Chapter 29
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 029
Chapter Title: Debut Battle (3)
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The Defense Council.
To break it down, it was the office tasked with preparing for border affairs.
Originally a temporary body set up during major crises like wars, but after hundreds of years, the Defense Council had shoved aside the Six Ministries and even the State Council, cementing itself as the de facto supreme authority ruling Joseon.
And right now.
The Defense Council meeting was nothing short of a chaotic flea market.
"War, you say."
"We need to inspect Ganghwa Island's defenses immediately and prepare for invasion."
"Just in case, we should ready the evacuation plans—"
"Evacuation? Have you lost your mind?!"
Kim Ja-geun ground his teeth and glared at each of the men seated around the table.
Prime Minister Jeong Won-yong, Left State Councillor Kim Heung-geun, Right State Councillor Kim Do-hee, Minister of Personnel Jo Du-sun, and Pungyang Jo clansmen Jo In-young and Jo Byeong-hyeon, among others.
The king, whose head had thickened with age, was poking at the Andong Kim Clan while dreaming of strengthening royal authority.
Yet despite being in the same boat—doomed if the king got serious—these idiots from the Pungyang Jo Clan refused to band together to curb the young monarch's whims. Instead, they were busy snapping at the Andong Kims. It was enough to drive anyone mad.
"We must summon all naval forces at once and gather troops from the north."
"War hasn't even broken out yet."
"By the time war erupts and we scramble, it'll be too late! Can't you grasp even this obvious point? In times like these?"
"Then let me ask you this in return. If the British invade, where do you think they'll come?"
Where?
Of course—
"Ganghwa Island!"
"You think if we repair the fortress and station troops on Ganghwa, the enemy will obligingly bash their heads against it? Do you seriously believe that? If I were a British barbarian, I'd take one look at Ganghwa's defenses and immediately ravage the southern provinces instead."
"If court and commoners unite to staunchly defend the capital, we can surely protect the ancestral shrines. But the people would suffer devastation rivaling the Imjin War. There must be no war!"
"......"
Now I get it.
These guys.
They're all nursing their own agendas.
"The Qing have already invaded us once under King Injo. We've never forgotten Emperor Chongzhen's grudge for even a moment as the Little China. Why honor our loyalty to the Qing and incur the wrath of the British, who have no such prior ties?"
"Exactly. Unless the Qing vow to protect us, they'll surely acknowledge our position."
Men who had risen this high couldn't lack a sense of reality.
What they first recalled was hundreds of years ago, during the Ming-Qing transition.
Repaying the debt to Ming had led to two invasions and the humiliation of Samjeondo. The Qing hadn't bestowed favors as grand as the Ming's, so no one was eager to risk war for those queue-wearing Jurchens.
"If the Qing Dynasty's end is nigh."
The one who uttered those chilling words was Jo Byeong-hyeon.
Kim Ja-geun's most hated rival among the Pungyang Jo Clan—a man whose neck he desperately wanted to wring.
"The scholars will inevitably call for a northern expedition."
"Insanity!"
Everyone knew Joseon lacked a proper army—even a child. What northern expedition?
"But unrest will erupt everywhere, that's certain. Naïve fools exist in every era."
"If such fools appear, just ship them off to Beijing."
"No matter how loudly we proclaim 'neutrality,' the Qing won't look kindly on it. Whoever wins the war, the Qing will pick a fight with us to restore their tarnished prestige, you can bet on it."
"So you advocate some foolhardy northern expedition? You're out of your mind."
"I'm speaking reality."
"Think you'll survive if the British win? You lot were the ones who rounded up and executed all the heretics!"
That's right.
Kim Ja-geun had his ace in the hole.
'The Jo bastards can never ride with the foreigners.'
But Jo Byeong-hyeon's face didn't even twitch at the jab to his Achilles' heel.
"We only purged the Old Sect heretics from France. From what I've learned, the foreigners' Jesus cult splits into Old and New Sects. The no-sacrifice, no-ancestor-worship heretics are only the Old Sect; the New Sect is different. If the British follow the New Sect, they're at least somewhat reasonable, no?"
"......"
Arguing when he became an expert on heretic doctrines would be petty.
This was trouble.
Big trouble.
The Andong Kim Clan maintained its power by dominating the Defense Council and privatizing military command.
But if war truly broke out, the young king wouldn't miss the chance to reclaim all authority. A state of emergency made it all too easy.
Joseon would have to tightrope over a single-log bridge between Britain and the Qing. One misstep meant plummeting to annihilation.
And for the Andong Kims' glory to continue, mastering that tightrope was essential.
British victory: crisis.
Qing victory: crisis.
Defeated Qing retaliating in rage: crisis.
Defeated British lashing out: crisis.
Kim Ja-geun and the Andong Kims' odds of escaping blame were slim, but he was desperately seeking a way out.
His sole escape plan.
Become the war hawk himself.
Lead the war as supreme commander without bothering the king.
And simultaneously orchestrate perfect diplomacy to avert war altogether...!
Today's Defense Council decided merely to heighten vigilance nationwide, recruit northern archers for potential clashes.
And summon those connected to Yi Asl to Hanyang for smoother talks.
However.
"No matter how superior the British techniques, we've overcome the Japanese and Manchu invasions. If they dare invade our land, they won't leave unscathed!"
Baring teeth and fighting hard—couldn't we snap off a limb or two from those barbarians?
In the end, they couldn't transcend the frog-in-the-well mindset.
"Long time no see, Asl-a."
"Have you been well?"
"Thanks to you, I haven't!"
Kim Byeong-gi openly scolded me as he raised his cup.
"How could I mix personal feelings into state affairs?"
But instead of chuckling along, I straightened up and soured the mood.
"Look here, young Asl. Even so, respect for elders—"
"This isn't casual chat or mere state business. I'm here to negotiate a war that could spill the blood of countless people. How could I laugh and joke? Let alone 'respect for elders'? If the delegation's chief envoy were an eighty-year-old, would you have accepted our demands? Out of deference?"
Chewing out men decades my senior wasn't pleasant, but they were Andong Kims—leeches sucking the people's blood through corruption and exploitation.
For Arthur Leigh, who crossed the sea to uphold justice, lecturing these crooked officials was utterly righteous. Confucius or Song Si-yeol would applaud, draping me in flower garlands.
They weren't worth respecting.
Whether I swindle or roast them, no conscience pricked.
Line up everyone in Joseon who wants them torn limb from limb, and the queue would stretch beyond Hanyang's walls.
- You're trying hard. Hasn't your face skin thickened already?
This wasn't past-life patriotism; it was the last shred of conscience as a 21st-century man. If I played 19th-century diplomat—firing cannons, staging false flags, then declaring war—what set me apart from them?
"The British Empire has crushed the Heavenly Dynasty and stands unrivaled atop the world. Even a handful of Jurchens once toppled the Ming and seized Heaven's Mandate. For the world's strongest empire, destroying the Qing would be child's play."
"Enough bluster."
"It's not bluster—it's fact."
Kim Byeong-gi glared at me, then glanced at his own trembling hand.
"Do you truly wish to destroy this nation? If not, offer something we can actually accept. You know Joseon well."
"Why keep dodging?"
I noted how he slyly hid his hand.
"Aren't you more curious how the Andong Kims can avoid ruin?"
"...Yes. I won't deny it. So lend me that clever head of yours."
Finally ready to listen.
I laid out my prepared proposal.
"Declare to the world that Joseon is no Qing vassal but an independent sovereign state. Conclude a protection and trade treaty—no, a mutual defense pact—with Britain."
"What's the difference?"
"A protection and trade treaty pledges peace and mutual commerce. A mutual defense pact vows automatic alliance if one nation is dragged into war. If the British Empire declares it will defend you, even the Qing won't touch Joseon lightly."
"Isn't that just swapping Qing for British overlordship?"
"Joseon has always done that. But a mutual defense pact doesn't make you a vassal—you can freely diplomatize with other nations."
"That's all? Side with the British?"
"In European diplomacy, friendly nations station full envoys in each other's capitals."
What did Kim Byeong-gi most want to hear?
A way to save Kim Ja-geun.
"Appoint Lord Hwa-ok—that is, Kim Ja-geun—as ambassador to Britain and send him across the sea. Taking responsibility as the nation's elder should spare his life."
"They'll call him the man who ruined the country—sending him to Britain won't—"
"Claim it's no different from exile to the frontier. You must send someone anyway once the treaty's signed. Who in Joseon would volunteer?"
Exile Kim Ja-geun abroad.
In Joseon worldview, akin to dragging him to Shenyang post-Pyongyang War. Perfect excuse for stripping power and assigning blame.
"Can't you give us a bit more time?"
"Give you time, and you'll prepare for war."
No retort, huh? Joseon's history of diplomatic fibbing wasn't one or two instances.
"This delegation was pushed through by my strong insistence up top. Please understand I risked everything for Joseon."
If Joseon bends smoothly, it's not bad.
They swiftly open ports, join our side; Andong Kims take blame for misrule and retreat to islands.
A beautiful ending with no blood spilled.
But.
"We'll consider it."
"Really?"
"You know it's not my call. I'll push hard—really hard—for peace. So trust me and wait. Alright?"
"Fine. I'll wait. Please do your best."
"Of course. Rest easy now."
A few days after sending Kim Byeong-gi off.
I met another welcome face.
"You look radiant."
"Master."
As I rose to bow, Heungseon Daewongun Yi Ha-eung scowled fiercely.
"Master? I taught you squat. And didn't your countrymen say bows are for slaves?"
"Haha. Can't argue facts. If you ever dispatch Joseon envoys abroad, tell them never to bow."
Heungseon plopped his rear down with a thud that shook the room, forgoing reply.
And.
The frowning tiger donned a sly serpent's mask in an instant.
"Has the time come?"
"Yes."
"For Joseon's revival and the ancestral shrines to stand tall, we must eradicate those rat- and mosquito-like noble houses. Everyone in this land harbors that thought—save them."
"Even you, Your Highness?"
"Don't utter that lightly."
Was King Heonjong in on it, or just Yi Ha-eung's personal vendetta to wipe out the nobles?
Didn't matter to me.
All the same before the British Empire's guns.
"The Pungyang Jo Clan has flipped."
"...Weren't those guys obsessed with expelling the foreigners?"
"They shouted anti-foreign slogans to seize power. Empty rhetoric they can drop anytime."
Yi Ha-eung whispered very softly.
But louder than thunder.
"Kim Ja-geun rejected every proposal."
War.