Republic of Korea in Yeokcheon - Chapter 356



Only Krnovel

#356. Mr. Zhou is going to kill me.

Lee Kang-cheol continued to open his mouth.

“And Taiwan and the other territories being ceded this time will also have their political rights, including the right to vote, restricted for the next 20 years. You all should know that.”

“That goes without saying.”

“And now, it may be difficult to see much of an effect, but let’s set a deadline and have people choose their nationality. Let’s reduce the number of Han Chinese even a little.”

“… … .”

“… … .”

This time there were no answers.

“Why is the reaction like this?”

Only then did Go Seok-man open his mouth.

“That’s true. The Republic of China, which is relatively economically developed, is better. But in the North, which is ruled by the Communist Party, who would refuse to become a citizen of the Republic of Korea and instead want to be under their rule?”

“Well, you don’t have to worry.”

“Why? No, didn’t you say we should all have the Hebei region east of Beijing?”

“Why is this happening? The citizens of the central and southern regions of Hebei Province, which have a large population, have almost all fled due to the war. Wouldn’t it be easier for the North to cede and assimilate them?”

As Lee Kang-cheol said, the area from the border of the former northern front to eastern Beijing has literally been reduced to scorched earth, and the residents who originally lived in this area have fled to western Beijing or Tianjin in the southwest.

Therefore, only the areas north of Beijing and northeast, where there was no fighting or relatively little fighting, were inhabited, and these areas were originally sparsely populated.

“You’re not going to accept refugees back home. At all.”

“Of course. Besides, Tangshan is not inhabitable for the time being due to earthquakes.”

“That’s true.”

“So, you can think of what I’m talking about as the area that used to be the Republic of China.”

“All right.”

The Republic of China was certainly a fairly livable country before the war.

At that time, it was not to the extent that it could be compared to South Korea, which became the richest country in the world along with the United States.

So, if you offer a little carrot, those with strong Han Chinese pride might get away with it.

“Anyway, is there no next time after Taiwan?”

“The UK wants to expand Hong Kong’s eastern part a little bit.”

“Did you speak directly to Minister Park?”

“Yes, British Foreign Office Secretary Michael Stewart personally requested it. He said that although Hong Kong has expanded significantly compared to before, it should at least have an area where we can properly station troops and defend it.”

“Well, even if it increases tenfold to 10,000㎢, it’s only about the size of Gyeonggi-do… … .”

“So we said that we need to drop the Hong Kong metropolitan area from the Republic of China.”

“That’s true. Before the war, British Prime Minister Wilson said something similar to me.”

“Was it so?”

“Yes, it’s more than ten times bigger than before, but I said it’s still too small to defend. And Britain isn’t in a position to threaten us by sending a fleet every now and then like it used to.”

“That is true.”

“Then let’s push the border back about 30km to the east of Hong Kong.”

“What should we do about the North?”

“You can’t push it out that much since Guangzhou is nearby, right?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Let’s just go up about 10km. We’re going to eat most of the Guangdong region in western Hong Kong anyway, so that’s fine.”

“All right.”

“Even the kids in the Republic of China would be able to handle that, right?”

“I think you’re somewhat prepared for it.”

“Yes, as we saw in this war, if the British are stuck there, they can serve as a buffer zone between us and the Republic of China, and we can draw the British in in case of an emergency, so let’s show some consideration.”

“ha ha ha!”

When Hong Kong was given to Britain, and even its area was increased, there was some talk within the South Korean government.

It was a question of why they were giving it to him when he was not even a vassal, but Lee Kang-cheol insisted that Britain was Britain and that in the event of an emergency, not only Britain but all of Europe could be automatically involved, and he pushed ahead with it. This war certainly proved that it was effective.

Although the troops dispatched by Britain were not a large force in themselves, the symbolism of Britain made the Republic of China initially hesitate to invade, and public opinion in Commonwealth countries such as Australia and New Zealand as well as all of Europe was able to be swayed in favor of the Republic of Korea.

Moreover, Hong Kong and its surrounding areas are so densely populated that it would be difficult for South Korea to even feed itself, so they decided to just make a show of it on someone else’s land.

Anyway, it was the Republic of China that was being torn up, and it was none of South Korea’s business.

“Then what about the Guangdong region in western Hong Kong?”

“Let’s take them all while we’re at it.”

“Wouldn’t it be a little burdensome?”

“We already ruled the coastal area from Jamjiang in the northwest of the Noeju Peninsula to Hong Kong. This is the opportunity to formalize that and bring in the inland areas to rule stably.”

“Then you are talking about Maoming, Yangjiang, and Jiangmen along the coast, as well as Yuanfu and Foshan?”

“Zhaoqing is a bit ambiguous, isn’t it?”

“It’s a jungle there, so there won’t be many people. Let’s just cut off Zhaoqing cleanly.”

“Then the border would be formed by a line connecting Hong Kong, Guangzhou above it, and Tsingyuan to the north.”

“Isn’t it neat? Because it brings the entire western part of Guangdong based on Hong Kong?”

“Well, it’s not bad. There aren’t many people in this inland area right now.”

“Then let’s do that. After all, even the Republic of China couldn’t even station troops before the war.”

“I agree.”

The western part of Guangdong, from the Brain Peninsula to Hong Kong, was a relatively uneventful area until this war.

From the perspective of the Republic of China, it was no different from a region completely surrounded by enemies, with the former Guangxi Province (Baekyue Kingdom) to the north, Vietnam and South Korea to the west, and British Hong Kong to the east, so it could not be developed and only had troops stationed there as border guards.

So, in South Korea, they decided to bring in the entire western region of Guangdong.

Because if we don’t do it now, we’ll continue to be in an ambiguous state.

In addition, this region was a jungle area except for the coastal areas, so even at that time, the inland area was sparsely populated and did not pose much of a burden to South Korea.

“In the grand scheme of things, is this good enough for the Republic of China?”

“Yes, Mr. President.”

“Yes, now let’s stop being so greedy towards the south. Then let’s talk about the People’s Republic of China in the north. Prime Minister Goh.”

“As I mentioned briefly earlier, there will be no objection to bringing over the entire northeastern part of Hebei Province, which borders Beijing.”

“Please explain in more detail.”

“Yes, in the past, when we acquired Manchuria, the border with the People’s Republic of China was east of Shanhaiguan in Qinhuangdao. We are going to take over the entire eastern part of Hebei Province. If that happens, Qinhuangdao, Tangshan, Chengde, and the entire northeastern part of Hebei Province, excluding Beijing and Tianjin, will become our territory. In terms of area, it will be approximately 65,000 square kilometers.”

“So, the new border will be the line connecting Beijing and Tianjin?”

“That’s right. Just excluding Beijing and Tianjin.”

“If that happens, Beijing will have no choice but to maintain its capital?”

“Hahaha! The enemies will figure that out, but wouldn’t it be difficult to maintain a capital on the border with an enemy country that has fought a great war? And Tianjin will also decline.”

If this happens, Beijing and Tianjin will become complete border cities, and no one in their right mind would be able to maintain a capital here.

“Well, as the President said, all the residents of this area have fled and are now no man’s land, so we have no burden in acquiring it.”

“Okay, let’s do that.”

“Yes, besides, the north and the west are no longer worth touching. The East Turkistan Republic and Tibet have not actually been at war this time, and those countries have no territorial ambitions anymore. In fact, they are in chaos because they have no population.”

“So, is this the end?”

“Let me say something.”

Minister of National Defense Nam Byung-woo, who had been quiet, opened his mouth.

“Yes, Minister Nam Byung-woo. Speak comfortably.”

“Yes, that’s the thing. What are your plans for the Shandong Peninsula?”

“Shandong Peninsula?”

“Yes, as the Minister of National Defense, as you all know, the Shandong Peninsula is too far out towards us. From the tip of the Shandong Peninsula to Jangsan Cape, the tip of Hwanghae Province, it is only 200km. To Dalian, it is only 100km, so close that you could almost touch it if you fell.”

“Yeah, that’ll be it.”

“That’s right, it doesn’t matter now, but if we think about the future, I think we should bring this here too. Think about it. In the 21st century, multiple rocket launchers and ground-to-ground missiles with a range of 200 to 300 km will be rampant, and drones will be the same. It’s 200 km to Hwanghae-do, but 370 km to Seoul. It’s the same that we can’t feel safe at this distance.”

“Hmm… … .”

“Don’t you remember? During the war between Russia and Ukraine, even crude Iranian drones flew this distance and bombed targets.”

“… … .”

“… … .”

Is there anyone here who doesn’t know what Nam Byeong-woo is talking about?

The Shandong Peninsula was indeed close to the Korean Peninsula.

200km?

By plane, it’s like taking off and landing and arriving.

But it was burdensome.

Shandong is also a traditional Han territory, and its population density was also very high.

So, it was difficult to say whether Lee Kang-cheol or Ko Seok-man wanted to strategically pursue the Shandong Peninsula for the future.

“Minister Nam.”

“Yes, Mr. President.”

“This is not the mountains of the north or the jungles of the south. Do you know what I mean?”

“I know. It’s burdensome to touch, isn’t it?”

“Yes, I have discussed this with Prime Minister Goh several times, but honestly, I feel burdened.”

“Yes, I understand that very well.”

“Besides, the Dongying region is now home to China’s only large oil field, the Shengli Oil Field. If you get too greedy, you’ll really get cursed at on a global scale. Well, it doesn’t matter if you get cursed at for a little while, but there’s a saying that goes, “Even a rat needs to be driven to the limit.”

“So what I’m saying is not that we should bring all of Shandong.”

“then?”

“Weihai, Yantai, Qingdao! Let’s just bring these three regions. The entire Shandong Province is over 150,000 square kilometers, but the region I’m talking about is limited to the eastern part of the Shandong Peninsula. It’s only 30,000 square kilometers.”

“Hmm, really?”

“Yes, I think we can handle this much. And even if it is a bit burdensome, if we think about the future, I think we absolutely must take this. Not only is it far from the Korean Peninsula, but if we take this, we can completely block the Chinese Communist Party’s route to the West Sea through Bohai Bay.”

As Nam Byeong-woo said, it is no exaggeration to say that the strait from Penglai, north of Yantai, to Dalian is a relatively wide strait, at 100 km.

Moreover, this 100 km is not just a sea, but is blocked by large and small islands called the Changsan Archipelago.

In fact, if this area is taken over, it will be difficult for the People’s Liberation Army Navy to even set foot in Bohai Bay in northern China.

“What is the population of those three areas?”

“Qingdao has 5 million people, but if you cut out the southwestern part, it’s about 3 million, Yantai has 3 million, and Weihai has 1.5 million.”

“Then, roughly 7.5 million?”

“Yes, if we think about sending some out from here, it would be between 6 and 7 million.”

“Isn’t this hope-filled wind too big?”

“Haha! That’s a little bit true.”

Lee Kang-cheol asked while looking at Go Seok-man.

“What does Prime Minister Goh think?”

“It is still burdensome, but I don’t think it is something that cannot be endured. As Minister Nam said, the strategic importance is so great.”

“What about Mr. Usagi?”

“Hehehe! This area is managed a bit specially.”

“How do you say that?”

“It will require more management than the residents of other acquired territories. For example, restricting political rights for 20 years, but increasing it to 30 years. It is a region with strong people. But I agree with it. Its strategic importance is so great.”

“Whew! Okay, let’s do that.”

The decision was made, but Kim Kyu-sik was a little worried.

“Mr. Zhou is trying to kill me.”

It really felt like he was going to rush at me to kill me.