Joseon Needs a Coup - Chapter 175



Only Noblemtl

#175. Evil Alliance (4)

If we repatriate the exiles to Korea and use them as puppets to control the politics of the Korean Empire, then the rest will be just by-products.

And then the most important, final topic was brought up.

The most important story for the emperor, the story of preserving his position and power. It will be the sweetest and most bitter story.

“Your Majesty, the current political situation is being controlled by a few ministers and generals. Even if Your Majesty truly does not want war, the machinations of your ministers and generals are greatly damaging your true intentions.”

“···They saved the luggage.”

“But that was all, Your Majesty. After saving Your Majesty from danger, they not only received a more than enough settlement, but they are now trying to drag this country into war.”

The emperor’s pupils shook as if he was thrilled by his story.

“If war breaks out, Your Majesty the Emperor will not be able to maintain his position. Your Majesty will have much more to lose than to gain from the war. Those who benefit from the war are only those who planned and plotted it, while Your Majesty and Your Majesty’s subjects will all suffer.”

“···Does that mean they are after Jim’s authority···?”

“Otherwise, you would not be trying to induce war against our Japanese Empire by carrying Russia on your back. Your Majesty, now is the time to show what you can do. Take the hand that our Japanese Empire extends to you, overcome the crisis of war, and show your authority to the world. Show your benevolence and wisdom in embracing even exiles in order to overcome the national crisis. Then, our Japanese Empire will surely respond to the Korean Empire and to you.”

“Ohh···.”

Until now, no one had ever said such a thing to him.

Hayashi had been doing what Emperor Gojong wanted since the coup in 1895.

Although the royal family was allowed to increase its own wealth by giving them internal funds, the government was taking it away again as the national finances became more stable and interference was reduced.

The army and navy that he had so desperately wanted to develop seemed to be ruled by a few generals rather than the emperor’s army, and the political powers were either swayed by them or completely defecting, refusing to move as the emperor would have them.

What seemed like a desperate situation to him was also an opportunity for Hayashi.

“The choice is now yours, Your Majesty. Will you join hands with the Japanese Empire? Or will you, like Your Majesty’s subjects, conclude an unreasonable treaty with the Russian Empire and be dragged into the pit of war together?”

Hayashi made a bold move. This was the very reason why the Ministry of Foreign Affairs appointed him as the Japanese ambassador to Korea.

With this move, he could turn the defensive situation in Korean diplomacy back to his advantage, and it was a card that could change the side of the Korean Empire at the most crucial moment.

“···Thanks to you, my eyes were opened.”

And as expected, the Emperor took up the card. He would even join hands with the devil if it guaranteed him the rights and powers he could secure for himself.

“I will issue the order as soon as tomorrow morning comes. Please convey the news to your home country.”

“Don’t worry. I will represent His Majesty the Emperor and the Korean Empire to the best of my ability.”

Of course, only as the home country wants.

He came out, holding back laughter.

Now, preparations are complete to ignite a ‘state of psychological civil war’ for the Korean Empire.

Now it remains to be seen how the Emperor will control them and when they will descend into complete chaos.

In any case, their army will soon go into battle, and the Korean Empire will not even be able to figure out what is happening, let alone try to stop it.

If we do this now, even that young Korean general will be helpless.

Do you think your head is only for you?

Hayashi turned towards the embassy in Namsan with a much lighter step.

It seemed that it would not be long before the blue dye was removed from the Taegeukgi, the national flag of the Korean Empire.

***

“Hahahaha! As expected, Hayashi is good at his job. Yes, if we can render the Korean Empire, the strongest shield that Russia can wield, incapable of fighting, things will be easy.”

“Preparations for war are almost complete. I will briefly report on the war plans.”

“Very good. Let’s begin.”

At the Imperial Headquarters, there was praise for the diplomatic activities within the Korean Empire for the first time in a long time.

They felt relieved that they could concentrate their full energies on Russia when the Ministry of Foreign Affairs rolled up its sleeves and stepped forward to resolve the crisis they had been trying to ignore regarding the Russian-Korean defense treaty.

“The Russian army has the largest army in the world. It has a standing army of 1.13 million, but as of August 5, 1903, only 98,000 men of the two Siberian corps were deployed in the Far East, with 148 artillery pieces and 8 machine guns.”

“Aren’t there border guards?”

“There are 24,000 of them throughout the Far East, but they are spread out throughout Manchuria, Transbaikal, Primorsky Krai and Primorsky Krai, so there is no need to worry too much.”

The Japanese Army was confident in its ground warfare, as the Russian ground forces were severely dispersed.

Until June 1903, the Japanese army had not properly analyzed Russia’s military power and had formulated an extremely defensive operational plan, but after the June 8th Chiefs of Staff meeting, they were able to gain firm confidence.

“The outline of the operation depends on how quickly we can destroy the Russian army in Manchuria. If we start the operation as scheduled on August 14, 1903, it will be carried out in three stages.”

I could hear the sound of the generals turning the pages of the operational outlines that the staff officers had worked on all night.

“As of July 1903, Russia had completed the Eastern Chinese Railway, but the Trans-Siberian Railway was not yet fully operational, making it unusable. Therefore, it would take at least three months for Russian ground forces to be deployed in earnest in the Far East.”

“So the first step is complete domination of the Korean Empire?”

“Yes. We will change the existing operation that was scheduled to end at the end of December 1903 and have the Korean army conquer the entire Korean Empire by the beginning of December and secure the supply route from Jemulpo to Hansung to Gaeseong to Pyongyang to Uiju. After that, we will further expand the supply line and open the offensive line toward Vladivostok from Wonsan to Hamheung to Jongseong to Gyeongheung.”

And next to it, the expected weekly mobilization numbers were written. In the first week, there was a field army of about 10,000 men led by the 12th Division, in the second week, the entire 12th Division main force and the Korean main force combined to 27,000 men, and in the third week, there were 55,000 men, and so on, increasing exponentially.

By January 1904, when Japan would have completely taken over southern Manchuria, it planned to deploy 600,000 mobilized troops from all over the country, of which 300,000 would be sent to Manchuria.

“The first stage depends on how quickly we can conquer the Korean Empire. What is the level of resistance of the Korean Empire?”

“If things had gone as planned, we estimated that resistance would last at most two months, but since the political situation in Korea is changing rapidly, I don’t think there will be any real resistance. However, resistance is expected in the northern regions, such as Pyeongan and Hamgyeong, where anti-Japanese sentiments are very strong, so it is necessary to control this through military rule after the occupation.”

“Who was chosen as the commander of the Korean Army?”

“This is Lieutenant General Yoshimichi Hasegawa.”

He raised his hand while attending the meeting. He was more confident than anyone else that he would conquer the Korean Empire faster.

“Before the full-scale outbreak of war, around August 11, Lieutenant General Hasegawa will land at Jemulpo with one regiment to fully organize the garrison currently stationed in Korea and upgrade it to a Korean main force.”

“Is it possible to take over Hanseong with just one regiment?”

“There is nothing impossible. We will quickly take the Gyeongin Line train from Jemulpo to Hansung, stop at Yongsan, and immediately occupy the major telegraph facilities, government offices, and the Imperial Palace in the capital. We did it in 1894, so would it be impossible this time?”

Hasegawa said with confidence.

Army Minister Gentaro Kodama felt some uneasiness about his confidence, but decided not to hurt his pride.

“Okay, continue.”

“While the first phase of the operation is over, we aim to mobilize an additional 280,000 troops within three weeks from within the country, and to have 55,000 of them cross the Yalu-Tumen River. As we move into the second phase, we will extend the supply line to the Liaodong Peninsula at the southern tip of Manchuria, attack Port Arthur and Dalian, and if possible, strategically surround Vladivostok through the northeastern part of the Korean Empire.”

“How long will it take to move to stage 3?”

“Considering the local situation of the Russian army, supply, and reinforcements, I expect it to be over in two months. Since we originally planned to advance our army to Harbin through the three-stage operation around the summer of 1904, it won’t take long.”

Overall, the Japanese military chose to declare war in October 1903, and was determined to win control of the entire Korean Peninsula by December and end the war by August 1904, with a principle of a very quick victory.

If we could quickly resolve the issue of how to deal with the Korean Empire in the early stages of the war and properly resolve the issue of extending the supply route to Manchuria, it did not seem that difficult to destroy the Russian army on the ground.

“Lieutenant General Hasegawa, I think we should go to Jemulpo a little early.”

“Are you saying this all of a sudden?”

“The Emperor of Korea needs to bring in the exiles to form a national cabinet and push out the current coalition cabinet of pro-Russian and pro-royalist factions, so don’t you think we need to give him direct power? In addition to the existing garrison troops dispatched to the Korean Empire, I will attach a total of six battalions. Deploy on August 9th, two days earlier, and join up with the legation in Namsan to establish the main army headquarters and strengthen the overall situation.”

“All right.”

If possible, it was necessary for the Imperial General Headquarters to support the efforts of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

In the rapidly changing political situation in Korea, we will not make the same mistake as we did in 1895.

This time, I will put Joseon, no, the Korean Empire, in my wallet not as change, but as a definite reward.

In the sky that the headquarters looked at, the sun was high in the sky today, like a rising sun.

Now was the best opportunity, as Russia had effectively rejected the ultimatum and the Korean Empire was in a state of upheaval just weeks after signing the Russia-ROK Defense Treaty.

However, they overlooked one fact, which may have been the wrong thing to do from the very beginning of the war.