Chapter 65
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 065
Chapter Title: Invisible Threat (1)
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It took a long time to finalize the treaty.
Correction.
The treaty text had been settled, but there were still many procedures left before it could take effect.
"This treaty must first be approved by the Imperial Court in Kyoto."
"Isn't that court just a figurehead with no real power?"
Joseon wasn't run by fools; they knew all about the Emperor next door in Japan. The Japanese might revere him, but everyone knew he was little more than a decoration, while the real power lay with the Shogun—the Supreme Commander of the Shogunate—a fact known since the days of Shin Suk-ju long ago.
So when talk suddenly arose about needing the Emperor's permission, the Joseon envoys could only think, Are these bastards trying to pull the rug out from under us?
But the Shogunate was dead serious.
"Those opposing the Shogunate never shut up about the Emperor and the Court, so the Shogun has ordered from the start not to give those ruffians any pretext. We have no intention whatsoever of undermining the treaty's greater purpose."
"We have the same procedure ahead—returning to Hanyang to present the treaty to His Majesty the King for approval—so yes, of course."
The envoys readily agreed.
They could see with their own eyes how unstable the situation in Edo had become.
"Joseon is barbarian too! The only civilized nation on this land is Japan! Those scoundrels who meddled in state affairs as they pleased have now sold the country to barbarians—true traitors with no equal!"
The first to raise a ruckus were the ultra-nationalists.
Arthur Leigh, a renowned Neo-Confucian scholar of world fame, went out to face them, but the results were underwhelming.
"Come now, everyone calm down. Let's have a civilized academic discussion."
"What is there to discuss with Joseon barbarians and Westerners!"
"Haha. The Four Seas are one, and all men are equal under Heaven. If the Way is truly the Way, how could it not apply to everyone? If I gain enlightenment from your arguments, wouldn't that be a merit in itself?"
"Hmph. Fine, listen up!"
That day, Arthur tasted the cosmos.
"This Divine Land of Japan is protected by eight million kami, and when those gods crossed to India, they became Shakyamuni Buddha."
"Pardon...?"
"Buddha is merely an incarnation of the gods we Japanese worship. Thus, this Divine Land ruled by His Majesty the Emperor is the center of the world—the true Middle Kingdom."
"Is... that so?"
"Indeed! The Emperor, who rules the Middle Kingdom, should rightfully rule all the world. Yet you barbarians not only fail to pay him tribute but dare to bully civilized Japan with your guns and black ships!"
Arthur, who had endured Joseon's Neo-Confucian Taliban with his body and prided himself on understanding this 'everyone but us is barbarian' Eastern theory quite sympathetically, struggled to keep a straight face this time.
After enduring their torment for a good while, Arthur mentally jotted them down in his internal Death Note as 'hopeless idiots unfit for association or collaboration.'
Next up.
"Joseon, Joseon, Joseon!! These fools! Behind Joseon stands Britain! Joseon is just a mask!"
"There can be no treaty with Joseon! If their true intent is to stand with Japan against the Western barbarians, have them declare jōi—expulsion of the barbarians—to the world first! The treaty comes after."
"If we open our ports, we'll end up fleeced by them just like Joseon!"
These were the ones claiming that Joseon had only lent its name while the real entity pushing the treaty was the Western powers.
They viewed Joseon as barbarians too, but there was a clear hierarchy between the neighborly barbarians and the unfamiliar ones. Half suspected Joseon's motives, figuring it had obviously fallen to the Western demon's infection like some Terran colony. The other half pitied it as a cautionary tale, arguing it hadn't chosen that fate but we must learn from it.
Having sharp-eyed Arthur deal with them would be like pouring oil on fire, so other Joseon envoys stepped up instead.
"How are things in Joseon lately? I heard the barbarians sacked the capital, killed ministers, and ran amok."
"Not at all. The traitorous minister Kim Ja-geun, who sold the country to Qing to cling to his petty power, was executed, but our King proclaimed his wise will, and the British were so impressed they saw the light. Though guests in our house, they helped quell the chaos—how could we, as hosts, treat them poorly?"
"They helped save your country! And you say Joseon still has any righteousness or propriety left?"
"Of course. Our Joseon's pure Neo-Confucian Way shone through, so even brutish barbarians dared not side with traitors for their own gain and only humbly discussed the benefits of trade and the beauty of amity."
"With Western barbarians sitting in high office debating state affairs, how can you claim Joseon isn't their puppet?"
"Nonsense! To speak plainly, he was a pitiful castaway, not yet ten years old, who lost all family to shipwreck. Do you truly claim our Way couldn't even civilize one orphaned boy?!"
The Japanese excelled at swordplay, but Joseon had honed their verbal battles over centuries, so their tongues stayed sharp no matter how many Japanese agitators came spouting nonsense.
Japan's public opinion was now taking shape.
1. Everyone but Japan is barbarian—expel them all.
2. Joseon is pitiful; civilized Japan must help.
3. Joseon is like our little brother; cooperate to navigate these turbulent times.
4. Like Joseon, Japan must fling open its doors for full enlightenment.
The Shogunate fell into category 4.
Facing the black ships America had dragged in, they had no choice but to stamp the treaties. With body and soul, they cried that opening up was the only path to salvation—no other retreat.
Pro-Shogunate domains and intellectuals were category 3. They saw exchange with the West as inevitable but believed in securing self-defense measures while enlightening as slowly as possible.
Amid all this.
A new figure appeared at the envoys' lodgings, always bustling with spectators and debaters.
"I am Saigo Takamori of Satsuma. I wished to speak with the renowned Lord Arthur and have come to call."
The man now tilting his teacup before me.
Saigo Takamori.
Heh. My fame shakes the heavens, drawing Japan's big names one after another, impressed at last.
- You know who he is?
Of course. He pops up in every alternate history novel. Usually as a radical pro-Korea hawk insisting on conquering Joseon.
And this is a fuzzy memory, but... I think the badass samurai in that ultra-Japan-pilled movie Twilight Samurai or whatever was modeled after him. Probably.
- You know that too? Not like you.
There's a strategy sim set in this era where Satsuma always starts with him as commander. I think he was in Shogun too? Or not?
- Thought you knew something real... turns out it's games after all.
Tch. Better than Itō Hirobumi. I'd be agonizing over whether to shoot him or not.
His eyes are fierce, his build imposing—anyone could see he's general material. Low-ranking samurai or not, he's etched his name in history, starring in every piece of content. Can't underestimate him.
"As a retainer of Satsuma's lord, who favors Western learning and preaches it to those around him, our lord read your Discourses on Statecraft and People's Livelihood and was deeply moved. He insisted on meeting you, so here I am, unannounced."
Two interpreters. Our guy threw up his hands, saying the thick dialect was incomprehensible.
"I'm deeply embarrassed that my poor writing moved you. I believe it already contains everything I wish to say to the Japanese people—what curiosity brings you here?"
"First, the benefits of Western trade don't ring true to me. Second, if those benefits are so great, why do Westerners wage endless conquests?"
Simple, but hits the core. As expected of a big name.
How to answer most impressively? I racked my brains, then pulled out one of the books I'd brought.
"This book should address your questions."
"What book?"
"It compiles knowledge pursued by British scholars, humbly presented to Joseon's King. We titled it On the Principles of Political Economy and Taxation."
Thanks, Britain!
No need to cram freshman Mankiw Economics; the core framework was already published—Malthus and Ricardo had their famous debates, a boon for later scholars like me.
"First, on the benefits of trade as realized by Scholar Ricardo."
Imagine only Joseon and Japan exist in the world.
And only cloth and rice.
If both make only cloth, each produces 100 units.
If both farm only rice, Joseon gets 100, Japan 200.
"Japan eats better, eh?"
"We call this Japan having an 'absolute advantage' in rice."
"Now, change it up: Joseon makes only cloth, Japan only farms."
"The total output...!"
Saigo caught on instantly.
"Joseon sells Japan 50 cloth for 70 rice."
"Through trade alone, both nations grow richer. This is the benefit of trade—closing ports starves the people, while open nations prosper. That's why."
"I see! So your claim in Discourses that Joseon should focus on the continent while Japan takes the seas aligns with this?"
"You grasped it at once. You're no ordinary man. Indeed."
I had no clue, but nodded along.
- Born salesman...
"Now I understand. Force open the country to reap these gains, and no one would want out..."
"Next, Scholar Malthus's research on population."
In this barbaric 19th century, have kids first, sort it out later—population explodes. A couple has six; two die young, four survive. Every generation—25 years—doubles: 2 to 4, 4 to 8, 8 to 16, 32, 64, 128, 256.
"But can farming double output every 20 years, no matter the toil or land reclaimed?"
"Impossible..."
Grain grows arithmetically: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.
"In 200 years, grain-to-population is 256:9. In 300, 4096:13."
"Everyone would have starved by then."
"Plagues, famines, wars claim countless lives. Reflect on history: after any golden age comes those three. Even China lasts only 200-250 years per dynasty. No matter the sage kings or wise ministers, at 256:9, the world collapses into misery."
"Insanity!"
Saigo shot up, toppling his teacup, soaking his sleeve.
But he couldn't care less.
"By that logic, golden ages shouldn't exist—we're just breeding fodder for meaningless deaths!"
"Slightly off. Please, sit."
"I'll hear you out. For now."
He growled like a tiger but sat meekly.
"Population is national power. Agree?"
"...Yes."
"More citizens mean greater strength; all dead means national extinction."
"Obvious."
"The world's grain is finite. Kill as many enemy offspring as possible, maximize ours... that's the ultimate path to outpacing rivals."
Saigo faltered, conferring with interpreters.
Then, finally—
BAM!!
"That's not the Way of governance—it's the devil's doctrine!"
No wonder the young king read it and ordered, 'Show ministers only—never let the masses near it.' He himself was thoroughly dyed, though.
"Seize others' grain to feed your people. If famine looms anyway, conquer abroad, send them to perilous seas for desperate gains. Why? Prioritize your own over enemies'."
That's the shitty part of the Malthus trap.
Escape the nightmare wheel? Impossible without a magic wand spewing endless grain.
But it appears.
We call it the Haber-Bosch process, chemical fertilizer—the moment humanity breaks free from hell's wheel.
"Japan has 30 million people; Qing has 300 million. Send 100 million to conquer—what then?"
"......"
"Westerners aren't demons. They just realized sooner: to prosper, steal others' grain."
"So Joseon joined the thieves? You convinced them?"
"As I said, this doctrine will reach Beijing someday. In 300 years, Koreans and Japanese vanish; China fills the world."
BAM!!
No tea left to spill anyway.
Saigo stormed out wordlessly.
Watching his back, I pulled out my pipe.
The 19th century was brutal without nicotine.
Not that I'm a smoker, mind you.
Two days later.
Saigo reappeared, dark circles black under his eyes.
"I want to go to Joseon."
"Suddenly why?"
"To save Japan, we must seize from Qing—that's what you're saying."
Despite exhaustion, something eerie glinted in his eyes.
"I want to see if Joseon qualifies."
"And if not?"
"Seize from easier prey than Qing."
Hmm. No joke there.
"I'll ask the chief envoy, but I doubt he'll refuse."
And I really like people like him.
They don't stab you in the back, at least.