I Became A Hidden Powerhouse Of The British Empire [EN]: Chapter 248

< Killian and Guilian (7) >

The majestic sounds of the military band echoed, and amidst the relentless barrage of photographers, I took steps to truly conclude the Battle of Vladivostok.

The officers following me were whispering amongst themselves, unable to hide their curiosity as they discussed how Joseon [ancient Korean kingdom] had managed to capture Gennady alive.

“I was fully expecting to have to push all the way into the base, but how did this happen?”

“Well, according to their side, Gennady fell off his horse while trying to escape.”

“…So, I don’t understand why he suddenly tried to escape. Unless he’s an idiot, he couldn’t have thought he could break through that encirclement.”

*My thoughts exactly,* and that’s probably what everyone else is thinking too.

Therefore, the prevailing opinion was that Joseon had used some kind of scheme, like Qing [the last imperial dynasty of China] or Japan, and the other officers were racking their brains to come up with predictions.

“Could they have deliberately loosened the encirclement to lure the enemy in?”

“Colonel, that’s not it. I’ve become an Asian maniac because of His Highness, and Asian schemes are on a whole other level. All sorts of bizarre and amazing strategic tactics are common.”

“Really? How do you know that?”

“Have you not read *Romance of the Three Kingdoms*? [a historical novel about Chinese history] If you look at the tactics that appear in it, you can see what it takes to be considered a strategist in the East. The best strategist in the East can even make the southeast wind blow!”

One of the officers pulled out a translated copy of *Romance of the Three Kingdoms*, which he had been reading recently, and everyone’s attention immediately focused on it.

“Change the wind direction? Really? No way.”

“That might be a bit of an exaggeration, but the strategies here are real. Look at His Highness! Doesn’t he control Russia, Qing, Joseon, and Japan as he pleases? You can find real-life examples of that here.”

“Now that you mention His Highness, it does seem to fit. So, it’s the mystery of the East?”

“That’s right.”

It felt like things were heading in a very strange direction, but considering the perception of Asia in Europe, I suppose it’s good that these kinds of words are coming out.

It would be a relief if they didn’t say that Asian shamans had bewitched Russia with mysterious sorcery.

Perhaps if I didn’t exist, those kinds of words would have been said in earnest.

That’s how lacking Europe’s perception of Asia was.

It might be better for them to read *Romance of the Three Kingdoms* and think that Asians are strategists, so I didn’t bother to correct them.

As I entered, listening to the officers’ chatter, the time had come to satisfy everyone’s curiosity.

“You are General Lee Beom-gyu?”

“Yes! It’s an honor to meet you, Your Highness Guilian!”

A middle-aged man dressed in attire that clearly identified him as a Joseon general stood up with a broad smile.

Who would have thought that the day would come when I would talk to a Joseon general in Vladivostok.

As the saying goes, you have to live a long life to see things. It is not without reason.

Actually, I haven’t lived that long, but I wonder if I’ll encounter even more ridiculous situations as I get older.

“I was really surprised by the Joseon army’s performance this time. Frankly, I didn’t expect Joseon to be so actively involved.”

“Our Joseon values loyalty. We cannot just stand by and watch our allies fight.”

“I see. Truly befitting of the Land of Eastern Etiquette.”

“Thank you. If the English know how much we have done our best to meet the demands of the alliance this time, we will be satisfied with that.”

“Of course, we have no choice but to know. It’s not every day that we capture the enemy commander. By the way, what is Commander Gennady doing now?”

If that man had escaped, I wouldn’t have been able to capture the symbolic scene of finishing this front, so Joseon’s contribution was by no means small.

Planting a flag where the enemy commander had fled and taking a victory photo while capturing the enemy commander would have very different effects.

“Commander Gennady injured his back while falling from his horse and is being respectfully cared for. He is resting on that bed over there.”

“I heard he was saying that he was subjected to some despicable trick. What was the process of capturing him?”

“No, Your Highness, please listen. We are wronged.”

“Wronged?”

I wondered what kind of absurd backstabbing strategy they had used, but the words that came out of Lee Beom-gyu’s mouth were different from what I expected.

They maintained their manners until the end and recommended surrender, and they moved their troops to the other side because they didn’t want to give them a sense of intimidation, but the Russian army crashed into that side and fell off their horse and was captured as a prisoner?

At first, I wondered if I was supposed to believe this, but Lee Beom-gyu’s wronged expression was genuine.

“So, to summarize, Russia didn’t want to be tricked by Joseon’s schemes, so they fumbled and tripped over a rock on their own, hit their head, and passed out?”

“…Surprisingly, that is indeed the truth.”

“That’s really surprising.”

It is said that a country that is not meant to be successful will not be successful no matter what it does. If Russia, which has been severely burned by Asia, is making a fuss on its own and falling over, it may seem possible.

However, for him to have fallen off his horse and been captured as a prisoner in the process, Gennady must be resentful of the world.

“But why does Russia say that Joseon used despicable schemes?”

“They say that we predicted all of Russia’s actions and set a trap and waited… From the beginning, we had no intention of accepting their surrender. Something like that.”

“It’s too much for the one who farted to get angry [a Korean idiom meaning ‘the pot calling the kettle black’]. They said they would surrender first and then stabbed us in the back. I see. Fortunately, they didn’t use a method that was too far off.”

If I had thought that this was a bit too much, like the Qing Dynasty, I would have pretended to distance myself, but this is actually a very desirable case.

“Then can we confidently insist that we are not at fault in this matter?”

“Of course. But if you really want to gain merit, why don’t you revise the content a little bit? Even if the Russian side is right, this is not a trick, but a success of an operation that perfectly predicted the Russian psychology. You can just say that you considered the possibility that they would come out like this and strengthened your defenses.”

“Ah, I see. That side seems to look a little better.”

The feeling of saying that they just caught it by accident is different from the victory of a meticulous strategy, right?

Above all, if the ending of this great front is so sloppy, it seems like it will lose too much weight.

“We are fully aware of how faithfully Joseon has cooperated with our country this time, so don’t worry. Then I will talk to Commander Gennady.”

“I understand. I’ll guide you right away.”

I roughly appeased Lee Beom-gyu and moved to meet the poor commander who gained the title of the first Russian general to be captured by Joseon in history.

As I heard, he was lying blankly in his seat with a bandage wrapped around his waist and a face as if the world had ended.

“Hello. I didn’t expect to meet you in this place, but it’s nice to meet you for the first time.”

“…Are you the commander of the British Empire?”

“Nominally. I’m sorry, but I’m going to take some pictures. Photographer! Please take a picture of me looking down from here.”

“Yes, Your Highness. But your expression looks too condescending right now, so if you loosen the corners of your lips a little, you’ll get a much cooler picture.”

“That makes sense. I understand.”

The Battle of Vladivostok was perfectly concluded with a photo of me showing mercy to the wounded commander, even though he was an enemy general.

All that remains is to convey this fact to Europe as dramatically and vividly as possible.

“Then, Commander Gennady, please tell me if you have any discomfort and get some rest.”

“Wait, wait. Didn’t you come here because you had something to say?”

“At first, I came to find out the circumstances because you said you were subjected to some despicable trick, but after listening to it, it didn’t seem like that. So, I heard you fell off your horse, so I just came to see if you were okay. It doesn’t seem like there’s any problem with your life, so I’m going back.”

In fact, I wanted to use it as propaganda material, but my previous role doesn’t allow me to reveal such intentions first.

I can roughly understand what Gennady is feeling right now.

Among the great powers of Europe, Asia was nothing more or less than a potential colony to exploit.

Even France was so ashamed of losing a warship in the mudflats last time.

It is said that there was tremendous criticism within the French army to the extent that those responsible at the time had to take off their clothes one after another.

However, the disgrace shown by Gennady this time was incomparable to that.

Being hit first by Japan, betrayed by Qing, and even captured by Joseon as a culmination.

This situation, in which the great powers of Europe were mercilessly played around by the three countries of Northeast Asia, was unprecedented throughout the East and West.

It is truly the world’s first, the universe’s first, and there is no objection to the title of the greatest record ever.

In fact, this was such a terrible record that even if it was not Russia but another country, they would not be able to return to the military.

Not to mention Russia, which lives on pride and does not hesitate to go to war with this pride.

I guarantee that Gennady is now convinced that he will die unconditionally if he is sent back to his country as he is now.

His waist is broken and he is lying in bed, so he cannot manipulate the facts, and this is no different from being in a checkmate situation.

As expected, as I was about to leave, his urgent voice echoed once again from behind.

“Wait, just a moment! Can’t you stay and talk a little more?”

“Is there anything more to say? Ah, if you’re worried that the Joseon side will harm you, you don’t have to worry. I told them to take good care of you until your commander’s back is fully healed. After that, I will ‘personally’ ‘take responsibility’ and safely escort you to Russia.”

“Oh, oh, oh······.”

As expected, soldiers respond quickly, so it’s easy. It’s so easy to manipulate them because their emotions are so clearly expressed on their faces.

He’s saying with his eyes that he’ll die if he goes back like this, so I know what’s most fatal right away, right?

“Perhaps you want to return even a day sooner? Well, you’re uncomfortable and you’ve been among people who don’t even speak your language properly for too long. Wait a moment. I’ll immediately escort the commander to Siberia······.”

“No, absolutely not! No!”

“Yes? Why not?”

“That’s my position a little bit… If I go back to my country as I am now, His Majesty will not leave me alone.”

Of course. If I were Emperor Nicholas, you would be executed at the very least.

So, you want to keep living here if you can?

But what a pity, it is customary and a principle to repatriate high-ranking prisoners like you.

“Commander, but you know that I can’t do anything about it just because you don’t want to go back, right?”

“Then, how about that? Defection. I will defect. If I defect to the British Empire, I don’t have to go back.”

“There would be no benefit for the home country to gain by doing that.”

“…That is······.”

As expected, he’s just a man who used to command on the battlefield, so he has no sense.

If it had been me, I would have immediately said what I would do in return for defection, but do I have to tell him that?

“Commander. Then let’s do this. Let’s say that you are seriously injured, so we will send you back to Russia after you have been fully treated. And then, General, call the reporters and officially interview them, saying that you don’t want to go back to Russia, that Russia only sees soldiers as consumables, and that you didn’t want to go to war, but countless soldiers were dragged to the battlefield of death by the emperor’s unilateral decision.”

“…Yes? Your Highness! Then I will die! Even if I defect, Russia will definitely hire assassins to kill me!”

“It’s okay. I’ll take care of it by making it look like an accidental death before that happens. Russia will think that someone else took the lead and assassinated you, right? And if you go to Canada with a new identity, no one will recognize you, Commander.”

Even though it is temporary, what would happen if a commander who reigned like a governor of a region publicly criticized the emperor and showed his conversion?

Regardless of officers or soldiers, morale, which had nowhere else to fall, would fall to the point where it would penetrate to the inner core.

Perhaps it could be the decisive blow that could end this war.

Since Europe has never really felt the power of proper propaganda, wouldn’t it be possible to extract extreme efficiency without any resistance?

The operation name should be Superconducting Propaganda.

“I don’t have much time either, so I’ll come back in about two days. Think carefully until then.”

Either take responsibility for the defeat and be executed, or coolly hit the emperor in the back of the head and start a new life in Canada.

You know which one is better without me having to say it, right? Now, choose.