Black Corporation: Joseon

Meanwhile, Park Sang-wook returned to the merchant group and gathered people again.

“How did it go?”

“I received conditional approval.”

Park Sang-wook explained about the 'conditions' and 'discount'.

After hearing Park Sang-wook's explanation, everyone nodded.

“Not bad conditions.”

“The requisition issue is something we should endure as citizens of Joseon.”

While everyone was showing positive reactions, Park Sang-wook mentioned Im Hae-sul's advice. After hearing Im Hae-sul's advice, everyone's faces turned serious.

“It's a good opinion, but...”

“If the government gives us a discount like now, we could manage two ships if we add a little more to the funds we've already prepared.”

“Where are we going to add from? Even this prepared fund is almost all the money our merchant group has saved so far!”

“Couldn't we do something like credit or installation payments?”

“Are you suggesting we offer a promissory note to the government? As if they'd accept it!”

“Then what should we do? This is a golden opportunity when others aren't moving! We need to surge ahead now to keep pushing forward in the future!”

“The problem is funds! Where are we going to borrow the lacking funds from? Are we going to use high-interest private loans?”

“That's it!”

At the sudden shout, the noisy room instantly fell silent.

The captain who shouted spoke to Park Sang-wook.

“How about talking to the Venture Capital Fund?”

“The Venture Capital Fund...”

Park Sang-wook showed an intrigued expression. At that moment, one of the department heads listening to the conversation pointed out a problem.

“The Venture Capital Fund is literally for supporting startups with low chances of success. Would we qualify?”

“Huh?”

“Ah…”

At the department head's point, people's faces became serious again.

While they might not compare to large merchant groups like the Song merchants (Gaeseong merchants) who boasted the longest history, they were still considered a large merchant group. Thanks to that, they were able to prepare the construction costs for a Challenger-class warship to some extent. And it was this very point that was being pointed out as a disqualifying factor.

Park Sang-wook and the others gathered in the room muttered with slightly bitter faces.

“They say life is like a seesaw...”

***

As mentioned before, there were significant changes in the commercial sector as the reforms progressed.

Some merchant groups with histories ranging from 30 to over 100 years disappeared, while others emerged as new powers by seizing the opportunity of the reforms.

The Gyeonggang merchants (merchants of the Han River) were representative of the former case, while Park Sang-wook's merchant group was representative of the latter.

The downfall of the Gyeonggang merchants was, in a way, an inevitable result.

The main commercial activity of the Gyeonggang merchants was transporting the government's tax grains and the rent grains of the nobility.

While they received significant legitimate shipping fees in this process, the profits from illegal activities during the process were not insignificant.

They grew their wealth through various fraudulent practices such as “ hwasu ” (mixing water with grains to match the weight after stealing some), “tusik” or “gopae” (falsely claiming that a perfectly good ship had sunk and then embezzling the goods) .

It was natural that these fraudulent activities were caught by the government's increasingly sharp eyes as the reforms progressed.

As these illegal activities were caught, many river merchants were arrested and their properties confiscated.

The final blow that brought down these critically wounded river merchants was the road improvement project carried out by the government.

With improved roads, most of the grains and goods exchanged for people's money were transported by land.

Unable to adapt to the changes brought by the reforms, and with experienced merchants being arrested, the Gyeonggang merchants disappeared from history.

***

Despite this negative atmosphere, the captain who first made the proposal didn't back down.

“Of course, it could be a disqualifying factor! But this is navigation, and ocean navigation at that! No one knows what dangers lurk in those distant seas! Why else would even the navy offer sacrifices to the Sea God before every departure?”

Hearing this, the other captains all nodded. Although the threat from pirates and Japanese raiders had greatly decreased due to the activities of the Joseon navy, natural disasters were still uncontrollable. Even now, one or two ships among those traveling to Shandong and Japan would inevitably meet with disaster and sink.

“That's true, but... Wouldn't the size of our merchant group be a problem? They might say we're borrowing money to avoid our own losses.”

“Don't we distribute profits according to how much we borrow? And even if we can't borrow from the Venture Capital Fund, we must visit the fund.”

“Why?”

“We need to catch those idling in the situation room!”

“Ah!”

At the captain's last words, people's faces brightened.

“That's right. All the richest people in Hanseong gather there.”

Nodding, Park Sang-wook turned to the department heads.

“Let's draw up the plan again. This time, for two ships.”

“Yes, Chief Manager!”

***

Five days later, Park Sang-wook visited the Venture Capital Fund located at the Bell Tower.

“What brings you here?”

As Park Sang-wook sat opposite a desk with a sign reading 'Investment Consultation', a tired-looking official in charge asked the question.

“Yes, our merchant group is going to build ships, so I came to arrange some funds.”

“Ships?”

As soon as he heard the word 'ships', the official in charge quickly drank the lukewarm black bean tea placed beside him in one gulp and forcibly gathered his wits.

“Ships... The shipping industry is fiercely competitive these days, what kind of goods will you be handling?”

“We will be handling various types of goods.”

“That's even worse... Why don't you specialize in just one type? If you wait a moment, I can find some information and recommend suitable options.”

“We're thinking of shipping to Alexandria, not to Shandong or Japan.”

“Wait!”

The official who stopped Park Sang-wook's words stood up and turned around. He went into the tea preparation room set up behind the counter, poured black bean tea from a kettle, drank two cups in succession, and appreciated the situation.

“This must be that merchant the rumors were talking about recently...”

Both the investment fund and the treasury belonged to the Ministry of Finance. And due to their location in Hanseong, the fund and treasury were receiving information about what was happening in the Ministry of Finance almost in real-time.

Slap!

The official slapped his own cheek and gave himself a hypnotic suggestion.

“Pull yourself together, Choi Seong-su! This is the chance of a lifetime!”

Choi Seong-su, who had sharply gathered his wits, returned to his seat and gestured to Park Sang-wook.

“This doesn't seem like a conversation to have here, shall we move to another place?”

“Yes.”

***

Park Sang-wook and Choi Seong-su moved to a separate room prepared in one corner of the fund.

“You said you're going to trade as far as Alexandria?”

“That's right.”

“Huh...Then you'll need quite a large ship, right?”

“That's why we're thinking of getting a ship like the large ships used by the navy.”

“How many ships?”

“Two ships.”

At Park Sang-wook's answer, Choi Seong-su's face became even more serious.

“You'll need significant funds, do you want to borrow the entire amount?”

To Choi Seong-su's question, Park Sang-wook shook his head.

“No. We have our own prepared funds, so we want to borrow the lacking portion.”

“So how much do you want?”

“80,000 nyang of gold.”

“80,000 nyang of gold…”

At Park Sang-wook's answer, Choi Seong-su calculated internally.

'Since the fund has only been open for a few months, not many loans have gone out yet… We have about 400,000 nyang of gold left now… If we do well?'

Thinking there was some possibility, Choi Seong-su spread out a paper on one side and started asking more detailed questions.

“When you say a large ship used by the navy, you mean a Challenger-class warship, right? You know how much it costs to build one of those, don’t you?”

“Yes, the Minister of Finance explained it to me, so I know. Including the cannons to be mounted, it's 71,200 nyang of gold. But for two, ships it's 142,400 nyang. Our merchant group has prepared 110,000 nyang, but to build two ships and buy goods to load on them, we're short by 80,000 nyang.”

Choi Seong-su, who was nodding while diligently writing down numbers, asked again.

“Then what type of loan do you want? A loan with 60% annual interest? Or a loan with 30% annual interest, but you have to entrust 51% of the shares?”

“A loan with 60% annual interest.”

“Ah… I see…”

'As expected of a seasoned merchant.'

Choi Seong-su smacked his lips, feeling slightly disappointed. It was more profitable for the fund to secure shares.

However, Park Sang-wook wanted a loan that, despite the high interest rate, would allow him to keep his shares. He too had heard the rumors about Alexandria.

'One round trip can bring at least 10 to 20 times profit!'

If he could successfully complete a few proper voyages, he could pay off not only the interest but also the principal, so he couldn't give up the shares of his merchant group that he had built with blood, sweat, and tears.

After conducting a bit more consultation, Choi Seong-su organized the papers and stood up.

“I'll organize what you've told me and proceed with the evaluation.”

“Then when can I expect to know the result?”

“You should be able to know the result within five days, I'll send the word when the result comes out.”

At Choi Seong-su's answer, Park Sang-wook bowed and made a request.

“I'll be counting on you.”

“I'll do my best.”

***

Five days later, Choi Seong-su informed Park Sang-wook of the result.

“I'm sorry. The result came back as not possible.”

“May I know the reason?”

“The conclusion was that venture capital is meant to help those without capital start businesses, and your merchant group doesn't fit this criteria. Especially, since you already have enough funds to build one ship but are trying to arrange funds to build two ships, the conclusion was that it’s even more impossible.”

“Ah…”

As Park Sang-wook couldn't hide his disappointment, Choi Seong-su continued.

“I'm sorry. It seems starting with one ship would be the best option.”

“Yes. Thank you for your hard work.”

Standing up, Park Sang-wook asked Choi Seong-su.

“May I stop by the situation room for a moment?”

“The situation room? Ah! Do you want to persuade the rich people there?”

“That's right.”

At Park Sang-wook's words, Choi Seong-su pondered for a moment and then nodded.

“As long as you don't cause too much commotion, it should be fine. Again, I'm sorry about the result.”

“No, it's alright.”

After saying goodbye to Choi Seong-su like this, Park Sang-wook entered the situation room.

'So these are Hanseong's greatest wealthy individuals!'

Seeing the rich people gathered in the situation room, chatting or flipping through information sheets, Park Sang-wook gathered his wits and raised his voice.

“I hope you're all well! I am Park, leading the Park Merchant Group! I’ve been given the opportunity to speak to you all for a moment!”

At Park Sang-wook's self-introduction, the rich people's attention focused on him.

***

When Park Sang-wook's explanation ended, the wealthy individuals started sharing opinions either alone or in groups of two or three.

“80,000 nyang of gold... That's not a small amount, is it?”

“Indeed. With 80,000 nyang of gold, even if we're talking about rice… and even the most expensive Icheon rice or Naju rice…”

The rich people spread out papers and did some quick calculations.

As the reforms progressed and people's earnings improved, the price of rice continued to rise. The government was trying to prevent it from rising too much, but it was still steadily increasing.

Looking at recent market prices, ordinary white rice was about 1 nyang and 40 won of silver per seom, while the famously delicious Icheon rice or Naju rice averaged 2 nyang of silver per seom.

In that case, 80,000 nyang of gold was equivalent to 400,000 seom of Icheon or Naju rice.

400,000 seom was an amount that even a wealthy person with ten thousand seok would need to save for almost a lifetime, or rather, for about three generations including grandchildren.

“But…”

However, Park Sang-wook's plan was too sweet in its results to immediately refuse.

-If the voyage goes well, it yields at least 10 times profit. Even if we don't receive interest, calculating just the profit distribution leaves plenty!

In the end, the wealthy individuals gathered in the situation room accepted Park Sang-wook's proposal. The rich people would receive shares proportional to the amount they agreed to invest.

It was the birth of a rudimentary joint-stock company.

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