Black Corporation: Joseon Chapter 372

Episode 372: Stagnation – Stillness (6)

A small Franciscan monastery located on the outskirts of Florence.

“Friar Giovanni. “There is a letter from Brother Angelo.”

“Is that so? thank you.”

After receiving the letter, Giovanni went back to his room and sat down at his desk.

Giovanni looked at the thick envelope and sighed softly and muttered.

“I wonder how many times it was deleted this time…”

* * *

The letters that his close friend Angelo constantly sent from Joseon gave him both joy and pain.

The stories of Joseon’s daily life and people written in the letters were full of the wonders of a foreign country that he had never been to.

This novelty and the academic stories he gained while conducting research at the research institute gave him pleasure.

However, sentences that would have contained even the slightest bit of important formula or information were mercilessly blackened out.

And this ink made him thirsty.

“What on earth was written in this hidden sentence?”

This wasn’t just Giovanni’s curiosity. The same was true for intellectuals living in nearby Florence.

After Angelo’s first letter was read at the Vatican, the intellectuals of Florence waited for Angelo’s letter as much as Giovanni did.

Angelo’s letter crossed the sea from Alexandria, passed through Florence, and then arrived at the monastery.

Therefore, Florentine intellectuals were well aware that the letter had arrived. Therefore, about three days after the letter entered Giovanni’s hands, scholars came from Florence and the monastery was crowded.

“I apologize for causing a disturbance in the quiet monastery.”

At Giovanni’s apology, the abbot smiled bitterly and waved his hand.

“Aren’t these people polite enough not to break the seal of the letter first? I have to endure this much. And… I’m also curious about the contents of the letter.”

* * *

With a small sigh, Angelo broke the wax seal and opened the envelope.

“Giovanni, my dear friend. “I am still doing well under the protection of the Lord…”

The first part of the letter was full of information about the fierce struggle with numbers and formulas every day at the research institute in Joseon.

Giovanni smiled slightly as he read the content full of groans.

“This guy is having fun.”

But as soon as he turned to the next chapter, Giovanni’s eyes opened wide.

“Create your own character?”

-In Joseon, Joseon’s own script was created. It is a script created by the King himself, assisted by the First Prince, and verified for ease of use by the Second and Third Princes.

I also tried using it, but the convenience was so great that Latin couldn’t match it.

This Joseon unique alphabet and usage method….

But behind it, everything was covered in ink and reasons were written in red ink.

-The alphabet named ‘Hunminjeongeum’ has not yet been officially promulgated. Therefore, it is scheduled to be declassified after it is officially distributed.

“Fuck you!”

Giovanni cursed without realizing it and quickly made the sign of the cross.

After calming his mind, Giovanni looked at the next page of the letter. The next chapter was completely painted black.

Giovanni, who saw the paper completely turned into paper, sighed and grumbled.

“Whoa~. If this is going to be the case, I’ll just leave it out… It’s not like I’m making fun of people… I heard that Koreans are sincere, even in useless details…”

Giovanni grumbled, flipping through the inked papers, when the sentence came out again. I concentrated my mind.

-ah! We also discussed the time difference problem that was confirmed when Joseon ships frequently traveled between Alexandria and other countries.

In the end, after a heated debate, it was decided that ‘the Earth is round.’ It was concluded that

“Of course it’s round. “What’s new?”

Since Giovanni had a similar level of knowledge to Angelo, he said that this part was not a big deal, but rather, ‘Now that you’ve come?’ He made an expression like this.

“They said Joseon’s level of science was considerable, but it doesn’t seem like it was a big deal.”

Giovanni’s face turned white as he read the following with a slightly lethargic expression.

What followed was shock and horror itself.

-However, a heated debate broke out over the question raised by the first prince of Joseon.

‘The time difference means that the world is spinning. Where does it revolve? Is this world the center? Or is the sun in the sky the center?’

Because of this issue, almost half of the people in the lab were divided and a debate broke out.

To begin with, the results were calculated based on the astronomical records observed in Joseon, the astronomical records we brought with us, the occurrence of seasons and seasons, etc…. We concluded that the

Earth rotates on its own and follows an orbit centered around the sun. I had no choice but to take it down.

“This is crazy!”

Giovanni uttered an insult without knowing it, but he didn’t even think about making the sign of the cross.

The contents of the letter were so shocking.

After coming to his senses, Giovanni read the following content carefully.

The following content contains detailed records of the process of verifying the heliocentric theory based on the astronomical knowledge recorded so far and the process of discussing related formulas.

After reading the contents of the letter, Giovanni picked up the pen and paper lying next to him and started calculating the formula.

Giovanni, who had forgotten and calculated food for two days, finally put down his pen and let out a long sigh.

“Whoa~. “It’s hard to refute that.”

Giovanni, who had barely escaped the shock of the collapse of the concepts he had known until then, tried to read the letter again.

smart!

Giovanni, whose concentration was suddenly broken by the sound of a knock on the door, stood up with a displeased look on his face and opened the door.

“What’s going on?”

The young monk, seeing Giovanni’s displeased expression, hurriedly told him about his business.

“The director is worried because you have been skipping meals and prayer times.”

“Ah… I guess I had something to think deeply about for a moment. “Please tell the director that you are sorry.”

“And guests came from Florence as well.”

“I’m not feeling well right now, so please tell me to come back in a few days. “And tell them you’re sorry.”

“Yes…”

After telling the young monk what he wanted to say, Giovanni immediately closed the door and sat down at his desk to read the letter.

* * *

Two days after the commotion, Giovanni visited the abbot.

“Are you feeling okay? “Isn’t this a disease that needs to be treated for a long time?”

Giovanni also gave a meaningful answer to the abbot’s meaningful words.

“Well… I need the director’s opinion.”

“Is it that much?”

In response to the abbot’s question, Giovanni took out Angelo’s letter from his pocket and held it out.

“The director will look at it and prescribe it.”

The abbot’s face became serious at Giovanni’s request.

Giovanni was as well-versed in the philosophy and science of ancient Greece and Rome as Angelo. However, there was something different from Angelo, who was forced to leave Florence, in that Giovanni had a political sense that Angelo did not have. That is why Giovanni was able to remain in Italy.

As he read the letter Angelo left behind, the abbot’s face became increasingly white.

The abbot put down the letter with slightly trembling hands and let out a long sigh.

“Whoa~.”

Giovanni opened his mouth at that sight.

“Joseon’s unique script is not a big problem. The problem is the following: ‘The Earth revolves around the Sun.’ This is the theory.”

The abbot shook his head at Giovanni’s words.

“No, that might not be a big problem either. Just say that it is a theory seen from a different perspective. “The problem is the sentence at the very end.”

The abbot tapped the last page of the letter with his finger.

-What the first prince of Joseon said to me was shocking.

‘Are you sure that your god said that the orbits of the stars must be circular? I’ve read your scriptures and I can’t find a place where God says that.’

‘Are you confident that the record of the word of God you believe in does not have a single error in the process of being passed down orally, then in the process of translating it into writing, and then again in the process of translating it into Latin?’

‘God’s providence may be infallible, but can we be confident that doctrine is also infallible?’

-When the first prince of Joseon asked me this, I couldn’t answer even a single word with confidence.

And the abbot Giovannina, who read the letter, was equally unable to answer this with confidence.

“Whoa~.”

The abbot let out another long sigh and burst out in anger as he looked at the letter.

“You erased everything else! “Why didn’t you delete this?”

In the letter Angelo sent this time, there was also something he felt while looking at the scent during the verification process.

– Now that I think about it, the first prince of Joseon…

and after that, he was almost a class president. The abbot grumbled when he saw that.

* * *

Amid the problematic letters sent from Joseon, Giovanni and the abbot pondered a solution.

“The biggest problem is the influx of scholars from Florence. “If they find out about this, there will be an uproar.”

“You can stop those people using bedridden illness as an excuse, but the problem is the Vatican.”

Whenever a letter from Angelo arrived, Giovanni went to the Vatican and read the letter.

For not only the Pope, but also high-ranking priests and leaders of neighboring city-states, this reading was an essential event to attend.

This was because there was tremendous interest in Joseon, which was located further away than India as well as in Muslim countries across the sea.

“If done wrong, it can be seen as a serious challenge to traditional doctrine.”

“I guess so. But that doesn’t mean we can just skip the reading.”

“Should I ink it?”

“It’s a good idea, but what if you get caught?”

The best way would have been to keep it quiet among themselves, but if they were discovered, they could be burned at the stake for trying to hide heresy.

It was the scholars in Florence and the Vatican who could not rule out the possibility of being exposed.

They were the ones who were as curious about the inked parts as Giovanni. To solve that question, they made every effort to erase the inked part. In the process, they became the best forgery detectors when it came to letters sent from Joseon.

In the end, after much deliberation, the abbot had no choice but to choose the next best option.

“Let me discuss it with the bishop.”

* * *

The next day, the abbot and Giovanni immediately visited the bishop of Florence.

“Welcome. “So, a letter came from the Land of Flowers?”

After bowing to the bishop who welcomed them, the abbot and Giovanni got straight to the point.

“Yes, I have something to discuss with you about that matter.”

“huh?”

The cardinal looked embarrassed after hearing the whole story from the abbot and Giovanni.

“It is difficult for me to come to a conclusion on this matter.”

In this way, Angelo’s letters went up higher and higher, and eventually reached the Pope.

* * *

Conference room of the Vatican.

Pope Eugenius IV and the cardinals were sitting around with serious faces.

In the middle of the conference desk where they sat around was a letter from Angelo.

“There is definitely a problem.”

The cardinals all nodded at what Eugenius IV said.

“Shall we incinerate it?”

One cardinal suggested incineration, but another cardinal opposed it.

“Half of Italy is already aware that the letter has arrived. But incinerate it? Things are going to get bigger.”

No sooner had he finished speaking than another cardinal expressed support for the opposing opinion.

“If we deal with it like that, the council will not sit still. Even now, don’t you cause an uproar if you find something wrong?”

Since last year, there has been a serious conflict between the Basel Council and the Pope. The issue of conflict was who was superior between the Council and the Pope.

Eugenius IV, who had been pondering to find an appropriate solution, finally came to a conclusion.

“Let’s incinerate it.”

“yes.”

bang!

“for a moment!”

At that moment, a group of men entered the conference room with a loud noise.

“The council orders the letter to be made public!”

“Professors at the University of Florence petition for the release of the letter!”

“The professors of Venice…”

“The professors of Genoa…”

Not only the council, but even professors from universities in major Italian cities flocked to request the release of the letter.

Due to this pressure, Eugenius IV eventually decided to make Angelo’s letter public.

It was the beginning of the ‘Angelo Letter Incident’, which was said to have caused a great earthquake in European humanities and science in the 15th century and sparked religious reform.

And Hyang, who heard the story from Mansour and other people traveling to and from Alexandria, expressed a little regret.

“It’s fun to watch the grill live….”