I Will Stage A Coup D’état - Chapter 88



Only Krnovel

EP.88 Towards Africa (1)

As America’s entry into the war drew near, the picture became clearer than ever before.

Now it was time to start preparing to intervene in Europe and to strengthen our forces.

‘The problem is people.’

It was clear as day that conscripting workers in large numbers to secure a young workforce would disrupt military production.

I thought about it for a moment.

Among the countries that participated in World War II, Germany and Japan used a large number of so-called slave laborers to supplement their countries’ productivity.

Germany used mainly Western European prisoners of war and Eastern European civilians, while Japan used Koreans and Chinese.

Although the bad guys are examples, they serve as reference cases.

‘If you think about it, we’re all bad guys, too.’

If we procure manpower from outside like them, wouldn’t we be able to squeeze out more people?

I immediately called in Kim Seong-ju, the Minister of the Army, and the Minister of Economy and Industry.

“Your Majesty, have you called?”

“Master, it’s time to increase the number of divisions in our army. At least increase them by 30, so that we can intervene in Europe in a timely manner, right?”

This isn’t something I said without thinking.

This is because the minimum number of divisions required for future European intervention plans is 30.

“That’s right, Your Majesty. We need to increase our military strength now so that we can mobilize troops for operations when necessary. Your Majesty.”

Kim Sung-joo naturally seemed to want to do that.

On the other hand, Kim Soo-shin, the Minister of Resources and Industry, was negative about this.

Kim Su-shin, who came from a civilian bureaucracy, was always negative about the military sucking up human resources.

That doesn’t mean it was a bad thing.

If there is this opinion, there should also be that opinion, because it helps in making the right decision.

“Your Majesty, if you conscript industrial workers en masse, the workers who are already burdened by their workload will find it even harder to bear. How will you cope with the decline in military production capacity?”

That’s the main point I’m trying to make from now on.

“Master. This is what I’m thinking.”

I suggested that we bring in 3 million workers from China and Japan and put them to work in places that need simple labor, like farms and mines.

Kim Soo-shin expressed concern here.

“There will be quite a bit of backlash. There will be noise from the conscription stage. What are you going to do?”

“First, we can use the prisoners of the Nationalist Army, and then we can pay the workers we bring in more generously, right?”

Even if they paid generous wages, it was still very cheap compared to wage levels in China and Japan.

Of course, bringing this low-wage labor force into the country had the problem of disrupting the domestic wage system.

So, previously, we did not bring in Chinese and Japanese labor into the country.

But now there was nothing I could do.

The empire cannot give up war in order to protect the rights of workers.

“If we fill the 3 million laborers needed for simple production jobs with foreign workers, then by simple calculation, we can put 3 million people in military uniforms. However, considering the manpower required for management and the low productivity of foreign workers, the actual manpower that can be transferred to the military will be around 1.5 million. And it will take a lot of time to actually handle the work, as it is also a task to bring in and deploy all 3 million people.”

Kim Soo-shin’s analysis had some merit.

The point was that conscription of foreigners did not provide as much immediate help as expected.

Well, what do you think?

Even if it was a long-term workforce, 1.5 million was an enormous human resource.

If you create a division of 20,000 people, there are 75 of them.

Of course, if you include the corps above the division, the combat support units of the field army, etc., then in reality, you would only be creating about 50 divisions, but from our perspective, where even one division was a waste, that was a very large force.

“Master, we are lacking even the limited manpower we have. You know that very well.”

“That, that’s right.”

“So, prepare the conscription procedures and notify the Japanese Residency-General and Nanjing. The future of Korea depends on this matter, so it must proceed without a hitch. Do you understand?”

“Please trust me and leave it to me, Your Majesty.”

I made Kim Su-shin, who had been given the mission, step down first.

Kim Seong-ju stood at attention, waiting for me to speak.

“Master, please neatly organize the training plan, location, and cost issues and put them on my desk.”

“I will accept it.”

“And one more thing.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“As for our troops stationed in Indochina, we should send those guys to Africa.”

“yes?”

Was that an unexpected story?

But the African battlefield, where ground forces from both sides fought on a small scale, was the best place to build up stakes.

“Master. We are not in a position to send a huge army to Europe anyway. You know that, right?”

“Of course.”

Sending large ground forces as far away as Europe was actually a luxury only the United States could afford.

Since we were not in a position to spend lavishly like those guys, we needed to make realistic investments commensurate with our national power in terms of the scale of intervention.

“So, we need to send the Indochina Army to establish some merit in advance.”

In any case, at a point where public opinion in Indochina had been satisfied, there was no longer any reason to be obsessed with occupation.

Withdrawing troops was no problem at all, as leaving behind only a few formal occupying forces was enough to deceive the public.

“But, Your Majesty, if you withdraw a large number of troops from Indochina, won’t public security be in jeopardy?”

But should we worry about that?

The Reds might do something, but the local French forces will take care of that.

We disarmed the French colonial forces when we occupied Indochina, and then gave them their weapons back.

The reason was simple.

‘It’s your job to keep the peace.’

Since the colonial administration was still intact, the administration of Indochina was the responsibility of France.

I was thinking of abandoning Indochina in that context.

It’s not even mine, so why would I hang myself?

“Don’t worry about it, sir. That’s no place to spit.”

When the commies start to multiply in earnest, it becomes a horrible green hell.

It was enough to leave such a horrible hell to the French.

“I will accept it. Then I will instruct General Baek to prepare for the African expedition.”

“Do that.”

Anyway, with this, preparations for full-scale intervention in the Western War were complete.

No, there’s one left.

Pre-arrangement.

It was necessary to sort out the issue of who would command our troops when they were sent to Africa.

Let me say this up front: I didn’t dislike Richard O’Connor, commander of the British 8th Army.

O’Connor was not only a seasoned field soldier, but was also one of the British Army’s leading desert warfare experts.

If a commander like this was in fact a good idea, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to trust the troops and leave them in charge.

However, this is purely a personal aspect.

If we were to fight over shareholding in the future, it was necessary to take a strong stance on the issue of command.

Oh, isn’t it true that during war, political fights often end up in war?

Well, that’s true, but we have that advantage so we can afford to relax a bit.

What I’m saying is that there’s no harm in giving the Nazis a leg up or two.

The African front, moreover, had no need to worry about such things.

Why?

Germany was now investing all its forces in the war against the Germans and could not afford to increase its troops in Africa.

In other words, only the ‘Italian Army’ was swarming around in Africa.

How can I give up command of this good fight when there are so many vending machines that spit out your specialty as soon as you hit them?

I strongly urged the British side that the Korean military should exercise independent command authority.

“Never in the history of Korea has our soldiers served under the allied forces.”

It was a lie.

Of course, the British weren’t easy either.

“For the operational effectiveness of the Allied Forces, a single commander must exercise command authority. This is a fundamental principle that is very obvious on the battlefield.”

Oh, who doesn’t know that?

I know, but you’re just trying to start a public fight.

“Your Excellency, Prime Minister. Britain and Korea have different cultures and military systems. It is not easy for the two militaries to work together properly in such an environment. In that case, it would be helpful for each other to work separately and maintain close contact.”

It’s sophistry.

Where in the world would you find something like that these days?

Even the German and Italian armies, who were physiologically unsuitable, saw their combat effectiveness increase significantly after they were reorganized under Rommel.

It would have been better for us and Britain.

“No, Prime Minister.”

I kept repeating what I wanted to say as if I was talking to a wall.

“Your Excellency the Prime Minister. Our position in Korea is as follows.”

The human recorder strategy was effective.

Anthony Eden, a gentleman who had never experienced such a tantrum, conditionally accepted my terms.

“Then let’s do this. Instead of the British 8th Army and the Korean 5th Army (Africa Expeditionary Force) acting in a horizontal position, I would like you to agree to be formally under the command of the British Middle East Force.”

“I appreciate your concession, Your Excellency the Prime Minister.”

In any case, the Middle East military had many places to worry about besides the Egyptian front, including Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Arabia.

So, even in the distant future, Rommel’s real enemy was not the Middle Eastern Army, but the British 8th Army.

To this extent, it would not be an exaggeration to say that they had achieved equal rights.

‘Oh, I’m full.’

Even though I hadn’t eaten, I felt full thanks to the generous portions the Italian army had served me.

‘If the British attack Libya before we get there, that could be a problem in its own right.’

I added an additional comment while I was at it.

“By any chance, Britain might suffer losses if it operates alone, so let’s decide to decide after we reinforce the Korean army?”

“We were thinking of doing that too. After all, the Ethiopian settlement comes first.”

Oh, Ethiopia and Italian Somalia.

Well, Britain needed to sort things out from there.

Well then, I guess it doesn’t matter.

Only then was I able to relax.