I Will Stage A Coup D’état - Chapter 171



Only Noblemtl

EP.171 Northern Expedition Reinforcement (2)

After our short vacation in German Village, we started to get back on track.

“The average cultivated area in the northern Manchuria region is 10 hectares.”

What is that?

South Manchuria’s target is more than doubled.

But he said that even if you do that, the yield won’t be high.

It’s because there’s not enough sunlight and the climate is harsh.

Anyway, the overall situation in rural Manchuria was good.

Farmers were earning an average of more than $2,000 a year in dollar terms.

Although the income was poor compared to the city, it was a huge improvement compared to the pre-modern society of the past.

‘If we increase agricultural productivity further in the future, things will get better.’

I will make it so.

That concludes my schedule of inspecting farmland.

The last stop was the Daegyeong Oil Field, which was responsible for the empire’s oil.

Daegyeong Oilfield produced an average of 30 million tons of crude oil per year, accounting for half of Korea’s oil needs.

Even this was not the maximum production.

I have instructed that the production facilities of the Daegyeong Oil Field be expanded in consideration of the upcoming Middle East situation.

“Even if we can’t do it, we have to produce at least 40 million tons per year. Do you think you can do it?”

“I will try.”

After hearing that I had found the Daegyeong oil field, the chairman of Hougyeong came running and bowed repeatedly.

Actually, it wasn’t an unreasonable request.

Daegyeong Oil Field was an oil field that once recorded an average annual production of 56 million tons.

The Northern Expedition ended with the Great Gyeong Oil Field.

At the end of my tour, I revealed my plans for how I would shape Korea in the future.

“If Korea up until now has been in the first term of the Lee Seong-jun administration, it will be in the second term from now on. First, we will strongly push for the supply of water and sewage systems to rural areas, which are still lacking.”

The provision of water and sewage systems was an important issue that was directly related to extending life expectancy.

It was something that had to be done, even if it cost a lot of money.

“Also, if people live in remote areas, we will build schools. We will not leave our people to remain ignorant and uneducated.”

One thing I discovered during my tour was that newly built villages often had no schools.

I don’t know about anything else, but I couldn’t let go of the issue of education.

Currently, Korea has created a 6-3-3-4 school system through educational reform, but in reality, it only provides education up to middle school.

High school education was a privilege available only to a select few.

First, I decided to make secondary education available nationwide and to increase the number of high schools.

The goal is to raise the high school enrollment rate to 90% in the long term.

“We will also eliminate economic inequality. We will ensure that the high incomes of the peninsula region can be enjoyed in Manchuria as well.”

We will establish a stronghold city in Manchuria, like Pyongyang or Hansung on the peninsula.

If a large city were built in Manchuria, its ripple effects would inevitably extend to its surrounding areas.

We will also move the headquarters of large corporations to Manchuria.

That way, people in Manchuria will have more opportunities to get jobs at big companies.

“We will provide more undeveloped land to the private sector than we do now. The nature reserves will be reduced to half of what they are now.”

Considering endangered species like tigers and leopards, it wasn’t a good policy, but Korea’s growth came first.

“A vast land, ample opportunity. Manchuria will become the ‘west’ of Korea.”

Up to this point, it was no different from the countless promises and blueprints that had been made so far.

But the real goal of this northern tour wasn’t just to tell such obvious stories.

After talking about economic issues for a while, I got to the main point.

“Finally, the start of the second term of the Lee Seong-jun administration will be the abolition of the Yushin regime.”

Everyone’s mouths dropped open in shock at my announcement.

But the promise to abolish the Yushin regime was not an empty promise, it was sincere.

Since I enjoy more power than the emperor, wouldn’t there be chaos throughout the country with the succession dispute and all?

So I have no choice but to reduce my power.

Of course, even if I abolished the Yushin system, my power would not be dramatically reduced overnight.

Even in a democratic government, a government with an approval rating of 85% could do anything.

Besides that, I have put in place several safety measures.

Almost all military personnel above the rank of general were my people, and even the bureaucrats and conglomerates were on my side.

I had built a solid system that would make it impossible for anyone to rise up against me.

The abolition of the Yushin Constitution was merely a signal that I was preparing to step down from power.

As soon as the northern reinforcements were finished, the aides came running.

“Your Majesty, you have said so, but are you declaring the abolition of the Yushin Constitution in a place like this?”

“Masters. How long do you think I should stay here?”

Now I was approaching my sixtieth birthday.

Even if he held his position here, the time he could rule normally would not be that long.

Unless he’s going to become senile like Putin and ruin the country, he should have stepped down within 20 years.

Of course, I might die before that.

I took good care of my health, but I also did a lot of bad things.

I drank alcohol occasionally, smoked cigarettes, and enjoyed nights out with my wife.

Thinking about it made me feel a little embarrassed.

“Still, if Your Majesty does not firmly hold his position, who will lead this country, Daehan?”

“The right person will come along. Don’t worry too much.”

I gave subtle signals that a successor was being prepared.

The successor candidates were being trained under Kim Jeong-gil’s command.

I don’t know if any useful ones will appear among them, but if you keep spinning the gacha, you’ll probably get one.

That was my thought.

“Your Majesty, may I offer you a word of advice?”

Security Commander Park Jun said cautiously.

“Try it.”

“When power shows weakness, the hyenas come rushing in. Now, we have shown weakness.”

I guess so.

The Hangjun Mountaineering Club, which has been quiet until now, will start its activities all at once.

Even the communists will make a fuss.

But it was bound to happen someday.

If that’s the case, wouldn’t it be better for me to wait and see how things go while I’m still a little bit healthy?

“Do you think they would stage a coup? Do you think they would dare do that?”

That was out of the question.

My military control had reached a level that was unparalleled throughout the history of the Korean Empire.

Attempting a coup against such a day?

It would have been better to shoot yourself in the head with a pistol at that time.

Because the coup will fail anyway and I will be shot on the execution stand.

Park Jun bowed his head.

“Of course, you wouldn’t dream of something like that.”

“Okay then.”

If you can’t defeat me physically, then it’s a political strife, and I can manipulate the dice rolls on the political game board as I please.

The media, the conglomerates, the number of lawmakers, all the factors were smiling at me.

The enemy cannot win no matter what they do, so why should they be afraid?

The Northern Expedition soon shook the entire empire.

Public opinion and media attention, which had previously focused only on my wife’s stomach, were also focused on the reinforcement of the Northern Expedition.

The abolition of the Yushin system had that much power.

It was an event that changed the system of the Korean Empire.

I called in my advisors, who were well versed in the law, and had them research ways to abolish the Yushin system while still preserving my power as much as possible.

The resulting method was this.

Instead of abolishing the Yuhyeokhoe, which was a recommendation for the existing military, it was decided to slightly change the rules of politics.

“It’s politics driven by money.”

It was a typical plutocrat politics where they bought food, drinks, and votes for the townspeople.

So you might wonder what could be better than Yushin, but that was how democracy originally started.

There was a time in Korea when there was rubber shoe politics and makgeolli politics.

“We have also changed the electoral districts to reflect public opinion as much as possible. The National Election Commission will be in charge of demarcating the electoral districts.”

Of course, the election commission was made up of our people.

The aides suggested legal gerrymandering.

“Black propaganda must not stop either.”

We relentlessly pour shit water on our candidates’ enemies and bring them down.

The Central Intelligence Agency and the Security Service, both government agencies, were expected to take charge of the job.

Of course, this was obviously illegal.

“Even the ballot box can be tampered with.”

“Hey, hey. That won’t do.”

As expected from Yushin’s staff, they were good at spewing out bad thoughts.

If the voter turnout is manipulated and controversy over election fraud arises, it will only serve to create an advantageous situation.

Even though Syngman Rhee had an overwhelming approval rating, didn’t he go to the afterlife after the rigged election on March 15?

I didn’t intend to make the mistake of blowing everything by being greedy for something small.

It was all thanks to the teachings of our ancestors who sacrificed themselves to let us know that it was dangerous for everyone to do this.

“Then it might be a little dangerous.”

“You’re saying that you can’t even guarantee that much when you’re taking the table this well?”

“sorry.”

“Just maintain the constitutional amendment line. I don’t want anything more than that.”

In this way, even if the Yushin system was abolished, it was possible to maintain power close to a pseudo-Yushin system.

“I will think about the method further.”

I was steadily preparing to put down my spirit.

Since this was something that had been done before the succession issue arose, the entire process went smoothly.

However, the reinforcement of the Northern Expedition was not without its share of noise.

“Korea is abolishing the Yushin regime? What about Korean-style democracy? Does that mean we should throw away this good system?”

There was chaos both at home and abroad.

Is the next successor Korean-style democracy?

That doesn’t mean I was worried about those friends.

Since our dictator friends were not loyal to Korea and did not follow the Korean-style democracy, it was obvious that they would create an appropriate modification to fit their system.

If it’s too hard, just follow us and establish a legal dictatorship.

The world was supposed to adapt on its own.

In that regard, the era of K-Yushin has ended today.

From tomorrow, the era of K-legal dictatorship begins.