I Will Stage A Coup D’état - Chapter 17



Only Noblemtl

EP.17 12. 8 Military Coup (5)

“The operation to arrest Park Han-jin has been completed. He is currently being taken to Anga.”

“hmm.”

I reacted as if nothing had happened.

Since the arrest of Park Han-jin was an issue that had to be resolved, it was difficult to get excited about it.

Soon, reports came in that the Army Chief of Staff and the Commander of the Capital Defense Command had been successfully captured.

The Prime Minister’s official residence was also under constant surveillance.

However, the arrest of the second-ranking deputy chief of staff and the security commander failed.

The Security Commander gave up halfway through when the Security Command found out about our intentions, but the Vice Chief of Staff was unexpected.

The arrest team reported that everything went according to plan up until the seizure of the embassy, ​​but they had no idea where the suspect had run off to.

‘It’s become a little annoying.’

In any case, a position at the level of Vice Chief of Staff would be one in which the Army’s formal chain of command could be properly utilized.

I also dispatched the correctional unit as scheduled.

The target is the Prime Minister’s residence and the Army Ministry.

Even if a fight broke out with the Guards Division during the process, I had no intention of avoiding it.

“CP, Colonel Baek Dong-seok, take command. I think I should go out to the field.”

“All right.”

I rode in a communications vehicle lent to me by the commander of the Armored Regiment of the Kyo-yo Corps.

Since it was a commercially available radio in 1923, it was so big that the space in the car was very cramped for a driver and a radio operator.

‘What’s to be expected?’

The cars here were similar to the first Korean cars (Note: the first Korean cars were manufactured by Kukje Motors).

If you expect too much in this day and age, you are bound to be disappointed.

A few minutes after leaving the unit, the radio rang.

The signalman listened to the radio transmission, exchanged a few words, and then said with a nervous expression.

“General. Your Excellency the Chief of Staff?”

“Change it.”

I took up the radio.

“This is Lee Seong-jun.”

“General, you are crazy!”

The old man screamed loudly as if he had boiled a train car.

“Do you know what you are doing right now?”

“I know. I know very well.”

“Withdraw your troops immediately! Are you planning to turn Pyongyang into a sea of ​​fire?”

“Then we all die.”

“Hey, General! Are you going to give these guys a good job?”

The Chief of Staff’s tone gradually changed from strong at first to pleading.

“I didn’t plan on doing this from the beginning. Park Han-jin is ruining this country, so what can we do?”

“General Lee. I can’t say that we should resolve the situation amicably, but what crime did the citizens of Pyongyang commit?”

“Hmm.”

“So, let us make a gentleman’s agreement.”

“What gentleman’s agreement are you talking about?”

“Please refrain from using heavy weapons in downtown Pyongyang.”

That made sense.

The Chief of Staff did not make the nonsense of stopping the deployment of troops like Vice Chief of Staff Yoon Sung-min did on December 12.

I give it some points for that, but why should I grant that request?

“If it is as the Commander demands, we are not to use the cavalry tank regiment. Then how will we deal with the guards?”

“General Lee.”

“Stop deploying the Guards Division first. Then we will consider it.”

“That’s a request I can’t grant.”

“Okay then. And you’ve set up a military police station on the Taedong River Bridge. You’d better remove it. I don’t want to run over the poor military police with a tank.”

“If you’re thinking of crossing the Taedong River with a tank, you’d better give it a shot. I’ve already dispatched engineers to each bridge.”

“Try it.”

I cut off the radio.

The contact from Chief of Staff General Park Sung-ryeol was definitely a quick one.

You might have tried me out once to see what we would do and how far we would go.

And then you would be shocked.

Because they showed an attitude that they would succeed in the coup even if it meant crashing a tram into downtown Pyongyang.

Of course, this kind of hard-line response was not a very good response in that it hardened the Army’s fighting spirit.

But, I had no choice but to respond like this.

The reason was simple.

‘The Army’s command and control system has already collapsed, and an oligarchy has been created that is absolutely not beneficial to the military. In this situation, if we go ahead with a merciless attack, the other side will be divided into those who want to refrain from responding out of concern for civilian damage, and those who want to fight back with an attack, and there will be no choice but to engage in heated debate.’

If that happens, there will be virtually no strategy to suppress the enemy.

Of course, it would be a different story if the Vice Chief of Staff arrived at the Army Headquarters on time, but it would take quite some time to get from the official residence to the Army Headquarters without a car.

We made good use of that time.

‘The match will be decided within the next three hours.’

I checked my watch.

The time was already pointing to 7:45 PM.

*

“Brother. Isn’t that the sound of a gunshot?”

“The gunshots hit.”

“This looks like chaos.”

“First of all, let’s get up.”

At 7:15 p.m., 1st Guards Division Commander Oh Gwang-se and Army Operations Director Ha Jung-yeon heard gunshots and hurriedly returned to the division and the Army Ministry.

They were shocked when they heard the information from the Security Command in the unit.

Oh Gwang-se urgently called the Army Ministry.

“General Park, how is the situation going now? Are you responding to the coup?”

“I have now ordered the military police to blockade the Daedong River Bridge. I will also issue an order to the Guards Division to mobilize, so prepare your units.”

“Okay.”

A few minutes later, when the Army’s official order came down, Oh Gwang-se realized that a real civil war had broken out.

He returned the phone and gave orders to each subordinate unit to mobilize.

The target was rebels advancing toward key locations in downtown Pyongyang.

‘Lee Sung -joon, this kind of chewy.’

Since the Guards Division was also undergoing loyalty training, the unit was able to quickly prepare and deploy.

Colonel Park Jun, commander of the 1st Guards Regiment, was immediately ordered to intercept the rebels advancing on the Prime Minister’s residence.

The opponent was the armored regiment that was crossing the Daedong River Bridge.

‘General Lee Seong-jun is a coup d’état.’

Park Jun couldn’t believe that his seemingly nice superior from the Spanish Civil War had committed such a heinous act.

“Commander, we are ready to deploy.”

“Let’s go.”

“yes.”

Park Jun led the column from the front in a military vehicle.

The Guards Regiment passed in front of the Army Ministry, where Pyongyang’s government offices were located, and advanced south toward the Taedong River Third Bridge.

While moving towards the Third Bridge, radio transmissions from the rebels continued to arrive.

Park Jun tried not to pay attention and answered the radio.

Park Jun-eun laid out the groundwork for the other person to keep sending radio messages to see what they were talking about.

“I am Park Jun, commander of the 1st Guards Regiment.”

“Colonel Park! This is the training unit. The tide has already turned. The army is also in our hands. Make a good judgment of the situation.”

The opponent was the rebel Kyo-ahn Unit Operations Staff.

“Colonel Baek. We are soldiers. A soldier’s job is to obey the orders of the state. Stop talking nonsense.”

Park Jun resisted the rebels’ repeated attempts to persuade him.

8pm.

Trucks carrying Park Jun’s Guard Infantry Regiment arrived at the Third Bridge.

On the bridge, the military police planning officer dispatched by the military police chief was busy blocking the bridge in cooperation with the engineers.

“Is this Colonel Park?”

The officers breathed a sigh of relief when Park Jun’s unit arrived, as they had been worried at the news that the rebels were closing in on them.

A few minutes after Park Jun’s unit arrived, a rumbling sound was heard and about 10 terrifying looking tanks appeared.

It was the appearance of the Kyo-do Armored Regiment, the only two armored units in the capital.

When the tanks of the Panzer Regiment of the Kyo-ahn Regiment aimed their main guns at the bridge, everyone, military police and infantry alike, gulped.

But then the rebel tanks stopped in front of the bridge and one came forward.

“I am General Lee Seong-jun.”

The officers were surprised to hear Lee Seong-jun’s voice.

“Can’t we just shoot that thing with a gun?”

“You’re on a tank. If you touch it for no reason and a shell flies, who’s going to take care of the consequences?”

Lee Seong-jun continued speaking through a loudspeaker while riding in the tram.

“Colonel Park. I know you’re listening. I’ll keep it brief. I know that it’s very unfortunate and unfortunate that our soldiers are pointing guns at each other right now. However, in the long run, you’ll understand that our decision was the right one.”

The military police planning manager remained silent at Lee Seong-jun’s words and then poked Park Jun.

“Colonel Park. Let’s buy some time. If we can buy enough time for the Guards Armored Regiment to mobilize, those guys won’t be able to get a foothold in the Army Department.”

Park Jun hesitated and then handed over the loudspeaker.

“General Lee Seong-jun. I feel very sorry and sad that I have to treat my former superior like this. General, as a subordinate who once respected you, I beg you, can you stop here?”

“Colonel Park. That’s not right. Where does a revolution ever stop?”

“You call this a revolution now? This is just a rebellion.”

“Colonel Park. Then what did Park Han-jin do?”

Park Jun also had a hard time answering that question.

“Colonel Park. This country is now on the brink of ruin. The war started by Park Han-jin has put the great powers out of favor. Do you think Park Han-jin can handle this situation? If he were that kind of person, he wouldn’t have started the war in the first place.”

“General. I admit that our government has made mistakes. However, it is wrong to rise up in rebellion. If everyone rebels because the country is wrong, how can the country be maintained?”

“Then I ask. How can the wrongs of the Korean Empire be corrected other than through revolution? The National Assembly? The courts?”

That was true. There was no legitimate way to change the government in militaristic Korea.

Park Jun-do did not deny that fact.

“Colonel Park. I had no choice but to do the revolution. It was the only way.”

“That’s a cowardly excuse.”

“Yes, it’s cowardly. But what can I do? This is the only way to save this country, Daehan. Colonel Park. I don’t expect much. Just get out of the way.”

“No.”

“Then are you going to let your allies bleed each other? As I told you, I am in the middle of a revolution. Revolutions involve bloodshed. I am prepared for it.”

Park Jun looked at the faces of the subordinates standing around him.

It was a natural duty for soldiers to protect their country.

Park Jun has always thought of himself as a soldier who is faithful to his duty.

But was this regime really worth sacrificing the lives of his beloved subordinates to protect?

Park Jun couldn’t answer easily.

“Colonel Park. I can’t give you much time. You have five minutes to decide.”

The sound from the loudspeaker disappeared.

Park Jun bit his lip and looked at the officers next to him.

Colonel Cho Woon, the head of the military police planning department, cleared his throat.

Unlike a few minutes ago when he had insisted that he had to stop the rebels, his thoughts seemed to have changed when his life was at stake.

If even high-ranking officers were like this, I wondered what would happen to lower-ranking officers.

Park Jun let out a deep sigh.

“Colonel Joe.”

“Yeah.”

“Please remove the barricade.”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

Park Jun chose to surrender after being conflicted over the lives of his country and his subordinates.

The tank crews of the 1st Panzer Regiment soon began to drive their tanks onto the Third Bridge, cheering.

8:30 p.m.

The rebels’ main force, the Kyodo Armored Regiment, entered the center of Pyongyang.

At the same time, to the west of Pyongyang, units of the 16th and 17th Reserve Divisions crossed the border of Pyongyang Special City one after another.

Security Commander Lee Jeong-ju learned of this situation and urgently headed to the Prime Minister’s residence.

In this situation, there was no choice but to leave Pyongyang with the Prime Minister and the Emperor.