The Traitor's Evasive Maneuvers
His face was the very picture of dumbfounded shock, as if he were wondering whether I truly intended to drag the emperor down from the throne. Yeah. The current mess really does resemble the moment when Yi Seong-gye seized power at the end of the Goryeo dynasty. It must feel like he’s watching that era unfold all over again. Perhaps he even sees himself as Jeong Mong-ju standing before Yi Bang-won right now.
Of course, I’m not a lunatic like Taejong. I clasped both hands together, rested my chin on them, and gazed at Yi Wan-yong with an amused smile.
“It’s not as if dethroning them is the only option. However, in the worst-case scenario, if you truly had to choose between the Yi imperial family and the nation itself, which would you pick, Minister of Education? Between an incompetent royal house and tens of millions of Joseon people, what would you choose?”
At my question, Yi Wan-yong swallowed hard. Yeah. I’m genuinely curious what he’ll say. This is the part I’ve been looking forward to. How will this traitor interpret my words?
“Um… may I speak on a slightly different topic for a moment?”
“Go ahead.”
I can afford to listen to whatever thoughts this bastard is harboring. What matters to me is whether he’ll cling to the conservative faction and try to stab me in the back.
“There was Po-eun Jeong Mong-ju of the previous Goryeo dynasty. When he stood before Taejong and gave his response poem to the Haga…”
Yi Wan-yong continued, his traitor’s beard twitching slightly.
“You mean the Dan-sim-ga.”
Why is he suddenly bringing that up? Is this guy seriously viewing me as Yi Bang-won? If things don’t go my way, I suppose I’ll have to cosplay as him. Unlike Yi Bang-won, though, I don’t use subordinates. I just smash their skulls with my axe.
“I believe that Dan-sim-ga was rather foolish.”
“Do you now?”
I think it was pretty stupid too. If he’d known Yi Bang-won’s temperament, he would have realized the Haga was an ultimatum. Answering with the Dan-sim-ga at that point? He should have pretended nothing was wrong, acted like he was postponing his reply, and survived first. Only afterward should he have tried to undermine Yi Seong-gye’s faction. He failed.
Yeah. So what is our traitor thinking?
“Wine must be stored in new wineskins. If it allows the tens of millions of Samhan people to become prosperous and strong, then in my opinion it is acceptable to remove the old signboard—just as the previous Goryeo did.”
Oh ho. Yeah. He really knows how to use that head of his. This is exactly the level that makes him worth using. He’s perfect as our dog. It doesn’t seem like he’s just saying this to escape the current situation. No matter what, the guy must realize he isn’t in Jeong Mong-ju’s position.
Using this traitor bastard feels a bit distasteful, but right now I have to use even someone like him.
“I understand your intentions clearly, Minister of Education. Time is of the essence, so I entrust you with the future reforms of this nation. Do well.”
“Yes, I shall exert every effort. For this country—no, for the future of the nation—I will devote my humble strength.”
Yi Wan-yong bowed deeply.
He’s a son of a bitch who knows how to use his brain quite well. At this rate, he’s perfect for me to manipulate. Once Korea becomes strong enough to survive, I’ll wring him dry until then and then dispose of him at the right moment.
Ah, and before that.
“Ah, now that I think of it, there was one more thing.”
“Hm, please speak. I am listening.”
“It’s about a man named Syngman Rhee.”
“He is the one who attached himself to me after his release. He accompanied me this time as part of my entourage. Why do you ask?”
Syngman Rhee, Syngman Rhee. What should I do with this guy? Looking at the current situation, it’s obvious his historical path will change. The question is what becomes of him in the process. If he goes to America, there’s no telling what schemes America might pull using Syngman Rhee. That worries me. Still, it’s not as if I can kill him simply for being a collaborator, and he did participate in the independence movement.
Yeah. If I unnecessarily keep him in check now it’ll only become annoying later. I can check the alternative-history gallery afterward and grab him if it looks bad.
“It’s nothing. I understand he was released together with the Chairman of the Central Council. He seems fairly intelligent, so handle him as you see fit.”
“Understood.”
Good. I’ve turned this side into our dog, so let’s move on. It’s time to seriously attract overseas investment. I should also prepare a way to make Korea known throughout Europe.
“As expected, the easiest thing is Red Ginseng.”
The easiest commodity to push is probably Red Ginseng.
Yi Wan-yong, having left the foreign affairs building, straightened his formal suit.
“Whew. One burden lifted.”
The chill he had felt around his neck moments ago still lingered in memory. Yi Wan-yong forced his pounding heart to calm down.
Who would have thought he would hear the story of the Haga and Dan-sim-ga from the mouth of the Manchurian Administrator? There was no chance he would actually meet Jeong Mong-ju’s fate, but it was clear that this meeting had been a test from Ok Jin-seo to gauge him.
“So what now?”
At any rate, securing Ok Jin-seo’s trust had been a success. After all, as a woman there must be more than a few things that felt stifling. That was probably why Yi Beom-yun was deliberately pushing her forward. In this situation, if anyone treated you as an equal it was only natural to feel grateful. The real problem, however, began now.
Judging from the imperial palace’s atmosphere, Yi Beom-yun’s military regime would clearly remain in power for some time. They would not maintain this unstable political situation forever. Whether they introduced the British model or the imperial family proved obedient enough to accept the German model remained to be seen.
“Your Excellency the Minister of Education. Have you met the Minister of Foreign Affairs?”
It was Syngman Rhee. Come to think of it, Countess Ok had mentioned him.
“She truly is no ordinary woman.”
“Then shall we follow her for the time being?”
“That woman,” he said. One must not treat that person as a mere woman. Even speaking behind her back could get one’s head broken.
“It is ambiguous to call the Minister of Foreign Affairs simply a woman. Where in Korea could one find such features? Yet it is equally ambiguous to call them European. Hmm.”
“You met her, yet all you did was examine her appearance?”
That couldn’t be it. She was too distant an existence to lust after. From the beginning there had been doubt whether she was truly a woman. To seriously think she was a man prettier than any woman—yet that chest made no sense.
“That’s not it.”
Yi Wan-yong shook his head lightly. Of course her appearance was beautiful. A woman whose looks would suit Europe. But apart from that, there was something different about her.
The Japanese bastards who had died in Hansung had spoken of her as if she were an oni, or a shinigami. Some had even attached names of various gods like Izanami.
Yi Wan-yong had seen her once before, but this was the first time he had spoken with her so openly and at such length. She was certainly ambiguous to view as a mere Joseon person. She did not fit at all as a figure who should appear in a hopelessly weakened homeland.
Honestly, this country had been doomed for a long time. It had reached the point where he had even pondered which country to sell it to and how. From such a nation, a person like her had emerged. Moreover, no matter how one looked at it, she was far from an ordinary human. Even the Japanese who had rampaged across Korea without fear of heaven had become terrified. The Russian emperor favored her, England turned a blind eye, and Germany and France showed goodwill. If she chose Russia, the country would be sold to Russia. If she chose Japan, it would be sold to Japan.
This Korean Empire moved according to Ok Jin-seo’s will. Above all, ignoring her and moving on would put one’s own neck at risk. For some reason, he felt that instinctively. What he had sensed while occasionally conversing with the current emperor was that even His Majesty was afraid.
—“Minister of Education. That… Fo-Foreign Minister is by no means a woman. She is something wearing the skin of a woman.”
—“Hahaha, Your Majesty. What manner of words are those?”
—“If not, there is no way she could smash Japanese heads with a handaxe at that age while smiling in ecstasy.”
Of course, since it was that emperor, it was probably somewhat exaggerated out of fear. Still, it meant she was a person even the emperor feared.
Therefore, if that woman decided to use Yi Wan-yong, he should at least pretend to follow her. No—in the first place, was there anyone else worth following right now besides Ok Jin-seo? There wasn’t. At least within this country, the influence of the Manchurian army under her command was overwhelming. Moreover, he had heard she had even been granted the title of Countess in Russia. That meant that even if the Korean Empire collapsed, Ok Jin-seo would continue to reign as Countess of Southern Manchuria and a Russian countess. If he held tightly to this line, Yi Wan-yong would not die.
In other words, Ok Jin-seo was this country. No—she was no different from Yi Wan-yong’s own future.
After the land reform, earnest investment in the provinces began in full swing. Looking at Korea’s current situation, Manchuria and Hanyang had developed the most. Southern Manchuria—that is, the Gando region we had arbitrarily designated—had been developed somewhat along British lines thanks to England. Hansung-bu, Busan, and other areas had also advanced, but land reform had increased the amount of usable land. Using the concessions extracted from the Qing and Japan, we were now developing the provinces and beginning road maintenance.
“The cost of protecting the Qing emperor’s and crown prince’s remains is turning out to be quite profitable.”
Through negotiations the Qing had agreed to pay annual protection fees in earnest—five million taels each year. It wasn’t war reparations, but this alone gave us considerable profit. By reclassifying the existing Manchurian development expenses as “remains protection costs” and increasing the sum received from the Qing, the incoming funds were quite substantial.
We were doing something we didn’t necessarily have to do. Strictly speaking, the matter could have been settled simply by recognizing Southern Manchuria as Korean Empire territory in exchange for returning the remains. Yet this arrangement was helping develop every corner of the Korean Empire.
“The Minister of Education is quite capable.”
“He would be.”
Not long ago we had also built schools on a large scale, and we planned to send students to study in Europe soon. At minimum we had to increase our weight class before the world war. To do that we needed to expand the military, and to expand the military we needed to adopt a standard rifle.
What I was curious about was why the Mannlicher from Austria-Hungary had come up. Since German Ambassador Zaldern had taken care of the matter, I invited him to the foreign affairs building.
“I know that you, the German ambassador, also handle affairs for the dual empire. Still, I was surprised you even connected us to them.”
The Korean Empire had established diplomatic relations with Austria-Hungary, but in practice everything went through Germany. What Ambassador Zaldern had conveyed this time probably meant he had already spoken with them.
“Yes, Your Excellency. This much is a trivial matter for us.”
“I understand you also took care of the Gewehr. But why suddenly the Mannlicher?”
“Hm, we have more than enough means to help. However, we must still consider Britain’s reaction. I am well aware that you are sending international students to various European countries to train technicians or requesting technicians from us. Yet if we approach too aggressively, it could create the impression that we are targeting the Far East. I understand you are also looking into cannons with Krupp.”
Yeah. That’s right. That was why I had considered the dual empire. It wasn’t a bad choice. Austria-Hungary was far too weak to be called a colonial empire. Of course it was still a great power compared to the likes of the Korean Empire, but apart from that it possessed almost no colonies relative to the other colonial powers.
“So you connected us to the dual empire?”
“To be precise, I merely made light contact on that side.”
“Why did Austria-Hungary show interest in us?”
“Hm, it is not without reason. It is because of Manchuria’s special characteristics.”
“Manchuria’s special characteristics?”
“Currently the Korean Empire and Manchuria are essentially operating separately, are they not? The northern Manchurian count’s domain and the southern Korean state. However, in Manchuria right now there are far more Manchus and Han Chinese than Koreans.”
“Perhaps it appears similar to the dual empire?”
In other words, from the dual empire’s perspective we looked similar? There seemed to be no similarities at all. Well, it wasn’t that there were absolutely none. I had heard Austria-Hungary had nine languages. That was why unification was difficult. In our case as well, although quite a few Koreans had entered the Manchurian region, the numbers of Manchus and Han Chinese were overwhelming. In other words, Manchu and Chinese were the languages in use.
“To be exact, we did some work on our side.”
“Did the German side go out of its way to show such consideration?”
Does this guy really have some scheme in mind? I’m extremely curious what he’s trying to achieve by handing out so many favors. We’re already receiving financial help from America, military assistance from France, and considerable naval support from Germany here. Yet they’re helping indirectly like this?
“It is less consideration and more that we also hope the Korean army will arm itself properly soon. Are you not still using enemy rifles or producing them in Manchuria? Given the sentiment of the new Korean citizens, Japanese guns should be replaced as quickly as possible.”
As if hoping it would happen soon, Zaldern smiled. That smile looked extremely suspicious.
Well, fine. Let’s hear him out. In any case, Germany—a colonial empire opposing Britain—wouldn’t be stingy over a single standard rifle.
“Is license production possible for this Mannlicher rifle?”
In the end, this was the key issue. To adopt a new standard rifle, license production was crucial. If they solved this, however, it might mean becoming overly dependent on the German Empire. Well, later it would probably be good to seriously export Red Ginseng on the international market as well.
“Yes, our Germany can take care of it. In addition, we will assist you in producing our Gewehr rifle as well.”
So the Mannlicher was a feint. It meant the Gewehr could become the main rifle. No matter how one looked at it, approaching this aggressively meant there was something more behind it.