Republic of Korea in Yeokcheon - Chapter 262



Only Krnovel

#262. Just think of it as the gates of hell opening.

The Liberty Korea Party headquarters, which suffered a crushing defeat in the election, was so cold that one could mistake it for a cold wind blowing.

“Whew… … .”

Song Jin-woo sighed.

Losing was expected.

Who can stop the government’s popularity now?

This was something he had been prepared for since he began his political career after independence.

He could have joined the current government forces, but strangely enough, he did not get along with the current government.

Even a three-year-old knows that they govern South Korea well, but he was emotionally incompatible with the current government to a degree that even he himself could not understand.

Why is it so twisted?

It might have been because he had openly beaten up his close friends, Kim Seong-su and Jang Deok-su, at their first meeting.

But that alone didn’t explain it.

I can’t explain it, but I just didn’t like it.

It seems like they don’t like the government’s behavior, which is secretly dictatorial.

So, even though it was obvious from the beginning that it would be a thorny path, he supported Woo Nam, who had been at odds with the current government from the beginning, and began his political career as an outsider.

It is said that a flower does not bloom for ten days and its power does not last for ten years.

Although their power was now so great that it seemed to pierce the heavens, he believed that one day, that power would fade and his chance would come.

But it’s difficult.

It’s so hard.

It’s getting to the point where I’m getting sick of caring for Woo-nam, who is getting older and stubborn.

As it turned out, the faces of the people who had gathered together as comrades were like that.

I don’t know if it’s because they are a group of people who have turned away from the current government and are dissatisfied with it, but except for a few people like my close friends Kim Seong-su and Jang Deok-su, there were a lot of people who were like bats.

If you try to do politics with people like that, it will never work out.

But still, it’s not even second place, it’s third place?

It may be seen as meaningless because it is only a 0.2% difference and is as different as heaven and earth from first place, but that was not the case.

Until now, the Liberal Democratic Party had a symmetrical structure opposing the ruling party, which had virtually a one-party dictatorship, but that structure has been broken.

It may not seem like much, but the difference in status is truly worlds apart.

“Whew… … .”

“Hey, stop sighing. Wasn’t defeat a foregone conclusion when the doctor stopped campaigning?”

Kim Seong-su, who could not stand to watch, rebuked him.

“But still, second place? Does that make sense to say that we are worse than the Progressive Party of Juksan?”

“That means you’ve lost that much public support. It’s your own fault, so there’s no need to sigh, and there’s no need to sigh and say the sky is falling.”

“Damn! You really are so peaceful.”

“It might actually be a good thing for us. So stop being so pessimistic.”

“What are you talking about? Could it actually be a good thing?”

“Haven’t you got a reason?”

“Justification? What justification do you mean?”

“You’re talking about the cause of party reform. Up until now, our party has been like a private party of the doctor, hasn’t it? It was because of its great reputation and because it was the face of our party, but it wasn’t the right behavior for a public party.”

“so?”

“Even though it was an obvious election, and I didn’t like it when an old man in his eighties said he was running again, I just kept quiet. I thought it had to happen at least once.”

“Okay, you… … .”

“Why do you look like that? Didn’t you know what would happen after this election?”

“… … .”

“We’re going to make a major overhaul. We’re going to kick out all the rat bastards who only look at the doctor’s face from their posts. And shouldn’t you take a break now, Doctor?”

“Is that right?”

“The timing is perfect. This chaotic atmosphere after the election defeat.”

“ha…….”

“The doctor will be given a title like honorary president and will step back. So from now on, you will be the face of our party.”

“What? Me?”

“Then? Who is there? Don’t you know that Seol-san and I can’t be together because of the ban from public office? Or Chang-rang? Or Yoo-seok? Could it be Park Heon-yeong?”

“… … .”

Even Song Jin-woo thought that there was no one else but himself.

“It was planned. From now on, you will be our party leader. You may be embarrassed to tell the funeral, so I will inform you.”

“… … .”

That’s how the typhoon began to blow through the Liberal Democratic Party.

***

November 5, 1957.

“Hahaha! Congratulations!”

“congratulations!”

“ha ha ha!”

The first Cabinet meeting held after the presidential election.

No matter how obvious the election was, a great victory is a great victory.

The atmosphere at the State Council meeting was excellent.

“Haha! This is embarrassing. Stop it.”

“Are you embarrassed? Isn’t it because the president is so good that the people have given him their full support? Hahaha!”

“It’s all thanks to everyone’s hard work. But let’s not be complacent. Public opinion is like a bubble. If we let our guard down even a little and become arrogant, the people will immediately turn their backs on us. There’s still a long way to go. Let’s try a little harder.”

“Hahaha! Since the President is so thoughtful, I don’t think that will happen.”

“Oh my! The Prime Minister is also… … .”

“ha ha ha!”

“ha ha ha!”

As the laughter died down, Lee Kang-cheol opened his mouth again with a smile.

“Okay! Let’s talk about the election later over dinner. Let’s start the meeting now. I have something to tell you first.”

“… … ?”

“As those who know know, Prime Minister Kim Ho-jin, who has led the government for a long time since we moved to modern times, has decided to step down after this year. I am disappointed and wish he had worked a little longer, but… … .”

“Oh my! Don’t say that. I have dementia these days, so I forget what I just did. I’m going to step back and spend my time doing something I like, like fishing.”

“Oh, that’s what they say. So now I’m going to let you go. Prime Minister, you’ve really worked hard.”

“Hahaha! Thank you!”

Prime Minister Kim Ho-jin seemed truly relieved.

“The official announcement will be made later this month. And the retirement ceremony will be very grand… … .”

“Hey! Why are you like that? I told you to go quietly.”

“As President, this is an order. Just do as we say.”

“ha…….”

“And I plan to appoint Minister of National Defense Koh Seok-man as my successor.”

“Haha! There is no one more qualified than Minister Koh. Congratulations.”

“Congratulations, Minister Koh.”

“I feel sorry for this, Mr. Usagi… … .”

“What are you talking about? I will also… … soon.”

“What about soon? Sir, don’t even think about running away for the time being.”

“Oh, no? Why on earth are you doing this to me? I should go to the Senate too… … .”

“Just a little more. Aren’t you younger than Prime Minister Kim Ho-jin?”

“No, how old are you?”

“Oh my! Mr. Usagi! You’re already a match for me just because I quit? How old are you?”

“That, that’s not it… … .”

“Poohahaha!”

“ha ha ha!”

When Kim Kyu-sik made a blank expression, laughter erupted in the State Council chamber.

Lee Kang-cheol opened his mouth with a smile.

“I’ve been thinking about it, but please endure it a little longer. You know, teacher, right? There’s no suitable successor yet.”

“… … .”

In fact, this is why Kim Kyu-sik couldn’t write a letter of resignation.

This is because the expedition team was unusually short of personnel from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

“Okay! Then, let’s meet with that understanding. Today’s agenda is related to the People’s Republic of China, right?”

“Yes, that’s right. As the Great Leap Forward progresses faster than the original historical pace, its negative effects are also becoming more serious.”

“Yes. Sparrows were almost wiped out, and locusts, or swarms, swept across the continent from summer to autumn. Even farmland beyond our borders suffered enormous damage.”

“Even though I prepared for it, is it like this?”

“It’s not easy to control yellow worms. It’s okay when they’re larvae, but once they become adults, they don’t respond to any medicine.”

“Huh!”

“When the yellow bugs crossed our border, they were already adults. Fortunately, we had received advance warning and raised a large number of natural enemies, such as ducks, so our sparrows were healthy, and the cold weather that came when they crossed the border helped to reduce the damage.”

The Yellow Sea was this scary.

In severe cases, they move in groups of several trillion and eat everything they come across.

Even if you control it, the medicine doesn’t work well.

You just have to take it helplessly.

It wasn’t for nothing that they were listed as one of the ten plagues in the Bible.

However, it is said that the number of such locusts is not hundreds of millions or trillions, but tens of trillions.

There was no way anything could have been left behind after they swept through.

“So, not only the parties involved, but also the Republic of China, Vietnam, Burma, and our southern territories, which border the country to the south, are suffering severe damage. They don’t even have cold weather.”

“… … .”

“It’s not just the yellow bugs. They say that because the sparrows disappeared, mosquitoes and flies also multiplied abnormally, and northern China was in chaos. They are vectors of diseases such as Japanese encephalitis, dengue fever, yellow fever, malaria, typhoid, and dysentery. Fortunately, we and our allies sprayed a large amount of medicine, so there wasn’t much damage, but northern China was like hell.”

“her…….”

Lee Kang-cheol was dumbfounded.

Although it was something I had intended to do, I didn’t know it would turn out this serious.

“Director Cho, how much damage do you think there will be?”

“The results of an analysis commissioned by experts are as follows: In northern China, at least 20 to 30 million people will die from hunger and disease by next spring.”

“wow!”

“This is incredible!”

“Oh my god… … .”

If we say 20 to 30 million, it would be enough to wipe out a decent country.

“Whew! What about the damage on our side?”

“Let me tell you that.”

Prime Minister Kim Ho-jin opened his mouth.

“Because we warned and prepared in advance on all fronts, the damage to us and our allies will not be great. No, the damage will be great, but since we secured a huge amount of grain from overseas markets in advance, at least there will be no shortage of grain. And although we did not warn the Republic of China, they also made considerable preparations, so although the damage will be great, they will be able to endure it.”

“That’s fortunate.”

“But North China is not included in either case. I have already seen the report that Director Cho requested and analyzed, but you can think of it as the gates of hell opening there.”

“… … .”

“… … .”

I knew it.

No, the original purpose of allowing Mao Zedong to become the absolute ruler of northern China was to allow this to happen as history intended, thereby stifling China’s potential.

But I couldn’t laugh when I heard that tens of millions of lives were lost.

“The problem is that this is just the beginning.”

“Is this the beginning too?”

“Yes, that’s right. The damage from the Great Leap Forward in North China will be at its peak next year. Not only the Sashae Movement, but also the soil erosion. The damage from the soil erosion starts now. Let’s say this year’s farming is ruined. But what about next year’s farming? All the farming tools, such as plows, have become food for the soil erosion and turned into dung.”

“her…….”

“Yes, next year’s crops in Northern China will fail even without the damage from the Sacrificial Sea Movement. You can’t farm with your bare hands.”

“… … .”

In short, Northern China is ruined.