Palace of Versailles, France

Emperor’s Office

One Week Later

Napoleon hadn’t put the reports from Japan aside.

If anything, he had gone deeper into them.

The stack on his desk had grown. Notes were added. Details connected. What started as a simple report had turned into something larger.

Now it was a pattern.

A direction.

He stood over a large table, maps spread wide across it. Japan was marked clearly. So was China, its ports already tied into French routes.

And beyond them—

Joseon.

Charles-Louis stood across from him, holding a thinner set of papers this time.

"You’ve got everything?" Napoleon asked without looking up.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Napoleon nodded slightly.

"Alright. Walk me through it."

Charles-Louis opened the report.

"Joseon—the Kingdom of Korea—has kept itself isolated for a long time," he began. "In some ways, even more than Japan."

That made Napoleon glance up.

"More than Japan?"

"Yes."

Charles-Louis shifted his grip on the papers.

"Their system is built around strict Confucian governance. Everything is ordered, controlled, and resistant to outside influence. They don’t just see foreigners as a threat—they see them as something that disrupts the natural order."

Napoleon turned his attention back to the map.

"So, same mindset as Japan."

"On the surface, yes," Charles-Louis said. "But in practice... they’re more closed."

Napoleon tapped a finger lightly on the table.

"How so?" 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

Charles-Louis flipped a page.

"Japan allowed limited contact," he explained. "Through the Dutch, mainly. Even if it was controlled, there was still a channel."

He paused.

"Joseon doesn’t have that."

Napoleon’s eyes narrowed slightly.

"No steady trade?"

"Very little," Charles-Louis said. "Mostly with China. Some minor regional contact. But with the West? Almost nothing."

Napoleon leaned back a bit.

"So they never even opened the door."

"No."

"And attempts to reach them?"

"There were some," Charles-Louis said. "Missionaries, mostly. They entered quietly and tried to spread Catholicism."

Napoleon stayed silent.

"And?"

"They were hunted down," Charles-Louis said plainly. "Arrested. Executed."

Napoleon gave a small nod.

"They made their position clear."

"Yes."

Charles-Louis continued.

"Traders tried as well. Ships approached. They were turned away. In some cases, threatened."

Napoleon looked back down at the peninsula on the map.

"So they’ve been consistent."

"Yes."

"And confident."

Charles-Louis hesitated for a second.

"For now."

The room went quiet.

Napoleon studied the map for a moment before speaking again.

"What about their capabilities?"

Charles-Louis didn’t rush his answer.

"They’re behind Japan," he said.

Napoleon didn’t react.

"How far behind?"

"Quite a bit," Charles-Louis replied. "Their economy is still mostly agrarian. Very little industry. Mechanical development is limited. Their military hasn’t changed much either."

Napoleon nodded slowly.

"So no exposure. No adaptation."

"Yes."

He stayed quiet for a moment.

Then—

"That makes them vulnerable."

Charles-Louis nodded.

"It does."

"But also stubborn," Napoleon added.

"Yes."

Napoleon walked slowly around the table, hands behind his back again.

"They’ve seen what happened to China," he said.

"Yes."

"They’ve seen pressure from the outside."

"Yes."

"And they still chose to shut everything out."

Charles-Louis nodded.

"They have."

Napoleon stopped walking.

"That means one of two things," he said.

Charles-Louis waited.

"They think they can hold out."

A short pause.

"Or they don’t realize they can’t."

The silence that followed was heavier this time.

Charles-Louis spoke carefully.

"There’s something else to consider, Your Majesty."

Napoleon looked at him.

"Go on."

"Joseon is closely tied to Qing China," he said. "Politically, culturally. They see themselves as part of that system."

Napoleon gave a small nod.

"So whatever happens to China... affects them."

"Yes."

"And now China has opened."

That changed things.

Napoleon stepped back toward the table.

"Then they’ll feel it," he said.

Charles-Louis nodded.

"Eventually."

Napoleon shook his head slightly.

"No. Sooner than that."

He rested his hand on the map.

"Japan resisted," he said. "But they adjusted."

"Yes."

"China resisted."

"And got forced."

Napoleon nodded once.

"Joseon will try to hold out longer."

"Yes."

"And that’s going to cost them."

Charles-Louis didn’t argue.

Napoleon looked up again.

"What about internal divisions?"

Charles-Louis flipped through his notes.

"Not as visible," he said. "Their system is tighter. Power is concentrated around the monarchy and the scholar-official class."

"Meaning?"

"People don’t speak out as openly," Charles-Louis said. "But that doesn’t mean there’s no disagreement."

Napoleon gave a small nod.

"There’s always disagreement."

The room went quiet again.

Napoleon stepped back from the table.

"So," he said, almost to himself, "Japan opens slowly. China opens under pressure."

Then he looked at Charles-Louis.

"And Joseon stays shut."

"Yes."

Napoleon nodded once.

"That won’t last."

Charles-Louis didn’t ask how.

He already had a sense of where this was going.

"What do you want us to do?" he asked.

Napoleon walked back toward the window. The light had shifted, brighter now, filling more of the room.

"We don’t approach them the same way," he said.

Charles-Louis listened closely.

"No pressure," Napoleon continued. "Not yet. If we push now, they’ll shut us out completely."

"Yes."

"No show of force."

"Yes."

Napoleon turned slightly.

"We use Japan."

Charles-Louis paused.

"Japan?"

Napoleon nodded.

"They’re already changing. Already learning. Already tied to us."

He walked back toward the table.

"If Japan moves forward, Joseon will notice."

Charles-Louis nodded slowly.

"They’ll watch."

"Yes."

"They’ll compare."

A faint smile appeared on Napoleon’s face.

"Exactly."

He rested his hand on the edge of the table.

"Japan becomes the example," he said. "China becomes the warning."

Charles-Louis let out a quiet breath.

"And Joseon?"

Napoleon’s gaze sharpened.

"Joseon becomes the one deciding."

The words hung in the air.

"They’ll have to choose," Napoleon said. "Stay where they are... or move."

"And if they don’t?"

Napoleon didn’t answer right away.

Then—

"They fall behind."

Simple.

Final.

Charles-Louis nodded.

"Understood."

Napoleon turned back to the window.

The gardens outside were calm. Ordered. Unchanged.

Unlike everything beyond them.

"Set up a long-term observation plan," he said.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"Through Japan," Napoleon added. "Quietly. No direct contact for now."

"Yes."

Charles-Louis gathered his papers.

Napoleon stayed where he was.

Looking out.

China was already shifting.

Japan had started moving.

Joseon hadn’t. Time to dominate the three largest market in Asia.