I Will Stage A Coup D’état - Chapter 74



Only Krnovel

EP.74 Winter War (2)

The ominous feeling was not wrong.

Chiang Kai-shek of China took advantage of the withdrawal of some Korean troops to launch a counterattack.

It seemed that Chiang Kai-shek, who was cornered, was making a bold move to gain favorable conditions.

Wang Jingwei was in Nanjing at that moment, groaning and calling for help.

“Your Majesty, if Chiang Kai-shek captures Nanjing, I will be dead. I am a person who cannot die like this.”

Ha. Even if Chiang Kai-shek fights for ten years, it won’t be enough to get there.

No matter how much Chiang Kai-shek struggles, there’s no way he can get to Nanjing while we’re here.

Anyway, the Chinese army’s winter offensive brought with it a thorny problem.

Commuting times have been delayed for a while now.

This was a serious matter.

“Prime Minister, you shouldn’t be that late. Give me your clothes first.”

As soon as I entered the house, my young wife quickly snatched my top away from me.

My body had its limits when it came to supporting my wife, who was just beginning to experience the joys of newlywed life.

‘X is done.’

After having an adult conversation with my wife, I finally fell asleep in the early hours of the morning, and was only able to close my eyes for two hours.

Life was so hard because of these Chinese guys.

When I woke up in the morning, my young wife was waiting for me with a terrifying meal prepared for me.

“Eat plenty. Then you will have ‘strength’.”

It was nice when my pretty wife smiled at me, but honestly, it sent a shiver down my spine when she piled up a lot of meat dishes and put ‘silent’ pressure on me.

“Director Kim. The owner is coming too.”

“Oh, yes.”

As Jeong Gil was about to stick his butt out, his wife quickly pushed the bowls containing the meat dishes in front of me.

“Eat quickly before it gets cold.”

Then he winked with his eyes that resembled crescent moons.

In an instant, only grass remained in front of Jeonggil.

Uh, um.

My wife seemed to have treated Jeong-gil like that because he was a herbivore.

I also think that Jeong Gil is a herbivore.

Yes, the Queen’s decision was right.

Jeong Gil said this on his way to work at the Army Headquarters after a very burdensome meal.

“Still, your face looks nice.”

“I see.”

If that’s the case, then it must be like that.

When we arrived at the Army Headquarters, all the generals were moving around busily.

What kind of chaos is this because of Chiang Kai-shek?

As I sat down, an Army staff officer who looked to be about the rank of colonel spoke loudly.

“Your Majesty, I will report the situation.”

I nodded and listened carefully to see if anything had changed in the night.

To be honest, the situation hasn’t changed much.

The front line was that way, and the friendly forces’ casualties were bearable.

Still, the enemy’s offensive could not be ignored.

“The current Chinese military strength is estimated at 2 million. The enemy’s offensive is particularly fierce in the Yangtze River basin.”

Considering that we had less than a million troops deployed on the front line against China, it may seem like there were many Chinese troops attacking, but if we could properly concentrate our firepower, we had nothing to fear even if the enemy numbered 10 million.

The reason was simple.

Basically, a significant number of Chinese infantrymen were armed with swords called ‘anti-Han swords’ as their main weapons, so their fighting power was weak.

Frankly, a single platoon with machine guns could have slaughtered thousands of people.

Wasn’t that the case with the fights between modern powers and pre-modern countries?

The problem was that the battlefield environment in China was not conducive to forming a fixed front.

Since China is a vast land, our military controlled points and lines centered on the railroads connecting cities.

Even if we had 1 million troops, they would not have the capacity to control the area after being scattered around points and lines.

The Chinese army infiltrated the space between the points and lines we had controlled and concentrated its attacks on our weak points, the railroads.

They would tear up the tracks to derail trains, and they would even attack and loot defenseless regular freight cars.

We were helpless even though we knew the Chinese army’s intentions clearly.

The reason this kind of picture was not created during the First Sino-Korean War was because the war began by cutting off 73 Chinese divisions in Shanghai.

The reason things turned out this way was because we were unable to annihilate Chiang Kai-shek’s direct forces on a large scale like that time.

Anyway, normally, it wouldn’t matter what the Chinese army did.

They were able to block the attack to some extent by turning their forces around, but the gap left by the loss of four divisions was significant.

Although they were operating armored trains to defend key locations, this was not enough to block all attacks.

To solve this problem fundamentally, troops were needed to fill the front lines.

Or reduce enemy attacks.

I asked the staff a question without much expectation.

“What about the communists?”

“There was only talk of secretly expanding the liberated zone.”

As expected, it looks like they’re going to focus their efforts on expanding their power.

Of course, I never thought that Mao Zedong’s communist red seeds would do their part in time.

“Your Majesty, how about shortening the friendly front a little more?”

I thought about the Director of Operations’ suggestion for a moment.

Shorten the wire.

In other words, it means that we are withdrawing from some of the occupied territories.

Politically, it looked like we were being pushed back by China.

However, if we held out while maintaining the front line, the Kuomintang’s attacks on the flanks and rear were too annoying.

‘Isn’t that guy Jang-ga worried about casualties?’

After much thought, I made a decision.

“There’s no choice. Let’s shorten the front line temporarily.”

The land could be found at any time as long as the troops were preserved.

“Your Majesty, it is the end.”

“Thank you for your decision.”

The generals bowed their heads.

As power has grown stronger, even the most obvious things have resulted in flattery.

Are you planning to make me Kim Jong-un?

As the front line was pushed back, the intensity of the Chinese offensive weakened noticeably.

As expected, increasing troop density was the answer.

Well, that’s right, it was a bit much to just get hit by the Chinese and then back down.

Is there no way to retaliate?

I called Chief of Staff Lee Kyung-ho into my office to see if he had any good ideas.

“Master. Don’t you have any good ideas on how to fix those Chinese guys’ bad habits?”

“In that case, I have thought of a way.”

“say it.”

“Is there really a need to centralize the negotiation channel through Chiang Kai-shek?”

I know what you mean.

So, let’s go after the warlords all at once, okay?

“The warlords won’t move that easily. I don’t want to be branded a traitor.”

Even warlords are Chinese after all.

They fear more than anything else the stigma of being a minor character.

In order to move such people, it was necessary to free them from the stigma of being a gangster.

“There is a way to do that.”

“Is there a way?”

“Why don’t we make a gentleman’s agreement?”

Am I hearing the same story I heard during the coup here again?

I asked, puzzled.

“Tell me more.”

“On the surface, they are hostile, but in reality, they are cooperating.”

“That’s how it is, let’s hold hands. That’s what I mean.”

It is good for the warlords not to have to bear the stigma of being a traitor, and it is good for the Korean military to have the burden reduced.

The Shanxi warlord Yan Xishan had made such an agreement with the Japanese and was on good terms.

It is the nature of warlords to prioritize their own interests whenever given the chance.

I reflected on the fact that I had been taking China lightly and had not exploited its weaknesses.

“There’s some truth to what you say. Just get started.”

“I will accept it.”

All that was needed was to break the ranks of the Republic of China, which was tightly united under Chiang Kai-shek, whether or not it was successful.

And then came the response.

Those who responded to our bait were the major warlords in North China, including the Shanxi warlord Yan Xishan.

“If the South Korean military does not invade this area, we will also cooperate in preserving South Korean property, including the assets of the North China Railway.”

The negotiation went pretty well.

The number of Chinese troops participating in the winter campaign was immediately reduced.

Now, the only ones participating in the offensive were the armies of several warlords, including the Central Military Command.

It wasn’t that difficult.

At night, they crushed the Chinese army with the power of tanks and field guns, and during the day, with naval guns and armored trains.

Security around the railway quickly recovered, and Wang Jingwei’s whining also decreased.

In this way, China’s winter offensive appeared to have ended in failure.

After all, the Soviet Union and China were different.

“It seems like the situation has entered a more or less settled phase.”

Yeah, this is stable enough.

Although the Kuomintang guerrillas were still running wild, setting up liberated zones behind our army’s rear, it was tolerable.

I looked at Kim Seong-ju.

“owner.”

“Yes, Prime Minister.”

“When will the Japanese problem be resolved?”

“The area where the riots occurred has been mostly cleared. Now, the Japanese military can suppress it with its own capabilities.”

“That’s fortunate.”

With the four divisions back in China, it was only a matter of time before the occupied territories were recaptured.

‘Why don’t we take this opportunity to increase our troops and expand the occupied territory?’

I thought about that too, but in reality, it was greedy, considering the state of the army scattered like dots across the vast Gangnam area.

‘It’s not a land we’re going to conquer anyway, and we just need to make it a protectorate, so there’s no need to be greedy.’

I lifted my butt from the conference room where I had been working for quite some time.

“Everyone, you’ve worked hard. Thanks to the hard work of the owners, things seem to have been resolved easily.”

“It is thanks to Your Majesty’s guidance and guidance.”

“Yes. Sir, reduce your shifts appropriately and rest at home.”

I was thinking of doing that too.

I doubt my wife would do that, but it wasn’t a bad thing.

“Your Majesty, thank you for your hard work.”

I left the conference room, greeted by the generals.

The month-long temporary crisis ended like this.