Chapter 57: A shabby old man

Choi Ikhyun wanted to see me.

If he wished to meet, it was only proper to agree.

Honestly, I didn’t particularly want to see him, but I heard he had suffered quite a bit of torture while imprisoned.

They tortured him just enough to keep him alive, careful not to provoke the scholars too much, but Kuroki was extremely vicious to Choi Ikhyun.

Since he might die soon, I figured I should see him at least once.

“Are you Sir Myeonam?”

When I saw Myeonam in person, he was far thinner than I had imagined from books.

Far more so.

He must have suffered a great deal while imprisoned by Kuroki Tamemoto’s Japanese forces.

“I had wanted to meet you once before, but now we meet like this.”

“What brings you to seek me out?”

I had no particular intention of provoking Choi Ikhyun.

It was better to gradually weaken the landlords than to cause trouble by poking at him unnecessarily.

There were many we had arrested this time as part of land reform anyway.

“I wanted to see for myself the one who so thoroughly beat back the Japanese. I had no opportunity before.”

“Is that so? And now that you have seen me, what do you think?”

“It’s surprising that hands which don’t even seem capable of wielding a sword could achieve such deeds.”

“If I had not stepped forward, this country would have become slaves to the Japanese. What choice did I have?”

“We must never become a colony. Isn’t that right?”

I manipulated the Russian Tsar through pressure and prevented this land from becoming a Russian colony.

Sensing that the Russo-Japanese War would exhaust Japan’s very soul, I maneuvered so that Japan would lose, creating a future where we would not become a colony.

I believe I did well enough.

“I understand your love for the nation. But I have another question. Is killing the scholars truly for the good of Korea?”

Oh, Choi Ikhyun was sharper than expected.

“It is not for Korea.”

“Then for whom are you beating down the very scholars who form the backbone of this nation?”

“It’s a simple logic. It is for the Korean people living on this Three Han land.”

“For the people, not the nation?”

“Even you, rigid as you are, must know that unless Korea changes, it cannot survive. You must have felt that yourself, have you not?”

“So you aim to stage a revolution like the founding of a new dynasty?”

‘Did he think I was like Yi Seonggye?’

In this era, when the Mandate of Heaven has faded, romantic revolutions like those of Wang Geon or Yi Seonggye are no longer possible.

I shook my head.

“Unfortunately, I have no such intentions. I am a woman, and even setting gender aside, I could take the throne anytime if I so desired. But of course, a noble scholar like yourself could never understand. What matters is, this is our last chance.”

“Our last chance?”

“This country had countless opportunities.

There were chances to grow stronger by interacting with the Westerners, but the scholars competed to block those chances.

Every opportunity to reform the nation was lost.

If we fail, the scholars only say, ‘We will fulfill our duty by resisting with spears and guns.’

‘But what awaits at the end of that road?’

“Whether it’s the Japanese, the Russians, or the British, countless scholars may proudly fall fighting invaders with bamboo spears and muskets, but what about the remaining Korean people?”

“They will all become slaves.”

“You scholars might die grandly and leave your names in history, but what happens to the people left behind?”

“Whether under the Japanese or the Russians, they will be reduced to slaves.”

“That is why I rose up.”

“We must reform the nation.”

“So you mean to reform the nation, even if it means becoming like the Westerners?”

“Yes.”

“And it was the scholars who forced it to come to this. For five hundred years, they surrendered to China and the Manchus, clinging to the humiliating past while chanting old glories to console themselves.”

“And recently, even that glory has faded.”

“Even during the Imjin War when Admiral Yi Sunsin fought valiantly, countless Koreans were abducted to Japan as slaves, and our potters were kidnapped too.”

“Joseon ended up trailing behind Japan even in ceramics.”

Over a million people died in that war.

And yet, we consoled ourselves by claiming victory just because Japan withdrew.

“It seems your words are harsh.”

It is not harshness.

It is the truth.

“I annexed Southern Manchuria as a new homeland for the Korean people.

“In five hundred years, all Korea had done was bow to foreign powers.”

“When other nations were modernizing and moving forward, Korea remained a frog in a well. Now we must step forward, declare ourselves to the world.”

“Or do you still believe that the teachings of Confucius and Mencius will somehow transform the world? When our palace was trampled by the Japanese, was it the scholars with their bamboo spears and muskets who saved us?”

“No.”

“It was the Manchurian forces trained in modern military tactics and armed with modern weapons.”

“In the end, it was not pens, but swords and guns that protected the nation. When the Korean people had their glorious times—Goguryeo, Goryeo—it was with swords, not brushes.”

“So what do you intend to do about the royal family?”

“The Mandate of Heaven is already gone. Whether we become a constitutional monarchy or a republic, we must move forward. After all, Korea’s Mandate lasted no longer than Goryeo’s five hundred years.”

“It is almost astonishing how long we managed to survive by worshipping China as our ‘father.’ Even Ming scholars admitted that Joseon had grown weak because of its servility. Joseon was such a nation.”

“During the Imjin War, it should have fallen. During the Manchu Invasion, it should have fallen again, but it managed to stagger on under Qing dominance for a few hundred more years.”

“Indeed. Even if one scours through history, Joseon has never matched the achievements of Goryeo. And now, it is you who has shone most brightly.”

“Sir Myeonam, do you still believe the scholars are righteous? Those who only write memorials and do nothing else?”

“Truly? Really?”

“If you say yes, I might lose all respect for you.”

“Let me give you my answer.”

“Yes, please do.”

“Please, say it.”

‘If he gives a foolish answer, I may have no choice but to abandon all pretense of respecting my elders.’

“You are right. Honestly, I still cannot understand how the world came to this where beasts must rule over men. But we, the scholars, cannot escape responsibility either. As you said, we enjoyed privilege for centuries and yet allowed the nation to become overrun by barbarians.”

Exactly.

It was their fault.

Always chanting Confucius and Mencius, they cast aside the glory of Goguryeo.

Why do I admire Goguryeo?

Because aside from that era, when did the Korean people ever extend their might into Manchuria and shine so brightly?

Balhae recovered only half of Goguryeo’s lands.

Even Goryeo struggled.

And Joseon—and now the Korean Empire—did even worse.

There might have been reasons—perhaps they believed Confucian rule was more stable—but in the end, worshiping China only made it easier for later generations to claim that Korea was part of China.

Of course, I do not claim to know everything.

If someone rebuts my theory, all I have left is a skill called ‘hand axe,’ reliant only on the knowledge shared in online forums.

Still, the current disaster was created by that rotten class.

“And so…”

“What do you want to say next?”

“At any rate, I will not live much longer. Even if I wanted to stop you, what could I possibly do? I am but a powerless, feeble old man.”

Yes, a powerless old man.

There is nothing more terrifying than those words.

For now, there is no other scholar as respected as Choi Ikhyun.

But regardless of the era, pens are always weaker than swords.

“But you are still the leader of the remaining scholars, are you not?”

Age does not matter.

If this man, before dying, rallied the scholars by claiming there was a monster seeking to destroy the nation and the emperor, Things could get very troublesome.

“I have no intention of stirring up the scholars and causing division in the country at such a critical time. I will persuade them myself. Please, at least spare their lives. Also, the imperial family of this nation—no matter how its history began or continued—has lasted for 500 years. Do not act rashly. If you keep that promise, I will watch over how this country changes, even if it costs me my life.”

“That’s unexpected.”

It really was surprising.

I had thought this old man would foam at the mouth and scream, “No means no!” while throwing a tantrum.

But that wasn’t the case.

“Did you expect me to shout and scold you?”

Choi Ikhyun gave a bitter smile, as if he was enjoying my reaction.

“Honestly, yes. What you are saying now contradicts your lifelong beliefs.”

‘If it were me, I’d rather die. If everything I had built up until now were denied, I would prefer death.’

I imagined him raising his voice at the woman before him, yelling, “You’re wrong! What good is there in becoming like them!” and hurling curses.

“My personal beliefs must come after the country’s needs. As I said, I do not have much time left. If I were your age, I would have traveled the world to see if what you said was true. Unfortunately, that is no longer possible.”

That made sense.

He was old now.

“I understand. We will release the scholars we captured on certain conditions.”

Since Choi Ikhyun responded like this, there was nothing more I could do.

Rather than provoking trouble by using force, it was better to negotiate appropriately.

“Thank you.”

Choi Ikhyun bowed his head and quietly withdrew.

Watching his retreating figure, I felt it deeply—that this was the end of the scholars.

***

“Are you really planning to honor that old man’s words?”

At Nam Sangdeok’s question, I nodded.

“They say even the wishes of the dead should be honored. This much, I can do.”

‘What else could I do? It’s not just anyone. It’s Choi Ikhyun.’

‘If he were just another ignorant fool who deserved a beating from a secret royal inspector in some fairy tale, I would have crushed him without mercy.’

But Choi Ikhyun was different.

He simply lacked understanding of the world.

Of course, being a frog in a well in this era made him a fool, but it wasn’t because he was evil.

He was just born in the wrong time.

“But even if Choi Ikhyun deserves it, if we don’t take this chance, when else will we uproot all those weeds? We have to tear out the roots of the old system if the Korean people are to survive.”

“First, have them write conversion pledges. If they want to retire into obscurity, let them. If they want to join us and put a spoon in the new system, that’s fine too.”

It’s called a ‘conversion pledge,’ but really, it’s just about obeying us.

Or better yet, they could fully switch sides and become our lackeys.

If the scholars willingly became our tools, reform would be much easier.

“What if they refuse everything?”

The most likely outcome was that they would refuse.

Their pride would not let them bow their heads easily.

If they insisted on keeping their heads high, then exile would be the answer.

As Choi Ikhyun said, all that mattered was keeping them alive.

So I would keep them alive—just barely.

Meaning, I could do whatever I wanted short of killing them.

And I had already thought of something.

In the past, the scholars were exiled to places where they would be effectively silenced.

“There’s a place called Shinshu County in Jeolla’s western islands. We’ll send them all there.”

“Yes. Exile.”

We’ll ship them off to Shinshu.

Let them enjoy themselves on the so-called Island of Angels.

***

“It used to be a popular place for exiles, didn’t it?”

“So what?” I shrugged.

My reasons were different, but it didn’t matter now.

Once they were on the Island of Angels, they wouldn’t be able to do anything to us.

Choi Ikhyun, meanwhile, walked the streets of Hanseong with other scholars, still wearing their traditional hats.

The scars of war had almost disappeared, but this Hanseong was no longer the capital they once knew from the Joseon Dynasty.

They had accepted Western innovations, and since Lee Beomyun’s cabinet had come to power in Gando, modernization was in full swing, with Western-style buildings popping up everywhere.

Moreover, the citizens of Daehan were brimming with energy.

It was obvious why: after recently rising as a victorious nation, Westerners were visiting and pouring aid into Daehan.

Using that funding, Lee Beomyun’s cabinet built factories, created jobs, and tore down the disorderly, war-torn hanok houses of Hanseong, erecting new buildings in their place.

Looking around, it felt as if this was no longer Daehan.

But at the same time, it was Daehan finally embracing the flow of time it had long ignored.

“How shameful,” Choi Ikhyun muttered.

“Master, we know you have suffered hardships because of us,” one of his students said.

“Hardships. Yes, that was true, although the meaning was different.”

“They will not last long. Power seized through swords and guns will never endure.”

“That’s not it.”

Choi Ikhyun shook his head.

Empty speeches without action or plans were meaningless now.

What shamed him was not the scholars or his students.

‘How did it come to this?’

The scholars, the aristocrats who had built this nation, had brought it to ruin.

The beasts of foreign lands could now beat Daehan as they pleased, and Daehan could not resist.

This nation was painfully weak.

The people who once repelled foreign invaders and proudly secured a place in history as a strong nation had ultimately failed.

Perhaps it was inevitable.

From the Imjin War to the Byeongja Horan, the Byeonginyangyo, and the Shinmiyangyo, it had been a steady decline.

What had the scholars done during those crises? They insisted on fighting to the death at court, refused any negotiation, and blindly repeated the same empty slogans.

Choi Ikhyun was no different.

How could they think that wielding a brush could defeat a mighty foreign army?

During the Imjin War, they fought amongst themselves about whether there would be a war or not, and eventually, the entire land was stained with blood by the Japanese they had scorned.

The same happened during the Byeongja Horan.

People made excuses, claiming that if they had attacked the enemy’s capital, the Qing dynasty would have collapsed—but it was all delusion.

And Choi Ikhyun himself had been a part of it.

It was all just wishful thinking.

In the end, because of the scholars, the young generation rose up.

In violent ways, no less—saying they would kill the scholars for the sake of the future.

It was all their own fault.

How shameful it was, to leave the work that they should have done to the younger generation.

How pitiful.

‘If only I were younger…’

But regret was meaningless now.

The only thing Choi Ikhyun could still do was ensure that the blood of scholars would no longer stain the hands of the young.

That was all he could do now.