Twentieth Century Chronicle

Page 230

Then Ahn Jung-geun discovered a fact: Korea had almost no strategic depth. In the face of Japan, which controlled the sea, there was no suitable industrial city for Korea. Therefore, if Korea wanted a rear base that could support the war of independence, it could only be located within China.

However, the area bordering northern North Korea, including Dandong, is directly on the main line of the China-North Korea Railway. Neither China nor Japan would allow a North Korean industrial center to emerge there. Therefore, the only option is the Chinese territory along the Tumen River. Due to its inconvenient transportation, North Korean immigrants make up half of the local population, making it suitable for establishing a logistical base for the North Korean revolution. However, the inconvenient transportation makes it difficult to develop industry.

Therefore, as the war was drawing to a close, Ahn Jung-geun did not focus his efforts on building up domestic bases, but rather on promoting railway and industrial development in the Jilin region. It was under his active promotion that the Jilin-Changchun Railway bypassed the planned construction of the Qiqihar-Baicheng-Tongliao-Shenyang Railway and began construction in early 1908.

China wants to prioritize the construction of the Qiqihar-Shenyang Railway in order to develop the wasteland along the route. However, Ahn Jung-geun advocates prioritizing the Jilin-Changchun Railway in order to extend it eastward, thereby incorporating the Yanbian region into the Northeast railway network, freeing it from the sea routes controlled by Japan, and thus laying the transportation foundation for the industrialization of the Yanbian region. At the same time, it is also conducive to the national defense security of the Jilin border.

An Jung-geun's proposal received strong support from the local people of Jilin. Before the construction of the Chinese Eastern Railway, Jilin's political and economic center was the Jilin Shipyard at the foot of Changbai Mountain. It was a city that had developed its economy based on forestry. After the railway opened, Jilin's advantage in water transport was offset by the railway, and Changchun began to develop rapidly.

If the Russians hadn't invaded Manchuria, Changchun would likely have become a central city in Northeast China, like Harbin, as a railway hub, thus replacing Jilin City. Therefore, establishing a railway connecting Jilin to the Chinese Eastern Railway as quickly as possible became an urgent need for the people of Jilin.

Ahn Jung-geun had not anticipated that the Japanese would provoke trouble on the Tumen River border at this time. He immediately realized that this was actually a good opportunity to push for the eastward extension of the Jichang Railway. Under the threat from the Japanese, the importance of this railway was elevated.

Ahn Jung-geun's judgment was correct. The reason why the discussion on the eastward extension of the Jichang Railway had been delayed was because the local representatives in Northeast China and the officials from the interior of China stationed in Northeast China had differing opinions. For the officials from the interior of China, the most important thing was to prioritize the development of transportation infrastructure in the area west of Changchun and to connect the Northeast with railway lines in Inner and Outer Mongolia and Shanxi. Such a construction plan could connect the Manchurian and Mongolian regions with the interior of China as soon as possible.

Local representatives, however, were more concerned with border security. They believed that if border security could not be maintained, Jilin would fall apart under constant pressure from external forces. Even if the nation eventually drove the foreign invaders out of the border, Jilin as a unified political entity would cease to exist; they would be completely subservient to the liberators within the Great Wall.

Locals in Jilin are also worried about the increasing number of North Korean immigrants in Yanbian and other places. If there is no railway to transport a large number of immigrants to Yanbian and other places, then in the future, this place will be inhabited by North Koreans. Will this place still be considered Chinese territory? Therefore, An Jung-geun's proposal to first build the eastern extension of the Jilin-Changchun Railway naturally received their strong support.

The Japanese military and police raid on Gando Island also led Wuhan to change its stance, deciding to prioritize the construction of the eastward extension of the Jichang Railway. Only after receiving this result did Ahn Jung-geun rush back to Yanbian to personally assess the extent of damage caused by the Japanese military and police to the Korean settlements in the area.

The Japanese initially caught the Koreans and Chinese off guard, but as the Chinese border troops reacted, they immediately launched a counterattack with the Korean Volunteer Army. The Japanese, who had misjudged the equipment of the Korean Volunteer Army, also suffered heavy losses and retreated to the south bank of the Tumen River.

Upon arriving at Longjing Village, Ahn Jung-geun immediately summoned the commanders of the border guards and the volunteer army, stating that they needed to cross the Tumen River to completely remove the Japanese army's rule in North Hamgyong Province. His proposal was supported by the volunteer army commanders, but questioned by the border guard commanders, as they had not yet received orders to cross the Tumen River.

An Jung-geun produced the authorized telegram sent to him from Wuhan and explained to the border troops: "The Wuhan Workers', Peasants' and Soldiers' Committee believes that since the Japanese have broken the tacit agreement reached by both sides, we must retaliate. The 5th and 11th Divisions will reinforce the forces along the Suifenhe-Shuangchengzi line to contain the Japanese army's operations in the Primorsky Krai. Our mission is to drive the Japanese army from the Tumen River into the sea and establish a liberated area controlled by the volunteer army in North Hamgyong Province..."

Volunteer Army General Lee Beom-yoon questioned this, saying, "What is a liberated area? Do you mean that you no longer recognize the Korean Empire? Then where does that leave His Majesty?"

After glancing at the Koreans in the room, Ahn Jung-geun said decisively, "Lee Wan-yong denied the identity of the Hague envoy in His Majesty's name. This shows that His Majesty has been completely turned into a puppet by the Japanese. If we continue to regard ourselves as subordinates of the Korean Empire, we will not receive any international support, because the Japanese will declare us to be rebels in His Majesty's name."

Therefore, to counter Japan's attempt to annex Korea, we must abandon the Korean Empire and fight for independence in the name of the Korean people, gaining international recognition. This is not only my view, but also the stance of the Workers' Party of Korea…”

The North Korean generals, including Li Fanyun, were speechless. The Workers' Party of Korea was established after Ahn Jung-geun returned to Korea. Although it was initially inconspicuous among the independent groups, it had now become the largest group within the Volunteer Army because it advocated land reform. This gave it the support of peasants and lower-ranking soldiers. Furthermore, the Workers' Party had the support of China and Russia, receiving substantial aid. As a result, many independent groups eventually dissolved and joined the more promising Workers' Party of Korea.

For nationalists like Lee Beom-yoon, while they supported the national independence movement, they consistently opposed land reform because it was too harsh on landowners and could potentially lead them to side with the Japanese. At the same time, most nationalists were also proponents of the monarchy and consistently opposed abandoning allegiance to the Korean Empire to establish an independent Korean people's state.

Their views actually garnered sympathy from some members of the Workers' Party of Korea, such as Ahn Jung-geun's deputy, Lee Sang-go. Lee Sang-go came from a prominent family in Gyeongju and was related to Lee Yu-seung, a high-ranking official in the government who upheld national sovereignty. He joined Ahn Jung-geun's volunteer corps but still maintained his respect for the Korean royal family. Therefore, although he acknowledged that land reform was necessary, he opposed breaking away from the Korean Empire and establishing a separate Korea.

However, as Japan annexed Korea, Lee Sang-go finally changed his stance, believing that the Korean Empire could no longer exist and that continuing to venerate the Joseon King would only turn everyone into subjugated people. Having lost sympathizers within the Workers' Party, Lee Beom-yoon and others were clearly no match for Ahn Jung-geun, who held military and political power.

Chapter 734

Author: Fuchun Mountain Residence Number: 4988 Comments: 0 Update Date: 2023-09-12 12:45:57

The development of the Gando Incident quickly exceeded the army's expectations. Although the Korean Volunteer Army, which had previously been entrenched in northeastern Korea, had firmly controlled the mountainous and rural areas, this control was due to the fact that the Japanese army could not rely on a small number of police to maintain its rule over the area. The mountainous terrain of northeastern Korea also made it difficult for the Japanese army to move quickly. Furthermore, the practice of dispersing a small number of troops in the countryside made them vulnerable to encirclement and annihilation by the superior forces of the Volunteer Army.

Therefore, the Japanese army could only place its forces in transportation hubs and cities near the coastal plains, relying on sea routes to facilitate rapid troop movements between coastal cities. This resulted in a situation where the Korean Volunteer Army controlled the mountainous and rural areas, while the Japanese army controlled towns and major transportation routes. However, the Japanese army's assessment of the Korean Volunteer Army was that although the Volunteer Army was more organized than ordinary volunteer militia organizations, it still could not confront the army head-on. Even those Volunteer Army units that originated from the Korean Imperial Guard were only slightly stronger than the police in combat, and in battles of battalion size or larger, they had almost no command capabilities.

The army's headache with the Volunteer Army was that, without the tip-offs from the local Koreans, they could not pinpoint the main force of the Volunteer Army. Therefore, they had to give up the mountainous areas and rural villages far from the city in order to focus on ensuring order in the city and the surrounding plains.

In contrast, the southern militias were much easier to deal with because they were regional and lacked coordination. Some militias would even start fighting amongst themselves once they crossed the border. Therefore, in the south, the army could simply demarcate different areas and concentrate its forces to suppress the militias in those areas. There was no need to worry about these militias running away. Once scattered, the militias would lose the support of the people and become lone wolves. At that point, a few policemen could easily deal with these exiled anti-Japanese elements.

Furthermore, since most of the righteous armies in the south were led by yangban (aristocratic class) landowners, they were all opposed to land reform. Many of these landowners actually turned to anti-Japanese activities because of Japan's land reclamation efforts in Korea. Therefore, the Japanese army could recruit many Koreans in the south to provide intelligence. Those Koreans who had nothing clearly did not consider it their responsibility to protect the yangban and the emperor's Korea.

Both Ito Hirobumi and Akashi Motojiro of the army favored civil administration and rule of law in their governance of Korea, opposing arbitrary politics that employed high-pressure rule. Therefore, although Ito Hirobumi tried his best to suppress the Korean righteous army, he was always very cautious in killing people. Although this method of governance seemed to condone the anti-Japanese actions of the Korean upper class, it also successfully prevented Koreans and Japanese from going to full-scale confrontation.

Under the rule of the yangban landlords in Korea, Koreans had essentially accepted a life under order, even if that order was extremely unreasonable. As long as the yangban landlords could abide by the order they had established, Koreans would almost never try to resist it, because those who resisted were all killed by the yangban landlords.

Although Japan's protection treaty with Korea imposed an unreasonable order on the Koreans, only the yangban (aristocratic landlords) actually felt this unreasonableness. As for ordinary Koreans, although they thought the Japanese were rude, order is order, and they could only obey, not rise up to challenge it. This is the sense of order that the yangban had instilled in the Koreans over the past thousand years.

Therefore, the leaders of the various righteous army groups were actually yangban (aristocratic class), with very few being purely civilians. Once the Japanese army captured a leader, they either forced him to repent or killed him, leading to the disbandment of these righteous army groups. Thus, the Korean righteous army movement was essentially an action by the yangban landowners to maintain their privileges; its nationalism and ethnic nationalism were virtually nonexistent.

Of course, this righteous army movement provided Koreans with an example that order can be resisted. The old saying that the lower class could only unconditionally obey the order set by the upper class was just a lie. This stimulated the Koreans' sense of autonomy and made them develop a consciousness of resisting injustice.

Meanwhile, the volunteer army in the north broke down the social class differences that the Joseon Dynasty had always emphasized through land reform, directly instilling a sense of national and ethnic consciousness in the people of northern Korea. As a result, it was difficult for Japan to obtain intelligence about the volunteer army from the people of northeastern Korea, because the people there had already formed a connection with the volunteer army in terms of our consciousness.

Whether it was Tanaka Giichi or Tachibana Koichiro, the commander of the Korean military police stationed in Gando and the chief of police of the Korean Resident-General's Office, they both focused their attention on the Chinese people rather than the volunteer army.

In truth, their viewpoint wasn't unreasonable. The army had accurately predicted the Chinese troop reinforcements at Suifenhe and Shuangchengzi, and its rapid deployment effectively contained the possibility of a Chinese offensive in the Shuangchengzi area. If things had ended there, the military operation would have concluded, and the negotiations between Japan and China would have commenced.

The Japanese certainly couldn't afford another continental war, but the Chinese were actively planning the development and construction of Manchuria and wouldn't choose to fight Japan because of the Koreans. Therefore, the army believed the worst outcome would be for Japan to offer some compensation to China and then publicly acknowledge that Jiandao belonged to Chinese territory, thus resolving the matter.

Although this ending is a huge blow to the reputation of the Japanese government, it is exactly what the army wanted to see. They believed that the Yamamoto cabinet would fall as a result, and then domestic politics could be reshuffled, allowing the army to reverse its current unfavorable situation.

What the army did not expect was that the fighting strength of the Volunteer Army was no longer the same Volunteer Army they had encountered before. In the past year, although Ahn Jung-geun suppressed the opposition within the Volunteer Army and reached a compromise with the Japanese army, he did not do nothing. He reformed the internal organization of the Volunteer Army and transferred and trained junior officers, which made the Volunteer Army shift from the previous modern army to the construction direction of the Wuhan Workers' and Peasants' Red Army.

Although the Volunteer Army still needed the support of the Wuhan Military Commission to establish a staff command system at the division and regiment level, it finally overcame the shortcomings of relying on enthusiasm in battles below the regimental level and began to rely on officers and soldiers to organize battles through discussions and standardized regulations.

As a result, the Japanese troops in Hamgyong Province soon discovered that they had lost their advantage in battles smaller than battalion size. The volunteer army was behaving like a regular army, unlike the Korean volunteer soldiers of the past. The terrain of the mountainous region in northern Korea was actually most suitable for the movement of battalion-sized units, which meant that the Japanese army had to worry about the volunteer army launching a frontal attack in all areas except for a few plains and valleys.

Before the operation, Tachibana Koichiro reinforced the area with half a brigade in Rajin and other places, bringing the total strength of the troops in the two northeastern provinces of Korea to six regiments. If the police force was included, it would be close to the strength of a division. Major General Tachibana and other generals of the Korean garrison believed that this force was sufficient to deal with the counterattack of the volunteer army, as long as the Chinese army did not cross the border.

At that time, the army had two divisions stationed on the Korean Peninsula, one and a half divisions in the Primorsky Krai, and half a division on Sakhalin Island. The army could only utilize these four overseas divisions, and any domestic troop movements required the Emperor's permission. Therefore, Major General Tachibana already placed considerable importance on the fighting capacity of the Volunteer Army.

However, when the volunteer armies in North and South Hamgyong Provinces began to assemble and launch a counterattack, the army quickly realized that if it did not abandon the mountainous and rural areas as soon as possible, its troops stationed at key transportation routes would be surrounded and annihilated by the volunteer armies. Thus, within half a month of Ahn Jung-geun announcing that the Korean Volunteer Army would be renamed the Korean Independence Army and declaring its intention to liberate the motherland and drive the Japanese invaders out of the Korean Peninsula, the army lost control of the entire North Hamgyong and Ryanggang provinces, and the inland areas of Jagang and South Hamgyong provinces also broke away from the rule of the Korean Empire.

The army's remaining strongholds in northeastern Korea were limited to a few port cities: Rajin, Chongjin, Hamhung, and Wonsan. Meanwhile, the people of northern Korea, inspired by the spirit of the independence army, were increasingly joining its ranks and supporting the independence movement. In early August 1909, the commander of the Korean garrison...

Ueda Arisawa telegraphed the Minister of the Army, stating that the independence movement in North Korea was no longer a problem that the North Korean troops stationed there could handle, and requested guidance from the domestic authorities.

Ueda Arisawa's telegram was filled with resentment because this operation had not actually been discussed with his opinion. It was a secret discussion between the previous commander in Korea, Hasegawa, and Chief of Staff Tachibana, and then received the support of Yamagata and the General Staff Headquarters. In other words, the plan to eliminate anti-Japanese bases in northeastern Korea was already finalized before he took office.

If this operation had succeeded, Ueda could have turned a blind eye, since he could have gotten some credit without offending the Choshu faction. But now that things had escalated, he was naturally unhappy about being made to take the blame for the Choshu faction.

Tamura was also surprised by this, because he had not expected that things would go wrong in a place where it was impossible for anything to go wrong. He had considered that the coastal area might suffer some setbacks due to the Chinese attack, since the Japanese army's foundation in the coastal area was too weak, and it was practically like being stationed in enemy-controlled territory.

However, he did not expect that the North Korean garrison's prior assurance that it could handle the counterattack of the volunteer army as long as the Chinese troops did not cross the border was just empty talk. This turned the Gando Incident, instigated by the army, into a joke, failing not only to intimidate the North Koreans and Chinese but also demonstrating its weakness.

Tamura was forced to give a full report on the Gando Incident to the Cabinet and the Emperor, emphasizing that the Chinese army must have crossed the Tumen River and that the troops stationed in Korea were not fighting the Korean Volunteer Army, but the Chinese army, which is why they were caught off guard and lost control of most of northeastern Korea.

However, at the Army and Navy meeting before the Emperor, Ito Sukeyuki, representing the Navy, raised a pointed question to the Army: "When the Army previously advocated the continental policy, it emphasized that the training quality of the Chinese army could not be compared with that of the Army, and that a single Army regiment could confront a Chinese mixed brigade. Now, only a small number of Chinese troops have disguised themselves and entered the northeastern region of Korea. According to the intelligence previously submitted by the Army, the Chinese troops in the Yanbian region could not possibly exceed the size of a division, right? So, did the Army lose in a confrontation of equal scale? If so, then how large a scale of mobilization would we need to win a war against China?"

Faced with this question, Tamura was speechless, because he truly couldn't answer. However, Ito wasn't about to stop there. He continued, "As far as I know, during the late Qing Dynasty, China planned to establish 36 standing garrisons, which is 36 divisions. Although this goal wasn't achieved when the Qing Dynasty abdicated, by the time the Sino-Russian War broke out, the armed forces across China had exceeded one million men, including six divisions of the Beiyang Army. Wuhan even had 18 divisions during the war. After the war, various factions within China reduced their forces through peace talks, leaving approximately 25 regular armed divisions nationwide."

I recall that the army's preparedness plan for the mainland policy was 25 divisions in peacetime and 50 divisions in wartime. If, according to the army's estimates, one army division was equivalent to two Chinese divisions, then we would have a certain advantage. However, if this was merely the army's overconfidence, and the combat strength of both sides in wartime was only 1:1, then wouldn't rashly provoking a war between Japan and China be suicidal?

Ito Sukeyuki's doubts were echoed by veterans Matsukata Masayoshi and Inoue Kaoru, as well as other ministers. While they had previously opposed the army's continental policy, they wouldn't insist on reclaiming the spoils of victory if the army demonstrated its ability to implement it. However, if the army persisted in its continental policy without bearing the consequences, they would naturally resent this rule-breaking action.

Seeing this, Yamagata Aritomo had no choice but to step in, because he was worried that if Ito continued to pressure him, Tamura would have to resign. He also worried that no matter who took the position in the army, they would not be able to solve the problem and would only end up taking the blame. Therefore, it would be better to let Tamura sit in the minister's position until the problem was solved, so that no one else would be lost.

"When the army formulates its strategy, it only considers national defense and security and national interests. Although there may be some errors in the assessment of the enemy's strength, it does not mean that the strategic direction is wrong. Given the current situation, if Japan does not expand to the mainland, does it really intend to challenge the British and French powers in the South China Sea? Does the navy think that the British and French are not as strong as China and Korea? I think that the army's mainland policy is actually quite conservative. At least if the mainland policy fails, we will not be in danger of national extinction. But if we fail in the South China Sea, can Japan still survive?"

Yamagata Aritomo's words essentially exposed the strategic conflict between the Army and Navy. While the Army and Navy had previously disagreed on strategic matters, they had at least shared a common stance on external expansion. Now, Yamagata's declaration of opposition to the Navy's southward expansion strategy effectively indicates that he is no longer willing to maintain any semblance of peace with the Navy.

Those in high-ranking Japanese officials who agreed with the policy against the mainland also did not support the navy's southward expansion policy. Simply put, as long as they could make ends meet, these politicians advocated maintaining the status quo rather than taking risks. Therefore, after Yamagata Aritomo made his statement, everyone fell silent, clearly indicating that they were also unwilling to support the navy's southward expansion strategy.

Seeing this, Yamamoto Gonnohyōe couldn't help but speak up in rebuttal to Yamagata Aritomo. However, his stance was from the navy's perspective, which naturally provoked a counterattack from Tamura, Ōyama, and Katsura. Consequently, Kawahara, the Minister of the Navy, and Saitō, the Chief of the Naval General Staff, also joined the fray. The Imperial Conference thus devolved into a major argument between the army and the navy.

Emperor Meiji had no choice but to suspend the meeting and ask Ito Hirobumi for his opinion separately. Although Ito Hirobumi knew that the army's provocation of the Gando Incident was unconstitutional, as the Governor-General of Korea, he had to stand on the side of the Japanese stationed in Korea and defend the army. "Although the army's actions were rash, they cannot be considered as concealing the cabinet's military actions. This is just normal security maintenance."

Of course, this security operation also tested the Chinese, mainly revealing that Wuhan harbors ill intentions towards the Empire. I believe this was an unexpected gain. If we had treated Wuhan as a friend of the Empire and cooperated with them without any precautions, and Wuhan had stabbed us in the back, our losses would have been enormous.

In comparison, the Beiyang clique that controlled southern Manchuria was the force the empire needed to govern China. As long as the Beiyang clique still held the title of the central government of China, the conflict between my country and the Central Government would be greatly mitigated. However, if Wuhan were to come to power, the relationship between the two sides would likely deteriorate rapidly.

Therefore, my opinion is that we should increase our support for the Beiyang government to ensure its survival, and then use the Beiyang government to increase investment in southern Manchuria, thereby turning southern Manchuria into a monopolistic market for Japanese businesses. This would allow the Empire and the Beiyang government to mutually benefit.

Regarding the conflict between Japan and China arising from the recent Jiandao clash, I believe it should be resolved through negotiation to avoid a military conflict between the two sides. Such a conflict would be of no benefit to the Empire, and the Empire has no chance of winning. Furthermore, judging from the army's actions this time, it would be more appropriate to appoint a civilian official as the Governor-General of Korea. If the army were to hold this position, the domestic authorities would have no control over the actions of the Korean troops stationed there.”

Meiji agreed with Ito's approach and believed that the conflict should not escalate into a Sino-Japanese war. After all, his health was not good and he needed the country to pass through the power transition quietly. If another war broke out, not only would the empire be likely to lose, but it would also greatly damage the prestige of the imperial family. After Meiji convened another meeting, he said that the matter should be handled by the Government-General of Korea, with the cabinet providing support.

Chapter 735

Author: Fuchun Mountain Residence Number: 4781 Comments: 0 Update Date: 2023-09-13 11:46:44

Although Hirobumi Ito had gained the authority to handle the situation and temporarily suppressed the conflict between the army and navy, he was also well aware that Japan could not go to war with China at present. Therefore, he immediately ordered the Ministry of Home Affairs to restrict its reporting on the conflict in Korea and to ensure that there were no news reports such as Chinese troops crossing the Tumen River. He then instructed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to contact Beijing and Wuhan to propose negotiations on the Gando issue.

However, Beijing's response this time was very stern, and they put forward three principles to the Japanese minister to China. First, the Korean issue must be discussed based on the Treaty of Shimonoseki; second, there is no issue of Gando, and the Sino-North Korean border is the Tumen River, which is a very clear fact; third, the Sino-North Korean border issue is irrelevant to Japan, and China will only consult with North Korean representatives.

Behind Beijing's strong stance, the Beiyang government offered a private explanation to the Japanese minister, stating that they were also unwilling to issue such an ultimatum. However, the Japanese invasion of Chinese territory had already aroused great resentment among the people. Coincidentally, the Hague secret envoy incident had been widely reported domestically. Therefore, Chinese public opinion not only expressed sympathy for Korea's impending demise but also strongly warned the people that after occupying Korea, the Japanese would inevitably have designs on annexing Manchuria and the coastal regions.

The Japanese invasion coincided with a surge of public sentiment wary of Japan's ambitions, leading to a shift in public opinion towards supporting Korean independence. Under such pressure, any attempt by the Beiyang government to de-escalate the situation would be met with skepticism about its governing capabilities. Given Wuhan's history of using public opinion to expand its influence, the Beiyang government feared Wuhan might use this as a pretext for unrest, and therefore had to first appease public sentiment.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs was furious at the Beiyang government's irresponsibility but powerless to do anything about it. This incident was not premeditated by Japan, but rather a unilateral act by the army. Therefore, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was completely unsure whether to allow the situation to escalate further or to try to suppress it. The Ministry's sense of helplessness stemmed from the personnel changes implemented by Komura Jutaro after he came to power, replacing the so-called outdated and legally illiterate older staff with a group of young people.

Most of these young people are elites from the University of Tokyo or who have returned from studying abroad. Their understanding of international relations is based on international law, so they have no idea what international relations are. They simply turn this relationship into a courtroom battle under international law, meaning that the relationship between Japan and other countries can be handled by relying on international law, without having to consider the politics of both sides or the feelings of their domestic people.

These so-called modern elites never realized from the beginning that Japan had also been seen as prey by the great powers in the past, and that the international law they endorsed did not actually protect the interests of small countries. Based on their victories in the Sino-Japanese War and the Russo-Japanese War, these elite bureaucrats viewed Japan as one of the great powers, and simultaneously believed that international law had become the basis of Japan's diplomatic interests.

This stance, so different from that of Japanese bureaucrats in the old days, led young Japanese diplomats to be extremely aggressive in their relations with North Korea and China. They believed that these two neighbors were simply incapable of confronting the international order, and that behind them lay not only the powerful Japanese military, but also the rules jointly established by the great powers.

To be fair, these young Japanese diplomats were quite successful before the Russo-Japanese War. Their mastery of international law earned them the approval of European diplomats, who at least allowed them to use European diplomatic rules to handle international issues. Since the Japanese had voluntarily relinquished their interests representing Asia, Europeans had no reason not to praise them.

In fact, the circle of identity in Old Europe was very small. Britain and France were the core of Old Europe, Spain and Portugal were the declining and impoverished, Italy and Germany were New Europe, and Austria-Hungary were on the periphery. As for Eastern Europe, it was used as a barrier to isolate Russia. Russia did not belong to Old Europe, nor did the United States.

Therefore, the so-called diplomatic principles of old Europe were actually about maintaining the rules of the global colonial system dominated by Britain and France. This arrogance of old Europe displeased Russia, the United States, and even the new Europe of Germany and Italy. However, the Japanese, on their own initiative, promoted these rules of the game, even believing they could join the European cultural sphere.

Although Europeans found these yellow-skinned monkeys laughable, since Japan was willing to bring its own provisions to help old Europe maintain order in East Asia, Britain and France naturally didn't mind giving the Japanese a verbal compliment. Therefore, during the Sino-Japanese War and the Russo-Japanese War, British newspapers touted Japanese civilization, viewing Japan as a representative of a successfully educated, uncivilized Eastern race.

It wasn't that the British had any particular fondness for the Japanese, but rather that they were using this opportunity to humiliate the Russians. Ever since Peter the Great's reforms, the Russians had been trying to become Europeans, but old Europe had always seen Russia as nothing more than Tatars dressed in a cloak of Christian civilization. Under this long-term criticism, even the Russian elites had come to accept it.

The British praise of the Japanese was actually a way of mocking the Russians. Even though the Russians looked no different from white people, they were still barbarians, no different from the Japanese. However, the Japanese didn't understand this cynical cultural trait of the British, and instead took the British praise as an endorsement of Japan. This led to the popularity of the "leaving Asia and joining Europe" movement in Japan.

However, when Japanese diplomacy truly encountered difficulties, Japan's diplomatic elites realized that international law is not omnipotent. Europeans would not challenge a regional power for the sake of international law, while China today clearly qualifies as a regional power.

Regarding the Gando conflict, Britain stated that it was a regional conflict between China and Japan, and that Britain would not take sides. While France privately expressed understanding for Japan's actions, French public opinion was shocked by Japan's occupation of the Korean Peninsula and the massacres perpetrated in Korean villages. France publicly maintained neutrality but condemned the Japanese army's persecution of Korean civilians.

The United States' position was similar to that of France, with the government maintaining neutrality, but public opinion criticizing Japan's actions. Some North Koreans living in the United States even publicized the numerous massacres perpetrated by Japan in Korea, further fueling anti-Japanese sentiment among the American public.

Germany, on the other hand, completely sided with China. The German Minister to China stated that the crossing of the Tumen River by Japanese military and police constituted an invasion of Chinese territory. Regardless of Japan's pretext, it could not conceal the fact that Japan had first violated international conventions; therefore, any form of retaliation by China was justified. Of course, Germany's objective was not a war with Japan, but rather to expel Japanese influence from Manchuria.

For the Germans, developing Manchuria was a major plan to further expand the Chinese market. However, Japan's maritime dominance in East Asia gave it control over coastal navigation security in Northeast Asia, providing the backing for its long-standing ambition to control the port of Dalian and the South Manchurian Railway. If Germany wanted to dominate the development of Manchuria, it couldn't allow Japan to control the port of Dalian and the South Manchurian Railway; naturally, peaceful coexistence between the two sides was impossible.

The Russians expressed their support for Japan, but in reality, Russia had no power to mobilize in the Far East. Russia was currently promoting internal political and economic reforms, and the conflict between Japan and China was beneficial to the security of Russia's eastern border. Therefore, the Russians verbally supported Japan, but they could not possibly provide Japan with any substantial assistance.

Therefore, after gathering information on diplomatic relations with China and European countries, Foreign Minister Makino could only tell Ito and other elder statesmen that if Japan and China were to go to war as a result, Germany and the United States might support China and Japan in starting a war, while Britain and France would only stand by and watch, but would prohibit the Japanese navy from landing on the coast of North China.

According to Makino's assessment, this Sino-Japanese War would turn into a war in which the great powers supported China against Japan. Japan would become like the Qing Dynasty in the Sino-Japanese War and Russia in the Russo-Japanese War, only able to rely on its own strength to fight against China, which had the support of the great powers.

The results of international negotiations presented by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs further solidified Ito Hirobumi's determination to peacefully resolve the Gando issue. However, to resolve the Gando issue, the fighting in northeastern Korea must first cease. Currently, the Chinese and North Korean armies hold the advantage in northeastern Korea, having almost completely eliminated Japanese military and police outposts and local government offices of the Korean Empire in the four provinces.

At this point, the ceasefire meant that Japan had to acknowledge that these regions were no longer under the control of the Korean Empire. After all, the Koreans were no longer fighting under the name of the Korean Volunteer Army, but rather the Independent Army. In other words, these Koreans no longer recognized the Korean Empire, so naturally, they could not restore Japan's nominal rule over these regions in the name of the Korean Empire.

At this moment, Ito recalled his conversation with Hayashi Shin-yi at the beginning of the year. He had to admit that Hayashi Shin-yi's views on the North Korean issue were indeed reasonable. If the old methods could not be used to solve the North Korean issue, then the only option was to try a new path.

Ito Hirobumi summoned Hayashi Nobuyoshi to his residence, intending to seek his advice on resolving the Gando Incident. Before receiving Ito Hirobumi's summons, Hayashi Nobuyoshi had already learned the ins and outs of the Gando Incident from representatives of the Asian Democratic Revolutionary Alliance and the Workers' Party's Tokyo-based personnel.

The Asian Democratic Revolutionary Alliance asked for his opinion as Japan's representative, while the Workers' Party sought the opinion of Lin Feng, a member of the party's Central Committee. Lin Xinyi's answers to both sides were similar. He believed that supporting the independence cause of the Korean nation was a matter of principle for the alliance and the working class, and could not be discussed at all. What could be discussed was how to achieve Korean independence at a smaller cost, and that the independence of the Korean nation should be part of the independence cause of all Asian nations.

Of course, in front of the party's representatives, he explained his views in more detail, stating that he would support the Korean people's resistance against Japanese imperialism, but this resistance should not be turned into ethnic hatred. Once nationalism overwhelms class principles, the basis for the unity of Asian nations will no longer exist.

Wuhan's final decision aligned with Lin Xinyi's views. Wuhan ordered its border troops, under the guise of the Volunteer Army, to assist the Korean Independence Army in liberating North Hamgyong Province, the inland region, and to expedite the construction of the railway and highway from Jilin to Yanbian. Wuhan's idea was to resolutely retaliate against the Japanese provocations and establish a liberated area directly in northeastern Korea, thereby completely driving the Japanese army out of the Tumen River region of China.

However, no one expected that the Koreans would indeed develop a sense of national consciousness, and the scale of the war quickly exceeded the boundaries initially set by Wuhan, transforming the struggle from seizing control of one or two provinces in northeastern Korea into the liberation of nearly four provinces.

Although Lin Xinyi did not communicate with Wuhan about the war, he knew that the combined forces of China and North Korea had likely reached their limit. Without rear support, the combined forces could not possibly drive the Japanese army off the Korean Peninsula and into the sea. The industry and agriculture in Yanbian were simply unable to support the supply of materials for the liberation of Korea.

In fact, if Japan were to escalate the war, the combined Chinese and North Korean forces would suffer a major loss. The Russian army, resupplying by sea, would quickly recover its fighting capacity and then, before the arrival of the Eastern Front, force the combined forces into the mountains, allowing the harsh winter to cripple the poorly supplied army. At this time, the Wuhan authorities were clearly unaware of this, but for the time traveler, historical accounts of the Korean War had already shown him just how frigid the winters were in the northern mountains of Korea.

When summoned and questioned by Ito Hirobumi, Hayashi Shin-yi thought for a long time before giving his opinion: "My position has never changed from beginning to end. The Korean issue is actually a matter of redistributing Korea's material resources. If we harm the interests of all classes in Korea, then we can only get a united anti-Japanese nation."

From the current perspective, we either need to safeguard the interests of the yangban landlords and use them to suppress the lower classes in North Korea, something they've been doing for thousands of years and are far more skilled at than we are.

Alternatively, they could confiscate the land from the Yangban landlords and distribute it to the lower classes to gain their support. In order to protect their land, the people of North Korea would at least acknowledge the validity of the Resident-General's laws.

Only after determining the policy for governing Korea can we discuss the issue of Korea's status with Japan. If the Korean Peninsula is full of anti-Japanese elements, why should China talk to Japan? We can't expect the Chinese to help us suppress the Koreans just so that Japan can use the Korean Peninsula to invade Manchuria, can we?

Aside from those extremely foolish Manchus, no Chinese person would make such a choice.

Ito Hirobumi agreed with Hayashi Shinichi's assessment. If the Qing Dynasty were still in power, a Japanese threat to the Qing government might have deterred those foolish Qing officials from supporting anti-Japanese forces in Korea, allowing Japan to focus its efforts on combating anti-Japanese elements among the Koreans. However, present-day China, particularly Wuhan, would never make such a foolish judgment. They could even allow Chinese troops to disguise themselves as independence forces and enter Korea to attack Japanese troops, showing no fear that such an action would trigger a war between Japan and China.

Of course, Ito also acknowledged that the army's actions in Gando had violated the peace agreement between the two countries, and that if Wuhan did not retaliate, it would only provoke bolder probing from the army. Therefore, Wuhan was a counterattack taken with the intention of starting a war between Japan and China. If Japan responded militarily, it would mean that war was inevitable.

However, apart from the army—no, it should be said that apart from the troops stationed in Korea—the rest of Japan was not prepared to go to war with China. Therefore, no one would order a military response to the actions of the Chinese army. This was the fundamental reason why Ito Hirobumi was able to keep the power to resolve the Korean issue in his own hands.

After thinking for a long time, Ito Hirobumi said to Lin Xinyi, "Pushing forward land reform in North Korea is not something that can be accomplished overnight. The entire Korean Peninsula is in an uproar right now. Even if we wanted to change our policies now, it would be difficult to convince the North Koreans. On the contrary, it would only embolden their ambition for independence. Therefore, we need a plan to get China to withdraw its support for the Korean Independence Army. Only when the situation on the Korean Peninsula is stabilized can we consider the issue of reforming the North Korean system."

After thinking for a while, Lin Xinyi said, "Actually, the most important region for our country in northern Korea is the plains along the west coast of North Korea through which the Gyeongui Line passes. This is also the most suitable area for agriculture in northern Korea. As for northeastern Korea, it is mostly mountainous, and the Chinese territory behind it is mostly underdeveloped, deep forests."

We should learn from the Americans' approach: preserve the most valuable areas in northern Korea, leaving the mountainous regions to the North Koreans to govern themselves. When North Korea gains an autonomous region and China gains a buffer zone, then China and a portion of the North Korean population will be less inclined to escalate the war. This will also give us time to reform North Korea's political and economic systems…

Lin Xinyi said this, but he didn't believe Ito had time to push for changes in Korea's political and economic systems. He thought that once the conflict in Korea was eased, Ito would leave. And would the next Governor-General of Korea really undertake such a thankless and arduous reform? After all, getting the army and zaibatsu to relinquish what they'd already gained was harder than climbing to heaven.

Chapter 736

Author: Fuchun Mountain Residence Number: 5055 Comments: 0 Update Date: 2023-09-14 17:17:14

Ito Hirobumi shared the same idea. He wanted to ease the situation in Korea temporarily, even if it was for a few years, so that no problems would arise during his time in office. After all, his advocacy of governing Korea with civility had almost failed. The army's independent actions in Korea were perhaps a reflection of this. If the Korean issue could not be resolved, he would not have stepped down as Governor-General of Korea voluntarily, but would have been forced to step down by the Koreans, which would have been a serious blow to his reputation.

Ito Hirobumi was well aware that after he forced the army and navy stationed in Korea to submit to the Korean Resident-General's Office, the military's dissatisfaction with him was already quite serious. If the Korean issue were to erupt again, the military would inevitably shift the blame onto him, since he had used the Emperor's name to force the military to hand over command of the army. The military would definitely use this as an excuse to prevent government officials from interfering in the military's affairs in the future.

The current standoff between the army and navy has prevented the military from reaching a consensus; otherwise, the military would have already launched an attack on him at the Imperial Conference. Ito knows that once he loses the ability to suppress the military, even Emperor Meiji cannot always stand behind him to prevent the imperial family from being dragged into political problems.

Without his intervention to suppress the military, the still immature political party cannot confront the clan politics, potentially leading to a merger of the two sides. This is not good news for Japanese politics. A merger of the ruling and opposition parties means the emergence of a massive interest group in Japanese politics, ultimately silencing others and rendering constitutionalism meaningless.