I Will Stage A Coup D’état - Chapter 72



Only Krnovel

EP.72 Invasion of Indochina (2)

“Your Majesty, a message has arrived from the War Department. A beachhead has been established in Indochina, and one division has successfully landed.”

Well, that’s a given.

Given the overwhelming power of the Korean Navy, there was no chance of France successfully preventing the landing.

Our combined fleet boasts the third largest displacement in the world, so how can the French, who were beaten by the Nazis, be any good?

It’s not even worth half a penny.

I picked up the phone right away.

“Minister of Foreign Affairs. Your Excellency, Minister of Foreign Affairs. Please contact Paris immediately. I would like to suggest that we end the conflict.”

Now that the French have shown that they can’t stop us, it’s only right to give Paris a chance to settle down.

If we beat up the French kids too much and instill deep-rooted anti-Korean sentiments in them, it would be bad for the country.

“General Baek, I suggest a temporary ceasefire. Six hours would be good.”

I gave the French six hours’ grace, but Paris responded with silence.

Petain, this old fool refuses our tolerance?

There’s nothing I can do.

There’s no choice but to shed some more blood.

I sent a telegram to the commander of the expeditionary force, Baek Dong-seok.

“Master, do not show any leniency until the French surrender. When the bastards show their pride, you have to go hard.”

“I will accept it.”

The French army suffered defeat after defeat.

In areas where the Korean Navy had influence, the French were unable to handle the Korean army.

No matter how powerful the fortress was, it was no more than a reed before the main guns of the Allied Fleet’s battleships.

After a week, most of the major coastal cities of Vietnam fell into the hands of the South Korean Army and Marine Corps.

It was a tremendous achievement, considering that they were unable to mobilize even a single regiment of armored forces.

“Even the snails must have realized the reality now.”

I sent my specialist back to France.

The answer the Ministry of Foreign Affairs gave was irritating.

“Your Excellency the Prime Minister. There will be no surrender in Paris.”

No, why are these snails so persistent?

If this is the case, we’ll have to borrow the help of the communists, which is uncomfortable for both of us.

I gave the order to hand over the weapons captured from the French army to Ho Chi Minh.

‘Anyway, now that we’ve shed so much blood, our post-war relationship with France is halfway to being resolved.’

That doesn’t mean I was scared.

Because being a traitor meant being excluded from the vast East Asian market.

Oh, we’re a bit older now, that’s what I’m saying.

‘Looking at it this way, it seems that the revenge that Park Han-jin pushed for wasn’t all that bad.’

Park Han-jin’s ambition to eat up China and hold East Asia in his hands and become a rice cake was fine if you just look at the picture itself.

The economic zone that unites Korea, China, and Japan is in itself no less powerful than that of the first-tier Western powers.

Thinking about it again, I think I should raise His Excellency Park Han-jin’s score a bit.

But, that’s it.

It was a path that was destined to lead to a Hitler-style ending where revenge was paid.

“Your Majesty, a message has arrived from the War Department.”

What, there’s new news again.

By any chance, did the French surrender?

“Bring it.”

I read the article without thinking much about it.

“Oh, this kid.”

Now that I think about it, I had forgotten about that guy.

Joseph Stilwell, commander of the volunteer army sent by the United States.

Suddenly, I felt a pain in my neck.

Expeditionary force commander Baek Dong-seok explained the man’s atrocities in detail and said he didn’t know how he could operate with a man like him.

To give an example of a typical atrocity,

“This is an unofficial joint ROK-US operation. Therefore, I must observe all operations.”

I could understand that.

“I would also like to exercise equal say in operations with Korea.”

what?

You brought an expeditionary force of 1,000 men and you want to match it with 58,000?

This kid, is he crazy?

This was only a small part of Stillwell’s list of misdeeds.

The guy called Baek Dong-seok a peanut behind his back.

The reason was simply racial discrimination.

If we really want to be specific, it’s probably because he was expressing his dissatisfaction with not being listened to, but does it make sense for a man who came as the commander of a country to do something like this?

He also caused trouble with the supply lines.

We had a shortage of supply ships, so we borrowed the transport capacity of an unofficially chartered US supply ship, and Stillwell claimed a share of the supplies transported in this way.

It may sound ridiculous, but that’s what Stillwell was doing.

He was truly an unimaginable bastard.

I was once again struck by the patience of Chiang Kai-shek, who had endured this kind of man for two years.

Anyway, because of Stilwell’s actions, the ‘friendly’ cooperation with the American volunteer army before the war went down the drain.

That Stillwell guy was sending all kinds of complaints from the local area all the way to Washington.

“The Koreans are plotting to swallow up Indochina.”

“The Korean military authorities are clearly moving to plant their influence.”

The wheelchair man heard that straight away and protested to us.

Isn’t Korea being greedy about Indochina?

I couldn’t stand his bullying any longer.

“If I leave this kid alone, I will no longer be the Prime Minister of the Korean Empire.”

I immediately escalated the issue to the wheelchair man.

The national power of Korea was not strong enough to endure for two years like Chiang Kai-shek.

“Dear President Roosevelt, Your Excellency, Joseph Stilwell is running wild trying to ruin the cooperation between Korea and the United States. Frankly, I am suspicious that he is a Nazi spy in Indochina. If Your Excellency continues to entrust this man with important missions, we in Korea will have no choice but to reconsider our friendship with the United States. I hope Your Excellency will make a magnanimous decision for the sake of our bilateral relations.”

I casted a spell saying, “Do you want to return Stillwell directly? If you don’t return it, you’ll end our relationship.”

Normally I wouldn’t have made such a dangerous remark, but Stillwell wasn’t the type of guy to tolerate it.

Soon after, the U.S. government responded.

“I will dismiss General Stillwell.”

General Hugh Drumm was appointed to succeed him as commander of the volunteer army.

Drums.

It was a name that made my heart feel refreshed just by hearing it.

It’s not that I think it’ll make a lot of noise, but it’s because it’s an icon of recognition and trust.

At least the drummer wasn’t some rascal like Stillwell from Asiatong.

“Master. I cut that guy. Now feel better.”

“Yes? Is that true?”

“When have I ever told you empty words?”

“That is not it. Thank you, Your Majesty.”

After Stillwell was cut, the creaking Korea-US alliance returned to normal as if by magic.

“Please share only information related to military affairs. I will delegate operational control to the Korean side.”

What a gentlemanly attitude this is.

This is what they were hoping for in the first place when they called in the American volunteers.

And after another week, the French Army stationed in Indochina also gave up.

French Commander-in-Chief Brigadier Gabriel Sabatier arrived in Saigon and signed the instrument of surrender.

“Please, treat the surrendered soldiers leniently.”

“Don’t worry. Our military complies with international law.”

It may sound far-fetched, but I meant it.

“You, you thieves of the world. Do you think I’ll acknowledge the occupation of Indochina just because you guys did that?”

They were hurling abuse at us all over the place in Paris, but honestly, we didn’t care.

I gave Baek Dong-seok only three instructions.

“The military government must consult with the United States.”

“We will crack down on smuggling routes between Vietnam and China.”

“Don’t touch the French colonial apparatus.”

If possible, it would be right not to touch Indochina, but if we did, it would be right to stop at this level.

“Your Majesty, since we have already occupied Indochina, how about instilling imperial influence there?”

Before this crazy stuff happens again.

Ha, how did I end up living surrounded by these militarists?

When I was young, I had no idea that I would live in such a gloomy world.

Even though he had become a powerful person who could shoot his uncle with a cannon, his days were not enjoyable.

On the contrary, the harsh daily life only increased the wrinkles on my forehead.

Maybe it was because I didn’t know how to enjoy life.

The only pleasure in my life was the occasional cigar.

It was truly a bleak life.

I do see young girls sometimes, but I’ve never had any personal interactions with them since they’re just people who sing a song or something while drinking and leave.

When I confided my worries to Jeong Gil, this is what he said in return.

“It’s because you don’t have a woman by your side. How about considering remarriage while you’re at it?”

Because we are family.

It was an unexpected topic.

Create a family in this world.

Thinking back on it, it was a somewhat appealing story.

“Like you said, marriage wouldn’t be a bad thing.”

I didn’t add any more words to the Katabuta story.

When a dictator makes a passing remark, his aides will follow suit.

And within just three days, a photo of young women appeared on my desk.

These were photos of the daughters and younger sisters of high-ranking officers of our National Salvation Military Committee.

Even at a glance, there were only pretty girls in their late teens or early twenties.

“Master, is this really true?”

“What’s strange? These are children of marriageable age.”

They weren’t ugly, they were all pretty kids.

Why are there kids like this?

“Your Majesty, all the generals around you have also married like this.”

I see.

This was not the 21st century, full of romantic sentiment, but the cold-blooded 20th century, where political marriages ruled.

The recommendation was not surprising, considering that 20th century generals had first or second marriages with young women.

Even so, do these guys know who the thieves are?

I, Lee Seong-jun, am a person with a 21st century mind, not a 20th century mind!

I looked through the photos with more honest eyes than anyone else and then picked out one that caught my eye by chance.

It was an honest choice, without any selfish intentions.

There was no room for selfishness for His Excellency Lee Seong-jun, who worked tirelessly day and night for his people and country.

“General Baek’s youngest daughter. I will set a date.”

So I got married at the same time I acquired the Indochina Peninsula.

It was a fitting reward for a leader who worked selflessly for his country.