The Prince of Shenyang
Rather shamelessly—
“Hmm, not bad. So we’re going with shameless after all.”
I was surprisingly fond of being shameless myself. Once again, I had no patriotism to speak of. Everything was merely a tool to me. I had to lay the groundwork so that idiotic future world never came to pass. I intended to use whatever I needed, and the Prince of Shenyang title was no exception.
“Yes, precisely, Your Excellency.”
“Very well. It’s already our land anyway. There’s no reason not to.”
Once Yi Beom-yun became Prime Minister, Manchuria had effectively become mine. There was nothing I couldn’t do. At the very least, it served as a convenient justification for my claim over Manchuria.
And so, I accepted the royal title.
“Two hundred ninety-five years have passed since the Great Qing entered the Central Plains and ruled all under heaven. Yet the dynasty’s fortunes have declined, the realm has fallen into chaos, and barbarian incursions never cease. Rebellions and poverty spread in every direction. Nevertheless, within the sacred lands of the Great Qing, only Manchuria enjoys peace and prosperity under the governance of Ok Jin-seo, the Goryeo Manchuria Administrator. To whom, then, does Heaven’s mandate to rule Manchuria belong? The Great Qing, wishing to stabilize the Central Plains and secure the future of Manchuria, hereby bestows upon Ok Jin-seo the title of Prince of Shenyang. Let the Administrator of Manchuria accept this royal rank in accordance with Heaven’s will and raise no refusal.”
With this, I had received de facto recognition as the true master of Manchuria from the Qing themselves, who had once ruled it.
Now then, next order of business. I hear some people distinguished themselves in the recent battle.
“Were there any who performed notable deeds in the Yellow River battle?”
“Yes. This man rallied soldiers who had been cowed by the Beiyang Army’s momentum and even led them into close-quarters combat.”
Following Nam Sang-deok’s gaze, I spotted a man outside the Forbidden City barking orders at the Qing troops. From what I could overhear, he was scolding them for failing to properly defend the palace. He looked vaguely familiar, so I had him brought over.
“What’s your name?”
“Zhang Zuolin of the 1st Infantry Rifle Company, Your Excellency!”
He answered in brisk, if clumsy, Korean. Zhang Zuolin. So it really was that Zhang Zuolin. I never imagined I’d meet him in person like this. He probably knew I was young enough to be his daughter.
“Hmm, Zhang Zuolin. Must be difficult serving under a woman young enough to be your daughter.”
“Not at all, Your Excellency! When it comes to governing Manchuria, what do gender or age matter? I shall serve only with loyalty to Your Excellency!”
Loyal to me, is it? He’s clearly trying to read the room and attach himself to the winning side. Still, he seemed suspicious enough that keeping an eye on him wouldn’t hurt.
“Promote him to infantry regiment commander.”
“I am deeply honored, Your Excellency! This humble Zhang Zuolin shall serve Your Excellency with the loyalty of a hound and horse!”
What nonsense. Honestly, judging by his character, he wasn’t someone I could trust. But merit was merit, and personal feelings were personal feelings. So be it. I’d need to look into him more carefully later. It had been a while since I last used the Great Proxy Gallery.
Around the time the Korean Empire’s battle was in full swing, a strange wind had begun to blow within the empire itself. Noble Consort Eom had started moving in secret.
‘No matter how capable Ok Jin-seo may be, she won’t be able to defeat the Chinese rebels.’
No matter how you looked at it, rebels always had overwhelming numbers. Chinese history proved as much. Hundreds of thousands clashed in every conflict, while the Korean Empire had only dispatched around forty thousand troops to aid the Qing. Could they truly prevail? Even if they did, it would take time. Which meant this was the perfect moment to reclaim imperial authority.
Seeing opportunity, the Noble Consort summoned Prince Yeong and Bak Seung-hwan.
“You called for us, Your Highness the Noble Consort.”
“Listen, Prince Yeong. If, by chance, the Manchuria Administrator is defeated in this battle, could you mobilize the Guards Division? Or the Escort Division?”
She was saying something terrifying. Mobilizing troops now? Surely she didn’t mean—
Prince Yeong stared at Lady Eom with trembling eyes.
“What exactly do you mean by that?”
He had a feeling he knew, but surely not. At least, that was what he wanted to believe.
“If the Manchuria Administrator is defeated, shouldn’t we seize that moment to mobilize our forces and take control of the cabinet? No, if we simply wait until she’s tied down in China, it should be more than possible, shouldn’t it?”
She was suggesting an outright coup. What on earth was she thinking? Did she seriously believe this? Pointing a blade at the Manchuria Administrator while she was fighting a war? When everyone needed to unite for the conflict?
“That won’t be so easy. It could easily spiral into civil war.”
Civil war was unacceptable. In times like these, civil war would only tear the nation apart. Had Lady Eom finally lost her mind?
“Civil war? Isn’t protecting the imperial house far more important? If we miss this chance, we’ll be dancing in that wench’s skirts forever!”
Her skirts. The irony that Lady Eom herself was also a woman was not lost on anyone. Yet under Ok Jin-seo’s leadership, the Korean Empire had grown without shortage.
“For now, the Prime Minister is Yi Beom-yun.”
“Yi Beom-yun? He’s probably bewitched by that woman too. Who knows if she’s spread her legs for him?”
A remark that would have caused an uproar had Ok Jin-seo heard it. But right now, the situation needed assessing. If Ok Jin-seo truly lost, then the imperial family would have to seize control again. More precisely, she would. Leaving Lady Eom in a position resembling a regent was clearly dangerous. It was obvious she intended to push Prince Yeong forward at any cost.
Just how would Ok Jin-seo conclude this Chinese civil war? At the very least, they would have to wait and see.
“This era no longer allows one to seize power in such a manner. There are too many eyes watching.”
“Those foreigners only care about their own interests anyway. They’ll understand why we have no choice but to strike at Ok Jin-seo, won’t they? After all, the imperial house is the law.”
What criminal logic was this? There was a proper hierarchy in place. To foreign nations—especially the many European powers—Ok Jin-seo represented Korea’s order.
“Let us simply observe for now.”
Any rash action now would be disastrous. Given how confidently the Manchuria Administrator had departed, victory seemed assured. There was no need to move and invite civil war.
Of course, unlike Prince Yeong who hoped to avoid conflict, Lady Eom was already scheming ways to oust Ok Jin-seo.
Meanwhile, that notorious collaborator Yi Wan-yong was dealing with a whining Syngman Rhee.
“Minister of Education, Your Excellency. Is this truly the right course?”
“She must have her reasons.”
She had her reasons, of course. There was no way she would proceed so confidently without them.
“You’re being far too complacent. Those people are no ordinary foes.”
“True. They’re certainly not ordinary.”
They weren’t ordinary at all. Like insects, they had numbers enough to field hundreds of thousands in a single civil war. So it paid to stay wary of anything suspicious.
“Isn’t the Manchuria Administrator acting without thinking this through?”
Acting without thinking? Was that really the case? The same woman who had been so viciously effective against Japan? No, that didn’t seem likely. That look of absolute certainty, that shadow of death in her eyes—she would bring death. Specifically, to that vast land of China.
“That woman is a master of war. There’s nothing to worry about.”
“How can you be so sure?”
There were things one could tell from a person’s eyes. That woman’s eyes, that face—she had seen straight through Yi Wan-yong with cold precision. To survive, he had no choice but to cling tightly to her.
“I can tell just by looking. No matter how you see it, those aren’t human eyes.”
They truly weren’t human eyes. They were eyes closest to death itself. Yes—like the eyes of a grim reaper. Eyes that had genuinely experienced everything the world had to offer. That must have been it. The Manchuria Administrator had seen such things. This time, she would surely bring something back. What exactly, he didn’t yet know, but one thing was certain: her influence would grow tremendously.
Which meant Lady Eom was the problem. That damned woman—how would she move? She would undoubtedly cause trouble. So if they waited for that moment… the imperial house’s authority would crumble completely.
The current Korean Empire was nothing more than a military regime. It wasn’t a full constitutional monarchy. If a proper justification presented itself and the imperial house truly collapsed, perhaps they really could return to a complete constitutional monarchy.
“We need to keep an eye on Lady Eom. We don’t know what she might attempt.”
Lady Eom might do something pointless.
“Surely she wouldn’t actually do anything? You think those incompetent fools would stage a coup?”
“The imperial house is neither here nor there right now. And if this matter goes well, even as a woman, the Manchuria Administrator will receive a thousand years of praise.”
She had marched straight into China and received the abdication of the Central Plains Emperor title directly from the Qing. For the time being, they wouldn’t dare make a sound. Still, one could never be sure. The moment that wretched, incompetent imperial house was completely crushed, that moment would come. And when it did, he would have to choose.
The annihilation of the Chinese revolutionary army by the Japanese Empire. That news had also reached Japan, leaving them astonished. After all, weren’t these the same Joseon bastards who were utterly incompetent at war? They had groveled even before the collapsing Qing and only gained independence thanks to the empire—had it really been fifty years? Who could have predicted they would advance into China so rapidly?
“Have you heard? That woman called Ok Jin-seo supposedly annihilated the Chinese rebels.”
“There must have been at least hundreds of thousands of them. How could the Joseon army finish it so quickly?”
The real question was how the Joseon army had ended the battle before even the great powers could intervene. Had they really defeated the Chinese forces that fast? Did the Joseon army even possess such capability?
“They say it ended before even Britain could intervene. Apparently there weren’t even any survivors.”
“Hah. Well, looking at those eyes of hers, she did seem like the type to slaughter people. What’s so difficult about killing Chinese anyway?”
“The Joseon soldiers all claim there was an epidemic among the revolutionary army that wiped them out. There are even photographs.”
“Ha! The Chinese really are inferior. Compared to them, Joseon has reached its current state thanks to becoming the empire’s faithful disciple.”
“What kind of disciple strikes their master from behind? No matter what, we can’t forget how they annihilated hundreds of thousands of our disarmed imperial troops.”
“While we’re busy rebuilding our nation, Joseon is growing far too large.”
While Japan hesitated, Joseon had seized the initiative. This wasn’t an issue they could simply overlook.
“At this point, turning them into a colony or even a protectorate is practically impossible, isn’t it? If we truly want to discuss the continent, we may have no choice but to join hands with Joseon.”
Japan’s continental expansion had already been thwarted by the return of Fujian Province. Even if they had returned it, the Qing couldn’t properly control it anyway—so what was the point of returning it?
“Good grief. We never should have raised Joseon up in the first place.”
This incident would also allow them to secure influence over China. If that happened, Japan would be left in an awkward position. So the question was whether to join hands with Joseon or not.
“What does the President of the Privy Council think?”
Unlike in the original history, Ito Hirobumi was still alive and serving as President of the Privy Council. He pondered the questions from his advisors.
‘Eating Joseon is difficult anyway, and right now their army is stronger than ours. While Japan rebuilds its army, Joseon will continue to grow.’
One of the reasons the Japanese Empire had annexed Korea in the original history was that Korea alone struggled with modernization. But in this timeline, the Korean Empire was steadily modernizing. It was on good terms with Russia, handled its own diplomacy well, and its military wasn’t bad either. While Japan had been distracted, Korea had proven it could stand on its own, and Japan had lost the justification of “protecting and civilizing” Korea, making any attempt to target them far more difficult.
“Given how things have turned out, we need to change the empire’s policy. Joseon shall take the lead on the continent, while Japan focuses on the south. Together, our empire and Joseon shall achieve East Asian harmony.”
That was Ito Hirobumi’s decision. Joseon to the continent, Japan to the south. Whether they devoured China or expanded across the seas, both paths would eventually bring them into conflict with the great powers. In that process, joining forces with Joseon was simply necessary.
“East Asian harmony, you say.” “You want us to abandon the continent?” “Well, if we want to rebuild the navy, we need to prioritize the south.” “Leave the army to Joseon? Would they even accept a military alliance in the first place?”
A military alliance with Joseon? “For now, let’s simply observe.”
While Japan remained torn between fearing Joseon’s growing power and realistically considering whether to join hands with them, a new voice rose from one corner.
“So this is Hongik-ism! The ideology that allowed the small nation of Joseon to rise in a single bound! This is precisely the thought that suits Mutaguchi Renya!”
On one side, a new star was rising.