I Will Stage A Coup D’état - Chapter 51



Only Noblemtl

EP.51 Purge (2)

The investigation into corruption within the military soon led to a purge of the arsenal cartel.

“You want me to investigate all the generals in the arsenal?”

“It is a special order from Your Majesty.”

“I will accept it.”

Generals including Quartermaster General Cho Jin-yeong, Army Ministry of War Quartermaster General Bae Yeon-soo, and Nampo Armory Depot Major General Oh Jin-gi were taken to the Security Command one after another.

“General Lee. How can this happen between us? Please explain it to His Majesty.”

“You’re talking nonsense. Hey! Take off this kid’s clothes and start investigating.”

And then he took off his military uniform and was discharged.

The number of fallen stars reached 20.

The generals of the National Salvation Military Council gathered in the Army conference room and talked about the investigation into this incident.

“His Majesty was very uncomfortable with this incident. I heard he even yelled at Kim Seong-ju.”

“Your Majesty? Oh, that’s right.”

“Your Majesty, you cannot help but be angry, since those who were supposed to start a revolution embezzled public funds to satisfy their own greed.”

“It’s unfortunate that things have come to this point and we won’t have anything to say even if Your Majesty looks at us with colored glasses.”

The generals felt sorry for Lee Seong-jun’s decision not to forgive any revolutionary comrades, but they decided to accept this purge obediently, thinking of the greater good.

‘Aren’t we the ones who rose up to restore the country anyway?’

If they can’t even keep that promise, then in the end it’s nothing more than a coup d’état driven by a lust for power.

The generals did not want their revolution to be a common, corrupt and mean-spirited military coup.

The purge of the military soon moved from the generals to senior officers.

“You also embezzled public funds under General Oh, right? Follow me!”

“Now, just a moment. I need to call my uncle.”

“You little punk. Do you think something like a hundred will work now? This is an order from the highest ranking Prime Minister in this country. Do you want to eat rice and beans with your uncle?”

“Let go of me, you bastards. Do you know who I am? I am the Prime Minister’s second cousin!”

“His Majesty said that if you are his relatives, you should set an example. How dare a loach like you try to tarnish His Majesty’s name? This kid won’t do. Put a rope on him!”

Dozens of people were arrested by the Security Service and questioned every day.

“Tell me the truth! Where is the money?”

The officers who were taken in were subjected to intense interrogation every day, without any sleep.

“So what I’m saying is, I don’t know.”

“Okay? Okay, I understand. Let’s start over from the beginning.”

“yes?”

“name.”

The Security Service’s investigation was so thorough and brutal that it was jaw-dropping.

“Hey, call General Lee! General Lee, I have nothing to talk to you idiots about.”

“Did this gentleman boil tiger liver? Do you know where this is? It’s the Security Command.”

“Even so, these guys! I am a general in the Korean Empire Army.”

“This guy is really out of his depth. Hey!”

“Hey, these guys.”

Thud, thud. Ugh.

Those who did not cooperate with the investigation were brutally beaten.

In fact, ‘Korean-style democracy’ did not respect human rights very much.

The Security Command summarized the interim investigation results and reported them to the Prime Minister.

“You must have eaten a lot.”

“What should we do?”

“You’ve already had a press conference, so what are you hiding? Prepare a speech to the nation.”

“I will accept it.”

The results of this survey were soon made public to the entire nation through newspapers and broadcasts.

*

“The broadcast will start soon. I’ll give you my autograph, then you can start talking.”

“is it so.”

“5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Queue.”

I took a sip of water and then picked up the manuscript.

Although it was a position where I stood before the people for a not-so-good cause, I didn’t think it was that bad.

“Dear citizens, this is Lee Seong-jun. It’s none other than the fact that a large-scale corruption case has been discovered in the military recently. Regrettably, some people have been implicated in this from the Military Salvation Committee, which I was in charge of. As the head of the committee, I sincerely apologize to the citizens.”

I interrupted and bowed my head toward the microphone as if people were watching.

I counted the numbers while watching the broadcasting officials flinch.

5 seconds.

It’s just right.

I continued speaking.

“As the Prime Minister who has been entrusted with power by the nation, I promise to deal firmly with this incident. Those responsible will be severely punished, dismissed, and completely banned from holding public office in the future.”

So, these guys are examples.

He is living proof that embezzlement of public funds will ruin your life.

“Dear citizens. I will say this in the name of Lee Seong-jun. In the future, if such corruption crimes occur, we will absolutely not show leniency to the criminals. We will punish them thoroughly. In this way, we will prevent your taxes from being wasted.”

Of course, this is a promise.

Even Stalin couldn’t stop corruption, so how could I?

I am not an administrative master like Stalin or the Hongwu Emperor, who spends all day looking at documents.

“I will come back to you with good news in the future. Thank you.”

The speeches to the nation never exceeded five minutes.

If the principal’s speech is too long, no one will pay attention.

It was no different for me.

The first large-scale purge of the military since the coup served as an opportunity to restore discipline in the military, which had become somewhat lax.

I decided to take this opportunity to establish discipline throughout society.

Who was that in the Soviet Union?

Yes, Yuri Andropov.

The communist secretary, a former KGB chief, sees the Soviet Union collapsing and launches this campaign.

“Principles and order.”

By tightening the discipline of the generally lax Soviet society, Andropov briefly brought the Soviet Union back to life by significantly increasing its economic growth rate.

I decided to copy Yuri Andropov’s campaign verbatim.

And like Andropov, he called for increased productivity in all areas of society.

“At work, you should focus only on your work and not waste time on gossip, smoking, drinking, etc. The more time you waste or do nothing, the more the company and the country suffer. If you hesitate like that, when will Korea catch up with the United States and the Soviet Union?”

“Order is also important. We must obey traffic signals on the road, stand in line where we are supposed to stand, and obey the law even when no one is watching. If we cannot keep the basic promises of our society, we are no better than animals. Do you want this country to become a lawless world like China?”

A movement to tighten the screws in all areas of society has begun.

The ‘petty criminals’ caught in the process were detained in a detention center and then given the Lee Seong-jun series of education.

“If you do it for a few months, there might be some dangerous problems, but it should be okay for a week or two.”

At least it’s okay to instill in people the idea that they should follow Lee Seong-jun’s words.

The campaign that started in Korea soon spread to Japan.

“Excuse me, Your Majesty. Are you saying that the Japanese Government-General should also start a campaign of principles and order?”

“I definitely said that.”

“But Japan has its own unique characteristics. If you touch it for no reason, it will cause trouble.”

“Master. I also know a little about Japan.”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry.”

How could I not know those Japanese?

These are the guys I’ve kept as neighbors and watched over my entire life, even into the 21st century.

“Those guys can’t do anything if they go too far. Aren’t they guys who obey the strong?”

“That’s true, but they are not gentle when it comes to matters of their own rights.”

“That’s because the owner stepped back. However, it seems difficult to implement it right away in the current situation, so let’s start with ‘cultural governance.’”

“If it’s cultural rule, are you saying we should let the Japanese loose?”

“In moderation, increase the number of holes in which to operate, and in return increase the police force by about three times.”

“yes?”

Lee Dong-nyeong was embarrassed by those words.

But isn’t this Japanese-style cultural rule?

That’s how I learned.

The campaign of principle and order soon began to produce some results throughout the Empire.

Productivity has begun to increase, albeit slightly.

I decided to create a Soviet-style ‘hero system’ here.

“Since Wonsan worker Gil-Seop Lee achieved 300% of the clothing production allocated by the company, he is awarded the Hero of Labor Award.”

“Thank you.”

I created statues of heroes all over society to stimulate people’s competitive spirit.

“No, there aren’t any heroes in this department?”

“It’s a desolate place without patriots.”

This is why a trend has emerged of trying to create heroes by forcing achievements.

It wasn’t a very good sight, but if it helped the empire’s productivity, I could tolerate some side effects.

Isn’t this a situation where a war between the two is imminent?

“Your Majesty, this is a report from the Ministry of the Interior. The number of people detained for violating the rules and order has recently exceeded 5,000. If this trend continues, the detention centers will be full in two months, so there has been a request to reopen the revolutionary camps.”

Revolutionary camps? That’s absolutely not possible.

No matter how much we tightened social discipline and cracked down on corruption, that wasn’t enough.

It was like the Black Flame Dragon of the Korean Empire.

“Master. Shred those documents.”

I didn’t hear it.

There was no such thing.

cancer.