Republic of Korea in Yeokcheon - Chapter 76



Only Krnovel

#76. Take down the Communist Party sign?

“This is out again. “You should come, right?”

“Hehehe! That’s what the Minister of Foreign Affairs does. So, where are you this time?”

“I told you before, right? “You should go to Vietnam.”

“ah! “Then you want to meet Patriot?”

“Yes, it is. History was delayed a bit, so the Declaration of Independence was made about 15 days early. “I hope you can leave within a few days.”

“Let’s go with a happy heart!”

“thank you.”

September 5, 1945, 3:30 PM (Hanoi local time)

A C-27J Spartan transport plane arrived at an airfield near Hanoi.

Wooooow!

Purr, purr!

When the six-blade propeller made by Dowty, which was not seen in this era, stopped, the rear ramp opened and Kim Gyu-sik and his companions walked down.

And a group of people approached them.

“Teacher Kim!”

“Oh oh! Patriotic! “You’re patriotic, right?”

“ha ha ha! Yes, that’s right. “Now we call him Ho Chi Minh.”

“Whatever you call it, nice to meet you! “Let’s give it a hug!”

Thump!

Ho Chi Minh, in his mid-50s, was hugged into the arms of Kim Gyu-sik, in his mid-60s.

The two were very close comrades during the sad days of Paris.

During this time, Ho Chi Minh worked under the name of Nguyen Ai Quoc (阮愛國), and on behalf of Vietnam, he even met with U.S. President Woodrow Wilson, who attended the Versailles Conference, and appealed for Vietnamese independence.

However, Ho Chi Minh was naive at that time.

The principle of national self-determination advocated by Woodrow Wilson is not for Vietnam or Joseon.

It was simply intended to dismantle the colonies of the countries that lost World War I.

From this incident, Ho Chi Minh realized that independence would not come by relying on the colonial powers.

The only way was armed struggle.

“Go, sir. “It’s not a big deal, but we’ve prepared accommodation.”

“Uh-huh! Still, it’s better than our accommodation in Paris, right?”

“ha ha ha! “It’s probably 100 times better.”

After driving for about 30 minutes, a European-style building appeared.

“Here it is, sir. “This is a hotel left behind by the French, and it’s quite clean, so you’ll probably enjoy staying there.”

“haha! “Isn’t this a palace?”

“ha ha ha!”

After resting for a while and finishing a meal, Kim Gyu-sik faced Ho Chi Minh in a place like a living room.

Those in attendance were Director Park Jae-seung and Colonel Hong Jin-taek, who accompanied him this time.

Ho Chi Minh brought only a man in his 30s wearing military uniform.

“Who are you? “Is it okay if we talk together?”

“Of course, sir. “My name is Vo Nguyen Giap, and I am the commander-in-chief of our Vietnamese forces.”

“Oh, sorry. “I still have some of the habits from the Provisional Government era.”

“haha! it’s okay. “I act similarly.”

However, Hong Jin-taek’s eyes widened when he heard Vo Nguyen Job’s name.

“Huh, General Bo Nguyen Giap?”

“huh? What does that mean? Colonel Hong?”

“Oh, no. “I’ll explain later.”

“I know. Now, let me introduce our people. “This is Colonel Hong Jin-taek of our Armed Forces General Staff.”

“Nice to meet you. “Chairman Ho.”

“Nice to meet you.”

After the introductions were over, Ho Chi Minh spoke first.

“What happened, sir?”

“haha! As you can see, I came to see you as the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea. Oh, I guess I’m being rude. “What should I call you?”

“If you are in private, please feel free to call me Patriot, and in public, you can call me Chairman Ho. “It may not be enough, but I am the first chairman of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam.”

“If there aren’t enough people like you, who else in the world would be qualified?”

“That’s too much praise. Anyway, what really happened? “I suddenly heard from the remaining American OSS agent that you were coming as a representative of the Republic of Korea.”

“That’s exactly what the agent said. I came to see Chairman Ho, the representative of Vietnam, on behalf of the government of the Republic of Korea. Oh, of course, I also got to see Patriot, whom I personally really wanted to see.”

“ha ha ha!”

“Uh-huh!”

There was a burst of laughter at Kim Gyu-sik’s joke.

“Teacher, how did Korea become independent? “I heard what the OSS agent said, but I couldn’t believe it.”

“What did the agent say?”

“It is said that Korea is America’s best ally and made a great contribution to defeating the Japanese army in the Pacific theater. Moreover, they say they became independent a long time ago and even defeated the Kwantung Army…”

“Uh-huh! It was hard to believe. Well, it was the same for me at first.”

“yes? “What do you mean by that?”

“Okay, let’s talk about that later. “Anyway, our Republic of Korea is strong.”

“Yes, he said so.”

“Then I will ask you. Independence has been declared, but is there any solution? “The French will be back soon, right?”

“Whoa…”

Ho Chi Minh sighed and then said.

“We, Vietnam, have become independent. “If the French come back, they will have to fight us to the death.”

“I am well aware of Chairman Ho’s will. But don’t you know that war is not something that can be fought solely by will?”

“So we are continuing to investigate in the United States. We have a fairly good relationship with the Japanese military as we deal with them together. Commander Vo Nguyen Job here also received training from the U.S. military. “When I was at the Yunnan Military Academy, my instructor was also an American soldier, and until recently, I trained and operated with OSS agents.”

“…”

“…”

It was truly an incredible fate.

They won’t know.

How cruelly they fought against the U.S. military in original history.

However, at that time, Ho Chi Minh and Vo Nguyen Job were investigating the United States.

“Why are you looking like that?”

“Oh, no.”

Gyu-sik Kim also knew what Vietnamese history was like before coming here.

So of course I made an absurd expression.

“Chairman Ho.”

“Ah, Colonel Hong.”

“I’m sorry to hear what you’re saying, but America won’t help you.”

“How are you so sure? “The OSS agents made a good recommendation to their superiors, so they told us to wait for now, right?”

“I am the one who met the highest level of all in person.”

“yes?”

“President Roosevelt.”

“yes? Is that true?”

“Yes, I visited the United States twice with our Commander-in-Chief, and I was present most of the time when President Roosevelt visited the Republic of Korea.”

“What did President Roosevelt say about Vietnam at that time?”

“I’m sorry Chairman Ho, but Vietnam is a country that has absolutely no interest in the United States. “There’s no way Roosevelt would have mentioned it.”

“But why?”

“That means I know Roosevelt very well. Roosevelt is a really good man. However, as the President of the United States, he is a person who is strictly devoted to national interests. For example, even if the world’s bastard is on the American side, he is willing to shake hands and say he is our bastard.”

“…”

“Think about it, Chairman Ho. “Is France important to America or is Vietnam important?”

There was no need to hear an answer.

“And France’s obsession with Vietnam is beyond imagination. From what I heard, de Gaulle has already warned the United States. He told me not to interfere in Vietnam.”

“Oh, you damn bastards! “How much more should they torture us…”

When Ho Chi Minh could not hold back his anger and shouted, Kim Gyu-sik opened his mouth as if he had been waiting.

“Take it easy, Chairman Ho. “It’s not like there’s no way.”

“yes? “Teacher, what method is there?”

“Isn’t that why I came?”

“What do you mean?”

“We, the Republic of Korea, can help Vietnam.”

“yes? You mean Korea? Is that true? Then, persuade the United States…”

“As Colonel Hong just said, the United States will remain completely neutral.”

“Then how?”

“We have a lot of weapons supported by the United States. Let’s support that.”

“How much?”

“It’s military business, so Colonel Hong will tell you. Colonel Hong.”

“Yes, Minister. This includes 200,000 M1 Garands, 200,000 M1 and 2 carbines, various machine guns, 200 M2 105mm towed guns, and 100 M1 155mm howitzers. Of course, I will also give you ammunition that you can use for the time being.”

“oh! oh my god!”

“Well, so many weapons!”

Ho Chi Minh and Vo Nguyen Job could not keep their mouths shut due to the quantity of weapons being much larger than expected.

There are not that many armed forces in the South Korean military, but Vietnam is completely different.

Unlike the Republic of Korea, which has been dealing with hundreds of thousands of troops such as the Kwantung Army and has to deal with the Chinese or Soviet armies, which are certain to move in units of one million in the future, the army that Vietnam will be dealing with is the French army.

To put it bluntly, if France were to go on an expedition to Vietnam in its current situation, how much would it spend?

At best, it would only be a dozen, and that was actually the case.

The real French army numbered about 50,000 at its peak, and the rest were North African, West African, and Foreign Legion members.

Moreover, France is in an invading position.

If Vietnam remained undivided by the Vietnamese Nationalist Party and others as it was now, an amphibious operation would have to be launched first, but the French army did not have the ability to do so.

“Is that enough?”

“That’s enough. No, it’s more than enough. “Do Korea really have such weapons?”

“Of course. “We received quite a lot of surplus weapons from the United States.”

“Hmm…”

Ho Chi Minh seemed to think for a moment, trying to calm his initial excitement, and then opened his mouth again.

“I’m sorry, teacher, but I have to ask you a few questions.”

“It’s okay. “Please feel free to ask.”

“What are the conditions for Korea to provide so many weapons? Just in case, Korea is like Japan…”

“You man! It’s natural to be cautious given your position, but what about Japan? Just like Japan! “Aren’t you saying that we, the Republic of Korea, are greedy for Vietnam?”

“Isn’t it?”

“Absolutely not! There are conditions, of course, but I have no intention of ruling Vietnam like Japan or France! “Now that we are busy governing the new territories acquired from Manchuria and Japan, why are we paying attention to this?”

“Well, I see. “I apologize.”

Ho Chi Minh certainly had to admit that he had overthought.

Korea certainly had no reason to pay attention to Vietnam.

At least for now.

“Then what are the conditions?”

“It may or may not be simple, so listen carefully.”

“Yes, teacher.”

“First, we have to take down the Communist Party sign.”

“yes? “You mean to take down the Communist Party sign?”

“These weapons are ours now, but they originally belonged to the United States. But what would communists say if we gave them weapons from the United States, which they hate?”

“ah···.”

“That too, I would hate it if our Republic of Korea were communist. That’s why I’m asking you to take down the Communist Party sign.”

“But, that’s…”

“Patriotic!”

“yes?”

Ho Chi Minh was surprised when Kim Gyu-sik suddenly shouted at him by his old name.

“Why on earth did you want freedom and independence for Vietnam so much? Wasn’t it meant to escape the oppression and exploitation of foreigners, and let the Vietnamese people become the masters and live well together?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“But what’s so important about communism? What is the importance of signs? And is communism always right? In your eyes, did it seem like the people of the Soviet Union, ruled by that butcher Stalin, were living freely and happily?”

“…”

“That doesn’t mean I unconditionally support capitalism. “You must have seen the pig-like rich people oppressing workers and structurally preventing them from escaping poverty while traveling around the United States, England, and France.”

“That’s right, teacher.”

“What I want to say is this. This means that no matter whether it is communism or capitalism, there is no such thing as perfect and ideal. In the end, it would be best for a politician to have a heart of love for the people and constantly select and apply good points for the country. But why are you so obsessed with the communist sign, which is just a formality, a shell, and an ideology? Are you saying that communism is more precious than the freedom and independence of your Vietnamese people?”

“…”

Ho Chi Minh could not answer.