I Became A Genius Of The French Royal Family [EN]: Chapter 342

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“Tenno Heika Banzai!”

“Banzai! Banzai!”

“Long live the Great Japanese Empire!”

“Banzai! Banzai!”

Napoleon was taken aback.

The soldiers who had been quietly holed up until yesterday were suddenly spouting strange slogans and charging out as if they had lost their minds.

“What in the world are those crazy bastards doing!”

“Stay calm! Maintain formation and respond. Nothing has changed.”

Tat-tat-tat! Pow-pow-pow!

The French officers remained unshaken, even though they could have been flustered by the sudden enemy offensive.

Since they had blockaded the enemy to prevent them from coming out, rushing out like that would only turn them into easy targets.

The Japanese army, bombarded with bullets and shells, quickly lost momentum and retreated within minutes.

“…What was that all about? Maybe a diversion to draw our attention?”

Have confidence, but don’t be arrogant.

Napoleon immediately considered the best possible moves the enemy could make and prepared for them.

“Their best strategy in this situation would be to try and encircle us with additional troops.”

If attacked from the rear while besieging a city, there is a high risk of being caught in a pincer movement and annihilated.

Knowing this, Napoleon used the navy to thoroughly block the enemy’s approach.

At least, they absolutely cannot be allowed to land on the Fujian side.

But what if they secretly landed troops a little further up the coast and planned to strike us after a long detour?

Logically, there is a 99% chance they would be caught before that, but you can’t rule out a gamble hoping for that 1% chance.

And there were plenty of cases in the history of war where such a lucky shot caused great damage.

“Keep a close eye on their movements and continue to share information with the navy.”

“Yes!”

“The word ‘carelessness’ does not exist in my dictionary. If they thought I would fall for such a sloppy diversion, they are mistaken.”

However, even after several days, there was no sign of enemy reinforcements.

Nevertheless, the Japanese army continued to charge at the defense line, shouting slogans about the Emperor and sacrificing themselves.

Of course, they immediately withdrew their troops after taking some damage, so they were not completely wiped out, but their intention remained incomprehensible.

Can the morale of the army be maintained like that?

I heard that the strange word meant ‘Long live the Emperor,’ but to think that they are committing suicide attacks for their emperor… what does that even mean?

In any case, at this moment, our navy must be gleefully pounding their coast, so surrender is only a matter of time.

Even if the economy plummets, will they still be able to shout ‘Banzai’ then?

People become honest in the face of money.

If the calculations are correct, the recommendation to surrender will come within a week.

Napoleon decided to wait leisurely.

Time was on his side anyway.

※※※

Around the time Napoleon was leisurely waiting for the declaration of surrender, the imperial family of the Korean Empire was thrown into chaos by a message from Japan.

“Total destruction operation? Am I hearing things?”

“…That’s definitely what it said. The Japanese Empire is willing to fight even if the entire country is burned and the last person falls, so the Korean Empire should join them…”

“…Are they crazy?”

The Emperor muttered as if he had lost his mind, then quickly shut his mouth when he realized what he had said.

Jeong Yak-yong cleared his throat and scratched his head, pretending not to hear.

“First of all, the Japanese Empire is appealing for our participation. They say that we should participate for the sake of the alliance’s loyalty…”

“No. Logically, would the people do that just because they were told to?”

“There will be a riot.”

“…But if we actually surrender… can we smoothly get through this situation?”

“That is…”

Jeong Yak-yong’s head, which was about to move horizontally [indicating disagreement], stopped for a moment.

If we choose to continue fighting here, the Korean Empire will be destroyed.

Carrying firewood and jumping into the fire is exactly what this situation is about.

But will the Emperor listen if I tell him honestly?

I don’t know.

No matter which option I choose, the Emperor is likely to choose the one that maintains his power.

Then, wouldn’t choosing the option that is most helpful to the country in the long run be the path of a true patriot?

To be honest, Jeong Yak-yong was feeling skeptical about the efficiency of the current monarchy.

In the Joseon Dynasty [the previous Korean dynasty], even thinking about this was blasphemy, but now I can think rationally.

The war itself was a mistake from the start.

The people may be drunk on national pride and shout for another bowl at the tavern.

But if the person with the highest power does that, how will the country run?

Currently, the Emperor is so intoxicated with the achievements he has made that he is not able to make proper judgment.

This is an undeniable truth that anyone can see.

For the future of the country, a more efficient system is needed.

For example, turning it into a more 확실한 [he used Korean word here, meaning ‘certain’ or ‘definite’] constitutional monarchy than it is now and making the Emperor’s power virtually meaningless…

“Prime Minister. Why aren’t you answering? I’m asking if the people will accept it willingly and France will retreat if we express our intention to surrender.”

“Ah, yes. I was considering several possibilities for a moment. To put it bluntly, I don’t think it will be easy. France may retreat, but will the people really be convinced? They will protest that they started the war only to get these results. There is a high possibility of a riot that will be difficult to handle.”

“Hmm… I thought so too. I was thinking the same thing. Even if we surrender, we have to show something to the angry people to avoid any trouble…”

In fact, this was not a lie.

If we are beaten so helplessly and surrender, there will inevitably be public opinion asking what we believed in to start the war.

Then, the dignity of the imperial family, which led the war, will fall to the ground, and the Emperor’s plan to reign as the greatest monarch in the history of the Korean Peninsula will also be ruined.

Because of these inner thoughts, the Emperor cannot immediately reject Japan’s demands, even though he considers them crazy.

“What can we realistically show to the people?”

“If I had to pick one, it would be to win even in minor battles… or to achieve achievements different from the other three countries.”

“Hmm… I’ll have to watch the situation a little more and decide. Honestly, I can’t surrender right now. But I don’t want to go along with Japan’s crazy짓 [another Korean word, meaning ‘crazy antics’ or ‘madness’] either.”

The Emperor chose to do nothing and stand by, which he does best.

This number has worked miraculously well so far, but will it work this time?

Jeong Yak-yong inwardly thought that it was impossible.

But even if that’s the case, it’s okay.

To build a new house, it’s best to tear down the old house and build a new one.

Now that things have come to this, it might be better to just destroy everything and start over.

‘I’m sorry to the people who will suffer in this process… but doing this may be a way to reduce the damage in the long run. I have no choice but to find a way to minimize civilian damage.’

If the imperial family continues, this tragedy may happen again and again.

Thinking about it, that’s right.

If the Joseon royal family had collapsed during the Imjin War [Japanese invasions of Korea in the late 16th century], would there have been the humiliation of Jeongmyo or Byeongja [Manchu invasions of Korea in the 17th century]?

There is no ‘what if’ in history, but as I recently immersed myself in history, I sometimes had these thoughts.

So that future generations will not study the history of this era while imagining the same things as me.

The time has come to end this long and long story.

The royal family is not needed in the Korean Peninsula in the future.

Jeong Yak-yong decided to pretend to please the Emperor, imagining that his head would fly off if he was caught.

※※※

“Your Majesty! We have a message from Asia!”

“It’s a message from Marshal Napoleon!”

Oh. Napoleon is fast as expected. I was expecting the news of victory to arrive soon.

When I first received the news that Asia had gone crazy, I felt like what was coming had finally arrived.

In fact, even though they are the people of Pearl Harbor, I didn’t expect them to actually do ‘Pearl Harbor’.

I just imagined that it might be possible.

But as expected, these kinds of predictions all become flags [a reference to the idea that mentioning something makes it more likely to happen], and things that seem like they will never happen happen.

It seems that it is common for all countries to become brave when they unite, but Asia seems to have a stronger tendency to do so.

Unlike the original history, the fact that four people are united may have pushed them this time.

Of course, the problem was that the place they pushed was a cliff.

“Hmm… yes. When are they going to surrender?”

“Yes? Surrender?”

“Um? Didn’t you get a message that you had accepted Asia’s surrender?”

“Uh… no. Of course, the Marshal has not been defeated. He is currently pushing the enemy while ringing the bells of victory every day. Vietnam has already been neutralized, and all of Manchuria’s main forces have been destroyed. The Marshal’s army has liberated Fujian Province, which was occupied by the Japanese Empire.”

“Then shouldn’t they raise the white flag now?”

“Ah… yes, but the Japanese Empire has officially announced that they will never surrender…”

Lan, the Minister of War, brought me the report with an expression that I couldn’t describe.

With half expectation and half anxiety about what kind of crazy content would be written, my eyes, which were reading the black letters, were gradually filled with more 황당함 [Korean word meaning ‘absurdity’ or ‘bewilderment’].

“…We secretly moved our main forces to Guangdong, France? A plot planned from the beginning to conquer Asia?”

Since when did the Guangdong French fleet transform into the European French fleet?

“Did the forces of Europe, the Atlantic, or the Pacific go to Guangdong without my knowledge?”

“I looked it up just in case, but as expected, there was none. Marshal Napoleon did bring a fleet with him when he went to Guangdong this time, but it was practically a ceremonial force.”

Ah, is that so? These guys easily smashed our elite troops like this?

There’s no way these guys are the enemy’s second army.

If it was a flow of thought that they must have brought elites! I can understand.

It’s good for your mentality to say, ‘Oh, this guy is a smurf [an experienced player pretending to be a beginner]. He’s not supposed to be here,’ when you get beaten while playing a game.

But I didn’t know they would declare this publicly. Do they seriously believe it?

“Hoo… yes. Well, I understand that they are just barking because they are so shocked. So, to summarize, they can’t kneel to our vile plot. Even if they are shattered like beads, they will dedicate themselves to protecting Asia and crushing Europe’s plot… it’s tearful.”

They are great peace fighters.

But now that it’s come to this, I’m starting to get confused. Wasn’t this a war that broke out because they attacked first?

Why have they suddenly become innocent victims and we have become the perpetrators?

I sympathize with the feelings of the original historical mother country that was suddenly criticized as brutal people who fired a nuclear bomb.

I guess that’s how it felt.

Well, that country had to go through all sorts of conspiracy theories. This is the share of a superpower.