Rust - Chapter 918



Only Krnovel

RUST -918

Korea is out of the crisis.

Successfully sent over 25 million Chinese refugees to Taiwan, and repelled the southern warlords who had occupied Taiwan, thus gaining ‘freedom of navigation’.

It was possible to sell products produced in Korea to Southeast Asia, Australia, India, the Middle East, and Europe, just as before the great disaster.

“What is the situation in North America?”

“They say a major earthquake hit the west coast of the United States, virtually wiping out port cities.”

San Francisco and LA were virtually destroyed. This was the same for Vancouver and Seattle, and although not as bad as California, there was information that the port of Seattle was in shambles due to a magnitude 7.8 earthquake.

“Did the Holy Kingdom tell you?”

“Yes. We have provided files containing the situation in western North America along with video footage in accordance with our request.”

“Only the western region···.”

It didn’t matter now since there was no way to expand the market to the central or eastern regions, but the lack of information could potentially be a problem in preparing for the future.

“The fact that the Holy Kingdom has shared information only in the West seems to be an indirect way of saying that they have no intention of sharing information with us from the Central, Southern, or Northern regions.”

“That’s right. North America should be the market for the Holy Kingdom.”

If Korea, which had succeeded in preserving its productivity, were to enter the competition, it would have been burdensome for the Holy Kingdom as well. The Korean president and government could not help but think so.

“We will need to cooperate with the Empire to check information from other regions.”

“Yes. We need to secure information on North America, Central America, and South America as well.”

The Korean government and parliament felt the need for international information that was updated in real time.

“We must unite with countries where order has not collapsed.”

“First of all, it would be good to mediate the wars and civil wars that have broken out in Southeast Asia.”

“Are you saying we should get involved in the situation in Southeast Asia?”

“yes.”

“I think it would be reasonable to push forward when we have gathered our forces.”

“I think it would be good to automate production facilities as quickly as possible and save as much manpower as possible.”

Because it was a world where manpower was equal to military force.

With the Chinese refugee crisis ending in an instant thanks to Maru’s intervention, the reservists that had been called up could be disbanded. But hadn’t they already been disbanded once and then called up again?

The reserve forces that had been called up and deployed by the cannibal regime were disbanded and sent back, but the political burden increased when they were called up again due to the Chinese and Japanese refugee crisis.

But you want to disband like this? After all the hardships?

“Big. Isn’t that why you left the Japanese refugees behind?”

“Yes.”

When sending Chinese refugees to Taiwan, Japanese refugees could have been sent to Taiwan as well. But the reason for not doing so was revealed. They left them there as a pretext for not disbanding the troops right away.

The Japanese refugees were strange. They pushed out armed groups including the New Japan Reconstruction Association. They followed the control of the Korean government as if they had never fought an armed struggle.

It was hard to believe that such cooperative people would take over Gyeongsangbuk-do and rebuild Japan.

“I heard that the Holy Kingdom is sending Japanese believers in the Holy Church to cities in Gangwon Province, including Chuncheon and Wonju, so I think our burden will be greatly reduced.”

“I guess you don’t have to worry about Japanese refugees.”

“Yes. If the Japanese refugees cause trouble, the Holy Kingdom will intervene.”

With the Japanese refugee issue, a source of uncertainty, resolved, the only question left was what to do about Southeast Asia.

If I were to sum up the current situation in Southeast Asia in one word, it would be ‘a mess’. But it is not a situation where you can avoid getting your shit on because it is dirty.

“In order to maintain the military factories and production infrastructure, we need to support Japanese refugees and advance into Southeast Asia.”

Even on the demand side, Japanese refugees and Southeast Asian populations were needed.

“Advancing into Southeast Asia is necessary for maintaining military power and internal stability.”

“I agree. If we disband the troops like this, the economic loss will be enormous.”

The military was a consumer group. The supplies consumed by 2.8 million troops were no longer needed. This meant that the production facilities that were diligently producing military supplies were halted.

There were so many factories built in preparation for the US-China war, but when the US-China war ended in a mess due to the spread of cannibals and the division of China into seven parts, they were left to fizzle out and not function properly.

In the cannibal regime, there was no reason for the conscripted army to serve as guards, do farm work, or work on construction sites so that the military supply factories could function properly. When the cannibal regime collapsed and the new government disbanded the troops it had called up, despair arose.

That was the case when they were regrouping their troops due to the Chinese refugee crisis, saying, ‘Let’s oil the factories a bit.’ But if they were to disband their troops again in such a hurry? All that was left was to spin spider webs again.

If the reserve forces are disbanded like this, the only thing left to do is to return the munitions factories to their original state and throw away all the infantry firearms and other military supplies that were painstakingly produced into warehouses.

The Korean government and parliament were in deep thought.

“Let’s get involved in Southeast Asia.”

Advancing into Southeast Asia. We will overcome the economic crisis and raise the flag of revival.

Congress agreed to the president’s decision.

‧

‧

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The first thing Maru said when he heard that Korea had decided to get involved in the Southeast Asian situation.

“Are you crazy? Or are you crazy?”

“Why? We can’t just let the equipment and production facilities we worked so hard to build rot away. Looking at the current situation, it’s reasonable to say that we’re going to advance into Southeast Asia.”

“It must be hard to manage Taiwan. If you send refugees, you should manage them properly. It seems like you’re just making things worse.”

“If you think the goal is to prevent the Chinese warlords from blocking the route to Southeast Asia, then you’ve achieved that goal. Then you’ll prioritize advancing into Southeast Asia over managing Taiwan. The reason Taiwan is needed is to advance into Southeast Asia.”

Taiwan was a melting pot of chaos, with Chinese refugees mixed with local residents.

It couldn’t be otherwise, because the Chinese refugees were from the mainland, and the people who were resisting in the Taiwanese highlands were Taiwanese.

There were political conflicts between the descendants of the original Taiwanese and those who came over from China after the Chinese Civil War, and then suddenly 20 million mainlanders came in. It was strange that there was no chaos.

However, it is not possible for the existing Taiwanese people to force the Chinese refugees. This is because there were heavily armed armed groups behind the scenes who claimed to protect the Chinese refugees.

Since Korea and the Holy Kingdom were the two behind the Chinese refugees, the existing Taiwanese forces could not do anything to the Chinese refugees.

Ki-sun’s analysis was that Korea, which did not need to immediately deploy its military force to Taiwan, had some leeway and was trying to send that power to Southeast Asia. Maru shook his head at Ki-sun’s interpretation.

“Are you in your right mind? Seriously?” “You’re saying that you’re not going to disband the reserve forces that number nearly 2.3 million, but are going to send them to Southeast Asia.”

They cleared out Chinese refugees and armed groups. They said they cleared out the groups, but in reality, they saved the lives of hundreds of thousands of South Korean soldiers.

Isn’t that what they’re saying, that instead of sending the people they saved back home to their jobs, they’re going to push them into dangerous places? Maru honestly felt a little bad about pushing the lives he saved into Southeast Asia.

“Why is our king angry? Calm down. Objectively speaking, the Korean government’s judgment is unavoidable.”

“······.”

Ki-sun straightened her posture and continued talking at Maru’s silence, which seemed to be asking her to explain.

“Thanks to the King, Korea has succeeded in keeping its production facilities, including semiconductors, intact.”

It wasn’t just semiconductors. Most of the production facilities, including heavy chemical and heavy industry, were able to be maintained. The problem was that the Korean economy was export-oriented.

If existing international trade had been maintained, there would have been no problem, but the problem was that the existing order collapsed after the mutant virus incident, the great disaster, and the US-China war.

In a world where the trade order based on a market economy has collapsed, an export-oriented country was doomed to failure.

Korea had to reestablish order in order to survive. To do that, it had to at least save the Southeast Asian market.

“What I am saying is that involvement in Southeast Asia is not a matter of choice.”

Ki-soon’s interpretation was that it was a choice for Korea to survive, a decision to survive. Maru’s forehead furrowed slightly.

“Is Korea still unable to acknowledge that the world has changed?”

In Maru’s view, it was a time for isolationism, not a revival of free trade. The international supply chain was broken, and so was trade.

With the international community collapsing, we had to find ways to become self-sufficient in order to survive. We had to prepare.

“Well, if we look at it from the perspective of survival, self-sufficiency is the safest, as the King said. But the Korean government may have decided to survive by developing and securing the Southeast Asian market.”

In any case, Korea had an export-led industrial structure. If this were to be changed entirely to a self-sufficient structure, the size of the economy would inevitably shrink significantly.

If we only consider the Korean domestic market, there will not be much need for production facilities, so there will be a series of workplace closures and bankruptcies, and unemployment will surge.

What about the next election? If the Korean economy fails while preparing for self-sufficiency, what about the Japanese refugees? How long will it take to change the economic structure to a self-sufficiency structure that can support not only 35 million but also 15 million refugees?

“In Korea, where the electoral system is still functioning normally, it would have been difficult for the National Assembly and the government to choose a self-sufficient economy.”

“······.”

Moreover, no matter how much they tightened their belts, they still needed raw materials. Exports were a later problem, and raw materials and energy had to be imported to meet domestic demand.

The only place that could realistically import raw materials and energy right now was Southeast Asia. Ki-sun’s eyes, which had been analyzing things carefully, narrowed slightly.

“Hmm – maybe they were trying to become a hegemonic power in East Asia.”

Ki-soon presented a new perspective.

“A hegemonic nation? Korea?”

“It’s not impossible given the current situation.”

Semiconductors were needed to produce, maintain, and repair home appliances and production facilities. And in fact, Korea was the only country left that could supply semiconductors in large quantities.

In order to gain hegemony using semiconductors, it was necessary to maintain the structure that required semiconductors.

In other words, the fact that Southeast Asian countries lost all their factories to civil wars and wars was a huge loss for Korea, because it meant that demand for semiconductors would decrease while the structure needed for semiconductors would disappear.

“We intervene in civil wars and wars to protect our production facilities and demand in Southeast Asia? And that creates a semiconductor hegemony?”

“In addition, isn’t it possible that cannibals are the cause of the simultaneous outbreak of civil war and war?”

“Are you trying to prevent a cannibal government from taking over Southeast Asia?”

“If a cannibal government comes into power, it will pursue centralized control policies rather than free market economic policies.”

It was like that in Korea during the cannibal regime. It’s the same in China, which is currently in the midst of a civil war.

“Is Korea really going to aim for hegemony in East Asia like that?”

“I don’t necessarily intend to, but if we succeed in extinguishing the civil wars and wars that have broken out in Southeast Asian countries, wouldn’t we become a hegemonic nation?”

Maru pressed his temple hard. Is this how it is again?

When the Chinese refugee crisis was blocked by Taiwan and freedom of navigation was secured, the influence spread to Southeast Asia.

“The reason Korea can do that is because we are here?”

“The Holy Kingdom also knows your power. If the time comes, they will think, ‘Please help me, Your Majesty.’”

Even if you just look at the crows bombing with small nukes right now, it was a firepower that was not inferior to that of the Celestial Empire before its destruction.

So, you might not shout out loud, “Help me!”, but wouldn’t you ask for help if you were in trouble?

“Ha- Right-”

The birth of the hegemonic nation of Korea is also a mess.

What is the Holy Kingdom that Korea is asking for help from?

“What do you mean? It means becoming the issuing country.”

“What is this issuing office all of a sudden?”

“What will Korea use when trading with Southeast Asian countries? Can it use CBDC (Central Bank Digital Currency)? Or will it use dollars? Coins? What do you think it will use?”

“Gold and silver?”

“But by the wisdom of our king, all of Korea’s gold and silver was taken away.”

“······.”

“The currency of the Holy Kingdom is based on gold and silver. Trade with Korea was conducted using raw materials, gold, and silver.”

“······.”

“Then here is the problem. What currency should we use when trading with Southeast Asia from Korea? Now that the dollar, yuan, and yen have disappeared and the euro has also disappeared, what currency would have credibility?”

“······.”

Ki-soon’s squinted eyes drew a line.