Black Corporation: Joseon [EN]: Chapter 744

744. Generational Shift (2)

While Louis XI was ascending the throne in France, dreaming of ‘Imperialization,’ England, its arch-rival, also experienced a change in its monarchy.

* * *

The Lancaster dynasty, established by Henry IV after he ousted Richard II, had its glory significantly diminished by the time Henry VI, the king who lost the Hundred Years’ War, was in power.

To restore the authority that had plummeted due to the defeat in the Hundred Years’ War, Henry VI blamed the House of York, who had served as regents, for the loss.

In response, Richard, Duke of York and head of the House of York, argued that the defeat wasn’t his fault but rather due to Henry VI and his advisors failing to provide adequate support.

As tensions escalated, the Duke of York and the House of York began to contemplate rebellion.

They had a legitimate claim.

When Richard II died, the rightful heir to the throne was Edmund Mortimer.

However, Henry IV argued that since Richard II had no children, the right to succession should naturally pass to his male relatives.

But, if the throne had passed to Edmund Mortimer as originally intended, it would have then passed to Richard, Duke of York.

Based on this claim, the War of the Roses, a civil war between the Houses of York and Lancaster, began.

In the ensuing battles, Edward, Earl of March and son of Richard, Duke of York, emerged victorious and became King Edward IV of England.

Edward IV had seized the throne after a bloody struggle, but the conflict was far from over.

Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick, who had been his greatest supporter in ascending the throne, became his most formidable adversary.

* * *

Interestingly, the biggest reason Edward IV and Richard Neville became adversaries was, indirectly, the Empire [referring to the Holy Roman Empire and its influence].

Edward IV desired a strong monarchy, much like the Emperor of the Empire.

To establish such a powerful monarchy, he felt he had to eliminate Richard Neville’s influence.

Richard Neville was also influenced by the concept of a strong central power, though not directly by the Empire itself.

The person who influenced him the most was the Duke of Braganza of Portugal. The Portuguese royal court was known for its centralized power.

-All power was concentrated in the king, but it was the Duke of Braganza, the chancellor, who effectively controlled the king.

Richard Neville wanted to have the same position as this Duke of Braganza.

“I am the master of England! Not Neville!”

This was Edward IV’s thought, while Richard Neville’s thought was different.

“Edward? A guy with nothing but a handsome face! Oh! He’s a bit of a fighter. But other than that, he’s a useless fellow who only chases after alcohol and women! Who does he think put the crown on his head!”

Of course, Edward IV was well aware that his power was weaker than Richard Neville’s, so he worked to rectify this imbalance.

Using his appearance and charm, which Richard Neville himself acknowledged, Edward IV began to consolidate his power.

Despite disliking each other, their alliance continued.

This was because members of the House of Lancaster still posed a threat.

Since it was a war fought for the survival of their houses, they couldn’t afford to show leniency to the defeated.

Therefore, despite their discord, Edward IV and Richard Neville joined forces and devoted themselves to suppressing the House of Lancaster.

It was a collaboration destined to end in disaster.

* * *

“It’s going to be difficult if we only rely on nobles.”

Edward IV analyzed his situation as calmly as possible. In his judgment, relying solely on nobles to increase his power had both advantages and disadvantages.

The advantage was that he would quickly and easily increase his power and gain strong influence.

However, the disadvantage was that he would have to share his power. There was no telling when another Richard Neville might emerge.

“Then, should I get the freemen on my side….”

Edward IV had the freemen in mind. Of course, the freemen he was thinking of were only those in the cities. The serfs belonging to rural manors were not considered freemen.

The freemen engaged in commerce and industry in steadily growing cities like London were beginning to possess increasingly strong economic power.

If he addressed their needs and won them over, they would surely be the strongest weapon against the nobles and a strong shield to protect him.

Edward IV, contemplating how to win over the freemen, sighed softly.

“Is the problem still money?”

To bring the freemen to his side, the best way was to introduce aspects of the imperial system [referring to the Holy Roman Empire’s administrative practices].

Cities like London had many problems due to poor sanitation. As a result, epidemics broke out frequently, and large fires caused great damage.

If the Empire’s public health and disaster prevention systems were introduced to these cities, the freemen would certainly support him enthusiastically.

However, this was a costly undertaking.

England’s finances were in shambles due to the aftermath of the recent civil war and the Hundred Years’ War.

In this situation, introducing a system that required large-scale financial expenditure would likely provoke complaints.

“How can I….”

Tired of searching for the best way, Edward IV turned his gaze around to clear his head.

As he looked around, the imperial gold pen caught his eye.

Holding the gold pen in his hand, Edward IV looked at the map hanging on the wall. Staring blankly at the map, Edward IV quietly muttered.

“We need a place like Calais.”

In the Hundred Years’ War, England had lost most of its territories in France, but it had defended Calais to the end.

Through Calais, English wool was exported to the city-states of Italy, and Italian city-states such as Florence were using this wool to create their famous textiles and export them.

Thanks to this, England was covering about 35% of its financial needs with Calais alone.

Therefore, Edward IV thought that he needed another trading port like Calais.

However, before long, Edward IV sighed.

“Hoo~ The good places are already taken.”

As he said, the strategic locations in Europe were already controlled by other powers.

“We need another way….”

Edward IV pondered how to solve the financial problems, achieve successful ‘Imperialization,’ and build a solid foundation based on this.

As he pondered, Edward IV looked at the map again. Looking at the Mediterranean region, Edward IV muttered, staring at Suez.

“Is there a way to get involved in that?”

* * *

While England and France were undergoing various changes as their kings changed, Waeguk (Japan) was also moving busily.

Imperial Era 6 (1454).

Ōuchi Mochiyo, who made the Ōuchi clan the dominant force in Japan, died.

He was 60 years old.

With the death of Ōuchi Mochiyo, Ōuchi Norihiro, the posthumous son of Ōuchi Morimi, took over the government.

“Following the will of our predecessors, we will make Japan a powerful nation!”

With this slogan, Ōuchi Norihiro more proactively sought to transform Waeguk.

“We must engage in trade! We cannot escape poverty if we only export cotton!”

In accordance with Norihiro’s order to actively pursue foreign trade, the officials of the shogunate prepared to engage in trade.

However, the officials sighed at the grim reality.

“Our products are far too inferior compared to those of the Empire and Ming….”

“Just as I expected….”

The officials of the shogunate lamented the poor quality of their country’s goods.

“It is best to focus on cotton and raw silk as our main exports.”

Norihiro frowned upon receiving the officials’ report.

“Isn’t the profit margin from cotton and raw silk small? And cotton is a crop whose yield decreases greatly even with a slight change in the weather, and so is raw silk. Are you suggesting that we should make these our primary trading products? Does that seem reasonable to you?”

The officials prostrated themselves at Norihiro’s rebuke. However, even in that humble position, they spoke of the harsh reality.

“That is true, but the quality of our manufactured goods is simply too poor.”

“The quality is too poor compared to what the Empire and Ming produce and sell.”

Norihiro’s expression became serious at the officials’ words.

“We brought many artisans from Ming during the last war. And there are more than a few who have learned and mastered from them, but is that still the case?”

“Of course, we brought many artisans, but most of them specialized in steam engines and weapon manufacturing….”

“Oh….”

Norihiro stopped talking at the officials’ answer.

* * *

In the last war, Ōuchi brought in a large number of artisans from Ming [referring to the Ming Dynasty of China].

Ōuchi, having brought in the artisans, actively worked to integrate them into their society, sometimes through coercion, sometimes by offering them wives. Eventually, the artisans began to cooperate with Ōuchi.

Once the artisans were settled, Ōuchi moved on to the next step. They selected artisans within their territory and boys who showed promise and had them trained by the Ming artisans.

Through such efforts, Waeguk secured a skilled technical workforce and began to focus on the development of steam engines and gunpowder weapons.

And there was more.

In the last war, the Empire had a significant number of weapons captured by Ming, and Ming carefully examined these weapons and improved their own. [The Empire refers to the Holy Roman Empire]

Ōuchi, who had learned of this, bribed officials to steal the Empire’s weapons from Ming. Then, they thoroughly analyzed the stolen weapons alongside the weapons the Empire had sold them, comparing them.

And when they began producing their own cannons and artillery, the Empire sold them a large number of Eul-sik long rifles [likely a fictional weapon, but implying advanced technology].

The Eul-sik long rifle had overwhelming performance compared to the long rifles they possessed, so Ōuchi invested heavily to acquire a large number of them.

And Waeguk was once again ensnared by the Empire.

This was because of the bullets used in the Eul-sik long rifles and Hwacha [Korean rocket artillery].

Waeguk’s technology had advanced considerably, but they still lacked the technology to mass-produce copper casings and manufacture primers.

The Ōuchi shogunate made efforts both overtly and covertly to obtain these technologies. However, even if the casing forming technology was attainable, the manufacturing method of fulminate of mercury, used in the primer, remained a closely guarded secret.

“Everyone will know someday, but we’ll hold out as long as possible!”

In accordance with this decision, the Empire tried to prevent technology leakage as much as possible. And to this end, many secret service agents disappeared into the shadows.

* * *

“Hmm….”

Pondering this and that with a folding fan in his hand, Norihiro found a solution.

“Let’s sell weapons.”

“Yes?”

“The weapons we make are inferior to the Empire’s weapons, but they are on par with those made by Ming. Aren’t they?”

“They are on par with Ming.”

“The countries in the South also want the Empire’s weapons. However, the Empire’s weapons are expensive and they don’t sell them readily. Let’s sell them the weapons we make. If we sell them a little cheaper than what the Ming Dynasty makes, they will sell well.”

“Ah!”

In this way, Waeguk began to sell weapons to various countries and sultanates in the South.

It was, so to speak, targeting a niche market.