Nothing salves the pain of defeat more than beating up on somebody weaker than you.
Japan, quick on the heels of the disappointing Russian war, decided that it was best if she followed through with her previous plan to conquer Korea, bringing it into the Japanese Empire.
The armies, going directly to Korea from Russia, landed ready to punish the Koreans for their very own Japanese failure in the north. They invaded in the middle of May.
Already, by October, they had captured many of Korea’s provinces, and were doing battle with their few, small, unprepared armies.
One of their main armies was destroyed at Inchon, in mid-October.
Meanwhile, battle raged at Kimchaek, in the north, where one of the Korean border defense armies was engaged.
The Japanese were outnumbered, but had better weapons and more professional training, so were prevailing. The Koreans, at Kimchaek, lost 1/3 of their number, and defeat was certain at the next venture, also.
The Koreans, then, accepted their fate, and agreed to become subjects of Imperial Japan.
The acquisition of Korea increased Imperial Japan’s population from 8.5 million to 11 million. It also increased her access to iron and coal supplies.
During this period, also, Japan concentrated upon her naval arms. The first task had been to build naval bases that could properly repair her ships.
The first of these proper naval bases was built in Fukushima in 1872, followed by another at the capital of Edo. Ravaged fleets, some of them damaged during the first Russo-Japanese War, flocked to these harbors for repair.
But, more important for the Empire than that, perhaps, was that construction was started upon the first "smoking ship" -- the first Japanese steam warship, which could keep up with and do battle with modern warships of the foreigners.
Soon after, construction began on the first ammunition factory in Japan, which would help fuel her military organizations in the future.
Work had long been underway to improve Japan's steam engines, and in the summer of 1872, the first really practical steam engines were put to work in mines and fields to mechanize those industries.
The next task of research was a point of some criticality for Japan, as a misstep might bring her grief in the next war, and a wise choice might instead bring victory.
Much attention was paid, during this time, to finding the most efficient ways to train new scientists and mechanicians, and also to improving the education system so that research in the future would be more powerful. (OOC: When I could spare the time for non-immediate needs, this Culture Research track seemed best -- improving our research abilities)
Now, for a quick look around the world, we found that the Russians were able to impose a harsh peace upon China, which was forced to give up Mongolia. This only presaged further, long, wars between those two in the future. It was impossible for either to extricate themselves now.
And then a happenstance occurred which confounded the foreign-affairs experts in the Foreign Ministry. The American people had, a century before, revolted from the British Empire, and become a free people. They had fought another war 20 or 30 years later. But since then had lived in apparent friendship and harmony, if not partnership.
In the late spring of 1872, war erupted over an unlikely border dispute in upper New England, between Canada, and what the Americans called Maine.
Since these two powers were the ones, among the barbarians, the Japanese most respected and had made efforts to improve relations with, this was somewhat concerning.
