Black Corporation: Joseon

Chapter 682

Episode 682: Suez (2)

Negotiations were fierce.

The messengers from Portugal’s alliance with Ottoman France and Mamluk Spain’s alliance with the Holy Roman Empire engaged in a fierce war of words.

Although everyone agreed on the end of the war, neither side was able to achieve the goals they had originally envisioned.

– Complete control of the Egyptian region through the fall of the Mamluks

– Control of the Mediterranean Sea.

-Monopoly of trade routes to the empire

This was the goal the alliance set before the start of the war.

-The expulsion of the allied forces that invaded the Mamluks.

-Conquering the Mediterranean Sea.

-Securing imperial trade routes occupied by Portugal.

This was the goal set by the Allied powers participating in the war.

And both sides entered into negotiations without 100% achieving this goal.

What was interesting was that none of those sitting at the negotiating table were Italian city-states.

This was due to the characteristics of Italian city-states. Italy’s commercial city-states, symbolized by the Medici of Florence, were doing business with all European countries.

The moment you sit down at the negotiating table on either side of an alliance or union, your dealings with the countries on the other side will be thrown out the window.

“Of course, if the alliance had clearly won, it would have proudly taken the spot. But if we cut it off in such a haphazard manner, we have no choice but to hide.”

Cosimo’s complaints represented the feelings of the Italian city-states at the time.

Of course, I knew who in Italy was allied with the other, whether it was an alliance or coalition. However, unless it was officially revealed, the correct answer was to pretend not to know while knowing.

This was because the capital power of the Italian city-states was absolutely necessary for them.

However, seeing Italy’s situation like this, people who are worried about Italy’s future are starting to appear one by one.

* * *

The first place where people worried about Italy’s future appeared was at a university in Florence.

After the empire first appeared with the nickname ‘Land of Flowers’, there were a group of scholars who began to look at it with interest.

Afterwards, I learned more and more about the empire through letters sent by monks who settled in the empire’s research institute.

It was a heaven-sent opportunity for the empire to open its doors to such people.

Scholars at the University of Florence made desperate efforts not to miss the opportunity to actually see the empire they had only imagined after reading the sentences.

In order to participate in a visiting group organized to tour the empire, he appealed himself through various channels, and later, he used every means possible to obtain the position of professor in charge of leading international students.

Scholars who went to the empire and observed the actual state of the empire and the trends of neighboring countries such as the Ming and Japanese countries began to increasingly worry about the future of their hometown, Florence, and Italy.

* * *

-Although it has been overshadowed by the Empire, the Empire is always on the lookout for the Ming.

-Myeongseong, formerly called Kitai, has no problem being called the largest country in the East and Europe. This is because it boasts the largest size in terms of territory size, population size, and market size.

-On the other hand, the empire has powerful military power, technological power, and economic power comparable to that of the Ming, but is inferior to the Ming in both population and territory.

-The empire is well aware of this fact, so it actively encourages fertility.

-Not only is it encouraging childbirth, but it is also actively subjugating the indigenous people living in the surrounding areas of the empire.

-The biggest characteristic of the empire’s indigenous policy is that it does not regard indigenous people as slaves. This means treating the serfs who fled from city to city in Italy as equal citizens of the empire, just as they were treated equally with city residents.

-The empire is trying to solve the problem of supply and demand of talent by not only treating imperial people and natives equally but also providing opportunities for advancement for natives.

While such movements were taking place inside Italy, negotiations were continuing tediously.

“Your demands cannot be accepted!”

“Are your demands like that sane?”

“what? “I know it’s sweet!”

“Someone is saying something!”

Whenever a meeting took place, there was shouting, and when bored, people would hit the desk with their fists and point at each other.

Seeing this scene, the soldiers standing guard at the negotiation site had the same thought regardless of their alliance or union.

‘Ah! Stop making a fuss, come out calmly and fight! ‘Whether it’s punching or stabbing, it’s easy to do as the winner says!’

The negotiations to end the war, which had caused serious stress to the soldiers, were concluded after half a year.

-The Mamluks give up territories occupied by their allies.

-Portugal and Spain stop attacking each other’s African colonies.

-Stop attacks on ships of other countries in the Mediterranean.

Afterwards, agreement was reached on several minor details, and the allies and allied countries signed the document ending the war and declared the end of the war.

“Is this the beginning of peace?”

Many people who heard the rumor thought of peace, but those who looked at the details more closely shook their heads.

“Spain and Portugal will continue to fight.”

“why? “You said you would stop attacking colonies and stop attacking ships in the Mediterranean region.”

“The most important part, the eastern coast of Africa, is missing.”

“Ah...”

This was true.

The east coast of Africa was one of the ‘golden routes’. Ships loaded with gold, silver, ivory, and slaves from Africa were moving along the east coast of Africa.

And the treaty omitted the part about stopping fighting along this route.

This was because, in a sense, the interests of the two countries coincided.

-If you touch a colony, you have to be prepared for a lot of blood loss, but it’s not a ship, right?

* * *

Once the treaty went into effect, officials from Portugal, Ottoman France, and Florence gathered again.

“ruler! “Then let’s talk about this Suez transit route.”

“Let’s do that.”

“Then first of all, is waterway the only answer?”

In the first agenda item, all participants – especially Europe – had serious faces.

This was because I had experienced what the desert was like during the last war.

“I think that mobilizing slaves, as I first mentioned, was a huge waste of both time and money.”

“Then, as expected, an iron horse?”

“That’s the best way, but...” When

the Portuguese representative trailed off, the Florence representative expressed everyone’s feelings.

“Isn’t the problem that all iron horses and railways have to be imperial? “Just like in war, the empire will make the most profit.”

“It would be true to say that ‘only the empire’ makes money.”