The Founding of the Fourth Goryeo

So the best we can do for you is spare His Highness Prince Yeong. Do you understand what that means?

In other words, the most we can protect right now is you. And even that might become impossible if the citizens of Hanseong start screaming for blood in the name of Hongikism. Refusing them would be difficult.

“Such…”

“The people’s resentment toward the imperial family is simply too great. Someone has to take the fall, and the culprit behind the pro-imperial coup has already been clearly identified, hasn’t he?”

Pro-imperial coup. That was how the world was told it happened. To the subjects of the Korean Empire—everyone except the cabinet and the imperial family itself—the emperor sat at the absolute top of the power structure. They believed the cabinet only existed because the throne had graciously lent them authority, an authority that could be revoked at any moment. And now, sensing their own ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠position growing precarious, they had staged a coup to dismantle the imperial house. That was the story. The citizens knew it too.

If we dragged our feet and failed ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to execute Noble Consort Eom, the people—united as they were under Hongikism—would never stay silent.

“Is there truly no other way?”

I already told him there wasn’t. I absolutely loathe it when kids throw tantrums like this. It’s exactly why I never wanted more children.

“Your Highness should worry about saving yourself first. For now, I’ll give you a place to live and strongly recommend changing your family name.”

“Then at least… on the way there, the last time…”

He wanted to stand by his mother until the end, like a son should. At least he didn’t seem driven by revenge. That was a relief. Of course, I would still have him watched just as closely as Sunjong. Making them live together might even be the cleanest solution.

“That won’t be possible. The citizens of Hanseong will attend the hanging as well. It would cause problems if your existence became known.”

Was she insane? There was no telling what kind of poison Noble Consort Eom might have planted in the boy. Better to keep them apart. Too cold? If I didn’t handle things this ruthlessly, the future would become an endless headache. Every single force that could interfere had to be ripped out by the roots right now. As for revenge, saving the boy at all had been the best I could offer. I had ended it by burdening him with just enough guilt to keep him quiet.

And so the ringleaders of the pro-imperial coup were hanged alongside her.

Countless figures met their end at the gallows that day. Noble Consort Eom dangled from the rope like a broken doll. Bak Seung-hwan and Min Yeong-hwan followed her. As for the rest, I had already swept them up in advance. The conservative faction was eradicated, root and branch.

I made sure Prince Yeong was kept far from the execution site. Later I would fabricate a new identity for him and send him away. After purging every last traitor, we moved on to appointing new personnel.

“Land reform is complete. Now we can push forward without worrying about who’s watching. We need to develop domestic resources immediately.”

We had been advancing reforms for some time, but the imperial family’s constant scrutiny had kept us from moving at full speed. With the funds flowing in from China, it was time to expand infrastructure aggressively—highways included. The Japanese had proven surprisingly useful in that regard.

And for the future, we had to begin preparations for oil drilling right away. America seemed the safest bet. Securing the Daqing oil fields was non-negotiable. To do that without interference, Russia needed to be dealt with quickly.

“We will use the allocated budget to maintain the remaining regional roads.”

Good. Watching the imperial family’s every reaction had made completing even the smallest reform feel like pulling teeth. In any case, to the people we had always been little more than rebels ourselves. Breaking that frame had been necessary.

“First, the country in Asia that succeeded in modernization earliest was Japan. No matter how much we despise the Japanese, there are clearly lessons to be learned from them. We must study their process of industrial development.”

The only Asian nation that had achieved true modernization—Japan. Now that they no longer possessed the power to swallow us whole, we could relax slightly and make use of what they had built. Pro-Japanese factions might try to reemerge, of course, but Japan would have to worry about Hongikism taking root among its own people long before it could cultivate useful puppets here. They would be helpless.

“We shall do so.”

“Furthermore, the students we sent to the various European countries should be assigned to technical schools the moment they return. At the same time, we must secure education in industry and weaponry from the great powers to establish our own foundation for research.”

This was where it truly began. Having toppled the imperial family, we now had to prove we were fundamentally different from them.

“Now that I think about it, women’s suffrage was passed this time as well.”

Correct. President Yi Beom-yun had seen it through properly. From what I heard, pushing the bill had been difficult primarily because of Noble Consort Eom’s interference. The emperor’s approval had been required, after all, and she had blocked it at every turn.

“Our population is pathetically small compared to those imperialist powers. If we intend to arm ourselves with the Hongik Ingan spirit and fight external enemies, the women must awaken as well. While the men fight on the battlefield, women will produce weapons in the factories. If we ever run short of soldiers, they can at least serve as reserves.”

That much was acceptable. In the original timeline, Korea’s population had declined drastically in the distant future, and female conscription had been debated endlessly. Better to begin the awakening now. In preparation for any possibility, every man, woman, elder, and child would be forged into a single unbreakable mass under Hongikism. All for the sake of securing our survival rights. To prevent this world from descending into a fucking nuclear wasteland.

Our entire people had to stand as one.

Some time later, the name of Goryeo—which we had used unofficially to humiliate the imperial family—was officially proclaimed across Hanseong and the entire nation.

The Goryeo Hongik-ist Federal Republic. A new nation for the Korean people, a state that would spare no effort to defend its right to survive.

And so, in reality, the Fourth Goryeo was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠established beneath a new concept of Hongikism—one laced with imperialism to safeguard the survival rights of the Samhan people.

Of course, the name we used ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠overseas remained unchanged. Korea had always been derived from Goryeo anyway. To Western eyes it was the same country; only the emperor had vanished. Even the Qing had simply returned to the old way of addressing us from the Solho period.

Yeah. If anyone wanted to nitpick about it, there was only one group that came to mind.

“What the hell? Why do they keep changing their country’s name every time they get bored? Is the next one going to be Silla? It hasn’t even been that long since the apology, and now they’ve overthrown the imperial family?”

The Japanese, naturally.

“Did they apologize?”

“The Administrator of Manchuria visited while you were in the Central Plains.”

Oh, really? I hadn’t paid any attention, so I hadn’t known. An apology was no small matter, but I genuinely didn’t care at the moment. This wasn’t the twenty-first century where unresolved historical issues kept sparking fights. They had simply apologized to the imperial family for killing the emperor and empress. This was the past, before any occupation period had existed. Receiving an apology for the death of an incompetent emperor and his wife felt ridiculous.

“I see. I wasn’t interested, so I didn’t know.”

“You’re the one who pressured us to apologize, and now you say you’re not interested!”

The man before me swallowed hard, looking utterly dumbfounded.

“Got a problem with that?”

His face flushed bright red at my words, then suddenly settled as he forced his expression back under control.

“Ahem. No, that’s not what I meant. It’s just… how it sounds. Other countries will surely find it strange as well, won’t they?”

Oh? Now he was dragging other countries into it? Fair enough, I suppose.

“Hmm. That does make sense. But the only other countries that matter are the Western powers. In the West we’re known as Korea, so it doesn’t matter. In any case, your country will now have to refer to us as Goryeo once again.”

Japan had always called both China and Korea by their ancient names anyway, so it shouldn’t be difficult. Since we would only use “Goryeo” in official settings, there was no real inconvenience.

Unlike the ambassador, who looked like he was about to burst a blood vessel, I smiled with perfect composure.

“Understood, Your Excellency the Foreign Minister of Goryeo.”

He had been seething with rage, but now he let out a long, heavy sigh as though forcing himself to endure.

Wait, what was his name again? I was pretty sure it was Terauchi something.

“Ah, by the way, is the ambassador’s name Terauchi Masatake?”

“It is.”

Terauchi Masatake. The man who would become the first Governor-General of Joseon. What a twisted joke of fate. The bastard destined to rule over Joseon was currently serving as Japan’s ambassador to Korea. I just hoped he wouldn’t try anything suspicious again.

I wondered whether Hongikism had begun influencing Japan yet.

“Hmm, I see. Very well. I look forward to working with you. Oh, and I trust nothing unusual is happening in your country?”

“What exactly do you mean by unusual?”

“To be honest, the last time I visited your country I received an extremely enthusiastic welcome.”

Your officers had practically worshipped me. If I had been inside one of those erotic novels, the situation could have taken a very dangerous turn. Their adoration had been that intense.

“No, we agreed to consider that matter settled with the apology.”

I hadn’t even been trying to poke at that wound. Or maybe I had, just a little. Perhaps it still stung.

“I was referring to how your young officers practically lose their minds whenever they see me. It seems that incident really does bother you, doesn’t it?”

It clearly stung quite a bit. I didn’t even think about it anymore. Honestly, I would have preferred if something like the Otsu Incident had occurred right then and there.

“I would like to remove my rank insignia and speak with you seriously for once.”

What exactly would you do if you took off that insignia and talked to me? In front of my axe, it wouldn’t matter much. Still, I was quite good at lip service when necessary. Friendly relations with Japan were essential to us right now. Domestically, we had already reestablished amicable and neighborly ties after Japan offered a humble apology for past events. We had done at least that much.

“Hahaha. Why would a learned person say such a thing? In any case, they certainly knew how to appreciate beauty. Quite a few of them clung to me. I gave them suitable compensation, of course.”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

If he asked, it was only polite to answer.

“Please don’t misunderstand. If it had been anything like that, my axe wouldn’t have stayed idle. Let’s speak plainly. You already know the justification we used when we brought down the imperial family.”

In short, I was asking whether the Hongikism we had unleashed had begun to affect them as well. If they had any sense, they wouldn’t dare admit it even if it were true.

“If you are asking whether we have been influenced by that strange Hongikism, the answer is no. We are fine.”

He looked like he was barely suppressing the urge to twist his face in disgust.

Not yet, then. It might be spreading slowly, but it wouldn’t reach the point of toppling the imperial house. Japan’s emperor had actually managed to keep the system functioning. If you counted only the dynasty, they possessed thousands of years of legitimacy. That was far more “fundamental” than the Korean peninsula’s dynasties, which changed every few centuries.

Pulling down the emperor with Hongikism would be difficult, but if we continued expanding our influence, we might at least be able to seize real power behind the throne.

“The country may have changed, but the existing diplomats will remain in place. You can simply think of it as the imperial family being removed.”

The other great powers had accepted it without much fuss. From their perspective, they had already tolerated us after the Three Kingdoms War once it became clear how useless the imperial family had become. Only Japan had remained stubborn until now.

“Hmm. But there is still a king, is there not?”

“Pardon?”

A king? Ah. So that was what the bastard was getting at.

“Are you not the King of Shenyang, Your Excellency the Administrator of Manchuria?”

A sharp thrust. Currently this nation had abolished the imperial family and become a presidential republic rather than an empire. Although Yi Beom-yun served as the first president, the only person granted a royal title had been me—gifted the title of King of Shenyang by the Qing.

These bastards weren’t planning to use that fact to sow discord, were they? A few people already knew I held the title, so there was no real cause for worry.

“It is dangerous to dig too deeply.”

“My apologies. Ahem. In any case, since your country has demonstrated the face of civilization by casting off its incompetent imperial family of its own accord, I believe it would be excellent if our two nations continued to maintain and develop our friendly relations moving forward.”

Arrogant little shit. For now, the Japanese didn’t seem to have any concrete plans. The fact that they were responding this way suggested internal discussions were already taking place. They would have heard how we crushed the Chinese rebels in the blink of an eye. If there was one thing these people excelled at, it was reading the room. Even if the opponent was the very Joseon they had once tried to colonize, their military strength had evaporated to the point that even the most reckless elements of their army would be kept in check for the time being.

In this situation, no one would be stupid enough to look down on us.

Therefore, their current attitude probably wouldn’t change as long as we maintained our present strength.

Still…

“This is so fucking annoying,” I muttered.

Personally, it was infuriating to see the very people who had colonized Korea in the original timeline acting like this. Honestly, I had no idea how I was supposed to react.