I Became A Hidden Powerhouse Of The British Empire [EN]: Chapter 291

Became a Hidden Power in the British Empire – Episode 291

After the chaotic and tumultuous first competition ended.

As the dim sunset hung on the eaves of the palace, slowly fading away.

Unlike the other officials who scattered in a state of panic, Heonjong didn’t lose the smile on his face until he returned to the palace with me.

“You seem quite pleased?”

“Does it seem that way?”

“Your face is full of smiles, so naturally, I can only see it that way.”

“Indeed… Then, Your Excellency, you must also know what I am pleased about.”

“Who in the world wouldn’t be happy when everything is going according to plan?”

The people who will become the Crown Prince seem more intelligent than expected, and the work to sever ties with Qing [the last imperial dynasty of China] and fully invest in the British Empire seems to be progressing smoothly, so even I can’t help but smile.

But I am curious. After watching the debate just now, I wonder which side Heonjong is leaning towards.

As if Heonjong was also curious about the same thing, as soon as he entered the bedroom, he lowered his voice and asked in a subtle tone.

“Did Your Excellency happen to have someone in mind after watching the debate earlier?”

“To what extent should I tell you?”

“Without exaggeration. I would be grateful if you could tell me exactly what you felt.”

“Duke Deokwan has a commendable heart for the people, but I felt that he lacked basic qualities.”

“Couldn’t that be supplemented by honing and refining it?”

“Even considering growth potential, the young Duke Gyeongwon’s high point would be higher, not lower.”

It’s not that I didn’t think about establishing Cheoljong and driving out the Andong Kim clan, then using him as my puppet.

However, if this were the modern era with smartphones and internet access, it might be possible, but in an era where even telephones haven’t been invented yet, to stage a puppet show that crosses continents?

This is physically impossible.

For that to be possible, Cheoljong would have to be a half-wit without any personal opinions, but judging from his appearance so far, he was definitely not at that level.

Besides, if the king is such a deficient half-wit, would the powerful families stay still?

A local thug is scarier than a distant gangster, that’s human psychology.

No matter how much I try to control him from the other side of the continent, I wouldn’t get proper efficiency.

So, Duke Deokwan is excluded.

Rather than suffering under the oppression of the Andong Kim clan like in the original history, he should just live comfortably as a member of the royal family in this country.

Honestly, I think Duke Deokwan should bow his head and thank me for this.

“And in fact, it seems like His Majesty has also excluded Duke Deokwan from the candidates, am I wrong?”

“No… How did you know that?”

“To liquidate the subservience to Qing, it is necessary to break away from the existing Neo-Confucian order to some extent. Even if we establish a new tributary-investiture relationship with the British Empire, we need to shake the existing concepts from the root. Cheol… no, Duke Deokwan seems too weak to handle that role.”

“I thought you had entered my head and come out. You are correct. But it is difficult to choose between Duke Gyeongwon and Prince Heungseon.”

Even in sports, the eternal dilemma is whether to make a floor pick [a player who is a safe bet to be a solid contributor] that prioritizes stability right now or a ceiling pick [a player with high potential but also a higher risk of failure] that considers the player’s potential.

Right now, Prince Heungseon seemed more capable than Duke Gyeongwon, but this was natural considering Duke Gyeongwon’s age.

Rather, if Duke Gyeongwon had shown a similar level to Prince Heungseon, he would have received tremendous praise, being hailed as the reincarnation of King Sejong [the fourth king of Joseon Dynasty] or the return of Confucius and Mencius [two of the most influential philosophers in Chinese history].

“Then will you select them through the second competition?”

“Well, in fact, now that their tendencies have been identified, the second competition will ultimately be just a formality. The most important thing is ultimately deciding how much to consider age in the selection.”

That’s a valid point. It is a valid point, but… I know an additional variable called future history.

Even if Prince Heungseon’s own qualities are unknown, I know that his descendants are very likely to be hopeless, so it’s natural that a corner of my heart is uneasy.

The Gojong [the 26th king of Joseon Dynasty and the first Emperor of Korea] of the original history will not become king, but the firstborn is also 불안불안 [uneasy in Korean], right?

Choosing a king who is reasonably intelligent and responsive to my intentions means making Joseon a vanguard to check future China and Russia.

That’s why I’m even thinking about giving away Manchuria with a grand gesture.

But if Gojong or someone similar suddenly appears and throws the game, wouldn’t my insides be turned upside down?

That must never happen.

However, after roughly checking, Gojong has just been born, and his older brother is a little younger than Duke Gyeongwon.

If I just glance at the newborns and say, ‘Ah, these candidates don’t seem to have much potential, so let’s go with another candidate?’ who would sympathize?

I am currently building a very good image in Joseon, so at least until this matter is concluded, there should not be even a speck of dust.

But no matter how much I think about it, there is no perfect answer at this point… there is only one answer.

Anyway, the king of this country is not me, but this human in front of me, right?

He’s gleefully shitting, so there’s no need for me to give him strength instead.

If he’s the king of Joseon, shouldn’t he finish it himself?

I straightened my posture with a serious expression and opened the lid of my most confident, patented product.

“Your Majesty, now that this kind of precedent has been set, I’m saying this, but have you ever heard of a country called Rome?”

“Rome? That’s a new name to me.”

“Rome was an empire that existed in Europe in the past, and it can be seen as the object of envy for all Western countries. In fact, every country in the West that calls itself an empire has claimed to be the legitimate successor of Rome. In the British Empire, there is a word called romance, which is a collection of concepts that mean longing, love, and paradise. You’ll get a sense of it because the word itself came from the name Rome.”

“It sounds like the emperor of Europe. I roughly understand.”

“That’s right. It was a country that can be said to be the spiritual home of all European countries now. But do you know what? Most of the emperors who enjoyed the peak of that Rome were not biological children but adopted sons.”

If you go into detail, there are deeper circumstances than the sea, but unnecessary knowledge only hinders judgment.

Anyway, I will not tell a single lie at this moment or in the future.

As expected, Heonjong immediately reacted to the story I was telling him, given the situation.

“Are you saying that the imperial power was stable even though it was inherited by adopted sons?”

“Of course. Looking at the faces of the emperors who reigned in Rome, there would be more people who ascended to the throne through adoption or 추대 [enthronement in Korean] than through biological succession. Especially during the period when Rome was most prosperous, the emperors adopted sons early, taught them imperial studies, and fostered them as successors. And paradoxically, the emperor who decorated the end of this brilliant period passed the throne to his biological son, not an adopted son, and that biological son clearly showed a substandard appearance compared to the previous emperors.”

“Adopting the most virtuous person as an adopted son from a young age and preparing him to become king… It doesn’t fit the Neo-Confucian order that prioritizes the succession of the eldest son, but on the other hand, it seems to have something in common.”

That’s right. After all, royal politics is like a nose ring if the intention is good, the result is good, and the people are happy, and an earring if you hang it on your ear.

In the first place, isn’t the inheritance of the eldest son derived from the 종법 [the system of lineage and ancestral rites in ancient China] originating in China?

If we are going to sever ties with China, there is no need to follow this.

“But strangely, that Rome has quite a few similarities with this Joseon. I don’t know if it’s because I was born here, but I can really see similar aspects, not forced.”

“…Really? For example?”

“Rome started as a peninsula country like Joseon. At first, it was a small country on the Italian peninsula, but later it became an empire that ruled the entire Europe. And it overcame countless foreign invasions, and it also developed its own language and letters.”

If you ask me to bring up the differences, I can give you dozens of times more examples than this, but the important thing is Europe, which is incomparably stronger than Asia now.

The task is to instill the perception that Rome, the spiritual pillar and object of longing for that Europe, and Joseon are 닮은꼴 [look-alikes in Korean].

“Heo… that’s a very strange relationship.”

“That’s right. And surprisingly, it overlaps with the fact that they left a case of adopting the most capable royal family member as an adopted son and passing on the throne. Isn’t this the most 소름돋는 [goosebump-inducing in Korean] part?”

Even while speaking, my whole body was so cringe that I was getting goosebumps, but judging from Heonjong’s expression, it seems like the reaction I wanted was starting to come out.

If I just bear it a little more, I can be freed from this pain!

“So, Your Excellency. What Your Excellency is trying to say is…”

“Namely?”

“Are you saying that Joseon can become like that country of Rome?”

“That depends on Your Majesty’s choice.”

No matter how much it is me, I can’t say that Joseon is Rome itself or the third Rome even if my mouth is torn.

However, now that a precedent has been set, the justification for repeating this process in the next generation has been secured.

Of course, this is possible because Heonjong had no heir, but wouldn’t it be possible to insist on it by bringing logic and attaching it somehow?

How do you do it? That’s what Heonjong, the king of this country, has to think about, not me.

“Your Majesty. Joseon is now at a very important crossroads. Whether it lays the foundation for a leap forward here or not, it can grow into a powerful country that stands shoulder to shoulder with those European powers, or it can end its life as a weak country living under the shadow of the British Empire.”

“I know that too. Isn’t that why I’m trying to accept the advanced civilization of 영길리 [Yeonggilli, referring to England] through Your Excellency?”

“Didn’t you see in the previous debate what kind of difficulties will follow in accepting that civilization? As long as Joseon follows the Neo-Confucian order, there is a limit to accepting European ideas and the technology that is the product of those ideas. If Your Majesty continues to hold the mind to maintain the Neo-Confucian order, I’m sorry, but you won’t succeed.”

Joseon’s Eastern Way and Western Technology, Qing Dynasty’s Chinese Learning as Foundation and Western Learning for Application, Japan’s Japanese Spirit and Western Learning.

Even though the names are different, the attempts to build Western technology on top of the spiritual 무명 [blind faith in Korean] of the East have all failed without exception.

Only Japan, which quickly 탈아입구 [left Asia and entered Europe in Korean] and turned its direction towards the Meiji Restoration before getting too deeply involved, survived.

“…That’s a painful statement.”

“Your Majesty is already awake, so I can say these words. Cutting off subservience to the Qing Dynasty, establishing a tributary-investiture relationship with the British Empire, and introducing advanced civilization to achieve modernization. Everything cannot be achieved on the traditional Neo-Confucian order, so Your Majesty must slowly but surely break this down.”

“……..”

A moment of silence followed, and Heonjong drank lukewarm water several times.

Having experienced various events and faced reality, gradually removing Neo-Confucianism from Joseon was a very realistic problem in another sense.

In fact, there were quite a few people who were willing to endure military inferiority and continue to suffer from Western invasions rather than abandoning Neo-Confucianism.

For them, protecting the tradition of Confucianism is more important than life itself, so if you tell them to change if they don’t want to die, they won’t listen.

Even if he is the king, he cannot push such a major issue at will.

However, if you gradually change the country’s system by destroying traditions and customs little by little, as I have told you, it is not impossible.

From the fact that I am already accepted in Joseon and am gaining a lot of popularity, can’t it be seen that I am already halfway to the goal?

The rest depends entirely on what the king of this country does.

“If I fail, what will Your Excellency do?”

“The reason why I am staying in Joseon this much is because I am convinced that Joseon will be helpful to the future of the British Empire. But if Your Majesty fails and things proceed differently from my expectations, I will not be able to continue to give consideration just because it is my hometown.”

“…I understand. I certainly need to make sure to finish things properly. As Your Excellency said, so that Joseon can become the third Rome, I will lay the foundation for this country to be reborn before I step down. Adoption inheritance. In this important time when Joseon has to adapt to new civilization, the king’s ability is more important than anything else, so there’s no reason why I can’t do that either. I will follow Your Excellency’s advice.”

No, what kind of rumors are these. When did I say that Joseon could become the third Rome?

If anyone hears it, they will mistake me for trying to break the Neo-Confucian order by putting absurd 바람 [hopes in Korean] into Joseon.

I spoke in a very small voice so that only Heonjong could hear it so that the historian could not leave a record, so no one can falsely accuse me.

In the first place, isn’t it a more unrealistic fantasy than a Freemason-like conspiracy theory that I, who have handled everything in accordance with the degree and justification so far, am shaking the regime of a country from behind?

“Hmm, no, Your Majesty. These things should be moved by your own judgment and will, not someone else’s advice. If the people below do not feel a strong conviction and will from the monarch who acts, they will not follow.”

“That’s an undeniable piece of advice. I will engrave it deeply in my heart. As you said, since I started it, it is 순리 [the natural order in Korean] for me to finish it entirely.”

“Of course. I will be cheering and watching from behind.”

With Heonjong’s firm self-determination, the meeting on this day surrounding the investiture ended successfully.

And.

The time has come to announce the next king who will be responsible for the enlightenment of Joseon and the method of succession.