Joseon Needs a Coup - Chapter 290
Only Noblemtl
#290. Rejecting the Certain Future (2)
“No, Commander. Are you joking? Dragging women into the army? Where in the world would you find such a case!”
“They are to be protected, not sent to the front lines!”
Of course, I wasn’t joking about this either.
Rather, it was an issue that had to be seriously addressed.
The Statistics Office under the Records Bureau also expressed similar opinions.
If the battle that took place in Pyeongnam were to take place on a scale similar to the Battle of Lushun, it was repeatedly assessed that the current reserve forces would not be able to sustain the front line.
As a result, even they had to doubt their own eyes and heads as they came to the conclusion that they had to conscript female personnel into the military in order to somehow compensate for the losses that would occur in the subsequent battles.
Of course, it was a serious matter that he had to accept, so he must have brought it to me and asked me to do something about it.
“I am serious, Prime Minister. If we continue on this path, when faced with a major enemy offensive, we will be completely destroyed before we can even attempt a meaningful counterattack. We will lose the present before we can even worry about the future. Then it will all be over.”
The situation could have been even more dire, especially considering the attrition rates on both sides in the Battle of Lushun.
While the Japanese army suffered casualties of 2,000 to 3,000 people every day at the Hwangju defense line, our side suffered only 25 to 30% of the casualties, but in the current situation, it may be difficult to even replenish those casualties.
In the end, we had to squeeze out every last drop to increase our reserve force as much as possible.
Only then could I have any hope of looking back.
“Going forward, we will need at least 300,000 troops to sustain this war.”
If you really wanted to focus on defense, 200,000 would be enough, but to end the war, you needed 100,000 more. Maybe even more.
“Do you think that will be accepted, Commissioner? 300,000 is twice the current number of troops, and what will the world say about mobilizing women to fill that number? This is madness. It will be criticized by future generations for a long time!”
A serious voice mixed with anger flowed out.
The suggestion that even women who deserve protection should be drafted into the war seems to have angered the majority.
There was even a backlash asking if I was going to send them to the front lines and tear them apart, but I took a deep breath and spoke again.
“If we are to achieve the victory we deserve, we must do everything we can here. We must mobilize everything we have to replenish the troops lost in the expected battle and finally recapture Hansung and Pyongyang by the summer. If we miss this opportunity, we will only miss the chance to save our country by our own efforts.”
“···Hansung and Pyongyang?”
Both the cabinet and the Marshal’s Office were in an uproar at the news of the recapture of Hansung and Pyongyang.
The Second Front was also weakened by the enemy’s brutal punitive campaign, and the rest were trapped in Hamgyeong Province. They reacted as if I, who was effectively the commander-in-chief of the remaining forces, had said something outrageous.
“Let me tell you another story. Recapturing Hansung and… Pyongyang? Is that possible while we’re stuck in the northeast?”
“When have I ever told a lie? When Lushun is cleared, the Japanese will advance north to fight the Russian field army, not us. And the war will end here.”
I said, drawing a red line on the map.
When the Japanese army extended its supply line toward Manchuria and turned its attention to attacking our remaining troops and remnant government in Hamgyong Province in order to secure the rear, and when this was cut off by our fierce defensive battle, that was the moment for our counterattack.
“The exact moment when the enemy’s main force is captured in Manchuria will be the moment for a counterattack. Until then, we must protect our elite forces and defend this place from the enemy’s attacks. Our time will be between late summer and early autumn.”
And I placed the long stick on a map showing Seoul and Pyongyang.
“If this happens, the war will end in our favor. The Japanese army will try to negotiate diplomatically after their final victory in Bongcheon and at sea, but we will also make a move there. If Hansung and Pyongyang are returned to our hands… we will be able to bring about meaningful results. Isn’t that right, Minister of Foreign Affairs?”
“If the governor can lay the groundwork that way… our external officials will take care of the rest. No, let me be precise. If the governor wins, it will be extremely advantageous for us. We are already discussing the expected diplomatic negotiations with the Russian side, and we will be able to conclude negotiations to end the war with a much greater advantage than the Japanese.”
There was a brief silence at these words.
I definitely held the cards to convince them.
‘Recapture Hansung and Pyongyang.’
This was enough to tug at their heartstrings.
And to make that possible, it wasn’t a bad argument to make sure that as many troops and supplies as possible were gathered.
“Even if the enemy loses once, they can win the next time, but if we lose once, there is no next chance. We must stop the enemy’s advance on this Hamheung Plain and then counterattack. There is not much time left.”
“···This is an issue that can come up later. It’s not something that can be easily accepted.”
“It doesn’t matter. Even that is a story that will come out only under the premise that this country survives. If the time comes and this incident comes up, I will gladly accept it.”
I finished speaking with my head bowed,
The Prime Minister then silently instructed that the motion be passed or rejected by a show of hands.
And then, after some very heated discussion and debate, the bill to mobilize women passed by a narrow margin.
“Previous generations will judge what we did···.”
Leaving the ministers’ lament behind, I immediately ordered the Sunmuyeong to issue another proclamation to conscript troops.
Now the moment was approaching that would truly determine the outcome of the Russo-Japanese War and the survival of the Korean Empire.
***
“W, what is this! What kind of idiot wrote an article like this?!”
South Korean Army commander Hasegawa would look back and forth between the English version of the newspaper and its Japanese translation, exploding with anger.
The front page of the article was filled with details about the large-scale massacres that took place in the Samnam region, along with the stark headline, “Massacre in Korea: The True Face of the Japanese Army, a Friend of Civilization.”
“Well, it looks like it was written by foreign correspondents who were out of our military’s control.”
“It must have been written in English because it was written by a foreign correspondent, you incompetent bastard! How on earth did you control the war correspondents!”
He went on a rampage, kicking the shins of the poor staff with his combat boots.
Oh, to be exact, it wasn’t the poor staff member.
He was given the important task of managing war correspondents.
In any case, if they were domestic reporters, they would have been censored and had udon soup poured up their noses three times, but there was nothing they could do about foreign reporters, especially reporters from the UK, an ally, and the US, a friendly country.
‘What are we going to do if we want to write the article as we please?’
···I had quite a headache writing the article with this kind of mindset.
Until then, there were many people who were friendly to Japan, so I wrote articles following the Japanese guidelines to some extent, but now things are changing little by little.
As news of the Samkwang Operation and defeats on the front lines began to come in frequently, they began to turn their attention from Japan to the Koreans, who were a party to the war.
And in the process, these reporters showed absolutely no respect for their allies.
They were only interested in the surprising scoops and various gossip coming from the front lines.
Of course, it was a bit much for those snobby Westerners to see them as equal allies, but they never thought of it that way.
“Commander, the reporter who wrote this article is a man named Bethel. He reported that he was seen near Gongju, Chungcheong Province. The military police will soon secure the new soldier and bring him to Gyeongseong. So don’t worry…”
“Worried? That’s only talking about things that haven’t happened yet, this has already happened! You idiots, do I have to listen to people ask me what the hell I’m doing at the headquarters right now?”
“I’m sorry, Commander!”
“If you apologize, will your military service end, you bastards! Tell them to bring this reporter here right now!”
Whether it was an undercover investigation or not, the reporter’s detailed descriptions of the massacres in each region he visited were accurate.
Behind him, Lieutenant General Hidenori was looking at me with his arms crossed with a look on his face like, “Well, that’s what happens.”
It was as if he had sent himself instead of the first team, and this wouldn’t have happened.
It seemed that the US Embassy in Japan and the British Embassy in Korea had already begun to raise the issue of the massacre of civilians taking place in the Samnam region, and that full-scale protests were being filed with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
It’s been relatively quiet so far, but if more reporters like that start making noise, there’s a good chance it could become a huge international issue.
An even bigger problem was that the North Koreans were using this to do propaganda in Europe and the United States.
The general public opinion was negative, with the military carrying out a brutal scorched-earth operation targeting clearly unarmed civilians, not combatants.
Neither the Imperial General Headquarters nor the Cabinet wanted this issue to come to light.
In a situation where the national debt was already increasing and people were worried, they did not want the money supply to be cut off due to this problem.
The best thing to do would be to cover it up, but Hasegawa, who had no immediate solution, was even considering punishing some officers as an example.
However, most of the units that committed such massacres were from the 1st Army, and the reserve forces were mostly concentrated in the Gyeongseong and Gyeonggi regions, so it was a headache.
“It’s probably too late. We’re already being criticized in Britain and the United States.”
“Lieutenant General Hidenori, stop adding fuel to the fire! Even without your nagging, I have a headache that could kill me.”
“I wasn’t trying to tease you, Commander. If it sounded that way, I apologize… but we need to face the facts to find a solution. And it’s true that we made mistakes.”
“So, are you saying we should admit our mistakes and take the blame for them? That’s suicidal!”
Hasegawa glared at Hidenori in anger, but he ignored him and continued speaking leisurely.
“Commander, listen to what I have to say. This can be easily resolved. Just say that it was an accident or the work of a group of guerrillas.”