Republic of Korea in Yeokcheon - Chapter 318



Only Krnovel

#318. Is that top secret?

Deng Xiaoping’s face turned pale.

It’s an atomic bomb.

A terrifying monster that fell into Kawasaki, Japan and proved to be a weapon that would bring about the end of humanity.

If the Republic of China were to acquire that monster first, it would be a huge disaster for the People’s Republic of China.

The third Kuomintang-Communist cooperation is no longer the problem.

“Hey, you’ve already succeeded? In developing that monster?”

“Don’t be like that, brother. I feel a little embarrassed.”

“Jingguo! Tell me the truth. Have you really succeeded in acquiring a nuclear bomb?”

“Not yet.”

“Not yet?”

“Not yet, but it will be successful soon.”

“When? When exactly?”

“I don’t think it will last beyond this year.”

“… … .”

In fact, it would be like saying that you are on the verge of success, which means you have it.

They estimate that it will take at least five years.

If this happens, it is safe to say that the balance of power between the North and the South has been broken.

No, even if the People’s Republic of China develops a powerful military based on its territory and population that are much larger than those of the Republic of China, unification by force is virtually certain to be out of the question.

“Huh! This is it, huh? How on earth did you do that? You must have been under the same level of surveillance from the US and South Korea as us.”

“Don’t be ridiculous, brother. The surveillance by the Americans is so intense that it’s really difficult to secure relevant scholars and engineers.”

“It was the same for us. No, I would say the situation was much worse.”

“I told you it was really scary?”

“… … .”

Whether in the North or the South, China’s development of a nuclear bomb has not been easy in this part of history.

This is because Lee Kang-cheol had already drugged Truman.

Truman, who naturally realized how much trouble the United States would have in the future because of China, was faithful to Lee Kang-cheol’s words and cracked down on Chinese people and Chinese scholars to an extreme.

Truman prohibited the Chinese from entering academia or industry that had even the slightest possibility of threatening the United States, including the development of nuclear bombs, rockets, and aircraft.

This crackdown even extended to the entire West, demanding that even those who had studied in Europe be cracked down on.

As a result, not only Chinese international students but also Chinese-American citizens were expelled from schools or had to change their majors, and there were even large-scale layoffs in related industries.

For this reason, Deng Jiaxian, who was originally called the father of China’s nuclear bomb development in history, was not allowed to return to China and had to remain in the United States. The only work he could do in the United States was menial jobs such as manual labor or janitors.

In the end, Deng Zixian, unable to bear it any longer, committed suicide out of pessimism about his fate.

And this was happening all over the United States, and Truman was unmoved by the complaints of some who thought it was excessive.

Because if it was something related to American interests, he was the kind of person who wouldn’t bleed even if you pricked him with a needle.

In this case, the only way to secure relevant personnel, whether in North or South China, was to take care of and harass scholars who had returned to their home countries before the US cracked down, and fortunately, the situation in the South was relatively better.

To begin with, many of the international students themselves were from southern China, and many of them had studied in capitalist countries like the United States, so when the north became communist, many of them migrated to the south.

Moreover, it was much easier for the Republic of China to secure related equipment than the North, because unlike the isolated North, overseas trade was active and smuggling was possible.

On the other hand, the People’s Republic of China’s nuclear bomb development was, as Deng Xiaoping said, like heading towards bare ground.

Unlike the original history, there was no way to seek cooperation from the Soviet Union, and the Great Leap Forward was the decisive factor in destroying the research base that had been maintained, and many disappointed researchers escaped to the south.

Mao Zedong was later ousted and Liu Shaoqi and Deng Xiaoping took control, but it was already too late.

So, the current level of nuclear development is far behind that of the Republic of China, and this is how it turned out.

“Damn it! If only Chairman Mao hadn’t done that… … .”

Deng Xiaoping once again felt resentful of Mao Zedong.

And I felt empty.

Even though I have been working so hard to unify China.

“Brother, don’t be too disappointed. I feel embarrassed.”

“Haha! I’m sorry for showing you my ugly side, but I feel a little weak.”

“Shouldn’t you be thinking about why I’m telling you such top secret information? At least we have no intention of using nuclear weapons for offensive purposes.”

“Really?”

“Yes, that’s exactly what my father said. He said that unless we were attacked and in dire straits, we would never use that damned weapon on Chinese soil.”

“Heh heh! Should I say thank you for this?”

“Hahaha! That would be great.”

“… … .”

“I’m joking, I’m joking.”

“No, I’m not joking. If we had developed it first during Chairman Mao’s time, we might have used it.”

“Such cruel words… … .”

“Why? You know, you know.”

“… … .”

Chiang Ching-kuo thought that Chairman Mao would have done the same.

Because he was a great man who didn’t even blink an eye at the millions of people dying because he disregarded human life.

“Anyway, we have to give up the dream of unification under our own leadership.”

“We would not have been absorbed even without nuclear weapons.”

“Haha! Okay, so you’re saying that since you’re going to have nuclear weapons, we shouldn’t worry about South Korea’s nuclear weapons?”

“Yes. Of course, missile technology is still lacking, but at least South Korea will not have to worry about using nuclear weapons. In short, it means that we can force a conventional war to decide the matter.”

“hmm…….”

Deng Xiaoping felt that everything was finally falling into place.

Third joint venture between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party.

The Republic of China’s proposal for cooperation was made with great thought.

If the Republic of China acquires nuclear weapons first, and they eventually acquire them themselves, unification by force will become impossible for either side.

And since things have come to this, it would not be a bad idea to slowly prepare for peaceful unification starting from now, starting with the third Kuomintang-Communist cooperation.

In particular, Mao Zedong’s withdrawal from the line seemed to have played a major role.

As long as he continued to rule his People’s Republic of China, Chiang Kai-shek would not have thought of joining hands with him even if it meant dying.

Also, the Republic of Korea, which seems to be absolutely invincible when only one side is strong, will become possible if we join forces.

And this was an urgent matter.

Because the lost territories will eventually become complete territories of the Republic of Korea.

“If we were to work together again, when do you think we would reach a conclusion with South Korea?”

“We must make a decision within two years at the earliest, or three years at the latest. As you know, as time goes by, the territories that we, the Chinese, have lost will completely solidify into their territory.”

“I totally agree with that.”

“Brother, let’s hold hands. What is this between two people of the same species?”

“Okay. I’ll go back and tell Chairman Liu and the comrades.”

“We must cooperate. If we fail to do so, we will be committing an unforgivable sin against our Chinese nation.”

“Do your best.”

“I only trust you, brother.”

February 26, 1964.

After several rounds of talks, the Republic of China and the People’s Republic of China secretly agreed to the Third Joint Operation.

I don’t know if it’s really top secret though.

* * *

February 27, 1964, the first full moon of the lunar year.

The Blue House in Seoul.

The National Security Council was in session.

“On February 26, 1964, that is, yesterday. The People’s Republic of China and the Republic of China secretly signed the Third Kuomintang-Communist Cooperation Agreement.”

“… … .”

“… … .”

The reaction to Director Cho Tae-hyun’s words was a little strange.

It felt like everyone was holding back laughter.

And then, Lee Kang-cheol’s words burst out.

“Hey, Director Cho.”

“Yes, Mr. President.”

“We signed it in secret yesterday, but what if you report it here now? Is it secret? Is it secret?”

“Poohahaha!”

“Hahahaha!”

“Hahahaha!”

There was absolutely no sign of tension.

This is because, to put it a bit exaggeratedly, their movements have been reported almost in real time from the beginning.

At Lee Kang-cheol’s not-so-bashful remark, Jo Tae-hyun said with a smile.

“Anyway, it’s top secret. And at times like this, you can just praise our National Intelligence Service for doing a great job.”

“Yeah, that’s great. Okay, so what’s the content?”

“It is as expected. The two countries have agreed to refrain from unification by force and take the path of peaceful unification, and to cooperate militarily to the maximum extent possible to recover the inherent territory of our people that was taken away by our Republic of Korea, the greatest enemy of the Chinese people.”

“The greatest enemy of the Chinese people? They are just playing around. So you are saying that we will unify?”

“For now, keep it a secret… … .”

“Oh, a little.”

“Hahaha! Okay, we’ve agreed to go with a federal system for now. Of course, after the war with us.”

“How can our children not deviate even an inch from what we predicted? If this is the case, there seems to be no need for the National Intelligence Service to conduct espionage activities.”

“ha ha ha!”

“ha ha ha!”

As the laughter died down, the newly appointed Director of the Office for Government Policy Coordination, who had been in attendance recently, cautiously opened his mouth.

“Well, shouldn’t we prevent China from acquiring nuclear weapons? Either way.”

“No, that’s not necessary.”

“yes?”

“Even if they had nuclear weapons, they are still a long way from being able to develop them into a proper launch vehicle and put them on. It wasn’t for nothing that I told Truman a long time ago to crack down on Chinese scientists.”

“No, but still… … .”

“If we wanted to stop them from acquiring nuclear weapons, we would have stopped them long ago. But why do you think we left them alone?”

“well?”

The Director of the Office for Government Policy Coordination honestly did not understand.

On the one hand, he spoke to Truman and cracked down on Chinese scientists, but on the other hand, he knew that China was trying to develop nuclear weapons and could have stopped it, but he did nothing about it.

“Chief Lee.”

“Yes, Mr. President.”

“The reason is simple. They really need to be defeated, but if we have nukes, they won’t be defeated, right?”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

“But I didn’t want to get nukes too quickly and have proper nuclear weapons. Of course, I also didn’t want to have proper means of delivery, like rockets.”

“ah…….”

“You get it? It’s all about timing, timing. We were aiming for the time between when they got nukes and got bigger, and when they got real nukes. Okay?”

“Yes, okay.”

“Yes, Director Cho. When do you think they’ll do something?”

“We are expecting 1966. The first half of the year.”

“That’s right. Okay! Did you all hear that? There are only two years left. Let’s prepare thoroughly and make sure that nothing will rise before us for the next 1,000 years! Got it?”

“yes!”

The final war was approaching.