I Will Stage A Coup D'état-Chapter 58: Intervention in China (1)

Chapter 58: Intervention in China (1)

A wartime leader has a lot to do.

A whole lot.

“Your Excellency. It’s time for you to attend the cabinet meeting.”

“Again? Is it that time already?”

“Your Excellency. It’s time for you to visit the Pyongyang leather factory.”

“I see.”

In the morning, I held cabinet meetings, and in the afternoon, I visited industrial sites to check on the situation.

Work continued into the night.

After struggling to finish the postponed meetings with foreign diplomats and processing the approval documents, I could only catch my breath when it was almost dawn.

This is no way for a person to live.

They say leaders naturally have a lot of work, but now even two bodies wouldn’t be enough.

How did gentlemen like Stalin, Roosevelt, and Churchill endure this kind of work?

It’s not like they were on drugs like Hitler.

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The more I thought about it, the more amazed I was by their abilities.

Stalin even held parties at dawn while doing this crap.

They’re truly the GOATs of the political world.

While I was lost in thought, another stack of approval documents piled up with a thud.

I sighed and rummaged through the newly stacked pile of documents.

There’s a possibility that China may join the Axis Powers.

It was a report from the Intelligence Agency on Chiang Kai-shek’s movements.

I was reading the report absentmindedly when I suddenly became alert.

No way, has that bald yellowly Chiang Kai-shek gone crazy? Joining the Axis Powers alliance at this point? Is he trying to pick a fight with us or what?

I quickly flipped through the report.

There was a thick envelope attached behind the report, containing an SP record.

“Jong-gil. Bring me a phonograph.”

Until Jong-gil brought the phonograph, I read and re-read the report.

I wondered if I had misinterpreted any part of it.

Soon, Jong-gil brought the phonograph and played the SP record.

Chik.

Only a few seconds after the SP record started spinning, the conversation between Chiang Kai-shek and someone who seemed to be his close aide flowed out from the phonograph.

Jong-gil, who knew Chinese, translated for me.

[Chairman. Won’t this alliance push excessively provoke Korea?]

[We’ll have to bear with that. Once Germany wins anyway, those Korean bastards won’t even dare to think about going against the Axis Powers. Why can’t you think of that?]

Chiang Kai-shek went on and on about how advantageous it would be for China’s security to join the Axis Powers.

After listening to that, I had the SP record pulled out.

“Jong-gil.”

“Yes, Prime Minister.”

“What do you think about China joining the Axis Powers?”

“What thoughts could I possibly have?”

“Come on.”

“If I must say, I believe it’s an event that’s favorable for the Korean Empire.”

“Favorable?”

“Yes. If China joins forces with Germany, they will be completely isolated from the powers. If we wage a preemptive war then, who would put the brakes on our military’s advance into China?”

So that’s what he meant by favorable.

I quietly ran the calculations in my mind.

As Jong-gil said, China joining the Axis Powers was a boon for us.

No matter how much the powers wanted to side with China, it was only a matter of time before they cut their losses once China sided with their enemy, Germany.

War, huh.

I had never once thought about something like the Second Sino-Korean War.

Because doing that would only draw aggro from the powers and be of no help to our national interests.

There was no need to deliberately walk the path of destruction shown by the Japanese Empire.

But now that things had turned out this way, I thought it would be necessary to at least draw up a war plan.

You never know how things will turn out in this world, so it wouldn’t hurt to have a plan ready.

I immediately picked up the phone.

“Ministry of Army. Get me the Minister of Army. It’s me. Listen, there’s an urgent task that the Army needs to do. Yes. Draw up a preemptive war plan against China. The deadline for preparation should be September. Alright. Get to work.”

Kim Sung-joo accepted my order with great pleasure.

From the trembling felt over the phone, I could tell how much this militarist had been longing for the order to formulate a plan to invade China.

That takes care of the Army, and I should also inform the Navy.

After all, the Navy is one of the two pillars of the military.

“Ministry of Navy. Get me the Minister of Navy. Senior, this is Lee Sung Joon. I have a task for the Ministry of Navy. The Army is preparing a plan to invade China, and I’d like the Navy to participate. Yes. Of course, we need to hear the Navy’s opinion. Then, I’ll take it that you’ll do as I asked.”

After ordering the formulation of war plans from my seat, my throat felt parched.

Drinking a sip of fresh cola from the refrigerator finally eased my thirst a bit.

Still, I don’t feel like preparing only with a hardline approach.

I had started preparing the club to strike down Chiang Kai-shek, but I thought dialogue was still necessary.

As civilized people, we should think about resolving it through dialogue. Can we really do it just by wielding a club?

Yes, I shouldn’t do it too much in the Korean Empire style.

Let’s compromise and go for the level of Chairman Xi’s ‘People’s Republic of China’.

“Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Ah, this is Lee Sung Joon. I have a favor to ask. Yes. Please summon the Chinese Ambassador right now. For the content, a warning about joining the Axis Powers would be good. Yes. You can warn them at a very strong level.”

In fact, China joining the Axis Powers was something they could very well do as a sovereign nation.

It was an internal matter of China, a sovereign nation.

But that’s only in theory.

According to the logic of real politics, we could say this to China:

Can a ‘small country’ stand up to a great power?

Those are the words of my dear Vice Minister Cheon Ha-i of the Chinese Communist Party, causing pain to Korea.

Then, who is the greatest power in Asia in this era?

It’s the Korean Empire, the world’s fifth-ranked power.

According to Vice Minister Cheon Ha-i’s logic, the Republic of China, ranked in the top 10 in national power, is a country that shouldn’t stand against the Korean Empire.

How can a country like China dare to join the Axis Powers against a great power like Korea?

“Hmm.”

After pouring out strong measures to Nanjing based on the information spied from China, I felt like I had become Chairman Xi of China.

So this is why China engaged in hegemonic diplomacy.

I could now understand the heart of Chairman Xi, which I couldn’t understand at all in the 21st century.

Anyway, I warned them strongly, so those Chinese bastards should get the message.

With that thought, I organized my work.

“Your Excellency.”

In the early morning when I was deep in sleep, the public official on duty woke me up.

“Mmm, what is it?”

“An urgent telegram has arrived from Berlin.”

“Let me see.”

I quickly scanned the telegram sent by the Korean Embassy in Germany.

“The Chinese government has joined the Anti-Comintern Pact?”

This was practically the same as joining the Axis Powers.

These bastards are crossing the line?

Are they really wishing for suicide right now?

I immediately picked up the phone.

“Get the car ready. And Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, you say? Tell His Excellency the Minister of Foreign Affairs to come to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs right now. Yes.”21st

I hastily put on some clothes and headed to the car waiting in front of the official residence.

I saw the military police preparing to escort me with disheveled faces.

I felt a bit sorry about this, but it couldn’t be helped due to official duties.

“Head to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.”

I arrived at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs at 3:30 AM.

Coming to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs at this ungodly hour, losing sleep, irritation surged to the top of my head.

Soon, the official car of the Minister of Foreign Affairs arrived at the ministry.

I made tapping sounds with my shoes while glaring at the world map in the Minister of Foreign Affairs’ office.

This went on for 5 minutes.

Hurried footsteps were heard, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs entered and bowed.

“Your Excellency. I’m a bit late.”

“Please have a seat.”

I didn’t address the minister with the usual polite tone.

Ju Si-kyeong, the new Minister of Foreign Affairs from the Daejeong Party, treated me with a very cautious attitude.

I showed the telegram received from the official residence to the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

“This, this is…”

“Didn’t Your Excellency summon the Chinese Ambassador today and deliver our government’s warning?”

“No. I warned them strongly several times. I directly conveyed that if they join the Axis Powers, they will taste the wrath of Pyongyang.”

If he used the word ‘wrath’ in diplomatic language, it means he expressed our will to the fullest.

Then, there was no mistake in our communication.

The conclusion is that China was at fault.

Only then did I slightly soften my frozen expression.

“Prime Minister, Your Excellency. Regarding this matter, I will summon the Chinese Ambassador again. Shall I contact them now?”

I waved my hand in refusal.

“I don’t think that will be necessary.”

“Pardon?”

“If the Chinese refuse the way of civilized people, we have no choice but to go hard. Please call the British and American Ambassadors this morning and get their understanding for military action against China.”

“What? You’re not thinking of war, are you?”

It’s not at that stage yet.

I’m just thinking of floating a riverine fleet on the Yangtze River, an international waterway, and briefly blocking China’s main arteries, the Grand Canal and Yangtze River.

This should be a reasonable ‘appropriate level of warning’ rather than war.

“I’ll use the phone for a bit.”

I picked up the phone.

“Ministry of the Navy. Ah, Senior. I’m sorry to call you at dawn. The thing is, China has caused an incident, and these friends don’t seem like they’ll listen to reason, so we need a club. Yes. There’s no need for the Combined Fleet to step out, we just need a Yangtze River riverine fleet. Yes. Please start the action when the orders are delivered. I’m counting on you.”

The Minister of Foreign Affairs was looking at me with eyes asking what kind of diplomacy this was.

What, just for this much?

It’s better than going to war.

For the first time in 3 years since the end of the Sino-Korean War, I ordered the resumption of military action in China.