Joseon Needs a Coup - Chapter 379



Only Noblemtl

#2-35. Behind Diplomacy (3)

“One thing is certain: if we don’t stop now, we could be in trouble.”

“Then, does that mean that General Kim Si-hyeok is not deploying ground forces in earnest, but is only pouring out artillery fire? … .”

That must have been a preparatory bombardment that was held for a long time in order to launch a real offensive, but somehow it ended up being interpreted this way.

For some reason, Captain Kim Si-hyeok was extremely wary of Jang Jag-rim, and had been keeping an eye on him since the time he was the commander of the Horo Army. That’s why he had always thought that he had to eliminate him, and he thought that this was the opportunity to do so.

Of course, that opportunity flew away while he faithfully followed the ceasefire order, but he probably still regrets it for a long time.

Even though the cow backed down and caught the rat, Jo Dong-yoon decided to use that as well. In any case, General Kim Si-hyeok also thinks so, and with just one word, the possibility of persuading the ministers here, especially the young officials and soldiers from the Gwanseo, Gwanbuk, and Haeseo regions, was in itself possible.

“What you are thinking now is probably right. In other words, General Kim Si-hyeok has no intention of advancing north any further. Jang Jag-rim’s army has already entered the process of being annihilated in Andong, and we are certainly occupying the high ground diplomatically.”

He expressed his gratitude to Captain Kim Si-hyeok, who was probably feeling regretful for a long time in the south of the country, for a moment, and then continued talking confidently.

“Besides, we have the best card to shake them up: Sun Yat-sen and his revolutionaries. However, if we continue the offensive any longer and advance to Shanhaiguan, even Sun Yat-sen will surely suspect our intentions.”

If that had happened, the ‘new alliance’ between the Korean Empire and the Chinese Nationalist Party to counter the alliance between the Japanese Empire and Yuan Shikai’s Beiyang Army would have withered away before it could fully blossom.

“So, we have to accept the mediation proposal as if we can’t win at this level.”

“But wouldn’t that make it possible for them to re-enter South Manchuria?”

“Well, that’s right. We need to muzzle them so they can’t continue their provocative behavior toward us.”

“That’s what I mean, Director of Records. Who and how could you put that gag in Jangjakrim’s mouth? Is there any surefire way to do this other than burning down Yeonggu, his lair?”

When some of his ministers looked at him in disbelief, he smiled and suggested a completely new method.

“… There is no need to directly bite Jang Ja-rim. He is, after all, a loyal servant of Yuan Shikai and a sure pawn of the Japanese Empire.”

“There is no time for wordplay, Archivist. The time has come for us to make our choice!”

In response to the angry words of Baek Seong-gi, Minister of Agriculture, Commerce and Industry, Jo Dong-yoon responded leisurely. Perhaps this was a story that seemed to penetrate all the meeting contents up to that point.

“It’s not Zhang Zuolin, but Yuan Shikai that should be muzzled. Zhang Zuolin’s affiliation is ambiguous, but he is also in charge of the borders of the Republic of China, so he can be muzzled on the grounds that he failed to control them.”

He stood up and continued speaking.

“So we should demand that they pay compensation and control the influx of Han Chinese immigrants from Shandong, Hebei, and Henan. How about using this as a tool to pressure them for a long time, and at the same time, supporting Sun Yat-sen with some of the compensation?”

They say that tigers and foxes live together in the enemy’s headquarters, so I think I understand why they call Captain Jo Dong-yoon a sly fox.

“If that happens, it will also create an environment in which Sun Yat-sen and his comrades can start a revolution in southern China.”

“Revolution….”

Kim Ga-jin quietly chewed on those words. It was a word that had been frequently used by the masterminds of the year of Gapshin, including Kim Ok-gyun, and now it was coming out of the mouth of the head of the intelligence agency. It was something that would take a long time to see.

“Come to think of it, they seem to be quite complicated internally. How are things going?”

“With the help of the French Governor-General in Indochina, the three anti-Yuan warlords in Yunnan Province are being supplied with money and weapons. Now all we need is to create chaos for them.”

The French Indochina Governor-General, who was closely tied to the issue of influence in Yunnan Province, also appeared quite concerned about Yuan Shikai.

He predicted that if he were to suppress the rebellious warlords in Yunnan Province and exercise direct control of the Republic of China, it would be quite a headache, so he had established his own system of cooperation with the Korean Empire.

“Even the French Government General is involved.”

“Nothing has been confirmed yet, so just know that much.”

He continued speaking with a gentle smile, looking at the cabinet members from the tough-minded Kwanseo, Kwanbuk, and Haeseo regions.

“And the easiest way to give them this is to stop their advance as they are, and impose on them a compensation of newly minted silver coins over a period of ten or twenty years.”

As for compensation, there was nothing that could be as fatal to their regime as that. Of course, there were things that could be even more fatal than that, such as territorial cession, but they did not think about that.

The Korean Empire had to focus all its attention on dealing with the South Manchurian problem.

“And I heard that they have been working on economic reforms recently, such as closing down abandoned hospitals and such?”

“You are right. Recently, the Republic of China has been minting silver yuan, replacing the existing monetary system, and operating its own legal tender to replace a large amount of foreign currency.”

The Minister of Finance, Eo Yun-jung, who had been sitting quietly for a while, opened his mouth. It was also news that this was one of the major projects that Xiong Hee-ling, who had already taken office as the new Prime Minister of the Republic of China this year, was ambitiously preparing, so it was impossible not to know.

At present, in major areas of China, the legal tender of the Republic of China is being replaced by the currencies of various countries, and is being used in a mixed manner.

For example, in Yunnan Province the franc was seen as the de facto legal tender, in Shanghai the pound, in Liaodong the yen, in Jiaozhou Bay the mark, and finally in Manchuria the ruble and yuan were seen as the de facto legal tender.

As the economic sphere was gradually eroded by foreign countries, the cabinet of the Republic of China was attempting to carry out a currency reform.

“So you’re going to use it?”

“Yes, Minister of Finance. If we exploit their weak points, we can enjoy some pretty good political and economic advantages.”

This situation was not an issue that the officials of the Republic of China were unaware of. They too were busy trying to find their own solution, and thus were able to present one solution.

“It’s a blind spot in the closed-loop opening. I understand it roughly, but it might be difficult for the ministers there, so please explain it instead.”

“Yes, Minister of Finance.”

Jo Dong-yoon smiled. Those who are good at information are now familiar with the flow of money. Eo Yoon-joong began to listen to Jo Dong-yoon’s words with a serious expression.

“Ministers, unlike us, they are not introducing a gold standard, but rather are showing signs of wanting to continue the existing Qing Dynasty monetary system with a silver standard.”

As he said, the financial and fiscal officials of the Republic of China were moving to unify the legal tender around the silver yuan currently being produced, and then reform the finances with a gold standard-based gold convertibility system like the systems of the Korean Empire and Japan.

To this end, there has been recent movement to stop silver exports and manage them at the national level.

“Therefore, the Republic of China has recently shown moves to control silver exports and reform its own currency system. But what would happen if we forced them to pay silver as compensation?”

“It would create a huge hole in the introduction of a legal tender system.”

“That’s right, Minister of the Interior. It will have a negative impact on their monetary system, and by draining silver, it will cause enormous losses.”

Not only that, but by taking the already insufficient silver from the Korean Empire and bringing it back to their own country, they were able to make their already tangled financial market even worse.

“… The sage taught me something very good. He said that the way to defeat the enemy was not to try to win, but to ruin the enemy’s war effort itself.”

“Well, that’s what it is, Minister of Finance. General Kim Si-hyeok made us what we are today, and he created the spirit of the military. In any case, the best way for us now is to force them into a situation where they can’t do anything.”

Then he drank the glass of water placed in front of him and continued speaking.

“So we must pay compensation in this negotiation. In silver at that. That way we can stop their currency reform and prevent them from moving to the gold standard. That way we can buy enough time until we can properly govern South Manchuria.”

“… How wicked.”

“Hehe, there are worse methods than this. Like distributing counterfeit silver coins with low silver content to disrupt the economy… Of course, this is a last resort. We’re not in such a hurry to take this out.”

Eo Yoon-joong spoke candidly about his subsequent remarks.

“It is cruel, but I would have thought I would talk about an even crueler method.”

“This is the difference between them and us. Sadly, they do not have the means to respond to these economic attacks from us.”

The Korean Empire also printed gold-convertible notes under the gold standard, greatly increasing the total amount of currency and expanding the won economic sphere, allowing it to wield the second-largest economic power in Asia.

Of course, it is said to be second place, but in reality, its economic power is only 70% of that of the Japanese Empire.

In any case, it was true that stable economic development was possible thanks to the rapid introduction of a legal currency system along with the gold standard.

In this situation, Cho Dong-yoon’s proposal was like kicking away the ladder, which was intended to set back the Republic of China from reaching the same level as them by at least 30 years.

“According to the report of the 10th Division of the Records Investigation Office, the amount of silver coins they mint every month is about 50 million won. If even 10 to 20 percent of this amount were set aside as compensation, it could cause a significant setback to their plans.”

“Is it possible to inflict damage worth only 5 to 10 million won?”

“It would be absurd if they had a currency system like ours, but fortunately, they don’t have one yet.”

Cho Dong-yoon continued his explanation with a sly smile. And he was accurately pointing out the most precarious part of the Republic of China economy.

For the major countries that used convertible notes primarily, it did not matter much how much banknotes were issued, as long as the total amount of gold held in central bank accounts was maintained.

However, since the Republic of China used its own currency in the form of silver coins, which could be considered real currency, rather than paper money such as convertible notes, it could not avoid a blow the moment even a small amount of it flowed out of the country.

“And if the silver coins accepted in this way are returned to the national treasury, and if we provide Sun Yat-sen with funds in the form of our paper money… … .”

“It’s not bad since you can deal damage to Yuan Shikai over time and secure silver coins as well.”

“That’s right. If we try to take them down with military force, it will attract too much attention from neighboring countries, and it will consume a lot of materials and manpower. However, if we approach them this way, we can actually tighten their noose and gradually take them down internally without military action.”

It was a plan that could not have been anything but evil, but it was certainly a good way to gain both a cause and a profit.

As long as they did not fully move towards a paper currency system such as the convertible note system, they could also use this kind of trickery to grab Yuan Shikai’s most critical weak point.