Black Corporation: Joseon

Episode 1059: Gambling. (3)

At Han Chi-hyeong’s words, all the ministers focused their attention on Han Chi-hyeong. But it was never a good look.

‘I’ve been emptying my pockets buying alcohol these past few days, but have I lost my taste?’

‘Did you go crazy after being scolded by His Majesty?’

‘Have you taken any spoiled tonic medicine?’

Deputy Prime Minister Seong Jun asked Han Chi-hyeong on behalf of the ministers who were full of suspicion.

“Let’s scatter ashes? Are you saying that our empire also wants to get involved in that troublesome gambling game?”

The ministers all nodded to Seongjun’s question. If the empire intervened, it would definitely scatter ashes. If the empire announced its intention to participate, it was certain that the three influential candidates would take the initiative and offer their hands, and if that happened, it was clear that the European powers would become dogs chasing chickens. It was literally scattering ashes on the gambling table that the European powers had carefully created.

If there’s a problem……

“The problem is that the empire also has to choose one person, and if you make a mistake, the empire will also fall into a quagmire.”

Han Chi-hyeong grinned and responded to Seong-jun’s point.

“Of course, I am well aware of the danger. And the people sent by the European powers will already be crowded around the governors in question. Then, the governors’ arrogance will be high in the sky, and the messenger sent on behalf of the empire may be humiliated. .”

At Han Chi-hyeong’s words, the Minister of National Defense opened his mouth with a fierce expression on his face.

“If that happens, we’ll have to turn the whole situation upside down. How dare you!”

Left Deputy Prime Minister Ryu Sun immediately intervened in the words of the Minister of National Defense.

“It’s just an assumption. No matter how arrogant you are, if you had the brains to think, you wouldn’t do such a stupid thing. You would just play tug-of-war to raise the ransom.”

Han Chi-hyung immediately nodded at Ryu Sun’s words.

“I agree. Of course, anyone who thinks will do so. But in the end, it is clear that it will be a boring situation in which our empire cannot lead. So the place I plan to scatter ashes is not the Ottomans. It is Persia.”

“Persia?”

When ‘Persia’ appeared out of nowhere, all the ministers expressed doubts.

“Wait….Persia….Hoo?’

The first person to react was the Minister of Foreign Affairs. The Minister of Foreign Affairs looked at Han Chi-hyeong with shining eyes.

“The kingdom that ruled Persia collapsed not long ago, and it is now Muju-gongsan. No, it’s not Muju Gongsan, but should we say it’s a difficult time? Do you want to use that place?”

Han Chi-hyeong nodded at the Minister of Foreign Affairs’ words.

“Yes, that’s right. “We are going to select a powerful person among the nobles who created the turbulent times and make him the master of Persia.”

“Hmm…”

The ministers who heard Han Chi-hyeong’s plan had serious expressions on their faces and weighed the profits and losses in their minds. Just like that. While considering the profits and losses, Ryu Sun was the first to speak up.

“Even if you roughly calculate the amount of money involved, it seems like it will cost a considerable amount, right? And even if it succeeds, it is unlikely to cause any damage to the Ottomans or the European powers. It’s completely separate from the battle to determine the successor.”

To Ryu Sun’s point, Han Chi-hyeong immediately responded,

“If Suez is the only thing at stake in the gamble, then what the Deputy Prime Minister said is correct. But isn’t there one more thing than that? You mean oil.”

“Oil?”

“I’ll explain while looking at the map.”

Han Chi-hyung continued by pointing out the regions of Persia, the Arabian Peninsula, and Azerbaijan on the world map hanging on the wall.

-Adurvadagan, Mesopotamia on the Arabian Peninsula. The Baku region (old name of Azerbaijan) has been an oil producing area since ancient times.

-European powers have to pass through the Ottomans to get here.

-The reason why European powers are showing interest and trying to intervene in the decision on Ottoman successor is because of the Suez But there is also this very geographical problem – if one’s chosen successor becomes an Ottoman monarch, the European winner will

either gain the right to transit through Ottoman territory or try to take control of that region together with the Ottomans.

Han Chi-hyeong turned to the ministers and asked a question:

“Now, here’s a question to think about! ‘What do you think would happen if a country other than the Ottomans were firmly entrenched in this area, which European powers covet?’

The Minister of National Defense immediately answered Han Chi-hyeong’s question.

“I will scatter the ashes properly. But I cannot agree to doing anything just because of that. At best, I am getting my due.”

“I agree.”

“I agree.”

Other ministers also agreed with the Minister of National Defense’s opinion. Looking at the ministers like that, Han Chi-hyeong continued speaking again.

“Our empire also needs oil from this region.”

The Minister of National Defense again raised a counterargument to Han Chi-hyeong’s words.

“Oil is also coming from our empire. Supporting the nobles in the Persian region may end with simple support of military supplies, but in the worst case, we must also consider dispatching the empire. Protecting His Majesty the Emperor and protecting the empire’s territory and people is important. “It is the job of the Imperial Army. It is not the Imperial Army’s job to get involved in the internal disputes of countries that are not allies of the Empire.”

Following the Minister of National Defense’s remarks, the Minister of Foreign Affairs also raised a counterargument.

“I agree with what the Minister of Defense said. If you look at the European powers currently working in the Ottoman Empire, there are some who have an uneasy relationship with our empire, but there are also those who are allies or maintain friendly relations. If you make a mistake, you can end up in trouble with them. Yes. If that happens, there will be no benefit and only disappointment.”

Despite criticism from the Minister of National Defense and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Han Chi-hyeong did not give up his argument.

“We need oil too.”

“The Minister of National Defense also said, ‘Don’t we also produce oil?’

“What if all the oil that is coming out now?”

“Huh?”

“What if the oil well that is producing oil now dries up in a few years?”

“Huh? ‘Have you heard such a thing?’

“That’s an assumption. But think about it carefully. Oil is a commodity that will become increasingly important and its value will rise. The European powers have also noticed this, so they are making moves to take advantage of the Ottomans. What if. “What will we do if the local oil is in their hands and we have no oil?”

“…….”

The ministers could not easily open their mouths due to Han Chi-hyeong’s assumption. Han Chi-hyeong continued to explain why he needed to intervene.

“Even now, prospecting and drilling are in progress in the headquarters of the empire, the northeastern region, and new territories, and indeed in all river areas of the empire. And the existence of new gold, silver, and other mines is reported several times a year. However, the mines that are actually mined are What is the reason for the minimum amount of oil? Isn’t it not just for us to use, but to leave behind for our future generations? The same goes for oil. With the help of the gods of heaven and earth, we may be able to find new oil wells other than the ones we are currently using, but there is a possibility that we may not be able to do so. If we think about our future generations, is there only one more answer?’

No one opened their mouths easily to Han Chi-hyeong’s words. After a long period of silence, Ryu Sun opened his mouth.

“…Let’s think about it a little more.”

After that, the meeting continued for almost fifteen days. This was unavoidable. Not only the empire, but also the European powers began to show interest in oil. And this was only the beginning. As soon as they knew its value, it was certain that sooner or later all the countries in the world would become interested in oil. If

things went this way, of course the country would become interested in oil. It was certain that there would be a conflict of interest between them, and as the Minister of Foreign Affairs said, there would be a situation in which there would be trouble with the empire’s allies.

‘Is it really worth going to such an extreme situation and proceeding with the work?’

‘Is it worth risking tarnishing the empire’s reputation?’

The ministers had a fierce war of words over this. And because of this war of words, the officials below had to work all night long.

“Bring me data on the locations of mines throughout the empire! The most recent one!”

“Bring all the information related to oil wells! The most recent!”

“Bring me data on births and deaths from across the empire! The most recent one! ah! Also, bring birth rate records from across the empire!”

“Nothing? You can’t find it? Is the recorder just for decoration?{‘

“The numbers here are wrong! Can’t you even transcribe them properly?”

There were shouts coming from all directions and papers with information flying through the sky. Based on the data obtained and analyzed in this way, the ministers organized their thoughts.

-Considering the current situation and future expectations of the empire, is it reasonable to implement the prime minister’s idea?

It was a battle of words to solve a seemingly simple but infinitely complex problem. Meanwhile, Hyeon, who had received this report through various routes, went to Hyang and talked to him.

“Like last time, I was thinking of dismissing everyone and hiring new people.”

Hyang smiled and accepted Hyun’s words.

“Still, aren’t people like Han Myeong-hoe the ones they chose? If you feel like you’ve become too lax sometimes, you can just give them a harsh word.”

“I will keep this in mind. I will also inform the crown prince.”

“It’s natural.”

He was a grandson who shared stories that would make the people involved hear heart-wrenching stories.

* * *

Meanwhile, while a fierce war of words was taking place above, strange stories were also emerging below. A representative example was the Ministry of Education.

“Why on earth do we have to go through this trouble?”

“huh? What?”

“My friend at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that this sad month is due to something that is happening or might happen in the Ottoman Empire right now? But we are the Ministry of Education, right? It’s understandable for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Defense, or at least the Ministry of Finance and Economy, but why do we, the Ministry of Education, have to go through this trouble?”

“Really? Are you suddenly posting information about the promotion of imperial policies targeting students at the Social Democratic Institute? What does this have to do with Osman?”

As these words were exchanged among lower-level officials, middle-ranking officials with the status of government officials explained the reason to them.

“The reason is simple. This is because those attending the academy see and learn what we are doing now. If what we are doing now becomes a bad example, the future of the empire will not be good.”

“Ah…”

“If you understand, go and do your work! If I don’t like the report this time, I’ll throw it into the record office!”

“Oh, I understand!”

* * *

As the situation continued for nearly 15 days without an easy conclusion, Hyun talked to Hyang again about this.

“What do you think, Tae-sang-tae? What do you think?”

“What do you think, Emperor?”

Hyang was silent for a moment before answering Hyang’s question.

“I think we should consider the Prime Minister’s proposal. “You don’t know the future.”

“I agree. But there is also a problem. If you do something wrong, the empire could become isolated. To put it in a good way, it means becoming a maverick. To put it in a bad way, it means becoming a loner.”

“Yes, honestly, that is the biggest obstacle.”

Hyang, who was watching Hyeon’s expression as he answered, asked Hyeon.

“I think the emperor has thought about the answer to some extent, right?”

“We I think the answer is to find someone who can move with you. The question is who is the right person. European allies are a bit puzzling. You keep it a secret even from us.”

In response to Hyeon’s words, Hyang shared her thoughts.

“How about finding someone in need and putting them in front?”

“Putting them in front? You mean as a minion?”

“That’s right. So, what about Japan?”