Joseon Needs a Coup - Chapter 164



Only Noblemtl

#164. Rising Dark Clouds (2)

“What next?”

“We must hold out there. Until the Russians defeat the Japanese in Manchuria, or… until the war is ended through negotiations.”

In the end, the end of the war was not in our hands.

Unfortunately, we did not have the ‘means’ to determine our own fate. We only had the ‘methods’ to resist our own predetermined fate.

“Eventually, as time goes by, we will have to lead the remaining forces and withdraw to the northeast. I don’t know if it will succeed, but at least we have bought some time, so that role has been fulfilled.”

“The northwest… is it going to be abandoned after the initial stage?”

“Unfortunately, yes.”

Most of the war room was quiet. The scenario I had laid out was a cold, hard reality to them.

“Is there any chance of victory if we go to the Northeast?”

“···It’s difficult as it is now. However, it’s more positive than when Pyeongan Province was designated as the last line of defense. Since it is surrounded by the open East Sea rather than the West Sea, it is easier to receive support from the Russian military in Vladivostok. In addition, our navy will attempt to destroy trade and delay the Japanese military’s approach to the northeast as much as possible.”

The important thing was not to stop it, but to delay it.

Min Yeong-hwan and Jo Dong-yoon, who realized the meaning of the word, looked into space with quite complicated expressions.

There was no word for a while.

There was cigarette ash in the ashtray, and the acrid smell of cigarette smoke lingered around.

It could be called a raccoon den rather than a war room.

“Are there any other opinions? Perhaps the opinion that the northwest should be protected?”

“···I wonder if His Majesty the Emperor will accept it. Perhaps when that time comes···.”

They will be confused and unable to make a decision. In addition, Iljinhoe is raising its head again, and there are still many people in Hanseongbu who talk about Asianism and Korea-Japan friendship. Even among the so-called elite students studying abroad, there are many such people.

“We’ll have to make a decision then. But I don’t think we’re ready to discuss that yet. First, we need to establish fortified bases along the expected advance routes to the northeast and northwest.”

“Fortification?”

“We are not talking about building something grandiose in the Western style. We need to repair the old abandoned or unmaintained castles and forts and use them as forward lines.”

It was not a grand level of fortification. It was just a fairly dense defensive line built by linking up dense fortifications and fortresses along the route of advance. In this way, the Korean army repelled the fierce attacks of the Chinese army several times during the final days of the Korean War.

They built about 300 positions and fought for two weeks with the strength of four regiments, achieving quite good results against 11 regiments of Chinese troops.

Literally, the intention was to recreate Verdun in Korea.

Of course, in addition to fortified positions or fortresses, it would also be worthwhile to utilize the tunnel positions that the Chinese army had so much fun using.

“The mobilization of materials and manpower will be considerable.”

“The loans we receive from France should be used for such purposes. They should be used to finance fortifications, and we should not neglect the purchase of additional ammunition and firearms.”

Next to me, scribes diligently wrote down what I had said.

“When do you expect war to break out?”

Min Yeong-hwan asked. His expression was half resigned, half desperate to find some hope left.

“I would say 1904 at the latest, or late 1903 at the earliest. Their military build-up was roughly completed in 1903.”

“···There’s no time.”

“It will be at most two years. Japan will not give us any more time than it did in 1901.”

There were sighs here and there in my story.

They looked like prisoners sentenced to death.

Then someone stood up on the other side.

Since the 1901 agreement, it was Han Gyu-seol who returned to his post as Minister of the Military.

He, who had been quietly listening to the story without saying a word until now, began to speak.

“···If you face the enemy, will you be able to fight and win?”

“We failed to protect Hanseong in the year of Gap-o and the year of Eul-mi. We have suffered too many defeats to turn back. This time will be different. No, it must be different. We must show the world that we are worthy of survival.”

“That’s fine.”

He stood up and put his hand on my shoulder.

“Do whatever you want. Since old people like us are good at arguing with His Majesty the Emperor and the Cabinet anyway, let’s let young people like you have fun. Work with the Military Coordinator and the Director of the Military Affairs Bureau to select points to fortify and report back.”

“How long do I have to give it to you?”

“The sooner the better. As he said, we don’t have time.”

Han Gyu-seol was the first to open the door to the war room and go out.

The cigarette smoke that had been trapped inside escaped outside, and fresh air came into the room.

Now, an irreversible race had begun. The fire on the dynamite fuse had been lit, and no one could delay it any longer.

***

“Charge forward!”

“Wow!”

You might think that some kind of battle was taking place, but it was actually a tactical training exercise taking place along the Han River.

And I was in charge of three battalions, including the Demonstration Brigade and the Guards Brigade that had been mobilized for tactical training here, and one battalion under the 4th Guards Brigade that had been called up from Pyongyang, and I was teaching them the infantry tactics that had been shown in Tianjin, with an assault infantry regiment as the opposing force.

Since the Boxer Rebellion, these trainings have been held regularly every six months. Infantry battalions were called in from all over the country on a rotational basis to provide training, and as the scale gradually increased, tactical training involving regiment-level attacks and defenses became established as a formal exercise.

“The grand practice has settled in really well.”

“This exercise will greatly enhance the combat capabilities of our military.”

Minister of War Han Gyu-seol sat at the head of the table and looked down at the infantry fighting a mock battle.

In front of me, the 1st Battalion of the Light Infantry and the 1st Battalion of the Guard Infantry moved as if they were engaging in a real battle, firing tear gas at the assault infantry, which was the opposing force.

On the flank, an infantry battalion called down from Pyongyang was launching a flanking attack, and in response, the assault infantry regiment was fighting a defensive battle, deploying units divided into company units and even platoon units all over the front line.

The training was attended by high-ranking officers from the Marshal’s Office and the military, Russian and French officer corps, and even a German officer corps that the leader had promised to visit this time.

And they were observing the training of our troops very closely and taking notes diligently, especially the German officers.

The German officers, led by Falkenhayn, who had not yet returned to their home country, were muttering among themselves as they watched our troops trained in the French style.

Perhaps they are having their own in-depth discussions about French tactics and military philosophy.

Overall, thanks to the help of French officers, an officer corps full of offensive spirit was being formed.

It may be a bit excessive, but I guess it doesn’t matter. Well, the offensive capability itself and timing were excellent. However, there were still some areas where the troop operation was rigid or inadequate.

“I always emphasized that the role of the reconnaissance companies assigned directly to each brigade and regiment is important when breaking through the front line, so why did the battalion commander ignore that?”

“Since the enemy’s situation was clearly predictable and the given situation was critical, I deemed it unnecessary to use a search party. So I omitted the order to find the weakest link in the front line and deployed the battalion’s main force.”

“It’s an understandable move, but it’s only a temporary application. While this method may be acceptable on some fronts, there’s always fog on the battlefield. I think we need to make some more improvements to the search party operation.”

“I’ll keep that in mind, Director.”

Of course, they were not teaching them strictly. Since they had enjoyed the authority to operate their troops autonomously down to the company and platoon levels in Tianjin and Beijing, they were not so strict in their evaluations when they operated their units in an irregular manner, as long as there was a good reason for it, rather than training them as planned.

“The reason the assault infantry corps is teaching your regular infantry brigades what they used to suppress the Boxer Rebellion last time is because it is so effective on the battlefield. Especially in the stage of breaking through the front line, it is not only the assault infantry that can do it. It is also a stage where friendly infantry units that are in contact with the enemy can do it. Especially elite units like yours can replace the assault infantry’s mission.”

It was judged that the missions of the assault infantry corps would be very diverse during the war, and that the attrition rate and the places they could be deployed on the front lines would be unlimited.

That is why it was necessary to implant their doctrine in regular units so that they could be deployed only in the most dangerous and important areas.

“You must not only do what you have seen and learned in Tianjin and Beijing, but also understand it properly yourself, so that you can win the battle. Artillery and cavalry each have powerful firepower and mobility, and they can dominate the battlefield, but infantry is almost the only branch that can do both firepower and mobility. Therefore, you must strive to be able to sufficiently maneuver and fire in order to be suitable for the battle.”

“I understand. I think we need to use the infantry a little more boldly.”

“Let’s try to operate the search party in a bit more detail.”

Then he gave the situation another chance and observed how the troops were deployed.

Next to them, Lieutenant Colonel Foch, Major Vidal, and a group of Russian military instructors continued to assist and evaluate the training, diligently studying what they could learn from it.

“The Japanese embassy attaché keeps asking for permission to visit. What should I do?”

“Refuse. There’s no reason to show this to them.”

Those savage people were everywhere. This tactical training was open only to friendly military instructors and military attachés from countries like France and Russia, and military attachés from Britain and Japan were not allowed to enter.

No, I didn’t even send a notice saying I would be training in the first place, but the fact that you came here and asked me to show you the symbol is really… meaningful.

Of course, it is not only unpleasant that they indulge in the tactics we have begun to apply, but the military attachés at the embassy are practically no different from spies, so they cannot help but be reluctant to observe military training.

“All right.”

And crucially, I couldn’t show it to you because of the stuff I had to show you in training today.

We have to do tactical training using grenade launchers, but I guess they can understand the use of grenades.

If I showed them something like a mortar that could fire grenades a long way, you could probably guess what their reaction would be.