Republic of Korea in Yeokcheon - Chapter 321



Only Krnovel

#321. I never wanted anything more than that in the first place.

December 30, 1964.

Deep in the interior of the Republic of China.

This desolate and uninhabited place has been teeming with people for months now.

And at 2 o’clock that afternoon.

“5, 4, 3, 2, 1!”

Kuooong!

As soon as someone’s countdown ended, a loud noise was heard from below in the desolate plain, and a huge circle suddenly rose and fell.

“Wow!”

“It’s a success! It’s a success!”

“Hahahaha!”

“Hurrah! Hurrah! Hurrah!”

“Long live the Republic of China!”

A large number of people who had set up all kinds of measuring devices and were watching from tens of kilometers away were overwhelmed with emotion and shouted “Manse!” all at once.

And the same was true of Chiang Kai-shek and Chiang Ching-kuo, who were present.

“Father! It’s a success! It’s a success!”

“That, that’s right! That’s a success! That’s a success!”

Chiang Kai-shek hugged his son Chiang Ching-kuo and shed tears.

Finally, they succeeded in developing an atomic bomb.

It was truly a moving event, as at least there was no need to worry about the survival and safety of the Republic of China.

* * *

At 6:30 that evening.

The Blue House in Seoul, South Korea.

dripping!

“Come in.”

“Mr. President, here I come.”

“Ah, Director Cho. Prime Minister Koh. What’s going on?”

Lee Kang-cheol was about to leave work when he was visited by Ko Seok-man and Director Jo Tae-hyeon.

“I have something to report.”

“What is it?”

“At 2 o’clock this afternoon, the Republic of China succeeded in developing an atomic bomb.”

“Huh? You really didn’t make it past the end of the year?”

Lee Kang-cheol seemed to think it was surprisingly casual.

“I postponed it several times, but this time I succeeded. It was all thanks to the tremendous support from the Chung-Shan Academy of Sciences.”

“Is Chiang Kai-shek flying high right now?”

“Hahaha! That’s right.”

“Then, it’s only a matter of time before a hydrogen bomb arrives.”

“Yes, our scientists estimate that it will be developed within three years at the earliest and within five years at the latest.”

“Well, we should finish it before that. To be honest, the hydrogen bomb is a bit burdensome.”

“you’re right.”

“Director Cho, keep a close watch as you are doing now. In particular, you must keep a close eye on the number of additional bombs being made and their locations.”

“All right.”

“And Prime Minister Goh.”

“yes.”

“Are we ready?”

“Of course. This year, the number of troops will increase to 1.8 million, and the weapons and ammunition factories are running day and night. The expansion is also continuing.”

“Hmm, is it okay to increase the number to 1.8 million?”

“We have sufficient manpower.”

“okay?”

“Yes, it was in the second half of 1944 that we began to dramatically improve health and sanitation, which led to a dramatic reduction in infant mortality rates.”

“That’s right.”

“Children born at that time are already enlisting. In addition, conscription is now fully underway in Manchuria, Hokkaido, and other places. At least in the future, there will be no shortage of manpower.”

“Is it already like that?”

“A lot of time has passed. The children born back then are now over twenty years old.”

“… … .”

I’ve been running forward without looking back, and 20 years have already passed.

The babies of that time are now adults, and the expedition members have white hair.

“Oh, life is so fleeting.”

“You say all sorts of things.”

“Okay, I’ll check your readiness myself in February, so get ready.”

“All right.”

“And you two, do you have plans for the evening?”

“I don’t have any?”

“Me too.”

“Then, would you two like to have a drink of soju with me today?”

“What’s wrong? You haven’t eaten anything lately.”

“I just wanted to have a drink today.”

“Haha! You too, hyung. Okay, I understand. Go ahead.”

“Okay, let’s go.”

Lee Kang-cheol drank quite a bit that day.

This is because he thought that his time was running out when he heard that the children born when independence was achieved in 1944 were already adults ready to join the military.

Truly, life was fleeting.

* * *

January 21, 1965.

Washington DC, United States

Lee Kang-cheol was meeting President Joseph P. Kennedy at the White House.

Joseph was successfully re-elected and began his second term with an inauguration ceremony yesterday. Lee Kang-cheol attended the inauguration to congratulate him and to say something special.

“Congratulations on your re-election again, Joseph.”

“Hahaha! Thank you, sir. You always attend the inauguration ceremony.”

“Well, I came here just to do something.”

“Oh, you said you had something to say? What’s going on?”

“Not that it’s anything else, but have you been receiving any reports related to China lately?”

“China?”

“Yes, whether it’s North or South.”

“I know to some extent. I heard they’re getting along well these days? In secret.”

“… … .”

Lee Kang-cheol wondered to himself, what kind of secret is this that everyone knows?

Anyway, since it’s said to be top secret, it is top secret.

“Yeah, I know, so it’s easier to talk about it. So, do you also know why they ended up being so close?”

“Haha! I have a rough idea. Aren’t those guys trying to go against the Republic of Korea?”

“that’s right.”

“Why on earth are they like that? Rather than fighting among themselves, I don’t understand why they are hostile to the strict Republic of Korea. From what I’ve heard, both the North and the South owe a lot to the Republic of Korea.”

“Well, I was jealous. I was also hurt in my pride.”

“What pride?”

“The Chinese have thought they are the center of the world for thousands of years.”

“Aren’t they crazy? Where is that law?”

“Hahaha! That’s just how they are. Anyway, that’s how it is. At least in Asia, they need to become the leader to feel satisfied, but they’re upset because they can’t do that because they’re being pushed out by us. And on top of that, all the territories they acquired during the Qing Dynasty have either become independent again or been transferred to us, so they’re even angrier.”

“Well, if you look at it that way, what about England?”

“uk?”

Why is Britain like a pig here?

“Britain. No, the British Empire.”

“ah…….”

“Wasn’t Britain really the empire on which the sun never set? But now we’ve handed over all the initiative to America. Does that mean Britain will keep eyeing us again? No, it won’t.”

“Yeah, yeah… … .”

I thought the analogy was a bit strange, but I let it slide.

“And since World War II, we’ve been giving independence to so many colonies. Of course, I know that it’s because they don’t have the ability to realistically maintain colonies.”

“yes.”

“But there are quite a few places that were granted independence even though they could have maintained them as colonies by force. Is this because Britain is crazy? It’s because they decided that if they can’t completely merge and become the same country, it’s better to let them go.”

“… … .”

Lee Kang-cheol nodded his head and said nothing, even though it seemed like the situation was a little off.

Anyway, Joseph is our baby.

“The same goes for China. Xinjiang? Tibet? Since when have they been their lands? If you look at history, it’s not much different from the time when the British Empire acquired the United States and other colonies.”

“yes.”

“But why on earth? Manchuria? Wasn’t Manchuria originally a sealed territory? Wasn’t it the land of the Han Chinese? No, I heard that if you go back even further, it was a region ruled by the former dynasty of the Republic of Korea for over a thousand years?”

“Hahahaha!”

As expected, there were benefits to saving a dead person.

Joseph lived in Seoul with his father, and since then, he has been personally interested in Lee Kang-cheol, and he has been a great nuisance to Lee Kang-cheol.

But still, that’s how he became pro-Korean, and he got excited and listened to the history of the Republic of Korea as if it were his own business.

What if John F. Kennedy had become president as history originally intended?

It would have been impossible.

John F. Kennedy never did anything particularly bad for Asia, but he was a man of considerable cold calculation who would cut off any country he felt was not in America’s national interest.

Because he was ignorant of Asian history, he openly asked Mrs. Pearl Buck whether it would be okay to leave Korea under Japanese control like before.

Anyway, Lee Kang-cheol felt very good.

It was as if I had won a lottery ticket that I had bought without thinking a long time ago.

“Why are you laughing?”

“No. You’re right. Manchuria has been our land since ancient times. Dig the ground and see if you can find an old burial mound of the Han Chinese. Us? Starting with the tomb of King Gwanggaeto, the relics of our ancestors are spread throughout Manchuria.”

“That’s what I’m saying. Besides, I can understand the Chinese Communists.”

“Huh? Why them?”

“They don’t know. What kind of country is your Republic of Korea? Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai seemed to know, but they were overthrown a long time ago.”

“so?”

“The funny thing is the Republic of China. They send a lot of students abroad and have a lot of economic trade with them. So shouldn’t they know that? South Korea is not a country to mess with. No, to be honest, even in the US, there are growing voices calling for caution as we watch South Korea develop, but the Republic of China is hostile? How ridiculous is that?”

“… … .”

Lee Kang-cheol couldn’t laugh at these words.

Because it means that the United States is gradually starting to become wary of South Korea.

I felt like I needed to be a little more careful.

Kennedy continued talking without knowing Lee Kang-cheol’s true intentions.

“To be honest, South Korea is so far away from the United States, and South Korea keeps its distance from the United States’ territory. If it weren’t for that, voices of caution would have grown louder a long time ago.”

“… … .”

“Hmm? Is there anything wrong with you?”

“Oh, no.”

As soon as I get back, there’s an emergency meeting.

“Anyway, that’s what I’m saying. Where did you stop just now?”

“Uh, yeah. He asked if I knew the current situation in China.”

“Would you like to continue?”

“Yeah. So, we expect them to take action soon.”

“You’re taking action? Are you really saying that they’re going to join forces and invade South Korea?”

“Yes, that’s right. Our intelligence agency estimates that they will take action next year at the latest. Now that the Republic of China has succeeded in developing an atomic bomb, we can at least assume that the safety of the mainland has been secured.”

“Hahaha! Now that you’ve finally succeeded in developing the atomic bomb, you’re going to use it against South Korea? Has Chiang Kai-shek gone crazy?”

“Don’t underestimate them too much. Their combined force of North and South Korea is at least 10 million. They are also continuously modernizing their weapons.”

“Hey, what are you joking about? We know the strength of the Republic of Korea very well.”

“… … .”

Knowing too well was also a problem.

“So anyway?”

“I’m just asking that if something unfortunate like that happens, you Americans should actively support it.”

“If you are referring to the military force, I don’t think that is possible, but unless the Republic of Korea is in a life-or-death crisis, it will be difficult.”

“I’m not talking about military force.”

“Then, a weapon?”

“That’s fine too. Just support me.”

“Hahaha! In that case, I’ll support you wholeheartedly.”

“That will do.”

I never hoped for anything more than that in the first place.