I Became A Hidden Powerhouse Of The British Empire [EN]: Chapter 81

The atmosphere inside the Supreme Council of the Border Defense Command was as tense as walking on thin ice.

In reality, the Border Defense Command, the highest political body of Joseon, wielded immense power without any checks and balances.

With all the State Councilors and Ministers participating and overseeing all aspects of national affairs, including internal personnel matters, their power was naturally immense.

The only entity that could restrain the Border Defense Command was the King, but the King was currently too young and under the regency of the Queen.

And the Queen Regent, Sunwon, was a member of the Andong Kim clan, the powerful in-laws.

Therefore, the power of the Border Defense Command, dominated by the Andong Kim clan who had placed its family members in key positions, was virtually absolute.

The saying that even a flying bird could be shot down was no exaggeration when it came to the current Border Defense Command.

However, the faces of the key figures in the Border Defense Command, the Commissioners, were contorted with unprecedented embarrassment.

“So, sending a delegation to Qing is a confirmed matter?”

“Yes. His Majesty and Her Majesty have both approved it. It’s a win-win situation, as it proves that we have nothing to do with this disturbance and also allows us to gather detailed information about the current situation.”

Unlike the annual tribute mission, the delegation to Qing was an irregular diplomatic mission dispatched for specific diplomatic issues.

Diplomacy could involve various matters, but it was often dispatched to address Qing’s diplomatic protests.

Therefore, this disturbance could be considered a case that fits the original purpose of the delegation to Qing.

“It’s a brilliant idea. A brilliant idea. But the problem is this, this.”

Kim I-jae, a key figure of the Andong Kim clan and one of the current ministers of the Six Ministries [the six main administrative divisions of the Joseon dynasty], pointed to a thick stack of papers with a nervous expression.

“The fact that Guilian Quai has been confirmed to be from Joseon means that we may not be able to completely distance ourselves from this disturbance. To put it bluntly, what if Qing claims that Joseon is the mastermind behind this disturbance and holds us responsible?”

“Minister, that’s too far-fetched. Although he has Joseon blood, he is now a nobleman of Yeonggilli [an archaic term for England]. Blaming us is nothing more than a blatant demand.”

“That would be the case normally, but we officially told Qing that a person named Guilian Quai was never born in Joseon. This means we have clearly lied to Qing. If they seize on that, we’ll have nothing to say. How was the investigation conducted?”

“Isn’t that the responsibility of the Ministry of Rites, which you are currently in charge of, Minister?”

“Hold on! I have only been in charge of the Ministry of Rites this year. The responsibility for last year lies with Minister Jeong. Don’t try to subtly shift the responsibility to me.”

At first, they dismissed the report brought by the Dutch as nonsense not worth even a glance.

After all, weren’t the Dutch also of the same barbarian race as the Yeonggilli?

Blood is thicker than water, and they would have obviously distorted the content in a way that was favorable to them.

However, when a report came that the Qing army, which had been demonstrating at the border to keep Joseon in check, had urgently retreated, they began to suspect something was wrong.

Above all, the fact that even the Dutch claimed that Guilian Quai was Joseon meant that Yeonggilli also recognized him as such.

Qing, Yeonggilli, and the Dutch were all speaking with one voice, and regardless of how the war was unfolding, the possibility that Guilian Quai was of Joseon descent seemed high.

The problem was that, as Kim I-jae said, this meant that they had openly lied to Qing.

In other words, if this matter escalated, all those involved in the investigation at the time might have to resign from their positions.

“Kim Jwa-geun, the younger brother of the Grand Queen Dowager, is a member of our clan, and I had a serious discussion with him yesterday. He says that Her Majesty and His Majesty are very uneasy. If this matter causes us to suffer significant diplomatic or military setbacks, more than half of the Commissioners here should be prepared to step down from their current positions.”

“No, I’m innocent! I conducted a thorough investigation at the request of the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Personnel, and I said there was no such record because there wasn’t. It’s too much to ask me to step down.”

“The Ministry of Taxation is also innocent! What authority did we have to conduct an investigation?”

“Wait, Minister Lee, weren’t you in the Ministry of Personnel last year? The Ministry of Personnel is responsible!”

“What responsibility! Like Minister Lee, I also did my best to investigate! Is it a crime to say there was nothing because there was nothing? If we’re going to strictly assign responsibility, isn’t the problem the people who poorly managed the records at the time? We’re not at fault!”

In reality, the ministers of the Six Ministries were mostly just rotating positions among those in the highest ranks of the current Border Defense Command, so if one person fell, they would all fall like dominoes.

Originally, the Grand Queen Dowager, who was in charge of the regency, only decided whether to approve or disapprove of the proposals of her subjects, but if this situation escalated, that alone could lead to their dismissal.

No matter how powerful they were, if they gave Qing a pretext to intervene directly, their power would crumble like a sandcastle.

At that time, those who were aiming for their positions from below would rise up like a swarm of bees and submit impeachment petitions.

They had to prevent that at all costs.

“Now, now, let’s all calm down and solve the immediate problem first. The first thing we need to do is to find out the connection between this Guilian Quai and us as soon as possible. Only then can we send a delegation to Qing to explain.”

“But Minister Kim, if the delegation to Qing goes to Qing and it turns out that Qing was actually crushed so miserably by Yeonggilli… what should we do? Should we still deny the connection between us and Guilian Quai then?”

“Of course… not. Uh… well, honestly, is that even possible? No matter what, Qing being defeated by Western barbarians… Moreover, I heard that Yeonggilli is in that far-off land that takes half a year to reach by sailing ship.”

“What if, just what if. What if Qing really lost the war, and Joseon denied Guilian Quai and showed a friendly attitude towards Qing, wouldn’t the next spark fly to us?”

The other Commissioners’ mouths dropped open at Kim Hong-geun’s words, who had been to Qing as an envoy.

“Surely that can’t be…”

“No. When I went to Qing two years ago, there were already many voices in Qing warning against the greed of the Westerners. At the time, I just listened with one ear and let it out the other, but I definitely heard stories about how many common people were suffering from the opium that the Westerners were spreading to make money.”

“The reason why Qing has been importing so much ginseng recently is also because of that opium, so it seems like a credible story.”

“Yes. The Westerners are ultimately blinded by greed. If they subjugate Qing and gain something, there’s no guarantee they won’t turn their guns on us. If possible, we need to prepare so that no sparks fly to us, no matter who wins between Qing and Yeonggilli.”

That way, we can cover up our mistakes as much as possible.

“Then let’s all thoroughly investigate this Guilian Quai. The known facts are that he is from Joseon, a key figure in Yeonggilli holding a position equivalent to the Minister of Rites, and fluent in the languages of Joseon, Qing, and Japan.”

“But Minister Kim, there’s something I’ve been wanting to ask since earlier…”

Kim I-jae nodded nonchalantly at the Minister of War’s question.

“You can say anything that’s bothering you. No one has any definite information right now, so we need to share as many opinions as possible.”

“Is that Guilian Quai a Gi? [Gi is a Korean surname]”

“Yes…?”

“The surname is Gi. The name is Lian Quai? What a bizarre name, as befitting a Westerner.”

“Oh! Then there aren’t many Gis, so it might be surprisingly easy to find him!”

I wanted to shout that it couldn’t be possible in common sense, but in fact, this couldn’t be helped.

The current high-ranking officials of Joseon were, literally, completely ignorant of Western barbarians.

Even Kim I-jae, who was thinking this, had only managed to gain even basic knowledge by asking the interpreters in detail based on the Dutch report.

If he, the current Minister of Rites, was like this, how much more would the others be?

Before he could say anything, someone else spoke first.

“Heh heh, I guess the Minister of War doesn’t know, but Westerners write their surnames last, unlike us. So the name is Guilian.”

“Ah! I see. So the surname is Quai? I guess they use two characters for their surnames.”

“Isn’t it like the Zhuge clan? Isn’t it common in Qing? Like the Nangong or Xiahou clans.”

“If the surname has two characters, it should be even easier to find…”

“We should be able to find him before we set up the delegation to Qing. Hahahaha!”

The faces of those who knew reality even a little were shadowed by the laughter-filled conversation echoing in the room.

‘We’re screwed.’

Looking at how things were going, the probability of finding out Guilian Quai’s identity by the time the delegation to Qing was formed was virtually zero.

Then the only remaining method was ultimately just one.

To somehow obtain information in Qing itself.

Still, the high-ranking officials of Joseon were secretly believing that Qing, the center of the world, would never kneel to Western barbarians who came from a place six months away by ship.

That was the common sense they had held until now, and the truth of how the world worked.

But common sense is more easily broken than one might think.

The moment of choice was approaching faster than expected, but most of them were not even aware that they were at a crossroads of life and death.

The current Joseon was no exception.

* * *

“Admiral, our additional troops have arrived.”

“Good. Now we can push into the land as well. What do you think, Minister?”

“I told you that I’m a layman when it comes to military operations, so I’ll leave it entirely to your judgment, Admiral.”

“Haha… That’s true, but I’m increasingly realizing that this war is a bit special. You have to know the enemy and know yourself, but no matter how I look at it, I don’t know the enemy.”

That’s true.

If it weren’t for me, George or Charles, these two Elliots would probably still be drifting in front of Guangzhou [a major port city in China].

The fact that we can easily crush them in naval battles, and that they would refuse the negotiation proposal after proposing negotiations.

Decisively, the fact that Qing’s only hope, Lin Zexu, would take the blame and step down was all proceeding as I predicted… no, as I knew.

Even the epidemic that was spreading in the Zhoushan Islands, which we are happily advancing north and occupying, was able to be contained with minimal damage thanks to my advance warning.

Even in the original history, there were no more than 10 casualties in the battles, but as many as 500 soldiers were sacrificed to the epidemic. In long-distance expeditions, epidemics are a terrifying enemy.

With my near-prophetic predictions coming true one after another like this, not only Charles Elliot, who was originally on my side, but also George Elliot naturally had no choice but to rely on me.

“For now, there’s word that the enraged Emperor has appointed a new commander, and a man named Yang Fang, the Hunan Admiral, has organized 40,000 militia, so he’ll soon show his face to fight us.”

“They couldn’t do anything at sea, but they probably think it’ll be different on land… I guess that’s what they’re thinking.”

“Since that force is coming to Guangzhou, once we take them out, Guangzhou will be as good as in our hands. If we secure Guangzhou to Zhoushan, we can just push up and capture Shanghai and Zhenjiang, which will paralyze Nanjing as it is. How about aiming for that? Then they’ll never be able to hold out.”

“I see. Then they’ll have no choice but to accept our terms at that time, so we can negotiate then.”

The original First Opium War ended exactly through this process.

Nanjing, as the word itself means, is the southern capital, Qing’s second city and the core of the Yangtze River economic zone.

If this place is captured, Beijing will be left alone, isolated from the south, like a duck out of water.

So they will inevitably have to negotiate, and in reality, the Treaty of Nanjing in the First Opium War was concluded in that way.

But am I crazy enough to let it end like that?

“No. Since they overturned the table first, we don’t need to propose negotiations first. We need to let them know what the price is for overturning the negotiations just because they don’t like us and don’t want to give us land. Why would we propose negotiations for anyone’s benefit?”

Above all, if we only fight in the south, Qing will have room to claim that this was just a disturbance in some parts of the south and engage in mental gymnastics.

Not only Qing, but also the surrounding tributary states were likely to gloss over the reality in that way.

Still, since the Netherlands was spreading information, Vietnam and Thailand, as well as Japan and Joseon, were probably making their own moves to confirm the current situation.

At this time, if we show them the sight of Qing’s two major cities, Nanjing and Beijing, coming within our range in front of their eyes, they will no longer be able to deny reality.

I firmly nailed it to the admiral, who was making a dubious expression.

“This is an opportunity to firmly establish our position in Asia while Russia and France are lagging behind, unable to grasp the current situation.”

If we successfully conclude this matter, I will be able to build a unique status in Asia diplomacy, at least when I return to my home country.

We can naturally gain the overwhelming support of the citizens who are depressed by the recession, and that also means that we can naturally carry out the subsequent plans.

We absolutely needed to achieve results here that no one could have predicted.

“Certainly… If it’s as the Minister says, we can gain far greater benefits than expected. But that’s only possible if we can overwhelm Qing’s defense forces with our overwhelming firepower. We need to break the enemy’s morale so that they don’t desperately rush at us.”

“Didn’t the Admiral say earlier that you have to know the enemy and know yourself, but you still don’t know the enemy well? You’ll probably feel the same way this time.”

“…Yes?”

It’s really fortunate that the person who is gathering the defense forces of Guangzhou is a familiar name.

I couldn’t be sure if it had been changed to someone else, but since a human being who exactly matches what I know is coming out, I can confidently talk.

“The Admiral will be able to feel it again for sure in this battle. What the Admiral sees, hears, and feels. That’s the current Qing.”

“I think I’ve seen a lot so far… Are you saying there’s more than that?”

“Yes. The Qing soldiers will try to block our cannons with something they’ve never seen before this time, but don’t panic and just shoot.”

“Yes? What on earth is that…”

“Chamber pots.”

The admiral asked with a face that he couldn’t understand at all.

“Chamber pots? What is that? Is that the name of a shield used by Qing soldiers?”

What else could it be, it’s a container for urine.

Ah, but since they’re bringing it out to use as a shield, maybe the admiral’s words aren’t wrong either.

Imagining that the face that is half-believing and half-doubting now will soon be stained with shock when he sees the scene that will unfold, I couldn’t help but laugh naturally.

This is a disaster. I’m already excited.