He Opened A Matchmaking Agency In 18Th Century London [EN]: Chapter 184

< Diplomacy Strategy 1 >

◈ Theo School, London

Theo was peering through the classroom window at Princess Maria, who was teaching a class.

‘Judging by her expression, she really enjoys teaching children….’

Princess Maria had returned to the school to teach students just a few months after her marriage.

Scipio, the headmaster, had noticed her excellence in Latin, Greek, English, and history, and had earnestly requested her help.

The students also responded to Princess Maria better than anyone else, and she taught the children with all her heart.

Theo watched the class with a pleased expression for a long time before heading to the headmaster’s office.

*

Theo School, the headmaster’s office.

Sir Simon Hughes set down his teacup, from which steam was rising, and began to speak.

“So, you’re saying that the Joseon Kingdom [historical Korean kingdom] also produces tea of this quality?”

Theo nodded.

“Yes, that’s right. In fact, it’s milder than Qing tea [tea from Qing Dynasty China], so it might be more suited to British tastes. However, tea trees only grow in the warm southern regions of Joseon, so it’s not a crop that can be grown throughout the entire kingdom. Of course, the scale will be smaller compared to Qing China.

However, since our tea market in Britain has shrunk considerably, if trade is established in earnest and Joseon increases its production, there shouldn’t be any major difficulties in supply.”

“But if tea comes in from the Joseon Kingdom at a low price and with a stable supply, won’t that hurt our coffee business?”

“Our coffee is fundamentally higher in quantity and price anyway, and tea and coffee are beverages with different characteristics, so it might be better to compete and coexist. And frankly, coffee has a strong aroma and addictive qualities, so it will be difficult for tea to surpass coffee in the future.

The problem is that there is still a considerable tea-consuming population, and Qing China’s trade attitude is disrupting the market price by monopolizing tea. In trade where trust is important, unpredictable relationships are likely to backfire. In that respect, I think the Joseon Kingdom is the most suitable partner.”

Scipio, who had been quietly sipping his black tea, asked with a slightly worried expression.

“Representative, if our government’s policy direction is confirmed through trade with Joseon, you said that we would be fully committed to fostering trainees related to East Asian trade, focusing on the Joseon Kingdom, correct?”

Theo had instructed Headmaster Scipio to select about 30 students, regardless of whether they were current or former students, to study East Asian trade and commerce, as well as Joseon language and culture.

“Yes, that’s right.”

“But, well, it seems that we can find some answers through various information about the culture and etiquette of the Joseon Kingdom… I’m worried about whether we can find a teacher who can teach the language.

For proper trade, as you mentioned, their language is the most important thing. From what I hear, they seem to use a completely different language from that of Qing China.”

Theo took a sip of tea and replied.

“I’m planning to teach the Joseon language class myself for now.”

“Yes?”

Headmaster Scipio and Deputy Head Hughes stared at Theo with surprised eyes.

“No, Representative, you can speak the language of the Joseon Kingdom?”

“Yes. It’s a bit difficult to explain… I had an opportunity to learn the Joseon language. It may not be perfect, but it should be enough to conduct trade exchanges.”

“Wow, that’s amazing. It wouldn’t have been easy since not many people use it, right?”

“I think I can teach them the language, culture, and etiquette of the Joseon Kingdom in about a year. Anyway, as I mentioned, this is not for immediate results, but rather as a stepping stone to making the Joseon Kingdom a new trade partner and approaching the Asian market through expanded exchanges, so you should select good students.”

“Yes, I understand. I will select the most outstanding students.”

“Yes! I’m counting on you, Headmaster.”

Theo also planned to teach the selected students psychology in addition to the language and cultural characteristics of Joseon, so that they could read the other person’s mind to some extent.

Psychological knowledge and insight can be quite useful in judging and dealing with people.

*

As he came out of the headmaster’s office, Princess Maria, who had finished her class, was looking at a painting hanging in the hallway, waiting for Theo.

After class, they had agreed to have lunch together on Theo Street.

Maria, who had been engrossed in the painting, turned her head at the sound and smiled.

“Oh, did the meeting go well?”

“Yes, it just ended. Did you have a hard time teaching? But what were you looking at so intently?”

She turned her gaze back to the painting.

“Bailey’s paintings are so mysterious every time I see them. As the Count said, I feel more drawn to them because the emotions are conveyed in the painting. I don’t understand why such a great artist is still not recognized in the art world.”

Theo also stood next to his wife and looked at Charlie Bailey’s painting.

It was a painting that Charlie had sketched a few years ago during the groundbreaking ceremony for the school’s new building.

In it, Theo, Maria, Headmaster Scipio, and the nobles who had sponsored the school were smiling brightly.

“The emotions of that time… seem to be conveyed intact in the painting. By the way…”

“……?”

Princess Maria, who had turned to Theo, asked.

“When is the artist going to give us our wedding painting? I’m really going to wait until my eyes fall out, haha.”

“I know, right? Charlie usually finishes paintings quickly, but it seems like it’s taking him a really long time this time.”

Charlie had started working on a large painting to commemorate Theo’s wedding.

However, unlike the painting of the reception hall, which was quickly drawn, the important wedding painting was constantly being postponed.

Charlie had injured his hand in the middle, which delayed him by a month, but even after his hand healed, he kept not completing the painting because he said his emotions were not coming alive.

It was an unexpected situation for Charlie, who was famous for quickly drawing great paintings with a concentration that ordinary people could not see.

He easily drew paintings requested for school events and other related records in between, but the wedding painting at the cathedral was still not finished even after four years.

In fact, large paintings at this time often took several years to produce, so Theo tried not to pay attention to it. But Maria was different.

Perhaps because Maria was so moved by the painting of the reception, she was impatiently waiting for the wedding painting to be completed.

“But if you happen to meet Charlie, don’t urge him to paint. He already looks at me with concern when we run into each other sometimes. Given his personality, if you keep putting pressure on him, the painting he intends won’t come out…”

Princess Maria nodded at Theo’s words.

“Yes, of course. How hard would it be? It must not be easy to draw with such emotions. I understand it well enough, but I’m just too excited…”

But Theo was also a little puzzled.

At first, Charlie had been confident that he would give them the wedding painting soon, saying that they could look forward to it. He had even said that it was the first time he had been so immersed in emotions while painting.

‘I’m curious… what kind of painting is it that he’s putting so much effort into?’

Theo was waiting for the wedding painting as much as Princess Maria, although he didn’t show it.

◈ A week later. Windsor Castle, King’s Presence Chamber.

Theo stood before King George and his ministers, conveying his opinions on trade policy with Joseon, which he had discussed in depth with researchers from the Commercial Education Research Institute for several days.

“……First of all, as you can see on this map, the main ports and commercial centers of the Joseon Kingdom are here, here, and here.

However, as I mentioned last time, the Joseon Kingdom places great importance on diplomatic relations with the neighboring Qing China, so a customized diplomatic strategy must be implemented to prevent Qing China from misunderstanding the trade relationship between Britain and the Joseon Kingdom as an expansion of foreign powers.”

The content, which had been carefully organized over the week, included a grand plan to help not only Britain but also Joseon grow.

The background to this plan was the Meiji Restoration in Japan [a period of modernization and westernization in Japan from 1868 to 1912].

In the next 50 years or so, Japan would greatly accept Western civilization through the Meiji Restoration and greatly develop politics, education, and the military.

While Japan was struggling to modernize its country in this way, Joseon went through the Byeongin Yangyo [French invasion of Korea in 1866] in 1866 and the Sinmi Yangyo [US expedition to Korea in 1871], only worrying about how to close the country and block foreign powers, missing out on important development opportunities.

And that becomes an important opportunity to face a painful and humiliating history of falling into a Japanese colony.

Of course, no matter how long Theo lives, he will not be able to live until that time.

Therefore, it was unknown whether Joseon’s unfortunate history would change or proceed as it was due to his actions.

However, Theo wanted to lay the foundation for Joseon to achieve proper reform long before the Meiji Restoration in Japan, and to prevent even a little of the pain it would experience in the future.

And it was judged that this could be an opportunity for Britain, which had committed various atrocities by wielding force, to bring a much better evaluation in the future.

“……This is the East Asian market development plan that our Commercial Education Research Institute researchers have reached after much discussion.”

The meticulously prepared trade plan with the Joseon Kingdom was quite attractive to King George and other high-ranking officials and lawmakers.

However, it was a proposal that could never be accepted by the nobles who were profiting from trade with Qing China.

They did everything they could to change King George’s mind.

As expected, Littleton was the first to step forward.

“Your Majesty! The powerful countries in Europe are now using all means to knock on the door of Qing China, the largest market in Asia.

At this time, our Britain, with its strong navy, must try to trade with Qing China, even by force. Only then will we not miss the golden opportunity to preempt that vast market.

If we miss this opportunity, it is clear that other countries will rush to gain great profits through trade with Qing China, isn’t it?

At this important time, are we going to focus on such a small and insignificant market as the Joseon Kingdom? Absolutely not! You must think deeply!”

During the Age of Discovery from the 15th to the 17th centuries, European powers colonized to secure resources such as pepper and sugar, and labor through black slaves.

However, since the mid-18th century, when the Industrial Revolution began in earnest, they had been looking for markets as a kind of sales outlet to sell the large quantities of products they had produced.

At this time, what caught the eye of the European powers was East Asia.

King George, who had been listening quietly, looked at Theo and asked.

“Lord Sanderson, what do you think? Isn’t there a good reason why many European countries are trying to open up Qing China, even by using force, to develop that vast market?

But it seems like it would be a loss for us to put our efforts into the small Joseon Kingdom… isn’t that so?”

Theo calmly replied to King George’s question.

“Your Majesty, the sailors of merchant ships or warships that have approached East Asian countries all know very well how hostile those countries are to foreign ships that approach them recklessly.

Of course, it may be possible to open some port cities by force. But what will happen after that?

The large population means a large market, but on the other hand, it can also mean that the number of opponents resisting will increase.

It is not the land next door, but the distant Asian continent that you have to take a warship for nearly a year to reach. How possible would it be to wage war while continuously supplying supplies to such Asia?

In addition, what you can actually gain from such a war is only a few port cities on the coast, and you will not be able to occupy even a part of that vast land.

I don’t know if the benefits of such a war are overwhelmingly great, but in the end, such an approach will only suffer from their resistance, and looking to the distant future, it will inevitably be a loss.

It seems really foolish to rush to fight hard when there is a way to get it without fighting.”

Everyone held their breath and listened to Theo’s story.

“In order to create a connection with East Asians who have completely different values and cultures from us, we must find a country in the best geographical location that can agree with us. And when we respect and interact through mutual cooperation with that country, we will be able to further enhance our Britain’s position in East Asia.

However, according to the judgment of our Commercial Education Research Institute, Qing China has such different values and thoughts from us that we have come to the conclusion that a relationship of mutual cooperation is absolutely not easy.

Of course, the Joseon Kingdom also has the same roots of learning as Qing China and has a strong aversion to foreign countries.

However, if we understand the Joseon Kingdom’s learning and culture and approach them with a respectful attitude through their language, our research institute has found that it will be much more efficient and effective than Qing China due to its small size in entering the East Asian market and checking other countries.”

Littleton’s aides strongly protested against Theo’s claim.

“But, doesn’t that make sense? If the Joseon Kingdom has the same roots of learning as Qing China and is right next to it, so it is so conscious of Qing China, will Qing China leave us alone to trade with Joseon?

It is obvious that there will be a surge of opposition within the Joseon Kingdom, saying that a war will break out if we trade with us, right?”

“That’s right! If we do that, we will become the culprit of the outbreak of war with Qing China, rather than quietly exchanging!

Unless the Joseon Kingdom is stupid, they will not accept our trade proposal in the first place. It’s a completely unrealistic argument!”