Joseon Needs a Coup - Chapter 407



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#2 Part 17. Responding to the Giant’s Notice (2)

“According to the ultimatum sent by the Tsar, it is virtually certain that the entire Kwantung Province will eventually fall to Japan. If even a small number of the 200,000 troops are lost, wouldn’t there be a big problem?”

“It means that the ‘Great White Plan’ that we planned while assuming the worst-case scenario that should never happen is becoming a reality.”

“It’s something much more terrifying than the Blue Plan or the Black Plan.”

I stroked my chin and fiddled with the long-term pieces on the map. They were all war plans prepared for fearful situations in terms of military and security, but the most important of them was the Great White Plan, which was part of the war plan revised in 1910. Even the cabinet shuddered, saying, “It was the most ridiculous plan, but also the most realistic.”

The gist of the Great White Plan was as follows. It was a major situation that assumed how the Korean Empire would respond if some parts of South Manchuria, including Kwantung Province, fell into the hands of the Japanese military in any way possible. And this was ultimately the worst-case scenario of a two-front war between the Republic of China and Japan.

In the current situation, both countries were potential virtual enemies, and a large-scale conflict was expected within 10 years, so it could not be seen as anything else. And although the branches of this plan were various, the ultimate conclusion was the same.

“It feels like the time of destiny has arrived.”

This conclusion was predicted to be so catastrophic that both the Cabinet and the Marshal’s Office referred to it as the “time of destiny.” While 500,000 ground troops were called up from the mainland by the Class A mobilization order, the shipping routes along the west coast would be completely paralyzed, and they would be forced to choose between the Japanese and the Republic of China forces until they were completely eliminated.

“Even if the Japanese army deploys only two divisions and one fleet to Kwantung Province according to the plan, our Korean Empire’s army and navy will have to prepare for a two-front war. We may not be able to deal with all of this with the 200,000 troops we have now. Wasn’t it to prevent this situation from developing that we destroyed Jang Jag-rim’s main field army and blocked the Japanese’s ambitions in advance by having the Records Bureau foresee them?”

The Japanese army, a relatively difficult opponent, was only conducting a passive defensive war to prevent them from leaving Kwantung Province, and the main goal was to concentrate large-scale troops and supplies in the direction of the Republic of China, which was centered on the warlords, and make them withdraw first. Of course, in this process, the Marshal’s Office had to admit one thing. It was the fact that it had virtually no military power to conduct a two-front war, and even more importantly, no industrial capacity, resources, or funds.

Even if they were to win, they would ultimately have to endure casualties of around 400,000, exceeding the troop losses suffered in the previous Far Eastern War, and they did so under the premise that they would receive support from existing allies such as Russia.

“But the Tsar demands blood from us. The offer to sell Kwantung Province can be seen in two ways. And here we may be able to solve the difficult problem we have now.”

I put another cigarette in my mouth and said, “The Tsar is giving two implications. One is a very crude and direct warning that Japan, which is directly helpful to them, is considered an even greater ally. The other is that they may hand over other regions besides Kwantung Province to those who can help them.

“They should help us now that the situation is unfavorable and take over the remaining Far East Governor-General’s jurisdiction area, excluding Kwantung Province, to defend the railroad line extending from Haebang and check the Japanese in Jangjakrim and Kwantung Province, or else they should just be completely destroyed.”

“But there is no guarantee that they will give up the Far East Governor-General. Besides, what the Tsar has promised is only to guarantee the exclusive status in the southern Manchuria area currently recognized by the Treaty of Portsmouth.”

The other directors nodded at Jo Dong-yoon’s words. In fact, if I had not known what was going to happen, I might have taken a similar stance. However, the Russian Empire would inevitably collapse as the balance between the attractive and repulsive forces that were trying to maintain its size collapsed.

But I couldn’t tell them everything, and even if I told them about the path I hadn’t taken, they wouldn’t believe me, so I needed to give them another explanation.

“Isn’t this story of selling the Kwantung Province, which was already purchased with hundreds of thousands of lives, to Japan, a great basis for my opinion?”

“… … .”

“Russia will inevitably have to retreat from the Far East. Europe is important to them. The Far East, which is not properly developed and will become more complicated than the Balkans, is a secondary region. Besides, don’t you all recognize that Russia has already suffered serious human and material losses in this war?”

By 1917, Russia alone would have withdrawn from the Allied forces with casualties and losses of 4.5 million, and by mid-1915, the damage would have been slightly less than half that number. In fact, this would still be a huge number, equivalent to 10% of our entire population.

“No matter how the war ends, Russia will be in a massive retreat from the Far East. So now they are forcing us to choose: either pick up what they left behind, or do nothing and be slowly surrounded.”

It is true that cooperation between Japan and Russia has expanded to the point where there is talk of a secret alliance between the two countries. Well, it may not be on the level of the Anglo-Japanese alliance, but it goes without saying that it is a constant that Russia, which is in dire straits right now, is more important to move.

The fact that the Russian army was using Japanese-made rifles as their standard-issue rifles along with the Mosin-Nagant on the front lines, and even that two Russian army corps defending the Baltic region were armed only with Japanese-made weapons, clearly shows how dependent they were on Japanese weapons supplies.

“In the end, if we want to secure what they left behind… … .”

“I’m asking you to shed the blood and sweat that you deserve. This is separate from the discussion of sending troops, which was a half-hearted attempt by His Majesty the Emperor.”

I said this while stubbing out my remaining cigarette in the ashtray. If only the Kanto region was sold to Japan, then it would be possible to recover. All we had to do was take the remaining regions from Russia, build a new encirclement, and force the two-front war that Japan was planning.

“But if we were to dispatch troops, our main force might be withdrawn. What if the Japanese join forces with the bandits of Jangjakrim and invade? The director hasn’t given us an answer to that question yet.”

“That will never happen. The Japanese will not have the resources to do so since they transferred most of their ammunition and supplies to support Russia. Furthermore, if they sent troops as a member of the negotiating party and attack us… then we will have the justification. Rather, as the spirit of Lee Gap said, they will hope that we do not send troops in the current situation.”

In that case, it would be perfect for playing a trick on us to the allied powers. Compared to the Korean Empire, which was taking a hostile neutral stance, the Japanese Empire, which was devotedly sending a fleet to the Mediterranean and selling large quantities of supplies to Russia, was a real member of the allied powers, providing great help in maintaining the front line.

In that way, they would rather try to expand their own territory and interests in Manchuria. It was so obvious.

“Even if they were to invade South Manchuria, the abilities of those here would be enough to repel them. They would know that our army is not so easy.”

This would be even more so for the current Japanese cabinet, where the experience of the last war is still fresh in our minds. Although the personnel were filled mainly by the military, most of them were people who had directly witnessed our defeat in the Far East War. Therefore, it was clear that they would rather refrain from direct military action or military demonstrations, and instead focus on isolating us through diplomatic warfare centered on the allied nations.

“Well, now that we have the idea that going to war is unavoidable, we need to decide on our direction.”

“… This is truly, I have been completely fooled by Your Majesty. I feel like I have been played into Gyeongungung’s plan, but there is nothing I can do.”

Army Minister Min Yeong-hwan looked into the air with a bewildered expression. It seemed as if he had not known that the butterfly effect of the Emperor’s unilateral dispatch of troops, which had continued since the beginning of the war, would return like this. In fact, this was an even more painful blunder because it was Russia’s sudden advance that I had not anticipated. However, it was also very possible that Gyeongungung did not know that Russia would react like this.

However, depending on how this is used, the story that will continue between the Imperial Family, the Cabinet, and the Marshal’s Office will be divided.

“The Minister of the Army, and perhaps even Gyeongungung Palace, may not have anticipated this situation. Didn’t everyone here foresee that Kwantung Province would be sold to Japan?”

“You might have predicted it, you know.”

“Well… … I know my military knowledge is a little better than others, but this incident was just too unpredictable. Isn’t it more difficult to calculate the crazy behavior of humans than to predict the enemy’s behavior based on accumulated data?”

From small things like human history to large things like politics, diplomacy, and war, anything that cannot be interpreted through data could be said to be a mad human act. And this time, it was Russia that lost its reason that did it.

“His Majesty will have already seen this telegram and will be taking action. If I know His Majesty… he will already be trying to manipulate public opinion by moving the media.”

“The cabinet will also be aware of the move.”

“We need to hurry. We need to show the public that we are reversing our previous position and are finally preparing to make a choice, so we need to present a rough plan.”

The propaganda that blamed us for the loss of Kwantung Province to Japan because we hesitated, and the public opinion that “we must go to war if we want to eat what’s left!” as I said earlier, would explode starting with the publication of tomorrow’s morning newspaper.

If we failed to respond appropriately here, it was clear that the cabinet and the Marshal’s Office would all be swept away by the wave of public opinion that was connected to the South Manchurian issue and was turning into a nationalist sentiment. And the problem was whether the current cabinet members, who were seriously considering the Privy Council as the starting point of parliamentary politics, could respond in the same way as we did.