Chapter 36

Chapter 36

Open Joseon (3)

There is something I know and Heungseon-gun knows and even a three-year-old child knows.

Joseon is poor.

Tearfully poor.

A salesman is not a peddler who simply sells one’s own products and creates profit.

If a salesman like me who jumps over various countries of the world and wanders in spacetime units one must precisely catch what the buyer needs and also lead their growth.

Joseon can’t buy our products because they have no money, isn’t this too sad a thing.

So I make Joseon rich and sell my products. PROFIT!

Ginseng monopoly right.

Joseon’s most core profit.

I pride myself on knowing much better than Heonjong how hard Joseon merchants do smuggling instead of fair and square export and poke back money to the powerful.

So with the guns and swords of the British Empire block smuggling and raise the revenue of the Joseon court instead of the powerful. In this process I can modestly take a bit of ‘consulting fee’.

Mine development right.

There is no dynamite yet, but Europeans are originally guys crazy for mine development. Just recruiting mine developers and introducing Western advanced technology Joseon’s mineral production will explosively increase. How much money is it just mining the Unsan gold mine?

Of course here too one will eat a modest introduction fee and tip, but anyway the Joseon court has no money and is currently entrusting to the private sector. Rather it would be better to sell to me and just eat taxes.

Grain transport. In other words water transport.

Joseon ships are at a miserable level hard to look at with open eyes.

Replace all with ships of Westerners skilled in making ships, and later replace with steamships and one can end Joseon’s unique logistics chaos. This the Lee & Gladstone Company must monopolize and eat.

The more one looks the more profit for Joseon. This is precisely 21st century style win-win ethical management!

- No, is it real? Why does this bastard’s vicious idea sound plausible?

I said it’s real.

19th century Joseon is a malnutrition patient so even if one stamps the slave brand bang and makes them work one can’t even recover the meal cost. One can’t even earn the slave supervisor’s salary.

First one has to feed this malnutrition patient well and sleep well and make them a normal person then whether earning money or whatever one can do.

I conveyed this rough plan to Heungseon-gun too, and he unexpectedly agreed refreshingly.

“It would be better to insert His Majesty in between.”

“You mean His Majesty the King of Joseon?”

“Right. It seems the picture will come out much prettier if giving your rights through the Royal Treasury. How about receiving an official post?”

This was an idea even I couldn’t come up with. Royal Treasury.

Speaking of Royal Treasury in one word the king’s personal safe and wallet.

“Are you planning to smash the powerful?”

“If not doing so is there hope in this country?”

“There isn’t.”

Not returning the honey jar the powerful ate to the court but turning it to the Royal Treasury?

No matter how one looks it’s absolute monarchy overdrive, but anyway to do a great reform imitating Britain there is no need to do democracy from now. Rather there must be strong power to suppress the vested interests and conservatives who want to maintain pre-modern society.

If Heonjong has a dream for reform, it was not wrong words at all.

First the consultation with Heungseon-gun about my white horse money ended happily for each other. If Heonjong agrees to my conception it will be realized, and if not one will have to set the board again.

Next the negotiation on the full-scale treaty proceeded.

[The Joseon Kingdom as an independent country holds equal rights with the British Empire.]

“We are a vassal of Qing?”

“Not anymore. Qing will also get beaten to death and have to acknowledge that Joseon is an independent country. Worry and tie it.”

Lee Ha-eung became sullen. He caught that even if Joseon does not agree an environment where one must raise an army no matter what will be created.

The next clauses were all beautiful one by one.

[The two governments dispatch diplomats entrusted with full powers to the other country’s capital, and can additionally permanently dispatch diplomats to places where many nationals of the other country reside.]

This is the natural embassy, consulate establishment clause.

[Thereafter official documents going back and forth between the two countries the British Empire writes in English but for the next 10 years attaches a Chinese translation separately. The Joseon Kingdom uses Chinese.]

As expected a common clause. We are this considerate.

[Open Incheon, Nampo, Wonsan, Busan.]

[British Empire citizens can permanently reside in the opened ports, can lease or purchase land, and can construct buildings such as houses and warehouses.]

[If a British Empire citizen commits a crime in an opened port a British Empire official punishes according to British Empire law.]

[British Empire navigators can survey Joseon’s coasts and waterways and produce maps.]

[Citizens of both countries trade arbitrarily and officials of both countries cannot interfere, restrict, prohibit.]

[Most favored nation treatment]

Looking only up to here one might look like the vanguard of some vicious imperialism.

- Right? The vicious trash imperialism vanguard that repays grace with enmity?

No, this bastard. Listen a bit. We are the victorious country. Right now if our British army just wants can even drag Heonjong to London situation?

Opening was the purpose from the beginning so natural.

The right to secure real estate in the open port and reside must also follow together.

Surveying since Joseon is so destructive one must unconditionally do to avoid the appearance of running aground in lines. The West Sea or South Sea is really fucked.

- That that, isn’t it extraterritoriality? Isn’t it that famous poisonous clause?

Without that a commotion breaks out. A British Empire citizen gets beaten with clubs and twisted in stocks while receiving the magistrate’s trial according to Joseon law? Believe the Joseon magistrate who received appointment poking bribes because there is nothing to trust? Want to see war break out one more time?

Seeing Lee Ha-eung’s expression rotting in real time I held out candy to the crying child.

[Merchants of both countries ban the transport and sale of opium and if violating this strictly punish.]

Opium ban.

I didn’t open Joseon suffering hard to catch opium smugglers.

[British Empire merchants can sell all weapons such as cold weapons, gunpowder weapons, shells, bullets only to Joseon Kingdom officials.]

Weapon sales restriction.

[The Joseon Kingdom in case of urgent domestic situation can temporarily ban the export of grain after notifying the British Empire government to resolve food shortage.]

Grain export ban option.

[If citizens of both countries come and go for the purpose of learning language, learning, law, technology one must provide all possible protection and assistance.]

Import of Joseon international students.

[When Joseon merchants visit the British Empire for the purpose of trade they must pay tariffs and other taxes according to the British Empire’s customs rules. When British merchants visit the Joseon Kingdom for the purpose of trade they must pay the tariffs set by the Joseon government. The right to impose tariffs belongs to the Joseon government.]

The right to impose tariffs.

“What is tariff?”

“It is a tax imposed when bringing in foreign goods, or selling Joseon goods to foreign countries. Through this tariff the governments of various European countries became greatly wealthy and could also protect their important industries.”

“If one imposes a tariff of 100,000 jeon of gold per British good one can continue to keep closed country as is?”

- Look at this bastard’s face immediately becoming vicious?

“It’s nonsense.”

Of course. Giving tariff autonomy doesn’t mean real ‘autonomy’. As repeatedly said if one doesn’t like it the British army should have won.

“Just station customs officers at the opened ports and impose tax according to the set procedure. Since Joseon does not yet have customs officers who know international regulations, I wish to recommend some people.”

“That was the purpose.”

Of course.

But original history’s Joseon didn’t even know what tariff was and only got torn by Japan with no tariff? Instead of paying a modest fee to me if one can just collect tariffs even that beggar Joseon government becoming a sudden rich is not a big deal.

There were other small clauses too, but nice words consultation actually it is me conducting <​express special lecture on modern trade treaty learned after getting beaten> against Lee Ha-eung. If there is an instructor as kind and excellent as me come out.

And Lee Ha-eung was an extremely clever student who knows ten when learning one.

“Strange.”

“...What do you mean?”

“Why is there no talk about the heresy you believe, no the Jesus religion?”

“Because the British Empire is not a country that goes to war saying believing in freedom of faith.”

Currently the perception of Christianity in Joseon is nothing more nothing less than a pseudo cult that blocks even holding ancestral rites because no father mother and worships their own spirits.

In a situation where one must smoothly finish consultation and quickly stamp the seal bang on the treaty document religion bait pops out for nothing? The head hurts. Moreover missionaries will inevitably cause accidents and we have to handle this aftermath too.

“Anyway after concluding this trade treaty various Western countries will demand treaties.”

“...Dragging giant ships and cannons, right?”

“One can’t deny.”

And the country sincere in proselytizing is not us but separately exists.

“Please say in advance. In the end one must acknowledge Christian proselytizing and freedom of faith.”

“······Understood.”

“Instead diligently research how much and what to tear out as the price of allowing that.”

Frog bastards.

Shall we take a look once how much they will give to Joseon?

***

Just 3 weeks.

The war ended in 3 weeks.

[Since the treacherous official Kim Jwageun who monopolized state affairs disappeared our goal of helping Joseon was achieved.]

[The British Empire will withdraw from Joseon.]

Joseon people were flustered.

Not taking the head of the ringleader Kim Jwageun who started the war?

Even not beheading and leaving the corpse intact?

Not stopping here, the British army donated a considerable amount of the vast military supplies they brought as is to the Joseon government.

“The cost of unloading cargo ships again and taking back from this place without proper port facilities is more expensive than newly purchasing. Just give it.”

“Isn’t it regrettable to just give?”

“One has to put it on the books. If one forces to buy at a certain price they will flare up, but if saying it’s a gift like this it will feel much heavier to Joseon people.”

It was a decision worthy of the Anglo-Saxon people of gold supremacy without blood or tears, but Joseon people were flustered.

Weren’t we in a relationship of war until not long ago?

“War? When did we do such a thing?”

To the end it was part of diplomacy we never did war!

So no count!

“Britain... the country called the British Empire is truly strong and also has the appearance of a gentleman.”

As Heonjong laid the intro like this the ministers quickly folded and unfolded their spines and put the beat.

“Truly so!”

“Although an unfortunate collision occurred because Kim Jwageun was foolish, since they hand over so much wealth and leave without even saying they will make us a vassal how would one treat guests coldly as the duty of the host?”

“I report that it is appropriate to conclude a treaty even a moment faster and form friendship with Britain forever.”

October 1851.

Supreme Commissioner Kim Heunggeun went forward to Ganghwa Island and signed the Joseon-Britain Friendly Trade Treaty.

“Appoint Jo Byeonghyeon as special plenipotentiary minister to Britain and send to London the capital of Britain.”

“I follow the order.”

“Heungseon-gun Lee Ha-eung established great merit in this disturbance so appoint as Minister of Rites.”

The Andong Kim clan half collapsed.

The majority of the Kim clan including Kim Heunggeun and Kim Byeonggi took all responsibility and stepped down from official posts with the treaty seal as the last, and Kim Jwageun’s enormous property was all confiscated.

Heonjong recovered royal authority.

But this was not a thing done with his own strength.

“I will have a private audience with Lee Aseul.”

Finally the well collapsed.

Joseon escaped from the Middle Kingdom world and came out to the world where imperialism and colonialism run rampant.

As Joseon thrown into a dark world where it is difficult to see even an inch ahead there were not many choices.

They had to be with a guide who had at least some connection.

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