Black Corporation: Joseon [EN]: Chapter 900

900. The Imperial March (3)

The Swiss Confederation’s councilors and the citizens of Bern extended the warmest hospitality to the Imperial delegation upon their arrival.

The leading figures of Bern willingly offered their mansions to ensure the delegation and the Imperial soldiers could rest comfortably.

Two days later, the Imperial delegation convened with the councilors in the Swiss Confederation’s assembly hall in Bern.

“Wouldn’t it be better to rest a little longer?”

At the Federal Council Chairman’s suggestion, the Minister of Finance responded with a smile.

“I have rested enough.”

‘And, I need to return quickly! The longer I delay, the higher the mountain of documents will become!’

Inwardly, he was restless, but outwardly, the Minister of Finance maintained a calm expression.

“Then, let’s get straight to the point. The situation in Italy is not favorable right now.”

“Yes. According to Commander Hans’s letter, you plan to contract more troops than expected and provide several privileges from the Empire. Is that correct?”

“That’s right. Here are the conditions we are proposing.”

At the Minister of Finance’s gesture, an aide sitting behind him handed over a file with a thick cover.

The Chairman received the file and began to carefully read the Empire’s proposal, written in Latin.

“Huh… Hah!”

The Chairman, reading through the proposals, was breathless and gasped.

“Why… Hah!”

The councilors, seeing the Chairman’s reaction, snatched the proposal and began reading it, showing similar expressions.

* * *

The Empire’s proposal to Switzerland can be summarized as follows:

-The Empire hires Swiss mercenaries under the following conditions:

-Hiring 100,000 personnel for a period of 30 years.

-After 30 years, the number of personnel and the period will be adjusted in 5-year increments.

-Switzerland will deploy 75,000 of the hired personnel under the command of the Imperial Army dispatched to Italy. 25,000 will remain in the home country to defend Switzerland.

-The Empire will supply the armaments, clothing, and ammunition for the 100,000 hired personnel.

-However, armaments, ammunition, and clothing will be provided partially for a fee, not free of charge.

The distinguishing conditions are as follows:

The armaments, clothing, ammunition, and other supplies used by the 75,000 Swiss mercenaries stationed in Italy will be provided free of charge.

For the 25,000 stationed in Switzerland, the armaments and ammunition provided will be charged at 30% of the price at which the Florentine army purchases them.

However, Switzerland can receive payment in bonds if desired.

-The armaments, ammunition, and clothing supplied to the Swiss army are as follows:

Florentine rifles and ammunition, six-shot revolvers and ammunition for commanders, Byeongshik Hwachas [rocket arrow launchers] and ammunition, medium and small Wan’gus [cannons], new Bigyeokjincheonhoes [large explosive projectiles] to be used with them, and the same uniforms and military equipment as the Florentine army.

This applies equally to both the Swiss army stationed in Italy and the Swiss army stationed in the home country.

-The training of the Swiss army stationed in Italy will be the responsibility of the Imperial Army.

So far, these are the provisions the Empire offers to the Swiss mercenaries. The following are the Empire’s demands:

-In the event of armed conflict in Italy, the Swiss army will only be under the command of the Imperial Army.

-The Swiss Confederation and its constituent cantons will not supply mercenaries to any country other than the Empire.

-If the Empire requests it, Switzerland will preferentially supply troops requested by the Empire in addition to the troops contracted above.

-The Empire will be responsible for paying the salaries of the Swiss army contracted with the Empire. However, Imperial currency will be given priority for payment.

-The moment this contract is concluded, Switzerland will declare permanent neutrality. At the same time, the Empire recognizes Switzerland as an independent nation.

If Switzerland invades another country, the Empire will terminate the contract and cease support.

* * *

The Chairman and councilors of the Federal Council, having reviewed the Empire’s proposal, looked at each other with serious faces.

“The conditions are too good….”

“Too good, indeed.”

“There are corresponding requirements attached, but these requirements are what others also demand….”

“Specifically, France’s demands.”

Eventually, the Chairman, representing the councilors, spoke to the Minister of Finance.

“We would like to take some more time to consider the Empire’s proposal.”

At the Chairman’s words, the Minister of Finance leaned back in his chair and replied.

“It is only natural, as this is a large-scale contract.”

* * *

After that, coordination between the two sides continued for almost half a month.

To be precise, Switzerland, unable to fully trust the Empire’s conditions, continued to question them, and the Empire patiently repeated explanations.

What Switzerland found most puzzling was the dispersion of troops.

“What is the reason for hiring 100,000 and leaving 25,000 in Switzerland?”

The Empire’s answer to the Swiss people’s question was simple.

“If we hire 100,000 and take them all away, will the surrounding countries stand still? Rather than going to the trouble of bringing them and then sending them back, it is easier to leave them behind from the start. Isn’t that good for you too? You can prevent your own house from burning down while you’re off putting out someone else’s fire. That’s why we provide Byeongshik Hwachas, Wan’gus, and Bigyeokjincheonhoes. We don’t even provide Byeongshik Hwachas and Wan’gus to the Florentine army.”

“Ah….”

When the Imperial representatives mentioned Byeongshik Hwachas, the Swiss nodded.

Since its first appearance in Suez, the Byeongshik Hwacha has been the most sought-after weapon by all nations.

Many great powers, including France, are trying to develop weapons similar to the Byeongshik Hwacha, but they continue to fail.

The biggest reason is that, unlike Eulshik Hwachas, they don’t have any Hwachas in their possession to study. They can’t know the internal structure, so they can’t figure out the framework, and they continue to fail.

Moreover, the Swiss, stationed in Suez as mercenaries, knew the value of Byeongshik Hwachas better than anyone else.

“If they are well hidden along the Alpine mountain paths, they could be the best defensive weapon….”

The Empire was dangling bait in front of the Swiss, who wanted Byeongshik Hwachas more than anyone else.

Next, the Swiss were concerned about the salary aspect.

“Will the ‘Land of Flowers’ [a poetic name for the Empire] really be able to pay the salaries for 100,000 people?”

France, the Habsburgs, and even the city-states of Italy, known for their wealth, hesitated when hiring Swiss mercenaries because of the salary issue.

The scale that emerged after that hesitation was 5,000 to 10,000.

However, the proposal the Empire was now offering was for 100,000, a long-term contract of 30 years.

At the Swiss people’s concerns, the Minister of Finance ordered the aides.

“Bring them here. One box each.”

“Yes.”

Soon, several Imperial soldiers brought in two large, tightly sealed boxes.

The soldiers placed the boxes on the table and stepped back. The aide, who had been waiting, took out a key from his pocket, unlocked the locks on the boxes, and opened the lids.

“Oh, oh….”

“Gasp!”

The councilors who saw the contents of the boxes were speechless.

One of the two boxes was full of Imperial banknotes, and the other was full of gold bars.

“The banknotes are worth 1 million gold nyang [an Imperial currency], and the gold bars are worth 100,000 gold nyang. Come and check.”

At the words of the Minister of Finance, the Chairman and councilors approached the boxes and checked the contents.

The crisp banknotes, which had never been used, and the gold bars, which they looked at from every angle and even bit, were all genuine.

Seeing the Swiss people, who had frozen at the sight of the enormous sum of money they could not amass in their entire lives, the Minister of Finance smiled and continued.

“To be honest, except for the two great wars we fought in the past, the Empire has never sincerely opened its pockets until now. To be precise, more money has come in than we have spent.”

‘Because of that, I’m having a hard time managing prices….’

The Swiss, unable to know the Minister of Finance’s inner thoughts, nodded at his words.

“Indeed….”

Since the opening of the sea route to the East, many merchants have started making a lot of money. Most of those merchants were bringing in and selling goods from the ‘Land of Flowers.’ In the end, the Empire was making the most money.

“If you are worried about banknotes, we are willing to pay in actual gold. The Empire has sufficient capacity.”

At the confident words of the Minister of Finance, the Swiss people fell silent.

After the negotiations ended that day, the councilors gathered again and shared their opinions with serious faces.

“Can we really trust them?”

“Imperial currency has the highest credit rating. Even the Jews are said to keep Imperial currency in their vaults instead of gold bars or jewels, aren’t they? If they are not fools, they will not do anything to turn their currency into trash.”

“Still… If we could receive it in gold bars….”

“How will we transport, store, and distribute it?”

“That’s true, but will they be able to pay in gold bars until the end?”

“If you doubt that, all the stories we’ve shared so far will be in vain!”

“That’s true, but I’m too anxious….”

“Didn’t you see the confident expression of the head of the delegation? That means they are confident.”

At the last words, all the councilors nodded. The Minister of Finance had been talking with a confident expression when they were talking earlier.

In fact, the Minister of Finance was confident.

* * *

Other countries didn’t know, but at this time, the Empire had accumulated the most gold in the world.

Gold mines were being discovered here and there in Bonji, including Unsan. In addition, large and small gold mines were being excavated in the Northeast forest area and even in Shinji.

Thanks to this, the Empire is now mining only a few of these gold mines, sealing the rest, and only recording their locations.

-We will mine them when we need them later.

The Imperial Ministry of Finance and the Imperial Household’s warehouses were piled high with gold bars to the point of showing such 余裕 [yoyuu – surplus or余裕].

* * *

While the same conversation was repeating itself among the councilors, the oldest councilor summarized the situation.

“Aren’t we thinking too complicatedly? It’s a mercenary contract. What is a mercenary? It’s exchanging money for life. Maintaining this contract is trust. The moment this trust collapses, the contract ends.”

“Ah!”

The faces of all the councilors brightened at those words.

After that, the talks between the Empire and Switzerland continued smoothly.

When the contract was concluded with each other’s seals and stamps affixed to the contract, the Chairman of the Swiss Federal Council asked the Minister of Finance.

“Let’s be honest. Why did you contract for 100,000 in the first place?”

“To win before fighting.”

The Chairman of the Federal Council nodded at the words of the Minister of Finance.

Adding the Florentine army to the 75,000 mercenaries made 100,000. Adding the Imperial army, which was unknown how many would come, would make them the force with the most troops in Italy.

It was certain that no one would provoke such a force.

‘We can fight an easier war than expected.’

Looking at the Chairman of the Federal Council, whose face brightened, the Minister of Finance muttered inwardly.

‘And, that’s cheaper.’