Black Corporation: Joseon

Episode 1011 The name of firewood is the arms race (4)

Although a considerable amount of time had passed since the steam engine was introduced, industrialization had not yet taken hold in European powers. This was due to the inevitable temporal background.

It was a time when there were almost no proper commercial powers except for the Italian city-states and the commercial powers of the Middle East. Of course, there was the Hanseatic League in Northern Europe, but the main trading items were salt beer and various textiles. Industries that required heavy and heavy production facilities, such as steel, were very vulnerable.

Of course, if we look at the overall characteristics of these few commercial powers, they were small in scale. There were also huge capitals that controlled all of Europe, such as the Medici family in Florence. However, for the most part, it was similar to a union of small merchants – guilds – who had reunited.

In other words, there was a lack of capacity to project capital on a large scale and create huge industrial facilities. It was not just capital that was lacking in capabilities. As mentioned above, their characteristic was that they were an association of small merchants. Of course, decisions had to go through complicated procedures and were often overturned depending on the interests of each member. At least, they united as one and expressed active support for promoting a centralized system centered on the king.

This was because the centralized system was more beneficial to them than the traditional aristocratic feudalist system. The lack of capabilities of the commercial powers was one cause, but the power shortages themselves were also a problem. Both England and France still felt the aftereffects of the 100 Years’ War. This was the same for Spain and Portugal. Both countries also still had the aftereffects of the Reconquista – Portugal’s Reconquista.

It wasn’t all the aftereffects of the war. In France, Spain, and Portugal, the core of the economy was agriculture. In the case of Spain and Portugal, they made great profits from the slave trade using slaves acquired from Africa, but if you think about the overall scale, agriculture was still their main focus.

To be more precise, the main focus was operating farms using large quantities of slaves in colonies in Africa and the North Atlantic. England and Italy were the countries with the basic capabilities to continue developing commerce and industry, but these also had limitations.

In Italy, there were large capitalists other than the Medici family, but they were unable to go beyond the boundaries of city-states. It was not a geographical boundary, but a boundary of thought. Although he traveled to every corner of the Mediterranean, traded, and made huge profits, his macroscopic view was that he could not leave his hometown city.

This was the same for Cosimo de Medici, who had great insight. Although he understood the true intentions of the empire before anyone else, he was ultimately unable to escape from the interests of Florence and his family. After the unification of Italy, they were able to move beyond their own city and have a broader perspective, but this time, the aftermath of the unification war became an obstacle.

In the case of England, commercial power was able to grow thanks to protectionism that continued from Edward III. But England had to overcome a major obstacle.

The problem was a ‘too small market’.

At this time England was not united with Scotland and Ireland. Therefore, it had a market that was too small and weak to grow properly. In order for European powers to overcome these obstacles and grow into powerful and wealthy countries, they eventually had to expand outside. The problem was that the incense blocked this path, half on purpose, half by coincidence, and 90% intentionally.

* * *

From the European perspective, it was a huge disaster for King Sejong and Hyang to take over Shinji. This was because a huge territory with abundant resources had been blown away. There were Terra (Australia) and Gloria (South America) that were handed over by the empire on behalf of Shinji, but most of these areas were barren – deserts and jungles.

Compared to the overall size, the area where people could live was very small. There was also a way to pioneer barren lands. However, this was a large piece of history that required a lot of time and money, and the powers did not have enough funds. There were too many countries setting foot there.

In Terra, known European powers had established colonies and were glaring at each other, and in the case of Gloria, England and France, who had secretly followed the Portuguese and Italian ships, were secretly preparing to plant their flags.

* * *

India and Southeast Asia were also scented with red pepper powder. The Sultanate of Bengal, which began trading with saltpeter during the reign of King Sejong, as well as the large and small Indian emirates were armed with guns and cannons comparable to the armies of European powers.

It wasn’t just India. Large and small sultanates in Southeast Asia, including Luzon and Malaya, were also armed with guns and cannons. This was thanks to the Ming and Japanese hard work selling guns and cannons.

In addition, countries such as Daewol (Vietnam) and Sumra (Thailand) were even attempting their own production. Thanks to this, the European powers could not push in unconditionally. In some ways, the European powers were in dire straits, and their gaze naturally turned to the empire and the Ottoman Empire.

However, both the Empire and the Ottomans were formidable opponents.

* * *

The Ottomans were the absolute power in the southern Mediterranean region. It controlled most of the territory of the Mamluk dynasty, which had once been its strongest rival, and was expanding its territory into the Arabian Peninsula and Persia. Funnily enough, the entity that had the greatest influence on Ottoman expansion was the empire.

In accordance with the agreement reached when building the Suez Railway, the Ottomans stopped advancing north after Constantinople. Instead, the Ottomans, who had drastically reorganized their military, diverted their troops to North Africa and the Persian region of the Arabian Peninsula.

It was thanks to Suez that the Ottomans were able to pursue such a bold expansion policy. For the purpose of securing the Suez Passage, France and Florence supported the Ottoman invasion of the Mamluks. This support was cut off with the outbreak of the War of Italian Unification, but it was enough for the Ottomans.

After reorganizing North Africa, the Ottomans gradually expanded into the Arabian Peninsula and Persia. Ottoman, who secured the safety of trade routes leading to the empire by taking control of the Arabian Peninsula in North Africa and Persia, pursued exchanges with the empire even more passionately. The Ottomans not only imported weapons but also sent overseas students to adopt the empire’s learning and technology, becoming a powerful force in the Middle East. The military branches of the European powers that were analyzing the Ottoman situation all shook their heads.

“It’s hard to do alone.”

“Then union?”

“For what reason?”

By concluding the Suez-related treaty, the Ottomans made Jerusalem a kind of semi-independent city.

-Pay the prescribed taxes properly.

-Do not force your religion on others.

-Anyone can come and live in Jerusalem as long as these conditions are met.

-Pilgrims can enter Jerusalem by paying a toll tax.

Because of this, European Christians were also able to enter and exit Jerusalem without any inconvenience. Here, at the suggestion of the empire, which smelled of money, a railway jointly formed by France, Florence, Portugal, and the Ottomans was laid from Prince Henry’s Port to Jerusalem.

It was a bonus that famous resorts were created around this railroad, which was built along the scenic coastline. Of course, as it was famous, it became a resort area filled with all kinds of entertainment and decadence, and devout clerics of Christianity and Islam cursed it as ‘the return of Sodom and Gomorrah’.

As a result, Jerusalem, the most useful cause, became useless.

“Still, if you push things forward by force…..”

“France, Portugal and Italy will never intervene, right? It’ll be lucky if they don’t become enemies.”

“We must not forget Suez. France, Portugal and Italy will never come together unless Suez becomes useless.”

“So what’s left is the empire?”

“Is it a spinning empire?”

Those who assumed the empire as their enemy shook their heads.

“There’s no need to calculate this. It’s a sure loss.”

“It’s impossible for now.”

“As time passes…”

They did not know the reality of the empire.

* * *

The Ming Empire was the only country to achieve ‘economy of scale’ during this period. With its large territory and large population in the central plains, the Ming Dynasty had already established an ‘economy of scale’. Thanks to this, even though it suffered two defeats and a civil war, it was able to once again establish its presence as a powerhouse in Northeast Asia.

In the case of the empire, it was able to achieve ‘economy of scale’ by taking control of the Northern Territory and the New Territories. The most symbolic example was the railroad and steel industry. After taking control of the northern territories, the empire passionately built railroads. The vast plains of the northern region were optimal for railroad construction.

In addition to crossing the entire northern region from east to west, north to south, the construction of a railway connecting the northeastern forests to Lake Baikal led to a surge in orders for tracks to be laid on the railway.

It wasn’t just orbit. Demand for iron horses and passenger wagons to run on railroads also increased rapidly. To meet this demand, the imperial court not only increased the size of existing steel mills but also built new steel mills. As a result, large-scale steel mills were established not only in the headquarters of the empire but also in the northern region, and these mills produced steel in large quantities.

As production increased, the price of steel became cheaper, and other products made from steel could be brought to the market more cheaply. This was the same in Shinji. In the beginning of the process of building a railroad in the new area, materials were transported from the main site, but this was a bigger deal than the stomach. Thanks to this, Ministry of Finance and Economy officials waved a white flag to Hyang.

“Even if someone wanted it that much, I was opposed to it because it cost a lot of money, but now I have no choice.”

“If you consider the ferry fare and construction costs…”

In the end, this was one of the biggest reasons why Area 52 was created in Shinji. And the steel mill built in Area 52 did its job well. Later on, Jinpyeong, who came with the incense that found Shinji, became the flagship.

The steel mill in Area 52, which was later established, became the largest steel mill in the empire. To some extent, just one steel mill in Area 52 produced about 30% more than the combined production of all steel mills located in the empire’s headquarters and the northern region. With this economy of scale achieved, the empire was able to take on the challenge of building large iron ships.

The best example was the iron armor plate, which was the biggest problem faced by European powers in the construction of ironclad ships. At this time, the empire was producing steel plates with the largest area in the world. The same was true for the keel and ribs. This was not the only effect brought about by the steel mill in Shinji Area 52.

Monopoly Imperial Army District 52 Steel Mill.

This became a major means of quickly imperializing the indigenous people of Shinji, specifically the indigenous people of the northeastern region of Shinji.