Chapter 186
Chapter 186
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 186
Chapter Title: Black Tea War (1)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Among Catholic saints, there were many with abilities similar to those of King Seongjong.
Saint Martha of Tarascon tamed the Tarasque with a sermon, and Saint George of Libya subdued a dragon with a cross (the monsters who got clubbed from behind the next instant must have felt awfully hard done by).
Yet Ferdinand von Hallerstein and Anton Gogeisl, elite Jesuit priests and the most fervent Catholic believers, did not brandish holy relics against the Hamgyong leopard that appeared before them.
Paradoxically, the Jesuits—who received the world's top-tier humanistic education for their religious mission—were also breeding grounds for cynical Enlightenment thinkers.
The more a person knows, the harder it is to be blindly faithful. Take Voltaire, the Jesuits' worst troll, who was himself a Jesuit alumnus.
So they lowered their bodies and steadied their breathing.
Not to exorcise the leopard, though. That was the job of the Korean tiger hunters they'd hired specifically for such moments.
It was a sudden ambush, but the Haland matchlocks smuggled from the military could fire even without lighting the fuse. As the marksman pulled the trigger, the leopard leaped high into the air.
Still, guns were single-shot weapons. It was time for the two spearmen on either side to finish it off.
"Don't tear it up too badly!"
The leader charged in with a bizarrely long shout for a battle cry, his spear stabbing into the leopard's hind leg. The second spearman's thrust nailed the beast's jaws just as it lost focus for a split second.
Finally, the marksman joined in with his bayonet. The leopard clawed at the air a few times before going still.
Joseon's "modernization" wasn't confined to the seas.
Joseon generals didn't distinguish between army and navy postings. Over time, as Liberation Squadron alumni were assigned to the north, even the northern frontier garrisons—untouched by Kim Unhaeng's Three Reforms—morphed into self-serving interest groups like the Liberation Squadron.
The Liberation Squadron's influence went beyond mere privateer fleets.
Combined with Kim Unhaeng's various personal ventures, this created entirely new concepts in Joseon.
"Profit isn't found—it's made!"
Wealthy Pyeongan Province had plenty for the military to skim, plus thriving smuggling, so there wasn't much need for brute force.
But barren Hamgyong Province changed dramatically.
Yanggye—especially Hamgyong—was the region the great scholar Song Siyol praised for its tough folk, saying even women could be soldiers. The people's hardiness was legendary.
Of course, no matter how tough, they couldn't raid Qing China. So that martial prowess turned to the monsters everywhere.
Before long, the "Sea Beast Extermination Business" kicked off.
Unlike a hopeless isekai where man-eating monsters lurk beyond every gate and the king hunts for heroes, centralized Joseon handled it differently.
Benevolent governors eagerly dug up local folklore.
"Learn the martial feats of Secret Royal Inspector Kim Chunsik, who once exterminated a horde of vicious rats!"
This also gave the impression it was backed by Kim Unhaeng.
And in terms of influence, it wasn't entirely wrong.
Kim Unhaeng's bribery economy and Zhangdong luxury boom had sparked an unprecedented luxury goods craze. Beast pelts shifted from occasional rarities to steady commodities.
Local lords divvied up meat and bones among the troops while claiming hides and merit (beast-slaying counted as major service) for themselves.
Easy prey, warm weather, clean water—the northern Korean Peninsula's tiger apartments, once top-rated by Siberian beasts, saw their stars plummet.
But it didn't stop there. The business went international too.
If the Liberation Squadron raked in fortunes from "foreign trade," why couldn't Hamgyong garrisons (actually, they couldn't)?
Jurchens were more hunter-folk than nomads. The eastern Eight Banners around Hunchun always had to supply game to martial Koreans.
Manchuria wasn't short on beasts. The problem was the sparse population.
Plus, the land was too vast. Banner commanders and officers were tearing their hair out.
By contrast, few places worldwide had beast densities like Hamgyong's population centers.
Behind Hoiryeong Market sprang up a secret bazaar unlisted in any official records of either nation.
"Where the hell did you get this bear cub?"
"Found it mewling beside its crushed mother under a trap. You know the pressure from above—His Majesty's nagging for cubs to raise. We've got cave-caught tiger cubs back at base too."
"Word is Joseon troops hunt beasts in hundreds, even thousands. Looks like it's true."
"Have to, don't we? You know how beasts hide their young. Dozens beating bushes won't spot 'em in a year! And even if you do, a mother with cubs fights like hell. I'll cut you a deal now. You don't want full-grown ones either, right?"
Hunchun's Eight Banners, desperate not to get fired, pooled their pay to buy them out. Prime deer jerky—top among tributes to the emperor—flew off too.
The very observer meant to crack down on this was Hamgyong's current Inspector, Yi Ichang, former Dongnae Magistrate.
The guy who'd done "Japanese diplomacy" with Kim Unhaeng during the ginseng wars and tasted Zhangdong's prime beef steak first.
Yi Ichang mulled over his Busan lessons.
"After Kim Chunsik's visit, the southeast coast transformed. Can't openly lift the sea ban after so long, but..."
Not every encouragement needs blatant ads.
To reform a ban amid opposition, turning a blind eye to violators works too.
In Yi Ichang's view, that's how Kim Unhaeng amassed fortunes in Dongnae and Jeju via foreign ties without backlash.
King Yi Hwon had foreign ambitions.
And Kim Unhaeng was the tool prepped since crown prince days.
He feigned xenophobia as a smokescreen for public opinion, but objectively, his actions were crystal clear.
Plus, ties with Qing were Joseon's most sanctioned foreign dealings, and the king—ever the Northern Scholar—encouraged them.
So Yi Ichang could run a more sustainable racket than the bribe-and-shush Waegwan days.
North Port Twin Markets (Gyeongwon and Hoiryeong) were strictly regulated under him.
No trading without Qing Board of Revenue passes—and proper "customs duties."
Kim Unhaeng's customs craze swept from Korea's south to north poles.
No matter how expert at smuggling the Jesuit pillars Hallerstein and Gogeisl were, without that backdrop, they'd never have slipped through the Six Garrisons of the Terror Lord so easily.
Gogeisl glanced at the grinning hunters skinning the leopard and sighed.
"I still doubt if Joseon was the right choice."
"Sometimes having no other options is reason enough."
"Just saying it's a dead end."
Hallerstein gave a dry chuckle.
"More cost-effective that way. Anyway, if Ningbo intel holds, Britain's already formed a fleet. Guessing motives from timing, Philippines alone feels off. Manila as a springboard for Ryukyu revenge? Certain. High chance Russia's in too."
Westerners led by Britain had long smuggled in Ningbo; James Flint types wormed back post-ban.
Ningbo—south of Hangzhou—was a Jesuit spy ship hub. Stuck in Beijing, intel on all China was tough.
Hallerstein easily learned Britain's Ryukyu fleet took inexplicable fire from Chinese forces.
Then Guangzhou Europeans and Peking Russians got expelled wholesale.
Even fools could smell trouble.
Britain and Russia were foes, but Britain's alliances were pragmatic—ever shifting.
"As proven in west China and Japan, the emperor's policy on foes is extermination. Europeans only got booted since no direct clash yet. Once Britain's fleet hits, we're next. Too late then."
Gogeisl didn't argue capture might be safer.
Enlightenment-trained minds didn't leave fate to others.
Life was exhausting that way, but these priests weren't the pray-and-wait type.
They couldn't missionize afar—God wasn't here; mankind's masters were.
So Hallerstein pressed on unhindered.
"Flee where? Japan kills Catholic priests on sight. North Mongolia's nothing. Can't cross war-torn west China to Russia. Nearby Joseon's best—even Protestants have Dutchmen."
So they fled to Joseon.
Senior priest Friedel's detailed north China maps let Europeans dodge Eight Banners to reach here.
And they had faith. Hallerstein pulled his pocket watch—unsold through every hardship.
"Plus, we've got a Joseon contact. Envoys' attitudes suggest it's not as closed as rumored. Plenty of room to slip in."
Right then, dogs barked.
Priests and Joseoners leaped up, thinking the same.
Dogs—threatening like leopards but symbols of civilization. Where dogs were, people followed.
Leopard-proof hunters bolted, pelts bundled tight—looked like fleeing leopards from afar.
Hunting dogs ringed the lone priests. Hallerstein groaned.
"What breed are those...?"
They mixed Caucasus shepherd bulk with hound tenacity—fangs bared, drool dripping, hellhounds to the priests.
(Park Jiwon, who'd bred these "military dogs" for years, would be heartbroken.)
But the terror peaked with a cowering man even the hounds submitted to. The priests gave up fleeing.
Yet the real threat was the pint-sized Joseon noble beside him—half the man's height.
Kim Unhaeng bared his teeth like a dog.
"Gotcha."
I was grateful for my drillmaster post for the first time.
Overseeing provincial training, plus recent Hamgyong logging prelims, got my travel permit easy.
Then skills sped me here faster than dispatches to the inspector.
Smugglers sound elite, but outsiders have limited routes.
I'd operated here as a secret inspector—spy-adjacent. With animal pals, this search was cake.
Just as suspected: Beijing Catholics' "those guys."
The apparent leader (name slipped my mind) stepped forward, hand out. Smiling? Fancy Jirisan exile with Hong Daeyong? Islands too risky for you.
"Delighted, brother! How many years since Beijing?"
"Not delighted. Cross the Tumen now if you value your life. Smuggling's death—no exceptions."
They didn't flinch. Pros indeed.
"Wanted permits, but need entry first. Hear us out—we've got vital intel for Joseon."
"End times repentance pitch?"
They laughed heartily—unlike any priests I'd met.
"Such a refined gentleman. Sadly, no. Latest scoop."
I planned to extract info then boot them.
"Heard you decide."
"No bluster from us wretches. European invasion intel? Even the king would care."
I scoffed—then paused.
Can't keep insisting Europeans never come. They'd point at themselves.
That cracked my isolationist convictions, breeding suspicion.
What if a Ryukyu survivor wielded huge sway in British politics via bribes or whatever?
National projects hinge on power, not merit. A fishbone skyscraper passes if a bigwig wants it.
And if it's war and plunder, Brits might join, burying petty issues.
No Imo Mutiny—Imo World War?
I waited for details. They just grinned.
Realizing they'd spill only in Seoul, I was floored. Torture in these woods...
Then words pierced my thoughts.
"Can't gag those fleeing locals? Sounds like security's per-unit hunt patrols. Gunshots draw troops fast—you're in a spot too. Solo servant means off-books."
Glancing around, I spotted outsider traces. Accomplices—too late to chase.
"Here's the deal: we wandered borders, you caught us. You get border guard reward. We want safe escort. In trade, intel to aid your king's rule."
I got why missionaries were imperial scouts.
Tough customers.
Britain had squandered fortunes in the Seven Years' War, but now two big hurdles to invading China were gone.
First, dumping Friedrich early saved cash. End a war a day sooner, save a fortune—as Sun Tzu implied.
Second, this expedition was budgeted from the start—no extras.
Spain bullying earthquake-ruined Portugal was evil. Like seizing East Prussia for peaceful Germany, Cuba and Philippines needed "extraction therapy." Not siding with France, no sir.
So the historic Manila force got "minor boosts" within budget. East India Company eagerness helped.
Imo Year summer: 16 warships and transports—including Pansar and Argo replacements—docked Calcutta. 10,000 souls with sepoys. Third-rate HMS Elizabeth, Commodore Richard Tiddman's flagship.
And Kim Unhaeng's "bigwigs" were there too.