Joseon Needs a Coup - Chapter 187



Only Noblemtl

#187. The Road to War (7)

“As the old man suggested, we must launch a preemptive strike against the Japanese now! Even if a bold troop movement is impossible due to the railway problem, isn’t the 3rd Brigade deployed in the Gyeongin area?”

“That’s right. In The Art of War, it says that if your force is ten times that of the enemy, surround them; if it is five times that, attack; if it is twice that, defeat the enemy individually. We have more than five times the strength of the Japanese army that landed at Jemulpo. It is clearly time to attack the enemy!”

The 1st Brigade Commander of the Guards Division, Park Seung-hwan, and the 2nd Brigade Commander, Lee Ki-pyo, encouraged me by insisting on an immediate offensive.

I again proposed a second option, seeing that the chiefs of the Marshal’s Office were still hesitant, especially since they recognized that our overall strength was weaker than that of our enemies.

“···If it is difficult to break through by rail, we can try a mobile breakthrough using our cavalry and infantry, which are our strengths. If we can destroy many of their defensive positions through a double breakthrough, we can destroy their will to fight. If the Commander-in-Chief permits, we can drive them out of Jemulpo with the Independent Cavalry Regiment, the Assault Infantry Regiment, and the 3rd Brigade as the main forces.”

“That’s right. Our cavalry regiment will arrive at the front in less than half a day. The glorious moment awaits us, when we will drive our sabers into the heads of the Japanese. Please allow us to do so!”

Army Chief of Staff Kim Seok-joong, commander of the Independent Cavalry Regiment, clenched his fist and raised his voice even louder, saying that an offensive action must be taken.

“The commander’s argument for an offensive is sound from a military perspective. If we don’t attack now, we will have a hard time stopping their main force from reaching Hanseong.”

At first glance, he seemed to support my opinion. But in Korean, you have to listen to the end.

“But now we have to look ahead realistically.”

The words that followed were, as expected, negative.

He glanced at me with a grave expression, then turned to the other cabinet members and staff.

“The 3rd Brigade was created in 1900 as part of the army expansion and reinforcement organization, but it was only fully organized early this year. Before that, it was reduced to two battalions because it could not meet the requirements of one brigade and four battalions.”

“Rather, since this is a unit that lacks training, we should attack now. If we go on the defensive, how long will the 3rd Brigade, which lacks training, be able to hold out? We need to gain momentum early.”

“No, that’s not what I meant, Commander. Since this unit lacks training, it’s hard to expect them to perform well in battles that are fought side by side and line by line. Don’t you, Commander, know very well that the human resources and training of the Jinwi Brigades are lacking?”

“That is why we must go on the offensive even more. Now is the time, when we have the supplies and troops to fight.”

“That’s not right. The only units that can directly confront the Japanese army are the Guards Division in the center and the troops in Gwanseo and Gwanbuk. The garrison in Gyeonggi and Samnam assumed that this place would be occupied anyway, so they decided to do what you called ‘guerrilla warfare’.”

“In order to properly create a guerrilla warfare environment, an initial offensive is necessary. If the enemy’s forces are active, the scattered units will not be able to properly conduct guerrilla warfare.”

“We’ve been gathering troops without thinking and barely keeping up with the numbers, so the quality of our soldiers is lacking. Furthermore, we can’t expect much from units that are based on guerrilla warfare and are expected to fight a long-term war. At least, it’s even worse for the headquarters in charge of the defense of this area.”

Their arguments ran parallel, like a hamster wheel. Those who were cautious argued that there was no need to sacrifice the 3rd Brigade and the Central Army without any reason.

“Besides, it will take some time for the Japanese army to land its main force and advance through the Gyeongin Highway. If we can block their advance through guerrilla warfare in the meantime, we may be able to buy some decent time for the government and the royal family to withdraw.”

“I agree, Commander-in-Chief. The Korean Army and the 23rd Brigade are not pursuing our retreating troops, but rather, if they do manage to capture Hanseongbu, they will wait for additional reinforcements to land and secure a supply line rather than pursuing them.”

Chief Cho Dong-yoon spoke as if he had seen through their war plans.

“Sergeant, now is not the time for battle. There is no reason to shed meaningless blood on our homeland…”

“Senseless blood? The enemy has already landed on our territory! None of the blood that will be shed from now on will be meaningless and pointless.”

At the very least, I wanted to force blood on the Japanese army like Osong Krieg even if Jemulpo was breached later, but I couldn’t act on my own in a situation where opinions were sharply divided.

Above all, it was Lee Gyu-tae, not me, who had the military command in this area, so it couldn’t have been otherwise.

“Well, it would be better for the fleets of each country in Jemulpo to see them attack us first. If we attack them who have no intention of attacking first….”

Prime Minister Han Gyu-seol also opened his mouth after much deliberation. Instead of a preemptive strike, he ordered the mobilization of all forces to build a defensive line between Jemulpo and Hanseong and to destroy the Han River Bridge connecting the Gyeongin Line.

These people seem to think that if Japan goes to war with Russia now, she will act differently than she did to Qing.

The Japanese people’s thinking at this time was definitely different from that of a normal person. They already considered that Russia and the Korean Empire had started a war, and it was obvious that they would try to seize both strategic and tactical advantages by launching a surprise preemptive attack. No, they were the bastards who would do that anyway.

That’s why Pearl Harbor was also so fiercely contested. While opinions were at odds and time was passing by without a trace, a liaison officer quickly handed a document and a whisper to Vice Admiral Lee Dong-hwi, who was like the Navy’s deputy commander.

His already serious expression became even more serious, and it was enough to make everyone in the war room, where the argument had been going on for a long time, look at his mouth.

Soon he relayed to us some news he had received from Jemulpo.

“This is a report from our naval detachment in Jemulpo. The Russian and Japanese naval fleets clashed near Palmi Island outside Jemulpo. The Japanese Navy mobilized five cruisers and eight torpedo boats to attack the Russian fleet unilaterally, and they barely managed to avoid the attack and are currently retreating to the inner harbor of Jemulpo.”

···It seemed that the Japanese Navy had attacked the Russian Navy as planned. Although the form and background were different from the actual battle, the development of the naval battle itself was similar. Either way, one thing was certain.

That Japan had begun hostilities within our territory, and that, in accordance with the defense treaty, the Russian army had been attacked by the Japanese army without a declaration of war, so now we had no choice but to enter into war against Japan.

“···You’re finally getting things done.”

“Those damn Japanese.”

In other words, this was virtually the same as news of the outbreak of war.

I sat down, put a cigarette in my mouth, and struck a match. The blood that was about to flow would flow thicker and more brutally than any blood that had ever flowed before.

“Their fleet probably includes transport ships as well.”

“How did you know, Mr. Turnip?”

Lee Dong-hwi looked at me with surprised eyes, then handed me the document and spoke.

“According to the telegram sent to us by Admiral Urio, commanding the 4th Squadron of the Japanese Navy, he reported that he responded to the Russian Navy’s attempt to destroy trade by three ships transporting his country’s army.”

It would have been the 23rd Brigade, the advance guard of the 12th Division. It would have departed from Yokohama, joined the combined fleet at Sasebo, and then come this way, encountering and engaging Russian naval ships that had arrived to assess the situation.

And Japan shamelessly tried to explain to us, perhaps an excuse to somehow control the initial attack – and one that even the Japanese military would not believe us to believe.

“Do you think it is true?”

“Well, judging from the testimonies of naval officers from various countries who were present, it seems that the Japanese Navy launched a preemptive strike, so it seems that they intentionally attacked the Russian fleet. Common sense tells us that two ships would have fired first at over ten Japanese ships.”

Naturally, no one believed their explanation.

I drank a glass of water in a stuffy situation.

The time for a response to the ultimatum was approaching, the preemptive strike was being hesitated, and the Japanese launched a unilateral attack on the Russian ships outside Chemulpo.

In such a situation, especially in this war, Lee Dong-hwi, who had to wait for the darkest fate, blurted out this story as if he had been waiting for it.

“Now, the only thing our Korean Navy can do is find a battlefield where we can die as coolly as possible.”

I was drinking water and this sound made me choke and I had to cough for a long time.

It really made me wonder if there was someone in the Navy who was from the future like me.

Anyone can say something similar in the gloomy naval power situation, but seeing our Navy Commander say the same thing nearly 40 years before Admiral Leder did, I couldn’t help but laugh out loud.

“Do you have a plan?”

“We have already captured several Japanese military garrison ships and vessels in Wonsan. However, after the declaration of war, we will abandon Wonsan and move to the safety of Hamheung, and later attempt to destroy trade by linking up with the Russian fleet in Vladivostok.”

“You’re giving up on Wonsan?”

“General, Wonsan is a Japanese city. We have temporarily occupied it, but as time goes by, Japanese naval ships will invade there. Seven ships are no answer.”

Come to think of it, there were coastal batteries in Hamheung that the Navy had painstakingly built.

The Japanese Navy could send torpedo boats to attack the Hamheung naval base just as they did at Weihaiwei, or they could even send protected cruisers into the harbor to wreak havoc, so they had expanded their defensive facilities to prepare for that.

It is said that Admiral Jang Gi-ryeom personally negotiated with Colonel Bezobrazov, the person in charge of the Pacific Fleet in Vladivostok, and received eight 152mm single-barreled guns.

Ultimately, it was thanks to them that they realized that Hamheung was an important forward line and border line for maintaining control of the east coast centered around Vladivostok if war broke out.

In any case, thanks to this, coastal guns and well-constructed defensive positions existed on the major highlands overlooking the Hamheung Bay area.

“It looks like they will be pounding the Japanese navy and transport ships along the east coast, relying on the coastal batteries and defensive facilities there.”

“Unfortunately, it is the best we can do. We cannot disperse their fleet power or cut off their seaborne transports by simply existing, so we must take risks and come forward. As soon as the government and the royal family move to the northeast, I will join the fleet and command the operation.”

Well, they chose the best method they could. I don’t know how effective it would be, but at least while the Japanese Navy was dealing with the Russian fleet in Port Arthur, they could have achieved enough results. After all, the Japanese Navy’s main concern was not the blockade of the West Sea, nor the small-scale Korean/Russian navies in the East Sea.

I said with a deep sigh.

“Prime Minister, war has now become an unavoidable option. They attacked the Russian fleet without declaring war, and we are faced with a situation where we must join hands with Russia and defend the Korean Peninsula and Manchuria, whether we like it or not. Transport ships are already coming in, so it would be impossible to break through the defense line at Jemulpo…”

At this point, it was difficult to mobilize ground forces to wipe out the bridgehead. So, at the very least, it was necessary to officially declare war throughout the country and begin the war plan.

And the best way to do this was to declare war. If, in the name of the Emperor and the Cabinet, we were to announce that we were entering a state of formal hostilities with Japan, it would become a fait accompli that the whole country would enter a state of war.

It was all the more necessary, especially since it could alleviate the panic among the Russian leadership to some extent.

Of course, the Manchurian Army Command and the Far East Governor-General were somewhat close to the scene and were prepared, but it was a different story for the Russian cabinet and the Tsar in St. Petersburg, thousands of kilometers away.

“There is no time. We must use our cards while they are at their strongest. Since Japan has already attacked Russia, there is no way to avoid war. We must only crush their ambitions with our guns and will.”

“······.”

“But now, we must defeat them with pen and paper rather than guns and swords. If we write a declaration of war and announce it throughout the country in the name of His Majesty the Emperor and the Cabinet, we will be able to inflict pain on them for a long time.”

Then, Lee Gyu-tae, who had been opposed to the preemptive strike plan, agreed with my opinion and proposed that we declare war.

After thinking about this for a while, Han Gyu-seol sighed and looked at Foreign Minister Lee Beom-jin who was standing next to him.

“The Minister of Foreign Affairs will have to take care of this for you.”

Lee Beom-jin nodded with an expression that said, “It was going to happen.” Then, after finishing the final touches on the declaration of war that he had prepared in advance, he received approval virtually unanimously from the Privy Council and the Cabinet.

The Emperor silently stamped his royal seal on the declaration of war, after which Prime Minister Han Gyu-seol and Minister of Foreign Affairs Lee Beom-jin signed it, and then personally delivered a copy of it to the Japanese consul in Jemulpo.

As the morning of October 15th dawned, the Japanese government was able to receive an urgent telegram from their consul in Jemulpo. The content of the telegram was that the Korean Empire had declared war on Japan.

The situation began to unfold out of control, and the conflict in the Far East could no longer be prevented by any means.