NIS Agents Tearing Up the Japanese Empire - Chapter 88



Only Krnovel

There are few in Tokyo (5)

The Empire of Japan.

It was the first country in Asia to modernize and was also a powerful country that was lucky enough to board the last train to become a great power, making its name known throughout the world.

In addition to choosing sides in the last great war and being named a victorious nation, the Empire of Japan made a considerable profit by selling military supplies and various goods to Europe, which had looked down on them. So, it seemed that the future of the Empire of Japan was bright.

But as the light gets stronger, the shadows also get darker.

On the outside, it appeared that Japan had successfully modernized and was moving from a regional power to a great power, but on the inside, the Japanese Empire was slowly decaying.

Politics was corrupt, society was chaotic, and economic growth was slowing, so some astute observers began to sense a strange trend.

Of course, that did not mean that Japan would perish immediately.

It’s like this in other countries too.

But if there is one thing that is uniquely Japanese compared to other countries, it would be the constant conflict between government ministries.

The Imperial Japanese Army and Navy were originally from different clans, so they treated each other like enemies. In addition, the police, which was made up of clans from other clans who had been pushed out by the Choshu and Satsuma clans, which had become the mainstays of the army and navy during the modernization period, also opposed the military.

There, each government department was hostile to one another based on their origins or interests, and even within the army and navy, factions were divided.

Of course, up until now, this problem has never been so obvious as to be a problem, and in the past wars that the Japanese Empire had fought among themselves, they sometimes cooperated at the direction of the Imperial General Headquarters or the Emperor.

But that only lasts for a moment.

Now, the time has come for the Yushin leaders who were the main force behind modernization to retreat to the back room as old people or enter the coffin chambers.

As the elderly who had cooperated for the cause of modernization disappeared one after another, their vacancies were filled by those who had grown up watching the Japanese Empire, which advocated Greater East Asia policy and engaged in gangster-like behavior in Asia.

Is there such a thing as a bond between them?

no.

Then, would it be possible to cooperate in an emergency?

well?

What if it’s the Emperor’s words?

It seems like he won’t even listen to his parents.

It seemed easier to rehabilitate a gambling addict who was holed up in a casino than to stop their fights.

It is the same even now.

[Should we leave it to the Army?]

[Yes, last time, the Chief of Police asked you to investigate the collusion between the Joseon garrison and Song Byeong-jun.]

[Umm… … . Right.]

[When I dug into that place, I saw traces of someone intentionally cutting things here and there with a knife.]

[What?!]

[This is beyond my scope of speculation, but it seems certain that some sort of deal was made between Song Byeong-jun and the headquarters of the Korean Garrison.]

[Z, proof? Is there any proof!]

[No, there isn’t.]

The chief of police sighed through the earphones.

[Hoo… … . Are you going to mess with the military without any evidence? Do you know what they’re going to do?]

[It’s the opposite, sir. Since there’s no evidence, let’s forcefully create it and drive them into a corner.]

[… … Please continue.]

[First, we will secretly investigate the high-ranking officials of the Government-General and their collaborators.]

[That’s… … . Phew… … . No, let’s continue.]

The police chief sighed as if he was feeling suffocated, but soon closed his mouth and listened to Miwa’s words.

[There is a Korean proverb that says, “There is no one who is shaken and not a single speck of dust comes out. What about those who sold out the country?”

[There must be some dirty spots here and there.]

[That’s right. And generally speaking, those who were from the Joseon military were said to have had close relationships with the former governors-general… … that is, with those from the army.]

[hmm…….]

It seemed that Miwa wanted to link those two to the Song Byeong-jun incident and eliminate some of the army’s influence within Japan.

[Will Your Majesty permit this?]

[I will grant your permission. Your Majesty has often clicked his tongue at the sight of troops disobeying his orders.]

[That’s true, but… um… I’m worried that I might be disturbing a sleeping bear.]

[If you’re going to mess with it, you should kick its snout in the face so it can’t come to its senses. That’s how we survive.]

[Ummm… … .]

It seemed like they were planning something, but it was full of things I couldn’t understand.

‘Why is the police trying to fight the military?’

No matter how much I think about it, I don’t really see what the two of them can gain from fighting.

No, is there anything that would cause the police and the military to be in conflict in the first place?

‘Did they catch me with a wiretapping device?’

It sounded a little more plausible that the police were trying to lure me into a trap rather than digging up their corruption to keep the military in check.

‘No… … . Even though Miwa and that guy are suspicious, he’s not the type of person to be meticulous enough to find a tiny wiretapping device stuck to the bottom of a cup.’

If that’s the case, then it turns out that the police are really trying to stamp out the army’s influence in North Korea…

Something… something… It was a feeling that was difficult for my mind to understand.

‘Is this the cultural gap that can occur between modern people and people of the past?’

Well, if you think about it, even in modern times, there have been instances where government ministries got into fights over budgets… … .

‘What the heck?’

I didn’t quite understand.

Even if it were to be called a budgetary issue, the military was already seeing a decrease in its manpower amid the global atmosphere of disarmament, and there was even talk of abolishing several standing divisions.

In other words, the army is already in a state of chaos due to budget issues.

But what does the police gain by stabbing the army again?

‘Isn’t it a budget issue…?’

So in the end, there is only one thing left.

They seemed to simply dislike the military, caught up in the conflict between government ministries that began with regionalism.

There is no other way to explain this situation.

“I’ll see all kinds of crazy people.”

Anyway, it was a good thing for me.

If I did well, I could leave this matter to my own devices and gently roll it over, and I thought I could get the Japanese Imperial Police in Gyeongseong and the Korean garrison to work together to cross the Jordan River.

‘I guess I could show the petition to Governor-General Saito and have him do a sword dance.’

That’s the power of the media.

You can hold a knife in your hand and cut your opponent to pieces, but you can also put a knife in someone else’s hand and have them tear your opponent to pieces. Isn’t that the power of the press?

‘It is time for the National Opinion Journal to roll up its sleeves and step forward for the sake of the Empire of Japan… …!’

The corruption of the Empire of Japan has reached an alarming level and the country has come to this state. How can a true journalist just ignore this?

That wasn’t going to happen.

* * *

“President Namgung.”

“Yes, Mr. Kuroda.”

“How about we start a series on the anti-corruption campaign next week?”

“… … ?”

Namgoong Hoon, who was judging each of the contest entries, took off his glasses and looked at me.

“What are you thinking now?”

“Hehe, what are you talking about all of a sudden?”

“I have a question for you, since I am going to serialize the campaign to eradicate corruption. What are you thinking about now?”

“Isn’t it natural that you are concerned about the corruption rampant within the Empire of Japan and want to resolve it?”

“?”

Namgoong Hoon tried to refute something, but his lips just twitched as if nothing came to mind right away.

“Oh my… … . I don’t do things without thinking. Of course, there is a reason why I planned this campaign and what I hope to achieve through it.”

“Hmm.”

President Nam Goong Hoon looked at me with an expression that seemed to have more than one question, but he seemed to be refraining from asking questions because he thought I wouldn’t answer.

“If you have any questions, feel free to ask.”

“Did you, by any chance, hit your head against the wall in the back room last night?”

“Please refrain from asking such personally attacking questions.”

“Excuse me, did you forget that you were a pro-Japanese businessman, Kuroda Kyuichi, who cooperated with the Government-General?”

“Haha, I still remember that well. How could I forget it, it was my lifeline?”

“Then why do you insist on publishing content that could provoke the Japanese government in the newspaper? In the current situation, the Chosun Ilbo is already receiving attention from both Korea and Japan due to the contest.”

It was just as President Namgoong Hoon said.

The Chosun Ilbo was selling like hotcakes in Korea and Japan, with its circulation skyrocketing thanks to a contest offering huge prize money.

Of course, Japanese people probably look at the entries for the contest that are serialized every day rather than things that are happening in Joseon, but even so, when they pick up a newspaper, their eyes will naturally go to the articles that make the front page.

But, under the guise of an anti-corruption campaign, they are publishing articles criticizing the corruption of the Japanese government?

It was like tying my hands and feet, stuffing my legs with steel drums filled with concrete like seasonal crabs, and jumping into the sea.

“Do you no longer want to live?”

“Oh, I said no.”

“Then why do you want to provoke the Japanese government?”

“Mr. Namgung, what I want to provoke is not the Japanese government, but the energetic young people of Japan.”

“Young, energetic people? It seems like you’re talking nonsense more and more.”

“Let’s think about it.”

What is the current state of the Japanese Imperial Government?

It was openly apparent that corruption was rampant in government ministries and that bribery was the way to go.

Just look at the fact that several prime ministers in the past have resigned one after another due to being implicated in bribery scandals.

But what about the lives of the general public?

There were many people who were so poor that they were almost torn apart.

There was a situation where even the middle class, struggling with the post-war panic that followed the Great War, felt the fear that they might one day fall into the lower class.

On the other hand, the upper class celebrated the dazzling economic performance, popped champagne among themselves, and increased their wealth through give-and-take.

Even though the Japanese economy was developing, only the upper class enjoyed the fruits of its labor, while those below them fought like devils for even a single drop of juice that spilled from above, let alone the sweet fruits.

“So what you’re saying is that the country is a mess.”

“I agree with that.”

In this situation, the government, which should be solving this social polarization, turned its attention to such issues because it was obsessed with political fighting, and the weak were left behind.

There had been a long period of peace there, but the military, which had been neglected without any significant reform since modernization, had grown unnecessarily large and had become a monster that was eating up the budget, so the government naturally pulled out the disarmament card.

The Navy quietly bowed out under pressure from the great powers, including the Washington Naval Treaty, amid the global atmosphere of disarmament, but the Army did not.

The army felt no pressure from the great powers.

Disarmament is decided solely by the will of the Japanese government.

The previous Takashi Hara cabinet refused to increase the army’s budget and reduced the number of troops in five divisions.

This decision, made without much consultation with the Army, divided the Army Ministry and the General Staff, and many within the Army were dissatisfied with this government policy.

Among them, the anger of young cadets who had just graduated from the military academy and were entering the military in earnest was considerable, because to them, the idea of ​​disarmament was tantamount to kicking away the ladder.

“What if the guys who got there first kicked the ladder away from those below them to keep them from getting up?”

“You must be angry, right?”

“That’s right! But what if those guys up there are shitting on top of your head?”

“It’s disgusting.”

“Then where will the unresolved anger of these officers be directed?”

“Hmm… … Are you really saying that these people are going to cause a coup or something similar within the military?”

“yes.”

President Namgoong Hoon shook his head.

“It’s an interesting thought, but even so, how could a country’s army point its guns at its own master?”

“Well, I don’t know.”

“That doesn’t make sense.”

“If a person becomes emotional, isn’t he capable of doing anything?”

“Don’t forget that before emotions, humans have cool-headed reason.”

“Oh, yes… … . But I will still proceed with the anti-corruption campaign under my authority as the owner.”

“You’re going to suffer if you buy it.”

“Isn’t that my job? All I have to do is get called to the Governor-General’s Office and get scolded.”

NIS Agent Tears the Japanese Empire Episode 89