The Empire of Japan Crumbles

Around this time, the Empire of Japan was…….

The outcome of the Treaty of Paris brought enormous repercussions to the Empire of Japan as well.

“Why the hell do we have to pay reparations to those Joseon bastards!”

“They said we were winning the war! Isn’t the fact that our troops still haven’t returned from Manchuria proof of that? Why are we signing a damn peace treaty?”

“They marched on Tokyo? I’ve never even seen an enemy soldier in Tokyo!”

“The British are no different from the Russians! They’ve betrayed the Empire!”

While the Korean Empire was in an uproar over Ok Jin-seo, the proud imperial subjects of Japan simply could not accept the Treaty of Paris with any semblance of sanity. They believed the death of the Joseon emperor at the hands of General Kuroki’s Japanese forces had been a staged farce orchestrated by Joseon itself, and that the war was still raging on. Thanks to an ironclad media blackout, almost no one knew that hundreds of thousands of proud imperial troops—half a million when counting all auxiliary forces—had been completely annihilated.

They were convinced that the Russian army’s withdrawal from Shinju must have been because the Empire had gained the upper hand in Manchuria. That was what they believed.

But then—

“I heard our entire army got wiped out in Manchuria!”

“How could the invincible imperial army be defeated?”

“They say the Joseon bastards betrayed the imperial army!”

Until the war began, the people of the Empire had inwardly looked down on Joseon as a mere vassal state that merely participated in the Empire’s grand cause. Without sparing a single thought for the death of the Joseon emperor, they now harbored pure hostility toward Joseon.

“Filthy lackeys of the white men!”

“Declare war on Joseon immediately!”

“We granted them the honor of being our ally, and this is how they stab us in the back?”

“What army do we even have left to fight with?”

Exactly. After circling back around, Japan no longer possessed the capacity to wage war. Every last soldier in the army had been slaughtered, and the imperial forces whose numbers had yet to be fully tallied were probably still being slowly picked off by the Joseon army. On top of that, the Combined Fleet had been annihilated, and the remaining ships along with newly commissioned vessels were all scheduled to be handed over to those Joseon dogs.

Naturally, the cabinet was in an uproar over this war and the Treaty of Paris.

“Just why did we even start this war in the first place?”

“Where the hell is Ito? That damn old fool first said we shouldn’t go to war with Russia and then flipped his position!”

“Those worthless bastards!”

Katsura Taro had reached the point where a moment of clarity should have hit him, but he held it in. After all, the fact that they had dug their own grave was undeniable. The Empire would face hardship for a while, but still—

Britain had not completely abandoned the Empire. They had demanded Okinawa, but at least they had shown some consideration for the Empire’s position. Perhaps it was only natural if they wanted to keep Russia in check.

“Everyone, please calm down. Our imperial army fought the Russians in Manchuria on equal footing. We were only defeated because of Joseon’s betrayal.”

“Then how come the number of troops who returned from Manchuria and the Korean Peninsula doesn’t even reach ten thousand? Weren’t they all killed?”

Of course, among the troops who had not returned, some were still alive. But the fact that they had been pressed into forced labor by Joseon was kept strictly secret.

“In any case, we still lost, didn’t we!”

“Prime Minister Katsura, commit seppuku at once!”

“We should have realized something was wrong the moment rumors spread that Joseon troops had landed in Shinju!”

It was pointless to argue about it now. In any case, the Empire now found itself in a desperate situation. Internal division at a time like this was absolutely unacceptable, and above all, there were mountains of problems that still needed to be resolved.

Joseon and Russia had taken their reparations—practically permanent concessions—and left, but they had to remember that they had purchased bonds from various countries in order to finance the war. Even during the Treaty of Paris, Britain had demanded repayment of those bonds.

“Right now, everyone from the top down must unite as one.”

“What nonsense are you spouting!”

“Britain and America are demanding repayment.”

For a moment, silence fell over the chamber. They had already been forced to pay five hundred million yen to Joseon and Russia. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠How much more did they have to repay on top of that? Could the very nations that had pushed them into this war really do this?

“Where do we even have the money to repay them right now?”

“Didn’t that brilliant Prime Minister—who is both a proud Joseon man and a Russian—already hand over five hundred million to them? What money could possibly be left?”

“Prime Minister Katsura! Speak honestly. Do you perhaps have Joseon blood in your ancestry? Otherwise, why would you just hand over that money?”

“Did I hand it over? It was Komura who botched the negotiations!”

There was no money. At this rate, only default, national bankruptcy, and national default remained. Before they could pin all the blame on Katsura, the nation was already screwed. The Imperial Diet let out a collective scream.

And that wasn’t all.

“This is terrible! The imperial subjects have set fire to the Home Minister’s residence and newspaper offices!”

In the original history, the Hibiya Park riots ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠had erupted when the public rose up over not receiving reparations, holding rallies in Hibiya Park and burning the Home Minister’s residence and newspaper companies. The same incident had broken out here as well. The only difference was that the rage over having to pay reparations to Russia and Korea—and even cede territory—had made the riots far more violent than in the original timeline.

“Punish Joseon!”

“The Empire has not yet lost! Seize back the reparations!”

“Giving away the Chinese territory we finally obtained? Are you insane!”

“Burn down every white man’s diplomatic mission! Deutschland! Attack the German legation too!”

The imperial subjects, now turned into a mob, caused riots everywhere. Foreigners were seized or beaten en masse the moment they were spotted. They even sought out foreign embassies and set them ablaze. The violence had become far more extreme than in the original history.

“God damn it all!”

Prime Minister Katsura Taro, who was now in the bizarre position of essentially having not surrendered, spat out a curse. The Empire was collapsing.

As a diplomat, I diligently attended banquets with foreigners. Normally the emperor should have handled this himself, but he seemed busy trying to solidify his internal position. Given the current situation, even Lady Eom didn’t seem to have the nerve to step forward. Well, it made sense that Sunjong couldn’t possibly host foreign envoys for dinner and discuss the international situation with them. What would that fool even know? If he could simply keep his mouth shut in front of the envoys, that would already be a tremendous improvement.

Of course, there were somewhat competent figures like Yi Kang, but could they possibly compare to me, who possessed the Universal Language ability and served as the face of the nation? The Korean imperial family had already had its prestige completely ruined by Gojong, so it was only natural that foreign ambassadors would want nothing to do with them.

“It seems there is a lot of talk about Your Excellency within the palace.”

“Is that so?”

“They are apparently fixating on Your Excellency’s gender. I’m not sure if they even have a conscience.”

Nam Sang-deok openly mocked the conservative faction. Of course he could. From an international perspective, this was probably the first time they had seen a woman achieve such feats. I might very well be remembered right after Joan of Arc. Even the so-called advanced colonial empires didn’t exactly have stellar women’s rights. Would Korea be any different? Tsk, now I suddenly feel like ranting about feminism. Never mind. In the end, the one with power wins anyway.

Fortunately, the Sapodae didn’t look down on me for being a woman. We had been through too much together. The Manchu and Han Chinese troops had initially disregarded me as well, but they soon followed me without question. I had cheerfully smashed the skulls of Qing soldiers with my handaxe and ruthlessly cut down civilians who resisted. How could they see someone like that as a mere woman? They already understood that power was everything.

But this ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was the Korean Peninsula. It probably wouldn’t be easy for me to be acknowledged here.

Appointing Yi Beom-yun as Prime Minister had been the right decision. Of course, becoming Prime Minister after just one war would have been ridiculous, but even now there was already so much talk about me. If it became public knowledge that I was the successor or that I stood at the center of the power structure in this carefully arranged board, all hell would break loose.

“Hm, it’s a good thing I already secured control of the military.”

If I hadn’t taken control through the Sapodae, Lady Eom or someone else would have come after me. But looking at the state of those bastards now, it seemed like they might try something at any moment. At this rate, I might have to settle things once and for all. I’d rather not shed the blood of my own people if possible, but they say even a mad dog can be cured with a good beating.

“They say even Choi Ik-hyun has been released.”

“It makes sense for such a noble scholar to be freed.”

After all, he had led the Righteous Army coalition. Honestly, even Kuroki would have had a hard time capturing Choi Ik-hyun. If they had killed him, the scholars would have thrown a massive tantrum, so Kuroki must have chosen to keep him alive. That man was probably going to become a nuisance for me in the future. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠If he had any sense, he would help reform the country, but I could already see him bombarding me with memorials.

“They say Lady Eom is causing a particularly big fuss. Will there be any trouble?”

She was still just Lady Eom. As a woman herself, she was at the forefront of slandering me at every turn. That woman had been living in luxury under Japanese surveillance even during the chaos of war. No matter how much our esteemed auntie wanted to bring me down, it would be difficult. What power or influence did she even have?

“Lady Eom, huh. Well, since we hold the military power, it doesn’t matter. Bak Seung-hwan’s forces are mostly just conscripted Jinwidae troops anyway.”

The Manchurian Army was a genuine fighting force that could be deployed at any time. Even after leaving behind the minimum garrison, twenty thousand troops remained ready for immediate action. Bak Seung-hwan’s conscripts were nothing in comparison. Even if they dragged in the entire Korean army, they still wouldn’t be able to defeat the Manchurian Army. Lady Eom probably wouldn’t want to fight us directly either. That was why she was so obsessively attacking me over my gender.

“From Your Excellency’s perspective, there is also the matter of Manchuria to consider.”

“Manchuria?”

What was there in Manchuria? At least while I held the title of Countess Ok, the region from Gando to southern Manchuria served as a buffer zone between Korea and Russia.

“The Han Chinese and Manchus in Manchuria have not yet been fully integrated, have they? To unite them—”

“Ah, integration. Right.”

That was true. They weren’t fully integrated yet. Although fighting together in this war had created a sense of unity, there were still Han Chinese and Manchus. If it were the Manchus before they entered China proper, perhaps it would be different. But the Manchuria of today had a significant Han Chinese population. The era had already progressed too far for simple assimilation. When would the Han and Manchus be brought under the umbrella of the Korean people? Their languages and customs were completely different. While there was historical precedent from the Goryeo era of adopting Chinese institutions, imperial titles, and so on, assimilating them into the Korean ethnicity was an entirely different matter.

That was exactly when religion and ideology would prove useful. Unifying the language would come after that. After all, how many centuries had it taken for the Korean people to properly begin using Hangul? Hangul had not yet fully taken root even in this era. So teaching both the Han and Manchus to read and write in Hangul wouldn’t be a bad idea. But before that, religion and ideology were crucial.

“There is nothing better than religion and ideology for binding multiple ethnic groups together.”

“Do you already have something in mind?”

It wasn’t that I didn’t. I had thought about it in my own way. That’s right. There was the concept of Hongik Ingan. The ideology of the Korean people—Hongik Ingan. Since the nation was founded on the principle of broadly benefiting humanity, it was only right to unite everyone under that same principle. We should also incorporate the Russian Orthodox Church. After all, we cannot exclude Russian influence in Manchuria right now. First, we must grow our strength.

“Wouldn’t the spirit of Hongik Ingan suffice? We should also bring in the Russian Orthodox Church.”

Hongik Humanism doesn’t sound bad. Shortened to Hongikism. The ideology of benefiting others. Not bad, right? Later I should check on the alternate history gallery to see how to best propagandize it.

“Must we really include something from Russia?”

It seemed Kim In-soo was uncomfortable with the Russian Orthodox Church.

“It’s a bit awkward for me to say this since I received a Russian noble title, but Russia is rotting from the inside. It’s gradually falling apart. Since we share a border with them, Russians will inevitably flow into Manchuria and our Korean Empire.”

There were various methods. As Countess Ok, if the White Army were to be pushed back in the upcoming Russian Civil War, those White forces might come seeking asylum with us. Doesn’t that sound plausible? From my perspective, the possibility seems quite high.

“So you intend to integrate Russians as well. Honestly, I don’t think they will completely follow our will.”

“In the beginning, we will reshape them to suit our tastes under the banner of uniting multi-ethnic groups. We will integrate them through the spirit of Hongik Ingan, which seeks to benefit all people. All humans who benefit under the spirit of Hongik Ingan are our brothers. That should be sufficient.”

“Will those bumpkins in Manchuria really follow Your Excellency’s plan?”

If they dare to rebel against me? Then there is only one option.

“Then we will simply expel them from Manchuria.”

It was a simple matter. There was no need to rush at all. If they refused, we could send them to nearby Russian-controlled Manchuria or even to the Central Plains. We only needed to think about those who obeyed us. After that, we could gradually integrate language and everything else.

“As expected, you already had everything planned out.”

Planned? Honestly, it was a gamble. If I just said “Believe in Hongik Ingan!” they might call me a crazy bitch. So I had to stuff everything into it like a comprehensive nutritional supplement. Of course, that was a long-term plan. At this level, Kim In-soo should be trustworthy. Either way, he at least seemed like someone who would work for me. Just to be safe, checking the alternate history gallery later wouldn’t hurt.

“Kim In-soo. Continue monitoring the imperial family as my chamberlain. Still, as you said, if Lady Eom starts making trouble it will become annoying.”

“Understood, Your Excellency.”

Having finished his business, Kim In-soo bowed politely and withdrew.

It feels strange to say this in a woman’s body, but looking at Korean history, the saying that when a hen crows the household falls truly fits when it comes to the government. Heungseon Daewongun cannot be called competent, but Empress Myeongseong managed to squander everything he had accumulated in just one year. Lady Eom seems to be heading in exactly that direction.

Before that, I should ask the alternate history gallery about that bastard Kim In-soo.

In that case, there’s no need to keep him in check. There are already so many things to do, starting with crushing the imperial faction. There’s no point wasting emotion on trivial matters.

“Choi Jae-hyung should be arriving soon.”

Peachka Choi Jae-hyung. He made quite a bit of money this time. It was none other than the military industry. With that much capital, he should be able to start producing airplanes now, right? We need to build airplanes quickly and strike Japan repeatedly before they can regain their strength. The next opportunity will be World War I. At that time, we must destroy Japan’s industrial facilities again and at the very least seize Kyushu. To do that, we need to start making airplanes now.

He said he would stop by Japan today before returning, so I’m looking forward to it.