Joseon Needs a Coup - Chapter 145



Only Noblemtl

#145. World’s collide (6)

“What are you talking about! Why is France suddenly interfering in negotiations with Russia?!”

“The French ambassadors in Beijing and Seoul have offered to mediate for security in the Far East.”

“What the….”

Even if you stick your nose in cooked rice, it’s still oily.

I couldn’t figure out why those damn French guys looked to Asia instead of Europe.

Led by Foreign Minister Delkace, they expressed concern over negotiations between Russia and Japan in the Far East and offered to intervene to ensure lasting peace.

The French Republic declared:

The outbreak of war between Russia and Japan was not just a war between the two countries, but it was also likely to pose a major security threat to the neighboring Qing Empire, the Korean Empire, and the French Empire in Indochina, so it was proposed that the representatives of each country negotiate in Hansung, the capital of the Korean Empire.

It was called a suggestion, but in reality it was a semi-compulsory coercion.

If Japan did not come out, France would side with Russia and go beyond diplomatic means to military intervention, and if it agreed to negotiations, Japan would experience a second triple intervention.

This was a huge shock to the Japanese cabinet.

Japan’s war plan was to use the Korean Peninsula as the second front and defeat the Russian army in Manchuria, but if France intervened, it would mean that everything would go down the drain.

Army Minister Gentaro Kodama, who was embarrassed by the unexpected situation, shouted.

“I can’t accept this!”

“Ha, but if we do that, we might even have to deal with France, Russia’s ally….”

“Isn’t it the same for them to be unable to mobilize troops from the Far East?”

“Then it is a two-front war. If the Korean Empire has not yet firmly separated itself from Russia, and we have to deal with not only Russia but also France in Indochina, our chances of winning will drop significantly.”

Although Admiral Yamamoto managed to maintain his composure, he was equally bewildered. The sudden intervention of France, which was in a state of domestic turmoil, was beyond their calculations.

“Aren’t there many French troops in Indochina?”

“You can’t ignore the army at home. Since their defeat in the war with Germany, they have expanded their colonies and have acquired a variety of forces that can be deployed overseas. They are much more flexible and powerful than the Russian army.”

Of course, the French military was not that great in Indochina, with only 11,000 troops stationed there in 1900.

But the mere fact that France was involved in the war was a burden to Japan.

“If France were to intervene, it would be problematic in many ways···.”

Admiral Saionji spoke with his face turned pale.

If France intervened on the pretext of an alliance with Russia, Britain would not risk a war in Europe for Japan.

From the beginning, they approached Japan with a thoroughly self-centered approach, and they knew that it was a symbol of their intention to use them as military police in the Far East.

However, as long as France did not intervene and Britain supported them, it was not a bad idea for Japan to have a strong ally like Britain.

It was also a part that could be promoted as a stepping stone to revise the unequal treaty that could be shown to the people.

But if things turned out this way, Britain would not help.

“What should we do now?”

“What can we do? Let’s push ahead with the original plan!”

“Are you crazy? We have to devote all our national power to dealing with Russia alone, but if we deal with France, we’re finished! Russia has no landing capability, so even if we lose in Manchuria and Korea, we don’t have to worry about preserving our homeland, but France is different! They may be pushed back by Germany, but don’t forget that they’re also used to war!”

The Army and Navy were already growling and arguing, while Prime Minister Ito just looked out the window in silence.

It seemed like there was a lot to worry about.

After the Prime Minister fell silent, the other ministers debated and remained silent for a long time.

And finally, Ito opened his mouth as if he had decided on something.

“I resign from the position of Prime Minister.”

“No, what are you talking about all of a sudden? Resigning?”

“I will leave the successor to the great Buddhist priest Saionji. This incident was my fault.”

He stood up from his seat, letting out a hollow laugh.

I should have paid attention to the intelligence that came in from the Korean Empire a few days ago···.

A coded telegraph message sent from the Imperial Household Department of the Korean Empire to the Korean Embassy in France was missed via the telegraph line from London to Paris, France.

In fact, even if they had received the cipher telegram, it would not have been deciphered. Since 1894, Japan had still not been able to crack Joseon’s Morse code telegram.

But the content inside was guessable. The sudden surge of telegrams and telegraphs between the Korean Empire and France, and the recent suspicious visits to Lushun by Korean secret agents, were clearly related to this incident.

If not, there is no way France would have suddenly acted like this.

Those who are struggling with internal affairs are suddenly intervening.

Although it was hard to believe, it was certain that the Korean Empire was behind them.

Those who I ignored because they thought I was weak now know how to hit me in the back of the head.

“Instead, I guess I should go to Gyeongseong as the special envoy plenipotentiary.”

“What are you thinking?”

“We must negotiate with them. We cannot afford to repeat the nightmare of 1895…”

I shuddered when I thought of all the territories that had been won through fair war and blood being taken away by Russia, France, and Germany.

Among them, Russia and France, excluding Germany, started doing the same thing, and Ito did not want to repeat it.

At that time, the angry military, government, and civilians worked together to resolve the issue by investing the compensation money received from the Qing in military spending, but now the situation is different. The fatigue of the civilians due to the prolonged recession and excessive military spending is gradually increasing.

If this happens again, it will be a fire so big that the cabinet will not be able to extinguish it.

“Cunning bastards.”

Ito left a trail of curses without a subject. Still, he quickly walked. He had to put out the fire quickly, no matter what.

***

“Your strategies are always mysterious. How dare you move that arrogant French.”

“It is not time to relax yet, Your Majesty. The real start is when negotiations begin. I repeat, this meeting is not for peace. The focus should be on buying time so that we can prepare.”

“Isn’t that why I’m asking you?”

The emperor, who had figured out my intentions, sent a secret telegram to the Korean embassy in France through the Imperial Household Department that same day, and dispatched a special envoy, Lieutenant General Kim In-su, to Lushun. And they each completed their missions.

Hong Jong-woo, the Minister to France, succeeded in persuading Foreign Minister Delcasse, and although Chief of Staff Kim In-su was unable to meet Far East Governor-General Alexeyev, he was able to obtain a promise from Vice Admiral Stark, the commander of the Port Arthur Fleet, to support the Korean Empire in the event of an emergency.

French intervention and Russian security guarantees were a perfect move that allowed the Korean Empire to expand its scope of operations, while at the same time bringing back to Japan the nightmare of the Triple Intervention of 1895.

Even though Germany was out, the country I am in now, the Korean Empire, was to take its place.

“Who should we bring to the negotiating table?”

“Please put forward the strong-minded Lord Han Gyu-seol.”

“Han Dae-gam? He is too strong-willed. He is more suited to declaration than negotiation.”

“These negotiations should be led by hardliners rather than softliners. That way, we can get our way.”

We have already looked for a special envoy to bring to the negotiating table.

The prime minister will nominate former Minister of Military Affairs Han Gyu-seol, and the vice minister will nominate current Minister of Home Affairs Jo Byeong-sik.

Both of them were people who knew how to fight hard while thoroughly serving their own national interests.

“Your Majesty, bear in mind that we must maintain the status quo between Russia and Japan as much as possible, while at the same time achieving security guarantees. If necessary, we may have to appease them by using interests as bait.”

If the status quo collapses, the Korean Empire will be forced to make a choice: side with Japan and disarm, or side with Russia and willingly turn the entire country into a bloody battlefield.

“But will they move as we wish?”

“We must make them move. We must remind France of the German Empire, their enemy for decades, and we must inform Russia of the current situation in the Far East.”

And Japan also needed a warning about what would happen if they invaded us without warning.

Although their way of thinking may be dominated by something like the diplomacy of the Belle Époque era, which is centered on one’s own country, it would be safe to say that there is a line that they must not cross.

“If only a lasting peace could be maintained, I can bear it. I strongly support this compromise.”

“Then I will prepare the contents as well.”

I bowed politely and stepped back. It would be interesting to see whether this would be a grand compromise as the Emperor had said, or a stopgap measure to temporarily end the war crisis, but since I needed to buy time anyway, either conclusion mattered.

***

“What? Marquis Ito is coming here?”

“I heard you are coming as an extraordinary envoy. The current envoy has been designated as your deputy envoy.”

Things got bigger than I thought.

If only the secret telegram sent from the Imperial Household to France had been checked just a little faster…

“The French have intervened. The French ambassador in Seoul is already excited.”

That lucky Plancy engineer. He was the author who openly flaunted his close relationship with the Korean government and openly collected information from the Japanese embassy. He was also the one who acted as a bridge between the cunning Korean military director and the French army officer corps, the military advisors to the emperor.

Seeing that he was already in close contact with the Russian ambassador Pavlov, I felt that I had to make a firm resolution.

“What about the British Embassy?”

“Do as you wish. I heard there have been no instructions from the home country yet.”

The British are silent in times like these. They may be making a fuss now, but it is assumed that the general opinion is quite strong in favor of avoiding direct war with France.

Britain’s military confidence had been slowly dying since the 1870s, following several wars.

“By the way, the Korean government has also appointed ambassadors extraordinary and plenipotentiary. The head of the office is Han Gyu-seol, former Minister of the Armed Forces, and the deputy head is Cho Byeong-sik, current Minister of the Interior.”

“That old fart from Banggokryeong again!”

It was a real pain. Whenever the Korean government had a fight or argument with Japan, they would send Cho Byeong-sik, who was notorious for being a traitor.

He was a really tough opponent.

There are a lot of things to say, but they always go around looking for weak points and poking at them.

When I wondered how a corrupt human being could survive for so long, it turned out to be due to skill.

“By the way, Minister of Military Affairs Han Gyu-seol is unexpected.”

“He is a staunch anti-Japanese collaborator. He hates our country, Japan, very much.”

“···The Korean Empire has made its choice. It has bet correctly on the cards.”

Hayashi couldn’t help but exclaim in admiration, not knowing whose idea it was.

Timing was an art.

It may be a matter of long-term regret to have intervened with France when Britain, Japan’s greatest ally, was not yet finished with the war.

“Anyway, what instructions did the home country give?”

“Make it difficult for talks to take place. Or, create public opinion that can put pressure on Koreans and the Korean government.”

“Iljinhoe···.”

It seemed like the time had come to mobilize them. Those who had recently been shaking up the political world of the Korean Empire and Hanseongbu, those who were hardened by the Asianism and neutrality theory they had spread, or those who had no interest in such things but wanted to establish a connection with the Japanese embassy and seize power, were occasionally mixed in, but I didn’t care.

Because they are all tools of the embassy.

If they externally demonstrate a favorable public opinion toward Japan or a desire for neutrality, they could use it as a tool to their advantage in negotiations.

“Okay. Tell them to start making a fuss in Hanseongbu soon.”

“All right.”

The employee bowed his head at his words and was about to leave the room, but then turned his head again as if he had forgotten something.

“And Mr. Construction.”

“Is there anything left to report?”

“It seems that we will soon be able to decipher the secret telegrams of the Korean Empire. I heard that Park Yeong-hyo has handed over a very important interpretation.”

Hayashi smiled. The world wasn’t all bad.

Especially if one lock on the Korean Empire that had been tormenting them for the past few years were released, a great deal of information and truth contained within would be revealed.

And because of that, they will be able to develop new strategies.

The other employees looked surprised at Hayashi’s smile after a long time, but they quickly returned to their work. They didn’t have much time either.