Joseon Needs a Coup - Chapter 168



Only Noblemtl

#168. 11:59 (1)

“It is now difficult to avoid war.”

The one who broke the tense atmosphere at the Imperial Conference was Admiral Yamamoto, Minister of the Navy. 1902 was a breathtaking year for everyone.

Under the pretext of the Great Compromise of 1901, countless incidents were buried or sank below the surface, barely stopping hatred and violence. The year 1902 could be said to have been a time like thin ice, with the hour and minute hands frozen at 11:55.

“The Grand Compromise imposed by the great powers in 1901 was a stopgap measure, and we now stand at a critical juncture.”

“···Is it because Russia refused the demand for withdrawal?”

“Yes, Ministers.”

Most of the ministers attending the meeting were fully aware of the current situation.

In October 1902, Russia, having signed a treaty with China, withdrew some of its troops from Manchuria.

After that, they sent a second and third notice to Japan on April 8 and 28, 1903, informing them that they would withdraw their troops, but they suddenly changed their attitude in January 1903.

“Russia withdrew about 20,000 troops to the Maritime Province last October and promised to withdraw the remaining 80,000 troops, but suddenly scrapped the plan early this year. We should assume that they will not give up Manchuria.”

“···These damn Roske.”

Saionji Daijo sensed that the internal situation in Russia was more serious than expected.

As a representative moderate within the Japanese government, he worked tirelessly to prevent a conflict with Russia, and even in the Russian government, he kept in contact with moderates such as Witena Ramsdorf, in an attempt to avoid ‘the worst possible situation’.

But it seemed that their efforts alone would no longer be enough to avoid the disaster of war.

This was because those who had pursued a hard-line Far Eastern policy led by Bezobrazzov, who had made a significant contribution to bringing about a brief but uneasy peace by bringing about the Great Compromise of 1901, began to gain power around the tsar.

Finance Ministers Ramsdorff and Witte, and War Minister Kuropatkin, who had been leading the way to peace with Japan and presiding over a stable Far East policy, were pushed back by them and could no longer exert their influence, and all the plans they had led ended in failure.

Perhaps the complete cancellation of the withdrawal of Russian troops from Manchuria was also related to such influence.

“There is a real problem, gentlemen. In addition to the complete cancellation of the withdrawal plan, the Russian government has established the Yalu River Forestry Company in the Korean Empire and has begun to lease Yongampo at the estuary.”

“What? The Roskeites are crawling all the way to the Yalu River?”

“I have told the Korean Empire government to ignore their demands, but it is uncertain whether they will listen. As of now···.”

The ministers at the Imperial Conference reacted angrily. They probably thought that Russia was treating them with contempt, having backed down from the Great Compromise of 1901.

widely!

Foreign Minister Komura, who is also known as the ultimate hardliner, banged his fist on the table and shouted.

“That’s why we shouldn’t have negotiated with them in the first place. We need to send them an ultimatum right now! Now is the best time to do so, when they are busy recovering from the cholera outbreak!”

As the Japanese Minister to Korea, he had collected ample information on Russia and the Korean Empire, and had been ordering a hard-line policy toward Russia and the Korean Empire since the early 1900s.

He has repeatedly said that the appeasement policy being attempted toward South Korea and Russia to prevent an escalation of war is a double-edged sword.

What he meant was that if you start taking a step back to prevent war, you are actually accumulating the risk of it leading to an all-out war.

His argument that appeasement means continuously providing leverage to the other party and that they may cross a line that should not be crossed has become a staple repertoire of hardliners. And both Korea and Russia have already crossed that line.

“We can give up some of Manchuria to Russia, but we cannot give up Korea. If they annex all the roads leading to the continent, we, Japan, will be trapped in the archipelago, slowly losing momentum and dying. Now is our last chance!”

“For the first time in a while, the Foreign Minister has said something right. We, Japan, are fully prepared to defeat Russia. Prime Minister, let’s show the Roskeites an example!”

Army Minister Gentaro Kodama clenched his fist and shouted, but Admiral Yamamoto, who was right next to him, put the brakes on his words.

“Not yet. We cannot be sure that Britain will support us. Our fleet needs good anthracite coal, and it is Britain that supplies it. We must not open war until the 500,000 tons of anthracite coal we have requested from Britain arrive.”

“When will that happen?”

“It will take several months. We will have to wait for the UK to give us a definitive answer before we can know the exact time, but it should be in the second half of this year at the latest.”

For the Navy, anthracite coal was related to the mobility of the fleet and was an important resource that could determine the number of days the fleet could operate to blockade Port Arthur in the event of an emergency.

They were purchasing and using it from the Korean Empire, but it was clear that they would stop selling it once it was put on display.

Already, the mineral companies of the Korean Empire had begun to restrict the sale of anthracite coal to Japan, especially to the Japanese navy and government, or to charge higher prices than to other countries, a problem deeply connected with the rising war clouds.

“Because the damn Americans took control of the mineral companies within the Korean Empire, we failed to secure the necessary quantity.”

“You mean that damn Hoover?”

“That’s right. Bribing or threatening won’t work.”

Even though the Japanese embassy had already tried to pressure Hoover into selling anthracite coal and tried to coax him, he did not budge. Instead, he is said to have said this in an arrogant manner:

-There are only three people in Asia who are richer than me now. One is the Qing Emperor, and the next is the Japanese Emperor and the Korean Emperor. It is truly disappointing that you are trying to lure me with such a small amount of money.

Since he said it so openly, it says it all. In the end, for Japan, starting a war was an unavoidable and necessary option.

The discussion should not be about whether to go to war, but rather when to go to war to ensure the highest chance of victory.

“Prime Minister, we must make a decision. If we delay any longer, we will no longer have the luxury of planning for the peninsula and the continent.”

“That’s right. The Eastern Railway is already nearing completion, and so is the Trans-Siberian Railway. The Korean Empire is sharpening its sword against us by training its army and navy, so we must defeat both Russia and the Korean Empire separately before they are ready.”

Prime Minister Katsura Taro closed his eyes for a moment. He felt a sense of pressure as the future of the Empire of Japan depended on his choice.

“Prime Minister?”

“ah.”

He opened his eyes again at the words of the Saionji Tripitaka calling him. All the cabinet members looked at his face, especially his mouth.

The hardliners on his right wanted to hear the word “war” coming out of his mouth, while the moderates on his left wanted to hear the word “negotiation” coming out of his mouth.

Katsura Taro thought that no matter what he said, it would be difficult to satisfy all of them.

“Um… I will give these instructions as directed.”

From the next words, he must be very careful. Every word he says must be accepted without any room for interpretation. Otherwise, both the bloodthirsty hardliners and the moderates who detest them may act as they please, leaving room for interpretation, and lead in a completely different direction from what they want.

“I think it would be right to first negotiate with Russia regarding the Yongampo issue.”

“Prime Minister! They won’t listen!”

Foreign Minister Gomura immediately stood up from his seat in protest, but the Prime Minister’s next words surprised him.

“But we must maintain one principle. The only condition that must be met is the withdrawal of Russian troops from Manchuria. We will negotiate with the Russian Empire, but if they do not accept our demands, we will ultimately have no choice but to seek a solution by force. Foreign Minister Komura, we will convey three demands to Russia.”

“Please just give me the word.”

“First, Russia will withdraw all its troops from Manchuria by the end of April 1903 as promised. Second, the Yongampo lease will be canceled. Third, the Korean Peninsula will be designated as a neutral zone along the 39th parallel. Enter into negotiations with the Russian Empire on the above terms.”

He had Foreign Minister Komura deliver to Russia a set of demands that amounted to a virtual ultimatum.

This meant that Russia would disappear from Manchuria and the Korean Empire.

It was almost a blatant threat that if they didn’t disappear, they would unfortunately go to war.

“Very well, Prime Minister.”

“And the Minister of the Army and the Minister of the Navy should prepare the entire army in a state of full combat readiness in case the Russian Empire does not accept our proposals for negotiations. In the event of a breakdown in negotiations, we should be able to immediately deploy our Imperial Army to the peninsula and the sea front of Port Arthur.”

“Of course.”

“I was just waiting for those words.”

The corners of the hardliners’ lips rose uncontrollably.

In particular, the expression on the face of the Army Minister, who had been talking loudly that if more time was given, it would become more difficult to conquer the Korean Peninsula and Manchuria, became even brighter.

They were not satisfied with the war clock stopping at 11:59.

When they are satisfied, the hour and minute hands will be set to twelve o’clock and much blood will have been shed in distant foreign lands.

Katsura crossed a river of no return, but ultimately believed that all of this was for the good of the Empire of Japan.

Now the hour and minute hands can no longer return to their previous positions.

***

“You insolent Japanese! How dare you send such an official letter?! This is an act of disrespect towards our Russian Empire and the Tsar!”

“What do you island monkeys dare to do?!”

As expected, in St. Petersburg, the Russian ministers were on the verge of rioting at any moment.

Bezobrazzoff himself, through the Yalu River Forestry Company, was negotiating with the Korean Empire government to lease Yongampo and build a naval base and fortifications, but before he knew it, the Japanese had gotten wind of it.

“In the war, we must punish Japan even now! How much must they have looked down on our Great Russian Empire to do such a thing?!”

“Lord Bezobrazzoff, please calm down for a moment.”

“Is this the time to calm down, General Kuropatkin? It is because you keep telling the Tsar to be gentle with the Japanese monkeys that things have gotten to this point!”

Bezobrazzov criticized and criticized the war minister Kuropatkin for being soft on Japan.