NIS Agents Tearing Up the Japanese Empire - Chapter 72



Only Krnovel

Paperman (1)

[The scar of Prince Noda Heijiro, the savior of peace in the East, announced by the world.]

[65-year-old man found not breathing in Gyeongseongbu.]

[Breaking News, Chosun Ilbo President’s Hurt.]

Song Byeong-jun died.

And their families were harmed too.

The news spread throughout the Korean peninsula in an instant.

“Mr. Kim, did you hear the news?”

“What’s the news? Has Lord Noda been found?”

“Have you already read the newspaper?”

“You said you were in trouble because your house caught fire? Oh my… … I was wondering when the ghost would take you away, but it’s finally taking you away now.”

“Who knew that it would be taken away in the most horrible way?”

“The family members were said to be fine, except for a few burns and bruises.”

“That’s… … . What a shame.”

Whenever two or more people gathered together, they would tell the story of Song Byeong-jun and secretly celebrate his death.

Some bars and stores even went so far as to offer discounts on items or even give out free alcohol on the anniversary of Lord Noda’s death.

To that extent, Song Byeong-jun’s death was a great joy to the Joseon people.

Even those who worked in the fields and factories every day until their backs bent and their fingernails fell off, earning only small amounts of money through low wages and high rents, enjoyed this joy together on this day.

“Oh my… … If our Lord Noda leaves like this, how are we supposed to live?”

“That’s right… … I don’t understand why such a nice person always leaves so late.”

“If you’re going to go, go a week early… … Then we could have prepared alcohol for our father’s funeral.”

Of course, not everyone could rejoice openly because the Japanese police were watching with eagle eyes.

But even so, everyone shared their joy and drank together without knowing it.

Love and friendship blossomed in the passing glasses of alcohol… … but usually, since there was some alcohol involved, most of the stories were about trivial things.

chamberlain.

“I heard that the rice market these days is not like it used to be… … .”

“I heard that there are so many people who ruin their families there that there is even talk of banning it in Japan?”

“What? The soybean paste shop is closing down?! Then where am I supposed to make money!!!”

“… … Isn’t that a place you go to make money?”

“What are you talking about! The place where even a repeating window was made for 5,000 won and became the richest in Joseon was Midujang!”

“Did you hear that guy who was scamming people on the street got caught and went to jail?”

Or a story related to this economy(?).

“But… …. I heard that Lord Noda’s death this time was not an accident.”

“What? So, does that mean that Lord Noda was murdered?”

“That could be the case~”

“Hey, what is it?”

“No, why that old man… …. No, isn’t it more than once or twice that the Great Gamma has committed a grudge.”

There was also talk like this.

In Gyeongseong, everyone got the news quickly, so they had some idea that Lord Noda had been murdered in Gyeongseong’s Ghost, but in the provinces, where they didn’t know about this news from Seoul, most information spread by word of mouth, except for newspapers, so the spread of information was slow.

“In Gyeongseong… … .”

“……ghost?”

“Are there any names like that?”

But just like the saying that a horse without legs can travel a thousand miles, rumors spread slowly but quickly as they passed through more and more people.

The legendary terrorist who has been shaking up the Korean peninsula these days, the Ghost of Gyeongseong, has executed Song Byeong-jun, a great traitor who sold things that should not have been sold.

People were excited by the combination that piqued their interest just by hearing it.

There, local newspapers also secretly rode this wave and wrote articles like this.

[Greater East Asia Peace Guardian Noda Heijiro, Found Dead at Home… Where is the Ghost of Gyeongseong Now?]

[The Greatest Villain Reveals His Appearance Again! Farewell, Lord Noda Heijirou!]

[A tearful farewell ceremony… … Where will the ghost of the great villain Gyeongseong go next?]

Although no one openly said that Song Byeong-jun was murdered by the ghost of Gyeongseong, articles with that nuance were spread indiscriminately.

Of course, these articles were subject to censorship by the Governor-General, but the problem was that the Governor-General was not in a position to pay attention to each and every newspaper article.

“Not only was the security of Marquis Noda Heijiro’s residence, which was guarded by dozens of security officers and soldiers like an iron fist, breached, but Marquis Noda was murdered, and the culprit is unknown… … .”

Governor-General Saito looked around at the various officials of the Government-General with his usual expressionless face.

Since it was a ministerial meeting, those gathered in the conference room were people who could be considered heads of the Government-General of Korea, but they did not dare to look Governor-General Saito in the eye and kept their gaze fixed on the ground.

“Now, if you have a mouth, at least try to make an excuse.”

Governor Saito asked in his usual indifferent tone.

But no one said a word, let alone made an excuse.

Instead, everyone was noisy with their eyes rolling as they watched the governor’s expression.

“It seems like no one has anything to say… … That’s how it should be.”

Governor Saito turned his head slightly to the side and looked at the trembling police chief.

“Miyamoto.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Don’t you have something to say to me?”

It was a light question, but for a moment, the police chief felt his breath catch in his throat.

Governor Saito was asking simple questions about who was responsible for this incident.

Of course, Governor-General Saito would try to evade responsibility for this incident, so in the end, either the Chief of Police or someone else of similar rank would have to take responsibility.

‘Damn it… … . I came here because they said they’d promote me quickly… … . What the heck is this… … !’

But the police chief also felt wronged.

He was originally a moderately ambitious policeman who worked in the mainland.

He was just an ordinary person who had never done anything major or had any great abilities, but he suddenly received an offer from his superior saying that if he worked as the Director of the Police Bureau of the Government-General of Korea for a few years, he would be given a good position in the mainland, and he accepted.

But what is this?

They thought of the Koreans as just savages or disgruntled local residents, and they set off bombs to blow up an entire station. They beat up people here and there, and even killed them.

Moreover, they are not targeting ordinary people that can be easily seen on the street, but rather people of very high status that even they would not dare to look up to.

‘How can this be a comfortable place… … . This is just a death zone… … !’

Yasushi Miyamoto, the director of the Police Bureau of the Government-General of Korea, faced the biggest crisis of his fifty-year life.

This was the crisis that threatened to end his police career.

‘I have to get out somehow… … . I can’t die alone like this… … !’

He rolled his head.

I was wondering how I could get out of this crisis, but the situation was too difficult.

‘Should we blame the military? They were also responsible for the security of the mansion, so they bear some responsibility.’

But the incident was so big that even if he shared the blame with them, Miyamoto would not be able to avoid some of the responsibility.

Of course, he had some strings attached to him, so he wouldn’t be kicked out right away, but this would probably be the end of his police career.

That’s a terrible thing in its own right.

Miyamoto was a man who prided himself on not being a pathetic person who would end his life doing odd jobs in a rural area like this.

For such a person, ending his police career here is tantamount to a death sentence.

Miyamoto thought.

He said that he was a person who should not die here like this.

That’s why he detonated the bomb.

“I, I heard that some kind of transaction took place between the Joseon Garrison Command and Marquis Noda at Marquis Noda’s mansion!!!”

It was a story I had previously heard from Manager Miwa.

At that time, we didn’t want to create trouble by picking fights with the military, so we stopped the investigation and let it go unnoticed.

But blowing this up was like throwing shit in the military’s face for my own life, and it was also a declaration of hostility towards them.

But anyway, what do you think?

I have to live first!

“… … Keep trying.”

The Governor-General also showed interest in Miyamoto’s words.

“That, that’s it… … .”

Miyamoto searched through the storehouse of his memories and put together the information that Manager Miwa had told him.

Because it was just a bunch of disorganized pieces of information, sometimes inconsistent or out of order information would pop up, but the information itself wasn’t all that wrong, so when you pieced it all together, you could kind of piece together a bigger picture.

“… … Therefore, Marquis Noda took it upon himself to deal privately with the Joseon Garrison Command for his own safety and to clean up their corruption.”

“hmm.”

Governor Saito, after listening to the story to the end, rested his chin on his hand and looked lost in thought for a moment.

One minute, two minutes… … After a short time, but what felt like an eternity to Miyamoto and the others, the Governor-General finally opened his mouth.

“So you’re saying that the military was secretly trading the nation’s military power to individuals and private parties behind our backs?”

“Yes, yes, that’s right! The author, the government official, used the military for his own personal gain, which is disloyalty to His Majesty the Emperor, and can even be considered treason!”

“Disloyalty and treason… … Then, can you tie these together once?”

“Me, me?”

Miyamoto was just struggling to survive, but Governor-General Saito gave him the reins.

He did not yet know how important this matter was, but he accepted it for his own good.

“If it is Your Majesty’s order… … I will obey it!”

“good.”

Governor Saito looked at Miyamoto with sparkling eyes, thinking that he had grabbed the lifeline.

‘He’s smiling brightly, not even knowing that this is where he’s going to die.’

From his point of view, it didn’t matter what happened to the corruption scandal involving the troops stationed in Joseon.

However, if the authority of the army were to be tarnished by a corruption scandal involving several personnel in the headquarters of the Korean garrison, he might be able to regain command of the Korean garrison like previous governors-general.

‘The death of Noda Heijiro is a noteworthy event even in the mainland, so if I add some salt to it, my country will be turned upside down as well.’

The political world in the country was currently in a state of flux, with cabinets splitting and prime ministers resigning one after another due to successive money scandals.

As such, people were complaining of considerable fatigue regarding the issue of money, and this incident was an ‘Army’ matter and had nothing to do with the Navy.

There was talk in the mainland that the military, which was not listening to anyone, should be reduced through disarmament… … It would also be good prey for disarmament advocates.

‘If things go well, the arrogant army guys will have no choice but to suppress their temper and watch my every move. Even if that doesn’t happen, they’ll have no choice but to cooperate with me more actively because they have to watch what’s going on in the country.’

When the government in the mainland was weighing the options of the Government-General of Korea and the troops stationed in Korea, it was highly likely that they would side with the Government-General of Korea in order to keep in check the army that was growing in power and considering Korea as its own territory.

Even if that is not the case, if this incident comes to light, the Army will suffer considerable damage.

In either case, Governor-General Saito’s position in Joseon was bound to expand.

‘This time, we must make sure that the Choshu bastards have no place to stand in the military.’

During that time, officers from the Choshu clan who held key positions in the Japanese army committed many atrocities.

Of course, the Navy also had its fair share of misdeeds committed by officers from the Satsuma clan, but Saito was more concerned with the Army’s shortcomings than with such matters.

In any case, Governor-General Saito was thinking of completely neutering the influence of the Choshu clan within the Japanese army and turning them into hunting dogs subordinate to the navy or government.

Of course, most of the officers who became famous for war crimes or various antics after the 1930s were not related to the Choshu clan.

Saito, who was unaware of this, had no doubt that if he could just get rid of Choshu, the army would become hunting dogs that would obediently listen to his words.

Even if things go wrong, it will not be he who dies, but the police chief who confronted the army head-on on the front lines.

“I have very high expectations for you, Miyamoto.”

“I will work hard… … !”

Of course, Miyamoto knew that too.

‘The governor’s son of a bitch is planning to use me as a hunting dog and then boil me when I’m no longer useful.’

Just as a wise rabbit digs three holes, a cunning hunting dog also makes his way out.

“Well then, let’s end our meeting here today.”

“Yes, Your Majesty!”

Thus the meeting of the Governor-General’s officials came to a close.

After finishing the meeting, Governor-General Saito was leaving the Governor-General’s Office to have a late lunch, when he ran into a familiar face.

“Aren’t you Kuroda?”

“Ah! Your Excellency the Governor!”

It was Kyuichi Kuroda, the newspaper reporter I had seen before.

NIS Agent Tears the Japanese Empire Episode 73