Joseon Needs a Coup - Chapter 371



Only Noblemtl

#2-27. New alliance (1)

In recent times, newspapers have been selling like hotcakes in big cities thanks to the recent war. This was especially true for the Independent Newspaper, run by Seo Jae-pil, now one of the two major newspaper companies in Korea. Even at the newspaper counters, almost all of the newspapers were sold out.

In order to meet demand, the printing presses were running so many times that they ran out of ink and, in some cases, even caught fire, but the demand had increased so much that it was no use.

In the end, they were barely able to meet demand by lending a large sum of money and borrowing a few printing presses from Bethel, who had come as a war correspondent during the last war and then settled down as the president of the Daehan Maeil Shinbo.

“Boss, boss! A telegram has arrived from our source in Andong! Our forces have advanced to the outskirts of Yeonggu!”

“what!?”

Seo Jae-pil thought it was a good thing he didn’t drink coffee this time. Last time, Army General Kim Si-hyeok, who was the director of operations and was called the greatest hero of the last war, broke everyone’s expectations and annihilated Jang Jag-rim’s army of 30,000 men in just one day.

Normally, he would have gathered his troops for three to five days and then immediately countered them with a large force, but this gentleman was truly extraordinary. He took the railroad and led the assault infantry brigade to attack at the most vulnerable time for the enemy.

At that time, His Majesty the Emperor had personally given him coffee as a gift for leading the ‘true press’, and he was enjoying the aroma of the coffee in the morning. But after hearing that urgent news, he spilled all the coffee and suffered for a long time because he had a bad temper.

“No, it hasn’t even been a week since we crushed the Jangjakrim Army in Andong, and you’ve already reached the outskirts of Yeonggu?!”

“They say the attack will begin by noon tomorrow at the earliest, or before midnight tomorrow at the latest!”

“T, this is not the time. Did you distribute the extra edition?”

He asked with a gleam in his eyes, and the staff nodded. Now, depending on who could bring the news of victory faster, or who could mix 70% facts and 30% exaggeration to meet the public’s demands, the sales volume for that day was determined by heaven and earth.

“Of course!”

“Well done. The papers will sell like hotcakes all week long.”

Seo Jae-pil clapped his hands and immediately ordered the evening newspaper to print the article. Not only in the streets of Hansung but also in major cities across the country, people began to get excited as soon as they heard the news of their great victory.

And this excitement was not due to pessimism about the war, but rather to anger that ‘the Qing dynasty’s traitors who had dared to harass the border for decades’ or ‘the Qing dynasty’s traitors who had dared to overthrow the country’ had invaded the border and that they had to be punished.

It was not for nothing that Seo Jae-pil himself wrote this editorial around the 3rd or 4th year of Gwangmu.

– If we make efforts to study and cultivate customs to make our country rich and strong, Koreans will not fall behind the British and Americans. Koreans will also attack China, occupy Liaodong and Manchuria, and receive 800 million yen in compensation. I hope that Koreans will have great ambitions and think about occupying Liaodong and Manchuria in 10 years and also reclaiming Tsushima Island from Japan. –

Of course, if you think back to that time, it must have been a truly embarrassing editorial, but some people remembered his editorial and praised Seo Jae-pil, the president of the Independent Newspaper, for predicting the future a dozen years later, so it was probably a thing of the past that could be overlooked.

In any case, the media made the most of this situation, and they were able to secure active cooperation from the imperial family and the cabinet, who happened to want to take advantage of it. They were satisfied to see people angry at the atrocities that Zhang Zuolin and his warlords had committed, which the media had exposed.

The imperial family was steeped in hatred toward Yuan Shikai and his warlords who had dared to overthrow the Qing Dynasty, a fellow emperor, and proclaim themselves a republic.

The cabinet wanted to arouse even more hatred against the Beiyang clique under Yuan Shikai, so that the Chinese Nationalists and their leader Sun Yat-sen, who had agreed to recognize Manchuria as outside the Chinese territory, could become their partners.

It would not be an exaggeration to say that the entire wide street from Daehanmun was filled with excitement, with people waving the Taegeukgi and applauding the column of troops moving from Yongsan Station to Sinuiju Station.

“Long live! Long live His Majesty the Emperor! Long live the Korean Armed Forces!”

“Let’s overthrow Jangjakrim and defend our homeland!”

The contents of the extra editions that the newspapers had already competitively distributed were enough to further stimulate the already excited people. It was the same in schools, companies, and factories.

“The power of the people is truly tremendous. Fire consumes fields, but water consumes cities.”

“Thanks to you, I feel like I’m sitting on a pile of money.”

Seo Jae-pil looked at the crowd gathered outside the newspaper office. They seemed more energetic than ever, and they held up their newspapers with pride, as if the national army’s victory was their victory. There must have been some who were crazy about the idea that this battle would cost a lot of money and that it would come out of their own pockets, but they were a minority.

And even these people were willing to continue to make sacrifices under the pretext that they would be able to ensure that their future children would live in a more prosperous country.

Manchuria was not a matter of choice, but was treated as something indispensable to the lives of Koreans living on this land today.

“Prepare a newspaper article in advance.”

“Yes? What kind of content···”

“Write down the fact that you have already captured Yeonggu.”

“Yes? But if you write it like that in advance, there might be a problem-”

“It doesn’t matter. It’s just a matter of time before it’s permanently taken over, and Captain Kim Si-hyuk will be more than capable of doing it. That is, as long as Russia or Japan don’t intervene…”

He decided to take a gamble of his own. If Yeonggu really fell, it would be a jackpot, but if not, he could just pass over it on the grounds that the frontline situation was inaccurate. Either way, the publicity effect would be considerable.

Even outside of major cities, people still read more of the Imperial Newspaper and Daehan Maeil Shinbo, which use pure Korean, than the Independent Newspaper, which uses a mixed Korean and Chinese character font.

“Go and get to work. You’ll be busy for the next few weeks.”

Seo Jae-pil watched his subordinate bow and leave with a bright smile.

Although the sun was still clearly visible today, he looked outside again, waiting for the sun to rise tomorrow.

***

Meanwhile, southern China was also going through days of chaos and joy. The Xinhai Revolution of 1911 was a half success, overthrowing the Qing Dynasty and the imperial family and bringing about a new system called the Republic of China, but the chaos was worsening as Yuan Shikai, who had seized real power, turned into a dictator.

The young revolutionaries who followed Sun Yat-sen and the rebellious warlords in the south were expressing their discontent with Yuan Shikai and the Beiyang clique, but they had not yet shown it outwardly.

Yuan Shikai’s power was still strong, and the Beiyang warlords he controlled like his own servants were looking down on them with fear.

In this situation, Sun Yat-sen and his Kuomintang comrades recklessly declared an armed uprising to suppress Yuan Shikai in 1913, and were brutally suppressed within two months. They were powerless against Yuan Shikai’s military force of 250,000 men.

Just as they had done before, they had no choice but to go into exile overseas. Among them, Sun Yat-sen, the leader of the revolution, fled as if being chased to the Korean Empire.

Originally, he had planned to go into exile in Kobe via Taiwan, but when the Japanese Imperial Government attempted to arrest him at the request of Yuan Shikai, he had no choice but to urgently change his escape route to Jemulpo.

Of course, this was also barely able to come in. When the news that Sun Yat-sen wanted to go into exile somehow reached the emperor’s ears, he immediately went on a rampage, saying that he could not tolerate a republican rebel group setting foot on Korean soil.

The emperor issued an arrest warrant for Sun Yat-sen to the Imperial Secretariat, which was convinced by his words, and in the process, a direct clash occurred with the Records Bureau, which was still headed by Army General Zhao Dongyun.

In any case, after overcoming numerous difficulties, Sun Yat-sen was officially treated as a refugee by the Korean Empire’s cabinet, and was able to live in relative safety in Hanseongbu for about a year under the protection of the Records Bureau of the Marshal’s Office.

Of course, there were twists and turns here too.

“Master Sun Yat-sen, it’s been a long time.”

Someone wearing dark glasses, a mustache like that of a German emperor, and a well-groomed beard, and speaking fluent Chinese, entered a Hanseongbu restaurant. There were neatly prepared meals and glasses, and the first person to arrive nodded and spoke.

“I didn’t know that Mr. Shin Gyu-sik would want to see everything about me.”

“Haha, I’ve been busy lately with state affairs.”

“By the way, Korea has changed a lot. Seeing people quickly overcome the scars of war and live so energetically gives me hope that one day, our China will also be able to welcome a world like this.”

Shin Gyu-sik sat down with a friendly smile. He had been wearing black glasses like that since he lost one eye while fighting the Japanese in the last war. However, he was not ashamed of his disability, but rather felt proud that it was a much more honorable mark than a proud medal, since he had been injured while fighting an invading enemy.

“Because something happened on the northern border.”

“···It looks like the dogs of Yuan Shikai are running wild.”

Sun Yat-sen spoke as he sipped the wine glass in front of him. The two spent a long time drinking and eating as if they were old friends. In the last revolution, Sun Yat-sen was able to obtain quite decisive support from the Korean Empire.

Although it was a poor empire with no money, it was a country that had the means to train the best elite soldiers in East Asia during the previous war, and they accepted Sun Yat-sen’s request for support in exchange for one condition.

Regarding South Manchuria, where the Korean Empire had secured influence through the previous Far Eastern War, the only condition that Sun Yat-sen had in place when he succeeded in carrying out the revolution was to promise that North China and Manchuria would be separate territories.

In a situation where it was difficult to expect much immediate support from the Western powers and Japan, Sun Yat-sen desperately needed their help to arm the revolutionary army and learn the best tactics in East Asia, so he accepted the offer.

And as the revolution achieved ‘half success’ through the agreement with Yuan Shikai, all previous agreements were distorted.

“···I was secretly disappointed that your country did not provide any help when we subjugated Yuan Shikai last time.”

“That’s because you continued to ignore the existing agreement.”

The root of the problem was that Yuan Shikai had effectively seized full power in the Republic of China, and the contents of the previous agreement reached their ears.

It was likely that Japan, secretly dissatisfied with the territorial expansion of the Korean Empire in South Manchuria, exposed it, and in any case, Sun Yat-sen was put in a very difficult political situation.

The Beiyang warlords began to denounce him as a traitor who had handed over his country’s land to a foreign power in order to overthrow the Qing Dynasty. At that time, Zhang Zuolin and his subordinates, who had been trying to flatter Yuan Shikai and claim the title of King of the Northeast, also came under heavy attack.

Even within the Kuomintang, which had been following him, criticism erupted, so Sun Yat-sen had no choice.

In the end, he completely denied the contents of the agreement with the existing Korean Empire, and the Korean government and military were so disappointed by this that they drastically reduced their support for Sun Yat-sen and his Kuomintang.

“Of course we understand everything. We must have had something to oppose, such as Mr. Sun Yat-sen’s political stance or his efforts to gather comrades to overthrow the traitor to the revolution, Yuan Shikai.”

“that-”

“But my understanding is only that of Shin Gyu-sik, the individual. The distinguished generals of the Marshal’s Office above me, and even General Kim Si-hyeok, the director of the Operations Bureau of the Marshal’s Office who personally expressed his respect to Sun Yat-sen, although he could not be present here, could not help but be extremely disappointed by your actions.”

“So you stopped providing subsidies and sending military instructors?”

“Well, you could say that. However, as a consideration for Mr. Sun Yat-sen… we have continued to educate a dozen or so cadets at our military academy.”

Shin Gyu-sik smiled brightly and downed his glass. His disappointment was evident on his face, and now was his chance.

“Mr. Sun Yat-sen. This is not my personal position, but a proposal that contains the will of the cabinet. Are you willing to abide by the previous agreement?”

As soon as he put down his glass, he made his decisive move. The cabinet and the Marshal’s Office emphasized the need to once again support Sun Yat-sen and his Kuomintang in the face of the Beiyang clique’s schemes.

Accordingly, despite the Emperor’s strong opposition, he made the following proposal to Army Chief of Staff Shin Gyu-sik, who was his close friend.

And Sun Yat-sen, hearing his voice, fiddled with his chopsticks for a while about the food he enjoyed in his hometown, then placed it back on the stand, sighed deeply, and answered.