Meeting with the Independence Activist
Yi Beom-yun’s face twisted into a strange expression when I delivered the news in Fengtian. It was the look of a man who wanted to say this should never have happened. What the hell was that about?
“You’ve gone and accepted a noble title from Russia. I cannot decide whether this is fortunate or disastrous.”
“What do you mean?”
Wasn’t it obviously a good thing? At the very least, as long as I was around, the Sapodae would never be labeled enemies of Russia.
Yet I had apparently been underestimating Emperor Gojong.
“In truth, word has come from Hanseong that they have joined hands with Britain and Japan.”
The newspaper that had arrived from the capital laid it all out on the front page: a military alliance between the Korean Empire, Britain, and Japan. Flowery garbage about how the empire had finally become the equal of the great powers filled the columns. Did they actually believe that crap?
Even if the current Korea looked somewhat impressive compared to the original timeline, the inside was still hollow—an egg with nothing but a shell. Pull together every soldier in the Korean Empire right now and you wouldn’t even reach a hundred thousand. Would Britain and Japan truly see us as equals?
Of course they would fatten us up until the war began, but the real elite force would be the troops here. Wait—Britain and Japan? So it really was following the alt-history gallery’s script after all.
“A triple alliance? Does that even make sense?”
They had actually joined hands with Britain and Japan? I had expected it, but I never thought Gojong would really make that choice. Well, I could understand the temptation. The British Empire, the strongest nation on earth, and Japan—the same Japan that had treated Korea like trash and thrown one-two punches at us until recently—had suddenly extended their hands. Gojong probably believed their attitude had changed because of our demonstrated ability to wage war.
If he formed that triple alliance, he would convince himself he had become their equal. In reality, Japan was Britain’s military police in the Far East, a junior partner at best, while the Korean Empire would be treated as nothing more than a useful idiot. Since the Emperor had decided, things were about to get difficult.
I was now stuck. I could neither advance nor retreat against Russia. Nicholas II viewed Gando as my personal domain rather than part of the Korean Empire, so a single letter would probably make him treat Gando as an ally. But when I thought about it, Britain and Japan had also treated us as independent until now. Why the sudden alliance with the home government?
They must have realized Russia was about to sign a mutual defense treaty and decided to strike first. So how did the board look now? Both Britain and Japan saw Gando and the Korean mainland as separate entities. Were these bastards trying to drive a wedge between Gando and the home country?
They weren’t idiots. They had to know what they were doing.
“Since His Majesty has decided, what can we do? We must think positively. You have seized Fengtian and Jilin and shown that the Korean Empire possesses real war-making capability. Perhaps Britain and Japan have reconsidered their position?”
Sure, you could look at it that way. But from everything I had read in the alt-history gallery, that interpretation was pure delusion. That was the problem.
“Britain and the Japanese bastards want to use our soldiers to attack the Russian army and soak Manchuria with our blood. Does His Majesty understand this?”
That idiot. Did he even grasp the current situation? Was he seriously planning to fight the Russian army? Had beating a few Qing troops gone to his head? Even Japan, which had modernized first and struck Russia preemptively in the original timeline, would have been crushed if Russia had gotten serious and thrown a real punch.
“He knows, but what can be done? It is His Majesty’s command. We can only obey.”
Obey because it was an imperial command. What an incredibly stupid way to think.
“First, we must inform His Majesty how unjust this Anglo-Japanese-Korean alliance is. The fantasy of stabbing Japan in the back after the war is nothing but delusion. It is purely retrospective wishful thinking.”
I genuinely couldn’t understand why they kept making such incompetent decisions. Was this my fault? Because I had obtained the title of Countess and been granted Southern Manchuria? Were they doing this without understanding the local situation, simply trying to secure the territory as Korean land?
“I will report to His Majesty, but I doubt it will be easy.”
Even Yi Beom-yun was treating it too simply. As a subject, if the ruler walked the wrong path, you had to see it through to the end. In the wiki records I remembered, I had apparently agreed with Gojong’s plan. That could not happen here.
Fengtian was now formally mine since I had become a Russian Countess. The city that held the Qing imperial palace now belonged to me. The Qing would undoubtedly try to reclaim it someday, but with Britain and Japan involved, we could not afford to be tied down by them. I might have to threaten them with Hong Taiji’s bones.
After Yi Beom-yun returned to Gando, I went to my office in Fengtian, kicked my legs up on the desk, and organized my thoughts. The real problem was still the Korean Empire. Fuck. Since this was the world I had to live in, I had to grab it by the collar and drag it into the future. And the biggest obstacle to that was that bastard Gojong.
He probably found me just as annoying. We had never met, and until I became a Countess I had been treated as nothing more than an ordinary Jinwidae soldier. He might not have even known I was still alive.
Gojong found me annoying but could not summon me. Why? Because I was now a Russian Countess. With the Anglo-Japanese-Korean alliance in place, even if I was technically his subject, he could not easily call in a Russian noble.
But what would happen after the war with Russia ended? I was certain it would not end well for me.
“I expected this, but it really is a hindrance.”
Anyway, it was better to cut out a festering boil. No matter how I thought about it, that bastard Gojong could not be allowed to live long. At minimum, I had to turn him into a puppet. Even if it meant opening the curtain on Season Two of a military dictatorship, a grand decision had to be made.
In that case, was it better to act completely independently? I had already formally received Southern Manchuria. I could declare myself the Countess of the Fengtian Warlord faction, gather an army here, and fight the Anglo-Japanese alliance—fuck. Gojong would just send the Korean Empire’s troops as well.
“It’s time to deal with Gojong.”
And not just him. After independence, the old Joseon privileged class would continue to maintain the class system in secret until the Korean War swept them away. This was the perfect opportunity to wipe them all out.
Kill Gojong, forcibly start a war with Japan. That would give Yi Beom-yun the justification he needed. I had already received the title of Countess and secured Russian support. In the end, the only path was true independence from Korea.
I had to eliminate Gojong before this war broke out. This was the golden time. If I failed to deal with him, I would become the woman cursed in the alt-history gallery.
“Countess?”
The man who now called me Countess had come looking for me. A Russian, probably one of those dispatched to assist me in earnest.
“What?”
“A man named Choi Jae-hyung has come to see you, Countess.”
Choi Jae-hyung? Why was he here? I suppose becoming a Russian Countess had made him curious. If even foreigners were showing up, it made sense that he would come too. Wait—hadn’t Choi Jae-hyung been rich? After the Russo-Japanese War he had become even wealthier. A man like that could become our source of funds.
“Bring him in.”
I would steal the money meant for the independence movement and use it properly so that Korea would not become a colony.
The Choi Jae-hyung I met was exactly the man from the photographs. We studied each other with open interest, each trying to gauge the other.
“This is an honor. I never imagined the person who cured the Crown Prince would be such a young woman. And now you hold the title of Countess as well.”
Choi Jae-hyung looked at me with genuine surprise. There was no need to be so modest. The title was purely honorary. They could not simply hand Southern Manchuria over to Korea because of foreign eyes, so they had solved the problem by giving it to me in name only.
“It is only an honorary position. I don’t even have a Russian name. I remain a subject of the Korean Empire and His Majesty the Emperor.”
Unlike you. Unlike you who went to Russia, I intend to stay rooted here. Even if I gathered strength from outside, the history of colonization itself would not change. I considered that history Korea’s greatest shame. We had to rewrite it while we still could, while we could still struggle.
“Of course.”
“May I ask why someone like you has come to see an ignorant woman like me?”
An ignorant woman. That persona should be sufficient. Compared to a giant like Choi Jae-hyung who had lived through hard times, I could play the role of a woman who knew nothing but possessed considerable strength.
“I have heard that His Majesty the Emperor of Korea has joined hands with Britain and Japan. His Majesty has made a very poor move. This is quite troubling.”
So Choi Jae-hyung already knew. Of course he would. He was the man who had poured his entire fortune into the independence movement. Someone like him would be more sensitive to the situation in Korea than anyone.
“Yes, I am aware.”
“Do you intend to fight Russia?”
Did that even make sense? At least I had no intention of fighting. The Northern Army of the Korean Empire—meaning the forces currently here—had clear limits no matter how strong they became. Attacking Russia with this army would only result in annihilation.
“Shouldn’t you ask our Gando Administrator about that?”
The title of Countess of Southern Manchuria I possessed was, as I said, purely honorary. In practice, Southern Manchuria remained under the jurisdiction of the Russian Far East Governor-General’s Office. What we actually controlled was little more than Gando. Though even that was the generously drawn Korean version of Gando’s borders.
“Since childhood I have traveled the world on merchant ships with my godfather and godmother, learning the ways of trade. Many Korean laborers in the Korean villages here follow me.”
Yes, I already knew that from the wiki. Even though he was currently in his prime, in the end Choi Jae-hyung would be monitored by Russia after its defeat in the Russo-Japanese War, arrested by the Japanese army that advanced into Russia, and ultimately shot while trying to escape.
“And?”
Was he bragging about being the boss of the alley? Still, since he could become our source of funds, I couldn’t exactly complain. If he was someone who could provide money, it was better to lay out my ideas first.
“At this point, my eye for people is quite sharp. Even though you are young and a woman, no one suspects that you are the true power behind the Sapodae. That would be you, Ok Jin-seo.”
He looked straight at me and spoke meaningfully. The true power behind the Sapodae. There were some contradictions in calling me that, but I let it pass.
“I see. Then let me speak plainly. You’re saying we should not join hands with Britain and Japan but stand with Russia instead.”
Choi Jae-hyung was an independence activist, but he lived in Russia. He would not welcome Korea fighting against Russia. Even I could understand that much.
“I assume the Countess already understands that much.”
“Of course. For the sake of Korea, we must not fight Russia. But we are in a position where a choice is being forced upon us. His Majesty in the imperial capital seems pleased to have taken their hands, but no matter how I look at it, there is no future in it.”
“The Sapodae in Gando here in Manchuria is stronger than any other army in the Korean Empire. If the Countess chooses to stand against Britain and Japan, I will lend you my strength.”
Stand against Britain and Japan. So this man was choosing to rely on me rather than on Korea. Choi Jae-hyung had accumulated enormous wealth during the Russo-Japanese War. If we could take all of it for ourselves, it would be excellent.
“Lend your strength. To fight Britain and Japan, I need one particular scenario. Will you help me with it?”
This gentleman would probably try to suck in an enormous amount of money during this war, just as he had in the original history. I would make him devote all that wealth to me.