Chapter 64
September, 1865
Joseon Kingdom
Over the past few decades, a small cadre of French Catholic priests had quietly converted over 20,000 Koreans to their faith. However, with a new leader of the Royal Court (the father of the 12 year old King) would take exception to this. Yi Ha-ung (the Prince of the Great Court) had seen how even the Korean Suzerain, the great China, had been humiliated by the west. A decade earlier, the Nipponese had been forced to open their doors.
Now it was apparent than Russia, France, Britain, America....god knows the difference between them.....wanted to "trade" with the Joseon Kingdom.
This was unacceptable.
For his son's legacy, Yi Ha-ung would put an end to this Catholic nonsense.
Moscow
The French Ambassador's proposal of opening the Joseon Kingdom to both French AND Russian trade was accepted. The Czar wondered if the Frenchman could not read a map. The fact that the Russian Empire was contiguous to the region would always mean such an alliance was to THEIR advantage.
But Emperor Napoleon III was apparently intent on expansion in every direction. Let him try and have fun battling with France over scraps. Russia would focus only on their borders and what actually BENEFITED them.
Paris
Emperor Napoleon III would take in a personal demonstration of the Chassepot rifle, a breech-loader intended to replace the muzzle-loading "Minie".
Thus far, the rifle proved a vast improvement upon the Minie, the Prussian Dreyse "Needle-gun" and even the American repeating rifles (at least in accuracy and range, if not rate of fire). Within three years, this weapon would become the French standard.
Throughout the Prussian War and the Mexican "Intervention" (the Emperor's claim to the land being quietly dropped), it became apparent that the French arsenal was quite obsolete. The Dreyse Needle Guns and Krupp cannons were plainly superior to the French arms, which led to the shockingly poor performance against an already overstretched Prussia (also at war with Denmark, Austria, Bavaria). Had the Russians and Poles ALSO initiated hostilities, the Emperor suspected that the war would have gone very badly.
Even as the conflict ended in victory, it became apparent that both the technology and organization of the French forces must be reconsidered. A General Staff of the Prussian model was finally implemented after over a century of demands for reform. Frederick II in the 7 Years War adequately proved the inferiority of the obsolete French system but the resistance of the French establishment prevented any major reforms. Logistics, officer training, etc, seemed very little different from a hundred years prior (most of Napoleon I's reforms had been reversed).
The superior "Krupp" Cannons of the Prussian Army had been built in Essen, now allocated to French ally, Hanover, the leader of the Northwest German Confederation. The outstanding cannons were now shipped west to France instead of east to Prussia.
The French Navy's massive building program of iron ships was already well along. By 1868, the Navy was expected to exceed the Royal Navy in terms of custom-built ironclads.
Indeed, all the major powers - France, Britain, Russia and even Italy America, China and Nippon - were engaging in a naval arms race.
Washington DC
Lincoln was dismayed to hear of riots in Indiana, New York and even California over the proposed 15th Amendment, protecting the voting rights of all peoples regardless of race, place of birth, etc. The proposal had been amended to prevent foreseeable attempts to circumvent the law, like poll taxes and literacy tests (the 15th abolished these).
Though there was some additional support from the poor whites and immigrant classes which had been marginalized, it also meant that there was resistance from citizens who wondered why the town drunk who never worked a day in his life or paid a penny in taxes somehow had the same vote as he did.
Joseon Kingdom
Over the past few decades, a small cadre of French Catholic priests had quietly converted over 20,000 Koreans to their faith. However, with a new leader of the Royal Court (the father of the 12 year old King) would take exception to this. Yi Ha-ung (the Prince of the Great Court) had seen how even the Korean Suzerain, the great China, had been humiliated by the west. A decade earlier, the Nipponese had been forced to open their doors.
Now it was apparent than Russia, France, Britain, America....god knows the difference between them.....wanted to "trade" with the Joseon Kingdom.
This was unacceptable.
For his son's legacy, Yi Ha-ung would put an end to this Catholic nonsense.
Moscow
The French Ambassador's proposal of opening the Joseon Kingdom to both French AND Russian trade was accepted. The Czar wondered if the Frenchman could not read a map. The fact that the Russian Empire was contiguous to the region would always mean such an alliance was to THEIR advantage.
But Emperor Napoleon III was apparently intent on expansion in every direction. Let him try and have fun battling with France over scraps. Russia would focus only on their borders and what actually BENEFITED them.
Paris
Emperor Napoleon III would take in a personal demonstration of the Chassepot rifle, a breech-loader intended to replace the muzzle-loading "Minie".
Thus far, the rifle proved a vast improvement upon the Minie, the Prussian Dreyse "Needle-gun" and even the American repeating rifles (at least in accuracy and range, if not rate of fire). Within three years, this weapon would become the French standard.
Throughout the Prussian War and the Mexican "Intervention" (the Emperor's claim to the land being quietly dropped), it became apparent that the French arsenal was quite obsolete. The Dreyse Needle Guns and Krupp cannons were plainly superior to the French arms, which led to the shockingly poor performance against an already overstretched Prussia (also at war with Denmark, Austria, Bavaria). Had the Russians and Poles ALSO initiated hostilities, the Emperor suspected that the war would have gone very badly.
Even as the conflict ended in victory, it became apparent that both the technology and organization of the French forces must be reconsidered. A General Staff of the Prussian model was finally implemented after over a century of demands for reform. Frederick II in the 7 Years War adequately proved the inferiority of the obsolete French system but the resistance of the French establishment prevented any major reforms. Logistics, officer training, etc, seemed very little different from a hundred years prior (most of Napoleon I's reforms had been reversed).
The superior "Krupp" Cannons of the Prussian Army had been built in Essen, now allocated to French ally, Hanover, the leader of the Northwest German Confederation. The outstanding cannons were now shipped west to France instead of east to Prussia.
The French Navy's massive building program of iron ships was already well along. By 1868, the Navy was expected to exceed the Royal Navy in terms of custom-built ironclads.
Indeed, all the major powers - France, Britain, Russia and even Italy America, China and Nippon - were engaging in a naval arms race.
Washington DC
Lincoln was dismayed to hear of riots in Indiana, New York and even California over the proposed 15th Amendment, protecting the voting rights of all peoples regardless of race, place of birth, etc. The proposal had been amended to prevent foreseeable attempts to circumvent the law, like poll taxes and literacy tests (the 15th abolished these).
Though there was some additional support from the poor whites and immigrant classes which had been marginalized, it also meant that there was resistance from citizens who wondered why the town drunk who never worked a day in his life or paid a penny in taxes somehow had the same vote as he did.