The Spring of Hanseong
The feeling of having to explain everything one by one makes me feel like an idiot. It’s time to put an end to this once and for all.
“Taejo Yi Seong-gye launched the campaign to conquer Liaodong in order to protect the survival rights of the Korean people. Yet you ignored that great cause, carried out the Wiwha Island Retreat, later founded Joseon, willingly submitted to China, and massacred the Wang clan. In the process, several members of the Wang clan changed their surnames.”
“That can’t be!”
Min Yeong-hwan’s face turned deathly pale as he caught on. The Manchurian troops following me reacted the same way.
“This body is the descendant of the Sea Dragon King of the West, the sixth-generation descendant of Genghis Khan through King Gongmin and Princess Noguk. Wouldn’t that make me far more noble than the Yi imperial family that began as a mere thousand-man commander under the Yuan dynasty?”
I am fundamentally different from those who only held the rank of manho before surrendering to Goryeo.
“Th-that’s nonsense! There can’t possibly be any descendants of King Gongmin and Princess Noguk! That’s a lie!”
Lady Eom shook her head as if possessed. Of course she would think so. Genetic testing isn’t exactly easy in this era.
“If I hadn’t inherited such blood, I would have died right here, wouldn’t I? Don’t you agree?”
There is such a thing as the seed of kings and generals. Having been born with noble blood, I am fundamentally different from the likes of you. Even if I were shot by a gun, I wouldn’t die.
“Y-you intend to restore Goryeo!”
As if. Even if we revived an old dynasty in this day and age, it would become nothing more than a symbolic figurehead, like a figurine tucked away in the back room. I have no intention of doing that, nor do I plan to produce an heir. If I did, I would be completely powerless. Therefore, we must not restore Goryeo as an empire.
“Unfortunately, unlike all of you, the imperial family will never regain power from this point forward. However, every single member of the Geunhwang faction who attempted to strike the cabinet this time will be purged. Above all, the people have been greatly disappointed by the imperial family, and public sentiment has plummeted. So we can safely say it’s completely over.”
With those words, I pulled out an axe.
“Manchurian Administrator! How could you—”
“Well, that’s fine. As a subject of the Korean Empire, I shall speak first.”
Just as I have done all along, I will continue to act as a subject of the Korean Empire. So shut your mouth and listen to what I have to say.
“Hah! You still call yourself a subject of the Korean Empire? With that so-called noble blood of yours, why not just restore Goryeo instead!”
Lady Eom sneered as if making one last petty act of resistance, but it wasn’t even funny. I spread both arms wide and laughed heartily.
“Ahahahahahaha! Do you still not understand? I am mocking all of you right now. I am saying that I could arbitrarily take the position of subject, or truly restore Goryeo if I wished. I am saying that I could treat every last one of you like slaves right here and now. What does that mean? It means I can kill you. The imperial family—the greatest pus in this country.”
I now possess that much power and authority. But you have nothing left. Therefore, the wisest thing for you to do is to shut up and obey. Even so, unlike you people, I will still follow proper procedure.
“Frankly, even if Your Ladyship were to remain in that position, what use would it be? The world no longer revolves around China and the Korean Empire. The British Union possesses a vast territory where the sun never sets. Right above us, the Russian Empire holds an enormous domain stretching from Asia to Europe. And the United States is a nation overflowing with resources and wealth simply by virtue of its landmass. Even tightening our belts to stand against them would barely be enough—yet all Your Ladyship ever worries about is imperial authority. Why do you never concern yourself with the fate of the nation? Why did Taejo rebel at Wiwha Island, destroy Goryeo, and found Joseon in the first place?”
Yi Seong-gye established a new country to save the people who had fallen into despair. I merely packaged it that way. Yet here they are, desperately trying to reclaim imperial power at this late stage. How absurd.
“If you had truly seized Hanseong, I would have resigned from my posts as Minister of Foreign Affairs and Manchurian Administrator and returned to Gando.”
“What!”
In other words, even if you win, I can simply go to Manchuria and declare independence. It’s all a matter of wordplay. After all, the Gando warlord faction that began with Yi Beom-yun is already a separate power from Korea proper. I currently hold the positions of Manchurian Administrator and Minister of Foreign Affairs. If I were to relinquish both and leave? It’s obvious what would happen. The Western powers support me, so the Korean Empire would be abandoned.
“Going off to declare independence would be fine. Oh, and of course, leaving only this Seokjojeon behind and founding an entirely new country would also be acceptable.”
“At least give us some time! Even so, against the imperial family, this is too—”
There is no reason to give you time. I don’t even know what kind of time you’re asking for. If I don’t crush you now that the opportunity has presented itself, it will only become more troublesome later.
“Do I look like I have the luxury to give you time? The Great Powers are watching this entire situation. I’m honestly so embarrassed I can barely speak.”
“I understand. We will accept it, so please, at least preserve the imperial family.”
The woman called Lady Eom was now clinging to my feet and begging. Preserving the imperial family had already been promised, so it wasn’t difficult.
“That will be decided according to the will of the people. For now, Your Ladyship, along with Min Yeong-hwan and Bak Seung-hwan—you are all targets for purging. If it weren’t for His Highness Prince Uichin, I would have swept all of you away by force already. The fact that I am holding back should tell you it would be in your best interest to simply obey. What are you waiting for? Soldiers, drag out these traitors who failed to properly serve His Majesty the Emperor!”
“““Yes!”””
The soldiers entered and dragged the Geunhwang faction away.
“You bitch! You won’t last long either!”
There is nothing more disgusting than the howl of a defeated enemy. If you were so upset, you should have won. Even if you had, all that would remain is ‘the Russian Empire descending south to swallow a Korean Empire without its Jade Count.’ I don’t know how they planned to stop that, but one thing is certain—these people never once thought about the citizens. Rulers are the same in every era. Even in the distant future, world leaders would start wars for the sake of their own power, which eventually escalated into nuclear war. Even in the world after the nuclear war, the newly powerful who established a new order would create their own laws, fight among themselves, and collapse one after another. The Korean Empire’s imperial family would have been no different. Their mindset was simply to reclaim power first, no matter what.
In any case, the Korean Empire’s imperial family ultimately failed in this final act of resistance.
And then there was the last one left—the golden child.
“H-hiiik. S-spare me. I only did what Her Ladyship—”
I pressed the axe against the neck of Yi Cheok, who was making that ear-rotting noise. With this, I could chop off your worthless head anytime I wanted. The best thing you could do to preserve your own life right now is to shut your mouth.
“Be quiet, Your Majesty.”
“Hic.”
What a coward. It seems this bastard really didn’t come this far of his own will. He had simply gone along with whatever Lady Eom told him to do, or acted under her pressure. I have no intention of doing what Yi Seong-gye’s faction did during the time of King Gongyang. He was never suited to be a monarch in the first place, and his intelligence isn’t exactly stellar. Given that he had no choice but to be manipulated, I can overlook that much.
“Killing the likes of you would be nothing. But since I understand the special circumstances you find yourself in, I will end things here.”
I could understand the situation Yi Cheok was in. He hadn’t exactly lived a good life. In this world, he had at least performed the role of the final flame well enough, but that was all. A man who was swayed by everyone around him. Nothing more than a puppet that Lady Eom used in her attempts to make her son the successor. He himself probably hadn’t wanted to be in that position. With his father dead, he was stuck in an awkward limbo. Having seen people like this many times in a ruined world, I knew exactly what he was.
“Wh-what will become of me?”
I have no intention of killing him. What would be the point of killing such an idiot? For now, a scene of abdication would need to be shown. Only then could we completely end the Korean Empire. Manchuria would also need to be fully integrated.
“I will ensure you have enough to live on. But you must live as quietly as a dead rat.”
With those final words, I left Seokjojeon.
The citizens of Hanseong were gathered in droves, waiting for my answer, while Manchurian troops maintained order. I stood before them and declared proudly,
“Everyone, we have won! The incompetent imperial family will now disappear, and a new tomorrow for this country will dawn!”
“Long live the Jade General!” “Long live Hongikism!” “Long live the Samhan people!”
They no longer mentioned the Korean Empire or His Majesty the Emperor. Before I came out, Yi Wan-yong or someone must have stirred them up just enough to make them realize that the empire had become a pathetic relic. The answer was obvious. To them, the concept of ‘the nation’ had become less important than the Samhan people. The people themselves had become what mattered.
“I hereby promise to all of you, the people, that we will follow the proper procedures, punish the criminals, and open a new era!”
Waaaaaaaaah!
Good. This should do it. Even in the distant future, long after independence from colonial rule, the imperial family would still exist in the 21st century. Of course, they wouldn’t remain as emperors of an empire, but merely as a group that presided over the imperial house. It would probably end up the same here. But I must make absolutely sure that any talk of imperial restoration never sees the light of day.
“We should also erase the plum blossom attached to the top of Seokjojeon. All symbols of the Korean Empire’s imperial family must be completely wiped out.”
That plum blossom pattern at the top of the building. It has always irritated me to no end. As long as it remains, it feels like the symbol of this empire still lingers.
“If only the times were better, being emperor wouldn’t be such a bad gig.”
But unfortunately, I have a woman’s body, and unfortunately, reviving Goryeo as a monarchy in this era would cause problems. In that case, I would have to aim for it in a different way. For now, I will restore Goryeo. But I will restore it in a way that transitions into something like a republic. After all, the name by which Korea is known throughout the world is derived from Goryeo—Corea. Both Daehan and Joseon lack any real foundation, don’t they? Of course, there are countless cases where a country’s international name differs from its official one, but the Korean people were strongest when the national title was Goryeo. Therefore, whether it’s a republic or whatever else, restoring Goryeo is the right choice. That way, the name will actually carry some weight.
To be honest, I also plan to make use of this bloodline. It is to gain legitimate legitimacy for eventually bringing even Mongolia into our sphere of influence. As a direct descendant of Genghis Khan and a member of the Goryeo royal family, which can be considered a collateral branch, there should be nothing impossible.
“You have finally taken the throne.”
“The throne? Anyone listening would think I’m power-hungry.”
Unfortunately, that is not the case. To me, power is merely a means to prevent such a pathetic world from repeating itself.
“Then, what do you plan to do from now on?”
If he asks what I plan to do, it is only natural to answer. We must continue moving forward. Always forward.
“Not yet. I still need to step forward from the outside for the future of the Korean people. If I were to become Prime Minister or anything like that right now, it would become difficult for me to go out and fight myself, wouldn’t it?”
Does a leader ever go out to fight? Did Churchill personally slap Hitler across the face? Did Stalin and Hitler ever have a direct soul-to-soul brawl? Unfortunately, once you become Prime Minister, all you do is give orders. If that were the case, I would have to be satisfied with just Manchuria. The war must continue with me at the front. Only when Yi Beom-yun eventually steps down later should I take the position of Prime Minister.
“But before that, shouldn’t we wrap up this incident? Since His Excellency the Prime Minister is safe, we should convene an emergency cabinet meeting.”
He was right. That was another matter that needed to be resolved. We couldn’t leave this situation unattended forever.
“I suppose so.”
To be honest, I had secretly hoped that Yi Wan-yong would side with the imperial family, but as expected of a traitor, his maneuvering is on another level. It looks like I’ll just have to work him hard as planned.
***
The diplomats of various countries gathered in small groups in Hanseong, chattering about the recent uprising.
The imperial family’s utterly foolish and bizarre behavior.
“How on earth did this coup happen?”
“They say that woman called Lady Eom launched a palace coup to remove the Jade Count.”
“Is she out of her mind? Against that monster?”
A coup against the Jade Count? What else could she be but a madwoman? Frankly, the Korean Empire was a country that could be flipped upside down anytime the Jade Count decided to get serious. And yet this insane imperial family had once again done something utterly incompetent.
“From the perspective of European nations like ours, the Jade Count’s regime is certainly preferable to an imperial family that is neither one thing nor the other.”
A figure friendly to Europe was important.
“But does the Jade Count have the strength to completely seize control? Biologically speaking, isn’t she a woman?”
“It is true that this country called the Korean Empire is particularly rigid in that regard. Hmm. For now, it seems we should simply tacitly approve of this coup. The only thing that gives us pause is this thing called Hongikism.”
This Hongikism is the problem. No one can figure out what kind of ideology it is supposed to be.
“Isn’t it just an attempt to create a rallying point to gather the people? Surprisingly, the Jade Count carried out the protests peacefully in order to remove the imperial family, and the imperial family was stupid enough to open fire and hand her all the justification she needed.”
“Monster or not, the Jade Count is someone who understands reality very well. If it were just her alone, maybe. But with an entire country at stake, she cannot act recklessly. Frankly, without the Jade Count, Korea is nothing but an empty eggshell.”
That Hongikism is still a problem. But there is nothing we can do about it. For now, the only option is to support the Jade Count.