Ch.283283. Pacification of South Korea (2)

However, not all warlords across South Korea were hostile to Seorabeol.

While warlords with many reasons to die had no choice but to oppose Seorabeol, those without such reasons had no particular motivation to be hostile.

After all, the Seoul Alliance forces that defeated the Cult of Immortality in the decisive battle had clearly proven themselves to be the dominant power on the Korean peninsula. How could mere warlords dare to oppose them?

“I pledge my loyalty to Seorabeol.”

The warlords of Jeolla Province, recognizing which way the wind was blowing, unanimously swore allegiance to Seorabeol.

Jeolla Province had been difficult to involve in the recent Seoul conflict, and the warlords established there had declared neutrality, merely observing the situation without directly opposing Seorabeol.

Thus, they pledged loyalty without hesitation, but in exchange:

“Guaranteed autonomy. Maintenance of local defense. And preservation of our current positions for a certain period—those are our conditions.”

“With those conditions, there’s no problem. Welcome to Seorabeol, everyone.”

They demanded reasonable compensation considering their positions, which Seorabeol found acceptable.

Above all, since Seorabeol lacked the strength to completely pacify Jeolla Province, autonomy was essential, and maintaining that autonomy required legally preserving the warlords’ positions.

It might appear that Seorabeol was effectively permitting the warlords’ permanent dictatorship, but neither side was foolish. They naturally included a time-limited condition as insurance against unforeseen circumstances.

This arrangement allowed the warlords to voluntarily demonstrate their loyalty to Seorabeol, while Seorabeol gained insurance against potential betrayal—a meaningful transaction for both sides.

Thus, the Jeolla warlords who had been bystanders or declared neutrality during the war pledged allegiance to the ascendant Seorabeol, and:

“Seorabeol is the dominant power! Opposing Seorabeol will only bring destruction! For the citizens we serve, we must voluntarily place ourselves under Seorabeol’s authority!”

The sentiment was similar in Chungcheong Province.

Half of Chungcheong, recognizing that the peninsula’s power had shifted to Seorabeol, broke their long silence and declared their voluntary submission to Seorabeol.

Some sought peace, others stability, and still others might have pledged loyalty out of desire for greater power or ambition.

However, none doubted Seorabeol’s strength, and to increase their diplomatic leverage before it was too late, they began sending delegations to Yu-na in Seoul.

As for the other half:

“Seorabeol is a dictatorship! A dictatorial regime disguised as an ancient monarchy in this modern age? Ridiculous!”

“That’s not true! You can’t join Seorabeol because you were collaborators with the Cult of Immortality!”

These were warlords who strongly opposed Seorabeol’s pacification of South Korea and raised armies against them.

It might seem strange that they would resist following the victorious Seorabeol, but they had no choice.

They had allied with the Cult of Immortality, hindered Seorabeol’s war efforts, and had several clashes with the railway guard led by Jeong Dong-geon—they had many reasons to die.

“What era are we living in to talk about serving a greater power? Those who have pledged loyalty have sold out the people’s will to beg for power and authority! They’re traitors to our nation! We need neither Seorabeol nor Seoul. We’ll build our own paradise here!”

So they had to become adversaries of Seorabeol and the Seoul Alliance in place of the Cult of Immortality.

They believed there must be other warlords like themselves, and surely some fools who had invested in the Cult of Immortality believing in its victory.

If these fools gathered and raised their voices, neither Seorabeol nor the Seoul Alliance, busy with Seoul’s reconstruction, would dare to subjugate them—giving them a chance to survive.

“The peace you speak of is nothing but volunteering for slavery! Seorabeol is a monarchy unsuited to our times, and you’ll become its new nobility! Seorabeol is the enemy of liberal democracy!”

This anti-Seorabeol faction harshly criticized the pro-Seorabeol warlords, calling them Seorabeol’s dogs who sold national pride for the bait of autonomy. They urged them to stop pledging loyalty to Seorabeol if they didn’t want to become national traitors, actively hindering Seorabeol’s pacification of South Korea.

While they successfully demonstrated their competence as warlords by advocating somewhat reasonable ideologies, few or none among them were genuine ideological fighters or true revolutionaries with bloodstained hands.

“The outcome is decided? No, the Cult of Immortality’s homeland still remains! Controlling Seoul alone doesn’t mean controlling the entire Korean peninsula!”

Most of these ideology-spouting warlords were oppressors with more to lose than gain.

They would be the first to face revolution if one occurred. Their reason for opposing Seorabeol’s pacification was simple: once pacification succeeded, their military power, governing authority, private army privileges, and regional autonomy would be absorbed into a unified administration, leaving them as nominal local dignitaries.

If they had voluntarily pledged loyalty, they might have secured positions as provincial governors or representatives, but having squandered their one opportunity out of greed, Seorabeol would not treat them kindly.

Especially Jeong Dong-geon, who had suffered at their hands, was clearly distinguishing between carrot and stick, promising severe retribution to those who didn’t bow their heads promptly to ensure they could never rebel again.

‘Pacification must never be completed! If it is, the position I’ve worked so hard to gain will—!’

With the death sentence for their authority approaching, they began stalling with ideological arguments as always, continuing their struggle to protect their thrones.

Thus, Chungcheong Province was effectively split into two factions: pro-Seorabeol and anti-Seorabeol.

However, the pro-Seorabeol faction, having submitted to the victorious Seorabeol, began receiving overwhelming benefits from the moment they pledged loyalty.

“W-what is that gun?!”

“I found it on the road!”

“Nonsense!”

First, they could receive supplies through repaired road networks and maritime supply lines, including weapons for war.

Seorabeol implicitly directed the pro-Seorabeol faction to voluntarily attack the anti-Seorabeol rebels, and the pro-Seorabeol faction began attacking the anti-Seorabeol faction with this tacit consent.

Warlords who demonstrated their loyalty by voluntarily attacking the anti-Seorabeol faction received more supplies and the name of Seorabeol as a nation. Their territories now flew Seorabeol’s flag and received its protection.

However, this policy was showing signs of side effects.

“I must prove that I am more loyal than anyone else!”

“Yes, we were the first to offer our loyalty!”

The most prominent side effect was the excessive loyalty competition among the pro-Seorabeol faction.

While this excessive competition could certainly help with South Korea’s pacification, it could also lead to violence that Seorabeol hadn’t anticipated.

For example, one warlord, to prove his loyalty to Seorabeol, launched a surprise attack on a militia that had already surrendered, killing their leaders and falsely reporting them as important anti-Seorabeol figures—actions that negatively affected local public sentiment in Chungcheong.

From their perspective, they were demonstrating loyalty to the Dragon Priestess in Seoul, but from the perspective of the unjustly attacked militia, it was easy to misunderstand that Seorabeol was using warlords to dispose of militias that had served their purpose.

The biggest problem was…

“We can’t properly determine whether that’s a friendly neighborhood militia or looters.”

Seorabeol had no way to prevent false reports.

These actions were occurring in places beyond the influence of both Seorabeol and the Seoul Alliance, and without internal intelligence networks, Seorabeol had no ability to determine whether these reports were true or false.

Of course, they had noticed that the warlords’ discipline had deteriorated, but:

“We can’t just abandon those who voluntarily cooperated with us, can we?”

The main problem with the pro-Seorabeol faction was that they were hunting dogs who had voluntarily pledged loyalty to Seorabeol.

This made it psychologically burdensome to abandon them without justification, and there was concern that punishing or discarding them might discourage others from surrendering to Seorabeol in the future. Thus, Seorabeol had to approach the situation cautiously unless they caught them in a clear violation.

The silver lining was that the anti-Seorabeol faction was gradually crumbling due to the pro-Seorabeol faction’s excessive loyalty competition, and it was difficult to argue that Seorabeol hadn’t benefited from their actions.

“We’ve left ourselves a future problem to solve.”

“Indeed.”

The Seorabeol cabinet lamented that they had created a future problem, but they had no choice.

They lacked the strength to forcibly subjugate all warlords in South Korea for complete pacification, and with bankruptcy looming, no one could deny this was the most efficient and cost-effective method.

For Seorabeol to become the ruler of the Korean peninsula, they had to endure and move forward despite some side effects.