Black Corporation: Joseon [EN]: Chapter 894

894. Overture (9)

Meanwhile, Florence, having received the order, was also in a difficult situation.

“Seriously, there’s a limit to how much you can cut to the chase! It’s just ‘Do this!’ and ‘Do that!’ and then it’s over!”

The officials at the embassy, from the ambassadors to the lowest clerks, all exploded in frustration after reading the orders sent from Seoul.

Most of the secret documents sent from Seoul recently had a common characteristic.

They were too brief.

A large number of documents, regardless of type, were being exchanged between Seoul and Florence.

Among these documents were many classified ones, and both Seoul and Florence wrote them in code and mixed them in with ordinary documents before sending them.

The problem, as mentioned above, was that the content of the coded messages sent from Seoul recently had become very brief.

Shin Suk-ju, after confirming the contents of the classified document sent from Seoul, complained to the other ambassadors who were checking the contents.

“Even though the principle is to write coded documents concisely, isn’t this too much?”

Sung Sam-moon nodded in agreement with Shin Suk-ju’s statement, seeking agreement, and added.

“No matter how briefly the higher-ups speak, they should add some explanation. Sending orders like this? It seems the people in charge in Seoul don’t use their tongues much these days.”

“That’s right, that’s right!”

Shin Suk-ju chimed in, echoing Sung Sam-moon’s words. However, Yu Eung-bu, who was sitting next to them, showed a different reaction.

“Isn’t it unavoidable in Seoul? There are many eyes watching us these days. No, it would be fortunate if they were just watching, but haven’t they also been interfering?”

“Even so….”

* * *

As Yu Eung-bu said, the eyes watching the Imperial Embassy in Florence, the Imperial Navy’s military port in Livorno, and the Imperial residential areas were increasing.

-The fact that the Empire has established a base in Florence means that the Empire will also intervene in the war in Italy.

This was because the surrounding great powers, having made this judgment, had dispatched a large number of spies.

Thanks to this, the embassy and the military port had to be especially careful when hiring workers. At a minimum, the guarantee of the Florence City Hall or the Medici family was required to work at the embassy and the military port.

However, even this was canceled as people forged documents or bribed their way in.

In the end, the Empire had to hire people from the home country and bring them in.

“To have to bring in day laborers at several times the wages, what a waste!”

“Let’s just use cranes and winches!”

As a result, the military port in Livorno and the Imperial residential area became home to the most winches and cranes, except for the port of Suez.

The problem was that the great powers were not only watching but also starting to interfere.

Attacks on messengers traveling between Livorno and Florence were occurring.

With the annihilation of messenger squads composed of one squad, five people, and the disappearance of their pouches, it later became necessary to move with a unit of one company, 25 people.

Even after the installation of the Iron Horse [early railway] between Livorno and Florence, this happened several times.

When the Iron Horse stopped at a station in the middle, there were those who tried to rob the freight cars carrying various supplies and pouches for use by the embassy.

Of course, the Imperial and Florentine troops stationed at the station immediately suppressed them. Later, as a result of the investigation, it was revealed that they were simple petty thieves.

However, a question remained.

“How did they pick out only that freight car to rob?”

To solve this question, Florentine and Imperial investigators added a high-intensity investigation. And as a result of the investigation, the petty thieves confessed a hidden fact.

“Some men designated that freight car.”

“Who were they? What country were they from?”

“I don’t know.”

Despite the continued investigation, the investigators, unable to obtain any further information, ended the investigation and threw the petty thieves into prison.

Afterward, the pouches and classified documents were transported separately by people, but even these carriers disappeared. In the end, this problem seemed to be barely resolved only after the carriers moved in units of five people instead of two.

However, the invisible battle between those who tried to steal and those who tried to prevent it continued.

And the encryption of documents also became more sophisticated.

This was because many Europeans had become fluent in Standard Korean and Chinese characters, thanks to the long time that the Empire, Ming [Chinese dynasty], and Japan had appeared on the international stage.

Not only were they fluent in the characters, but experts who were well-versed in idioms and Asian culture had appeared.

Because of this, the Empire had to create a more complex encryption system.

Until then, it had been a simple method using character decomposition and idioms. However, as experts emerged, this was broken.

However, due to the lack of basic academic skills, including mathematics, it was impossible to create a high-level encryption system, and the Empire had to reluctantly use other methods.

The method was to cut to the chase and write as simply as possible.

Reporting this to Hyeon, Han Myeong-hoe explained as follows.

“The ambassadors in Florence and we in Seoul already know each other deeply, and this will surely be carried out. The orders and replies we are exchanging now are only minor adjustments, so there is no need to write in detail.”

“Could there be misunderstandings in Florence?”

Hyeon’s question was immediately answered by Han Myeong-hoe.

“They are already recognized for their outstanding talent. They are not people who will misunderstand or fail to understand. If such a thing happens, they will have to take responsibility for their own reputation.”

“Hmm… Indeed… No one is unaware of their excellence in Florence. If it’s them, they will do well. Then, let’s proceed as it is for now.”

“I obey the command.”

“However! They will not continue to stay there, and the number of countries where the Empire’s ambassadors will reside will increase in the future, won’t it? I cannot be sure that all the ambassadors at that time will be as excellent as those currently in Florence, so prepare a solution for this as soon as possible. I believe you will be able to show me a good result.”

As Hyeon’s words ended, Han Myeong-hoe bowed his head and replied.

“I will do my best.”

However, Han Myeong-hoe’s expression, looking at the floor, was not good.

Later, Hyang, after hearing this story, burst into laughter.

“Hahahaha! It’s Han Myeong-hoe after all! And the Emperor!”

Han Myeong-hoe’s plan was to avoid creating a situation where he would be criticized while giving a hard time to potential competitors.

-Since there is no new method in the current situation, you guys suffer a little. If you’re so smart, this is easy, right? Isn’t it?

And Hyeon, realizing this, gave Han Myeong-hoe a taste of his own medicine.

-You’re smart too, right? Then you get a taste too.

Hyang, who laughed until tears streamed down her face, looked at Gyeongbok Palace [main royal palace of Joseon dynasty] with a satisfied expression.

“If it’s Hyeon, I don’t even need to step in to catch Han Myeong-hoe.”

As an aside, the ambassadors who later took a vacation and briefly returned home learned more detailed circumstances.

And the ambassadors sent Han Myeong-hoe an enormous amount of tonic medicine as a gift.

In any case, an order was an order.

The Florence ambassadors did their best to carry out their mission.

Thanks to their overflowing confidence, they managed to win over Lorenzo de’ Medici, who was showing symptoms of ‘late-stage middle school syndrome,’ and prevent him from moving, and they also expanded the secret coal storage they had built in Livorno.

“Filling it is also a task.”

The ambassadors and the Imperial Army secretly filled the coal storage without others noticing.

* * *

While the ambassadors and the Imperials were moving busily, the conflict in the Austrian region was also coming to an end.

After clashing properly in Pottendorf, both sides were only repeating a tedious trench warfare.

When trying to carry out a flanking maneuver using the cavalry, Hungary’s problem was the Habsburg reserves. On the other hand, in the case of the Habsburgs, the problem was the numerically superior Hungarian cavalry.

In the end, both sides had no choice but to continue a war of attrition with the trench lines laid out in Pottendorf.

Feeling burdened by the unexpected losses of life and equipment, and the consumption of war expenses, both sides secretly sent envoys to the Pope.

Pope Paul II, having received bribes and appeals, immediately sent his loyal servants to urge negotiations, and both sides reluctantly accepted the Pope’s proposal.

In the ensuing negotiations, both sides engaged in fierce verbal battles.

If one side overturned the negotiating table and left, the other side would overturn it the next time, and the Pope’s loyal servant, who was in charge of mediation, busily went back and forth, continuing to coordinate.

In addition, they held banquets whenever they had the chance, inviting figures from Habsburg and Hungary.

The reason why the negotiations took so long despite these mediation efforts was that there was no clear winner or loser.

“We are the winners!”

“Ridiculous! We are the winners!”

“The guys who lost their territory are the winners? Don’t talk nonsense!”

“Then shall we fight again? Shall we really go at it?”

“Do you even have an army to fight with?”

“Do you? Shall we really go at it!”

When both sides fought with blood in their necks, the Pope’s envoy, caught in the middle, made a tearful face and stopped both sides.

“Come on! Come on! Don’t be like this! Isn’t this a ceasefire negotiation? Let’s negotiate!”

In the end, Paul II stepped in to the negotiations that seemed to have no end.

-It is not right for Catholic countries to continue to conflict with each other when the infidels have occupied Constantinople! Both sides should concede a little! Otherwise, I will excommunicate you!

Threatened with excommunication by the Pope, both sides stepped back and finalized the negotiations.

-The Habsburgs officially recognize Matthias I, who was recommended by the Hungarian Parliament, as the King of Hungary.

-Hungary returns all occupied Austrian territory to the Habsburgs.

The negotiation plan, which was created with the above two points as its main focus, was soon approved by the monarchs of both countries and came into effect.

With the enactment of the armistice treaty, the Hungarian army retreated. The Hungarian army, returning to the border, was exuding self-confidence as victors.

“We are the ones who charged all the way to the front of Vienna!”

“Ottomans? Bohemia? Tell them to all come at us!”

The morale of the Hungarian army was soaring, with the pride that they were the victors.

Following this, a boisterous triumphal march and distribution of rewards took place.

After the excitement had subsided to some extent, Matthias I summoned his vassals and generals and began to talk.

“This war was truly regrettable. If only we had a little more strength….”

Matthias I trailed off, but the nobles and generals could fully anticipate what would come next.

“We need to import more new-model rifles from the Ottomans.”

“That’s right. Muzzle-loading rifles have reached their limit.”

When more aggressive military expansion became the trend, one of the nobles pointed out a problem.

“The problem is that the Ottomans no longer sell rifles and bullets. So, how about purchasing Florentine rifles?”

“Florentine rifles?”

“Rifles made in Florence. However, it is difficult to see them as Florence’s own rifles. The ‘Land of Flowers’ [Florence] is said to have provided all the parts, technology, and tools. Therefore, they use Imperial bullets.”

At those words, the generals all answered in unison.

“If they use Imperial bullets, we must obtain Florentine rifles!”