Dark-Haired British Doctor Chapter 496

Episode 496: The Great Famine [6]

I didn't even ask about Joseon.

At this stage, it is possible to roughly predict what will happen if the British Empire enters Joseon.

Joseon, the country of Confucianism… … .

After the fall of the Ming Dynasty and the rise of the Manchurian Eight Banners, or the barbarian Qing Dynasty, China may have become much more open-minded than before.

Well… … In the end, Emperor Kangxi began to push for Confucianism in earnest while pursuing a policy of Han Chinese assimilation, but even so, it had to be seen that many of the principles of Silhak were mixed in.

'Well… …civilization isn't something that's confined to just one place.'

Even the Middle Ages, which we define as the Dark Ages, did not gradually progress and develop as time passed.

If it hadn't been like that in the first place, how would ocean navigation have been possible?

The same goes for the 600 years of Joseon Dynasty.

Silhak scholars began to appear to some extent in the 18th century, not the 19th century.

Park Ji-won, famous for his travel diary, Hong Dae-yong, and Jeong Yak-yong are all like that.

Oh, Jeong Yak-yong must have passed away a while ago, anyway.

'But Joseon chose to follow a closed path despite all this.'

What inhibits the development of a civilization?

Is it simply human intelligence?

no.

The problem is that people's perceptions change slowly.

And usually the people who are slow to change their perceptions are the ones with power in that society.

I'm already happy and doing well, so why would I turn the world upside down?

'In some ways, Europe might have benefited from the Black Death and other such diseases.'

Only when they are shaken can the world change.

Whether or not this change is necessarily for the better, Western civilization has become far more powerful than pre-modern civilizations.

Among them, the most powerful British Empire will set foot in Joseon?

Is that because of me too?

-The greatest villain, Kim Tae-pyeong, part 10 of the series, finally sells out the country.

I see the future.

If you believe that the British Empire will keep its promise to protect Joseon, you are greatly mistaken.

Our British Empire is a great nation that even colonized and plundered Ireland, its closest country.

Aren't you planning to slurp down the salty flavor of the whole country soon?

If you hear this and think, 'No way,' just think of the British Museum.

If you go there, you will see that it is full of relics plundered from all over the world, including the ruins that our Earl of Elgin's ancestors brought back from the Parthenon in Greece, a fellow European country.

Really… … .

You could say they are descendants of Vikings.

No, if the Vikings of long ago saw the British Empire today, they would probably say, 'Haha, our descendants are quite the people.'

‘There’s going to be chaos… … First, they’ll open the ports… … They’ll plunder everything, from ginseng and red ginseng to ceramics… … They’ll sell cotton textiles, and if they think they’ll lose money on that, they’ll sell opium too.’

It's obvious.

-I saw it before, our T.E.P. Young would go crazy if you said opium.

-Haha, then we should put in some effort. Sell high-quality opium. That's how we repay Lord Tiepyeong.

-It seems that medicine hasn't developed as much as I thought.

-Look carefully. There's bound to be something worth bringing!

This is going to be really fucked up.

Couldn't it help modernization?

Just think of the countries that claim to have helped Joseon modernize.

It's Japanese.

Is that kind of modernization… really helpful?

'Well… … If we spin the hope circuit a lot, we could do something like the Meiji Restoration first, like the Gabo Reforms. I guess we could try something like that… … ?'

They say it's reform and revolution, but if you do anything about it, you'll lose your head.

There is an existing system and those in power, so how can we overturn it?

Would that be easy?

The fact that this was possible in Japan was not because Japan was superior to Qing or Joseon.

Paradoxically, this must be seen as possible because complete governance was not possible.

When you think of 19th century Joseon, the image of a ruined nation often comes to mind, but in fact, Japan was even worse.

Here, the ongoing famine, the existing rebellion of the warrior class, and the presence of black ships like ours are causing immense chaos.

That's why the revolution was successful.

'Yeah… Let's forget about Joseon. I'm working for humanity.'

Actually, I had been worrying about this for several months before I came here.

No matter what, I was a Korean in my past life and am still a descendant of a Joseon person, so I felt it was a bit odd to just sit back and watch when I knew full well that Joseon would fall.

But I also thought that history is something that can be damaged further if touched carelessly.

I'm not a monster like Kim Yu-jin, am I?

“Hey, Pyeong. What were you dreaming about that kept you up all night?”

I fell asleep while thinking about that, and for some reason, I slept with a cold sweat pouring down my face, which is rare for me.

It looked like he was tossing and turning.

The blanket was completely spread out on the floor.

“That… I don’t remember.”

I didn't really want to talk about Joseon, so I just glossed over it.

Liston didn't ask any further questions, perhaps because he wasn't really curious.

Instead, he pointed to the food that was served for breakfast and asked.

“By the way, do you know what this is?”

“Ah… This is pickled vegetables.”

“Pickled vegetables…? It smells bad.”

Do you know which city in the world will have the most Michelin three-star restaurants as of 2024?

Anyone who thinks of London, please come to your senses.

Because the British have lost their sense of taste as punishment for the karma they are accumulating in real time.

The person who thought of Paris is better, but that is not the correct answer.

Surprisingly, Tokyo is the city with the most Michelin three-star restaurants.

I didn't study this or anything, I just got it from a food review YouTuber called TheXri, who I watch often.

Going to a restaurant that looks really delicious and is expensive, and eating really well is the best channel for vicarious satisfaction.

Anyway, it's true that I had some expectations because I knew that.

“But what is the unit price…?”

“That’s what they said. Surprisingly.”

“No… how can a person live by eating only grass?”

"That's true. But… didn't you notice it yesterday? Everyone was incredibly thin. Just like Indians. Oh, and by the way, do you eat vegetarians here too?"

Liston shuddered as the horrible memory came to mind.

This was because I had hardly seen any fish during the few days I was in port in India.

Of course, just because you're British doesn't mean you can eat meat every day.

Most workers are eating potatoes for their meals.

But the upper class like Nana Liston could afford to eat beef when they were bored, but in India… … .

-What? Haha… …A rebellion is brewing.

-I'm sure I've seen some Indians eating meat.

-Ah… …Brahmin caste? They can eat it.

-But why can't we?

-It's not that you can't, but… it's not wise to eat it openly. You can eat chicken, though. It's not common, either.

-cadet.

It was a place I didn't understand.

It was especially interesting who got it and who didn't.

I thought this was the caste I had only heard about, but unfortunately, I had to leave before I could really see it.

In the first place, we were close to a military base, so we were isolated from the general Indian population, so it didn't seem like it would matter.

“No, that’s not true.”

“But why is there no meat?”

“I don’t know. At least the curry there was edible…”

“That? I… well….”

It's so strange that a British person would complain about food in another country.

If it weren't for Liston, I would have just broken his head, but it's too bad that I can't.

“By the way, is this how it’s always going to be?”

“At least there was a fish dish yesterday.”

“Oh, that was edible.”

“Because this is a port. It’s delicious if you catch it and grill it right away.”

“But why do you give it to me like this in the morning?”

“I don’t know. Could this also be neglect?”

Of course, looking at the side dish that came out now, even a British grandfather would be dissatisfied, not just in the UK.

There's really nothing but pickled vegetables and rice.

The Japan I know isn't like this, so I was starting to have doubts, but then an interpreter arrived.

“Have you coughed?”

He was overly polite, having seen our power yesterday.

No matter how I looked at it, it didn't seem like he would hit me in the back of the head with food, but I asked anyway just in case.

"hey."

"yes."

“Is this how you usually eat breakfast?”

“Huh? Oh… no. I don’t eat this fancy.”

"splendor?"

I thought he must have learned English incorrectly because he was Japanese.

All I got was five pickled vegetables and a bowl of rice. What's so fancy about that?

“Isn’t it decorated in various colors? It’s not meant to be eaten mixed together like this; it’s meant to be savored one by one.”

“Mix it? Oh, my brother.”

I kept thinking he was talking nonsense, so I looked at Liston, and it seemed like our British friend had been a beggar in the martial arts world in his past life, or something.

It was a poor meal before, but now it just looked like food waste.

“It’s better if you eat it like this.”

The interpreter tried his best not to be rude when he saw Liston like that.

This means that he turned his head.

"Yes, that's good. Anyway, as promised yesterday, I plan to go to a more distant town today."

“Is it walkable?”

“Huh? We should walk. It’s not far enough to ride a horse.”

“Oh, I see.”

Anyway, we ate a poor breakfast and followed the interpreter out.

Some of the samurai I saw yesterday were posing as my attendants.

It seemed quite sincere, which was to be expected.

What can I do when there is someone who cuts people's limbs like tofu?

“Let’s go this way.”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

Of course, since it was now an official procession, several of our soldiers also accompanied them.

Since the red coat was too eye-catching, everyone, including me, changed into Japanese clothes.

Then Liston started teasing me when he saw me.

"Dressed like this, you look like a Japanese person. In Korean, it's called Waegu."

“No… that means pirate.”

"You're a great pirate. How many people have you plundered so far? Why?"

“And those words… I think everyone will understand?”

“Oh, really?”

Even after Liston noticed that the eyes around him were unusual, he didn't stop.

I said that because I am a person who doesn't have to stop.

I was a little jealous.

“The atmosphere over there is probably a bit different.”

The interpreter continued to guide Liston, pretending not to understand what he was saying.

The place we reached was definitely a lot different from where we were.

First of all, there was no one on the street.

“Why is it like this?”

“I don’t know, were we attacked or something?”

“Smoke from cooking rice is rising?”

It meant that the village was not empty.

It was only after Liston's comment that the interpreter began to get angry, wondering if something was wrong.

"They seem to think we're a bunch of bandits. Should we start by beheading the village chief?"

I thought he was a gentle guy, but it seems he was a typical strong-weak-weak-strong guy.