Joseon Needs a Coup - Chapter 399



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#2 Part 9. The Giant’s Ultimatum (1)

“Still, I think it’s a bit harsh. Besides, I’m not sure if this really gives strength to the Emperor of Korea.”

“If he is the Emperor of Korea, he would know our intentions very well. If you want to take even the remaining half, it would be a direct warning to move.”

Despite Sazanov’s words, the Tsar still had a troubled expression on his face. Perhaps it was a mixture of two emotions.

Sazanov dared to assert that one reason was the extreme regret at having to hand over the strategic point in the Far East that had been obtained through bloodshed in the previous war, and the other was a weak mind wondering if it was necessary to do this to a country that had sympathized with the ‘ideals of the Russian Empire’.

But he opened his mouth again as if to tell such a Tsar to be poisonous.

“Don’t be swayed by personal feelings. If that happens, Korea will have no choice but to urgently send troops to us because of the problems they have been experiencing.”

I remembered what Polivanov once said. He said that the Korean Empire’s efforts to secure the territory of the Far East Governor-General, from Kwantung Province to Harbin, were connected to a question of survival.

The Gyeongui Line of the Korean Empire and the railway network leading to Harbin were inevitably connected to the important railway lines leading to Kwantung Province and Mukden.

They had only two routes to Harbin, and of these, the Anbong-South Manchuria Railway was the only one that could independently send troops and project military power into South Manchuria without Russian interference.

However, in this situation, if Japan were to ask for the sale of Kwantung Province, the situation would certainly become very complicated. Kwantung Province would become a focal point where not only the fleet and ground forces, but also local warlords such as Zhang Zuolin, who had been defeated in the previous battle, could gather.

If that happened, it was obvious that in the event of an emergency, Fengtian would be blocked by the Japanese military and their Manchurian warlords, and the entire Korean railway line connecting Harbin and Jilin Province would be threatened with being blocked.

Naturally, if this situation were to come to pass, the cabinet and military of the Korean Empire, which had been as cold as ice, would have become anxious. This would soon become a real threat that could lead to a loss of control over the South Manchurian region.

… Well, in fact, from the beginning, in order to keep Korea on a leash, the status of South Manchuria was intentionally set ambiguous in the Treaty of Portsmouth. It was all for a time like this that they set it as a ‘sphere of influence’ rather than a ‘territory of sovereignty.’

‘Of course, that was set with the intention of retrieving it later, but it doesn’t matter. The goal of the survival of the Great Russian Empire remains the same.’

In the end, the Korean Empire had no choice but to actively cooperate with them, if only to protect South Manchuria, which was their territory – although externally it was still a disputed territory – and to secure the areas around Harbin and Changchun, which the Russian Empire was having difficulty protecting.

As soon as Sazanov thought about this, a shiver ran through his body.

‘Yes, this is how imperial diplomacy should be done.’

At the same time, there was the exquisiteness of the idea that it could be a brilliant solution to overcome the crisis we were facing right now.

“Ultimately, you have to offer both a carrot and a stick to lazy hunting dogs. On the one hand, you have to give them a demonstrable threat, while on the other hand, you have to give them a way out.”

“Hmm… … .”

“The question is whether all of Manchuria will be handed over to Japan, or whether we will go to war and preserve what little remains. Oh, of course, it would not matter if all of Manchuria was handed over to Japan. Others would never stand by and watch as we monopolize Manchuria.”

“This is essentially an ultimatum.”

The Tsar left behind his honest impressions.

“But it might be a good shock to the Korean cabinet and military, which are too heavy-handed, and to the Korean emperor who is out of his mind and demanding a bigger piece of the pie. I will follow the way of the courtiers.”

Still, he nodded and accepted Sazanoff’s proposal, as if there was no other better method.

“but.”

“but……?”

“If we push them too far into a corner, they might bite us instead, so promise us one thing. If we go to war, we will remove the factor of instability in South Manchuria that they want the most.”

“So, Your Majesty, what method are you thinking of?”

“Isn’t what they want a definite position in South Manchuria? They want territorialization, not a sphere of influence.”

The Tsar was willing to impose one condition.

“If you send troops, the Russian Empire will officially support Korea’s position in South Manchuria. At least they need to be guaranteed something before they come out.”

“Be wise, Your Majesty. Then I will send you a telegram with those conditions attached.”

“There’s no need for that. I will personally send a secret telegram to the Emperor of Korea with the relevant contents. Instead, Kyung, contact our ambassador in Korea and have him organize the proposals we just discussed and officially proceed with negotiations for the dispatch of troops.”

“What should we do with the Japanese government?”

“I don’t want to sell the Guandongju to those monkeys at a high price, but I have no choice but to shake the heavy buttocks of those who claimed to be our fence. Send a special envoy immediately to discuss this matter in detail.”

“Understood, Your Majesty.”

Sazanov saw that this approach would ultimately lead to instability and a broken balance in the Far East, but what was needed immediately was the survival of the imperial system.

At that time, both the Habsburgs and the Romanovs were on the verge of committing suicide as a result of the Great War.

He gathered his trembling heart and immediately ordered his Foreign Ministry staff to send a telegram to Korea. And this was the opening of a new path, perhaps a new way, for the Great War to be reorganized.

***

Meanwhile, Gyeongungung Palace was bustling with a variety of people all day long. As the war intensified, ambassadors and special envoys from various countries trying to extend their reach to the Far East, as well as palace staff and some members of the Privy Council who were renowned for their support for the new government, were coming and going.

“Then I will go back now, Your Majesty.”

“Yes, thank you for your hard work. I look forward to your good performance at the meeting tomorrow.”

“I will definitely live up to your expectations.”

He had just finished eating with the members of the Imperial Society’s Privy Council and returned to the Seokjojeon Hall, blowing his nose.

“… the axis of evil. The nomenclature of the cabinet and the prime minister’s office is really interesting.”

The Emperor smiled and said in vain about the story he had heard at the dinner table. It was not that he did not hear the sarcastic remark of “axis of evil” coming from the Gyeongbokgung Palace and the Marshal’s Office in Yongsan, where the cabinet was located.

In the past, he would have been furious, saying that it was disrespectful to the royal family, but now he didn’t really care about their stories. No matter how many times he got angry, they wouldn’t care, and instead, he knew they would strangle him, asking if he was spying on their trivial stories.

Instead, he wanted to approach it in a different way. He focused on each region. The three southern provinces, which had a traditional position, and the northern region, which had received the most light from the enlightenment and had developed dazzlingly, were beginning to experience the greatest conflict since the last war.

And this began to lead to minor rifts within the otherwise solid cabinet and the Marshal’s Office, which soon presented an opportunity for the Emperor.

The beginning was so trivial and yet so important. The bureaucrats and officers of the three northern provinces, who resisted until the end and led the war, and the three southern provinces and Gyeonggi region, which had been occupied by the Japanese army from the beginning of the war, began to show differences in their paths, even though they were looking at the same thing.

And the emperor began to use this appropriately. He gradually divided the Three Southern Provinces and the Northern Three Provinces, and gradually built up his power by attracting the officer corps of the guerrilla warfare faction that led the Second Front of the Three Southern Provinces, which had been relatively neglected, instead of the officer corps of the Northwest and Northeast regions that had fought regular wars with many notable achievements in the military.

At that moment, I was thinking that if only I could get a clean accounting of the proposed troop dispatch from Russia, it would be perfect.

“Your Majesty, Your Majesty!”

From far away, Minister of the Imperial Household Park Je-sun came running, out of breath, unlike his usual leisurely pace, as if he was so surprised by something.

Despite his old age, he showed off running skills that were not befitting his age, and ran without stopping from the palace interior to the Seokjojeon where the emperor resided.

The emperor, who was leisurely reading the evening paper while enjoying a cup of coffee after a meal as usual, took off his glasses for a moment and frowned at Park Je-sun.

“What is going on that makes you act so frivolously?”

His expression seemed gentle, but his speech was prickly. Perhaps it was because he had interrupted his own time. However, Park Je-soon did not care about the emperor’s speech. Unable to erase his bewildered expression, he took a deep breath and began to tell an unexpected story.

“Your Majesty, we are in trouble. The Tsar of Russia has sent you a secret telegram, and its contents are very unusual!”

“Show it here.”

The Emperor snatched a telegram written in Russian from Park Je-sun’s hand, along with a translated version of it. As he read it carefully, the Emperor’s expression turned pale, even in Park Je-sun’s eyes.

“Your Majesty! Are you okay?”

“Is this really a telegram from the Tsar of Russia?”

The emperor, with an expression of disbelief, threw the telegram he was holding onto the table as he spoke. Then, Park Je-sun’s face also turned pale as he continued his story.

“Yes, Your Majesty. It is as good as sending an ultimatum when our request for troop dispatch becomes delayed!”

“Wow, I guess I’ll see what happens if I live long enough.”

Although he spoke in a natural manner, the emperor could not suppress his anger inside. Just thinking about the ulterior motive behind giving them a land they could not afford in the South Manchurian issue, it did not feel like it was simply good intentions.

‘It was originally a trump card that was put forward after news spread that Russia was losing the war.’

The Emperor was compiling information in his own way, gathering telegrams sent directly by his son, Prince Ui, and daily reports secured from the Marshal’s Office and the cabinet.

And it was clearly stated there that Russia was losing the war. That was why the Emperor had made this proposal directly to the Tsar, without consulting the cabinet and the military.

But the Emperor did not think of the dull and easily blinded appearance of St. Petersburg. They were blinded by the blindfold called Sukhomlinov and had not seen the real situation on the front for ten months since the outbreak of the war.

“I don’t understand why they suddenly came out here out of nowhere… …!”

“How does it feel to see sunlight after being blinded in the darkness for so long?”

“Huh? Well, wouldn’t it be hard to see because of the glare?”

“Yes, but what if it wasn’t a person but a bear?”

“… wouldn’t you feel threatened and express your anger in all directions?”

“That is the reality of North Korea.”

The Emperor spoke with a bitter aftertaste of coffee. The Russian Empire, which had only just begun to realize the true situation on the front lines, was expressing both bewilderment and anger in all directions.

And it seemed that the first target of that anger was themselves. It would be pointless to protest that Sukhomlinov had blindfolded them. The Russian Empire, which had lost its reason and was driven into a desperate situation, would now oppress its neighbors with the brutality that befitted its methods.

“What should I do now… … .”

“The South Manchurian issue is a matter of pride that goes beyond politics. If this news spreads to the public that we could lose the place we acquired as spoils of the previous disastrous war, we might… … .”

Park Je-sun almost said something cruel, but he kept his mouth shut. However, the emperor knew what it meant without saying anything. The people of this country, as he had already experienced several times, were strong and resilient.

And as the new identity of Koreans, not Joseon people, was born, it could no longer be dominated in the same way as before. If this content were to spread to them without restraint, it would certainly bring about a huge explosion.

‘If we are unlucky, rioters will storm Gyeongungung Palace following Gyeongbokgung Palace and Changdeokgung Palace… … .’

The emperor sighed. It would not be an exaggeration to say that South Manchuria, which Russia had handed over during the last war, was the identity of the empire.

It was once said to be an important place both politically and economically, but as it began to take advantage of public opinion, it gradually expanded into an area of ​​national pride.

The Emperor, who had realized this, began to use the very attractive thesis of South Manchuria to gradually regain the power he had lost through the cabinet and the Marshal’s Office.