Republic of Korea in Yeokcheon - Chapter 265



Only Krnovel

#265. I can’t stand it anymore!

January 15, 1958.

Lee Kang-cheol, who had been busy meeting congratulatory envoys for nearly ten days, was finally able to take a breather and preside over his first State Council meeting since his reelection.

“Prime Minister Kim Ho-jin, thank you for your hard work. Thanks to you, the government was able to get things right.”

“Hahaha! You are being so generous. The President would have done well even without me.”

Prime Minister Kim Ho-jin has finally stepped down from his post, taking on heavy responsibility.

“Thank you for your hard work, Prime Minister!”

“Thank you so much for everything!”

“Thank you, Prime Minister!”

“Are you going to run away and leave me alone?”

“ha ha ha!”

“ha ha ha!”

The conference room erupted in laughter at Kim Kyu-sik’s bold remark, but Kim Kyu-sik looked truly disappointed.

It couldn’t be helped because among the State Council members, the only one who was older than him was Prime Minister Kim Ho-jin, so he had unknowingly listened to him a lot and relied on him a lot.

“Hahaha! Mr. Usagi, just endure for a few more years and come back. In the meantime, I’ll be making things for you to do together.”

“Ha, this is really disappointing.”

“I’m not going anywhere. Come to my house anytime.”

“Okay, I’ll be visiting you often, so don’t nag me about coming too often.”

“Heh heh heh!”

Kim Ho-jin looked really cool.

It’s been over ten years since I joined the expedition team.

Although I am no longer suffering from hard work and not being able to sleep properly like I did in the beginning, I am still burdened by taking responsibility for the huge internal affairs of the Republic of Korea, and I am finally being liberated.

And seeing his carefree expression, the other ministers could not hide their envious expressions.

The current cabinet members are mostly in their 60s, and it is still a long way for them to retire, but this is because there are not yet enough talented people who have received modern education and are capable of taking charge of government ministries.

In the end, they would have to run out of energy like Kim Ho-jin to be able to escape.

“Alright! And as I said before, the next Prime Minister will be the current Minister of National Defense, Ko Seok-man. Please help me out a lot.”

“I will do that if you buy me a drink.”

“ha ha ha!”

“ha ha ha!”

“I’ll buy you some alcohol after work this Friday. I told my regular restaurant to get some good Korean beef.”

“Oh! You can’t resist Korean beef?”

“ha ha ha!”

As meat consumption increased rapidly, South Korea was no longer able to meet the demand with Korean beef alone, so it imported beef from Australia, the United States, and even Argentina, as in Hyundai.

But as always, Korean beef was the best for Koreans, and among them, Korean beef was considered the best.

Of course, Hokkaido Wagyu is also classified as Korean beef and is popular.

“And the vacant position of Minister of National Defense will be filled by Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Nam Byung-woo. The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff will be General Jeong Seon-ho.”

“All right.”

“And there’s one more thing I want to tell you.”

“?”

“As you know, we decided to have a former military member concurrently serve as a State Councilor while still in active duty, and this system will continue for at least the time being. Accordingly, Prime Minister Koh Seok-man will still be an active-duty general, and we have concluded that it is not reasonable for him to remain a general in the military command structure. It has been a long time since the size of our military exceeded 1 million.”

“Oh, then maybe?”

“Yes, this is the last opinion that Prime Minister Kim Ho-jin gave, so we have decided to raise Prime Minister Ko Seok-man’s military rank to Marshal. Are there any objections?”

“No, bro… … No, Mr. President! What’s that all of a sudden?”

“Haha! I agree! Given the size of our military, that’s only natural!”

“I totally agree!”

Ko Seok-man was so flustered by the sudden promotion to marshal that he almost called him “hyung” at the State Council meeting, but the other State Council members all agreed.

“Prime Minister Goh, just do whatever you say.”

“Still, the rank of Marshal is a bit like that. Even in modern times, there have been almost no countries that have given the rank of Marshal since World War II, right?”

“That was then, things are different now, right? And why isn’t there a rank of Marshal? Later on, they disappeared, but there were ten of them, including Lin Biao, Peng Dehuai, and Zhu De, and India existed until the 21st century. And let’s not even look at that beggar Min Aung Hlaing of Myanmar.”

“… … .”

“And if necessary, we will do it. It’s not like we don’t have the rank of Marshal, and I am one too. It will disappear someday, but it is necessary now. Considering the size and system of our military.”

“Okay, thank you.”

It was so unexpected and unexpected that I was taken aback, but Go Seok-man is also a soldier.

There was no way I wouldn’t be happy about becoming a five-star general.

“Prime Minister Koh Seok-man!”

“yes?”

“This is impossible with just one cow, right?”

“Hahaha! Can I catch two?”

“I like the Tokachi Wagyu from Hokkaido better. Please order one of the cows as Tokachi Wagyu.”

“ha ha ha!”

“ha ha ha!”

A few days later, Prime Minister Kim Ho-jin officially retired at a retirement ceremony.

He would now spend his final years as a senator.

***

As January passed and February began, hell broke loose in the People’s Republic of China.

The grain harvested last year has begun to run out.

Rations were drastically reduced, and even then they could not be distributed properly because the railway network was damaged.

“What the heck! No rations this time again? Are you telling me to starve to death!”

“Are you saying this is a world where all people live equally and well?”

“Isn’t it equality? Everyone is starving?”

“… … .”

As someone said, it has definitely become more equal.

“My family has been starving for four days already! If we keep this up, we’ll all starve to death!”

“Damn it! Those party cadres are still acting like idiots! Hey guys! Are we just going to sit here and starve to death?”

“That can’t be! If we’re going to die anyway, let’s do everything we can!”

“Let’s go! Let’s go to our company and get some food!”

“Wow!”

Riots by starving peasants broke out everywhere.

And what made things worse was the People’s Liberation Army.

The soldiers were also starving.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

“Give me some food!”

“There’s food in the train station warehouse! Let’s go!”

“let’s go!”

They are trained and armed soldiers.

As even those excluded from the distribution network stepped forward, the People’s Republic of China began to collapse in an uncontrollable manner.

March 5, 1958.

In Korean terms, it was the first full moon of the lunar year, and in Chinese terms, it was called the Lantern Festival.

Although the names are different, the celebration of the first full moon of the year involves eating special food.

But Beijing was like a city of death, not a single ant was to be seen on the streets.

Beijing citizens, although less so than the provinces, were suffering from hunger and had no energy to celebrate the Lantern Festival, the First Full Moon, or the Lunar New Year.

And during that time, several leading figures of the People’s Republic of China gathered secretly.

“… … .”

“… … .”

“… … .”

The atmosphere was extremely gloomy.

Besides, their complexions were all pale.

These are the people who lead the People’s Republic of China.

It means that if you want to eat, you have the power to eat your fill.

However, in a situation where people were starving to death in all of northern China due to lack of food, it was not possible for these people to eat their fill and become plump and fat.

“Ha, Comrade Zhou?”

Breaking the silence, Peng Dehuai opened his mouth.

“I am having a private meeting with Comrade Joo-seok, so I will be back soon.”

Tian Yun opened his mouth with a tired expression.

“Damn it! What the hell has happened in two years, Comrade Tian Yun? Not to mention the people, even our Red Army soldiers are starving to death one after another!”

“… … .”

“Ah! I’m so frustrated! Please speak up!”

“What should I say to make you feel better?”

“Damn it!”

“Just wait. Comrade Zhou said he would give the Chairman proper advice today.”

“Will that work?”

“Then what should I do? The Lord doesn’t even want to look at me?”

“Ah!”

Bam!

At that moment, Zhou Enlai opened the door and appeared.

“Oh! Comrade Zhou! So, what happened? What did the Chairman say?”

“ha…….”

Instead of answering, Zhou Enlai only sighed.

“No, I said, speak up. What did the Chairman say? Did he say he would stop this damned Great Leap Forward?”

“no.”

“Oh, no?”

“It only made me angrier.”

“What does that mean?”

“Comrade Chen Yun and I were only instructed to conduct self-criticism at the next expanded meeting of the Central Politburo. We were told not to bring up anti-revolutionary ideas again… … .”

“What the hell! Are you really going to come to your senses only when all the people starve to death?”

“Comrade Feng! Your words are harsh!”

“What is so serious? Comrade Tian Yun, tell me! How many of our people have starved to death now?”

“It’ll probably be a little under 20 million. I’m not sure, but… … .”

“… … .”

“… … .”

20 million?

20 million in just the time it takes from winter to spring?

Even in North China, where people are overflowing, this was an absurd number.

“Is that true? 20 million?”

“It’s not certain because there are many places where the local administrative network has collapsed, but it’s probably more than that, not less.”

“… … .”

“And it is expected that before this spring is over, another 10 million will starve to death. Also, if the same pests and diseases that hit last year strike again… … .”

“… … .”

“… … .”

Tian Yun stopped talking, but even without listening, I could tell what happened next.

Perhaps in the next year, as many people will starve to death as have died so far.

“Are we going to stay like this? Listen to me! Are we really going to starve to death together like this?”

“Comrade Feng! What do you mean?”

Zhou Enlai guessed what Peng Dehuai meant and asked back in surprise.

“Is this what we did in the revolution? Did we endure this long journey to come here just to starve all the people to death?”

“What are you trying to say now! Just say that much!”

“What if you can’t stop?”

“ha…….”

Zhou Enlai glared at Peng Dehuai and then sighed.

To be honest, I also fully understood why Pung Dehuai was acting like that.

If things continue this way, the People’s Republic of China will collapse.

“Let’s wait a little longer. The Chairman’s words are still firm, but his face still shows signs of distress. I will advise you further as I see the situation, so Comrade Feng, stop here. If things go any further, I will find it difficult to endure.”

“Huh! How many times have I already advised you? Will it be different next time? How many more people have to die… ?”

“I will hang myself.”

“What?”

“I will risk my neck to advise you.”

“shit!”

Pung Dehuai suppressed his rising anger.

Because I knew what Zhou Enlai meant.

If you go any further than this, you won’t be safe, and if you do, you won’t be able to accomplish anything.

Then Tian Yun opened his mouth.

“Yes, let’s say I have some more advice. What about the food imports? Comrade Zhou knows very well that now is not the time for us to save face.”

“That too… … .”

“That, that too?”

“He told me to endure it for now. He said that no matter how hard it was, I couldn’t reach out to Chiang Kai-shek or the Republic of Korea again… … .”

“Eww! Are you really going to kill all the people?”

“… … .”

“… … .”

They were so angry they thought they would die, but there was nothing they could do now.

By the time spring passed, 10 million more people had starved to death.

And as summer passed, hordes of locusts began to sweep across northern China again.

“I can’t stand it anymore!”

Pung Dehuai shouted with bloodshot eyes flashing.