I Will Stage A Coup D’état - Chapter 61



Only Krnovel

EP.61 Sino-Korean War (2)

On July 15, 1941, war broke out in the Far East, but the world paid surprisingly little attention.

“Oh, I have to watch the Red Army of Ten Million vs. Nazi Europe title match!”

In a hellish war of extermination unfolding in the middle of Europe, with tens of thousands of casualties occurring every day, what’s the big deal about a few yellow monkeys dying?

Public opinion around the world was surprisingly indifferent.

I had guessed that international public opinion would turn out this way.

‘How many people did the Japanese Empire kill in the Sino-Japanese War?’

Nearly 20 million people died in the war or from starvation.

Some scholars say that up to 50 million people died.

Yet, the world remained indifferent to China’s tragedy.

This time was no different.

South Korea switched to an all-out war system.

In June, when we were preparing for large and small support, we had already entered the partial mobilization phase, but it was a different story from the full-scale wartime situation.

Factories that produced civilian consumer goods were converted one by one into military industries that produced military supplies.

The leather factory began making uniforms and boots, the tractor factory started making tanks, and the pipe factory started making rifles.

The transition to a full-fledged war economy occurred with surprising speed.

“Okay, let’s take a picture.”

I posed holding the submachine gun I had just fired.

“Master. How long do I have to wait for this?”

“You have to wait a little longer.”

Living in the 21st century where you can take a picture with just a click, a camera that takes a long time to move is really inconvenient.

I just couldn’t get used to it.

“Your Majesty. Here is the report on today’s battle situation. Shanghai has fallen.”

“Hmm. Shanghai fell in three days. It’s a lot easier than I expected.”

Chiang Kai-shek must have remembered the lessons he had learned in the previous war and did not repeat the mistake of cramming dozens of divisions into a small area.

But even that level of improvement was not enough to compete with the powerful South Korean military.

It’s unfortunate for the Chinese, but we are stronger now than we were during the First Sino-Korean War.

On the other hand, China had to go into the war without even fully recovering from the damage suffered during the First Sino-Korean War.

As the gap between the two sides grew, the victory of the West was an entirely natural result.

‘Now that we’ve drawn our swords, we’ll go as far as completely subduing China.’

If we had already aroused the West’s wariness, we should have incorporated China into our sphere of influence.

Ah, shouldn’t the lost principal be recovered?

Although it had a similar mentality to imperialist Japan, there were differences.

At least I was aware of what I was losing by gambling.

“Your Majesty, the Security Commander has requested an audience.”

“Lee Jeong-yoon? Tell her to come in.”

I straightened my clothes and stood by the window, as if pondering something.

Those in power had a duty to satisfy the fantasies of their subordinates at all times and places.

In my case, I had the responsibility to show the image of His Excellency Lee Seong-jun, who worked tirelessly day and night for his country and people.

“Your Majesty. This is Security Commander Lee Jeong-yoon.”

“Yes, sir. What’s the matter?”

Only then did I wake up from my thoughts and slowly return to my desk.

This should seem plausible.

“There is someone from China who wishes to contact Your Excellency through a secret line.”

“You said you drew the line not at the Central Intelligence Agency but at the Security Command? Where?”

Because we are a military regime, it seems that the military intelligence agency is more reliable.

Well, it’s not a wrong judgment.

“It’s Hong Kong.”

I had Lee Jeong-yoon continue explaining.

“The person who contacted us is Wang Jingwei, a big shot in the Kuomintang who was in charge of the last negotiation.”

Also, that friend?

Indeed, among the anti-Korean faction, the only one who had the courage to openly come to Korea was Wang Jingwei.

“I guess Wang Jingwei brought some good news?”

“Yes. Wang Jingwei’s proposal is that if Chiang Kai-shek is overthrown and he is supported, he is willing to actively promote the Sino-ROK alliance.”

This guy is a funny guy.

You call it an alliance, but that means you want to crawl under our sphere of influence. Do you accept that?

Well, it’s a profitable business if you can sell the country and become the head of state.

Our Lee Wan-yong sold out the country and became nothing more than a count.

It was certainly a judgment worthy of a professional Han-dan who sold out the Republic of China to Japan and became the head of the puppet government in Nanjing.

Treason is also a talent.

Suddenly, that thought occurred to me.

Anyway, there seemed to be no need to completely reject Wang Jingwei’s proposal.

“owner.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Tell Wang Jingwei. If he wants to form a Sino-Korean alliance, he should come to our occupied territory and establish a ‘new Republic of China government.’”

We also had to consider the possibility that Wang Jingwei might grow thick-headed and turn against us.

So I suggest that we burn all the roads leading back and come back.

After doing something so pitiful that anyone can see it, there will be nothing left for us to do but be our puppets.

Wang Jingwei of the original text was exactly like that.

“Wang Jingwei won’t accept it easily.”

Of course, that would be the case for a human being.

Who wants to wear a leash?

It was a story that I also wanted to reject.

“If he refuses, tell him to wait until he changes his mind.”

Even without Wang Jingwei, we had many alternatives at our disposal.

The next day, our new partner was brought to me from the courtyard.

A handsome man in a Mao suit with a warm impression and likable facial features bowed 90 degrees to me.

“I am Zhou Enlai, Envoy of the People’s Republic of China. It is an honor to meet Your Excellency the Premier.”

Zhou Enlai?

The future number two man in China stood before me.

Indeed, Lee Ja-ja was one of the most rational and reasonable people in the Chinese Communist Party.

Of course, that doesn’t change the fact that he’s a communist.

Ah, how could anyone be human if they saw people dying during the Great Leap Forward and didn’t even think about stopping it, but instead just prepared to clean up the mess?

But I couldn’t show that I hated the communists from China.

In a situation where I was about to be piggybacked by the red leader, I couldn’t say things like, “I like anti-communism.”

“Nice to meet you. I am Lee Seong-jun, Prime Minister of the Korean Empire.”

I met Zhou Enlai with a smiling face.

He also served me some tea that he had brewed himself.

Zhou Enlai repeatedly expressed his gratitude, perhaps because he was pleased with my treatment.

We had a bit of casual conversation and then we opened up to each other.

“Our Chinese Communist Party is fully willing to cooperate with South Korea to expand the liberated zone to the Yangtze River basin. However, to do so, we need the support of the South Korean military.”

“Tell me. How much can I help you?”

I never thought that Mao Zedong would just help us in our war.

There’s no way those communists who want to share other people’s property would just hand it over to them.

“We need 1 million rifles and 700,000 sets of military uniforms. If you could also provide us with about 300 million rounds of ammunition, we would be grateful.”

Hey, these guys, these barrels are pretty big, huh?

The number of communists I know is now around 100,000.

But looking at the support you are seeking, it seems like you want to raise an army of 1 million people.

Add to this our influence and tacit support, and it could become a force that could compete with the Chinese Nationalist Party.

No, it could be more than that.

“That’s a bit difficult.”

I cut off Zhou Enlai’s demands exactly.

The reason the communists are so greedy is because of their own circumstances.

Why should we listen to that?

I’m not even a communist.

“Then how much support can you receive?”

As expected, I didn’t intend to take it all from the beginning.

I expected it.

“200,000 rifles, 150,000 sets of uniforms, 50 million rounds of ammunition. That’s all we can give you.”

Of course, these are ‘old’ Japanese military supplies stored in a warehouse.

It may not be in great condition, but we’re not going to use it, so who cares?

“To that extent, it will be difficult to actively implement the expansion of liberated zones proposed in Korea.”

Well, I guess so.

But, why would I raise you like that?

If we are not careful, a communist regime more aggressive than the Kuomintang could come to power next to us.

“Your Majesty, if you could show us just a little more favor, we will surely meet Korea’s expectations. Please be generous.”

It’s not my expectations, it’s Mao Zedong’s.

“Hey, you said Comrade Zhou Enlai?”

“Yes, Your Excellency the Prime Minister.”

“Let me just say one thing. I am one of those people who think it would be okay for Chiang Kai-shek to continue to rule the continent.”

“yes?”

Was it unexpected?

By the way, I’m being serious.

“As long as the Republic of China submits to us and forms a Sino-Korean alliance, it doesn’t matter who the ruler is. There is no need for our partner to be Chairman Mao.”

“… .”

“So think carefully. Are you going to take what we give you and move, or are you going to refuse and continue to play in the countryside?”

I made it clear that I had no intention of providing large quantities of supplies to the Chinese Communist Party.

Zhou Enlai swallowed hard and looked at me for a moment before finally speaking.

“I will follow your Majesty’s words.”

This is why the relationship between A and B is good.

China had no choice in the first place.

The subcontract was concluded at such a low price.