I Will Stage A Coup D’état - Chapter 42



Only Noblemtl

EP.42 Butterfly Effect (2)

“Sir, it looks like Germany will win the war in less than three weeks. They are much stronger than I thought.”

Uh, um.

A somewhat embarrassing situation was created.

How would things turn out if the entire British Continental Expeditionary Force were taken prisoner?

Surely you won’t make peace with Germany or anything like that?

The fundamentals of the grand strategy of unexpectedly cutting off Germany were shaken.

‘No. It’s right to cut off the Nazis.’

Even if an armistice was signed with Britain, the Nazis, who had to pay back the debts and run the economy, could not last forever.

Those guys are like a modern-day Mongol Empire.

I once again made it clear to the agitated generals that I had no intention of joining the German cause.

“But if we join hands with Germany, can’t we get Western colonies?”

That was it.

It’s not that I don’t covet the European colonies that have enormous resources.

If only Malaya, Borneo, and Vietnam could be acquired, the empire would be self-sufficient in most of the raw materials it needed.

But that’s stupid.

If our military advances south, the United States will not remain idle.

There is no need to personally confirm the lesson that Japan has personally demonstrated.

“I emphasize again that there is no alliance with Hitler. We need to join hands with a sustainable alliance.”

Of course, given the circumstances, there was a need to change our short-term strategy somewhat.

It seemed like we would have to temporarily keep an eye on Berlin.

On June 5, 1940, the encircled Allied forces surrendered to the Germans.

With the demise of the Continental Expeditionary Force, Churchill, who had led the struggle against Germany with an iron will, was dismissed.

Britain without Churchill.

I couldn’t even guess how the future would unfold.

The next day, news arrived that Edward Wood, Viscount Halifax, a pro-German political figure, had been elected Prime Minister.

‘For a moment, Hitler was about to taste victory.’

If the British Empire had made peace with Hitler, there would have been no reason for the Nazis to suffer from shortages of supplies.

‘Wait a minute. What will happen if we do this?’

If Hitler, who could exert his power without worrying about the enemy behind him, Britain, could concentrate his power on the Eastern Front, could the Soviet Union survive?

Of course, given the circumstances, even the ‘rational’ Stalin would have recognized that the possibility of Hitler actually attacking him had increased.

As alertness increases, we are unlikely to be hit with a complete surprise attack like Operation Barbarossa in the distant past.

Still, it was undeniable that the situation had taken an unexpected turn.

“I guess we need to touch on American public opinion a bit.”

I felt the need to fully activate the central government that had been operating for domestic political purposes.

The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has so far had little presence.

Since the Security Service handles most of the work, the Central Intelligence Agency has functioned as a subordinate organization of the Security Service.

This was due to the special nature of the military regime, in which the Army Minister or the Chief of Staff served as the head of government.

But now, things needed to change.

In order to carry out the original duty of the intelligence agency, which is foreign operations, it was necessary to loosen the reins of the central government.

“To the Chief of Staff’s Office.”

I decided to talk to the head of the central government, who I had not paid much attention to until now.

“This is Chief of Staff Lee Gyeong-ho.”

Lee Gyeong-ho was a civilian bureaucrat selected from the Security Command and had about 30 years of public service experience.

“Chief Lee. I am the Chief of Staff.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Nothing else, there is something I need you to do in the central government. Okay. Nothing else, I want you to go over to the US and investigate pro-German groups. Okay. If you don’t have one, prepare one even if you have to. Okay. From now on, you will report directly to me for your work. Got it.”

I gave instructions to the central government and called the Foreign Office in the hope that the situation might improve.

“This is Lee Seong-jun from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. There is one thing I would like to ask of you. Yes. Please look into the mood of the British government. Please.”

In fact, I asked the Foreign Office to keep an eye on the mood in the British government, but I didn’t have high expectations.

It seemed unlikely that the Count Halifax, a pro-German peacemaker, would show the will to fight to the end.

In the midst of all this, the phone rang.

“This is Lee Seong-jun. Okay? Understood.”

It was a call from a lynx that had been watching the situation and had left the starting line.

The story was that Italy, a member of the ‘Allied Powers’ who had been ignoring Hitler’s request to join the war and sticking its tail between its legs, declared war on the Allied Powers and joined the war.

Just looking at it, it was obvious that Germany was winning everything and that they were just trying to sit at the victory table with their spoons in their hands.

It was something they did back in the original station.

The only difference was that the date of enlistment was slightly earlier.

In any case, the Western Theater was very likely to end in a German victory.

In early June 1940, the Germans had 142 divisions, while the French had only 60.

Despite the overwhelming disparity in military power, Beygand fought bravely, but France was pushed back with great momentum.

Ambassador to Paris Ahn Chang-ho conveyed the atmosphere in France.

“The French government has declared Paris a city free of resistance. German troops will soon enter Paris.”

Now the fate of the French nation was virtually sealed.

Reports also came in from England.

“Rumors are rife in the government circles that the Earl of Halifax has begun negotiations for peace. It seems that Britain intends to conclude an honourable peace.”

In the short term, the picture became clear that the Nazis were winning.

‘I wonder if this situation will have any impact on us beyond the Soviet Union.’

I thought about it carefully.

The first thing that comes to mind is a colony.

One could imagine the domestic militarists raising their voices to devour the Allied colonies left empty by Germany’s victory.

This is something I could control.

If the independence movement intensifies in the colony.

This would have given rise to ideologues like the Asianists running wild.

This was something I had difficulty controlling.

Because you never know where these guys might run off to.

‘I hope there are no problems, if possible.’

First, it was decided to place suspicious groups on the Security Command’s surveillance list.

On June 25, 1940, France surrendered.

The war was literally over in just six weeks.

The military was not shaken by this situation, but the civilians were extremely provoked.

This story was immediately circulating among officials.

“Italy is trying to take advantage of Germany’s victory and take a big bite out of it, so what can Korea, the world’s fifth-largest power, do? We should also share in the colonies and influence that are commensurate with our national power.”

Voices like wildfire spread across Korea calling for Korea to join the war on Germany’s side and protect its national interests.

“Just think about it. Right now, all the mainland European powers are either in German hands or are under threat. That rich Southeast Asia is waiting for us with open arms.”

I wrote my own editorial to counter these voices.

“The national interest of Korea lies in trade, not colonies. Let us remember the words of Bismarck, who made Germany the greatest power in Europe. Chemistry instead of colonies! Korea must also shout the same words to survive. Trade instead of colonies!”

I made my policy clear to the militarists: ‘This country must never expand.’

Hundreds of pieces of mail poured in every day, but it didn’t matter.

If Korea had walked into Southeast Asia, it was obvious that it would have extreme friction with the United States, which had the Philippines in its hands.

And Britain is not dead yet.

Unless you want to turn all the great powers into enemies, it would be right not to even look at Southeast Asia.

Nevertheless, the domestic militarists did not lower their voices.

This made me think that I had underestimated the true nature of the imperialist nation called Korea.

They even boldly shouted out claims that had been taboo until then.

“Korea’s ally is Germany!”

“The government should immediately dispatch troops to Southeast Asia! Vast resources and Asian compatriots are waiting for us.”

Of course, I firmly rejected this request.

“Security Command. Sir. There’s something I need to do.”

I decided to create a few horrific incidents to divert the attention of the people who were focused on territorial expansion.

It was for the purpose of arousing public opinion.

At the same time, the security service and military police were mobilized to crack down on militaristic groups and small newspapers that were advocating for the dispatch of troops.

How dare you write an article that goes against my wishes in a military regime?

There was ample reason to be upset.

Newspaper commentators were also mobilized.

Every day, through radio and newspapers, they planted a negative view in a subtle voice about how expanding into Southeast Asia would endanger the empire.

It was truly a major hemorrhage that scraped the bottom of the political power that was non-existent.

If this kind of behavior continues, trust in the government will inevitably be shaken.

‘This is starting to become a headache. Foreign affairs are giving me a headache, and now domestic affairs are causing chaos too. I can’t handle it.’

If the Nazis had grown larger and tried to swallow up the Soviet Union, it was obvious what the reaction would be.

They’ll probably be clamoring to attack the Soviet Union in the Far East and split it up.

Before things got out of control, it seemed necessary to re-balance the balance.

‘I need to talk to the gentleman in the Kremlin.’

I had a letter prepared to be sent to Stalin.