Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Those Who Come Looking at the Stars

The golden country Cipangu.

Just from the name it somehow resembles Japan. Since it originated from the Chinese pronunciation of Japan ‘Jipen’ it’s natural.

But.

Who cares.

An adult who demands evidence from a ten-something year old kid is worse.

I lightly threw bait.

“Joseon was a country that looked poor.”

“The people there worship Confucianism and think that if they indulge in luxury they go to hell. So they want to boast of wealth as inconspicuously as possible.”

“It doesn’t seem like a country that will make money?”

The start was smooth.

Originally if you recklessly do exaggerated advertising you get stamped as a liar later.

“But in the past gold and silver overflowed.”

“Ah, right. There was an ancient kingdom that lasted a thousand years and it was powerful and wealthy enough to block even China’s invasion. How wealthy it was, the royal family’s surname was outright ‘Gold’.”

“But Mongols or Chinese invaded every time aiming for gold, so some excellent king said ‘There’s no need for mines that only harm the people!’ and ordered never to develop mines forever.”

What would be the reaction of British people who heard this beautiful story?

“Undeveloped gold mines and silver mines remain as is?”

“How can one not develop gold mines?”

“It’s just a kid’s words. Hard to believe.”

Then wait.

While they arbitrarily make the story themselves not me.

“What was the name of the country that was in the Joseon land in the past?”

“Silla!”

“According to records of ancient Arabs if you go further east from China there is a country called Silla full of gold and silver treasures and the climate is good to live.”

“Why do you selectively choose records? Isn’t the place called Silla remaining in Arab records written as an island country? Then isn’t it a word meaning Japan?”

“The Arabs must have mistaken! Even if Arab blackies are stupid would they record the country names Jipen and Silla wrong? In contrast terrain and geography are much easier to mistake!”

Thus in response to the existing theory ‘Cipangu is Japan’ a minority theory, the new minor theory ‘Cipangu is Joseon’ appeared. It was closer to a cult than a proper theory but since it’s not a theory I made it doesn’t matter.

“Since Joseon people are thorough in Confucian concepts they probably weren’t tomb-raided like Egyptian pyramids. If excavation succeeds those countless gold and silver treasures and burial goods will pop out!”

“If one finds the mysterious ancient kingdom first one will leave a name in history forever, right?”

“From the fact that the Joseon royal family’s surnames are ‘Kim’ and ‘Lee’ it’s suspicious. Perhaps old Europeans went to Joseon?”

“I’ll secretly go and hit a big one and come! Wait for me!!”

“Recruiting investors for Joseon tomb raiding pot!”

- You woke up the evil ghosts? What are you going to do about that?

Hmm...

No matter how I think it doesn’t seem my fault. Why does the conclusion ‘if you tomb raid it will be a jackpot’ pop out from there?

Fortunately the British Empire was not a place completely full of only crazy guys, and the British government attached the condition ‘if you want to do it get permission from the local government’.

- Will it work?

Guys who go even like that are honestly none of my business. It’s kill them.

Joseon is not Egypt, and it doesn’t seem like those big-nosed guys will crawl there and dig tombs and come out alive. If they get caught and die like that it’s natural death.

Since a story about death came out there are of course people one should touch on at least once.

“The people there worship a person called Confucius?”

“Confucianism is not like that! Ignorant guys, eing.”

“From what I heard I know that China and Joseon, Japan all believe in Buddha.”

“So, what happened to the missionaries who went there?”

As people belonging to the Paris Foreign Missions Society of France crossed the English Channel and came to London, London’s Christian society also moved together.

Because there is no British person who would sit still while France moves.

***

The types of people who ask me about Joseon or China were generally fixed.

To those full of academic curiosity I showed off my rich knowledge, and to those who needed gossip to chew and tear and enjoy for a moment I threw various stories instead of responding directly and ended. Anyway those people don’t need the truth.

But religious problems are a bit different.

This is a problem one must really be careful about.

From atheists who openly say there is no god to differences between sects like Catholic or Protestant, one must consider everything.

“The missionary I met was only one person who introduced himself as Bishop Imbert.”

“Right! Did you see Bishop Imbert? How was he?”

I went through tremendous contemplation about what I should say to the people who came from France.

But whenever I tried to reach some conclusion, Imbert’s words always rang in my ears.

‘The Lord reviving you and guiding you to this land must be because there is a task entrusted to you.’

‘Child. If you return safely, can you help the people of this land?’

‘Can you do even a very small something for these pure people who are suffering?’

It felt like if I insulted him I would become a British person not a human.

- You are British, right?

You know it’s not that meaning.

- Right, I said it in that meaning too. Rolling your head so much, if not an excellent British person what is it?

Ah shit, so annoying. Suddenly scratching people. I feel like exorcising him right away.

- Idiot. If you exorcise me you end too, end! Can’t do anything, right? Ebebe? Ebebebeb??

Putting aside the annoying guy’s picking a fight, in the end I resolved to speak as nicely as possible.

“Despite suffering harsh hardships Bishop Imbert worried about the other Joseon believers, and me until the last moment.”

“My goodness.”

This is just... giving back exactly as much as received.

A salesman must do hospitality, must not receive hospitality from the customer. Even if this 21st century future person Arthur Park In-ho Lee has a frog-like French person as a customer, should he do such a shameless act?

Rather if Bishop Imbert had cursed ‘As expected dirty island country seed abandoning even the Lord and attaching to pagan barbarians! Fall to hell!’ I would have refreshingly tea-bagged saying Imbert begged to be saved and abandoned faith and died. Then British people who like France getting screwed more than anyone would have laughed and mocked.

But such a thing didn’t happen.

I must pay a fair price for the advance the customer gave.

“He told me to insult him and spit. He said only by doing so I would not receive harm in the Joseon land.”

“Truly a true shepherd.”

“I also think so. Thanks to him I was able to carefully store Christ’s dedication and sacrifice in my heart until the last moment of leaving Joseon.”

- Right. Fortunately you haven’t lost a human heart and become a Saxon yet. If you grow up vigorously with that heart as is...

Huh? For the payment received it’s up to here.

How much more do I have to praise.

Thanking Bishop Imbert’s dedication and bashing Catholicism are completely separate matters.

“I’m young so I don’t know well, but at least I think Bishop Imbert and the Joseon people shouldn’t have died like that.”

“That’s because the Joseon people barbarically blocked Christianity, right?”

“No. It wasn’t. The Joseon people had great interest in God’s words, but the reason Christianity was banned in Joseon was because it was ‘treason’.”

“Treason?”

Ah, foolish guys. Don’t they know.

I again chattered a long story about a new story, precisely <​ban on ancestral rites> and <​Hwang Sayeong’s white paper incident>.

[Joseon people had great interest in Christianity and wanted to listen to God’s words. To the extent that even in the Andong Kim clan, the highest powerful family in Joseon, there was a person who secretly received baptism.]

[But the Catholic missionaries said one must not hold ancestral rites and burn the tablets so it became a problem.]

“Prohibiting pagan customs is a natural thing, child.”

“Ancestral rites didn’t seem like pagan customs. It was similar to just paying respects at the grave?”

“You don’t know so you’re like that, ancestral rites are superstition serving ghosts.”

“Confucius and Mencius said it’s not that?”

If missionaries then missionaries why are they trying to do mouth battle with me with Confucianism? That’s why you get kicked out even from China you barely contacted. Ignorant guys.

Even though I excitedly chattered the story that the ban on ancestral rites and burning tablets was roughly accepted as ‘digging up parents’ tombstones and eating the corpses’ in China and Joseon and all Christian faith was banned, the faces of these Catholic clergy absolutely did not brighten.

“Right. Originally it might have been like that but commoners are doing that as indigenous idol worship acts. You only stayed at the chancellor’s house-”

“I stayed long even in Joseon countryside villages? And don’t they do that much even in Britain or France? It’s just Halloween?”

To my words asking if you call all people who play at Halloween heretics the French frogs tried to mutter excuses but honestly it was ridiculous.

“Child. No need to talk more. Catholic guys who worship Mary and the Pope are originally violent and primitive.”

“What are you saying to the child right now!!”

“So if our Anglican Church that truly follows God’s words goes and spreads the ‘correct’ teaching, do you think they will pay attention to Jesus’ words?”

“Yes! At that time I also definitely want to follow to Joseon! Can’t we go together?”

“Of course! Hahahahaha!!”

After that I enjoyed the honor of being the first in Europe to inform about the Hwang Sayeong white paper incident.

‘A Joseon Catholic believer tried to send a letter to France asking to invade this country and topple the dynasty but was arrested and thereafter Catholic faith was defined as treason’ is a bit like that no matter who hears it.

“That guy called Hwang is truly a real believer! Joseon people have room for enlightenment!”

“He died but his soul would have gone up to God’s embrace. Our France must quickly punish Joseon and honor him!”

Uh...

This is not it.

“Before those frogs burn Joseon shouldn’t we quickly spread the real gospel?”

“Roughly go dig up tombs and say the French did it, wouldn’t that work?”

Forget the tomb story a bit, you fuckers.

Now Joseon began to be accepted as roughly ‘a place where undeveloped gold mines are endlessly spread, generous to Christianity and friendly to Europe but sensitized because ignorant Catholic guys stirred it up’.

And before the French people returned to their frog world again.

I once again made time and met them.

“I know that there are Joseon believers studying theology at the Foreign Missions Society.”

“And?”

Of course the returning reaction was not good.

But one has to do what one has to do.

“I really want to meet them once. I don’t know well about old religion or new religion... but it seems I must convey to them about the bishop’s end.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

“I’ll try talking once.”

I don’t know history well but I know Kim Daegun.

If I secure Joseon believers including Kim Daegun, wouldn’t the things I can do increase tremendously.

With a feeling of nothing to lose, I conveyed the intention that I definitely want to meet them.

***

I dragged my tired body and returned to the club lodging.

The club members gradually acknowledged the fact that this child is clever enough to choose his own sponsor, but separate from that the public opinion ‘still he’s a child so as adults shouldn’t someone forcibly stamp one person’ was gradually rising.

Honestly I’ve been staying here for free for over a month. Since the rice cake pounding sound thumping from the next room is heard as is it’s not very good for the education of a growing child either.

But if I wait a bit more it seems like a big fish will be caught.

“Arthur?”

“Hello, uncle!”

“Right. This many letters came today too. Take them.”

“Yes.”

Countless letters flying from Britain of course and various places in the world.

All Europeans and some Americans moved by the story of this surviving child Arthur Potter Lee are sending me letters. As a peculiar matter the ratio of women was more than I thought. Is it because it stimulated mother’s sensibility. The proportion of aunts preparing money to buy snacks is also many. Very good.

But what I need is power.

Very solid power.

Or power worth betting the future on.

I classified the names written on the envelopes one by one, and transcribed those names on paper to investigate what kind of person this person is.

At that moment.

I paused.

And after taking a deep breath, opened the envelope and took out the letter.

Not the lengthy rhetoric starting with ‘Hello child’, the conclusion. Conclusion. Conclusion.

[I definitely want to meet the boy once. Can you make time on a nearby weekend?]

- William Ewart Gladstone.

As expected.

God is definitely on my side.

The best card came in.

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Author's note

Thank you to Myeongwon Pizza, Time Flight for your sponsorships!!