Chapter 20: It was thanks to Ok Jinseo

“Look here, Count. How do you think other nations will see this? The emperor is dead. They’ll think it’s laughable.”

“Precisely. That is why their perception is important.”

Now that a battle had broken out in Hanseong, there was no way the legations wouldn’t know about it.

Before long, there would be some kind of response.

‘If the militias rose up, the Japanese forces in Korea would move as well. Whether in Pyeongan or elsewhere, attacks against the Japanese military would begin.’

‘Unfortunately, since Britain and Japan had designated Korea as the base for their second army to strike Russia, they had significantly increased both the quality and quantity of their troops.’

That meant even the militias would be better trained than before.

It would be good enough if the regional Jinwi forces could just hold their ground.

“Britain, your allied nation, once drove a blade into the Korean queen. Now, they have killed the king. How do you think the world will see this? There’s already a precedent—if they could kill the queen, they could kill the king too. Surely, the mighty British Empire would be ashamed to call such savages their allies.”

Both the queen and the emperor had been slain.

“Even if Korea was a weak nation, this would undoubtedly paint Japan as a barbaric state.”

“I see. That makes sense.”

Choi Jaehyung narrowed his eyes as if making calculations, then nodded.

“Yes, exactly.”

“Whether they believe it or not doesn’t matter. What matters is how the world perceives it.”

After all, I had already planned to kill him myself.

And if I had done it, I would have made sure the news spread immediately in Japan.

It was common knowledge among the great powers that Empress Myeongseong had been assassinated by the Japanese.

They simply chose to stay silent about it.

‘Now, how would the foreign legations react to this?’ That, I was honestly looking forward to.

But more than anything, I was curious about Britain’s response, considering they were the real force behind the Russo-Japanese War.

“Before that, we need to spread the news in Hanseong.”

Now that things had come to this, every nation needed to see it.

First, I’d visit the German, French, and American legations.

Then, the British one.

At any rate, if Oyama Iwao wanted to engage Russia in a decisive battle, he wouldn’t be able to send troops to suppress the Sapo in South Manchuria or Gando right now.

Time was short, but whatever.

For now, the priority was to disrupt things on the Korean Peninsula.

Not just to earn sympathy—but to humiliate Japan.

So I made sure other nations knew.

Slipping into Hanseong unnoticed, I visited each legation one by one.

***

“Korea’s Kaiser has been killed?”

“I fear that the Japanese forces, who now occupy Hanseong, might desecrate His Majesty’s body. Please, Germany, help us.”

I first visited the German legation.

Though relations had recently soured, Korea still had more foreign legations than in recorded history, thanks to Britain’s alliances. Germany was one of them.

“This is outrageous! Such barbarism!”

“France, I beg you—make known the unjust death of our emperor. And do not forget, the Anglo-Japanese Alliance itself was forged under British pressure. His Majesty was even considering direct rule, at the very least for the sake of war profits.”

Next, I went to the French legation, informing their contacts, diplomats, and anyone who would listen that Japan had assassinated the emperor.

“Japan! Are they insane? We helped them, and now this?!”

“America, the land of liberty, must condemn Japan for murdering the ruler of an allied nation.”

Even in the United States—normally supportive of Japan—this caused an uproar.

Finally, I went to Britain.

“The Japan your country cherishes so dearly has assassinated our emperor. If you don’t believe me, your legation should be visiting His Majesty’s tomb right about now. See for yourselves.”

“What?”

Leaving that message behind, I immediately headed back to Manchuria.

‘Wouldn’t the Japanese army chase after me?’

‘If they did, I would simply crush their skulls. That wasn’t difficult.’

Who supported whom, who sided with whom—none of that mattered.

There was a chance Britain might try to cover this up, just as they had done with the Eulmi Incident.

So I made sure to spread the news everywhere.

Every single legation.

I went around boasting about it like it was my proudest achievement.

***

The British legation in Korea was in turmoil over the events in Hanseong.

Bang!

Jordan, the minister who knew Korea’s situation better than anyone, had remained in his post even after the Anglo-Japanese Alliance was formed.

But now, the catastrophe from the previous day was the problem.

“These damn, barbaric monkeys…”

Jordan’s brows furrowed deeply.

Korea’s emperor had left Hanseong to take direct command—only to be ambushed and murdered by Japanese forces, their so-called allies.

‘And what had happened at the palace?’

When things didn’t go according to plan, the insane Japanese bastards attacked Goguryeo, fought the Korean military—who were supposed to be their allies—and occupied the palace.

The Japanese, who Britain had considered civilized… The so-called allies of the British Empire…

Had committed such a mindless atrocity.

“They knew about our plans!”

Kuroki, who had taken Hanseong, protested.

But to Jordan, it just seemed like Japan had fallen back into barbarism—like a bunch of screeching monkeys.

“It doesn’t matter what they knew. The problem is that the emperor is dead! And not just Britain, but diplomats from multiple nations have seen his corpse! Tell me, Kuroki—how would your country react if your emperor were assassinated by Koreans?”

Veteran commander Kuroki gritted his teeth, swallowing his anger.

And it wasn’t just the British forces.

The German, French, and American legations had all witnessed the scene.

Thanks to a certain “helpful” Korean female officer, every single foreign diplomat had been dragged to see the emperor’s corpse, escorted by their own legation guards.

Naturally, Germany and France had hurled insults at Japan.

“In this so-called era of civilization, an allied force has murdered a sovereign ruler? How is such a thing possible?”

“Minister Jordan, do you seriously call these uncivilized Japanese beasts your allies?”

“You killed my dear friend, the emperor! What about my gold mine investments?!”

Germany and France mocked Japan for assassinating a ruling couple.

And they went even further, ridiculing Britain for allying with such a nation.

Meanwhile, Horace Newton Allen, the American diplomat, seemed more concerned about his gold mining ventures in Unsan than the murder itself.

Jordan clenched his jaw.

When he was reassigned to Korea, he should have found an excuse to switch posts with another diplomat.

And London felt the same way.

They should have realized from the moment Japan drove a blade into the Korean queen—these were not people worth supporting.

Now, Britain regretted ever backing these savages and handing them a foothold in China.

At this point, there was no protecting Japan anymore.

All the nations had come to know about this incident.

It was because a friendly Korean female soldier had spread the news everywhere, as if she wanted to boast about the fact that their emperor had died.

No one knew exactly who she was, but with the undeniable evidence of the Korean emperor’s corpse, the fact that the Japanese military had seized the royal palace and taken the crown prince hostage, everything was already laid bare for all to see.

[Japan, after assassinating the Korean empress, has now killed the Korean emperor? Can Japan truly be called a civilized nation?]

Perhaps a Korean in his past life, the British journalist Ernest Bethell co-founded a newspaper with the Koreans and openly published extensive articles about the incident.

***

“Ambassador, we truly knew nothing about this. We had no idea things would turn out this way!”

“Japanese wartime diplomat Komura Jutaro, upon hearing the news from Korea, rushed to meet the British ambassador to Japan, Maxwell MacDonald, and desperately protested that they had no knowledge of the Korean emperor’s death.”

“If you didn’t know this would happen, you shouldn’t have attempted it in the first place. How much longer must the British Empire clean up after your country?”

“I sincerely apologize.”

Komura Jutaro had no choice but to lower his head.

Joseon had always been a target for Japan, but at this moment, it was their ally.

Yet, they had shot the emperor to death, their imperial army had run rampant in Hanseong, eventually occupying it and taking the crown prince hostage.

It would be a miracle if MacDonald didn’t clutch his head and collapse on the spot.

“Because of this incident, rebels will rise across the Korean Peninsula to avenge their emperor. And with the war against Russia not going well, how do you plan to handle an additional threat from behind? Looking the other way when it came to the queen—our British Empire could still pretend not to know! But killing the emperor? What on earth were you thinking?”

“Killing a sovereign… No matter how many times he thought about it, ten times, a hundred times, it was something he simply could not comprehend. Was this their traditional way of doing things?”

“I have nothing to say except that I am deeply sorry.”

“If your surprise attack failed from the start and now the Baltic Fleet is about to join the war, what do you plan to do? Was this whole mess just to vent your frustrations on Korea?”

From the very beginning, Japan was already at a disadvantage in this war against Russia, being so far away.

Not only did Japan fail to secure the advantage of a surprise attack, but despite a few victories in Manchuria, the real problem was that Korea—a crucial foothold for their continental invasion—had now turned its entire population of 20 million against them.

To make matters worse, the Korean military, which was part of the joint Japanese-Korean army in Manchuria, had over 80,000 troops.

If one added the elite Sapo troops, that number exceeded 100,000.

And if those forces turned into enemies who attacked the Japanese army from behind?

At this rate, Britain would be forced to step in just to contain Russia’s expansion.

‘Would the British Empire have to spill the blood of its soldiers for these barbaric fools?’

‘Wouldn’t it be better if Britain just occupied Korea itself?’

For a moment, the thought crossed his mind, but he shook his head.

Even for Britain, fighting Russian forces on land was a daunting prospect.

‘Has the British Empire truly become this powerless?’

The Russo-Japanese War was now spiraling into disaster, all because of the death of the Korean emperor.

‘If Britain continued to support Japan at this point, they would be seen as backing a savage nation.’

All they could do now was watch.

***

Meanwhile, in Manchuria, Japanese army commander Oyama Iwao let out a bitter chuckle when he received news from Hanseong.

“Damn it. The situation wasn’t looking good to begin with.”

“The war was neither going well nor terribly.”

“But for Japan, which was already at a disadvantage in national power compared to Russia, this stalemate only meant that they would eventually be worn down and pushed out of Manchuria.”

“What happens now that the Korean emperor is dead?”

Things were difficult enough as they were.

And yet, the First Army commander, Kuroki Tamemoto, had stormed into Hanseong and killed the emperor—’what had possessed him to do such a thing?’

It defied all logic.

The plan had always been to retreat to Korea if the war turned unfavorable and seize control there.

But this was far too reckless.

There was only one option now.

Korea’s military was still entirely reliant on Japan for communications.

That meant they could manipulate what information got through.

“Hide it as much as possible.”

“But shouldn’t we eliminate the Korean forces?”

He wanted to, of course.

The problem was that, thanks to the deceased emperor’s efforts to expand the military, Korea had massively increased its forces—no matter how disorganized, they still numbered over 80,000.

“There are still a lot of Russian troops left. We can’t afford to waste time and manpower fighting the Koreans right now. We have to engage in battle before the news spreads among them.”

“Even if the Korean military was weak, 80,000 troops were no small number. The only choice was to fight quickly, using Korean forces at the front to absorb as much damage as possible.”

***

Meanwhile, Russian Far Eastern Commander Alexei Kuropatkin could only laugh in disbelief when he heard the news.

Even before the real fighting had begun, these monkeys were already making a mess of things.

They had killed the emperor of their own ally.

‘Were they not completely insane?’

“They attacked their own ally? Have they lost their minds?”

“Shouldn’t we start the offensive now?”

As in actual history, Bezobrazov had been pressuring Kuropatkin, urging an immediate attack.

Kuropatkin could not sit idly by any longer.

This was the perfect opportunity.

If they missed it, they might never get another chance.

“It might indeed be possible now. Begin preparations for an offensive. Also, send word to the Count of Southern Manchuria—propose an attack. Tell him that if we don’t step in now, Korea will be lost forever.”

Within Russia, the general sentiment was to punish the insolent Korean emperor and annex the Korean Empire.

However, the imperial court and nobility had decided to postpone any final judgment on Korea until after the war.

“Yes, sir.”

The killing of the Korean emperor by their supposed ally, Japan’s failure to capitalize on its surprise attack, and Russia’s passive defensive stance—

All these factors had turned global attention to the war.

The Russo-Japanese War was now plunging into utter chaos.

And it was all thanks to Ok Jinseo.