Joseon Needs a Coup - Chapter 351



Only Noblemtl

#2-8. Zhang’s Rising(1)

The last breath of the Great Qing Empire, the sick giant that had ruled the Chinese mainland for a long time, was truly vain. The Chinese mainland, which had started to walk toward each person’s survival since the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, began to step into a period of war that was comparable to, or perhaps even more brutal than, the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period of ancient times.

And although these times of war were tragic for the majority of the masses who were trying to lead ordinary lives, there were certainly those who used them as a new opportunity, and one of them was Jang Ja-rim, who could be said to be the de facto ruler of the Northeastern Three Kingdoms.

Born into an insignificant family, he became a bandit. However, his life reached a major turning point when the Sino-Japanese War and the Boxer Rebellion occurred and foreign powers began to push into Manchuria.

Since the First Sino-Japanese War, when it became clear that Russian power was reaching beyond Manchuria and reaching Shanhaiguan, the Qing Dynasty began to improve the defense system of the three northeastern provinces, which had been gradually collapsing since before the First Sino-Japanese War, in order to block this.

And this change in Qing Dynasty’s border defense policy was a great opportunity for those who had weapons and troops in the region. At that time, Jang Zuo Lin, who was the leader of a bandit group, became a proper Qing official and commander of the government forces.

In the Far East War, he weighed the options between Russia and Japan, and agonized over whose side he would take. Of course, in the process, he also got weapons from both sides, obtained funds, and expanded his own power.

In any case, upon hearing the news that a large Russian army had arrived just before the Battle of Fengtian, he immediately began to actively cooperate with the Russian army, and although he was captured by the Japanese and almost killed as a result, he survived.

And at a crucial moment, he began to receive rewards for cooperating with Russia. As Russia took control of northern Manchuria and expanded its railways, Zhang Zuolin was given command of a portion of the Horogun (護路軍), the local Russian auxiliary corps and the core of the railway defense force, and the authority to increase the number of battalions from three to five under General Seong Gyeong, who was responsible for the defense of the northeastern three provinces, and began to expand his power at an incredibly fast rate.

He accepted as his subordinates all bandits and thieves who obeyed him, and mercilessly suppressed those who did not. He even drove away the most troublesome bandits, the Mongol bandits. Outwardly, the Manchurian region began to show signs of regaining some order for the first time in nearly half a century.

The local people were sufficient to perceive Jang Ja-rim as their savior. The emergence of Russia, Japan, and the newly emerged Korean Empire, which they perceived as a lynx, was enough to threaten the Han and Manchu people in Manchuria, so it was inevitable that their hearts would naturally turn to Jang Ja-rim, who was of the same ethnicity as them.

His force, which had been only three battalions in size, grew to five battalions in 1905, and by the time of the Xinhai Revolution, it had grown to around 4,000 men. Considering that the Russian auxiliary corps, the Horogun, had 12,000 men, his force was a force that could be seen as quite well-known even in Manchuria.

And by 1914, Zhang Zuolin’s army had grown to a massive force, numbering some 100,000 men. Even the Russian Far East Governor-General in Port Arthur no longer had any meaningful control over them.

Because of this, they sent us a warning that ‘Jangjakrim was walking a dangerous tightrope between Russia and Japan, and that a large number of Japanese military advisors, weapons, and ammunition were flowing in,’ but since we were also in the process of carrying out domestic reforms such as post-war reconstruction and land reform, we could only watch their rise.

And as time went by, they were emerging as the de facto main enemy in our northern defense strategy. Against the warlord group of Jang Jag-rim, which was estimated to have at least 100,000, and at most 200,000, we had to defend the vast territory of South Manchuria, which had become a no man’s land due to the collapse of the Qing Empire, which had maintained its control at least on paper. And even that had not yet been fully organized, so we had to control it with one division and three brigades deployed north of Cheongcheon.

Moreover, if they were to say that they were conciliatory towards us, that was not the case. They were openly hostile towards us. Perhaps they could not be hostile towards powerful Russia or Japan, which supported them, over the issue of South Manchuria, so they showed their hostility towards us, who were easy to defeat.

“… So, that guy Jangjakrim was messing around at the border, is that what you’re saying?”

“This is no joke. They have openly invaded our direction, Director. The border police stations have been attacked, and so have the post offices. First of all, the North Pyongan Province governor has declared a state of emergency in the southern Manchuria region, and accordingly, the militia, including artillery, is being mobilized in the Yalu River region.”

It was clear that the situation was worse than expected. The situation that immediately comes to mind was the Nitanggae Rebellion that broke out about 10 years before the Imjin War. It was not an illusion that the situation overlapped with that time when the Jurchen people joined forces and swept through the entire northern part of Joseon with their increased population.

At this point, when even Gando was not properly digested, it was safe to say that there were not many means to protect the southern Manchuria region. It is said that it is difficult to take someone else’s money, but it was several times more difficult to take someone else’s land.

“What are the current casualties?”

“It is known that there are hundreds of them, but we have not yet confirmed the exact information. There may be more. The settlements along the advance route were attacked in large numbers, and these guys destroyed the telegraph lines… The 5th Infantry Division stationed in Uiju has sent scouts, so we will soon be able to obtain the exact information.”

Because it was too burdensome to directly station troops in West Gando and North Gando, a defense system was formed centered around a small number of regular units and a large number of militias centered around strategists, but this was possible because there were many Koreans in the region.

But the area beyond Gando was completely different. Not only was the Korean population small, but the villages were sparsely spaced, and the only connections were the post office branch, the installed telegraph lines, and the mounted police of the border police station that patrolled once every two to four days.

Of course, the settlements were built with a structure that was easy to defend. Naturally, the security of the area was still unstable, and the army and police that could save the village were two or three days away. Therefore, the settlements had to arm themselves, and accordingly, the theory of the people’s defense of the last century began to apply to them.

Armouries were set up, towns were walled up like fortresses, and the settlers, regardless of age or gender, were required to be armed and trained to use weapons to defend themselves. This bought time until the mounted patrols or the troops sent to replace them arrived, but even this was useless in the face of a full-scale invasion.

“If all the villages were breached, it must be on a large scale.”

“It is estimated that at least seven villages were destroyed.”

“If the settlements were breached so easily, there could only be one reason, couldn’t there?”

In other words, it also meant that if they were determined to invade, there was no way to stop them. The Marshal’s Office, the military, and the newly established Army Department had already discussed this closely, but there was no immediate solution. However, they could not just bring a division there.

“Do you know how far they’ve advanced?”

“…and pushed all the way to Dandong.”

“Damn, it’ll be quick since there are no meaningful defense lines to stop it in the middle.”

And here was the real problem. We had no meaningful defensive line in the vast territory of South Manchuria. Whether it was linear defense or mobile defense, we needed a meaningful defensive line to block the enemy before we could do anything, but our current reality was that we had none of that.

In the end, whenever these large and small conflicts broke out, I had to lead the army north of Cheongcheon and fight across the Yalu River, or the brigade commanders along the border had to block them. I myself had to lead the army up there and fight seven times since 1910.

As the number of medals hanging from their chests increased, the number of casualties also increased, so it was not easy to feel at ease.

“Besides, these guys are in league with the Horogun, so they skipped the North Korean outposts and came in. If we don’t intercept them immediately, they’ll quickly reach the Yalu River!”

“That’s right, Director. We must immediately subdue Jang Jag-rim! Since 1910, their level and scope of attack have become bolder. If we delay any longer, they will underestimate us. If we continue to lose them one by one, even our military will not be able to establish control over all of South Manchuria!”

“… … .”

I was troubled. Since the existing defense system had collapsed this time, it was inevitable that I would have to lead a large force to defend South Manchuria.

Even if they were not able to do so, if they had pushed their way all the way to Dandong, their numbers would be considerable. In order to stop Jangjakrim from playing with dangerous fire with just one blow, a very large and spectacular victory would be needed.

“The Governor-General of Russia?”

“I will not interfere with the private dispute between us and Jangjakrim, but since both are important opponents of the Russian Empire, I recommend a peaceful resolution.”

“Those damn guys.”

The Russian Far East Governor, whose position was now ambiguous, was reluctant to intervene. Of course, their position was understandable in other ways, but now that the war clouds were rising in Europe, they would want to avoid intervening in the Far East issue and having their power divided. They would want to avoid having to send the troops deployed in the West back to the East, and that too, to the distant Far East, thousands of kilometers away.

“Chief, His Excellency the General has arrived.”

While I was pondering, Army General Lee Gyu-tae, the commander of the Marshal’s Office, came in hastily. It seemed like he had gone on an outing with his family to the outskirts of Hanseongbu for the first time in a long while and had come back in a hurry.

“Chief of Operations, you’ve worked hard.”

Judging by his poor expression, it seemed like his family was being trampled on.

“Your daughter will be sad.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. I barely managed to stop myself from crying and throwing tantrums. Weren’t you like that too?”

“Fortunately, I came running after seeing you sleeping. By the way, the situation seems serious. They say they came all the way to Dandong.”

“Those damn bandits.”

Lee Gyu-tae swore and looked down at the map while putting on his white gloves. It seemed as if he was trying to check whether he could deploy the troops that could be mobilized immediately.