Joseon Needs a Coup - Chapter 159



Only Noblemtl

#159. Dipping your feet in the angry waves (4)

I took Baek Seong-gi’s side.

What was needed immediately was someone capable of organizing the organization, not a commander of a fleet that had disappeared years ago—in fact, had been gone for decades.

The long-term spirits I’ve seen have been capable in that regard.

“Congratulations on your appointment as Director of the Liberation Bureau, Jang Gi-ryeom.”

“You are too kind.”

He was very flexible for an army officer when it came to the concept of the sea, especially sea defense, such as suppressing pirates, and he also had a clear concept of what he had to do.

Moreover, it was difficult to find people like him when reorganizing the military organization.

That is why, under my strong recommendation, Jang Gi-ryeom was appointed as the Director of the Liberation Bureau, and Lieutenant Colonel Lee Dong-hwi, who was commanding the Garrison Battalion on Ganghwa Island, was appointed as the deputy commander.

Since the crew members had already been sent to France for training, the task of organizing the port facilities and basic personnel in Korea was to be taken over by the Jinwi Battalion on Ganghwa Island.

So they were busy for several months completing the Liberation Army, the predecessor to the Navy, and laying the foundation for the ships and crews to return after receiving training one by one.

And of all of them, the question that received the most attention was where to make these ships’ home ports.

“Are you saying that you will establish a fleet base in Wonsan Port rather than Jemulpo Port?”

“Even the Army has been saying that it is difficult to defend Hanseongbu since the war plan of 1898, so how can we defend Jemulpo, the gateway to Hanseongbu, with only six destroyers and eight torpedo boats? As the Director of Military Affairs knows, Japan’s target is the Russian-Australian fleet in Port Arthur, and our potential enemy is the Japanese Navy.”

Before long, liberated country staff members were seen wearing uniforms modeled after French naval officers’ uniforms with insignia of their own design attached.

It looked like a work of art probably produced at a clothing factory, but judging by the subtle differences in saturation between some of the officers, I wondered if it was outsourced somewhere else.

Anyway, among the staff who were working very busily, Director of the Liberation Bureau Jang Gi-ryeom and Director Lee Dong-hwi began to explain to me.

Not long ago, a tactical map was hung in the most visible central location in the liberated country, containing information on the entire Korean Peninsula waters as well as neighboring countries, after surveying the coastline and creating sea routes.

He also complained that it took him almost half a year to make it, but it seems that wasn’t just nonsense.

“If our destroyers and torpedo boats were at that crossroads, would you just leave them alone? If I were in command of the Japanese Navy, I would first sweep away Jemulpo. Gunsan Port would fall to them anyway. If that happens, our fleet will be completely isolated in the West Sea.”

“Even if we are lucky enough to survive the enemy’s offensive and withdraw to Port Arthur… we would most likely be trapped in Port Arthur with the Russian and Russian fleets and die. That is why it would be right to make Wonsan, which faces the vast ocean, our home port. That way we can preserve our fleet and buy time from the Japanese navy’s main offensive.”

“So what about the Navy’s wartime operational plans?”

“It’s a simple plan, but difficult to maintain in practice. Well, to put it simply, we’re going to keep our forces as strong as possible, tie up the enemy’s fleet, and target the enemy’s transport fleet.”

What the heck, they must have come from the future like me. They were clearly army officers, but they had insight into the current fleet strategy adopted by the Russian Navy, and they had a clear strategy for what the small fleet should do.

“In any case, Japan’s main supply line is connected to the sea. Whether it’s Jemulpo, Busan Port, or Wonsan. However, our fleet is extremely small and cannot protect all the seas.”

“So the place you chose was Donghae, and is that also Wonsan?”

“That’s it, General.”

Jang Gi-ryeom said with a smile. Oh, come to think of it, this gentleman had traveled all over the northeastern region with the manager Lee Beom-yoon in the Bukgando area. It seemed like he was making full use of that experience.

“For our Korean Empire, the sea is a means of survival, but at the same time, it is a place that can bring about crisis. The Japanese fleet from the Savior can set sail and arrive at Busanpo in just half a day.”

Certainly, Korea has a very short operational depth compared to its neighbors.

It took about a full day to get from Qingdao or Lushun to Incheon, and from Sasebo to Busan. Modern Korea is not free from such problems either, and it must be even worse now.

“We have little choice. But if there is even a slight possibility, we must find a way to fight well and die bravely. There is a lot of space in the area of ​​Wonsan, Hamhung, and Najin where we can hide our fleet. If we are pushed back in Wonsan, we will withdraw to Hamhung and Najin, link up with the Russian fleet in Vladivostok, and target the Japanese army and navy transport ships coming to the east coast to supply us.”

“The existing fleet and trade destruction···.”

I muttered quietly. It may be a meaningless power, but it could at least be a card that could threaten the Japanese army that was trying to gain momentum through Wonsan along the east coast.

Of course, Alfred Mahan pointed out that this kind of destruction of trade was not very meaningful, but from our point of view, which was unable to form a large-scale fleet to deal with Japan, we could not play any more cards.

“So our Navy will deny the enemy the use of the East Sea. We can deal with the transport fleet and the ships of the same class that escort it. We will have to avoid engagement with any ships beyond that or leave them to the Russian fleet.”

I felt relieved that I had properly seen and seated one person.

What we need right now is not fighting to win, but fighting to survive.

“That’s pretty specific.”

“If we are not specific, we cannot survive. Unlike the army that has grown in size, the sea is even more cruel.”

I nodded in agreement with all of that.

Then the Jang Gi-ryeom spirit looked at me with a smile.

“Actually, there was a decisive factor that led us to choose Wonsan as our fleet’s home port. It was the battle we fought together with the Director of Military Affairs.”

“yes?”

“Do you remember how the Director of Military Affairs and I defeated the pirates trapped in Cheonsuman four years ago? The end of the Russian-Chinese fleet that entered the West Sea, or rather, Lushun, will be close to that.”

“···ah.”

To be exact, it seemed that he had applied the lesson learned here, where he had waited for the pirates he had trapped in the waters to crawl out, then immediately intercepted them and turned them all into guests who would never return.

And you saw that and predicted the end of the Russian Pacific Fleet? No, really, I wondered if these people really came from the future like me. The words rose to the tip of my tongue and I barely managed to suppress them.

“Anyway, the pirates that you and I have met are the current state of the Russian-American fleet. In times of war, they are trapped deep in the west coast. I think I know for sure why the Russian-American fleet has gathered its main ships in Lushun. They simply forced the fleet that Vladivostok could not accommodate into Lushun, a very good location. They probably went there knowingly. However, if war breaks out, they won’t be able to get out. Even if they do, they have nowhere to go.”

I nodded and waited for the next words.

“Furthermore, if our fleet operates from Jemulpo as its home port, we will be completely subordinate to the Russian Navy. Not only because of the size, but also because that is the only way for our fleet to survive.”

“So, after much deliberation with the Director of the Liberation Bureau, the result is Wonsan.”

They spoke with quite serious faces, as if they had done the best they could as a small navy.

“To be honest, even if our Korean Empire’s navy were to be established, it would be virtually impossible to confront the Japanese fleet, which set foot on the sea decades earlier.”

“The only thing the Korean Navy can do is to fight as well as possible and die bravely. Wonsan will secure our path. The Russian fleet at Vladivostok is small in number, so we can avoid being subordinated.”

This time, it felt like they were a few steps ahead of me. So, if I were to summarize the arguments they had prepared, they would be as follows.

1. In any case, it is difficult for the Army to defend Hanseongbu, and it is also difficult for us to defend Jemulpo.

2. In addition, the West Coast is the perfect place to get trapped during wartime. It is impossible to fight against a small fleet consisting of only destroyers and torpedo boats.

3. There is also the worry that we will be subordinated to the Russian Navy in terms of size, so we will go to Wonsan, where the Russian fleet is weak and the sea is wide open, making it easy to escape. And there, we will exercise our independent operational authority and ‘fight bravely and die with style.’

Perhaps I didn’t need to bother with this navy. They already knew their limitations and knew what to do about them.

“Oh right, I’ve already decided on a name for the ship.”

“Oh, right. Let’s hear that too. Honestly, I’m curious.”

I was also curious as to what the destroyer would be named.

Well, at that moment, I was thinking that it would be a shame to use Admiral Yi Sun-sin’s name right away, but wouldn’t it be a bit less prestigious to put the city name on it?

“From the 1st to the 6th ship, I put in the famous mountains of our country in order: Baekdu, Geumgang, Samgak, Jiri, Halla, and Myohyang.”

“······.”

No, this is exactly the name of the early PC-class ships of the Korean Navy.

I almost fainted. How could it be so identical?

When I looked at the director and the chief of the liberation bureau with surprised eyes, they looked as if they were wondering what the problem was.

“Is there a problem?”

“Oh, no. It is a beautiful name, but His Majesty would like to give it a separate name···.”

“I have already spoken to Your Majesty. I am afraid that if we give a small destroyer a dignified title, it will become a laughing stock for other countries, so I suggest that we give it to the large ships that we will introduce in the future.”

Well, I guess the navy here is already showing signs of rebellion.

I was a little worried. The more I thought about what the officers and sailors who had already been sent to France, the home of revolution, would learn, the more worried I became.

Furthermore, if it was King Gojong, it would have been clear that he wanted to spend a considerable amount of his own money on the navy and do some ‘fanciful’ things, so it was clear that he would have been upset that the navy was naming its warships as they pleased.

Last time we met, you were excited about naming it Yangmu or something.

“Your Majesty?”

“I know you like it, but what can we do? After all, we are the ones who operate the fleet. Hahaha!”

···The director of the liberation bureau and the deputy director are similar people. They were half worried, half relieved people.

Well, since he just had to pay for his own meals, we didn’t talk about it any more.

And for a while, the liberation director and the vice-director were busy boasting to me about the superiority of the French destroyers and torpedo boats and what they could do against the Japanese fleet and transport convoys in the event of an emergency.