Chapter 76

Chapter 76

Great Upheaval (1)

Joseon Kingdom.

Hanyang.

“Today too the sunlight is truly brilliant just like His Majesty’s holy virtue!”

That name also brilliant Sejong University student Yu Honggi started the day naturally flattering like morning greetings.

“Why suddenly praising His Majesty’s holy virtue from morning? Is a special exam opening or something?”

“From that brilliant light to this paved road there is nothing that is not His Majesty’s holy virtue, so whenever seeing all things in the world shouldn’t praise that holy virtue to be worthy of being called a university student?”

Friend and likewise university student O Gyeongseok muttered something and shook his head but Yu Honggi did not care.

At most middle class status interpreter house children entered the university where all yangban houses of the eight provinces of Joseon go pray to temples and shamans please let sons enter a bit. If this is not holy virtue what else is holy virtue?

Sejong University erected tall in Banchon where Sungkyunkwan used to be swelled up like bread dough day by day and formed a huge place of learning.

Surrounding Sejong University Sejong Elementary School and Sejong Higher Middle School, Sejong Kindergarten etc. are clustered, and if walking out a bit from this school dense area shops doing business targeting students come out full.

If pointing out the place with the most Western water entered in today’s Joseon by far this Banchon.

As a place with stronger Western smell there is Jeongdong where the British legation and French legation are built, but that place is a place teeming with Westerners enough for <​New HongKong> sound to come out already close to a Western paradise rather than Joseon land.

So isn’t this Banchon precisely the symbol of new Joseon that newly introduced Western civilization and is reviving like a miracle.

“Young students there! Buy newspaper, newspaper!”

“Have a cup of tea and go!”

“Hot bread came out, bread!”

“Not hungry? Must eat rice and go to school for the stomach to be full!”

“Still some time left, rice? Or coffee?”

“Rice would be good.”

They quickly recalled the money left in the pocket.

“Once must buy newspaper.”

“After reading all show me a bit.”

“Must buy new books too. I alone haven’t read <​Japan Strategy> to the end yet.”

“Must buy cigarettes too.”

“Then must buy matches too. Lucky alcohol became cheap, really.”

Even just calculating essential expenditures ahead the eyes in front become dark.

Of course considering the occupation of interpreter even if honor not money was a well-earning thing, the sons of that interpreter house trembling at a few coins is also a funny thing.

But because <​His Majesty’s holy virtue> is involved it became a problem.

<​Students are the pillars of the country so of course the court must help.>

Even just the Sungkyunkwan that was before Sejong University took care of students’ dormitories and meals all how would a university superior to that stay still.

Therefore university students received full scholarships, the cafeteria provided three meals a day, there is a separate library exclusively for university students and even ‘uniform’ clothing exclusively for students was provided.

But here as some vicious Western treacherous subject intervened the story became strange.

‘Looking quietly seems must learn how to handle money from young to become excellent officials even when grown.’

‘Then what saying to do?’

‘Give pocket money to students, but every time a semester ends if looking at how they used the given money will be easy to distinguish promising sprouts.’

‘Will be able to distinguish scholars who will become clean officials and seeds of corrupt officials so that is truly a good plan.’

What Lee Aseul thought of was close to 21st century pocket money ledger, but Joseon scholars who learned the Way of Confucius and Mencius interpreted this proposal as a kind of clean official test.

Although said with words absolutely will not refer to this when appointing official posts, how can a stupid guy who listens to the court’s words as is be called a university student?

In an instant university students regardless of how well the house lives or has power all became in a position of crying and laughing equally at one coin. Because the moment items like gambling or luxury are written in the expenditure details the dream of official post appointment will obviously become bubble.

Therefore they gave up tasty British tarts and moved their steps to the always going rice house.

Because have not yet given up the stomach enough to eat school meals.

“Welcome!”

“Give two bowls.”

“Yes!”

The many many rice houses of Banchon were packed with students struggling to avoid tasteless school meals.

Students endlessly poured in, and that much went out, bowls came and went frantically for a while.

Not long after large bowls also came out in front of them.

The staple food of commoners and lower class that newly rose after opening the port.

The holy virtue of the so-called Joseon emperor Victory Empress (Victoria).

Precisely <​Indian noodles>.

According to what learned at the university rice springs enormously in that distant India and Annam, and Chinese Jiangnan, but the Annam rice brought cheaply from there has no stickiness and is fluffy and even has a strange smell so if cooking rice Joseon style and eating could not endure the anger at all.

But cheap.

If buying and eating Annam rice with the money to cook rice with Joseon rice can eat several times more.

Joseon people a people sincere about meals never yielded to the ordeal of Annam rice.

First the judgment came out that if making fried rice still edible, next the conclusion stood that if making porridge or noodles fine.

Next it was smooth sailing.

Places doing big business targeting factories holding many laborers, or commoners supplied porridge and noodles, and makgeolli in large quantities with Annam rice without who first. An era arrived where buying and eating is cheaper than cooking rice at home.

And one more.

As <​curry> that Indians eat was imported a great revolution occurred on Joseon people’s dining tables.

This curry powder was truly a miracle.

No matter how trash-like a dining table if only this miracle powder there became a dining table worth enduring and eating.

Joseon people shut up and boiled soup and stew with this Victory Empress’s mysterious powder and mixed kimchi and mixed rice and noodles and ate.

The two young students who ate curry soup like a crab hiding eyes in a south wind left coins and stood from the seats like others.

The taste only reaches filling the stomach, but precisely this blurry curry taste is what industrial soldiers shedding sweat to revive Joseon are eating.

A young scholar who resolved to lead new Joseon could not dare throw a tantrum in front of this meal.

The two young scholars who awakened a sense of mission once more seeing that bright sun of midday while walking to school could not overcome the temptation of one bowl of makgeolli and were sucked into a bar.

Industrial soldiers also cannot live without makgeolli so this much will be fine.

***

Same time.

Madam Elizabeth Lee was moving busily from daytime.

Neither Joseon’s strict rules nor the West’s strict manners could stop her.

Must cut contact with the outside and take care of the body for three seven days after giving birth to a child, but she stood up dusting the seat not even a few days later and immediately began touching documents.

Joseon women began moving only after wearing a jangot and after the sun set and men all disappeared, but she did not wear jangot or whatever and went around here and there in Hanyang and Incheon and directed various constructions and work at the forefront.

“Must finish within this year.”

“Doing the best.”

“Why doing the best? Must do well. Were you thinking of roughly doing and cleaning up?”

“Ah, no!”

The most important construction is precisely the Gyeongin Line railway construction.

As long as the Gyeongin Line is not opened Joseon’s logistics cannot help but be in a stalemate forever. To send the vast imported goods from overseas to that huge consumption market Hanyang there was nothing more effective than the Gyeongin Line.

Could know even just looking at now when the Gyeongin Line is not yet opened.

The country called Joseon still has no suitable products to export so most volume is import, but nevertheless was bringing in imported goods enormously like a person possessed by a ghost.

Now British cotton cloth only just began to be imported in earnest, but already calling this calico and pulling sensational popularity. Joseon’s cotton cloth market was literally being overturned completely.

Rice was also the same.

Joseon people called all imported rice Annam rice whether Chinese or Indian or Southeast Asian, and in Busan and Incheon where this rice is unloaded Joseon capitalists flocked before knowing and were building distilleries.

If brewing alcohol with Annam rice earn a fortune!

Joseon people whose eyes became bloodshot alchemized rice into alcohol, alcohol into silver coins like people with a grudge against alcohol.

Joseon people drank excitedly saying a peaceful era because alcohol became cheap, and already enormous amounts were being consumed around the ports and Gyeongin Line construction sites before even going to Hanyang.

Even just rice and cotton cloth this fuss so other goods needless to say.

Joseon nobles originally preferred coffee and chocolate, but now as sugar poured out from China sucked sugar like pigs.

Also Joseon people regarded pepper very precious, but as pepper and curry were imported at cheap prices began sprinkling and eating on all soups they enjoy eating.

Various luxury goods and rare Western objects also nobles and upper class bought recklessly without who first, and books also products that cannot sell because none.

Then where on earth does Joseon manage this miserable trade balance?

Of course the neighboring countries China and Japan.

Firearms and bullets produced at the Hanyang arsenal the Joseon king is personally pouring heart and soul into are loaded on British merchant ships and exported to China... about to but unfortunately ‘captured’ by Taiping Heavenly Kingdom rebels and dragged to Nanjing. Absolutely Joseon does not trade with the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. All British people crazy for money doing business.

Joseon merchants who advanced to Japan immediately resell Western imported goods that entered Busan port as is to Japan, while enjoying enormous price difference profits through arbitrage.

Can know too well the reason her husband was obsessed with railways.

Even if just piercing the Gyeongin Line Hanyang will become a perfect consumption market, and if the Gyeongbu Line and Gyeongui Line are opened Joseon will practically be reorganized into a single market.

“Seems must make the interior a bit more sophisticated.”

“Saying more here?”

“Of course. Because here will become Hanyang’s new center.”

She who inspected the Gyeongui Line construction status immediately went around construction sites everywhere in Hanyang.

Building churches and cathedrals.

Building legations.

And newly raising hotels that will definitely prosper from now on.

Joseon’s lodging facilities are absolutely not things Westerners can stay long, so if building a proper hotel in Hanyang money will definitely be copied needless to say.

“When on earth is this guy trying to come.”

“Meaning the husband? As I know-”

“Well. Will be busy. Fine.”

Arthur’s return was continuously delaying, but those he claimed sent were newly revealing themselves in the sea in front of Incheon every day.

Then naturally the person worthy of receiving them was only her.

“Nice to meet for the first time, Madam Lee!”

“Nice to meet. Came to spread the gospel in Joseon? That person is an excellent person so wrote a letter to please take care.”

“Ah...! Thank you! May the Lord’s blessing be with everyone!”

Missionaries.

Those who came tasting the taste of miserable defeat in China and Ryukyu.

Catholicism was very relaxed just looking at the aspect of Far East missionary work. These had firmly inserted a straw into Qing from long ago, and Joseon missionary work was also slowly proceeding with proselytizing by picking an SSR-grade talent called Kim Daegeon.

But Protestantism was different.

Due to the characteristic of these finely divided denominations, the know-how of local missionaries was mostly fragmented.

Arthur wrapped the missionaries who were chewing frustration like this with a three-inch tongue and recharged confidence then threw them to Joseon as soon as seen.

Then Elizabeth in Hanyang receives and bestows kindness and goodwill full.

“My goodness. Don’t know how long since eating Western meal.”

“Nothing prepared but eat a lot.”

“No! Oh, my goodness!”

The Joseon court that was shouting isolation and rejection of heresy until a while ago was now greedily coveting missionaries. Because if intellectuals who come all the way to Joseon ten thousand li away and spread Western knowledge by far missionaries.

Eating warm Western formal dinner with brandy at the Kim Jwageun house remodeled Western style.

Introduced to Westerners who came to Joseon in advance and exchanging greetings and fulfilling the desire for socializing that could not be fulfilled until now.

With one word of <​Arthur Lee’s introduction> a free pass ticket to meet the king and ministers face to face is given.

“The most urgent in Joseon is hospitals and schools, can you take charge of this?”

“Of course! Your Majesty the King, if entrusting this to this small person will willingly devote for Joseon people!”

Naturally confirming what Joseon people need and succeeding the first shovel for local missionary work too smoothly.

“Sent a letter to the home country that successfully conducting Joseon missionary work.”

“My goodness. Buying His Majesty the King’s trust this quickly. As expected befitting a missionary.”

“No way. All thanks to the husband putting strength.”

The home country and denomination that heard the news that the missionary successfully settled in Joseon and began drawing drones of course pour support.

In other words, foreign currency Joseon longs for flowing in.

“Madam Lee. Will you help me so I can build a hospital for Joseon people?”

“Of course. I also think this is God’s will.”

Of course building the building is the share of the Far East Colonization Joint Stock Company.

Printing Bibles for Joseon people is the share of Lee & Gladstone Company.

Also transporting foreign currency and support goods brought into Joseon.

Also supplying materials to the allied forces in a fuss conducting the Crimean War.

Also supplying military supplies to the newly established Joseon sepoys and intervening in their command authority.

“Dad seems to be earning money hard going to China. Abby also wants to see dad?”

“Paa!”

Elizabeth who returned home caressed her daughter who doesn’t hurt even if put in the eyes.

Joseon is already their family’s.

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Author's note

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