Joseon Needs a Coup - Chapter 328
Only Noblemtl
#328. Terror on the Sea (1)
“Long live the Korean Empire! Long live Sunmuyeong! Long live Sunmusa!”
“Wow!”
···The Japanese army in Hanseong collapsed so easily.
This may be because they deployed too many troops elsewhere and even the few they had were thrown away like expendable supplies.
After crushing the last of the resistance fighters at Gyeongbokgung Palace and quickly occupying the entire Hanseongbu, most of the staff, including the commander of the Korean army, had already fled to Jemulpo with some of their troops.
And in the liberated city, those who had been holding their breath were celebrating their victory by publishing newspapers on the remaining rotary presses.
The newspaper had blurred letters, perhaps because it ran out of ink, but the headline was clear.
They were talking about a blitzkrieg of their own, following the words “with lightning speed” that had been shouted just before the dispatch.
Thanks to this, I, who had been exhausted, was able to smile for the first time in a long time.
It’s so funny how something like lightning-quick, high-speed maneuvers are used like this.
“This is literally a blitzkrieg.”
I muttered to myself.
In the original world, it has been pointed out that the concept of lightning warfare does not exist in reality and is virtually a fictional concept.
It was nothing more than a groundless propaganda word used by the Nazis, and what had been meaningless was combined with the incredible achievements of the German army in the early days of World War II, and the word, whose roots were hard to find, became close to becoming a ‘legend with substance’.
It was something to behold, a word like that appearing here.
Perhaps even foreign media would have been in an uproar over this.
The British and American reporters here will write it as ‘Lightning War’, and the German reporters in Shanghai will write it as ‘Blitzkrieg’ and give it a big story.
“What are you looking at?”
“I just read the newspaper.”
“Everyone is praising the governor. We, we really liberated Hanseong.”
···As the adjutant said, Hanseong, which had been liberated with shouts, was staggering with a mixture of pain and joy.
The gunfire had not yet stopped, and the remaining new government forces and Japanese troops who had failed to escape put up fierce resistance in various parts of the street, but they were completely defeated by the firepower and organization of the cavalrymen armed with high-powered equipment such as Madsen and who pushed forward with numbers and blocked off every alley.
Apart from that, it was a perfectly restored homeland.
I could see the traitors being tortured in the distance.
The police officers were escorting them from the side, holding guns, and the rebels were dressed in torn and tattered clothes, their hair disheveled, and each had a sign tied around their necks.
It was filled with statements such as, “I am a traitor to my country. I will be judged by His Majesty the Emperor and the Korean people,” and “I have betrayed the people by becoming a lackey of the Japanese.”
They will probably be locked up in prison and then tried in the higher courts to be punished according to the severity of their crimes.
Spit and stones were thrown at those who were being treated like that, and there was a commotion for a while as the police tried to calm the angry crowd.
Apart from that, Hansung would gradually regain its former appearance.
“Sergeant, their resistance is almost over.”
“Redeploy your troops and prepare for any possible enemy attacks. There are still 40,000 Japanese swarming in the south.”
“All right!”
Chief Kim Seok-joong stepped back with a sly smile, while Advisor Harcourt was running around on horseback, mopping up the remaining enemies.
At the Independence Gate, the troops of the Creative Army who had followed were marching bravely in a marching formation, singing military songs while weeping in their own way, and everyone was taking out the Taegeukgi flag that had been hidden somewhere and cheering.
“Sergeant, this is a great victory.”
“Your Majesty, I’m sorry you’ve had a hard time.”
“It’s nothing to be ashamed of. I was ashamed of myself for holding my breath without even putting up a fight when the 500-year-old kingdom was in danger of collapse. Now, I have avenged a small part of that humiliation.”
Heo Wi said this while wearing a white robe and hat and holding the handle of the sword with his left hand.
“Your Majesty, you have had a hard time. Now, shouldn’t we gather our troops and advance south to wipe out those bastards?”
“It will be done after the defense of Hanseongbu is confirmed.”
It was certain that Pyongyang, which by now had only one battalion, would have been recaptured by a surprise attack by 50,000 friendly troops under the command of the Commander-in-Chief.
Now, all that’s left for the enemies is Gunsan, Jinhae, and Busan.
The collapse of the lifeline and profit line that Japan had so desperately wanted and had been eyeing was taking place in this very way.
‘Oh, how I wish I could see Yamamoto’s distorted face in person.’
He said to Heo Wi while looking at the flag of Sunmuyeong hanging in Gwanghwamun.
“Your Majesty, please advance south with the Changui Army and continue to secure the liberated areas in the southern part of Gyeonggi Province. In order to defend Hanseong, our forces’ areas within Gyeonggi Province must be expanded.”
“I know what you mean. Don’t worry, Commander-in-Chief Lee In-young is already leading his troops to recover the area.”
Then he went back the way he came.
Now all that remained was to see the enemy collapse on his own, thus helping the Russian fleet to avoid a naval battle at Tsushima and move on to Vladivostok.
If that were to happen, it would be safe to say that the war was almost over at this point.
All that remained was for politicians and diplomats to achieve some kind of victory on the battlefield without gunfire.
As I watched the sun slowly set behind Mt. Bukhan, I sent a short telegram to Hamheung using my recovered telegraph.
[Receipt / Commander-in-Chief / Sender / Korean Empire Yangseo Sunmuyeong / Success in recapturing Hanseong / Success in recapturing Hanseong / Commencement of a general counterattack / Above]
***
“Admiral, the Yaponskys have collapsed on all fronts. In Mukden, the army under Kuropatkin has annihilated Yaponsky’s field army, and in the Korean theater, too, the major cities have been recaptured by a massive counteroffensive by the Korean army.”
The Baltic Fleet, or rather the large fleet now renamed the Second Pacific Fleet, was preparing to set sail after receiving its last supplies from French Indochina.
Just then a telegram arrived from home, full of stories of the victories of their own army.
“Griffenberg succeeded, huh?”
“Yes. They say they’ve blown up 100,000 of the 210,000 enemy ground forces. The remaining enemies are said to have gathered in Lushun and formed a final defense line.”
The Gripenberg, known as the Tsar’s Hammer, which had been deployed with him, seemed to clearly demonstrate the wrath and grandeur of the Russian Empire.
And the hammer certainly paid for itself, for it had broken the spine of the arrogant Japonskis and now rendered their army virtually paralyzed.
“Were there any additional instructions from Saint-Germain?”
“Of course. I have already ordered the Manchurian Army Headquarters to recapture Port Arthur, and in the Korean theater, the Allied Forces commanded by Major General Anisimov are advancing south of the Korean peninsula in cooperation with the Korean Army, so our fleet should also engage in a counterattack.”
“Hmm.”
Admiral Rozhdestvensky looked at the chart from his flagship Suvorov and paused for a moment, lost in thought.
I had hoped that since the ground forces had won, I would be ordered to monitor the situation there, but that was just wishful thinking.
Rather, the Tsar and the Imperial War and Admiralty Ministry in St. Petersburg were now demanding a definitive victory.
Having won the land battle, he wanted to completely destroy the Allied Fleet, the pride of the Japonskis, and force a total surrender.
This was completely contrary to the original purpose of sending the Baltic Fleet. Their strategic goal was to restore the fleet to its original state, bring it into Vladivostok, and then slowly neutralize the Japanese Combined Fleet.
But a series of huge victories on track and field were enough to blind St. Petersburg’s eyes and ears.
And because of their covered eyes and ears, they were forgetting one most important fact.
The Baltic fleet, although huge, was very old.
This part was well known to both the Minister of the Navy of the home country and Rozhdestvensky himself.
Of course, if we win the fleet battle as Saint demands… Japan will be completely defeated.
No, to say that it was a complete failure would be an understatement.
He would suffer a fatal and irreparable wound from the Double-Headed Eagle and fall forever, if only he could win.
“In its current state, it is difficult to guarantee victory in a confrontation with an enemy fleet full of the latest ships···.”
In fact, Admiral Rozhdestvensky wanted to avoid a fleet battle with the Japanese Navy if possible.
This was because the admiral himself knew very well that simply entering Vladivostok as planned without fighting would mean that Japan would no longer have the will to wage war.
If they could only arrive at that moment, the Russian fleet would emerge as a large force that would be difficult for something like the Japanese Combined Fleet to touch.
If that happened, the Japanese military, having lost both Mukden and Korea, would have to give up waging war, and it was obvious that the Japanese Empire’s economic sphere, which purchased military supplies and essential materials from overseas by ship transport, would also be under full-scale threat.
“You’re doing quite a bit of work in Saint-Germain. Counterattacking the enemy fleet.”
“But wouldn’t it be worth a try? The enemy has already lost their will to fight. It would be difficult to even attempt to intercept them.”
Then the admiral smashed the binoculars hanging around his neck.
Oh, it’s only been three days since that replacement, and the fleet’s staff have stopped counting how many telescopes they have left in stock.
“Our fleet might look huge, but how many times have I told you that compared to the combined fleet, there are too many outdated ships! A fleet battle with the enemy is suicidal! The only way to survive is to thoroughly conserve our forces and enter Vladivostok!”
Admiral Rozhdestvensky spoke in an annoyed tone.
Even though I explained it that way, there are still so many people who are intoxicated by the army’s victory and think that they can do the same.
While the Army was able to maintain its strength by holding key positions and, by retreating, draw the enemy into hostile territory and win the fight, the Second Pacific Fleet was in a different situation.
The main battlefield they chose was not the Baltic inland sea they were familiar with, but the Oriental sea, which was no different from their enemy’s territory.
Moreover, there were virtually no ports of call where one could rest.
Since they had already set sail from Indochina, there was only one port of call: Vladivostok.
“First of all, the Governor-General of the Far East has ordered the Korean army to recapture Jemulpo···.”
“That idiot Alekseev doesn’t know anything. Jemulpo is only a port of call, but it doesn’t have any docks that are absolutely necessary for our fleet. If these huge ships are to properly confront the Yaponsky fleet, they need docks right now.”
Although Jemulpo was certainly a large port, according to an 1899 Admiralty report, it had no facilities for ship repairs or maintenance.
Especially since there were no docks, even for large ships.
There were only three places in East Asian waters with such large facilities.
One was Shanghai, another was Port Arthur, and the last was the Japanese naval base at Nagasaki.
Of these, it would not be an exaggeration to say that Shanghai was in the hands of the British, so port call itself was impossible, Port Arthur was still under the control of the Japanese military, and Nagasaki was out of the question.