Blood Must Be Spilled

Blood must be spilled.

Of all the fucking times, Emperor Gojong had decided to wear a Western suit as a disguise. He had brought his marshal uniform along, but in his rush to flee he had thrown on the suit instead, and that choice ended up costing him dearly.

The emperor, riding at the front, suddenly began to slump in his saddle. I’d hoped it was just my imagination, but he didn’t simply fall from the horse. He lost all strength and tumbled straight to the ground.

“We’re fucked.”

He had landed head-first. No matter how you looked at it, he didn’t seem alive. My body might no longer have a dick, but this situation was thoroughly, completely fucked.

For a moment my brain refused to process what had just happened. The guards who had been fighting, Choi Jae-hyung who had fallen back, the officials—everyone froze in shock. Even the Japanese soldiers locked in combat with the guards fell silent.

Let me get my thoughts in order.

While moving north, an unfortunate incident occurred. Of all things, the emperor had been shot by Japanese troops. Out of all the people they could have hit, that worthless roasted chestnut of a man took a bullet and flipped right off his horse.

It was exactly the scenario I had written—except the Japanese had actually gone and done it.

'Kuroki’s First Army pursued and ultimately assassinated Emperor Gojong.'

“You insane bastards! What the hell are you doing?!”

The picture I had carefully drawn shattered in an instant. Unable to contain my rage, I charged straight into the enemy like a madwoman, axe and saber in hand.

I slashed with my military sword, brought down the blood-stained handaxe from my belt, and returned fire at anyone who dared shoot at me.

“Graaaagh!” “What the fuck is this bitch?!” “She won’t die! It’s an oni!”

“You sons of bitches! You useless goddamn Japs who’ve never done a single helpful thing in my entire life!”

Well, if they had been helpful that would’ve been even weirder. Anyway.

I could never forgive them. I stabbed wildly with my sword, beat them to death with the butt of my rifle, over and over until my fury finally subsided.

By the time my body was soaked in their blood and the metallic stench hung thick in the air, Kuroki’s pursuit force had begun to put distance between us.

“Die already!”

Bang!

“Is that the best you’ve got? This is how you shoot a gun!”

One of them put a bullet square in my forehead, but of course my body had no intention of dying. I pressed my rifle against the neck of the Japanese soldier who had just shot me and pulled the trigger. He clutched at the gaping hole in his throat and collapsed.

“I-is that really not an oni?” “M-monster…”

Oni or whatever, you’re all dead anyway.

“What are the guards doing? Aren’t you going to help?”

The guards finally snapped out of their daze and opened fire. Gunshots cracked through the air—bang, bang, bang-bang-bang! Once the pursuit force showed a single opening, they were slaughtered without mercy by the combined attack of the guards and the Jeoguk Ikmunsa.

Some time later, after we had wiped out the entire pursuit unit, I returned to the main group. There I found Yi Yong-ik, Min Yeong-hwan, and the others sitting on the ground in front of the roasted chestnut, weeping.

“Your Majesty!” “Emperor! Your Majesty!” “Hic… sob…”

Even the Jeoguk Ikmunsa agents were crying along with them.

This was no time to be wailing so comfortably.

“We’re really and truly fucked.”

Fortunately I had taken care of the entire pursuit force by myself. The real problem was that the emperor was dead. If this operation had been planned in advance, there was a high chance that the main Japanese army in Manchuria already knew about it.

“W-what should we do?”

“If His Majesty has ascended to heaven, isn’t everything over?”

“We’re finished!”

Even the soldiers of the Imperial Guard who had followed us were screaming in despair. I kept my mouth shut. This was no time for this. We had no idea when the Japanese might send another pursuit force. There was no way Kuroki would stop at just one unit. I was certain he would keep sending them until we crossed the Yalu River.

Think, Ok Jin-seo. A crisis is an opportunity in disguise.

“Ah.”

No—this was actually an opportunity.

The emperor had been killed by Japanese hands. Wasn’t this one of the very scenarios I had prepared? Pin everything on Japan. Brand them as a barbaric nation that murdered an allied emperor. When the emperor dies, does that mean it’s the end?

Of course not. We still had something left.

The Righteous Army.

The call to arms could still be issued even after the emperor’s death. In fact, it would be even more effective if framed as avenging the military. This was no time to be sitting around crying.

“Everyone, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠calm down. Are there any troops left in Pyongyang?”

The question now was whether any forces remained in Pyongyang. Kuroki’s First Army would soon begin moving in earnest. At the very least, we needed to use them as meat shields until the situation in Manchuria turned against Japan.

Judging by the emperor’s trust in them, it seemed some of the Jinwidae remained. Not all of the northern army had crossed into Gando after all.

“Do I look like I can calm down right now? More importantly, who the hell are you, woman?”

“Just a woman who’s good at dodging bullets. If you can’t calm down, are you planning to cling to the dead emperor’s corpse and wail all day? We are at war. Right now.”

I didn’t care if they wanted to cry, but they had better not stand in my way.

“What did you say?”

“Japan has already bared its claws. Our forces in Manchuria may be in danger as well. It is tragic that His Majesty met this fate, but we cannot stop here.”

The soldiers of the Imperial Guard and Jeoguk Ikmunsa who had been responsible for protecting the emperor finally regained their senses at my words.

“There are some Jinwidae troops left in Pyongyang… but only a few hundred.”

“His Majesty was just killed by those Japs and you’re talking about—”

“Then what exactly do you propose we do?”

What do you want me to do, you fucking dogs? The emperor was never suited for the throne anyway, and Sunjong back in the palace wasn’t exactly a brilliant monarch either. Prince Uihwa was a bit of a concern, but it would be convenient if he died at Japanese hands too. The half-mad Sunjong, who had lost his mind after drinking that coffee, was the most useful card we had. There was no reason to drag along any relatively sane members of the imperial family.

“Is this really the time for that? This means they were planning this from the start. The entire peninsula is now in danger, so those of you remaining here must spread word of this incident across the country and encourage the people to rise up as Righteous Armies. We have plenty of Imperial Guard and escort soldiers with us. The story will be that His Majesty was personally leading a campaign when the Japanese forces went berserk and assassinated him. That should be enough.”

With just that, the Japanese would inevitably look like complete idiots.

“And what about you?”

What about me? I had to return to Manchuria immediately. I needed to arrive before Oyama Iwao or whoever realized what had happened and launched an attack.

“At this rate, the Japanese forces in Manchuria may already know. The Sapodae could be attacked.”

“Die!”

So there was still one left. I grabbed the charging Japanese soldier’s head and twisted it with a sharp crack. His neck snapped a full one hundred and eighty degrees and he collapsed.

“Long live His Majesty the Emperor!”

“There was still one more, huh.”

I pulled the handaxe from my belt and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠brought it down on the skull of the next soldier who charged with his bayonet. The skull split open, spraying blood and brain matter.

I may have died in a ridiculous way before, but once a fight started, I never lost.

I turned my blood-splattered face toward the court officials following behind. Their jaws dropped at the sight.

“Any objections?”

I shook the blood off my axe with a bright smile. If anyone here dared to object, I would smash their skull to pieces. As if understanding the implicit threat, every single one of them nodded.

“U-understood. We… we shall do as you say.”

About time. Rather than being helplessly devoured, it was better to be of at least some use like this.

Now then, I needed to move quickly as well. I would send the Jeoguk Ikmunsa agents to Pyongyang to buy time. The problem was figuring out exactly how the current war situation was unfolding.

“Before that, let’s bury His Majesty nearby.”

“Even so, that’s…”

Were they seriously suggesting we hold a funeral in the middle of this? I had no intention of doing so, and we didn’t have the time anyway.

“Carrying His Majesty’s body all the way to Manchuria would make it impossible to shake off the pursuit forces.”

The only combat-capable troops we had with us right now were the Imperial Guard, the escort troops, and the Jeoguk Ikmunsa. Their numbers made us easy to track, but ironically that same fact was helping things go smoothly.

“T-then… do as you wish.”

In the end, they had no choice but to follow me. After all, I was the strongest person here. They had just watched me snap a Japanese soldier’s neck like a twig and then casually split another man’s skull in half with a handaxe.

The sight of the officials hesitating before scattering in all directions was almost comical. Some of them would undoubtedly try to cooperate with Japan again, but if even one of them managed to raise a Righteous Army, the situation would change.

Before I left, I needed to gather some information. For example, the current situation in Manchuria. If the Korean-Japanese allied forces and the Korean Empire’s army were still there, it would be dangerous for both sides if we were attacked.

For now, let’s check the alternate history gallery.

“Oh, I see.”

Some changes had occurred in history. Because I had warned the Russians to defend thoroughly, their operational plans seemed to have shifted. In the original timeline, Bak Seung-hwan should have died, but here he had joined the Korean-Japanese allied forces.

If Bak Seung-hwan was leading the Korean Empire’s army, perhaps I could recruit him. Recruitment itself shouldn’t be too difficult. If I could bring his troops over to our side, we could annihilate the Japanese forces in Manchuria and push all the way to the Korean peninsula. Even if our navy was inferior, it was ultimately the army that decided the outcome of a war.

Thanks to Russia not moving according to the Japanese Combined Fleet’s plan, the naval battles had become much harder for Japan. Unfortunately, in terms of fleet quality, Russia was still at a disadvantage. The Japanese fleet had received support from Britain, the strongest naval power of the era, and was equipped with the latest rangefinders. Still, even with the performance gap, we knew their formations and movements. With enough preparation, we could fight them.

Wait a minute. History had changed. Then what about the naval battles? Should I look into that too?

With comments like that, I needed to be careful with my questions. If I got banned for asking too much, I would lose one of my abilities. I would have to approach this differently. I couldn’t rely on the alternate history gallery every single time.

It was unfortunate, but I would have to let Russia handle the naval war on their own. I had already prevented their early defeat and the resulting drop in Baltic Fleet morale, so they should manage. All we had to do was drive the Japanese out of the Korean peninsula and wipe them out. It would be difficult for them to invade again for quite some time. During that period, we could build up our strength.

Russia would become our ally because of me. In fact, they would probably support my growth. Whether Russia won the Russo-Japanese War overwhelmingly or only moderately would determine how hard we could squeeze Japan during postwar negotiations.

Of course, those damned pirate Brits and the Americans wouldn’t sit still, but as long as we secured Korean independence and inflicted enough damage on Japan to prevent them from ever rising again, that would be enough. Honestly, it might be better if someone like Bezobrazov pushed for Korea’s annexation into Russia and both sides annihilated each other, but I had saved Alexei and turned him into a puppet emperor precisely to prevent that. Even if Japan was crushed, it should be fine.

“Hey. The emperor is dead. This wasn’t part of the plan, was it?”

While I was busy running calculations and looking into the future, Choi Jae-hyung spoke up beside me.

Yes, it wasn’t part of the plan. At least, not the part where he died at the hands of the Japanese instead of by my own design.

“On the contrary, we can use this as justification to raise a Righteous Army.”

“A lot of blood will be spilled.”

That’s exactly what I’m aiming for, you idiot.

“For a hundred years, a thousand years, we cannot persuade those bastards with mere words. To drive Japan out, blood must be spilled.”

I should have possessed someone during the time ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of Heungseon Daewongun. That guy was a bastard too, but at least we wouldn’t have ended up in this sorry state. The time for dialogue had long since passed. Now that things had come to this, if we wanted to remake the country, blood must be spilled.