NIS Agents Tearing Up the Japanese Empire - Chapter 158



Only Krnovel

RISE(9)

There is an old saying that ‘ah’ is different and ‘eo’ is different.

This means that even if you say the same thing, what the listener perceives is different depending on how you say it.

Trouble arose in Hamgyeong Province, the northeastern tip of Korea, now the largest colony of the Japanese Empire.

That wasn’t just a problem, but an armed group called the Bulyeongseon pushed into Hamgyeong Province, neutralized or annihilated a Japanese division, and occupied Hamgyeong Province.

From the perspective of the Japanese Empire, which had been agitated by any gathering of Koreans since the March 1st Movement, this incident was not just shocking; it was a grave issue that could determine the existence of colonial Korea.

But was this serious problem intentionally covered up by the Governor-General, who was supposed to rule the colony well?

This is a problem that the Japanese government simply cannot ignore.

Of course, the current Japanese government was unable to function properly due to the great earthquake and the subsequent armed conflict between the army and navy, but that did not mean that the national system had completely collapsed.

If we use a house as an analogy, the frame of the house may have shaken, but the building itself is intact. But should we say that all the household items inside the house have spilled out on the floor and are a mess?

Anyway, it was a very headache-inducing situation.

Someone had to clean this up, but unfortunately most politicians in the Japanese Empire were not even willing to clean their own rooms, let alone their own homes.

Everyone was trying to avoid responsibility by taking extreme evasive measures, and no one had any intention of taking the lead in resolving the situation.

But we couldn’t leave the house in such a mess forever, so eventually someone had to take up the gun and take control of the situation.

But the cleaners refused to take action, saying it wasn’t their responsibility, so eventually the landlord had no choice but to step in.

Oh, of course, the ruler of the Japanese Empire is the Imperial Family.

Everything in the Empire of Japan, whether nominally or practically, belongs to the Emperor and his immediate family.

No matter how much the citizens raise their voices, this is a fact that will not change until the Empire’s Shinto is hit by two nuclear bombs.

Perhaps it was a fact that would not change even after being hit twice.

For that reason, the person who is currently in charge of the government and running the country is Crown Prince Hirohito of the Japanese Empire, the son of Emperor Taisho and the next emperor.

Crown Prince Hirohito, who gained power comparable to that of his grandfather, Emperor Meiji, who led the modernization of the Japanese Empire, ruled… … .

“Oh my… … . You guys are really… … . Oh my… … ! Oh my!”

… … It was a series of sighs.

Hirohito had long been sick of the sight of politicians and soldiers updating his desk with news of incidents and accidents every morning, just in case he got bored.

It was to the point where he, who had never had any health problems before, was suffering from insomnia because he was afraid of what problems might arise tomorrow.

“It’s been three years since I heard that the illegal armed group of the Bulyeongseon people won against the regular army of the empire, but this time they achieved even better results. You guys are really amazing. Amazing! What will you surprise me with next time? Yes?”

The sight of the crown prince openly criticizing his officials and throwing their painstakingly written reports on the floor as if they were trash made the officials uncomfortable, but they could not get angry because of that.

Because objectively or subjectively, there was not a single word of the Crown Prince’s words wrong.

“Your Majesty… … . Oh my. No. What good would it do to blame others while talking about the past? Oh my… … . I’d rather die than just suffer.”

“… … .”

“I don’t want to be a bad person by saying bad things to you anymore, and I don’t want to see you all, so I’ll call it a day’s meeting. Everyone, please get out of my sight.”

“Yes, Your Majesty… … .”

“Don’t think about going straight home today. Reconcile the Governor-General of Korea and the Commander-in-Chief of the Korean Army by tomorrow, and put a picture of them holding hands affectionately on my desk. If you can’t do that, take off your clothes and retire.”

“… … .”

The Crown Prince, who was once very polite and gentlemanly and a role model for the empire, has become a bit rougher over the past few months, perhaps due to the various incidents and accidents he has experienced, or perhaps his true nature is showing through.

Even in a meeting, if a senior official who had been active in the Japanese government since the era of Emperor Meiji said even one wrong word, he would rush in like a wolf or shark smelling blood and bite and tear at the person until he finally apologized.

The courtiers, political leaders, and military elders could not say anything and had no choice but to keep their mouths shut in the face of the crown prince’s appearance, who was so angry.

In the first place, the government is in this state because it was crushed by the disaster it brought upon itself.

The sighs of the elders spread beyond the conference room and reached Emperor Taisho and Crown Prince Hirohito, the sun and sky of the Japanese Empire, but they did not even blink.

“What are you doing? Get out of my palace right now.”

“… … .”

“Your Majesty! Please see the guest out.”

After saying that, the crown prince got up from his seat and went out.

“… … .”

“… … .”

Silence fell over the conference room.

If someone had stood up first, everyone would have followed suit, but everyone was just watching and no one stood up first.

If we had stood up first in a place like this, we could have opened up the possibility of being attacked by people, so everyone just sat still.

But, just sitting still like this and keeping our mouths shut, we were all so frustrated we were going crazy.

‘Oh my… … .’

‘Should I just pretend to be crazy and get up?’

‘His Excellency Ugaki is also staying still… … .’

‘Chief of Staff Dojo… … . Please wake up. A little… … .’

‘Vice Minister Okada… … ‘

While the higher-ups sat quietly, the lower-ranking people felt like they were dying.

After a long period of awkward silence, Navy Vice Minister Keisuke Okada broke the long silence and called Army Vice Minister Ugaki, who was sitting across from him.

“Open it- Ugaki-kun.”

“I don’t think we’re close enough to call each other that.”

“But I can’t call him Ugaki brat.”

“… … Are you saying we should have a go at it now?”

“Not at all. What I want is not a fight, but to resolve this situation.”

“Hmm.”

Okada leaned back in his chair and let out a deep sigh.

“If we lose our colonies while our country is in chaos and economic difficulties as it is now, our empire will cross a river from which there is no return.”

“… … Yeah, I guess so.”

Ugaki also knew very well that if he did not properly handle this situation, the country that his predecessors had built would be split in two.

“Anyway, to solve this problem, we have to put aside old grudges for a while. You know that, right?”

“Forgetting grudges… … Is that possible?”

“I don’t know. How would I know if I’ve never done it before?”

Okada looked at Ugaki without saying anything, and Ugaki also looked at Okada without saying anything.

As the two powerful men of the Army and Navy stared at each other in silence, their subordinates also stared at each other in silence.

Ugaki and Okada, two of the most powerful men in the army and navy, looked at each other with hatred and anger burning in their subordinates’ eyes, to the point where their words about putting aside their grudges for the time being were meaningless.

“Considering that you said to forget the grudge, the gazes of your subordinates are very rude.”

“It’s the same for both of us.”

“What do you want?”

“I must do what Your Majesty desires now.”

“What does Your Majesty wish?”

Okada answered in a nonchalant tone, as if it was nothing special.

“Disarmament.”

“Huh, I knew this would happen. Are you planning to reduce the Army again and have the Navy monopolize the remaining budget?”

“I knew you’d say that, of course the Navy is going to cut back on obsolete ships and cancel a few of the new battleships it’s planning to build.”

“You’re always just talking nonsense.”

Okeda also said that the Navy would implement disarmament, but Ugaki, who had long harbored distrust toward the Navy, scoffed.

Then Okada frowned and a grunt came out of his mouth.

“I’m trying to resolve this issue by putting aside my pride and talking, but don’t you know that if you act like this, I can’t help but think of other options besides cooperation?”

“Haven’t you ever thought that the premise of forgetting all grudges and cooperating from the beginning was wrong? Look around you now! Can we really cooperate?”

“… … .”

The press reported that at most a few dozen people were killed or injured in the clash between the Army and Navy, but in reality hundreds of Japanese soldiers were killed and thousands returned home with permanent disabilities.

Naturally, their deaths and injuries were treated as ‘accidents’ caused by the earthquake, and no death benefits were paid.

Even before, their relationship was not very good, but when the talk of cooperation came up in this open confrontation, no one in the Army or Navy believed it at face value.

In their minds, their opponents were already perceived not as fellow soldiers of the Japanese Empire, but as officially recognized rebels who needed to be expelled from the military immediately.

And of course, no soldier likes to have an open traitor walking around in society.

“It was a ridiculous topic to begin with.”

“Huh! So, are you going to keep fighting like this? What if we lose the colony? We won’t have much to lose, but wouldn’t that be a pretty big blow to the army?”

Ugaki chuckled at Okada’s words.

“If we lose one colony or two and ruin the career of Saito Makoto, a former Minister of the Navy and a veteran of the Navy who would be the next Prime Minister, I think it would actually be more beneficial for us.”

“… … .”

“Why? Did you think we didn’t know about this?”

Ugaki openly laughed at Okada.

Okada didn’t stay still either.

“A Japanese Army division has been subdued by a single armed rebel group… … If this news spreads to the world, the Army’s reputation will be in jeopardy.”

“The question of whether the rule of Joseon by a former naval minister who harbored a grudge over a domestic matter and led the police to attack the military is legitimate may become a popular one among the citizens.”

“Ah! For example, the whereabouts of the funds deposited into the accounts of high-ranking army generals from an unidentified criminal organization called the Black Dragon Society… … . Same thing?”

“Then, I guess we should also discuss in depth the hollow naval shell discovered in Tokyo.”

“… … .”

“… … .”

Ugaki and Okada, who had been glaring at each other without saying a single word, sighed without saying a word.

“after…….”

“Oh my… … .”

Then, they put down the heavy burden in their hearts and looked at each other with slightly gentler eyes.

“The only thing the Navy can do about this right now is to send a request to Governor-General Saito to cooperate with the military and dispatch a monitoring team to supervise it.”

“What if it’s the surveillance team?”

“I plan to send the 1st Fleet’s Nagato and Mutsu to Wonsan to check the armed group of the rebel ships in Hamgyeong Province.”

“At the same time, we must keep the Governor-General and the Joseon Army (Japanese Army) in check.”

“yes.”

Ugaki nodded.

“Then, our army will continue to pressure Commander Shinnosuke to cooperate with Governor-General Saito, while sending the two divisions currently stationed near the capital to Korea under the pretext of maintaining public order.”

“It sounds like you’re going to take the sword off our necks.”

“Not similar.”

The Army and Navy finally reached a dramatic agreement before the country became even more disorganized.

But this is nothing more than tightrope walking on a thin line, a momentary peace that can be broken at any time.

And that was a fact that both Ugaki and Okada knew very well.

“Shouldn’t we consider sending additional troops to solve the problem in Hamgyeong Province?”

“It is shameless to mobilize more troops to conquer Joseon when the budget for immediate disaster recovery work is insufficient.”

“The Navy is the same. Last time, your guys caused major damage to the oil storage facility in Tokyo Port, so they had to mobilize the entire First Fleet. Their oil reserves are so tight.”

“Ahem.”

Both sides put aside their pride a little and opened the door to dialogue, so a dialogue was somehow established, and many issues that had been sluggish were resolved in an instant.

The Japanese Navy promised to provide the Army with two battleships and transport ships requisitioned from the civilian population, and the Army promised to send the Army troops that had surrounded Tokyo to Korea to suppress the rebellion.

It is unclear how long the agreement between the two will last, but for now, they have succeeded in reaching an agreement.

For now, that is.

NIS Agent Tears the Japanese Empire Episode 159