I Will Stage A Coup D’état - Chapter 9



Only Noblemtl

EP.9 Opportunity (2)

‘His Excellency Lee Seong-jun is truly the leader prepared for this country.’

This was the thought held by most junior officers in the Korean military.

It’s not like they followed me because they thought they’d get something for nothing.

What impressed them was the vision for the future of the Korean Empire presented by Lee Seong-jun.

Until now, no leader has said anything specific about how he would change the Korean Empire.

Politicians were only busy looking at the military’s mood, and the military’s high-ranking officials had no interest in the people’s livelihood.

All they knew was war and bribery.

In contrast, I clearly revealed what I thought and what ideals I had through newspapers and books.

In addition, although it is ‘image’ politics, the personal character shown was also excellent.

The fact that he took the lead and took risks that a commander did not necessarily have to take on the battlefield made the eyes of the junior officers even more stern.

It was almost time to harvest the crops.

I decided to start by persuading Kim Jong-gil, my closest aide.

I changed the stories that had previously been just indirect hints to be more specific.

“Captain Kim. What do you think of this country?”

“This is my homeland.”

Jeong Gil-i avoided giving a direct answer.

It was a soldierly conduct.

But that wasn’t the answer I wanted.

I decided to stimulate Jeonggil a little more.

“I think this country is corrupt and incompetent.”

Jeong Gil-i looked puzzled at those words.

Would you have ever imagined that someone as high-ranking as a general would openly say something like that?

“Someone has to change this country.”

Ignoring Jeong Gil’s embarrassment, I continued speaking.

“If I, this Lee Seong-jun, had the intention of changing this country, would Captain Kim help me?”

“How can I help your Majesty? I am just a soldier who knows nothing.”

“No. If you help me, I will feel as if I have gained a million troops.”

“dismissal.”

“I have a dream. I want to make this country, Korea, a wealthy and strong country like America. To do that, I have to rise to a high position.”

“I will be of no help to Your Majesty’s lofty dreams.”

“No, Master. I need you. I, Lee Seong-jun, need the help of Captain Kim Jeong-gil for the nation. Stand by my side for the nation. I, Lee Seong-jun, will never disappoint you.”

I bowed my head in front of Jeonggil.

I thought the performance where the high-ranking general bowed his head was perfect.

Jeong Gil hesitated for a while and then bowed his head to me.

“If a worthless person like me can be of any help to Your Majesty, I will do my best. What can I do for Your Majesty?”

“We must prepare to overthrow this country. There is much work to be done by the Master in the future.”

I patted Jeong-gil on the shoulder.

This is how my first colleague was created.

Starting with Jeong Gil, I made dinner appointments with high-ranking officers.

Meeting with so many high-ranking officers in such a short period of time would have caught the eye of the Security Command, but it didn’t matter.

Even if they knew, they couldn’t easily mess with me, the leader of the small group.

I called the high-ranking officers one by one to the official residence and had a meal with them.

The tendencies of these friends had already been analyzed before inviting them.

A non-mainstream group that hangs out with the junior officers.

Some had no hope of promotion, and some were friends who were out of favor with the military’s upper echelons and were stuck in low-level positions.

To begin with, it was extremely rare for an elite officer to be assigned to a training unit or reserve division.

I cleverly tapped into their discontent.

“You are right. The military doesn’t know how to use people.”

“How can it be all the military’s fault? It’s all the responsibility of those who are in charge of ‘personnel management.’”

As we chewed, tore, tasted, and enjoyed the upper echelons of the military, the conversation inevitably turned to the future of the country.

It couldn’t be helped because the country was at war.

“The situation in the country is not good, and now there is a war with China. This is a big problem. I heard that the national accounting was in deficit last year. If this continues, I don’t know if I will even be able to get my salary.”

“Things will get worse from now on.”

“Huh? Could anything be worse than the war going on right now?”

“We are at war with China. What kind of country is China? It is a place where the vested interests of the great powers gather. If we turn such a place into a battlefield, do you think the great powers will look kindly on us?”

“But I will not turn my back on Korea just because of China.”

“Everyone thought that way at first. Just think about how the World War broke out. If I mobilize, the other side will retreat. If I just give them an ultimatum, they will retreat. They were just trying to protect their pride and kill tens of millions of people. Nothing is impossible. Everyone just turns a blind eye to it.”

I looked to the future and heightened my sense of crisis.

I was already a ‘debateur’ who wrote editorials and other articles, proposed various policies, and presented visions.

When I made a ‘future prediction’, the officers responded with a strong sense of crisis.

“If that happens, what will happen to Korea?”

“We have no choice but to dry up and die. What would happen if the United States stopped exporting scrap metal and oil to Korea? What would happen if Britain and the Netherlands took control of rubber?”

At this point, everyone looked serious and lost in thought.

“So, the only way for our country to survive is to somehow make peace with China.”

“Make peace. Is that really the only way?”

“yes.”

But the officers also knew the answer.

There was no possibility of the military regime that started the war making peace.

If these were conditions that China would readily accept, there would immediately be a strong backlash at home.

Could the already unpopular military regime tolerate that?

“If we win the war.”

“It may be possible. But it would be very difficult for our country to force China to surrender through war. And it is unlikely that the current corrupt and incompetent regime will be able to fight the war well.”

“Even so, there’s nothing I can do.”

“It’s not like there isn’t one. If you have the intention to change the country with Lee Seong-jun, then there is a chance.”

“What do you mean?”

“Is there anything we can’t do that Park Han-jin did?”

It has been said since ancient times that a king who is wise is a traitor.

If you succeed, you are a king, if you fail, you are a traitor.

If you become successful like Park Han-jin, honey will fall on you.

I promised straightforward rewards.

Of course, the officers did not fall for a simple promise.

What really shook their hearts was their concern for the future of the country and the vision I presented.

If we continue like this, the country will perish.

In that case, shouldn’t we join hands with Lee Seong-jun and set the country straight?

“I promise. On the day when I, this Lee Seong-jun, sit in the highest position, you will become my wings and stand strong in the military.”

“I will accept it, Your Majesty.”

I made the high-ranking officers of the 16th and 17th Reserve Divisions and the training corps my slaves.

The junior officers of that unit didn’t even think about it in the first place.

Those guys, the junior officers, were the kind of people who would have followed the orders given by the coup forces without disobeying them if they had known that Lee Seong-jun had risen up.

“aide!”

“Yes, General.”

“We must keep the list of our ‘Ilwonhoe’ members tightly controlled so that it does not leak.”

“I will keep that in mind.”

I also formed a private organization that was strictly forbidden within the military.

The name is Ilwonhoe.

It is an organization named after the Hanahwe that caused the 12.12 incident.

The name itself clearly shows the will to stage a coup.

Well, the organization has been formed and the persuasion work is progressing smoothly.

So what do we need next?

It’s capital.

You might ask, “Why does it cost money to stage a coup?” But coups do cost money.

Common sense tells us that the government does not cover the costs of fuel, securing vehicles, and recruiting people for the coup forces to move.

The money has to come from somewhere.

Up until now, I had been making ends meet by spending the royalties I had earned, but once the coup activities began in earnest, a huge amount of money was needed.

After all, only capitalists could provide that money.

I started looking for a capitalist candidate who might be friendly to the coup.

‘First of all, the conglomerates are hostile to the military.’

I learned this fact through webtoons and life here.

The reason the chaebols were hostile to the military was surprisingly simple.

It was a money issue.

The only place in the empire where money was plentiful was the military, but the military monopolized this money supply.

Ships, cannons, tanks, and other equipment ordered by the military were ordered from the arsenal directly managed by the military.

The conglomerates just looked on, drooling at the huge profits falling from there.

Even if you were lucky enough to get a chance to supply military supplies, you still had to bow down and bribe the general at the armory.

If you still like the military despite these circumstances, you are a masochist.

I excluded the top 10 conglomerates in Korea for now.

No matter how much the chaebols distance themselves from the military, they have so much wealth that it is highly unlikely that they would like to take risks.

I looked into a few companies through the president of Joongdong, and then found out about a conglomerate called Taejung Industry, which was an enemy of Park Hanjin.

‘Taejung Industry. I think I’ve seen it somewhere. Oh, these guys are the guys.’

If I remember correctly, Taejung Industries was one of the companies that supported the coup that ended in failure after 39 years.

I decided to meet Taejung Industries’ Chairman Cho Tae-soo to secure funds for the coup.