Dark-Haired British Doctor Chapter 497

Episode 497: The Great Famine [7]

Naturally, there was no incident of beheading a civilian.

This was because Liston, the Sword Master Liston, who was now the de facto leader of this group, did not want this.

Why would a person who became a doctor to save people's lives try to kill people for no reason?

Of course, if there is a reason, he is a human who can kill anyone he wants… … .

Since he was a man of considerable morality by 19th century standards, I didn't say anything.

“Just tell them to come out. They’ll come out if you tell them you’re from the shogunate.”

"yes."

The interpreter nodded, and soon the samurai began to roam the town, shouting.

As I looked at that sight, a question arose.

The question was, 'Will people really come out just because of something like that?'

No matter how you look at it… … .

Doesn't it look like it shouldn't come out?

I looked at Liston, wondering if I was the only one who was mistaken, and it seemed like Liston was thinking the same thing.

“Plain. Is Joseon like this too…?”

“No, that won’t happen.”

Honestly, I don't know what the atmosphere in Joseon is like right now.

Wouldn't you know if you went there and tried it?

what…….

If you are a historian, you will probably know it quite vividly.

Because Joseon was a period in which many records remained.

It wasn't that long ago, and people at the time were obsessed with records.

'But shouldn't I have studied?'

If someone says that you don't know such things even though you're a doctor, I'll tell them that you don't know much about doctors.

There's a reason why they say "major fool".

Modern medicine… …especially since the 1990s, the amount of knowledge accumulated is truly enormous.

As the era of full-scale globalization has begun, so too has the era of full-scale knowledge exchange.

Of course, there are still kids who show interest in this and that even during their school days, but they usually end up repeating a grade.

Maybe that's why some people, after becoming specialists, end up digging too deep into the field they were interested in…

Unfortunately, it wasn't me.

"These are just a bunch of bandits. Look at them. Is that how the government troops treat civilians?"

At Liston's words, I looked ahead and saw a samurai dragging a civilian out.

He didn't draw his sword, but he was dragging me out anyway.

It came out like that, so I didn't think it would be strange at all if I just cut it.

Even though I've seen so many samurai-themed cartoons, I had the illusion that I was seeing that scene unfold before my eyes.

“Um… we don’t do that in England, do we?”

“Of course! Is that how you treat a criminal or extradited person? How can you do that to a civilian?”

“Yeah, that’s true too.”

“Besides, why do those civilians look like that?”

Whether we muttered or not, the samurai were doing their best at their given mission.

Now that I think about it, it seems like not all the kids here are of samurai class.

Well, samurai, or warrior class, were a higher class, so they couldn't have gathered in such large numbers.

There will just be soldiers, that's all.

Isn't it?

This is a very frustrating situation because I don't know much about it.

“I… don’t know.”

In addition, as I watched the civilians finally appear before us, I began to feel even more suffocated.

It had to be that way.

But I am from a country that has modernized.

In fact, even in such a Britain, from my perspective as someone living in 21st century South Korea, I felt that it was lacking in many ways… … .

The behavior of the people of raw Japan, that is, the pre-modern era, was beyond imagination.

First of all, everyone was naked and thin.

“I think I’ve collected them all.”

“Is this all?”

“It seems like it’s been a bit dead lately.”

"asleep……?"

While I was thinking that, the interpreter gave Liston a situation report.

The conversation was unusual.

Of course, it was as expected.

There must have been a famine.

There are famines even in the 21st century.

But famine in the 21st century is usually just a matter of rising food prices.

At least for humans within the confines of civilization.

But the famine of the 19th century seems to have been much more severe than I thought.

“Yes, because there is nothing to eat.”

“There’s nothing to eat… That could be true. But isn’t this essentially Edo?”

“That’s right. It’s Edo. It’s about an hour’s walk away.”

“But you’re dead?”

“If there’s nothing to eat, I’ll die. What can I do?”

It was a sight I hadn't seen in a long time, seeing Liston's eyes waver.

That's understandable, because the interpreter's tone of voice was so calm.

If you have nothing to eat, you have to die?

Even a 19th century Londoner would be surprised by this.

Of course, that doesn't mean that there are no starving people in London.

Strictly speaking, the number of people dying is probably higher in London.

But there is at least some relief there.

Whether it be a religious organization or a government… … .

“So how many died?”

“I don’t know, just a moment.”

When Liston, who had obviously come out with a light heart to flirt with a woman, asked with shaking pupils, the interpreter approached someone who seemed to be the village chief or something and started talking.

Unfortunately, the conversation wasn't at a level I could understand.

I only understood the phrase 'to every house', but I could tell from the atmosphere what was going on.

'There's a dead person in every house, right?'

As I was thinking this, the interpreter said the same thing.

Liston sighed, "Ugh," then came over to me and whispered.

“It would be impossible to meet a woman in this situation, right?”

"Of course. Is that something a person should say? Look at those people. I'd believe you if you said they were beggars under the Thames Bridge. What kind of woman is this, a woman?"

"No, I didn't know this would happen. Who would have imagined it? It's not like it's the 1400s anymore."

“I didn’t know it would be like this… well….”

If you think about it, all the places we stopped at might have been similar.

London is full of goods plundered from all over the world, so at least the rich can lead a life of luxury, but isn't that the case elsewhere?

If there had been nitrogen fertilizers, there would have been some leftover even if they had been exploited, but unfortunately, that was something that didn't come out until the 20th century.

It is clear that the world today is starving.

This is a world where it is normal for an ordinary person to go hungry a few times in their life.

“Should we go somewhere else…?”

“Would it be different somewhere else?”

“No, well… it could be better.”

“…….”

"Don't look at me like that. We're here on vacation. And you're here to find a bride."

“Brother, aren’t you here to find a plaything rather than a bride?”

"What are you talking about? And is that so wrong? Everyone I've met so far has enjoyed it."

I looked at Liston again with pitiful eyes, but it was no use.

Now I see that this kid's eyes aren't human.

It became a beast.

but…….

I've seduced countless women and made them cry on my way here, but it's even stranger that I still have human eyes.

“I’ll buy some food with this, so tell them to do something here.”

Of course, Liston was a respectable man by 19th-century standards, so he didn't just leave this miserable land.

He took out a small gold nugget and gave it to me.

He ordered one of his samurai to buy food.

I didn't think I would have to worry about getting hit in the middle.

It was thanks to seeing Liston with a bloody face just yesterday.

Besides, I'll be worried because I'm next to you.

“Wait a minute, let me say a prayer.”

It will be even worse if I curse, or rather pray, to you.

I listened to it in more detail on the way here, and indeed, the story of the Qing Dynasty's destruction a few years ago had already spread widely in Edo.

Naturally, there was talk about me and Liston, but I was more famous, perhaps because the scene where the blood was drawn from the heart was impressive.

Well, isn't it already a rare time for an Asian to wear British clothing and speak English?

But, they took blood from a person's heart and revived the dead person, so what…?

Anyway, wouldn't you be scared if a person like that put his hand on his head and chattered in a foreign language and then looked up at the sky in the middle of it?

“Eek. Risking my life….”

It didn't seem like something worth risking our lives for, but anyway, we left that village and headed to another one.

I didn't think anything would be different there, and sure enough, it wasn't.

There were even places where the situation was worse, and Liston had to give up a larger gold nugget.

"Brother, please give up now. If you keep doing this, you'll just end up wasting all your money."

“Phew…….”

So I tried to stop it.

But Liston's eyes… … .

It was a look I felt like I had seen somewhere before.

I don't have to go far, I've been like that before.

'It's 2017… … Coins… … .'

I was an intern at the time.

Since I was a Taehwa, my monthly salary was a little over 3 million won, but that didn't mean I was okay with losing hundreds of dollars at a time.

How many chickens in the world can you buy for 5 million won?

At that time, even the special law for medical residents had not been properly implemented, so working 100 hours a week felt like a joke, so it felt even more serious…

If you lose that much money, you should stop, but the problem is that people don't do that.

'Let's make up for it this time!' That's all I could think.

I thought it was just me, so I decided never to do coins or stocks again, but now I see that it seems like everyone is like that.

The only difference is that he is obsessed with women, not money…

“Are we going again?”

“Okay. Just one last time.”

"The kids are all tired now. Our kids carry guns around, so they're heavy."

"It's okay. I'll just give you more money later. What do you think? Is that okay?"

"yes!"

Liston was not a man of empty boasts, and the Redcoats' morale was boosted when the amount he promised was much larger than they had expected.

The samurai also had their morale raised, even though the amount was much smaller.

If I told him not to go like this, he would be seen as a bad guy.

'crazy…….'

no…….

I don't know why he's acting like this, even though he's met women in his home country.

Seriously, I'm out of my mind… … Uh.

'what.'

I had surrendered to the inevitable trend, but because I had no motivation, I was walking slowly.

He said he was following Liston, and the book in his back pocket caught his eye.

There were Chinese characters written on it, and even my limited Chinese character skills made it possible for me to read them.

Spring painting.

This is a word that refers to genre paintings that explicitly depict sexual acts between men and women in East Asian cultures such as China, Japan, and Korea.

'This kid… …? Is that what he dreams of?'

Now that I think about it, I think I carried around a strange book when I was in India.

I didn't know the writing there, so I just passed it over, but now that I look at it, isn't that the Kama Sutra?

'You're the only one watching it.'

My body trembled with a sense of betrayal.