**Chapter 104**
**Pacific Fleet (5)**
It was customary to send a grand delegation when there was something important to announce. Then, the Joseon would have to lavishly entertain the delegation.
“They just sent a single letter to inform us of this…?”
“Read the contents. It’s understandable, isn’t it?”
Mumbling mumbling-
The imperial court meeting was noisy, unlike its usual quiet demeanor. The contents of the letter from the Qing were that shocking.
Since the letter was sent in the name of a high-ranking Qing official, not the emperor, they skipped the cumbersome procedures like the *san-gwi-gu-ko-du* (three bows and nine prostrations) and read the letter aloud in front of the high and low officials who participated in the imperial court meeting.
The contents were long-winded, but considering the flowery language, there were two main points.
First, the Qing clearly confirmed that they would leave Joseon’s domestic affairs and foreign relations to Joseon’s autonomy. Second, they urged Joseon to accept the Mexican Empire’s request for opening its ports.
It was truly embarrassing content for a suzerain to send to a vassal state. That’s why it was even more disheartening. They had once ignored Joseon as a country founded by barbarians, but they had ultimately lost in war and had to acknowledge its strength and submit.
The Qing, who had been so thoroughly defeated by foreign powers, was being forced to send such a humiliating letter.
It was shocking for the high and low officials of Joseon.
“To pressure us through the Qing… It seems like the *Mugsoga* (Mexico) country has done a lot of research on our country.”
“As written here, Joseon’s foreign relations are for Joseon to decide. If we carelessly open our ports, we won’t be able to handle the repercussions.”
“That’s right. Those *Yangi* (foreigners) goods will come in along with their insidious culture.”
It was impossible to open our ports, no matter how much the Qing urged it. The high and low officials gathered here were not only bureaucrats but also Confucian scholars. It was impossible to tolerate Western ideas and culture, which conflicted greatly with Confucian thought.
Especially from the perspective of those in power, who held Joseon’s power in their grip, this kind of change was even more unwelcome. What if the people were infected with impure ideas?
“But now that we have no more diplomatic excuses, those *Yangi* can freely pressure us.”
“If we resist fiercely, they’ll have no choice but to back down. I heard that those *Gurapa* (European) countries and *Mugsoga* are more than 10,000 *li* (Chinese unit of distance) away from our Joseon, so they won’t easily think about war.”
“Hmm…”
There was already the precedent of the Opium War. But everyone here agreed that they didn’t want to open their ports, and if Mexico used military pressure, Joseon wouldn’t stand a chance, so they couldn’t just say to surrender.
“Anyway, the contents of this letter are to be kept secret. It’s not good to let it spread unnecessarily.”
“Yes, Your Excellency.”
“Of course.”
The high and low officials of the imperial court meeting agreed unanimously, regardless of their factions. They decided to ignore the contents of the letter. But somehow, the rumor spread quickly.
“What? The Qing lost the war, and now they’re telling us to open our ports?”
“I heard it somewhere… They say a letter like that came.”
“What’s the point of opening our ports? Why would we open them?”
“It’s not necessarily like that. I heard the contents of the letter from the Crown Prince of *Mugsoga* (Mexico), a country similar to England, which defeated the Qing, to our king, and it made me think that maybe it’s good to open our ports.”
The man, I don’t know where he got this information, told the contents of the letter in detail. In short, the technological level of the East and the West is like heaven and earth.
He said that the sooner we open our ports, the sooner we can accept their civilization, and if we’re late, we’ll become a ‘colony’ ruled by another country. He also said that *Mugsoga* (Mexico) was actually a colony of ‘*Seobanas* (Spain)’ for a long time.
“They said Japan has already opened its ports.”
“That’s right.”
“Hmm. Seeing the Qing lose in the Opium War, it’s not like there’s no merit to it… This is difficult.”
The contents of the letter supposedly sent by the Qing, followed by the contents of the letter supposedly sent by the Mexican Crown Prince, spread throughout the marketplace, and the reaction of the Joseon people was divided.
“We really need to open our ports, don’t we?”
Those with anxiety and fear.
“Ugh, that’s just nonsense. What do those lowly people know? Tsk tsk.”
Those who scoffed at the voices of some who seriously said that they should open their ports.
The former were mostly commoners or those from weaker noble families, and the latter were mostly landowners or powerful nobles.
Park Gyu-su, who had once shown signs of being a reformist monarch, had retreated and devoted himself to learning after the sudden death of his son, Hyo-myong, and then the deaths of people close to him. He heard these rumors too.
“I’ll see for myself and confirm.”
***
“It’s time to execute the plan.”
Admiral Navarro said.
“We’re finally doing it.”
“Yes, I’ve been itching to do this for a while.”
The Pacific Fleet, having spent time gathering information after the unexpected appearance of the fleet, reported the situation to the Crown Prince and received follow-up orders.
——
1. Eliminate Mariano Ricafort, the former governor-general of the Philippines.
2. Help establish an independent country in the Philippines so that it can have a normal government function and sign a treaty to allow trade.
——
The first order could be carried out immediately, but they couldn’t act immediately considering the second order.
It was good to crush Ricafort’s ‘Kingdom of the Philippines’, but they needed a collaborator to handle the subsequent power vacuum and local sentiment.
“There were many who wanted independence, but it was hard to find a decent one.”
“That’s right. Even if we offered to help them become independent, some wouldn’t believe us because we were outsiders and refused to cooperate, and some were so naive that they believed us easily, but they lacked the ability to actually carry out the independence movement.”
“Yes, that guy was just stupid.”
After contacting many candidates, they found one.
His name was ‘Jose Garcia’. In the Philippines, like Mexico, Spanish rule had lasted for over 300 years, so Spanish names were common, making it a very familiar name.
Jose Garcia didn’t believe the Pacific Fleet’s words, ‘as fellow Spanish colonists, we will help the Philippines’, but he wasn’t so out of touch with reality that he would refuse to cooperate, and he wasn’t a fool who would blindly believe them either.
The Pacific Fleet had a ridiculous amount of power, but Mariano Ricafort’s fleet was unmatched in this area. Garcia was keenly aware of this fact, and he judged that independence without outside help was impossible, so he formed a strategic alliance.
Garcia, with the support of the Pacific Fleet, gradually prepared for independence and gathered many comrades.
Now they were ready.
Admiral Navarro, putting his weight behind his words, shouted loudly.
“Pacific Fleet, set sail! The target is Manila Bay!”
“Set sail!”
The second-in-command echoed his words, and the Pacific Fleet, which had been staying in Japan, set sail.
***
Ricafort’s Kingdom of the Philippines fleet realized that they couldn’t match the Pacific Fleet, but they couldn’t escape.
It was because this was Manila Bay, where the capital of the Kingdom of the Philippines, Manila, was located.
Boom… Boom!
Whir-
Boom!
“Aaargh!”
The Kingdom of the Philippines fleet collapsed helplessly, and the defensive facilities in Manila Bay were just for show.
Boom! Bang! Boom! Bang! Boom!
“Land!”
The 104-gun ships of the line bombarded the area while the marines prepared to land.
The marines landed in the Intramuros area and advanced towards the Palacio del Gobernador, the palace where the governor resided, and, as planned, the local independence fighters began their rebellion, coinciding with the Mexican fleet’s attack.
“Independence! Let’s drive out the Spaniard Ricafort and establish a country for the Filipinos!”
Jose Garcia shouted, and his comrades and the citizens of Manila responded.
“Waaaah!”
“Take these guns!”
The former colonial defense force, now the Kingdom of the Philippines army, threw down their weapons.
The white soldiers, the Spaniards, could see how the situation was unfolding, and the native soldiers had no loyalty to begin with.
“Surrender! We surrender!”
“The king, no, the governor is over there!”
Some even betrayed Ricafort’s location to save their own lives.
“Capture him!”
“Let him go, let him go!”
Mariano Ricafort, the king of the Philippines, was captured without putting up any resistance.
During his time as governor, he was a capable governor who led administrative reforms and economic development in colonial Philippines, but Spain’s downfall twisted his fate.
He had the opportunity to become a king, not just a governor with a five-year term. His greed for power clouded his judgment, and the end came for someone who sought what was beyond his reach.
He didn’t seem to be waiting for a dignified end, as he was dragged before Admiral Navarro.
“Wait! I, I’m a Spanish citizen! Attacking me, the governor, means war with Spain!”
“Didn’t you claim to be the king of an independent country?”
There was no need to talk for long. The Crown Prince’s order was to ‘eliminate’ him, not to take him to Mexico or Spain.
“Stupid bastard. He should have said something useful.”
Admiral Navarro muttered that and drew his revolver.
Bang-
***
May 1842.
A protest came from Spain.
They hadn’t contacted us since the last war, so they must have just learned about what happened in the Philippines in February.
Unai Emery, a Spanish diplomat who had barely managed to enter the country through British mediation, because there was no diplomatic channel, naturally couldn’t be too forceful.
“The Philippines is a colony of our Spain, which is internationally recognized. Not only did you eliminate our governor, but you also established an independent country. If you stop supporting independence now, we’ll let go of the attack on the governor and the colonial army.”
Huff-
‘What can you do if we don’t let go?’ The words came up to my throat, but it was a bit awkward to directly rebuke him in front of the British ambassador who had mediated.
“Unfortunately, as far as our Mexican Empire has confirmed, the Philippines is not a colony of Spain. Mariano Ricafort, the governor you once appointed, claimed to be the king of the ‘Kingdom of the Philippines’, an independent country. He also refused the order to send the fleet back to the mainland, so you must be aware of this, right?”
“…Even so, it’s a matter for our Spain to punish. The Mexican Empire has no justification for the Philippines. The Philippines is a colony we have nurtured for over 300 years.”
“Ha, no justification? Didn’t you have another colony you nurtured for over 300 years? Our Mexico was once a colony exploited by you. Isn’t that enough justification?”
I scoffed and refuted Emery, and the mediator, the British ambassador, Pakenham, who had been standing by, intervened.
“Now, now, doesn’t Spain know that it’s impossible to regain the Philippines realistically? Let’s proceed with the proposal I made.”
A British proposal?
Emery sighed softly.
“Sigh. Alright. Your Majesty, I’ll make a formal proposal. Our Spanish Republic will sell all its rights to the Philippines for 3 million pesos. Cancel the troublesome business of establishing an independent government and rule it directly.”
‘That’s what it was.’
There was a reason why England suddenly mediated.
Spain declared bankruptcy after losing to us, but England didn’t accept their bankruptcy. They took all the remaining fleet in Spain, even lowered the price, and left them with a lot of debt.
They planned to make Spain pay off that debt by selling the Philippines to our Mexico. They calculated that if they left some of the money for Spain, it would help them recover and stabilize the country.
It wasn’t an attractive proposal to me. It’s because I had already signed a secret agreement with England, acknowledging our superiority over the Philippines, so there was no need to buy rights from Spain. And from the beginning, my plan didn’t include directly ruling the Philippines.
“I decline. The Philippines is already independent. As a newly independent country from Spain, we plan to sign a defense treaty with our Mexico, so don’t even think about it.”
Unai Emery looked disappointed at my firm words, but my words didn’t end there.
“Instead, I’ll buy Puerto Rico for 1.5 million pesos. You don’t have a fleet, so you can’t manage it properly, right?”
Emery looked devastated at my counter-proposal, but Pakenham, the ambassador, looked happy.
It didn’t matter if they sold the Philippines or Puerto Rico, as long as they paid England, he seemed to think.
I smiled faintly at his expression.
Thank you for your hard work
ReplyDeleteNicely done
Also you should update on novelupdates so people don't think it's dead
Thank you for the new chapters🤩
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