As of 1879, Japan was using the Silver Standard, and 1 Yen was equivalent to 24.26 grams of pure silver.
Since the Ruble also operated under the Silver Standard, 1 Ruble was worth 18 grams of silver.
Japan had attempted to shift to the Gold Standard in 1876, but it had failed miserably due to a lack of gold, forcing them to stick with the Silver Standard.
The 48,000 Yen we received from selling 8,000 Seok of rice converted to approximately 64,693 Rubles.
To celebrate the deal, we even transported all the rice from our ship to the warehouses requested by the Misang.
Though this incurred a small expense, one must provide this level of service when a major transaction is concluded.
We cashed the 48,000 Yen check we received at the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation in Yokohama.
I hadn’t even imagined there would be a Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation in Yokohama, but it turned out it had been established even before the Tokyo branch and had been there for over ten years.
It was a bank frequently used by foreign merchants in Yokohama, and the merchants who bought our rice intentionally paid us with a check from this Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation.
The reason we didn’t exchange the Japanese Yen for Russian Rubles was that we didn’t plan to just sell rice and leave; we needed to import goods from Japan to make a profit.
The items to be imported from Japan were raw silk, coal, copper, and seafood, including sea tangle.
At this time, Japan’s industrial capacity was still poor, not yet at a level where they could sell industrial products abroad.
Their only competitive exports were primary industry products.
The Misang introduced us to a broker with many connections, and that Japanese broker said:
“We can obtain as much coal and copper as you want, but as for raw silk, most of the available stock already has owners, so it will be difficult to get right now. Especially the raw silk produced in the Western-style filatures you mentioned.”
At that time, Japan was diligently learning Western silk-reeling industries, including the Tomioka Silk Mill.
As a result, machine-reeled raw silk was being produced in abundance, but most of it was reportedly being exported to the United States.
“If raw silk isn’t available, what about silkworm cocoons?”
“That is possible. Western imports have recently decreased, so there is quite a surplus.”
“What about seafood, including sea tangle?”
“I can get that for you, but since it is currently out of season, it will be difficult to find.”
Yuli Briner spoke to me as if sighing.
“I suppose if anyone could get rich just by bringing a ship and looking for goods, no one would be poor. But putting aside the coal and copper, is there a place to sell silkworm cocoons?”
“We’ll try selling them to China, and if that doesn’t work, we’ll reel the raw silk ourselves and try weaving silk.”
“Is that even possible?”
“It’s work done by people; why would it be impossible? They say Japan also imported silk-reeling machines from Europe and brought in technicians to learn. We can certainly do it too. It’s time for us to slowly start expanding into the industrial sector.”
Indeed, the leveling of the plains around Sidimi was nearing completion, and the Russian Government was showing signs of wanting to blockade the border and control the influx of Joseon people, making expansion as we had done before difficult.
Therefore, we needed to adjust the pace of agricultural expansion and expand toward fishing or industry.
“Our Sidimi solved the entire food and horse fodder problem for the Russian Army. I don’t understand why they’re trying to block the influx of Joseon people.”
“It’s likely because the economic weight of the Joseon people has become too large. They want to control the pace of population growth according to their own will before it’s too late.”
“I don’t completely misunderstand Russia’s position, but it’s still frustrating.”
“We are living on Russian land, so there’s nothing we can do.”
Aside from coal, copper, and raw silk, there was another decent import: tea leaves. Japan was a country with a highly developed tea culture and high production, and upon investigation, the quality wasn’t bad.
Bringing it to Russia seemed like it would yield a sufficient profit.
“Until now, I only thought about buying tea in China, but Japanese tea is quite good too.”
“I agree. I didn’t think of this either, but from now on, we can just import tea from Japan. You know you have to keep this a secret from other merchants, right?”
“I may have gone completely bankrupt once, but I’m still a merchant. I know that much without being told, so don’t worry.”
After we finished loading the coal, copper, cocoons, and tea in Japan, we headed for Shanghai.
Whenever we visited Shanghai, we first looked for Archie and asked if there were markets for the goods we purchased in Japan.
Archie said:
“There’s a recession lately, so there’s a surplus of cocoons here too. Furthermore, a new mine was recently developed in Gaepyeong, so coal is coming in very cheaply. You’ve bought things that are completely useless.”
Yuli asked:
“Is copper not needed either?”
“I’ll buy the copper.”
“Very well. Then we’ll only hand over the copper. We can use the coal and cocoons ourselves, so there’s no problem.”
Archie agreed to buy only the copper, then looked at me and said:
“Go find Lee Geom-min. She was looking for you.”
Whenever I visited Shanghai, I always visited Archie first and then immediately went to find Lee Geom-min with a gift.
I wondered why Archie would specifically mention it.
“Why is Sister Geom-min looking for me?”
“I wouldn’t know that. Anyway, she’s not in Shanghai right now; she’s in Hanyang. She told me to make sure to send you to Hanyang if you came by.”
Even though it was called Hanyang, it wasn’t the Hanyang of Joseon, but the Hanyang located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River in China.
I was puzzled, but since Lee Geom-min had gone as far as to make a request, I couldn’t ignore it. I spoke to Yuli Briner.
“Yul, stay here and guard the ship. We aren’t going there for trade, and taking such a large ship would just waste coal for no reason. I’ll take only Bittu and Chitt with me.”
Yuli nodded, and I boarded a first-class cabin on a passenger ship headed for Hanyang, accompanied only by my two bodyguards, Bittu Singh and Chitt Singh.
My own frame had grown quite a bit, and since Bittu Singh and Chitt Singh were such giants, no one dared to look down on me or approach me even if I was young when I was with them.
Hanyang, located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, was a city China had opened to foreign trade.
Thus, there was a British Concession, and Lee Geom-min was staying there.
Lee Geom-min was Chinese, but since she was so wealthy, it was almost certain that her wealth would be seized by Chinese officials if she stayed on land under Chinese jurisdiction.
Therefore, she always resided in a foreign concession.
Lee Geom-min was fluent in English and France, and also well-versed in Western etiquette, so she had no trouble interacting with foreigners.
As I entered the house where Lee Geom-min was staying, I shouted:
“Sister, it’s Myeong-jin! Why did you call for me?”
The servants guarding the house were all familiar with me, so no one blocked my path.
However, the person who came out of the house to greet me was someone entirely unexpected.
“Myeong-jin, you’ve arrived.”
It was Wang Guk-seong, Lee Geom-min’s husband.
Yes, the very man who had been caught touring in a carriage with a kisaeng in Shanghai and was beaten by Lee Geom-min in the street.
We had met a few times, but I was surprised as Lee Geom-min rarely brought Wang Guk-seong along when she did business.
“Oh, Brother, are you here as well?”
Originally, Wang Guk-seong and I had a distant relationship.
In a way, he was someone who should have been wary of me, an outside man, but since I was still young and had gifted him several quite valuable items, he was quite welcoming toward me.
The watch he currently possessed was the Breguet Pocket Watch I had given him.
“There was a matter of dealing with officials, so I accompanied her this time.”
Wang Guk-seong was a Geoin who had passed the provincial examinations. A Geoin was someone qualified to take the metropolitan examinations in Beijing, possessing various privileges. When such a person stepped forward, the treatment from the government offices changed.
“What kind of business is Sister suddenly doing with officials?”
“Zuo Daein was looking for someone with experience in interacting with the West, and word reached her through him.”
Zuo Zongtang was a general who had achieved great merit alongside Zeng Guofan in suppressing the Taiping Rebellion.
Since then, as a high-ranking official of the court, he had suppressed various rebellions and had recently quelled the rebellion of Yaqub Beg in Xinjiang.
“Isn’t Zuo Daein in Xinjiang right now?”
“He achieved a great victory in Xinjiang and has now returned in triumph to Hanyang.”
“Does Zuo Daein meet Sister directly, bypassing you, Brother?”
It would be nonsensical according to Chinese etiquette for Zuo Zongtang, a high official of the court, to meet directly with another man’s wife, Lee Geom-min, without her husband, Wang Guk-seong, present.
“As if that would happen. I was there when she met Zuo Daein. Right now, she has gone to meet the wife of Hu Xueyan.”
Upon hearing the name Hu Xueyan, I frowned.
“Hu Xueyan?”
Hu Xueyan was the greatest Grand Merchant of the era, rumored to have assets exceeding 30 million Silver Taels.
In particular, he had deep ties with Zuo Zongtang and was famous for handling all of Zuo Zongtang’s military supplies and provisions.
For those contributions, he received a high rank from the court and was nicknamed the Hongding Merchant.
The ‘Hongding’ is the red bead attached to the hats of high-ranking officials, meaning he held a rank equivalent to a high official.
While he was famous as the greatest merchant of the time and many people held him in high regard, many of his business tactics relied on pre-modern cornering of the market, and he was a man notorious for his poor behavior with women.
Lee Geom-min was a young beauty. The fact that such a woman was meeting Hu Xueyan’s wife was not a very pleasant thought.
Seeing me frown, Wang Guk-seong spoke.
“Hu Xueyan is not here. And Hu Xueyan’s wife is a woman, so they are just talking woman to woman. Besides, her sisters accompanied her, so there shouldn’t be a problem.”
I felt a little relieved to hear that Lee Geom-yeong and Lee Geom-seon had gone along.
“What exactly does Zuo Daein want Sister to do?”
“The government bought and operated several Western steamships, but it seems the deficit is becoming severe. So, it seems they want to sell them off to the private sector for operation. But since it’s such a massive project, they couldn’t find anyone to do it alone, so they eventually called her. After all, there aren’t many people as knowledgeable about Western affairs as she is.”
In China, Western steamships were called ‘Yunseon.’
Although the ministers of the Qing Dynasty court had begun the Self-Strengthening Movement, many of them executed it individually.
Seeing Li Hongzhang create the China Merchants Steam Navigation Company and entrust its management to a merchant named Sheng Xuanhuai, Zuo Zongtang had also purchased a few Western steamships and operated them on the Yangtze River. When it didn’t go well, he seemingly wanted to sell them off to the private sector.
“Was there no word for you, Brother?”
“A message came saying they would formally give me a government post, but I refused. Although I am merely a Geoin, this rank is something I earned myself. What would people say about me if I obtained a post through my wife’s influence?”
“You did well. Even if it wasn’t for the reason you mentioned, Zuo Daein won’t last long, so a post obtained through his power might cause problems later.”
“Zuo Daein won’t last long? What do you mean by that?”
“I don’t mean he’ll lose his position; I mean it will be difficult for him to live much longer. Think of Zuo Daein’s age. How many years did he suffer in the harsh lands of Xinjiang at that age? His health is probably exceptionally poor right now.”
“Even so, would that cause problems even for those who received his grace?”
“It might not go that far, but Zuo Daein’s personality is such that he creates enemies everywhere. Once Zuo Daein passes away, his political enemies might start making trouble.”
Wang Guk-seong nodded.
“By the way, Brother, do you know why Sister was looking for me?”
“You always carry Ginseng with you, so she wanted to inquire if she could obtain some. Also, they seem to be planning to build a Western-style steel mill in Hanyang, and since you know a lot, she wanted to consult you.”
“A steel mill will be difficult right now. It will only be possible after another ten years or so.”
“That is exactly what she wanted to ask. Do you also think it’s impossible for now?”
“Yes. Even if we tried to build a steel mill in China now, there is a severe shortage of people. We need to train people for at least ten years. Even if we wanted to learn from the West, we’d need to know Western languages to learn anything, wouldn’t we?”
As I said that, I subtly slipped 100 pounds worth of British banknotes into Wang Guk-seong’s pocket.
“I didn’t expect to see you today, so I couldn’t buy a gift. I know Sister is quite strict with you, so please use this for your expenses.”
Wang Guk-seong had not been receiving a proper allowance since that incident in Shanghai, so I had been giving him a little pocket money every time we met.
However, I didn’t give him too much, fearing he might use it to fool around.
“You really are the only one who understands my situation.”
Wang Guk-seong was moved to tears and thanked me.
***