I Will Stage A Coup D’état - Chapter 40



Only Noblemtl

EP.40 The Gentleman of the Kremlin (2)

Moscow in April was not as warm as I thought.

Perhaps because it was the capital of the cold Ice Empire, the cold air still felt chilly.

At Moscow Station he was greeted by Soviet Foreign Minister Molotov.

“Thank you for coming such a long way, President.”

“Thank you for your hospitality, Minister.”

Molotov had a rather striking appearance, with a prominent forehead, and I wondered if he had been hit by Stalin during the meeting.

I went straight to the Kremlin in a car provided by the Soviet Union.

As I went to the Kremlin, a person I often saw in portraits approached me and said hello.

“I guess this is the first time we’ve met like this.”

“It is an honor to meet you, Comrade Secretary.”

The nightmare protagonist who divided the Korean Peninsula and left behind a gift called Kim Il-sung was right in front of me.

Stalin introduced the generals lined up next to him one by one.

Officially, I visited as a top military figure, not as a head of state, so no civilian officials showed up except Molotov.

But it didn’t matter because Stalin came forward considering that he was the one in power.

‘Is the author Voroshilov?’

Seeing Voroshilov, Stalin’s close friend, he seemed to be living very comfortably despite having been deposed.

‘Well, if we purge that guy too, Stalin will have no one to talk to.’

He shook hands with the Finnish front leaders, such as Marshal Timoshenko and Marshal Budyonny.

They all had bold and strong impressions, as befitting people who left their mark on history.

Even though he was still Stalin’s little girl, he deserved to be praised for the fact that he survived under that human barbarian.

After the generals from both sides finished greeting each other, we immediately had a short conversation.

As it was not an official meeting, Stalin led the conversation with jokes.

Of course, the seat wasn’t comfortable.

As the story grew more mature, I tried to venture a bit.

“Your Excellency, how do you think this war will end?”

“Well, I wish I had some confidence, but I don’t know how things will turn out. I guess I learned humility after my bitter experience in Finland.”

Stalin glared at his generals as he said those words.

He just stared at me, but my heart froze.

“What do you think, Mr. President?”

Well, don’t think about a future where Germany wins in ‘six weeks’.

Of course, this is a short-term outlook, and the long-term outlook is a bit different.

I was convinced that in the long run Germany would definitely collapse.

The reason was simple.

‘Germany has no means to bring Britain to its knees.’

To the sky, to the sea.

Germany’s proud army was helpless in the face of a narrow ditch just 40 kilometers wide.

If they entered a protracted war without being able to bring down Britain, it was only a matter of time before the German-style predatory economy of revenge reached its limits.

Hitler’s invasion of the Soviet Union was ultimately just a way to find an opponent with whom he could repay the gambling cards he had in his hands.

Structurally, the Nazis had an economic model that was not sustainable in the long term.

Stalin seemed a little intrigued when I suggested that Germany might not be able to defeat Britain.

“So then, what will be the order after Germany falls?”

“Well, wouldn’t that be a place where the remaining ideologies compete?”

Democracy and communism.

The two great ideologies stand on the corpse of Germany and struggle for power in Central and Eastern Europe.

Stalin stroked his moustache, as if my prospects sounded quite plausible.

“It’s an arena of ideological competition. That’s why this General has an unsoldier-like insight.”

Of course, it is the knowledge of Kim Seong-jun, a ‘future man’ and not a soldier.

Of course, it didn’t correct the mistake.

I decided to get to the point.

“That’s why I thought it was important to find a trustworthy friend before the post-war order.”

“A friend I can trust.”

Neither I nor Stalin trust the other.

We both knew that he was a man who would not hesitate to stab others if it would benefit him.

From the beginning, the explanation ended with the superficial status of a communist and a war-mongering military man.

“Your Excellency, Secretary General. Korea is considering the Soviet Union as a future partner.”

“Is the ideological difference that big?”

“Your Majesty and I are both practical politicians with our feet firmly on the ground. I think ideology is a secondary issue.”

“It’s real politics. After all, interests are more important than ideology.”

Despite Stalin’s shocking words, the expressions on Stalin’s subordinates’ faces did not change at all.

“So then, what is it about our Federation that attracts you, Mr. President?”

“What is the weight class?”

Stalin may have expected me to say something like the charm of communism, but I answered him honestly.

“I also consider that aspect important. In that respect, President Lee and I have good communication skills.”

Of course, we can only communicate well through words.

There is no trust between them whatsoever.

What took its place was ‘need.’

The dim prospect that Korea and the Soviet Union would need each other at a time when the dynamics of the international order were changing created room for them to join hands.

The first conversation ended on a friendly note.

In fact, Stalin and I saw everything in this first exploration.

I have thoroughly tested the other party to see if they are willing to join hands and if they are willing to go beyond ideology from a realistic point of view.

An estimate has been made as to how much the car will cost.

If so, the remaining practical conversation was merely a formality.

The meeting with Voroshilov the next day went as expected.

“Mr. President, our Federation will agree to a mutual military exchange agreement with South Korea.”

It is called a mutual military exchange agreement, which means that officers will be sent to the other side’s army.

It was a remarkable development, given the ideological rift between militarism and communism.

‘No, it’s not surprising.’

Even the Weimar Republic, ruled by the Junkers, had good relations with the Soviet Union.

We exchanged cool things.

But it wasn’t an alliance.

Right now, I didn’t want to.

If we sign something like a mutual defense treaty now, we’ll have to send troops to the anti-German front in 1941.

I didn’t like that.

If we were to ally with the Soviet Union, it would have been around 1944, when the Soviet Union was exhausted and worn out.

At a time when the Soviet Union was struggling to land a final blow to the Nazis, providing assistance would have been a great way to shore up their position.

The working-level talks with the Soviet Union ended after just four days.

There was no need to drag out the dialogue with the dictatorship in the first place.

Once the person in power made the decision, the rest was a formality.

On the train back to Korea after the meeting, Kim Seong-ju asked.

“Mr. President, have you decided to form an alliance with the Soviet Union?”

“About 3 years later would be good.”

I concluded that Stalin was a worthy opponent.

The other person is so rational that they don’t easily take actions that deviate from their own logic.

Hitler was caught off guard because he assumed that his opponent would think ‘rationally’ like him.

In other words, Stalin’s actions were predictable.

It means a person who has ‘stability,’ which is the first condition of an alliance.

“Does the master think differently?”

“I don’t trust the communists at all. They will definitely stab us in the back if they make even the slightest profit.”

Yeah, I guess so.

That’s a red trait.

But even those commies know how to do math.

No, he is better at math than anyone else.

“Look at it for a long time. In any case, Korea needs friends. If possible, it would be good if the United States became a friend, but that’s what they think. They are friends who will not let down their guard until we crawl under them.”

That was also the part I regretted the most.

Honestly, if you think about future stability, it would be best to go under the United States.

But even if we wanted to crawl under the US trouser legs, we had to have a justification to make the people understand.

In the case of Japan, they accepted the idea that the country had been reset after being hit by the atomic bomb, so they should start over under the United States, but that’s not the case for us.

They bow their heads to the US while giving up the interests they gained from China, releasing Japan from its sphere of influence, and making other such conditions?

It was a ridiculous story.

Korea was a true great power and a proud empire.

If you were to say that you were holding on to the trouser legs of other great powers because you had a little more power, you could have been ‘revolutionized’.

“owner.”

“Yes, sir.”

“I think. I always think about whether this country is going the right way. But do you know what comes to mind every time I think about it?”

“I don’t know.”

“This country is really difficult.”

This was my honest feeling.

Do you know the future?

That was no use.

That kind of talk only made sense when you were born in the Japanese colonial era, Joseon, and it didn’t make sense in the Asian powerhouse of Korea.

Do you know how the future will change and act recklessly?

“As much as the president puts in effort, there will be good results.”

“I hope it turns out as you said, Master.”

The train raced eastward, belching white smoke.

Now, it was time for the fateful six weeks to begin.