Chapter 603: Speculators
Before one wave had settled, another rose.
The Turco-Bulgarian conflict had yet to be resolved when trouble erupted once more in East Asia. The Japanese Government, which had only just begun preliminary social reforms, bared its fangs to the outside world.
In May 1875, Japanese warships such as the Unyo invaded Busan, Korea, in a show of force. The corrupt and incompetent Korean dynasty did not organize a counterattack at once, instead pinning its hopes on intervention by its big brother.
Unfortunately, the big brother next door was equally rotten and busy with internal strife, with no time to spare for such a trivial matter. This further whetted the Japanese Government's ambitions.
To probe its neighbor's bottom line, Japanese forces invaded the Ganghwa Island area in September. This time, Korea could not avoid the issue, and its army was forced to resist.
At the cost of two casualties, the Japanese forces won the battle. Under the threat of force, the Korean Government swiftly surrendered.
(Note: Approximately thirty-five Korean soldiers were killed.)
The telegram did not explain the exact course of events, and Franz could not be bothered to investigate. Yet this child's-play battle still overturned his understanding of the world.
After all, the Kingdom of Korea was still a country with a population exceeding ten million and a standing army of one or two hundred thousand. Yet after losing the equivalent of a single platoon, it had simply surrendered.
It was practically announcing to the world that there was a fat sheep in East Asia—one so stupid it did not even know how to kick—and inviting everyone to come carve off its meat.
Ambition had always been indulged into existence. The current Japanese Government was merely testing the waters abroad; it was not yet the Showa Government