I Will Stage A Coup D’état - Chapter 59



Only Krnovel

EP.59 Chinese Intervention (2)

Chinese Ambassador to South Korea Yang Yun-ju was furious at the South Korean Foreign Ministry’s repeated summons for two days in a row.

‘What on earth does Korea think of us, China? Do they really think that the Republic of China is a vassal state that follows their orders?’

It wasn’t even funny.

Just 400 years ago, Joseon was nothing more than a vassal state that received fame and personal honor from the Chinese emperor.

Although Yang Yun-ju said that China is being pushed by Korea, she did not forget China’s pride.

Looking back, there were countless times in the 5,000-year history of China when we were pushed back by barbarians.

Xingyong, Xiongnu, Je, Jah, Jiang, Xianbei, Rouran, Gokturks, Uyghur, Khitan, Jurchen, Mongol, Wa.

The years they trampled on us alone would easily add up to a thousand years.

However, China endured the rise of the barbarians and eventually won.

The rise of Koreans was also nothing more than a passing moment from the perspective of the long-term Chinese.

Yang Yun-ju lived with such pride in China in her heart, so she neither envied nor was afraid of Korea.

“Your Majesty is arriving.”

Yang Yoon-ju got up from the sofa and straightened her clothes at the official’s announcement of the arrival of the minister.

Instead of Korea, Joo Si-kyung sat down without greeting Yang Yoon-joo.

Yang Yoon-ju frowned slightly at the rudeness.

Joo Si-gyeong got straight to the point.

“I will inform you of the position of the Korean government. Please listen carefully. Our government views the Republic of China’s accession to the Anti-Communist Pact as an act that disrupts the order in East Asia and strongly protests against it. Accordingly, we warn that we may take military action until the day the Chinese government withdraws from the Anti-Communist Pact.”

What, what did you say?

Yang Yoon-ju opened her mouth at the shocking announcement from the South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Is this the diplomacy of a normal modern country?

Even though the Korean Empire was a militaristic nation on the verge of collapse, it still maintained some formality, right?

Yang Yoon-ju barely managed to come to her senses and protested to Joo Si-kyung.

“No, Your Majesty. This makes no sense. Our government’s entry into the anti-communist agreement is a legitimate exercise of sovereignty. Didn’t Korea itself enter into the anti-communist agreement before?”

“We withdrew from the anti-communist pact when we saw that Germany was causing trouble. So please don’t use Pyongyang as an excuse. We have made our intentions clear enough, so please go back now.”

Joo Si-gyeong finished what he wanted to say and jumped up from his seat.

It was a curse.

Yang Yoon-ju returned to the embassy in a half-souled state.

“Prepare to send a telegram to the home country.”

An hour later, Nanjing’s Foreign Minister Guo Taichi was surprised to see a telegram from Pyongyang.

Is it the signing of the anti-communist pact in Berlin that made South Korea so angry?

The scary thing is that if Korea does it, those guys will do it.

‘I knew this would happen.’

Even though it had not joined the Axis, Korea was already growling.

One more step from here and Pyongyang could have been thrown into war.

Guo Taichi reported this shocking news to the chairman.

“Your Majesty, I think it would be best to leave this matter unaddressed for the time being.”

“No, are you saying that even our diplomatic issues should be subject to interference from Koreans?”

Chiang Kai-shek exploded with anger.

But now that Korea has shown its anger, it needs to proceed cautiously.

“Your Excellency, if this issue comes up, there will be more challenges to you within the party.”

Chiang Kai-shek wasn’t unaware of that either.

It wasn’t just a matter of time before reckless converts like Li Zhongren schemed to steal his chair.

“Okay, I understand, so go out.”

Chiang Kai-shek paced around his office and thought for a while.

He had insisted on taking the steps to join the Axis, so it would have been embarrassing to show any sign of backing down from the start.

But I didn’t know what kind of retaliation Korea would bring if I just stayed still.

Chiang Kai-shek stood and pondered for six whole hours.

Whether it is a ship sailing the sea or a nation formed by numerous groups of people, beings of large size cannot easily change direction due to the law of inertia.

This was the reason why Chiang Kai-shek could not immediately give in to Korean threats even if he wanted to.

‘How can I buy time?’

Chiang Kai-shek thought of throwing some candy to appease Korea to buy time.

‘I guess I should listen to Diary’s thoughts first.’

Just as he was about to pick up the phone, Defense Minister He Yingqin came rushing into the chairman’s room with a pale face.

Although Heo Ing-chin had a stern face and a bureaucratic appearance, he didn’t look like a scared rabbit at this time.

“Go, Your Majesty.”

“Manager, what’s wrong? Why is your face so pale?”

Heo Yingqin took a deep breath and barely managed to utter a few words.

“Ha, Korea blocked the Yangtze River and the Grand Canal.”

“what?”

Chiang Kai-shek felt speechless at those words.

The first military action that South Korea took was to block China’s aorta.

While Chiang Kai-shek in Nanjing was in shock, diplomatic envoys in China were agreeing to South Korea’s military action.

“Rather than allowing Chiang Kai-shek to make the mistake of joining Germany, it would be better to suppress him with force.”

“Prime Minister Lee Seong-jun made a good decision.”

Not war, but a show of force.

That much was tolerable.

China, too, will likely change its mind after receiving a strong warning from South Korea.

They made these calculations and ignored the desperate requests of the government of the Republic of China.

“No, are you going to let the Koreans block the Yangtze River?”

“Why are you asking me here instead of that fancy anti-aircraft agreement?”

Unfortunately for China, the powers that could exert influence here in Asia did not have very good relations with the countries that signed the anti-communist pact.

“Germany, what happened to Germany?”

The Chinese government clung to Germany’s trouser leg, its only remaining ally.

“If Germany does not step forward, we will be unable to do anything and will have to surrender to Korea.”

Chinese Ambassador to Germany Chen Jie appealed to German Foreign Minister Ribbentrop for intervention, looking as if he was about to cry.

Ribbentrop was forced to explain the measures the German government should take.

“Our government has decided to deliver a strong statement of condemnation to the Korean government.”

“And?”

“We will bring forward the promised military supplies.”

“And that?”

“No, what more could we do on the other side of the world? It takes time for us to exert influence on China.”

Only then did Chen Ji realize.

No matter how powerful a power Germany is, it is not as scary as the nearby fist Korea.

‘It shouldn’t have gone against Korea in the first place.’

It was a late realization.

Well, if you wanted to side with Germany, you had to do it after the Soviet Union collapsed.

Chen Zhi reported to his home country that there was little Germany could do.

In fact, the German government’s statement of condemnation was simply ignored by the Korean government.

“What? Stop interfering illegally in China? You damn sausages. Stop interfering with yourselves and your neighbors.”

Germany’s condemnation became a laughing stock because Koreans did not even laugh at it.

The great powers that had vested interests in China also made it clear that they would not block Korea’s actions through silence or covert support.

With the support of the great powers, Korea’s blockade of the Yangtze River continued.

Under these circumstances, it was impossible for the Republic of China to continue on the path toward joining the Axis alliance.

“We, the Government of the Republic of China, hereby declare that we will reconsider our accession to the Anti-Communist Agreement.”

China has bowed to South Korea’s pressure by ‘cancelling’ its accession to the anti-communist pact.

Many Chinese people felt angry about this.

“You dirty Gaoribangts. Why should you interfere with whether China forms an alliance with the South or not?”

If Korea had been allied with the Soviet Union, it would have been better to at least understand.

But that’s not the case.

On that topic, it was simply outrageous to block China from joining the Axis.

In any case, this failed path to the Axis brought about tremendous backlash in Chinese politics.

Chiang Kai-shek suffered significant political damage.

“I will resign from my position as Prime Minister to take responsibility for this situation.”

Chiang Kai-shek took responsibility for the failure of the Axis alliance by resigning from his position as Premier of the Executive Yuan, the nominal head of government.

Of course, he held on to the position of Chairman of the Military Committee, which was the real source of power, and did not give it up.

“Look at that guy Jang-ga, he’s just pretending to take responsibility.”

Anyway, China thought that this solved all its problems.

However, some in the Korean military thought a little differently.

“Your Majesty, when you have not made a decision, how about we expand the matter?”

“You’re raising the stakes? Are you talking about that scheme?”

“Yes. The conditions are perfect. The Gangsang fleet has been dispatched for a demonstration of force, so it’s perfect for expanding the business.”

The 3rd Division of the Army Operations Bureau shook up their ambitious plan for the Sino-Korean war.

“But Your Majesty’s intentions have not been decided yet. What will you do if you try to do something and get angry?”

“Well, why don’t we just pass the responsibility onto China? If we do what Park Han-jin did, there will be no evidence and it can be dealt with cleanly.”

The idea was to create something like the Tenjin battleship sinking incident.

Of course, there was no need for the warship to sink like that.

All it took was a Chinese military provocation.

“This is too dangerous. If it gets discovered, His Majesty will never forgive you.”

“But if not now, then when will we take care of China? This is for the sake of our country and people. Our military has always made decisions for the sake of the country rather than for our own self-preservation. Future generations will know our loyalty.”

The staff officers of Operations 3 looked at the section chief with determined expressions.

For the military officers who were forced into the 3rd class, which was no different from a low-ranking position, and were about to retire, this was their last chance to devote themselves to their country.

Of course, if things go well, you might even get a star.

The section chief let out a heavy sigh under the officers’ intense gaze.

“I’ll meet with the Director of Operations. If the discussion goes well from above, we’ll proceed, but if not, we’ll fold.”

“I will accept it.”

It was the moment when the seeds of war were sown in the shadow of the armed demonstration planned by Lee Seong-jun.