Having tasted the sweet profits of selling munitions to Europe, the merchants of Naniwa began to pay even closer attention to European trends.

“The East is like stagnant water, with little movement. But Europa is like boiling water, overflowing with opportunities!”

“To Europa! To the land of opportunity!”

Consequently, about two years after the end of the Italian War of Unification, a great many Japanese merchants had taken up residence in Europe. And they did not just build trading houses.

Next to them, Japanese-style giru began to appear. The geishas from Japan soon became a topic of fascination among the European upper class. And, as if by coincidence, these giru became an excellent source of information for the Japanese merchants.

***

In operating the giru, the merchants enforced a strict rule: aside from those tasked with greeting guests and settling accounts, all staff were to use only Japanese. By this time, many Europeans were already frequenting Japan, so it was common for geishas and clerks to know foreign languages. In fact, the geishas brought to Europe were specifically chosen for their ability to speak French or Latin.

“We understood that you paid such a high price for us precisely because we can speak foreign languages. So, why…?”

The geishas questioned the directive. The transfer fee the merchants had paid became the geishas’ debt. To repay this debt as quickly as possible, they needed to secure wealthy patrons. In other words, they had to charm the European elite into becoming their benefactors, and for that, conversation was essential.

The merchants’ reply was simple and direct.

“We need ears that listen well, not mouths that speak well.”

“But then, repaying our debt will be…”

“You have your faces and your bodies, don’t you? Do as you’re told, and if you bring back good information, we will reduce your debt further.”

“Do we have your word?”

“You have my word.”

The Naniwa merchants’ cunning scheme worked brilliantly. The European aristocrats who frequented the Japanese giru began to speak of even more intimate matters than they did in the Secret Guards’s establishments.

“Is it truly alright to have such a conversation here?”

“It’s fine. Those girls don’t understand a word we’re saying.”

“Are you certain?”

“I guarantee it. Oi! Uta!”

“Hai.”

And so, the geishas reported everything they overheard at the drinking parties directly to the merchants. The Secret Guards leadership, as well as Hyeon and Hyang, who learned of this either through the process of supplying the Japanese giru with the Empire’s specialty Dasaekju or through agents planted in Japan, could only offer a wry smile.

“People are the same everywhere, aren’t they?”

In any case, through this method, the Japanese merchants began to acquire European intelligence with greater efficiency. It was through these giru that they first obtained information about the new type of gunpowder that was beginning to spread across Europe, starting in England.

***

Upon receiving the intelligence about the new gunpowder, the Japanese merchants once again contacted the court. The Japanese court, in turn, relayed the intelligence and dispatched another envoy to the Empire. The Imperial government, having already received similar reports from its troops stationed in Italy, came to the same conclusion as they had with Explosive Silver.

“We already possess a gunpowder that is easier to handle and has greater explosive power, so I see no issue in providing it.”

“The new gunpowder is already beginning to spread, so this is a good opportunity to earn their favor.”

Thus, the Empire sold the manufacturing formula for an early-form smokeless powder, the Deokgap-style powder, to the Ming and Japan. This time, Japan, not forgetting its previous experience, was meticulous in confirming all the necessary precautions for its manufacture. They were determined not to repeat the mistake of losing a large number of their skilled artisans and laborers.

Meanwhile, in the Ming court, a conversation unfolded between the Chenghua Emperor and his personal guard.

“What should we call this? A windfall?”

They had learned of the circumstances through a secret channel connected to the Empire.

“Should we send an envoy to Japan to express our gratitude?”

***

After acquiring the formula for smokeless powder from the Empire, Japan, specifically its merchants, attempted mass production. They successfully navigated the initial trial-and-error phase, eventually achieving large-scale production. With this accomplishment, the merchants began exporting the powder to Europe, targeting the lesser powers such as the princely states of the Holy Roman Empire and the nations of Eastern Europe.

Unlike France, England, the Habsburgs, and Spain, these states lacked industrial capacity, especially capital. Therefore, they purchased large quantities of smokeless powder from the Japanese merchants. Imperial officials who heard reports of this gathered in small groups to discuss the matter.

“Should we sell it too?”

A similar discussion was taking place among the higher-ups.

“What are your thoughts?”

At Hyeon’s question, Minister of Foreign Affairs Shin Suk-ju stepped forward.

“It is regrettable, but this is something our Empire cannot do. They already view us with unfavorable eyes. If the flames of war were to ignite within Europe, they would lay all the blame at our feet.”

“Even if we were not the ones to start the war?”

“That is correct, Your Majesty. For now, we must be content with Italy, Portugal, and Switzerland.”

***

After acquiring the production facilities and technology for the Florence long rifle from the Empire, Italy emerged as one of Europe’s leading arms manufacturers. Interestingly, Beretta became the most renowned of Italy’s modern firearms companies, although in this alternate history, it originated from Florence.

Portugal, known for its formidable navy, boasted a large fleet. Each warship was equipped with cannons manufactured in the Empire, specifically early-model breech-loading cannons originally salvaged from the French.

Switzerland was famous for its armed neutrality. By controlling the major transportation routes that passed through the Alps, Switzerland was earning a handsome income from customs duties. There were those who had considered making a move on Switzerland, but the Swiss army, armed with Imperial weaponry, quickly made them abandon such thoughts.

For the great powers of Europe, the existence of Italy, Portugal, and Switzerland was a painful thorn in their side.

***

Following the general adoption of Explosive Silver, the appearance of smokeless powder once again plunged the European powers into an arms race. The great powers, particularly France, first turned their attention to long rifles and cannons.

France had dedicated significant effort to producing the Florence long rifles and Gap-style small fire carts they had acquired during the Italian War of Unification. Interestingly, of the two, the French army poured most of its efforts into the Gap-style small fire cart. This was due to the horrific memory of being on the receiving end of the small fire carts wielded by the assault troops in the last Italian war.

“Fire carts over long rifles!”

“A single fire cart is better than a single long rifle!”

This was the slogan circulating within the French army. While the army focused on the Florence long rifle and the small fire cart, the entire French military was obsessed with cannons.

During the Battle of Corsica, the French had risked their lives to salvage cannons and cannonballs from the Imperial warships that had sunk or run aground near the northern coast of Corsica, and had transported them back to the mainland. It was, quite literally, a life-risking endeavor. Approaching the sunken Imperial ships while avoiding the eyes of the infuriated Imperial Navy, salvaging the cannons with no auxiliary equipment and relying solely on the lung capacity of divers, and then crossing the sea with the salvaged cannons and shells—every step was a gamble with death.

Once these life-riskingly salvaged cannons and shells arrived on the mainland, the French military command gathered its own artisans and began to disassemble them. It was a painstaking process of recording every measurement and shape, down to the smallest spring and screw. There were casualties. In the process of disassembling a cannon that had been salvaged while still loaded, an explosion occurred while dismantling a shell fitted with a fuze.

Despite such losses, the French succeeded in the disassembly and began the process of reverse-engineering. However, the prototypes created through this process showed performance that was greatly inferior to the originals.

“Why?”

“We made it with the same iron, to the same specifications, so why?”

The high-ranking officers of the French military command, unable to accept the results, relentlessly pressured the artisans. The artisans’ answer was always the same.

“Because it is not the same iron!”

The quality of French steel was far inferior to that of Imperial steel. Having identified the problem, the French military command immediately reported it to Charles VIII. Upon receiving the report, Charles VIII and his cabinet chose one policy and one alternative.

• Increase state support for the development of more advanced iron-making technology.
• Adjust the specifications to match the French-made steel currently being produced.

Both were tasks that would require a massive budget and a great deal of trial and error. But they were unavoidable. The one fortunate aspect was that the French commercial sector actively cooperated in the ‘iron-making technology development policy.’ To see greater profits from the railways that were still under construction, they needed higher quality rails and better-performing iron horses, and for that, they needed better quality steel.

Thanks to this sort of ‘nationwide support,’ the development of the new cannons and shells succeeded more quickly than expected. But just as they were optimistically thinking that everything would proceed smoothly from then on, a major incident occurred.

Spain handed over the core intelligence, including the design plans for the new cannons and shells, to England.

***

Having suffered great losses in the Italian War of Unification and lost strategic key points in the Mediterranean, including Gibraltar and the Algeciras region, to the Empire, Spain had once again joined hands with France. Spain, which had been actively cooperating with France by providing funds and personnel, was pushed to this betrayal by one major cause: Satangju.

France, having acquired the Empire’s Satangju distilleries, had reaped great profits by exporting large quantities of it to Spain. Spain, which was now saddled with numerous social and economic problems as a result, strongly protested to France and announced a ban on Satangju imports.

Once the import ban was in place, the smuggling of Satangju began to run rampant along the Spanish border. No matter how much they cracked down, the smuggling continued unabated, and Spain began to suspect the French government.

“Aren’t they deliberately turning a blind eye?”

The Spanish ambassador visited Charles VIII and the French ministers almost daily, pleading for a solution to the problem, but the situation remained stagnant. Spain’s suspicion turned to conviction. In the end, Spain began to seriously consider an alliance with England.

• Considering our border issues, we cannot remain with France forever.
• France may be using the smuggling to find a way to breach our borders.
• England and France are well-known adversaries.
• If England becomes stronger, France will be too preoccupied with England to pay attention to its border with us.
• England’s Satangju is also a problem, but England is across the sea. It will be easier to block.

After reviewing these circumstances, Spain decided to backstab France and join hands with England.

***

Despite having handed over the core intelligence to England, Spain’s own development of new cannons was not progressing as quickly as they had hoped.

“Why? How can this be?”

Spain could not hide its frustration at the situation, which was turning out very differently from what they had expected. And Hyang, upon receiving intelligence related to this, let out a smirk and muttered the answer.

“There are two reasons. One is the quality of the steel. The other is the units of measurement.”