I Will Stage A Coup D’état - Chapter 62



Only Krnovel

EP.62 Sino-Korean War (3)

Instead of serving in the army, Kim Seong-ju was born the son of a poor dock worker in Incheon.

Kim Seong-ju’s childhood was filled with cold, hungry, and bitter memories.

After that, he was always described as a ‘salty, swindler’.

No matter how well I studied or how much I stood out among my peers, the contemptuous gaze did not go away.

“Just because a salt merchant is good at studying, do you think he’d be treated differently? If social status were something that could be easily changed, who would aspire to rise in social status?”

The words of the instructor guiding the cadets were shocking.

Kim Sung-joo felt skeptical about his efforts here.

What would change if I did something?

From then on, he no longer aspired to be successful.

He abandoned his fierce and rigorous training and chose the life of an ordinary officer.

No one will acknowledge your efforts, even if you shed tears of blood. So why bother trying?

That’s how I spent 20 years.

Then, a man appeared.

“Korea must change. It must innovate. It must wake up!”

The man spoke about his beliefs and specific vision through the newspaper.

At first I thought he was crazy.

“The Republic of Korea will change. What an absurd dream.”

But, it wasn’t.

The man was not just a dreamer with empty lips, but a capable general from the royal family.

‘This kind of person talks about reform?’

The person who is guaranteed the winner’s seat by just staying still will change the country.

Could it have been possible if it had been Kim Sung-joo himself?

That wasn’t the case.

The moment he realized that fact, Kim Seong-ju felt strong respect for Lee Seong-jun.

This man is different from ordinary people.

He is the one who is qualified to stand above.

If someone like this were in power, wouldn’t this country truly change?

From then on, Kim Seong-ju began to pay attention to Lee Seong-jun.

And before long, Kim Seong-ju got a chance to talk to the man.

“Why did you think about reforming this country?”

Lee Seong-jun answered Kim Seong-ju’s question as if it were a very natural thing to do.

“Because Korea is wrong. Because it is wrong, we are trying to fix it.”

That’s right.

The moment Kim Seong-ju heard those words, he felt all the injustice that had plagued him his entire life being resolved.

There is something wrong with this country.

It’s not my fault, it’s because this country is wrong that we’ve suffered like this.

It wasn’t recognized.

After several meetings, Kim Seong-ju was reborn as Lee Seong-jun’s loyal servant.

And as the commander of the coup forces, he accomplished important tasks and rose to the position of Lee Seong-jun’s right-hand man.

They arrested the Army Minister and also took the Chief of Staff into custody.

From that moment on, the unpleasant gazes that had been following Kim Seong-ju disappeared.

This is power.

It’s power.

The sweetness of power given by His Excellency Lee Seong-jun was very sweet.

But I wasn’t intoxicated by the taste.

It was because I thought I should not put pressure on His Majesty, who had permitted all of this.

His Majesty said.

“Master, let’s change this country from head to toe together.”

To be honest, Kim Seong-ju didn’t know anything about the Yushin or revolution that Lee Seong-jun was talking about.

I was simply following His Majesty’s instructions.

In retrospect, His Majesty’s words were always right.

Because of Your Excellency’s leadership, this country, Korea, has always been able to deal with neighboring countries from a victorious position.

If there had been no Your Majesty, if it had been an empire of boring, nit-picking military officers of low birth, would this country have been doing so well?

That’s nonsense.

So, Your Majesty’s power must not be shaken.

Because Kim Seong-ju thought that way, he was able to accomplish numerous tasks in His Majesty’s shadow.

This time it was the same.

‘In this war, no general should emerge who can challenge Your Majesty.’

Even if it created a somewhat unreasonable situation, it was necessary to properly restrain the generals for the future of the empire.

“I understand your Majesty’s thoughts. However, is it really necessary to deploy the Guard Corps as a follow-up attack? It would be better in many ways to deploy the well-trained 7th Corps troops.”

Of course, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff’s concerns were reasonable.

To be honest, that was true.

However, the 7th Corps Commander is a descendant of a prestigious military family who has a soft spot for the military.

If we allowed such a man too many opportunities to accumulate merits, he would run the risk of becoming a hindrance to Your Majesty.

“This is a decision made after considering military affairs and politics. I hope the General will follow it without complaint. Do you understand?”

The president had no choice but to step down under Kim Seong-ju’s pressure.

Even though he was a senior in the military, he was nothing in front of Lee Seong-jun, the right-hand man who had real power.

They were called senior and junior, but the power relationship was completely opposite.

“Understood, Your Majesty, I will do as you wish.”

Kim Seong-ju coordinated the specialties of frontline generals in this way.

The warriors were very dissatisfied with this.

“Kim Seong-ju, does it make sense that that son of a bitch would blatantly support only the idiots of the National Salvation Military Committee?”

But it made sense.

Given the nature of military regimes, if they fail to secure military power, the regime is bound to falter.

The generals from the military were dissatisfied with this, but they did not dare to gather together to protest or resist.

Anyone who might do that has either been removed from the Security Service’s surveillance or long ago removed from office.

Anyway, thanks to the Korean military putting the brakes on their own movements, China was able to avoid the immediate fall of Nanjing in the Western Front.

However, since the fall of the capital was only a matter of time, even Chiang Kai-shek could not boast that he would defend Nanjing.

“Your Excellency, Chairman. I think we need to prepare for the transfer of the capital.”

“If we prepare to move the capital now, what will happen to the people’s morale?”

Chiang Kai-shek was worried about the public’s opinion of him.

“Your Majesty, if the government agencies miss the opportunity to evacuate, this country will face disaster.”

At the very least, the withdrawal of government agencies should have begun now.

“Okay, I understand.”

After consulting with Kung Xiangxi, who had been appointed Prime Minister of the Executive Yuan, Chiang Kai-shek agreed to withdraw government agencies.

The problem came after the transfer.

If the capital falls, who will take political responsibility?

At least Chiang Kai-shek had no intention of taking responsibility.

‘Without me, the Republic of China is finished.’

There was already talk that the communist reds were taking advantage of the current war to expand the liberated zone.

If you hand over your position to incompetent opponents, will they be able to stand up to the communists?

It was a ridiculous statement.

If they could have defeated the Reds, the Communists would have shot Mao Zedong and his men ten more times during the Long March.

Chiang Kai-shek scratched his bare head.

Should we try to strengthen relations with Korea even now?

But realistically, it was impossible.

How can we bow our heads to those who not only interfered in China’s internal affairs by using force, but also started the war by provoking them first and then counterattacking them?

If that happens, the approval rating of the Chiang Kai-shek regime will hit rock bottom.

Even authoritarian regimes that do not care about popularity need at least a minimum of popular support.

‘There can be no compromise with Korea. The only thing we can trust is the mediation of the great powers.’

Unfortunately for China, it was difficult to expect mediation from the great powers.

The problem was that the United States, Britain, and the Soviet Union viewed China with disfavor due to its accession to the Anti-Comintern Pact.

‘For now, we have no choice but to drag it out.’

If the war was prolonged, the great powers were likely to intervene for fear of losing their vested interests.

‘If we just hold out for a year, it’s not like there’s no hope.’

The key was how to hold out until then.

“Your Majesty. Your Majesty! We are in trouble.”

While Chiang Kai-shek was lost in thought, his chief secretary came in hastily and delivered surprising news.

“What’s going on? What’s the fuss?”

“Wow, Vice President Wang Jingwei flew from Hong Kong to Pyongyang.”

“What, what did you say?”

Chiang Kai-shek could not hide his shock.

Although I didn’t have a very good feeling about Wang Jingwei, I still had the impression that he was a fellow Kuomintang comrade who worked for the national interest.

That is why I readily agreed to Wang Jingwei’s offer to go to Hong Kong and inquire about the situation of the great powers.

At that time, Wang Jingwei said this:

“Brother Jang, take the easy way. I will take the difficult way.”

Chiang Kai-shek believed that these words meant that he would work for the diplomacy of the Republic of China behind the scenes.

No it wasn’t.

He, he, he was just a dog of Pyongyang, plausibly paving the way for him to sell out the Republic of China.

“This, this bastard is worse than a dog!”

Chiang Kai-shek threw away the well-decorated plants and furniture.

I was so angry that I couldn’t even express my anger in words.

A beastly roar echoed through the office for a long time.

“Oh, Chairman. Calm down. The whole party was not shaken by Vice Chairman Wang’s betrayal.”

Only then did Chiang Kai-shek’s mind cool down a bit.

Yeah, just one guy abandoned his country.

Only one burrower left.

What does that mean?

It has no influence on the general trend.

This means that there is no way to stop China from holding on.

‘Wang Jingwei. You will regret what you did today. I will make sure that happens.’

Chiang Kai-shek gritted his teeth.