Joseon Needs a Coup - Chapter 377



Only Noblemtl

#2-33. Behind Diplomacy (1)

“It is said that peace negotiations will soon be held in Jemulpo through mediation by Russia and Japan.”

“…Now you say that?”

Jang Jag-rim believed that with his skills and abilities, he would be able to quickly drive out those war-torn Koreans.

And if he had the tacit approval of Japan, Yuan Shikai, who protected him, and Russia, which had shown itself to be irreplaceable in ruling Manchuria, he could have easily driven out the isolated Korea and now displayed his might as the king of the northeast.

At least that’s what he thought until a week ago. But it was all a mistake, and his choice brought enemies 200km away to their jaws in an instant.

“I lost everything. Everything I had built up.”

Jang Jag-rim shook his fist as he watched the enemy aircraft retreating from afar. Unlike them, who were still fighting the wars of the past and subduing the weak, they brought a new type of warfare to Manchuria.

And before their army, Zhang Zuolin collapsed so miserably that his claims of being the King of the Northeast or the Overlord of the Northeast were rendered meaningless.

They were defeated unilaterally without even being able to fight a proper counterattack or a proper battle.

The cavalry that had defeated countless Mongol bandits was annihilated by enemy artillery and machine guns, and the infantry regiments that had boasted of being the best in the Beiyang Army were barely able to maintain their shell.

The Japanese military advisers consoled him, saying that they had no choice because the enemy’s commander was Kim Si-hyeok, who was famous for being a military gentleman, but Jang Jag-rim was skeptical of their own words.

The question was whether they could have guaranteed victory if the enemy’s commander had been a completely different person.

And Jangjakrim came to a completely different conclusion this time, unlike before the battle.

“They are completely different from us. They are nothing but war machines.”

For the first time in a long time, he shuddered with fear. He had never trembled like this when he was a bandit, even when he was walking a tightrope between Russia and Japan, but now it was different.

I thought that perhaps it was because ruin and death were right before my eyes, but Jang Jag-rim shook his head from side to side and denied it.

It was a slightly more primitive reason. It was like a mouse standing before a cat. Jang Jag-rim despaired and despaired again at the fact that he, who had been in the position of a predator for a long time, had now fallen to being the prey.

As a hunting dog of Russia and Japan, he dreamed of becoming a great wolf that would one day conquer Manchuria, but when a tiger crouching in the east bit his neck, he was left breathless and unable to do anything.

“Brother, we haven’t lost yet. If we receive reinforcements from President Yuan Shikai and build a defensive line, and receive support from the Tianjin fleet-”

“Wake up. The President can’t help us.”

Instead of Zhang Zuo Lin, Zhang Zuo Xiang stepped forward this time and cut off the other subordinates. As he said, Yuan Shi Kai, the President of the Republic of China, was not so loyal as to risk war with the Korean Empire to save his hunting dog.

Perhaps, Jangjakrim might abandon his hunting dogs and instead form an alliance with them.

“We have to start over from scratch… … .”

Jang Jag-rim recited quietly enough for only himself to hear, regardless of what his subordinates said or did not say.

In his opinion, the foundations of both sides were completely different. That was the difference between the enemy who could prepare everything and himself who could not.

Of course, even if they were lucky enough to win in the beginning, they would have been destined to eventually lose and perish.

“We have to start all over again from the beginning. If we are to survive, reclaim the Northeast and Manchuria, and eventually conquer the continent, we must learn from them no matter what.”

Jang Jag-rim eventually thought that he had to change everything. If he just stood still in front of the waves, he would just drown.

They had to build arsenals that could mass-produce weapons like they did, build fleets that could defend their cities, and establish educational institutions that could train elite military officers.

Rather than simply fighting a war with the number of troops, it was also urgent to organize an army fit for the modern times.

All of this will take a long time and money, but Jang Jag-rim declared that it must be done nonetheless.

“We lost to them. If it weren’t for the intervention of Japan and Russia, we might have been driven back even north of Shanhaiguan.”

The subordinates around him just looked at each other in bewilderment at his words. It was not because they understood what he was saying, but because they thought he was just saying something incomprehensible.

And even if it was a bit too much, he had to hold his breath, wait for an opportunity, and gradually build up his strength. At that time, the Han Chinese immigrants from Shandong and North China regions who continued to flow in would also be an important human resource for such a plan of Zhang Zuolin.

“It may take 10 years, no, maybe 30 years, but we must avoid any further conflict with the Joseon bastards and must work hard until we can trample them down.”

Once again, before he could reign as the Northeast King, he had to acknowledge his current disadvantage and find solutions from it.

“Everyone, remember what happened today. We haven’t forgotten about revenge, we just have to hold out until the opportunity comes.”

He looked southward as if he was making a promise to himself, and he looked at it with a resentful look. And he kept his eyes fixed on it for a while, saying that until he reclaimed that vast southern Manchuria, he would never forget what happened today.

One day, all of Manchuria would be reclaimed from those detestable Koreans. And when that day came, Jang Jag-rim would not stand by and watch the tiger he had hunted suffocate like them.

***

“Eventually, a demand came from St. Petersburg to stop fighting.”

“Tokyo has also strongly recommended a ceasefire through our company. They have also sent a warning that if you ignore this and advance to Shanhaiguan, we will not stand by and watch. Gentlemen, you must now stop fighting and negotiate with the Republic of China to achieve a peaceful outcome.”

“Can we stop fighting when the forest has not even been cleared yet?”

In the newly built cabinet conference room of Gyeongungung Palace after the end of the last war, conversations between cabinet members and key officials of the Marshal’s Office were taking place for a long time.

It was also a time for discussions on how to bring the conflict in South Manchuria to a close, including with the newly appointed Prime Minister Kim Ga-jin.

“No, now is the time to stop fighting. We have already diverted special reserve funds equivalent to half of this year’s budget to military operations in South Manchuria. If the fighting continues any longer, it will be dangerous.”

“What the Minister of Finance said is correct. Moreover, since Jangjakrim has been completely destroyed, they won’t be able to attack our borders for a while.”

While the moderates from Honam, Yeongnam, and Giho were considering stopping their offensive and accepting the current mediation plan to avoid further conflict, the hardliners from Gwanseo, Gwanbuk, and Haeseo were holding on to the exact opposite position.

“We have not yet achieved a single strategic objective. We have not captured Yeonggu, we have not captured Jangjakrim, and most importantly, we have not dealt a fatal blow to the Japanese and Yuan Shikai who are protecting them. For the sake of the future, it may be difficult for a while, but we must not stop fighting until we completely destroy them!”

“Besides, it hasn’t even been two weeks since the operation that the Director of Operations attempted began. Even if we negotiate, it would be right to eliminate their base, Yeonggu, before moving in.”

The confrontation between the two sides continued in this manner. The cabinet, which had been divided into the royalist faction and the Hanseong Club faction until before the war, now showed a large division based on the region of origin.

And each had their own ulterior motives. The cabinet members from Gwanseo, Gwanbuk, and Haeseo, where many new bureaucrats, military personnel, capitalists, and entrepreneurs were stationed, were generally in favor of aggressive expansion into South Manchuria.

This was to expand the market for gradually developing industrial complexes and to expand the won economic zone by taking advantage of the weakening yen in the Republic of China, which still had an underdeveloped legal tender system, and due to bond issues.

At least if the Yuan economy had influenced Manchuria and even the North China region, they would have been able to secure economic benefits to that extent.

On the other hand, the thoughts of the cabinet members from the Gyeonggi region, Yeongnam, and Honam, which consisted of many bureaucrats, intellectuals, and landowners, were different.

They judged that the region of South Manchuria itself was an unstable element in the system called the Korean Empire, and so they focused on continuing relatively passive policies.

In any case, the mainland was limited to the area south of the Amnok and Duman Rivers, and the world north of that was considered no different from an alien existence. Therefore, the more they expanded, the more they were wary of encountering resistance and failure, thereby exhausting national power.

Of course, it would be important to advance someday and solidify sovereignty over all of South Manchuria, but it was not seen as an immediate priority.

This was because it was believed that the priority should be given to strengthening internal strength by promoting domestic industry and continuing to pursue land reform.

They began to clash sharply whenever a cabinet meeting was held, engaging in fierce arguments and sometimes even shouting matches over the direction of national policy.

It was the Prime Minister’s role to mediate this situation, and so a fierce confrontation ensued over this position.

“Okay, gentlemen of the cabinet. Calm down for a moment.”

Kim Ga-jin calmed down the cabinet members by hitting the table with his hand several times, and for a moment, a heavy tension began to descend on the noisy cabinet meeting room.

He had to come up with a way to break the current tension that would at least satisfy both sides, if not completely satisfy them.

“In any case, we are not in a position to reject the request for mediation. Both Russia and Japan are strongly recommending a cessation of hostilities, and accordingly, negotiations will soon be held in Jemulpo.”

“We can’t afford to keep a dangerous barbarian hanging over our heads, Prime Minister!”

Minister of the Interior Lee Beom-jin openly expressed his opposition. After serving as the Gando administrator for more than ten years, he had become one of the few hardliners in the Gwanbuk faction who actively advocated the use of military action.

“Minister of Internal Affairs, we must not press the enemy too hard. There are currently collaborators of the Kuomintang, including Sun Yat-sen, in exile in Hanseongbu. Have you forgotten that we must cooperate with them to separate Manchuria from the continent?”