I Became A Hidden Powerhouse Of The British Empire [EN]: Chapter 234

Vladivostok, Primorye, Russian territory.

Russian Garrison Headquarters.

Bang!

“What? What kind of crazy talk is that!”

Temporary Commander Gennady Nevelskoy slammed his desk, yelling at the sudden report.

But no matter how much he raged, the contents of the report in front of him didn’t change.

“The Japs attacked Sakhalin? All garrison soldiers are dead?”

“Yes, Commander.”

“No, no, no! Let’s say the attack is possible. It seems like we didn’t even receive a declaration of war, but there might not be such a thing in the uncivilized customs of the East. But all the soldiers are dead. Does that mean they didn’t even take prisoners!”

“That’s… our soldiers fought so bravely that they couldn’t be taken prisoner. They said the Japanese held a funeral according to proper etiquette…”

“Are these crazy bastards kidding me!”

It’s not like the Russian soldiers were too strong to subdue. Who are they trying to fool?

Even though there were only a few dozen of them—or rather, precisely because of that—the excuse that it was difficult to capture them as prisoners is unconvincing.

Besides, the Russians were skimping on weapons, fearing that Korea might invade, so they wouldn’t have proper defense capabilities.

This can only mean that the Japanese came with the intention of killing all the defenders from the beginning.

“Commander! What should we do? Should we move the army right away and strike Sakhalin? If we move the troops in Vladivostok, we can repel them sufficiently.”

“No. We cannot move the troops here. There are rumors that the British fleet is already being supplied in Korea and Japan, so how can you suggest moving the troops from here?”

The situation in Primorye right now was, to put it mildly, absolutely dire.

How else would a young officer, not even 40 years old, be in charge of commanding the army as the temporary commander? Russia, having already poured all its main forces into the Black Sea region, had no spare capacity to send a single soldier here.

In other words, they had to properly distribute the existing troops and weapons to create a defensive line, but that couldn’t be as easy as it sounds.

Originally, they expected the British Empire to target Vladivostok, which was rapidly becoming a major port city, and concentrated all troops and weapons there.

But suddenly, Korea declared war, making his head ache.

What if those guys cross the river and move troops north?

He didn’t know how much power Korea had, but he’d heard that it was a country with a population of about 16 million.

For such a country, it would not be difficult at all to move hundreds or thousands of soldiers north.

So, as a matter of urgency, they took troops and weapons and reluctantly used them to check Korea, but this time, Japan suddenly rushed in.

“Commander! Just now, we received a message that Japan has delivered a declaration of war…”

“What? Are these crazy bastards really kidding me? They attack and then declare war?”

“That is, they originally departed much earlier, but the ship was damaged by an untimely violent storm and arrived late.”

“…”

At this point, Gennady was too tired to raise his voice any further.

No. In fact, wasn’t this all a thoroughly calculated play?

Korea first declared war to divert their attention, and then Japan launched a surprise attack on Sakhalin.

Was this really a coincidence?

It’s worth considering the possibility that the two countries are colluding and mocking them.

Korea and Japan are both Asian countries, so it wouldn’t be strange for them to communicate closely.

“…Come to think of it, wasn’t the British envoy a member of the Korean and Japanese royal families?”

“Yes. That’s for sure.”

“Damn it. I knew it. This was a conspiracy by the British bastards from the beginning. They’re trying to get those two countries to hit us from three directions.”

“…Th-then can we stop them?”

Can we stop them?

The Korean army is marching north across the river, the British fleet is pounding Vladivostok, and the Japanese army is crossing over to Primorye from Sakhalin. Can we stop this?

Gennady would bet both hands that even if Napoleon, Hannibal, Caesar, and Alexander were all brought here and seated, there would be no proper solution.

“…It’s impossible. So we have no choice but to choose and concentrate.”

After a moment of contemplation, he made a decision.

No matter how you look at it, it’s impossible to protect all of Primorye. Then they have to somehow take care of only the essentials, and anyone could see that there was only one area in Primorye that was worth it.

“Let’s concentrate all remaining troops, weapons, and supplies in Vladivostok. Even if we give up everything until the end of the war, we will have done our job if we hold on to this place.”

“Then Korea or Japan…”

“Is it even possible to defend all three sides with our current strength? It’s a natural law of the world that if you try to block everything, everything will be뚫리는 [penetrated/breached].”

Gennady, who saw the Japanese declaration of war that arrived late, barely suppressed his rising anger and clenched his fists.

-The Japanese government and the imperial family strongly condemn Russia’s invasion war and express deep sympathy with the British Empire’s policy to protect peace. The peace-loving Japanese government and imperial family urge Russia to stop all acts of aggression even now, and to maintain world peace…

Such nonsense goes on endlessly, but which peace-loving people in the world kill all the soldiers without taking prisoners?

At this point, it’s suspicious whether this is a document sent to mock them.

If he sent this to Saint Petersburg… what kind of reaction will His Majesty the Emperor show?

Perhaps, enraged, he may send additional reinforcements here.

Gennady, seeing a glimmer of hope in that slight possibility, immediately ordered the document to be sent to the imperial family.

‘Let’s see, you vile Japs,’ he thought.

‘If additional troops come down from the imperial family, I will use all possible means to make you pay the price of today.’

* * *

The Joseon [Korean] court, which had been focusing all its senses on the movements of the British and the shogunate [Japanese military government], had no choice but to doubt their ears when they heard the news.

“What… the shogunate attacked Arasa [Russian word for Russia]?”

“The British fleet, which came to the port to receive supplies, confirmed that the shogunate attacked Arasa and massacred dozens of enemy soldiers.”

“Arasa? Did they counterattack?”

“Far from counterattacking, they are cowering even more and hiding in their base. I heard that the defensive line they had deployed beyond the Tumen River has also been pushed back, and we are currently trying to confirm the facts right away.”

What on earth is going on here?

Perhaps most people are thinking the same thing, so no other words are coming out.

It was said that even the British were embarrassed by this unexpected event and were sending people here and there.

“Your Majesty! The shogunate is currently advancing with the intention of completely making the island occupied by Arasa their territory.”

“Does that make sense? Can they handle the aftermath?”

“No matter how much Arasa is weakened, wouldn’t they struggle to maintain such a long front line? Besides, the home country and the shogunate are allies of the British. Even if the war is over, if they have no intention of antagonizing the British, they will not be able to attack again recklessly.”

“…Heo [exclamation of disbelief]. We shouldn’t look down on the Waeguk [derogatory term for Japanese]. I can’t believe they can make such quick and bold decisions.”

The Japanese army’s lightning offensive.

He didn’t know exactly where they were attacking, but the fact that they defeated Arasa and were not even counterattacked was quite significant.

Come to think of it, wasn’t this kind of surprise war their forte, as in the Japanese Invasion of Korea [Imjin War]?

“Your Majesty! As the situation has changed rapidly, we no longer have any reason to adhere to our previous policy.”

“Does that mean?”

Seo Gi-soon, who succeeded Kim Jwa-geun as Minister of War, calmly pointed out the current situation.

“First of all, we have deployed troops from Pyeongan-do and Hamgyeong-do to the border area in case of Arasa’s provocation. However, Arasa has retreated all troops and switched to a strategy of defending key points, so we no longer have any reason to concentrate troops on the border.”

“That’s an accurate point. Then what can we do?”

“Now that there is no reason to station excessive troops on the border, how about disbanding the troops and supplies?”

Now that the reason to concentrate troops has disappeared, it is right to restore them to their original state.

Until yesterday, Lee Hwan would have thought so too, but now he felt something unknown wriggling and rising from within.

“Didn’t you say that if we don’t have any achievements beforehand, we can’t claim our contribution after the war is over? Then, when this war is over, unlike us, the shogunate will be able to claim that they have contributed enough to the victory.”

“…That is…”

“Then they may be able to take a large territory and a huge amount of compensation. On the other hand, we will only be able to receive back the supplies we provided to the British ships, no matter how well we do.”

The same situation, the same opportunity, but only Japan takes huge spoils and Joseon is ignored?

If they receive this kind of report card, there is only one conclusion.

What else can be said other than that their court is more incompetent than the Japanese court?

It would be understandable if the target was the Qing Dynasty, but it was unacceptable for Joseon, which proclaimed Sojunghwa [a belief that Joseon was the true successor to Chinese civilization], to be treated as more incompetent than the Waeguk.

“Your Majesty! I, Minister of War Seo Gi-soon, will report again. Currently, Arasa is withdrawing all troops north of the Tumen River and retreating. In other words, it means that even if our army moves north, it will not receive any resistance. Besides, a considerable amount of troops and supplies are already piled up in the border area.”

“Then does the Minister of War mean that we should just push into the Primorye region at this opportunity?”

“There is no need to advance so fiercely. How about securing only as much territory as we can claim our contribution to Joseon after the war is over?”

After all, even if they occupy a few villages here, the Russians have no power to resist, and they have no intention of really fighting, so there is not much waste of troops or supplies.

Lee Hwan nodded his head, humming, and then glanced around at the other ministers.

Perhaps because there was a direct comparison target called Japan, surprisingly, no opposing voices came out.

Avoid fighting with Arasa and occupy only a part of the Primorye region.

Isn’t this a very good plan to take both practical benefits and justification?

For the first time since presiding over the Pyeonjeon meeting [royal council meeting], fierce and murderous smiles were spreading everywhere.

* * *

After lightly stepping on Greece, the official actions of the British Navy were very simple and clear.

Some were in Sizmode [likely refers to a location, needs verification] near the Baltic Sea, and some were in Vladivostok, thumping!

Next, if they go to the Black Sea and 털어주면 [털어주면 is a Korean phrase meaning ‘clean them out/shake them down’] the main Russian navy, Russia will have no naval power. From then on, if they tighten with the army and get Austria and Prussia to participate and 날려주면 막타 [Korean phrase meaning ‘deliver the final blow’], GG [Good Game]~!

He was drawing a picture like this, and organic unit communication was very important for this.

Even though intercontinental telegraphs were about to become possible, real-time communication with Asia was still impossible, so there was a bit of a delay, but the story was going very well with the navy in the Baltic Sea.

“Prussia has sent a cooperative answer. First of all, before going to Saint Petersburg, they will thoroughly destroy the shipyard of the Grand Duchy of Finland.”

Good, good. After all, their fortress has a shorter range than our cannons, so we can just beat them unilaterally and get them to surrender.

“How is Asia doing? It seems like it’s time for them to contact us.”

“Yes. Anyway, I heard that a telegram came earlier. They are copying the contents and bringing them, so you can check them right away.”

Everything was flowing as expected, so a relaxed smile never left my face and Admiral Parker’s face.

Having overwhelming naval power acts as a cheat key in war like this.

Even now, they have laid out the telegraph network much faster than in the original history, so they have an absolute advantage in information and can always stay one step ahead.

Perhaps even when they receive a call from Asia and start taking action, Russia may not even know what is happening now.

He leaned back in his chair leisurely and watched Admiral Parker’s reaction as he read the decoded ciphertext.

As expected, a satisfied smile never left his face… no, why is his mouth suddenly trembling? It’s unsettling.

“Admiral, is there something wrong?”

“No. It’s not that. It’s not a problem, but an unexpected sudden situation…”

“A sudden situation?”

Admiral Parker, who alternately looked at him and the decoded ciphertext for a while, nodded as if he understood something and exclaimed to himself.

“I see. That’s what Your Majesty is! Joseon and Japan. That’s what it was.”

“What did Joseon and Japan do?”

“Japan occupied Sakhalin and Joseon is going to cross the river and move troops to Primorye. I just told them to declare war, but isn’t their loyalty truly commendable?”

What? Who crossed the Tumen River and who struck Sakhalin?

He hurriedly took the report from Admiral Parker and scanned the contents, but the paper only contained what he said.

Did these guys really eat something wrong? Why are they suddenly being scary?

Of course, unlike his inner thoughts, his 요사스러운 [sly/cunning] tongue poured out completely opposite contents from reason.

“…It’s a movement as expected. Russia will now face a proper three-sided front, so their heads will explode.”

“That’s right. I thought the Asian fleet alone would not have enough army power, but if Joseon and Japan say they will help on their own, we have nothing more to ask for. Hahaha! Geez, Your Majesty. When did you persuade them to move their troops?”

“Haha. Hahahaha!”

It is inevitable that the wider the border, the wider the front.

It was unintentional, but what can he do, Russia? From now on, you have no choice but to run around with your feet on fire.

He did not erase the black 幕-like [curtain-like] smile that everything was according to plan and kept bursting into laughter.

As expected, they are his relatives.

Ayu [exclamation of endearment], how pretty.