Joseon Needs a Coup - Chapter 292
Only Noblemtl
#292. Rejecting the Certain Future (4)
In any case, the arrival of 20,000 reinforcements was enough to give us a brief moment of relief.
This divisional unit, consisting of 8.5 battalions, 4 cavalry companies, and 32 field guns, was originally supposed to be deployed to defend the Primorsky Krai, but thanks to the request of Brigadier General Puchata and the permission of General Kuropatkin, who accepted our request for support, it was decided to move in within the summer.
“Oh, and Commander Kuropatkin had one request.”
Well then, they wouldn’t have readily supported a large force of 20,000 men.
I nodded.
“The reorganized 1st Manchurian Army plans to avoid a decisive battle and draw the Japanese army as deep into the country as possible before the 2nd and 3rd Manchurian armies arrive from the west. Therefore, the request was to prevent the redeployment of Japanese troops from the entire Korean Peninsula to Manchuria as much as possible.”
“Umm, stop them···.”
The meaning was clear.
It must mean that they want us to take an active role.
But would they give us a division-level force commanded by Major General Anisimov for free, equivalent to a corps in Russian terms?
“If the 1st and 2nd Army Groups go to Manchuria, Commander Kuropatkin and his troops will be in danger. In the field, the Japanese army is definitely stronger than our army, even though they don’t want to admit it.”
‘The beasts have learned something.’
As Napoleon said, even our enemies have learned something from us.
According to the news coming in from time to time, it seemed like the battle would be fought by infiltrating small infantry units like ours and then using their maneuvers to attack the flanks and rear of the heavy Russian forces and drive them out.
It seemed that the Japanese army had borrowed our methods to some extent, if not perfectly, to beat up the Russian army.
In fact, even if that weren’t the case, the Russian military’s situation isn’t all that good.
“···And Commander Kuropatkin also said that this summer campaign would determine the fate of our Russian Empire and the Korean government. We cannot afford to prolong the war.”
The unspoken pressure was strong.
If neither side stood up for the other, they would have no choice but to begin their march toward a certain fate.
It would be a humiliating defeat for Russia, but for us it was nothing less than a prelude to destruction, and we had to do our best to reject the chains they had prepared.
“That’s true. All three kingdoms cannot prolong the war for long.”
“Then when will your side counterattack···.”
“The Japanese will move before we do. That’s a problem because we know too well that we can’t keep up a war for long. Somehow, it reminds me of a divination from ancient Greece.”
“The horoscope···?”
“Before the fateful Battle of Plataea, both the Greeks and the Persians received an important oracle. And the outcome, as it happened, was the same for all: whoever attacked first would be defeated, and whoever defended first would win.”
And the Persian army attacked first and was defeated, and had to give up their ambition to conquer Greece.
The current situation may be similar to that trust.
The one who attacks first will be at a huge disadvantage, and will soon face the end of the offensive.
War is like a sport, in which neither side has a permanent opportunity to attack.
Especially in this situation, the one who attacks first will inevitably give up that opportunity and hand over the decisive choice to the enemy.
“This time it will be the same. Japan, pressed for time, will be the first to raise its butt and attack both Bongcheon and Hamheung.”
“Do they have that much power left?”
“It’s a short-term battle, so it’ll be even more intense. It’s like shaking off the moisture from a dry towel. In any case, the Baltic Fleet and the Russian Imperial Army from the west are approaching, which are extremely threatening to the Japanese.”
The greatest fears of the Japanese army would arrive in the Far East after the summer. Before the executioners of the Tsar’s wrath could arrive in the form of Russian standards and fleets, they had to end the war, or fight on favorable terms, no matter what.
“···It will arrive sometime between September and October.”
“There’s no way they don’t know that. No matter what happens, they want to end the war before the massive reinforcements arrive.”
And to create a favorable battlefield environment, we will strike Bongcheon and Hamheung simultaneously.
The former would have been intended to destroy the field units of the 1st Manchurian Army, while the latter would have been intended to disperse the Russian field forces by eliminating a threat to the rear, opening up another route of advance into Manchuria, and threatening Vladivostok.
If that happens, the Russian army will be on the defensive and unable to do anything, just like in the original history.
The moment was approaching when they would have to make a stubborn resistance to the future they were trying to establish.
“Tell Commander Kuropatkin that we must wait for the enemy’s offensive. The moment they move first, and the moment the enemy’s forces are concentrated on one side, that is when our counterattack will begin.”
“But if one axis collapses before that, isn’t it the end?”
“That won’t be the case. Commander Kuropatkin is in Bongcheon, and I am in Hamhung. No matter what happens, these two axes will hold. And they will be the two pillars that support this entire campaign.”
I cut off Brigadier General Puchata’s worries in one fell swoop.
Even in the history of the Yuan Dynasty, in the large-scale campaigns from Saha to Heukgu-dae, Liao-yang to Bongcheon, the Japanese army was pushed to the limit and was unable to properly wear down the Russian army.
But they had suffered much greater damage than the original history, so there was no way they could succeed.
“We will win this war. I will, we will make it happen. We will definitely sweep those invaders into the sea.”
“···I don’t know about other people, but it’s different if you’re a commander. I’ll tell you that.”
Puchata nodded as if he understood what I meant.
After discussing the detailed coordination and expected troop deployment, he headed back towards Vladivostok.
The time to change the whole situation would come with fall. And for that time, I was willing to give it my all.
***
“Excuse me, mayor. What on earth is this?”
“The higher-ups are giving instructions.”
In the Chungcheong region, where guerrilla activity had slowed down, the mayor of the town called together all the people he could find, including the township secretary.
He attended a meeting called by the county governor yesterday morning, and as soon as he returned, he called together all the people working in the district and said this.
“The military commander has ordered us to recruit young men to work for the country. Each region has a quota of people, and our area has been ordered to recruit at least 30 people.”
“No, mayor. There are probably only about fifty men in our town combined…”
To begin with, there were not many men left in the town. The already small population had been greatly reduced due to the war and other reasons, such as the fact that they had fled or the brutal purges that had taken place.
“Isn’t this too much to ask?”
“The county governor said that if you don’t meet your quota this time, you’ll be penalized. Do you know what those penalizations are?”
The words coming from that dirty face. The secretary barely managed to hold back the tendons on his forehead from popping out. That disadvantage was a very simple thing, but it was a fatal leash for low-level officials like the secretary.
This meant reducing the already small rations. There were many mouths to feed, but the income was meager, so this was something they had to do.
However, lately, I have been under constant pressure like this, and even though my throat is sore, I have started to question whether I should continue to do this.
Even though I was being pointed at by the townspeople, as an educated person my conscience was pricked too much.
He tried hard to rationalize it by saying that only the payer of the salary he had been receiving had changed, but in the end, this too was an act of service that was no different from betraying his country.
“Anyway, the commander-in-chief ordered that sufficient men were needed for the Japanese Empire and our country to survive this war. In order to subdue the rebel group that surrounds His Majesty the Emperor in Hamgyeong-do and the Gwanseo and Gwanbuk bastards who were deceived by Russia, I judged that the power of the Japanese Empire alone was not enough-”
They used all sorts of fancy words, such as freedom of Asia, coexistence of Korea and Japan, and an alliance of yellow people against the invasion of greedy white people, but the core was one.
‘These guys don’t have enough soldiers to fight openly.’
The thought crossed his mind. Otherwise, he would not have come down to such a small area to assemble the men.
The clerk nodded in agreement with the head of the township. Even if he openly opposed them, it would be useless, and if he did, the already reduced rations might be reduced even further.
“We will be setting up a recruiting center in our district office, so I hope that our staff, including the district secretary, will be more proactive in recruiting people.”
“···There aren’t many people here.”
“Then shouldn’t you go? If you don’t want to go, I hope you fill your quota.”
That damn old man. He was not even a village chief, but he got this position after spying during the Southern Expedition and acting as a stooge of the Iljinhoe.
That’s why he acts even more viciously.
The clerk made a face like, “Hehe, I understand,” and then immediately left the building, saying he would go around town.
“I guess I won’t be able to do this for long.”
He rode his bicycle somewhere other than the town, riding on the bicycle saddle he had bought at a high price at the port before the war.
“You are late, Your Excellency.”
“Was there anyone chasing you?”
“Oh, there wasn’t any.”
Looking around, the clerk entered an inn in a corner of town.
Anyone who saw it could see it as him leaving work hours without permission, but since the head of the village was the one who took the lead in doing something like that, there was no way he could be right.
“Anyway, thank you for coming forward to help us.”
“Is it really okay if I just help you with this one thing?”
In a corner of the tavern, men in shabby clothes nodded silently.
“I’m risking my life to help you too. If I really help you this time, will you really forgive me??”
“Of course. Since His gracious Emperor has permitted it.”
“···Okay. Take this.”
Even in his own way, he was taking a gamble while thinking about himself and the family he would have to support.
No matter how much I thought about it, there was no way Japan and those new government guys could win this war.
There was no need to stay on a sinking ship, and there was no affection to begin with.
He made a choice to survive willingly, and was finally lucky enough to face these men.