Joseon Needs a Coup - Chapter 169



Only Noblemtl

#169. 11:59 (2)

The gap between the two had been gradually widening since 1901, and the conflict deepened.

While Bezobrazzov was very aggressive in his expansionist policy, suggesting that the Far East policy should be expanded to include Manchuria and even the Gando region occupied by the Korean Empire to assert sovereignty, while Kuropatkin was closer to the axis that wanted to limit the use of military force in the Far East.

“Our military power in the Far East is limited. Our reality is that it is difficult to send reinforcements to the Far East, which is 9,000 km away from the mainland. Do you really not understand why the Tsar wants to keep the Korean Empire as a fence in the Far East?”

“They are our vassals and shields against Japan. What if we don’t properly support them? Furthermore, Japan’s current actions are a scheme to completely destroy the economy of our Far East region!”

“I agree with what Lord Bezobrazzoff said.”

Interior Minister Pleven also weighed in cautiously.

“The current situation in the Far East is very bad. Vladivostok, the only port in the Far East, has about 20 European-bound ships coming and going every year. In other words, it is a place that is very far from our mainland, and its economic situation is also a place that is swayed by the situation in the Korean Empire and Japan. However, if Japan tries to annex the Korean Peninsula and Manchuria as it is now, we will not be able to take responsibility for the safety of the Far East.”

In fact, the 1901 situation assessment report clearly pointed out the current state of the Far East. Of course, the author was Bezobrazzov, who is sitting right in front of you, and he reported the situation in the Far East in an extremely narrow and distorted manner, but some of the information was so tense that it sent shivers down my spine.

“That is why the importance of the Korean Empire and Port Arthur has increased to an inestimable degree. In the case of Priamur, economic activity itself has become impossible without dealing with the Korean Empire. Since the Qing has shown hostility toward us since their last advance into Manchuria, and logistics transportation in the Far East is also limited, we must focus on Port Arthur and the Korean Empire more than ever.”

Kuropatkin understood the words of the Minister of the Interior Pleven at once. He already knew that the food, clothing, and shelter of Primorsky Krai would be impossible to maintain without the vast food and logistics network supplied by the Korean Empire. In particular, if the economic network centered around Vladivostok were to collapse due to Japan’s current actions, the Far East would be devastated and withered away in the coming years.

But Kuropatkin had a different idea here. In front of bureaucrats talking about the economy, he could confidently talk about how difficult it was to defend the Far East.

“That is why we must avoid war with Japan immediately. Why do you take the Japanese Empire so lightly? Why do you forget that we, Russia, must divide our forces between the West and the East?”

“We can show them the power of the Bogatyr, Warlord. We can move the Baltic and Black Sea fleets to Asia even now-”

At Admiral Abaza’s words, Kuropatkin shouted.

“Please look at reality! We have deployed only 100,000 troops in Manchuria, half of which are in the Lushun area, and 30,000 in the Primorsky Krai, including Vladivostok. If Japan declares war and sends troops to the Korean Peninsula right away, we will have less than 20,000 troops ready to respond immediately!”

He spoke while repeatedly banging his fist on a map showing the Far East zone.

Then, the man who had been sitting silently all this time, the one who could be called the top and the greatest figure in Russia, quietly opened his mouth.

“That means.”

When he opened his mouth, even Kuropatkin, who had been roaring like an old lion, had to lower his head.

“In terms of war, we may be defeated by Japan in the Far East… Is that what you mean?”

Then Kuropatkin spoke calmly, his voice seeming to have subsided from the anger he had shown earlier. No, his voice sounded more like gloomy than calm.

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“······.”

“If we go to war with Japan, we will be defeated in the Far East in less than a year.”

***

“What blasphemous words you speak to the Tsar, War Minister!”

“What do you mean when you say something so outrageous that our Russian Empire lost the war?!”

“How can we believe that our Russia, which had crushed the Ottomans, who were incomparably stronger than Japan, and competed with Britain on the world stage, is now losing to those monkeys who have just dipped their feet in the sea!”

The neo-Nazis soon followed. They attacked Kuropatkin like a pack of angry wolves, but the Tsar silenced them with a single raise of his hand.

“Please continue talking, War Minister.”

“Merciful Tsar, if war breaks out, we will lose the entire Korean Peninsula and Manchuria before we can properly deploy our forces···.”

He continued his explanation with a stern expression.

“The Pacific Fleet and four divisions belonging to our 1st and 2nd Siberian Corps are deployed to defend the Far East, but this is a woefully inadequate force compared to the space to be defended. If Japan were to open war with us, she would seize the entire Korean Peninsula in just two weeks and deploy 27,000 ground troops to the Yalu and Tuman Rivers.”

“In just two weeks?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“What has our fleet been doing all this time?”

“Our fleet at Port Arthur would be trapped before it could even get out to sea, and the flotilla at Vladivostok would be too small in number to be effective.”

Kuropatkin brought up stories that even the Governor-General of the Far East, Alexeyev, had not mentioned, as if he had made up his mind.

Before Russian ground forces could even move, Japan could send 27,000 ground troops to the edge of Manchuria within two weeks and 55,000 troops within three weeks.

Bezobrazzoff’s face became thoughtful at the story, and the Tsar listened to the story in silence, maintaining a calm expression without showing any emotion.

“Lord Bezobrazoff’s report of 1901 was extremely optimistic. He said, Your Majesty, that if we brought in reserves from Priamur and Transbaikal, we could sweep the second wave of Japanese troops out to sea before they could land. This is impossible.”

“Why? Aren’t there 40,000 of our soldiers there?”

“They will be able to send their first units to Manchuria only on the 31st day of the war. Only about 1,200 soldiers and 12 artillery pieces will be able to support the 1st and 2nd Siberian Corps.”

“······.”

The Tsar turned his head silently to Bezobrazzoff, asking for an explanation.

“Tea, Your Majesty. General Kuropatkin is disturbing Your Majesty’s wisdom. If we organize three more divisions of artillery and cavalry in the Far East, we will be able to drive out the Japanese in no time. Moreover, our troops in the Baikal and Amur regions will be able to move quickly and support the Manchurian Army.”

“That is false, Your Majesty. I stake my position on this, but we will not be able to mobilize our forces properly in times of war. The armies of Baikal and the Amur region are still weak in firepower and are too few in number. We must form additional corps.”

Of course, compared to ten years ago, the size of the military in the Far East had increased by a factor of four. Compared to that time when only 20 battalions could be deployed, now 80 battalions could be deployed in South Manchuria alone. But that was still not enough.

“In the case of war, how do you think it should be prevented?”

“···Do you think war is inevitable, Your Majesty?”

“That’s right. I think those Japanese guys have essentially given us an ultimatum.”

Kuropatkin felt that he was in the same position as Marshal Kutuzov at Austerlitz.

Of course, he said that he could not even follow in the footsteps of Kutuzov, the hero of the Russian Empire, but he could not help but think that the situation in which he had to endure an avoidable tragedy due to a single decision by the Tsar was quite similar.

He took a deep breath and then spoke cautiously to the Tsar.

“You just have to not defend Manchuria.”

“What does that mean?”

“There is a fence in the Far East that the Tsar made.”

“Are you saying that we should use the Korean Empire as a battlefield?”

Kuropatkin nodded silently to the Tsar’s words.

“If we were to use the Korean Empire as a battlefield, that would be···.”

“If we can make them firmly on our side, we will have the luxury of concentrating our forces scattered throughout the country in Manchuria. In the war with Japan, if the Korean Empire can stop their initial advance and buy them a month or more, we can try to intercept them in Manchuria. And above all, they have said that they would be our fence since 1895. Now is the time for them to do their part.”

“The Korean Empire will declare neutrality. Didn’t they already make a deal with the other great powers in 1901 through the Great Compromise?!”

Grand Duke Alexandrovich spoke, but this time it was Foreign Minister Ramsdorf who refuted his words.

“They, too, are constantly under threat from Japan. The talk of war is not completely empty. If we draw them into war by emphasizing to them that they share a common destiny with our empire… perhaps our available capabilities in Manchuria will increase several times.”

“The Korean Empire has already trained capable generals and staffs, and an army of 100,000 men, with our and France’s support. They have one division, eight brigades, and a small navy of six destroyers, which will be of immense help to us in the defense of the Far East.”

“If there are 8 brigades in one division···.”

Based on the current Russian corps deployment in the Far East, it was equivalent to a force of three corps.

At Kuropatkin’s words, not only the ministers but even the Tsar looked briefly surprised.

“You mean you were able to train that many troops in less than 8 years, war minister?”

“Yes. If they support us, we can make a bold move. Although they and Lushun will have to shoulder the fate of Sevastopol, if we buy them enough time, we can concentrate our forces in Manchuria and try to fight a field battle against the Japanese. Compared to the entire Manchurian area of ​​several hundred versts, the Korean Empire is deep but narrow, making it relatively advantageous for defensive warfare.”

And that field battle would be a massive land battle on a scale different from Austerlitz or Leipzig.

It might be the most appropriate sacrifice to offer to the bloodthirsty dawn of the 20th century.

And the Korean Empire will either drown in that blood, or survive and face the dawn of modernity, and learn which path to take.