An Appropriate Line
***
The moment I returned to Hanseong, all hell broke loose. Even Uichinwang seemed unable to hold back this time and summoned me.
"You really went and did something big this time."
"Did Lady Eom find out?"
Uichinwang's face, which I hadn't seen in a long while, was twisted in a deep scowl.
"Is that really what matters right now?"
"Then what does matter?"
I genuinely had no idea what I'd done so wrong. I was exhausted from just getting back from Japan and wished he'd wrap this up quickly.
"How could you do this without so much as a word to the imperial family? Do you not know what those Japanese bastards are like?"
I knew exactly what they were like. That was why I'd extended a gesture of reconciliation. The ones who had been wronged offering peace—that had always been the Korean Peninsula's specialty. They called it the "fire and water tactic": fighting with one hand while talking with the other. The Mongol invasions were a classic example. Of course, the meaning had faded here, but I understood Uichinwang's thinking. He was supposed to be my supporter, yet that supporter was now dead set against me.
"I know perfectly well. They're the ones who assassinated the late Emperor, after all."
"If you know that, then what the hell do you think you're doing? Were you pro-Russian or pro-Japanese all along? Do you have any idea how much I've been hounded by Lady Eom because of this?"
His words were harsh. Why would I ever side with Japan? To drag them under, I needed to put them at ease first. Make them believe Joseon had forgotten its grudges and had no intention of revenge, that it simply wanted friendly relations with the great civilized empire of Asia. Once they lowered their guard, I could strike later with full justification.
"That isn't the case at all. I already received His Majesty's permission."
"What? Wasn't that only possible because I helped you?!"
He looked ready to devour me whole, breathing heavily. I couldn't entirely blame him. He'd promised to watch my back, only for me to cross over to Japan and normalize diplomatic relations on my own. Even for a prince, that was hard to swallow.
"As neighboring countries, we have no choice but to normalize relations with Japan."
"And what benefit does that bring us?"
"Japan accepted our demands and established relations of their own accord. That alone is a significant achievement."
"That doesn't mean anything!"
As a member of the imperial family, Uichinwang was bound to be furious. But that was that, and this was this. If I wanted to stab them in the back later, this was the perfect moment to say the grudge was settled and suggest reconciliation. That was the smart play.
"Your Highness underestimates them. If we want to avenge the late Emperor, we must endure humiliation and gather strength."
Endure humiliation, gather strength. Prepare for the backstab.
"So that's why you normalized relations this time?"
"Normalizing relations will put them at ease while allowing us to keep watch over them."
Reestablish ties, then slowly probe them from behind. If used well, we could even spread the Hongik ideology far and wide.
"Keep watch?"
"We have the Jeoguk Ikmunsa, don't we?"
"The Jeoguk Ikmunsa? Ah, now that you mention it, there was that."
The Jeoguk Ikmunsa. Officially the Korean Empire's newspaper agency, but in truth it was the intelligence organization directly under the Emperor. The future equivalent of the National Intelligence Service, more or less. It had mainly delivered Gojong's secret letters, so it operated under the guise of a courier service. There were branches in Seoul and abroad.
"Your Highness should maintain contact with them as well."
"You're really planning to use the Jeoguk Ikmunsa?"
Of course. Once relations were normalized, that was exactly what I intended. I'd heard their security was so tight that even in the future, no records of their agents existed. That suggested real capability. A little over-investment in Japan should let us dig into every corner.
"We need to show that this kind of work isn't something only Europeans or the Japanese do."
"You really mean to strike Japan, don't you?"
Uichinwang's eyes widened in surprise. Had everything I'd said until now sounded like a lie? When I decided to do something, I did it. We couldn't move forward unless we dealt with Japan. At least in this era, that was true. Those bastards were still completely unhinged. Their momentum had died down for now, but they'd rise again before long. Of course, I'd be building up Korea's strength until then.
"Yes. The day we grow stronger than them, we'll strike their backs just as proudly as they once tried to strike ours."
So stop worrying. This was all an investment in the future. If we kept acting hostile and cutting ties while nursing grudges, they'd assume we'd eventually invade the archipelago and prepare accordingly. That was the last thing we needed. It was better to look like easy marks, just as we had until now.
"Hah. So you're saying you'll act just like the Japanese?"
Calling me Japanese was a bit much. I had no intention of becoming exactly like them.
"We have to act like them if we want to take revenge on them."
If he still thought we could respond honorably after everything that had happened, then Uichinwang had lost his mind too. I'd told him before.
"You really are a terrifying woman. Do we even have a chance of winning?"
We didn't have a 100% chance, which was exactly why we needed to prepare a backstab. With the Korean Empire's current weight class, we couldn't win a full-scale war against Japan alone. We had to launch a surprise attack, minimize damage, and devour them.
"That's precisely why we need to strike quickly while we still can. The Japanese have far more population and economic power than us. After visiting, I saw they're still not dead—they're desperately trying to rebuild their economy. As someone who studied abroad, Your Highness should understand that much."
They were recovering faster than expected. Choi Jae-hyung had said there were still beggar gangs, but things had changed. At least now they were pulling themselves together and trying to grow strong again. That was what made them dangerous. We couldn't afford even a moment of carelessness. They surely held a grudge against us.
"Already?"
It wasn't "already." If anything, considering Japan's potential, they'd only been delayed by having to watch the great powers. Meanwhile, we'd been busy pulling out weeds internally, so we were essentially starting from zero as well.
"Of course it'll take time since the damage was severe. We're also busy assimilating Gando and Southern Manchuria, and our economic power is still far behind Japan's. It's fortunate that I hold the title of Russian Countess and receive support from the Tsar."
I wasn't clinging to the Russian countess title for nothing. It let me receive development aid for Gando.
Uichinwang, having understood my words, calmed his excitement.
"Hoo, that's not all. The most I can cover for you is up to the imperial family. What will the people think? The hero of the Three Kingdoms War is now talking about reconciling with Japan."
He had a point. The imperial family might use this chance to drag me down again or attack Yi Beom-yun's cabinet.
"If you think I only went there to normalize relations, you're mistaken."
Uichinwang still didn't seem to know me properly. After all the threats I'd made, maybe it was time to demonstrate my power.
"Then what did you get?"
What did I get? Something perfect. The kind of thing that would make Lady Eom tremble with rage.
"I hear Japan's former Prime Minister is coming to apologize in person."
"Does it mean anything if the former Prime Minister comes?"
Katsura Tarō himself would visit and offer a formal apology. Not some half-hearted gesture swept under the rug in Tsushima, but a sincere one. Honestly, I didn't care whether I received an apology or not. If anything, it would be perfect to use the lack of a proper apology for Gojong's death as justification for the next invasion. But if I normalized relations without anything to show for it, I risked being called a Japanese collaborator, which was annoying.
"Katsura Tarō, the former Prime Minister, was the one who led the war in the first place. Having him come is a much better look than the current Prime Minister apologizing."
It was far better than the current Prime Minister coming. Honestly, I'd never even properly heard the current one's name. Katsura Tarō was someone I'd heard of, but some random Konoe or whoever suddenly showing up to apologize wouldn't mean much to the people. They knew Katsura Tarō's name because he'd invaded Korea, but other names meant nothing.
"How on earth did you threaten them?"
"Threaten? I nearly got assassinated."
If that hadn't happened, I wouldn't have gotten the former Prime Minister's apology. From my perspective, it had actually worked out better. Without the assassination attempt, I wouldn't have been able to extract that apology and would've had to push for other concessions or prepared to take some domestic criticism. Either way, it hadn't mattered—fortunately, something good had come of it.
"Assassination? Is that true?"
Of course it was true. I'd been surprised too, honestly. I'd considered the possibility to some extent. The moment the heroic figure of Joseon—the root cause of their defeat—appeared in their country, those patriotic Japanese citizens who committed terrorist acts domestically wouldn't hesitate to stab first and ask questions later.
"Yes. Using that as justification, I reestablished relations and even got an apology."
Praise my miraculous negotiation skills.
"Those Japanese bastards doing that doesn't make sense. No matter how far they've fallen, aren't they still stronger than us?"
Our military, which had only just laid its foundations, was fundamentally different from the Japanese army. The only force in the Korean Empire's military that could match or exceed the Japanese was probably the Manchurian army.
"They're incredibly strong. I can't be certain we'd win even in a one-on-one war. We'd also have to keep an eye on the Qing."
That was why it made sense to reduce one front before Russia completely collapsed. Of course, when the Xinhai Revolution split China, it would be more beneficial for us to court the Qing side.
"Then tell me. How exactly did you do it?"
If he asked, I'd answer. That was only natural.
"I'm also a Russian Countess. The Korean Empire's Foreign Minister might be able to cover something like this up, but what if a Russian Countess nearly got assassinated?"
How could they let that slide? It was more than enough justification for war. They couldn't just ignore someone who'd saved the Tsarevich. It was sufficient cause for war. If war broke out next time, Japan would definitely get crushed by Russia. Their navy was already gone, so they couldn't stop a landing, and even if their guns were better than Russia's, that would be the end of it.
"I see. So Korea might not be scary, but a Russian Countess is."
The Korean Empire's international standing was still ambiguous. Thanks to me, they'd at least drawn some interest in Europe, but even that probably felt like watching a talented animal in a zoo.
"Russia, already dissatisfied because of the Treaty of Paris, might not be able to hold back."
If it were Nicholas II, he'd probably take the bait, right? If I hadn't reached a reasonable agreement in Japan, he might have mobilized the Far Eastern Army again. Britain had no justification to intervene further. Trying to assassinate a foreign minister who'd come to normalize relations? Japan was already marked as uncivilized—their reputation would plummet even further.
"That's fortunate, but aren't you being too complacent after winning the last war?"
Complacent? I hadn't been complacent after the last war. If anything, Japan was the one who should've been complacent but wasn't. I wouldn't stake my nation's fate on a single war the way they had.
"From the very beginning, I never considered the possibility of losing the last war. It was a fight we had to win from the start. That's what I believed."
We'd had to win. Losing would've sent us straight down the original historical path. If we'd lost, Manchuria would've fallen entirely under Japanese influence. There was no premise of defeat—only the certainty that we had to win. That was all there was to it.
"Anyway, wrap up the Japan matter at an appropriate level."
Of course. Japan was something I'd keep at arm's length for a while. Just receive the apology and normalize relations—that was enough. They no longer had the strength to swallow us anyway, and with the Hongik ideology spreading, if I showed too much interest in Japan, they'd find it suspicious. So for the time being, we'd maintain an uncomfortable neighborly relationship.
"Since my only goal was normalizing relations, I won't be accused of being a Japanese collaborator."
Normalizing relations alone wasn't enough to earn that label. Only Lady Eom, furious over losing Gojong, would throw a fit. She might even approach me regarding the Hongik Church, but that would actually be an opportunity for me to devour her from the inside. I'd only thrown out the bait—how things would develop remained to be seen.