Damn the World, Ride a Submarine - Chapter 126



Only Krnovel

Episode 126 – Come Under Me!

The vice minister explained that the North’s room for maneuver has become narrow due to Russia’s loss of the Far Eastern Republic and China’s blatant interference in North Korea.

“Yes. For now, North Korean working-level authorities seem to be leaning toward ESSO.”

“is it so?”

“Yes. If you somehow join ESSO, you will get what Kim Jong-un and Trump wanted to get from the failed North Korea-US summit in 2019.”

“?”

“Oh, to put it simply, the US will never launch a preemptive strike against an ESSO member country, right?”

“hmm ···.”

“And. for North Korea, it is better to rely on the United States, which has once been at odds with it.”

“…”

“We believe that joining hands with ESSO, which includes the Far Eastern Republic, which was formerly Russia and shares a border with us, is not only beneficial but also justifiable.”

“Okay, sir. Please continue to work hard. In particular, I hope you can find more ways to control North Korea’s whims.”

“Yes, sir. I agree with you.”

After finishing the call with this Vice Minister, I instructed Secretary-General Jin Min-gyu to visit the President of the Republic of Korea and inform him of recent developments in North Korea and China and that North Korea is weighing joining ESSO.

Perhaps it was judged that it would not be good for South Korea to feel left out in a situation where North Korea might join ESSO.

…

OSS-ART Dr. Kim Beom-jun sent us the concept specifications for the self-propelled artillery battleship.

*** OSS self-propelled gun battleship concept specifications ***

Length: 259m

Overall width: 32m

Draft: 16.5m

Power: Nuclear

Top speed: 30 knots

Number of self-propelled guns mounted:

Deck – 36 K-9A3 guns in 3 rows, total 108 guns

Hangar – 36 K-9A3s, 36 K10 ammunition resupply armored vehicles

Maintenance and repair facilities are available on site

Rate of fire:

Maximum rate of fire: 3,564 rounds in 3 minutes

Sustained rate of fire: 51,840 rounds per hour

Maximum range of K-9 self-propelled howitzer:

40 to 100 km depending on shell

**********

If a single self-propelled gun battleship could fire 50,000 shells in one hour, it would be useful not only for landing operations but also for artillery operations.

If you think about the process of dissipating and firing guns during a typical artillery operation, then moving to a new position to avoid enemy artillery’s point-blank attack and dissipating again.

It was clear that a self-propelled gun battleship capable of moving while still insulated could be a new tactical option.

It was thought that self-propelled artillery battleships would be valuable not only for landing self-propelled guns when a coastal beachhead was secured during an amphibious landing, but also as a sea base for the maintenance and repair of self-propelled guns.

It seemed like it would be a useful tool for combined arms operations while making up for the shortcomings of existing destroyers or Aegis ships.

I felt the weather getting even colder.

‘It’s almost winter…’

Knowing my impatience, Chief Lee of the Information Department contacted me.

“Yes, sir.”

“Sir. Ah… This is….”

“What’s wrong? Just speak comfortably.”

“Sir. That is… Kim Jong-un asked me to spare his life.”

“yes?”

“In a word. The most dignified man in the neighborhood wants to meet you, sir.”

“If it’s about Gao and saving face, then isn’t there also Secretary-General Jin Min-gyu?”

“That’s right. I understand that the representative is in actual control. And I really want to see the ‘enemy leader’.”

“That guy doesn’t even fly.”

The fact that Kim Jong-un wanted to meet me first suggests that the reality of North Korea ahead of winter is more serious than previously known.

“Kim Jong-un will travel the furthest by train to Vladivostok, the Taeyang-ho.”

“Haa~ I get everything while getting paid···”

“That’s the nature of that neighborhood. Even if they starve everyone to death…”

“Yes. What’s difficult? If that happens, it would save face for the Republic of Korea. It would be better for Secretary-General Jin Min-gyu to first visit the President of Korea and ask for understanding.”

“Yes. Officially, ESSO is the parent organization of OSS, so things should proceed more smoothly.”

It’s a bit distasteful, but for everyone’s sake, we have to tease Fatty.

‘Fat-faced, come under me!’

North Korea seemed to have realized that relying on ESSO rather than China’s independent path was the only way for them to survive.

But the problem was the attitude of South Korea, Japan, and the United States. They seemed to have not yet recognized or adapted to the changing world.

In order to narrow the differences of opinion on this issue, an ESSO joint meeting was held. Although time was limited, Secretary General Jin Min-gyu and ESSO representatives from each country were invited to the meeting.

As for the meeting location, I had my own idea and chose the amphibious assault ship Tawi Tawi.

The extremely noisy debate continued for a long time.

I absolutely hated wasting energy on pointless arguments, but I waited for them to fall into self-contradiction.

There was a characteristic among people who mistook coolness for ruthlessness rather than cool-headedness.

When his interests clashed with something like a blade or a gun right in front of him, he would often cleverly modify his opinions.

‘Cowardly fools···.’

I, who usually leads meetings, noticed that I was quietly listening for longer periods of time without saying anything. Soon, silence began to flow through the conference room.

“First of all, has any of you ever had the experience of having a knife pointed at your carotid artery or a loaded gun pointed at your forehead?”

The conference room began to stir at my unexpected story, but no one opened their mouths.

“No one can answer. Then let me change the question.”

_ … …

“What would you do if someone you hated the most took your family hostage and demanded $1,000 to release them?”

– Well…

– of course···.

“The argument you’ve been having so far is about hatred and not wanting to spend a single dollar and arguing about methods that put your family at risk.”

– The analogy is too···.

– The leap is severe.

“A leap of faith? I’m not here to argue. I’m here to tell you how naive you are. What did you believe in when you came on this ship?”

– yes?

“The world is already pointing guns at each other’s heads. What difference does it make if you point another gun at the other? One shot will kill you anyway.”

– …

“We are dealing with a Pakistan with nuclear weapons, whose people cannot even walk around with their shoes on, a North Korea with nuclear weapons while hundreds of thousands of people are starving to death, and a China that has landed on Taiwan at the cost of nearly annihilating its own military.”

– Isn’t that what we’re talking about now?

“Ah, the idea is to preemptively block the reason to pull the trigger. Don’t you understand?”

– Even if we support North Korea, it will only end up benefiting those in power.

– Humanitarian aid? In the end, most of that food ends up being military rations.

“Let me ask you this. If you get shot in the head once, will you live if you get shot in the head twice?

– Rather than giving in…

“Yes. The countries that are acting according to that sentiment are North Korea and China.”

– …

“If I do not find myself becoming like the object of my hatred, I will have to give up my brothers and my family as a price. Look at Afghanistan, where revenge is an honor.”

The Korean delegation in particular was clearly offended by my teaching-like tone.

But it was only to make them realize how miserable they were.

– …

“And finally, I would like to ask the Korean embassy.”

– yes?

“If a sudden change occurs in North Korea and hundreds of thousands of refugees come across the Military Demarcation Line, will you shoot them all and kill them? Or are you confident that you can accept them?”

– that ···.

“If North Korea becomes the vanguard of China’s expansion and starts a war, are you prepared to send your sons and daughters to the battlefield?”

No one brought up the topic of voting.

From the time ESSO was formed, each full member country was given one vote and the Secretary General, Chairman, and OSS each had one vote. I concurrently held the position of Chairman.

Moreover, the Far Eastern Republic and the Philippines, which recently became a full member, were structured to follow my decisions.

Some may say that OSS does everything. But this is all learned from the UN and the US. China and Russia were still permanent members of the UN Security Council. Thanks to that, the UN was unable to do anything.

– I understand what you mean, Chairman.

– Then, is there a way to prevent them from diverting the in-kind aid they receive to other places when supporting North Korea?

“No. How can I stop it?”

– yes?

– Does that make sense?

“What I mean is not true?”

– That’s not it···.

“Lastly, let me say something kind.”

– …

“First, we will permanently resettle 100,000 North Korean residents. At least this will provide a way to save the lowest class of residents who cannot receive humanitarian aid.”

– ah ···.

– Will North Korea accept that?

“Didn’t North Korea oppose joining ESSO?”

– No… It’s not like that…

“Second, it will create a situation where North Korea will have to distribute aid to its own people.”

– How about that?

“We will use the support quota system. And finally, if you have anything else to say, please speak after you leave ESSO.”

After my last remarks, the conference room was silent. I knew I had offended them.

I just wanted to criticize the incompetence of civil servants who lost their minds by giving in to their stubbornness. If they couldn’t convince their home country, they could just withdraw from ESSO.

From the beginning, I never expected them to understand or agree with my intentions.

I felt that I needed to go through a process that would make me realize the sordid reality that I had no choice but to follow the opinions of a ‘crazy guy who just couldn’t communicate’.

I thought it was a more peaceful way to teach fools who are stuck in an aging ideological worldview how to live in a multipolar world.

Now it was time to deal with the real madmen. I headed to Vladivostok with the 1st OSS assault group.

…

The issue of North Korea joining ESSO was decided entirely according to my will.

They neither explicitly agreed nor opposed my ‘if you don’t like it, get out’ attitude, and they seemed to tacitly agree without voting.

The same was true for the United States. When the United States first expressed its intention to join ESSO, it was only granted observer status and no voting rights.

And at least from a pragmatic point of view, the United States was quick to catch on.

Even as the 1st assault group was en route to Vladivostok, working-level negotiations between North Korean authorities and OSSIA and ESSO officials were in full swing.

North Korea also maintained its intention to send its military to the ESSO defense force. The justification was to strengthen its voice as a member state.

In some ways, the idea of ​​’cutting down even just one bite’ seemed strong.

…

Cheongjin Port