I Became A Hidden Powerhouse Of The British Empire [EN]: Chapter 297

The Miracle Rehabilitation Therapist (2)

Korean Embassy in London

After finishing their busy work, the Korean ambassador, consul general, and staff gathered for a meal.

Although physically tired, they seemed mentally stable, and their expressions weren’t too bad.

“Has everyone settled into London?”

“It’s alright. I studied hard, and now I can speak and understand English reasonably well. At first, it seemed like an impossible language, but I guess nothing is impossible if you put your mind to it.”

A young official smiled and answered Kim Jwa-geun’s question.

“This must be quite an experience for you.”

“Are you referring to that? It’s been more than just an experience; it’s been a profound reflection. I’m ashamed of my past self, who claimed to want to improve the country but remained narrow-minded, failing to develop my abilities properly. Like a ‘frog in a well, gazing at the sky through a bamboo tube’ [a Korean proverb meaning someone with a limited perspective].”

“When I heard that His Highness Killian was going to Joseon… I was honestly a bit worried. I feared he would see the reality of Joseon and lose interest.”

“…That’s not a joke; it could really happen, right? I think it’s a serious matter to consider.”

Joseon was not in a position to readily accept change.

They knew this better than anyone, having been in that position before coming to England.

The system was so fundamentally flawed that they didn’t know where to begin.

“Still, judging from the news arriving via telegrams, things don’t seem so dire. I heard they’re asking us to select people to return home as an initial group around next year.”

“…Return home?”

“Yes. They plan to create a new organization to spearhead reform, so they’re asking us to select individuals to return and take on important roles. It seems I’ll be in charge, so I’ll be returning to Joseon after a long time.”

This decision was unexpected, as neither the other officials nor Kim Jwa-geun knew the exact state of affairs in Joseon.

“Establishing an organization in Joseon to lead modernization reform… the backlash from the Confucian scholars will be enormous, won’t it?”

“They say everything will be resolved by the time we return, so we only need to focus on the direction to advance the country.”

“Heo… It sounds like Joseon has finally come to its senses, but I can’t quite believe it.”

It was hard to believe these words came from young men from relatively prominent families in Joseon, but it was the reality.

Because they were at a decent level in Joseon.

After coming here, they realized how far behind their country was, endlessly digging a well while clinging to outdated ideas, trapping themselves.

“Ambassador, I heard something significant happened in our family.”

The consul general, Kim Heung-geun, still seemed concerned about their family, but Kim Jwa-geun shrugged it off as if it were unimportant.

“If they couldn’t abandon the outdated notion that the family should monopolize power in this era, they must pay the price. I did my best to warn them. I heard my sister took my warning to heart, so she will remain a respected elder of the royal family. But unfortunately, it seems Grand Scholar Kim Eung-geun did not.”

“…He wasn’t particularly quick-witted.”

Kim Heung-geun gave a bitter smile, sensing how Kim Jwa-geun viewed the family by referring to him as ‘Grand Scholar,’ even though they were sixth cousins.

Kim Jwa-geun acknowledged his sixth cousin’s bitter smile, who had already aligned himself with him, and looked around at those seated at the large table.

“In the future, most of you will hold important positions when we return to Joseon. You’ve all seen, heard, and felt things here, so I won’t elaborate. However, when we return, remember that our first emotion might be disappointment.”

“What do you mean?”

“His Highness Killian advised us to choose a major and delve into it rather than learning superficially about various things. I sincerely believe that you and I, who have studied diligently for years, even sacrificing sleep, deserve praise. However, when applying what we’ve learned here to Joseon, I can’t shake the feeling that hardship… no, I can’t even put it into words.”

Kim Jwa-geun was right.

The officials of Joseon had each chosen a major and studied diligently, even more so than when preparing for the civil service exam, for several years.

They were filled with hope, witnessing the British Empire’s reality and how their learning was applied in practice.

Of course, they also expected their knowledge to transform the country dramatically upon their return to Joseon.

But Kim Jwa-geun viewed the situation more realistically.

“Just look at taxes. We can’t achieve anything by maintaining the current tax system in Joseon. The central government’s tax revenue is minimal, yet the people’s lives are ruined, and money and goods are leaking out in all directions. And what about the political structure? I can’t even begin to list what’s wrong. Everything is wrong.”

“…As the ambassador said, I might feel despair when I return.”

“So, we need to stick together even more. Aren’t we people who have been studying and working together in this foreign land, far from our hometown, with the single-minded goal of improving our country? When we return to Joseon, shouldn’t we cherish each other, cooperate, and fix that wretched country properly?”

“The ambassador is right. Most of us have studied different majors, so we should cooperate to create a synergistic effect rather than going our separate ways.”

“I agree with the ambassador!”

“Thank you for understanding. Many of you will be returning with me this time, and you’ve all worked hard and endured well. Perhaps the frog that came out of the well might have been happier not knowing how vast the world was. If we had stayed in the well, only looking at the small patch of sky, we wouldn’t have known our true situation until our dying breath.”

“…”

“But we know now, don’t we? Now that we’ve emerged from the well and seen the vast world, it’s our turn to transform that narrow well into a large lake. It will be a difficult, endless journey, but let’s trust our comrades who studied together during the most challenging times and move forward.”

The reason for saying this was that when these people returned to Joseon and took on key positions in the reform, their families would offer all sorts of enticements and temptations.

If even one or two people compromised with reality and became corrupt, the reform would likely fail.

Fortunately, most of them were young and possessed the spirit to improve their country, even if it meant dismantling and rebuilding Joseon.

Moreover, the ideal modernized state they envisioned was converging into a unified vision, minimizing conflicting opinions.

However, if they were to tear down and rebuild Joseon with the British Empire as their model, they would have to destroy almost all of Joseon’s systems and ideologies and create new ones.

It’s questionable whether that country could still be called Joseon.

But Kim Jwa-geun, who no longer felt any attachment to the framework of Joseon, didn’t care.

“Ah, by the way, there’s one more message you must remember. It’s from His Highness Killian, so never forget it and keep it in mind.”

“Yes.”

“It’s unlikely, but if any signs of establishing a communist state are discovered, you may be swept away, so don’t entertain foolish thoughts. That’s all.”

“We’re trying to make Joseon like the British Empire, so communism is nonsense.”

“If anyone says such a thing, we’ll be the first to step up and break their heads.”

Kim Jwa-geun nodded contentedly and kindly lectured on how to deal with anyone advocating communism in Joseon, and everyone seriously engraved the future policy in their minds.

It was a very rewarding night.

* * *

I can confidently say that no one on Earth has contemplated Northeast Asia as deeply as I have.

Of course, thinking of the three Northeast Asian countries together is a modern perspective, not a 19th-century one.

It’s Qing if it’s Qing, Joseon if it’s Joseon, and Japan if it’s Japan. The idea of looking at these three places together macroscopically didn’t exist in the West then.

Then, was the East any different? Qing and Joseon were grouped together, but Japan was separate.

Considering that Vietnam, which paid tribute to Qing, was often grouped with Qing, the perception at that time was very different from the 21st century.

However, what’s important to me isn’t the 19th century but the future beyond it.

19th century? It’s the era when the British Empire is the boss anyway.

In the original history, it declined from the second half, but what I’ve already done will be enough to maintain its hegemony until the early and mid-20th century.

The problem is what comes next. How well can we fend off the latecomers?

To this end, I’m trying to put a leash on potential competitors one by one, without them noticing in advance.

First, raising Canada, the United States’ leash, is progressing smoothly.

The United States was now slowly negotiating with Mexico to occupy the Gulf of Cortez and thinking about an exit strategy to end it, and it pointed to Spain as the biggest threat to the American continent.

While they’re fighting each other, Canada, equipped with California and Alaska, will be growing rapidly, a very desirable situation.

But the important thing is Qing and Russia, and the problem is that these troublesome countries are even allied, making them a perfect recipe for trouble.

I’ve already stepped on Qing, and I’ll step on it even more in the future, but history has proven that a country with potential will rise no matter how much you suppress it.

It would be better to break Qing into small pieces, but that would attract too much attention, making it too risky.

So, I came up with the idea of using Joseon and Japan to counter Qing and Russia. In Joseon’s case, the first step was successful.

In fact, I expected a much worse situation, but this is decent.

Hunjong will use the Andong Kim clan to eliminate the corruption within Joseon, then abdicate to Yi Ha-eung and discard the Andong Kim clan to buy time for the proper enlightenment faction to work.

Now that Kim Jwa-geun will be returning soon, all I have to do is check on the progress from time to time?

As expected, nothing is as convenient as automatic hunting.

But no matter how well I develop Joseon, it alone can’t handle Russia and Qing.

In particular, if Joseon suddenly goes crazy and tries to reclaim Manchuria, it will offend both Russia and Qing simultaneously. Can it handle that alone?

At the very least, I needed another card to hold Russia in check, and no country in Northeast Asia was as suitable as Japan.

Of course, Japan wasn’t in such dire straits that I could directly intervene in its internal affairs as I did with Joseon.

But that didn’t mean there was no way… I had planted a seed long ago.

That is the shogun’s desire for power, who wants to restore the shogun’s authority that has fallen to the ground.

It’s difficult alone, but nothing is impossible with my trustworthy cousin Killian. Dream Comes True. Dreams come true.

And finally. While staying in Joseon, I felt a tingling vibration in my hand, which had been persistently holding a fishing rod towards Japan.

* * *

1853, Gyechuk Year.

While Killian arrived in Hanseong and enjoyed reuniting with an old friend.

The entire Japanese archipelago was heading into a state of extreme tension for the first time in hundreds of years.

“As if he’s not already a tyrant who only rules and oppresses, the shogun is now virtually trying to kill us!”

“Being told to bring our weapons and offer them ourselves is an insult to us samurai! The shogun is openly mocking and insulting our clan!”

Fierce criticism was directed at the shogun, who was elated after winning a war.

“Satsuma and Choshu are suspected of violating the decision that the modernization of the imperial army would be carried out under the leadership of the shogunate and of arming their troops with new-style weapons by trading with Western countries on their own.”

“If they refuse the investigation, it can only be seen as admitting their violation. They will have to pay the appropriate price.”

Rebuttals and warnings were issued without fail.

“The shogun wants to use this opportunity to bring all the powerful clans in the provinces to their knees under his influence. If we yield, we will be disarmed and demoted to vassals of the Tokugawa again.”

“Even if we won the war with Russia, it was just a small-scale battle with only a few hundred soldiers. The shogun is overestimating himself based on that shabby victory.”

“If we unite and resist, the shogun won’t be able to see us so easily, so let’s unite now!”

“If Satsuma falls, Choshu is next, and if Choshu falls, Satsuma is next. If there are no lips, the teeth will be cold [a proverb meaning that if one falls, the other is in danger], so now is the time to unite!”

Even sworn enemies formed a dramatic alliance in the face of a common enemy.

The conflict between the shogun, who was trying to further solidify the shogunate’s dictatorship, and the powerful clans, who could no longer tolerate it, remained unresolved, but no one was taking extreme action yet.

However, in July 1853.

Shogun Tokugawa Ieyoshi, who had been pressuring Satsuma and Choshu daily, died at the age of 60.

“Now is our chance, since the shogun is dead!”

“The true owner of this land is His Majesty the Emperor, so the shogunate must declare that the right to rule belongs to His Majesty the Emperor and return the government to the Imperial Court!”

The anti-shogunate factions, which had been suppressed by the power of the shogunate, rose up all at once, and the seeds of a civil war that would divide the entire Japanese archipelago in two sprouted.