I Will Stage A Coup D’état - Chapter 158



Only Noblemtl

EP.158 The Italian War (4)

By mid-July the Italian front had reached central Campania.

Even the overwhelming display of power by the US Navy and Air Force was of no use.

No matter how many fighters and bombers were mobilized, they were not enough to stop the advance of the People’s Army moving under the cover of night.

On July 15, Smith’s Combat Group of the 2nd Armored Division of the US Army suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of the Northern Italian Army.

At this point, it would have been expected for the US to take out its nukes, but there were no signs of that happening.

Well then, that’s good.

It’s time for Chairman Lee Seong-jun, the merchant of the war of death, to step forward.

However, if you want to sell goods in bulk, you need to buy the raw materials at a cheaper price.

It also makes a bit of a dent in Korea’s exports.

After crunching the numbers, I decided to choose Australia as my first destination, as it fit all these criteria.

Indonesia, which is closer, was also a decent trading partner, but they were not yet internally organized, so they were not suitable as a trading partner for the time being.

As soon as I conveyed my intention to visit to the Australian side, a letter from Australian Prime Minister Robert Menzies arrived immediately.

“Dear Prime Minister Lee Sung-joon, we in Australia fully agree with your suggestion to discuss economic cooperation. If you tell us the date you would like, we promise to do our best to welcome you.”

Robert Menzies was a seasoned politician who had served one term in 1939 and a second term from 1949, and was expected to remain in power for more than ten years unless something unexpected happened.

For a letter from such a person, there was a lot of anticipation in his words.

It seemed that they were very keen on economic cooperation with us.

Oh, come to think of it, that’s only natural.

With the British Empire about to ‘implode’ and France on the verge of becoming a corpse, Europe seemed poised to collapse into war.

In a situation where the only reliable large markets were the United States and South Korea (plus the Chinese puppet and Japanese protectorate), the Prime Minister of South Korea proposed economic cooperation, so it was enough to make me jump out of my sleep and write a letter.

I decided to take my wife to this rare state event.

“Mr. Prime Minister, is that true?”

“Why would I lie to you like that?”

My wife ran to me and hung on my neck.

She weighed more than I thought, so I almost fell over while holding her.

My wife has gained some weight.

It’s more like I’m just running out of strength.

After comforting his delighted wife, he hurried on with his plans for his visit to Australia.

The list of officials to go together was left to Jeong Gil-i.

The conglomerates who will accompany us were chosen in this way.

“Tell all of the Geundae, Sesung, Eunseong, Hoogyeong, Hancheol, Hanjeon, Taewoo, and Samjin groups to participate.”

We selected companies that have synergy with Australia and the four major conglomerates.

“I will accept it.”

As soon as the delegation was settled, we flew straight to Australia.

On the way, I stopped by Saipan for a while and looked around the island.

In Saipan, Korean immigrants had built a fairly decent society.

I wondered if there were any good jobs for people on such a remote island, and I heard that the Dongdu Group was catching tuna and selling it as canned food.

We arrived in Australia via Tanian Island and Indonesia.

Upon arriving in Canberra, Australia’s de facto capital, we were greeted by Australian Prime Minister Robert Menzies.

In this era, even though Australia was talking about White Australia, it could not say such things in front of Korea, a true great power.

As far as I know, they couldn’t blatantly discriminate against Koreans, so they created a ridiculous immigration quota called honorary whites.

Of course, that doesn’t mean that many people go to Australia.

“Hold it, gun.”

The Australian Guard was apparently well trained.

After a brief inspection, I rode in the same car as Menzies.

His wife rode in the same car as Menzies’ spouse, Peter Menzies.

Seeing her standing with Mrs. Menzies, who was in her fifties, it struck me that my wife looked young.

Menzies and I talked as we drove around.

Perhaps it was because of my experience as a translator, having frequently worked with translated documents, that I was able to easily understand what Menzies was saying.

However, I made sure to have the interpreter check any parts where the pronunciation was muffled or rushed.

“Your Majesty, are you serious when you say you want to invest in our Australia?”

“Of course.”

In particular, Australia’s endless reserves of iron and coal were mouth-watering.

I expressed a willingness to invest in the development of Australia’s diverse resources, and Menzies responded positively.

It was said that if resources were developed, an export route would open up to Korea, so it was likely to happen.

Instead, we also wanted a few things.

By the standards of this era, if they were giving us this much, it would have been normal for Australia to give us something too.

“If there is anything Your Majesty wishes, I will do my best to accommodate it.”

“We would also like to export to Australia. We would like you to open up the market a bit.”

“It’s a Commonwealth matter, so it’s not an easy task.”

“So I’m asking you a favor.”

If it were easy, I wouldn’t have asked you to do it?

Menzies said he would consider it carefully for now.

“If you can get that part right, I’m willing to supply Korean-made weapons at a low price. No, I’ll set up a military factory for you.”

“Is that true?”

Australia, which has long wanted to domestically produce its defense industry, has been drawn to this story.

After some pushing and pulling, Menzies came up with a definitive answer.

“We will open our market as much as possible, on the honor of our government.”

“I appreciate the Prime Minister’s decision.”

We finished the negotiation with a good laugh.

By reaching an agreement on such a major issue, the practitioners were able to complete the work well.

There wasn’t much to do at the summit.

All they did was talk to the reporters about what had already been agreed upon and take their questions.

While I was explaining the results of the meeting, a reporter asked me this question.

“Your Majesty, you are also Asian. Could you tell us a little about Australia’s White Australia policy?”

What? White Australia?

The Australian people nearby and the Prime Minister were taken aback by this question.

Then, he looked at me.

In fact, White Australia itself was a racist policy.

But there was no need to bring it up so openly now and ruin relations with Australia.

There was no need for us to disturb the country that would become Korea’s largest resource supply base.

“I won’t talk about anything that isn’t on the agenda.”

I avoided answering the question.

After a brief meeting, Menzies tendered his resignation.

“We apologize for the embarrassment our policies have caused the Prime Minister.”

“No. It’s immigration policy, it’s the country’s own right.”

Aren’t we thoroughly blocking immigration from China and Japan?

“Thank you for your understanding.”

Since we’re suddenly talking about immigration, I had a favor to ask of Australia.

“By the way, I heard there are some trusteeships in Australia?”

“Yes. We manage the area a bit.”

“Could we possibly send some of the refugees we have there?”

In the 21st century, Australia has been dumping refugees on remote islands.

It was a rather inhumane policy, but I didn’t think it was wrong.

It was more advantageous for the country to send out a population with a different culture and who did not pay taxes, rather than keeping them in the country.

Even if it was ethically wrong, the country’s priority was the safety and interests of its citizens.

It was necessary to remember that, in the first place, a nation is a community created through the agreement of its citizens.

“If Your Majesty is willing to pay the cost, we will cooperate.”

Of course, this does not mean that we will send illegal immigrants from China or Japan.

Those guys could just be deported to their home country, or if that didn’t work out, they could just be used as foreign workers.

The refugees I was thinking of were the moths that came from all over the world, lured by the empire.

Although I was making the Korean Empire a quasi-multicultural empire, I was basically prioritizing assimilation policies over multiculturalism.

Unless there are special exceptions, I had no intention of introducing heterogeneous elements.

Even the Germans would not have absorbed them on such a large scale if it had not been for the task of absorbing technological prowess and talent.

“Your Excellency the Prime Minister’s words of cooperation give me strength.”

The conversation with Menzies was instructive.

We have also established partnerships with Australian companies, expanded into resource development, and received promises of cooperation on market and refugee issues.

To this extent, it was a decent harvest.

My last night in Canberra.

My wife, perhaps intoxicated by the new atmosphere, sent me a secret signal.

I’m a little tired, can I rest today?

Of course, my intentions were simply ignored.

I did my best, but my wife’s expression was far from satisfactory.

“Your Majesty! Your Majesty!”

While I was making love to my wife, I suddenly heard an urgent sound from outside.

“Quick, get dressed.”

My wife threw me out of bed and covered me with the blanket.

Five minutes later, when I opened the door, Jeong Gil handed me the message with a very urgent expression.

“What is going on? This chaos at this hour of the morning.”

People need to have some sense.

I interpreted the text that Jeong Gil gave me.

Huh?

Are you kidding?

In Italy, a nuclear explosion?

No, does it make sense for these guys to be acting up like this?

It was the United States, not the Soviet Union, that launched the nukes first.

Isn’t this the nuclear escalator activating?

“Your Majesty, the UN General Assembly will be convening soon. We need guidance.”

Yeah, this is not a normal case.

First of all, it would be good to show a position opposing the use of nuclear weapons.

And, it will be difficult to persuade the Soviet Union, so we need to lay the groundwork for later.

Let’s stop after using a few feet.

The Soviet Union probably didn’t have many nuclear weapons anyway.

They probably know that a nuclear war would be disadvantageous to them.

“Is security maintained here too?”

“If you use a password, you can maintain security for about a month.”

Okay then.

I instructed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of the Army to investigate the circumstances under which the nuclear weapons were used.

When I returned to the hotel, my wife asked me with a worried look.

“Prime Minister, is something serious?”

A big deal is a big deal.

Because if we’re not careful, this could easily lead to World War 3.

Seeing my wife in her pajamas made me remember what I was doing earlier, but now was not the time.

I made my wife pack her bags.