Chapter 42: At this time, the Empire of Japan…

The result of the Treaty of Paris had a huge impact on Japan as well.

“Why do we have to pay compensation to the Koreans!”

“They said we were winning the war! Isn’t the fact that we haven’t returned from Manchuria proof of that? Why the surrender?”

“They advanced to Tokyo? I’ve never seen any enemy forces in Tokyo!”

“The English are all the same as Arasa! They betrayed the Empire!”

While the Empire of Korea was in turmoil, the proud subjects of the Japanese Empire could not accept the Treaty of Paris with a clear mind.

They believed that the death of the Korean Emperor by the Japanese army under Kuroki was just a trick made up by Korea, and that the war was still ongoing.

With strict media control, the fact that hundreds of thousands of the proud Imperial Army were wiped out, with the total number reaching 500,000 if you include all the different forces, was kept a secret.

They also believed that the Russian army that landed in Shimonoseki had retreated because the Empire had gained an advantage in Manchuria.

But then…

“Our army has been wiped out in Manchuria!”

“How could the invincible Imperial Army be defeated?”

“The Koreans betrayed the Imperial Army!”

Before the war, the subjects of the Empire had looked down on Korea as a tributary state, a loyal subject of the Empire that would share the ideals of the Empire.

The death of the Korean Emperor never crossed their minds, and they were filled with hatred towards Korea.

“Those filthy White traitors!”

“Declare war on Korea immediately!”

“We gave them the honor of being an ally, and this is how they repay us?”

“What kind of army goes to war like this?”

“Yes. In the end, Japan had no capacity to fight a war anymore.”

“The army, the entire army, was annihilated, and the Imperial Army that hadn’t been counted yet was likely being gradually wiped out by the Korean army.”

“Meanwhile, the combined fleet was destroyed, and the remaining warships, along with newly commissioned ships, were about to be handed over to the Koreans.”

“Naturally, there were many arguments within the Cabinet about this war and the Treaty of Paris.”

“Why did we even start this war?”

“Where is Ito? That damn old man was the one who said not to go to war with Russia, but now he’s changing his words!”

“Damn them!”

Katsura Taro had probably realized by this point that it was a huge mistake, but he held back.

After all, it was clear that they had messed up.

The Empire would face difficult times for a while, but still… the British hadn’t completely abandoned the Empire.

They had taken Okinawa, but at least they had considered the Empire’s position.

Perhaps they had to, to counterbalance Russia.

“Calm down. Our Imperial Army fought equally against the Russians in Manchuria. The defeat was only because of Korea’s betrayal.”

“So, does that mean the 10,000 troops returning from Manchuria and the Korean Peninsula are still alive? They must all be dead!”

“Of course, there were still survivors among the soldiers who hadn’t returned, but the fact that they had been used as forced labor in Korea was kept secret.”

“In any case, we lost, didn’t we?”

“Katsura, the Prime Minister, should commit seppuku immediately!”

“When we heard rumors that the Koreans had landed in Shimonoseki, we should have investigated then!”

Arguing at this point was pointless.

The Empire was now in a desperate situation.

Internal division was not good at all, and more importantly, there were still piles of problems to be solved.

Korea and Russia had already gotten compensation and essentially permanent rights, but they had been buying bonds from various countries to raise funds for the war.

We had to remember that even during the Treaty of Paris, the British had demanded bond repayment.

“Right now, everyone from the top to the bottom must unite.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Britain and America are demanding repayment.”

For a moment, there was silence in the room.

“We had already lost 500 million yen to Korea and Russia, but how much more did we still have to pay?”

“Could Britain and America really do this?”

“Where are we going to get the money to repay them?”

“Didn’t the proud Korean and Russian Prime Ministers hand over the 500 million to them? Where do we have any money left?”

“Katsura, tell the truth. Do you have some Korean blood in you? Otherwise, how could you have handed over that money?”

“I gave it away? It was Gomura who messed up the negotiations!”

There was no money left.

At this point, national bankruptcy and default were the only options.

Before placing all the blame on Katsura, the country was already doomed, and the Imperial Diet was in a state of despair.

And it didn’t end there.

“We have a big problem! The Empire’s subjects are burning down the Minister of Internal Affairs’ residence and the media offices!”

‘In the original history, the incident where the subjects of the Empire rose up, protesting that they had not received compensation, and set fire to the Minister of Internal Affairs’ residence and media offices at Hibiya Park, had also happened here.’

‘The difference was that this time, they were angrier because they had to give compensation to both Russia and Korea and lose land.’

‘So the protests were even more extreme than in the original history.’

***

“Punish Korea!”

“The Empire hasn’t lost yet! Bring back the compensation!”

“Are we really going to give up the Chinese lands we just acquired? Are you crazy?”

“Burn down the White devils’ embassies! Attack the German embassy too!”

The subjects of the Empire, now turned into rioters, caused disturbances everywhere.

Foreigners were captured and beaten, and foreign embassies were set on fire.

They had become even more extreme than in the original history.

“Damn it!”

At this point, it was strange that they hadn’t surrendered yet.

Prime Minister Katsura Taro cursed.

The Empire was crumbling.

As a diplomat, he had enjoyed many dinners with foreigners.

Normally, the Emperor himself would have done that, but it seemed he was too busy with internal matters.

After all, given the situation, even the Empress might not dare to step forward.

I mean, it was understandable.

‘How could Emperor Sunjong host dinners with foreign diplomats and discuss international affairs?’

‘What did he even know about that? If he could just open his mouth in front of the diplomats, that would be a huge improvement.’

“Of course, there were competent people like Lee Kang, but even with his skills, could he be compared to someone like me, who speaks multiple languages and acts as a face for the country?”

The royal family’s reputation had already been destroyed by King Gojong, and now, foreign diplomats likely didn’t want anything to do with the royal family of this country.

“I hear there’s a lot of talk about you from inside the government.”

“Really?”

“They say you’re clinging to your gender. I wonder if you even have a conscience.”

***

Nam Sangdeok laughed mockingly at the situation.

‘I might be next after Joan of Arc.’

‘Even in the colonial empire that is doing well right now, women’s rights aren’t exactly great.’

‘Is Korea any different?’

Sigh, suddenly I feel like being a feminist.

Whatever. In the end, it’s the ones with power who win.

Unfortunately, in the military, my gender as a woman doesn’t get me ignored.

After all, I’ve been through a lot with them.

The Manchu and Han troops, at first, disregarded me, but soon followed me well.

I smiled as I broke the heads of the Qing soldiers with a hand axe and didn’t hesitate to capture anyone resisting, even civilians.

‘How could they view me as a woman after that?’ They already knew that strength is everything.

But this is the Korean Peninsula.

‘It probably won’t be easy for me to gain recognition here.’

‘And it was a good decision to make Lee Beomyun the prime minister.’

‘Of course, it’s kind of funny that I’d become prime minister after this one war, but even now, there are a lot of rumors about me. If I openly said I was the heir, it would probably cause chaos.’

“Hmm, it’s a good thing I took control of the military early.”

‘If I hadn’t taken control of the military, whether it’s Empress Eom or anyone else, they would’ve probably tried to pick a fight with me.’

‘But looking at the way those guys are acting, it seems like they’re going to pounce on me at any moment. Should I just finish it off?’

‘I don’t want to shed blood with the same people if I can help it, but they do say that a mad dog is cured by a hawk.’

“They say Choi Ikhyun has been released.”

“He’s an upright scholar, so it makes sense that he’d be freed.”

‘Anyway, wasn’t he the one who led the righteous army?’

‘To be honest, even Guroki would have had trouble capturing Choi Ikhyun.’

‘If Choi Ikhyun had been killed, the scholars would’ve been in an uproar, so Guroki probably saved him.’

This guy seems like he’ll be a hindrance to me in the future.

‘If he has any plans, I’ll help him with changing the country, but it’s obvious he’ll just keep sending petitions.’

“Empress Eom is causing a stir, isn’t there a problem with that?”

It’s just Empress Eom.

Even though she’s a woman, she’s the one leading the charge to drag me down.

Empress Eom was living comfortably under Japanese military surveillance while the country was in turmoil.

Even if our well-to-do lady wanted to push me out, it’d be hard.

‘Someone with no power, nothing at all?’

“Empress Eom, huh. Well, as long as we have military power, it doesn’t matter. Park Seo Sangmu’s army is just the conscripted Jinwi Corps.”

The Manchu army, however, is a military force we can deploy at any time with at least 20,000 soldiers, keeping only a minimum number of defenders.

Park Seo Sangmu’s conscripts are all more or less the same.

Even if we bring all the military forces of this country, we won’t win against the Manchu army.

Empress Eom probably won’t try to fight us.

That’s why she’s just fixating on my gender.

“Your Excellency, don’t you have the Manchu matter to deal with as well?”

“Manchu?”

‘What’s in Manchu? At least as long as I’m the Earl of Ok, the southern Manchuria in Gando can be a buffer zone between Korea and Russia.’

‘The Han and Manchu people haven’t fully united yet, have they?’ To unify them…

***

“Ah, you mean unification.”

Right. They’re not fully united yet.

Thanks to fighting together in this war, it feels like they’ve been united, but the Manchu people still have a significant number of Han people, at least if we’re talking about Manchuria before Qing dynasty annexation.

The times are too advanced for assimilation.

‘When will we ever bring the Han and Manchu people under the same banner of the Korean people?’

Their languages and customs are different, after all.

Although we’ve used Chinese systems, emperors, and such titles since the Goryeo era, assimilating them into the Han people is a different matter.

The thing to use at times like this is religion and ideology.

Language unification can come later.

‘How many centuries did it take for the Han people to start using Hangul properly?’

Hangul hasn’t fully settled into this era yet.

So, unifying the Han and Manchu peoples and teaching them Hangul would not be a bad idea.

Of course, religion and ideology are important before that.

“To unify a multi-ethnic society, there’s nothing better than religion and ideology.”

“Do you have any plans in mind?”

“It’s not that I don’t have plans. “

“I’ve thought about it in my own way.”

“Right. There’s the Hongik Ingan ideology.”

“The ideology of the Han people, Hongik Ingan.”

“We founded this country on the Hongik Ingan spirit, so it only makes sense to unify under it.”

“We should bring in the Russian Orthodox Church too.”

“After all, we can’t exclude Russia’s influence in Manchu right now.”

“First, we need to grow the scale. If we stick to the Hongik Ingan spirit, won’t it work? And we need to bring in the Russian Orthodox Church as well.”

“Hongik Inganism isn’t bad.”

“We can shorten it to Hongik-ism. The ideology of benefiting others. Doesn’t it sound good?”

“I should ask on Daeyeokgal later how to stir up support.”

“Do you really need to mention such a thing?”

Kim Insu seems a bit wary of the Russian Orthodox Church.

“As someone who’s been granted a noble title by Arasa, I shouldn’t be saying this, but Arasa itself is decaying. It’s breaking down bit by bit. If so, Russian people could end up flowing into Manchu and our Joseon territory.”

There are many methods.

Since I’m the Earl of Ok, if the White Army loses in the Red-White civil war, those White Army soldiers might seek refuge with us.

Doesn’t that sound plausible?

I think it’s a real possibility.

“You’re trying to unify them. Honestly, I don’t think they’ll fully follow our wishes.”

Even the Russians?

“At first, we’ll unify them for the purpose of gathering the multi-ethnic groups, changing them to suit our tastes, and benefiting everyone through the Hongik Ingan spirit. Anyone who benefits under Hongik Ingan is our brother. That should be enough.”

“Do you think those Manchu peasants will follow your plan?”

Those guys think they can defy me? Then there’s only one solution.

“We’ll expel them from Manchu.”

It’s a simple problem. There’s no need to rush.

If they refuse, we can send them to the nearby Russian-ruled Manchu or somewhere else in China.

After that, we just have to focus on the people who obey us. Then we can gradually unify everything, even the language.

“Looks like you’ve already thought everything through.”

Thought it through? To be honest, it’s a gamble.

If I say, ‘Believe in Hongik Ingan!’ would they just think, ‘What kind of crazy woman is this?’

That’s why I need to mix everything into the Hongik Ingan spirit like a multivitamin.

Of course, that’s a long-term plan.

I think I can trust Kim Insu to this extent. He seems to be someone who would work for me near my side.

Maybe I should check Daeyeokgal later.

“Kim Insu. You’ll continue to monitor the royal family as a chamberlain. Still, as you said, if Empress Eom makes a scene, it’ll be troublesome.”

“Yes, Your Excellency.”

After finishing his business, Kim Insu respectfully saluted and left.

***

As a woman, it’s strange for me to say this.

Looking at Korean history, the saying that when a hen crows, the house falls is true when it comes to government.

King Heungseon Daewongun can’t be considered a hero, but Queen Myeongseong squandered all the wealth he had accumulated in just one year.

Empress Eom seems to be following that same path.

Before that, I’ll need to ask Daeyeokgal about that Kim Insu.

***

[Author: Jinwi Corps Possessor]

[Title: What kind of guy is Kim Insu? I’m a bit suspicious. Looking at the records, I’d like to beat him up.]

[Comments]

[Daebung01: He’s a close aide of Ok Jinseo. He’ll probably help during the Red-White Civil War.
Jinwi Corps Possessor: Huh?]

[Daebung01: He was sent to Shenyang under King Gojong’s orders, and he’s friendly with Russia, so he joined Ok Jinseo.]

Looks like there’s no need to worry about him.

We’ve got enough to deal with, starting with taking down the royal family.

No need to waste emotions on small things.

“Seems like it’s almost time for Choi Jaehyung to arrive.”

Pachika Choi Jaehyung.

He made quite a bit of money this time.

Military supplies, no less.

‘With that kind of money, he might be able to start making airplanes, right?’

We need to make airplanes quickly, before Japan strengthens again and starts hitting us.

The next opportunity will be World War I.

Then, we need to destroy Japan’s industrial facilities again and take at least Kyushu.

To do that, we need airplanes now.

He said he’ll be back today from Japan, so let’s wait and see.