Chapter 37: The End of the Three Kingdoms War

This part is something I can understand well enough.

‘Then, at the very least, shouldn’t we present something that we can accept?’

“Alright. How much are you asking for? Let me say in advance that it must be an amount that both I and the people behind me, including Daehan, can accept. If it’s too difficult, how about trying your luck with America, which has a favorable stance toward your country?”

“200 million yen, nothing more than that.”

200 million yen.

Not bad.

I originally saw 200 million yen as the cutoff point.

Honestly, I thought I’d settle for 100 million yen, but this amount seems just right.

“Sounds good. Then, I’ll be counting on you when the war ends.”

“Mm.”

“And you’ll need to live long, at least to protect Japan.”

I smiled like a wolf.

Japan originally gained its military power with the help of the UK and America to keep Russia in check.

Japan’s economic growth really began after the Russo-Japanese War.

And with World War I, Japan became the only Eastern power to become a major world power.

However, with the defeat in the Russo-Japanese War, Japan has now lost the momentum for economic growth.

Japan will no longer be able to act as the UK’s pawn, and the major powers will no longer throw any crumbs its way.

In fact, it will have to give up what it has.

Naturally, Japan will remain a debtor nation, and although this is a threat to Korea, Korea has now gained an opportunity after Japan lost its military power to invade the Korean Empire.

Hmm, but this Ito Hirobumi character is still dangerous.

Just because we have some time now doesn’t mean the major powers will suddenly show Korea more favor.

We don’t know how far this Ito Hirobumi will go, but he’s still a dangerous person.

He will probably try to rebuild his nation’s prosperity by burning himself out before he dies.

Ito Hirobumi sadly staggered back to Japan.

“Should I kill him before he goes to Japan?”

“Do you mean Ito Hirobumi?”

At Kim Insu’s question, I shook my head.

“I was just saying that. It’s hard to kill him now.”

Even I wouldn’t go that far.

Since Japan has pulled out of Korea, there’s no way Ahn Junggeun would go out of his way to assassinate Ito Hirobumi.

Well, unlike history, maybe this guy is under some sort of external pressure, but anyway, he was in favor of the Russo-Japanese War, so there will definitely be a lot of internal conflict.

Since he supported the Russo-Japanese War and lost like a dog, his career is effectively over.

“But will those guys really pay the reparations?”

“To prepare for that, we’ve already secured territories, and we’ve taken everything from Japan in kind.”

Above all, even if the reparations are delayed, the Tsar is behind me.

I’ll take as much as I can from the Tsar before his coin crashes.

Japan is now facing a situation where the Han-Russian Allied Forces have landed, so there will be a lot of internal fighting for a while.

During that time, we just need to conserve our strength.

The outcome of the Russo-Japanese War caused a huge ripple effect around the world.

“Japan has lost the war against Russia!”

“They say the Korean Emperor was killed and the Korean army beat them like a dog?”

“How can they kill an allied emperor like that? This is why Asians are…tsk, tsk.”

“Still, because of the death of the Emperor, the Korean Empire started helping Russia, which completely changed the tide of the war.”

“So, does that mean Korea basically ended this war?”

Korea, a small country in the Far East, was able to help Russia win easily, thanks to the leadership of the Korean Empire.

“How much did our Rothschild support Russia in this fight?”

“Those damn Japs. They probably won’t even be able to repay them.”

“The Rothschilds and Morgans, who had provided financial support to Japan, were, of course, furious.”

“I’m curious about that Korean Joan of Arc.”

“Eh. It’s just the French boosting their own image. I heard French officers trained the Korean army.”

“How can a woman lead an army and still lose? The Japanese army doesn’t seem that strong after all.”

“The Qing Dynasty was even worse, and they lost.”

Japan’s reputation in the world was only slightly above the Qing Dynasty.

It was seen as a weak nation that couldn’t even win after launching a surprise attack.

Meanwhile, Tsar Nicholas II in the Winter Palace received a letter from Count Okbaek stating that the war should be concluded.

After Bloody Sunday, the mood in the empire had been tense, and it was finally time for peace.

“Count Okbaek suggests that it’s better to end things here and reorganize internally. What do you think?”

“If we want to completely destroy Japan, we’ll have to pay a high price. Our domestic situation would worsen too. We should accept it.”

“Now is the time to completely end Japan. We’ve already landed, shouldn’t we finish it?”

“I heard the Brits and Americans are gnashing their teeth.”

“Tsar Nicholas II also wanted to erase Japan completely from the map, but with Britain and America involved, there were concerns that their territories, especially Manchuria, could suffer even greater damage.”

“So, what should we ask for in exchange for peace?”

“How about 300 million yen in reparations, fishing rights, and Hokkaido?”

“Isn’t that too little?”

“I understand that our forces have already brought back a lot in kind. Hokkaido is difficult because of Britain, and honestly, just getting reparations would be enough.”

“Although Count Okbaek helped, unlike the Korean Peninsula, which had to deal with the brutal actions of General Kuroki Tamemoto’s army during the short war, Manchuria itself didn’t suffer much damage.”

“Of course, there were some losses in places like Hill 203 and Mukden, but Russia could easily laugh those off.”

“The only real problem was the damage to the fleet, but since the Korean Empire would now take over Japan’s remaining fleet, some ships would be handed over to Russia, so recovery was possible.”

“Of course, due to Bloody Sunday, the people’s mood was still unsettled.”

“In the middle, Korea, which switched sides, even managed to get Tsushima. That’s a big advantage for us, isn’t it?”

“Count Okbaek says he’ll take care of the Tsushima matter, so there’s no harm in that. Above all, if we continue the war, we’ll be spending a lot of resources, and Japan will lose the ability to repay its debts.”

“Whether we like it or not, this was the right time to make demands.”

“Vite didn’t directly say it, but this meant that Japan and America, who failed to collect money from Japan, wouldn’t be able to do so.”

Russia didn’t suffer a major loss.

Through this war, they made it clear who was on top.

The only regret was not being able to take more.

***

Meanwhile, Britain had its own worries.

Russia’s victory put Arthur Balfour’s Conservative cabinet at risk of collapse.

He had only recently secured the prime ministership, but with Japan utterly crushed in the Anglo-Russo-Japanese War, his cabinet was beginning to shake.

“This bunch of Far Eastern monkeys—if they have to pay war reparations, will they have anything left to repay their debts? They’ll probably just tell us to get lost.”

“We should seize Okinawa in exchange for reducing some of their debt.”

“Even so, stopping a change in government will be difficult.”

It was clear that Japan wouldn’t have the means to repay its debts after this war.

As a result, Britain decided to act as a mediator and, in return, claim Okinawa as compensation.

***

“Now that Britain and Japan have withdrawn from Korea, doesn’t that mean we can redefine our Far Eastern policies?”

Germany once again turned its attention to the Far East—specifically, to the Korean Empire.

“Could it be that the Germans are eyeing Korea?”

“We have long supported Korea’s saintess (?) and trained the Sapo like the French army in Asia. We cannot allow Korea to fall into German hands!”

Both Germany and France, for different reasons, became increasingly interested in Korea.

However—

“We wish to conclude the peace treaty in Paris.”

With the peace negotiations for the Anglo-Russo-Japanese War set to take place in Paris, discussions about Korea temporarily faded into the background.

***

Hanseong was returning to normal.

The bodies of Japanese soldiers were burned by the Sapo and the Imperial Korean Army, and the city was being restored at a rapid pace.

However, remnants of the Japanese army, which had been deployed to suppress the militias in Samnam before the Korean forces reclaimed Hanseongbu, were still lingering in the provinces.

As a result, some troops from the Samnam Jinwi and Sapo were mobilized to deal with them.

Meanwhile, Sunjong Ikhyun, who had been staying at the French Legation, returned to Deoksugung Palace.

Now, what remained was the postwar cleanup.

At an audience with the Crown Prince, those who had distinguished themselves in battle stood before him.

“This victory was possible because of you who remain loyal to this nation of Korea.”

“We are deeply honored, Your Majesty!”

“Now, all that remains is the matter of rewards and recognition…”

Although recognizing meritorious service was important, the peace negotiations took precedence.

Russia had requested the dispatch of a delegation, and it was crucial to send one before Japan could raise any objections.

“Your Majesty, the most urgent matter is none other than the peace negotiations. Count Okbaek has already begun negotiations with the British and Ito Hirobumi. However, we cannot predict what kind of schemes those Japanese bastards will attempt.”

Min Yeonghwan, who had encouraged the militias and joined the cabinet, spoke up.

“Where will the peace negotiations take place?”

“They will be held in France, a neutral third country. Russia has requested that we send a plenipotentiary representative.”

Normally, Korea’s stance would be of little concern, but since it had played a decisive role in the victory, Russia had formally invited a delegation.

This alone was proof that Korea’s prestige had risen significantly.

“Then proceed with it. Who will go?”

At the question of Empress Dowager, who had remained in the background throughout the war, Min Yeonghwan stepped forward.

“Your Highness, Your Majesty the Empress Dowager, as the Minister of State, I will personally travel to Germany.”

“Very well.”

With that, Min Yeonghwan was officially designated as Korea’s plenipotentiary representative to Germany.

***

Afterward, as discussions continued among the assembled ministers, I took the opportunity to step forward.

“Your Majesty, we must also deal with the pro-Japanese cabinet that Kuroki Tamemoto established.”

“A pro-Japanese cabinet?”

“Yes, Your Majesty. Kuroki Tamemoto was planning to form a pro-Japanese cabinet with members such as Song Byeongjun and Lee Yonggu from Iljinhoe, along with Minister of the Interior Lee Jiyong.”

Ironically, members of the Imperial Korean royal family were also entangled with Iljinhoe.

Of course, it was no secret that many of them were traitors.

Among them were figures like Lee Jaegeuk, known in history for their pro-Japanese treachery.

“Iljinhoe was a pro-Japanese organization from the start. Their goal was to annex Korea to Japan, much like Austria-Hungary. We must take this opportunity to eliminate them completely.”

Iljinhoe’s objective had been to facilitate Korea’s annexation into Japan.

In actual history, they were discarded by the Japanese government after the annexation.

They were used and abandoned, only realizing they had been deceived too late.

Pitiful as they were, until the annexation, they had actively betrayed their country, so they had to be stopped before they could cause further damage.

Of course, with Russia’s victory, their fate was sealed.

“Iljinhoe has over 100,000 members. Are you suggesting we execute them all?”

‘Killing all of them?’ That wasn’t necessary.

“They’re conveniently gathering themselves for us, isn’t that a blessing? We should eliminate the leadership as an example and punish the rest according to their level of collaboration.”

It wasn’t about extermination—but neither was it about avoiding bloodshed.

By ruthlessly executing the worst among them, the rest would understand the consequences of their actions.

As I smirked, Sunjong and Empress Dowager Eom swallowed hard.

“Governor of Shenyang, your point is valid. It has been confirmed that Iljinhoe actively cooperated with Kuroki Tamemoto’s First Army during the war.”

“But as you know, even members of the royal family are involved with Iljinhoe. What do you propose we do?”

‘And why should that matter?’

They were simply unfortunate enough to have backed the wrong side.

Now, ‘should I add a little more to my argument?’

“Your Highness, may I offer my opinion?”

“Y-yes, go ahead.”

The Crown Prince was clearly terrified of me.

“Your Highness, those who have conspired in treason—how can they still be considered members of the Jeonju Yi royal family? The imperial lineage flows from the late Emperor and continues through Your Highness. What connection could traitors possibly have to the imperial line?”

A truly shocking declaration.

Regardless of their pro-Japanese affiliations, expelling royal family members was a drastic move.

Yet, neither Sunjong nor the others dared to refute it.

After all, the one commanding the people’s loyalty at this moment was none other than the Sapo.