Chapter 181
Chapter 181
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 181
Chapter Title: Dog's Ration Star (2)
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Knowledge is power.
Conversely, the ignorant are weak.
The three British ships that had drifted ashore were utterly clueless about the waters off southern Joseon, including Geomundo.
That was why Captain James Cook of the Endeavour had no choice but to make a remark that made him sound terribly feeble.
"Somehow, it looks like a friendly island."
If Kim Unhaeng had heard that, he'd puff up with pride, proclaiming that the British were finally revealing their true colors as described in the history books. But for now, James Cook had no intention—or ability—to occupy Geomundo.
There was no deep meaning behind Cook's words. The people of Geomundo on Joseon were simply acting friendly in reality.
As was customary when foreigners washed ashore, crowds gathered to gawk at the Europeans before boldly approaching them.
"Why do their clothes have so many buttons?"
"They must've sewn extras in case some fall off. I could take one, right?"
"This hat can't be washed. Don't those barbarians stink to high heaven?"
"They must not wash as much as you do. Their noses are so big—do they even smell anything?"
Without any permission, the Joseon locals began pawing at the British. Soon, they were stripping off their clothes one by one.
The British tried to stop them and push them away, but the Joseon people just laughed it off. If they were the type to care about others' feelings, they wouldn't have ignored state policy and come to live on this island in the first place.
Admiral Hyde Parker bristled at Cook's detached assessment.
"That's friendly? It's rude!"
"But we have no means to teach them manners."
Admiral Parker fell silent.
The British fleet was effectively unarmed. Cannons without shells were just lumps of metal, and all their guns had been seized by the local navy—the Jeolla Right Naval Command.
The Joseon navy saw it as fair 'trade' for providing water, grain, vegetables, and meat.
Even when they took an officer's sword, Admiral Parker flew into a rage.
"You savages! Don't you know the code of honor? Even prisoners aren't stripped of their officer's blade!"
"Oh? No need to thank us so loudly. Eat well and rest up. Hey, Kim Man-ho. Doesn't this musket look better than the Hwarang musket?"
"Indeed, that's what I think too. It seems made for shipboard use from the start. The Hwarang one was honestly too long—why not model a prototype after this?"
"Let's do that. This sword looks forged from fine steel too. See? Doesn't it look sharper at your waist?"
"It gives you the heroic air of an old-time captain."
"You take one too. Oh, and don't forget to save one for Chunsik. Hopefully Kim Chunsik puts in a good word so he gets reappointed as Jeolla Right Naval Commander next time."
"I'd love to serve under Captain for a long time. Haha!"
Captain Cook gave up longing for James Flint, the interpreter he'd desperately missed until now. Even without one, he could guess what they were saying.
After that ordeal, the British stood huddled on the beach, squatting awkwardly, having lost at least one item each—hat, shoes, or outer coat. It was fortunate that, to prevent an uncontrollable situation, all enlisted men except officers had stayed aboard ship.
Cook spoke to Admiral Hyde Parker, who looked about to lose his reason, in a soothing tone.
"I apologize, Admiral, but when negotiating with the Joseon government, allow me to speak on our behalf. It seems best to clearly state our peaceful purpose as an academic survey expedition."
"Do as you like. I don't care anymore."
At that moment, Midshipman Zachary Hicks approached with a report.
"The Joseon negotiator has arrived."
"Finally! Is there an interpreter? Did the Dutchman we heard might be here show up?"
"Not a Dutchman, but someone who speaks Dutch. He says he's the Military Administrator of the Southern Naval Command (Namhae Military Commander), fully authorized by the king for foreign negotiations."
The British Navy's longtime rival had been the Dutch Navy.
Even now, after the Dutch decline, many officers still spoke Dutch. James Cook was one of them.
Cook hurried out gladly to meet them.
But he soon halted abruptly.
Due to the Ryukyu War, most of the Southern Sea Command's Hwarang ships were concentrated at Tongyeong and Dongnae. The enemy was only there, but it was also to hide from the Qing.
Until now, the British had only dealt with the Jeolla Right Naval Command. This was their first sight of Joseon's European-style frontline fleet.
"So it was true that not a single Dutch ship returned!"
The ships varied from 300 to 800 tons at a glance. They had fewer cannons than comparable European vessels, but these days, even the East India Company couldn't afford full armaments and just painted portholes on their hulls.
The sailors looked no worse than British ones—dead-enders whom no one else in the world would take.
But to Admiral Parker, the cannon placements and hull structures seemed unscientific, and the crew's division of roles lacked rigor.
As he hunted for more flaws, Parker soon deflated.
No matter how amateurish, it wasn't as pathetic as the current British Navy. Neither side was in a position to mock the other.
Parker, who knew armies if not astronomy, drew the most fitting inference for the situation.
"If a vassal state is like this, the Chinese main fleet near Beijing and Tianjin must be even stronger. The fleet we fought was pitiful, but that's because Orientals care little for naval projection beyond defending their despotism. Just as Joseon hasn't sortied this fleet abroad!"
Of course, that was universally true historically but wrong in this special present. The current Joseon king was interested in overseas matters, at least.
Half the reason 'Joseon hasn't sortied this fleet abroad' was the man now standing before the British.
The 'isolationist' Kim Unhaeng strode forward boldly, accompanied by Eoji, whose build made even battle-hardened Anglo-Saxons look like girls.
He growled at Captain James Cook, who was repeatedly shouting in Dutch, "We're unarmed! We have no weapons!"
"Your very existence is a weapon."
At any rate, no one in Joseon except Kim Unhaeng knew the future.
So even Crown Prince Yi Hwon, the current representative of the Joseon people, didn't agree with Kim Unhaeng's assessment.
Yi Hwon just thought Kim Unhaeng was throwing another tantrum, hating Westerners more suspiciously than ever. Having survived nearly twenty years under his father's whims, Yi Hwon was adept at selectively ignoring others' malice.
Before Kim Unhaeng even arrived at Geomundo, King Yi Hwon received the first report from Jeolla Right Naval Commander Hong Yak-su and issued an edict to Southern Naval Military Administrator Kim Unhaeng.
<Drifters who sailed from afar cannot be left unrescued. Though the Military Administrator acts only provisionally, his responsibility is no less than a full minister's. Attend to your duties diligently, avoid harming or killing the English, and bring them all without fail.>
As a public edict, it had to be worded that way, but Kim Unhaeng would easily read between the lines.
Since the Westerners truly 'sailed from afar,' Kim Unhaeng had to keep his promise.
And if he cooperated with trade against the West as promised, he'd be made a 'minister'—Second Rank Junior.
The order had to arrive before Kim Unhaeng secretly dumped the Westerners at sea. A courier horse, now paid by performance instead of corvee labor, galloped across the land.
Over the past three years, Yi Hwon had mimicked parts of Chunsik Express to improve the system: delivery time inversely proportional to pay.
Far more effective than harsh punishments for delays. Joseon's couriers now astonishingly met statutory speeds.
The moment I arrived in Suncheon and received the edict, I looked to the heavens and sighed.
I worry so much about this country's future.
If that doesn't resonate, consider how many 21st-century Koreans would support abolishing foreign work visas for 'labor population growth' and fully opening immigration.
Doesn't it make you suddenly want to close the borders? 21st-century foreigners are unarmed civilians; these ones come armed with guns, swords, and warships.
Of course, from my position, forcing the king to retreat via court influence isn't impossible. A single "What if the Qing find out you're harboring British?" would suffice.
But clashing with a king who has decades left to live would only delight the sycophants—and above all, I couldn't miss Second Rank Junior.
It'd tarnish my upright reputation, but no choice. Compromise with power just this once.
Then grab whatever—Vice Minister, Grand Royal Scribe—and charge toward Chief State Councillor without looking back.
Sneaking the entire British fleet out to sea unseen was impossible from the start.
Han Jung-ryang, who craved Western ships, had come from Jeju, and ship fanatic Yi Eon-seop rushed over upon hearing the news.
"Chunsik! With this many people, leave about fifty here. We need them to dismantle and rebuild this ship!"
"Who dares build warships without court permission? Can't you see His Highness's edict to bring the English 'without fail'?"
"Since when were you such a stickler like Chu's Yukgwon... no, Wei's Bangdeok? Feigning illness to skip duty..."
"I've read the Spring and Autumn Annals too! Bangdeok? I don't know that scum who betrayed his cousin-lord!"
"S-sorry. Then can we at least inspect the ship? It can't sail like this anyway."
"Do whatever! No, dismantle it completely!"
After shooing away the generals, I whirled to face the British. Our eyes met as they fidgeted uneasily.
Your Highness, you like Westerners that much?
Understood. As you wish.
The king said bring them all, but that didn't mean just drag them in like offering a qilin to the Yongle Emperor. Detailed reports on ships, crew, and cargo were obviously required first.
The British drifters' existence was secret, so Joseon officially only had Dutch speakers. Per the king's orders, I brought interpreters trained in Dutch by the Special Forces and began the investigation.
I truly planned to shelve my personal policy this once and obey the royal command.
But these guys were utterly useless for the 'rich nation, strong army via Western tech' the king wanted.
"I'm Charles Green, assistant to the Greenwich Observatory astronomer. My past papers..."
"Trash. Drag him away."
"I'm Daniel Solander from Norrbotten. You might've heard—pupil of famed botanist Carl Linnaeus. The precious specimens aboard are all..."
"Trash."
"I'm Joseph Banks, naturalist from London..."
"Trash!"
"I'm also a naturalist... no, Thomas Pennant, a geologist!"
"Same difference! Drag them all away!"
In my eyes, only two or three painters were useful. I'd divert them for European-style hentai doujinshi. They draw animals well.
The soldiers went under strict guard onto select warships. No leaks possible, since they'd fought the Qing.
"Your ship is loaded with gunpowder. Any sign of seizing it, and other ships will immediately open fire. I guarantee none will survive."
The leader, James Cook—sounds familiar, I think he made microscopes or something—protested.
"We're a civilian science expedition. Even accounting for the unavoidable clash with China en route, this is worse than POW treatment. You speak Dutch, so you know European military etiquette."
Why would I care about you barbarians' customs? Debating 'propriety' before this Noron Neo-Confucian scholar Kim Unhaeng?
Tempted to use Jae Gong-gong's Integrity Plum Spirit Injection Rod out of annoyance, I changed my mind.
"I've heard of European etiquette. Fine. We'll do it your way: like loading 'prisoners' from Africa to America. Everyone aboard one ship, stacked neatly like cordwood."
"...We were wrong. We'll follow orders, just spare the gunpowder. It's not that we want to seize it—it's genuinely dangerous. Won't your sailors die too?"
"Not one of our troops fears death for the nation. Enough chatter—board."
What I loaded wasn't gunpowder but sugar and sweet potatoes for Seoul (free shipping via official vessel). Thus, I once more glorified the nation by showcasing our troops' elite spirit.
Among Sado Seja's achievements that can be spoken of openly, it's undoubtedly the New Book of Military Arts. It's the foundation of the famed Illustrated Manual of Military Arts.
This rare project was personally led by Sado during regency. It was also a ploy to recruit the Qingliu Party—similar to Chundang faction—and build his power base.
He failed and died, but Sado wasn't just some clueless prince thrown in a rice chest after rampaging.
Amid that political aim, he chose compiling a martial arts manual as his first project because Sado loved martial arts.
Yi Hwon galloped freely through the training grounds. He no longer needed to watch the 'Supreme King's' moods.
The mount that became the king's legs was the finest warhorse among the ponies Kim Unhaeng had offered, Pony II.
"Hmph!"
The king dropped the reins and drew his sword. The eunuchs' hearts clenched at the perilous stance.
But the king wasn't worried. This was a Chunsik Ranch horse, trained by the 'Jangdong Kim clan secret arts'—famed for their wisdom and safety.
Though Kim Unhaeng dodged royal orders to compile those arts with excuses, the king planned to include them in his own martial arts book soon.
That book couldn't omit Dongchun Gong, which Kim Unhaeng spread in Joseon (for profit). After three years practicing, the king's thigh muscles could control even non-ranch horses.
Yi Hwon slashed forward with his right-hand sword, felling an imaginary foe. He then back-slashed a flanking enemy with his left-hand blade, as any battlefield opportunist would.
Easy to say, but dual-wielding isn't favored for a reason.
Imbuing each blade with human-lethal force is extremely hard.
If you have that strength, better double it into one two-handed swing. As well-known, swords hit harder two-handed.
On horseback, the difficulty squares.
But Yi Hwon pulled it off effortlessly.
In this 18th century where warrior romance had vanished, the king charging fearlessly with flashing white blade evoked ancient nostalgia even for the watching guards.
After repeating the drill several times, eunuchs brought water and towels as the demonstration ended.
Yi Hwon wiped his face and said,
"Call this the Sun Ce Stabilizing Jiangdong Stance. You officers, study it deeply."
Kim Unhaeng got sarcasm for quoting romances, but Records of the Three Kingdoms came up in court debates too. Fewer citations only because that era lacked virtuous emperors to emulate.
But heroes abounded, so Yi Hwon's naming wasn't terribly awkward.
Instead of dwelling on the name, he addressed another matter.
"Kim Unhaeng, Southern Naval Military Administrator, has reached Ganghwa. Tell the Royal Guard to ascend the Han swiftly."
"Yes, Your Highness."
Kim Unhaeng had done splendidly. Unlike his father, Yi Hwon intended to deliver the promised reward without fail.
For the wealthy, powerful army to be completed by this massive 'Western talent recruitment,' no one but Kim Unhaeng could lead it.
For the future 'Supreme Commander' Kim Unhaeng, at least Army Commander—Second Rank Junior—was fitting.
In summer 1761, nearly a thousand British sailors and scientists, led by James Cook (who didn't invent the microscope—that was Robert Hooke), fell entirely into Joseon's hands, contrary to Kim Unhaeng's thoughts.
Exceptions: James Flint and Captain Richard King, who fled south directly from Ryukyu.