NIS Agents Tearing Up the Japanese Empire - Chapter 298



Only Noblemtl

Episode 298

Homecoming? (1)

While the Imperial Japanese Army was busy developing fighter jets to operate alongside the independence army, the Government-General of Korea was also busy with the incidents and accidents that continued to occur every day.

“Hehehe, what’s going on this time?”

“Wonsan dock workers have gone on a mass strike demanding better treatment… … .”

“Haha, is this the second time after the Pyongyang workers?”

“Factory workers in Hamheung and Gaeseong also went on strike in solidarity with workers in Wonsan and Pyongyang… … .”

“Heh heh, heh heh heh heh.”

Lieutenant General Shinnosuke Kikuchi, the commander of the Joseon Army and provisional governor-general of Joseon who had not yet been able to remove his temporary label, simply laughed at the news of the regimental strike coming from the north.

“Your Majesty, shouldn’t we mobilize the military to suppress the strike?”

“Heh heh… … .”

“It seems that the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and the armed groups of the Yanji rebels are supporting them.”

“Heh heh heh.”

“We need to mobilize the military and drive them out immediately before the situation gets worse.”

His adjutants and staff wanted to immediately mobilize the military to crush the striking workers.

That was understandable, because the Soviet Communist Party and the Korean Independence Army were behind the workers who were currently on strike.

The two puppet forces in the north were fanning chaos within North Korea by providing financial support to striking workers.

“To put an end to this chaos, we must send in the military as soon as possible to suppress the strike and crack down on the communists and traitors mixed in with the workers!”

That is why Shinnosuke’s staff ordered a hard-line response.

But Shinnosuke, the temporary governor-general of Joseon, just laughed.

There was no word on this or that.

The adjutant, who found the sight strange, called him over.

“dismissal……?”

“Everyone is excited.”

“yes?”

“… … ?”

Acting Governor Shinnosuke shook his head.

“Suppose we mobilize the military to suppress the strike, what will happen then?”

“Well… … .”

“The northern Buddhist monks will come down and push forward, saying, ‘That’s right.’”

“?!”

I knew full well that the independence army against Shinnosuke was waiting for its right moment like a coiled snake.

“If they come rushing down right now… … Will the current Korean (Japanese) military power be able to stop them?”

“There is nothing I can’t do.”

“I can’t do it.”

The Korean army (Japanese army) has now lost a great deal of its forces during the turmoil that has been taking place in Korea over the past few years.

Not only were the two divisions of the Joseon Army (Japanese Army) completely destroyed, but the three divisions that had come from the mainland to provide support were also destroyed.

Over the past few years, five Class A divisions of the Imperial Japanese Army have disappeared without a trace.

What about the Kwantung Army, whose units were disintegrated by the attacks of the independence army here?

The related organizations there had completely collapsed and were being rebuilt from the ground up.

6.

The number of Class A divisions lost by the Imperial Japanese Army during the last Korean War.

What’s more, six units were lost not only in Japan but also in Joseon.

If we add up the damage from the Tokyo siege that occurred in Tokyo, it would be an exaggeration to say that half of the Japanese army’s strength was lost.

What about the Navy then?

The situation on the Navy side was also serious.

Although the Navy Ministry was keeping it a secret, it was already a well-known fact that the Nagato and Mutsu, the pride of the Empire of Japan, had sunk to the bottom of the East Sea.

But what’s scary here is that the battleships Nagato and Mutsu are clearly sinking to the bottom of the East Sea, but they are still actively operating.

Although no new battleships could be built due to the ban on new ship construction under the Naval Disarmament Treaty, the Navy Ministry recently announced that Nagato and Mutsu had successfully completed twenty navigation missions.

Anyway.

What was important now was that if the independence army from the North advanced south, the Joseon army (Japanese army) alone would never be able to stop it.

“According to the information we are receiving, the armed group of rebels in the North is armed with the latest Soviet-made tanks and fighter jets donated by the Soviet Union.”

“… … .”

Just as the Korean Independence Army monitored the Government-General of Korea, the Government-General also monitored the Korean Independence Army.

The money spent on spies and surveillance personnel planted there alone would have been one-tenth of the annual budget of the Government-General.

But even though we poured money into information assets like this, whenever they reached a certain level of scale, they would notice them like ghosts and catch them right away.

As a result, as time went by, the number of people willing to join hands with the Governor-General decreased, and as a result, the amount of money spent in this direction inevitably increased.

But the bigger problem was that digging up information like this didn’t make a difference.

“But how many tanks and fighter planes do we have available now?”

All your precious tanks and fighter planes were deployed to mainland Japan to protect the national Shinto.

Naturally, there wasn’t a single one in Joseon.

“However, Your Majesty, isn’t victory or defeat something that is achieved by fighting with all your might? In the ever-changing battlefield, you never know how things will turn out… … .”

“Then can you destroy a tank with your bare hands? If you show me, I will take the lead and fight them.”

“… … .”

It is true that passion and determination are of great help in life, but to rush into something without thinking about the consequences is just a matter of mere courage.

In that respect, Governor-General Shinnosuke was well aware of these facts.

“When the enemy pushes down with tanks, is there any means or method to stop them?”

“… … .”

Of course not.

The Japanese military’s anti-tank means were limited to bringing in cannons from the front lines and firing them directly, or using anti-tank rifles, grenades, and Molotov cocktails.

Even if you use all of these methods, there is no guarantee that you will be able to capture the enemy tank.

“I asked if there was any way to stop enemy tanks.”

“… … .”

“Right? Everyone believed without a doubt that there would be no way, haha.”

Governor Shinnosuke laughed heartily.

“The strike in the North was instigated by the Soviet Communist Party and the Fulmans? So what can we do?”

“… … But if we receive support from our home country, wouldn’t we be able to stop their southward advance as much as possible?”

“Huh, support? Did you just say support? Are you saying that after seeing the situation in your home country?”

“… … .”

Even in this situation, the Japanese government, despite the Governor-General’s request for support, simply repeated like a parrot the words, “Do as you please.”

Because of the difficult financial situation of the mainland, the Japanese government’s financial support had long since been cut off, and the number of immigrants had also decreased noticeably.

“It seems that the Taiwan Governor-General is also in a difficult situation because support from the mainland has been cut off.”

“So what do we do now?”

“Why are you asking me that?”

Governor Shinnosuke had no vision for the future.

I just had to get through each day by quickly dealing with the issues that were right in front of me.

And the same was true for the Japanese government.

“For now, we just need to keep an eye on the workers and manage the situation well so that it doesn’t get any worse.”

“Are you telling me to bow my head to the communists?”

“Then? After we send the army and beat them all up? What are we going to do after that?”

“Well… … .”

“And if we release the military and shoot everyone like we did in Taisho 8 (1919)? Do you think you’ll be able to sleep well at night?”

The governor’s staff tilted their heads in puzzlement at his weak words and asked him.

“Your Majesty, at most, a few disobedient and wicked people will die.”

“That’s right. Why are you afraid of that?”

Shinnosuke looked at those staff members with pity and sighed deeply.

“Oh my… … Have you ever seen such frustrating and pitiful writers… … If we kill all the Koreans like that, who won’t come looking for us?”

“Who is coming?”

“The Ghost of Gyeongseong!”

* * *

A leisurely afternoon in Gyeongseong.

A customer reading a newspaper in a deserted teahouse kept flicking one of his ears.

“Dirty… …Why are you doing that?”

“I feel a little itchy, like someone is badmouthing me.”

“When did you say you never got cursed at?”

“That’s true too.”

Madame placed the apples she had carefully peeled down in front of me and sat down next to me.

“I got a call from Shanghai.”

“A telegram? Is there something coming from your side?”

“Well, I’m just relaying the message.”

The envelope Madame handed me had the emblem of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea in Shanghai, which had been newly created, printed on the outside.

“A golden tiger… … I bet it costs money?”

“If it’s expensive, wouldn’t it be more impressive when you show it to others?”

“That’s true.”

As the provisional government gradually took hold, it seemed that they began to pay attention to even these small details.

“It’s a good thing, it’s a good thing.”

I opened the envelope containing the letter that had arrived from Shanghai.

And I read it carefully… … .

“hmm?”

“What is it about?”

“It seems like the situation in China is a bit chaotic.”

The letter from Shanghai contained a picture of the chaotic situation in China… … .

The content was about Chiang Kai-shek, who had just taken office, and the warlords opposing him, who were preparing to rise up by joining hands with Zhang Zuolin of Fengtian, and which side should the provisional government take.

“They say that a great war will break out between Chiang Kai-shek and anti-Chiang Kai-shek forces… … Write… … .”

“War? Is there another war in China?”

“Looking at the circumstances going back, it seems that way.”

Madame asked me with a worried expression at the sudden news of war.

“Wouldn’t it be a big problem if you take the wrong side?”

“If I hear it wrong, that would be it.”

As Madame said, if we make the wrong choice and side with the losers in the upcoming Central Plains War, the winning side will not leave us alone.

Well, since the provisional government was mainly active in the concession area, they couldn’t kick us out, but it was clear that it would be difficult for the provisional government to operate in China any longer.

“This is a big deal.”

“This is a big deal.”

If you don’t know who the winner is, you’re in big trouble.

But I know who will win this war.

“Even if the warlords join forces, they will not be able to defeat Chiang Kai-shek because they have no system, no future, and no center.”

“So you’re saying Chiang Kai-shek has all three?”

“It’s a little better than the warlords.”

From an objective standpoint, Chiang Kai-shek is a hero.

But his targets of comparison are warlords who act for their own greed.

Didn’t Chiang Kai-shek also lose to Mao Zedong, who started out as a warlord despite having control over all of China, and flee to Taiwan?

But conversely, this also meant that no one in China could defeat Chiang Kai-shek unless they were at the level of Mao Zedong.

“So, are you saying that our government should support Chiang Kai-shek?”

“Huh? No, rather, we should support the opposite.”

“yes?”

Madam tilted her head as if she didn’t understand.

“Shouldn’t we help the winning side?”

“What, are we Chinese? Chinese people should take care of their own business in China.”

“yes?”

“The Chinese went to the continent, the Japanese to the archipelago, and the Koreans to the Korean Peninsula… Isn’t that right?”

“yes?”

Slowly, all the cards were in my hand, and the stakes were piling up here and there.

“It’s time for our government to start preparing to return.”