Chapter 86
Chapter 86
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 86
Chapter Title: The Burning Korean Peninsula (2)
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“Y-You goddamn damned Koreans!!”
The Chief of Staff of the Imperial Japanese Army, head of the Chōshū faction, and leader of the Imperial General Headquarters, Yamagata Aritomo, spat out his rage with bloodshot eyes upon hearing that not only had Koreans risen up in arms on the Japanese mainland, but Japanese forces across the entire Korean Peninsula were under attack.
Koreans were assaulting the Japanese troops stationed on the peninsula.
The war situation was already dire, and now the whole peninsula was in chaos.
But Itō Hirobumi merely sneered at his friend and rival, who was losing his mind in fury.
“Didn’t I tell you not to go to war with Russia? Well, Kyōsuke—that’s your old name, isn’t it? Regretting it now?”
“Shut up, you lecherous bastard who’ll die in some woman’s arms even after death!”
Yamagata bellowed at Itō, who was mocking him.
But Itō Hirobumi, as if possessed by the spirit of Tokugawa Hidetada the tanuki, just shrugged with a sly grin.
This only made Yamagata even angrier, so he turned his gaze to the convenient target, Prime Minister Katsura Tarō.
“What does the Korean Emperor say about this incident?!”
“H-He claims he knows nothing about it. And it seems somewhat true. The Emperor is confined to the palace and can’t move, his right-hand man Yi Yong-ik is here in Japan, and anti-Japanese officials like Min Yŏng-hwan are under house arrest under our watch.”
Prime Minister Katsura Tarō trembled as he spoke to Yamagata, his patron and the true power behind the Japanese government.
The war wasn’t going as planned, the casualties were numbering so high he didn’t even want to count them anymore, and now the Koreans were causing trouble too.
He wanted nothing more than to resign as prime minister and go home.
But Yamagata wouldn’t allow it.
“Hmph. Well, he did the same thing when the Koreans rioted after the Queen’s death. Make sure to watch him closely this time so he can’t escape!”
“Yes, sir.”
Not that he had the guts left for it, but the Korean Emperor might try to use this as a chance to flee.
He was the man who had already pulled off the Agwan Pacheon, giving Japan a shock.
If he’d done it once, what was stopping him from doing it twice?
This time, he might not just go to the Russian legation but straight to Russia for exile.
Considering how the Agwan Pacheon had ultimately led to the Russo-Japanese War, they absolutely had to prevent such an absurd situation now, when the war was already going so poorly.
“Hey, Itō! Stop sitting there and say something if you have a plan. You know full well that if this goes on, the Chōshū faction—and the Empire of Japan—will be finished!”
“Sigh. Aren’t you tired of this faction nonsense?”
Unlike Yamagata, who had founded the Chōshū faction, Itō Hirobumi had always prided himself on never forming one, and he let out a sigh.
Still, with things this bad, he couldn’t just abandon Yamagata.
Though they’d become rivals lately, clashing over Russia, Yamagata was still his irreplaceable friend from their wild youth.
And if they messed up, the Empire of Japan—built by the seniors of Shōka Sonjuku who had sacrificed their lives—might collapse.
Itō Hirobumi couldn’t stand by and watch that.
“Teacher Yoshida Shōin and Takasugi would lament from the grave.”
“Ah, enough!”
“Fine, fine. Hey, Katsura.”
“Yes, yes. Lord Itō.”
“Contact the Manchurian Army command immediately and have them send some troops to the peninsula to suppress the Korean uprising. The garrison there alone won’t cut it.”
“P-Pardon? B-But in the current situation, pulling troops arbitrarily could lead to disaster...”
Katsura Tarō spoke cautiously, but Itō Hirobumi tapped his temple as if to say think about it.
“Halt the offensive and form a separate unit to send down. The front is stuck in stalemate anyway, and pushing on just wastes more troops for nothing.”
“That’s true, but...”
“Besides, things have come to this—we need to end the war around now. Didn’t America just offer to mediate peace talks with Russia?”
“Yes. Britain seems to want us to accept it too.”
It was only natural.
Britain was shocked by the Japanese army’s over 100,000 casualties in less than six months since the war began.
They’d expected Japan to be at a disadvantage against Russia, but not like this.
No matter how fortified the Russian lines were, how could they fail to advance properly for months?
Baron Hans von Choi’s prophecy—not prophecy—was coming true.
If Britain hadn’t rushed to supply Japan with Maxim machine guns and other weapons and ammo, the Japanese army would have been crushed by the Russians and lost the war outright.
Britain had now completely abandoned its hopes for Japan.
The British government wanted to end the war through diplomatic negotiations, just as Baron Hans von Choi had suggested.
The war was perfectly stalemated, with neither side able to launch a proper offensive.
An ideal moment to end it.
However, the baron’s proposed settlement had Russia taking northern Manchuria in exchange for withdrawing from Lüshun and the Korean Peninsula.
But Japan had fought so poorly that even northern Manchuria might not be enough.
Thus, Britain was prepared, if worst came to worst, to let Russia have Mongolia too.
Of course, the Japanese government was greatly disappointed upon hearing of Britain’s shift.
But even the Japanese knew deep down that dragging the war against the Russian Empire any further was impossible.
They’d just kept quiet because admitting it meant they’d have to disembowel themselves.
But now, they didn’t even have time to agonize.
As far as Itō could see, Japan’s only option was to end the war quickly and grab whatever they could.
“Damn it...”
Yamagata muttered with a dissatisfied face at Itō’s words that they had to end the war like this.
But he wasn’t empty-headed, so he reluctantly agreed with Itō.
“Still, we must take Korea as war spoils. Otherwise, the Chōshū faction is done for!”
It was the Chōshū faction, led by Yamagata Aritomo and Katsura Tarō, that had most vehemently pushed for all-out war with Russia.
But if the war ended without reparations or any gains, the fury of the entire Japanese archipelago would turn on them.
Already, voices were calling for them to take responsibility and commit seppuku everywhere—Yamagata couldn’t handle more than this.
“I agree we need Korea as spoils, but annexing it in five years as planned is impossible. You know that, Yamagata.”
“Tch, yeah. We’ll have to settle for keeping it as a puppet state for now. And to do that, we need to crush these Korean uprisings as fast as possible.”
If they let the righteous armies run wild, it wouldn’t just disrupt supply lines—it could put them at a disadvantage in peace negotiations.
Japan’s top priority now was holding onto the peninsula at all costs.
“Katsura.”
“Yes, Lord Itō.”
“Tell Foreign Minister Komura to prepare for peace talks. And contact Minister Hayashi—make the Korean Emperor order the righteous armies to disband. Hell, deploy the Korean army to suppress them.”
“The Korean army, sir?”
“What do you think the rebels will make of Korean troops pointing guns at them?”
“Oh...”
“Divide and conquer. Basic of basics. Now go if you understand.”
“Y-Yes, sir!”
Katsura bowed at a perfect ninety degrees and shouted.
Itō watched Katsura rush out of the room and gave a cold smile.
‘Once the war ends, that blockhead’s days as prime minister are over.’
With the Russo-Japanese War in this state, no matter what Katsura did, he couldn’t hold onto the premiership.
The outraged public wouldn’t let him.
‘And that will be my opportunity.’
The Empire of Japan still needed him, after all.
Itō Hirobumi muttered to himself, revealing his ambition for power once more.
August 1904, Hanyang, Korean Empire.
“What in the world is this?!”
Captain Park Seung-hwan of the 1st Battalion, 1st Regiment, Imperial Guard of the Korean Empire—which protected the imperial family and capital Hanyang—raised his voice at the Japanese troops who had suddenly burst into the barracks during training.
Ever since the Russo-Japanese War broke out and Japan seized control of the Korean Empire, relations between the Korean Imperial Army and Japanese forces had been strained.
Korean soldiers ignored Japanese officers, treating them like ghosts without even saluting, and the Japanese reciprocated.
Yet no major incidents had occurred because neither government wanted to escalate things.
The Japanese had orders not to provoke the Koreans and avoided clashes, while the Koreans turned a blind eye to Japanese high-handedness for the same reason.
But with righteous armies springing up like mushrooms across Korea’s eight provinces starting from Confucian scholars like Choe Ik-hyeon, and some frontline Japanese troops returning to the peninsula, the situation changed rapidly.
“By imperial decree, the Korean Empire Guard is to suppress the rioters harming Russo-Japanese friendship under Russian orders, effective immediately.”
“What? Rioters? Imperial decree?”
Captain Park Seung-hwan stared in disbelief at the Japanese officer’s words.
Fine, calling the righteous armies fighting to expel Japan from the country “Russian puppets and rioters” was one thing.
But an imperial decree? Why were they delivering it to him?
As Park began to feel an ominous premonition, the Japanese officer gave the answer.
“His Korean Imperial Majesty has placed the Korean army under Japanese command. I can show you the order if you wish.”
At the shameless words, Park involuntarily squeezed his eyes shut.
He could guess what was happening.
‘So the Japs are finally making this country dance to their tune!’
It probably wasn’t a direct order from the Emperor.
Obviously, the Japanese had coerced him into it again.
And the pro-Japanese traitors in the Korean government would have acquiesced.
Park ground his teeth to suppress his rising fury.
‘Point guns at my own people for the Japanese?!’
He’d become a soldier to protect the Emperor and his country, not to trample fellow Koreans at Japanese behest.
Captain Park felt a strong urge to rip off his insignia, join the righteous armies fighting the Japanese, but even a coerced imperial decree was still an imperial decree.
In the end, Park and the Korean Imperial Guard, along with the rest of the army, joined the Japanese in suppressing the righteous armies, their faces dark.
Bang! Rat-a-tat-tat!
“Captain! The Japanese offensive is too fierce!”
“Even the government troops are attacking us!”
“Urgh! Notify all units—we’re retreating to the mountains!”
Not only had the Japanese launched a full assault, but with Emperor Gojong’s disbandment order, the Korean Imperial Army turned on them too. The righteous armies, once poised to turn Korea upside down, began to waver badly.
“The rebels’ courage is admirable, but if we don’t crush them swiftly, the fate of the Empire of Japan hangs in the balance. Remember that, and sweep through like the wind—fierce as fire!”
“Hai!”
At General Nogi Maresuke’s command—tasked with suppressing the unrest on the peninsula—the Japanese troops pressed the righteous armies relentlessly with superior weapons like Hotchkiss machine guns.
In original history, Nogi had caused massive casualties through incompetent command at the Siege of Lüshun, then committed seppuku postwar from guilt. But here, with no Lüshun siege, he’d been pulled from the front to the peninsula.
This was because Nogi enjoyed Emperor Meiji’s great trust—later tutoring Hirohito—and as a Chōshū native and Shōka Sonjuku alumnus like Itō and Yamagata, the top brass wanted to give him a chance to earn merits. Blood ties and regional connections at work.
In any case, as time passed, the righteous armies fell increasingly on the defensive.
Trench warfare had emerged far earlier than in original history, ruining their war with Russia—but the Japanese weren’t weaklings. Lacking supplies and weapons, the righteous armies couldn’t realistically face them head-on.
“I cannot point weapons at my countrymen. I surrender.”
And as Itō had schemed, the Korean army’s involvement shook the rebels’ morale.
When the Imperial Guard appeared, Choe Ik-hyeon sighed and surrendered as in original history. Some righteous armies, spotting Emperor Gojong’s guards, felt betrayed and laid down arms.
Yet despite the desperate situation, many righteous fighters refused to quit, resisting Japan.
They retreated to the mountains for guerrilla warfare, harassing the Japanese nonstop, while the Japanese scoured everywhere to root them out.
As the Korean Peninsula burned like this, Hans von Choi finally returned to Germany from Southwest Africa.
And before the boy stood the Kaiser, holding a medal with a satisfied smile.