Dear Comrade - Dear Comrade chapter 62

Chapter 15. Loyalty Competition(2)

Chapter 15. Loyalty Competition (2)

“……Well, what did you say, Comrade General?”

Jang Seong-taek rolled his eyes and asked again.

His mouth was open and his pupils dilated, which explained the degree of surprise he had now received.

“The Juche farming method was a mistake, so I said we should discard it. Oh, of course, it is President’s teaching, but as Mr. Hong said, his true intention is the abundance of his comrades in agriculture, so why not put that first?”

“Haha, this is the president’s son-in-law, so it can be difficult to admit the mistakes of the father-in-law’s policies. However, you seem very surprised that your son, Comrade General Secretary, has made a decision.”

“……………!!”

At Hong Gye-seong’s words, which seemed to raise himself, Jang Seong-taek pushed his anger to the very end, but he reminded himself that he should calm his anger and think calmly.

It seemed that he had misjudged the intention of the general secretary.

“Then, how should the party manage agriculture in the future? Everyone please comment.”

“Hmm, Comrade General Secretary, I think it would be better to leave the agricultural sector to the autonomy of the farmer comrades rather than the party. Farmers, do the farmers know, do the party know?”

Jang Seong-taek was once again surprised by Hong Kye-seong’s words.

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Now, Hong Gye-seong was denying North Korea’s system of collective farms (called cooperative farms in North Korea), which is the root of socialist ideology that has been passed down from the days of Comrade Lenin.

What was more surprising, however, was the attitude of the general secretary upon hearing the startling proposal.

“Ummm… that seems a bit overkill… but if only we could increase production…”

“Like President Kim Il-sung, who commanded the Battle of Pocheonbo, you must make a bold decision, Comrade General! As I said before, farmers know farming and gunfights are well known to military officers. Now, our comrades in the Soviet Union are not able to import food because the situation is not getting better.

“Seeing that, I see. Haha, I heard that some of the socialist comrades countries are also introducing some self-sufficient farming systems…

‘That old woman, Hong Gye-seong!’

Seeing Gye-seong Hong running alone, Seong-taek Jang clenched his teeth.

It is hard to believe that he came up with such a thought alone, but seeing the general secretary who accepted such a capitalist idea without much resistance, he must have made a mistake in his judgment for a long time.

Seeing that he was flirting with the general secretary while abandoning the Soviet Union, who was now nothing but his supporter, he must have gotten a little bit of a goal and a relatively bright aide in the economy.

“It was really easy to solve a difficult problem. But for the Republic, there is nothing we can do about it. The party will no longer interfere with the crops and agricultural plans of each farm. When the Cabal Committee procures food in the future, please make sure that individual farms pay for them.”

“Comrade General Secretary, I have another suggestion regarding agricultural production.”

“Ah, Comrade Jang. My comrade, who was said to be an economist, was particularly quiet today, but it seems like he had a plan. Tell me.”

“It is the lock gate of the West Sea.”

“It’s the West Sea lock…?”

Unlike Jung-hwan, who turned his head to Jang Seong-taek with a curious expression, Hong Kye-seong’s smiling face hardened in an instant.

He seemed to have already guessed what was going to come out of Jang Seong-taek’s mouth.

“As Comrade General Secretary knows, the West Sea lock is a lock built in Nampo in 1981 under the direction of the President. When it was first constructed, it was built to secure water resources essential for agricultural battles, and to increase the port capacity of Nampo Port and Taedong River, and to increase navigability.”

“I remember. President Kim Il-sung chose the location despite opposition at the time. By the way? Is there something wrong with that West Sea lock?”

To Jung-hwan’s question, Jang Seong-taek looked at Hong Gye-seong, who had a chewed expression on his face, with a deep contempt for him, and then answered with a laugh.

“It is not that there is a problem. Since it was built with a floodgate from the beginning of the construction, water leaked from various places, and even after the completion of the project was delayed twice, there are still reports that cracks are found in the breakwater. Moreover, even after the completion of the project, the climate of the Taedong River basin changed, the fog was thick, and the agricultural and fishery production decreased.

“That’s a big deal, but did I say poor construction? Where the heck did the construction work…”

“As far as I know, it was at that time that a corps of the People’s Army was deployed. Besides, even now, one construction division is always on standby for supplementary work…”

“Hey, comrade Zhang! Why is that the fault of our People’s Army! In the first place, it must have been the comrades of the party’s cadres who pushed the excessive construction work as the leader’s instruction and didn’t even bring the materials properly! Aren’t our soldiers of the People’s Army only guilty of faithfully following what they were ordered to do! Where are you telling the general secretary a lie?”

When Hong Gye-seong shouted as if he couldn’t listen any more, as if responding to the words, the military and party officials sitting at the table began to stare at each other with cold eyes.

Soon, war began to spread across the table.

Besides, I don’t know if it was a coincidence or someone’s intention, but the positions of the two camps were also arranged so that they faced each other with Jung-hwan as the center.

However, at the moment when these conflicts lead to non-discharge towards each other, Jung Hwan intervened.

“Come on, I wish the two elder comrades would stop calming down. Each of them has served the President for a long time in the position of representing the party and the military, but what is this in front of subordinates? No, does that mean that I, who was the general secretary sitting here before that, looked like a silent general?”

“Oh, no, Comrade General.”

“I will fix it.”

Jang Seong-taek and Hong Gye-seong bowed their heads at Jeong-hwan’s gentle, but clearly angered warning, and temporarily ceased operations.

At the table, where the water splashed on the table was about to catch fire, Jeonghwan presented a new rule.

“Then, from now on, stop unproductive slander of each other and give constructive opinions for the Republic. Although the subject of today’s meeting is the Politburo and the agenda of Juche farming has been set, it seems that all the military and party comrades have had a lot to say in the meantime, so I’ll give permission to speak freely without limiting the topic.”

“…………”

After speaking up to this point, Junghwan added a word as if it was important.

“And it doesn’t matter where you suggest the improvement plan, so please speak regardless of position or position. I will discuss it with the comrade who has offered the best option for the Republic either way.”

“…………”

In other words, it was the same as presenting the rules, ‘Fight, but fight according to the rules’.

After a brief grasp of the situation was over, the officials of the Workers’ Party and the People’s Army began pouring out ideas that were pleasing to Jeong-hwan at once.

It was Hyun Young-sook, the head of the propaganda and agitation department, who was as smart and powerful as Jang Seong-taek.

“There is a Vinalon joint venture in Suncheon. To produce Vinylon, a synthetic fiber developed by Dr. Seunggi Lee, at an annual capacity of 100,000 tons, construction began in 1983 and cost 10 billion dollars. Our propaganda and agitation department is well aware of it as it is widely advertised as ‘juche textile’.”

“Right. By the way?”

“Vinalon is not suitable for use in textiles because it is weak against chemicals, and its practicality has not been verified enough to be mass-produced for industrial purposes. In addition, I heard that there are more days when facilities installed with expensive foreign currency are not running due to the lack of coal in recent years. Please, the general secretary, give me courage.”

And following Manager Hyun Young-sook, many opinions went back and forth like a ping-pong ball.

If one came out of the party, the military proposed one plan, and if the party rejected the plan, the military raised a counterargument.

Since the field was not limited to the economic field, but also extended to the military and administrative fields, the KPA military officers were able to come and go without being pushed by the party officials.

Seeing the scene, Jeonghwan secretly laughed inwardly.

‘It’s going well.’

At the Politburo meeting now, the key cadres of the party and the military are divided into two groups and the controversial discussion was, of course, the result that Jeong Hwan intended from the beginning.

It was also Jung-hwan who summoned officers including Hong Gye-seong, who would have been like a dumb dumbass at the Politburo meeting in the first place, and even told their leader, Hong Gye-seong, what to say.

– Chasu Hong, I hope you can attend today’s Politburo meeting and help me out. I have something to say on my behalf.

– Yes, Comrade General Secretary, what can I say?

– Say that the republic does not need the Juche farming method anymore, it should be released so that the people can farm as individual farmers, and that the formation of cooperatives should be left to the autonomy of the farms.

– ….Yes? Are you really? But the Juche farming method is…

– Not really, my intentions are also intentional, but who will stand up to Jang Seong-taek, who will lead the meeting by himself, unless he is a person of the order of Cha-soo Hong?

– Those words…

– I need someone to check Jang in. No matter how much he played in the last big business, he’s not completely trustworthy. Of course, his abilities are needed for the future economic development of the republic, but the original eggs are not in one basket.

– ………………………….

– Even if no one else knows, I believe Cha-Soo Hong knows what I mean. And Chasoo Hong Personally, I think I’ll be happy to accept this task… Am I wrong?

– No. Comrade general secretary! Please do not abandon Hong Gye-seong and the military, and write in the new Republic of General Secretary. If you could treat me like a servant of the general secretary, this Hong Gye-seong would be an unprecedented Gwangyeong!

From the beginning, Jeong Hwan tried to abolish the Juche farming method and implement a policy for individual farms to become self-sufficient (to weaken Kim Il-sung’s authority and make sure he became the new leader).

However, in order to fundamentally reform the laws that have supported North Korea so far, the selection of people was very important.

And Hong Kye-seong, who had always been at odds with Jang Seong-taek, was a perfect casting for this job.

Of course, a squirrel like Hong Gye-seong is not foolish enough to know completely that Jeong-hwan is trying to control Jang Seong-taek and the party and induce a loyal rivalry between them.

Starting with Baek Seung-cheol, the Frunze clan, and eventually Hong Kye-seong, who read in advance Jeong-hwan’s plan to wipe out himself and the military, and even extended his life by conducting an ‘event’ called an oath of allegiance.

However, he has no other choice because if he does not do this, he will be alienated from the development of the republic led by professional bureaucrats led by Jang Seong-taek and Hyun Young-sook and will be pushed into the back room.

Therefore, after reading Jeong-hwan’s heart to contain Jang Seong-taek, he voluntarily declared himself to be the kindling of the party and military’s loyal rivalry for this general secretary Jeong-hwan.

However, there was one problem with this composition.

‘If you’re a little clever, you know that I am the ultimate beneficiary of this scheme, and you might try to rebel by promoting alliances between the party and the military. Well, even in that case, there are alternatives.’

“Comrade Kim Yong-gun. As the foreign minister, please speak up, a new president has recently been inaugurated in the US imperialists, so what should we do next?”

“Yes? Oh yes! The new president of the United States, George Herbert Walker Bush, is a former CIA director and a military veteran who served in World War II. Also, since the party enemy is also affiliated with the Republican Party, there is a high probability that we will take a fundamentally hard-line stance for our republic.”

“Hmm, then, comrade Kim Yong-geon is insisting that we go hard, too?”

“It is not. George Walker Bush is a Republican but previously a flexible rationalist. Instead of creating an atmosphere of needless confrontation, if the leader is well persuaded of the benefits that our republic can provide, he may try to draw us to his side.”

“A sharp analysis. Indeed, since I was in Japan, I had been looking into my comrades’ abilities as a diplomat for a long time. Please continue to dedicate yourself to the Republic.”

“I got it! Comrade General Secretary!”

‘It’s just raising the third force. As far as possible, the side that was alienated from the previous power structure.’

Jeonghwan thought so as he saw the eyes around the table focused on Kim Yong-geon, who was sitting in the lower seat.

Although he was the head of the foreign affairs department of the party specialized department, Kim Yong-geon, who had no affiliation because he had been out of Japan for a long time, sat like a sack of barley, heard Jeong-hwan’s praise, and bowed his head deeply.

It is expected that it will take a long time, but if all of Jeong-hwan’s predictions are fulfilled, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea will largely revolve around the three axes of the party, the cabinet, and the military.

And the three axes of power that have been divided in this way will have no choice but to compete for loyalty to win the hearts of the masters who monitor and check each other, hold their leash, and distribute the meat of power.

The only person who reigns over the three axes of the party and military government and emerges as the only and absolute power in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, of course…

‘Now that the internal affairs have taken a breath, let’s start preparing for the future in earnest and start the development drive.’

Jeonghwan looked back at the original history that remained in his memory and checked what he had to do in the future.

After returning to the past, absolute power was essential for the task he decided to accomplish, the path he wanted to prove himself.

And now the process of establishing power has just completed one step.

Of course, at this point, no one sitting here knows 100% of Jeonghwan’s true feelings, but the original boss should not fully show his inner feelings to anyone.

And starting from that day’s Politburo meeting, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea began to move little by little in a direction markedly different from before .