Joseon Needs a Coup - Chapter 352



Only Noblemtl

#2-9. Zhang’s Rising(2)

“His Majesty the Emperor has already summoned the Minister of the Army, the Minister of the Navy, and the Minister of the Military to the palace. It seems unlikely that he will just let it go this time.”

“No, why would Your Majesty the Emperor… Ah.”

Something flashed through my mind. He had invested a huge amount of internal funds in the Oriental Development Company and was now helping to establish settlements, and now that those places were under attack, there was no way he could not be concerned.

“In addition, the Japanese ambassador to Seoul has also sent an official protest. They said that they will deploy their own troops since their settlements in southern Manchuria have been attacked.”

“What? Are these crazy guys out of their minds?”

It was clear that the current Japanese Empire was still full of crazy people who had not yet given up their ambition to advance into the continent.

“When have they ever been out of their minds? They’re just pretending to be normal. In any case, no matter what happens, we have to take care of it on our own. The Japanese ambassador has notified us that if we don’t take any other measures, they’ll immediately deploy the military.”

Since it was a persuasive excuse, it was in a form that I couldn’t openly refuse. No, I even thought that they were trying to take advantage of this situation from the beginning.

“Operations Director, can you defeat them quickly?”

“There are many commanders better than me in the frontier. And they are more than enough. Is there any need for me to step forward?”

“No, that’s not it.”

This time, I wanted to send someone else as commander instead of me, but General Lee Gyu-tae firmly shook his head, put his hands behind his back, and opened his mouth.

“Even if we repel the enemies now, Jang Jok-rim will surely come back and attack the southern Manchuria region and even the Gando region at any time. One or two small victories like that will not be enough to quell Jang Jok-rim and his supporters’ ambition to conquer Manchuria and control the continent that is currently in chaos.”

“Are we talking about political… issues?”

“Let’s use a more elegant expression here. Considering the complex situation our country is currently in, I think it would be best to have a picture of a highly respected operations director personally leading the army to defeat Jang Jag-rim and his army.”

So, it probably means that it is not a small victory, but a really serious blow that will make them so depressed that they won’t even dare to attack. And it also means that I am the most reliable card in the enemy’s headquarters that can achieve such results.

“As you said, war is an extension of politics, and the military is a last resort when all other political and diplomatic means have failed, so the most capable person should step forward.”

He spoke to me, tapping his thigh with his baton to the beat.

“His Majesty already wants you to go out and destroy the enemies.”

“No, Your Majesty?”

I wondered why on earth that gentleman wanted to send me away. It was because he had hesitated to promote me to the rank of army general during the last war, and there had been some movement to reduce the merit of the title of meritorious subject.

As such, attempts to restrain me, who represented the military, mainly came from him. It was a bit inconsistent for such an emperor to talk about me as a military commander who could subdue Zhang Zuolin.

“Well, you know. The invested funds could easily be ruined, so His Majesty is going to play the strongest card he has to end it. In any case, His Majesty the Emperor, the cabinet, and our military have all come to the conclusion that it would be best for you to take command.”

… Is it ultimately because of the money and land he invested? In particular, it was only a few months ago that the Emperor secretly transferred the wide reed field in Hwangcho-pyeong to his name, but then threw it back due to opposition from the cabinet and the Privy Council, causing controversy.

No, he’s not a relief pitcher who comes up every inning to overcome crises, and he makes a fuss by sending me up every so often.

If you continue to treat relief pitchers like that, their ERA will go down and their arms will wear out, which will be bad in the long run. Somehow, I was reminded of a certain manager of the Hanwha Eagles.

“So, prepare to go. I’ll make sure Jang Jag-rim knows there’s a line he can’t cross.”

“… Okay. But there is a condition.”

After thinking about it for a moment, I sighed and had no choice but to accept the order to suppress the rebellion in the north. After all, the Emperor’s personal interests were nothing more than crumbs, and the real issue was the exploding problems in South Manchuria.

In that situation, even if I tried hard, I couldn’t persuade the cabinet, the Privy Council, Jang Jok-rim, and the military and the public who were still gnashing their teeth at the arrogant Yuan Shikai. Instead, I made a new proposal to General Lee Gyu-tae.

“I will exercise full authority over the composition of the punitive force. Those guys, judging by the fact that they bypassed the Russian-Korean army outpost and entered, are not ordinary people. Furthermore, it is clear that there are Japanese behind them.”

“That’s true.”

“So give me full authority. I will make sure that Jangjakrim and whatever is behind them won’t even look at our border for a while.”

“… If you remain in command for too long, the Emperor will become suspicious.”

“Don’t worry about that.”

I shrugged my shoulders as I placed the military cap on the table and placed it on my head.

“This situation will definitely be resolved within two weeks.”

***

… I said it in a nice way, but since I was seriously lacking information on the field, including information on the enemies who had been deployed, I started to move quickly. First, I asked Army General Cho Dong-yoon for information on South Manchuria. Soon, they were able to receive fragmentary but important information, as well as reports on the isolated outposts and destroyed settlements through the telegraph lines that had just been restored.

“Director, these bastards are quite numerous. They say there are over 30,000 of them coming down from Dandong.”

“30,000? That guy Jang Jag-rim came down with one third of his entire force.”

“But there are more troops coming from the rear. There is a separate main force.”

I felt my heart sink. It seemed like they were going to test our defensive posture to some extent and then bring down the main force because it seemed too weak.

Indeed, given the scale of the attack and the scale of its impact, even the Russian Far East Governor-General, who had been actively involved in mobilizing troops to force a halt to the fighting, was reluctant to intervene and had an unusually mechanical reason for adopting neutrality.

“So you’re saying he’s coming down with all the troops under his command?”

“It seems so. In particular, the 27th Division, which Jang Jag-rim is the division commander, is acting as the main force. This is impossible unless Yuan Shikai tacitly approved hostile actions against us.”

Li Jia said, gritting his teeth. After all, if Yuan Shikai, who was now the head of the Beiyang government and the leader of the warlords, had not stepped forward, this would not have happened.

Even if Zhang Zuolin, who called himself the ‘King of the Northeast’ and was burning with ambition, was already the military commander of the entire Northeast Three Provinces, and Yuan Shikai had freed him from his leash, eliminating all rivals who could threaten him, there would have been even less reason to hesitate.

Fortunately, more than half of the troops under Jang Jag-rim were from bandits. Each division, brigade, and regiment were in name only, but in reality, they were similar to the old Qing formations or had only insufficient manpower and equipment, and were in such a mess that it was an understatement to say that they were in disarray.

However, with the recent emergence of divisions and brigades that were supposedly reorganized in the Japanese style, the Marshal’s Office seriously considered them to be a great threat.

“That son of a bitch, Yuan Shikai, these days his close associates seem to be really eager to ascend to the throne. Maybe that’s why he’s trying to create his own achievements, gain public support, and then naturally become the emperor… It seems like we’ve been chosen as the sacrifice.”

“… It’s not that the Qing Dynasty was completely destroyed, but the reason the abdicated emperor was treated as a foreign monarch was for that pitiful position.”

“With the ambition of Jang Jag-rim, who is said to be the King of the Northeast and is looking for an opportunity, the fire in the Far East is burning again. It seems that the smell of blood flowing from Europe is not enough.”

“Because I grew up in such a bloody environment from the beginning.”

I could understand the current situation. Just like Zhang Zuolin, Yuan Shikai was also a man full of ambition. He was not a man who would be satisfied with being the president of the Beiyang government of the Republic of China, which was newly ruling the continent after the Qing Empire collapsed by agreement.

His ultimate goal was to ascend to the throne, and his ambition was fanned by the Japanese Empire, numerous opportunists, and warlords with their own agendas.

Therefore, before he ascended to the throne of the emperor, he would have incited Zhang Zuolin, who was no different from the ruler of Manchuria, to ‘recover the lost territories’ in order to create a justification for his actions.

Some fairly credible information was also enclosed, stating that Yuan Shikai had personally sent weapons, money, and a corps of Japanese-trained officers and Japanese military advisers to control them.

“Whether it’s Yuan Shikai who wants to become the emperor or Zhang Zuolin who wants to take advantage of that and call himself the Northeast King, and fan the flames of war, they’re all the same.”

“I agree.”

And that Won Se-gae seemed to be looking down on us. It is unclear whether he was thinking of the time when he had come to Joseon 30 years ago and reigned more like a king than the king himself, but judging from his actions right now, it would not be unreasonable to interpret it that way.

“These kids are playing a very dangerous game! We must stop their ambitions immediately!”

“Of course. And it’s time to make it clear that these guys have chosen the wrong opponent. But before that, there’s more to do. What’s the situation with our forces on the ground?”

“The 7th Brigade, commanded by Lieutenant General Noh Baek-rin, is establishing a defensive line, but has not yet crossed the river. We have requested further operational instructions from the Marshal’s Office, and until then, we will call up local militia and artillery to strengthen the defensive line.”

“Wise. Immediately send a message to all friendly units in the Yalu-Tuman River basin. No one is to cross the river without orders, and no one is to take an offensive stance until reinforcements from the center arrive.”

“Okay, I will pass it on.”

Fortunately, however, the commanders along the border were largely officers who had been proven in the previous war. Even the commanders of the 5th Infantry Division in North Pyongan Province, Army Vice Admiral Park Seung-hwan, and the commander of the 7th Brigade, Lieutenant General No Baek-rin, were quite experienced men, so there was no problem.

“How are you going to mobilize your troops? It will take some time to mobilize the brigades of the three southern provinces. Or you can call up the reserve infantry in the metropolitan area… … .”

“… There is no time for that. If we fail to subdue those who have invaded Dandong, we may face a difficult situation. Those who judge that we are not exercising our influence in South Manchuria properly will show their teeth here and there.”

It was not a situation where we could leisurely advance like the border conflict of 1910. At that time, only relatively small-scale battles took place, and the speed of advance was not as fast as it is now. So at that time, we built a blockade line with the units that landed at Yongampo by boat until the standing forces and reserve forces in the Pyeonganbuk-do region were ready, and we built a large force to push back the enemies, but this time it was different.