I Became A Genius Of The French Royal Family [EN]: Chapter 278

Became a Genius of the French Royal Family – Episode 278: The Rabbit Hunt (278/355)

< The Rabbit Hunt >

The Yalu River, one of the two rivers forming the natural boundary between Joseon [ancient Korean kingdom] and Qing [the last imperial dynasty of China].

Park Gi-pung, the Military Commissioner of Pyeongan Province, gazed with determined eyes at the land of Jilin Province visible across the river.

“Once we cross this, there’s truly no turning back…”

Park Gi-pung had spent his entire career as a military officer in the north since the King’s ascension.

However, he never imagined he would draw his sword against the Qing in his lifetime.

“Is this truly the right course of action?”

He had no idea what discussions in the capital led to such an absurd order.

However, the King’s resolve was unwavering.

He heard that memorials from the opposition and Confucian scholars poured in like rain, but to no avail.

In fact, Park Gi-pung, who was leading the army, was still half in doubt, so other officials probably felt the same.

For Joseon, the Qing Dynasty was a power that had instilled immense fear in the past, and now it was a formidable empire of the Central Plains [historical region of China, the heartland of Chinese civilization].

In reality, the heated debate in Hanseong [old name for Seoul, the capital of Joseon] was exactly as Park Gi-pung had expected.

“Your Majesty! War with the Qing is impossible!”

“In the past, even King Taejo [founder of the Joseon Dynasty] suggested that ‘disregarding the difference in national power and taking the offensive is reckless.’”

“That’s right. The foolish Goryeo court [previous Korean dynasty] at the time did not heed King Taejo’s wise counsel and eventually faced catastrophe. How can we draw our swords against the Central Plains at the request of the Westerners! It must not happen. Please reconsider!”

“Please reconsider!”

Joseon, accustomed to the Sinocentric order [worldview that considers China to be the center of civilization] centered on the Central Plains, considered a small country defying a great power as going against the natural order.

In the past, they had shown fierce resistance against the Qing, but that was because the legitimate lineage of the Central Plains, the Ming Dynasty [preceding dynasty to the Qing], still existed at the time.

Of course, even now, there were not many who sincerely revered the Qing.

They were simply following the established order and doing what was unavoidable when considering practical benefits.

However, this ultimately meant that the general perception among the Sadaebu [ruling class of Joseon] was that antagonizing the Qing was of no practical benefit.

“I don’t understand. Didn’t all of you agree that we should refuse the Qing’s request to dispatch support troops?”

“Not sending support troops was clearly a wise decision. But going beyond that and sending troops across the border is a different matter!”

“I know what you are worried about. However, there is no need to worry. I have made a choice based on detailed information.”

“But…”

“The fact that we were able to suppress the large-scale rebellion in the north last time was also thanks to my bold decision. It will be the same this time, so it won’t be too late to discuss it after seeing the results.”

The Confucian scholars, enraged that Jeong Yak-yong and Seo Yong-bo, those traitors, had blinded the King’s eyes and ears, submitted petitions for their dismissal.

However, the King, of course, did not bat an eye and even declared that he would take responsibility for everything that would happen in the future.

Although the King had lived a suppressed life under the regency of the Queen Dowager when he was young, he was clearly the legitimate heir to the royal family.

Moreover, there were still many who remembered the reign of the great former king, and the achievement of suppressing the rebellion was certain.

As long as such a king pushed so strongly, even if there were many complaints, they had no choice but to wait and see.

“He is still young. Once he sees reality this time, he will be able to curb his excessive vigor.”

“But if the Qing’s anger turns this way… isn’t that like locking the stable door after the horse has bolted?”

“Even so, when that time comes, His Majesty will not be able to ignore our words.”

The majority of the Sadaebu believed that even if the Westerners were temporarily prospering, they would eventually not overcome the power of the Central Plains.

Why wouldn’t they be able to catch up with science and technology as long as the Qing or themselves put in a little effort?

If that happened, even the things they were uniquely ahead in would become meaningless.

They thought that even though the gap was larger than expected now, they would be able to get on track in about 30 years even if they observed it for a long time.

People like Jeong Yak-yong and Seo Yong-bo were furious, saying that it was impossible, but that was just a power play to seize the center of power under the pretext of reform.

With this train of thought, they believed that the opportunity would come to them if they just waited.

Rather, when that time came, the structure of the factions, which was slowly solidifying and showing signs of stagnation, could become more constructive.

Park Gi-pung received dozens of letters containing the intentions of these Sadaebu.

It even included a handwritten letter from the Left State Councilor, who was the leader of the anti-reform faction.

The content was not much different.

Most of them recommended that he not make futile efforts and just pretend to follow orders and then return.

“Hoo… I don’t know what tune to dance to.”

It was disheartening that even in this emergency, the conflict between royal authority and ministerial authority arose, and he was just heartbroken by his position in the middle.

But what could he do?

He was already committed, and the expedition was a predetermined reality.

“Listen, soldiers of Joseon!”

Park Gi-pung shouted in a deliberately determined voice.

“In the past, Joseon suffered an unprecedented humiliation at the hands of the Qing. King Hyojong [17th ruler of Joseon] was determined to repay this humiliation, but in the end, he could not fulfill his wishes due to the limitations of national power and closed his eyes in resentment. But finally, the opportunity has come to us. His Majesty says that the Qing mainland has been devastated, and they are now incompetent people who cannot even take care of themselves!”

Joseon was not in good condition, but the Qing was even worse, practically in a vegetative state.

There was a guarantee from the Ministry of War that no matter what they did, the other side would not be able to retaliate.

It might be true, but for now, he could only hope that this prediction was correct.

“Do not be afraid, soldiers! Our march today will be recorded as a milestone symbolizing the new history of Joseon. Each and every one of your names will be remembered as heroes who fulfilled Joseon’s long-cherished desire in the distant future! Now! Let’s go!”

“Woo-oh-oh.”

“Waaah.”

A shout that could hardly be called loud echoed on the banks of the Yalu River.

It was not because Park Gi-pung’s speech was poor or because the soldiers lacked energy.

For about 300 soldiers, this level of shout was the maximum they could muster no matter how hard they tried.

‘Attacking Jilin Province with 300 people… is this really… okay?’

He ambitiously gathered troops, but this was the limit for projecting troops across the border given Joseon’s current situation.

Thus, Park Gi-pung and the 300 warriors began the Yalu River crossing operation, which was written as a northern expedition but read as a fool’s errand.

※※※

“How is the current war situation?”

“I regret to inform you that it is not favorable.”

As soon as the Jiaqing Emperor [ruler of the Qing Dynasty], who was eagerly awaiting the victory news of the Allied Forces in Jilin Province, received the report from the minister, his face contorted.

“The English bastards said something different! They told me to trust them! They said they would win!”

“Our army led by General Myeongnyang was annihilated by the French…”

“Lost again! Now 300,000, not 100,000, have been annihilated? How long are you going to keep getting annihilated!”

“General Myeongnyang lost his life on the battlefield. He fought bravely, but it was too much to overcome…”

“Too much to overcome? Since when have we used the phrase ‘too much to overcome’ in a battle where we were defeated with more than 10 times the manpower? The French should be using that phrase!”

The officials could not say anything to the increasingly violent Jiaqing Emperor’s anger.

Even if it was like swallowing poison, the Emperor was the Emperor, so they had no choice but to suppress their anger and shrink away.

Fortunately, Jiaqing Emperor’s anger did not continue to be directed at the innocent officials.

Because even more shocking news came up in succession.

“Your Majesty! Your Majesty! Urgent report from the capital!”

“Urgent report? What is it this time? Don’t tell me the English lost again?”

“It is an intelligence report from Lee Jung-seo, the Military Affairs Minister who is collecting information in the capital. The Joseon have crossed the Yalu River with a large army. How should we deal with this?”

“Joseon? What Joseon?”

The Jiaqing Emperor, who could not have imagined that it was the Joseon on the Korean Peninsula, asked blankly.

“It is the Joseon that is directly south of us! They say they are marching north with a large army, so you should evacuate immediately to preserve your safety.”

“…The Joseon are invading?”

Joseon? Why? Why on earth?

And before that…

“Does Joseon even have a large army to command?”

“A reconnaissance force of 300 men crossed the Yalu River first, and then 20,000 troops are expected to cross over to occupy Jilin Province. The force presumed to be the reconnaissance force has been confirmed on this side as well.”

“20,000? Are they crazy!”

The Qing Dynasty seemed not to be, but it was subtly interested in the state of its vassal states.

Of course, “many” was only a relative term, so it was not to the extent that they really knew everything in detail.

However, even the Qing Dynasty knew that Joseon’s current state was not very good.

But such a nation is invading with an army of 20,000?

Isn’t this really an act no different from throwing a gamble on the fate of the nation?

“I can’t understand. There is no reason for Joseon to do this to this extent.”

“Minister Lee Jung-seo says that France has promised to cede the entire Primorsky Krai [region in Russia] to Joseon. They seem to be blinded by territorial expansion.”

“Those sons of bitches…”

The entire Primorsky Krai is almost two-thirds the size of Joseon.

If they could acquire that much territory at once, it would certainly be tempting.

But even so, it should be considered impossible for Joseon’s administrative power to effectively control the Primorsky Krai.

Are the leaders of Joseon so out of their minds that they don’t even know this simple principle?

However, whatever the truth, the Joseon army that is invading now must be avoided.

The Qing forces currently in Manchuria were so depleted that they could not fight a proper battle.

“If only the Mongol Eight Banners [military units] were intact, I would not have suffered such humiliation…”

Even as the Eight Banners were gradually declining, the Eight Manchu and Eight Mongol Banners were still elites who maintained their full strength.

However, after being decimated in two wars with France, they became impossible to revive.

Above all, Manchus hardly lived in Manchuria, the sacred place of the Manchus, so reconstruction was impossible.

Despite the policy of sealing off the area, the Han Chinese [dominant ethnic group in China] and Joseon people gradually came in and began to take root, while the Manchus went to the wealthy mainland of the Central Plains.

In fact, this was an extremely rational flow.

From the perspective of the Manchus, if they went to the Central Plains, they would be treated favorably and could easily settle down, so there was no reason to live in poverty in the Manchuria area.

Thanks to this, the current Manchuria became a Manchuria without Manchus, and it was difficult to form a bodyguard to protect the Emperor’s body.

To fight against Joseon’s 20,000 troops here was realistically no different from suicide.

“Then where should we flee? Liaoning Province?”

“Going west would get us closer to the French, so we should flee north. How about going to Inner Mongolia first? No matter how reckless the Joseon are, they won’t be able to invade Inner Mongolia. Minister Lee Jung-seo and His Highness the Crown Prince have already consulted with the princes of Inner Mongolia.”

“Well… there is no choice in the current situation. Still, it was a good thing to leave the Crown Prince and several ministers in the capital.”

If they hadn’t, they would have been caught off guard by the Joseon who they had never expected.

“Your Majesty’s foresight is remarkable!”

“Hahaha! That’s right. The Joseon will end up raising their troops in vain. Let’s hurry up and prepare and go north.”

The Mongols of Inner Mongolia had already integrated with the Manchus and were now almost like brothers.

Perhaps it would have been a better decision to go to Inner Mongolia from the beginning instead of Manchuria.

The Jiaqing Emperor finally decided to leave Jilin Province and head north without doubting the Crown Prince’s advice.

He was just relieved that he had avoided the non-existent Joseon army.

< The Rabbit Hunt > End