Chapter 35: The Land of Beasts

I personally met with Kuroki, the commander of the 1st Army who had surrendered.

“How did your soldiers fare while suppressing the righteous army?”

“So, Korea is so short on people that even women have to take action?”

“Hearing that from you is just laughable.”

The only thing I could do was put up small resistance against him dismissing me just because I was a woman.

At this moment, I felt deeply grateful that I had possessed the body of a woman.

Because now, Japan had been completely played by a single Korean woman.

I handed Kuroki a box.

He looked at me as if to ask what it was, and I gestured for him to open it.

“This… This is—!”

Yes. Inside that box was Nogi’s head.

A well-preserved, pickled head of Nogi was now placed before him.

His eyes were open in death, full of injustice and sorrow.

Even as a corpse, he was being desecrated.

How pitiful.

That’s why he shouldn’t have been so arrogant.

“Plenty of your men were killed by a woman like me. I personally beheaded Nogi, and as for Oyama Iwao—well, I had him too, but his skull got smashed by accident, so I couldn’t bring it.”

Unfortunately, Oyama Iwao’s head was too damaged, but at least Nogi’s remained intact.

“Hah, so the entire Manchurian Expeditionary Army fell to a mere woman?”

“That’s right. You were all completely deceived by me alone.”

“I, on my part, was able to develop Gando.”

“And you? You lost the capacity to wage war.”

“So, your mighty Imperial Army couldn’t even defeat a single woman. From now on, you’d better answer properly. It’ll be in your country’s best interest. Because even Great Britain is no longer on your side.”

They hadn’t completely abandoned Japan yet, but at the very least, they’d be pressured to cooperate with Korea.

It was time for Japan to give up.

They no longer had the ability to lead negotiations, and they were being utterly crushed by Korea.

‘Could they even withstand Russia’s fleet bombarding their islands?’

“We suppressed all the righteous armies through the Joseon Righteous Army Suppression Operation. We tried to secure the Imjin River, but we ended up fighting a defensive battle in Hanseong.”

“And how much damage did you suffer? Speak up before we investigate it ourselves.”

“The 12th Division was annihilated by the Homecoming Army. The Imperial Guards Division, the 2nd Division, and the Mixed Brigade all suffered considerable losses.”

“Tsk. What a shame.”

This meant fewer prisoners to use for forced labor.

The captives were supposed to help rebuild Hanseong after the battle, but with fewer of them, it’d be an issue.

“What do you mean by that?”

“Don’t concern yourself. Just answer my questions. Do you know anything about a man named Choi Ikhyun?”

Choi Ikhyun was important.

He was practically a living symbol of the remaining scholars in this country.

No doubt, his forces had suffered great losses in this war as well.

“He was leading your Korean Ikki Alliance Army. We captured him, fearing more uprisings from the Ikki rebels.”

‘So Choi Ikhyun had been taken. That meant the righteous army alliance was finished.’

‘If Choi Ikhyun had fallen, then the scholars who supported him would have collapsed as well. Who could have predicted that Gojong’s death would snowball to this extent?’

For us, this was good news.

“Fine. Since you answered honestly, I won’t behead you.”

“Either way, I won’t survive after participating in the assassination of your emperor.”

That was obvious.

Even if the soldiers had carried it out, we had no way of knowing what orders Kuroki had given.

Even if he had ordered them not to kill Gojong, the fact that the target was the emperor meant the responsibility naturally extended to Kuroki.

“Who knows? Maybe Japan will bribe the courts and you’ll survive. If you want to stay alive, you’d better speak nicely at trial. Honestly, I should thank you. Because your emperor’s death allowed us to strike Japan’s back when it was least expecting it.”

In a way, it really was thanks to him.

I didn’t have to go out of my way to deal with Gojong.

I didn’t have to cater to his whims.

He died on his own.

‘What could be better than that?’

Kuroki Tamemoto’s face twitched as he clenched his jaw.

“Was it all your doing?”

“Who knows? I only gave you a little push.”

Truthfully, I had no idea up to a certain point.

But now, it was better to act as if I had been the mastermind all along.

It made me look more impressive.

With the war reparations we’d receive, we’d modernize rapidly.

We’d build airplanes.

Even just having bombers would allow us to crush the Japanese army before they could form an air force.

***

After throwing Kuroki Tamemoto into a prison cell, I stepped out, only to be called over by Lee Beomyun.

“This isn’t over yet, is it?”

“No. We can’t let it end here.”

“And?”

We absolutely couldn’t stop here.

We had to raid their mainland and pillage everything.

Leave them utterly crippled and take everything we could.

“We must at least raid their capital, just as they did to us. You’ve already made the preparations, haven’t you?”

We had to raid Japan’s stronghold.

That was the only way to cement the power of the Sapo Corps.

“Yes. The forces are already on their way. But do we have enough strength to ravage their land?”

Normally, no, we wouldn’t.

We didn’t have many ships.

The best we had were a few pathetic warships, ones Japan had scammed us into buying.

‘What could we do with those?’

“The Russian fleet has already secured control of the seas. This won’t be difficult. What matters is making a statement—we attacked their mainland! That alone is important.”

‘That was how we would dominate the negotiations.’

‘I could personally storm in and capture the emperor, but for now, I had to stay here and handle negotiations with Ito.’

‘If that old fox struck a deal behind my back and achieved a favorable outcome, that would be troublesome.’

“For now, sending support to the Russian army was enough.”

“Our first priority is solidifying our presence in Hanseong.”

Currently, the Sapo Corps was divided between the Gando Administration and the Shenyang Administration.

Seo Sangmu had some influence in West Gando, but most of the Sapo Corps was under me and Lee Beomyun.

To be precise, Beomyun was still the overall commander.

I was still too young, and I had no intention of playing along with Gojong’s foolish schemes.

“But do we have the right leader to command this operation?”

“We have Ahn Junggeun and Hong Beomdo. They played a major role in defeating Kuroki’s army at the Imjin River.”

‘Ahn Junggeun and Hong Beomdo?’

‘Hmm, I expected Ahn Junggeun, but I didn’t think Hong Beomdo would be involved.’

History had definitely shifted quite a bit.

Ahn Junggeun was famous for assassinating Ito, but I’d heard his military skills weren’t the best.

Still, raiding the deserted Japanese islands shouldn’t be too hard.

“The Sapo Corps must first secure Hanseong.”

“I will personally go to the legation to escort the crown prince. Meanwhile, we’ve already raised our banners across Hanseong, so don’t worry.”

Good.

Securing Hanseong was our top priority.

We would strip everything from them—down to the last scrap.

Indeed, the existing ruling class must be swept away entirely.

Since I have physical limitations, I must seize the opportunity when it arises.

And for that to happen, I must first make it seem like I am saving this country.

***

“Your Excellency, Your Excellency!”

“What is it? Why are you making such a fuss?”

Just when I thought I could relax for a moment, Kim Insu suddenly came rushing to find me.

Every time this watchdog of a man comes running to see me, it puts me in a foul mood.

“Ito Hirobumi wishes to meet with you, Your Excellency.”

“Ito Hirobumi?”

At this moment in time, Ito Hirobumi had come looking for me.

Which meant that, in one way or another, he had the intent to negotiate with me.

In other words, Japan was now seeking to discuss the future of Korea and Japan—not with the legitimate cabinet of the Korean Empire, but with me, a diplomat of the Sapo.

I didn’t know exactly what was on Ito Hirobumi’s mind, but it was clear that there was no proper diplomatic representative in Hanseong at the moment.

The situation would change once the scattered resistance fighters returned, but for now, I was the only one available.

This was precisely why I had refrained from going to Japan myself.

Fine.

Let’s see what that bastard has to say.

***

Meanwhile, after bombarding the Japanese archipelago for some time, the Russian fleet, apparently having had its fill, began preparing for an invasion.

The Governor-General of the Far East decided to deploy the Sapo in this war on Japanese soil.

I was well aware that this was part of Russia’s plan to expand Korea’s influence in the war, but since even Tsar Nicholas held this person in high regard, the Governor-General Alexeyev had no choice but to accept it.

The truth was, the Russian Far East Army had suffered significant losses due to Japan’s relentless attacks, so they were in no position to refuse any help—even from Korean forces.

On a Russian transport ship approaching Tokyo Bay, the commander of the Korean expeditionary forces, Hong Beomdo, and his chief strategist, Ahn Junggeun, steeled their resolve.

“Russia has given us an opportunity. We must not let it slip away.”

“Korea’s independence is at stake. We cannot let this chance go to waste.”

“We must capture their so-called Emperor and at least avenge our military.”

“Even if we can’t capture him, we’ve been ordered to destroy their capital as much as possible. So, we’ll have to wreak havoc on their city for a while.”

Hong Beomdo clenched his fist tightly.

His determination to destroy Tokyo was evident.

“Are you saying we should harm civilians as well?”

“The administrator of Shenyang sent us a message through the Governor-General of the Far East. He said we must cripple their ability to recover as much as possible.”

‘That made sense, but harming civilians?’

‘How could Korea, a nation that valued righteousness and morality, bring harm to civilians?’

Even though the Japanese had invaded Korea like beasts, as a righteous nation, Korea had always believed that Japan should be embraced and disciplined rather than destroyed.

Because of that, Ahn Junggeun found this situation rather surreal.

This was something that had never happened in Korea’s 500-year history.

“Still… attacking civilians seems excessive.”

“The Japanese people have united as one for this war. In other words, they can’t be considered mere civilians.”

Hong Beomdo shook his head.

Just looking at this Korea-Russia-Japan war made that clear enough.

The damned Japanese were already preparing to stab them in the back.

These faithless bastards always resorted to such schemes.

‘Were the troops that attacked Hanseong merely soldiers?’ After the war, they would return to being just ordinary Japanese citizens.

In the end, there was not a single Japanese person who could be trusted.

‘How hard had they worked to consume Korea and turn it into a colony?’

Hearing this, Hong Beomdo felt even more justified in ransacking the enemy capital.

“There’s no other choice, then.”

“But there’s something I’m curious about.”

“What is it?”

“Who exactly is this administrator of Shenyang? What kind of woman is she that even the Russian crown prince owes her his life and that she plays such a major role in battles? I’ve heard she performed incredible feats under enemy fire. Just what kind of person is she?”

Hearing Hong Beomdo’s words, Ahn Junggeun started to speak honestly but then shook his head.

“Even the administrator holds her in high regard. She’s no ordinary person.”

“You’ve seen her in person, haven’t you?”

“Well… I was merely watching from the back, so I don’t know exactly what she did.”

He hadn’t seen how she worked her miracles firsthand.

Besides, there was no way he could just outright say that she had once put a gun to her own head and pulled the trigger like a lunatic.

‘Even if he told them, would they believe him?’

Honestly, even though he had seen it with his own eyes, he still found it hard to believe.

At that moment, the ship seemed to slow down, and loud shouts could be heard from outside.

“Uraaaah!”

“The Russians sound excited. It must be time to land.”

“Whatever happens, our priority now is to ransack the place.”

Now, it was Korea’s turn to strike back.

***

Meanwhile, in Tokyo, the Minister of the Army, Terauchi, was dismissed from his position, held responsible for the war.

He found the situation absurd, but he knew full well that the Prime Minister was using him as a scapegoat.

Fine. He would just keep his head down and live in seclusion until this storm passed—

“Die, Terauchi!”

“Gahhh!”

Unfortunately, Terauchi’s plans for the future were cut short when he was ambushed in his own home by rebels and forced to “commit seppuku.”

“Damn bastard! The Russians and those Korean lackeys are practically drooling over us, and you just go and kill yourself?”

Prime Minister Katsura Taro was furious.

Now, he had no choice but to ensure the negotiations went well.

‘Would Ito Hirobumi be able to handle it properly?’

With Russia invading the Japanese mainland, Japan would undoubtedly have to pay reparations.

If things went poorly, they might even have to cede territory.

Reparations… ‘Could Japan even afford them?’

With the loans from Britain and America already exceeding 1.2 billion yen and the war costs exceeding 2 billion yen, ‘how could they afford additional reparations?’

Japan was on the verge of national bankruptcy.

‘Should I have sent Komura as well?’

“No, Komura was too busy licking the boots of the British ambassador, MacDonald.”

At this rate, even Katsura himself might have to follow the fate of the Minister of the Army and commit seppuku.

He could only cry out in despair.

***

Meanwhile, the people of Japan were beginning to wake up.

“How the hell did we end up with Russian and Korean troops on imperial soil?”

“Are we really winning this war?”

“What is our navy even doing? Why aren’t they taking down those Russian bastards?”

Despite the declining war situation in Manchuria, the government had controlled the media, repeatedly claiming victory.

But now, with the Korea-Russia allied forces launching a full-scale assault on Shinshu, the citizens were beginning to realize the truth.

‘If we were really winning the war, would Korean troops be marching in with the Russians?’

Their shattered perception was finally beginning to mend.