Chapter 54: The right to survival of the Korean people

“Y-You can’t be serious.”

“This is our family’s genealogy. Whether it’s true or not, whether you believe it or not, that’s entirely up to Your Highness.”

I took out the genealogy and showed it to Kang.

The one and only family tree of the descendants of the West Sea Dragon King.

“Great-uncle Sunjong… Jak Jumong, King Taizu? A descendant of King Gongmin?”

“Yes, a lineage of the West Sea Dragon King. And during the reign of King Gongmin, this noble bloodline even mingled with the prestigious Mongol royal clan. Of course, if that old man made this all up, then from King Gongmin onward, it’s likely they just married other Koreans.”

“Yes. A far nobler family than one with no real roots—who clung to the Yuan dynasty until it fell, then betrayed Goryeo to start a new dynasty and got their royal title and country name from the Ming. We are the descendants of the West Sea Dragon King.”

“A lineage more noble than anything. More so than the Yi family of Joseon, a kingdom born by begging Ming for a name, a crown, and constantly trembling in fear of foreign invasion.”

“That’s ridiculous! King Gongmin and Princess Noguk had no children! This is a lie!”

“Didn’t I already say it? Believe it or don’t—it’s your choice. In the end, those in power define what is truth.”

“If Kang says something that displeases me now, I might actually split his head open with my axe.”

“We cannot afford to delay reform for another five years. That would give Japan all the time it needs to recover, and all the time we’ve bought will be wasted in petty power struggles.”

“Japan will target Korea again. And then, everything we’ve worked for—gone in vain.”

“Russia and Germany? Who knows how long they’ll stick around to help us?”

“Sometimes, people distort the truth to survive. Whether you believe it or not is your decision. But even if it is a lie, I have the army to turn that lie into truth.”

“You’re saying you’ll take revenge for something that happened 500 years ago?”

“What kind of nonsense is that? Rising up in the name of King Gongyang’s revenge after five centuries? Yeah, that’ll go over well.”

“At least Gyeongjin Hwang claimed he was avenging King Uija and gathered the old Baekje people’s support. But that wasn’t five hundred years later.”

“Of course not. Maybe if it had been a few decades, but 500 years? That’s ancient history even for me. I’m just saying—if this country truly continues to rot, I may just use this genealogy. That’s all.”

‘Even if I am a woman— ‘

‘In a time when people are questioning Heaven’s mandate and calling the Crown Prince a puppet of Japan—’

‘If a descendant of the Goryeo royal family, even a woman, leads an army to defeat the Japanese and even recovers lost Goguryeo territory—’

That’s more than enough to shake the imperial household, if not outright seize the entire empire.

“Hah. So what do you want from me, getting my approval as some descendant of the West Sea Dragon King?”

“Unfortunately, I’m not like Taizu. In this modern era, I have no intention of killing the royal family. And as a woman, a revolution is a tall order.”

“What I aim for is a nation where I hold the reins of power. As a woman, the most feasible future I see is turning the imperial family into mere figureheads while I run a perfect military government.”

“Though that’s just one possibility. For now, I’ll collect achievements under the Empire, and later, once the royal family loses public favor, I can abolish it and establish a republic.”

“That’s the vision I have. No matter how I look at it, there’s almost no path forward for me to rule from the shadows in this system.”

“So that’s it!”

Kang raised his voice.

“No need to get so angry. Right now, I honestly want to throw away this whole bloodline nonsense and just be born male.”

‘But if he doesn’t give me what I want, I really might bash his skull in with my axe.’

‘What if I kill him without thinking it through? Well, things are often done first, and thought about later.’

‘If I want to get rid of Empress Cixi and the Conservative Faction and start reforming, this guy Kang needs to get it through his head.’

***

“A constitutional monarchy or a republic—that’s the future I envision. A military regime will have to be in place for a while, of course. So, please, Your Highness, help me. If you truly care for the people of this nation—no, of our race—and if you’re a successor of Heaven’s will, you must make a grand decision.”

“If I take all this to the Empress and am willing to risk civil war?”

‘You could never be that person.’

“Then I’ll hand over the army and the northern Korean Peninsula and southern Manchuria—my sphere of influence—to the Tsar of Russia. Or maybe, since we’ve reclaimed Goryeo’s old territory, I’ll establish a new Goryeo and seek the Tsar’s recognition.”

“Even a damn dog wags its tail at the master who loves it. But it bares its teeth at the one who mistreats it.”

“If civil war truly becomes inevitable, I’ll build my own nation in Manchuria. If Russia grants me a noble title and hands me that land as my domain, a semi-independent Manchurian state might not be so far-fetched.”

“Eventually, people from the Korean Peninsula will migrate there. Russians will arrive. Manchus and Han Chinese will mix in too.”

“It might grow distant from what we know as Korea, but in time, when the peninsula is unified again, we’ll become a new nation—still Korean at the core, just a little more mixed.”

“This country… was already finished, wasn’t it?”

“If we become a republic, the royal family becomes citizens. If you help me, Your Highness, at the very least, you’ll be someone who worked for the future of our people.”

This is the best path I’ve found.

Avenging Goryeo after 500 years and rebuilding it? Nonsense. I have no real identity or loyalty as some descendant of the royal line, not one forced on me by an old man.

“So, in short—since you’re a woman, there are limits to what you can do, so you want me, a royal, to back you. Is that it?”

“Exactly. I like how quickly you catch on.”

“You could call it something like being a double agent. Kang is currently acting on Empress Cixi’s orders to recover the imperial guards in secret.”

“But on the flip side, I can use that to blind the Empress’s eyes and ears.”

“One way or another. I’m sure Her Majesty ordered you to seize control of the guards, didn’t she? You must deceive her. And from now on, you must give me your full support in the upcoming reforms.”

“Why me, of all people?”

‘Well, I can’t exactly say it’s because I read the Daeyeok Gallery, can I?’

“Wasn’t Prince Uichin originally the next in line after His Majesty?”

“He was, at first. But unfortunately, Empress Cixi pushed hard, and Prince Yeongchin ended up as the next heir instead.”

“Hah, you’re expecting too much from me.”

Lee Kang spoke with a sigh, staring straight into the air.

No one could tell what he was thinking, or how he might act going forward.

But at the very least, according to Daeyeokgal, he’s someone who can be reasoned with.

And like I said—’if reasoning doesn’t work, I’ll just use an axe.’

“But we don’t really have a choice, do we? We have to see the world for what it is. Why do you think the German Empire wants us to act as a counterbalance? It’s because we’re already on the scales of the imperial powers.”

“Then… is it certain the imperial family will be allowed to remain?”

“Why would they go to all that trouble to gain power and then kill off the whole royal family? Like I said, I hold no grudges about the past 500 years. What matters to me is securing living space and survival rights for the people of this nation.”

I spread my arms wide as I spoke.

As if to declare this was the fate that awaited all of us—our entire people.

“The survival of the people?”

“This country, now placed on the scales, must become stronger. When the colonial empires give us a window of opportunity, we must become a nation they’re satisfied with. We must pressure Japan and sow division in China. That is the only path to a future for this country. Or rather, the country itself doesn’t matter—what matters is the people. We must unite as a people, not just as a country.”

“Unite as a people, not a country…”

“No matter who builds what kind of nation, it’s ultimately just different flags flying over the same Korean people. But what happens if our people are crushed and our history ends? This tiny peninsula alone can’t secure the survival of the Korean people.”

“The terrain is poor for logistics, we’re short on resources, and 70% of the land is mountainous. At the very least, we need to increase exports.”

“The Korean Peninsula alone is not enough.”

“Even in a future where a divided Korea barely makes it into the ranks of developed nations, South Korea only managed to hold the position of a regional power sandwiched between giants.”

“If we want to become truly strong, we must take Manchuria.”

“Because Manchuria has resources?”

“Yes. At the very least, if we can secure the rights to Manchuria…”

“But isn’t that territory held by Arasa? Are you saying we should go to war with them? What you’re proposing is a declaration of war!”

“Arasa won’t last much longer. They’re already struggling with domestic reforms, and the Tsar has already handed over southern Manchuria to me. Do you really think he gave up such valuable territory just to look good in front of me? It means he can’t hold it anymore.”

I took a sip of black tea to clear my throat.

“Not for the country—but for the people.”

“Look at this country’s geographic position. To the south lies the sea and the deceitful Japanese. To the west is Qing, our former suzerain state. To the north is Arasa. Compared to them, Korea is tiny.”

“Even if Qing is collapsing, it still has vast land and a massive population. If they get their act together and become strong, we’ll be right back to being their vassal.”

I continued slowly.

“And what about Japan? They were the first in Asia to modernize, and they’ve surged ahead. Their accumulated experience is on a different level from ours.”

“Their population is twice ours. And they openly tried to devour us. Arasa is only an ally now because I’m here. If the Korean people—the Samhan people—want to survive, we need me. And we need war. Right now, the Korean people are being forced into a situation where war is unavoidable.”

“A situation where war is inevitable…”

“That means we need to complete modernization while those two are still out of their minds. This must be something we absolutely accomplish—for the survival of our people.”

“To ensure the Korean people survive, we must push back against Qing and Japan. For that to happen, the nation must unite. To protect the Korean people—to protect the Arirang people—I earnestly ask for Your Highness’s support.”

“To put it bluntly, just like Hitler raved about the Aryan race, we’re going to push the idea of the Arirang people.”

“And since ‘Arirang’ carries various meanings, it’s a flexible concept we can use.”

At my words, Lee Kang made a strange expression.

As if something had truly clicked in his mind, or as if he was feeling something deeply.

If that look ends up becoming an obstacle to what I’m doing, I might have to reconsider my approach.

“Let’s say I agree with you. That I help cover the ears and eyes of the present royalists and support those women ministers to carry out reforms.”

Surprisingly, his response wasn’t negative.

He seemed willing to talk—to hear what kind of vision I had for the future.

“Yes. Please, continue.”

“Then tell me—what exactly are your reform plans?”

“First, we must complete land reform and conduct a new census, including southern Manchuria. Then we’ll need to reform the military.”

“Now that the Bank of Korea has been established, we can expect support from Russia and Germany for a while. Using that investment, we’ll build steel mills, factories, and develop provincial cities. After a few years, the skies of Korea will be gray with factory smoke.”

At a glance, it might seem like pollution—but in this era, in a country still considered uncivilized, smoke that stains the sky means we’re heading toward modernization.

One saving grace is that the Russo-Japanese War was delayed by two years, so Gunbami managed to bring in whatever he could to fix up the Gwangmu Reforms.

Prince Uichin gave a small nod.

“I understand.”

“Does that mean you’ll accept?”

He’d better give a clear answer.

Depending on what he says, I don’t know how I’ll react with this axe in my hand.

“I’m well aware that the current royal family won’t last much longer. For this country to survive, we need someone like you—someone the Western powers actually like. Fine. I’ll help.”

“But you must make this country strong. You must secure our people’s right to survive. Do that, and I’ll do what I can to keep Cixi-bi’s eyes and ears away from you.”

Empress Cixi is already openly keeping me in check and looking down on me.

And yet, she’s still trying to preserve the royal family by giving Lee Kang her support.

“There’s no doubt about it.”

Though I’ve won over Uichin for now, Cixi will still be a problem.

‘If she keeps getting in the way despite all this…’

‘Then I’ll just have to use Sunjong or Yeongchin as leverage.’