What Lies to the West? (1)
"Haah..."
"Is something the matter?"
This doesn't make any sense? Isn't a country supposed to become unstable when it launches a massive construction project?
"Why is it getting more comfortable to live here?"
"Is that not a good thing?"
The taller the walls grew, the more stable the country became. Why?
"What's making it better, exactly?"
"Well, there are plenty of jobs now, and the garrisons patrolling the walls have grown, so perhaps that's it."
Jobs make a country stable? Back in the old days, nations would drag people into forced labor and fall apart because of it.
Oh. That's right — those were unpaid laborers. We pay ours. Okay, fair.
"But isn't too much money flooding the market?"
"The prices of Holy Water and hair compensate for that, don't they?"
"Why?"
"It's simple economics. Supply stays fixed, but the number of buyers keeps growing."
Hmm. I know the basic law of supply and demand too, you know...
Why does the demand keep climbing like this?
"What on earth are people doing with all that stuff these days?"
"Tattoos are fashionable right now."
Huh? That sounds a little dangerous. I need to put a stop to this!
"They're not, like, carving their lover's name into their skin or anything, are they?"
"...How did you know?"
Startled, huh? Someone around here must have done it. What do they plan to do when they break up? Tsk tsk...
"Stop the kids from doing that. They'll regret it later."
"Yes, quite right."
With that, I had officially saved multiple lives. That much was certain.
"There seem to be a lot of new countries springing up around us lately?"
Zhou, Hu, Mongol, Joseon — aside from that island nation of Japan, the whole neighborhood was packed with countries now.
"Nearby nations can't possibly stay on purely friendly terms forever."
"Relations between Mongol and Hu have already been souring, in fact."
Seriously? Mongol has the livable north and Hu has the livable south — shouldn't they barely even cross paths?
"They don't even bump into each other, do they?"
"Mongol controls the raiding routes into Zhou, and Hu has been blocking them. They're asking us to mediate."
"Why is that our problem?"
"Who knows?"
We are a great power, sure, but they never even fought us — they just bowed their heads and came knocking first?
"Too much hassle. Just tell them to charge a toll."
"Yes, I'll relay that there's no need to fight over it."
So the conclusion is: eating China alive. Is that why the Chinese have such a temper?
Maybe it was all the shouting, but oddly enough, the kids were showing remarkable unity these days. Shouldn't feudalism be all about rebellions breaking out and chaos like that?
"Zhou runs on feudalism, right? Where are the rebellions?"
"Less rebellion, more constant bickering between the vassal lords."
"Huh? Why? What's even the point?"
"Here's the funny part — it never goes all the way."
So they wage wars, but never wars of annihilation?
"Then why fight at all?"
"Beats me. Nobody can figure it out."
How is that any different from throwing away human lives for fun?
"Come and get it~ Cheap, cheap~ Mediterranean pottery, fresh off the caravan today~"
"We have gemstones over here! Everyone, come take a look before you go!"
Where was this, you ask? The Steppe Trade City.
Once we built the Great Wall and made passing through Choryeong difficult, a new city had sprouted up just outside the ramparts.
"What is all this?"
It was one giant black market. No matter how I looked at them, there were enormous numbers of people who clearly weren't from these parts — a mixed blood of Westerner and Middle Easterner.
And the funnier thing was how flawlessly they spoke the Daehan language.
"Foreigners writing in Hangul?"
The signboards at the stalls were in Hangul too. Was our national prestige rising already? Behold Daehan, the nation everyone looks up to and envies!
Yeah, right. I should just be grateful they fear us. Those bandit crews are no doubt roaming around somewhere as we speak.
"Oh! Pretty lady, take a look at this! Gemstones from the Mediterranean!"
Haha. Well, I suppose I could browse the Mediterranean goods. And no, I did not stop here just because he called me a pretty lady! Nope. Nope.
"Wow, you came from really far away?"
"Take a look — we've got everything! Egypt, Hittite, even Assyrian goods!"
They sold all sorts of trinkets, but I doubted anyone would buy them. They'd apparently brought these over thinking they were hot items back home, but Daehan-made goods beat them by a mile.
He should've just hauled back gold and spent it on our goods instead. This poor man is doomed.
Should I go snoop around and see what the West is up to?
"Mister, these aren't going to sell, are they?"
"...Goodness."
Of course they won't sell. Our own jewels and fabrics are piled up in stall after stall right next door.
"I'll buy your whole stock. In exchange, let's work together."
"Really!?"
See that shock? Even to my eyes, this man's wares looked hopeless.
"I'll pay you in goods or coin, whichever you like — so be my guide."
I couldn't speak the local languages, so dragging him along as a guide seemed perfect.
"What's a 'guide'?"
Huh? They don't know the concept of a guide?
"You'll just tag along with me while I go sightseeing in the West."
"Huh? Won't that be a rough journey?"
"Don't worry — all you have to do is guide me, and you get paid for it!"
And so I once again embarked on an unscheduled excursion.
Following the merchant out onto the open road, I discovered that wandering the steppe alone was a one-way ticket to losing your mind.
Grass here, grass there, nothing but grass in every direction, with the faintest smudge of mountains far on the horizon.
The journey was an endless cycle of stopping to rest at villages scattered along the way, then pressing on again.
I'd assumed caravans traveled the whole Steppe Road in one go, but there were market towns at intervals, so most people only shuttled short stretches.
Hardly anyone crossed end to end like this merchant did.
"Heh heh. Bored yet, miss?"
"Very. I had no idea it would be this empty."
"I thought I was losing my mind the first time too."
Which probably explained why the man never stopped talking.
"Isn't it dangerous, traveling like this?"
"That's why we all move together."
True. Every village was crawling with people, and the caravans would all band together before setting out.
We'd already crossed paths with bandit raiders several times on the way here.
Clip-clop, clip-clop.
"Yeehaw! Hunting time!"
"Yeeehahahaha!"
That's the Daehan language. Kids. These merchants know our language — if you're going to make a scene, do you have any idea what it makes us look like?
I nearly died of embarrassment. Thankfully they don't kill anyone — they just gallop up on horseback, kick people aside, and grab whatever they want.
"They don't slaughter anyone or take everything, you know. Especially on the way home — they barely take anything at all."
"That's... a relief..."
It makes sense, I suppose. Most of what we're carrying is stuff we made, so even if they haul it back, it's useless to them.
"Still, the losses must hurt."
"We stash the valuables separately. Even if we're cleaned out, guarding just the backpack means we still turn a profit."
"I see..."
They hid little pouches of pepper and sesame seeds all over their bodies, tucked into their packs too — but sir, you're sweating buckets.
The pepper's probably ruined.
How far had we traveled by now?
Sniff sniff. Huh?
"Oh? Our miss has a fine nose."
"A little."
"Hahaha!"
Drifting in on the breeze — a briny, fishy, salt-tinged reek, like something rotting from the sea! Was that... the ocean?
And when we crested one more hill, at the bottom of the long downward slope, a crystal-blue sea stretched out below, welcoming me.
"Wow! It's beautiful..."
"Ahaha. Everyone says that the first time they see our sea."
"The water looks like gemstones!"
"It is. Our jewel."
Nothing like that murky gray sea back home, is it? I want to take it with me...
So this is why everyone goes on and on about the Mediterranean. It's genuinely gorgeous.
"Welcome! This is my homeland, you see!"
"It's breathtaking!"
The trip had taken us almost exactly one year. Living somewhere this wonderful, what could possibly drive people to endure all that hardship just to reach our country?
If it were me, I'd sooner give up pepper entirely than put myself through that...
Are pepper and silk really worth that much?
Then again, if Mesopotamia and Egypt were both just wandering distance from here — if I could just make myself understood, I wanted to see them all!
And then we arrived at the harbor.
"Uh..."
What is this? Even for a hot climate, isn't this a bit much?
"What's wrong?"
"The clothes..."
I hadn't noticed, because the merchant traveling with me wore Daehan clothing...
"Ahaha. Quite different from the East, isn't it?"
"Nyehehe..."
Wow. They're practically walking around naked.
The women wore tiered skirts that looked like layers upon layers, with something gauzy draped over their shoulders — a cardigan, or just a length of cloth.
And while there was cloth meant to cover the chest, an awful lot of them simply went without!
Young girls, grown women, grandmothers — everyone just bared their chests in the open!
It dawned on me anew: bare chests are rarely actually pretty. My long experience of beholding countless chests could attest to that.
The men were all but in their underwear... shorts, I supposed you'd have to call them.
"So... free-spirited here..."
"Try on the local clothes, miss! You'd be a sensation — the men would line up around the block!"
Yes, I know I'm pretty. That doesn't mean I want to seduce the local men.
"I'll think about it."
Do you have any idea how lovely our clothes are? Modest ankle-length skirts, and this jeogori! Sure, the hemline keeps creeping shorter, but this length that shows just a sliver of midriff! The way it teasingly bares the smooth line of the waist and legs — pure imagination-stoker, that!
And come winter, I could just wear cotton thermals underneath and wear it all year round!
"Your outfit's lovely too, miss. Might even start a fashion trend here."
"Yes. Haha..."
Fashion has always been less about the clothes and more about the person wearing them. Whatever pretty people wear is what becomes the trend.
Ordinarily I'd dress in local style wherever I traveled, but this was one place I couldn't manage it.
"I'll go find us a boat. Wait here a moment."
"Okay."
He won't run off, will he? I've picked up plenty of the language by now, so I'd manage, but having a guide and not having one are two different worlds.
"Row! Heave! Row! Heave!"
As I waited by the shore, a ship was just pulling away. It was long and narrow, hung with a single small sail, and lined with rowing benches.
Apparently they moved by oar power.
"Yeeehahahaha!"
"Row, you dogs, row!"
Watching the ship sail off in the distance, I caught a familiar sound of laughter on the wind.
It's coming from that ship out on the water? How is a voice carrying all the way here?
CRASH!
"Aaagh! Pirates!"
"No!"
"Hand it ALL over, you lot!"
"Yeehaw!"
A bandit crew that had slammed into another ship nearly broadside was swarming over the rails, stripping the passengers of their belongings.
"Haaah..."
Those kids look awfully familiar...
"What... is that?"
Since when did they make it all the way out here to pull this nonsense?
I told them not to use the Daehan language! Learn the local tongue and blend in like locals — what's so hard about that?!
Then came the murmurs of the crowd around me.
"Pirates again..."
"Whew. Silver lining, though — they won't strike twice in one day."
"Poor souls, that's all..."
Listening to the merchants relax, this was apparently routine. My ever-evolving children. So they'd taken up piracy now.
Slave trader, bandit, smuggler, highwayman, pirate — five-crown champions, all of them.
I'd noticed the Aegean weather was truly wonderful — right by the sea and yet not a hint of stickiness. I supposed this was what they called a Mediterranean climate.
And you had to come and do this even in a peaceful, idyllic paradise like this?
"Miss, hurry! Word's out that pirates have appeared — every ship still in port is scrambling to leave!"
"Right..."
Somehow it came down to just the two of us — an excited merchant and a deeply embarrassed me.
"Let's take that one over there!"
"Yes, ma'am!"
We clambered aboard a vessel shaped like a long banana.
This one had a sail too, but it was tiny?
"Row! Heave!"
Then something interesting happened. Every man aboard, passengers included, grabbed an oar and started pulling. The guests weren't merely guests.
The ship wasn't big enough to carry many people, so apparently they ran it with everyone doubling as labor.
Thankfully, the women weren't put to work. There were only a handful of us anyway.
"Ahh~ nothing like a sea breeze~"
Tap tap tap.
Hm? The merchant is over there rowing his heart out — who could this be?
"Pardon me, madam. My lady was hoping to have a word with you, if that's all right?"
Her lady? She must be one of those women gathered over there. Shall I do a little foreign culture fieldwork, then?