I Will Stage A Coup D’état - Chapter 106



Only Krnovel

EP.106 Casablanca Conference (2)

On November 5, 1943, the world’s eyes were focused on the quiet Moroccan city of Casablanca.

Because the four leaders representing the Allied Powers gathered in one place.

President Roosevelt of the United States, serving three terms.

British Prime Minister Anthony Eden, who represented the hardliners against Germany.

Soviet Union’s General Secretary Joseph Stalin, who reigned with steel and fear.

Prime Minister Lee Seong-jun of the Korean Empire, a military dictator who advocated anti-communism.

As the leaders of the Allied nations, who had nothing in common with either ideology or system, gathered together, flashes of light went off without stopping.

We gave the reporters enough time to take pictures, then went straight into a closed-door meeting.

As a new member, Roosevelt was first asked to agree to the three principles of the Allied Powers.

No unilateral reinforcement, principle of mutual equality, unconditional surrender demanded from the Axis powers.

Roosevelt readily agreed to this.

“I agree on behalf of the United States of America.”

The first day of talks was devoted to the partition of Eastern Europe.

Stalin was mainly the one being questioned, and we were the ones asking the questions.

While the attendees paid tribute to the Soviet victory, they wondered what the Secretary-General thought about Eastern Europe.

That’s understandable, as Stalin never revealed his intentions.

It was the same for me.

Even in the discussion of the partition of Germany, Stalin only subtly insisted that the Soviet Union should have a larger share, without saying a single word about where or how much he wanted.

That meant he would judge after seeing the situation.

Stalin’s judgment proved to be a brilliant one.

Now, even if Stalin had eaten more than we could account for, there was no formal agreement with Moscow, and so there was no basis for restraining the Red Army’s actions.

So, at this point, we had to get to the bottom of Stalin’s intentions and find out exactly how much of a stake he wanted.

But despite persistent attacks, Stalin only gave vague answers, refusing to answer exactly how much the Soviet Union wanted.

‘You’re very greedy, Mr. Secretary.’

The initiative in the conversation was clearly in the hands of the Soviet Union.

The reason ultimately lay in the situation.

Would he have shown such a stiff attitude if the 8 million Soviet troops had not supported the General Secretary’s shoulders?

I thought not.

The first day ended without any results.

I had a wrestling match with my wife to calm my nerves, and then went to sleep.

Maybe because I was sweating so much, I quickly got dizzy.

I slept like that for about an hour.

Suddenly, Roosevelt came to the conference room and said that he wanted to meet quietly.

What’s the wheelchair man doing this early in the morning?

When I went to the conference room, Roosevelt was alone.

“Did you come out without resting at the hotel?”

“I can’t sleep well.”

Roosevelt asked if he wanted a cigarette.

“I’m trying to cut down a bit, so I’ll decline.”

“That’s good for your health.”

We started with light conversation and moved on to deeper topics.

The reason Roosevelt wanted to see me was China.

“Is it really necessary to fight Chairman Jang to the end when we are fighting the great evil that is the Nazis?”

“Chiang Kai-shek’s Republic of China is a country that has clearly attempted to join the Axis. How can we just leave such a dangerous country alone? I cannot do that. If Chiang Kai-shek surrenders, I will consider it.”

Roosevelt made nice suggestions about mediation, but I flatly refused.

No matter how strong the national power of the United States was, it could not accept that.

There has already been blood shed and a cost has been paid.

In order to recover sunk costs, Chiang Kai-shek had to come out to the extent of raising the white flag.

“Mr. Prime Minister, are you aware that the loan and lease to Korea are affected by the China issue?”

Of course I know.

I know, but there’s nothing I can do about it.

If I did not want to damage my political career, I needed results that could satisfy the people.

“I regret it. I understand the President’s kindness, but as the leader of the Republic of Korea, it is an area that I cannot agree to. As for the issue of China’s interests that the United States is concerned about, I will discuss it with the Wang Jingwei government and take it into consideration.”

I’ll give you some power, so don’t interfere in our war.

We’re on the same team, right?

Roosevelt nodded, perhaps realizing that he was not being persuaded.

“If you change your mind, please contact us. The United States is fully willing to support the restoration of relations between China and Korea.”

“Thank you for your kind words.”

Yeah, that won’t happen.

Through this brief conversation, I realized anew how America views me.

The United States wants to push South Korea back in some way on the China issue.

In other words, we were wary of expanding our power.

So, doesn’t it seem like post-war relations with the United States are destined to go wrong?

Roosevelt also seemed to have vaguely read that fact.

We each split up and returned to the hotel.

After all, it was right to ride the Soviet coins for the time being.

At least the secretary has been nothing but kind to me so far.

I decided to twist my body slightly toward the Soviet Union.

The atmosphere on the second day of the talks was a bit tense.

The atmosphere suddenly froze as Anthony Eden, angry at Stalin for his ambiguity, demanded that he be precise with his story.

As a head of state, and a steel dictator at that, had no experience with such things, Stalin left the conference room in great displeasure.

Of course, it could have been an intentional act, made under an excuse.

Maybe, Eden was deliberately trying to scratch Stalin.

Since the meeting was over early, I had two consecutive wrestling matches with my wife at the hotel.

I feel like my back is going to break.

“Prime Minister, it was great. Could we do it one more time?”

Her eyes still sparkled fiercely, as if yearning for something.

“Hey, I’ll go and smoke a cigarette.”

I took some time to smoke, avoiding my wife’s hot gaze.

I was thinking about taking one more puff and then retreating to the sofa, but Jeong Gil said that the Soviets had requested a conversation.

Is it Stalin today?

After deciding to ride the Secretary General’s coin, I had no choice but to head to the hotel where Stalin was staying.

When we arrived at the hotel, Stalin and his friends were drinking.

You said you’d meet me, but you’re drinking alcohol?

Stalin offered me a seat and said:

“Let’s talk over a drink.”

The atmosphere was pretty okay.

The alcohol was a Georgian brandy I had never heard of, but it didn’t taste too bad.

“Are you okay?”

“It seems to suit my taste.”

Stalin waited for me to finish my glass and then said:

“Today’s meeting was honestly a sight to behold.”

“I think the Secretary-General was a bit offended by Prime Minister Eden’s actions.”

“Haha. That was nothing. What bothered me more was that England and America were acting so well together. Wasn’t that the same for the Prime Minister?”

That was kind of like that.

“In that sense, how about our two countries cooperating? They have two, but we are acting individually, so it won’t be easy to exert negotiating power like this.”

“I would like to know specifically what the Secretary-General wants.”

Stalin ordered the brandy put away and the map brought in.

It was a vast map of Eastern Europe.

Stalin drew lines on the map with a pencil.

“We want Poland more than anything else.”

I had no intention of raising an objection now.

“Romania wants it too.”

Hungary, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, and Czechoslovakia, which would become the core countries of the communist bloc, also fell within the line drawn by Stalin.

Well, I could admit that much.

Except Czech Republic.

Stalin draws a line with Germany again.

It was the Weser River line that I suggested.

Is this guy really going to burst with greed?

“This is what our federation wants.”

I was speechless for a moment.

At least the Czech Republic should come out and talk.

That’s a bit off.

I took Stalin’s pencil and drew a line again.

Stalin’s expression became delicate as the Czech region was wiped from the Soviet zone.

“Really, your thoughts haven’t changed at all since that proposal?”

Are you saying that nothing has changed after seeing this situation?

My paintings are unshakeable.

The odds were in Stalin’s favor, but there was room for a fight.

“I thought of a big deal to exchange Europe and Asia. Korea would have China and Japan, and the Federation would have Eastern Europe. If the Prime Minister would understand, wouldn’t the two countries build a healthier relationship?”

Did you want a pseudo-toxic non-aggression pact?

That’s not difficult.

I’m confident that we can get our share even without your help.

“The Secretary General’s plan is something the West can never accept. If you want the Weser, you have to give up the Czech Republic. If you want the Czech Republic, you have to retreat to the Elbe.”

I stared into the secretary’s eyes.

Well, if that doesn’t work, you can just sprinkle some chili powder on your windshield.

The secretary looked me in the eye and, as if he sensed something, had me bring him a cigarette.

We took a quick smoke break to cool our overheated heads.

Stalin took a deep drag on his cigarette and blurted out a word.

“I’ll give in.”

Oh, really?

“Instead, I would like to receive one promise.”

I was anxious about what he wanted me to promise.

“I hope Pyongyang will stand on our side in the Baltic States issue.”

I swallowed dry saliva at the secretary’s words.

The annexation of the Baltic states was an event that Britain and the United States absolutely did not recognize.

To admit that would be tantamount to supporting the commies.

“If you promise me just that, I will cooperate with your plan, Prime Minister.”

Only then did I realize Stalin’s trick.

Stability rather than territorial expansion.

Stalin wanted a mechanism that would allow him to trust Korea as an ally.

Stalin’s previous comments, prodding at my thoughts here and there, were merely a way to probe whether I was willing to take his side.

And I was exposed to weakness.

There is a bit of a rift between Britain and the United States.

That doesn’t mean the secretary made an unreasonable demand.

If we were to continue to ride in the same boat, we needed to share the profits.

In this case, the Soviet Union recognized its rights to the Baltics, and Korea recognized its rights to China.

I accepted Stalin’s deal.

The carrot the Soviets offered was too tempting to refuse.

Third day of negotiations.

The talks went smoothly thanks to the backroom negotiations between South Korea and the Soviet Union.

We accepted what Anglo-American proposals needed to be accepted, rejected what needed to be rejected, and secretly supported our opponents from the side.

One week into negotiations.

We have concluded the long Casablanca talks.

The conclusion from the meeting was this.

“Free France’s status is that of a collaborating power. Later, countries that applied for membership from the Axis to the Allies also followed this precedent.”

“Germany’s national status will be determined by post-war negotiations.”

“I recognize the Kingdom of Italy as the official government of the Italian Peninsula.”

The areas where we retreated a little were with Italy and Germany.

Other than that, our intentions were pretty much carried out.

This was the case with the partition plan for Eastern Europe excluding Germany and the issue of collaborating state status.

We announced the agreed contents as follows.

“So who is the head of Free France?”

“This is General de Gaulle.”

Originally, Roosevelt had intended to support General Henri Giraud, but he changed his mind after being persuaded by Eden and me.

The reason I decided to support de Gaulle, with whom I had a falling out, was because he was the only one capable of dealing with the French commies.

‘Anyway, we need to find a balance.’

Even though we compromised with the communist boss, Stalin, the communist communist says something different today and something different tomorrow.

So, it was difficult to let our guard down.

I posed for one last photo with the summit and smiling faces.