The Far East Governor-General
The Far East Governor-General, Alekseyev.
***
Meanwhile, contrary to my expectations, this world was slightly off from the original timeline I knew. The Boxer Rebellion and Russia's takeover of Manchuria were unfolding exactly as recorded in twenty-first-century history books, but the difference lay with Japan.
“Only up to Xiamen. Anything beyond that is outside the authority of our British Empire.”
“Thank you! Truly, thank you!”
Britain had tacitly approved Japan’s occupation of Xiamen—effectively the colonization of Fujian Province—and Russia, in exchange for Korea yielding its influence over the peninsula, had done the same. Japan’s invasion of Xiamen was allowed to proceed.
“Giving Chinese territory to those yellow monkeys? Has Britain finally lost its mind?”
When the two powers playing the Great Game gave their silent consent, the German Empire erupted in fierce opposition. Yet the other great powers offered no real resistance. Unlike original history, Japan had secured the opportunity to colonize Fujian through Xiamen. Naturally, at this moment they were focusing more on establishing their foothold in Fujian than on Korea.
“Thanks to the British, we’ve gained Xiamen. But what about Joseon?”
“Securing a firm bridgehead on the continent comes first. Once we solidify our base in Fujian and are ready to wage war against Russia, that will be the time to launch a surprise attack on Joseon, capture the Korean emperor, and force a mutual defense alliance.”
“That would mean fighting Russia. But once the Siberian railway is completed, confronting Russia will become far more difficult.”
“The Siberian railway still has a long way to go before it opens. We must prepare while securing our position in Fujian and advancing into Joseon.”
For now, Japan acknowledged Russia’s dominance over the Korean peninsula and pretended to yield in order to push into Fujian. They had not truly given up on Korea, but unlike my expectations, they still had considerable time left to prepare.
***
Russian Far East Governor-General’s Office, Lushun.
The Russian Far East Governor-General’s Office had its origins after the Boxer Rebellion, when Russia established the office in Lushun in 1902 to oversee Manchuria. With Yi Beom-yun’s help, I was able to secure a meeting with the Governor-General of the Far East, Yevgeny Ivanovich Alekseyev.
Since Yi Beom-yun had previously tried to bring in Russian instructors, it seemed the Governor-General already knew the name Yi Beom-yun.
“Are you a diplomat from Corea? Your Russian is remarkably fluent.”
“No, sir. I am a female soldier of the Jinwidae serving under General Yi Beom-yun.”
“Jinwidae?”
“The Jinwidae are the provincial forces of the Korean Empire. At present, I belong to the Sapodae organized by General Yi Beom-yun. Though it is a provincial army, I hold the position of Sapodae officer. I am by no means a lowly soldier who would dare show disrespect to Your Excellency the Governor-General.”
Yi Beom-yun had, after all, granted me an officer’s commission within the Sapodae. It was only a temporary rank he had handed over to me, but in reality it placed me somewhat higher than an ordinary militiaman and nothing more. He had probably rushed to give me the title simply because sending me without any rank at all would have invited disaster.
“A provincial soldier from Corea, then. Does this Yi Beom-yun fellow truly dare send a young girl like you to negotiate with me? I had intended to maintain friendly relations with Corea, but this feels rather rude, does it not?”
His anger was understandable. Even if I were in the Governor-General’s position, having some random young woman suddenly appear to discuss matters of state would wound any Russian’s pride. Who would accept that?
“My family has been peddlers for generations. In Korea, a peddler is a merchant who represents the nation itself. To Your Excellency it may seem trivial, but in our country their influence is considerable. As a member of such a peddler clan, I have come to discuss the future between the Far East Governor-General, the Russian Empire, and the Korean Empire. Although I am a woman, General Yi Beom-yun—the Gando Administrator—has sent me. Therefore, I stand before you as the representative of the Sapodae.”
I had to at least talk my way into the conversation with flashy rhetoric.
“Did we not already reach an agreement with your government and the Qing army for joint action? Russia graciously granted you Gando. What is the meaning of this rudeness?”
Gando was nothing more than a tiny scrap of land in the vastness of Manchuria. He was acting as if he had bestowed some grand favor by handing over a worthless plot.
“Although Russian forces have seized Manchuria, would that not risk provoking Britain and Japan?”
“Hah. Britain aside, Japan has already swallowed Xiamen and is content. Would those bastards truly dare?”
Xiamen? Did he just say Xiamen? They had carried out the invasion of Xiamen and actually taken it? Wasn’t this different from original history? I thought the great powers had blocked it. No. That wasn’t important right now. The Russo-Japanese War was only a short time away. I had to save every second and press the advantage. I needed to settle this here and now.
“There is a saying: even when crossing a stone bridge, tap it first. Caution will prevent them from gaining any justification.”
“Very well. Continue your babbling.”
Babbling, he says. Of course I’m babbling. There was no time to carefully maneuver the board with roundabout words anyway. I could only trust my tongue and charge forward.
“When disturbances caused by Qing troops occur in Gando, we respond jointly. I propose we expand that agreement to cover all of Manchuria.”
Originally, Russia and the Korean Empire had agreed to respond jointly to the Qing, but for Korea that had been limited to Gando alone.
“All of Manchuria? Is this the will of your emperor?”
It wasn’t the emperor’s will. But Emperor Gojong was simply pretending not to see Yi Beom-yun expanding his power while fighting in Gando.
“It is General Yi Beom-yun’s will, and that is no different from the emperor’s own will.”
At my words, Alekseyev’s eyes narrowed.
“You mean to covet our Russian Manchuria?”
As if. With only a few thousand troops, what could we possibly covet? Even the current military strength of the Korean Empire was probably inferior to the Far East Governor-General’s forces. No—if we compared pure military quality, the Korean army would still get slaughtered like dogs even if they outnumbered the Russian Far East troops.
“We have no intention of seizing Manchuria. We will simply exterminate the remnants of the Boxers, the Qing troops, and the bandits within Manchuria.”
Bang!
The enraged Alekseyev slammed his fist on the desk and shot to his feet. His trembling shoulders made it clear he was genuinely furious.
“Hah! Do you believe Russia incapable of handling even that much? We turned a blind eye to Gando, and now you think a few victories against Qing rabble give you the right to strut about? Right now, 150,000 Russian troops stand in this very Manchuria! Your Corea is nothing!”
Surprisingly, around this time the Korean imperial forces in Gando had been thoroughly beating the Qing army. Although they had been helplessly absorbed by Japan in original history, the Qing forces—already unmodernized even before the Boxer Rebellion—had invaded Manchuria, committing plunder and arson everywhere. Yet despite bringing three times the numbers, they had failed to win a single one of the fifteen battles against the Korean troops.
“Your Excellency the Governor-General, that is not what I mean. War with Japan is inevitable. The main battlefield will be our Korean peninsula. For us, combat experience is more precious than anything else. We merely see Manchuria as a training ground to hone the fighting ability of the Korean Empire. Surely it must be troublesome for Your Excellency to suppress the Chinese who oppose Russian occupation in Manchuria? We will handle all of it for you.”
Russia, having occupied Manchuria, was forced to fight the Chinese who resisted. We were offering to take care of that burden. Moreover, Alekseyev himself had been preparing for a break with Japan. The proof was that he had supported the advance of Russian businessmen into the Korean Empire.
Only then did the real Alekseyev sit back down and speak.
“Let us suppose your words are correct. But this is not something that would have been discussed with your Korean emperor, is it?”
Of course not. But Yi Beom-yun still possessed the Sapodae, an independent force. In other words, he was essentially a warlord in Gando. Gojong had turned a blind eye to that much for the sake of imperial expansion. As long as we did not openly rebel against the government, Gojong would continue to pretend ignorance. In original history, the summons to return had only come after the Russo-Japanese War out of fear of conflict with the Qing. Until then, both France and Russia would likely support us no matter what we did.
Therefore, I had to melt the Far East Governor-General with my dazzling tongue here and now.
“Our emperor has already turned a blind eye to General Yi Beom-yun’s military actions against the Qing in Gando. Does that not mean His Majesty has tacitly approved it?”
In effect, Gojong had overlooked Yi Beom-yun’s independent behavior. The emperor, who was something of an immature imperialist, viewed the Sapodae—a de facto militia—as beneficial to the Korean Empire when it occupied Gando, fought the Qing, and collected taxes.
At my eloquent persuasion, Alekseyev stroked his beard in thought before finally speaking with caution.
“Your words are plausible. I shall consider it. Withdraw for now.”
He was not expelling me. Instead, he was buying time. That meant there was still a chance. If I failed, I would have no choice but to run to Russia or America, but it didn’t feel like failure was coming.
Come to think of it… the Alternate History Gallery? How the hell do I use that? It’s such an annoyingly useless ability. What am I supposed to do with it?
While Alekseyev was thinking, I needed to gather at least a little knowledge about the future. That meant using the Alternate History Gallery.
“How do I even use the Alternate History Gallery? Status window! Do I have to shout it out loud?”
I couldn’t yell it into the empty air, so I carefully thought the words inside my mind. At once, a small screen floated before me, revealing an alternate history community gallery I had never seen before. It was literally an alternate history community.
What if Joseon had adopted the yard-pound system?
They lost again! Writing a future scenario where the Later Three Kingdoms unify.
If France had colonized us during the Byeong-in Yangyo, would there have been no Japanese occupation?
Every single post title was perfectly suited to an alternate history forum. If it was alternate history, they would probably know regular Korean history well too. People who knew history would naturally think about alternate history, right? This Alternate History Gallery ability felt like something you’d see in the near future. I could control it by touch. So it really was just a gallery ability. That old man actually gave me something useful.
I needed information, so I decided to ask a question.
Title: Guys, quick question about the Boxer Rebellion
Did Japan take Fujian during the Boxer Rebellion?
Yeah, the great powers let it happen. There’s even talk that without that, the Russo-Japanese War would have broken out in 1904.
Fuck, did you sleep through class? It’s in every textbook. Japan launched a surprise attack on the Russian fleet in Korea, seized Seoul, signed the Japan-Korea Protocol, and then marched into Russia.
As I kept asking questions, it seemed the Russo-Japanese War proceeded exactly the same except that it was delayed by one year. I continued listening to various things until the comment count exceeded twenty-four. Other than being one year late, nothing was different. I wasn’t sure exactly how the intermediate process of Japan securing a bridgehead in China had played out, but it seemed consistent enough.
Everyone knows this stuff. Thanks for the kind explanation.
You son of a bitch!
This is exactly why I don’t comment lololololololol fuck, how can you not know about the Russo-Japanese War lmao
With that, I had secured a decent amount of knowledge about this world’s history. It really did seem this world had diverged somehow from the one I lived in. Would it be different from my world that had suffered nuclear war?
No, wait. Hold on. Let’s think this through carefully.
Japan received recognition for Xiamen because of the Boxer Rebellion? Then, while they were distracted with that, wouldn’t the Russo-Japanese War be delayed?