I Will Stage A Coup D’état - Chapter 30



Only Noblemtl

EP.30 Reverse Coup (3)

‘That guy Lee Seong-jun is crazy.’

Even though the Korean Empire’s military is said to be above the law, it’s not like they openly disappear people.

This was something the Soviet Union, the communist empire to the north, would do.

‘You made a non-aggression pact with those commies, and now you’re following them.’

It wouldn’t have been strange if something like a gulag had emerged.

Indeed, this country was becoming a place that was previously unimaginable.

‘And then he says he’s going to westernize this country? Even the uncivilized Chinese would laugh at that.’

The general was cynical about Lee Seong-jun’s attitude, but he could not ignore the efficiency of his actions.

While people were going missing, a couple of members of the organization were also captured.

So, I didn’t know when the true nature of the ‘organization’ would be exposed.

The general concluded that if the operation was delayed any longer, someone in the organization might feel uneasy and report him.

The general decided to quickly execute the operation at this point.

I wasn’t able to recruit anyone to shoot Lee Seong-jun, but that was a good thing.

If sniping doesn’t work, you can just commit suicide bombing.

“I think the decision date would be April 9th.”

“Is there a reason why it has to be the 9th?”

“It’s the day of the Army Ministry’s All-Army Commanders’ Meeting. He wouldn’t have missed the All-Army Commanders’ Meeting, would he? The problem is moving the bomb. Colonel Bae, do you think you can do it?”

In the general’s sight was a plainclothes officer sitting with one arm missing.

He was a disabled veteran who lost an arm in the recent Sino-Korean War.

His name is Bae Jun-hwa.

Bae Jun-hwa was furious at the thought that Lee Seong-jun had only brought about a ‘half victory’ despite his dedication to the victory of his country even while becoming disabled.

In his view, this Sino-Korean peace treaty was a ‘crippled victory’ in itself.

How can I forgive that?

This was the background to Bae Jun-hwa’s decision to commit suicide bombing.

Bae Jun-hwa nodded with a determined expression.

“If it is for the sake of the country and the people, what can I not do? Just leave it to me. I will definitely punish Lee Seong-jun, the traitor who betrayed the country.”

“I will only trust Colonel Bae. Lieutenant Colonel Lee!”

“Yes, General.”

“What happened to the explosives you procured?”

“Here it is.”

The lieutenant colonel spread out the stick bombs he had brought.

These were items that had been obtained with difficulty in Hong Kong for this operation.

If this bomb were detonated near a target, anyone nearby would surely be reduced to rags.

“Here’s how to use it. Break the time fuse and insert it into the bomb. It will detonate after 10 minutes.”

“This seems like the perfect thing to send Lee Seong-jun to the underworld.”

The general also expressed satisfaction.

“The problem is the search and inspection. If Lee Seong-jun wants to get near the area, he must undergo a search.”

“Yes, that is a difficult task. Is there any way to solve it?”

“I’ll make room in Colonel Bae’s bag. I’ll hide the bomb there, and when he changes his clothes, I’ll move it to his waist or chest.”

“The problem is that Colonel Bae has to touch the bomb’s time fuse while undressing and then put it on his belt. Is that possible? With one hand?”

“Since Colonel Bae’s aide is not a trustworthy friend, I have no choice but to do it alone.”

The general stroked his chin.

It was absurdly difficult, but there was no other way.

If we get rid of Lee Seong-jun, the National Salvation Military Committee, which has lost its head, will be in disarray, and only then will the organization have a way to survive.

“General, I can do it.”

As Bae Jun-hwa once again showed his confidence, the general also nodded.

“There’s no point in talking about a matter that’s already been decided, Colonel Bae. Our fate is in your hands.”

“Don’t worry.”

The members of the organization shared a hardened look in their eyes, trying hard to hide their anxiety.

The hour of destiny was approaching.

On April 9, 1938, the day of the general meeting of the Army Ministry, Colonel Bae Jun-hwa was questioned.

Even the core members of the National Salvation Military Committee were subject to inspection, and no special treatment was shown to them as disabled veterans.

Bae Jun-hwa even showed all the clothes in her bag.

The bomb was placed in a space in the bottom of the bag, just in case.

The military police officer searched Bae Jun-hwa’s body, but found nothing unusual.

To be exact, it was more like sending him away after checking only the places that could be confirmed, as he was a high-ranking soldier of the rank of colonel.

“Sir, the security checks are particularly strict today.”

“Since His Majesty is coming, of course. Be careful what you say.”

Bae Jun-hwa warned his adjutant.

Only then did the adjutant quickly shut his mouth.

The two headed straight to the Army Ministry conference room.

There were several generals sitting in the conference room, but Lee Seong-jun was nowhere to be seen.

Bae Jun-hwa asked a passing officer about Lee Seong-jun.

“When is the president coming? I have a presentation to make later, so I’m asking because I’m wondering if I should change my clothes before I come so I won’t be late.”

“He will be here soon. You’d better change your clothes within 5 minutes.”

Bae Jun-hwa nodded and went to the locker room.

When I got to the locker room, there was an empty space.

“Adjutant. I’m going to change my clothes for a moment, so make sure no one comes in from in front of the changing room.”

“All right.”

Bae Jun-hwa locked the door and took out his bag.

From the bottom of the bag, a bomb prepared for this operation was found.

While he was preparing, there was no disturbance from outside.

Bae Jun-hwa prepared a bomb and put it on his belt.

‘My luck isn’t that bad.’

Bae Jun-hwa looked at his watch and entered the conference room.

But Lee Seong-jun, who was supposed to be the target, was nowhere to be seen.

Bae Jun-hwa glanced at her watch while anxiously waiting for Lee Seong-jun to arrive.

“When will the president arrive?”

As it turned out, there was a general who said what Bae Jun-hwa wanted to say.

“The president will not be attending the meeting due to an urgent schedule.”

what?

Bae Jun-hwa was shocked by those words.

But there was no surprise.

Seongjun was conscious of the threat of assassination and often made mistakes in his official schedule.

The organization’s mistake was that they could not have imagined that Lee Seong-jun would crash an event as large as a general command meeting.

Bae Jun-hwa’s face turned pale.

‘If this bomb explodes, it’s over.’

When the bomb explodes, people around Bae Jun-hwa will start to be swept away like a net.

Well then, the organization is finished.

Bae Jun-hwa hurriedly ran to the bathroom.

He hastily pulled out the bomb’s time fuse.

And then,

Boom!

The bomb exploded.

The explosion in the third-floor bathroom of the Army Headquarters resulted in no damage other than one death.

The problem was the fact that the bomb had exploded.

One of the organization’s members, terrified that the bomb had exploded before the assassination attempt, confessed to the entire coup.

The National Salvation Military Committee was troubled over the interpretation of this incident.

“This is a clear attempt to assassinate Your Majesty! Hasn’t there already been a confession?”

“If we treat it as an attempted coup, it will be a burden to Your Majesty.”

“You’re not suggesting we cover this up, are you?”

“First, let’s transfer the case to the Security Service. They’ll handle it quietly.”

After much debate, the incident was buried as a simple explosion caused by gas from a bathroom pipe coming into contact with a lit cigarette.

Not many people believed it, but if that’s the regime, then that’s what happened.

On the surface, that’s how the incident ended.

But it wasn’t like that behind the scenes.

“Catch them all.”

Those who came into contact with Bae Jun-hwa were arrested at the Security Service headquarters.

The ‘general’ who was the leader of the coup force was no exception.

“name.”

“This is Lieutenant General Im Tae-seong of the Korean Empire Army.”

“Our Chief of Staff, you must have had a very comfortable life. You even plotted a rebellion in front of His Majesty.”

The general was furious at the word treason.

What the hell are these lowly things talking about, claiming they’re the winners?

“Treason! How can trying to fix the world you rascals are running around be considered treason? This was a rebellion.”

“Whether it was a rebellion or a treason, it’s fine. What’s important is that the director failed. You know that if you fail a rebellion, there’s a price to pay, right?”

“I’m ready. Are you going to put me on trial? Feel free to do so. I have done nothing that would be shameful to Korea under the heavens.”

“Our general is so naive.”

“what?”

“Who’s going to give you a formal trial? It’s annoying. If you’re a soldier, a summary court-martial is enough.”

The general expressed his bewilderment at the unexpected story.

“I, I am a military officer of the Korean Empire and a lieutenant general in the army. I have the right to a fair trial. If you are going to kill me, execute me after a proper trial!”

The investigator pretended not to hear, took out a book of Army regulations, and read it in a businesslike tone.

“Defendant Im Tae-seong, you have been proven to have organized a treasonous group and terrorized the Army. You are sentenced to death in accordance with Article 11 of the Military Criminal Act, the crime of treason. The execution will be by firing squad.”

“This isn’t even a summary trial!”

The general protested, but to no avail.

“Pull it out.”

The end of the coup plotters against Lee Seong-jun was execution after a summary trial.

*

“Your Majesty, all involved have been dealt with. They will never see the light of day again.”

“Master. Thank you for your hard work.”

I sat in my office chair and listened to the Security Commander’s cold-blooded disposition report.

Most situations in which people were executed by summary court-martial occurred during wartime.

At that time, there was no way to proceed with the trial through the proper procedures, so there was no other way.

However, executing a person by firing squad in a summary trial in peacetime without any special reason was not a trial but judicial murder.

It was not something a proper leader of a country would do.

And yet I ordered judicial murder.

Because it would be better to commit extrajudicial murder than to acknowledge a challenge to the regime.

It didn’t matter if it was dirty.

Anyway, from the moment he staged the coup, he gave up on having a clean name or reputation.

If I had to name just one thing I wish for, it would be to survive in this world.

To do that, he had to survive as a powerful person and continue to win the game of power.

Creating the Republic of Korea was ultimately a story about what would happen after I survived.

So, until then, I had no choice but to forget about my dream for a while.