There Is No Sejong In My Joseon [EN]: Chapter 310

However, Yoo Jeong-hyeon wasn’t the only one who arrived in Joseon.

“What are all those guys?”

I blurted out, dumbfounded.

Yoo Jeong-hyeon had stopped by the Ryukyu port on his way back, and the Ryukyu generals and soldiers who had joined him were staring blankly at us.

The envoy stepped forward bravely and shouted.

“We received news from the Heavenly Dynasty [China] that a rebellion had occurred and that His Majesty had raised an army. Our King also wishes to help and has sent a large army. Join us quickly and march out together to suppress the rebels!”

“······.”

The army they sent numbered 400.

Most of them were staying on the ships in Byeokrando, and only a few had come to Hanyang to report the situation.

It was a woefully inadequate number to be called a large army, but considering that King On Sado of Ryukyu had started with nothing, he must have done his best.

‘But the bus has already left,’ I thought wryly.

To send troops to help us after we had already trampled all over Liaodong, Shanhaiguan, and even Beijing.

‘Well, it would have taken quite a while just to gather them.’

On Sado, who had been a puppet king with no direct control, seemed to have gained a considerable foothold now, thanks to the marriage alliance and our backing.

Even so, he would have had to gain the cooperation of the local clans, so he couldn’t have sent troops immediately after receiving the news.

On Sado probably didn’t expect the war to end so quickly either, right?

The Jeongnan Rebellion had lasted for three years.

I looked at the sparkling eyes of the Ryukyu soldiers and thought.

‘Should I just send them back, telling them it’s all over?’

It felt a bit pitiful to send back those who had come full of spirit empty-handed.

Why is On Sado giving me unnecessary headaches?

‘Oh well, let’s think about this later.’

I waved my hand and dismissed the Ryukyu envoy.

What’s important now is Yoo Jeong-hyeon’s report.

“So, did you have a good trip as an envoy?”

Yoo Jeong-hyeon, who had been pushed to the back burner due to the absurd situation of Ryukyu sending reinforcements, finally knelt before me.

“Yes, Your Majesty. Thanks to your concern, I visited Egypt and Venice and successfully established diplomatic relations.”

“What were your impressions of the places you visited?”

Yoo Jeong-hyeon pondered for a moment before opening his mouth.

“The land and sea beyond India were truly vast. I thought I had seen the world by traveling with Eunuch Zheng He, but I did not know that there were so many other tribes beyond that.”

That’s right, that’s right.

The world is wide, and there is much to do.

It seems I’ve been rewarded for diligently sending my subjects out to travel the world.

Yoo Jeong-hyeon began to slowly recount what he had experienced.

“First of all, the King of Egypt received the gifts and was very pleased······.”

===

Francisco Severini tore at his hair.

“Hey, Francisco. Why so serious? Things have worked out so well.”

“Worked out well? The merchants of the Great Lorenzo Company have been reduced to mere guides?”

“Come on… we’re heading back home anyway, so we can do some guiding…”

His colleagues spoke with a dumbfounded tone.

They were more than relieved to be able to return home safely without being executed as forgers of national letters.

Would they have been able to return home without Joseon’s cooperation?

Even if it was thanks to Joseon’s devilish Bey, Min, that they had their ships confiscated.

“Still, we wouldn’t have returned this comfortably.”

The Joseon ship sailed very comfortably to the Indian Ocean.

The Joseon ship continued to sail even against the headwinds, and the countries that had established relations with them at each port provided them with convenience.

This was nothing more than Joseon’s arrogance backed by the prestige of Zheng He’s fleet, but Francisco and his party could only attribute it to Joseon’s hegemony [dominance].

However, Francisco was different from those ordinary people.

‘Damn it, should I have kept this idea all to myself?’

The Joseon envoys treated them only as interpreters and guides.

‘Well, I’m taking these guys as witnesses, so it’s a mutual benefit, but…’

So, it was Francisco himself who had requested that the envoys be sent, but those people were by no means naive.

When he arrived in Cairo, he heard that they had taken a Huihui [Muslim] interpreter, leaving him aside, and brought up the canal story to the Sultan, which made his eyes pop out.

“This won’t do. When I arrive in Venice, I must step forward and make a contribution…”

The Sultan couldn’t possibly take the proposal of the first country to establish diplomatic relations seriously.

‘It’s a variable because he’s interested in the Byak trade [aphrodisiac], but…’

Venice, the reliable financier of Europe, must step forward and carry out the project for the Mamluk Sultan to be moved.

And he was the only one who could be in charge of that persuasion.

First, he had to use those Joseon envoys to persuade the high-ranking officials of the company, and they had to move the Council.

While Francisco was making such a decision, Venice was in considerable surprise.

“The merchants of the Lorenzo Brothers Company are returning with the Joseon envoys!”

The Venetian merchant world was turned upside down.

The return of the Lorenzo merchants who had set out to find the golden land of Joseon.

The news that they had brought Joseon envoys with them was unbelievable to them.

The Mamluks were Venice’s important trading partners, and rumors about Joseon Byak, which the Mamluk nobles were crazy about, were already widespread.

But they were visiting Venice in person!

Venice’s movements became busy.

===

Yoo Jeong-hyeon looked around the Venetian Council with an interested face.

He had toured countless foreign countries, but after passing through India, and then beyond the land of Egypt, the buildings and scenery changed again.

How many countries are there in the world, and how many different kinds of people live in each of them?

Only a few years ago, Joseon people, who had only China and Japan on either side, could not have imagined such a world.

“Translate.”

Yoo Jeong-hyeon opened his mouth, putting Francisco in front.

Since Francisco and his party had learned some Joseon during the voyage, there was no need to go through the double translation of Joseon-Arabic-Venetian.

“Our King, who rules the East of the world, has heard of the prosperity of Venice and has sent us to establish diplomatic relations.

We have arrived in Venice to receive the decree of our King, and we hope to exchange national letters and strengthen our friendship.”

Yoo Jeong-hyeon was handing over the national letter.

One copy written in Korean and one in Chinese.

And one copy of the interpretation written by Francisco and his colleagues during the voyage.

However, what the Venetians were interested in was the existence of Joseon itself, rather than such national letters.

Wasn’t it the country that had been heating up the mouths of merchants in recent years?

Finally, someone who was not very patient opened his mouth.

“Is it true that Joseon has an aphrodisiac that can erect even dead things?”

The Joseon envoys frowned at the blatant question in such a place, but in reality, that was what the Venetians were most curious about.

Those gathered here were merchants to the bone.

“It is true.”

“Oh!”

“Then, is it on that ship now······.”

“Unfortunately, Byak has an expiration date, so we couldn’t bring any.”

Visible disappointment and disbelief arose at Yoo Jeong-hyeon’s words.

They thought that now was the opportunity to confirm the rampant rumors, but it had returned to nothing.

No matter how much the envoys guaranteed it, what use was it without the real thing?

“Wait!”

Francisco, who had read the atmosphere, stepped forward.

The air was cooling down quickly, perhaps because the expectations had been excessively inflated.

“The Joseon envoys’ words are true. I have seen it with my own two eyes. It has an expiration date, but there is also a way to solve it.”

“How can you guarantee that? Above all, you are the one who left for trade with Joseon, so who knows if you are exaggerating to make up for the loss?”

“······.”

Francisco made a determined expression for a moment.

Then, before anyone could say anything, he raised his hand and brought it to his face.

– Press.

Francisco’s thumb touched his protruding tongue, and his little finger touched his forehead.

“?”

The Venetians widened their eyes at the incomprehensible behavior.

“What are you doing now?”

“This is an Eastern custom of swearing before you with one’s soul at stake.”

Francisco said confidently.

– Are you really Venetian merchants?

It was the explanation that the King of Joseon had given him when he made him take such an oath because he was suspicious of the forger of national letters, so it must be correct.

The Joseon people behind him looked like they had never heard of it, but Francisco ignored it.

“I have definitely confirmed that the aphrodisiac exists. And I have brought a way to trade it.”

At Francisco’s momentum, who had even put his soul on the line, those who had expressed disbelief flinched for a moment.

Not missing the gap, Francisco pushed forward.

“Above all, there is no Byak here, but I have brought the ingredients!”

It was Joseon ginseng.

“It is a mandragora [plant with magical properties] called ginseng, and it is used as a raw material for aphrodisiacs. It is said that taking it will revitalize you and help you live longer.”

Then, expectations reappeared on people’s faces.

If he brought the raw materials, there might be some effect.

It was a matter of taking it and judging its effect.

In addition, other items brought from Joseon also caught their eyes.

“There can be such white paper!”

People admired the pile of paper as white as snow.

The pure white paper bleached with sulfuric acid was an item presented to the Ming Dynasty imperial family.

The white paper, like ivory, made them feel some kind of beauty.

“This is a medicine that Joseon people apply to their teeth. It keeps 20 healthy teeth until the age of 80.”

Francisco was now excited and began to sell hard.

The Venetians, who carefully received the toothpaste that would strengthen their gums and teeth, soon began to test it.

“This toothpaste is······?”

“Was there a place where my mouth could be so refreshed?”

It was not that the concept of toothpaste itself was unfamiliar to them.

In Europe, toothpaste had been made from various materials for a long time.

However, they had never experienced such a neatly made toothpaste.

It was natural.

It was like the culmination of natural toothpaste, made by modern people by combining sodium carbonate, bamboo salt, and mint.

The closest smell that a person encounters is bad breath.

When this disappeared as if washed away, surprise fell on people’s faces.

“As expected, the King of Joseon is a magician!”

As someone muttered, the blood drained from Francisco’s face.

Yoo Jeong-hyeon, who was curious about what he had said, asked from behind.

“What did that guy say?”

“He, he said that Joseon is a country that knows etiquette.”

Francisco quickly translated to Yoo Jeong-hyeon.

“I see. Haha, it seems that Venice has also heard rumors about the Eastern Land of Courtesy.”

Yoo Jeong-hyeon stroked his beard with satisfaction.

‘Etiquette… the guys who beat up the king for calling him a magician…?’

Francisco grumbled inwardly, but it was useless because Bey Min, who had done that, was far away in Joseon, scratching his ship.

“Our court seems to like the gift.”

“That’s right.”

Just like the Gonghe era of the Zhou Dynasty [period of Chinese history] in the old days, the country had no king but only ministers, but the court seemed to be working fine.

The national power of this country also seemed to be growing day by day.

Just looking at the greatly prospered port, the ships constantly coming and going, the rows of buildings, and the seemingly prosperous people, wasn’t that the case?

‘Venice’s plan to dig a canal in connection with Egypt may not be a far-fetched fantasy.’

Yoo Jeong-hyeon reflected on himself for once suspecting that the King was becoming like Emperor Yang of Sui [Chinese emperor known for extravagance].

===

“Thus, we exchanged national letters and had in-depth discussions about the canal.”

Yoo Jeong-hyeon continued at my question.

Our best-selling product, Byak, was all taken away by the Mamluks, but the remaining items were enough to catch their attention.

In addition to red ginseng, paper, and toothpaste, classic (?) products such as silk and porcelain were also quite popular.

They must have known that such products were abundant in Joseon, so they would be eager to find a way to break through.

End