Joseon Needs a Coup - Chapter 136



Only Noblemtl

#136. Settlement (3)

“If things continue this way, Japan will be completely surrounded.”

“Let’s not be pessimistic just yet. We have only suppressed a few Boxer rebels…”

“The problem is that they have done too much in China.”

In December 1900, with the cold winter in full swing, Japan’s Ito Cabinet was on semi-alert.

This was because the Korean Empire, more than expected, participated in the suppression of the Boxer Rebellion, forced the signing of the New Treaty, and showed remarkable growth to the world.

Aside from the fact that their army fought well, the fact that the Korean Empire’s economy was growing day by day, unlike the Japanese economy that had been in a recession since 1896, was a cause for concern for them.

“Our economy is growing slowly…”

“It’s all just bad luck. The war broke out just when our cotton textiles were selling well.”

Japan’s depression was already anticipated. The victory in the Sino-Japanese War in 1895 was good, as was the great economic upturn.

At that time, Japan’s main product, cotton textiles, began to sell like hotcakes, and with the trade surplus increasing significantly, the economy developed like crazy, just like their national flag rising in the sky.

There was no need to worry about the lack of agricultural production there, as neighboring Joseon supplied it at a low price.

That was the case until 1895, but after that, something started to go wrong.

Due to the Triple Intervention, it was difficult to control Joseon using existing methods, so he caused the Eulmi Incident and killed the queen of Joseon, but was unable to prevent the coup from breaking out.

Because of this, Joseon gradually escaped from their grasp, and now, claiming to be a fence for Russia, often showed negative feelings toward them.

And one of the ways in which these feelings were expressed was through the ban on grain harvesting enforced by local officials.

It was clear that they had decided to abolish the ban on grain exports when they concluded the last Japan-Korea Air Force alliance, but they quietly revived the system.

And then, whenever necessary, and whenever Japan’s agricultural production was in danger, they began to harass us by issuing grain-free orders. No matter how much we protested and applied diplomatic pressure, it didn’t work.

Every time, the person who was put forward as the special envoy was Cho Byeong-sik, also known as ‘Mr. Banggok-ryeong’, and he did not even blink at the chilling threats from Japanese officials.

Personally, he was a very corrupt man, but he refused bribes from the Japanese government.

He just fought with the attitude that he would not give anything to the Japanese.

In the end, negotiations were held every year, but they were not fruitful. It was the beginning of bad news for Japan, which had lost its stable food supply.

Of course, if it were like before, he would have sent troops and threatened them, but Russia was standing behind him.

Moreover, since all pro-Japanese forces had been emasculated due to the coup, it was impossible to do anything beyond protesting at a diplomatic level. But it was also impossible to go to war with them.

Joseon actively took advantage of the situation and forced an absurd increase in rice prices, while Japan tried to solve the problem by finding new suppliers, starting with Annam rice, but this was not the answer.

Because it was cheap, many people said it was really tasteless. No wonder the word “Annammi” has recently become a term used to replace “low-quality rice” in Japanese society.

And that wasn’t all.

As the stock market crashed, the number of individuals and companies going bankrupt increased by the day.

“No, what the hell is going on!”

“The stock price has become shit?”

“You motherfuckers, give me my money back!!”

Problems arose when Japanese banks began lowering lending rates from 2.1% to 1.9%, leading to a sharp increase in personal lending.

From the summer of 1896, excessive investment in businesses, inflation due to the increased money supply, and a shortage of funds at Japanese banks due to lower lending rates led to a complex depression.

There were also aftereffects of the blockade of cotton textile sales due to the Spanish-American War and the conversion from the silver standard to the gold standard.

The Japanese economy was literally heading towards the worst. In order to proceed with the gold standard, securing gold bullion was essential, but the nearby gold-producing country, the Korean Empire, was not particularly friendly to them.

Considering that 60% of all gold was imported from Joseon in the past, this would have been an even bigger problem than the supply of rice.

“The voices of the people crying outside are getting louder and louder.”

“I got addicted to it too early because of the Sino-Japanese War···.”

“The price of rice, which used to be 15 yen per sack on average every year, has jumped to nearly 17 yen this year. There are no signs of it falling, and it just keeps rising. What should we do?”

There was only one thought in the minds of all the cabinet members. The only way to overcome this crisis was a war between the Korean Empire and Russia, which was plotting evil behind them.

It was a thought that everyone knew, but no one dared to say it out loud. No, it would be more accurate to say that they couldn’t.

As the British minister pointed out, Russia was a great empire, fundamentally different from the likes of the Qing.

Although the individual capabilities of each soldier may be superior, the vast territory and the population coming from it could not be ignored.

However slow and lazy they may have been, they were still at the bottom of the list of great powers.

Opening war against such a Russia. This was a problem that had to be resolved more than a war with the Qing.

“Isn’t it time to really prepare now?”

It was Army Minister Kentaro Kodama who woke up the cabinet from its silence.

At this point, the Japanese military was a faction that was pushing for a hard-line policy toward Russia. They could not tolerate Russia’s efforts to annex Manchuria, which was a strategically important territory, extending to the Korean Peninsula.

As the Korean Empire was virtually becoming a fence for Russia, they attempted to advance into southern China, but failed due to obstruction from the great powers, so now there was only one way to advance. It was to turn their attention back to the Korean Peninsula.

“It is not yet time. Britain has not yet conquered South Africa, and Russia, unchecked by Britain, is not a stopper.”

Saionji Kinmochi, the great general, waved his hand.

He was one of the few moderates left in the Japanese cabinet, along with Prime Minister Ito.

In fact, rather than saying that he was a moderate because he hated war, it was closer to saying that he was a moderate because of the chronic deficit of the Japanese Empire.

“But we subdued Gina.”

“Roske is not passing by, Minister of the Army. Shouldn’t the Minister of the Navy know better the difference in power?”

Navy Minister Yamamoto did not say anything in particular.

He was well aware of Russia’s long-term twenty-year shipbuilding plan that had been in place from 1881 to 1900.

The Russian Far Eastern Fleet, which had only 46 ships of various types and a total tonnage of 304 tons in 1880, had grown to a remarkable level by 1901.

The Baltic Fleet, which was meant to check Germany, and the Black Sea Fleet, which was ready to advance toward the Bosphorus at any time, had been strengthened over the past 20 years, and with 217 ships of various types built, it would not be an exaggeration to say that they had the world’s second largest fleet.

Moreover, the fact that the fleet had been reinforced in the Far East since the Sino-Japanese War, more than doubling its strength, was something that the Japanese Navy was absolutely not happy about.

“Is it difficult for the combined fleet to deal with them?”

“They are supplied with high-quality Pyongyang-produced anthracite coal from the Korean Empire. Although their fleets are dispersed between Vladivostok and Port Arthur, their mobility is greater than ever, and the blatant support from the Korean Empire… places many restrictions on us.”

“Aren’t we also strengthening our navy for that time?”

The Minister of the Navy just sighed at the Minister of the Army’s words.

A large-scale project was launched to build a total of 580 ships, including four battleships, by 1905, with a total budget of 210 million yen.

In reality, it was reported that less than half of the plan would be properly implemented.

“···The shipyards that are essential for strengthening the fleet are in a state of disarray. Small ships can be built domestically, but it’s a different story for large ships.”

“Do we need Britain’s help after all…?”

In any case, for them to decide anything, Britain had to get out of the South African quagmire quickly and turn its attention back to Russia. And there was another real problem.

“We must secure from Britain the supply of anthracite coal, which is essential for fleet maneuvers. If a war breaks out with Russia, it will be difficult to obtain anthracite coal supplies from Korea as we do now.”

In recent years, an indispensable strategic resource for the Japanese Navy has been anthracite coal supplied from Korea.

Most of the coal mines under the jurisdiction of the Korean Empire government made profits by signing exclusive supply contracts with the Russian Navy, but some of the mines were sold to the Japanese Navy.

Although it was only a small amount, the amount was not negligible. At the Sadong Coal Mine in Pyongyang alone, 10,000 tons were mined annually, and if all the mines near Pyongyang were combined, the total would easily exceed 100,000 tons.

With the help of the American mining supervisor Hoover’s skills and the combined technological prowess of Russia, France, and the United States, productivity increased day by day.

Assuming that the Navy’s reserves of anthracite coal in preparation for war with Russia were 1 million tons, the supply of high-quality anthracite coal produced in the Korean Empire was by no means small.

This supply of anthracite coal was a blessing for the Japanese Navy, but it was also a curse.

They were out of their grasp before full-scale coal mining took place. Although it was cheaper than anthracite coal in other areas, it was hard to avoid the uneasy feeling.

“Have you ever heard the story of the monkey who became tamed by a shoe?”

“What is it, Minister of the Navy?”

It was a tale of a sly fox approaching a monkey who lived between trees and giving him silk shoes, then slowly raising the price as he waited for them to wear out.

Eventually, the monkey got used to the shoes and all of his calluses disappeared, and he had no choice but to depend on the shoes that the fox gave him for a high price… I thought that it was similar to the current reality of the Imperial Navy, which relies on the Korean Empire for the power of its fleet.

They were taking over the markets one by one so that the cunning Korean Empire could not help but depend on them.

From rice and beans to high-quality anthracite coal.

If they were to go to war with Russia in this situation, it was unclear whether the Korean Empire would be able to sell them supplies like it was now.

Rather, it was more likely that they would side with Russia and impose a full-scale embargo.

If that were to happen, the Japanese Empire would suffer from the very bottom. It would be in a state where it could not guarantee the will of its people, who were the core of the war effort, and their will to fight.

“We’ve become those monkeys. We rely on them to power most of the fleet.”

“Diversifying the sources of anthracite coal supplies···.”

“It’s not that I haven’t tried it. But I can’t help but buy their products because of the price and quality.”

When the captains and crew members who received the anthracite coal from the Korean Empire reported on its performance, most of them unanimously said that it was a blessing for them to have such a power source coming from Joseon.

While smokeless coal from other regions burned at an average temperature of 700 to 800 degrees, the one from Joseon burned at over 1,200 degrees. Naturally, it received rave reviews because it not only increased mobility but also improved fleet efficiency.

As far as he knew, the only anthracite coal that could achieve this level of efficiency was the British Cardiff anthracite.

“After all, before the war, we must secure from Britain the supply of anthracite coal.”

“Anyway, war is necessary. We need to take care of those Roske guys, as well as those insolent Joseon guys, while also providing the Japanese Empire with the resources it needs.”

Although the conclusion seemed to have been largely omitted without any explanation of what was going on, most agreed with the Army Minister’s words. In the end, the conclusion was that war was necessary.

If Japan can resolve its domestic recession and food insecurity in one fell swoop and reorganize the Korean Peninsula into a food base for its own country, the rise of the Japanese Empire will never end.

“But it is not yet time to talk about war. First, we need to figure out their intentions.”

“Are you asking to negotiate again?”

“We also need time for war, Minister of the Army. We need to figure out their true intentions and see if they really want war. If we can get something to our advantage through dialogue and compromise, that would be great, but if not….”

Ito trailed off. If not, those war-mongers would surely head towards war. Before that, they had to prepare something to calm the rising war clouds through negotiations with Russia and, furthermore, the Korean Empire.

“At the very least, we must separate the Korean Empire from Russia.”

“In what way, Prime Minister?”

“It’s a division.”

And Ito had a plan to break their bond. If it worked, it could render the dull Russian helpless.

For that purpose, I have been preparing a mask that even those cunning Joseon guys could not help but fall for, and I have been gritting my teeth for the past several years.

Japan’s cabinet began to prepare to face old and new enemies.