I Will Stage A Coup D’état - Chapter 126



Only Noblemtl

EP.126 Time of Plunder (2)

By February 1945, plans to partition Germany began to move from paper to reality.

The Allied forces first began to demarcate the boundaries of the occupied territory.

Korea received Baden, Württemberg, Bavaria, and Thuringia east of the Rhine.

The United States was to receive the Rhineland, the Saar, the Ruhr, and Hesse, while Britain was to receive Lower Saxony, Schleswig-Holstein, Bremen, and Hamburg.

This boundary was temporary and subject to change through future coordination.

Of course, most of the area we were to divide up was still in German hands.

Each country first appointed a military governor in the occupied territory it had secured.

I too was thinking about who would be a suitable person to send to the occupied territory.

‘Anyway, we have to send someone of some weight.’

After much deliberation, I decided to send Senior General Shin Hee-beom, former Commandant of the Marine Corps, as Governor-General.

Senior Lieutenant Shin Hee-beom had some weight in the military and was not a political threat because he was not from the army.

“Welcome, senior.”

“Prime Minister Lee. Why are you looking for someone who goes fishing?”

“Let’s sit down and talk.”

I gave Shin Hee-beom a car and brought up the topic of the position of German Military Governor.

“Me the governor?”

“Well, it’s not that grand.”

However, it was not a completely superficial position.

Because we don’t know what the position of Southern Germany, which will be ruled by Korea in the long term, will be.

I also thought about running southern Germany as an independent country without merging it with West Germany.

Of course, there were no plans to go that far yet, as we had to take into account the sentiments of the local Germans.

Shin Hee-beom accepted my offer only after much persuasion.

“If the country needs this body, let me give it a try.”

“Thank you, Senior. I owe you a great debt of gratitude.”

Since I appointed Shin Hee-beom as governor-general, I also selected a list of the highest-ranking officials who would work under him.

Although some of the staff working under the Governor-General were Korean, most were German collaborators.

“It would be nice to use someone like Adenauer.”

Unfortunately, future West German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer was in the American occupation zone.

After much deliberation, I chose Arnulf Klett, who had previously served as mayor of Stuttgart, as the chief administrator, the de facto head of civil affairs.

Arnulf Klett was, on paper, a clean-cut man, critical of Nazism and not affiliated with any political party.

In that context, it was appropriate to set up our signboard.

“That’s enough about personnel matters, what’s left is plunder.”

I was wondering how I could rob Germany of its assets.

Although they were already looting, it was mostly limited to kidnapping a small number of unnoticed talents.

‘If you loot too recklessly, you’ll draw the aggro of the Allied Forces.’

The Soviet Union extorted an unreasonable $28 billion in reparations from Germany and plundered everything of value, including industrial facilities.

Because of this, it aroused the resentment of the Western world and sowed the seeds of the Cold War.

I knew it was obvious, but I couldn’t repeat the same mistake as the commies.

However, it was too bad that this opportunity was not enough to bring in industrial facilities.

After much thought, I came up with an idea.

‘This sounds good.’

“Tell the Chief of Staff to come in.”

When it comes to decorating things, the most important thing is to make it look plausible.

“Did you call?”

“As you know, it is very important to bring in equipment from Germany. It is something that can determine the future of Korea for the next hundred years. When will we have another opportunity to bring in technology and equipment like this? There will never be another opportunity like this.”

There might be one chance when the Soviet Union collapses, but I don’t think I’ll be alive then.

“Don’t worry. We are fully prepared in our courtyard.”

“That alone is not enough.”

“yes?”

“We need to make sure that even if the Westerners find out, they can’t find fault with it. We need to bring all the companies suspected of forced labor to court. Then, we can confiscate their assets and bring them back under the pretext of compensating the victims.”

We can pay the damages.

Anyway, the money they gave us was just a pittance compared to the benefits we would gain.

“It’s going to cost quite a bit.”

“If you want to gain a reputation, you have to take some losses.”

If you beat them like this, even the sheep won’t be able to do anything.

It was a good business because you could give money to the victims and build relationships with them.

“I will accept it.”

So I began my sophisticated plundering, which was less repulsive to Western and German society.

However, our friend Ivan didn’t seem to care about what other people thought.

Those guys were looting in a very vicious manner.

They stormed into the factory, ripped apart all the people and equipment, put them on trains, and then recklessly took them east.

He said he would take everything he could, even the toilet and faucet.

Indeed, there were no modern-day nomads.

The more the Soviet Union ran wild, the better we liked it.

If the comparative opponent is Ivan, wouldn’t the extent of the plunder committed by Daehan just be buried?

‘Thank you always, Brother Stalin. I will bow twice in the direction of the Kremlin.’

Thanks to this, it has become possible to prey while drawing less aggro.

The southern Germany we occupied was a relatively less industrialized region compared to the Rhineland-Saar, which the US military occupied, or the Ruhr, which was scheduled to be occupied.

Still, compared to Germany as a whole, it was a fairly developed and fruitful land.

There was the Bavarian Motor Industry Corporation, the company we know as BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and there was also a factory for the optical company Carl Zeiss.

There were many other companies that are too numerous to list.

We took advantage of the chaos of war to legally plunder the assets of these companies.

We also brought in technicians from time to time.

Just taking the factory didn’t mean you could use the equipment right away.

“The technicians are just as important as the factories. Let them know that when they come to Korea, they will be treated the same way as in Germany. If they can’t convince you, you know that, right?”

“Of course.”

If you can’t communicate, you have to use physical force. What can you do?

We had a blast ripping off Germany from February to April.

The looted equipment was exported to Korea through the port of Antwerp in Belgium.

Meanwhile, Germany was screaming and dying under the one-two punch of the Allies and the straight punch of the Soviets.

The Western Front had almost reached the Elbe River, and the Eastern Front had reached the Oder-Neisse River.

There was no longer a long, narrow Germany like on the map of Europe, and instead, there was a narrow, narrow Germany.

It looked like the dregs of an apple with all the flesh eaten away.

While I was enjoying the exciting German food reviews and seriously contemplating what to get next, a message arrived from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

“Your Majesty, we have received a proposal for negotiations from Germany.”

“What? Negotiation?”

Is Berlin crazy?

Those guys who just need to prepare to appear for the war crimes trial, what are they talking about negotiating?

Still, I was curious to know what Ribbentrop had to say, so I brought him the transcript.

“hmm.”

The content did not deviate significantly from expectations.

“Prime Minister Lee Seong-jun. As you know, there was no ill will between Korea and Germany. If it had not been for a series of unfortunate events, would the two countries have pointed their guns at each other?”

That’s true.

If I hadn’t started the fight first, we wouldn’t have had to fight Germany.

But that’s not the point.

“I’m sure the Prime Minister remembers. There was a time when Germany and Korea were united in the name of anti-communism, and we understood and respected each other.”

I’m saying that it was Park Han-jin who made the contract on his own.

I don’t remember holding hands with you guys.

Don’t distort your memories.

After muttering a few nonsensical words to the expert, Ribbentrop got to the point.

“I’m sure the Prime Minister in Korea knows now the danger of the Jewish Bolsheviks. Those communists brought communist regimes on freight trains and planted communists in Bulgaria, which was said to have defected to the Allies.”

That’s something I’m okay with.

I also suggested splitting Germany.

“Your Excellency, you must now understand the value of Germany, which has jumped into the holy war against communism. Because the Third Reich held out, the European continent was able to avoid communism for four years. How can we stop the communists who will expand after we fall? Your Excellency, you must now understand. Before it is too late, reconcile with Berlin and stand together on the front line against communism. Only in this way can you save both Your Excellency and Germany.”

In the end, I’ll stop the communists. Please save me.

But, that’s something that even our Western friends would not agree with.

Even if we catch the commies, their position is that they will attack the Nazis first, so do you think they will fall for those few words?

“The fate of the world is watching your Majesty’s decision.”

I chuckled at Ribbentrop’s last line.

Germany has definitely lost its appeal.

Seeing them spreading things like this all over the place, calling it a diplomatic document, it was clear that they had reached a dead end.

“Your Majesty, would you like to send a reply to the German side?”

I guess I have to send it.

I made a sound like I was squeezing juice out of every last drop.

I decided to answer like this.

It was not appropriate to send it to Ribbentrop, so it was decided to send it to Hitler.

“Your Excellency Adolf Hitler, Chancellor of the German Empire. Your Empire has already ended. How about leaving the rest to future generations and making a decision to save the country? I think that if just one person makes a grand decision, everything will be resolved cleanly. I look forward to your decision for the greater good. Prime Minister Lee Seong-jun, compensation.”

Stop turning the hope circuit and make a decision to save the country.

I wonder why they are holding out so long hoping for a reversal.

It was my final advice to my best friend who had given me so many gifts.