Black Corporation: Joseon

Episode 1057: Gambling. (1)

At this time, the Suez Railway was already saturated. This was thanks to the addition of logistics between Asia and Europe, as well as logistics between Terra and Gloria.

* * *

In the case of Terra and Gloria, there was a route to Europe and a route between Terra and Gloria. However, when heading from Terra to Europe, you had to go up the west coast of Africa, and when heading from Gloria to Europe, you had to go up diagonally across the Atlantic Ocean. This was not only a problem of time efficiency, but a bigger problem was that there was a very high possibility of encountering something dangerous during the voyage.

There were more than one ship that disappeared while crossing the vast and rough seas of the South Pacific and Southern Indian Ocean. As they crossed the dangerous sea and approached Africa, pirates, not dangerous waves, were waiting for them. The existing sea routes, especially those patrolled by the Imperial Navy, rarely saw the shadows of pirates, but the problem was that the Imperial Navy could not be seen on the direct route connecting Terra and Gloria Europe.

The situation improved slightly as the Imperial Navy, which took control of Gibraltar, patrolled the entrance to the Mediterranean Sea and the Moroccan area, but it was still a ‘pee on my feet’ situation. Thanks to this, pirates who moved their lairs to southern Morocco and Western Sahara and Mauritania in the 21st century targeted ships coming up from Africa and European merchant ships coming across the Atlantic. In the end, ships coming from Terra and ships coming from Gloria via Terra were headed to Suez.

* * *

In this situation, the Suez Railway was saturated. Cargoes from Suez to Prince Henry Port Suez’s railway station and port wharves were in chaos due to various supplies being sent from Prince Henry Port to Suez. A chaos ensued as merchants and shippers were fighting to send their own luggage first, and workers who were demanding that they leave the luggage to themselves were all mixed up. In order to resolve this mess, the powers including the empire had to come together even in a difficult atmosphere.

“Diplomacy is diplomacy, and Suez is Suez. Let’s focus only on Suez.”

“Let’s do that.”

Representatives of other countries also readily agreed with the words of the imperial representative.

‘Diplomacy is diplomacy and money is money. cancer!’

As a result of the cooperation of the interests managing the Suez Railway, the size of the Suez railway station and port became larger. Subsequently, a proposal was made to expand the Suez Railway, which is currently double track, to double track, and it was passed unanimously. Soon, a large amount of money was invested, construction progressed, and traffic control at ports and stations was also carried out. The area where cargo going from Suez to Prince Henry Port and cargo sent from Prince Henry Port to Suez were handled once again, and supervision was strengthened to ensure that only authorized workers could enter.

“This will give us some breathing room for now, but it won’t be long before it becomes a mess again.”

Looking at the ever-increasing volume of cargo, imperial officials presented a pessimistic outlook.

“I agree. It will become quieter once the expansion works are completed.”

Portuguese officials shook their heads at the French representative’s words.

“If we look at the increasing traffic volume now, it will be a mess not long after the expansion work is completed.”

“Then wouldn’t we need some new measures?”

The imperial representative briefly answered the French representative’s question.

“Canals. Digging big, beautiful canals.”

The French representative looked astonished at the imperial representative’s words.

“Canal? Didn’t they go by rail because it was too difficult to maintain?”

When there was talk of building a transportation route connecting Suez and the Mediterranean Sea, the first thing mentioned was a canal. There were records of a canal being built in this area even in ancient times, and since it was a flat land all the way from Suez to the Mediterranean, the canal was the first thing mentioned. However, the canal soon had no choice but to be excluded from the discussion. This was due to the huge construction funds and subsequent maintenance issues.

“The canal was abandoned right away because of the sand flying in from the damn desert. Who can afford the money we have to scoop out the sand that accumulates on the bottom all the time?”

At the French representative’s point, all representatives except the Empire nodded. The representative of the Empire also responded positively to the French representative’s point.

“It’s not wrong. Because of the sand, the money spent on maintenance of the railway is also high. But the railway clearly has its limits. Sooner or later, we will have to seriously think about the canal.”

* * *

And as time passed, European powers began to worry about the ‘Suez Canal’.

“A lot of money goes into canal construction. But the situation is very different now from before. In the past, it was something that was completely unthinkable, but now it seems like it’s okay to push a little harder, right?”

Thanks to their exploration of Africa and Terra Gloria, the economic power of the European powers had grown significantly. Of course, the war consumed a considerable amount of military expenditure, but unlike before, it did not take much time to recover. And the enormous profits from the Suez Railway made the canal a positive prospect.

“Even Italy, which has the smallest stake, receives a lot of profit. What if the Ottomans and we jointly sell the canal? How enormous would the profit be?”

“It’s not just about the profits from canals. Think about oil, oil! Soon, oil, not coal, will run the world!”

* * *

There were already widespread rumors that the empire was refining oil and using it as fuel. In particular, there was talk that among the conditions put forward for the contest, ‘petroleum’ had already been chosen, starting with the fuel condition. And both the artisans and scholars participating in the contest agreed with this hypothesis.

“It’s hard to do anything other than oil.”

“That mana gunpowder was as powerful as oil, but it was completely excluded! In the end, oil is the only answer.”

With this analysis added, both the monarchs of European powers, capitalists, and scholars came to the same conclusion.

“You can only achieve hegemony if you control oil!”

It was impossible to mess with an empire that was already using oil well, and the Ottomans were caught in the middle of all other influential regions.

“So that means you just need to cook and boil the ottoman well.”

“Once I get the canals and oil, hegemony will be mine!”

Despite this conclusion, the European powers could not move easily.

“The problem is that the current Ottoman sultan is not an easy person.”

* * *

The current sultan ruling the Ottoman Empire was Bayezid II. This is what Hyang evaluated about Bayezid II:

“Moderate Islamic fundamentalists. The problem is that they are fundamentalists. Whether they are moderate or extreme, fundamentalists are troublesome people.”

Unlike his predecessor, Sultan Mehmet II, who was pro-European, Bayezid II loved traditional Islamic culture.

It was never easy to deal with Bayezid II, who was a pious Muslim who was called ‘the just Bayezid’. Of course, Bayezid II showed a fairly tolerant attitude toward other religions. A representative example was the opening of Jerusalem to allow pilgrimage by Catholics and Orthodox believers, like his predecessor, Sultan Mehmet II.

In addition, he showed a diplomatic moderation. Rather than focusing on expansion like Mehmed II, he was focusing only on stabilizing the territory that Mehmed II had expanded. However, that does not mean that Bayezid II was a soft person. Bayezid II succeeded Mehmet II and reformed the military system with a focus on gunpowder weapons and strengthened the army. Thanks to this, the Ottoman neighbors, especially the countries of the Balkan Peninsula and Eastern Europe, could never feel at ease.

Because it was Bayezid II like this, the European powers could not move easily.

‘How can I persuade Osman to join hands with me?’

The monarchs and subjects of the European powers who were concerned about this topic soon found a solution. It was a question of Bayezid II’s age and succession.

* * *

Bayezid II was already over 60 years old. Of course, there were people who, like incense, were still flying around even after the age of 90, but the general situation in this era was that if you were over 60, you would not have many days left to die. If so, it was certain that a competition for Bayezid II’s successor would arise sooner or later. Choosing Osman’s successor was a bloody contest.

The sultan dispersed his children to governors throughout the Ottoman region. When the sultan died, the children who heard the news immediately returned to the capital, and the first child to return to the capital became the sultan. The problem was that this race was absolutely not a fair race. As soon as it became clear that the sultan was growing old, his children entered into competition. The first thing to do was to secure control over the region where he had been appointed governor and then begin carrying out all kinds of maneuvers against the surrounding brothers.

And when the race started, as they headed towards the capital, they would engage in a civil war rather than a civil war with their competing brothers. And in this race, sympathy or unity was absolutely impossible. This was because the victor, who became sultan, immediately executed all of his brothers. Therefore, the brothers who lost the race had to be executed or escape from the Ottomans.

It was a race of ‘All or nothing’.

* * *

The European powers weighed up this bloody race.

“Hoo~. If we do this well…”

It was clear that if we selected the right candidate, joined hands, and succeeded in the race, we would reap enormous benefits.

“Who would be better?”

European powers sent spies and merchants to the Ottomans to find suitable candidates.

“You can’t be too powerful, and you can’t be too unlikely.”

The person most likely to succeed him would know full well that he was the most powerful, and this meant that it would be difficult to get his hands on one. However, choosing someone with a too low probability was also a problem. A low probability means that the power you have is weak and that you have to invest more than expected. Of course, if we succeed, we can make a fortune, but…

“The problem is that we are not the only ones who thought this way.”

The odds of victory were too low, as other powers were sure to be making similar calculations.

“So that means we need to select the right people among those in the championship bracket.”

After reaching a conclusion, the monarchs and powerful people of European powers waited for the information that spies and merchants would bring. And those who analyzed the intelligence information that came in shook their heads.

“It’s a melee.”

“To be more precise, is it a three-way battle?”

Bayezid II’s three sons were engaged in a secret but fierce competition to succeed him. The governor of Anatolia was Ahmad, the governor of Korkud Amasya, and Selim, the governor of Trabzon. European powers began to seriously weigh these three strong candidates.

“Who should I invest in to ensure sure success?”

Meanwhile, secretaries established in Europe reported the movements of the great powers to Seoul. Hyeon, who received the report, immediately placed his hand on his forehead, and after receiving the report, Hyang swore.

“These damn bastards…. What will be the point if they just quietly and conventionally engage in politics?”