Chapter 22
Chapter 22
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: 12.8 Military Coup (10)
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The Army brass and unit commanders all thought the same.
Once the 12th and 33rd Infantry Divisions arrived in Pyongyang, they could put up a real fight.
The coup forces would crumble as soon as day broke.
The problem was, they were completely oblivious to what was unfolding right under their feet.
10:00 p.m., a corner of the Capital Defense Command.
"You all set?"
The young officers loyal to Yi Seong-jun exchanged glances.
The coup forces had already seized the momentum anyway.
All they had to do was ride on the wave of the revered General Yi Seong-jun's revolution—what was there to hesitate about?
With calm expressions, they headed for the command headquarters conference room.
"What business brings you here?"
When the military police asked what they wanted,
"Take him down."
They charged in, slapping his face, kicking his shins, and snatching his gun.
The Army leadership, oblivious to the commotion outside, pressed on with their meeting.
"First, we need to bring Acting Prime Minister and Finance Minister Jeong from the command post."
"Agreed. What's the status on Third Army Command?"
"General Kang Ki-jeong reportedly headed to the scene himself. That guy's something else."
"What are the odds that General Kang is one of Yi Seong-jun's backers?"
"He's clean on that front. No school ties, regional connections, or family links whatsoever."
"That's why we keep an eye on him—just in case. Have Security Command stay on it."
"Will do."
Just as Security Commander Lee Jeong-ju nodded, a group burst through the conference room doors.
No enlisted men—just young officers.
"You little—"
Operations Director General Ha Jung-yeon drew his pistol, and the officers trained their rifles on him.
The muzzles they aimed were plenty threatening.
"General Ha. Put down the gun."
One young officer growled like a beast.
"General Ha, lower your weapon. You lot, guns down too! How dare mere officers point guns at your superiors!"
Division Commander Park Seong-ryeol bellowed, but the officers ignored him.
"You're all coming with us from here on out. Hey, get the guard unit on the line."
The generals felt their words die in their throats at that single phrase.
What use was a superior's authority against these rebels?
To them, high-ranking generals were just trophies for racking up merits—nothing worthy of respect.
Right there, the officers stripped the generals of their belts and pistols.
"W-what the hell?"
Army Provost Marshal Oh Jung-gu, returning late from the restroom, was stunned to see officers disarming the generals.
"Disarm General Oh too."
Oh Jung-gu resisted, but the officers casually took his belt.
"You bastards! I'm the Provost Marshal of the Korean Empire Army! I'm not some punk to be humiliated by the likes of you!"
The young officers dismissed Oh Jung-gu's tirade as so much barking.
Park Seong-ryeol shot Oh Jung-gu a look.
It meant words like that wouldn't work on them.
Only then did Oh Jung-gu shut his mouth.
Leaving the generals under guard, the officers broadcast over the unit comms network.
"All units, be advised: a misunderstanding among friendly forces has been successfully 'resolved.' As of now, all emergency situations are over. Stand down from alert status and return to base."
The sudden order threw every soldier into confusion.
"What the hell? What's going on?"
"No way the generals surrendered to the rebels, right?"
"Those prideful bastards? Don't be ridiculous."
With no formal order, the troops didn't know what to do.
"Company commander, what does this mean?"
"Beats me."
Separate from the troops' confusion, the Army leadership was finished.
Now, only two suppression forces remained in play.
Third Field Army Commander Kang Ki-jeong racing in from the northwest of the capital, and Major General Oh Gwang-se holding out at Guard Division HQ—that was it.
But with the time and intel disadvantages, even they couldn't stop the rebels from taking Pyongyang.
10:15 p.m.
Just three hours after the rebellion began, the coup forces had victory in the bag.
*
'All that's left are Oh Gwang-se and Kang Ki-jeong.'
Oh Gwang-se would crumble on his own soon enough, and Kang Ki-jeong wouldn't make Pyongyang before it was all over.
Game over.
Every officer bowed to me in unison.
"Congratulations, General."
"It's thanks to all of you. You did great. Outstanding work."
I clapped their shoulders in commendation of our victory.
"General, now we just need a justification."
"Right—our justification."
Truth be told, we'd launched the coup without a shred of one.
The plan was to win first, then fabricate the excuse—like Japan's Imperial Way Faction during the 2.26 Incident.
Crazy? Maybe.
But coups were the domain of madmen anyway.
That said, we hadn't done this without any forethought.
We had a "reason" ready for public announcement.
Here's what it was.
"Something like, 'We purged the treacherous ministers corrupting His Majesty's benevolence and dragging the nation to ruin' should cover it."
Frankly, it was bullshit even medieval peasants wouldn't buy.
If the emperor actually ruled the empire, maybe—but he didn't.
The Korean Empire's emperor was just a rubber stamp on a chair.
But justifications were all about appearances.
It painted a picture of stopping Rasputin-like villains from misleading the nation's top figure down the wrong path.
Straightforward, and perfect for getting illiterate farmers on board.
"I think pushing that angle works best."
We'd back up the traitors' dirty deeds with cooked-up evidence.
Anyway, to sell this justification, one hurdle remained.
'An audience.'
"Still, to push this pretext, we need to see His Majesty. What's the word from the palace?"
"We sent a liaison officer to inform the Imperial Household of the revolution's legitimacy."
"And their reaction?"
"The Imperial Household ministers weren't thrilled."
That guy's got a death wish.
Can't manage his face in front of coup rebels with guns? How's he gonna keep his job?
Time to replace him when I get the chance.
"No point delaying. To the palace. If we all swarm in, it'll look bad, and His Majesty might feel uneasy. Colonel Kim, you're with me."
Kim Seong-ju's face lit up with emotion at the words.
Being picked as my companion in a moment like this was as good as a promotion.
Kim Seong-ju bowed at a perfect right angle.
No reason not to treat Kim Seong-ju right.
He'd led the plainclothes squad through those tough arrests—this was the least I could do.
We rode Captain Kim Jeong-gil's car to the palace.
The route to the palace was chaotic too, but once the MPs and guard unit cleared it, the road opened up.
The palace was supposedly built atop the old Goguryeo capital of Jang'an Castle, or so they claimed—no one really knew if it was true.
In any case, the Forbidden City lookalike sprawled over a 700-by-700-meter plot, boasting the second-largest palace complex in the East after the actual Forbidden City.
We passed through the massive palace gates and stopped at the Imperial Household to request an audience.
An Imperial Household official scurried off to Seongdeok Hall, where the emperor resided, to handle our request.
The palace had phones, but no one dared call the "august sovereign"—so they had to send people running.
After about twenty minutes.
The official returned.
"His Majesty declines an audience."
Why's this rubber stamp throwing a tantrum?
I thought for a moment.
Something must've rubbed him the wrong way.
But that wasn't my problem.
What mattered was getting this rubber stamp to endorse my fabricated justification.
Understood.
"Go back and ask His Majesty again."
"Pardon?"
A subject demanding again after the sovereign refused?
I could feel the shocked stares.
But I could do it.
"Tell him the current crisis is extremely urgent."
"B-but His Majesty has already issued a decree."
"Ask him. The empire's fate hangs in the balance."
"General."
"Last time I'm saying it. Ask."
As I raised my voice, Kim Seong-ju glared fiercely at the official.
"A-alright."
The Imperial Household official bolted toward Sunhwa Hall.
In the meantime, word came from outside.
"Oh Gwang-se has been captured."
"It's over."
Once the emperor heard that, he wouldn't stay stiff-necked.
I signaled to leak the news to the Imperial Household.
Moments later, the official returned, all deference.
"His Majesty will grant an audience."
"Lead the way."
I followed the official at a leisurely pace.
We'd talked of purging treacherous ministers, but in truth, I—the one pressuring the emperor with a coup—was the real treacherous minister.
But what could the emperor do about it now?
He lacked the power to purge treacherous ministers.
Just as Goryeo's royal house had bowed to the Choe military regime, the Korean Empire's royals would bow before me, Yi Seong-jun.
From here on out, I, Yi Seong-jun, was the law of Korea.