Chapter 1056

Episode 1056: Aftereffects. (5)

Da Vinci was not the only one like this. 51 Among the craftsmen in Area 52, Hyang and Jang Yeong-sil were ‘walls that must be overcome’ for those who had seen Jeon Jeon-rok and his achievements so far. Whenever young and motivated craftsmen brought in plans or blueprints, calling them ‘novel ideas,’ senior craftsmen gave advice that was not advice as follows.

“What did you think was novel? Before going to the challenge record, first go to the exhibition room and look at ‘Jang Yeong-sil’s room.’ If it’s not in that room, I’ll admit it’s novel.”

“Is that really true? Do you know the story that the studio that Jang Yeong-sil used when she stayed in Shinji was sealed for 60 years? Why was it sealed for 60 years? Think about it carefully. Well~.”

Upon hearing these words, the young craftsmen who were looking into ‘Jang Yeong-sil’s room’ immediately frowned.

“It was already there?”

“I was just a puppy for one day?”

Every time I heard a rumor that ‘young craftsmen are depressed,’ the village called the older craftsmen and complained.

“What if I step on the sprouts that are just growing?”

In response to Hyang’s point, the senior craftsmen explained the reason with an expression that asked what was the problem.

“Don’t you know ‘stepping on barley’? In order for barley to grow well, you have to step on it once in a while. Even those little guys who think they’re so proud will realize that stepping on barley once is not enough and they will try harder.”

“Even small people go through this process at least once. If you don’t go through it once, you will only end up being rude and making big mistakes in the future.”

“And those who cannot withstand that difficult time and collapse are the yellow ones. We have to weed them out early.”

In response to the senior craftsmen’s answers, Hyang had no choice but to step back.

“I understand. But don’t step on it too hard.”

“I will keep that in mind.”

After sending the craftsmen away, Hyang sighed softly.

“It’s that answer every time, and it’s very difficult to refute it because it shows positive results. It’s also seen as a ‘myeonsinrye’...” The

‘myeonsinrye’, an absurdity that was committed against newly appointed officials, was the result of King Sejong. He disappeared by order of . The fact that Myeonsinrye, which had not disappeared despite the endless efforts of the Joseon kings, was able to disappear thanks to the MSG of incense.

It was a government that boasted of a murderous workload, but it was ‘just a problem’ by pushing all the work away. After making it into a bowl of ink, it was thrown into the record office. In the end, Myeonsinrye, which boasted its persistent vitality, disappeared.

* * *

51 If there were Hyang and Jang Yeong-sil as ‘topic understanding tools’ for young craftsmen in District 52, there was Lee Sun-ji at the training high school, especially the industrial-academia research institute.

“Study industry and academia again? Even after all this, I was called a ‘prodigy’ in my hometown! Even in middle school, I was always a member!”

Whenever a researcher with a high opinion of himself and overconfidence of his genius came in, the senior researchers presented various tasks that Sunji Lee had written down.

“Really? Let me try it...”

“Give it to me!”

The new researchers who were so confident soon became discouraged and gave up.

“I can’t solve it.”

“It’s okay. Like I said before, you just have to learn step by step again here.”

“I understand.”

“If the Ottoman sultan and ministers were not all blind, they would have figured it out to some extent by now.”

“It’s a question of joint venture or war.”

“It’s not easy on either side.”

During this period, the Ottoman Empire was one of the powerful countries. To be more precise, it was the third powerhouse after the Empire of Ming.

“Wait...Empire? Empire?’

‘Where does the Empire get its oil?’

European powers investigated further on the topic of ‘oil and empire’ and immediately found a promising candidate site.

“I think it’s Shinji...”

“Shinji...”

There, the monarchs of the European powers all had similar thoughts.

‘What are the odds that I can drive out the empire from Shinji and take over?’

‘If you look at the Empire’s army, its firepower is powerful, but its size is relatively small. ‘Will Shinji have enough troops?’

“If we do this well...”

The monarchs of the European powers who had thought this far were momentarily shocked, but then shook their heads.

‘The sea is the problem.’

‘If you think about the damn imperial navy and the Atlantic Ocean, even if you send troops, at least half of them will end up as meat for the Daeseongyang. Fighting the imperial army with the remaining half? Then half of it will become fertilizer.’

It was a European power that experienced the strength of the imperial navy during the Battle of Corsica and the development of Gloria. The monarchs of the European powers immediately gave up God.

“Shinji is a self-defeating thief. The moment you touch Shinji, the Empire will do everything in its power to retaliate. The problem is that dealing with the Empire alone is not enough, and there are more than one bastard looking to steal our backs.”

These were European powers that had already stabbed each other several times. It was certain that the moment one became preoccupied with dealing with the empire, one of the neighboring countries would surely attack them.

“The emperor of the empire is a heretic. What if we form a crusade using this as a justification?”

But this too had little chance of coming to fruition. There was no way Portugal, Italy, and Switzerland, the countries with the strongest military power, would respond. To form a crusade there, an order from the Pope was essential. The problem was that the Pope’s authority had already plummeted to the ground.

It was certain that not many countries would respond even if they called for a crusade with the Pope behind them. The monarchs and ministers of the European powers who had analyzed it up to that point let out a long sigh.

“It would be better to go to war with the Ottomans than to go to war against the empire. At least...” Even

so, the Ottomans were by no means an easy opponent. If the empire had the Atlantic Ocean, the Ottomans had the Mediterranean Sea. Although it was possible to invade across the Mediterranean, subsequent supply was a problem. The Crusaders of old also suffered from this supply problem, but now that gunpowder weapons have become the mainstay of the battlefield, maintaining supply lines has become an even more difficult problem.

“What if we use the ‘resurrection of Byzantium’ as an excuse?”

In that case, most of the supply route would have to be overland and only need to cross the Bosphorus Strait. But this was also true for Ottomans. What was even more disadvantageous for the European powers was the subsequent share issue. The most likely supply route was through Habsburg-dominated Austria and Hungary. Even if the project was successful, it was certain that the Habsburgs would seek to take the lion’s share.

“Then what remains is a joint venture, hmm...”

Joint ventures with the Ottomans were not unfamiliar to European powers, especially France, Italy and Portugal. This was because they were still benefiting greatly from Suez.

“Hmm... I think a joint venture would be the best... If we have a closer relationship than we have now, the chances will be even higher, right?”

The monarchs of the European powers, who were pondering the best way, all came up with the same idea when they saw Suez on the map.

“Shall we suggest digging a canal?”