424. The World Now (4)
The infamous Barbary pirates had been making a name for themselves since the 16th century.
However, signs of their rise were already apparent. By the 14th century, they had grown into a force so threatening that they provoked a joint attack by the French and Genoese allied forces.
Meanwhile, the Wokou [Japanese pirates] were also specialists in piracy, second to none in the East.
These notorious pirates from the East and West were unexpectedly engaged in a fierce battle in the Mediterranean.
“Fire the cannons!”
At the command of Joseon [Korean] military officer Seong Seung, cannonballs fired from the flagship of Cheonghaejin [a Joseon naval base] shattered the enemy ship’s hull.
The Joseon cannonballs were not mere lumps of iron.
They exploded, scattering fragments in all directions, engulfing the pirate ship in flames, and gracefully sinking it into the sea.
Yugu [a small kingdom] envoy Ma Jun, watching this, jumped up in dismay.
As the son of the former Yugu statesman Ma Ae, he was representing Yugu on this mission.
“What are you doing, firing cannons indiscriminately like that!”
“How can we not fire cannons when facing an enemy ship?”
“There are people inside!”
Ma Jun exclaimed, his heart filled with indignation.
“Since ancient times, our Yugu has been a small country, divided into three kingdoms, so our people have often been oppressed and sold to other countries.”
The Joseon people looked displeased, as if they had heard this before, but Ma Jun continued without hesitation.
“Rescuing these people is an important task for our envoys!”
“How could Yugu people be sold all the way here?”
At Seong Seung’s question, Ma Jun brazenly raised his head and shouted.
“I’ll show you the proof!”
He gestured for the Yugu people who had been ‘rescued’ from the Yugu ship to be brought forward.
Soon, ragged slaves were dragged in, trembling with fear as they stammered.
“I am from Yugu. My parents are also from Yugu.”
“Did you hear that?”
“…….”
It was clear to anyone that they were not Yugu people, and their races were diverse, but they all said the same thing, leaving nothing to say.
Of course, that was only in front of them.
“As you know, Yugu is a small country with a small population, so we are actively trying to bring back our former people.
If you hadn’t fired the cannons so heavily just now, we could have rescued many more people skilled in seafaring!”
Min Mu-gu’s son, Min Chu, stared at him with a dubious expression.
In the original history, the only record of him was that after his family was wiped out by Taejong [a Joseon king], the succeeding Sejong [another Joseon king] allowed him to continue the ancestral rites for his maternal grandfather, Min Je.
However, in the present day, the Yeoheung Min clan, to which Min Je belonged, was still one of the most prestigious families in Joseon.
Considering this favor and the fact that he was a maternal cousin of Yi Jae [a powerful figure in Joseon], Min Chu was appointed as an envoy, but in reality, it was a very troublesome position.
The Yugu people had been using this excuse to capture people all the way to the Mediterranean.
Even when persuaded to at least capture them on the way back, they were adamant.
‘Is this also something Princess has ordered?’
Min Chu’s guess was correct.
Yi Gyeong [the princess] had set up an ambitious plan to nativize Satsuma [a region in Japan] and develop Taiwan in order to expand Yugu’s seemingly fragile size, but the population could not be increased in the short term.
Thus, the project to save compatriots from distant lands was adopted.
Under the grand cause of returning the Yugu compatriots scattered like the Shikon Jewel [a reference to the anime Inuyasha, representing scattered fragments] during the chaos of the late Yuan Dynasty and the Three Mountains period, they launched an all-out effort to collect people.
If the language, customs, and race were slightly different, it could be attributed to the mixing of blood due to being dragged away for a long time.
The Joseon people, who did not know the circumstances, clicked their tongues, saying that the Yugu people were a bit crazy, but they had no idea that this was actually an order from the Joseon-born executioner princess.
Min Chu, the only one close to the truth, kept his mouth shut to avoid revealing the flaws of the imperial family.
‘If not, the imperial family’s educational philosophy will surely be questioned.’
As a relative of the imperial family, he had to prevent such a thing from happening.
As a result, the image of the Yugu people in the eyes of the Joseon people was becoming increasingly bizarre, but Min Chu did not have the luxury to worry about that.
* * *
Joseon’s European trade partner was, without a doubt, Venice.
After all, the merchants of the Sorenzo Brothers Trading Company, who risked their lives to cross over to Joseon based on a rumor, proved the rumors about Joseon and Biak [a recreational drug], and opened a bridge for trade connecting the East and West.
However, Venice was only a distributor.
Naturally, Biak was most used in a different place.
That was Rome.
There was nothing strange about it.
Although there was a difference of several decades, people said of Rome at this time, “the empire of Venus without holiness or law.”
Considering the expiration date of Biak, there was a limit to the range in which Venice could distribute the goods it received, so Rome was the best place for its sale.
Wasn’t it also good for noble couples who came on pilgrimages to this holy land to work hard to continue their lineage?
The passionate city of Rome burned even more fiercely as it accepted Joseon’s Biak brought in by the Venetians.
“Look at my Toledo steel sword. What do you think?”
“Big… and beautiful…”
“It seems that the Joseon people have a flair for aesthetics. From porcelain to gilded crafts, and this beautiful mystery of the human body…”
If the Biak City of the East was Simhado [a fictional location], the Biak City of the West was Rome.
Of course, there were no restrictions at the Vatican level.
Some priests lamented that those who came on pilgrimages were obsessed with the drugs of Eastern pagans.
Some merchants also expressed concern that Rome’s vast wealth was being sucked into Joseon and Venice.
However, Cardinal Vitelleschi, who ruled Rome in place of Pope Eugene IV, who had fled to Bologna, did not pay any attention to such reactions.
“Ban the distribution of Joseon goods?”
“Yes. After all, isn’t it a pagan drug? They say they make it from ginseng – a mandragora [a plant with magical properties], but we don’t know what kind of strange magic it was made with.”
“They don’t even try to hide their evil intentions. They sell cosmetics for women and openly say that they are items that gain beauty at the expense of health.”
After a moment of silence, Vitelleschi opened his mouth and asked.
“Then who will earn the money?”
The stories they put forward about pagan magic are not something they truly believe.
In the end, the conclusion is already set, and it is just a justification.
However, just as their conclusion was set, Vitelleschi’s conclusion was also set.
“The monastery director’s salary is 40 ducats, but the tax collected from just one brothel is a whopping 20,000 ducats. Three prostitutes can cover the salaries of everyone from the parish priest to the lowest clergy and still have money left over.”
The Lombardy War is in full swing.
From Vitelleschi’s point of view, who had to scrape together every penny, it was not an acceptable option.
Moreover, what does it mean that the number of pilgrims is exploding every year even during the war?
There may be many truly faithful people, but for those with money, Biak tourism in Rome and shopping for Joseon goods has become a trend.
The more this happened, the more the reputation of the Joseon brand spread throughout Europe.
At this time, when even the zeal of the Crusades had died down, various goods from Joseon were symbols of wealth and objects of longing.
In the first place, if they were going to worry about pagan goods, how would they treat spices coming from the East?
Vitelleschi, as a man known for being cunning and daring, had no intention of responding to such petty objections one by one.
He had even less intention of ruining the business of Venice, the Pope’s ally.
Rather, he wanted to build an even more friendly relationship with Joseon.
When fighting, you want to borrow the hand of your friend’s friend.
What if that friend is the best fighter in the neighborhood?
Even if they can’t help directly in the fight, they may be able to provide indirect help.
The visit of the Joseon envoy was a good opportunity in that respect.
The king of Joseon, who once rose to the throne of kings and is now the emperor after conquering China.
Isn’t that king’s cousin coming here with several ships?
“I will have to go out and greet their envoy myself.”
Whether they will visit the Pope in Bologna or just visit Rome and return, it was clear that he had to take the lead himself.
* * *
The Joseon delegation, including Min Chu, was sent by Yi Jae, who wanted to make contact with Western countries in earnest, as the domestic situation had stabilized.
The Yugu party joined in, trying to open up sea routes while riding on the back of the suzerain state [a dominant state], but that was a meta [strategy] that Joseon had done during Zheng He’s expedition [a Chinese naval expedition], so there was nothing to criticize.
In any case, Min Chu’s delegation was not on a heavy mission, but rather the mission itself had meaning.
The formal diplomatic relations between Joseon and the Vatican would remain in the history books, but Min Chu thought it was just a matter of delivering a letter to a distant sea.
However, the other party did not seem to think of this contact so lightly.
“Welcome! May the Lord bestow grace upon the Joseon Emperor and the envoys!”
Min Chu was startled by the warm welcome from the governor who ruled the capital in place of the Pope.
“His Holiness the Pope, the representative of Christ, has expressed his intention to convey a message of peace to His Majesty the Emperor and the people of Joseon.”
“It seems you know a lot about Joseon.”
“Venetian merchants who visited Rome have told stories about Joseon’s culture and history.
I have heard that Joseon is a country with a long tradition and deep philosophy. The books that have come from that land are a fresh opportunity for learning for us.”
Min Chu nodded.
Originally, books were a major export of civilized countries.
Before Joseon swallowed the Central Plains [China], it had also carried out a national book import project.
And in Min Chu’s eyes, there was no civilized country on earth like Joseon, so it was not strange that the Four Books and Three Classics [Confucian texts] were circulating in this Roman land.
“In particular, I have heard that Joseon’s philosophy emphasizes humanism and morality, so there are many aspects that are in line with Christianity.”
“Heh… is that so?”
Min Chu is the one who carries on the will of that racist Min Mu-gu.
No matter how eloquently a foreign monk speaks about the points of contact between the teachings of the orthodox school [Confucianism] and the doctrines of heresy, it would not deeply resonate with him.
“Therefore, His Holiness wishes to spread the teachings of the Lord to the Emperor’s country and hopes that bishops and priests can be dispatched. They will play an important role in conveying the true truth of the gospel and helping peaceful evangelism.”
So, he could not help but frown at Vitelleschi’s proposal to allow missionaries to be sent.
In his eyes, those who believed in Christ were, at best, a group of monks, and at worst, a heretical group that always existed in the country.
However, the story that the emperor collects and translates all the books in the world (even though he doesn’t actually look at them) is already widely known.
Didn’t he ask to bring Western scholars or books this time as well?
In fact, he himself did not know what useful knowledge there was in Europe, so he had no choice but to speak vaguely, so how could Min Chu not be frustrated?
‘Well, there were quite a few who were well-versed in learning among those who were monks.’
It is not the case now, but even during the Goryeo Dynasty [previous Korean dynasty], learned monks served as royal teachers.
From Min Chu’s point of view, who did not know who to bring, it sounded like a good story.
‘If they are useless, I can just throw them into the gulag [prison camp].’
Meanwhile, Vitelleschi, also a religious person, just threw out the story of evangelism as a greeting, and it was not a serious proposal.
Originally, the mission of a religious person is evangelism, and even if it is not, Vitelleschi has been criticized for the Joseon goods issue.
There is no need to listen to the words of such malcontents one by one, but it is better to show a faithful image of attempting to evangelize a pagan country from time to time.
Fortunately, the other party’s reaction was not bad, so Vitelleschi’s mood improved as well.
In addition, Joseon is an unrepentant great power in a distant land, so he thought it would be effective in getting rid of the rolling in nuisance.
In that way, the evangelism case, which both sides were not very enthusiastic about, found a very strange compromise.