Damn the World, Ride a Submarine - Chapter 195



Only Krnovel

Episode 195 – The Prince’s Party

Yunnan Province was a province with a population of 48 million, comparable to that of a country. In order to take control of Yunnan Province, it was necessary to first take control of its capital, Kunming City.

Kunming was also a huge city with a population of 8 million, and the plan to capture it was simple.

The idea is to take control of each government office and key strategic facilities and utilize existing administrative power to secure influence over the city and the entire Yunnan Province.

Another reason why this was possible was because OSSIA had previously recruited democratic activists and ethnic minorities who opposed the Chinese Communist Party.

(Yunnan Province has eight autonomous prefectures, and 35% of the population is ethnic minorities.)

The die was cast and there was no choice but to await the outcome of the northward advance to Kunming.

After some anxious time, the long-awaited call came. It was Lieutenant General Kim Jong-oh and Lieutenant Colonel Cha Min-soo.

“I was waiting for your advice anyway. What happened?”

– All strategic objectives in Kunming City have been captured.

– I’m glad that I can repay your kindness even a little.

“That’s great. Thank you both for your hard work.”

– Seized the Kunming City and Yunnan Province government offices and key strategic facilities and bases in the city.

– By the way, the Yunnan provincial governor and the Communist Party secretary were also arrested.

“Well done. Now you have taken over the entire Yunnan Province.”

– Yes. Our intelligence agency’s advance planning was so good that we were able to quickly take control of the city and restore order.

– Your Majesty, there is an increasing number of Chinese guerrillas and militiamen who wish to enlist in the OSS.

“Well… But since it’s still under exhibition, I don’t think it would be good to absorb it into the existing organization. I think it would be better to leave that part up to OSSIA. Oh, and has the airport been secured?”

– After the government office building, we occupied Kunming Changshui International Airport.

– Your Majesty! Please tell us about the next strategic goal.

“Haha. I think it’s still too early to start a new operation. First, reorganize your ranks and take care of your soldiers. And then ···”

– …

“There are many large and small autonomous prefectures of ethnic minorities around Yunnan Province. Please use that area as a buffer zone and work with OSSIA to manage the border area between Sichuan and Guizhou provinces.”

– Don’t worry, my lord.

– If you have any future plans for Yunnan Province, please let us know.

“That part is subject to major variables depending on political judgment and negotiation, so I’ll tell you when it’s more organized. For now, I would like you to focus on eliminating and defending the occupied territories you’ve secured.”

– all right.

– I will follow your will with all my heart.

All the regions and countries that had been under the influence of the OSS were coastal areas. However, Yunnan Province was completely inland.

To overcome the limitations of a small number of troops, it was necessary to increase air power and artillery power.

The 2nd Fighter Squadron, one of two fighter squadrons based at Yuanshan Airport in southern Yunnan Province, was deployed to Changshui International Airport in Kunming City. The 4th Fighter Squadron was additionally deployed to Yuanshan Airport.

And he reorganized the OSS artillery and armored forces scattered across Vietnam, Laos, and Taiwan and sent them to Yunnan Province.

In addition, arrangements were made to deploy 150,000 Vietnamese troops, 150,000 Myanmar troops, and 50,000 Laotian troops to the northern border area of ​​Yunnan Province (which may become the border in the future).

Vietnam was able to avoid the telephone crisis thanks to OSS, and Myanmar was already little more than a satellite state of OSS.

And as the chairman of PATA, he pressured Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia, which had responded passively to this war, to shoulder the cost of the war.

It wasn’t a big problem for our OSS, but the warring countries, such as Vietnam, Myanmar, and Laos, suffered significant losses.

Taiwan was recaptured and Yunnan Province of China was occupied, but China was still in good shape.

Although we had destroyed China’s navy and air force and dealt a serious blow to its army, China still had a force of nearly 3 million men.

The Chinese Communist Party was suppressing its internal political unrest through repression and politics of fear. It was purging its opponents and strengthening censorship of public opinion at home.

And yet, they kept sending us signals to negotiate.

It was this manager who refined and transmitted the signal.

“CEO!”

“Yes. Go ahead.”

“China continues to propose negotiations through various channels.”

“Really? Are you coming to your senses now?”

“Yes. I won’t make any ridiculous conditions anymore, but…”

“But?”

“The purpose of the negotiations is not a ceasefire or an end to the war. It seems like they want to get Yunnan back, even if it means paying a price.”

“Oh, really. I don’t know if my Chinese friends are naive or shameless.”

“That’s true. But in some ways, it’s understandable. If China declares the end of the war without returning the mainland occupied by us, the current Communist Party leadership will have a hard time maintaining power.”

“Hmm… I guess that could be true. Well, then I guess we have no choice but to maintain this state.”

“Sir, don’t you think it’s necessary to sort out the situation?”

“Even if you organize it, it won’t be organized.”

“yes?”

“When I saw China seizing foreign merchant ships in the South China Sea without permission and invading Vietnam and Laos without any justification, I felt that no treaty could be trusted.”

“Ah… That’s true. For China, it’s more about power than promises…”

“Yes. In other words, whether it’s a ceasefire or an armistice, we can’t return to the previous state of peace. We can’t relax our tensions. The military standoff will continue.”

“Oh, I understand. So you’re saying that the outcome of the negotiations won’t be very beneficial to us.”

“Yes. Whether it’s a ceasefire or an armistice, the only one who needs it is the Chinese Communist Party. And ···.”

“…”

“Our OSS has taken over a land area four times the size of South Korea. We also have enormous natural resources.”

“Oh, you were only thinking about recovering Taiwan, so you are making such a direct comparison. I realize anew that our occupation of Yunnan Province was a tremendous undertaking.”

“Furthermore, without the electricity generated from hydropower in Yunnan, the entire industry in southwestern China would be paralyzed.”

“I see. Right now, it wouldn’t be strange if we cut off the electricity from Yunnan Province to the mainland…”

“Yes. The negotiations that need to take place now are to establish economic relations between Yunnan and mainland China, but the Communist Party is reluctant to do that.”

“Then, sir, what stance would you recommend?”

“First of all, it would be better to choose strategic ambiguity. Maintain the status quo until they realize it themselves.”

“Well… I guess I have to react somehow….”

“If you have to respond in some way, say that you can negotiate if they agree to pay war reparations.”

“Oh, I can’t even imagine the scale of it when I hear your voice, sir…”

“Yes. I can’t even calculate it. It’s hard to convert the economic value of Yunnan Province into money, let alone the war costs of all East Asian countries.”

“Okay, sir.”

…

In China’s Yunnan province, order was being restored and a new Yunnan provincial government was being formed.

Although all of this was planned and led by OSSIA, it did not harm the autonomy of the Chinese people.

In particular, several people who had been demoted during the power struggle between the Crown Prince Party and the Communist Youth League within the Chinese Communist Party were active.

– Princeling Party (太子党): A faction within the Chinese Communist Party. Children of high-ranking Chinese officials, they are politically born with silver spoons in their mouths. Members include Xi Jinping, Wang Qishan, and Chen Min’er.

– Youth League (共青團): The Communist Youth League of China is a faction within the Communist Party of China. It is mainly composed of elite bureaucrats. It is similar to the KS Mark (Kyunggi High School, Seoul National University) in Korea. Hu Jintao, Li Keqiang, Wen Jiabao, etc. are from the Youth League.

– The three major factions within the Chinese Communist Party are the Crown Prince Party, the Communist Youth League, and the Shanghai Clique. Jiang Zemin, Zhu Rongji, and Yu Banggui belong to the Shanghai Clique. The Shanghai Clique refers to a faction that served as Shanghai city cadres and then advanced to the central government.

– Ha Bang (下放): An abbreviation for Ha Bang Movement, it refers to the movement in China to send central government officials to mountainous areas or rural areas to do labor in order to prevent bureaucracy. It was popular during the Cultural Revolution and has since been used as an idiomatic expression for officials being demoted or purged.

Driven out to Yunnan Province by the Crown Prince, they dreamed of a free, new China.

The Free China Army was founded with the active participation of the Yunnan provincial government, the militia, and ethnic minority guerrillas assisted by the OSS.

The Free Chinese Army quickly grew to a force of 100,000 men, armed with support from the OSS.

In addition, the Yunnan Free Air Force was established by accepting volunteers from among the soldiers of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army who voluntarily surrendered during the Battle of Yunnan Province, and its strength reached 50,000.

The social atmosphere in Yunnan Province was shifting from a focus on Yunnan Province’s independence to saving all of China from the Communist Party and regaining its freedom.

I could sense that something strange was going on.

I did not want to escalate the war any further after occupying Yunnan Province, but various internal and external circumstances were making it necessary to continue the war.

Even within OSS, there were signs that it would be difficult to stop the flow of water once it had started. The signal flare for this was surprisingly Admiral Son Il.

“Your Majesty, I have a suggestion to make.”

Admiral Son, who had always called me representative, started calling me marshal.

“Yes. Go ahead.”

“I would like to suggest that we occupy Hainan Province before the war.”

“ah ···.”

“Now that the Chinese navy has been annihilated, this is the right time. And now that Taiwan has been recaptured, if we can take Hainan Province as well, we can completely control the entire South China Sea.”

Admiral Son Il’s words were not wrong. Hainan Province was an island that jutted out like a cancer in the sea between Hong Kong and Vietnam, and it was home to the largest base of the Chinese navy.

“I understand what you’re saying, but… the ground forces we can mobilize right now….”

“So I would like to make a stronger suggestion.”

“yes?”

“All that China has left now is its army, most of which has been concentrated on the Yunnan front since its defeat in the Second Taiwan War.”

“That’s true···.”

“Also, Hainan Province has no proper means of defense after the complete destruction of the Chinese fleet, and its ground forces are less than 50,000 strong.”

“Well… then, with the 10,000 Free Division, 3,000 Special Forces, and 5,000 OSS Philippine troops currently in Taiwan, would that be possible?”

…