NIS Agents Tearing Up the Japanese Empire - Chapter 73



Only Krnovel

Paperman (2)

A quiet fairyland located on the outskirts of Gyeongseong.

In a small, secret room inside, two men sat facing each other with a large table in the middle.

The two of them leisurely drank their glasses in front of a table full of delicious food that seemed as if it would break their legs.

-braided.

“Ugh… … . The taste of the alcohol is amazing.”

“Right? I also fell in love with the taste, so I stop by here every now and then when I have a good encounter.”

“That makes sense.”

Kuroda Kyuichi, president, editor-in-chief, and reporter of the new newspaper company Daito-Ai Koei Ilbo, smiled as he drank the sake offered by Governor-General Saito.

“By the way, I heard you started a newspaper company.”

“Oh, yes! Thanks to the help of His Excellency the Governor, I was able to start the newspaper company without any problems.”

“What help… … . It was all just luck that came naturally because of your excellent abilities, and I just helped you out a little.”

Governor Saito broke his glass with a smile on his face.

‘It bothers me that the only newspaper that could possibly write articles to my taste right now is this small one, but I have no choice.’

Governor-General Saito was very interested in the press.

This was because he had worked as a resident attaché at the Japanese Consulate in the United States when he was young and had seen firsthand the advanced American political system and how they used the media to control public opinion.

American politicians have been using the media like a sword to consolidate their power and attack their opponents, for example, by being friendly with journalists and getting them to write articles to their liking or by clouding people’s judgment with clever stories to hide their mistakes.

‘The value of the media will increase day by day, so the question is who will take the lead first.’

Governor-General Saito wanted a more stable and sustainable rule over Joseon.

There are many ways to achieve this, but the most certain way is to use force to eliminate all the subversive elements.

But as the past years have already proven, such a method, a large-scale resistance movement by the Korean people across the country, almost resulted in the destruction of the innocent colony.

That is why Governor-General Saito tried to rule the Koreans with culture rather than force.

Of course, it was a culture in name only, but in reality it was a rule of divide and conquer, dividing and making people fight among themselves, just as he had learned in England and America.

Anyway, in order to make the colonists fight among themselves, it was important to misinterpret the information they had so that they would be divided into factions according to their own interests.

Governor-General Saito chose Kuroda to assist him in this task.

‘… … If there had been another choice, I would have chosen that one.’

There was no particular reason why he chose Kuroda.

This was because he was the only reporter in Gyeongseong who was sympathetic to the Government-General.

Of course, there was a newspaper called Keijo Ilbo published by the Government-General, but it was originally a newspaper that promoted the policies of the Government-General, and was an unpopular newspaper that only a few people in Keijo read.

The most popular newspapers in Gyeongseong at the time were those run primarily by Koreans, such as the Chosun Ilbo and the Dong-A Ilbo.

Naturally, they were on very bad terms with Governor-General Saito.

Those crazy guys were the kind of guys who wouldn’t listen no matter how much you arrested them, censored their newspapers, or shut them down.

Since they were all armed with pride as reporters and wielded their pens like swords, even Governor-General Saito, who was known to be able to do anything in Joseon, had a hard time.

Given the circumstances, Governor-General Saito had no choice but to turn to this innocent young man who seemed willing to give up everything to succeed.

Of course, at first, Governor Saito also doubted his abilities and thought that he had made a wrong judgment.

However, he immediately dispelled Saito’s worries.

“I enjoyed reading your last article.”

“Oh, did you see? I am so embarrassed that Your Excellency the Governor has taken such good care of my poor writing.”

“No. It was very well written.”

“Is that so? That’s fortunate.”

Kuroda published an extra edition, changing the incident at Geumchon Station from a terrorist attack by a traitor to an accident caused by a few careless Koreans while the military was moving goods.

While other newspapers focused on the nonexistent existence of the ghost of Gyeongseong and emphasized its relationship with Geumchon Station, Kuroda directly denied its existence and increased its credibility by including in his articles the stories of workers who worked at Geumchon Station and the station attendant on the train where the accident occurred.

Of course, not everyone believed that.

Most Koreans still believed that the ghost of Gyeongseong, the Bulyeongseonin, had blown up Geumchon Station, but those who could think for themselves believed this story more than such unbelievable stories.

Those who had read a few lines of text started making a fuss in the tavern, claiming that they would enlighten the ignorant, so the people split into two groups and started fighting.

Thanks to this, Governor-General Saito was able to take a step back from the Geumchon Station incident that had caused a stir in the world and take a breather.

“I’m glad your article cleared up some of the misunderstanding, don’t you think?”

“Of course! As a journalist who only reports the truth, I hope that all Koreans will know about the Governor-General who works tirelessly for Korea day and night… … That’s how I feel.”

“hmm……!”

Along with his fluent writing skills, his outstanding consideration was also one of the factors that satisfied Governor-General Saito.

However, even though he was a man of outstanding ability, the size of his newspaper company was so small that he could not even publish a regular newspaper.

‘If you give him money, he’ll even wag his tail at the guy who killed his parents. He has the ability, but his foundation is so weak that he won’t be of any help right now.’

If so, there is only one way.

It strengthens the opponent’s base.

how?

“How long ago did you hear that news?”

“Haha, you’re asking a reporter for news? What news are you curious about?”

“No, I’m not curious, I just asked if you knew about this news.”

“Hoo… …. When you say it like that, I’m intrigued. Great! What kind of truth should I reveal to the world this time?”

Kuroda, who smelled money in Governor-General Saito’s words, showed interest.

“It’s nothing special… … I just wanted to give you a gift.”

“A gift… you mean?”

“Yes, it is a gift.”

Governor-General Saito intended to put Kuroda in chains under the guise of a gift.

“You’ve heard the story that Marquis Noda Heijiro recently lost his life in an unexpected accident… … right?”

“Oh, you had an accident at the mansion?”

“Officially, no.”

“Yes.”

Governor-General Saito didn’t say anything, but Kuroda nodded as if he understood.

“So, are you saying we should put out another special edition about that?”

“It’s not really an important story because other people already know about it.”

“then……?”

Governor Saito paused for a moment, then took a deep breath as he poured himself another glass and took a bite of sashimi.

This was his own conversational technique of making the other person impatient by stopping talking at important moments.

Even Kuroda stopped talking, and even though he didn’t show it, you could see that he was feeling restless inside.

“They say that this restaurant’s salmon sushi is the best.”

“Is that so?”

“Hmm… … It’s hard to compare it to the ones in the mainland, but I would say it’s the best on the Korean Peninsula.”

“yes…….”

Saito offered sushi to Kuroda, who looked slightly disappointed.

“This is salmon sushi you can’t get anywhere else.”

“Um… … Then I will eat it with gratitude.”

Kuroda picked up the sushi with a cautious expression.

Then, as he slowly lifted it up and tried to put it in his mouth, Governor Saito’s words came crashing down on his head.

“Do you know that? Marquis Noda was managing the back money of the Joseon Garrison Command.”

“Yes, yes?!”

The salmon sushi that had been hanging from Kuroda’s chopsticks rolled to the floor.

“But they say that money disappeared without a trace.”

“omg!”

“It seems like it wasn’t just a small sum of money… … Naturally, the army guys are putting pressure on the family of Marquis Noda to pay back that money.”

“I didn’t know there were such circumstances… … .”

Kuroda trembled with his hands as if he really didn’t know, and carefully picked up the salmon sushi that had fallen on the floor.

Regardless, Governor Saito continued what he had to say.

“So it seems that they needed some money, so they sold off Marquis Noda’s property here and there.”

“Is that so? Then the land prices in Gyeongseong will fluctuate.”

“Haha, you seem like such a simple person… … .”

“yes?”

Governor Saito said with a laugh.

“Would the Marquis of Noda have only real estate as his assets? He has many other things as well.”

“Hmm… … I guess so. After all, Marquis Noda was a man who loved money very much, so he probably had quite a lot of things.”

Governor-General Saito nodded at Kuroda’s words.

“You know very well. Then do you also understand why I brought this up now, at this point?”

“Um… … Well… … The real estate in Gyeongseong will fluctuate, so take advantage of that and make a profit… … Is that it?”

“What? Hahaha! Kuroda. How could the world’s greatest Saito do something so childish?”

“Oh, isn’t it?”

“Of course not.”

An envelope popped out from Governor Saito’s arms.

He handed the envelope to Kuroda.

“Not much.”

“… … .”

Kuroda picked up the envelope with a nervous expression and checked its contents.

“Ugh, ugh, ugh… … !”

Then he opened his mouth wide and looked at Governor Saito with a surprised face.

“A, Your Majesty… … ?”

His expression said it all.

Saito just smiled silently.

“What, what is all this… … ?”

“The bereaved family will soon come forward to sell the Chosun Ilbo, but wouldn’t it be better for the company to go to a patriot like you rather than a traitor from Shanghai?”

“But this is… … . This is too… … !”

“There must be a lot.”

The smile disappeared from Governor Saito’s face.

“So you too must feel the burden.”

“… … .”

“I believe we both know what we want without having to say anything.”

“… … Yes, Your Majesty!”

“At that rate, there’s no way the company will ever return to the Shanghai’s Bulyeongseonin. If that’s not enough, then use your personal assets to get the job done, and I’ll repay you later without any shortcomings.”

“Understood, Your Majesty! I will definitely… … the Chosun Ilbo!”

Governor Saito smiled as he looked at Kuroda, who was burning with fighting spirit.

“Yes, after you buy the company, you manage it well and naturally get rid of all those reporters who are just making things worse… … I hope you make the inside a little more beautiful.”

“Of course, Your Majesty!”

“Okay, let’s do our best, President Kuroda.”

Governor Saito said this, lightly patted Kuroda on the shoulder twice, and then stood up.

Then Kuroda also stood up awkwardly and followed suit.

“You don’t have to get up. The food here is very expensive. Don’t follow me around to see me off. Just finish your meal quietly.”

“but…….”

“But what? I’m going now! See you later.”

“Yes, please take a look, Your Majesty!”

Kuroda’s waist folded like a bow with its strings released.

Saito left the room with a satisfied smile on his face.

As the sound of his footsteps grew further and further away, Kuroda’s stiff back gradually straightened, and soon, as the sound of Saito’s footsteps disappeared completely, it returned to its original state.

What was strange was that just by bending and then straightening his back, even his face changed.

“Ha… … . You little shit… … .”

Kuroda tapped the thick piece of earthenware with his hand a couple of times, then immediately put it in his pocket.

“Why is there never a day when money runs out in my wallet?”

Today, Kuroda was thinking about buying some beef on his way home.

NIS Agent Tears the Japanese Empire Episode 74