He Opened A Matchmaking Agency In 18Th Century London [EN]: Chapter 186

< Departure >

May 1794. Theo School, Headmaster’s Office.

“We have selected a total of 32 students.”

Headmaster Scipio handed Theo the final list of selected students.

‘Hmm… Horace Wilden, Geoffrey Reed, Samuel Hall…’

Theo recognized many familiar names on the list.

“You’ve selected excellent students.”

“Yes. Although their demonstrated abilities vary slightly, they are all fundamentally talented. Horace Wilden, in particular, has shown an amazing ability to independently interpret simple Qing Dynasty [1644-1912] documents.

Not only Horace, but all the selected students are very interested in unfamiliar Eastern cultures and languages without any aversion, so I think we will see better results than expected.

And I have also prepared the translations related to Neo-Confucianism brought from Qing China, as you requested. But…”

Headmaster Scipio seemed to have something more to say.

“Please, speak freely.”

“Yes… I’m a little confused as to why you are trying to study books from Qing China while trying to establish relations with the Kingdom of Joseon [1392-1897].”

As the Age of Enlightenment dawned, studies on the philosophy, ethics, customs, and politics of China, from the Song Dynasty [960-1279] to the Qing Dynasty, became quite active in Europe. Neo-Confucianism, based on the Confucian teachings of Confucius and Mencius, was translated into Latin and attracted the attention of Europeans.

“The Kingdom of Joseon, when it was founded hundreds of years ago, believed that the previous kingdom, Goryeo [918-1392], had fallen because it embraced Buddhism. Therefore, they abandoned Buddhism and adopted Confucianism, venerating Neo-Confucianism as a state religion.”

Therefore, understanding Joseon’s Neo-Confucianism is essential to understanding and approaching Joseon’s culture.

“However, since there are no translations related to Joseon’s Neo-Confucianism, we are trying to teach the students to understand Neo-Confucianism, even roughly, by studying Qing Dynasty books.”

“The Kingdom of Joseon is a country that was founded hundreds of years ago? And before that, it was Buddhist, but now it’s Neo-Confucianism… No, where on earth did you hear about such things?”

It was a very natural part of Korean history for Theo, but Headmaster Scipio was hearing it for the first time, so he couldn’t help but be surprised.

“Ah, yes. I was just interested when I was younger, and I happened to learn about it. Anyway, if you send me the plan for the curriculum, please review it and adjust it to fit the circumstances.”

“Yes, I understand.”

Two months later, in July 1794.

At Theo School, a special class called the Joseon Trade Course, consisting of 32 students, was created, and classes began with the goal of completing the course in two years.

Theo devoted himself to teaching Joseon language, history, culture, etiquette, and human psychology, even writing his own textbooks, and the students followed along well.

In this way, Theo’s vast wealth accumulated in Europe was unintentionally preparing to flow into Joseon in the form of human resources.

And so, two years passed quickly.

Mid-November 1796, two years later. London, Mayfair.

Late evening.

The living room of Theo’s mansion was filled with deep sorrow.

Theo asked Princess Maria, who was reading a letter from the Kingdom of Naples [a historical state that existed from 1282 to 1816 in the southern Italian Peninsula] with a hardened face.

“Is the situation in Italy not good?”

Maria, who listlessly put down the letter, opened her mouth in a somber voice.

“Yes… The French army has already occupied more than half of Lombardy [a region in northern Italy].”

“Even though it’s an express letter, Lombardy must have been completely occupied by now.”

The French Revolutionary Army, led by Napoleon, defeated the Austrian army and celebrated their victory, rapidly occupying the Italian region one by one.

Recently, an attack on Lombardy, a northern Italian region, had begun.

However, after reading the letter from the Kingdom of Naples today, it seemed certain that even Lombardy had been occupied.

If they had taken Lombardy, an invasion of the Kingdom of Naples was not far off.

Theo, who had predicted Napoleon’s Italian expedition, had strongly advised the Kingdom of Naples to strengthen its weapons and prepare for defense several years ago.

The Kingdom of Naples, which had been paying close attention to France’s movements, actively accepted Theo’s advice and regularly received various weapons and tactical training from England.

However, that alone was not enough to face the mighty Napoleonic army. The support of England was more urgent than ever.

A few days ago, King George presided over an emergency military conference, and after much debate, it was decided to urgently dispatch elite British troops to the allied Kingdom of Naples.

This was because the Kingdom of Naples, a strategic point, was essential to stop France from seeking expansion in the Mediterranean.

Theo, who attended the military conference, also declared that he would participate in the war.

King George strongly dissuaded Theo from participating.

However, Theo’s determination was firm.

Military commanders also strongly requested Theo’s participation.

Napoleon, a brilliant strategist who is currently plunging all of Europe into fear.

Since when, rumors have been circulating beyond England and throughout Europe that the only person who can stand against him is Count Sanderson.

Moreover, Theo’s special status as the son-in-law of the Neapolitan royal family increased the justification for his participation.

After much deliberation, King George appointed Theo as the commander-in-chief of the defense operation of the Kingdom of Naples.

In a situation where there were many nobles who had become generals with money without ever having fought in a real battle, no one questioned Theo’s qualifications, who had fought against General Howe as a temporary regimental commander.

And finally, the historic departure day was approaching tomorrow.

“…Are you really leaving tomorrow? Can’t you stay with me for just one more day?”

Princess Maria looked up at Theo with mournful eyes.

“I have to go as soon as possible. I don’t know when the French army will push down. The Kingdom of Naples will be eagerly waiting for us to come.”

“But, do you really have to go yourself, even though you’re not a soldier?”

“You’ve heard the rumors of how devastated the areas swept away by the French army have become, haven’t you? How anxious must your father, mother… and the people in the Kingdom of Naples be?”

“…Yes. That’s right… Of course…”

“The Kingdom of Naples is your beloved homeland. It is also a country that I must now protect.

Besides, French Commander Napoleon Bonaparte is someone to be very careful of. We’ve been preparing in our own way, but it may be very difficult. We’re in a situation where even one person’s strength is precious. Isn’t it only natural that I, the son-in-law of the Kingdom of Naples, should go?

Don’t worry too much. What we’ve prepared so far will be a great help, and we will definitely protect the kingdom.”

“…I’m truly grateful that you said that.”

As history changed rapidly, it was almost a given that the French army would attack in the near future.

However, Napoleon’s invasion of the Kingdom of Naples was an unprecedented move in history.

A clash between England, currently called the strongest country in the world, and France, which is plunging Europe into fear.

Moreover, as Napoleon himself was leading the attack, a great battle that would go down in the history of war was expected. The battlefield situation was that dangerous.

Theo approached Maria, who was trembling with fear, and gently stroked her shoulder, comforting her.

“Don’t worry. I knew this would happen and have been preparing hard, haven’t I? I believe I will surely win.”

Theo had also gone directly to the Kingdom of Naples for the past two years to impart training and tactics.

Princess Maria had been preparing herself to some extent while watching her husband’s actions, but she was very worried when he actually left for the battlefield.

She was in a very heavy mood, worrying about her parents, siblings, and kingdom, and above all, fearing that something bad would happen to her husband.

“I’m so anxious. The safety of my parents and siblings, the security of my country… and above all, I’m so afraid that something bad will happen to you… I’m sorry for saying this to someone who is leaving tomorrow…”

Tears seemed to be pouring out of Maria’s trembling eyes.

She was a more cheerful and positive wife than anyone else, but she had become much weaker emotionally after experiencing the great pain of two miscarriages.

Theo took care of her by mobilizing all his healing skills, and thanks to that, his wife overcame her emotional wounds and was much better.

He wanted to stay by her side a little longer if he could.

However, the situation was too urgent. If he didn’t leave now, the Kingdom of Naples would be brutally trampled on.

Theo hugged his wife tightly and said.

“I will definitely return before your birthday and the graduation ceremony of the Theo School Joseon Trade Course students.”

Princess Maria asked with teary eyes.

“Please… Please promise me that you’ll be back before my birthday.”

Theo gently stroked Maria’s back and patted her.

“When I return to London, let’s have your birthday at the cafe where we first met. Let’s invite your students from the cafe, the Joseon Trade Course students, and everyone we know, and have fun all day long. How about that?”

Princess Maria wiped away her tears and nodded with a bright smile.

“Yes! That would be so great. When you come back, let’s do that… definitely.”

The next day, the British warship’s command and control room.

In the command and control room of the British warship heading to the Kingdom of Naples, Rear Admiral of the Blue Nelson, the chief of naval operations, his staff, and Colonel Jude Rogers, Lucy’s husband and in charge of the army’s chief of operations for this operation, and his aides were seated.

Theo’s decision to quickly promote Nelson in line with the accelerated history was truly a divine move.

Admiral Nelson, who had grown much faster and stronger than in history with Theo’s full support, was building a reputation as an undefeated naval commander and rose to become Napoleon’s most feared enemy.

Thanks to this, France did not dare to think of invading England by sea.

If Theo had found Nelson just a little later, England might have been brutally trampled under the jackboots of the French army.

“…As soon as you land in the Kingdom of Naples, you must immediately enter into strict information security control.”

The instructions of Commander-in-Chief Theo continued.

After seeing him confront the large-scale rebel army led by General Howe and commanding military training in the Kingdom of Naples for several years, no military official questioned Theo’s ability to perform as a military commander.

In particular, British commanders were all impressed and amazed by Theo’s ability and strategy to establish practical operation plans, identify enemies, and prepare for them.

Colonel Rogers, who knew this better than anyone else, asked Theo.

“Commander-in-Chief. There’s something I’m really curious about.”

“?”

“How on earth was that young general Bonaparte able to defeat the Austrian army, which is famous for its well-trained soldiers, with conscripts who were forcibly dragged into the army?”

At Colonel Rogers’ question, other commanders also looked at Theo with curious eyes.

The French army was known to be chaotic due to the revolution, poorly trained due to the compulsory conscription system, and poorly supplied with military supplies.

However, in just a few years, they were becoming a target of fear, defeating European powers one after another.

Theo, who took his eyes off the map, crossed his arms and opened his mouth.

“General Bonaparte, who is now leading the French conscript army, seems to be defeating his opponents by using completely different strategies from the existing ones in ground tactics.

In other words, instead of setting up infantry in a horizontal formation, which is familiar to ordinary armies, he sets up skirmishers in various places…”

At that time, Robespierre was executed at the guillotine in France, but society was still unstable because it had not escaped the atmosphere of fear, and the operation of the state was a mess.

In addition, the threats from neighboring countries to the revolutionary government overlapped, and the country was very chaotic both internally and externally.

After much deliberation, the solution France found was ‘war’.

France, which decided to use war as a breakthrough for chaos, decided to attack northern Italy first, and the person who was selected as the commander-in-chief of the Italian expedition at this time was none other than Napoleon Bonaparte.

Napoleon realized that there were many inexperienced soldiers due to the sudden conscription, and in order to overcome this, he actively applied a new mixed-formation tactic, ‘skirmish warfare’, to the battle.

At this time, the general battle method was for infantry to line up in a row and advance in formation, but this tactic required more training than expected because the long line had to go forward without being disturbed.

However, there was no way that the French army, which had been dragged into conscription, would have the combat ability to match this formation exactly within a short training period.

In response, Napoleon placed skirmishers who ran freely without forming a formation next to the soldiers who were lined up in a horizontal row and advanced, increasing combat capabilities and giving psychological stability to inexperienced soldiers.

However, since this alone could not fill the insufficient combat power, he regarded the long horizontal row as the body, and placed veterans with a lot of experience on both sides in columns to act as fists, and this tactic had a very large effect in actual combat.

It may seem like a sloppy strategy to modern soldiers, but it was an amazing strategy that would have terrified soldiers at the time, when horizontal formations were common due to the limitations of weapons.

In addition, Napoleon boldly abandoned heavy military equipment and lightened it, and even adopted the principle of local procurement of food, thereby gaining rapid mobility, and through this movement, he divided the opposing army.

By moving more than twice as fast as the opposing army with finely divided troops, he attacked from the front, back, left, and right in the most advantageous place, disrupting the enemy and defeating them one by one.

Theo had been interested in Napoleon’s tactics when he was in modern times, so he knew the destructive power of the tactics very well.

“…This is how they defeated the Austrian army. However, General Bonaparte of France may have had fun with skirmish warfare and mobility so far, but the Kingdom of Naples has also prepared enough for it, and since we have also created a rifle regiment with high accuracy even at long distances, we will definitely have a chance of winning.”

Theo strongly recommended to the King of the Kingdom of Naples to create a unit that specializes in handling long rifles with rifling.

Accepting Theo’s proposal, the King of Naples created the 17th Rifle Regiment, purchased a large number of new guns from England, and trained them harshly.

Thanks to two years of grueling training and practice, the soldiers of the 17th Rifle Regiment showed high accuracy at a distance of 150m, and some showed good results even at distances of over 200m.

This was a considerable distance difference considering that the hit distance of a general soldier’s rifle at the time was about 25-70m.

Theo looked at Admiral Nelson and Colonel Rogers and asked.

“At sea, Admiral Nelson must thoroughly block the support or supply of the French Navy.

And Colonel Rogers will wait for the enemy in the Monte Cassino area [a rocky hill in Lazio, Italy], where the French army is expected to cross, with the Neapolitan soldiers.”

“Commander-in-Chief? Then are you really going to fight in the mountains as you said yesterday?”

Because a huge mountain range blocked the southern region of Italy, the Napoleonic army in the northern region had no choice but to cross the rugged mountain called Monte Cassino in order to invade the Kingdom of Naples in the southern region.

In fact, among British field commanders, the prevailing opinion was that it was more advantageous to fight on the plains than in the mountains.

However, Theo insisted on setting up camp on the top of a high mountain.

British commanders, who mainly had combat experience on wide plains, were at a loss as to how to draw up an operation plan.

On the other hand, Napoleon had a history of defeating the Austrian army and winning victories by utilizing mountainous terrain in the Battle of Austerlitz [1805] and the Battle of Wagram [1809].

Colonel Rogers asked worriedly.

“Commander-in-Chief? Judging from the results so far, the French army has shown strong aspects in mountain warfare. But can we really face such France when we have almost no mountain warfare experience?”

“There is a certain pattern in the mountain warfare that General Bonaparte has won. We have to use that in reverse.”

Theo was full of confidence.

Although it was not a true mountain unit, his experience in the Gangwon-do reconnaissance company, where the nickname ‘Master of Mountain Warfare’ was proudly engraved, was of great help in this operation plan.

Although it was only about two years of mandatory service, Theo believed that the 18th-century combat strategy, which emphasized honor in the form of line infantry, could never beat the 21st-century combat strategy, which was systematized solely to defeat the enemy.

Theo established a detailed secret strategy in preparation for mountain warfare, and repeatedly familiarized Colonel Rogers and several important field commanders with the operation.

In that way, the showdown with Napoleon, who was plunging Europe into fear, was approaching day by day.

End of < Departure >