Republic of Korea in Yeokcheon - Chapter 141



Only Krnovel

#141 I hope you live a long life

May 22, 1949, 8 p.m.

Gimpo International Airport.

Wooooow!

A plane landed on the dark runway, and a person quietly lowered the trap.

Zhou Enlai visited Korea in complete secrecy.

Those who came to meet Zhou Enlai were Ministry of Foreign Affairs employees and agents of the National Intelligence Service.

“Thank you for your hard work coming. Just in case, I will guide you to your accommodation right away.”

“What about Minister Kim Gyu-sik?”

“The Deputy Prime Minister is on a tour of Europe.”

“okay.”

Zhou Enlai walked away with regret.

Although we have become estranged from each other since Korea became independent, I still wanted to have this person, Kim Gyu-sik, whom I had known since my time in Chongqing.

And then we went straight to the city, and even though it was night, the night view of Seoul was amazing.

“Oh my god… … .”

He has made tremendous progress in how long it has been since he visited Korea.

The streets were brightly lit with streetlights, and all the people passing by were wearing clean, good clothes and were heading somewhere with bright expressions.

Compared to this, Beijing didn’t even seem like a city.

“You’re making tremendous progress.”

An employee of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who heard Zhou Enlai’s admiration from the front seat, glanced behind him and opened his mouth.

“It’s a Sunday evening so there aren’t many citizens.”

“Well, I see.”

Zhou Enlai’s heart became heavy at the frighteningly rapid development of the Republic of Korea.

His own country is being reduced to ashes by civil war, but his neighbor, the Republic of Korea, is becoming stronger.

“ha… … .”

A sigh came out naturally.

The next day, Zhou Enlai headed to Jingmudae, the meeting place, in time for lunch.

And the bright view of Seoul outside the car window was different from the night view.

In other words, you can decorate the night scene with flashy lights, but during the day, your bare face is always revealed.

“Huh! “It’s really clean and nicely developed!”

Admiration came out naturally.

Today’s Seoul is a city designed and developed by 21-year-old architects and urban engineers working together.

It was different from the modern concrete forest, and it was also different from the classic look of Europe.

The green forests, parks, and the exquisite combination of the past, present, and future seemed to shout out that this is what the capital of a powerful country should look like.

With my feelings growing increasingly complicated, I met Lee Kang-cheol.

“Welcome, Premier Zhou.”

“It’s been a while, President.”

It’s that person.

A person who led Joseon, a Japanese colony, into a global superpower in less than a few years.

From what I’ve heard, he’s almost 60 now, but he still looks young and strong, making him look like he’s in his late 40s at best.

Moreover, as he had now defeated the Soviet Union and become the leader of what everyone recognizes as the world’s second-largest superpower after the United States, Zhou Enlai’s shoulders continued to slump, unlike in the past.

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Lee Kang-cheol had lunch with Zhou Enlai, with only Go Seok-man, who was known to be the real man, in attendance.

And then we moved to the conference room.

“I don’t know if the meal was to my liking.”

“I really enjoyed it.”

“haha! If so, you’re in luck. However, since we still have a history of coming here a few times, we paid some attention to our kitchen.”

“I see. “For some reason, I thought it was a perfect fit for my taste.”

After pausing for a moment, Zhou Enlai got to the point.

“First of all, congratulations on your victory.”

“haha! Thank you. I don’t know if you’re serious… … .”

“Well, to be honest, it was shocking. “I knew your country was strong, but I didn’t know if it was strong enough to beat the Soviet Union.”

“Our armed forces just fought bravely against the invaders.”

“That’s right. In any case, the invasion was carried out by the Soviet Union. But honestly, in our situation, it’s a bit embarrassing.”

“ha ha ha! “It seems like Premier Zhou has become really honest even though we haven’t seen each other?”

“After seeing you a few times, I understood. “There is no use hiding it from the president.”

“ha ha ha! “I think this is why people need to see it often.”

From the moment Zhou Enlai first decided to visit Korea, he decided to do so honestly.

Because I realized through experience that there is no use telling lies or hiding your true feelings.

“Anyway, we, the People’s Republic of China, are really in trouble. As you know, the ideological foundation of our Chinese Communist Party is no different from the Soviet Union, and the current war against the Kuomintang will also be difficult if the Soviet Union’s support disappears.”

“Yes, I was expecting it.”

“That’s why we, the People’s Republic of China, desperately need your support. Please help me.”

“Hoo? No, why do we support your return? “If it becomes known that we’ve already supported you, you’ll be in trouble, right?”

“Because your country, or rather the President, wants our Communist Party to rule China. I don’t know why you’re doing that. Isn’t it?”

As Zhou Enlai said these words, he looked straight into Lee Kangcheol’s eyes.

Lee Kang-cheol also looked at Zhou Enlai with interest and then opened his mouth, bursting into laughter.

“ha ha ha! this! this! Is this something we see too often? On what basis do you say that we, the Republic of Korea, want the Communist Party to dominate mainland China?”

“Isn’t it true?”

“well? ha ha ha!”

“… … .”

Lee Kang-cheol laughed out loud, but did not reply.

Even if your true feelings are revealed, there is no need to be honest.

And this is an issue that requires some level of confirmation from Zhou Enlai’s position.

I kept my mouth shut because there was no reason to go out of my way to get on the nerves of the water supplier.

“Anyway, so what? “What do you want me to support?”

“I understand that there is a significant amount of Soviet weapons captured during this war.”

“Well, because the scale of the war was so large.”

“I hope you can support us with that.”

“You know it’s not free, right?”

“ha… … .”

Zhou Enlai sighed.

Honestly, I had nothing to give anymore.

Of course, there was no money, and Lee Kang-cheol probably didn’t say it because he wanted money.

In that case, we will have to give up at least some land like before, but all the land to be put up for sale has already been ripped up.

Xinjiang and Tibet also became independent, and Inner Mongolia was also taken over except for the area where the Han Chinese lived in the south.

And east of Beijing, Manchuria was occupied by the Republic of Korea, so there was nothing to give.

“To be honest, I have nothing to give you right now. “You know it well, right?”

“Then you’re in trouble? “Even if we have some intentions, we can’t give you that much weapons and equipment for free.”

“Then, please tell me what you want first.”

“Hmm… … .”

“Then I’ll tell you.”

When Lee Kang-cheol closed his mouth, Go Seok-man, who had been quiet until now, came out.

“Yes, please speak, Minister Go.”

“If you don’t have anything to give, how about organizing the territorial waters first?”

“W-are you young?”

“Yes, it is. The People’s Republic of China and the Republic of Korea face the West Sea, right? However, your country and our country have not concluded any territorial waters agreement. This will definitely become a problem later. “Isn’t that right?”

“Well, that’s true, but… … .”

Zhou Enlai was embarrassed.

I just thought there was no land to give, but I didn’t know if they would come out with territorial waters.

“So, let’s organize it neatly now. “Don’t leave any room for conflict later.”

“Honestly, I’m a little embarrassed. “I didn’t know there would be a territorial waters issue.”

“So we set the standard fairly, very fairly, in advance. “Look at this.”

Go Seok-man held out a map.

“There is no international maritime law yet, but we still draw the line as equitably as possible. How is it?”

“… … .”

Zhou Enlai looked at the map presented by Gu Shiman.

At a glance, I saw that a line was drawn starting from Balhae Bay on the eastern side of Shanhaiguan, but it felt like it was moving slightly toward China.

Considering the unfortunate situation they were in, it didn’t seem very unfair, but once the territorial waters were decided, it was a problem that lasted forever.

In fact, the Republic of Korea, which had been urging them to accept this, only criticized it.

“Whoa… … .”

“How is it? “It seems to us that you are quite conscientious, don’t you?”

“Is there any room for adjustment?”

“Is that possible? “You can accept it, or you can quietly pass away.”

“… … .”

As expected, there was no choice.

Can not help it.

Since the Soviet Union has collapsed, there is no country on earth that will support them.

“Ha, I understand. “I accept it.”

“haha! It’s a reasonable choice. Well then, keep watching. If you look, it is a solid line up to the sea off Shanghai, and from then on it is a dotted line. “The dotted line is the area to be negotiated with the Kuomintang’s Republic of China.”

“I know what you mean.”

“And there is one more thing.”

“What else?”

“What we have talked about so far is to determine the territorial waters that should be taken into account. “In effect, your country has not paid us anything.”

“yes? “We really have nothing more to offer.”

“It is now, of course.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Are you planning to unify China in the future?”

“Is that so?”

“If that happens, or if your country takes over Central Plains to a similar extent, please cede Taiwan Island and Hainan. No, just give us sovereignty over Taiwan and Hainan from now on.”

“No way!”

“No, anyway, it’s not the land your country occupies right now, right? I’m just asking that if a problem arises later, they recognize it as our territory. Isn’t that okay too? “Your Communist Party might take over the entire continent?”

“… … .”

As expected, there was no choice.

If they did not accept this, they could have lost to the National Party.

No, the probability of losing was much higher.

Those damn Joseon bastards will remain and support the Kuomintang government as much as possible if things go wrong.

Moreover, while the United States still supported the Kuomintang government, it lost the Soviet Union.

It must be accepted unconditionally.

“Ha, you really say that a lot.”

“What are you saying? If you don’t like it, you can quit. “We never force anything.”

“… … .”

“You choose. “I understand you have that level of authority, right?”

Zhou Enlai thought that he might become an eternal traitor in Chinese history.

But you need a weapon.

“Oh, I understand. “We will request it from our home country and receive approval.”

“ha ha ha! “It’s a wise choice.”

“So, how much weapons and when can I get them?”

“I will give it to you in three installments. For now, I will give you 1 million personal fire extinguishers and send 200 tanks. “It will take approximately two months.”

I liked the quantity.

In particular, 200 tanks would be a relief from the drought for the Red Army, which lacks tanks.

“Can’t you come a little sooner?”

“It’s not even ten days since the war in the Soviet Union ended. “We didn’t get it right either.”

“okay. “Then, please do so as early as possible.”

“I try. Oh, and of course, what we support is the top secret of the top secrets. Don’t even leave a record. “If it gets out that we support the Chinese Communist Party, the whole agreement will be thrown out.”

“All right.”

“It’s not that easy to say. “This is not something that will end with the agreement being scrapped.”

“yes? What do you mean?”

“If this fact becomes known to the outside world, we must prove our innocence to the Western world, including the United States. If that happens, we will truly be hostile to China. Do you understand? “You mean we’re hostile?”

“… … .”

Cold sweat broke out on Zhou Enlai’s face.

This is a threat.

If it becomes known to the outside world, they will use force against the Chinese Communist Party, or at least support the Kuomintang government.

Korea defeated the Soviet Union in two months.

Just thinking about it made me shiver.

“Well, that won’t happen.”

“ha ha ha! great.”

For Zhou Enlai, the meeting ended humiliatingly.

That’s when he was about to leave with a blank expression on his face.

“Ah, Premier Zhou.”

“yes?”

I turned around and answered Lee Kang-cheol’s call.

“Is Chairman Mao in good health?”

“Yes, you are healthy. But why is that?”

“ha ha ha! There is no other meaning. “I just hope Chairman Mao lives a long time.”

“… … .”

Zhou Enlai felt it.

I don’t know why, but they seemed to want Chairman Mao Zedong to remain in power for a long time.

I suddenly became very anxious.