The Joseon Prince Went To America And Didn’t Return – 101



< The day after the engagement ceremony >

The next day came.

Thump- tiding- thump- tidingdidingdingding- tidingdidingdingding-

Thump- tiding- thump- tidingdidingdingding- tidingdidingdingding-

In the garden of the Rockefeller family’s mansion after the engagement ceremony an unfamiliar melody resonated softly.

As soon as the sun rose the musicians I had brought with me began to play the gayageum.

‘Good to hear.’

Rather than sad songs he mainly plucks the strings to songs with a fast tempo and a cheerful tone.

It seems like everyone is just telling me to sober up and get back to normal.

‘This is the finale and a sneak peek of the next show.’

Usually when there is an Olympics don’t they show a performance from the next host country during the closing ceremony?

Similarly part of a wedding performance that was to take place in the West in three months was now being performed at Rockefeller’s mansion.

“Ugh….”

“What is that song?”

Engagement ceremonies and weddings among the American upper class usually last two nights and three days.

Because we are celebrating this by having a proper party at a wedding hall in the suburbs.

Moreover transportation is not developed these days.

If the party ends late at night how will everyone get home?

So everyone slept in the temporary accommodation provided by Rockefeller and showed up at the cafeteria looking disheveled.

“Huh? This prince.”

While I was listening to the beautiful melody of the gayageum Hearst who owned the largest media company in New York approached me.

“You seem to have had a lot to drink last night. How are you feeling? Are you okay?”

I shrugged my shoulders and pretended not to care.

“It’s so light that it feels like it’ll fly away if the wind blows. Fortunately I’m still in good shape and I don’t have a hangover at all.”

“Oh I envy you. Youth is the best. After all youth is something that cannot be bought even with a million dollars.”

You’re only in your mid-40s but you talk like a grandfather in his 70s.

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I looked at Hearst who was glaring at me with envious eyes and asked.

“How about you?”

“I feel like my head is going to explode from all the drinking I did last night.”

“But you’re drinking again? This guy is really….”

Throughout history there have been people among Koreans and Americans who used alcohol to relieve hangovers.

Hurst was exactly that type.

He had been drinking strong alcohol continuously since morning.

“Your Majesty poison must be treated with poison.”

“You are the best journalist in America and you are talking about such ridiculous folk remedies?”

“Hey. Why are you doing this? Hangover cure is the best hangover cure. If you drink like this in the morning you’ll feel like you’re alive.”

I advised Hearst with a sincere expression.

“Try drinking pear juice or pear tea. If you keep drinking on an empty stomach you’ll suffer later.”

“Yes yes. I’ll try it sometime later.”

This guy too.

You’re so stubborn.

‘Okay. Do whatever you want. Why should I suffer if you suffer?’

Hurst emptied the rest of his glass and then closed his eyes tightly.

And then he started to slightly shake his body to the melody of the gayageum.

“Hmm. The more I listen to it the more beautiful the melody seems. This is truly the music of the East.”

To be exact it is Joseon music.

Let’s say that Joseon also falls into the large category of the Orient.

“This prince.”

“Tell me.”

“I heard a very interesting story recently.”

After listening to the sound of the gayageum for a while Hurst came closer to me and whispered.

“Your Majesty the Prince you know Governor George Pardee don’t you?”

“Well I tend to spend my time with my face covered to some extent.”

Actually we are very close.

Is it okay for a capitalist to brag about being close to a politician?

That’s why I answered in a way that made it seem a little distant.

Hurst gave me a ‘Really?’ look at my answer and told me the rumor he had heard yesterday.

“Governor Pardee is lobbying the entire country to host the 1913 World’s Fair. Has your Majesty heard anything?”

I heard.

That was a long time ago too.

Aren’t they planning to hold an expo in San Francisco with the theme of ‘Revival’ amid the ruins of the great earthquake?

‘According to the original history it was held in 1915 but it was held a little earlier because of me.’

I promised in front of Padi’s face that I would actively help him.

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Recalling that scene I answered Hearst like this.

“I don’t know. Where on earth did you hear such a rumor?”

Hurst’s eyes began to sparkle.

I just found a guy wandering around the engagement party venue.

“Oh I see you there. She’s the secretary of the author Padi and the author is leading this.”

Isn’t the person Hurst was referring to John Maxwell?

He was the one who guided me on the day of my social stage debut.

John was walking around the engagement hall talking to people in the business world.

“You’ve been working hard since morning. Well you must be running around a lot to win the bid for the World Expo.”

Hurst looked at me and informed me that John had also been in contact with someone close to me.

“Did you also approach Chairman William Rockefeller?”

“yes.”

“What happened?”

“They proposed to invest a large sum of money in AT&T.”

Oh! Not a bad choice.

Wasn’t AT&T a company that monopolized the American landline telephone market for 100 years?

Selling Standard Oil and buying AT&T stock isn’t such a bad idea.

AT&T also experienced explosive growth starting in 1910.

That was when.

An old man in a neatly tailored suit came between us.

“Perhaps Bell’s investment solicitation was intended to hasten the launch of telephone service throughout the United States even a little?”

* * *

Baron Rothschild one of the members of the Seven.

He continued talking.

“As a father you must be anxious because your youngest daughter will be leaving for the far West in three months. AT&T’s Bell and Governor Pardee are trying to dig into this and attract a large amount of investment from the Rockefeller family.”

Hearst immediately greeted Baron Rothschild.

“Baron Rothschild. Hello. This is Representative Hearst.”

“Nice to meet you.”

Rothschild looked at me as if he had more business with me than with Hearst as if he had accepted my greeting or not.

“This prince.”

“Baron Rothschild. How are you feeling?”

He was quite heavy and had people supporting him on both sides.

“I’ll be honest with you Your Majesty. To be honest I’m not feeling so well.”

“Oh my…..”

Baron Rothschild has no intention of hiding the truth about his health.

Or maybe he was just trying to win my favor but he told me the truth about his health.

“I’m sorry for bringing you here with such a sick body.”

“It’s not that serious. Besides that’s just how it is at this age. Haha.”

Baron Rothschild looked at Hearst and asked for understanding.

“Ah! Mr. Hearst. May I borrow the prince for a moment?”

“Of course.”

Hearst wanted to keep asking me questions but the person he was talking to was Baron Rothschild.

The Baron had excused himself so Hurst took a bite and left our party for a while.

“The author starts talking too long when he opens his mouth. So I an old man am a little rude but I have joined in the conversation. Please forgive me.”

“no.”

In a noble manner.

He apologized to me in flowing language and a posh accent.

I also started talking to him recalling the British accent in my head.

“Before we get to the main topic with the prince I would like to first apologize. I would like to attend the wedding in three months but I have a chronic illness that will make it difficult for me to travel all the way to the west.”

“I know. The Baron’s term of office is this year…”

“I am sixty-eight years old.”

The average age is quite low in this era.

When you’re close to seventy it means you’ve lived long enough.

I think I understand why Baron Rothschild is having such a hard time.

“It would be difficult to cross to the West by train in ten days.”

“Yes. The boat ride is bearable but the train ride is a bit tiring.”

Rothschild quickly introduced the man supporting him on the right.

“But please let my nephew attend the prince’s wedding Walter.”

“Nice to meet you Your Highness.”

The spirit in his greetings is unlike that of ordinary people.

I looked at Walter Rothschild and asked.

“Are you by any chance a former military member?”

“Yes. I served as an officer in the British Army and reached the rank of major.”

“Oh! I see.”

Baron Rothschild has no sons.

Medical technology in this era is inferior to modern times.

That’s why the child mortality rate was high.

It is said that Rothschild’s children also suffered from leukemia and died young.

So he was pushing for one of his nephews to be adopted as his successor.

“Please take good care of me Your Highness.”

“I am the one who needs to take good care of you.”

Baron Rothschild looked bittersweet as he exchanged greetings with Walter.

Perhaps I was imagining that my dead son was in Walter’s place.

“This prince.”

“Speak Baron.”

“It’s something I said earlier.”

“If you say that are you referring to Representative Hearst?”

“Yes.”

The Baron continued his story pointing secretly at Hearst.

“I happened to overhear your conversation unintentionally. There were some things I already knew.”

“I knew that. Could you tell me?”

“That secretary of the party… went around to all the engagement parties talking about the World’s Fair. From what I heard it seems like the conversation with Washington was over too.”

I didn’t know the story had reached Washington.

but.

George Pardee was considered as a possible vice president during Roosevelt’s second cabinet.

I already knew he had a connection with Roosevelt but he roasted him.

“Did your highness know about this?”

It looks like you know the relationship between me and Padi.

There’s no reason to hide it in times like this.

“Yes that’s right.”

“Oh! As expected it is this prince.”

“But I didn’t know I would be this proactive.”

“Yes I guess so. The speed at which it is being promoted is abnormal.”

“Perhaps he is acting that way because various opinion polls are showing that Roosevelt will be elected as the next president?”

“I guess so.”

The stories that Hearst first told are now fitting together like a puzzle.

Hosting the World’s Fair in 1913 required some preliminary preparations.

We need groundbreaking inventions that will make an impression on everyone and it looks like the Wright brothers’ airplane and Bell’s telephone will be on display in San Francisco.

“This prince.”

“Please speak.”

“As I said before the speed at which it is being promoted is somewhat abnormal.”

The Baron seemed to know something.

If he who is usually tight-lipped is talking this much there must be some hidden meaning behind it.

“What is the reason? Do you know Baron?”

Rothschild asked me about my conversation with George Pardee.

“Didn’t the governor tell the prince about the Panama Canal?”

“Yes he did. He actively encouraged me to invest.”

huh?

Suddenly a person’s face came to mind.

There was one person who recommended to me albeit conditionally an investment in the Panama Canal.

“Why is Padi so impatient all of a sudden? Could it be that someone is inciting him?”

“Morgan no way?”

“Yes that’s right.”

Wow creepy.

I just got goosebumps.

“Isn’t it amazing? Morgan will do anything for his own benefit even if it means manipulating people behind the scenes. It’s quite frightening.”

Morgan’s big picture is truly creepy.

Well his actions haven’t caused me much harm so far.

I really need to be careful.

“Morgan will certainly try to get the Federal Reserve to legislate to his liking as well.”

I guess so.

But Baron.

I heard that you used to be good at drawing big pictures like this.

Aren’t you speaking too negatively about Morgan?

‘Both the Rockefellers and the Baron are both hypocrites.’

I continued talking to the Baron thinking to myself:

“So is there any solution?”

“Yes there is.”

but.

Why did the Baron confide his feelings to me like this?

Rothschild suggested to me one corner of his mouth slightly raised.

“My prince let us join forces. Unfortunately I have not yet persuaded James Hill or Jacob Schiff but Warburg and Rockefeller have agreed to join me.”

As expected.

I held his hand but he slightly evaded the ending leaving me with an escape route.

“Understood. I will take the Baron’s advice to heart. However this is not an easy decision to make so I will think about it for a while.”

“yes.”

The Baron was tired and was about to return to his quarters.

Then he turned his head again and spoke to me.

“Oh my. I almost forgot to tell you the most important thing. I guess it’s because I’m getting older Prince.”

“yes.”

“Bertie (Edward VII’s nickname) would like to speak to the prince.”

Hold on?

Who is Bertie?

“Oh my. I guess I felt too close to the prince. I unknowingly blurted out my master’s nickname.”

ah!

The British king’s nickname is Bertie.

‘What? Is that on purpose?’

Isn’t he showing off that he is very close to the King of England?

“Did Edward VII ask to see me?”

“Yes. He said he had something he wanted to talk to the prince about. Not only that the current prime minister also said he wanted to meet the prince sometime. So please come to England when you have time.”

Because it will build bridges between the British royal family and politics.

Are you trying to empower yourself and keep Morgan in check now?

“I’ll try to make time for you sometime soon.”

“yes.”

After finishing my conversation with the Baron I headed to the garden to rest my neck for a while.

“This prince.”

Another guest approached me for a conversation.

It was Morgan who had been talking behind my back a little while ago.

< The day after the engagement ceremony > End