Joseon Needs a Coup - Chapter 289
Only Noblemtl
#289. Rejecting the Certain Future (1)
“···Sergeant, it looks like the Russian-Western forces in Lushun will surrender soon. Now it’s our turn.”
“You lasted longer than I thought.”
As Director of Records Cho Dong-yoon said, it was our turn next.
In line with this, the movements of the Japanese military also began to change very actively and suspiciously, unlike before.
The Records Bureau and I were also focusing on gathering information by frequently sending out reconnaissance troops to the outskirts of Hamgyeong Province, and we began to come to a conclusion that was generally based on one assumption.
“Depending on the circumstances, it seems that the enemy will soon attack us directly. The Japanese military’s communication volume has increased by more than 70% compared to last month, and the rebels, commonly called the new government army, are also continuing to gather in the Wonsan area. The military police and the records bureau predict that the enemy will begin military action against Hamgyeong Province in earnest starting from the end of June, when this summer begins.”
At the words of Director of Records Cho Dong-yoon, the members of the Marshal’s Office and the Cabinet looked at the map of the entire Korean Peninsula and Manchuria with expressions of great tension.
The time of reprieve was running out, and the enemies who had set their sights on Lushun would now begin to turn their guns against us to resolve their long-standing problems.
However, there were still painful problems that could not be solved immediately.
To be precise, there are ways to solve it, and there are also things that we know how to deal with, but cannot implement right away.
“Even after scraping together for months, I can’t even get over 150,000. Does that make any sense?! And I don’t even have enough firearms to arm them!”
“That’s the maximum number of troops we’ve gathered, Prime Minister.”
In the midst of the turbulent atmosphere, the shouts of Prime Minister Han Kyu-seol, who was receiving a report on the current situation of the front-line units and the reserve units in the rear in preparation for the coming battle, could be heard.
It had been a long time since he had seen his old age, which meant that the situation on our side was not easy either.
The troops gathered in Hamgyeong Province were in a slightly better state than the Japanese army.
Unlike the Japanese 1st Army, which was unable to reorganize its divisions and was in shambles, they were able to quickly reorganize their troops and units.
However, they were having quite a hard time recruiting reserve forces and artillerymen to assist them.
“With this number of troops, it’s difficult to even maintain the status quo, let alone replenish the losses! Does it make sense that we have 100,000 standing troops and 50,000 reserve troops?”
“···Mobilizing more manpower is suicidal, Prime Minister.”
Step by step, Minister of Finance Eo Yun-jung and Commander-in-Chief of the Guard and Chief of the Royal Guard Lee Yong-ik gave explanations.
Although the number of products increased thanks to trade with Russia, it was a chronic problem in Hamgyeong Province, which had a small population.
Until recently, the population had been gradually increasing, but there had been no dramatic change due to the harsh and cold climate compared to other regions.
The limited population was enough to cause great difficulties in mobilizing troops.
During the Korean War, we were able to completely suffocate the North Korean army with waves of troops by setting up our final line of defense in Gyeongsang Province, which had the largest population in South Korea, but we couldn’t do that.
Ultimately, they had to retake the occupied territory and absorb its conscription-age population, but that was impossible as the siege was being tightened.
“So we recruited refugees from Pyeongan Province at a level that does not threaten the current wartime system, but it is impossible to do more than this. In addition, the import of raw materials has been cut off, so the production of rifles has dropped to 10% compared to the average month. Now, we are having difficulty producing about 200 per month.”
“Although we still have enough ammunition in reserve, we urgently need to secure more to prepare for the amount that will be consumed. We need to collect at least 50% more than we have now.”
“This is it, Lushun is about to fall today or tomorrow···.”
The Battle of Lushun, which had been ongoing since December 1903, was now approaching its end after half a year.
The Japanese 3rd Army suffered enormous losses and failed to launch repeated attacks. Even the 2nd and 4th Armies rushed forward frantically, but were defeated without any effective countermeasures and suffered numerous casualties.
At least they say that 50,000 to 60,000 people disappeared just outside of Lushun.
But as the end of that place approaches, it is now time to prepare for a new battle.
“If the war continues a little longer, our Korean Empire will also wither away. We have already conscripted as many male personnel as we can. If we mobilize any more… we will have no choice but to mobilize everyone, even the snot-nosed and the old.”
“If we scrape away all the manpower that can take responsibility for our rear, we will not be able to survive even if we win the battle. If we have to sacrifice the future to survive the present, is that country worth surviving?”
As they say, this is the best and the maximum number of troops they have conscripted in the past few months.
As I said, when Port Arthur was on the verge of falling, the Tsar took up the hammer to crush Japan, and before it struck, it was almost certain that the Japanese would launch a massive attack on those of us who remained in Port Arthur and Hamgyong Province, the likes of which had never been seen before.
The Records Bureau had already estimated that a full-scale Japanese offensive would take place sometime around summer.
This was thanks to the capture of the puppet army, consisting of the 1st Army division, the Park Geun-hye Army, and traitors, generally gathering toward the southern part of Hamgyeong Province.
There were even warnings that the number could exceed 100,000.
“Try to get rid of guns as much as possible.”
“I’m trying.”
“Stop talking, and go ahead and scrape out a civilian rifle!”
“···It is already happening.”
Insufficient weapons were also a chronic problem.
The constant fighting had caused attrition to reach critical levels.
Originally, in order to defend the border between Hamgyong and Pyeongan Provinces, close to 300,000 firearms were deployed in various locations, but most of them were muzzle-loading rifles, including percussion caps, which were difficult to use in modern warfare, or outdated rifles.
In a hurry, they were arming the reserve regiments with some 20,000 rifles of the 30-year model that had been captured from the enemy, and they were also collecting all the Mosin rifles that had been issued to the national military police, police officers, and even non-combat units such as administrative soldiers and personnel operating machine guns and field guns, and preparing for attrition.
Even the guards that were guarding the Emperor were putting away their rifles.
And the empty spaces were filled with shotguns and revolvers produced at Hamheung’s Third Weapons Depot and Civilian Firearms Factory.
“Prime Minister, our artillery department is doing everything it can to replenish its riflemen. In this way, we have secured about 30,000 spare rifles, but if these are used up, we will really have to arm our reserves with shotguns and shotguns…”
“How do you think they are produced?”
“It’s because the Minsu factory is connected to Vladivostok. In addition, it is possible to produce ammunition, albeit in an improvised form…”
Shotgun shells were produced civilian-wise using paper cartridges.
If you think about it, this was an action that bordered on recklessness, but it was the best we could do with our productivity that was lacking even as much as a chick’s tears.
“No, sir. Is there really no way? If the Russian army in Lushun collapses, the enemy’s guns will be turned on us.”
“That will be the case. They will either cut us off before the reinforcements and fleet from the Russian mainland arrive, or they will prevent us from responding. Of course, I understand that the enemy will move closer to the former in order to target Vladivostok…”
Up until now, the warm weather like spring had been continuing, giving us a moment to catch our breath, but as summer approached, typhoon-like conditions would hit our front lines.
Especially if Port Arthur fell, it was obvious what the Japanese army’s next objective would be.
“···In the process, the enemy will also face a painful situation. They have already suffered more casualties than they expected, and they will have to inflict additional damage that will be more than double that. The Japanese will also be in a very difficult situation if the war continues beyond this year.”
The Japanese people, still anaesthetized by the news of victory, will at some point begin to realize the true state of affairs.
The news of continued victory will end, and only a painfully harsh life and sadness will follow.
“What that means is… … .”
“The war will end before the end of this year. However, before that, the Japanese army will prepare its strongest offensive.”
So everyone will try to end this war through negotiations.
Of course, it was clear that one or two large-scale offensives would have to be carried out to gain the upper hand in the negotiations.
This was also a situation that all the warring parties faced equally.
If Russia, Japan, and we fail to bring the war to a favorable position within this year, we will continue to suffer endless attrition until our economies collapse and our countries are destroyed.
The arrival of the great campaign that would determine the course of the war would come sooner than the original history had predicted, and the war would end more quickly.
So, in the end, I had no choice but to put in some heavy rain.
I thought about it for days and days to tell it.
“···There is a way. However, this is also a matter that all of you may oppose.”
“It’s the governor’s opinion, so tell me.”
I thought again about whether there was another way besides this, but in the end, I could only conclude that it was time to tell a story that had to be ‘said’.
I had to take a deep breath and then throw out a topic that they would find truly difficult to accept.
“Cabinet ministers and Marshal’s staff, it is time to declare a general mobilization order for the people. We must mobilize as many fighting personnel as possible, regardless of gender. If the mobilization of the conscriptable population in Hamgyong Province has reached its limit, we must make up for the shortage of troops by mobilizing women.”
“What, what?”
“Sergeant, as I said before, there is no point in sacrificing the future to live in the present.”
As expected, there was opposition from both the cabinet and the Marshal’s Office.
Even though times change and thoughts change in the crazy 20th century, it was too early to discuss the mobilization of women in the military, but there was no choice.
In terms of population loss, the loss of women of childbearing age was a much bigger blow than the loss of the productive young population.
“It’s the only realistic way to do it right now. Replace administrative and medical personnel, and even police officers in charge of maintaining public order, with women, and assign all remaining men to combat units.”