Chapter 121

Chapter 121: Hangul.



Ever since that day, Hojo Ujitsuna had treated the Swift Rope and his crew very hospitably, and granted them whatever they wanted.



Thanks to that, the Swift Rope stayed here for quite a while, and learned a lot about the local situation and various knowledge.



‘The past Andes and the current situation are quite similar.’



The more he learned about the situation in this region, the more he couldn’t shake off this thought from his head.



The sight of numerous factions rising up and stealing each other’s lands reminded him of the Andes.



Of course, the reasons and circumstances were different, but the factional form of armed men ruling over the people was the same.



Still, he had a fulfilling time experiencing the unfamiliar culture of a new world.



And this was also true for Hojo Ujitsuna and the samurai.



They also learned a lot about the Wakan Tanka Empire.



Beyond the vast eastern sea, there existed a huge Wacantanga continent that was incomparable to their own territory.



That continent was unified by the Wakan Tanka Empire, and the long-standing ban on sailing had been relaxed.



They also learned about the spirit faith and Kim Kiwoo’s existence.



‘It’s really absurd.’



Hojo Ujitsuna thought as he fiddled with an imperial gold coin.



He looked at Kim Kiwoo’s face engraved on the coin.



A face that looked like it was in its mid-twenties at most.



It didn’t look old at all.



But this guy had built the empire from scratch.



And he was still maintaining the same appearance, which made him feel like he was nothing less than a living god.



There were Denno in this land too, but Hojo Ujitsuna knew well that even Denno couldn’t escape the flow of time.



But no matter how he looked at it, it didn’t seem like the sailors were lying.



‘That’s not important right now.’



Hojo Ujitsuna suppressed his curiosity.



What was more important was how to make them like him and accept his advanced culture.



So, after discussing with his subordinates, Hojo Ujitsuna invited the Swift Rope to Odawara Castle.



“Have you been comfortable here?”



“Thanks to your grace, we have been resting very comfortably. We are very grateful for your kindness.”



“It’s only natural to welcome a precious guest who came from far away. Rather, we are thankful that you came here first.”



“Don’t mention it.”



The atmosphere on both sides was amicable.



They continued to chat about Odawara Castle and other trivial matters.



When the mood was ripe, Hojo Ujitsuna got to the point.



“I heard that you came here as soon as the ban on sailing was lifted.”



“That’s right. Not only us, but many fleets are spreading to various parts of the world.”



“Then there is a high possibility that other fleets of the empire have come to other regions of this land?”



“Probably. I heard that this land is skewed to the east.”



As he expected.



Hojo Ujitsuna’s chest sank a little at the confirmation of the Swift Rope.



‘If the empire’s weapons and goods go to other powerful daimyos…’



It would be bad for him, that was for sure.



So, Hojo Ujitsuna felt more determined to hold on to the man in front of him.



Hojo Ujitsuna spoke bluntly.



“I won’t beat around the bush. We desperately need the help of the empire. If it’s okay with you, would you join hands with us?”



“Hmm? Join hands?”



“As you said earlier, this island is skewed to the east, and this place is in the eastern coastal region. So if you stop by here every time you sail, we will provide you with everything you need. Whether it’s coal, people, or food.”



“As far as I know, you don’t mine coal…”



“That’s not a problem. We will somehow get enough coal for you, so don’t worry.”



The Swift Rope felt a bit tempted.



He needed a place to supply coal and food anyway.



He continued.



“Mr. Swift Rope, you can’t stay here forever, can you? There is a huge continent in the west, and it has much more resources than here. It’s a very wealthy region.”



“I’ve heard that.”



“So if you allow us, we will sell the empire’s products on your behalf in this land. And we will take only the minimum profit.”



“…”



If his words were true, it was a very generous offer.



He would sell the empire’s products to other regions for them…



And he would return most of the profits.



And his proposal was not over yet.



“Lastly, we will spare no support for the spirit faith of the empire to take root in this land.”



The spread of the spirit faith was also a very important and sensitive issue, so he was even more tempted by this voluntary offer.



He seemed to give up everything he had.



So he became more suspicious.



“Why do you want to do this so much? You must have something you want from us.”



“I want this land. I want to pacify this chaotic era with my own hands.”



It was a goal that he honestly doubted was possible until he knew of the empire’s existence.



But after they came, Hojo Ujitsuna changed his mind.



“I need the empire’s advanced weapons to do that. Please sell those weapons to us. I beg you.”



Swift Rope felt a strong flame of desire in his eyes.



He looked like a huge beast crouching down.



‘Weapons…’



The sailing ban was not completely lifted, but relaxed.



Of course, there were things that were prohibited.



For example, human trafficking such as slave trade, or actions such as occupying a region by force.



The interpreters from the foreign ministry on board were in charge of interpreting and monitoring the delegation at the same time.



If such a serious violation was detected and reported by the interpreters, they would be punished severely for violating the imperial decree.



If all the interpreters were killed, most of the sailors would be interrogated, and their lives and health were very important in the delegation.



And there were also items that could not be traded, such as steam engines, ships of the empire, and books containing core technologies.



Among them, there were some restrictions on imperial weapons.



The sale of new weapons was prohibited for the security of the empire.



‘But old weapons are available for sale.’



The weapons that were mass-produced in the past.



They were useless in the empire, taking up only warehouse space, but it was a different story elsewhere.



Swift Rope told him honestly about this fact.



That old imperial weapons were available for sale.



“Can I see those old weapons then?”



“Sure.”



He had brought plenty of old weapons because he thought this might happen.



Even though they were old, muskets and old steel cannons were still formidable weapons in Japan.



Hojo Ujitsuna realized this as soon as he saw the demonstration of these old weapons.



Especially, those steel cannons would show tremendous power in siege warfare.



“I am satisfied with these weapons. Will you accept my offer?”



“Yes.”



“Oh, and please take my son with you. He wants to learn a lot about the empire from you, Mr. Swift Rope.”



“Well, that’s not difficult.”



“Haha. Thank you.”



And Hojo Ujitsuna gestured to his son and said.



“Greet the old man.”



“Hello. I am Hojo Ujitsuna.”



“Good. Nice to meet you.”



That’s how Hojo Ujitsuna joined Swift Rope’s party.



***



After that, both sides signed a treaty with refined conditions.



And they entrusted Hojo Ujitsuna with various products brought from the empire.



Of course, they couldn’t trust him completely, so they decided to station some sailors there.



And they loaded a lot of guides and local workers to the continent on board.



Thanks to that, the number of people on board increased rather than decreased.



As the preparations for departure were almost finished.



“Captain!”



Dark Sky rushed into the room where Swift Rope was.



The guy who was calm in everything was flushed with panic, and Swift Rope’s face was filled with curiosity.



“…Why are you so sudden?”



“Please, please look at this!”



He stuttered and handed him a book.



“What is this?”



Swift Rope casually took the book and, like Dark Sky, his eyes widened.



And he immediately flipped through the book quickly.



“What?”



A word that seemed absurd came out of his mouth.



Swift Rope closed the book after flipping through all the pages in his place.



And he asked Dark Sky.



“What is this? This is the imperial script, isn’t it?”



“Ye, yes. It’s definitely the imperial script.”



“Tell me exactly what happened!”



Soon, the whole story of the incident began to flow from Dark Sky.



The situation was like this.



In Japan, there had been pirates from the past, and it was still the same now.



These pirates plundered the coastal areas of China and Joseon, and among them, this book flowed into Japan.



But coincidentally, the empire bought many local books at a very high price.



So many books poured in, and among them, a book plundered from Joseon was mixed in.



There was a book written in Hangul because King Sejong had created Hangul a long time ago.



After hearing the whole story, Swift Rope thought for a while and started talking.



“So this is the letter of Joseon, a country across the sea?”



“Yes. The letters are the same, but the words are not completely different, right?”



“Hmm…”



After that, Swift Rope postponed the departure date and started to find out more about this.



But the more he knew, the more complicated his head became.



‘Is this possible?’



He learned that this letter was called Hangul in Joseon’s language.



But, hadn’t Hangul been created less than a hundred years ago?



And it was made by the leader of the country, just like the empire.



‘The timing is almost similar to the creation of the imperial script?’



Could this be dismissed as a coincidence?



Above all, the original form of the imperial script and the original form of Hangul were too similar.



Of course, by now, the imperial script had changed quite a bit due to the influence of printing.



‘Then is there any connection between Joseon and His Majesty?’



A hypothesis flashed through his head.



‘Is the person who made this letter also a descendant of the great spirit who visited this land?’



If he looked at the records of the past, His Majesty said that he created letters easily as if he already knew them.



If this letter was the letter of the great spirits and Joseon’s king was also a descendant of them, it seemed to fit somehow.



Of course, this was just Swift Rope’s misunderstanding, but Swift Rope had no other way to interpret it.



‘This is definitely worth looking into.’



Swift Rope originally planned to go to Ming after sailing.



That’s because there were many precious things there.



But he changed his mind after encountering Hangul.



He realized at once that this story could cause a huge wave in the empire.



So he changed his course.



“We will visit Joseon first, not Ming!”



He headed for Korea where Joseon was located.