Joseon Needs a Coup - Chapter 171



Only Noblemtl

#171. 11:59 (4)

“An Gong, it’s been a while.”

“Oh, this guy is really something. There’s no need to be so formal.”

In a quiet place in Tokyo, two people dressed in suits met. They were talking to each other as if they had known each other for a long time.

“Still, it is so regrettable that someone who served as the military minister of a country is acting like this.”

“Still, I am grateful that you took the effort to inform His Majesty the Emperor of my true intentions.”

The man who took off his hat and adjusted his glasses was Ahn Gyeong-su, a former military minister who had been living in a foreign land for several years since the coup in the year of Eulmi.

He had been deliberately contacting a man who introduced himself as an employee of the Imperial Household Agency for several years, and had repeatedly expressed his desire to return to his home country through him.

An Gyeong-su was exhausted. Avoiding the assassins sent by the emperor, receiving the disapproving gaze of the Japanese government, and living in a foreign land were all things he had no intention of doing.

He would rather die than confess his crimes to the Emperor and face the severe judgment of the law. So he kept in touch with this Imperial Household official and spent the past few years trying to find a way to return to his homeland, and now it was finally beginning to come into his sights.

“By the way, the air in Tokyo has become very heavy these days. I think His Majesty the Emperor should be aware of this.”

“What is it for?”

“They say they’re going to war with Nosua. Rumors are already rife, but when I asked Lord Ito directly, it seems like they’ve definitely decided on a direction.”

The man, who was said to be an employee of the Imperial Household Department, perked up his ears.

“What exactly is it?”

“The Japanese government has been busy collecting all the information about Russia and Korea. On top of that, the 12th Division in Yokohama is also training every day… Hey, is this a bit much?”

“An Gong, please tell us. His Majesty is very interested in the stories and situations in Japan that An Gong tells us. He is very satisfied that An Gong is still loyal to his country in a foreign land.”

As the palace staff gently scratched him, An Gyeong-su coughed and looked around. After confirming that there was no one suspicious, he immediately opened his mouth.

“The very purpose of the creation of the 12th Division was to be the advance unit that would respond first in the event of war with Russia. What does it mean that they are now on standby while training much more than before?”

“Oh, Your Majesty must be very worried.”

“I’m so worried. That’s why I didn’t want to tell you my story. Oh, and I heard that the Combined Fleet has gathered in Sasebo… and they’re changing the garrison stationed in Korea into a Korean garrison. I heard that a guy named Hasegawa is in charge.”

“Is there any other story?”

“Well, well… Ah, yeah, that was it.”

He spoke as if he had some good information. The palace staff member, still with a bright expression, filled his glass with alcohol.

“Thank you, I was just feeling thirsty.”

Then he told me something quite important.

“The Japanese government is gathering former officials who have gone into exile. Starting with Sir Cho Hee-yeon, Sir Park Yeong-hyo, Lee Du-hwang, Woo Beom-seon, etc…”

“You mean all of a sudden?”

“It came to me too. I’m not sure, but I think the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that I would be able to return home soon…”

The employee’s eyes changed for a moment. It was as if he was hearing this story for the first time. However, An Gyeong-su continued his story without looking at the employee’s reaction.

“Ah, I want to go back to my home country soon. I’m so tired of living in a foreign land…”

“I see···.”

While he was drinking heavily, the man waited until An Gyeong-su was completely drunk, and then took him somewhere.

There were several men in suits standing guard around the area, and two of them approached a man who identified himself as an employee of the Imperial Household Agency.

“Sir, what did that author say?”

“I have an urgent message to send to the Director of Military Affairs and the Director of Records.”

They lifted An Gyeong-su up and took him to his original lodgings. The staff member spoke with a fierce expression, different from the smile he had shown earlier.

“The Japanese are plotting something. Send a coded message to the home country with the relevant information before dawn today.”

“All right.”

They started moving right away, as if it was something that happened often.

The man thought as he smoked a cigarette.

The atmosphere was different from before, as the Japanese dared to use any means necessary to look down on Korea. At times like these, the newly established 4th Division of the Records Research Office had to exert its utmost effort to produce information that could be of great help to the country.

And among those exiles, An Gyeong-su was the weakest and easiest to attack. He also had a lot of information.

If we take advantage of his desire to return to his home country, we could produce information like the one we have now.

And exactly one hour later, a plaintext telegram of unknown meaning flew from the telegraph office in Tokyo to the telegraph office in Seoul.

***

With the sound of brisk footsteps, Bezobrazzov, the special envoy from Russia, was hurriedly walking to meet Emperor Gojong.

Escorted by Admiral Stark in Lushun, he could feel the rather serious atmosphere that was maintained from Jemulpo to Hanseongbu.

“The air here has been heavy from the start.”

He shook his head once and followed the instructions of his attendants to where the Emperor of Korea was.

Apart from the well-maintained gardens within the palace, Hanseongbu felt like a fairly lively city.

Until just 5-6 years ago, there were constant reports that it was a dirty and unorganized city like any other medium-sized European city, but it seems that many things have changed recently with the introduction of urban development projects, arsenals, and various light industrial complexes.

Although it was not as big as St. Petersburg, the city of Hanseong seemed to have the liveliness and authority befitting the capital of a country.

For a moment he was lost in thought, and then he stepped forward towards the Emperor of Korea.

A man with a gentle, yet typically Oriental appearance smiled kindly at him.

He spoke politely to the interpreter, along with a secret letter from the Tsar.

“This is a secret letter from the Tsar of the Russian Empire to the Emperor of Korea. Regarding Japan’s treacherous behavior, the Tsar immediately informs the Emperor of Korea and requests his active cooperation.”

The interpreter immediately relayed his words to the emperor.

The face that had been smiling until just a moment ago froze in an instant.

Perhaps he too had seen the terms of the de facto ultimatum Japan had proposed to Russia.

“Japan is escalating the crisis in the Far East. At a time like this, the Russian Empire and the Korean Empire must join forces to overcome the current crisis.”

“His Majesty the Emperor wonders how Russia can reveal such details.”

‘Then that’s right, you snake-like human.’

Bezobrazzov was able to hear a glimpse of the story about the Korean emperor from Minister Pavlov.

He used to criticize me for saying such things to the emperor of a country, as he made a rather explicit expression that he was hiding a snake-like heart behind a smiling face, but now I think I know why he said that.

“The reason is simple. Our Russian Empire cannot give up the Korean Empire.”

Bezobrazzov coughed and said. In fact, he did not understand the Tsar’s unusual interest in the Korean Empire. After all, the Korean Empire was merely a secondary region that the Russian Empire would eventually devour along with Manchuria, and accordingly, he had repeatedly requested that it be transformed into a puppet state in the form of Koganto or Bukhara.

I reported that it would be a good idea to make the Korean Empire a semi-colony and build a lot of military bases there in order to block Japan, but every time I did that, the Tsar would make a rather unpleasant expression.

In any case, he was now here as the Tsar’s agent, and his mission was the grave one of ‘cooperating with the Korean Empire to prevent Japan’s threat of war,’ so he suppressed his true feelings as much as possible.

“He asked me to continue talking.”

“Japan is proposing to divide the Korean Empire at the 39th parallel. However, this is internationally unacceptable, and at the same time, we have provided much external support for the independence of the Korean Empire since 1895. To abandon that approach now is not the ideal of the Russian Empire that the Tsar desires, and furthermore, the collapse of the Korean Empire could cause danger in the Far East.”

“Your Majesty asks whether you are intending to use the Korean Empire as a battlefield, fearing that this will ultimately lead to a crisis in Manchuria.”

It was a sharp point. As Kuropatkin said, the Emperor of Korea had to buy time to defend Manchuria while leaving the ‘fate of Sevastopol’ to the Korean Empire, so he made a rather sharp point.

But Bezobrazzoff answered without changing his expression.

“If the Korean Empire collapses in the first place, Manchuria and the Maritime Province will not be safe either.”

“Isn’t that an excuse, Lord Bezobrazzoff!”

Someone walked confidently behind me and said.

Bezobrazzoff, startled, turned his head and looked at the person who had dared to barge in while he was talking to the Emperor.

He was a high-ranking Korean official with a long beard, carrying a backpack on his back, and a bicorne at his side.

And then, behind him, a very young general, even by European standards, followed in with a respectful attitude.

“Who are you···.”

“I am Lee Yong-ik, who concurrently holds the office of Director of the Royal Household and Deputy Commissioner of the Ministry of Finance of the Korean Empire, Director of the Mint, Director of the Army Clothing Manufacturing Plant, and Commander-in-Chief of His Majesty the Emperor’s Guard and Army Lieutenant General.”

“······.”

“Please tell him that His Majesty has sent him here, and that he asks for your generous understanding.”

Bezobrazzoff frowned and looked at the sudden intruders with an uneasy look.

Somehow, it felt like he had to deal with them rather than the Emperor of Korea. Admiral Stark, who was by his side, gave him a warning.

“They are the economic and military experts of the Korean Emperor. They probably know what we are going to do.”

‘It’s going to be a mess.’

Bezobrazzov couldn’t shake the feeling that information had leaked from somewhere inside Russia.

“Now, Tsar’s emissary.”

The young general spoke Russian in an awkward, but not unintelligible, manner.

Bezobrazzoff looked at this confident and ambitious looking man and thought that he really had to be careful.

And what the young general said next heightened his alertness even further.

“Shall we start playing cards for real now?”