Dark-Haired British Doctor Chapter 292

Episode 292: Back to London [2]

“So… … what is this?”

“It’s ginseng.”

“Really… …?”

"ginseng."

No… … If you think about it, English pronunciation isn’t that easy, right?

If I had been born again… … if it hadn’t been the lingual period, the period when my brain structure was suitable for learning language, it would have been difficult for me to become as fluent as I am now.

But why can't I pronounce this?

As I looked at the other person with that thought, the other person, the director who had been comfortably staying in London for almost a year while I was traveling to Qing and returning, smiled awkwardly as if he felt embarrassed.

“Ginseng… … That’s difficult. But what is this?”

Looking at that smile, I am reminded of the Joseon smuggling merchant who stood in front of me.

Did you say Park Ga? … … ?

I don't know the name because he didn't tell me.

In fact, it is strange that a smuggler would want a Korean-British person he barely knew to tell him his name.

-You steam this whole thing and then dry it?

-Yes. Do you know how far away Yeonggili is? You can never go there alive. And… … .

Anyway, when I think back on the conversation at the time, I think I was thinking something like this.

“People in Yeonggilli really like red things.”

When I say I like red, things like the Communist Party come to mind… … .

This is not something to feel bad about, since the famous Karl Marx also lived in London for about 10 years.

It seems like he had already roughly completed his communist ideology… … I think he probably created an even stronger communism after seeing the miserable lives of London workers.

Anyway, don't you like black tea too?

I don't know if it tastes better than green tea or not…

Anyway, since they are people who drink green tea as black tea, I thought they would like red ginseng, which is made by steaming and drying ginseng, rather than just ginseng or fresh ginseng.

“Oh, I see. Well… … If you dry this and eat it, it tastes good.”

“But how much sheep can we secure?”

“The fields I have are barely enough to fill one stomach.”

“Bae-ra… … Are you talking about that?”

A ship that was neither a panokseon nor a larger ferry was moored near the port of Guangzhou.

In Joseon, smuggling is strictly controlled, and as a result, most smuggling takes place at sea rather than in ports, but what can you do?

I, Kim Tae-pyeong, a British powerhouse and aspiring knight, have been granted permission to enter the port!

“Oh, yes.”

“If we hit that ship, it wouldn’t even fill a fifth of the cargo hold. Bring me more. This is… … the price I’ve seen is what you’re asking.”

I thought he was a big shot because he was wearing such fancy silk clothes, but I don't know if he was just a commoner or if Joseon's ginseng production was low.

Well… … There must be quite a bit of ginseng consumed internally, and there must also be quite a bit of ginseng offered to the Qing Dynasty, so this seems okay… … .

'Okay, whatever.'

Anyway, if you take silk or porcelain from the Qing Dynasty, it will just be like copying money.

Actually, the reason I want to take red ginseng is purely my greed.

Please… … I hope you don’t eat weird things and eat things that are still edible in 21st century Korea.

'Besides, I'm also a three expert.'

My close friend from the ENT department was suddenly obsessed with sam, so we tried washing our noses with water and stuff.

That didn't seem to have any particular effect.

If you think about it a little, it's obvious…

Anyway, even though it may sound absurd, since it is work done at the best hospital in the country, they did a proper presentation on the background theory.

According to him, saponin, the main component of ginseng, has anti-diabetic, anti-hyperlipidemic, and anti-cancer effects.

Of course… … compared to medicines made to target each disease, not only is the effect much weaker, but the dosage contained in each pill is also not consistent and small.

For example, from a doctor's perspective, it is a health food that is not harmful to eat…

'There's nothing like that now.'

No, really!

Medicine in 19th century London… … .

Most of these things are confusing, whether to call them medicine or poison!

“Let’s get more. Any way we can.”

“Oh, I understand… … but the payment… … .”

“Payment? Didn’t you pay it?”

"yes."

“Ah. I have to give it to you, if you bring me some ginseng.”

“Ah… … yes.”

How did the smuggler stay in Guangzhou the whole time he was going back and forth to North Korea?

In fact, it wasn't just in Guangzhou.

There was one more battle… … but it was so one-sided that I felt like the first battle was better.

This time, the Qing commander survived, although he was badly injured, and of course, it was Liston and I who saved his life.

how?

"older brother!"

“Leave it to me!”

Opening the skull with a Liston drill… … .

"older brother!"

“Hmm!”

Blood was drawn using Liston suction.

As it turned out, the two major surgeries I had done when I came here were one to drain blood from the heart and one to drain blood from the head.

-There's a rumor that the Qing Dynasty is afraid of a sorcerer named Tiepyeongsiin.

-They say the emperor even peed his pants because of you.

-Is that so… …we got more than we originally asked for.

The handover of Hong Kong was originally what Britain wanted, and it happened so naturally that it was as if it were a breath of fresh air.

In addition, they were granted free entry into all Qing ports, and even in Shanghai, merchant ships from other countries were not allowed to enter without British permission.

This gave England and Britain an overwhelming influence over the entire southern and eastern coasts of the Qing Dynasty.

So I went back and forth between Guangzhou, Hong Kong, and Shanghai for a while… … .

Meanwhile, our British sailors were getting syphilis as if it were a given.

“Hey, you’re so busy, why are you always wandering around like that?”

“I’m sorry, brother. It’s because of the ginseng.”

“Ah… … That. You said that it’s effective and can be sold for a high price, right?”

“Yes. And I said I wouldn’t touch that item.”

“Good.”

Isn't this a pilgrimage that not only includes me and Liston, but also includes Sir Jamie?

We British people always talk about 'for the country, for the king, for the British Empire', but that doesn't mean we put aside our own interests.

That's why I even had the audacious idea of using a warship as a merchant ship…

Fortunately, things went more smoothly.

Thanks to the Amherst still being in Qing.

“Did you… call me?”

The ship's captain, Reese, answered my call.

To be exact, it's a call from me and Liston.

We were not in a very good mood, as we had just been feeding arsenic compounds to soldiers who had syphilis.

Some people are so excited to play outside that they might get syphilis, while others are stuck at the port without any rest.

“Oh, you’re here?”

“This way?”

“Oh, I am Pastor Gutzlaff. I am the ship’s captain and interpreter. It is an honor to meet you both.”

“Wow… … You speak Chinese well. Is that right?”

"yes yes."

“Good. From now on, cooperate with the Korean merchant named Park Ga.”

Captain Reese's face became quite a sight at Liston's words.

What should I say?

It's a bit weird to just say it got dark…

Anyway, it got a lot worse than before.

That didn't mean I could say anything.

why?

Because it would be scary.

The fame of the Kim Tae-pyeong-Liston blood-sucking duo was already so great that it spread throughout the area.

“The… … orders we received… … .”

After a long time, he finally said something like he had committed a crime, but it didn't mean anything.

“Oh, you mean Sir Lindsay?”

“Oh, yes. That’s right.”

In fact, the person who sent the Amherst was Viscount Hugh Hamilton Lindsay, a man who could not do anything about it on our ship.

But the man behind us is His Excellency the Duke of Jamie.

Even I have a body that has accumulated a crush on the princess… … .

At the same time, thanks to participating in this expedition and unintentionally performing two impressive bloodlettings, he has accumulated so much merit that he is expected to receive a title when he returns.

There is nothing to be ashamed of.

In fact, this has already been discussed at higher levels.

“You will soon hear from the East India Company separately. The Amherst has been requisitioned for military purposes. Here, look at this.”

Liston showed the document with the seal on it.

It was a document that Jamie sent me in a hurry, as he was reminded of black tea when talking about red ginseng.

“Ah… … It’s for military purposes, so why… … with Korean merchants… … .”

“Then why did you go to Joseon?”

"yes?"

“No, that’s not it. Anyway, cooperate with them and buy all the ginseng in Joseon.”

“No permission has been granted… … by Dr. Liston.”

“Pucka.”

"yes?"

This time, I also looked back at Liston.

No, why are you swearing after speaking so nicely?

“Pucka is a master of maritime smuggling.”

ah…….

Anyway, these guys are really good at using people's names to make them sound like curse words.

Well, I'm not Mr. Park anyway, so I decided to keep quiet.

Just because it's not there doesn't mean there's a sharp edge, right?

Even Captain Reese, the leader of the fierce-looking crew, is struggling to breathe as soon as he sees Liston.

“Ah… … But they might have trouble getting ginseng, so give them some support, like guns or something.”

“Will that allow us to trade with Joseon? So the conscription… … ?”

“Don’t ask for details. Just do what you’re told.”

"that……."

The captain raised his face, which had been bowed, as if he had been momentarily angry at such one-sided words.

Then I faced the scary-looking Liston, me, the one who drained blood from hearts and heads.

"All right."

Almost simultaneously, he bowed his head again and answered.

Then I stopped him from going out.

They caught the pastor, not the captain.

“Excuse me, pastor?”

“Oh, yes.”

“You can’t speak Korean anyway, right?”

“Yes, but doesn’t that guy speak Qing?”

“It’ll be okay since my English is also a bit hesitant.”

“Then I… … ?”

I looked back at Liston.

Liston nodded.

It was while looking at our disciples and military doctors who were still working hard behind the scenes.

“Please let me take you on a tour.”

“Tourism… … ? We are an invading force. The situation is not yet stable… … .”

“You don’t have to worry about safety.”

“Oh, are the soldiers going with you?”

“There are a few people going, but isn’t Brother Liston here?”

"ah……."

If you came from the East Indies, you couldn't not know us.

They also set sail there and cut up the corpse.

One time, Liston was so angry at the corpse for rotting so quickly that he cut open the stomach in one go… … .

That's when I realized that Mihawk from One Piece wasn't an exaggeration.

Anyway, thanks to the pastor, we had a good time sightseeing, and thanks to Captain Reese and Pucka, we were able to return to London filled with red ginseng.

The director looked impressed after hearing that story.

“Indeed… … That’s amazing. I could publish it as a book.”

“Right?”

“But what on earth is causing such a fuss? I’m getting more and more curious.”

Then I looked at the red ginseng I had laid out.

There was already greed in his eyes.