Republic of Korea in Yeokcheon - Chapter 79



Only Krnovel

#79. The colonial era has passed. (Edited)

Philippe Leclerc is a hero of World War II, an army captain and commander of France’s Pacific region, but he is a young general, only 43 years old.

If it weren’t for the war, and if France hadn’t been cut off by the German army by six weeks, he would have been at best a lieutenant colonel by now.

But in the 21st century, he is dealing with Lee Kang-cheol, who served as a division commander and is now the Commander-in-Chief of the ROK Armed Forces and President of the State?

It was a game where the weight classes did not match from the beginning.

This means that not all four stars are the same.

“Hey, this is it.”

Lee Kang-cheol clicked his tongue as he looked at this young general who was more naive than he thought.

“General Leclerc.”

“Yes, General.”

“Let’s stop talking about this and that and get to the point. In any case, there is no reason for our country to worry about France’s respect.”

“Well, we’ll still be allies from now on…”

“Oh, of course, our government has no intention of getting into trouble with France. However, this isn’t it, is it? “Shall we be honest?”

“Yes, General. To be honest, I don’t know much about diplomatic rhetoric or anything like that. “It is better if you speak directly.”

“Then alcohol would be better than tea. Cognac?”

“Oh, do you have any cognac?”

“There is something good. wait a minute.”

Lee Kang-cheol personally opened a closet on one side and brought out a bottle of alcohol and two glasses.

widely!

“Oh! this is?”

“all right?”

“Isn’t he Louis XIII? “How in the world can I give something this precious to me…”

“I’m not happy with what France is doing in Asia, but you still had fun at the surrender ceremony, right?”

“Thank you. Still, it seems like too much alcohol for me.”

“Never mind. “It’s a trophy anyway.”

“Oh, is that so?”

“The governor of Joseon had several illnesses.”

“ah···.”

Soon, Lee Kang-cheol poured himself a drink and raised his glass.

“Let’s drink.”

“yes.”

“nice!”

“ah! “It’s really good.”

“Drink as much as you want. “Because there is plenty of alcohol.”

“thank you.”

As soon as such expensive cognac entered his stomach, Leclerc seemed to relax a little.

“General Leclerc.”

“Could you please call me Philip?”

“haha! Yes, Philip. “Did you meet General MacArthur in Japan before coming here?”

“Yes, we met.”

“What did you say?”

“As expected, the United States is absolutely neutral when it comes to Korea. In particular, they said that the United States would not get involved in disputes between allies.”

“and?”

“Actually, I was very disappointed because I had hoped for American mediation. But he called me as I was leaving and said something.”

“What did you say?”

“I told them to get along as well as possible with Korea. They say that nothing good will come from being hostile towards Korea, especially in Asia. and···.”

“and?”

“He said that if France and Korea collide in Asia, he will bet all he has on Korea winning overwhelmingly.”

“Huh, that guy too…”

Although MacArthur did not know the identity of the expeditionary force, he was well aware of how great the intelligence power the expeditionary force had during the battle to recapture the Philippines, including the Battle of Leyte.

It’s truly an insane amount of information that makes you feel like you’re watching in real time from the sky.

With that alone, the odds of France beating Korea are considered to be almost zero.

“Anyway, the reason Philip came to visit us so quickly is because he wanted to tell us to get out of Vietnam, right?”

“you’re right.”

“But our Republic of Korea is a country that keeps its promises. “The alliance with Vietnam will be maintained.”

“Ha, I see. “Then, if France uses force against Vietnam, will you intervene directly?”

“Hmm…”

Lee Kang-cheol looked at Leclerc for a moment, and he clearly looked nervous.

He seemed to think that depending on his answer, there might be a war with France.

But, I didn’t intend to do that in the first place.

There was no need for that.

However, I briefly thought about using this as an excuse to ask for the return of the cultural assets that France had looted, but I soon decided not to do so.

France would be defeated by Vietnam anyway, and the opportunity to ask for the return of cultural assets would come again, but it didn’t seem necessary to do this now.

“I wouldn’t go that far. There will be no need for that.”

“Whoa! Fortunately, the! “I’m so glad!”

“haha! Are you that lucky?”

“Of course. Now in my home country, I don’t know anything about Korea. I believe that they were just lucky enough to become independent and join the ranks of victorious countries. “At least when I took office as commander of the Pacific, I heard the US military chasing me here and there, so I was only vaguely aware of the power of my country.”

“is it so?”

“Yes, and America also strangely did not promote Korea to Europe. Why is that? “The commanders of the U.S. military here, whether it’s the Navy or the Army, give the thumbs up first when it comes to Korea, right?”

“Hehehe! “There must have been circumstances.”

Even if the United States wanted to inform Europe, it could not.

What do you want me to say?

You figured out the enemy’s location like a ghost in real time and virtually commanded the naval battle?

As soon as the Japanese army hid in the Philippine jungle, they called out the bombardment coordinates like tweezers?

These are stories that cannot be told in the first place.

Moreover, Lee Kang-cheol asked them not to reveal their role as much as possible.

For this reason, not many European countries knew about Korea.

At most, the UK was watching closely.

“Philip.”

“Yes, General.”

“What do you plan to do with Vietnam?”

“Honestly, I hope it ends well. “I want to resolve it diplomatically if possible.”

“okay.”

After all, he is young.

Originally, Leclerc suppressed it by force and was even called a ‘slaughterer’, but he did not agree with his country’s colonial policy, so he negotiated with Ho Chi Minh and even demanded that his country recognize Vietnam’s independence.

Ho Chi Minh also negotiated flexibly at this time and agreed to become independent under a French flag for the time being in a system similar to the Commonwealth.

However, this was because Leclerc did not know how obsessed his government and public opinion were with the colonies.

As a result of this negotiation, he was criticized both internally and externally and was virtually dismissed and summoned to his home country.

“Philip.”

“Yes, General.”

“May I give you some advice for Philip?”

“Of course, feel free to do whatever you want.”

“Philip’s efforts will be in vain. “I assure you, France will never let Vietnam go.”

“Is that so?”

“And France will only let go after being defeated by Vietnam. And not only in Vietnam, but also in Algeria. Now the colonial era based on imperialism has passed. But unfortunately, some countries don’t know that and still cling to their colonies, causing each other to have difficult days.”

“…”

Lee Kang-cheol speaks quietly as if he were prophesying.

But strangely enough, it was persuasive.

“So I tell you, Philip. Report the results of your visit to our country as is, and ask Philip to move to his place. This is not a position suitable for Philip. And from now on, never take on a position related to the colony again. “I don’t know if it’s anyone else, but if you’re in Philip’s position, you’ll be able to make a good choice.”

“…”

“Anyway, I understand that you are uncomfortable with Admiral Georges Thierry d’Argenlieu, who is now appointed commander of Indochina?”

“uh! “How do you do that?”

“At least we know everything that happens in East Asia. So leave the matter here to Jean Sainteny and d’Argenlieu and go back to France. Philip suits a soldier. “He is a real soldier.”

“…”

At this point, Leclerc’s hair stood on end as he began to suspect that Korea had spies within the French Pacific Command.

“Is this advice?”

“This is advice and a favor. “If someone else had come, I wouldn’t have said this.”

“All right. thank you.”

As dawn began to break the next morning, Leclerc hurried back.

“Will Leclerc survive?”

“Well, we don’t know because he died in a plane crash in Algeria. “I advised him not to even go to the colony…”

“If I die even after showing you this much favor, I will have to sell it to you.”

“Yeah, well. Anyway, France will invade sooner than originally planned. “Even if I die, I won’t let Vietnam go easily.”

“I guess so. “It seems like things are moving forward little by little.”

“Anyway, I don’t understand why they are so obsessed with the colonies when they don’t have the resources due to World War II?”

“Is it only in France? “It’s the same for everyone.”

“Well, that’s why we have an opportunity. Oh, what about Teacher Gyu-sik Kim?”

“They say he will return tomorrow after completing negotiations with Sukarno.”

“I’m sorry about this? “It seems like you start turning too outward as soon as you become minister, don’t you think?”

“ha ha ha! Still, he liked it. “They say we’re finally doing diplomacy like proper diplomacy.”

“If that’s the case, I’m glad…”

As soon as Kim Kyu-sik became Minister of Foreign Affairs, he was busy traveling overseas without rest, but since it was time to move now, there was no other way.

However, it was fortunate that he seemed to be having fun working.

“I will tell General Secretary Kim Jong-woo to hurry up the shipment of weapons to Vietnam.”

“Do it that way. It seems like the French will send an advance team first, so always keep an eye on the surrounding situation. “If the situation is urgent, it would be okay to send some rifles and machine guns by transport plane.”

“All right.”

“Oh my, I’m so tired! “Then I will rest for a bit and then come out.”

“There’s really nothing urgent to do today, so just rest.”

“really?”

“Of course, make sure to keep the phone next to you in case you call.”

“Err!”

“Hehehe!”

Leclerc probably listened to Lee Kang-cheol’s advice and returned to his home country less than a month after visiting Korea, and news broke that hardliner Admiral Georges Thierry d’Argenlieu had been appointed as his successor.

At the same time, France announced through GHQ that it was unilaterally suspending ongoing negotiations to establish diplomatic relations with the Republic of Korea, which was nothing to regret for the Republic of Korea.

This was because it was obvious that sooner or later he would bow his head and ejaculate.

And on December 4, 1945.

Cochinchina region in southern Vietnam.

bang! bang! bang!

“Ugh! “It’s artillery fire!”

“Hurry and avoid!”

Ta-da-dan! Tadang! Ta-da-dan!

“Aaaah!”

“profit! “What kind of artillery fire is so accurate?”

“Run away!”

Under Dargenlieu’s orders, a brigade-sized French advance force that was attempting to discover and eliminate armed forces belonging to the Democratic Republic of Vietnam came under heavy artillery fire.

A disaster occurred in which most of the 3,000 troops were killed or injured, and the rest were taken prisoner.

In response, France strongly protested to the Republic of Korea through the Supreme Command of the Allied Powers.

While questioning whether it was the Republic of Korea that provided the weapons.

Kim Kyu-sik, head of the Republic of Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, neatly ignored this.

By saying:

“Vietnam, like Korea, is a country with a long history and tradition, and became independent through the people’s desire for freedom and independence. And as an ally of the new Democratic Republic of Vietnam, we, the Republic of Korea, have only faithfully fulfilled our obligations under the treaty! “Why on earth would a robber criticize someone for helping their neighbor because they couldn’t see him being threatened by a robber?”

De Gaulle, who was serving as the temporary president of France, went berserk and went wild, but there was nothing France could do against the Republic of Korea.

As Leclerc said, even though they didn’t know much about Korea, they knew that they were absolutely not the kind of people who would sail that far away to do anything.

Moreover, the United States maintained absolute neutrality and refused to cooperate even when Britain reached out.

Britain was vaguely aware that Korea was not an easy country as a party to the Pacific War, and it was in a situation where it had its nose in the water with the issues of India, Burma, and Malaysia.

Above all, in Britain, the newly inaugurated Labor Party leader, Clement Attlee, was not so negative about the independence of Asia’s colonies, so he did not necessarily want to get involved in a new fight.

The only country that expressed its intention to cooperate was the Netherlands.

The Netherlands also had a colony in the East Indies and had no intention of letting it go, because Korea recognized and expressed its intention to support the Sukarno government in Indonesia, which declared independence after Japan’s defeat.

However, the Netherlands was too devastated by the war and its national power was weak, so it was of no help.

In the end, President de Gaulle had no choice but to rebuild the fleet properly and hope for next year, even if it took time.

Meanwhile, Chief of Naval Staff Kim Jong-woo attached the newly established fleet to the transport fleet and diligently supplied weapons and materials.

As time went by, Vietnam would become stronger.

December 31, 1945, 11 p.m.

A truly eventful year was coming to an end.