The Prince of Shenyang
At the mention of the Prince of Shenyang, Ok Jin-seo rolled her eyes and nodded. So she knew about this Li Yuanhong character. Jordan had dealt with Ok Jin-seo several times before, but he could never quite read what was going on behind that face of hers. Well, how much could someone from Korea really know about a Chinese man like Li Yuanhong anyway? After Ok Jin-seo left, the consul who was meeting her for the first time spoke cautiously.
“The woman they call Korea’s envoy still knows when to bend her head. I thought she was the arrogant type.”
Arrogant type. Honestly, she was. Didn’t she dare to boss the British Empire around? Jordan didn’t see Ok Jin-seo’s approach to Britain this time as simple submission. It was more like, ‘You’ve crushed the rebels quickly, so stop spectating and intervene to end this mess.’ She was simply using the British Empire out of necessity. One thing was certain: that woman was even more of a wildcard than the emperor who flip-flopped in every direction. And she understood Europe well.
“Unlike the old conservative Korean imperial family, she sees things differently. The rumor that she once traveled across Europe doesn’t seem like a lie.”
If so, Britain could not only secure its existing interests but also select a proxy for Sun Wen to negotiate with the Qing. Their influence over China would naturally grow stronger. The woman known as Ok Jin-seo. A cold-eyed realist. That made her all the more dangerous. Not that she could actually bare her fangs at the British Empire, of course.
I knew exactly what kind of man Li Yuanhong, the military governor of the Hubei military government, was without needing to check a damn wiki. Yeah. The guy had zero real ability.
“Is this correct? We’re just handing it over?” Prince Chun’s eyes bulged at the British proposal I had brought.
That’s right. The suggestion was to grant the former rebel territories to Li Yuanhong with a position similar to a jiedushi, letting him rule it like an autonomous region. At least on the surface, they would recognize it as Qing territory. In exchange, they only wanted one or two collaborators.
“We’re not handing it over. We’re saying we should accept a mediation proposal at this stage.”
“Isn’t that the same thing!”
“It’s a little different. The fact that Britain is involved changes things. They already know about it.”
“Britain is involved?” Prince Chun’s eyes nearly rolled back at the word.
Yeah. Once Britain got involved, there was no way out. Right?
“Yes. So the situation has become rather awkward.”
“Damn it all. How did our country end up in this state?”
“At least we finished it before Britain could fully intervene. Isn’t that fortunate?”
“But won’t there be a replacement?”
There would. Some guy named Li Yuanhong, military governor of Hubei or whatever. Britain would prop him up and try to reach a decent compromise. They’d probably turn it into some kind of autonomous government. I was curious how far Britain intended to push it, though.
“It’s Li Yuanhong, military governor of the Hubei military government. He’ll most likely become Britain’s puppet.”
“Hmm. Is there truly no way to recover the entire realm?”
If we got greedy here, honestly even the Qing couldn’t handle it. If nothing else, Britain would ruthlessly exploit this opportunity. For me it didn’t matter which way it went. The biggest problem was that the Qing no longer had the ability to control all of China proper. Even if Britain told them to handle it themselves, it would be impossible.
“Honestly, even if it were possible, do you think you could control all of China proper?”
“That’s obviously—ah.”
“You can’t guarantee it, can you? With the Beiyang Army completely annihilated, is it even possible?”
He stared at me with an odd expression that seemed to ask, ‘Wasn’t that your doing?’ If it weren’t for me, those bastards would have taken your heads long ago. What do you want from me? Annihilating the Beiyang Army was something we had to do anyway. It wasn’t a bad thing for the Qing, either. It simply nailed down the fact that you people are incompetent.
“Ha, that can’t be helped, but still…”
“I understand it’s disappointing, but we have to back down here. If we push too hard, the Qing dynasty itself might collapse. Or what—you’re not seriously thinking of leaving everything to us, are you? The reason we ended the battles so quickly is because we believed it shouldn’t drag on. Think of it like the Tang dynasty reappointing jiedushi. Treat him the same way, isn’t that fine?”
“Still though.”
Anyway, even if the picture that emerges is simply suppressing the rebels, you people have no answer, right? That’s what I’m saying. With what army would you embrace regions where the people’s hearts have already turned against you?
“If you don’t have the military force to control it anyway, what use is there in claiming the land belongs to the Qing? For now, catch your breath. Fortunately, they say Li Yuanhong isn’t that formidable a figure, so once the Qing builds up strength, you should be able to suppress him easily.”
At my words, Prince Chun swallowed a groan. He knew there was no other option.
“Very well. We will accept it.”
Not that he accepted it willingly, but that he had no choice. Whatever. After all, this meant the Qing was now effectively within our sphere of influence.
And so, under the British proposal, negotiations finally began. As I mentioned, the person Jordan put forward was Li Yuanhong—the man who had stood by with his hands behind his back watching when the revolutionary army marched north.
“This incident is entirely the fault of the rebels who rose up and caused trouble. The military governor of Hubei here righteously raised troops to assist the Qing dynasty. However, before that could fully unfold, Korea helped your country and the matter was swiftly concluded.”
“Y-yes, that is correct.”
Jordan proudly sang Li Yuanhong’s heroic achievements. Meanwhile, the actual Li Yuanhong he had brought forward wore a dazed expression.
“Isn’t it fortunate that the negotiations have proceeded so successfully?”
Jordan clapped his hands and laughed. It really had gone well. It must have been fortunate that their own territory suffered no damage. To me, that face simply looked far too fake.
“Fortunate my ass.”
The words slipped out before I could stop them.
“Pardon?”
“Nothing. At last, peace has come to China proper.”
With this, it seemed peace had arrived for the time being.
“Indeed. If not for the Korean government’s cooperation, it could have been disastrous.”
What a load of crap. Seeing him smile while saying that, the damn British really were disgusting.
After arriving at the Forbidden City, I discussed future matters with Prince Chun and Prince Qing.
“Since the Beiyang Army has been shattered, what do you plan to do? It’s calm for now, but shouldn’t you build up the army so you can deal with that Li Yuanhong later?”
That guy didn’t seem like he’d handle things properly either. Many warlords would probably rise again under him.
“For now, we’ll build it up as best we can. Fortunately, we have the population that came over from Manchuria.”
That was true. Among the Han Chinese and Manchus in Manchuria, quite a few had chosen to enter the Qing. Naturally, they were people who didn’t want to live under the Korean Empire. And didn’t want to be under me. Of course, compared to Manchuria’s total population, the number was small.
“Well, at least this revolution has clearly divided friend from foe.”
The regions that stayed loyal to the Qing during the Xinhai Revolution. And the opposite—the rest of the territories. Regions still debating whether to join the revolutionaries or remain neutral. Just having such regions gave the Qing some room to compromise.
“Friend from foe?”
“If they didn’t sympathize with the revolutionaries this time, doesn’t that mean they’re effectively on the Qing’s side? In any case, since we helped the Qing, you must keep your promises.”
After all, the Qing no longer had any power over us. If we charged in claiming revenge for the Second Manchu Invasion, how could they possibly stop us? In this state, even if we played with Nurhaci and Hong Taiji’s corpses, they couldn’t utter a proper word of protest.
“I will keep them. However, I wish to discuss the issue of Manchurian sovereignty.”
“You’re not thinking of changing your words now, are you?”
If they did, I might just occupy the Forbidden City on the spot. The European powers? Who cared. I could beat them moderately, hand them the Forbidden City, and tell them to take it.
“That can’t be. Protecting the Forbidden City right now is already overwhelming. Korea. No, Countess Ok. I have no intention of quarreling with you.”
“Then?”
Then how did the Qing want to resolve this? It sounded like they were willing to throw us something suitable. Depending on what they said, our army’s attitude might change completely.
“This Wuchang uprising was not simply caused by railway nationalization. There is also the reason that Manchuria was given to Korea. Therefore, we at least wish to secure a legitimate justification for handing it over.”
I see. That made sense. Since Yi Wan-yong had gone overboard, we could accept at least that much. So what would they offer? That was what mattered now.
“What is it?”
“During the Goryeo period, did not the king of Korea receive his title from the Yuan?”
Korea had received the title of king from the Yuan during the Goryeo era. That was correct. But hearing it now, something felt off.
“By any chance, the words Prince Chun is saying…”
“Prince of Shenyang. We wish to bestow that kingly title.”
“To His Majesty the Emperor in our country? We are equal states. How can you enfeoff a king?”
For now, even though Yi Cheok was precious, he was still an emperor. Was it proper to enfeoff a king to an emperor? No, well. Other countries had done various combinations, but this still felt wrong. Offering the Prince of Shenyang title now… the timing seemed off.
“Not your country’s emperor—you will receive it. After all, wasn’t it you who took that position?”
“No, how can a subject receive a kingly title?”
He needed to make sense. Was this perhaps a scheme to drive a wedge between us?
“Just think of it simply as a title. There are already many rumors circulating. If we simply say we are abandoning Manchuria here, it will cause many problems. It will not be an investiture ceremony. We will simply transfer the position of Prince of Shenyang.”
I see. Among the justifications Yi Wan-yong had provided, one was that he had arbitrarily handed over Manchuria. So this was it. Hmm, this wasn’t something to simply pass over. It was connected to the Qing’s continued existence. If we could completely seize even a suitable justification, we could bury the fact that Manchuria had been handed over.
“I will think about it.”
I left the Forbidden City for a while and wandered the streets of Beijing, lost in thought. The current Qing was in a truly miserable state. There wasn’t a single proper person left. Of course, even if I refused the Prince of Shenyang title, we could still take Manchuria. The current Qing could do nothing but nod at our words. If the Qing rejected us here, they would simply gain another enemy in their rear.
Then the problem would be the imperial family. I didn’t think Lady Eom would simply sit by and watch this situation. But if Lady Eom moved properly this time—if she tried to oust me immediately with this incident—then since the existing vested interests that would side with the imperial family had also been shattered, we could strike the imperial family with legitimate justification. At that point, it might become a full constitutional monarchy rather than a simple military regime.
“What are you thinking about so deeply?” Nam Sang-deok asked cautiously.
“I’m thinking that Lady Eom will probably start scheming soon.”
And if that happened, we would have no choice but to remove Lady Eom and truly adopt a constitutional monarchy. After that, we could naturally transition to a republic. Some might say that if they listened well, there was no need to abolish the imperial family. But that would depend on the situation. It depended on how cooperative the imperial family was after Lady Eom was dealt with. Still, as long as the imperial family wasn’t completely overturned, Lady Eom wouldn’t be able to do anything reckless right away.
“Wouldn’t it be better to quickly eliminate Lady Eom?”
“To seize proper justification, it’s better to simply prepare for now.”
Anyway, it was a five-hundred-year imperial house. The previous emperor was known to be incompetent and a Japanese collaborator, but a five-hundred-year-old tree isn’t easily uprooted. If we wanted a perfect opportunity, it couldn’t be helped.
“In that case, you should accept the Prince of Shenyang title.”
“Why? I’m not even part of the imperial clan.”
Of course, if we dug deep enough there was Taejo Wang Geon, but at least no one except me and Yi Beom-yun knew about it, and this wasn’t right. For some reason, it felt like it would create some kind of connection.
“Since we’ve already blown it open, let’s go all out shamelessly. I am a count of Russia and also hold the title of Prince of Shenyang—what are you going to do about it? Let’s go with that.”
“Completely openly?”
Instead of smiling on the surface while secretly holding a knife like now, we should go all out from the beginning. Was that what he meant? Hmm, hearing it, it sounded plausible.
“In Europe, doesn’t the title of count exist? If you think about it, we received recognition as a count from Russia, and we participated in this battle as one, didn’t we? They’re simply giving a kingly title to the Manchurian barbarians for their own convenience. In the end, both king and count are under the emperor. What does adding one more matter?”
Indeed, hearing it now, it made sense. Since I was going to do as I pleased anyway, what did it matter?
“Right.”
It definitely seemed correct upon hearing it. It was a bit like the devil whispering in my ear, but not entirely wrong. It was within a perfectly understandable range.
“But the weight is different. If something happens to you, Excellency, or if the imperial family declares they dislike it and seeks independence, wouldn’t Manchuria under Korea simply break away? The imperial family wouldn’t dare do that.”
In short, because the weight would be different, the imperial family could exert some influence instead. That was what he meant. Yeah. Then it made sense. The reason was plausible, and this way—even though the Qing was in a crippled state now—it would mean ‘Manchurian king guaranteed by the Qing.’ Then, at least in name only, if something happened to me, the Qing could hold the Korean Empire accountable.