I Became A Hidden Powerhouse Of The British Empire [EN]: Chapter 244

< Killian and Guilian (3) >

After sending Seo Gwang-jin and Lee Ha-eung back, I leisurely drank coffee and informed the Governor of Hong Kong of the decided matters.

“So, you’re not going to declare war on Qing?”

“We will if Qing refuses our demands.”

“I see. I thought you would use this opportunity to attack Qing and seize additional territory and interests.”

“There’s no need for us to strike Qing. Seizing through war is the last resort. In fact, even if it works once, using the same method twice will inevitably reduce its effectiveness. If they are forcibly deprived of land twice, who knows how they might resist.”

If they stubbornly refuse to attack the Russian army, I will use coercive measures, but in this case, we have a clear justification.

However, I personally estimated the possibility of that happening to be less than 5%.

“So, you’re planning to conclude this situation by cutting off additional Russian troops using Qing.”

“Of course not. If that were the case, I wouldn’t have come all the way here. The Asian Fleet will be very busy from now on, so the Governor should also prepare diligently.”

“…Yes?”

“Let’s assume Qing attacks the Russian army. Do you think those ragtag soldiers who were frightened and ran away at a few shots from our forces could defeat the Russian army?”

The Russian army consists of second-tier soldiers gathered from the outskirts, but Qing’s soldiers are far worse.

Considering the difference in armaments, even if the numbers are similar, it would be nearly impossible for Qing to defeat them.

So, what should we do?

“They would have to bring more than twice the number of Russian troops to fight, but what would happen if Qing, which is already struggling, suffers such a loss?”

“They won’t have the strength to suppress the rebellions in the south… Ah, I see. Hehehe.”

Do you understand now? But if you laugh so evilly, it makes it seem like I’m plotting something terrible.

“Considering the evaluations of later generations, wouldn’t it be better to receive tribute than to seize it? So, let’s wait and see what choice our paper tiger [a term for something that appears threatening but is ineffectual] will make.”

Whatever choice they make, they will have to fight either Great Britain or Russia, and in any case, they cannot achieve a perfect happy ending.

So, who told them to be greedy?

Consider it the price for coveting the land we’ve claimed, and accept it as a good life experience.

* * *

After the Yangguang Governor Seo Gwang-jin’s tearful report arrived at the Forbidden City, an imperial council was reconvened.

Normally, there would have been a clamor to immediately dismiss the Yangguang Governor and send him into exile, but the atmosphere was so serious that such talk didn’t even come up.

“…Attack the Arasa’s [a historical term for Russians] main force? You’re telling us to do that?”

“Yes. If we don’t, they will consider us an ally of Arasa and hold us responsible for attacking Joseon [historical Korean kingdom].”

“What kind of crazy talk is this… Why are we Arasa’s ally!”

“Whatever the case, it’s true that we attacked Joseon, so there’s no excuse to escape. Especially since Killian and Yi have declared themselves to be Joseon’s relatives, and Joseon has clearly acknowledged this fact and is using it as a means to restrain us…”

“Isn’t that also an absurd nonsense? Since when has Joseon entrusted national affairs to relatives!”

Just in case, I checked, and as expected, Joseon gave honorary positions to relatives but rarely placed them in real key positions.

It was no exaggeration to say that they hardly ever stepped forward and voiced their opinions on important national affairs.

We lodged a strong protest with Joseon against this absurd logic, but Joseon seemed to be blindly trusting Yeonggilli [a historical term for the British] and acting recklessly.

-From now on, we have decided to change our policy and receive various opinions from prominent relatives. The appointment of Heungseon-gun Lee Ha-eung as the person in charge of diplomacy is evidence of this.

When we questioned when they had ever officially consulted the opinions of relatives, they said it was from now on, which was so absurd that it was beyond words.

But what’s absurd is absurd, and the problem has already occurred.

Hamfeng Emperor glanced at his younger brother, Gongchinwang, who was bowing his head with a worm-eaten face.

Looking back, everything had gone according to his younger brother’s warnings.

In the end, this mess happened because of the Emperor’s decision.

So, there might be a good solution to this situation.

“Do you have any good ideas on how we should act in this situation?”

“……”

Gongchinwang carefully opened his mouth after briefly examining Hamfeng Emperor’s expression.

“Your Majesty. This is essentially a final warning. If we don’t accept it, we will have to go to war with them again.”

“…That’s right.”

“The current situation is even worse than when the late Emperor was alive. At least back then, the rioters didn’t rise up on a large scale. If Yeonggilli devastates the coast as before, it will only benefit the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom [a large-scale revolt against the Qing dynasty in China].”

“So, you’re saying we have to strike Arasa?”

“There is no other choice. However, the Manchurian army that has been hastily gathered is not strong enough to repel the Arasa army gathering in the Primorye [a region in the Russian Far East]. We need to gather more troops, but that would be too much of a blow to the national treasury.”

Moreover, although he didn’t say it out loud, there was also the possibility that they would actually attack Arasa and be defeated in return.

Of course, this was the worst-case scenario, but if such a thing really happened, the imperial family might be overthrown.

“But if we go to war with Yeonggilli, we will surely perish. So, we have no choice but to attack Arasa…”

“Your Majesty. If you are really going to do that, you must focus on defeating Arasa unconditionally and decisively.”

“But as you said, wouldn’t that require more expenditure than necessary?”

“You have to make a choice. Either raise an army, even at the cost of the national treasury, or…”

Or what? Is there another way?

This was clearly an unorthodox method, but even as Gongchinwang, he couldn’t think of a better way to go beyond this.

In the end, that’s how the world is.

What matters is faith or promises in a matter involving the survival of one’s country?

Anyway, getting out of this predicament was the top priority, so Gongchinwang told the tempted Hamfeng Emperor his plan step by step.

* * *

Hamfeng Emperor of Qing, unable to withstand the evil and cunning threats of Great Britain, eventually sent a secret envoy to the Russian army in Primorye.

“Yeonggilli has seduced our colony, Joseon, into betraying us. If we continue to leave Yeonggilli alone, we are increasingly feeling a sense of crisis that they will completely destroy the order of our Qing. Therefore, we want to join forces with your country to reduce Yeonggilli’s influence in Asia, even if only a little.”

“You want to form an alliance with us? I thought you crossed the border without permission and looted our villages not long ago.”

“That’s because Yeonggilli threatened to attack us if we didn’t attack Arasa. However, after a series of events, the Emperor has made the decision that he can no longer be dragged around by Yeonggilli’s demands. So, how about forming an alliance? After all, you can’t beat Yeonggilli alone anyway.”

Russia had already gathered as many troops as possible from the northeast under the Emperor’s orders.

If Qing joined the war, it would be of great help.

“Heh… But if we’re going to war with England, not another country, we’ll have a lot of demands. You don’t want Primorye back, do you?”

“No. You can keep the Primorye. What we want is to get back the land that Yeonggilli took away. And please cooperate so that we can return Joseon to our vassal state. Then we will side with you in this war.”

“In that case, His Majesty the Emperor will gladly allow it.”

They are not asking to give up their land, but they are going to take away the land of England and Joseon, so there is no reason to refuse.

Even if things go wrong later, they can just deny it and move on.

Gennady Nevelskoy, commander of Primorye, gladly took Qing’s hand and vowed to fight against the Great British Empire.

He thought he would be grateful if he could just save Vladivostok, but if he had this much power, he might actually win in Asia.

If that happens, he will be recognized for his abilities. It is no longer a dream to take a high position in St. Petersburg after the war.

Gennady planned to defeat the Joseon and Japanese armies by combining his country’s troops that had crossed over to Primorye with Qing’s cavalry.

“First, we will get rid of their ground forces and form a layered defense line so that the Yeonggilli fleet cannot easily approach Vladivostok.”

“I understand.”

“His Majesty the Emperor has ordered that the Yapon [a derogatory term for Japanese] bastards must pay the price, no matter what. Show them no mercy.”

The atmosphere of the battlefield, which had been desperate, could change so much.

The faces of the officers and soldiers who obeyed the orders were also revived.

And on the day the Russian army was scheduled to join the Qing army.

The Manchurian Eight Banners army launched a surprise attack on the defenseless Russian army.

* * *

The commander of the Siberian Defense Brigade of the Russian Army was dumbfounded.

“What the hell, what the hell is going on! Why are those guys attacking us!”

Wasn’t it decided that we would form an alliance with Qing?

But what is this? Why are the guys who were supposed to form an alliance suddenly charging at us on horseback like crazy and attacking us?

We haven’t even properly prepared for battle yet!

Clearly, Commander Gennady said that if we joined Qing and went south, we could slaughter the Yapon army.

So, I received an order to coordinate the future operation schedule with the Qing Eight Banners army…

“Brigade Commander! We are surrounded by enemies!”

“There’s no doubt that the Qing bastards betrayed us!”

“Don’t you think I know that! Respond! Respond!”

Since their position was completely exposed and they were attacked by surprise by cavalry, there was no way they could be properly prepared.

No matter how strong our army is, we have to be ready to respond before we can shoot a gun or fire a cannon.

Moreover, the Siberian Brigade was not expecting to engage the enemy in the first place, so the deployment of the army itself was disorganized.

On the other hand, they are composed of cavalry specialized in surprise attacks, and they are slaughtering our troops as they come.

This is not just a simple betrayal.

It must be a thoroughly planned operation from the beginning.

“B, Brigade Commander! Those guys are right in front of us! We have to retreat!”

The tearful screams of his subordinate officers erupted.

“This Suka [Russian profanity]! What did Gennady, that idiot, believe in to shake hands with those bastards!”

“Brigade Commander! The enemy cavalry has broken through the base and is setting fire to the supply depot!”

“If we delay any longer, the retreat route in the rear will be blocked!”

“…D, Damn it. This unbelievable thing…”

How did they gather the troops?

The troops that were gathered by searching all over the Russian Northeast and bringing down all possible combat personnel are ending like this without even fighting properly?

I would be less upset if I had fought bravely and lost to the English bastards, but what is this?

However, even if you lose the battle, you have to survive. The brigade commander, with tears in his eyes, got on his horse and ran forward without looking back.

“Retreat! Retreat! All possible soldiers retreat towards Vladivostok!”

As I was setting up the soldiers as meat shields and running frantically, the shouts of the Qing soldiers shouting loudly from behind pierced my ears painfully.

“Those guys are running away!”

“This is the power of the Great Qing!”

“You moronic Arasa bastards! Did you feel the fear of Manchuria to the bone! Hahaha!”

I don’t know what they’re talking about, but it’s definitely ridicule or insults that mock us.

This is not my fault. Everything is due to the incompetence of Gennady and the cowardly Qing bastards. We are wronged.

The only thing the Siberian Brigade, which was annihilated without even firing a single shot, could do was such mental victory.

* * *

-Breaking news! The Qing Eight Banners army surprised and defeated the Russian army. It has been confirmed that the additional Russian troops suffered near-total damage.

When I received the report that made me doubt my eyes, I checked the contents several times.

How in the world can the Eight Banners army win a great victory against the Russian army?

Are the Russian guys really that weak?

Such questions were resolved at once after seeing the report describing the detailed process.

“Wow… So, this is really a battle that took place in the 19th century?”

They said they would form an alliance, but they ambushed and annihilated the other party at the meeting place?

Am I watching Romance of the Three Kingdoms [a famous Chinese historical novel] right now?

I feel a sense of overwhelming scale of the continent that I feel anew, and my back is tingling.

If I’m like this, what would the Russian commander who received this news feel like?

I wouldn’t be surprised if he died of a stroke due to frustration.

“Your Highness. It seems that Qing has kept its promise. What should we do?”

“Since they kept their promise, we should consider the suspicion of an alliance with Russia to be resolved.”

But no matter how I look at it, it seems that they have chosen the path of becoming mortal enemies beyond simply fighting. These guys always surprise me.

Well, how can an ordinary person like me understand the magnificent spirit of that continent?

That strength that does not hesitate to become an irreconcilable enemy with Russia for the sake of immediate gain.

I support you. Don’t forget that continental spirit in the future.