The Right to Survival of the Korean People
I stared at him. “Y-You can’t be serious.”
“This is my family’s genealogy. Whether it’s real or fake, whether you believe it or not—that’s entirely up to Your Highness, Prince Ui.”
I pulled out the genealogy and showed it to Prince Uichin. The one and only record of the descendants of the West Sea Dragon King that existed in this world.
“Dang Sukjong… Jakjegun… Taejo Wang Geon? A descendant of King Gongmin?”
The bloodline of the West Sea Dragon King. And in the middle of it all, during King Gongmin’s era, it had even mixed with the illustrious Mongol Golden Clan. Of course, if that old man had set it up, then after King Gongmin it was probably just marriages between Koreans. But still.
“Yes. Compared to that rootless family that clung to the Yuan Dynasty, then clung to Goryeo once the Yuan fell, only to betray Goryeo and stage a dynastic revolution to receive both the country name and royal title from the Ming—ours is far more noble. We are the descendants of the West Sea Dragon King.”
The incomparably noble descendants of the West Sea Dragon King. Far more noble than the Yi clan of Joseon, a country that had begged the Ming for permission to use its name from the very moment of its founding, received royal investiture, and lived in constant fear of foreign invasions.
“This is absurd. There were no children between King Gongmin and Princess Noguk! This is a forgery!”
Like I said, believe it or not, that’s your freedom. In this world, the one with power defines justice, and whatever the powerful say becomes the truth. If Prince Uichin displeases me right now, I really will bring my hand axe down on his skull.
From my perspective, a five-year delay in reform was absolutely unacceptable. While Japan recovered its strength, all the time we had bought would be wasted on a power struggle. And if that happened, Japan would once again set its sights on Korea. All that precious time would be thrown away for nothing. Russia and Germany wouldn’t help us forever either.
“It is not uncommon for people to distort the truth in order to survive. Whether you believe it or not is up to Your Highness. But even if this is false, I possess an army more than capable of turning that falsehood into truth.”
“You intend to take revenge for five hundred years in your own generation?”
What kind of insane talk was that? Rising up after five hundred years shouting about avenging King Gongyang? Even King Gyeon Hwon, who had rallied the old Baekje people by claiming to avenge King Uija, hadn’t waited five centuries.
“Of course not. If it were a few decades, maybe. But five hundred years? To begin with, this is someone else’s story to me. I’m simply saying that if this country truly continues down this path, I could make use of this genealogy.”
No matter that this body was female. In a time when the Mandate of Heaven was wavering and people were saying the previous emperor had been a Japanese puppet, if a descendant of the West Sea Dragon King—a woman, yet still a descendant of the Goryeo royal family—survived, raised an army, crushed the Japanese, and even reclaimed the territory of Goguryeo… that would be enough to shake the imperial family to its core, even if it didn’t allow me to seize complete control of the Korean Empire.
“Hah. Fine. So you showed me this bloodline of the West Sea Dragon King. What exactly do you expect me to do with it?”
“Unfortunately, unlike Taejo, I have no desire to slaughter the imperial family in this civilized age. Besides, leading a dynastic revolution as a woman would be difficult.”
What I wanted was, at minimum, a nation where I held the initiative. As a woman, the most realistic path—if I looked at the future I had seen—was to keep the imperial family as a puppet and maintain a perfect military government. Of course, that might not be the answer later on. I could also spend the coming years quietly accumulating achievements under the empire, then later depose the imperial family once public sentiment had turned against them and transition to a republic. That was the possibility I was considering.
No matter how I thought about it, there was almost no way for me to wield real power as a shadow operator in the current system.
“So!” Prince Uichin raised his voice.
There was no need to get so angry. At this very moment, I was seriously tempted to return this bloodline to that old man and demand he give me a male body instead. Of course, if he didn’t like that idea, my hand axe could always greet his skull. What, you think I should think things through before acting? No, you act first and think later.
To push out Lady Eom and the pro-imperial faction and carry out reform, this bastard Prince Uichin needed to understand.
“A constitutional monarchy or a republic—that is the world I dream of. Of course, a military regime will have to be maintained for the time being. Therefore, I ask that Your Highness, Prince Ui, help me. If you truly care for the people of this country—no, for the Korean people—and if you are the heir to a failing Mandate of Heaven, then you must make a decision for the greater good.”
“And if I were to take all of this to the Noble Consort and accept civil war?”
He was not the kind of person who would do that.
“Then I will take the army that follows me and the influence I hold over northern Korea and southern Manchuria and offer them directly to His Majesty the Emperor of Russia. Or, since I already occupy the old territory of Goryeo, I could rebuild Goryeo with Russia’s recognition. Even a dog wags its tail for the master who pets it. It bares its teeth at the master it hates.”
If bloodshed truly could not be avoided, I would build my own country in Manchuria. Russia had appointed me a count and granted me southern Manchuria as a fief. Wouldn’t that make a half-baked Manchu state possible? The population of the Korean Peninsula would flow into Manchuria anyway. Russians would pour in later, and Manchus and Han Chinese would mix in appropriately. It might drift away from what it meant to be “Korean,” but if I later annexed the peninsula in some form, it would become a Korean-led nation with a slightly mixed ethnicity.
“So this country was finished long ago.”
“If we transition to a republic, the imperial family will simply become citizens like everyone else. If you help me, Your Highness Prince Ui will at least be working for the Korean people.”
This was the best option I had chosen. Rebuilding Goryeo by taking revenge after five hundred years was nonsense, and as someone forcibly turned into a Goryeo royal descendant by that old man, I felt no real sense of identity with it.
“In short, because there are limits to what a woman can do, you want me—an imperial prince—to support you. That’s what you’re saying.”
Exactly. I liked how quick he was to catch on. It was like being a double agent. Prince Uichin Lee Kang was currently acting on Lady Eom’s secret orders to regain control of the protestors. But in reverse, he could use that to blind and deafen her.
“In any way possible. Obviously, the Noble Consort must have ordered you to seize control of the protestors, correct? You must deceive Her Highness’s eyes and ears. And you must give your full support to the reforms that will follow.”
“Why me of all people—”
I couldn’t exactly say I had seen the alternate history gallery.
“Isn’t Your Highness currently the next in line to the throne after His Majesty?”
Originally, yes. But unfortunately, because Lady Eom had pushed so hard, Prince Yeong had become the next successor.
“Hah… You’re asking too much of me.”
Prince Uichin spoke with a sigh, staring straight into empty space. I couldn’t yet tell what he was thinking or how he would act going forward. But according to the alternate history gallery, at the very least, this man could be persuaded. And as I said, if persuasion failed, I could always bring down the axe.
“But we have no choice, do we? We must look at the world coldly. Why do you think the German Empire is asking us to serve as a counterweight? We must understand that we have been placed on the scales of those colonial empires.”
“Then… you will definitely allow the imperial family to continue existing?”
“It would be troublesome to seize power and then kill the entire imperial family. As I said, I hold no five-hundred-year grudge. The only things important to me are the living space and the right to survival of this nation’s people.”
I spread my arms wide as I spoke, as if this were the destiny that all of us—the entire people—must advance toward.
“The right to survival of the people?”
“Now that this country has been placed on the scales, it must become strong. When the colonial empires give us the opportunity, we must become a nation that satisfies them as much as possible. We must pressure Japan and fragment China. Only then will this country have a future. No—countries themselves are not important. We must bind ourselves not as a nation, but as a people.”
“Bound as a people, not as a nation…”
“No matter who establishes what country, in the end it is nothing more than the Korean people changing their flag. But what happens if the Korean people are trampled by our enemies and our history is severed? This small peninsula cannot secure the right to survival for the Korean people. This land has difficult supply lines, few resources, and seventy percent of it is mountainous. We must at least increase what we can export.”
The Korean Peninsula alone would never be enough. In the future I knew, even a half-peninsula South Korea had barely managed to join the ranks of advanced nations, yet even then it had only been a regional power caught between superpowers. If we wanted to become strong, we ultimately had to swallow Manchuria.
“Does Manchuria have abundant resources?”
“Yes. At the very least, if we can secure rights and interests in Manchuria…”
“Doesn’t Russia hold those? Are you saying we should fight Russia? Everything you’re saying sounds like a declaration of war!”
“Russia won’t last long. They are struggling to stabilize their domestic situation right now, and the Russian Emperor has already handed southern Manchuria over to me. Do you think he tore off such valuable land just to look good in front of me? It means he finds it difficult to maintain.”
I took a sip of black tea to clear my throat.
“For the people rather than the country.”
“Look at this country’s geographical position. To the south, across the sea, are the wicked Japanese. To the west is the former suzerain, Qing. To the north is Russia. Compared to them, our Korea is far smaller in scale. Even though Qing is collapsing, it still has vast land and a huge population. If they regain their senses and begin to grow strong, we will return to being a vassal state.”
I continued slowly.
“And what about Japan? Those bastards were the first in Asia to modernize and soared upward. The experience they have accumulated is on a completely different level from ours. Their population is twice ours. And Japan has openly tried to swallow us whole. The only reason we can keep Russia as an ally for now is because I exist. For the survival of the Korean people, I am necessary. War is necessary. Right now, the Korean people are being forced into a situation where they must wage war.”
“A situation where we have no choice but to go to war…”
“Then, while those two are losing their minds, we must complete modernization. It is something we must accomplish for the right to survival of our people. For the Korean people to survive, we must somehow drive out Qing and Japan. For that to happen, the nation must unite. To protect the Korean people—to protect the Arirang People—I earnestly beg Your Highness to help us.”
If I had to explain it, it was like how Hitler had gone crazy over the Aryan race. We would push forward with the Arirang People. Since “Arirang” already carried many layered meanings, it was entirely possible.
Prince Uichin made a strange expression at my words. It was the face of someone who had realized something, who had felt something. If that look ever became an obstacle to what I was doing, I would have to reconsider my approach.
“Let’s say I do as you say. I will blind and deafen the pro-imperial faction’s eyes and ears, and I will support the reforms even though the Minister of Foreign Affairs is a woman.”
His reaction was better than I had expected. It seemed he was willing to talk with me for now and hear what kind of vision I had for the future.
“Yes. Please continue.”
“Then what exactly are your concrete reform plans?”
“First, we must complete land reform and conduct a new census that includes southern Manchuria. Military reform must also be carried out again. Now that the Bank of Korea has been established, we will receive support from Russia and Germany for the time being. Using that investment as a foundation, we must build steelworks, factories, and cities in the provinces. After a few years, the skies of Korea will turn gray with smoke from the factories.”
At first glance it might seem terribly polluted, but in this era, for a non-civilized country to color the heavens with factory smoke would mean it had stepped forward into modernization. The one fortunate thing was that the Emperor had somehow managed to delay the Russo-Japanese War by two years, giving him time to import various things and attempt to revise the Gwangmu Reforms.
Prince Uichin gave a small nod at my words.
“I understand.”
“Does that mean you accept?”
He had better give a proper answer. I still didn’t know when my hand axe might make an appearance.
“At the very least, I know the current imperial family will not last long. For this country to survive, it needs you—someone the Western powers have taken a liking to. Yes. I will help. However, you must make this country a great power and secure its right to survival. If you do that, I will do my best to blind and deafen the Noble Consort’s eyes and ears.”
Lady Eom was already openly checking and looking down on me, her rival minister. And yet here she was, trying to protect the imperial family by giving strength to Prince Uichin.
“Of course.”
I had done this much with Prince Uichin for now, but in the end, Lady Eom was still an obstacle. If she continued to make things annoying later, I would have to threaten her using Sunjong or Prince Yeong’s necks.