Meanwhile, Florence, having received its orders, was also in a difficult situation.

“No, there’s a limit to cutting to the chase! Do they just end with ‘Do this!’, ‘Do that!’ and that’s it?!”

After receiving and reading the orders sent from Seoul, every official in the embassy, from the ambassadors down to the lowest-ranking clerks, erupted in frustration.

Recently, most of the secret official documents sent from Seoul shared a distinct characteristic. They were brief, far too brief.

A great number of documents of all kinds were exchanged between Seoul and Florence. Among these were many classified documents, which both Seoul and Florence would encrypt and then mix in with regular documents before sending. The problem, as noted above, was that the content of the encrypted messages sent from Seoul had recently become extremely concise.

Shin Sukju, after confirming the contents of the classified document from Seoul, grumbled to the other ambassadors who were also reviewing it.

“I know the principle is to write encrypted documents concisely, but don’t you think this is too much?”

Seong Sam-mun nodded in agreement with Shin Sukju’s query for consensus and added his own thoughts.

“No matter how briefly the higher-ups speak, it is common sense to add some level of explanation. To send an order like this? It seems the superiors in Seoul these days don’t click their tongues much.”

“Exactly, exactly!”

Shin Sukju responded with words of encouragement to Seong Sam-mun’s comment. However, Yu Eung-bu, who was sitting next to them, had a different reaction.

“Isn’t it a situation where Seoul can’t help it? There are more than a few eyes watching us these days. No, it would be a relief if they were only watching. Haven’t they also started to lay their hands on us?”

“Even if that’s true…”

***

Just as Yu Eung-bu said, the number of eyes monitoring the Imperial Embassy in Florence, the Imperial Army’s naval base in Livorno, and the Imperial Residential District was steadily increasing.

• The fact that the empire has established a base in Florence means the empire also intends to interfere in the war in Italy.

The surrounding great powers that had reached this conclusion had dispatched a large number of spies. Thanks to this, the embassy and the naval base had to exercise extreme caution when hiring laborers. At a minimum, one needed a guarantee from the Florence City Hall or the Medici family to work at the embassy or the naval base. However, even this system was canceled after people started getting in by forging documents or paying bribes.

In the end, the empire had to hire people from the homeland and bring them over.

“To think we have to pay several times the wages to bring over even day laborers, what a waste!”

“Let’s just use cranes and tractors instead!”

Ultimately, the naval base in Livorno and the Imperial Residential District became the sites with the most tractors and cranes, aside from the port at Suez.

The problem was that the great powers were not content with just watching; they began to lay their hands on things. Incidents began to occur where couriers traveling between Livorno and Florence were attacked. After a five-man courier squad was completely wiped out and their dispatch pouch disappeared, they eventually had to move in units of 25 men, the size of a platoon.

Even after the iron horse railway was laid between Livorno and Florence, such incidents occurred several times. When the iron horse stopped at an intermediate station, there were attempts by thieves to raid the freight car loaded with various supplies and dispatch pouches for the embassy. Of course, the imperial and Florentine soldiers stationed at the station would step in and immediately subdue them. Subsequent investigations revealed that they were simple petty thieves.

However, a question remained.

“How did they know to target only that specific freight car?”

To solve this mystery, Florentine and imperial investigators conducted additional, intense interrogations. And as a result of the investigation, the petty thieves confessed a hidden fact.

“Some men specified that freight car.”

“Who were they? What country were they from?”

“We don’t know.”

Despite continued investigation, the investigators were unable to obtain any more information. They concluded the investigation and threw the petty thieves in jail.

After that, dispatch pouches and classified documents were separated and transported by courier, but then an incident occurred where the courier himself disappeared. In the end, this problem only seemed to be barely resolved after couriers began to move not in pairs, but in five-man units. Still, the unseen battle between those trying to steal information and those trying to protect it continued.

And the encryption of documents also became more sophisticated. This was because a long time had passed since the empire, the Ming, and Japan had appeared on the international stage, and many Europeans had become proficient in the imperial script and Chinese characters. It wasn’t just proficiency in the letters; experts well-versed in classical idioms and Asian culture had appeared.

For this reason, the empire had to create a more complex cryptographic system. Until then, they had used a simple method utilizing character deconstruction and classical idioms. But this had been broken now that experts had emerged. However, due to the still-lacking level of foundational sciences, including mathematics, they could not create a highly advanced cryptographic system, and the empire had to resort to another method, like it or not.

That method was to cut to the chase and write as simply as possible.

Reporting this to Hyeon, Han Myeonghoe explained as follows.

“The ambassadors in Florence and we in Seoul already know the deep context, and these are matters that will be executed without fail. The orders and replies we are currently exchanging are nothing more than minor coordinations, so there is no need to write them in detail.”

“Might they not misunderstand in Florence?”

Han Myeonghoe immediately answered Hyeon’s question.

“They are individuals who have already been recognized for their outstanding talent and wisdom. They are not people who would misunderstand or fail to comprehend. If such a thing were to happen, they would have to take responsibility for their own reputations.”

“Hmm… indeed… No one is unaware of the excellence of those in Florence. They will do well. Then, let us proceed this way for now.”

“As you command.”

“However! They will not remain there forever, and the number of countries where the empire’s ambassadors will reside will increase in the future, will it not? We cannot be confident that the ambassadors of that time will all be as brilliant as those currently in Florence, so devise a solution for this matter with due haste as well. I believe a man of your caliber can certainly show me a good result.”

As Hyeon finished speaking, Han Myeonghoe bowed his head and replied.

“I will do my utmost.”

However, the expression on Han Myeonghoe’s face as he looked at the floor was not good at all.

Later, when Hyang heard this story, he laughed, clutching his stomach.

“Hahaha! That’s Han Myeonghoe for you! And that’s an emperor for you!”

This latest scheme of Han Myeonghoe’s was to avoid taking the blame himself while screwing over his potential rivals.

• In the current situation, there is no new method, so you guys will have to suffer a bit. For smart people like you, this should be a piece of cake, no?

And Hyeon, having seen through it, had gotten one over on Han Myeonghoe.

• They say you’re smart too, right? Then you get a taste of it too.

Hyang, who had laughed until tears streamed down his face, looked toward Gyeongbok Palace with a pleased expression.

“At Hyeon’s level, it seems I won’t have to step in to handle Han Myeonghoe.”

As an aside, the ambassadors who later received leave and briefly returned to the homeland learned of the more detailed circumstances. They sent Han Myeonghoe an enormous gift of restorative medicine.

In any case, an order was an order. The Florence ambassadors carried out their mission to the best of their ability. They managed to cook and sway Lorenzo de’ Medici, who was showing symptoms of “terminal middle-school second-year syndrome” due to his overflowing confidence, and prevented him from acting rashly, while also expanding the secret coal storage depot in Livorno.

“Just filling it is a chore.”

The ambassadors and the Imperial Army stealthily began to fill the coal depot so that others would not notice.

***

While the ambassadors and imperial citizens were busy, the conflict in the Austrian region was also reaching its end.

After their major clash at Pottendorf, both sides had been repeating a tedious trench war. If they were to attempt a flanking maneuver with cavalry, Hungary had to worry about the Habsburg reserves. In contrast, the Habsburgs had to worry about the numerically superior Hungarian cavalry.

In the end, both sides had no choice but to continue a war of attrition over the trench line they had dug at Pottendorf. Feeling the burden of the greater-than-expected losses in manpower and equipment, and the cost of the war, both sides secretly sent envoys to the Pope.

Pope Paul II, having received bribes and entreaties, immediately sent his trusted servants to urge negotiations, and both sides accepted the Pope’s proposal, pretending to be reluctant.

In the ensuing negotiations, both sides engaged in a fierce war of words. When one side stormed out of the negotiating table, the other side would do so the next time, and the Pope’s servant in charge of mediation went busily back and forth between the two, continuing to coordinate. They also held banquets at every opportunity, inviting dignitaries from the Habsburgs and Hungary.

Despite these mediation efforts, the negotiations dragged on for a long time because there was no clear winner or loser.

“We are the victors!”

“Ridiculous! We are the victors!”

“The ones who had their territory taken are the victors? Say something that makes sense!”

“Shall we fight again then? Shall we really go at it for real?”

“Do you even have an army left to fight with?”

“Do you? You wanna go, for real?!”

As both sides fought with veins popping on their necks, the Pope’s envoy caught in the middle would try to stop them with a mournful face.

“Now! Now! Let’s not be like this! Isn’t this a peace negotiation? Let’s negotiate!”

In the end, with the negotiations showing no end in sight, Paul II himself stepped in.

• In a situation where the heathens have occupied Constantinople, it is not right for Catholic nations to continue to fight amongst themselves! Both sides should concede a little! If you do not, I will excommunicate you!

At the Pope’s threat of excommunication, both sides took a step back and concluded the negotiations.

• The Habsburgs will officially recognize Matthias I, who was elected by the Hungarian Diet, as the King of Hungary.
• Hungary will return all occupied Austrian territories to the Habsburgs.

The treaty, drafted with these two points as its core, soon received the ratification of both monarchs and came into effect.

With the peace treaty in effect, the Hungarian army withdrew. The Hungarian soldiers returning to the border were all bursting with the confidence of victors.

“We’re the ones who pushed right up to Vienna’s doorstep!”

“The Ottomans? The Bohemians? Tell them all to bring it on!”

With the pride of being the victors, the morale of the Hungarian army soared to the heavens. A boisterous triumphal procession and the awarding of merits and prizes followed.

After the excitement had somewhat subsided, Matthias I gathered his ministers and generals and spoke with them.

“This war was truly regrettable. If only we had a little more strength…”

Matthias I trailed off, but the nobles and generals could fully anticipate what came next.

“We must import more of the new imperial-made long guns from the Ottomans.”

“That is right. We have reached our limit with muzzle-loading long guns.”

Just as a more aggressive military expansion became the prevailing opinion, a noble pointed out a problem.

“The problem is that the Ottomans are no longer selling long guns and ammunition. Therefore, I was wondering what you think about purchasing the Florentine Long Gun.”

“The Florentine Long Gun?”

“It is a long gun made in Florence. However, it is difficult to see it as Florence’s own. They say the ‘Land of Flowers’ provided all the parts, technology, and tools. For that reason, it is said to use imperial-made ammunition.”

At those words, the generals all replied in one voice.

“If it uses imperial ammunition, then we must acquire the Florentine Long Gun!”