The Joseon Prince Went To America And Didn’t Return – 198



< Termination of contract (1) >

“How is the situation in the Central Plains?”

Since the announcement of the nationalization of the railways the political situation in Qing has been changing daily.

To collect relevant information.

I have invested all available resources of the Ikmunsa into the Central Plains.

“Let me start by looking at the report.”

“Director Lee Wi-jong happened to leave the relevant materials behind early this morning.”

“okay?”

He sent an open eye signal.

It meant to bring me everything I had received from the second-class.

Choi Hyun-woo then had someone bring the documents he received today to my office.

“The entire Sacheon Province has fallen into the hands of rebels?”

“Yes. I think it is unlikely to be false as I confirmed it twice through telegrams yesterday.”

Choi Hyun-woo started searching for something in the pile of documents.

Dozens of various topographical maps of the Central Plains region are scattered on the desk.

Choi Hyun-woo picked up one of them and handed it to me.

“The rebels who took control of Sacheon must be very powerful.”

“Yes. The Qing government is trying hard to suppress this but it is not working very well.”

Tsk tsk.

So they even mobilized troops from the castle next door.

Because it can’t be resolved within Sacheon.

“It seems that the Qing troops stationed in Hubei are advancing towards Chengdu along this route.”

“That’s right. The yellow circles represent the Qing army and the red circles represent the rebels.”

A large military force is moving from Hubei Province to Sichuan Province.

It was marked with an arrow on the map and I tilted my head slightly as I checked it.

“What are these?”

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Red dots are marked as dotted lines to indicate where the Qing army fell.

“Ah! Another rebel.”

“Rebels?”

“Yes. It is said that the gentlemen of Hubei have risen up separately from Sichuan. They are said to be attacking Wuqing the center of Hubei while the Qing army is moving towards Sichuan.”

Wuhan?

iced coffee.

I thought it felt familiar.

That was the place.

‘That disease is familiar to modern people. It’s the city where that disease first became prevalent.’

Wuhan was still the center of Hubei during this period.

A transportation hub where all tributaries of the Yangtze River converge.

Modern China where railways have not yet been fully constructed across the country mostly uses waterways to distribute goods.

Because it’s the cheapest and fastest.

Logistics in southern China are distributed to various regions almost entirely via the Yangtze River.

Wuhan could be seen as the center of this Yangtze River waterway.

‘Wuhan is in danger?’

If Wuhan were to fall to the rebels the Qing Dynasty’s control over southern China would rapidly decline.

‘It will be divided into the South and the North.’

The South will easily fall into rebel hands.

But the North will take some time.

Because the Beiyang Warlords known as the strongest in China are stationed in the north.

“Based on the information we’ve acquired up until yesterday I’ll create another map of the area currently under rebel control.”

“Do you plan to hand this over to Sun Yat-sen?”

“okay.”

Sun Yat-sen is currently in the United States.

This is because they immediately crossed the ocean believing that the failure of the Guangzhou Revolution in April was due to a lack of funds.

‘South China is almost eaten.’

The capital Beijing still remains in the hands of the Qing Dynasty.

However looking at the map alone it appears that the revolution would succeed without Sun Yat-sen as a significant portion of Central Plains had fallen into rebel hands.

‘He doesn’t know the situation any better than we do because he’s alone in America.’

further.

Even if you travel quickly it takes a month to get from New York to Beijing.

Sun Yat-sen would also know this well.

‘In just one month South China fell into the hands of the rebels. Who knows whether Beijing will fall in the next month?’

What if Beijing really falls and the revolution is a complete success?

What will become of Sun Yat-sen in America?

You will end up like a duck egg in the Nakdong River.

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‘What if in such a situation we are unable to secure the funds we promised our revolutionary comrades?’

It was clear that Sun Yat-sen’s influence within the Chinese Alliance that he had built up over time would disappear like cotton candy in water.

‘Impatience paralyzes reason.’

I had two conversations with Sun Yat-sen.

At first glance he seemed like a very kind person but through conversation I found out about his hidden inner nature and one corner of my mouth lifted.

‘He was a man full of lust for power.’

There is nothing more painful than having something that was originally mine taken away from you.

The Chinese Alliance that led the revolution for over ten years.

Sun Yat-sen’s position within that group was truly extraordinary.

But it was clear that if things continued this way they would disappear.

That is why Sun Yat-sen will definitely take the hand I extend to him.

“Quickly take this map to Sun Yat-sen. If we move quickly he will react as well.”

Because he was not the type of person to easily give up even a little bit of power he had.

I tried to provoke Sun Yat-sen’s impatience by passing on information related to the Xinhai Revolution.

“majesty.”

As expected.

Sun Yat-sen reacted as soon as he received the map I gave him.

He came running towards me naked.

* * *

“I will never forget this favor until the moment I die.”

Sun Yat-sen greeted me in Chinese style and left New York.

My two aides narrowed their eyes as they watched his back.

“So you finally agreed.”

“okay.”

As expected Sun Yat-sen contacted me as soon as he received the map I gave him.

Because the longer he delayed the more disadvantaged he became.

Because I had to return to the Central Plains as soon as possible.

Moreover because I had to return with results.

He accepted most of the provisions I proposed.

“But it looks like you kept thinking until the end.”

I nodded as I looked at the contract with Sun Yat-sen’s seal on it.

Then Woo Hyeon-sik who was my financial manager made a displeased expression.

“I promised to actively follow the Three People Policy that Your Majesty proposed but… something feels uneasy.”

Sun Yat-sen promised that he would do his best to implement this while he was in power.

If you interpret it with a slight twist.

It also meant that he could not guarantee this unless he took power himself.

‘He even promised to leave his legacy if he became the father of a country.’

My close associates and I have interpreted why Sun Yat-sen left such a clue.

“Perhaps Sun Yat-sen used sophisticated trickery to continue to receive Your Majesty’s support?”

“You’re right. For us it’s over but for him it’s just the beginning.”

“….”

“….”

“Think about it. The revolution succeeded while he was away. Of course it was his contribution to building and nurturing the organization during that time…”

It is a situation where gossip is bound to come out.

In any case it is true that the Xinhai Revolution broke out while Sun Yat-sen was not in China.

“In such a situation the military power of the Chinese Alliance is weak. In the present-day Central Plains the strength of the voice varies depending on who is stronger.”

Woo Hyun-sik who had been listening quietly made a worried expression.

“Then isn’t that a big deal?”

“Why?”

“Because it could mean you’ve just wasted your money. If Sun Yat-sen fails to seize power….”

“That won’t happen.”

I recalled how China had turned out in the history of the Yuan Dynasty and deduced the following:

“Because the warlords of each province are keeping each other in check. In such a situation it’s not a bad choice to appoint a figurehead.”

Unlike Woo Hyeon-sik Choi Hyeon-woo was worried about the more distant future.

“Sun Yat-sen made a promise. Will he keep it? The terms of the national bond issuance agreement are certain so there seems to be no way out. However there are many ways to circumvent the Three Peoples Policy that Your Majesty mentioned last. I have a few ideas in mind right now.”

okay.

They could also implement a policy of assimilating ethnic minorities into the Han Chinese.

They may even incite people by claiming that Mongolia or Tibet attacked them first.

In fact if you think about it carefully the last clause is just a superficial clause.

However the reason for insisting on leaving this behind was to secure a justification for intervening in future conflicts that arose within the Central Plains Continent.

“There are two things we have to do.”

“What is it?”

“Strengthening internal capabilities on its own. In addition maintaining a balance so that no particular force within China becomes too powerful. These are the two things.”

“Even if we assume that the former is something we have to work on ourselves the latter is….”

The aides put their heads together.

“In order to balance the Central Plains we will need to make contact with various forces.”

“okay.”

“I will contact the Beiyang Clan immediately.”

This time if my support makes Sun Yat-sen too strong it will be a big problem.

In order to keep them in check the Beiyang clique also had to become stronger.

‘More than anything the Manchurian area is where our independence fighters wage guerrilla warfare against the Japanese army.’

For this reason we must maintain good relationships with them.

“Yes. Since we’ve been linked to the issue of managing Mancheol we should talk to them frequently and check on the situation in the central plains.”

He also promised to deliver new warships to the Qing government and Sun Yat-sen.

Spot delivery determines how much money I can save depending on how much it reduces the cost of delivery.

“We just acquired a shipyard near San Francisco so it would be a good idea to utilize it.”

“In order to build a new warship we need to buy the main material steel cheaply. We also need to contact related companies.”

“okay.”

There are currently several steel companies in the United States.

Morgan’s US Steel which everyone is familiar with is one of them.

‘I can’t give Morgan a chance to make money.’

Although U.S. Steel is the number one steel company in the United States powerful competitors that threaten it are also emerging one after another.

There was no reason to go to Morgan and ask him to sell the steel cheaply.

‘Was it the Bethlehem Steel Mill?’

A company that made a mark in the history of high-rise building construction by inventing the world’s first H-beam.

Since they had been founded only 5 years ago and were growing rapidly it seemed like a good idea to join hands with them to handle this matter.

‘I will never do anything that benefits Morgan. At least not until his son inherits the business.’

* * *

It’s October.

I’m still in New York but Sun Yat-sen is said to have traveled west on the transcontinental railroad.

I just booked a ticket from San Francisco to Shanghai so I’ll be in China in a month.

“Huh? This land is up for sale?”

Baron Rothschild who was still staying in New York in contrast to Sun Yat-sen who was leaving the United States.

While looking into his current situation I found out that the Baron’s assets were on the market.

It was a very prime piece of land in the heart of New York near Broadway.

‘I can’t stand this.’

A place where the price will go up 100% if you buy it.

That’s why I wanted to acquire it faster than anyone else.

“Let’s go to American Trust.”

I could have invested with my own money but I would have had to lend a huge amount of money to China in the future.

That’s why.

This time he planned to acquire it using company money.

Since American Trust’s clients had entrusted me with their funds I had no hesitation in using them.

“Your Majesty.”

I stopped by the American Trust headquarters for the first time in a while.

I was trying to use the elevator to head to the chairman’s office.

A familiar voice was heard.

“This prince!”

At the entrance over there.

A man was running towards me.

“That kid…..”

It’s a familiar face.

A guy who was the head of American Trust until a year ago.

okay.

right.

It was Jesse Livermore.

‘That son of a bitch.’

He was the one who made me a lot of profit through short selling during the financial crisis of 1907.

To my disgust Livermore sold my personal financial information to Morgan and Baron who could be considered my rivals.

As if that wasn’t enough this spring when the anti-monopoly law was in turmoil he even resigned and fled to Baron Rothschild.

“Ugh.”

Since there was no separate appointment five security guards quickly followed him.

Working with my bodyguards they knocked out Jesse Livermore.

My spine tingled as I thought he might be carrying a gun or knife.

Only then did I feel relieved and approach Livermore.

“What brings you here? I understand you don’t have a separate appointment.”

He ordered his bodyguards to search him.

When no apparent weapon was found on Livermore I ordered him to be released from his bonds while keeping a slight distance.

“This prince.”

Even though no one asked me to do it.

Livermore suddenly fell to his knees and began to plead with me.

“Your Majesty I was wrong.”

“….”

“Can you forgive me just this once for the sake of our past relationship?”

< Termination of contract (1) > End