Army were invariably built by the Imperial Joint Construction Corps.

By managing construction and operation, which had been done haphazardly, in one place, efficiency increased and costs were reduced.

Interestingly, the one who proposed the creation of the Imperial Joint Construction Corps was not Hyang but Wan.

To be precise, it was the work of the Wan Dusul brothers.

Du and Sul had hoped to enter the military and walk the path of soldiers defending the front lines, but due to their status as princes, they had no choice but to be placed in the budget department of the Ministry of National Defense instead of the front lines.

Having waged war not against external enemies but against numbers, the brothers soon became experts in budget-related matters.

And while investigating the large-scale embezzlement that occurred during the First Joseon-Ming War, Du and Sul keenly felt the problem of budget waste.

To find a permanent solution to this, Du and Sul sought out Wan, and the three brothers put their heads together to study the solution.

What came out of it was the Imperial Joint Construction Corps.

– Facilities are where a large amount of budget is consistently consumed, both in wartime and peacetime.

– Looking at the current situation, the Army and Navy are operating separately.

– Of course, the Army and Navy have very different characteristics, so this may be unavoidable. However, there are many commonalities as well.

– However, operating separately not only leads to laxity but also reveals the problem of budget waste.

– Therefore, create a specialized organization to construct and manage the buildings and facilities of the entire Imperial Army, including the Army and Navy.

Wan’s proposal, based on this framework, was immediately accepted.

The Imperial Joint Construction Corps moved quickly as soon as it was created. Not only did it gather talent from the Army and Navy who had extensive experience in architecture and civil engineering, but it also had engineering units under its command, combining theoretical and practical skills.

As a side note, the Imperial Joint Construction Corps was where the most coveted talent among civilian construction companies gathered.

* * *

The engineers of the Imperial Joint Construction Corps who arrived in Suez moved diligently.

After thoroughly surveying the Suez Bay, the engineers found a suitable location nearby with a water source and not too far from or too close to the existing port.

“I would like to build a naval port here. Would that be alright?”

At the request of the Imperial administrator, the representatives of the alliance checked the location and held a separate meeting.

“What do you think?”

“It seems fine.”

“I agree.”

Having reached an agreement, the representatives of the alliance immediately accepted, and the Imperial Joint Construction Corps called in the engineering units and began construction immediately.

Seeing the personnel arriving to build the naval port, the representatives of the alliance asked the Imperial administrator.

“How long will the construction take?”

“We expect it to take two years.”

“Two years?”

The representatives of the alliance all wore puzzled expressions at the answer of ‘two years.’

Later, the representatives of the alliance, having gathered among themselves, discussed this construction period.

“Two years? What on earth are they building?”

“It’s too long to see it as simply building a port, and it’s too short to see it as building military facilities.”

“I agree.”

The construction period was incomprehensible to the common sense of the alliance representatives.

Two years was too short a period to build a proper base with adequate defense facilities, not just a temporary garrison.

“I have no idea what kind of building they are trying to make…”

“I agree.”

* * *

As the construction corps personnel began construction in earnest, the representatives of the alliance were able to resolve their doubts.

“So that’s how Cementum [a type of concrete] can be used.”

“A combination of Cementum and iron bars… interesting.”

“To think of making bricks with Cementum, how amusing…”

Watching the Imperials raise buildings and walls using large amounts of lime ash and rebar, the representatives of the alliance wore expressions as if they were watching an interesting spectacle.

However, as the fortress defending the naval port gradually took shape, the expressions of the alliance military commanders changed ominously.

“It looks more difficult than the triple walls of that damn Constantinople…”

At the words of the Ottoman military commander, the alliance military commanders around him looked at him with surprised faces.

“Have you ever seen the triple walls of Constantinople?”

At the question of the Portuguese military commander, the Ottoman military commander replied with an indifferent expression.

“I barely survived trying to cross those walls.”

“Ah…”

The military commanders of Portugal, France, and Florence looked back at the Ottoman military commander with meaningful eyes.

Ottoman had made a truce with the Eastern Roman Empire to focus on the war over Suez.

However, now that they had occupied Suez, it was an open secret that Ottoman was once again aiming for the Eastern Roman Empire.

‘Those guys from Ottoman are still worrying about how to get over those triple walls, and he says it’s more difficult than those triple walls?’

The alliance commanders, pondering the words of the Ottoman military commander, once again carefully observed the wall in question.

The alliance commanders, who observed the walls whenever they had a chance and studied how to attack them, soon came to understand what the Ottoman military commander had said.

The alliance military commanders, staring at the sketched plan of the Imperial fortress they had drawn through their observations, cursed.

“Damn it…”

“I agree.”

While the Portuguese and Florentine commanders were grumbling, the French commander expressed his impressions poetically.

“It is a wall that properly embodies the malice to kill the enemy. No, it should be seen as the sum of all evil (summa malae voluntatis) [Latin for ‘the height of bad intentions’].”

All the commanders present nodded at the words of the French commander.

“What do you think is the best way to attack that wall?”

At the question of the French military commander, the Florentine military commander smiled wryly and replied.

“It seems easier to make my spies get along than to attack that wall.”

“Pfft!”

“Puhut!”

Light laughter erupted at the sudden joke, but the commanders’ faces immediately turned serious.

Although it was a joke, it meant that it seemed impossible.

The Florentine military commander continued.

“Looking at the shape of the wall, it is optimally arranged to unleash crossfires. In addition, looking at the placement of the moat and the embankment, it is difficult to push a large number of troops at once. The conclusion is that the attacker will only waste troops with piecemeal attacks and piecemeal consumption.”

“What if we bombard it?”

“With those thick walls, ordinary cannons won’t even make a scratch.”

“Are there any cannons that can put that wall within range? The embankment and moat are in the way to get close, and if you stay far away, it’s right by the sea…”

“The power of the cannons carried on warships is not enough…”

“Hoo~.”

The commanders, who were studying the attack method, all sighed.

However, they were all thinking similar things inside.

‘I need to send a report to the home country. If we reinforce the castle in that format, it will be the best means of defense.’

It was Hyang’s butterfly effect.

The star fort, which had slowly begun to appear with the start of the Italian War in 1494 in the history before Hyang’s intervention, was now appearing nearly 30 years earlier.

If it had only been up to this point, the Empire would not have become the target of Europe’s vigilance.

However, the allied military commanders stationed in Suez were people with abundant practical experience.

It wasn’t long before they realized an even more terrifying fact.

“Wait… The Imperials must know that we are observing them. But they showed it to us openly? That means they have a way to break or attack that wall!”