Chapter 201
Chapter 201
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 201
Chapter Title: Martial World's Righteousness (1)
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The Qianlong Emperor truly deserved to be called the master of humanity.
Whether it was the descendants of Genghis Khan in the Dzungars, the British who boasted of being the world's strongest, the Russians who had driven those British back in the Seven Years' War, or even the Japanese who had killed more Chinese than any foreigners—all of them had been defeated.
Who on earth could slay this monster called the Qing?
The answer to that, surprisingly, wasn't hard to find.
There's no killing easier than suicide.
From the ancient Yellow Turbans to the modern Falun Gong, the common thread running through the countless folk religious groups that flickered in and out of existence over three thousand years of Chinese history was ultimately one and the same.
Enforcing righteousness [侠] through force [武].
In other words, wuxia. Martial artists honed their skills with religious fervor.
The combination of swordsmen and religious zealots is an ancient one. They pair well together, after all—both are pursuits no sane person would readily undertake.
Among them, the White Lotus Cult, which held sway in Shandong Province, could truly be called an existing "sect."
It's hard to lump the White Lotus Cult together under a single definition, but at least their current leader, Wang Lun, placed particular emphasis on martial arts alongside religion.
From the moment Kim Unhaeng first created the Huai River ferry trade hub, Wang Lun had proclaimed himself the incarnation of the Ziwei Star and gathered followers for training.
Ten years of this, and it seemed the time foretold by Wusheng Laomu—the goddess revered in White Lotus circles—had finally arrived.
The notion that the government's martial forces were untouchable was even more empty than saying poison was harmless.
If you openly gathered in groups and swung swords around, your entire sect would be wiped out by the next day. Why do you think the pinnacle of the martial world bears the nickname Sword "Emperor" and "Overlord"? Because the emperor is the strongest.
The White Lotus Cult of today was secretly training in the crevices of the mountains near Suizhang County in Shandong Province.
The instructor was Meng Can, a master second only to the cult leader.
Anyone struck by his palm would die instantly in one blow—a true expert in palm techniques. Rumors swirled that he had perfected the Dongchun Gong to the tenth stage, accomplishing in a single day what it took others ten.
Meng Can's voice, infused with inner energy, boomed with profound depth.
"Good! Again! Dongchun Gong, First Form: Continuous Horse Stance! Fifty times in a row!"
These were moves that even Kim Unhaeng himself wouldn't recognize anymore, but the disciples followed in perfect unison. The people of Shandong, long famed for their rough and rowdy nature, possessed the raw qualities to become fine martial artists.
Provided, of course, they ate well.
"Ugh... My thighs..."
"M-My head's spinning..."
Fifty squats might not be too tough even for a modern couch potato, let alone premodern folk.
But the emaciated refugee disciples couldn't endure. One by one, the gaunt followers began collapsing.
The new recruits were far from having heavenly martial physiques. Disappointed, Meng Can left the fallen disciples behind and returned to the hall.
There sat the cult leader Wang Lun on the grand seat, exuding an air of dignity. It really did feel like a proper sect.
Wang Lun smiled at Meng Can's grumbling.
"How could everyone become a master like you? As long as they possess the courage to fear not death, chant incantations, and charge into swords and spears, that's enough."
"But as things stand, we're short on numbers. And there's no time but now."
He might not know international affairs, but the Qing government's propaganda was constantly blaring. The "Western devils" had fled in the end, and the Dzungars allied with them would soon be utterly exterminated.
If they delayed further, the emperor might drive out even the English ghosts in Taiwan, overcome all foreign threats, and turn his forces inward. Then rebellion would remain but a pipe dream.
But at that moment, a young woman beside Wang Lun spoke up.
"When our time comes is dictated by heaven itself. It is the Purple Star Perfected One here who reveals it through sacred revelations—not a matter for disciples to debate."
This was Wu San Niang. Two or three years ago, she had wandered in begging with her husband; he died of illness, while she survived the cult leader's "healing" and became his "adopted daughter."
With a success rate of only 50%, there's no explaining why she converted. But after spending much time in private one-on-one sessions with the leader in the shadows, her skills with twin swords were genuine—she had become a master in short order.
Meng Can couldn't hide his frustration.
"If we strike when the enemy grows stronger, many will die or be injured!"
"Even so, the Perfected One will heal us with starlight. What worry is there?"
Meng Can assumed she referred to the White Lotus Cult's official healing treasure, the Chunshi Armor, which sparked like fireworks akin to starlight.
Meng Can was a devout believer. Thus, he firmly rejected the nonsense rumors that the leader provided "enhanced healing when paired with the Chunshi Armor" to specially selected female followers. Especially anyone claiming Wu San Niang was among them would get a taste of his lethal palm technique.
Fortunately, Wang Lun possessed the qualities of a 21st-century cult leader in various senses. He reassured his cadres.
"Even if the enemy grows a bit stronger, we grow stronger still. Lately, many Western learners (Catholics) have fled here, and as worshippers of Wusheng Laomu, they share our cause."
If the Vatican heard this "blasphemy" equating the Virgin Mary with Wusheng Laomu, they'd revive the Knights Hospitaller—the group most akin to the White Lotus Cult—to punish them on the spot.
Yet Wang Lun's words held an unexpected truth.
Unlike missionaries, the Qianlong Emperor had just discovered the value of domestic believers who couldn't even make calendars.
They served perfectly as living manifestos for the Atlantic-facing hostile policy.
By law, Catholicism was nominally banned. Even in modern times, it's a handy "law no one follows until a troublemaker appears, then dust it off and beat them with it."
Catholics (or those labeled as such) were dragged en masse to the western frontlines, taking arrows meant for the desperately resisting Dzungars in their stead. If they couldn't move, they were buried alive on the spot.
The survivors reinterpreted doctrine to survive and flocked to Shandong.
The White Lotus Cult's growing power was no laughing matter. This was why open talk of rebellion emerged a full ten years ahead of original history.
"Thus, you—the foremost of our Eighteen Protectors—must not waver. Soon, all shall unite under Wusheng Laomu and claim ultimate victory."
"I shall uphold only the Perfected One's will."
Rearmed ideologically without a shred of doubt, Meng Can withdrew. The hall's doors closed tightly once more.
Meng Can felt a twinge of regret that Wu San Niang—the object of his affections—didn't even see him off.
But she likely had urgent matters to discuss with her adoptive father regarding his earlier report, so he shouldn't intrude.
She might even defend him out of admiration. That thrilled Meng Can more than prospects of becoming the cult's heir.
The reason the White Lotus Cult attracted followers despite a leader obsessed with lust and greed, incoherent doctrines, and no real plan was simple.
The Qing army was decaying far faster and deeper.
The emperor had personally proclaimed all wars ended, but to the common folk, it felt like they were just beginning.
As with all wars, it started small.
Double- and triple-taxation to cover losses, or selling off cramped Joseon trade quotas to southern merchants cut off from overseas trade for bribes—protests against such petty greed.
But zealous officials recalled "rooting out the source." They slapped treason charges on protesting merchants, executed them, and seized all assets.
What followed was predictable. Harsher backlash begat crueler crackdowns, accelerating endlessly.
The poor, unable to bribe, were killed for stress relief or merit badges. Rich bribers were executed lest they have money left.
Those who gave everything reverted to poor and died first. A grand cycle even Satan would applaud.
Prior wars paled as mere warm-ups.
By the time they came to their senses, the Qing realm was under invasion by the "world's strongest" Qing army.
This was a golden opportunity for Britain.
Whatever Kim Unhaeng's tears, the British believed their saltpeter deal had built goodwill with Joseon's top military leader and government.
They hadn't yet given Joseon the "black powder" to solidify ties further with that leader—sorry, Kim Unhaeng, but it fetched a higher price elsewhere. The British began mass-distributing opium in southern China.
Unlike saltpeter, opium's consumers were the entire populace. Like grains or produce, retailing directly to end-users maximized profits. No middlemen needed when the distance was so short.
Unlike Kim Unhaeng's fixation on "white powder," the British grasped opium's essence as an agricultural product. No matter how skilled Kim Unhaeng was, Britain was opium's genius.
The saltpeter proceeds from Kim Unhaeng mostly greased the path for this network. James Flint's exploits shone from Minjie to the four provinces of Guangdong.
Robert Clive and John Johnstone raised glasses.
Johnstone said,
"No need to fight at all. The Chinese navy we traded cannons with now 'trades' peacefully, no? Colonels Draper and Admiral Tiddeman seem miffed."
Clive flicked a tiny gold nugget—the direct lump sum Kim Unhaeng had given him—with his fingernail. A Joseon souvenir.
"Ignore them. Where does their confidence come from, thinking they'll win next time after one thrashing? We've already proven our way superior to those blockheads."
Avoid battle through trade, minimize losses, then use profits to bribe Formosans and local pirates for long-term bases. What could be better?
Those trust-fund officers, handed ranks for free by family, still fancied themselves Frankish warrior nobles. Wasn't he showing them true "noble sophistication" they couldn't imagine?
"Hm. 'Sophisticated noble' reminds me of that fellow."
"The tea leaf guy? Smart for an Asian. But even that's fading. Now, give Chinamen a handful of opium, and they'll scramble to offer real Chinese tea leaves."
"Nah. Idiots that dumb on opium lack real power. Even in China, the sharp ones just pick leaves to swap for opium."
Britons would do the same for a handful of black tea. Clive smacked his lips.
"China won't crumble from opium alone. Else the Dutch would've done it ages ago. Japan can't act now, so improving ties with Joseon remains essential."
"But Joseon keeps strict neutrality friendly to the Qing. Do they really intend to oppose China?"
"We'll observe their actions. Time to check back with Japan's Joseon traders we contacted for the saltpeter deal (the Matsuura clan of Tsushima Fuchu Domain). With Qing in chaos, Joseon must react somehow."
Of course, no need to ask. Every Joseon subject but one brimmed with zeal for the northern expedition.
With trade severed everywhere else, Chinese and Japanese shipping flooded Joseon. The new relay route—Hangzhou-Jeju-Ulleung-Tsushima Fuchu—bustled not from preference, but necessity.
Thus, King Yi Hwon of Joseon received diverse, up-to-date intelligence unlike any previous era.
Grasping China's state roughly, Yi Hwon eyed his favorite sword on the wall.
'The time has come.'
Not for northern conquest—Joseon couldn't handle Qing even at its weakest.
The two Russian delinquent teens who once tried punching legendary wrestler Alexander Karelin got brutally beaten by the old man and knelt till police arrived.
Yet in Karelin's prime, even thugs would've recognized and avoided him. Joseon was poking exactly that point.
No Qing eyes now to beat a training Joseon with "Pup working out? Gonna mess with big bro?" Gotta build strength fast.
And that "fast" was key. How does a weakling beat a giant short-term?
Hit 'em with steroids. Worry about consequences later—knock 'em out once.
Yi Hwon, ignorant of Karelin or steroids, grasped a similar idea.
And he knew Joseon's strongest anabolic steroid.
My father-in-law from both sides, the king, wore a loathsome smile.
"I've heard times are tough lately."
"Scholars find joy not in wealth, but loyalty, filial piety, and honor. Why refuse?"
"Few incorruptibles like you exist, but you must support aged parents and uphold dignitary appearances everywhere. Best take a magistracy post once."
By Joseon standards, this wasn't abetting corruption. "Need money, so heading to a county post" was an official reason for provincial assignment.
True, his only prior local post was Mokcheon County Magistrate. Even for capital rank 3rd officials, a provincial stint smoothed promotion to premier.
Plus, cash flow really was tight lately. Thanks to you.
Sure, slow, steady earning methods abounded. But they left me vulnerable in crises, rusting my greased political fortress.
What I needed—what suited a top rank-2 post like mine—was one position.
"I'll appoint you Governor of Pyongan Province. Hong Gyeonghui, your would-be uncle-in-law, is now Minister of Personnel, so no fuss. Rest up, but diligently train troops and fortify against unrest."
Joseon's sweetest provincial gig: Pyongan Governor, the "Joseon piggy bank." Hong Bonghan held it too, so natural for me.
But assuming I'd bite like a corrupt official was a huge miscalculation.
Sending Hamgyong's Training Guard—where I commanded—to Pyongan? That's why he saw me as ideal. Warmonger bastard.
But flipped, it meant no northern expedition without my foreseen timing while I'm in Pyongan.
To seize this chance, I tossed bait the king couldn't resist.
"I know not where to place myself for Your Majesty's grace. Lately, western routes (Qing trade paths) bustle with merchants, but sly brokers hoard national treasury shares while crime surges.
Yet expanding trade aligns with Your Majesty's profound will, so eradicate not wholesale, but govern wisely. This fills granaries and blocks smuggling—splendid counsel."
The king looked shocked. He'd prepped counters expecting my isolationism spiel again. As if I'd stick to one routine forever?
I'm a modern man, isekai hero representing Korea. My Joseon modernizations show I harbor no grudge against global trade per se. I pushed isolation for "safety."
But you've wrecked it all anyway.
With Hangzhou-Jeju trade, Qing isolation's moot. Might as well exploit it.
Trade booms have upsides: war gets harder. More stakeholders.
Expand, monopolize Pyongan's logistics—traditional Qing trade hub. Control original rich imports plus trade, profits unimaginable.
And Pyongan surpluses needn't go to the state.
Where to?
Me.
Time to rake in fat performance bonuses. Back to incorruptible Kim Unhaeng.
Wonder if the status window'll accept another merit stele quest?
Author's Note
1. The horse stance (zamzhang), basic in Chinese martial arts (also translatable as riding stance), differs from squats. Anyway, the White Lotus techniques in-story are a mishmash the cult leader threw together without foundation, so no need to overthink. "Continuous horse stance" means repeating the stance in succession.
2. The Qianlong Emperor's "scenic view of corpses" from chapter 191's "Peach Garden Hand Kim Unhaeng" part was piled from suppressing these White Lotus followers today. Key similarities/differences with history:
History or wild tales: Wang Lun, Meng Can, Wu San Niang all real White Lotus members; Meng Can and Wu San Niang masters of palms and twin swords respectively; her conversion process; 18 elite disciples existed, etc.
Fiction: Rebellion prep from ~1751 accurate, but actual uprising in 1774 (10 years after in-story timing); Wu San Niang's birth/activity pulled forward 10 years; personal relations between Wang Lun, Wu San Niang, Meng Can, etc.
3. White Lotus branches preaching gender equality featured many female leaders/generals beyond Wu San Niang. Famous is 19-year-old cult leader Wang Cong'er ~30 years later. Not strict evidence, but maybe why old wuxia demon cult leaders were often women.
4. No executions of foreign priests like in Joseon ("ignorance of law merits mercy," plus they made calendars), but Catholicism was nominally banned most of Qianlong's reign. Catholic claims mention mass graves of "Nestorian believers" dragged to western fronts in Dzungar wars.
5. Dispatching Training Guards to Hamgyong to catch Russians while training was mentioned in chapter 196's "Terminator" part.