Joseon Needs a Coup - Chapter 188



Only Noblemtl

#188. No one step back (1)

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In the 7th year of Gwangmu, the Korean Empire’s War Cabinet and Privy Council announce:

On behalf of the 20 million people and the government, we are outraged by the surprise and vile attack by the Japanese Empire at Chemulpo without a declaration of war on the Russian Empire, and we cannot comply with Japan’s demands to undermine the peace of Asia.

Under the pretext of peace in Asia, the Japanese Empire revealed its ambition to divide Korea along the 39th parallel and rule it over the Russian Empire, and by intimidating His Majesty the Emperor into letting the traitors who had fled into exile work secretly in the government and military, it shook Korea to its very roots. This is an outrage that can never be tolerated.

Hereby, the Imperial War Cabinet and the Privy Council, by unanimous vote, solemnly declare the following regarding the unlawful military actions and acts of aggression by the Empire of Japan:

1. The entire Korean people will resist to the last man and the last moment the aggression of the Japanese Empire since the dastardly surprise attack of the Japanese Imperial Navy on the Russian Imperial Navy on October 15, 1903, and declare war on the Japanese Empire.

2. In accordance with the Treaty of Seoul in 1901, we, the Republic of Korea, will use all means at our disposal to resist Japan’s war of aggression in order to defend our sovereignty and guarantee our independence.

3. The Korean Empire and the Russian Empire will be firmly united until the complete annihilation of the aggressors in the Korean Peninsula and Manchuria and the final victory is achieved.

Prime Minister Han Kyu-seol, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lee Beom-jin

-Gwangmu 7th year, October 15th

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Early in the morning of October 15, a full-scale war was declared when the declaration of war against Japan was officially announced and delivered through bulletins, telegrams, and the embassies of each country.

Japan seemed momentarily taken aback by our declaration of war, but soon began to launch full-scale invasions by forcibly taking over Busan and Masan, seizing our ships, and occupying telegraph stations.

And he demanded that the fleets of each country in Jemulpo Port leave immediately. He intended to occupy Jemulpo militarily and cut off the Russian ships.

France and Italy opposed these Japanese naval demands.

However, in the end, they had no choice but to agree to withdrawal under the threat that what remained would be free but also exposed to merciless attacks.

And to these brave men of the Russian Navy, Admiral Urio urged them to hand over their ships and offer an honorable surrender, but Colonel Rudenev and Lieutenant Colonel Belyaev flatly refused, shouting:

“There will be no surrender to the Russian Navy. We will fight until every drop of blood remains!”

Despite their inferior strength, they were determined to engage the Japanese navy and find a way out onto the high seas.

Naval officers from various countries only sympathized with the Russian sailors, but could not provide any real help.

We even suggested that they abandon the ship and join us on land to find another way, but they refused even that.

“We appreciate the request from the Korean government and military, but we cannot abandon our proud ship.”

They were resolute, and in the end the Marshal’s Office could only offer them the consolation, ‘Saint George, protect these brave men.’

Still, they replied that that was enough.

***

“Today we received news from the Japanese Admiral. The Russian Empire and the Japanese Empire have entered a state of war, and we have been informed to leave Jemulpo Port by noon on the 15th. We will stand against the Japanese Navy, and there will be no surrender to the Russian Navy. Let us fight to the last man, to the last drop of blood. Before setting out, let us pray to Almighty God, and with firm faith in the merciful Lord, let us bravely advance to the battlefield! For the Lord, the Tsar, and great Russia! Hurray!”

Colonel Rudenev made a final pledge along with a short speech and attempted to break through to the open sea outside Jemulpo with all his might.

And the Koreyats and the Varyag met their fateful end after an hour-long battle in the sea near Palmi Island where they had been attacked.

Despite the hopeless 14 to 2 difference in power, Varyag blew up the bridge of the armored cruiser Asama with her 6-inch main gun and inflicted considerable casualties on Takachiho, but in the end, she could not withstand the inferiority in firepower and numbers.

Ultimately, having failed to break through the encirclement, they re-entered Jemulpo Port, and scuttled the damaged Varyag and the less damaged Koreitz, which were now unable to operate independently, effectively putting an end to the battle.

Having subdued the Russian fleet, the Japanese navy now began pouring ground forces toward Jemulpo without hesitation.

Starting with the three transport ships that had already arrived with the 4th Squadron, the 23rd Brigade, the advance unit of the 12th Division, was completely landed in the Kikoshi area, and the military power was greatly increased by unloading the horses and field guns.

And on the 15th, the day the battle of Jemulpo ended, the 1st Squadron led by Admiral Togo, Commander-in-Chief of the Combined Fleet, launched a surprise attack on the Russian fleet in Lushun. Having already received information that the Korean government had declared war on Japan, they recalled the fleet that was training in the open sea and prepared the coastal batteries, which prevented major damage, but even so, two battleships were damaged in the battle and had to be dry-docked for a while.

While this fierce naval battle was taking place, the War Cabinet and the Marshal’s Office immediately sent an order to the 3rd Brigade via a landline connected to the Gyeongin Island to fully switch to a guerrilla warfare system based in the current area according to the war plan.

In addition, Lee Gyu-tae, the commander of the three provinces’ army, ordered all royal, government, and military assets in Hanseongbu to be moved to the northeastern region in accordance with the war plan, and he tried to thoroughly leave behind no supplies or infrastructure for the Japanese military to use. It was a form similar to a scorched earth tactic.

However, the 3rd Brigade refused this order. To be precise, they disobeyed the order to switch to guerrilla warfare and, instead of retreating from their current position, began to further strengthen their defenses, saying they would block the Japanese advance forces on the Gyeongin Highway.

In preparation for guerrilla warfare, they strengthened the fortifications by removing a large number of barbed wires and siege lines from the military supply warehouses deployed in Bupyeong, and persuaded one of the batteries under the direct control of the artillery command, which was planning to retreat, to join the defensive battle.

The artillery and civilian troops that had been gathered for the defensive battle were not disbanded, but sent up toward Gimpo, and began to force the Japanese advance force to enter the Gyeongin Road.

In response to these actions by the 3rd Brigade, the Marshal’s Office immediately warned them to withdraw their troops and begin tactical actions according to the war plan, but received only one reply.

[No one can pass through here.]

In this way, the 3rd Brigade willingly offered itself as a sacrifice for the withdrawal of Hanseongbu and the blockade of the Japanese advance guard.

Of course, no one in the Marshal’s Office wanted their sacrifice, and it was difficult to foresee what problems would arise if they unilaterally broke the war plan, but at least in the political realm, their resistance could be instructive.

And usually, the one who gained political advantage over military advantage was chosen, because even in wartime, war was a subordinate form of politics.

In the end, even the furious Lee Gyu-tae had no choice but to allow the 3rd Brigade to resist. Instead, a new, but much heavier burden was placed on them.

***

“Gentlemen! I have good news for you. The Japanese army has finally landed at Jemulpo, and with their cowardly surprise attack on the Russian-American fleet there, the great defensive battle to protect our Korean Empire has begun! His Majesty the Emperor, the Cabinet, and the Privy Council have unanimously declared war on the Japanese Empire, and have given our 3rd Brigade a very important mission: the honorable order to hold back the enemy coming to Seoul for three days!”

Brigade Commander Min Yeong-gi began giving instructions to his soldiers before the battle.

Lee Gyu-tae, the commander of the three provinces’ army, gave them a new mission after they unilaterally rejected the existing war plan.

The idea was to buy three days for Hanseongbu, and if possible continue to fight defensively after that while gradually transitioning to a guerrilla warfare system.

Lieutenant General Min Yeong-gi expressed his willingness to follow such a changed order. In his view, it would be a tragedy to withdraw without even striking a blow at the Japanese.

Here, I did not hope to repel the enemies as in the Battle of Ichi. However, like the ancestors who died in the battles of Ungchi, Busanjin, and Dongnae Castle after facing the enemy who was outnumbered, I thought that at least I should show the enemies that they could not easily overcome those who defended this land.

The war was in full swing, and there was no reason for them to break the will of their own forces by scattering from the start.

That is why he offered to sacrifice himself to buy time for Hanseongbu by building a defensive line in the Juansan area, the entrance to the Gyeongin Highway.

“Those arrogant Japanese have been trying to threaten us again since the year of Imjin. We must fight against those invaders together with the entire 20 million Korean people. In the name of our shameful fatherland, in the name of His Majesty the Emperor, in the name of our people, the brigade must resist to the last man, to the last moment!”

He raised his voice as he looked at the soldiers of the 3rd Brigade, the artillery, and the civilian security forces, each wearing a different uniform.

“Obey His Majesty the Emperor and the Marshal’s Office! Obey the orders of this office thoroughly! Defend this land where our ancestors are buried and where our descendants will live until the last moment! Defend the front line to the end according to orders, and sacrifice your lives for the honor of your country! Hanseongbu will never fall into their hands in vain, and surrender is something that is not even worth thinking about. Let’s repel the Japanese with dignity and show them the bitter taste of their first defeat!”

Rather than sending his terrified soldiers to their deaths, Lieutenant General Min Yeong-gi wanted to compromise with them immediately.

I wanted to avoid sending these innocent but pitiful people to a place where death was certain, but I tried hard to suppress that feeling.

He was already listed as a dangerous person in the Marshal’s Office and the Records Investigation Office. This was because he had a close relationship with the Japanese military, but also because he had a history of openly expressing dissatisfaction with the Emperor and the Cabinet. However, he was at least able to discern where his homeland was and who was friend and foe.

If Japan were to finally annex the Korean Empire, the emperor and cabinet he was dissatisfied with would disappear, and even his own position would be lost.

That is why he vowed to resist to the end.

At least, as a member of the so-called Min clan that once led the country, he thought about his position and status and sacrificed his life for the country so that his descendants could live properly even after the war, and this also played a part.

“Face their guns with your whole body! For our sons and daughters, all the brave ones who face the coming storm! Through our sacrifices, in the fields, mountains, and rivers of the eight provinces, day and night, our soldiers and people will join the just war, and from Uiju to Dongnae, we will achieve the final victory according to the call of our country in crisis!”

His cry was brave, but it seemed lonely. Hanseongbu would soon be abandoned, and the 3rd Brigade would have to fight alone until the war ended in some form.

However, if they were left alone, they would surely catch up with them, and since they were soldiers with homes and children in Jemulpo and Hanseongbu, they had no intention of backing down easily.

“Now, which brave Korean man will go to the battlefield with me? Who will protect our honor, our proud Seoul, and our invaluable children from the guns and swords of those vicious Japanese? Who will do his duty as a subject and lay down his life for his monarch?!”

“Freedom or death!”

At his shout, a young officer drew his sword and shouted. Then, soldiers on all sides repeated his shout over and over again, and they waited for battle while looking straight at the smoke rising from the distant harbor.

It was going to be the longest day for them.

***

Finally, the Japanese army, having destroyed the Russian fleet, formed battle formation and began to advance from Jemulpo.

First, when the 23rd Brigade commanded by Major General Kikoshi joined the six battalions of the Korean Army under Lieutenant General Hasegawa, who had been on tenterhooks in Jemulpo, the Korean soldiers who had been setting up a blockade began to withdraw deep into the Gyeongin Highway.

And it was around the time they were advancing toward Hansung that they received the declaration of war against Japan. The Japanese consul stationed in Jemulpo urgently informed them of the official declaration of war, and Hasegawa sent a messenger to Min Yeong-gi, who was in charge of the area, demanding surrender and disarmament.

It was a promise that if they surrendered, they would be treated humanely. Unfortunately, the answer given by Chief of Staff Min Yeong-gi was exactly the same as what the Dongrae Magistrate said when he met Konishi in the year of Imjin.

“What did you write?”

“That··· ‘It is easy to fight and die, but it is difficult to give way.’”

“···How cheeky.”

Lieutenant General Hasegawa clicked his tongue as he read that reply.

In his view, those who stood in their way were not resolute, but rather pitiful. They tried to stop them with such a thing.

“You mere thugs dare to block the advance of our imperial army?”

“Commander, their lines seem more solid than I thought. Rather than directly breaking through Juansan Mountain, we should look for easier defense lines…”

“It’s a waste of time. The headquarters wants to capture Gyeongseong quickly.”

Brigade Commander Major General Kikoshi looked at the Korean defensive positions in the Juansan area and thought that a frontal attack was impossible, but Lieutenant General Hasegawa, who was nominally his current superior, judged that there was no time to waste. Well, his judgment was not wrong.

“We need to occupy Gyeongseong to drive those who staged the coup into treason and push the Korean Empire into a state of civil war. Furthermore, we have no choice but to clear this place out. In order to stably operate the Gyeongin Expressway and the Gyeongin Line, we need to deal with the Joseon soldiers who are entrenched in Juansan.”

“Those guys, each brigade has a Maxim gun. If we go in wrong, our soldiers will be torn apart. Please reconsider. If possible, rather than directly confronting the enemies in Juansan, it would be better to take a detour to Gyeongseong. They are waiting for us in front, and they may not have prepared for the flanks and rear.”

“Even so, it’s only at the level of Joseon soldiers, and the mountain is shallow. There’s no time to detour, so prepare to attack immediately.”

He put his hand on Chief Kikoshi’s shoulder as he spoke, then turned around.

Chief Kikoshi tried to ask him to reconsider his attack once more, but it seemed that it would be useless to keep talking to him. He saw the enemies who seemed shallow to him, but who were waiting for them, and he remembered Shiroyama, whom he had heard about before.

Even though they were surrounded and outnumbered, they were able to show everyone the example of bushido.

He shuddered at the thought that perhaps the Joseon bastards had this in mind and went to the battlefield knowing that it would be their own death, in order to kindle the spark of resistance against them throughout the country.

Whatever the outcome of this battle, they will recognize the Japanese as their definite enemy and foe.