I Will Stage A Coup D'état-Chapter 65: The Great Purge (2)

Chapter 65: The Great Purge (2)

The will of the dictator Lee Sung Joon was resolute.

The military officers had their lands completely taken away without even a chance to protest from their seats.

They said they would return the principal and interest over 50 years, but how could that be proper compensation?

Considering the inflation rate, opportunity cost, and the profits that could have been earned from the land, it was the same as having the land taken away at 1/10 of the dirt-cheap price.

Kang Hyun-sik could not contain his anger.

He could not just stand by and watch the Empire rob the land that he, his father, and his grandfather had protected for generations.

He had to use any means necessary to confront them and reclaim the land.

Land was not just a simple property, but the pride of the family and the symbol of the military officer status itself.

Kang Hyun-sik first contacted the nearby military officers.

“Count Kang. It’s not good to frequently associate with people like this in times like these. Endure it a bit until the situation improves.”

“Ah, who doesn’t know that? Look at the situation, the situation. How can you tell me to endure this?”

Kang Hyun-sik vented his resentment to his close friends.

In a situation where everything was taken away except for the measly title of Count, what more was there to endure?

However, a considerable number of his friends did not agree with Kang Hyun-sik’s words.

No, in their hearts, they sympathized with Kang Hyun-sik’s words, but they were afraid to put them into action.

Do you know how outrageous Lee Sung Joon is, and you’re thinking of going against him?

At the point where the counter-coup had failed once, the military officers had virtually lost the ability to challenge Lee Sung Joon.

Even the military officers who remained in the military were said to have been dragged away by the Defense Security Command and Military Police not long ago.

In this situation, there was no foundation for a coup or anything.

“Ah, these damn cowards.”

Kang Hyun-sik returned home and huffed.

Then, a secret letter flew to Kang Hyun-sik.

Hwangguk Association?

The naming had a conservative taste from the start.

Kang Hyun-sik went to an inn where the Hwangguk Association meeting was supposed to take place.

“Count Kang is here too.”

“Oh, were you here too?”

Unexpectedly, quite a few renowned military officers showed up at the Hwangguk Association meeting.

They were influential figures who had the courage to raise their voices against the Lee Sung Joon regime, like Kang Hyun-sik.

Since they were all people with titles like Count, Viscount, and Baron, Kang Hyun-sik felt inwardly satisfied.

Not long after the banquet began, an old military officer who seemed to be hosting it appeared in the room.

“His Excellency Duke Nam Jin-seung.”

“Oh, His Excellency Nam Jin-seung has taken the lead in such a matter?”

Everyone showed an encouraging expression at Nam Jin-seung’s appearance.

Who was Nam Jin-seung?

He was the eldest son of the Nam clan, one of the most prominent military officer clans in the Empire, and the person who inherited the position of Duke of Ansan of the time.

“Your Excellency. It is an honor to meet you.”

The military officers competed to bow to Nam Jin-seung.

Nam Jin-seung received the greetings as if they were natural.

Kang Hyun-sik also quickly went and paid his respects.

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“You must be Count Kang.”

“Do, do you know me?”

“I was acquainted with your late father.”

Kang Hyun-sik felt more familiar with Nam Jin-seung when he mentioned that he had a close relationship with his late father.

The meeting ended without much happening.

Everyone spent time getting to know each other and badmouthing Lee Sung Joon.

Two days later, Kang Hyun-sik received another invitation from the Hwangguk Association.

It was an inn at a different location than before.

When he visited the inn, there were members similar to the previous ones.

Some faces were missing, perhaps unable to attend.

Of course, Nam Jin-seung never missed a single meeting.

During the course of attending about 10 meetings like this, the people who became regular members became familiar with each other.

And on the day of the 11th meeting, Nam Jin-seung brought up an important topic.

“Now that we’ve gotten to know each other well enough, I’d like to get to the point. What do you think is the situation of our Daehan?”

“Well, isn’t it a situation where the foundation is crumbling?”

“That’s right. The foundation of this country is crumbling. What kind of country is Daehan? It is a nation that the great Gojo raised in the aftermath of the Japanese Invasion, and the Seongjo brought down the Hoojin and placed it on a solid foundation. Did the two of them do all that work alone? No, it was an achievement that could not have been accomplished without the military officers who served as their hands and feet.”

The idea that military officers are the foundation of the Empire refers to their merit in reviving the Empire during the Gojo and Seongjo eras.

Who could disagree with that statement?

Anyone living in the Empire should nod their head in agreement.

“Lee Sung Joon is trampling on us military officers. He’s trampling us with his dirty feet, trying to bring us down to the same level as those lowly beings. Should we just stand by and watch this?”

“No, Your Excellency.”

“How can we military officers be placed on the same level as those lowly beings?”

“I agree. So we must all gather our strength and wisdom to overthrow Lee Sung Joon.”

At Nam Jin-seung’s words, the military officers briefly looked at each other’s faces.

While attending the meetings, they had formed a sense of belonging to this Hwangguk Association to some extent, but following dangerous talk like overthrowing Lee Sung Joon was a separate matter.

As hesitation seemed to flow among the military officers, Nam Jin-seung continued.

“I know you’re all afraid of Lee Sung Joon right now. I admit that Lee Sung Joon is fearsome. But do we have any more room to back down?”

That wasn’t the case.

The moment they touched the land, the military officers had to choose.

Fall to the same level as the lowly beings or risk their lives and charge forward.

The people who remained here were title successors who placed more weight on their family’s honor than their lives.

Kang Hyun-sik also fell into deep thought.

Then he opened his mouth with difficulty.

“If we were to plan something, I would like to know Your Excellency’s intentions on how to proceed.”

“Let’s do that. Bring it here.”

When Nam Jin-seung clapped his hands, a tall man in a suit came in and distributed papers with something written on them to the military officers.

The military officers carefully read it and were startled.

“Th-this is…”

Nam Jin-seung was aware that he could not match Lee Sung Joon with military force.

Then what would he use to strike at Lee Sung Joon?

Nam Jin-seung proposed terrorism as the answer.

Poking at the croaker fish flesh with his chopsticks, Nam Jin-seung said,

“As you all know, I’m a World War I veteran. That’s when I first tasted something called gas.”

Nam Jin-seung still couldn’t forget the terror of the thick, rolling poisonous gas.

Whenever the gas rolled in, even healthy people would turn into bloody, foaming corpses within minutes.

“Even now, just thinking about those days keeps me from sleeping.”

Gas.

Few of the military officers here had felt that terror.

But they knew about it from legendary stories.

“What if we let Lee Sung Joon taste that terror too?”

People were perplexed and agitated.

No matter what, wouldn’t a poison gas terror attack be a bit too much?

“Yes, you all still have hesitations. But think about it carefully. We’re in a position where everything is being taken away from us. Can we afford to be picky about means and methods?”

Kang Hyun-sik thought Nam Jin-seung’s words were right.

“Then, Your Excellency, how do you plan to prepare this ‘terrorism’ you mentioned? As you can see, gas cannot even be attempted without chemical facilities.”

Simple chlorine gas can be easily obtained anywhere.

However, chlorine gas has a pungent odor and color, so it would be detected immediately upon use, making it unsuitable as a terror weapon.

Then they would have to use something like tabun gas or sarin gas developed by Germany, but to make these, they needed proper factory facilities and technicians.

That would cost a huge amount of money and was prone to being caught by the government’s surveillance network.

Nam Jin-seung also had something in mind.

“We could set up a factory in China and bring it over, couldn’t we?”

“!!!!!”

It was an ingenious idea.

The current Republic of China was a lawless world where laws didn’t exist.

Who would properly inspect a chemical factory set up to manufacture poison gas amidst that chaos?

“As Your Excellency said, the cost would be the problem.”

The ultimate issue was, after all, the cost.

Bringing in equipment, setting up a chemical factory, and inviting technicians could not be solved with just a few pennies.

“That’s why I need your help.”

He’s saying to fund the preparation for a chemical terror attack.

If by any chance they contributed money here, they would surely be listed as a terrorist organization.

But it was also awkward to back out after hearing the whole story up to this point.

They had to show sincerity in order to avoid being ostracized in military officer society.

“Then, how much?”

“500 won. Just prepare 500 won each.”

It wasn’t a huge amount, but it wasn’t a small sum either.

If times were good, maybe, but…

Seeing people hesitating, Kang Hyun-sik decided to step up first.

“I will cover the cost. Why are you all so afraid of doing something for Daehan?”

As Kang Hyun-sik stepped up, other military officers also gathered courage one by one.

“I will also cover it.”

If they could just get rid of Lee Sung Joon with terrorism, the land reform would fizzle out.

And in that chaos, the new leader who would come to power would reach out to the military officers for the legitimacy of the regime.

Without this calculation, the military officers would not have easily mustered the courage.

“Thank you all for lending your strength like this.”

“Not at all. We are just grateful to Your Excellency, the Duke, for taking the lead in this matter.”

The meeting ended in a friendly atmosphere.

After all the military officers left, the smiling expression on Nam Jin-seung’s face completely changed.

Nam Jin-seung’s expression, which had been treating loyal retainers just a moment ago, was as cold as could be.

“Now that you’ve cooperated this far, keep your promise to show mercy to my foolish bastard son.”

“Of course, Your Excellency. Our Jungjeong has never broken a promise.”

After the Jungjeong agent, disguised as the Duke’s confidant Lee Seo-bang, withdrew, Nam Jin-seung let out a sigh.

The conspiracy itself was plausible, but this was a trap set by the Jungjeong to catch the malcontents.

I’m sorry it turned out this way.

Nam Jin-seung expressed sympathy for his fellow military officers who would disappear to the other side of the era.