The Spring of Zhonghua
+++ The martial law situation had unfolded between late night and dawn, so the real fallout exploded starting from the morning of the 24th. First off, all the state council members submitted their resignations en masse, and the deputy prime minister bowed deeply in front of countless cameras, announcing his intent to step down. The commanders who had led troops into the National Assembly under martial law orders stripped off their uniforms one by one.
Opposition and ruling party lawmakers, centered around the Minhyeok Party, gathered at the Assembly and took turns issuing scathing statements. Citizens who had flooded in overnight waved massive flags, chanting calls for Prime Minister Li Wei's impeachment. In fact, impeachment talks for Li Wei had cropped up before. As this incident showed, he was a hardcore hawk, stirring up plenty of internal grumbling and criticism for unnecessary friction.
But it had all fallen on deaf ears for most people. Impeachment was a political nuke, pulled out only in extreme crises, and there hadn't been a compelling reason to weather that storm. Not anymore. Li Wei's impeachment now blazed fiercely, fueled by the nation's collective rage.
"They're really setting Christmas Eve ablaze."
According to the weather service, temps were hovering around -3°C right now. The mansion stayed perfectly climate-controlled, of course, but you could still feel a hint of that outer chill—and right now, things felt scorching hot. Perfect vibe for sipping coffee and leisurely watching the chaos unfold.
"Militaris's op hit the bullseye this time. The net's lighting up with praise—calling them the guardians of democracy."
"Haha..."
Guardians of democracy... When Goryeo Group was the embodiment of corporate dictatorship ruling Asia, and Militaris was its loaded gun.
"Isn't this our own PR spin? Kinda hard to buy that as genuine public sentiment."
"Sure, that's part of it, but even verified users, influencers, and streamers are chiming in. Doesn't feel entirely manufactured."
"Yeah?"
I checked it out. Voices were heated, boiling down to stuff like this:
'These dumbfuck higher-ups keep trying to reenact Tiananmen every chance they get. China can't unite. Get too big, the government's the same, and they'll pull this insane shit again.'
'Tiananmen' 'Communist Party' 'Golden Shield' 'Censorship'—those keywords were probably fueling this bizarre Militaris fandom right now. If the Communist Party hadn't crumbled in WW3, if China hadn't splintered into twenty pieces, exposing all their atrocities to the world... Shanghai would still be under CCP rule, scraping by without even a whiff of democracy.
That trauma was etched into every Shanghai citizen like PTSD. So even a foreign corp leading troops into their Assembly got cheers—for saving democracy. Because that's what mattered most.
"World's full of wild shit."
Anyway, overnight, the landscape flipped. Li Wei, who had boldly convened the Zhonghua Summit with reps from the Twenty Zhonghua Nations, vowing "One China" while refusing reparations—went from iron-fisted PM to a limp puppet in seconds.
Impeachment buzz was already rampant, furious crowds swelling the streets, and his bold moves? Doomed to fizzle. Especially the "One China Declaration," the summit, and reparations refusal—they got wiped clean instantly.
The reps dispatched from the Twenty Zhonghua Nations for the summit were left high and dry. They'd dithered through martial law, and now they were still radio silent. Probably just biding time before pulling out.
Details emerging...
High-level scheming exposed...
Corporate army stands tall...
As lunchtime neared, the PR blitz kicked into high gear. Li Wei's planned events got buried fast, and even stuff he never touched got pinned on him and his martial law goons. Especially the plot to nab the Zhonghua Twenty reps and the "satellite glitch" that dumped missiles off Shanghai's coast—both exposed as martial law ops. Shanghai's public fury boiled over again.
Hell, forged orders in Li Wei's own handwriting made it ironclad. All fabricated, obviously. He denied it flat-out, but with impeachment momentum rolling, nobody cared.
It wasn't just him. Voices griping about Minhyeok Party overreach or Goryeo Group's and Korea's bullying? All lumped in and trashed. Perfect setup for Goryeo Group to play.
- Yeah. Fuckin' smooth sailing~
You could tell from Gominji's vibe—she was buzzing. Just days ago, she'd been sighing nonstop, hating the grind. Now humming tunes. Things going too well, naturally.
- Planning a full docu-series, drama, and movies off this.
"Huh? Docu makes sense, but drama and flicks too?"
Her vision was next-level. Never crossed my mind.
- Gotta hop on opportunities like this. Cement Militaris for good, make sure those chink fucks never unite again. Foundation's laid now.
"Scary as hell."
- They can't even trust each other anymore. Rounded 'em up yelling "One China," then slapped martial law and tried arrests. Who'd buy it?
"But that real? The arrest plot on the Zhonghua Twenty reps."
- Real my ass?
"..."
Figured as much.
- Anyway, pick some usable sluts from your actors.
"Using our actresses?"
- Yeah. Militaris branch chief roles or whatever—plenty spots~ Time to get 'em global face time.
If so... LUMINA girls or Nokono-go no way, right? They were Goryeo Ent's cash cows, but idols through and through—no acting chops. Pass. Then it hit me...
"What about Jeong Ga-in? Fresh off the pure actress award."
- Didn't look pure at all. Total slut, no?
How'd she know? Woman's intuition.
- Whatever, your call. Hot visuals, decent acting. Gotta nail the Militaris worship—can't half-ass the cast.
"Got it. Leave it to me."
- Cool.
Gominji hung up. I summoned Jeong Ga-in pronto. Top jotjip and sex coach for the rest, she showed quick.
"You called, Master?"
Explained the gig, then fucked her silly.
+++
Key point: it wasn't a national army. Foreign state militaries meddling in politics? Diplomatic nightmare. But corporate forces? No such hang-ups. As long as the corp shoulders it, done.
Militaris pulled it off perfectly—functioned right, defended democracy flawlessly. Only possible because they had no nationality.
Not every corp army could, though. Militaris had overwhelming firepower to shrug off martial law bluffs, backed by Goryeo Group's might. Scour Asia—no other corp force had that spine.
(excerpt) ...Shanghai's fragile democracy demands more Militaris presence—stronger forces, longer stays. That's how to safeguard hard-won freedoms. And aren't our reparations funding that army? Maybe we weren't wasting cash after all—investing where it counts most: protecting our democracy.
Op-ed dropped. Normally dismissed as bullshit, but it spread across forums and news, racking up massive agreement. Militaris's image in Shanghai? Skyrocketed.
Goryeo Group pounced. With hawk Li Wei reduced to a vegetable PM, they leveraged the crisis: reaffirmed Korea-Shanghai economic alliance, slashed reparations burden in a tentative deal.
Of course, they'd recoup via industry perks—net gain unchanged. Worse, really. Cut direct reparations, reroute through other channels: keep the original plus permanent economic wins.
But the sleight-of-hand stayed hidden. On the surface? Epic reconciliation via Militaris's heroics, massive relief for Shanghai alliance burdens. Diplomatic coup.
Minhyeok Party spin, naturally. Shanghai alliance—as Zhonghua Twenty heavyweight—swung pro-Korea hard. Some minor Zhonghua states sidled up. Goryeo welcomed 'em, adjusted reparations big-time. (Rerouted, sure, but optics ruled for pols.)
And so... the "Spring of Zhonghua"—Zhonghua Summit, One China push, even war drums—wrapped up. Hell of a storm.