Joseon Needs a Coup - Chapter 167



Only Noblemtl

#167. Rising Dark Clouds (5)

With the loan and money for the torpedo boats received from France, the purchase of additional artillery and ammunition was pursued at the strong suggestion of Lieutenant Colonel Foch.

In fact, as the introduction of cruisers from Japan became a fait accompli, the limited naval power and funds were not capable of handling torpedo boats, and naturally, the torpedo boat introduction project and funds were left hanging in thin air.

Because of this, Emperor Gojong was trying to recover the funds again, but the French minister and military advisors pressured him by saying, “Use that money to buy French artillery equipment and ammunition!” Thanks to this, things were progressing.

Gojong was furious when he could not get back his own money (well, it wasn’t really his money, but it was money that came out of his wallet anyway), but the French ambassador and military advisors would not give him any consideration.

After all, they were only ‘friendly’ to the Korean Empire, and were not disloyal to their home country, France.

While the central government was expanding its artillery, various weapons began to be distributed throughout the provinces.

In particular, all 35,000 1930-model rifles that Emperor Gojong had arbitrarily purchased the previous time, and thousands of Mauser rifles captured during the suppression of the Boxer Rebellion, were scattered throughout the southern region. These were also secretly stored in temples and hyanggyo (Confucian schools) by the garrison and the dispatched national military police.

The reason was simple. It was preliminary work for a guerrilla war centered on local artillery, civilian militias, and peddlers.

The two brigades deployed in the Samnam region had the sole mission of securing the second front, which was called guerrilla warfare, or guerrilla warfare as it was officially called, in the event of war, and this measure was intended to support that.

From early 1902, urgent measures were taken in accordance with the Marshal’s edict, and military training through conscription was implemented, along with fortification work being carried out one after another throughout the northwestern and northeastern regions.

By the end of June 1902, the number of orders issued by the Marshal’s Office had exceeded 100, more than three times the usual number.

Inevitably, the mass issuance of orders was enough to signal to neighboring countries that we were preparing for war.

Japan also began to apply full-scale pressure on us by completely replacing the troops of the Gyeongseong Garrison, Busan, and Wonsan Garrison deployed in the country from reserve forces to standing forces, while also increasing the number of military police and signal installation units.

As this happened, anxiety arose all over the country that war was approaching, both domestically and internationally. There were still many internal issues to sort out before we could fully prepare for war.

The problem was that the damn cholera had spread throughout East Asia. Although the damage to the major densely populated areas was less severe thanks to the introduction of water supply and sewage treatment facilities in major cities across the country and the disinfection of drinking water that had been learned through experience during the war, considerable damage was reported in ports and underdeveloped cities.

Because of this, the situation became so bad that even the celebration of the Emperor’s 40th anniversary of his accession to the throne could not avoid being drastically scaled back.

The cause of the cholera outbreak that had swept across the country for several months could not be determined precisely even by the military hospital, but at least it was alarming that it had spread from the port of entry rather than the northwest, which was the original route of the outbreak.

Because of this, the fortification work and the conscription system were not showing the same results as before. That’s why I was moving too hastily, and I was definitely starting to get nervous.

“···You seem a bit hasty these days.”

“It’s because of what the German guy said, you know.”

Recently, I have become very grumpy, so Chief of Records Cho Dong-yoon approached me cautiously.

He still smiled and approached me in a friendly manner as usual, but I didn’t particularly like him or anything.

He was, to put it simply, an opportunist. It is said that he had incited the emperor when the issue of the Qing War arose last time.

“Do you really think there will be a war between Japan and Russia?”

“It’s a bit strange that someone who holds all the information in the Korean Empire would ask me that.”

I said this with a cigarette in my mouth. He was practically the head of the Korean Empire’s intelligence department, so there must have been a clear intention in approaching me like this.

When I asked him, pretending to be relaxed, Chief Jo Dong-yoon hit a spot that was exquisite in its own way.

“Well, doesn’t the Director of the Military Affairs Bureau have the most valuable ‘information’? In fact, Section 5 of the Records Investigation Office has become part of the Military Affairs Bureau.”

“······.”

He lit a match and lit the cigarette in my mouth.

A familiar yet unfamiliar cigarette smoke rose in puffs.

As for the Records Investigation Office’s 5th Division… I’ve been using them like my own men since the suppression of the Boxer Rebellion, so what he said wasn’t wrong.

He took over the department in charge of overseas information very naturally.

During the war, most of the 5th Division was dispatched to Qing, and it was only natural that I would be assigned to the expeditionary force command.

The problem was that after the expedition was over, it should have been returned to the Records Bureau and returned to its normal state, but as the crisis of war with Japan intensified and the role of the Military Affairs Bureau naturally expanded, the emergency situation continued, so that could not happen.

“Hmm, what are your intentions?”

“The Chief of the Military Affairs Bureau is definitely straightforward and good. I need to learn that kind of hot-headedness, but I can’t do it at all because of the old custom of being a descendant of the Pungyang Jo clan. I’m not very civilized either.”

Chief Cho Dong-yoon also spoke while putting a cigarette in his mouth. And then he finally got to the main point.

“His Majesty the Emperor has recently been concentrating all his efforts on creating a new intelligence agency called the Imperial Intelligence Service.”

“Ikmunsa?”

“It is His Majesty the Emperor’s direct intelligence agency. If the Records Investigation Office I lead reports to His Majesty the Emperor through the Marshal’s Office, then the Ikmunsa is a structure where information is delivered directly to the Imperial Family without any intermediate agencies.”

It seemed that the emperor had recently taken several measures to keep the military in check.

There were two people with the most power within the Office of the Inspector General at the moment.

There was no need to have an inspection department or a bombing department.

In effect, it could be said that it was me, the Director of the Military Affairs Bureau, who had secured military command authority, and Lieutenant General Cho Dong-yoon, the Director of the Records Bureau, who had control of information.

Especially, even within the military, there must have been at least one suspicion that these young generals would do something foolish against him.

Since a coup by a young radical reformist like Kim Ok-gyun had already occurred, there was no guarantee that a second or third Kim Ok-gyun would not emerge.

“Is there really a need for Your Majesty to do that? There are already organizations that can control information, such as the Imperial Guard and the National Gendarmerie.”

“I don’t know if it’s because of his anxiety about war breaking out, or because he’s afraid of the enemy using him to increase his power, but I feel a bit uncomfortable about creating an intelligence agency just for himself.”

He spoke while smoking a cigarette. He was still smiling, but he must have felt uneasy inside.

As the only head of the intelligence agency in the Korean Empire that could appeal to the Emperor, he must be filled with a sense of crisis that he could be eliminated if he is not careful, as there is now a competitor.

That’s why he, who has been acting opportunistically and taking advantage of others rather than cooperating with me, has come to me like this.

And the Emperor will be able to get rid of Jo Dong-yoon easily. He already has a track record of purging powerful officials in various ways.

“So, I would like to make a suggestion to the Director of Military Affairs.”

“What is it?”

“His Majesty the Emperor’s Imperial Military Police and the National Military Police are increasingly encroaching on our position. Isn’t it time for our military officers to unite and protect their own interests?”

“Hmm.”

I stroked my chin and did not answer Jo Dong-yoon’s words. If I gave an immediate answer now, there was a high possibility that I would get caught up in the author’s pace. There was no need to move hastily in front of someone who had information. It was always advantageous for a commander to be cautious rather than hasty.

“I will cooperate with you as much as possible, Director. In return, please help me with the agenda that I am trying to reduce the status of the Imperial Intelligence Service and the National Military Police. If war breaks out in the future, the disorganized intelligence agencies will only cause more confusion.”

“Well, I understand, but···.”

I mean, he does that, but I guess he’s worried that his power as the head of the intelligence agency will be limited. But to get my consent, he had to present a more solid card.

I guided it and it didn’t give any special reaction.

“Director, if we’re not careful with this, it could easily cause problems later on.”

“The scarcer the information, the more valuable it is, but if many people know it, its value drops significantly. In the end, isn’t that what the Director of Records did to monopolize that information?”

“Chief of Military Affairs.”

He looked at me with a pretended stern expression.

“I don’t mind if the Director treats the Fifth Division, the department in charge of foreign affairs, like his own puppet. No, please continue to support the Fifth Division in the future. I will also actively cooperate with the guerrilla warfare tactics being prepared in the Samnam region through the Third Division. In return, please be our strength when the Emperor tries to restrain me and the Records Bureau.”

“If it’s strength, what exactly is it···?”

“It’s about helping each other when we’re in danger. For example, when His Majesty the Emperor’s suspicions turn to the Military Affairs Bureau, our Records Bureau will ‘clear the suspicions’ of the Military Affairs Bureau, and when our Records Bureau asks for help, the Military Affairs Bureau will provide human and material resources.”

He spoke in a whiny tone. This could easily be interpreted as a kind of treason, like creating a private organization within the military, so when I didn’t say anything, he, who had been maintaining his usual calm, seemed flustered and continued speaking hurriedly.

“The current military reform is impossible without the Director of Military Affairs, and to block the Japanese plots, no one but me can handle it. The Japanese embassy has already planted its own entanglements within our government and military. Now, the two of us must trust each other.”

“It is a union between the Military Affairs Bureau, which holds military command authority, and the Records Bureau, which holds tight to information capabilities···.”

I looked at him like that. It seemed that he was finally thinking of giving up the initiative he had.

Since he had revealed his true feelings, I didn’t need to be on guard any longer.

In order to carry out the ‘Yellow Plan’, which would have taken the form of a coup d’état if something went wrong, I had to subdue the intelligence agency or persuade them to my side.

But I didn’t know it would turn out like this.

“Very well, Director of Records. I hope there will be good cooperation between us.”

He took my extended right hand. Although it was only a matter of joining forces with each other, there was no reason to refuse such a thing in the current situation. This was how a strange alliance between the one who held the military command and the one who held the information was formed, and it was not known how long it would last.

It was something even more bizarre than the marriage of a carp and a rabbit, which satirized the Rough Alliance.