Black Corporation: Joseon [EN]: Chapter 887

887. Prelude (2)

The Empire’s monopoly on Livorno and its railways wasn’t solely for military reasons.

As mentioned earlier, the number of merchants using the port of Livorno continued to increase.

Consequently, the Empire constructed numerous warehouses in the port and profited handsomely from warehousing.

It wasn’t just warehouses, though.

The process of loading and unloading cargo from ships, moving it to warehouses, from warehouses to stations, and then loading it onto freight cars, all required a significant workforce.

The Empire, notably, did not recognize the use of slaves.

Thanks to firmly establishing this principle from the outset, many people were employed as laborers.

The population of Livorno, which was around 400 when the port was first established, had grown to nearly 10,000.

This figure excludes the Imperials residing in the Imperial residential area and a small number of Italians.

As the number of residents in Livorno rapidly increased, the officials of Florence requested assistance from the Imperial Embassy.

“I will take charge of this matter,” Sung Sam-moon said, stepping forward in response to Florence’s request.

“If it’s you, Minister Sung, we are relieved.”

With the help of Sung Sam-moon and Imperial officials, Livorno quickly stabilized.

In fact, it transformed into another Imperial city.

Since it was a small village with hardly any native residents, everything had to be built from scratch, and the Florentine officials couldn’t hide their embarrassment.

Sung Sam-moon stepped in to address this.

“Our Empire will take charge.”

“Are you sure you would do that for us?”

“The port is right next door, and if problems arise here, it will become troublesome for us. So, we will take charge. That is the best path for both of us. In return, we would like to have ownership of the land and buildings.”

“Very well.”

“Then let’s put it in writing.”

Thus, the Empire, rolling up its sleeves, handled everything from the water and sewage systems to the city planning, all in the Imperial style.

With the city’s roads, water, and sewage systems all built in the Imperial style, the interiors of the newly built houses in the town also changed to the Imperial style.

“It feels somewhat familiar yet foreign?”

It was only natural for the Italians moving into these houses to say this.

While carrying out reforms, Hyang introduced water and sewage systems and built new houses accordingly, incorporating as much of the residential culture of the 21st century as he was familiar with.

Therefore, it gave the Italians a feeling of being familiar yet foreign.

However, they quickly became accustomed to the new residential culture.

And as time passed, Livorno became the second most livable city in Florence, including its satellite cities.

The first was the Imperial residential district.

As Livorno became known as a good place to live, the wealthy of Florence also began building villas there.

Naturally, the Empire was in charge of connecting the water and sewage systems and supplying water fixtures.

In this way, the housing rental and construction businesses in Livorno became another source of income for the Empire.

* * *

The Empire reinvested the profits earned in Florence back into Florence.

The Empire invested its profits in school lunch programs and scholarship programs.

The Empire provided lunch to students attending elementary schools established by Lorenzo. It also provided scholarships to students with good grades who were struggling due to financial difficulties.

If a student had exceptionally good grades, they were supported to go to university or study abroad in the Empire.

These school lunch and scholarship programs were very well received by parents.

Reducing the cost of one meal a day for their children was a great help to the lower classes of the city.

The scholarship program was also the same.

Through this reinvestment, the Empire won over everyone from the powerful figures of Florence to the common people.

Of course, Lorenzo and Giovanni were aware of these movements by the Empire.

“Should we stop them?”

Giovanni, who had been contemplating Lorenzo’s words, shook his head.

“We should be cautious, but I don’t think we need to stop them. Italy is not a very interesting place for the Empire to take over.”

“Is it because of Shinji?”

Giovanni nodded at Lorenzo’s question.

The Medici family, along with the Mansour family of Aden, had maintained the longest relationship with the Empire.

Naturally, the quality and quantity of information they received overwhelmed their competitors.

Of course, because the Empire was extremely secretive about information, they could not obtain truly critical secrets—such as tasks corresponding to the Yu Gong Yi Shan [a legendary Chinese story about moving mountains through perseverance] level in the Challenge Log—but other minor information continued to reach the eyes and ears of the Medici family.

And the talents of the Medici family reprocessed that information into more valuable intelligence.

What came out of that processing were things related to Shinji.

Thanks to receiving that information, Giovanni was convinced that the Empire was not eyeing Italy, specifically Florence.

However, Lorenzo could not shake off his doubts.

“But looking at what the Empire is doing now, they are putting in more effort than I thought.”

“That’s the Empire’s way. Before starting a big project, they take a long time and prepare step by step.”

“I’m worried that the big project might be swallowing up Italy.”

“As I said before, the Empire is not interested in conquering Italy. Their interest in Italy is probably due to the problems they would face if they used Italy as a battlefield.”

At Giovanni’s words, Lorenzo let out a long sigh.

“Hoo~. War….”

Lorenzo was already in his thirties. He was still full of energy, but unlike in his twenties, he had become more cautious.

“I used to look forward to war, wondering when it would break out, but now I’m becoming more and more afraid.”

Giovanni smiled slightly at Lorenzo’s words.

“That’s the right attitude for a ruler. Surprisingly, the rulers of the Empire are the ones who hate fighting.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes.”

Lorenzo’s face brightened at Giovanni’s words.

For European intellectuals of this period, the emperors of the Empire were the ‘epitome of a ruler.’ Especially Sejong and Hyang were the ‘most ideal rulers.’

“His Majesty is as great a ruler as the emperors of the Empire!”

This was the highest praise that could be given to the kings and rulers of Europe at this time.

* * *

“Speaking of war, I think I now understand why the Empire put so much effort into education.”

“That’s right. We underestimated them too easily.”

Lorenzo replied, sincerely reflecting on his words to Giovanni.

-Through elementary school education, children engrave loyalty to Florence and Italy in their minds.

This was the goal of the Young Scholars and Lorenzo at the time. And they took it lightly.

“No matter how cunning, foolish, or lazy they are, they will learn properly in front of a stick.”

The Young Scholars and Lorenzo were all wealthy intellectuals. From a young age, they had tutors and learned the classics of Greece and Rome, as well as various general knowledge.

However, even they were subjected to considerable corporal punishment when they first received their education.

Because of that experience, they conducted rote learning accompanied by violence.

However, Sung Sam-moon and the Imperial officials frowned upon this.

“I acknowledge using a rod for reformation when a mistake is made. That’s what rods are for.”

“Isn’t that right?”

“In other words, it’s for reformation, not for education. People aren’t beasts, so how can you try to train them with a stick?”

In the end, Sung Sam-moon and the Imperial officials also got involved in the Florentine curriculum.

The first thing Sung Sam-moon and the Imperial officials did was to revise the textbooks.

They put a lot of illustrations in each textbook to make the children curious and focus on learning.

And as the level of learning gradually increased, they instilled in them loyalty and a sense of belonging to Florence and Italy.

They created textbooks with stories of Roman-era bravery and famous generals known for their loyalty, as well as stories of medieval knights, and based on these, they instilled a sense of belonging and loyalty to Florence and Italy.

“Is this a textbook or a storybook….”

The first reaction of the Young Scholars who saw the textbooks revised by the Empire was criticism. However, as time passed, they had to reverse their decision.

The children who learned with the new textbooks had higher academic achievement and were more motivated.

That wasn’t all.

Their loyalty to Florence and Italy was also great.

“The unification of Italy by the hands of Italians!”

“The unification of Italy by the hands of us, the citizens of Florence!”

Boys who graduated from elementary school and were just recognized as adults, or wanted to be recognized, shouted these slogans and volunteered for the army.

There was also the calculation that it was the fastest way to make a name for themselves, but they also wanted to participate in the process of creating a unified Italy.

“How could this result….”

Looking at the Young Scholars with bewildered expressions, Sung Sam-moon explained the reason.

“For you, the wars up until now were not ‘your wars’ but ‘other people’s wars,’ and for them, it is ‘their own war.'”

“What do you mean by that….”

“The wars you are familiar with are all about mercenaries fighting and ending. Where is the loyalty and trust in those wars?”

“Then what about them….”

“First, if you tell them their roots, then justification comes from those roots, and loyalty and trust come out….”

Sung Sam-moon paused for a moment, shook his head, and clicked his tongue.

“Tsk! There were more than a few people in Europe who kept their loyalty and honor, and there are more than a few stories of people who rose up to defend their country, so how did ‘war become someone else’s business’… This is why loyalty and righteousness have all become bullshit.”

At least for an Imperial, or rather, a Confucian scholar, it was a shocking thing.

In the Empire, it was common for ordinary people, even slaves, to come forward and fight against foreign enemies, not just soldiers or generals.

That was loyalty, faith, and righteousness.

And this was common sense for Imperials.

“If foreign enemies invade, of course, you have to step up and stop them!”

“Of course!”

However, there was someone who did not take this for granted, which everyone else took for granted.

It was Hyang.

“Don’t take it for granted that ‘if you and I don’t protect it, who will?’ If I neglect the people, that sound will only become bullshit, not a natural sound!”

Hyang continued to emphasize to the officials.

“Don’t forget that there is no loyalty if you don’t keep your faith with the people!”

For Imperials who were accustomed to this way of thinking, the medieval feudalistic way of thinking in Italy and Europe was an incomprehensible value.

“Even though the circumstances of where they live are different and the traditions are different, loyalty and righteousness are all the same….”

“Mercenaries do the war and they only engage in their livelihoods or watch? What can’t they do to ruin themselves?”

Therefore, there were different reactions to the young Florentine youths and boys flocking to the army.

For Florentine intellectuals, it was a ‘surprising thing,’ and for Imperial officials, it was a ‘natural thing.’