When Heaven and Earth Cry Out

In our original history, many in Korea still harbor deep-seated resentment toward Japan due to the trauma of the colonial era. In Taiwan, however, Japan implemented far more conciliatory colonial policies compared to those in Joseon, eventually becoming one of the most pro-Japanese nations in the world.

"Independence movement? Sure, back in the 1910s, the Japanese were vicious, so I get it. But now? They're building harbors, laying down railroads—what's there to complain about?"

"Of course, the Joseon Assembly is mostly for show. But still, if we submit ten proposals, at least three of them get accepted."

"Honestly, have our lives really changed for the worse? We can speak our own language freely, and we can even read newspapers written in our own tongue. What more do you want?"

Under a far more intense version of cultural rule than the one historically implemented by Saito Makoto—the former naval officer turned Governor-General of Joseon—pro-Japanese collaborators were being manufactured in droves. Faced with an economic crisis and disarmament, Japan's calculations had proven correct. Although the revenue extracted from the colony had decreased significantly, the cost of maintaining public order in the region had plummeted even further.

Yet, radical independence activists still remained.

"Just you wait. The Japs are only acting nice right now. They are evil to their very core!"

"Then I'll just become Japanese. Simple as that."

"...What did you say?"

"Honestly, life is way better now than it ever was under the Yi Dynasty. Why on earth should I care?"

Faced with this despairing reality, the radicals began escaping the Korean Peninsula one by one, heading for Manchuria. The Korean Kingdom in Manchuria was the Japanese Empire's greatest headache, but ever since the implementation of cultural rule, it had existed in a de facto symbiotic relationship with the Government-General of Joseon.

The Government-General of Joseon 'exported' radical independence activists to Manchuria. The Korean Kingdom used those very radicals to bolster its national strength. In any case... it was, in its own way, an era of peace.

To climb the social ladder, one had no choice but to learn Japanese and endure discrimination and contempt from the colonizers. However, for the vast majority of ordinary Joseon people who merely wanted to put food on the table, their living conditions had actually improved. The final testament of Gojong, a tragic victim of deception who had warned his people 'never to be deceived by Japan,' was gradually fading from memory.

Four years passed under this cultural rule. Just as Japan's governance was beginning to firmly take root, the Great Kanto Earthquake struck.

Soon, a mysterious photograph began circulating among the Joseon people.

"Um, Chief Editor... we received a photograph from Manchuria..."

"Are you out of your mind?! Do you want the Government-General to shut us down? Why are you still in contact with Manchuria?! Shred that photo immediately!"

"I was going to, but... the contents of the photo are..."

"What is it? If it's nothing special, you're dead—gasp!"

Due to strict information control, news of the massacre of Koreans during the Great Kanto Earthquake was being thoroughly suppressed. In the original history, the Kanto Massacre had slipped into oblivion in a similar fashion. This time, however, there was a pipeline that secretly and swiftly delivered global news directly into Joseon. From Austria to the Provisional Government, and from the Provisional Government to Joseon.

"P-Publish it. Right now."

"B-But, sir..."

"Our compatriots are being slaughtered like dogs by the Japanese! Damn it all... I wondered where the traitors were, and they were right here under my nose."

"What about the Government-General's censorship?"

"Just whip up a fake mock-up newspaper and hand that to them!"

Press censorship had become considerably weaker than before. It was a reflection of the Government-General's confidence that they were governing Joseon in a highly progressive manner. After all, Japan was the only nation in the world that had established an assembly in its colony and ostensibly listened to its opinions. They believed that such an advanced administrative strategy could easily pacify any minor grievances.

But... this time, it was different. Lest the public forget, the Korean Kingdom widely distributed a royal decree once more.

Saito Makoto stared in sheer horror at the photograph published in the Dong-A Ilbo, which depicted a Joseon civilian clad in white being beheaded by a Japanese soldier. Although the Governor-General himself had heard rumors of a massive catastrophe back in Japan, he had not grasped the exact details of what was unfolding. No matter how devastating the earthquake was... how could anyone in their right mind imagine that the Imperial Japanese Army would suddenly go mad and slaughter Joseon civilians en masse?

"W-Where did this photograph come from...?"

"O-Austria, sir."

"...Then it must be real. We are ruined."

Saito Makoto, a man normally renowned for his mild and gentlemanly demeanor, hurled his ashtray across the room. He then buried his face in his hands, his expression a mask of pure despair.

"Governor-General, what should we do?"

"If Japanese citizens had been subjected to such ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠atrocities, even I would have picked up a rifle and fought back. I have nothing to say."

"But you must do something, sir! The Korean King's royal decree is about to be distributed all over the country!"

Although Japan's 'cultural rule' was ultimately a deceptive ploy... the Japanese cabinet and Saito Makoto had, at the very least, initiated it with the objective of 'improving the rights and interests of the Joseon people.' Their grand plan was to gradually implement moderate governance, appoint naval officers or civil bureaucrats as Governors-General, and eventually assimilate the Joseon people into Japanese subjects—ultimately turning Gyeongseong into another capital of Japan, much like Kyoto.

To erase the very existence of Joseon from the face of the earth forever! Saito Makoto had firmly believed that the tool to accomplish this monumental task was not a violent tempest, but a warm, gentle sun... and yet...

"Four years. A time both short and long, spent here in Joseon. All that effort has gone down the drain. Those military thugs from the Army and the Choshu clan have ruined everything."

"Governor-General!"

"What do you want me to do? Should I draw my katana and slaughter the Joseon people who rise up with farming tools, just like those rebels back home?"

Under the command of the despairing Governor-General Saito Makoto, the Government-General took absolutely no action, releasing only a single statement: 'This incident is entirely the responsibility of the Imperial Japanese Army; the Cabinet and the Navy have absolutely no involvement.' It was not a bad move.

The Government-General of Joseon had only two choices. First, appease the enraged Joseon people by promising them a level of autonomy akin to that of Britain and Canada. Second, attempt a hardline crackdown, which would inevitably result in the Government-General building being burned to the ground and the Governor-General himself being dragged out and beaten to death by an angry mob.

The former carried the risk of him being beaten to death by Japanese citizens upon returning home. The latter carried the immediate risk of being beaten to death right here in Joseon. Thus, the Government-General of Joseon chose not to choose at all.

"The Joseon rioters are running amok! Do something about this immediately!"

"The Government-General answers directly to the Emperor. Since His Majesty has shown no reaction, how can we possibly act on our own authority?"

"Are you blind?! Look at this! His Majesty the Emperor has personally issued an imperial decree!"

"What nonsense is this when His Majesty has been abducted? If you are so eager to suppress them, go ahead and do it 'independently.' The Imperial General Headquarters hasn't said a word, have they? Or have you lot aligned yourselves with Kita Ikki as well?"

"W-What...!"

In this unprecedented crisis, who would take responsibility? Japan was a deeply bureaucratic nation, and as good bureaucrats, the correct choice in such a situation was naturally to 'do absolutely nothing.' Consequently, while Joseon citizens, enraged by the massacre, raided Japanese army barracks and torched Japanese shops... miraculously, the Government-General building remained completely untouched.

"Even though I hate the Japs, I don't really hate that Saito Makoto fellow. He's actually quite decent."

"If it were any other Governor-General, all twenty million of us would be dead by now. Even the Japanese soldiers are actively avoiding us instead of trying to kill us!"

Much like Mutaguchi Renya, Saito Makoto was already being treated as an 'honorary Korean' and a 'shadow independence activist.' While Renya had actively championed the independence movement, Saito Makoto had simply achieved this status inadvertently through his passive inaction.

Armed with all kinds of intelligence provided by Austria, the Provisional Government in Manchuria had a complete grasp of the power dynamics within Japan. Naturally, they also saw the situation unfolding on the ground in Joseon as clearly as the palms of their hands.

"The Government-General of Joseon... is taking absolutely no action? Hmm..."

How much did Saito Makoto actually know about the situation in Japan? He undoubtedly knew far less than Kim Kyu-sik. In times like this, it was all or nothing. One ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠had to strike when the opponent was clearly lagging behind in the information war.

"Send word to General Hong Beom-do. Across the eight provinces of Joseon, our people are resisting their oppressors. If we do not step forward now, who will?"

No matter how much money the Koreans had amassed by trading with warlords, and even though they had armed their independence fighters—who were once mere small-scale guerrillas—to at least look like a proper military... the Japanese Army was a force that even the Beiyang Army could not defeat. In normal times, the Korean army—or rather, the militia of the Manchuria Development Cooperative—would not stand a chance. This was their only window of opportunity to defeat the Japanese military!

"We are... crossing the Yalu River!"

"Hurrah!"

The Manchuria Development Cooperative was armed in a manner very similar to what Stahl had orchestrated with the Hungarian Agricultural Cooperative. Extensive land surveys had been conducted for rice cultivation in Manchuria, during which several airplanes had been deployed. Furthermore, they had procured a vast fleet of tractors to reclaim the barren Manchurian soil. The firearms they had stockpiled, ostensibly to scare away sparrows and hunt the remaining tigers, were an added bonus.

"The Koreans have crossed ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the border!"

"R-Return fire! Even if the Imperial General Headquarters and the home islands are paralyzed, we must not forget our primary duty of border defense—*urgh!*"

Along the Yalu River border, even a single police outpost was equipped with machine guns. However, a police force of barely a hundred men stood absolutely no chance of stopping the two-thousand-strong militia of the Manchuria Development Cooperative.

"They are a mere handful of men! Sweep them away with sheer firepower!"

"General Kim Jwa-jin, please restrain yourself. We are a 'regular army.' Let us encircle them widely and induce their surrender."

"...Very well. I shall lead the cavalry! Strike them from the rear!"

South of the Tumen River. The force of approximately two thousand men that had crossed the Korean border swept through and occupied Hyesan and Chongjin in the blink of an eye.

"We are your army, come from Yanbyan!"

"Hurrah!"

"Japan, liberate Joseon!"

Hong Beom-do of the left and Kim Jwa-jin of the right. While these two legendary guerrilla commanders could certainly deal a significant blow to the Japanese military if things went well... how could a mere two thousand men face Japan's army of a hundred thousand? If the 'real' Japanese army marched up from Gyeongseong, this force would be utterly annihilated. Yet, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠as was the case with all independence struggles, this battle was by no means meaningless. Soon, news of the battles of Chongjin and Hyesan would spread across the globe alongside the reports of the coup in Japan. It was a crucial battle that symbolized Japan's complete loss of control over Joseon.

"Are they insane...! Governor-General! This is crossing the line."

"I am well aware. Riots within Joseon and armed mobs from Yanbyan crossing the border are two entirely different matters. Mobilize the troops immediately."

Furious, the Japanese military rushed toward Chongjin and Hyesan. But the significance of this battle was not merely symbolic.

"G-Governor-General! We have received a report from the forces sent to suppress the bandits from Yanbyan!"

"I assume they fled without looking back. Very well."

"N-No, sir... we have a major problem."

"What kind of problem?"

Since the enemy forces were not large enough to cause any major catastrophe, they had dismissively referred to them as 'bandits.' Governor-General Saito tilted his head in confusion.

"Chongjin and Hyesan are completely empty!"

"What do you mean, empty...?"

"They are fairly sizeable cities, sir. Yet... they report that not a single living soul can be found."

"Ah!"

In the end, Hong Beom-do and Kim Jwa-jin could not defeat the main Japanese army. A retreat was inevitable.

"General! The Japanese army will surely slaughter all of us to vent their anger!"

"...That is indeed a problem. They seem to be desperately searching for a scapegoat..."

"Please do not abandon us, General!"

As Hong Beom-do fell into deep thought, Kim Jwa-jin offered a simple, clear solution.

"Why don't we just take everyone with us?"

"There's no reason we can't. We don't even have to look as far back as Liu Bei of the Three Kingdoms—didn't Vice Chairman Stahl of Austria accomplish the exact same feat?"

And so, Hong Beom-do and Kim Jwa-jin took the one hundred thousand citizens of Hyesan and Chongjin with them, crossing the Yalu River back into Yanbyan.

"G-Governor-General! Should we pursue them?"

Under normal circumstances, the Japanese military would have immediately crossed the Yalu River and laid waste to Yanbyan. It was, after all, the perfect opportunity to wipe out the Korean Provisional Government, which had been a thorn in their side. But...

"Restrain yourselves."

"B-But, sir..."

"With chaos erupting in our home islands, can you take responsibility if we spark a war with China? Do as you wish. But I will have absolutely no part in it. Do you understand?"

"..."

Even the Japanese military's notorious habit of reckless, rogue actions had to be tempered by the reality of the situation.