Joseon Needs a Coup - Chapter 141



Only Noblemtl

#141. World’s collide (2)

While the budget for the production of grenades and the mass production of prototypes were being spent, strange signs were detected in the political and diplomatic circles of the Korean Empire.

The Records Investigation Office of the Marshal’s Office, controlled by Lieutenant General Cho Dong-yoon, reported that secret meetings between the Russian Empire and the Japanese Empire were frequently detected, and information was also beginning to be gathered that pro-Russian and pro-Japanese officials within the country were uniting or disintegrating.

And usually these abnormal signs did not lead to anything good.

“Your Majesty! This is nothing short of Russia’s betrayal of us. Summon the new Russian Minister Pavlov and lodge a strong protest!”

“Look here, Minister of Foreign Affairs! The Russian Empire has not yet made an official statement on exchanging Manchuria and the Korean Empire, so is there any need to move so easily? Your Majesty, we need to find out more.”

The story was that Finance Minister Sergei Witte and the new Foreign Minister Ramsdorf, who could be called moderates in Russia, had entered into negotiations with Prime Minister Ito, who had suppressed the hardliners in Japan. And shockingly, the story leaked out that the two sides had reached some kind of agreement.

It was a kind of exchange theory whereby Japan guaranteed Russia’s interests in Manchuria, in return for which Russia effectively handed over the Korean Empire to Japan.

Of course, on the surface, it was a story of Russia agreeing with Japan’s proposal for the neutralization of the Korean Empire, but in reality, it was closer to Japan’s invasion under the guise of neutrality.

Because of this, the cabinet meeting was in disarray, and the Marshal’s Office was also in turmoil.

In addition, the Japanese embassy was so busy inviting journalists, government officials, and scholars to commemorate Japan-Korea friendship events or exchange meetings that they were busy preaching their Asianism and emphasizing the “theory of neutralization of the Korean Empire.”

“Have you heard that story?”

“How could you not know? The entire political world of Seoul is in turmoil right now.”

The War Room, which had previously been a gathering place for war planning, is now an official subordinate body of the Marshal’s Office.

The chiefs of the Marshal’s Office and field army commanders, who had gathered in the war room for the first time in a long time, were surprised by the sudden change in situation and all responded to the call for an emergency meeting.

“Is Nossua trying to betray us?”

The question everyone was interested in was whether Russia would really betray us.

“···That won’t happen.”

I denied it in front of everyone. Russia cannot abandon us, but they themselves must not be deceived and abandon the Korean Empire. In terms of their strategic goals, we were not only a fence to protect Manchuria and to complete the Trans-Siberian Railway and the Eastern Manchurian Railway, but also an indispensable rear base for the management of the Primorsky Krai.

But if the situation they were in became so dire that normal judgment was impossible, then it would have been another matter.

There is nothing as wise as humans, yet makes such stupid decisions.

Japan would push Russia into such a situation, so we had to prepare for it.

“But I think we need to send a clear message to the Russian side. A very clear message.”

“The Japanese bastards’ tricks are no joke. Since the year of the Goat, the pro-Japanese collaborators who disappeared are slowly raising their heads one by one.”

I felt like a tendon was popping out of my forehead.

It was clear that these cunning men were trying to divide public opinion within the Korean Empire.

It is highly likely that they also spread the rumor about a secret agreement with Russia.

They were planning to destroy the Korean Empire itself before it could fight them, under the pretext of a policy of appeasement toward Korea, or by presenting an idealistic ideology called ‘Asianism’ that was submissive to them.

“It seems like you’re talking about Asianism.”

“Did you hear that too? Oh my, I happened to get invited to a lecture and ended up sitting there talking nonsense. I held back from trying to turn things around and left.”

Lee Kyu-tae said, clicking his tongue.

I couldn’t have been unaware of it. Just before the Russo-Japanese War, the external means that prevented the Korean Empire from resisting was the Korean garrison, and the mental means was precisely this paralysis through ideology.

Japan defined itself as a utopia with the structure of ‘exploiting white people’ and ‘Orientals’ fighting against them, and the intellectuals and bureaucrats who were obsessed with it walked the path to their own death.

By the time I realized that it was the road to death, it was already too late.

When Japan finally revealed its ambitions, began to impose military rule and oppress the Korean people, the Korean Empire lost the ability to resist on its own.

“Hmm, but wouldn’t neutrality theory be quite helpful to us?”

“Chief Inspector, that is just a smokescreen. Why would the Japanese Empire be so sorry for leaving us as a neutral country?”

“That’s true, but I’ve heard that in the international community, there are no eternal friends or eternal enemies. We can’t always trust Russia and the West, and I wonder if it would be a good idea if we could use Japan’s conciliatory policy to our national advantage.”

“Your Excellency, Director of the Inspectorate, that is such a naive idea.”

The military adviser Baek Seong-gi opened his mouth. I thought he had been busy recently establishing the Army Court and creating military law. In fact, the fact that he had been transferred to the Army Court was more like a demotion to a low-ranking position after he had fallen out of favor with the emperor while trying to stop the opening of the Great Qing War.

“The Japanese are cunning, and they are always targeting this country. Why would they bring up the idea of ​​neutralization?”

“Of course, it is to create a divide between Russia, which is trying to take over Manchuria, and us, who could become their hinterland.”

I answered in Min Yeong-hwan’s place. From a distance, their strategy was really easy to figure out.

But the problem is that the simple and clear strategy they brought about has such great destructive power.

“You may not know this, but in the provinces, people called Iljinhoe have been slowly creeping up. They claim to have organized themselves to create a friendly atmosphere in Korea-Japan relations, but in reality, they are just a bunch of traitorous gangsters.”

“Are you saying they have already appeared in the provinces?”

“already···?”

“Ah, I thought you would appear someday···.”

Fortunately, the situation was so urgent that no one paid attention to my mistake. In any case, the early appearance of Iljinhoe was shocking.

“They are starting to arm themselves under the pretext of eradicating the Hwalbindang and thieves. Behind them are Japanese merchants, and furthermore, it is clear that the Japanese Empire has intentions behind them.”

“I am armed privately…”

“No, that’s not true. If they were privately armed, we could have ordered them to disarm by order of the Marshal’s Office or mobilized the military to suppress them. But the problem is that the artillery units organized by each provincial governor are being corrupted in that way. This is especially serious in the Samnam region.”

They seemed to have penetrated deeper than I thought.

Originally, these should have been installed in 1904, just before the Russo-Japanese War, but they were created three years earlier, suggesting that Japan’s impatience and determination worked simultaneously.

“What on earth was the Records Investigation Office 3 doing while they were causing trouble?”

“That is because, due to the recent problems in the northern region, the 3rd division in charge of domestic issues has been focusing mainly on the Hambuk and Pyeongbuk regions, and thus has not been able to check on the problems in the southern region in a timely manner. Furthermore, while it was less serious when former Jeolla-do governor Min Jong-ryeol was in office, the problem has become more serious since his recent replacement by Lee Wan-yong.”

It was also difficult to send Min Jong-ryeol back to Jeolla Province as the governor. He had been dispatched on a special mission to comfort Hamgyeong Province, where public sentiment had turned against him, and to reorganize the local artillery units that had suffered great damage.

Chief Jo Dong-yoon showed a puzzled expression for the first time in a long time. It seemed like he didn’t know about this either.

“Tsk, what did that third department do last year···.”

Chief Lee Gyu-tae made a displeased expression. It seemed like something had really gone wrong while I was out on the expedition.

“It is true that something has happened, so we need to prepare for it. Internal enemies and external pressure are the worst possible scenarios…”

“···We’ll need a new war plan.”

I said cautiously. In the contingency or all-out war plans that had been drawn up in 1898, starting with the White, Black, Red, and Blue Plan, another plan was needed. There was only one empty card among the five-colored war plans, and it happened to fit perfectly.

Yellow Plan, a plan that was only in my head. In case of an all-out war with Japan, I planned to evacuate Emperor Gojong, the royal family, and the government to the northern region as soon as possible and carry out a large-scale purge in Hanseongbu in preparation for internal sympathizers actively cooperating with the Japanese Empire and waging war, just like they did now.

Of course, this plan is something that only I have. It was like Pandora’s box, something that should not be opened. It was kept a secret from not only Director Cho Dong-yoon of the Records Bureau, who had a delicate position, but also Director Lee Gyu-tae.

I hope this never comes to fruition, but they moved faster than expected so we had to flesh it out a bit ahead of time.

“Are you on the side of revising the existing war plans?”

“No, we need a completely new plan.”

If the enemy within appeared early, you had to prepare a way to eliminate it. If you can understand the enemy, you can also know how to deal with it.

Since I understood Japan’s strategy, I could figure out a way to deal with it. It would just take some time to figure out how to do it.

And I needed something to buy me time. I didn’t want the current incident to get any bigger.

A balance had to be maintained, whether hardliners or moderates.

It was too dangerous for the hardliners to gain power and provoke Japan, and there was no room to choose the option of increasing the number of authors who would cause internal divisions by allowing the moderates to gain power.

What is certain is that the Korean Empire was not yet properly prepared for a confrontation with Japan.

The only thing that could resolve the present crisis was the action of the Russian Empire. If they did not act properly, or if they did not act wisely, the crisis of 1901 would become increasingly severe.

***

“Merciful Tsar, why should we now yield the Korean Peninsula to Japan? Finance Minister Witte and Foreign Minister Ramsdorf are trying to betray our loyal fence. You must cancel the negotiations immediately!”

“Lord Bezobrazzoff, you are being too harsh. We have no intention of exchanging the Korean Empire for Manchuria. That is a Japanese scheme-”

“Isn’t that what you wanted to say? The conditions they initially put forth were that in exchange for tolerating Manchurian interests, they would neutralize the Korean Empire and put it under their control, and our troops would withdraw. Why haven’t you said anything about this?”

“That’s the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ business, not the Prime Minister’s!”

Russian politics was now divided into two groups, fiercely opposing each other.

The main characters were the moderates led by Foreign Minister Ramsdorf and Finance Minister Witte, and the hardliners known as the Bezobrazov Group who took a hard-line stance on Far East policy.

They were engaged in a fierce debate over the issue of war with Japan and the need for negotiations.

In particular, the Bezobrazzoff group was preparing a dangerous game of chance, claiming that a policy of military adventurism called the “New Course” should be carried out in the Far East, and at the same time, they ordered an immediate response to Japan’s political maneuvering taking place within the Korean Empire.

At first glance, they were saying they would not abandon the Korean Empire, but they were changing course in the direction they least wanted. They had no intention of respecting their intentions.

“Your Majesty, we must give the Korean Empire confidence that we will not abandon them even at the risk of war. Order Admiral Alexeev, the Governor-General of the Far East, to promise support to the Korean Empire in the event of war with Japan.”

“What on earth are you talking about, Lord Bezobrazzoff! This is a completely different matter from sending a military instructor corps. It could be interpreted as a signal for immediate war with Japan, or as Britain forming a military alliance with Korea. Even if war with Japan is inevitable, it cannot be avoided now!”

“What are you going to do with these cowards? When we suppressed the Boxer Rebellion, our army took over Manchuria, and the Korean Empire, which was a fence, also played its role more than enough. Now Japan is isolated in Asia!”

“How long do you think Britain will be held captive in South Africa? No matter how mired they are in the quagmire of war, the British fleet is not to be trifled with. Your Majesty, our superiority in the Far East is not yet complete. We must wait at least until the railway is completed!”

The two sides were in a tense standoff, for a decision was about to be made that would determine the next decade, or perhaps even the entire century, of the Russian Empire.

Nicholas II now felt that the time for decision had come.

The arrogant Japan was gnashing its teeth without even knowing its place. It was not that they were afraid. The only problem was the British Empire behind them.

“What benefit will there be for us if the Korean Empire is neutralized?”

“We can achieve lasting peace. We will rule over Manchuria and obtain a buffer zone with Japan.”

This was Foreign Minister Ramsdorf’s answer. It was the structure that the Foreign Ministry considered most ideal for its Far East policy.

“Then what if we continue to maintain it as our fence, rather than neutralizing it?”

“Our fleet and ground forces in the Far East, divided between Port Arthur and Vladivostok, can be integrated into a single army through the Korean Empire. The army, commanded separately by the Governor-General of the Far East and the Commander-in-Chief of the Port Arthur Fleet, can be operated very efficiently.”

This was the answer of Grand Duke Alexandrovich, Nikolai’s uncle.

“Moreover, the Korean Empire can serve as a supply base for our Russian troops and subjects who will advance into the Maritime Province and Manchuria in the future. If they are neutralized, it will be difficult for us to receive good quality coal and food from them at low prices as we do now.”

“But isn’t there a Trans-Siberian Railway?”

“It is difficult to solve all logistics with that. If possible, we should maintain relations with the Korean Empire to solve the problem of material shortages in the Far East in a favorable way.”

Minister of the Interior Plebe also joined them. He also met with the hardliners without knowing it and ended up joining the same group.

“Isn’t that so, War Minister?”

“······.”

The only one who is keeping his mouth shut right now is War Minister Kuropatkin.

He did not support either the Bezobrazzoff group or the moderates. He just quietly watched the situation unfold.

“Why are you silent?”

“Your Majesty.”

The Tsar made a gesture to him to express his opinion. In the end, even he who had been silent had to speak up. However, what came out of Kuropatkin’s mouth was the gloomy reality of the Far East that would suffocate both moderates and hardliners.

“We are not at all prepared for war.”