Damn the World, Ride a Submarine - Chapter 108



Only Krnovel

Episode 108 – Far East Brigade

The Far Eastern Republic had abundant natural resources, but it was bound to face financial difficulties due to the chaos of the early days of independence.

In particular, it was difficult to maintain the military forces that had previously been managed by the Russian homeland.

However, it was clear that disbanding or reducing the military would bring about other, bigger problems than conscription.

In response, President Choi Ivanovich of the Far Eastern Republic made an absurd but plausible proposal.

His proposal, delivered through this manager, was as follows:

The idea was for the OSS to absorb part of the Far Eastern Republic’s military and maintain it while stationing it in Vladivostok.

The reason the Far Eastern Republic requests the stationing of the OSS may be because it is trying to reduce its military spending.

It also seemed like a ploy to keep the military, which had previously been part of Russia’s Eastern Military District, in check.

Moreover, the money that the OSS spent to maintain the military would also help the economy of the Far Eastern Republic.

I thought about it for a moment.

Since I’ve already gotten my feet wet, I decided to get deeply involved.

President Choi Ivanovic accepted the proposal, but made several counterproposals.

I proposed to create the OSS Far East Brigade, but rather than simply reorganizing the Far East Republic Army, we would select the soldiers ourselves.

With the help of the Intelligence Service, a preparatory organization for the creation of the Far East Brigade was formed, including Sergeant Park Tae-joo, who was working at OSSIA.

When it was announced that the Far Eastern Republic Army was recruiting volunteers for the OSS Far East Brigade, applicants flooded in at a competition rate of 20 to 1.

This may have been because the OSS’s activities in the Ukrainian War were well known, but the OSS Far East Brigade’s pay was 15 times that of the regular Russian army.

Applicants who applied for enlistment in the Far East Brigade had to complete OSSIA’s background check and personality test, as well as a combat capability evaluation, before being able to wear the OSS patch on their shoulder.

In other words, the OSS Far Eastern Brigade was formed from the best soldiers and officers of the former Russian Eastern Military District.

The role of the OSS Far East Brigade was to protect OSS assets and guard key personnel in the Far Eastern Republic, but its external mission was to:

In effect, it served as the Republican Guard, protecting the presidential palace and Vladivostok, and served as a check on the military, which had previously been part of the Russian Eastern Military District.

The strength of the OSS Far East Brigade, which was established, approached 15,000 men.

Although it was equivalent to a division in terms of troop size, it kept the name brigade out of consideration for external attention.

By the will of President Choi Ivanovich, the OSS Far East Brigade was also entrusted with the security of the Strategic Rocket Forces. This was to monitor the military control of nuclear forces and prevent accidental situations.

With this, OSS became a military enterprise that stationed two brigades of troops overseas, including the Crimean Brigade on the Ukrainian Front and the Far East Brigade.

The Far Eastern Republic resembled Balhae, which was made up of Goguryeo refugees and the Malgal people.

Balhae’s nickname, Haedong Seongguk, strangely coincided with the name Geukdong.

However, the Far Eastern Republic was also a country that existed briefly in actual history.

The Far Eastern Republic, also known as the Chita Republic, was an independent state that existed from 1920 to 1922 during the Russian Civil War.

It was under the Soviet Union’s sphere of influence and petitioned for annexation, becoming part of the Soviet Union on November 15, 1922.

Also, June 27, 1921.

Our people’s Gando Independence Army arrived in the free city (Svobodny) of the Far Eastern Republic in Siberia after suffering hardships, but were forcibly disarmed.

It was also the country where the Free City Massacre occurred, in which the Korean Sakhalin Unit (Lee Hang Army) that refused to disarm was suppressed by force.

The Far Eastern Republic, with its tragic history, became independent under the influence of the OSS, and the OSS Far East Brigade was created.

I spoke with the manager on the phone to discuss the matter.

“Representative Lee! No, Representative. At this point, I think it wouldn’t be strange if we declared a nation. Hehehe.”

“…”

“Oh! But, sir, your tone of voice suddenly changed…”

“I kept making mistakes in situations where there were other people present, so I decided to try to solve the problem in private as well.”

“Oh, I think it’s better to be relaxed, so speak like you used to.”

“No. Now, you are a figure with enormous influence in two countries. I am saying this because I am afraid that if I take it too easy, others will make mistakes.”

“But in private…”

“No. Now that I think about it, it’s too late. If I call you Your Majesty, you won’t be able to bear it, right? Chairman. Haha.”

“Your Majesty? Oh, I understand.”

“…”

“By the way. Since the word ‘nation’ and ‘Your Excellency’ came up, I’ll tell you in advance. As a nation, you have obligations that match the status you enjoy. And the checks and balances of each country will follow.”

“Well, looking at America’s movements, you can see signs of that even now.”

“Anyway, rather than creating a nation, it’s enough to create an organization that won’t be influenced by other countries.”

“And the three elements of a nation are territory, people, and sovereignty. Isn’t it because of territory that wars break out?”

“Yes, there must be land!”

“On the contrary, I think that the land can be abandoned at any time. That’s why I’m obsessed with the boat.”

“So… if someone invades, you say something like, ‘Here it is! Take it!’ Hahaha.”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Huh. So the kingdom that our representative Lee thinks of is an imaginary floating country. Haha.”

“Yes. You could look at it that way.”

“Ah. That’s right! I wasn’t able to talk about important things.”

“Oh, I see. Go ahead.”

“One of the reasons I brought up the national story was because of nuclear weapons.”

“ah …”

“With the creation of the Far Eastern Brigade, the Far Eastern Republic will now have complete control over the nuclear weapons of the former Russian Eastern Military District.”

“Thank goodness, we now have a friendly nuclear force.”

“Yes. But there is a problem. Since we are a private company, it is difficult to explicitly state the protection of a nuclear umbrella.”

“hmm···.”

“That’s true. It’s also ambiguous for multinational companies to allow OSS to enter specific countries.”

“Yes. I understand what you mean. I will think about how to solve it and tell you.”

What the manager said was not wrong.

So far, the United States, Ukraine, and the Philippines have been operating under the indirect US nuclear umbrella.

If the OSS forces were concentrated on the high seas without US intervention, and it became a high-value target, the story would be different.

For a moment, I imagined the nation-building that this manager was talking about.

‘No taxes, no voting. A republic? No, a kingdom? Oh… This is disgusting.’

As the scale grew, it was necessary to prepare for a nuclear attack by an enemy country. Before acquiring an interception system, there needed to be a way to officially recognize that the OSS had nuclear response capabilities.

…

Even amidst all the worries, I couldn’t help but pay attention to Russia’s actions.

Russia lost the Crimean Peninsula, and autonomous republics here and there were leaving the federation one after another.

Not only did this hit the morale of the army to the ground, but they also suffered defeat after defeat on the Western Front.

It was assumed that the Russian command on the Western Front was deliberately retreating.

Perhaps the secession of the autonomous republics within the country was a more pressing issue than Ukraine.

Soon after, Ukraine regained all of its pre-Crimean War borders.

International negotiations to end the Russo-Russian War began.

Despite fierce opposition from Ukraine, the war-weary United States and NATO gave in to Russia’s demands.

The conditions Russia put forward for the end of the war were that it would be an end to the war by agreement rather than defeat, and that it would not demand war reparations.

And the idea was to hold the Russian war criminal trial in their own country. Ukraine strongly opposed this, but the West wanted a quick end to the war rather than sending a few people to war criminal trials.

…

The OSS also prepared to withdraw from Ukraine.

First, the troops dispatched from the ROK Army to the OSS were returned by air.

However, a significant number of soldiers who were about to be discharged from the military hoped to join the OSS after their discharge.

And most of the officers and non-commissioned officers returned home after confirming their employment and submitting their discharge applications.

About half of the mechanized equipment, including AS21 Redback armored vehicles, self-propelled mortars, Cheonmu multiple rocket launchers, Hyungung anti-tank missiles, and Shingung surface-to-air missiles, were airlifted to the OSS Far East Brigade. (Previously, the Far East Brigade was an infantry unit.)

The problem was the OSS Crimean Brigade, which included a significant number of Ukrainian volunteers along with international volunteers.

Although he was an official employee of OSS, it was not something that could be done to have him leave his hometown without any reason.

After much deliberation, the OSS Crimean Brigade decided to remain in Crimea. Several Korean members of the Crimean Brigade also remained.

These were soldiers who had started dating Ukrainian girls or were about to get married even during the war.

Leaving the remaining issues to the OSS Crimean Brigade, the OSS fleet departed for the new camp at Tawi Tawi, which was like home to them.

The OSS withdrawal and fleet movement were broadcast live on CNN. The OSS had become as much a force to be reckoned with as the US military.

…

Several Western countries, led by the United States, have been moving quickly to recognize the autonomous states that have seceded from the Russian Federation. They seem to have wanted to make the permanent dissolution of the Russian Federation a fait accompli.

Although Russia was divided into four parts, it maintained 70% of its national power, including its population and territory.

The Russian Federation had 24 republics and a territory the size of Canada and Australia combined. Only five of them left the federation.

The regime, which was expected to collapse, remained intact. The Moscow Kremlin authorities needed the end of the Russo-Ukrainian war, if only to catch their breath.

However, the fact that the entire Eastern Military District in the Far East, which had 20% of the military power, was transferred to the Far Eastern Republic was a painful blow and became a threat from behind, further narrowing Russia’s position.

…

The OSS fleet was leaving the Black Sea and passing through the Suez Canal, which connects the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. This time, all the submarines were moving together.

The majestic sight of the OSS fleet lined up in the Suez Canal was a chance to see the military power of the OSS at a glance, and competition for coverage was fierce.

Passing through the Suez Canal and across the Red Sea, I remembered the first time I encountered Somali pirates aboard the Sonyatore.

I met pirates who were armed only with AK47s. I, who used to be shaky on my legs, had become the head of a huge military company that fired torpedoes and missiles.

And it got to the point where he was controlling a country from behind the scenes.

Just like Bitcoin, which I participated in development without thinking about, brought me a lot of money. Life is truly unpredictable.

Maybe someday I’ll write this story as a novel.

…