Republic of Korea in Yeokcheon - Chapter 249



Only Krnovel

#249. That’s democracy.

Lee Kang-cheol must have felt truly astonished at the news that the People’s Republic of China had declared the ‘Great Leap Forward’ as was originally supposed to happen in history.

“Isn’t this a bit absurd? Actually, I was giving up on myself. And it’s good because it’s just as I hoped, but on the other hand, it’s a bit like that.”

Ko Seok-man received Lee Kang-cheol’s words.

“It’s a good thing that it turned out the way we originally intended, but I feel a little uneasy. Even though they are Chinese lives, some people have to die.”

“That’s what I’m saying.”

As Ko Seok-man answered, there was an expectation from the beginning that something like this would happen, and so they hoped that Mao Zedong would take control of China as in the original history.

If we do that, China will go through a long dark period just like its history.

Things got a bit complicated, and in the middle, Song Mei-ling swayed the Americans, so southern China ended up in the hands of the Republic of China, but no matter what anyone says, most of China is ruled by Mao Zedong, so this is about the same.

However, the South Korean leadership, including Lee Kang-cheol, had practically given up on the expectation that the Great Leap Forward or the Cultural Revolution would occur as originally planned some time ago.

No matter how much I think about it, history has changed so much.

It is true that the Great Leap Forward was caused by Mao Zedong’s impatience, but it failed to take over the entire continent, and the Soviet Union under Khrushchev, the rival that had fueled his impatience, was not in good shape either.

In this situation, it was actually difficult to hope that the Great Leap Forward would occur as in the original history.

Because history changes even with the flapping of a butterfly’s wings.

But it is said that they announced the Great Leap Forward movement as if it were a lie.

“Director Cho, have you checked all the details? Is this the Great Leap Forward we knew about?”

“Yes, Mr. President. The strengthening of collective living through the people’s commune, the declaration that sparrows, mosquitoes, flies, and rats were pests that needed to be exterminated and the sacrificial rites campaign was launched, and lastly, the announcement that earthen blast furnaces would be installed in every rural area to dramatically increase steel production, etc., are all the same as before.”

“This is incredible.”

“Well, why don’t we just watch the show and eat some rice cakes?”

“It may be a bit absurd, as Mr. Usa said, but I think it is very positive for our country.”

Kim Kyu-sik and Kim Ho-jin also responded by saying, “What’s there to worry about, since things turned out as they wished.”

But Lee Kang-cheol’s expression was a bit complicated.

“That’s what we wanted in the first place, but if North China gets too damaged, there will be problems. That’s what I’m worried about.”

“Is it a problem if it’s too damaged?”

“The idea of ​​keeping Mao Zedong in power as long as possible to stagnate China was only when the Chinese Communist Party had swallowed up all of China. But that’s not the case now. There’s the Republic of China in the south. If northern China falls apart too much, Chiang Kai-shek in the south might have an opportunity.”

“Oh, I see.”

“That would be difficult. Since China is already divided into North China and South China, China will have to fight each other for as long as possible.”

“Even if the Great Leap Forward takes place according to the original history, the Chinese Communist Party is a force of its own. As long as Southern China remains intact, they will not go to such a dead end.”

Kim Kyu-sik, who had direct experience with the Chinese Communist Party, had different thoughts from Lee Kang-cheol.

They are the ones who completed the long journey despite being on the verge of extinction several times and eventually took over most of China.

So, in his opinion, the Great Leap Forward would not be as serious as originally thought.

“Well? The destructive power of this ‘Great Leap Forward’ is so great. You know that, Mr. Woo, right?”

“Yes, I don’t know about other places, but I have looked closely at Chinese history. There certainly has not been a disaster like that.”

“And as long as the Great Leap Forward is underway, the Cultural Revolution is a set.”

“Huh? A set?”

“The Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution are not separate events. The Cultural Revolution itself was an event that Mao Zedong, who had stepped back from power due to the miserable failure of the Great Leap Forward, forcibly created in order to regain power. Therefore, once the Great Leap Forward took place, the Cultural Revolution was inevitable. It was automatic.”

“Hmm, that’s right. I guess so.”

“Then North China will become too weak. It will break the balance with South China. Even though they control 80% of the continent now, considering the frightening pace of South China’s development, it would be reasonable to expect that.”

“Well, even so, the Chinese Communists are also thoughtful people. Since there is a South China Sea, which is different from the original, they will not go the way they used to.”

“Hahaha! I wish I could do that too. How did I end up worrying about all those Chinese Communist bastards?”

“That’s true, hahaha!”

“ha ha ha!”

Everyone burst into laughter at this absurd situation.

This is a situation where we hope that a potential enemy country will be moderately ruined.

“By the way, won’t the Great Leap Forward also harm us? Since we share a border, I have all sorts of concerns.”

“Well? Sparrows are almost extinct? Sparrows are territorial birds, so even ‘our sparrows’ won’t be harmed.”

“Then that’s fortunate.”

“However, we need to prepare for the problem of pests flooding in as sparrows become extinct in northern China. This could also affect our border regions.”

“The Prime Minister should deal with that problem, especially the southern part of Haenam Island and the Noeju Peninsula.”

“All right.”

“By the way, if that happens, won’t the Republic of China also suffer?”

“It’s probably on a completely different level from the one we share the border with in the north. The southern border is hot and humid, so if pests and diseases occur, it’s impossible to control them.”

“Are you looking forward to that?”

“Haha! You’ve become a villain?”

“ha ha ha!”

If pests and diseases were rampant in the south, the damage to the Republic of China would also be enormous.

South Korea also has territories in Haenam Island and Noeju Peninsula, but South Korea still has the technology and pesticides to minimize damage.

However, since there was no way that such a thing could happen in the Republic of China and there was no way to prepare for it in advance, the damage would have been significant.

“Okay! Let’s prepare comprehensively. Not only quarantine, but international grain prices are also expected to rise, so please prepare for that as well.”

“All right.”

***

January 9, 1956.

The Blue House.

“Have you found it?”

“Oh! Director Kim, welcome. Happy New Year.”

“Hahaha! I wish you a happy new year, Mr. President.”

“Hahaha! Thank you.”

Lee Kang-cheol opened his mouth after exchanging New Year’s greetings with Republican Party Secretary-General Kim In-sik.

“Election day is March 28th, right?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“How are your preparations for the nomination going?”

“Yes, it’s a little noisy, but it’s going smoothly.”

“I’m glad that everything is going smoothly, but why is it noisy? What could be noisy?”

“Oh! Don’t be ridiculous. For now, we have almost decided on the people we will nominate among the ‘Kanggye people.’”

“Really? You said it was hard because everyone passed?”

“I somehow managed to get them to match up with people who were old enough to retire and soldiers who had retired due to injuries sustained during the war. I persuaded them to just raise their hands since I wouldn’t be a headache.”

“Hahaha! Good job.”

In a democratic country, the National Assembly is an absolutely essential element, but the current leadership of the Republic of Korea wants a National Assembly that is as quiet and compliant as possible.

From the beginning, the administration was planning to have the absolute upper hand and lead the Republic of Korea by the scruff of the neck for at least the next 20 to 30 years, so a National Assembly that was tackling things without even knowing much was actually unnecessary.

So, from the beginning, when establishing the constitution, there was no thought of creating something like a constitutional assembly, and the constitution that was unilaterally created was an absolute presidential system.

The reason for doing this was that the expedition team, which was far ahead of its time, had to lead without discord, but as seen in history, no matter how much education and promotion there was, there were limits because most people in this era did not receive proper education on democracy.

Even up until the 1980s, our country’s original history was one in which money-based elections were prevalent.

Needless to say, it was the same from the 50s to the 70s.

Weren’t there rubber shoes, trays, and envelopes of money flying around?

The expedition team leaders, including Lee Kang-cheol, had no intention of seeing things like this, and they had even less intention of leaving the fate of the country to voters and candidates who were not mature democratic citizens.

Bottom-up nomination?

It was at least 30 years too early to do something like that.

However, it is impossible not to hold parliamentary elections, so they are held. However, through the election law, which is even criticized as vicious, and the control of the Lee Kang-cheol government with absolute authority, it has become an election to select a kind of show of hands.

Congress was given only the bare minimum of oversight and control and legislative authority, and even then, the legislative authority required consultation with the relevant departments of the executive branch, and even if it was passed, it ended with the president’s veto.

That is why, despite the Senate’s expression of displeasure, they nominated 100 members of the expedition team, the so-called ‘Kanggye people’.

Because an absolute friendly force was needed.

“Anyway, there are no problems with our expedition team. But, the people of this era, no matter how much they are on our side, are a bit… … .”

“Is it noisy?”

“I don’t know why they like to yell so loudly. They just start yelling and imitating old people all of a sudden, and it drives me crazy.”

“ha ha ha!”

No matter how frighteningly fast the world changes, each era is its own era.

No matter how you look at it, there must have been a big gap between Director Kim In-sik who lived in the present and the candidates from the expedition team, but this is something that we can only wait for time to pass.

“Chief, please lead us well. Didn’t I give you that much authority? Eliminate those who make too much noise.”

“That being said, the big guys are a bit difficult to control.”

“Who are you talking about?”

“These are General Kim Won-bong and General Lee Beom-seok. The way they fight is so intense that it’s mind-boggling.”

“ha ha ha!”

“It’s fortunate that General Kim Hong-il is here… … .”

“Huh? General Kim Hong-il?”

“Yes, when two people fight and it gets heated, the one who stops them is General Kim Hong-il.”

“Poohaha!”

“… … .”

“Oh, I’m sorry. It was just too much fun.”

“I’m not funny… … .”

“Haha! Anyway, tell them what I said. If you keep fighting, neither of you will be nominated. Got it?”

“And General Kim Hong-il, please be a little more considerate. If that gentleman gains strength and leaves, things will be a little more peaceful.”

“All right.”

“If it’s too hard, just tell me. I’ll call you sometime and give you some training. No, I’ll call you sometime soon.”

“thank you.”

No matter how much Kim Won-bong or Lee Beom-seok fly or crawl, they are not in a position to beat Lee Kang-cheol.

No matter what anyone says, Lee Kang-cheol was a person with absolute power, and he was much older than these two people.

Furthermore, it goes without saying that Lee Beom-seok regarded Lee Kang-cheol as an incarnation of Hitler and worshipped him, shouting, “Main Führer!”

“Ha, democracy is really troublesome and difficult.”

“Hahaha! That’s democracy.”

As Lee Kang-cheol said, democracy was this noisy and troublesome.