Chapter 30: Hanseong Reclamation Operation

It is not right to support Park Seo Sangmu’s army right now and strengthen the imperial power in the future.

The Sapo Unit will be remembered by the Korean people when it liberates the Korean Peninsula.

The Sapo Unit will conquer Gando, take over Southern Manchuria, and liberate Korea.

The Koreans will inevitably feel nationalistic pride.

“Right. That makes sense. Then let me ask you something.”

“Yes, please speak.”

“If I allowed the Sapo Unit to take the lead, I could also be merciful. Park Seo Sangmu was the one who first bowed to us. At the very least, we must cooperate to save the country, right?”

“Then, what should we do now? With the Japanese army’s total destruction at Ok Jinseo. You contributed a lot, but because of that, Hanseong is now unsafe. What is your opinion?”

“If you’re asked to give an opinion, it’s only natural to give one.”

“It’s simple. We should head south and retake Hanseong.”

“Now, the entire Manchurian expeditionary force has been annihilated, and only the forces under Kuroki in Hanseong remain. Those guys can never defeat our army. We march south and reclaim Hanseong.”

“What if they threaten us with the Crown Prince?”

“Even if they threaten, it won’t work. They’ve killed the Empress, the Emperor, and now the Crown Prince. Will they reach the peak of their tyranny? How will Japan look then?”

“Even if those Japanese go all the way. They probably won’t do that. Foreign embassies are already protecting the Crown Prince. They’ve put a lot into the Meiji Restoration, so they wouldn’t risk destroying all of it.”

“Of course, I don’t know their situation exactly, but the Crown Prince will likely remain safe. Even the desperate Japanese can’t destroy what they’ve built up so far.”

“Will Japan fight until the end, determined to perish? But they need an army for that. The Manchurian expeditionary force is gone, and they’ve lost naval superiority. Of course, doing something like a total self-destruction would be… a bit much.”

“Russia is probably waiting for that too. It won’t be easy.”

“But there’s always a possibility, isn’t there?”

“Yes, a possibility. I’m not ignorant of that.”

“Right now, the British Empire must be considering whether to abandon Japan. Perhaps they’ll keep them alive and turn them into zombies for their own gain.”

“Japan has no choice but to choose the latter. To do that, they’ll have to hand over Crown Prince Yi Cheok.”

“This is also the time to take down Kuroki’s army.”

“If they have a plan, then Youngkilli will step in to protect him. After all, there will be opposition even from within Japan. They’ll probably beg Youngkilli to mediate.”

“Honestly, at this point, it seems like the best move would be to kill the Crown Prince and overthrow the country. We would destroy the Joseon Dynasty and completely smash the old regime.”

“Now, the choice is ours.”

“But what’s in our way is people like Park Seo Sangmu, the modernist officials. If the Crown Prince dies now, will they just let me, the one who proposed the plan to march on Hanseong, do nothing?”

“At that point, we could overthrow everything with the Sapo Unit.”

***

“Hey, Shenyang Administrator.”

“Yes, General Commander.”

“To achieve military accomplishments as a woman is remarkable, but still, we must consider the Crown Prince.”

“Yes, that Crown Prince Yi Cheok.”

“Later, Park Seo Sangmu might get in the way. He’s too modernist.”

“Sunjong is now more incapable than Gojong. From what I see now, it seems like there’s only people who are trying to sell out the country, so we need to capture them all.”

“Of course, that’s obvious.”

“Then, what will you do after heading south?”

“First, I’ve heard that the righteous army has risen up on the mainland. We will destroy the first army of Kuroki Tameamoto, which has been harassing them.”

“Kuroki Tameamoto’s army won’t be in good shape.”

“Naturally, they’ve been fighting the righteous army. They’re probably in chaos.”

“If they try to use Hanseong as a hostage, what will we do?”

“There’s enough possibility for that. But the likelihood of that is remarkably low.”

“This could go either way, but in either case, it benefits us. Japan will either choose to isolate itself more from the international community or show submission. And that’s when the Sapo Unit takes the lead. The picture looks good.”

“Why?”

“Tsushima. That is, in the waters near Daemado, the Japanese fought fiercely with the Arasa. As a result, the Japanese ships were all destroyed. This means the Japanese islands are in a position where Arasa’s forces can land at any time.”

***

The Battle of Tsushima.

“Jordan Gongsa said that Russia won in this battle.”

“In fact, one of the main reasons the British want to end the war quickly is because of the Battle of Tsushima.”

“Even though Japan was defeated despite using the latest warships, they still tried to downplay Japan, but losing Japan would make things harder for Russia.”

“We made the wrong decision from the start.”

“It wasn’t the wrong decision.”

“Looking at Russia’s situation, if it wasn’t for my interference, we would have been pushed back.”

“Originally, Arasa only used the forces of the Far East, while the Japanese staked their national fortune. In such a situation, if Arasa mobilizes the forces of all of Europe, what will happen? The Japanese won’t be able to hold out. That’s why the Japanese tried to take control of our country as a contingency plan.”

In fact, Japan eventually tried to quickly deal with Russia in the Far East and sign a separate peace.

“But the assassination of the Emperor ruined everything.”

“Yes, that’s what happened.”

“What will we do about Kuroki Tameamoto’s army? Will we kill them too?”

Kuroki Tameamoto’s first army.

“Realistically, this is the last army Japan has left.”

“They probably won’t last much longer. Even though they’re in control of Hanseong, how much longer can they hold out? At least, that’s how I see it.”

“They must have at least tens of thousands. We can use them as labor for the things we need. They’ll do all the hard work.”

“The surviving soldiers of Oyama Iwao’s army will be deployed in Manchuria. They’ll eventually die without being able to return to their homeland.”

“Do we have enough food to feed tens of thousands?”

“Why would we bother feeding them? Well, of course, we need to give them food, but just the minimum.”

“We only need to give them enough so they don’t starve to death. Otherwise, we can feed them to the Japanese prisoners. If they ask for money, we can demand it from them.”

The military meeting ended like that.

During the time we were reorganizing the army, I met separately with Lee Beomyun.

“Then, are we finally starting the southern march?”

“This time, our Sapo Unit’s contribution is quite large.”

“That’s right. After all, we did all the fighting. The troops from the homeland just supported us from behind.”

“To be honest, the Empire of Korea’s military only blocked the retreat routes. They were just there to fill up numbers. That’s about it.”

In reality, they were just supporting us from behind.

As I said, this will be a huge opportunity for us.

Hanseong has been seized by the Japanese army, and the original cabinet has collapsed.

Of course, there are still existing politicians, but they won’t be able to match the achievements of the Sapo Unit.

That’s why I see this as an opportunity.

“Now is the time, General.”

“What opportunity?”

“What do you mean, “what opportunity”? You should understand without me saying it directly.”

“The Sapo Unit’s achievements are sky-high, and even within the Korean Peninsula, the fame of the Sapo Unit will soar.”

“I’m already being hailed as Korea’s Joan of Arc in France, so it’s not impossible. Of course, there will be some people who won’t like this, but anyway, after the war, the power will shift toward Manchuria.”

“After this war, the people of the 13 Provinces of Korea will praise the Sapo Unit. They’ll call it the army that took revenge on the military. They’ll say that we saved the country, and so on.”

“And then, a pro-Japanese cabinet will be established by Kuroki Tameomoto, right?”

“It’s unclear whether a pro-Japanese cabinet will be set up, but at least the main ministers who could form a government will spread out across the 13 provinces, encouraging the righteous army.”

Kuroki Tameomoto will probably try to form a government as favorable to Japan as possible.

“Are you speaking?”

“What do you mean?”

“After the war, there will be a power vacuum.”

“Right now, the Korean Empire’s army is basically just filling numbers; they have no real achievements and are far behind us in terms of contribution.”

A power vacuum.

The Sapo Unit will fill that void.

“Are you telling me to become someone like Choi Chungheon?”

“Choi Chungheon? He was a mere power minister, but we will be different.”

“Choi Chungheon? It’s more like becoming Kim Yushin.”

“Choi Chungheon was just a power minister.”

On the other hand, what I’m saying to Lee Beomyun is more like becoming Kim Yushin.

After this war, the Korean Empire will inevitably have to include the Sapo Unit in the power structure.

Well, of course.

To overthrow the emperor who betrayed Russia, they’ll have to say that they were threatened by the English and Japan.

Park Seo Sangmu’s 80,000-strong Korean Empire army couldn’t even rebel against the threats of the great powers and ended up becoming pawns for the Japanese.

In the process, only our Sapo Unit suggested the way to win the war, and the names of the Sapo Unit are even being mentioned by foreign diplomats.

The Sapo Unit cannot avoid being involved.

“Heh. Forget you heard that.”

Lee Beomyun frowned and turned his head sharply.

“Is this all for my own good? Isn’t it good for both of us?”

Since things have come this far, it can’t be helped.

“You have to do this. To fix this country, we need a complete overhaul. We can’t just listen to scholars who are only submitting petitions saying it’s impossible, and a king with no plans for the future of the nation. They follow him just because he’s the emperor. It doesn’t make sense. This is absurd. Do you know why I’m envious of those Japanese? They achieved the Meiji Restoration.”

‘Isn’t that because they had the opportunity to fix their country?’

“But this country, no matter how much I look at it, no matter where I look, and no matter how I try to fix it, is rotten to the core.”

“For ten years, the treasury was filled, but even the Empress Min, whose name is ambiguous, spent it all in one year. Later, the Qing dynasty was brought in by Prince Regent Heungseon, and even Heungseon himself pursued a policy of isolation, claiming the ‘Cheongwaebi’.”

“There was no opportunity to fix it.”

“This is treason.”

“This is not treason. It’s just that you, General, are filling the vacancy. Anyway, I will save the crown prince, so it will naturally settle into place.”

“Treason means you have to commit treason to be called a traitor. But have we committed treason? No.”

“Rather, we saved a country that was on the brink of collapse.”

“What if the Sapo Unit isn’t popular after all? Don’t we still need to make sure our achievements are known?”

“That’s right. I’m not just arrogantly assuming things will go our way.”

“To be honest, I didn’t say this clearly to Park Seo Sangmu earlier, but I’m prepared to take the lead in rescuing Crown Prince Yi Cheok on my own.”

“So, we’re planning to rescue Crown Prince?”

“Who am I? I entered Manchuria and slaughtered the Qing army in Fengtian. I also slaughtered the Japanese army, and not a single scratch was on me during the process.”

In other words, if it’s just me, I can handle Hanseong.

Once I rescue the crown prince and the hostage situation is resolved, it’ll be over.

Once we retake Hanseong, the peace negotiations will also be in our favor.

“Attacking from the outside is a different matter.”

“How would foreign diplomats know about the assassination of the emperor?”

“Do you think so?”

“Yeah, that’s the rumor. I said it all. So, there’s no need to worry.”

“After sending the ministers of each department to various regions, I infiltrated Hanseong and spread the word in the foreign embassies.”

“Just like housewives gossiping in apartment complexes every morning.”

“What’s so special about that?”

“Well, it was mostly thanks to that that the English and Japanese moved.”

“No matter how powerful the great powers are, assassinating a country’s emperor is a huge mistake. And they even killed the queen before doing it. This time, they’re even allies. This has worked out as an opportunity for us.”

“So, are you going to do the same this time?”

“Probably, the Japanese will try to block us from invading from all sides. They’ll close all the gates, but if it’s just me, getting around them is easy.”

“So, you’re saying you’ll rescue the crown prince.”

“I will find the crown prince.”

“I’ll take the crown prince and send him directly to the French embassy.”

“I’ve already sent him to Russia once.”

“What would change if I send him to France? I’ll hand the crown prince over to the embassy, and then we can strike Hanseong right away.”

That way, the foreign diplomats will also realize that Korea has won the war.