NIS Agents Tearing Up the Japanese Empire - Chapter 288



Only Noblemtl

Episode 288

Shadow Government (2)

Dark clouds began to gather over China.

It was said that a series of incidents in history in which warlords opposed Chiang Kai-shek rose up were about to unfold one by one.

After driving out Zhang Zuolin, who had once defeated Wu Peifu, the most powerful man on the continent, and almost taken control of China, and planted Sun Yat-sen’s flag in Beijing, Chiang Kai-shek immediately set about checking the warlords who had or had not cooperated with him.

His actions, so sudden, were all meticulously calculated.

Even though Chiang Kai-shek was intoxicated by the thought of having all of China under his control and letting his guard down, he did not believe that the warlords who bowed down to him were truly following him.

If all the warlords really turned against him, there was nothing he could do.

Moreover, not all the warlords bowed their heads to him now.

In the original history, Zhang Zuolin, the leader of the Fengtian clique who was defeated in Beijing by Chiang Kai-shek’s Northern Expedition and was pushed back to Manchuria, refused to cooperate with the Japanese Empire and was assassinated by them. After he succeeded him as the leader of the Fengtian clique, Zhang Xueling joined hands with Chiang Kai-shek, completing unification.

However, the Kwantung Army, which had to subdue Zhang Zuolin due to a sudden surge, was razed to the ground like a sheaf of rice during harvest by the Korean Independence Army and was still unable to recover its strength.

The Japanese Empire, which had always been interested in Chinese affairs, also had difficulty exerting influence on China due to various negative events that forced it to pay attention to internal affairs.

Thanks to this, Zhang Zuolin was able to safely escape to Manchuria and reorganize his forces.

Chiang Kai-shek also knew this situation very well.

Rather, because they knew better, they tried to crack down on the warlords even more obsessively.

“There are only a few soldiers on the continent who can proudly call themselves soldiers. They all wear military uniforms, but inside they are no different from thieves.”

“So you want to clean it all up at once? You don’t want to leave any regrets.”

“Yes.”

When Chiang Kai-shek turned around, he saw an old man sitting behind him.

“That is why we need your strength.”

The old man sitting in front of Chiang Kai-shek was Park Eun-sik, the second president of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea.

Old Park Eun-sik was not feeling well after coming all the way from Shanghai to Beijing at the call of Chiang Kai-shek.

Although his body was uncomfortable, his eyes shone like those of a young man who came to Seoul with big dreams in his heart.

“Haha, the great general of China who unified the continent is asking for help from a group that can’t even reclaim a small country? Whether it’s praise or ridicule, both are excessive.”

“I’m not trying to praise or mock you. I’m just stating the truth.”

Chiang Kai-shek hesitated for a moment, but then continued speaking and asked Park Eun-sik.

“I heard that there is a unit operated by your government in Manchuria.”

“Are you talking about the Korean Independence Army?”

“Yeah, that was the name.”

“Why are they looking for it?”

Chiang Kai-shek looked down at Park Eun-sik as if he knew everything and asked.

“I heard that you have been having quite a bit of trouble in Manchuria recently. I also heard that the Fengtian clique keeps picking troubles and bothering you.”

“Hehe, well. I guess I’m old, so I have a vague memory of those stories.”

Park Eun-sik pretended not to know and trailed off, not wanting to get involved in the Republic of China’s troublesome power struggle.

But Chiang Kai-shek spoke to Park Eun-sik as if he were a soldier giving orders to a subordinate.

“Here is my suggestion. You should mobilize the independence army so that the Fengtian clique in Manchuria cannot act rashly.”

“… … ?”

“That’s the only thing I wish for.”

At Chiang Kai-shek’s suggestion, Park Eun-sik just shrugged his shoulders and laughed.

“It is a pleasure that you have such a high opinion of us. However, the independence army under our government is only a few thousand strong. How can we stand against Zhang Zuolin’s army that dominates Manchuria?”

“Really? So you’re saying that you won against the regular Japanese army with just a few thousand troops?”

“… … .”

A slight wrinkle appeared at the corner of Park Eun-sik’s eyes.

As Park Eun-sik grew older, new wrinkles began to appear on his already wrinkled face.

“Where did you hear that story?”

“The world was shaken by the story that Koreans gathered together and caused great trouble for the Japanese army. How could you not know this story?”

“… … .”

Chiang Kai-shek’s eyes were full of alertness.

It seems that the detailed story of the recent battle with the Japanese Imperial Army in Gando also reached Chiang Kai-shek’s ears.

“… … It’s all just luck.”

“Even if you had luck on your side, the fact that you defeated the Japanese army doesn’t change.”

“Our army has not yet fully recovered from the damage it suffered in the last battle. In such a situation, if we were to fight Zhang Zuolin’s army… … .”

Chiang Kai-shek intended to use the independence army to completely purge the internal warlords before unifying China in earnest.

Park Eun-sik tried to laugh it off by saying that he didn’t know much about Chiang Kai-shek’s suggestion or that nothing had been agreed upon yet.

The fight between the spear trying to pierce through anything and the shield trying to block anything seemed to have no end in sight.

The conversation between the two, which lasted a long time, eventually ended with Chiang Kai-shek taking a step back.

“Hmm… … If that’s the case due to internal circumstances, then I guess there’s nothing we can do.”

“It is a pity, Your Majesty.”

“hmm.”

Chiang Kai-shek seemed a little disappointed and could not hide the look of disappointment on his face.

“Well… if you guys help us, things will be a little easier… wouldn’t it be better if we help each other?”

“Haha, I wish I could do that too… … But it’s not easy to borrow money when we’re living off of other people… … .”

“I think they are using the most newly built building in Shanghai as a government office.”

“Haha, that was just luck. We just happened to get the building for cheap due to urgent circumstances and got it at a good price.”

“hmm…….”

Chiang Kai-shek still looked at Park Eun-sik with eyes full of suspicion.

* * *

“… … something happened, right?”

“Is that so? That Chiang Kai-shek guy seems to have a really bad temper.”

“I’m not sure about that… but I get the strong feeling that they’re watching us closely in many ways.”

“Is that so?”

As soon as President Park Eun-sik returned to Shanghai, he did not return to the government building, but came straight to my residence.

And then he explained to Chiang Kai-shek one by one what had happened in Beijing, which seemed to have made him feel a great sense of crisis.

“This is just this old man’s opinion… … He’s the new commander-in-chief of the Republic of China… … I think we need to keep a close eye on him.”

“Why did you think so?”

“Hmm… … You mainly work in Gyeongseong or Manchuria, so it seems you don’t know much about news from China.”

President Park explained in detail what had happened between the National Party and the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea.

The fact that the provisional government supported the Kuomintang, and the fact that Chiang Kai-shek became more and more arrogant the more they supported him, and the more they made more and more excessive demands…

President Park’s tone was quite agitated, as if he had been building up some anger over time.

“… … That guy Chiang Kai-shek is not trustworthy.”

“I guess so.”

“I did take action in advance because you said it would be good for him to be kind to me, but when I think about all the things he’s said to me over the years, my teeth are gnashing.”

“Is that all? Heh heh… … .”

President Park took a deep breath and continued speaking.

“Whew… … That guy’s abilities are outstanding compared to other Mojiris, but his desires far exceed his abilities.”

“hmm…….”

“It’s especially shocking to see him setting his sights on the Korean Independence Army these days.”

“hmm.”

It was the first time I heard that Chiang Kai-shek had his eye on the Korean Independence Army.

‘Daegal Dae-Gal in the Great Depression, Chiang Kai-shek in the Korean Independence Army, Beria… There are more than one or two things to worry about.’

It’s a headache to worry about just one thing, but trying to worry about several things at once made my head feel like it was going to explode.

“This is a headache.”

“I agree with you, Mr. Lee.”

My plan to stay in Shanghai for a while, catch my breath, and leisurely think about the future was completely shattered.

“Chiang Kai-shek, why is that guy interested in the independence army? Was there something he would find unpleasant on their side?”

President Park shook his head.

“No, rather than saying that they were unpleasant, it seemed like they were showing a desire to assign the independence army to a unit under the National Revolutionary Army.”

“You’re saying I’m being greedy?”

“Um… … Yeah, from what I heard, the state of the National Revolutionary Army seems to be worse than I thought.”

“Huh? Low quality? Is the quality of the unit really that bad?”

President Park nodded.

“Yes, during the last Northern Expedition, except for the Central Army under Chiang Kai-shek, the other units acted like a bandit group and greatly upset the public sentiment.”

“hmm.”

“Chiang Kai-shek also watched this from the side, so he must have had a lot of thoughts.”

“Oh, so… … .”

in short.

What Chiang Kai-shek wanted now was a unit that he could rely on and rely on for support.

In particular, in a situation like the present where the military is in disarray and has no order or discipline, the number of soldiers is unnecessarily large, and the defense budget is just going to be extremely high.

Given these circumstances, Chiang Kai-shek is trying to reduce military spending and reorganize the army, which has degenerated into a group of neighborhood thugs.

But the problem here is whether the warlords of each region will just sit back and watch this happen.

Of course, not everyone will tolerate it.

If you just sit there and endure it, your limbs will be quietly cut off and you will disappear without a sound. Who would sit there and endure that?

Wouldn’t it be better to move forward even if you know you’re going to lose, rather than just sit still and lose everything you have?

At least, wouldn’t the leaders of each warlord think so?

Chiang Kai-shek must also be aware of these circumstances, and he must be gradually preparing for the coming war.

What will be most important in the coming war?

Weapons? Ammunition? Food?

Of course, they are all important.

But what’s important in this situation is the unit that will move like your own limbs.

In that respect, the Korean Independence Army was an entity that could appeal to Chiang Kai-shek.

There is also a strong source of funding called the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea.

Thanks to this, they would have been armed with the latest weapons and acquired the latest military tactics imported from the West.

There, they fought against the regular army of the Japanese Empire, the greatest hegemonic power in Asia, and won.

This means that it has proven to be effective not only in theory but also in practice.

So what… … .

It was only natural that Chiang Kai-shek would take notice.

“You hit the nail on the head.”

“It’s a pain in the ass.”

“Use it.”

I had to find out that some of the Soviet military supplies that were supposed to go to the Kuomintang were flowing into the independence army, and it was a headache when Chiang Kai-shek was involved in something like that.

‘Chiang Kai-shek is not someone we can cut off right away.’

If the person making the fuss right now had been Churchill or Hitler, it wouldn’t have mattered.

If the two of them were annoying each other by being awkward, I could have just made them buy something and that would have been the end of it.

But Chiang Kai-shek is different.

This guy was someone you had to gently scratch to get what you needed, not someone you could just snap at because you were annoyed.

Because if we take a picture of this guy, there’s a high chance that an even more horrible guy will come later.

So, if possible, Chiang Kai-shek had to stay in that position.