Damn the World, Ride a Submarine - Chapter 186



Only Krnovel

Episode 186 – Tiger and Ghost Squadron

All the commanders of the Free Taiwan Army, visible on the video conference screen, stood up at once and gave me a group salute.

“Ah, ah. You don’t have to do that.”

– No. Please accept the salute. If it weren’t for your courage, Marshal, we wouldn’t be here.

– The land of Taiwan has been given the opportunity to liberate itself from the oppression of the Communist Party. This is the heart of the entire Free Taiwan Army.

“Ah… yes. I understand.”

I also saluted the camera with all my heart. When I lowered my saluting hand, only then did the commanders of the Free Taiwan Army lower their hands.

“The reason I have come to this screen to see you today is to give you a few words of advice.”

– Yes. I’m listening. Go ahead.

“Our OSS landed in Taiwan for the freedom of Taiwan and peace in Asia.”

– …

“That is why I do not want to see more chaos and hatred take root in Taiwan. If the OSS landing causes Taiwan to become even more filled with hatred and chaos, we will have no choice but to withdraw.”

– Oh, what the…

– Huh? You’re going back?

Even through the screen, you could feel the commotion in the room.

“Don’t worry too much. I’m not talking about an irresponsible withdrawal.”

– Then? What kind of···.

“I heard that the Free Taiwan Army is preparing to take over the administrative authority of Hualien City.”

– That’s right.

“You will know that throughout history, there have been many tragedies in the process of losing and then regaining territory.”

– ah ···.

– That means…

“Do not judge people with hatred. No summary execution without trial is permitted.”

– Oh, I understand. But if you resist…

“It’s an exhibition, so if there is resistance, there’s nothing we can do. However, whether they are Communist Party officials or internal collaborators, there should be no cases of punishment without trial.”

– I will keep this in mind and inform the unit members.

“If you become a monster in order to fight monsters, you have nothing to gain by doing so.”

– …

“I’m sure you don’t want this beautiful land of Taiwan to become a land filled with hate like Kosovo or Palestine.”

– I am touched by your deep consideration. I will make sure not to go against your will.

“Thank you for saying so. I am grateful. I will help until the entire land of Taiwan finds freedom.”

– thank you.

“Then I’ll stop here.”

After he finished speaking, the commander of the Free Taiwan Army gave a group salute once again. I saw the look in their eyes and solemnly saluted as well.

As I put my hands down, someone raised both hands and started shouting.

– Long live free Taiwan!

Beyond the video conference screen, chants of “Long Live Free Taiwan” and “Long Live the OSS” could be heard alternately.

As the Taiwan landing operation was successful, the area around Hualien Airport was captured, and air superiority was secured, OSSIA’s psychological warfare also began.

First, information operations began via social media within China. 1.5 million pre-made leaflets were dropped from the air in Hualien City, Yilan County, and Taitung in eastern Taiwan, and 1.5 million leaflets were dropped in Taipei in the north.

The summary of the contents was as follows.

*** Long live free Taiwan! ***

…. As of 05:00 on the 1st, OSS reports the success of Operation Donghuang Resurrection, a landing at Hualien, Taiwan.

This is to keep alive the spark of freedom for Taiwan’s independence and sovereignty together with the Free Taiwan Army. Now is the time for all of us to take action. ······.

Long live Taiwan independence!

* * * * * *

Local intelligence gathering and psychological warfare in Taiwan were necessary.

Our intelligence agency, OSSIA, created the GTO, an intelligence and psychological warfare unit comprised of personnel drafted from the Free Taiwan Army.

The Ghost Tiger Operations (GTO) unit, or Tiger Ghost Unit, was tasked with gathering information, instilling fear, terror, and confusion in the enemy, and at the same time, persuading the enemy and their collaborators.

GTO was an intelligence unit for the Taiwan War, but in reality, it was becoming OSSIA’s Taiwan station.

– Station: An informal term for a local intelligence unit. Mainly used for foreign intelligence units.

The GTO and the Free Taiwan Army quickly took control of Hualien City.

They arrested one by one the high-ranking officials of Hualien City who had been appointed and dispatched by the Chinese Communist Party, and even arrested and detained the mayor of Hualien City who had been in hiding.

Then, martial law was declared in Hualien City in the name of the Free Taiwan Army, and Commander Zhang Yuanpei became the martial law commander.

We called this war the Taiwan Freedom War, to distinguish it from the previous Taiwan War. The news that the OSS and the Free Taiwan Army had taken over the entire city of Hualien and declared martial law had to be spread throughout Taiwan, but the Chinese Communist Party controlled the press and media to a brutal degree.

OSSIA’s media operations also began to be blocked one by one. The Communist Party was already skilled at hiding the truth with fake news.

Psychological warfare relies on the transmission of information. This is especially true in modern hybrid warfare, but it has been difficult to break through the Chinese Communist Party’s control and manipulation of information.

Because of this issue, I had a video conference with the Chief and the GTO squadron commander.

– Sir, let me introduce you. I am Lian Zhenyu (梁振宇: Yang Jin-woo), the head of OSSIA and GTO division.

On the screen, a burly man wearing a Taiwanese military uniform with green and brown pixelated camouflage salutes the camera.

– Greetings. I am Lian Zhenwei, commander of the Hogwisim Squadron.

– Sir, Commander Lian Jianwei is a Taiwanese of Chinese descent. As an OSSIA agent, he has been in charge of Taiwan operations as Taiwan SC (Station Chief).

“Oh, I see. Nice to meet you. You must have had a hard time.”

– I would like to thank the CEO and the manager for giving me the opportunity to work for Taiwan, Korea, and OSS.

Lian Jianwei briefly reported on the success of the GTO and Free Taiwan Army’s operations in taking control of Hualien City, and complained about the difficulties in conducting psychological warfare.

“Manager, what is the biggest problem?”

– First of all, there is no access to overseas media in Taiwan and China, and the local internet is also subject to thorough censorship, so the effect is minimal.

– So we even created and distributed a type of computer virus called prankware to the OSSIA IT department, but it didn’t have much effect.

“That’s right. Trojan malware and frankware are unreliable and don’t really matter in the current situation.”

Lieutenant Commander Lian Zhenwei spoke up.

– Sir, I think it would be good to make a newspaper. A paper newspaper. It may be a bit outdated, but it seems the most effective. I think it would be good to make a newspaper and an extra edition and distribute them by air.

– But paper newspapers…

“No. The commander has a point.”

– Taiwan’s population is over 25 million…

“Boss! Don’t you know that I used to be a hacker? This isn’t a problem that can be solved by hacking into one or two places.”

– That’s true. The Chinese intelligence unit’s defenses are not easy.

“So it’s important that we give hope to even just one person while we struggle to address the Chinese Communist Party’s control of information.”

– Even so, to print tens of millions of newspapers, we would need to bring in equipment like a printing press…

“Yes. Please arrange for that part from OSSIA and prepare it separately. For now, it would be best to print it out and distribute it quickly.”

– A computer printer? When will I…?

“Yes. Rather than taking inventory of this and that, it would be better to proceed quickly. If 10,000 computer printers print 1,000 sheets each, that’s 10 million sheets.”

– Oh~

“Captain Lian!”

– Yes, sir.

“First, create a newspaper company. The ‘Free Taiwan Newspaper’ would be good. Purchase all the computers and printers in the Hualien area. Also, requisition the printers from the company.”

– all right.

“And please make sure to compensate for the confiscated items. I will airlift 20,000 printers and copiers, laptops, and other related equipment from Korea and Japan.”

– Thank you. I will implement it immediately.

“The role of the commander is important. We cannot recover Taiwan with less than 20,000 OSS troops and a few thousand Free Taiwan Army troops. We must make the whole of Taiwan seethe with the struggle of hope.”

– I will keep this in mind. I will do my best for the freedom of my hometown.

“And. What gives us an advantage over the Chinese military is long-range strikes and air strikes. Please work with local sources and organizations to obtain coordinates.”

– Yes. There has already been considerable progress in the eastern region. Now we are expanding the reconnaissance and intelligence axis to the north and west.

“Oh, and sir, how’s Ukraine doing? And Ghostbear?”

– Yes. Right now, Ukraine is in a deadlock along the Dnieper River. It seems that they are preparing for an offensive operation after we promised to provide 400 missiles. Ghostbear has contacted us that the operation plan will be finalized soon.

“Yes, I understand. I know you’re busy, but please continue working hard.”

After the video conference, I asked Director Lee Shin-young to take charge of procuring supplies.

The instructions were to sweep up all the printers, copiers, laptops, A4 and A3 papers in Korea and Japan.

I had to hear Director Lee Shin-young’s harsh words, “You’re suddenly doing that again.” She gathered materials without regard to manufacturers, marts, or department stores.

In Korea and Japan, there was a temporary shortage of the relevant materials, and the media, which detected our movement, reported it in articles such as “Printers Instead of Guns,” “A4 Paper Instead of Banknotes,” and “New Bullets, A4 Paper.”

We collected 17,000 printers, 8,200 copiers, 2,000 laptops, and over 400 million sheets of A4 and A3 paper.

The paper alone weighed 4 million kg – 4,000 tons. The materials were loaded onto OSSAC transport planes and transported without rest to Hualien Airport in Taiwan.

Meanwhile, GTO founded the Free Taiwan Newspaper. The GTO headquarters and newspaper office were located at Tzu Chi University (慈濟大學) in Hualien City, and the inaugural edition was printed and copied in schools, offices, and government offices throughout the city.

*** Special Announcement of the Launch of the Free Taiwan Newspaper ***

The Free Taiwan Army has been established, and the Free Taiwan Newspaper is here with you as a powerful voice to announce this. ······

The Free Taiwan Army was founded in Hualien.

…those who wish to join this fight for freedom and independence for the Taiwanese people against long-standing oppression, please gather in Hualien.

Our journey towards freedom and independence has begun.

[Free Taiwan Newspaper. Publication date: YYYY-MM-DD]

* * * * * *

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