I Will Stage A Coup D’état - Chapter 187



Only Noblemtl

EP.187 Repeal of the Act

With the atmosphere of the empire fresh, it was decided to reshuffle the cabinet and reorganize the government organization.

The first area to be touched was the intelligence agency, the axis of information politics.

‘First of all, Lee Kyung-ho has been doing it for too long.’

I fired Chief of Staff Lee Kyung-ho.

“Your Majesty, it has been an honor to serve you.”

As far as I know, Lee Kyung-ho was also a person with a lot of ambition, and he immediately offered to resign when told to step down.

Well, there was nothing to be gained by rebelling in front of me.

“I’ll probably be calling you again in the future, so go to America and study.”

“I will do that.”

I appointed Lee Kyung-ho as ambassador to the United States.

And the power of Jungjeong, who boasted of omnipotent power during the Yushin era, was greatly reduced.

“From now on, the Central Intelligence Agency will become the Security Planning Agency and will only engage in intelligence/operations work. Investigations and inspections are not the responsibility of the Agency for National Security Planning.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

The first vice minister, who was newly appointed as the head of the central government, bowed humbly.

Next to Jungjeong was the Security Command.

After I appointed Park Joon as ambassador to China, I also reduced the power of the Security Command.

“The Security Service will now change its name to the Military Intelligence Command and focus on military inspection. I will not permit any further work.”

“I will accept it.”

Instead, a new intelligence agency was created to fill their void.

“The newly established Department of Homeland Security will be in charge of counterterrorism/counterintelligence work for government agencies. Personnel will be transferred from the Security Command and the Central Intelligence Agency, so don’t forget to take care of them.”

“Yes, I will keep that in mind.”

I cut through the two axes of information politics: the Security Command and the Central Intelligence Agency.

This was just the beginning.

I have been sending my close associates, who have been reigning over me with authority, abroad one by one.

Gil Tae-hwan, who was sitting as Minister of the Army, Lee Jeong-yoon, the Chief of Staff, and Lee Jeong-yi, the Vice Chief of Staff, took off their clothes one by one.

I can’t help but feel dissatisfied, but no one showed up in front of me.

“You too, sir, have worked hard.”

“No, Your Majesty. It was an honor to be able to take on the important responsibility of the country despite my shortcomings.”

New wine in new wineskins.

In the place of the revolutionary comrades I cut off, I put civilian bureaucrats and young military commission generals in their place.

“From now on, you will assist me.”

“I consider it a great honor to be able to serve Your Majesty, who is like the sun of the nation.”

The reason why those with military backgrounds were not excluded was to manage discontent within the military.

Of course, the young generals had the disadvantage of being more fanatic about me than the older generals.

With this measure, all the people who were secretly mentioned as potential successors disappeared.

Now, even if I were to nominate a successor, it would be as if there was no one in the country who could challenge me.

“Lee Seong-jun abolished the Yushin system and then threw away the meritorious retainers?”

“But if you let me eat for a dozen years, then I would be considerate.”

There were mixed reactions in the market to this appointment.

“Do you think I’m being too harsh, sir?”

“Absolutely not. Your Majesty has given them too much favor and opportunity.”

I thought so too.

If they had not participated in the coup, they would not have been given such important positions for so long.

Now that they have fulfilled their historical mission, they must disappear into the back alley.

Only then could I complete the blueprint of Korea that I had in mind.

‘If we’re going to do it, it would be good to get rid of the royal family too.’

After much thought, I made up my mind.

Yes, let’s take this opportunity to bring down the imperial family.

The imperial family had already been sufficiently weakened by the previous operations.

The calculation was that one more fatal blow here would be enough to bring them down.

“Tell the Chief of Staff to come in.”

30 minutes later, the new chief of the central government, Kang Su-cheol, came in and greeted us.

“I’m sure you know this, but there’s something important I’ve been doing since I was the former manager. Do you know what it is?”

“Of course.”

“I want to finish this thing that I’ve been dragging on for a while, but is there no way?”

Kang Su-cheol, as expected from a seasoned expert in the field, immediately gave an answer.

“How about creating a scandal in the royal family?”

“There are different types of rumors. What kind are you talking about?”

“What if the Crown Prince flies? For example, we can turn him into a drug dealer.”

The current perception of drug offenders in the empire is as bad as that of traitors to the nation.

It was the result of long hours of propaganda and public enlightenment.

If the crown prince became a drug offender, his image would be ruined.

“A drug dealer. That alone is a bit bland.”

Even though the perception that he was a somewhat rotten guy was ingrained, it wasn’t enough to be the deciding factor.

Even among the US presidents, there was one who used the myth of a ‘human triumph’ by recovering from drug addiction in his presidential election.

Was it George Walker Bush?

There was no law that prohibited the Crown Prince from telling stories in that way.

“Let me tell you a proper story about drugs.”

“It’s up to you to do it, and the results have to be certain. If the results aren’t satisfactory, I’ll be very disappointed.”

“I will prepare thoroughly.”

Okay then.

There was no need for me to know the dirty details in advance.

This is something that could have been done foolishly by leaving it to the subordinates.

I’ve completely given up on this issue.

After a while, a really dirty story was made up in the courtyard.

I was satisfied to see the story of the Crown Prince on the front page of the newspaper.

The young and innocent crown prince of the empire was naive.

The young deer gave in to his desires as always, even though he knew full well that there were wolves chasing him.

The crown prince went to a bar he usually frequented and got entangled with girls that Jungjeong had recruited in advance.

The crown prince was arrested at the scene while performing his duties while inhaling a large amount of drugs.

It was a scandal of such magnitude that it could bring down the imperial family.

It was an aberration that was seen not by anyone else but by the person who was to succeed to the throne.

“Is it truly royal behavior for the person who is to succeed the throne of the world’s third-largest power, Korea, to be intoxicated with drugs and have sex with low-class women? The imperial family’s corruption is not something new, but it has now gone too far. Depose the crown prince who has tarnished the prestige of the empire. I do not have the confidence to accept such a vile person as my monarch.”

The newspapers were flooded with extreme language that would never come out of a monarchy.

Of course, this statement was the result of Jung Jung’s intervention.

“Once the crown prince is dethroned, we can use the momentum to hold a national referendum.”

“Ready to vote?”

“Don’t worry. Negative rumors about the royal family are constantly being spread in the countryside and the city.”

“I think one more step is needed.”

“Please give your order.”

“Shouldn’t we consider the possibility that, in the unlikely event that they strike first, depose the crown prince, and replace him with someone who will be acceptable to the public?”

“Would the Emperor have the courage to do that?”

I didn’t think the emperor would show that much determination.

The emperor I have seen was a very indecisive and weak man.

However, when people are faced with a situation they have never experienced before, they sometimes show an unexpected side.

The best evidence was me.

Who would have thought that an ordinary translator in the 21st century would become a heartless person in power?

Even the emperor, when faced with an unexpected situation, could show a face that others had not seen.

I didn’t underestimate the possibility.

“A cornered rat will bite the cat. Never let your guard down.”

“I apologize, Your Majesty. I will double check the eyes and ears around the Emperor.”

The conversation with the chief of staff was suddenly interrupted by a phone call.

“His Majesty the Emperor has called.”

“Your Majesty?”

What do you have to say to me in this situation?

I picked up the phone.

“Your Majesty, this is Prime Minister Lee Seong-jun. What is this matter?”

There was a pause on the other end of the phone.

The emperor, who had been breathing for five minutes, opened his mouth.

The Emperor’s reason for calling me was simple.

The complaint was that it was enough to corner the royal family to this extent.

well.

This seems like a question with the wrong number of addresses.

I am the one who is pushing innocent children into the mud in order to protect the royal family.

If I was going to back down at the sound of crying, I wouldn’t have done this in the first place.

“I have no intention of confronting you even a little bit. Neither will the Crown Prince. If necessary, I will wear all the chains. I promise this on the honor of the royal family.”

The Emperor bowed his head to me for the sake of the continuation of the Imperial House.

However, such promises were meaningless.

In the ‘Republic of Korea’ that I am designing, there was no place from the beginning for such a troublesome and annoying entity as the royal family.

“Your Majesty, do you know how I got to this point? I never believed what others said unless it was absolutely necessary. I didn’t trust them, so I didn’t get stabbed in the back of the head. This simple principle made Lee Seong-jun the winner. So why should I trust your promise?”

No matter what you say, I will never believe you.

The emperor said nothing to that direct expression.

It seemed as if he had realized that no amount of sugar-coating could convince me.

That ended my conversation with the Emperor.

I put the phone down and looked back at the chief of police.

“It seems that our Emperor has less of a sense of reality than I thought. Still, let’s keep monitoring him for now. It’ll be a headache if something happens and we try to take action.”

“I will accept it.”

I gained confidence through my conversation with the Emperor.

As expected, the royal family was a bunch of idiots who couldn’t be put in that position.

A week later, the Emperor deposed the Crown Prince and designated his second son as successor.

It was a quick decision for a hesitant emperor, but it was already too late.

The fate of the imperial family, whose last image was ruined by the crown prince, was in my hands.

On behalf of the Imperial Government, I submitted to the Diet a motion to abolish the Imperial Household.

“Oh, you’re going to put the abolition of the imperial family to a national referendum?”

The parliament expressed its dismay at the prospect of a member of the royal family seeking to abolish the monarchy.

However, the bill I submitted passed without any problems.

It was the result of a joint effort between the liberal forces and my supporters who secretly hoped for the abolition of the system.

When a referendum to abolish the imperial family was held, crude insults poured out from the imperial family.

I also heard that the Empress Dowager called me a traitor who should be killed.

But, the old woman’s anger was not on my radar.

The vote did not deviate significantly from expectations.

“I hereby declare that the bill has been abolished with 59.5% in favor of its repeal and 33.6% in favor of its continuation.”

“I can’t believe it. Lee Seong-jun, you traitor. How could you possibly depose the precious royal family without permission?”

Extreme pro-imperial factions, enraged by the abolition of the imperial family, staged an uproar.

But no matter how much they cried out in angry voices, the great empire that Gojo and Seongjo had created and the military had fleshed out had ended.

Now this country was the Republic of Korea, the country of the people.

By closing the gates of the Empire, I have put the final dot on the reorganization of the Empire that has been envisioned since the Yushin era.