Chinese Warlord From Joseon - Chapter 448



Only Krnovel

Three to one fight

A banquet was held at Zhongnanhai’s official residence to celebrate the victory in the Middle East.

Although the war was not over yet, the celebrations were early, but it was impossible to refuse the fervent requests from all walks of life.

If you wanted the banquet so badly, you should have done it quickly. Let’s ask what you’ve been doing in the meantime.

The answer came back that he had been waiting for me.

The meaning of the banquet comes alive only when there is a peerless Hanshin.

Officials of the Ministry of War, which serves as the control tower and supreme command.

And the meeting was attended by officials from each department, including the Department of Commerce and the Department of Political Affairs.

The speeches continued from the podium.

“Last year at this time, there was talk in the cabinet about whether it really had to be a war. But now, exactly one year later, what do you think? The light of China is illuminating the darkness of the world. Aren’t the peoples of the world surprised?”

The speaker was Wang Jingwei, a member of the Political Department.

Although his past actions have caused a lot of noise, there is no one better than Wang Jingwei who can liven up an event like today by being a clown.

“Our gentle President agonized over the matter to the end and hesitated to point the sword at our former ally, the West. However, he finally took up the sword and the result is today’s great victory.”

Applause poured in along with cheers of “Wow!”

Wang Jingwei just kept whining.

As if he were a general commanding the front lines.

“There is a fable about a farmer and a snake. While plowing his field, the farmer took pity on a poisonous snake that was frozen in the cold, so he brought it home and let it warm itself in front of a campfire. But guess what? The poisonous snake regained its strength and bit the farmer in the chest, taking his life.”

A fable I’ve heard before.

“What is the moral of this story? There are all kinds of snakes in the world. Big snakes and small snakes, black snakes and white snakes, snakes that split the sea and sky and snakes that bring bombs. They are slowly feeling the threat of winter, but they are not stiff yet.”

Wang Jingwei slowly clenched his fist and stretched it forward forcefully.

“Let us all swear here! There will be no sympathy for evil, only a harsh decision to cut it off! Weak charity will only give the snake the courage to reveal its fangs, so we must press on even more fiercely now that we are on the path of change!”

And it’s not like there are crowds on the market floor.

Those who were supposedly high-ranking cabinet officials were acting without any sense of propriety and were wildly enthusiastic.

Some followed Wang Jingwei and raised their fists.

“That was Wang Jingwei from the Political Department. The next speaker is… Yes, that’s right. It’s finally the time you’ve all been waiting for. The legend who returned from slaughtering 100,000 sand snakes in the desert! Please give a big round of applause to the unrivaled general!”

Are you some kind of host?

It was annoying to see Wang Jingwei smiling brightly and extending his hand to me.

Since when did we start pretending to be close?

He walked straight up and stood on the podium.

The expectant, bright eyes of the officials poured in toward me.

I stood there for a while without saying anything.

How much time has passed?

About 10 seconds?

I wondered how much longer the officials’ patience would last if they continued to stand still.

If it’s a speech, I wrote it in advance.

Just take out the twelve-line short essay that you keep in your right front pocket, read it, and then go down.

It was a good idea to break down the boundaries that divide colonies and empires and bring about a great transformation in a new era.

But what kind of trouble was it?

I was really upset.

“···After picking dried corn on the front lines, I feel so happy to be drinking precious ginseng wine and eating shrimp soup with such important people. It feels like I’m in heaven.”

People applauded and said it was good.

I pointed to the old man sitting in front.

“What do you think, Secretary of Commerce? This is paradise, isn’t it?”

“Oh, oh, of course!”

“Does the Minister of Transportation agree?”

“Well then, General.”

“Isn’t that so? A paradise so comfortable that there’s no room for worries?”

Gradually, the awkwardness began to creep in, and the smiles disappeared from the ministers’ lips.

“I have a question for the Minister of Industry. After the war started, the so-called ‘National Necessities Act’ was enacted, giving priority to the production of strategic materials. How is it going?”

The Minister of Industry was flustered when suddenly asked a question.

I pressed on without giving him a chance to answer.

“I heard that while steel production has increased significantly, ferroalloy production has decreased significantly. Isn’t this not because the factory’s production facilities have been increased, but because the ferroalloy casting facilities have been converted to steel facilities?”

I didn’t come out specifically to make a point, but my mouth just opened freely.

“Although ferroalloy is not included in the National Necessity Act, it is a clear strategic material that is absolutely necessary for making cartridges and gun barrels. All the factories are rushing to produce steel stocks instead of ferroalloy just to get the subsidy from the National Necessity Act, so I really wonder if this country truly wants to win the war. I don’t know if they even realize the kind of danger we face.”

I let the poor Minister of Industry go.

Instead, he aimed the arrows at all the officials sitting in the auditorium.

“Last year, China’s GDP exceeded 100 billion yuan for the first time. It is truly a remarkable figure. Excluding the United States, no country is higher than it. But is that enough?”

A world divided.

Allied Powers vs. Central Powers.

“The GDP of Britain alone is 50 billion yuan. If you add up all of its colonies, it would be larger than ours. What about the Axis powers? The French Empire is worth about 60 billion. Italy and Spain are worth about 30 billion each. And what about the Soviet Union? According to estimates from the War Ministry, it is a country with an economy of approximately 70 billion yuan.”

The outcome of a war cannot be judged solely by economic power.

There is no comparison more intuitive than this.

“Oh, of course we have allies. I am always grateful to our comrades in the Arab Federation who fight alongside us, but… the entire Middle East economy is worth about 18 billion yuan. We also have friends in Vietnam, Malaysia, Afghanistan, etc… but if we add them all up, it would be around 5 billion yuan. You get the idea. It’s simple math.”

I felt sorry for all the ministers who were working with frozen brains.

“According to my calculations, the total production of the Allied Powers is 340 billion yuan, and that of the Central Powers is 130 billion yuan.”

In fact, the calculation is not accurate.

This number does not include the economic power of Germany and international Jewry, which were secretly recruited.

But there is no need to reveal that fact here.

“Do you understand? Since the war began, there has never been a paradise. We are at a dead end, and we have to win an impossible fight of three against one.”

I didn’t stop there, but continued listing the unfavorable developments.

Difference in the number of patent applications with the Allied countries···.

The difference in the number of Nobel Prize winners in Physics and Chemistry…

A warning bell to those who are in a state of comfort!

Clear away the premature drinking table and clearly realize the danger China faces on the brink of collapse!

After letting out my anger, I felt relieved.

I nodded and returned to my seat.

After sipping the hot ginseng wine, I felt so refreshed that it felt like true paradise.

It seems like everyone else has lost all taste for alcohol.

I was the only one who got a taste for alcohol.

The banquet continued as scheduled.

The atmosphere became quiet and untimely.

Then, there was someone who came up to me without any fear and sat down.

“General, hello. I have come to greet you.”

Noticeably short stature.

Eyes that roll so cleverly that they can be called cunning.

It’s Deng Xiaoping.

“Oh, it’s you. Were you working for the government?”

“Yes, thanks to your concern, I am now at the War Department.”

“What are you doing?”

“We are responsible for securing petroleum, which is designated as a most important resource under the National Essential Resources Act. We ensure that there is no disruption in the supply and demand of crude oil even if there is a problem in the transport route in the Indian Ocean.”

Deng Xiaoping was once a socialist and a member of the Fourth International.

However, after declaring my conversion, I have been working at Arkco following my younger brother.

Even though he must have had limitations because he was branded with a red stamp, the fact that he worked in the War Department shows that he was very passionate about his work.

“Yeah, work hard.”

“Yes, General. But I have something to tell you.”

“what?”

“There are some factual errors in the general’s speech a little while ago.”

Look at this.

He is so shy and brash that it’s unbelievable.

“say it.”

“If you add up the total production of the Allied Powers, it comes to 340 billion yuan. However, this is a figure that includes the economic power of the colonies that the great powers are suppressing. Due to the influence of the current rampant liberationism, the great powers have lost a significant portion of their colonial control. In reality, they do not have the manpower or economic power to operate.”

I had nothing to say, so I just chewed on shrimp.

Yes, that’s right. It’s true that I exaggerated.

But when you point that out in front of me, I feel like I’m being an old fart.

“In addition, there is an error in calculating China’s total production. In fact, the absolute majority of Chinese industry is the Xinyang Group. As you know, the general, Xinyang is a multinational company and has significant overseas holdings, including Arkco. This figure does not include their production capacity.”

Urgh, urgh.

The shrimp meat was really soft.

Regardless of my reaction, Deng Xiaoping seemed to be going to say everything he wanted to say.

“The general said that this war was a three-on-one battle, but I see it differently. It is not a desperate battle that requires forced awakening, but a three-on-three battle that is sufficiently advantageous.”

I thought he was just a civil servant.

Of the one hundred officials sitting in the auditorium, Deng Xiaoping understood war best.

“Why three against three?”

“The three Allies are Britain, the Axis Alliance, and the Soviet Union.”

“The three allied nations?”

“China, Germany and Japan.”

Suddenly I felt anxious, as if someone was stabbing my heart with a needle.

My voice naturally died down, and I looked around to see if anyone was listening.

What Deng Xiaoping was saying was completely consistent with the strategy I was developing.

I was happy that a similar story to my strategy was coming out of a completely different path, but at the same time, I was a little confused.

“Explain it.”

“Germany is clearly taking its own path. No matter how much Britain and the Axis powers join forces to emphasize the Christian tradition of Europe as one, Germany will not join the Union even as it rearms itself. They are the ones who have been persecuted throughout Europe. Even if a country like France belatedly extends its hand, will the humiliated German people accept it?”

So we’ve already formed an alliance.

“What are you talking about Japan?”

“There are signs that the unification of the island nation is imminent. It is predicted that the Tokyo government will raise its military on a large scale this spring and fight a fateful battle. If Tokyo wins, it will be natural for it to join the alliance in line with the Greater Asia movement.”

Kita Itki’s national unification is near.

The image of him fighting a lonely war in a land isolated on all sides by the sea was vivid before my eyes.

“Tokyo might lose.”

“Of course. However, over 90% of the crude oil used by the Japanese warlords is supplied by Arkco. Thanks to this, the financial status and military power of most warlords can be measured just by closely examining the crude oil distribution.”

Okay, very smart.

“Besides, there are ways for us to control the outcome of the war. We don’t even have to intervene that deeply. We just need to slightly tighten the supply of crude oil from Arkco. If we delay the supply by making excuses like the British fleet attacking the enemy clans in Tokyo…”

The rest of the brain is working well.

“Hey, Mr. Deng.”

“Yes, General.”

“Don’t say that anywhere.”

“Yes? What···?”

“This war is not three against one. It is three against three.”

Deng Xiaoping blinked for a moment, then nodded vigorously.

Is this enough to pass the loyalty test?

“Is the War Ministry work worth it? Is it suitable for you?”

“Yes, I really like it. Ever since I was little, I always wanted to do something great for the country.”

“That’s right···”

I was just looking at Deng Xiaoping.

He sat like a cat waiting for the order to catch a mouse.

Eyes filled with anticipation.

There is no doubt that he had planned to approach me from the beginning.

It seems to be silently shouting, “Use me!”

“Eat the rest of your food and follow me.”

“All right.”

Deng Xiaoping returned to his seat without asking any questions.

In order to wage war, production and control must be smooth.

Even if I am in charge of control, we need a supervisor who can drive the workers hard in the country.

That little guy is perfect for that spot.