Imo Military Mutiny (1)
Hanseong was enveloped in a single cry.
"Kill every last one of the Min clan relatives!"
*****
The Imo Military Mutiny.
If I were to summarize it from a modern perspective, it would be the event where, due to the conscription system that no one wanted, our young, vibrant Korean youths, under the guise of patriotic fervor, devoted themselves unpaid to national defense for thirteen months until they could bear it no more and charged towards the Blue House.
“And if the object of their loyalty was a bowl of rice, then all bets were off.”
I clicked my tongue as I watched a group in military uniforms controlling the road, gripping their weapons tightly.
Already their faces were bare with fury, and the way they shouted it out made the street pedestrians around them sink into terror.
"Entry prohibited! All return!"
"All return home!"
The atmosphere in Hanseong was literally a storm before the tempest.
For the past three days, news had spread throughout the capital that old-style soldiers had beaten and injured the officials of the Seonhwa Hall and dragged out the gatekeepers, leaving them half-dead.
And
"Kill all the Min clan members!"
"Drive out the corrupt officials!"
"End discrimination!"
"Give us the rice!"
On the ninth day of the sixth lunar month.
With the government unable to respond and maintaining silence, the leaders of the mutiny, including Heok Uk, Kim Jang-son, Yu Chun-man, and about 300 old soldiers from the former training command, seized the weapons depot at Dongbyeolyeong and began controlling the major institutions and roads of the Hanseong Prefecture.
It was time for a show of force.
At that moment, in the courtyard of Dongbyeolyeong, after their leaders had finished speaking, the group split into three and began pouring out into the streets.
"Let's go! To the police station!"
"Waaaaaaa!!!"
"We're heading to the Uigeumbu! Follow me!"
"Attack!"
As I roughly estimated the number of soldiers pouring out from Dongbyeolyeong amid the angry shouts, I muttered while recalling memories.
“... In three hours. About a thousand old-style soldiers will join the anti-government forces today. According to history, the rebellion will happen tomorrow.”
Though it was only a thousand, with only five hundred armed men, it was easy to break through the current Gyeongbok Palace.
I still gazed in the direction of the palace, which showed no reaction, lost in thought.
'The government that received the news was already in panic. And according to history, most of the Min clan members holding real power would be massacred by the anti-government forces in their homes with wide eyes open.'
Furthermore, most of their armed forces, excluding those controlling the four gates and roads, would immediately strike the police station and Uigeumbu, which are the security forces that King Gojong could mobilize immediately, collapse them in an instant, and march south to neutralize the Gyeonggi Provincial Government.
If this was an unintended rebellion, it was an audacity, planning, and precision that no one could imagine.
Based on my short experience and memories from my previous life, I quickly identified the main culprit.
“Already aligned with the Daewongun faction.”
Unhyeong Palace.
No matter how much a soldier who had been in the military for ten years, I was certain that those consisting of lower-ranking soldiers and officers could not have devised such detailed rebellion plans in just four days.
To turn a rebellion into a revolution, they needed a proper background or justification behind them.
“Daewongun.”
In this rebellion, the one I needed to be most wary of was not King Gojong or the Qing, but the Daewongun himself.
The more I wanted something, the more so!
Grinding my teeth like a shark, I crossed my arms.
“Let's see what kind of skills you have.”
At that moment, Woo Beom-seon, who had been watching Dongbyeolyeong from the thatched roof, found me with a haggard expression and a parched tongue.
“Huh... huh! ... As you said, even in the south, the poor have joined the anti-government forces! The leader is a guy named Heok Uk!”
“Uh-cha! I knew it would be like that.”
“I knew it would be like that...?”
As I jumped down from the roof with a calm face, he threw a tantrum.
“Don't talk nonsense! The anger of the common people I've been holding back for so long is really beyond imagination! Just the number of common people who joined the anti-government forces heading south is said to be over ten thousand, and it's spreading wildly in the capital!”
Of course, who hasn't been mesmerized by the skyrocketing rice prices in Hanseong like Bitcoin, let alone the soldiers who had gone unpaid for thirteen months?
If I wanted to find the cause, my mouth would have hurt.
The rice prices that had risen nearly three times in the past year, the expenses for receiving Qing envoys, the poor crowds flocking to Hanseong, the embezzlement by corrupt officials, not to mention the power struggles in the Tongni-gimuamun.
'This year, there were ominous rumors that expenses had increased due to bringing in a large amount of Japanese bridal gifts from Japan in the spring for the marriage of Queen Myeonghyo Min and Queen Sunjong.'
This had been pointed out even in the Tongni-gimuamun and had been a noisy topic for a while.
Therefore, unless the common people of Hanseong were fools, the fact that the queen and her relatives were ruining the country was not a secret.
'It's also not like they haven't raised their heads until now.'
“I'm very grateful for your patience so far. Yes. More importantly, how did the request I made turn out?”
“Ah.”
When I pointed out my previous request in a casual tone, Woo Beom-seon hit his forehead and, with a face full of regret, avoided my gaze and answered in a voice that seemed to be forcing itself in.
“T, the Daewongun said that he would positively consider joining, but regarding you and the Japanese legation...”
“Ah, it's fine. I expected this too.”
As expected, it would be like that. After all, one shouldn't overlook the fact that these two are the best at power hunger in the world.
Recalling the portrait of an old man who looked petty in a black-and-white photo, I nodded.
“You think that uninvited guests have intruded on the table you made, right? I understand.”
“...”
“But it's a pity.”
I gave him a sorry look, waved my hand saying it's okay, and gestured towards an alley no one could see.
“Guys, now you need us.”
“Urruru!”
“Huhup!”
Woo Beom-seon, unconsciously following my fingertips, was startled by the sight of the street kids pouring out from all sides of the alley along with my voice.
“Hyung! Hyung!”
“What are you playing with today!”
“I want to eat sweets!”
They were kids who had known me for a long time.
The guy who had peed in the alley with me, the one I had befriended at the village school, the one begging under the bridge, the orphan kid that kind-hearted Kim Mal-ran had given cold rice balls to.
I quietly commanded the kids who were reaching out to me and shouting loudly.
“Everyone be quiet.”
Then, just like magic, the kids put their fingers to their lips and fell silent all at once. Satisfied with their appearance, I bowed my head and opened my mouth.
“There is the merit of having fed you sweets all this time.”
“Yes!”
The value of my bowing and scraping before the Daegakjae and consulate staff from dawn to now would shine today.
I promised the kids.
“Today, your task is very simple. If you perform the request I give you well, tomorrow I'll buy you more sweets and candies.”
“Waaaaaaa!!!”
“Okay, one by one! Today's young soldiers will protect the peace of Hanseong following me!”
Like a general, I gave each of the cheering kids a small jar of red liquid, a small flag, and cloth with a solemn demeanor.
I hate greedy people. I really hate them.
If the Daewongun alone wants to eat the food on the table, I was ready to break the table legs.
Sincerely
*****
So, leaving the boys spreading honey jars and red flags behind them, I headed straight to the Japanese legation with Woo Beom-seon leading the way.
“Stop!”
Then, the police guarding the gate, with anxious eyes, shouted while fiddling with their rifles and revolvers.
“Approach prohibited! This is the territory of the Japanese legation!”
“Retreat! Retreat!”
“Clack, bang!”
And not just words, they fired a bullet into the air as a warning.
Instead of being alarmed by their mad actions, Woo Beom-seon turned to me and asked.
“Huh, you should have worn military uniform! They seem quite panicked.”
“If I had, I might have been mistaken for a rebel by the Byeolgigun and not even found a corpse. Look.”
I pointed to the flames rising near the Daegakjae where the Byeolgigun was stationed far away. If he hadn't been chased out of the Byeolgigun, it would mean that the corpses scattered all over the streets could be you.
“Ugh.”
Woo Beom-seon immediately understood the meaning and, with a haggard expression, swept his neck and opened his mouth.
“Then what? According to your words, won't the anti-government forces become targets of the rebels? But they don't seem like they'll let us in easily...”
“I will handle it.”
“What for?”
There is no method that is not shameful.
I pushed Woo Beom-seon aside and, taking off my white shirt, waved it wildly towards the gate with both hands raised.
“Do not shoot! We are allies! (Don't shoot! We are allies!)”
“Allies? (Ah, allies?!)”
“Do not shoot! (Don't shoot!)”
As I shouted in Japanese while removing my shirt, the police guarding the gate, thinking it was a crazy person, huddled together and then ran inside the building to bring out a neatly dressed man. He was a legation staff. And luckily, he could speak our language, albeit poorly.
“Who is it?”
“Friend!”
“Friend?”
Through the bars, I confirmed the eyes of the legation staff filled with fatigue, fear, and anxiety. To hide the fact that I was just a kid and that the rebellion had just started, I interrupted before he could make a proper judgment and took the lead in the conversation.
“I am a friend of Major Chamryeonggwan Byeolgigun and Lieutenant Horimoto Reizo! I have come in a hurry to inform you that the rebel army that occurred in Hanseong is approaching you, to warn of danger!”
“Y, really!?”
“The time is urgent! According to them, they have already destroyed the Daegakjae and are advancing straight here!”
“What?!”
Adding that the number of rebels gathered to attack the legation was about a thousand, and most were heavily armed, the legation staff fell into panic and, without translating, quickly entered the legation while rambling to the police guarding the gate.
In the meantime, the police guarding the gate and the students and staff peeking out from behind the iron bars were in a flurry.
At that moment.
“Major! No, you are...?”
“Lieutenant Reizo!”
The person I had been waiting for finally greeted me.
*****
This place was like a lamp in front of the wind, a precarious Japanese legation.
And the owner of the office, Japanese Minister Hanabusa Yoshimoto, suddenly confirmed that two Korean visitors, an adult male and a child, had disappeared from outside the main gate, and with a dumbfounded expression, slammed the desk.
“Bang!”
“So, are you suggesting we cooperate with the rebels, lieutenant? This is an act that goes way beyond our authority! Treason against the mother country! You must be crazy!?”
“If we don't, the mobs will attack the students and us, isolated in the legation and Hanseong. According to Major's story, the Korean government has already lost the ability to suppress the rebellion on its own!”
“You want me to publicly declare support for them? Are you out of your mind? And their backer is the Daewongun! Have you forgotten that the Daewongun is a closed-doorist? Have you forgotten?!”
“Clang!”
“It is not that I am afraid for my life.”
The thick office door flew from the minister's hand and shattered into pieces.
Lieutenant Reizo, unfazed by the shattered glass that passed by him, replied.
“I know that too, very well! But this is not support for a coup. It's just a prescription to avoid the yellow poison.”
“Prescription? Did you say prescription?”
As the minister growled like a beast to create intimidation, the lieutenant, unconcerned, took a step back and opened his mouth.
“Yes, Minister. According to reports from collaborators and information providers from the Byeolgigun, some factions of the old soldiers who started the rebellion are taking measures to protect the houses and shops flying red flags. It is considered a kind of signal to distinguish friend from foe among themselves.”
The minister, intrigued by the story of the enemy's signal, calmed down.
“So?”
“It is just camouflage. Moreover, because the rebels have already started controlling the four gates, we missed the timing to execute the escape operation. Minister, remember, we are responsible not only for the legation staff but also for eight civilians including students.”
“Ugh.”
Yes, civilians.
As the minister, recalling the merchants and students who had fled to the legation in fear with the start of the rebellion by gunfire and explosions, let out a groan without a proper reply, the lieutenant, who had sensed that he was inwardly troubled, pushed aside the curtain covering the window of the office and pointed to the civilians wandering anxiously in the courtyard.
The fear that started from the main gate had already surrounded the entire legation.
“We are just trying to avoid the storm, Minister.”
“...”
“Or will you imprison us all? Including the civilians and staff who know nothing?”
As a last resort, when the lieutenant fiddled with the sword at his waist, the minister, realizing there was no answer, closed his eyes tightly and spat out curses.
“... Damn it. I understand.”
So, permission was granted. That was all.
And this response was very successful.
An hour later, the five hundred rebels who flocked to the legation main gate passed by silently upon seeing the red flags hanging on the windows and walls of the legation.
“... Please eat this too.”
“Thank you.”
Furthermore, although this is an unconfirmed rumor, it is said that Japanese legation staff personally mixed honey in a small bowl and handed it to the rebels who did not refuse their kindness.
However, to the extent, it was just a rumor.