Chapter 215
Chapter 215
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 215
Chapter Title: Engraving the Treasonous Beat (1)
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Among Jeong Hu-gyeom's misconceptions, there was at least one thing that rang true.
The Joseon Confucians were deeply displeased at the sight of Westerners coming and going from the Crown Prince's palace.
Kim Unhaeng had planted Yi Deok-mu in the Chunbang to send misleading signals to Jeong Hu-gyeom and Princess Hwawan, but of course, he hadn't explained the true purpose.
As a result, Shim Hwanji, a leading Chun-dang executive at the forefront, had received the wrong signal as well. Even though Kim Unhaeng often—no, far too often—displayed suspicious behavior, Shim Hwanji was moved by the fact that at his core, he was a defender of isolationism.
"As His Majesty once remarked when he presented the saltpeter, Chun-sik is a man who demonstrates the Way through action, not mere scholarship. We can fill in his deficiencies in literary principles."
Shim Hwanji was the Deputy Chancellor of the Hongmungwan, the heart of the Qing yamen. With him leading the charge, the two Jesuit priests found themselves in quite a bind.
"Some scholars are grumbling about appointing a lowborn to the Chunbang, but in my view, the lowborn is far cleaner than these Westerners. Why allow crude and turbid energies to infiltrate the palace?"
"Moreover, the base from which these two instructors spread their heresy is the home of Yi Ga-hwan, a disciple of Yi Ik, and that household descends from the traitor Yi Jam—executed during King Sukjong's reign for opposing the Noron faction."
In truth, the Noron had never even placed Catholics on the level of 'heretics' at first. Just like most Joseon scholars of the time.
But the problem was that the Nam-in scholars, emboldened by Chae Je-gong's rise, had begun to coalesce around Yi Ga-hwan and Catholicism.
The same words could be bold principled stands if from our side, or blind partisan rhetoric if from theirs. Rational suspicion if I dislike it, unfair persecution if I favor it.
The Noron, too, began to harbor 'rational suspicions' toward Catholicism—because they despised the Nam-in. Kim Unhaeng, who had experienced Korean internet culture, fanned those flames admirably.
"This isn't the first time someone has sought to erase the distinctions of the sages and overturn hierarchies of superior and inferior, rites and decorum. Aren't they just like the Yellow Turbans or Red Eyebrows?"
"Kim Chun-sik may not have provided detailed arguments or evidence, but there was reason behind his use of earth-shrinking spells all the way to the Tumen River to capture those men!"
Besides, such criticisms were effective because they had real hooks to latch onto.
It was no coincidence that the near-capital Nam-in became the gateway for Catholicism. Yi Hwang's theory of li-ki dualism bore no small relation to the later acceptance of Catholicism.
These days, no one bothered debating Neo-Confucianism since even the king and ministers couldn't follow, but if a real debate erupted, it would be different. A storm of 'West-in' orthodox li-ki monism would sweep the court.
Of course, the Jesuits were far more accustomed to such debates.
The critiques of Christian doctrine that even an average modern person might imagine had all been refuted before the fall of the Western Roman Empire, and the objections a clever premodern scholar might raise had been parried by Captain Asia, Matteo Ricci, with the shield of True Meaning of the Lord of Heaven.
But their opponents weren't mere commoners or ordinary scholars. (Excluding Yeong-su,) they were the nation's intellectual elite—the ultimate victors of Joseon's long Neo-Confucian struggles.
If Catholicism was the 'Universal Church,' the Noron were the 'Universal Confucians.' Before the Noron's fierce assault, the priests' temporary lectureships hung by a thread.
When facing such impeachment, the typical Joseon scholar's response was simple: abandon office and return home.
But for these two, distancing themselves from power meant mortal danger. Exile from Joseon would leave them, traitors to the Emperor, facing nothing but death.
Anton Koagis, still unaware of Britain's dispatch of its Grand Fleet, sighed.
"Coming to Joseon was the right call amid the Qing's chaos, but time is the issue. Can we hold out until the Qing regime changes or until Europeans connect with Joseon?"
Yet for the Jesuits—'divine hunters' who stirred the world as the blade of the Gospel—such trials were routine. If isolation crippled improvisation, they wouldn't qualify as spies.
Hallerstein scratched his chin with composed demeanor.
"Same as in China. We have no choice but to make them understand our value."
Western civilization and knowledge in mathematics, astronomy, navigation, military affairs, natural history, medicine, and more—the Noron didn't attack those outright.
They had entered via pirates before the priests, so they weren't seen as 'Catholic things,' and since Joseon had seized them rather than received them as gifts, there was no guilt or inferiority complex.
Thus, Noron scholars used them where needed. Not for growing toxic herbs like Kim I-hwan, of course.
Among them, the most prominent—fittingly practical Joseon folk—was military knowledge.
The two priests petitioned the Crown Prince and gained an audience with the King. The format was a clever workaround: the Crown Prince's banquet with the King gracing it informally.
"Recently, in the Great Western Kingdom—that is, Europe—there have been remarkable innovations in military deliberations worth noting. It may shame us monks who prioritize compassion foremost, but as the law states, 'Render unto Caesar what is Caesar's, and unto God what is God's' from Matthew. Since military matters are indispensable to the state, I shall address that before Your Majesty today."
They emphasized no intent to infringe on native royal authority or class order, packaging it neatly in military topics the King favored to ensure an uninterrupted presentation.
A fine Jesuit technique indeed. As Hallerstein predicted, Yi Hwon focused intently.
"What is it?"
"Warfare was once about toppling enemy fortresses, and with sturdy walls and stockpiled provisions, even a million-strong army could be repelled. Joseon has built such forts in the mountains."
But from the late 17th to early 18th century, that changed.
In very rough summary, it began when mathematics was 'applied' to the battlefield.
Math and war had existed long before, but combining them was key.
With precisely calculated trenches and cannons, barring enemy reinforcements or diplomatic blunders, the fall time of 'any fortress' could be computed. France's Vauban, famed for star-shaped forts, was even more renowned as the destroyer who guaranteed sieges under 50 days.
At the same time, commanders could compute optimal march routes theoretically, free from ad-hoc Noryeong formations that often led to disaster.
This inevitably exploded field armies' scale.
Assuming enemy mobility could be checked by forts or bastions left one open to sudden defeat by foes emerging like from the earth.
Britain's Marlborough and France's Napoleon exploited this masterfully. No revolutionary new weapons in their eras—just this software shift rendered fortress-centric defense obsolete long before aircraft.
Even Joseon, isolated from Europe, had dimly sensed it. The Ming-Qing War and Bingja Horan had shown human civilization crumbling just so.
But theory made all the difference. It grounded policy debates. Mere 'it worked when we tried' practical tech couldn't sustain long-term progress.
Yi Hwon nodded approvingly.
"I've thought similarly, but this is the first clear exposition I've heard."
"Indeed. Your forebears—Kings Hyeonjong and Sukjong—distrusted old fortress lines for this wisdom, and General Kim Unhaeng's dismantling of Namhansanseong followed this shift. All shine in the glory of Your Majesty's enlightened rule."
Whatever Koagis spouted, it wasn't originally such profundity.
He had planned to cart Namhansanseong bricks to reinforce Seoul's walls, but Kim Unhaeng siphoned and sold them off mid-project, leaving only the 'dismantling of backward mountain forts'—plus spared corvee labor as a bonus.
The missionaries couldn't know those details, and even if they did, they wouldn't change their tune. The lecture's true aim was bolstering their own survival, not Joseon's military.
As the discourse ripened, Hallerstein unveiled his ace.
"What is most essential to devising such plans in advance?"
Yi Hwon glanced at Crown Prince Yi Jeong. Testing him, perhaps.
The Prince wasn't a military buff like his father, but the missionaries had tipped him off meticulously. He feigned deliberation before answering.
"Maps?"
Yi Hwon was pleased. The missionaries were pleased.
"Precisely. Without intimately knowing every road's shape and length, every hill, field, river, and valley, mathematics cannot measure them."
Nothing revolutionary there. Joseon military maps were nearly complete, thanks to officials trained in James Cook's methods.
But Hallerstein smiled like God's faithful servant—or Satan himself.
Shim Hwanji, watching the priests closely, sensed the anomaly first.
'Could it be... a map not of Joseon?'
His intuition was spot on.
"This is a detailed map of northern China, completed with genius unmatched by the Holy Spirit's inspiration, by Xavier-Erberbert Fredelli of Linz—fellow scholar of our Jesuit order and old loyalist to Joseon, Yi I-myeong."
Hallerstein and Koagis presented the map with reverence, as if Formiga offering the map of assassins to Crown Prince Jeong to Emperor Qin.
Of course, no blade hid within, as they weren't assassins.
But perhaps an unseen blade cuts deeper.
Yi Hwon slowly extended his hand, grasping the map as if wielding an invisible sword.
One thing to clarify: this wasn't some earth-shattering event.
Sukjong had composed and recited poems at Mandongmyo vowing to crush the Qing before his ministers, and former King Yi Geum similarly quizzed envoys on breaching Shenyang.
No leaks to the Qing here—it was routine, with standard precautions.
But one difference: most Joseon folk yearned to club the Jurchens.
The biggest short-sellers were Joseon's bourgeoisie, the Pyeongseon gwan. Their 300,000 nyang war donation was emblematic.
Buying what's hot and waiting for pumps? Third-rate.
Insider tips and econ studies for predictions? Second-rate.
Buy anything pretty-named and pump it yourself? First-rate.
The Pyeongseon gwan's propaganda raged. Kim Yak-haeng—historically exiled to Heuksando at triple speed, never to return—was paraded as speaker everywhere.
"Even China's scholars, unable to stand against the West, offer maps to our King!"
"Offering a map follows ancient rites of ceding territory. The classics say the Nine Barbarians submit, lured by local products' profits for tribute—but true virtue is this, no? Where else do we seek Chinese centrality?"
"Isn't this the venture Kim Chun-sik has long aided His Majesty in pursuing?"
"Ah, so Kim Yak-haeng stepped up! The Jang-dong Kim clan overflows with paragons..."
Troops for Pyeongan swelled massively.
Joseon didn't fund recruits from the treasury, so volunteers once suffered on zeal alone—but Pyeongseon capital changed that.
Strongmen, wrestlers, dismissed officers, disowned ne'er-do-wells flocked in. Legends of China's vast treasures fueled the rush.
Liberation detachments no longer took all comers. Navy berths, once desperate, now faced fierce competition. For a quick score, only righteous armies remained.
Jeong Hu-gyeom and Princess Hwawan naturally sensed the tide.
Failed to remove missionaries or isolate the Crown Prince, but in an era of rampant militias, it was prime for a hero. Jeong sought his mother.
Princess Hwawan was reading.
Lately, she pressured nephew Yongdu Daegun to prepare as Hyeoryeong Daegun—not shave his head, but study for if his brother were deposed.
Just watching favorite Kim Unhaeng showed his dislike for bookworms, but sisters rarely obsess over brothers' tastes unless perverse.
Anyway, she needed more scholarship herself. Like parents cramming high school math for kids' exams.
Jeong roughly grasped his adoptive mother's intent. He didn't want to think it was keeping that foppish Japanese youth folding se-su bookmarks alluringly at her side.
Jeong addressed Kaoru first.
"I have urgent matters to discuss with Mother. Withdraw."
Kaoru knew hesitation would invite suspicion. He rose promptly.
"Yes."
But Kaoru hailed from Edo's finest houses of pleasure.
His face and words showed pure obedience, but his steps and gestures faintly betrayed regret toward Princess Hwawan—subtle enough only one desiring to catch him would notice. Describable in words, yet a skill even Kaoru couldn't teach.
Princess Hwawan took the bait.
"Hun-i (Kaoru), sit back down. What can't you say even before family? Constant secrecy over trifles only breeds suspicion—don't you know?"
Not wrong. It screamed shady business ahead. But Jeong resented his mother for voicing it.
He chose words carefully.
"The realm boils with lofty zeal. With permission, I wish to join the effort to avenge national shame, seeking the elders' aid."
Princess houses meddling in politics was taboo. This was purely the Jeong clan's loyal service.
Thankfully, Princess Hwawan wasn't that naive. She grasped it.
"Understood. You're fifteen, a man now—how could I stop you? Noble intent. Serve the nation faithfully."
"I shall obey."
Princess H Wawan's lapse was understandable. She'd confined outer slave Kaoru indoors.
But that posed no issue for him.
Even Kim Unhaeng sometimes forgot: Hiraga Gen'nai, smitten with Kaoru, and their self-dubbed Chun-sik Crew—Team Japan—were duly registered Jang-dong Kim guards. Without Unhaeng, they relied on compatriot (and rich) Kaoru's favor.
Thus, news of Jeong secretly gathering men reached Kim I-hwan instantly.
Hiraga Gen'nai, Japan's Leonardo, was SIT too. Meeting the Director's son was natural.
Kim I-hwan met him pretending to receive prized Joseon pocket watches.
Chatting parts—Hiraga explaining earnestly, I-hwan feigning grasp—they parted naturally, evading Jeong's spies.
I-hwan then dismantled the pricey watches without hesitation. Both tycoons shared mechanical disdain.
Kim Unhaeng's foresight in summoning Yi Jae-un from Jeju shone. The regular Suwon courier delivered Kaoru's note and I-hwan's analysis from the watch.
Thus, Kim Unhaeng got the news he'd awaited.
It was the twelfth lunar month, as Britain steadied for explosion from Manila.
Good thing it wasn't too late.
I'd been anxious with war maniacs rampaging while absent from Seoul.
Tension with Qing before crushing traitors would ruin everything. No negotiating with the status window then.
Jeong Hu-gyeom's faction was still weak. Even if not abandoning rebellion, they might delay. Few have the guts for acapella long-form rap battles.
To hype the mood, drop the beat.
For my peaceful Chief State Councillor life, I'd engrave the treasonous beat on mother and son.
Author's Note
1. Yi Jam was executed by the dominant Noron during Sukjong's succession strife for backing Gyeongjong (who ultimately prevailed). He's a namesake of the Yi Jam who perished at Jinju Castle in the Manchu invasions—same characters, different man.
Yi Ik and Yi Ga-hwan descend from this line. Yi Ga-hwan, appearing in chapters 184 and 199, was a paragon surpassing even Yi Deok-mu in scholarship but attacked by Shim Hwanji under Jeongjo due to his lineage.
2. Matteo Ricci's True Meaning of the Lord of Heaven takes an apologetic stance, so it didn't refute every scholar's claim outright—but its deep study of Chinese classics and tailored persuasion earned high praise beyond typical scholars of the era.
3. Jesuit China mapping was mentioned in chapters 169, 186, etc. In-story, the priests crossed Manchuria to the Tumen thanks to those maps.
4. Namhansanseong materials were originally slated for Seoul wall reinforcement, as noted in chapter 164's 'No one lives forever' part.
5. The scholars' 'local products' line echoes Guan Zhong. Advising on barbarians, he said honoring their tribute with high prices deters invasion. It mentions 'patterned leather from Bal-joseon'—among China's earliest Joseon references.
6. Se-su are bookmark-like slips folded along markings to count readings. Intimates or young kin often assist, for education. Lady Hyegyeonggung Hong did so for near-peer uncle Hong Yong-han (one year younger) in youth.