The Supreme Council for National Reconstruction
Established to restore order after the failed coup. The Army Supreme Command holds executive authority.
Once the coup was suppressed, we devoted ourselves entirely to stabilizing the country. The Supreme Council for National Reconstruction had been formed, led by the Army Supreme Command—Manchurian Army Headquarters. In effect, it was military rule pure and simple.
“Your Excellency the Prime Minister. Are you all right?”
“I’m fine. So you intend to handle the cleanup now?”
“Yes.”
“I will excuse myself from this matter. Let the military manage it as they see fit.”
Yi Beom-yun, who had barely managed to convene the cabinet, immediately handed the entire affair over to the military.
“Us, sir?”
Hmm. Was the incident too much of a shock for him? Or was he simply sulking?
“I, too, was in a position to draw the nation’s salary. Having lived through this event, I find myself deeply unsettled. I need time to collect my thoughts.”
His words said one thing, but the look on his face made it clear he was transferring every last ounce of authority to me. He must have realized through this ordeal that the imperial family was beyond saving. Still, having received his appointment as Gando Administrator from the throne and later the office of Prime Minister, it would have felt awkward for him to personally oversee the purge.
“I understand.”
And so the Supreme Council for National Reconstruction was born.
“Our first priority must be aiding the citizens who suffered in Bak Seung-hwan’s rebellion. After that, we punish the traitors.”
This event would go down in the records as Bak Seung-hwan’s revolt, or perhaps as a palace coup by the hardliners seeking to wrest total power from the cabinet. The crucial point, however, was that it had not been stopped by the Manchurian Army alone; citizens had stood with us. That gave us complete legitimacy. Naturally, we had to reward that support accordingly.
If we were to install Prince Ui as a figurehead later and push for a full systemic change, we would need the people’s genuine backing. In the provinces they would likely view this as nothing more than a change of emperors. Since we had already used the military to sweep away every vested interest, a simple procedural transition of the political system should suffice.
“Hmm. How far do you intend to go?”
It was almost comical that Yi Wan-yong and Syngman Rhee were sitting in on this meeting.
“We must eliminate even the last remnants of imperial authority. It has to be completely dismantled.”
At least on the surface, we could pin everything on Bak Seung-hwan and Noble Consort Eom. To be honest, I felt some regret about Bak Seung-hwan, but there was no helping it. Having opposed me so openly, I could not leave him in the military. If possible I would have preferred leniency, yet even the mildest sentence would mean a long stay in prison. He should consider himself lucky simply to be allowed to live.
“It will be difficult to spare Bak Seung-hwan. Although Noble Consort Eom gave the order, he was the one who actually raised troops.”
He had moved with considerable planning. Every Manchurian-faction officer I had embedded in the Imperial Guard had been slaughtered.
“Noble Consort Eom will be executed by hanging.”
“But she is an elder of the imperial family. Is that not excessively cruel?” Prince Ui interjected.
Excessively cruel? That so-called cruelty had nearly destroyed the entire nation.
“That wicked woman orchestrated this affair. Surely you are not suggesting we overlook the mastermind simply because she bears the title of imperial elder while punishing only those beneath her.”
“Still, some merely followed without full understanding. Must we root out every last one?”
He was misunderstanding the purpose of this meeting. I had not come here to trade meaningless pleasantries with Prince Ui.
“Why should we not? This is the perfect opportunity. Let us eliminate every royal relative connected to this incident as well.”
There were more of them than I had expected. Even those who had not actively supported the plot had tacitly approved by remaining silent. Could we afford to leave them alive? Roots had to be torn out completely. Yes, exactly as with the massacre of the Wang clan.
“That is a massacre!” Prince Ui burst out.
Whether it was a massacre or not was irrelevant to me. Besides, this was also an opportunity for Prince Ui himself. The reason we were sparing him was not mere gratitude for his help. He had to become the new emperor in their stead.
“If we do not judge the rebels according to the law, how can we claim the spirit of our nation stands upright? Rebellion admits no exceptions. Both passive acquiescence and active assistance are crimes.”
Of course we could show no mercy. If we failed to deal with them now, the same thing would happen again before long. Since we were not killing them merely for being royalty, some would inevitably test us again. There was no reason to allow it.
“Even so…”
Even so, nothing. We had to draw clear lines. Above all, once the current emperor was removed, Prince Ui was next in the line of succession.
“Your Highness, steel your heart. You have already boarded the same ship as us. Or do you wish to become emperor? For a little while, at least.”
“What? Me, emperor?” Prince Ui swallowed hard, stunned.
“According to the order of succession, is that not correct?”
He was asking the obvious. It should not even be a question. If Sunjong were dethroned as things stood, Prince Ui would naturally be next. With all the others removed, only he remained.
“Are you trying to make me the emperor of a ruined country? Did you not say you would preserve the imperial family!”
Yes. We would preserve it. But preservation was all I had promised. I had never specified how far the killing would reach. In the end, it was entirely possible to spare only Prince Ui’s immediate line and eliminate the rest.
“I said we would preserve the family. I never said we would spare every single member. It is only proper to remove sources of trouble in advance.”
If we transitioned to a republic, would these people remain quiet? They would undoubtedly attempt to restore the monarchy by exploiting the legitimacy of the Yi imperial line. We had to round them up and kill them all, just as the Wang clan had been massacred. When one held the moral high ground, the correct move was to implicate them all and execute them.
“Look here. I have no interest in the throne.”
Whether he was interested or not made no difference. Bloodlines did not ask for permission. If he truly wanted it, then the emperor of a ruined nation would simply be Prince Ui. That might not be so bad. Changing everything at once now would only cause chaos in the provinces. It would be far cleaner for the emperor to formally abdicate, returning power to the people. If Prince Ui were the one to close the final chapter, he would be preferable to that fool Sunjong. Still, it remained only a possibility.
“Your Highness. That is precisely why it must be you. For the survival rights of the Arirang People. You have stood with us. You must steel your resolve. Everything that could become a future threat must be uprooted completely.”
I spoke to Prince Ui with grave sincerity, emphasizing that there was no one else. I made certain to imprint the words for the survival rights of the Arirang People. I was warning him not to become entangled simply because they shared the same imperial blood. Not to feel sympathy.
In the original history the Yi royal family had lived quite comfortably in many respects. Some among them had even collaborated with the Japanese. All suspicious elements had to have their roots torn out.
“I have one question.”
Prince Ui collected himself and asked carefully.
“Please speak.”
“This is not revenge for the Wang clan massacre five hundred years ago, is it?”
The Wang clan massacre of five hundred years ago? Absurd. I had never even considered it.
“How could it be?”
Five centuries had passed. Even if my family had drilled into me from birth that I must slaughter every last Yi, I was a possessed soul. I was not the original owner of this body. It simply didn’t matter to me. Still, I could use the idea as leverage. If he refused to listen, I could kill them all this time. Exactly like this.
“Then I have one request. Spare Prince Yeong. Hide him away somewhere, anywhere. It doesn’t matter.”
He was asking me to spare Prince Yeong. From his tone it did not seem to stem from deep affection, but perhaps his conscience pricked him because the boy was suffering on his account.
“Hmm. So you still have some feelings left.”
“Not affection. But… there is something.”
Something he could not quite put into words. Prince Ui surely had plenty he wished to say. In any case, sparing the boy would cause no problems. If we cut off all his limbs, Noble Consort Eom would be forced to watch the empire collapse while still alive—a fate worse than death. That actually sounded rather fitting. At least in the historical record, people might question why we had killed when it was unnecessary. Leaving such ambiguity felt wrong, and forcing the execution seemed excessive. We should show the imperial family one final courtesy.
In truth, during this incident—whether intentionally or not—Noble Consort Eom appeared to have completely excluded Prince Yeong from the plot. The boy himself had seemed genuinely unaware during questioning. In exchange, however, Prince Ui would have to follow my wishes to the letter.
“Very well. If so, will Your Highness listen to me?”
“I will.”
Good. If he would only obey, there was no reason to refuse. After all, it had been Bak Seung-hwan who raised the army, not Noble Consort Eom. Besides, I generally preferred to spare those who were not absolute enemies and torment them instead. Especially someone as stubbornly self-righteous as Noble Consort Eom—I wanted to defeat her completely, sever every limb, and leave her powerless. First we had to round up every royal relative and lock them away.
“Right. Then let us gather everyone except His Highness Prince Yeong.”
“If we kill them all, the number will be staggering.”
“We must pull out the roots. Lock them all in prison first, charge them with treason, and execute every one by hanging. Keep Bak Seung-hwan under especially tight guard.”
“Why him in particular?”
“He is a man whose every fiber is loyal to the imperial family. Once he realizes the imperial house can no longer stand in this country, he may very well take his own life to become a martyr.”
We could not allow that. Thinking of the original history, it was pitiful, but there was no reason to turn a man already doomed to die into a martyr out of mere sympathy.
Yet strangely, one person had remained completely silent throughout.
“The Chairman of the Privy Council has said nothing.”
Yi Sang-jae, Chairman of the Privy Council, had been unusually quiet. I wondered why.
“What could this old man possibly say? Even so, five hundred years is a long time. It is simply… regrettable.”
“If our people are to move forward, it cannot be helped.”
It could not be helped if this nation was to advance.
“Look here, Gando Administrator.”
“Yes. Please speak.”
“What does the Korean Empire mean to you?”
Well. To me the Korean Empire was an object of both love and resentment. Since I had not originally belonged to this world, I could not truly judge it. Still, in Korean history it had incompetently surrendered the Korean people’s rights to Japan, so it did not deserve kind treatment. From my current perspective, however, I could answer like this.
“It is like a prison confining the peoples who live across this peninsula and Manchuria.”
“You deny the country itself?”
“If we do not deny it, our people cannot survive this era. Five hundred years is quite long enough, is it not?”
“Do you seek power?”
“Power is something one can obtain at any time. I am the one who secures the survival rights of the Korean people, not a dictator.”
“Securing the survival rights of the Korean people?”
“Yes. Our people are a northern race who came down from the lands ruled by Russia and settled here. Politics is now in the hands of the reformists. What I must do is wage war. Of course, in the process I will also fill the national treasury for that war.”
Only war. Securing living space through war. Would the nation’s strength survive it? That was why I stepped forward myself—leading the army from the very front and crushing our enemies. Even so, there would be no war for some time yet.
“Is that possible with a woman’s body? Are you not growing complacent after a few victories?”
“Regrettably, we have no reason to be complacent, nor can we afford to be. That is the reality facing our Korean people now. If I held power and became prime minister, my days would be spent merely engaging in political games with other politicians at the official residence.”
“There will be considerable backlash.”
“At least until I have fully secured our survival rights, I will crush all opposition. As a senior member of the Privy Council, please conduct yourself wisely.”
“I understand.”
In the end, Yi Sang-jae had no choice but to accept it. There had never been any real options. This country was currently drunk on nationalism, and we were the ones who had supplied that nationalism.
“What of the righteous armies?”
“There were no real righteous armies to speak of. They were a tiny minority, and even they were so few that citizens in Hanseong suppressed them easily.”
Since they had no justification to fight in the first place, it was only natural. With a new emperor ascending, any remaining justification had completely vanished. We had suppressed the rebellion and would install a new sovereign.
“Then we will dispatch the Manchurian Army to the provinces. Using that as pretext, we will complete land reform and begin full-scale road maintenance.”
First, send the Manchurian Army to sweep the righteous armies from the countryside.
“Yes. Understood.”
The Supreme Council for National Reconstruction thus concluded its first meeting aimed at stabilizing the nation’s chaos.
Matters moved swiftly after that. Citizens who had suffered property damage during the march on Hanseong received generous compensation, and every imperial family member involved in the rebellion was dragged out into the open.