Republic of Korea in Yeokcheon - Chapter 364



Only Krnovel

#364. From now on, you should step forward.

Cultural Revolution.

The original official name was the abbreviation for the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, and another abbreviation was Cultural Revolution.

In the original history, it was said to have lasted for over ten years from May 16, 1966 to October 6, 1976, when the so-called Gang of Four of the Cultural Revolution staged a coup in Beijing, so it was also called the Ten Years of Trouble.

This Cultural Revolution was a kind of ideological purification movement presented as a way to resolve the discontent and lust for power of the proletariat and to eliminate discontented elements within the party. Its background is said to have been influenced by a combination of the backlash against Khrushchev’s revisionism after Stalin’s death and the conflict between Mao Zedong and Liu Shaoqi.

However, no one would dispute that the decisive and essential reason was only one: Mao Zedong’s lust for power, which led to his resignation from the Great Leap Forward.

In short, it could be said that it was an unprecedented storm of self-destruction that could not be found in Chinese history or even in the entire world, all due to the greed of one individual, Mao Zedong.

The Cultural Revolution, which began with the goal of eradicating and destroying the Four Olds (四舊), namely old ideas (舊思想), old culture (舊文化), old customs (舊風俗), and old practices (舊習慣), literally destroyed and burned everything that was old without distinction, and those involved were subjected to brutal torture, interrogation, beatings, and assault.

The Red Guards, practically raised and incited by Mao Zedong, destroyed everything that was Chinese before, including cultural properties that could be said to be the heritage not only of China but of humanity.

Many ancient relics, including the tombs of Confucius and Guan Yu, were destroyed, and many ancient books were burned.

This is an outrageous incident that has never been seen in any other country, where they are thoroughly destroying their own history and cultural heritage, not to mention the history and cultural heritage of another country.

In particular, anything related to Confucianism was destroyed even more thoroughly, to the point that books related to Confucianism had to be searched for in neighboring countries such as Korea.

This Cultural Revolution spread to all areas of society, resulting in enormous tragedy.

What started out as Mao Zedong’s selfish desires spread into a movement to enforce self-criticism in all areas of society, and as a result, Chairman Liu Shaoqi was branded a capitalist, that is, a capitalist, and was forced to die alone after being subjected to the humiliation of being ridiculed, beaten, and assaulted along with his wife Wang Guangmei.

In the end, he begged Mao Zedong to let him return to his hometown and farm so that he could live, but Mao, who had a strong sense of humor, thought it was an impossible proposition.

If Liu Shaoqi, who was a commentator, was like this, what about others?

Even Peng Dehuai, who was respected by the People’s Liberation Army, was beaten and tortured to the point where he died in prison after being left with a body full of wounds.

Many of Mao Zedong’s political and potential political enemies were beaten, assaulted and humiliated, including Xi Zhongxun, the father of Xi Jinping, who would later become the president of China and act like a second Mao Zedong.

Xi Jinping was exiled during the Cultural Revolution and lived in a cave for seven years. His half-sister committed suicide because she could not bear the beatings and assaults.

However, he showed behavior similar to Mao Zedong. This could also be called an irony of history.

Anyway, the Cultural Revolution left a huge scar on China.

In all fields, including politics, economics, culture, and military.

The number of casualties was estimated at over 20 million, the economy was in ruins, and in the military, something like Stalin’s Great Purge occurred, so not only was China involved in a minor conflict with the Soviet Union, but in the Sino-Vietnamese War in 1979, it was humiliating even the much smaller Vietnam.

However, in this history, something similar to the original history was happening, but in a different form.

First of all, Liu Shaoqi and Deng Xiaoping, who had been ruling the People’s Republic of China well, blew themselves up when they committed the unprecedented mistake of invading South Korea.

And while Mao Zedong had originally only been able to step down to the second line, this time he was completely overthrown and had to spend many years as a barbarian, so his resentment was incomparably stronger than before.

Accordingly, Chen Yun was currently acting as interim president, trying to resolve the post-war chaos and somehow get the People’s Republic of China back on track, but it was unclear how long his efforts would last.

Moreover, the military was almost completely controlled by Lin Biao, who was currently commanding the Northeast Army but was known to have no responsibility for starting the war and, in fact, had opposed it.

Ye Jianying and Xu Xiangqian, who also commanded the Southern Army but were not responsible for starting the war, resisted Lin Biao on behalf of Peng Dehuai, who was under house arrest, but the tide had already turned.

Since Lin Biao, who represented the military, was on the same boat as Mao Zedong, there was nothing Mao Zedong could do.

October 11, 1966.

Mao Zedong’s residence in Beijing, Republic of China.

“Welcome, Comrade Lin Biao.”

“It’s been a long time, Comrade Chairman.”

“Hahaha! I’m not the commentator yet. I’m just the former commentator.”

“That is not true. The Chairman was the Chairman in the past, is the Chairman now, and will be the Chairman in the future.”

“Hahaha! This guy, you’ve really gotten better at talking since it’s been so long since I last saw you.”

“I do. I don’t trust Liu Shaoqi or Deng Xiaoping, who committed suicide, and I don’t trust Chen Yun today. Those damn bastards invaded South Korea because they had a big heart, and everything we’ve done so far has been in vain. I can never forgive them.”

Lin Biao lost his precious son in this war.

So I was full of resentment towards those who decided to invade South Korea for no reason.

“You lost your son in the last war, didn’t you?”

“Yes, that’s right. It would have been meaningful if he had fought well and died a heroic death. But he died so meaninglessly. Along with the air force that I had raised for nearly 20 years.”

“It’s truly a pity.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty.”

“Yes, anyway, I plan to devote the rest of my life to the Republic once again. The current Tian Yun? What does he know? He only knows about economics, but he is a small-minded person who only sees the small things and cannot see the big things.”

“I totally agree.”

“That’s why I’m going to go to the Central Committee soon and make a statement.”

“Oh! Is this finally starting?”

“Yes, it can’t be done. We left the country to the children, and what is this? Why, how did we get kicked out of Beijing, the eternal heart of the Chinese people?”

“That’s right! Comrade Comment!”

At this point, both Mao Zedong and Lin Biao were genuinely indignant.

They had been occupying most of the continent, but now they have lost even the eastern part of Hebei Province, had to move the capital from Beijing to Jinan, and even had to hand over the Shandong Peninsula to South Korea.

“That’s why I’m thinking of upping the ante and making it a grand event.”

“How do you say that?”

“I raised some children while I was a wild man.”

“Huh? Raising children? Then, a child?”

“No, not those kids, I’m talking about our young people. Especially the kids of the proletariat.”

“ah!”

“Of course, Liu Shaoqi and Deng Xiaoping, those damn bastards, were all sacrificed to the cannons of the Republic of Korea, but we still managed to save some kids who could be promoted as key figures.”

“… … .”

Lin Biao listened to Mao Zedong’s words, and on the one hand, he thought that Mao Zedong was indeed like him, but on the other hand, he felt a sense of foreboding that he had laid the groundwork and built an organization while thinking about the future even while living as a wild man.

As expected, Mao Zedong is a great and scary person.

“We’re going to mobilize those kids and make a big deal out of it. We’re going to do it all over society. We’re going to completely purge it. We’re going to make sure that the reactionaries never raise their heads again.”

“Wow, that’s great!”

“Hahaha! What are you talking about with this much? Anyway, I’ll mobilize the children and make things a bit noisy for a while, so you take charge of the military.”

“What should I do?”

“Weed out the reactionaries in the military. Especially Ye Jianying and Xu Xiangchen.”

“All right.”

“Besides, we must kick out all those who are reactionary, regardless of their status.”

“Let’s do that.”

“Our kids will help you at an appropriate level, so just know that.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Lin Biao had already lost his only son, Lin Liguo, and had nothing left to lose.

To be honest, there was no need to purge or kill most of the officers and generals since they had all died in the previous war with South Korea, but somehow I felt that if I made a fuss like this, the resentment over losing my son would go away even a little.

“Then who will preside over that matter?”

“My wife will come out.”

“Now, Comrade Zhang Qing?”

“Yeah. No, but why is your expression like that?”

“Oh, no. It’s just that I can’t digest it properly.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes, Comrade Joo-soo.”

Lin Biao frowned when he heard that Mao Zedong’s wife Jiang Qing was leading the party, but he frowned again and told Mao Zedong that he was not happy.

I was honestly a little worried because Zhang Qing was such a crazy bitch, but what the heck?

All he had to do was get revenge.

And one day he wanted to rule the People’s Republic of China himself.

Since even my son had died a violent death, I thought that was enough to satisfy me.

To do that, I had to spread my wings.

Because Mao Zedong was such an important figure at the time.

November 1, 1966.

The Blue House in Seoul, South Korea.

“Seokman-ah.”

“Yes, brother.”

Lee Kang-cheol and Ko Seok-man were eating dinner and drinking tea.

“From now on, you should slowly take the lead.”

“No, why?”

“Hey, you’re not going to vote?”

“I guess I have to do it.”

“Then, from now on, I must let you know that you are my clear successor.”

“Ah, I don’t want to do it!”

“This son of a bitch?”

“Hahaha! Just kidding, just kidding.”

“I knew it.”

“Yes, brother.”

“I will also appoint a countermeasure team, so please keep that in mind.”

“Ah, now the road to suffering is wide open.”

“Then, did you know how to make the President comfortable?”

“Hehehe! Looking from the side, that wasn’t it.”

“Child, anyway, you too have a hard time now.”

“Okay, brother.”

Lee Kang-cheol took a sip of tea and then opened his mouth again.

“Seokman-ah.”

“why?”

“As you well know, this position is one that requires responsibility for the Republic of Korea and its people. There is not a single moment when that heaviness is not weighing on me.”

“Why wouldn’t I know? I’ve been watching you for over 20 years.”

“That’s right, it’s different when you see it from the side. It’s that difficult and tough of a position.”

“… … .”

“That’s why I’m nominating you as my successor. I’m sorry, but you have to work hard for exactly five years.”

“Okay, brother.”

“Okay, thank you.”

Lee Kang-cheol was slowly preparing to disappear into the back alleys of history.