A Different Outbreak of the Russo-Japanese War (feat. the Korean Empire)
Given everything I had accomplished so far, even Emperor Gojong had to know I was no ordinary woman.
“Then what do you propose we do?”
I drummed my fingers on the desk. It was an old habit of mine whenever I was thinking. In the end, it looked like raising an army was the only real option. When it came down to it, numbers were what mattered on the battlefield.
“What is our current troop strength in Gando?”
In the worst-case scenario, we would have to rise up. Convincing Yi Beom-yun would be the hard part, but right now I needed to get a clear picture of the situation first.
“Including the Northern Army that came over from the Korean Empire and the newly organized units, we have fifteen thousand men. Add the Manchurian and Han Chinese forces, and it comes to roughly thirty thousand.”
Even if we had somehow built them up, integrating them would be a nightmare. Still, if we turned the army around right now and marched on Hanseong, could we win with thirty thousand men?
No. If anything, Japan or Britain might use it as an excuse to interfere. And if you asked whether we could end it in a quick, decisive strike, the answer was not entirely. The Korean Empire still had enough troops to block us, after all. Gojong could always beg Japan for help.
Even if we seized Hanseong, would we have any legitimacy? Not at all. For us to establish a military government and claim legitimacy, the imperial family would have to collapse and the Korean Peninsula would need to fall into chaos so severe that someone, anyone, had to step in and restore order.
This was something I would need Yi Beom-yun’s permission for.
“We seem to be stuck between a rock and a hard place. In that case, when war breaks out, we will need to bring His Majesty the Emperor here.”
“Do you understand what that means?”
Of course I did. With the Anglo-Japanese alliance now in effect, dragging the Emperor off to Manchuria would be an act of open defiance against imperial command.
“I understand perfectly. But it must be done. Russia is a great power. They have already stationed troops to counter Japan and built fortresses. We stand on the front line of that conflict.”
Japan was already planning to swallow Korea whole. But Nicholas II owed me a debt for saving his son. He would not dare treat Korea the way Japan intended. That was why I had gone out of my way to make Russia the final victor.
If that failed, I would have to engineer a mutual destruction between Russia and Japan, but the difficulty of that was fucking insane. Not an option.
“This is treason!”
Yi Beom-yun shot up from his seat the moment he heard me. No matter how good our relationship had been until now, he could not possibly let those words slide.
“What does treason even mean once the country is gone? Either way, the Korean Empire will be devoured by Japan if it wins this war, or by Russia if it loses. If that is our fate, we should at least choose the better side.”
Nicholas II favored me. At the very least, if I personally stepped forward and took Russia’s side, we could leverage our contribution during the war.
“Is that truly our only option?”
“General, you must make a decision. All we have to do is join the war late.”
“Will it truly go the way you intend?”
Even if it would not, I would force it to. No matter which side we joined, it was a foregone conclusion that the Sapodae would suffer losses. And I intended to use that.
“Japan and Britain see us as nothing more than cannon fodder. They are completely underestimating us. The proof is that they are supporting us through Rothschild.”
In the original history, Rothschild had officially financed forty percent of Japan’s war costs in the Russo-Japanese War and provided unofficial financial support on top of that. Yet here, Rothschild was helping us develop Manchuria militarily. In other words, they were dead set on turning us into their obedient puppets.
If anything, it proved our value had risen. But that was beside the point.
“So all of this is meant to finish off our Korean Empire?”
“Exactly. They feed us just enough to fatten us up, then throw us at the Russian army. Their scheme is so obvious, isn’t it? It’s so blatant that it almost looks like genuine goodwill.”
But in the end, they were all bastards who only wanted to swallow Korea. The battlefield would be Manchuria, while Japan would squeeze every last resource out of the Korean Peninsula.
“Then what about His Majesty the Emperor?”
“He is, after all, the one pushing an autocratic monarchy that is bound to collapse sooner or later. In that case, shouldn’t we be the ones to guide him properly? A constitutional monarchy wouldn’t be so bad either.”
As long as Gojong remained, even if we miraculously won the Russo-Japanese War, nothing would truly change. The class system would persist all the way into the modern era. Even if it was officially abolished, it would remain in practice. That was the reality.
“Even if we establish a military government, the people will not follow us.”
“We simply have to create a situation where they have no choice but to follow. That is why I brought up constitutional monarchy.”
All we had to do was manufacture a situation where they had no other option. In the process, Gojong might suffer an unfortunate accident at the hands of the Japanese army. Or we could bring him here and coerce legitimacy out of him. Either worked.
“What exactly do you intend to do?”
“I will prepare everything. In the future, all you need to do is get the Sapodae ready to seize Hanseong.”
After that, the Sapodae only needed to take control of Hanseong. Then we would make Yi Beom-yun Prime Minister, and I would help him reform the Korean Empire.
“Even if things go exactly as you say, there is no guarantee that Russia will leave us alone.”
Telling him that Russia’s future was equally bleak would only make him distrust me, so I kept it simple. The country was hopelessly corrupt. That was enough.
“Russia’s influence will certainly grow stronger. However, Russia is also corrupt. Its insides are rotting away. That is one of the reasons Japan decided to go to war with them. Besides, Russia is simply too vast.”
A country that huge could never control Korea the way Japan could. I roughly reassured Yi Beom-yun with that.
“Then?”
“Right now Russia is spending enormous sums of money and remains a backward nation in Europe. They will never be able to govern a population of twenty million. Therefore, Russia will likely be satisfied with turning the Korean Empire into a pro-Russian state.”
It was only a possibility, of course. But I existed. I was the one who had saved the Russian Empire’s future. Russia would allow me to take control of the Korean Empire.
“In the end, that is merely hindsight. We cannot know what will happen.”
Was he underestimating me? Britain and Japan had no idea what kind of person I really was.
“As long as I know the future, I can never trust Japan or Britain.”
So it came down to war again. Everything had to be solved through war. I would have to take full advantage of the chaos.
First, I would use Choi Jae-hyung’s deep pockets to go to Hanseong and bring the Emperor back. Until the war broke out, all I could do was endure and wait.
“Before that, should I inform the Russian side about Japan’s strategy?”
That day, not only the Tsar’s family but the nobles and high-ranking officers had witnessed me saving Alexei without dying. They would feel betrayed regarding Gojong, but Nicholas II would see it as an extension of my plan.
In February 1906, the Korean Empire and the Japanese Empire were steadily preparing for war. Japanese troops had entered Wonsan and Masanpo, and the Korean Empire was actively cooperating with Japan. Thanks to Emperor Gojong’s faithful adherence to the alliance, the Japan-Korea Protocol had never been signed. At least on the surface, they were allies.
“Can we really defeat Russia?”
“If not now, we will never drive Russia out of Manchuria. Your country must cooperate fully.”
Ito Hirobumi, at the joint command established in Hanseong, also believed that the war with Russia had to happen now. Originally more preparation had been needed, but weakening the Gando Army and the completion of Russia’s Siberian railway along with their defensive preparations made further delay dangerous. As a result, Ito Hirobumi, who had once considered negotiating with Russia, switched to supporting war.
Of course, while there was no Japan-Korea Protocol, the Korean Empire still appeared sufficiently pro-Japanese. Because of this, Russia did not view the Korean Empire favorably. However, Russia placed even greater expectations on Ok Jin-seo. After all, she was a Russian countess in name.
“Damn those Korean bastards. What does Countess Ok have to say?”
“The Countess has stated that the Gando forces will never attack Russia.”
“Is that certain?”
At first, they had been nervous. After granting various favors in exchange for saving Alexei, they had wondered if it was all a ruse to lower Russia’s guard. After all, Ok Jin-seo was an Oriental. There was no telling what she might be hiding.
“We cannot stop the Emperor from declaring war, but she says she has no intention of using Gando. She also sent this Japanese operational plan through the Viceroy of the Far East.”
Once the actual operational documents arrived, Nicholas II’s suspicions toward Countess Ok vanished.
“Those damn British bastards! How dare they help those Japanese monkeys!”
“Your Imperial Majesty, Viceroy Alexeiev suggests we use this to feed the enemy false information instead.”
The Russian imperial family and nobility had no choice but to believe the Countess’s words. After all, she was the woman who had openly displayed the mysteries of the Orient and performed sorcery before them. Russia’s authority towered over some Oriental woman, yet after witnessing her survive bullets and save Alexei, they had concluded she was not to be trifled with. Appointing her a countess had been an attempt to bind her to Russia’s sphere of influence and turn her into a Russian rather than a Korean.
“Still, if the Countess betrays us from behind, it will be dangerous.”
“Has she not already delivered Japan’s operational plans through the Viceroy? I saw it that day. That desperate desire to protect her country. Moreover, Ok Jin-seo is an anti-Japanese activist. She will never attack us.”
Simply by saving Alexei, Nicholas II had shown her infinite affection, and the Russian military had no choice but to follow the Tsar’s wishes.
“Would it not be better to marry her to a Russian?”
“Marriage?”
Nicholas II pondered for a moment but shook his head. There was no suitable candidate among the imperial family, his son Alexei was still young and the heir to the throne, and marrying her to a noble would only increase that noble’s authority. Nicholas II had no desire to let any noble’s power surpass his own. In the end, the status quo would have to be maintained.
“Kuropatkin. It appears Japan and Korea are preparing to attack. As commander of the ground forces, lead the army and crush the Japanese in Manchuria.”
As soon as signs of war became clear, Nicholas II handed Kuropatkin the position of ground forces commander.
“Yes, Your Majesty. What shall we do about the Countess’s domain?”
“The Countess seems to have her own thoughts on the matter. Leave it as is and focus on defense according to plan.”
Unlike the original history of the Russo-Japanese War, Manchuria and parts of Gando were already under the influence of the Korean Empire, which had allied with Japan. Therefore, Russia’s strategy was purely defensive.
“Understood.”
Kuropatkin was uncomfortable with a purely defensive strategy, but he had to obey the Tsar’s orders.
And not long after, on February 8, 1906.
The Japanese fleet attempted to attack two Russian battleships in Chemulpo Harbor. In the original history, they succeeded, but unfortunately the two Russian battleships had already moved to Port Arthur in Russian territory during the night.
“It is unfortunate there were no battleships in Chemulpo, but we can simply attack Port Arthur instead!”
However, the siege of Port Arthur did not go as planned either. Unlike the original history where Chief of Staff Wilhelm Vitgeft stubbornly defended the existing fleet after the siege began, he now insisted on launching a preemptive attack based on the provided intelligence. The Port Arthur fleet slipped out during the night.
Unlike the original history where Japan struck the Russian fleet at Port Arthur with a surprise attack before the declaration of war, the Combined Fleet under Commander-in-Chief Togo Heihachiro fell victim to an ambush by the Russian Port Arthur squadron, which had already escaped thanks to the faulty intelligence leaked to Britain.
“Do we look like fucking pushovers to you, you monkey bastards?”
The fleet that should have been in Port Arthur was nowhere to be seen. Instead, Togo Heihachiro’s forces were attacked from behind and forced to endure the first blow. Even though the Japanese fleet was equipped with the latest British rangefinders, they could not overcome the surprise attack.
“What is this! Weren’t they supposed to be anchored in the harbor?”
“Your Excellency! We must withdraw the fleet!”
Togo Heihachiro failed to secure naval supremacy in the initial surprise attack and was instead criticized for using underhanded tactics. On the other hand, Russia managed to preserve its naval power. When it was revealed that Japan had indeed attempted a surprise attack at Port Arthur just as Ok Jin-seo had warned, Nicholas II’s lingering doubts turned into outright fury.
Japan’s belated declaration of war was met with an identical declaration from Russia, and the Russian Empire entered a state of war with the monkey country of the Far East.
“Send the Baltic Fleet immediately! Completely annihilate the Japanese fleet and show them once and for all whose sea the Far East belongs to!”
Zinovy Rozhestvensky, commander of the Baltic Fleet, led his ships on the long journey around the world toward the Far East at the Tsar’s command. Unfortunately, the naval war did not resolve easily. In the end, Japan’s only hope lay in the land campaign. Joining forces with the Korean Empire, they immediately crossed the Yalu River.