Chapter 21
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 021
Chapter Title: Record of the Meeting with the Foreign Beast
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"That's enough from the Minister of War."
The words came from the young king—no, the king who was no longer so young—right as I was lost in a vivid fantasy of summoning the Redcoats to turn Hanyang into a sea of flames.
"Hear me, A-seol."
"Yes, Your Highness."
"Did you tell the English merchants to come to Joseon?"
"It's true that I spread word among my countrymen about China and Joseon, but I never once told them to come here myself."
"Then that's that."
"Your Highness!"
"You mustn't!"
The king furrowed his brow at the voices erupting from all sides... I couldn't see it since no one dared lift their faces, but I wanted to believe he did.
"When guests come from afar, it's only right to welcome them warmly. A-seol, you've lived on Joseon soil for years—how can you call it proper etiquette to coldly chase them away without even sharing a moment to catch up? On the condition they cause no trouble, let them lodge in the capital for a time."
I had enough sense not to blurt out something like, "Heh heh, why don't we trade? Stamp this treaty, and it'll be even better?" Thanks to that, I got permission to stay just a short while, purely as an old friend.
Things weren't unfolding as smoothly as I'd hoped.
I'd brought the 'gifts' and trade samples, but most of the goods were still back in Ganghwa, along with the crew. Precisely because I was wary of any mishaps, I'd left them there.
The first problem was finding a place to stay.
I couldn't impose on the Andong Kim household again as a freeloader. After all, their head, Kim Ja-geun, had just ripped into me that badly.
The Pungyang Jo Clan? No need to even mention them. They'd been the ones chopping off heads for being Catholic from the start, and our relations had always been icy.
If I couldn't stay in the palace or beg meals from the Andong Kims or Pungyang Jos, it was as good as having no one to take me in.
Except for one person.
"You look a mess. What's with that attire?"
"I'm wearing a gat, my topknot's tied, and my hanbok's properly on—what's the problem?"
"It's so half-assed."
Heungseon-gun Yi Ha-eung.
The forever overlooked tail-end of the royal family.
Without a hint of hesitation, he invited me to his home, and fortunately, I could finally ditch the disguise.
"Still not married?"
"When would I have time for that? Didn't I say I had to hurry back to Joseon?"
"What nonsense. With your parents gone, you need to carry on the family line!"
"Well... I've got an older brother, so no worries there for the family."
"Looks like your brother never raised you with a switch."
Come on, really? Is everyone in the 19th century obsessed with beating kids?
"If I get caught in another storm and die, my wife would end up a widow before twenty. I never planned to marry and then leave right away."
"What kind of ridiculous talk is that? If death's a risk, you should've at least fathered a son first."
Ahh... so that's the difference in mindsets.
He had servants tidy my appearance, then promptly set out a small drinking table to catch up.
It wasn't meant for just two.
"It's been ages!"
"How have you been all this time?"
"Ha ha! Your Joseon speech is still flawless! I thought you'd forgotten it all!"
Kim Byeong-gi.
"I never expected to see you like this."
"Ah, because of my father?"
Kim Byeong-gi, who showed up at Heungseon-gun's house as if he'd been waiting, thumped my back heartily the moment he saw me, his face beaming with genuine joy. That smile even eased my wariness a bit.
"Don't hate my father too much. He had no choice."
"Your Highness mentioned the English too. What happened?"
"The English and French show up every other day demanding trade."
Ah, you bastards. I told you not to bid on my carefully oiled-up Joseon.
It wasn't just adventurers or merchants—the French navy had even sailed warships in and thrown their weight around. Hearing that snapped me to attention.
- Your country's in big trouble. What if France actually invades?
Joseon isn't my country. If anything, it's Britain.
Still, the French nagging was seriously annoying. Why were these honorless scum showing up in the country I'm trying to open and extorting it?
Yi Ha-eung and Kim Byeong-gi downed their cups and gave me a rough rundown of recent events.
"The Pungyang Jo faction's calling for 'expel the Western barbarians,' and the rural scholars are echoing them. Even my father couldn't welcome you warmly under those circumstances."
"Mm... I can only apologize."
"What do you have to apologize for? But remember this: the Jo scum keep claiming this uproar happened because we welcomed you so warmly."
Classic political blame game.
But something felt off.
"If I may ask something terribly presumptuous..."
"Go ahead."
"Wasn't it just the Kim clan who looked after young me?"
The list of luminaries who'd jumped in to teach me was already Yi Hang-ro, Gi Jeong-jin, Kim Jeong-hui, and more. If caring for Arthur Leigh was a crime, weren't they all guilty too?
And... this was an attack on the king as well. Who was it that gave me a piggyback ride again?
"I'll say it."
As Kim Byeong-gi's face hardened, Yi Ha-eung took up the thread like passing a baton.
"His Majesty realized the Western powers' military might and decreed we must fortify our coasts and rebuild the navy on a grand scale."
"Of course."
"But some foolish ministers disagree. Why train an army when the nation's so impoverished?"
Yi Ha-eung framed it as mere policy disagreement, but I caught the real meaning right away.
- Huh? What're you saying?
Isn't it obvious?
What king would be happy watching noble houses run the country as they please?
Heonjong expanding the military meant 'strengthening royal authority'—that worn-out phrase from the annals.
And next would naturally come purges of the noble Kims and Jos.
The Kims might even be in cahoots with the Jos now. To solidify his rule, Heonjong would have to step on the Andong Kims too.
I pulled out my foreigner-only secret move.
'I have no clue about this country's affairs, so I can't grasp any hidden meanings.'
"That's disastrous. Joseon's facing a massive crisis. We must prepare the army and stand ready against invasion!"
"...That serious?"
"France is the most barbaric and violent nation in Europe. They're like the Qin state in the Warring States—called a tiger-wolf nation there. They scatter their faith's monks worldwide, then invade to avenge any executions."
The two slowly set down their cups. Who could enjoy drinks with war looming?
"I'm not here to push trade on Joseon."
"I know."
"But war will come again soon. Even before I left, public opinion in France—and my own Britain—was building for it."
"Why Britain too?!"
Kim Byeong-gi yelped like a stuck pig, but no one commented.
"Do you know why the last Qing-Britain war happened?"
"Because your kind peddled opium, right?"
Oof. Facts hit hard. Lord Heungseon, could you go easy?
"Opium wasn't the main issue. Even our court agrees those peddling harm abroad deserve punishment."
"Then?"
"The biggest reason is that Qing doesn't respect us."
Barbarians.
From my Confucian-studied, 21st-century-informed view, I know Qing, obsessed with Sino-centrism, sees treating others as 'equals' like a knife to the throat.
Even I get pissed hearing 'barbarian' nonstop and debate punching them with my righteous Eton fist—but how must it look to smug Europeans?
"Our merchants risk their lives crossing oceans for trade, yet Qing officials demand bribes with every breath and extort them endlessly. Even after war, Qing's arrogance persists, so now voices demand we show our true power."
"I see."
Yi Ha-eung closed his eyes briefly.
When he opened them minutes later...
I felt like a tiger was staring me down.
"You just want war, don't you?"
"......"
"Your bodies itch to unleash those mighty ships and cannons, right?"
"What on earth do you mean?!"
"...Seems that way."
The last spark of Joseon, indeed. Different, unmistakably so.
Even as Kim Byeong-gi, face pale like he might faint, flapped his mouth, Yi Ha-eung calmly lit his long pipe.
"So, if we open our ports freely for trade, the foreigners won't invade... or so one might think. I doubt it."
"I disagree. Grant trade freedom, and there'll be no war. Only Britain can check those ferocious French—"
"Pupil, you're bad at lying. It's not about trade—it's about your kind raking in massive profits, isn't it? Meaning we take the losses?"
- You tried to stop me completely.
I ignored the jar ghost's interjection and nodded calmly.
"It might turn out that way."
"Is that your purpose here? No war if we hand over our wealth meekly?"
"Look at the last war—you know we can kill and burn villages, but conquering and ruling a year-away land by sea is another matter entirely."
"I-I'm getting too drunk. Time to head home."
Kim Byeong-gi shuddered like it terrified him to hear more and bolted out.
Neither of us saw him off.
Now I had to give my all against the man before me.
"I can confidently say this is the greatest opportunity in all of Joseon's history."
"Opportunity?"
"Yes. Britain and France will thrash Qing no matter what. They learned how weak Qing is in the last war."
Everyone knows that much.
But what follows...
Only I know.
"If Qing gets beaten like dogs, can it maintain its Mandate of Heaven?"
"...You must've learned Confucianism wrong."
"Thanks to the diligent teaching from all of you, I realized the queue-wearing scum in Beijing are the true barbarians."
The Mandate crumbles.
The continent shakes.
"Ally with Britain and train troops now—would northern expeditions still be a pipe dream?"
"What do you gain spouting such wild words to me? I'm just a royal clansman who can't even enter office."
"Isn't dreaming of glory natural for a Confucian gentleman?"
That's why I'd recruited Yi Ha-eung before.
Born a royal clansman in Joseon, opportunities were nil for him anyway.
Knowing that, hadn't he agonized till the end?
Looking at the historical footprint of Heungseon Daewongun Yi Ha-eung, this man could never be free of desires for power.
He fit the type most likely to be swayed by me.
His lips twitched subtly after staring at me for a long while.
"Sell out the country to cling to Britain?"
"I wouldn't put it that extremely."
"Even learning Confucianism, you're still a beast. Can't even tie a topknot right, yet so scheming."
And then.
"Any guarantee Britain will utterly crush Qing?"
Tigers are beasts too, strictly speaking.
I nodded.