Ja, another fanfic… :D

Okay, so I first made this fic about September of last year (just before a "tragedy" struck here…no clues for anyone, but those who know, let me know, 'cause I'm in the know…you know…), but here I am, 6 months later, still on chapter 1…bleah…

So I thought, while fussing around with a recorder (even before that) and re-watching CG R2 for the 3rd (or was it 4th?) time, "What would Korea had been when it was under the Eunuch Generals' Federation?"? I had asked this when I saw the Eunuch Generals' surprise when various areas of the Federation (first and foremost Shanghai) had rebellions against their leaders.

So I came up with fic, while re-researching for the nth time about everything that would be used here… Oh, and I hope to finish this fic before June, which for this year would commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Korean War. I would want to make this one as a commemorative (& albeit a political) one, which would signify a nation's struggle in itself, against the fight against a nation's own which would devour a itself if still continued without hesitation and realization… (and if anyone knows what I'm blabbering about, you got that right; I'm also against them, but for what they do & for what they ignore). I plan for the chapters to be released simultaneously, in keeping with the anniversary.

Disclaimer: I do not own Code Geass nor anything in this fic, only my imagination…

"THE DARK WAR" IN "THE LAND OF THE MORNING CALM"

제1부

TEARS OF BLOOD HARVESTED FROM THE MIDDLE FLOWER

In the Korean peninsula, where the 2 opposing Koreas have been united in a single day due to their lands' conquest by the Chinese Federation, a subjugated Korean would state that the obvious sights within the peninsula were not the grand palaces (ironically in ruin), not the beautiful pavilions in isolated landforms within water (which were ridden with cobwebs & bullet holes & cake-dry mud), nor the visible air of nostalgia of the old Dynasty of the Land of the Morning Calm [1].

None of those easy & peeling & rotting trompe l'œils of the old dynastic art…but it was graft, bribery, & corruption rife within & without the wooden corridors and eaves and leaded roof tiles, and the thick stone walls and the wooden & metal entrance gate of Geumgangangoong [2]. Outside, poverty & degradation in every imaginable form were visible, with the visible air of irony for those who benefit from the former conditions.

For sure, a foreigner or two would smell the air of loneliness in the area and would conclude that verily, an uprising for sure would ferment and take place without everyone even knowing about its existence; a rebellion in which everyone would be written in history, but for the benefit of the cold & merciless eyes of the historians, placed in the chained pans of their subjective scales of successful victory or failing defeat.

Ever since the Korean subjugation by the Chinese Federation, the entire peninsula had been plunged into a state of poverty reaching up to the extremes, as no one had ever known nor had been experienced before. Even as the whole country plunged deeper and deeper into its own sinkhole of poverty, no Korean would dare rise up and speak out about the miserable conditions plaguing their whole lives and their stomach, due to fear of punishment by the authority, which, ironically, is also subjugated by and under the control of the Federation, but was acting as if they too were the rulers of the whole peninsula.

When the Korean peninsula was colonized, the Great High Eunuchs (Daehwan naegwan, as they were called), acting under the name of the Tianzi (as all were forbidden by the enforced naming taboo, the fearful and silenced called her as "yeocheongoong pyeha" [3], and the brave ones who, while still subjugated, have retained the bravery of their ancestors, and the knowledge of the puppetry of the Great High Eunuchs, as "naegwan yeoje" [4]), immediately set up a government (but actually a colonial government, which functions as a branch government of the vast territory controlling the Chinese Federation) that would rule the Korean peninsula. They appointed as Governor of the United Zhāoxiănguó [5] one of the members of the nearly extinct Jeonju Yi clan [6].

This clan had initially risen up in arms against the colonization, but had failed, resulting in massive purges & massacres which involved not only the rulers of the revolt, but also their immediate families and their offspring. The Great High Eunuchs knew that by controlling one of the former largest oppositional groups of the colonization, they thought that they would have had Korea under their strings. Yi Guk-ru [7], who nearly participated in the revolt, but had gotten wind of the impending punishment by a bar girl who was serving one of the army Generals of the oncoming colonizers, had been appointed by Zhao Hao for being the first to willingly serve the Chinese Federation as its "most filial servant".

Yi Guk-ru was a man of great admiration: intelligent, talented, cultured, & refined. Yet behind those characteristics of a nobleman & a scholar, he was humble, pious, industrious, charitable; a kind person, not known to hold grudges against any man, no rivalries against kin, families & clan alike. In all essence, he is a man of deep yet open emotions; a man of the veritable hunk of the masses.

Yet deep in his heart, he resented not only the Chinese Federation (but he had pity for the current Tianzi, as deep in his heart he had a nudging inkling that the person, whoever she was, was only a puppet of the Eunuch Generals), but the de facto administrators of the whole Federation itself, none other than the Great High Eunuchs.

Yi Guk-ru initially ruled the Koreans as the Chinese Federation expects he should rule his territory, but that is just an outward display of "loyalty". He knew that the Great High Eunuchs had planted numerous spies (in numerous forms, ranging from beggars to just the 3rd highest in the land; the 2nd was his appointed heir, who has him called initially as "The Noble Successor") within the nation. So, as an outward gesture of never-ending "loyalty", he "maltreated" the populace, while maintaining the never-ending "true loyalty" and steadfastness of the nation, thru leaflets written in hangeul in a special ink he himself had invented (even before the colonization, as his form of pouring out his affections for the woman he had loved, yet was forbidden to meet with; she whom he had never heard of during & after the colonization as he acted upon his "filial loyalty", but truly had died unfortunately during the colonization), and which only the people (he could distinguish as most loyal, thru a piercing gaze which would astound even the likes of "…that wench who lived in her beautiful chambers and wiled the hearts of kings & kin alike…" [8]; as not to confuse with the numerous spies) could read.

The populace, knowing his innermost hearts, displayed their gratitude by building a magnificent palace (which even outrivaled the Gyeongbokgoong [9], which had been laid in ruins following the failed revolt, far more than that of the failed Japanese Invasions [10]) in the former site of Manwoldae [11], and naming it Geumgangangoong [2]. The Palace (with the Great High Eunuchs' approval) was constructed in a way in which official promulgations and colonial propaganda would be heard throughout the Peninsula. But the citizens, in their never-ending gratitude for their leader, constructed it in a way that there were special hidden mirrors within the perimeter of the palace, which reflected back into the loyal citizens (thru an improvised yet rudimentary form of television, for technology was but for the "rulers"), of the innermost happenings within the magnificent sprawling mass of stone, paper & wood, & lead (whether be it politics or licence).

Due to the "pomp" of the Governor's rule, it was as if it was only a matter of time before the Governor "crowned" himself the Emperor (according to the spies and skeptics of the Governor). His rule within the whole of the Peninsula was such as that there were no "recorded" revolts or any rebellions in living memory, not since the start of the colonization.

The Governor's one mistake (which he would eventually regret post-exilic and post-Rebellion) was that of his marriage. The Great High Eunuchs had known of Joseon history (and they had an extensive knowledge, with a digital & paper-and-ink archive), and how it undermined during the unmistakable reigns of the King's wives from the Andong Kim clan [12].

This they used to their full advantage.

So how was it?

My first fic of imagination (& also of politics…) yet that's not all there is!

Wait for more…

You know what to do…R&R please! It would do me so good.

Oh, and if you have any suggestions, also R&R…oh, and PM me thru FF, okay?

:D

Notes:

[1] – The English nickname of Korea today.

[2] – Invented the whole palace and its official name; Geumgangangoong (金剛安宮 금강안궁) means "Palace of Adamantine Peace". I had it "adamantine" since "geumgang" (金剛 금강) means "diamond" (but can also mean "metal piercer/cutter"), and the peace (if using the latter definition) was brought about by piercing the metallic war made by the 2 Koreas made more metallic by the North's still use of Communism. It could also mean making & enforcing peace in a bad sense, as a diamond is unyielding & is hard, so can the peace be, which can be brought by hardness of an iron fist and unwilling (to the point of deafness) to submit to useless & destructive strife. As for the location, since Manwoldae [11] was located at Gaeseong (one of the provinces), which was located near the boundary of North Korea (at this country) & South Korea (near it), I wanted to have a palatial symbol which would be placed at the center of the boundary of the 2 Koreas as a "uniting point". Also, I had it "geumgang" since I had imagined it having one of the palace locations having a nice view of the Geumgangsan (金剛山 금강산 "Diamond Mountain"), which, also is in Gaeseong.

[3] – Would translate as "Her August Imperial Highness", as the current Tianzi translates to "Son of Heaven" (天子; one of the symbolic titles referring to the historical Emperors of China). I invented the whole thing: I invented "yeocheongoong" (女天宮 여천궁 "(feminine) heavenly palace"), since I derived it from the court language referring to the Queen Consorts ("joongjeon" (中殿 중전)/"joonggoongjeon" (中宮殿 중궁전)) of Korea during the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1901); "pyeha" (陛下 폐하) is the style of an Emperor during the Korean Empire (1901-1910).

[4] – Translates as "The Eunuch Empress" ("naegwan" (內官 내관) – "eunuch"; "yeoje" (女帝 여제) – "empress regnant").

[5] – "Zhāoxiănguó" translates as something like "The Land of the Morning Calm"; the whole of Korea. Although the official (& historical) name of Korea is "cháoxiăn", I had it as "zhāoxiăn", as would befit what was the country's English nickname.

("zhāo" is the reading of 朝 as "morning"; "cháo" when it's read as "dynasty").

[6] – Broadly speaking, the Yi clan (李氏 이씨) is the clan which ruled the Joseon Dynasty for 608 years (1392-1910) without interregnum. Specifically, the Jeonju Yi clan (全州李氏 전주이씨); specifically since there are about many people who have the surname Yi (variations of Lee, Li, Rhee, Ri) in Korea, who belong to different clans. An example: the Kim clan (金氏 김씨), who consists of the majority of the Korean peninsula. As an example, 2 "sub-clans" exist: the Andong Kim [12] (安東金氏 안동김씨) & the Gyeongju Kim (慶州金氏 경주김씨; this clan was the ruling family during the Silla dynasty) clans.

[7] – Invented him. His name is symbolic: 李國淚 이국루 Yi Guk-ru "(the) Nation('s) Tears".

[8] – This is a reference to Mi-shil, one of the greatest femme fatales of the Three Kingdoms Period of Korea (that of the Joseon Dynasty were 3 women, however, they are a different story altogether). The "…beautiful chambers…" refers to her name (美室 미실 Mi-shil "beautiful room/chamber"). The statement of "…wiled the hearts of kings & kin alike…" refers to her numerous affairs (as stated in the "Hwarang Segi" (花郞世記 화랑세기 "The Records of the Generations of the Hwarang"); besides numerous men, she had offspring with 3 kings and 1 crown prince, & it is even stated that she had an affair ("doing the 'nasty'") with her own younger brother Mi-saeng. She would be most familiar to any of the viewers if anyone had watched "Queen Seondeok". I made a reference about "…a piercing gaze…" because in the show, Mi-shil can readily understand people (which were one of the central points of the show)'s hearts & minds thru looking directly into someone's eyes. This she uses to her advantage of the situation and for her future manipulations & wiles.

[9] – By far the largest & grandest of all the "Five Grand Palaces" of Seoul; gyeongbokgoong (景福宮 경복궁) means "Palace of Scenic Fortune".

[10] – These Japanese Invasions pertain to the "Imjin Waeran" (壬辰倭亂 임진왜란 "Imjin (1592) Year of Japanese Invasions/Rebellions/Riots; 1592-1598; specifically, the Imjin Waeran is the 1st invasion (1592-1593)), when Toyotomi Hideyoshi led the newly unified Japan in attempting to invade Korea (others including (Ming Dynasty) China, the Jurchens, & even India). This war helped make Yi Soon-shin one of the best known admirals & generals of Korea (thru his world-renowned turtle ships, the first of its kind in the world).

(倭 왜 wae "(historically) Japan")

[11] – An actual palace, which was destroyed long before the Joseon Dynasty of 1392; manwoldae (滿月臺 만월대) means "Tower of the Full Moon". Manwoldae Palace was located in Gaesong, near the boundary of the 2 Koreas.

[12] – Their clan produced Queens Consort in the late Joseon Dynasty. This clan had been the de facto rulers of the Dynasty thanks to the ladies who married the country's Kings, and in return, had been powerful and corrupt.