Black Corporation: Joseon

Episode 1005 Meanwhile, elsewhere….. (10) As

the ‘Great Circular Route’ became established as the official route, those who were most confused were the people of the empire.

“What? Great Circular Route?”

“Daae~circular route?”

The people of the empire, especially the sailors of the navy and merchant ships, who heard the story shook their heads. In the decades since the discovery of Shinji, the empire has not been idle. Although the construction of a ‘sea wall’ was a top priority, they never forgot to explore and survey Shinji’s coastline.

“We have to stop the dog hole from opening!”

Finding the guano mine in the process was the best harvest. Therefore, the Empire had the best geographic information related to Shinji, both in quality and quantity. Of course, there is a condition that it is limited to the coastline.

Therefore, when the ‘Great Circular Route’ became a hot topic in Europe, the people of the empire were confused.

“If we hadn’t guided them from the moment they first came with a map, they would have all gone to the goal!”

* * *

As soon as the war in Italy ended, Portugal moved quickly. They set off by entrusting newly built large ships to competent naval officers and sailors who were selected after careful screening.

Of course, crossing the Atlantic Ocean relying only on a map was a dangerous task. To lower the risk, Portugal entered into a deal with the empire.

Instead of sharing the Portuguese naval port on the Azores Islands, located in the middle of the North Atlantic, with the imperial navy, they asked for route guidance and a supply base. Since the Azores Islands were also needed by the empire, the empire readily agreed to this transaction.

Soon after, the Portuguese expedition departing from Ceuta entered the imperial naval port of Gibraltar. Funnily enough, it was to receive a final inspection from the Imperial Navy. The Portuguese Navy was not without experience in long-distance voyages.

However, thanks to changes in history after the intervention of Xiang, most of their long-distance voyages were explorations of Africa.

“Wine? Drink vinegar instead of water, or throw it away.”

“Are we going to war? We are overarmed. It would be better to fill that space with more food.”

“You know that water goes bad, right? Why don’t you buy a distillation tank and a water purification tank? It’s not that expensive.”

In the meantime, the empire and its people did not forget about making money. While the Portuguese outside were conducting final inspections, going back and forth, a fierce battle of wits was taking place at the Imperial Navy’s Gibraltar headquarters.

-Who will be in charge of directions?

Since it was certain that there would be more harm than good, the captains were in a situation where they were slowly retreating. In the end, three people were selected after a lottery.

* * *

The Imperial-Portuguese fleet departed from Gibraltar and crossed the Atlantic Ocean via the Azores Islands. The place where the fleet arrived was the Empire’s Namsinji Islands – the area around what is now Cuba, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic.

The Portuguese fleet, which safely arrived at the Namsinji Islands and the Imperial Military Port, took a short break and resumed maintenance. After completing rest and maintenance, the Portuguese fleet began heading south again, guided by the imperial warships of the Namsinji Fleet.

As the voyage continued, the busiest people were the captains and navigators of the Portuguese fleet.

-I will guide you to the safe zone at the southern end of the unidentified area. After that, you can take care of it. This was the promise between the Empire and Portugal. According to this promise, the Imperial Navy of the Namsinji Fleet only provided guidance in silence, and the rest was left to the Portuguese Navy.

Because of this, the captains and captains of the Portuguese fleet had no time to rest. The route was recorded based on the map provided by the empire, and the locations of suitable places as intermediate supply bases were recorded. The work didn’t end there.

Even the amount of drinking water and food consumed during the voyage and the number of patients that occurred were meticulously recorded.

After sailing like a blind man relying on a guide’s cane to navigate, the Portuguese fleet was able to arrive at the southern end of the unidentified area. To be precise, it was the Rio Grande region located in the Tierra del Fuego Islands in history before the intervention of the fragrance.

“A little further down from here, at the southern end. That river is the last place where you can easily get fresh water. That’s where our guidance ends.”

Portuguese Fleet Commander Bartolomeu Dias nodded at the words of the Imperial Navy Captain in charge of guidance.

“I understand. Thank you.”

“Supplies will arrive in three months as fast as possible. Good luck.”

The Portuguese fleet’s mission was to check the route northward by circling the south. As expected from the empire, this part was missing from the map. Dias expressed his sincere gratitude to the words of the Imperial Navy captain.

“I am truly grateful for the Empire’s hospitality! I sincerely hope that God’s blessings will be with you forever!”

Did Dias’ heartfelt wishes move the captain’s heart? The captain paused for a moment and spoke to Dias.

“I’m sure His Majesty will be pleased with the commander’s wishes. And… as a fellow sailor, I have to say that there are three detour routes from here. So, that’s enough.”

After speaking briefly but of immense value, the imperial captain got off Dias’ ship and returned to his own ship. Dias, who realized the meaning of the captain’s words, greeted the departing imperial warship with a bright face.

“Thank you! Thank you so much!”

Meanwhile, the military interpreter who accompanied the captain looked at him with a face full of worry.

“Maybe I told you too much?”

Unlike the interpreter, who was full of worry, the captain’s expression was carefree.

“Wouldn’t it be appropriate to repay someone who has prayed for God’s blessings on His Majesty?”

“But…”

“After all, isn’t it our empire anymore?”

* * *

With the Imperial Navy gone, the lone Portuguese fleet landed its naval forces. After the blessing of the priest who landed together, Dias shouted loudly in front of the sailors.

“By the order of Joao II, the great monarch of Portugal, we hereby declare that from now on this is our Portuguese territory! From now on, the name of this place will be ‘Porta de oportunidade’ and the name of this land will be ‘Glory.’ It will become ‘terra da gloria’!”

“viva! viva!”

As soon as Diaz’s proclamation ended, everyone present shouted hurray.

* * *

Dias set up a base camp at the ‘Gate of Opportunity’ and called the captains together.

“The Imperial Navy Captain told me there are three detours. It will be our mission to find those detours.”

One of the captains questioned Diaz’s words.

“Isn’t that a lie?”

“What does he have to gain by lying to me?”

In response to Diaz’s rebuttal, the captain who made the problematic statement kept his mouth shut. Dias glared at him for a moment, then pointed his finger at the map and continued speaking.

“Of the three, the first would be a typical detour along the outside of Gloria. The other two would be… Hmm… If this place we’re staying on was an island, there would be a waterway.”

No one questioned Diaz’s point. After confirming that there were no objections, Diaz moved on.

“It is likely that at least one of those channels is here in the middle of the bay north of the Gate of Opportunity. So I will split the fleet in two.”

Diaz’s plan was as follows.

-Of the fleet divided into two, one is sent north to explore the waterway.

-The other is to explore the existence of an unknown waterway and the possibility of a detour.

None of the captains objected to the plan, which was so simple and clear. After completing maintenance, the Portuguese fleet was divided into two and went on an expedition.

* * *

Through the exploration of the fleet led by Dias, three straits were discovered and the Great Circular Passage was revealed.

Depending on the location, it was given names such as ‘East of the Gate’, ‘South of the Gate’, and ‘Inlet of the Waves’, but in history before the intervention of the Fragrance, it was called ‘Strait of Magellan’, ‘Beagle Strait’, and ‘Drake Strait’.

The most infamous place among these was ‘Wave Entrance’.

During a storm with an average wave height of 10 meters, most sailing ships could not even dare to pass in the face of waves with a wave height of 30 meters. Of the two remaining waterways, the most popular was ‘North of the Gate’.

This was because it was the widest. Thanks to these two waterways, Portugal was able to advance into the western part of the Gloria continent more quickly. And less than five years later, Italy followed Portugal’s lead and advanced into the western part of the Gloria continent.

For Italy, which had spent a huge amount of money in the last war of unification, advancement to Gloria was the only hope. This was because many vested interests had already been lost in traditional Mediterranean trade. While Portugal and Italy were competing for colonies in Gloria, England and France also entered Gloria.

As the situation unfolded, a fierce battle for colonies began to take place in Gloria. This battle for colonies was very fierce compared to the history before the intervention of the township. It was thanks to the empire taking over Shinji.

As the huge northern and central areas of Shinji became part of the empire, the area that European powers could occupy was greatly reduced.

* * *

In this fierce colonial competition, what emerged as the eye of the typhoon was Shinji’s sugar liquor distillery, which was ceded by the empire. The port, built to transport sugar liquor from sugar liquor distilleries, was an excellent supply base.

European ships crossing the Atlantic completed supply and maintenance at the ports of these distilleries and then set sail loaded with spirits. The destinations these ships headed were their colonies created on Gloria and Terra. As a tool to exploit the colony’s indigenous people, sugar liquor was a more reliable and overwhelmingly cheaper means than force.

Native people who were addicted to sugar liquor had to endure harsh labor in mines and farms operated by Europeans in order to drink sugar liquor. Of course, many indigenous people began to die because they could not endure this harsh labor, and Europeans began transporting slaves from Africa. And here a problem arose.

The empire had banned slave transport ships from entering the port.

-Only ships transporting sugar liquor can call at ports located where sugar liquor distilleries are located.

It was natural that the European powers rebelled against this cause of empire. But the empire was strong.

-According to what we have observed so far, slave transport ships are full of all kinds of diseases. For the safety of the people of the empire, the entry of slave transport ships had no choice but to be blocked.

“Those natives are imperial people?”

“He is registered in the empire’s family register, follows the empire’s laws, and pays taxes to the empire, so he is definitely an imperial citizen! Are you dissatisfied?”

“These are slaves who work in the distillery!”

“Didn’t you read the contract’s additional provisions? The workers working at the distillery are hired by local imperial workers! In addition, these workers are paid the wages specified by the empire!”

There were various disputes after that, but the empire’s position remained the same.

-The distillery is yours, but the land and port are the Empire’s!

Eventually, European powers had to bring slaves to Gloria through the sea route from Africa to Terra.