I Will Stage A Coup D’état - Chapter 190



Only Krnovel

EP.190 The Chinese Duke

Whether there was chaos in Cuba or Vietnam or not, that was a story of the world that had nothing to do with Mao Zedong.

The father of the People’s Republic of China was on the verge of suffocation under the weight of responsibility now pouring upon him.

In 1954, China was hit by a series of famines, floods, and droughts.

Unlike the original version, the aftereffects of the Great Leap Forward appeared early because such acts were committed in Guanzhong and Shanxi, where forest conditions were poor to begin with.

As a result, the Chinese people’s public sentiment has reached its worst.

So much so that when Kuomintang guerrillas entered areas controlled by the Chinese Communist Party, the local residents welcomed them and pointed out the houses of Communist Party members.

“Over there, over there is the house where the communist reds live.”

The Chinese Communist Party also took this phenomenon of public discontent seriously.

“What kind of revolution can we have when the people’s hearts are turning away like this? If we want to build a new China, we have to start by taking care of this matter!”

There was open talk among senior party members that someone had to be held accountable.

Finally, Peng Dehuai took up arms.

“Comrade Chairman, you have made great contributions to the establishment of the People’s Republic of China, but you have also made great mistakes.”

When Defense Minister Peng Dehuai also came out strongly, Mao Zedong was immediately cornered.

“Someone’s finger killed the sparrow. Whose finger was it?”

Now that open opposition had begun to emerge, people joined together to demand Mao’s resignation.

Mao’s strength was far less than that of the original force to suppress it.

“How dare you say such things to me.”

Mao was furious, but he could not suppress the growing number of calls for his resignation.

Finally, Mao Zedong decided to retreat.

‘Once you step down, it’s a grave matter. Whenever the day comes that I return to power, I won’t leave those guys alone.’

As Mao Zedong announced his intention to step down as chairman, the political situation in China returned to stability.

But the terrible food shortage was never resolved.

The Chinese people were discouraged by the already ruined farming and natural disasters.

‘The heavens are heartless. How can disasters happen so often?’

The situation was so serious that cannibalism even occurred, where children were swapped with those of neighbors and then eaten.

The Communist Party first reached out to the Soviet Union to overcome the urgent situation.

When Mao was around, I didn’t even think about reaching out to him because of my pride, but not anymore.

Human lives were more important than saving face.

“If you need support, I will help, but not much.”

The Soviet Union showed some good faith as the communist big brother.

However, if we send too much, we may provoke Korea’s discontent, so we adjusted the level.

“No, how can I survive with this while sending only a little?”

The new leader, Liu Shaoqi, visited the Soviet Union twice over the issue, but Moscow was unwilling to provide further assistance.

“Comrade Chairman. How about going to Pyongyang?”

The Republic of China was an enemy country, the Nanjing regime was a puppet of Korea, and Mongolia was a poor country that was busy just trying to survive.

Although it was reluctant, Korea was the only neighboring country that could provide food.

“Try to visit Pyongyang once.”

Zhou Enlai negotiated behind the scenes with the Korean representative stationed in Yan’an.

“Comrade Chairman, fortunately, Korea is willing to help.”

Liu Shaoqi couldn’t help but be delighted by those words.

“I’ll fly to Pyongyang right away.”

Liu Shaoqi wasted no time and flew to Pyongyang.

The Koreans, aware of China’s urgent situation, immediately proposed negotiations.

Liu Shaoqi was unexpectedly granted permission to have a brief meeting with South Korean leader Lee Seong-jun.

The South Korean prime minister, now in his sixties, had no sign of emotion on his face, as befitting a seasoned politician.

Contrary to Liu Shaoqi’s preconceptions, Lee Seong-jun showed a rather humble attitude.

“It is an honor for you to provide this opportunity for discussion, Your Excellency the Prime Minister.”

“Don’t worry. Aren’t we neighbors who live together?”

If you just close your eyes to the fact that the neighbor came in armed with a gun whenever you were cool, it wasn’t entirely wrong.

Liu Shaoqi was the first to bring up the issue of food aid.

“How much can I help you?”

“We need 1 million tons of grain. Can you help us?”

“One million tons. Just wait a minute.”

Lee Seong-jun called over a few of the officials present and had a conversation with them.

Liu Shaoqi also knows Korean, but the conversation is so fast that he can’t understand a few words.

After talking with the officials, Lee Seong-jun readily expressed his positive opinion.

“I think we can provide that amount of goods.”

In fact, Korea had so much grain in reserve that it was almost ready to rot.

The problem was not so much that farming was too good, but rather that large quantities of American grain were purchased to suppress the trade balance.

“Excuse me, is this true?”

Liu Shaoqi was astonished that South Korea would so easily provide 1 million tons of grain.

I knew Korea was well off, but this was beyond my imagination.

Liu Shaoqi felt anew the gap between South Korea and China.

“Would I lie to you? But I would like you to attach a few conditions.”

“Anything, just say it.”

Now, the Chinese were so thirsty for grain that they would even lick the grains of rice that had fallen on the floor.

There was nothing I couldn’t accept, no matter what the conditions were.

“First of all, I want you to withdraw from all the liberated areas in Shanxi. That’s where our friend Yan Xishan’s provincial governor belongs.”

Liu Shaoqi nodded, even though the reduction in his sphere of influence was painful.

To that extent, I could accept it.

If we could just get through this crisis, we could re-create the liberated zone.

Liu Shaoqi thought this was a step back to advance.

That was all there was to Korea.

Although it was not a free food aid loan, South Korea’s terms were certainly generous.

If it were normal, they would have tried to rip it off by adding more conditions.

‘Lee Seong-jun is not the type of person to be so kind. What is his plan?’

Liu Shaoqi boarded the plane, puzzled by South Korea’s hospitality.

*

In fact, the reason I gave grain to Liu Shaoqi was completely different from the conditions I had stated on the surface.

The liberated zone of Shanxi?

That wasn’t really a big deal to me.

There was something else I was really aiming for.

‘If we provide Liu Shaoqi with food, the number of people who survive thanks to him will increase.’

In that case, Liu Shaoqi’s position would inevitably rise in contrast to Mao, who killed people in a real way.

Ultimately, the goal of the grain support was to strengthen Liu Shaoqi’s power base.

‘Under those conditions, Liu Shaoqi wouldn’t be pushed back without even trying.’

As the power struggle between Mao and Liu Shaoqi continued, the chaos in the CCP worsened and the Red Guards caused trouble by Mao Zedong multiplied.

So, the grain I am giving you now could be poison to kill the Chinese.

However, I did not expect Liu Shaoqi to be on a par with Mao Zedong just because of the grain support.

In any case, Mao Zedong is a figure who is practically the founder of the People’s Republic of China.

To ignite the power struggle between the two, it was necessary to provide more covert assistance to Liu Shaoqi.

If you think about it, the cost of this project was considerable.

Still, this kind of work was worth a try.

The hollow, which had become too dangerous to be used as a tool, needed to be weakened in this way.

At the same time, it also promotes Korean morality.

Director of the National Intelligence Service Kang Su-cheol smiled meaningfully.

“If Mao re-enters the power struggle as Your Excellency has planned, the Chinese Communist Party will face a truly hopeless situation.”

“That must be the case.”

The hollow, which had become too dangerous to be used as a tool, was good at reducing its strength in this way.

“However, if the Republic of China extends its influence when the People’s Republic of China is weakened as Your Excellency intends, wouldn’t the picture be ruined?”

I was thinking about that too.

“Wouldn’t it be enough to make the Republic of China immobile?”

“Is there such a way?”

The method of weakening a nation was surprisingly simple.

All you have to do is destroy the country’s credibility.

The belief that this currency will retain its same value tomorrow.

When that trust is destroyed, the nation loses its power to move.

One of the reasons why Joseon was unable to keep up with Japan was because of the indiscriminate printing of Baekdonghwa and Dangbaekjeon.

Kang Su-cheol expressed his concern after listening to my story.

“If we take matters into our own hands in counterfeiting, we will run into big problems later.”

“Who would do something like that themselves? You have to ask someone else to do it.”

There were plenty of people in China who would do that for them.

The warlords.

China’s warlords were extremely uncomfortable with the centralized legal system encroaching on their rule.

What if we gave them the ability to print central banknotes?

Is there any warlord who would refuse that?

I thought no one would turn me down.

“If they are warlords, of course they will not refuse. However, it would cost a lot to counterfeit currency. Is that okay?”

Considering the cost of sourcing counterfeit technicians and machines, and smuggling prepared work pieces to warlords, it was obvious that the cost would be enormous even on a national scale.

But if you think about the cost of weakening the Republic of China, it wasn’t that expensive.

“We have to accept that. In any case, it will weaken our enemies.”

“If that’s the case, I’ll prepare for it.”

“Prepare thoroughly once.”

This is a world where if a major power concentrates its power, it can surpass the currencies of other major powers within a few years.

Even during World War II, Germany counterfeited British pounds.

If a powerful country like Korea puts its national power into it, it would not be difficult to break through the legal system of a developing country like China.

“A great leap forward in counterfeiting, the Cultural Revolution.”

I think the tricks they did to China were malicious.

However, I do not regret ordering such an act.

I was willing to do the same thing twice, three times, if necessary for the future of Korea.

Because I was the leader of Korea, not the leader of China.