Chapter 66
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 066
Chapter Title: Invisible Threat (2)
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Saigo Takamori had stayed up for two straight days and nights.
He rummaged through every book he could find.
To prove that the Demon's Way was utter nonsense not worth a dime, he forgot to eat or sleep.
But he failed.
Instead, the Demon's Way was whispering in his ears.
It kept injecting delusions into his head without end.
Japan today was in utter chaos, and the shogunate was as incompetent as could be.
'Is that really true?'
Japanese scholars had claimed until recently that Japan was the greatest country in the world.
The basis for that was the arrival of 'the Great Peace.'
This island nation had never known a moment without war, yet over two hundred years of peace without conflict— wasn't that proof of a land like those of Yao and Shun?
Until recently, he wouldn't have even scoffed at the idea.
With the shogunate so incompetent that it couldn't govern properly, wasn't the Great Peace ending, and an age of chaos about to begin?
But according to the Demon's Way, it was all true.
The Great Peace had lasted for centuries, swelling this land's population to some thirty million, and 'that' was precisely why chaos had arrived.
No matter how diligently you tilled the fields, reclaimed barbarian wastelands, and struggled, you couldn't support the endless population growth.
That's why vagrants and beggars roamed the wild mountains everywhere, and even those samurai swaggering about with swords at their hips had become unemployed, with some turning into anti-regime agitators.
Surprisingly, the Demon's Way explained the root of this chaos.
And he hated it.
"Ha ha ha. What on earth did that blue-eyed devil tell you to leave you looking so gaunt overnight?"
"Just... give me a little more time, my lord. I'll handle it myself."
He couldn't bring himself to speak such a horrific, dismal truth to his master, the domain lord Nariakira.
How could he utter something so terrible to his lord?
In the end, he broke.
The Demon's Way was logic that confronted reality head-on, and no matter how much Saigo pondered and probed, he couldn't refute it.
Once he accepted it, his eyes opened.
Gazing at the sun slowly rising beyond the horizon, he achieved enlightenment.
"Hah, hahaha!! Buddha said enlightenment is the only answer, and how right he was!! This Sahā world is nothing but suffering!!"
Even crops in the fields had to battle weeds for the soil's nutrients.
Weak rabbits and deer were devoured by wolves.
Foolish, frail peasants killed their own children to have fewer mouths to feed.
How arrogant of humans to think they could escape this grand cosmic law?
In the Sahā world, if you didn't want to die, you had to endlessly devour other lives to survive— so could a mere country forged by humans find some clever escape from that cycle?
"To sustain a single Japanese subject, no matter how many nameless foreigners from abroad perish... what of it!!"
The most important thing was the homeland where he was born and raised: Satsuma.
After that, naturally, Japan.
At last, he forged a single sword in his heart.
Japan had to become the predator that devoured, not the prey that was devoured.
For now, I sent Saigo back first.
No telling what kind of mess I'd be in if he showed up looking like that.
First, I gave Heungseon Daewongun a brief rundown on Saigo, and a few days later, once he'd cleaned up a bit, I introduced him properly.
"He looks like a general."
Heungseon Daewongun's first words upon meeting Saigo Takamori.
"So, you want to see Joseon?"
"Yes, my lord."
"And you said if Joseon seems easy pickings, you'll devour it?"
"That is also true."
Yi Ha-eung glanced at me, standing off to the side.
'That damned book turned him into this.'
'Not my fault.'
What did I do wrong?
21st-century folks treat Malthus like Satan's kin or a mad racist, but from my view, he seems a bit hard done by.
I don't think failing to predict the Industrial Revolution and nitrogen fertilizers should be counted as his sin. It's like someone from the future in 2033 tsking at 2024 moderns worrying about global warming and environmental destruction, saying, 'Superconductors get invented and solve it all— why waste effort?'
Anyway, Malthus didn't write in his population theory that 'the answer is colonies and imperialism.'
The devout believer simply said, God created a world that is ultimately bountiful. If anything, it's an extension of Christian logic.
After publishing his theory and getting endless flak, there's a quote attributed to Malthus:
'Politicians all say population is national strength, so have more kids— but you're the wicked ones for pushing births without creating conditions for those new lives to have decent quality of life.'
To 21st-century ears, it sounds plausible enough, but to folks in an era where war, famine, and plague erupted like a constant refrain, it apparently didn't hit home.
Whatever the merits of his logic, later generations twisted it into justification for imperialism.
Eugenics. Social Darwinism.
Could I change that tide? Probably not.
A merchant rides the current, he doesn't fight it.
So I'd just fed Saigo the pure extract.
My fault... none...!
"With the treaty about to be signed, Japanese coming to Joseon won't be an issue in itself, but foreigners can't leave the open ports."
"That's why I'm begging you like this."
"Two paths forward. First, take an official post in the Joseon court."
"That's difficult."
Yeah, figured as much.
I'm a freak exception; normal people can't help but feel revulsion at taking foreign office. Especially in a fractured place like Japan, still playing at domain politics— 'Eating foreign rice? Traitor!' and suddenly a sword in your back.
"Then only one option left. Become a student come to learn Joseon scholarship."
This Japan-Joseon Mutual Defense and Trade Treaty naturally modeled the first modern treaty between Britain and Joseon.
Just like back then, it includes a clause: 'Both nations shall actively support students coming to study.'
"Say you're here to learn Joseon Neo-Confucianism, and getting into Hanyang won't be a big deal."
"Confucius says this, Mencius says that— I doubt it'd impress much. If Hanyang's only reachable by claiming to study, I'd rather learn Western knowledge."
"Heh heh. That one's got backbone. Not just general looks."
Yi Ha-eung set down his long pipe.
"I'll arrange for you to visit Sejong Academy."
"Joseon's national institution teaching Western learning."
I jumped in with the explanation, and Saigo bowed deeply.
"For a lowly clerk like me to receive such attention— your grace is as vast as the sea."
"No need to make a fuss. I'm quite curious whether you'll lead an army to conquer Joseon... or one to aid it."
Saigo bowed again at Yi Ha-eung's words, laced with steel.
"If Joseon has opened up and prospered so, how could I dream of invading it to fill Japanese bellies?"
"Hah. Good attitude. We're heading back to Hanyang soon, so pack your things quick. You'll be here years, no? Family?"
"I'll ensure no issues when you depart."
"Good. See you next time."
After Saigo left, Yi Ha-eung smacked his lips.
"No ordinary fellow."
"You see it too?"
"Aye. Strong rebel streak— the type to draw his sword even on superiors if they don't suit him. Think old Ying Bu was like that?"
Ying Bu from the Chu-Han Contention.
Even if the name's unknown, his legendary rebel cry— 'The Han have lost the Mandate of Heaven!'— is probably famous.
With Saigo's matter settled, my big business in Japan was done.
We'd dispatch staff for follow-up talks, and finally boarded ship.
Without this massive Western vessel, the shogunate's response would've been far slower. Joseon knew well that a port blockade could cripple a huge consumer hub.
Time to go home.
Surprisingly, the envoy heading home was suddenly detained.
"A low-ranking Satsuma samurai wants to tag along?"
"He wished to learn from Joseon, so I permitted it. Joseon has never turned away a seeker of knowledge since ancient times—"
"No!! Absolutely not!!"
The shogunate frothed at the mouth refusing, then slyly countered with 'Fine, we'll send students too.' Japanese, honestly...
Thus, with a few extra students aboard, we truly set off, arriving at Jemulpo— Incheon of the future— days later.
"Whoa."
"No...!"
Jemulpo was changing at a terrifying pace.
So rapid the transformation that the surroundings no longer felt like Joseon— more like a chunk of Hong Kong plopped down.
We rode carriages toward Hanyang.
"What are they doing?"
"Laying rails."
"Rails? What good does paving roads with precious iron do?"
Ah. He doesn't know.
That's the railroad. The miraculous lifeline for Joseon's logistics.
Core business that'd rake in fortunes for the Far East Colonization Company for decades.
Once the Gyeongin, Gyeongbu, Honam, and Gyeongui lines punch through, Joseon becomes one daily living sphere.
The Joseon government, already crushed under foreign debt, ceded rail rights to the Far East company in exchange for a cut of profits, and the money-hungry British were laying track with gusto.
What would become of Joseon's future?
Loans and rails.
The classic playbook for turning a healthy nation into a colony.
Fail to repay massive loans, and like the IMF, they creep into domestic affairs. Debtor nations lose one authority after another until the whole country's swallowed.
Rails are simpler.
Folks unfamiliar with modern civ jump at train whistles and rumbles; add a fatality, and they attack trains or rails. Or steal sleepers and tracks.
Incidents like that birth 'rail guards' to protect them— foreign troops camped on key transport arteries.
Of course, maybe no big issue for me.
Leigh & Gladstone and the Far East company were already nibbling Joseon's prime concessions— Joseon falling colonial might even bring Arthur Leigh greater wealth.
But... my head grew complicated for various reasons.
Could Joseon really repay and rise?
"Hey!! Take this!!"
After alighting the palace carriage, performing the set rites to greet the king, and heading back.
Souvenirs from Japan had long been mailed via post from Jemulpo, but coming home empty-handed as family head felt off, so I detoured the market for small gifts.
"What's this?"
"Ah! Lord Ia-seul! I didn't recognize you— forgive me!"
Finally noticing my blue eyes, the man who'd tried handing me something bowed furiously.
"No matter. Let's see what you were about to give out."
I picked up the pamphlet-like thing.
- Ad flyer?
No. Different.
This was like...
"What's listed here?"
"Heh heh. With all these wondrous gadgets flooding in, it's tough for peddlers to carry everything, right?"
"Fair enough."
"So this booklet has pictures and numbers below. Write your order on the form at the back, hand it to the passing postman, and in days, merchants like us deliver."
Uh... this is...
- A home shopping catalog?
"Who invented this?"
"Some post office official, they say. Sharp mind, eh? With our wise, virtuous king, even women in inner rooms can shop without stirring."
I pocketed the catalog without argument, grabbed some snacks and trinkets, and headed home.
Looks like...
I'd somewhat underestimated the Joseon people.