Chapter 83
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 083
Chapter Title: Friend or Foe Identification (3)
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Abbreviation: LG.
The world's most conscientious human, Arthur Leigh, runs this incredibly conscientious trading company.
- Just how thick-skinned do you have to be to hype yourself up like this...
I'm dead serious. This isn't some joke.
In this era, where everyone and their dog deals in opium, the fact that we don't smuggle it makes us SSS-grade paragons of virtue. Even after the Second Opium War made it legal to sell opium to the Qing, we still don't touch the stuff. If that's not a living, breathing conscience, what is?
We even boldly made "E" our catchphrase—"Ethical," that is—and it's worked wonders.
For a prime example: when the Qing were itching to come after me, the friends I'd forged strong bonds with stepped up and said, "You're gonna ignore all those other evil bastards peddling opium and go after the one guy who doesn't? Nah, come on now."
Truth be told, it was more like desperate evasive maneuvers to avoid giving them any leverage, but the result? Our reputation for integrity is solid enough to earn us a Conscience Refrigerator award.
And the outfit affiliated with this LG Company? It's none other than Way Ini, the one carrying out all sorts of developments in Joseon. Ensuring this company's steady revenue isn't just about my wealth—it's directly tied to my power too.
No clue when I'll even get back to Joseon, so now all I can rely on is... Daniel. Damn it. Driving me nuts.
"Do I really have to accept that title?"
"You think you don't? If you screw things up here, our whole family ends up as Thames River eels."
"You really know how to twist the knife. You don't trust me?"
"......"
"...Don't look at me like that. You're making me nervous! It's burning a hole in my face!"
Daniel had spent his time back holding one drinking session after another. All to explain to his superiors that it was "absolutely not intentional" and he had "zero plans to slack off on his duties." Naturally, a fair share of choco pies exchanged hands in the process.
I've been doing everything I can to position Daniel as my proxy for influence here, but let's face it—he's a soldier at heart. Sure, being in the East India Company's army makes him a bit of a rogue, but the chain of command still limits how much he can maneuver.
I really need to hire some locals.
A while back. Right around when I'd just returned to Joseon aboard the Henry. Back when Im Sang-ok was still alive.
He entrusted me with a bunch of orphans without homes or families, plus a few others. They became the first Joseon hires for Leigh & Gladstone Company.
No point hiding it now.
That's right.
These were folks tied to that infamous Hong Gyeong-nae Rebellion.
Hong Gyeong-nae's uprising was over 40 years ago, but its impact lingers on.
Things have gotten a bit better lately as the country prospers, but centuries of northwestern discrimination under the Joseon Dynasty don't just vanish because of a few good years. That's why folks here flock to Christianity like mad the moment missionaries show up.
Take Im Sang-ok as an example.
He didn't support Hong Gyeong-nae himself, but that was because he had too much to lose and figured the rebellion's odds were slim—not out of overflowing loyalty or patriotism for Joseon. At the core, northwesterners harbor a deep-seated resentment.
- But Im Sang-ok... he's the poster boy for corruption, cozying up to power for profit, right? No way a guy like that backs a lunatic like Hong Gyeong-nae.
Fine, let me flip the question.
Why, after Hong Gyeong-nae died, did he shelter the rebels' remnants despite knowing full well it'd screw him if the court found out? Because in his home turf of the northwest, there's this ingrained culture of pitying those poor souls.
Anyway, back to the point.
Forty years later, the surviving descendants of those rebels aren't exactly living cushy lives. If anything, as the country starts easing up on northwestern discrimination, their lives have gotten even more precarious. Rebel ties come with collective punishment, after all.
So Im Sang-ok put them on my ship, and I happily took them in. Employees with leverage? Jackpot—I can dock their pay that much more, right?
- You devil...
Ahem. Just say it's paycheck deductions for keeping you alive.
These rebel descendants who fled Joseon for Hong Kong had their backgrounds scrubbed clean, and naturally, they swore undying loyalty to Leigh & Gladstone Company. In our early days, what kept the company afloat was their round-the-clock grind—Mon-Tue-Wed-Thu-Fri-Sat-Sun, 24/7.
And now, sitting before me was one of those founding heroes, respected enough among them to play the role of salaried president.
"I'm Kim Seok-cheol."
- Whoa. Kim Ironclad? A name like that?
In this era, it's more common than Cheolsu or Young-hee. Good luck tracing his past.
"Pleased to meet you. I've heard so much about you."
"No need for such formalities!"
"Haha, what are you saying? Everyone at Leigh & Gladstone Company is family."
Joseon folks in this era are still so pure-hearted. A line like that, and his eyes are already misting up.
"You've been working the fields nonstop, so you know better than I do, but if I head back to England, the company might face some tough times ahead."
"Don't worry. We'll do our utmost to keep things steady."
"Lee will help out for a while. Once he's gone, please support my brother Daniel actively. Trade with China might get dicey in emergencies, so if the worst happens, abandon goods and cash—save the people first. As long as we've got people, we can make money again."
"Master...!"
"This is all just what I learned in Joseon—governing solely by virtue. I learned so much from Teacher Gapho (Im Sang-ok)..."
Lucky or unlucky? With our daughter Abigail still too young, looks like I have to head to England alone. With Daniel and Lee around, the company won't collapse anytime soon, at least.
- So, just head back to England, then?
No. I forgot the most important part.
Making those bastards pay.
My heart aches.
This viper's den of a British Empire won't leave a visionary like me in peace for even a moment.
Did I say something wrong? If we turn Joseon into a pro-British state and nurture it like the Japanese Empire in the original history, we can milk it dry. Unlike the Japanese, Joseon lags in power, so they can't stab us in the back easily.
But these foolish mortals—the nearsighted diplomats like Olcott, the Conservative Party hacks obsessed with petty gains—they look at my grand vision and whine, "Then who's covering the losses from China?"
- Well, logically, if you had to pick between China and Joseon, anyone would choose China a hundred times out of a hundred...
Shut it! Can't you stay quiet?!
Is that how politicians running the British Empire that rules the world should be, fixated on the short term? Monkeys can chase immediate profits too.
This isn't for my personal gain. Absolutely not some shallow scheme to hog a grown Joseon all to myself. I'm just strongly advising against China, that devilish land where betrayal lurks around every corner.
Who am I?
Arthur Leigh, the West's foremost Confucian scholar equipped with conscience and morality.
According to the Neo-Confucianism I studied, if the state strays from the path, you must remonstrate—even wielding an axe if needed—to guide it back.
So I'm innocent.
Everything I'm doing is just to dissuade the misguided British government!
"I've always wondered about this—mind if I ask now?"
"What is it?"
"Why do you keep twisting Confucian ethics to justify your crazy schemes? Doesn't that Bible of yours say you'll get punished for stuff like this?"
"What are you talking about? I'm not worshiping idols or anything—why would I get punished?"
"Sighhh..."
Late into the night.
I visited Hanyang's first—or rather, Joseon's first—cathedral, where I met Yi Ha-eung.
With secret meeting spots all over Hanyang, why the cathedral? Because I needed to discuss something related to its overseer.
"It's about time you ditched Britain."
He didn't bat an eye. Instead, he pulled out a cigarette, lit it, and took a deep drag.
- Smoking in a cathedral?
It's not a Protestant church. Catholics are fine with it.
"Khaaa! Ptoo!!"
Look at him hocking that loogie. Did I say something so outrageous?
"Am I hearing things? Say that again."
"Ditch Britain and take France as your new patron."
"Ha. Hahaha! You cheeky bastard!"
Instant scenario material.
"The sage Arthur Leigh, who poured more love and attention into Joseon than anyone, is ultimately forced to leave due to plots back in Britain. The Kingdom of Joseon, deeply disappointed by Britain's undervaluation—treating them as disposable for the China market—seeks a new partner..."
"Trying to jack up your price?"
"You want some weirdo replacing me and bossing you around?"
"Hell no. What kind of country do you think this is? Even Ming envoys were a hassle—think we'd roll out the red carpet for some English envoy?"
If Britain came in guns blazing for real, the country falls either way.
But when has it not? Even with Qing swords at their throats, Joseon endured, mocking with Chongzhen reign dates and queue hairstyles. No reason it'd change now.
"Father Kim Daegun, come here."
"B-But I'm a cleric..."
"Country's on the brink, and you're gonna bail as a cleric? Sit down already."
I called the priest Kim Daegun in that tone you use for weird rituals, and upon seeing Heungseon, his already weary face went sheet-white.
"France had that revolution, right? Napoleon the Third's nephew took the throne as the new emperor?"
"Yes, my lord."
"Work your connections and get France interested in our Joseon. If you pull this off, I'll petition His Majesty to drop the charges against Andrew Yi and his Catholic crew—not hold it against the faithful anymore."
Tit for tat.
Barbarians handle barbarians.
Joseon eyes aren't blind to the alphabet; it was plastered across Hong Kong papers. Foolish to expect them to stay Britain-focused forever—that's just wishful thinking from thieves.
My hard-won influence in Joseon waning, with those frog bastards sneaking in? All because they persecuted the great Orientalist Arthur Leigh?
Olcott and the rest might protest: we can't lose the China market; it's unavoidable collateral.
- Yeah, probably.
I can endure. I forgive them.
But will our poor Far East Company shareholders forgive you lot?
Mark my words.
The rest might survive, but Olcott is done.