I Will Stage A Coup D’état - Chapter 94



Only Krnovel

EP.94 Italian Disposal (1)

“It is definitely correct to modify the composition like this.”

I repainted the post-war Italy.

While I was thinking about the post-war plan with my subordinates, I realized one thing.

The fact was that there was a lack of events that would amplify the conflict between the two camps in the new Cold War structure that I was creating.

There needs to be something like the Korean War, so that we can properly draw the camps, but this is not a place where we can draw such a picture.

That’s why I needed something to replace the Korean Peninsula, which was divided into four parts, no, two parts.

I wish there was a place of reasonable size where both sides could wage a proxy war.

As it happened, there was a peninsula in Europe that was just the right size to replace the Korean Peninsula.

That was Italy.

So I changed my mind.

To split Italy.

‘If the Allies do not touch northern Italy, the region will ultimately fall into the hands of the Reds.’

The Italian Communist Party in the far east also had a force to be reckoned with, so it would not have been surprising if the Reds had been given the opportunity to grow into a position equivalent to that of a state.

Although it may not be recognized by the international community, it will not be difficult to reach the point where it is tolerated as a de facto regime.

Just like North Korea before the Korean War.

The structure was also similar to Korea.

The red North Italy, which had most of the country’s industrial power, and the poor, agricultural South Italy.

Isn’t this a composition we’ve seen a lot?

Of course, if someone like Kim Il-sung were to press the emergency button, war would break out, but in a situation where countries with opposing ideologies are facing off, local wars are bound to break out from time to time.

That was enough to escalate the conflict.

“Your Majesty, the British Prime Minister wishes to speak to you.”

“The British Prime Minister?”

I prepared the specialty.

Anthony Eden’s errand was simple.

“Germany is preparing a puppet government in northern Italy with Mussolini as its leader. Shouldn’t we also establish a corresponding government in southern Italy?”

That’s right, that’s right.

In order to absorb the remaining Italian forces into the Allied forces, a government organization to command them was essential.

Since the antipathy toward Italy was not so great as to justify abolishing the existing government organization, I proposed to just use the term ‘the present Government of the Kingdom of Italy’.

“We think so too. Then, let’s hand over the civil administration of our occupied territories to the so-called ‘Southern Kingdom’.”

“I agree.”

An agreement was reached without difficulty.

The next day, Admiral Won Young-guk came to visit and discussed the Italian naval problem.

“Your Majesty, it is time to bring in the Italian naval vessels as reparations. What better prize for war than a battleship?”

Yeah, no.

The era of battleships is over.

The era when battleships ruled the seas is over, as aircraft carriers have no chance to demonstrate their power.

Only our big guns and big guns theorists didn’t know that.

Anyway, it’s a naval battleship.

I was thinking about it too.

I was thinking of giving that useless scrap metal to the Soviet Union as compensation.

Oh, wouldn’t that prevent the Soviet Union from complaining about their share and make it easier to secure our share?

It also prevented the Soviet Union from focusing on cost-effective weapons such as submarines and destroyers.

Isn’t it good?

“senior.”

“Oh, yes, Prime Minister.”

“I’ll take care of the Italian battleship issue, so you, Navy, take your time preparing your aircraft carrier construction plans.”

“Yeah, yeah. Okay, I understand.”

Won Young-guk withdrew without even being able to spit out a word.

As soon as the thought occurred to me, I telegraphed it to Stalin.

“Dear Secretary Stalin, if Your Excellency so desires, I intend to reflect the Soviet Union’s intentions in the question of the distribution of the Italian Navy.”

Stalin reacted immediately.

The secretary came in without a fight, as befitting a man who was serious about battleships, to the point of trying to build four Soviet Soyuz-class battleships.

“Prime Minister Lee Seong-jun. The Federation stands ready to receive your favor.”

Now that the Soviet Union’s intentions had been confirmed, it was time to consult with Britain.

“Prime Minister Eden, Your Excellency, I would like to discuss the question of dividing the spoils of this war, the Italian Navy.”

Anthony Eden was also quick to respond.

“I would like to know what Your Excellency the Prime Minister thinks.”

I casually suggested that we hand over four Italian battleships to the Soviet Union.

This is all for your future, British Empire.

Eden immediately had a seizure.

“That is absolutely not possible. If we have to give the Reds a battleship, we will give them a few of our old Royal Sovereign-class ships.”

Anyway, it wouldn’t be the British Empire if it didn’t provoke hatred towards Russia.

They want to sabotage the Soviet Union for their own sake, and you’re going to stop them?

“Shouldn’t we consider the pre- and post-war share?”

I persistently talked about ‘stakes’ and convinced them that they needed a carrot to appease the Soviets.

This time, it was not easy to reach a compromise.

The British Empire, which regarded battleships as strategic weapons, was unwilling to back down even an inch on this issue.

‘It would be cheapest to just give away the battleship.’

I couldn’t help it.

“Then let’s hand over the Royal Sovereign.”

Stalin would be disappointed, but he had no choice.

I did my best, commie.

By the way, I think it’s time to get together with the leaders of the Allied nations and have a serious conversation.

Communication was limited as a specialist or special envoy.

British Prime Minister Anthony Eden has agreed to my proposal.

Stalin agreed.

However, he said that he did not want to fly, so he wanted to meet somewhere he could go by train.

The place we ended up in was Ankara, the capital of Türkiye.

It was a bit of a hassle, but I had no problem going.

The schedule wasn’t that tight.

After changing planes several times and landing in Ankara, Turkish President İnönü personally came out to welcome me.

“You’ve had a hard time because of the Italians.”

“If Korea and Britain had not allowed Italy to surrender, there would have been more sacrifices. I would like to express my deepest gratitude on behalf of the Turkish people.”

The Turkish president has maintained a friendly attitude throughout.

This guy took me to various nice places as if he were a tour guide.

‘Well, sometimes you have to feel good.’

I also toured Ataturk’s mausoleum with my wife, ate some delicious food, and briefly felt like a tourist.

And that night.

“Prime Minister, how am I doing today?”

Perhaps intoxicated by the unique place and atmosphere, my wife made a surprise provocation.

My wife’s underwear was combative and out of style.

Looking at the expectant eyes on his flushed face, it seemed that there was no way to avoid this battle.

“Now, just a moment.”

“No.”

After a fierce battle in bed with his wife all night, his face was half pale.

On the other hand, his wife, who had been launching a fierce attack, was still in good spirits.

No, it seemed like he got younger.

It was a phenomenon that clearly violated the laws of military science.

After two days of rest in Ankara, Stalin arrived by train.

Since I had seen his face a few times, I was able to treat him more comfortably than before.

We took pictures, had dinner, and talked about the battleship.

Stalin seemed very dissatisfied with not receiving the Italian battleships, and he kept saying that to me.

I want to throw away that scrap metal too.

We sat down and had a good look at Britain.

The secretary laughed heartily at my 21st century joke that ‘all the evil things in the world were created by the British.’

“That is truly true. The more I listen to it, the more I feel that His Excellency the Prime Minister’s insight is in line with mine in many ways.”

It seemed like something I’d heard before, but it didn’t seem right.

I didn’t carry out a purge(?), I didn’t terrorize the people(?), and I didn’t run concentration camps(?).

The next day, British Prime Minister Anthony Eden arrived.

Five hours after Eden’s arrival, we began the historic Ankara summit.

The main issue was what to do with the surrendered Italians.

We just cut out Italian territory on the map.

First of all, one of Stalin’s demands was reflected.

“The Dalmatian coast and part of Istria should be ceded to Yugoslavia as war reparations.”

We agreed without much difficulty.

Even from the perspective of the principle of national self-determination, Stalin’s demands were reasonable.

Britain also made demands.

“Italian Somaliland will be returned to British rule.”

Stalin and I agreed.

You should get that much compensation.

“I would like the Kingdom of Ethiopia to be restored and Italian Eretria to be annexed to Ethiopia as war reparations.”

This was my suggestion.

It wasn’t a matter decided based on feelings like repaying the favor of June 25th.

There has to be one ally that has been a boon to Africa in the long term.

It was a decision based purely on strategic considerations.

“great.”

Since the story was somewhat coordinated at a practical level, the conversation progressed smoothly.

Now only the long-awaited Italian mainland, Libya and Tunisia remain.

Britain has brought up the offer again.

“Let’s return Tunisia to France and divide Libya into two and put it under a trusteeship.”

“How do you say that?”

“Let eastern Cyrenaica in Libya be administered by British Egypt, and western Tripolitania be held in trust for the time being by Italy.”

Hey, Italy?

suddenly?

Stalin was openly uncomfortable.

“No, what do you mean the Italians are so pretty that they left us colonies?”

Eden’s plan to swallow up Libya whole by using Italy ended like that.

As a result of the three-day Ankara talks, we have made the following decisions regarding Italy:

Disposition of the Italian colonies.

Libya -> Trusteeship under international mandate.

Ethiopia->Independence

Eretria -> annexed by Ethiopia

Somaliland -> Merged into British Somaliland

Tunisia, Corsica, and mainland France east of the Rhone River -> returned to France

Half of the Istrian Peninsula, Dalmatian coast -> ceded to Yugoslavia

Formation of the Italian government after the war -> decided by the Allied Supreme Command

After the above agreement was reached, we were able to shake hands with smiling faces.

But there were some hidden pitfalls in this deal.

Formation of the post-war Italian government.

Will this really work out as planned?

I deliberately targeted this part and inserted vague content suggesting that it be decided by the Supreme Command of the Allied Forces.

Of course, I didn’t feel sorry for the Italians.

The country I’m responsible for is Korea, so what if Italy is a bit of a mess?

In an age where no one cares about their conscience, why do I have to be the model student who follows the rules?

I was too dirty to be that kind of model student.