Chapter 106
Chapter 106
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Casablanca Conference (2)
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On November 5, 1943, the world's attention focused on the quiet city of Casablanca in Morocco.
It was because the Big Four representing the Allies had gathered in one place.
The U.S. President Roosevelt, serving his third term.
Anthony Eden, Prime Minister of the British Empire, representing the hardliners against Germany.
Stalin, General Secretary of the Soviet Union, who ruled with iron and fear.
Lee Seong-jun, Prime Minister of the Korean Empire, the anti-communist military dictator.
With the Allied leaders—who shared no common ideology or system—gathered together, flashes from cameras popped nonstop.
We gave the press enough time to snap their photos, then immediately went into closed-door sessions.
The new member(?) Roosevelt was first asked to agree to the three principles of the Alliance.
No separate peace, mutual equality, and unconditional surrender demanded from the Axis.
Roosevelt easily agreed.
"I agree on behalf of the United States."
On the first day of the conference, they discussed the partition of Eastern Europe.
Stalin was mostly on the receiving end of questions, with us posing them.
While expressing respect for the Soviet military's victories, the attendees were curious about what the General Secretary thought of Eastern Europe.
That made sense—Stalin had never once revealed his intentions.
The same went for me.
Even in talks about partitioning Germany, Stalin only hinted that the Soviet share should be large, without saying a word about exactly where or how much he wanted.
It meant he would judge based on the battlefield situation.
That judgment had turned into a clever move.
Even if Stalin took more than we calculated now, there was no formal agreement with Moscow to restrain the Red Army's actions.
So, we had to draw out Stalin's true intentions here and pin down exactly what share he wanted.
But despite persistent pressure, Stalin only gave vague answers, refusing to specify exactly how much the Soviets wanted.
'Greedy, aren't you, General Secretary.'
The initiative in the talks clearly lay with the Soviets.
The reason ultimately came down to the war situation.
Without the 8 million Soviet troops backing him, would he have shown such a stiff attitude?
I didn't think so.
The first day ended without any gains.
To ease my impatience, I had a wrestling match with my wife, then went to sleep.
Having sweated it all out, sleep came quickly.
I'd slept about an hour like that.
Suddenly, word came that Roosevelt wanted to meet quietly at the conference hall.
What could the wheelchair man want in the dead of night?
When I arrived at the meeting room, Roosevelt was alone.
"Aren't you resting at the hotel?"
"I couldn't sleep well."
Roosevelt asked if I wanted a cigarette.
"I'm trying to cut back, so I'll pass."
"That's good for your health."
We started with light conversation and moved to deeper topics.
The reason Roosevelt wanted to see me was China.
"Do we really need to fight Chiang to the end while battling the great evil of the Nazis?"
"The Republic of China under Chiang Kai-shek is a country that attempted to join the Axis. How can we leave such a dangerous nation alone? I can't do that. If Chiang surrenders, I'll consider it."
Roosevelt tried to mediate with kind words, but I flatly refused.
No matter how mighty America's national power was, I couldn't yield on that.
Blood and costs had already been spilled.
To recoup the sunk costs, Chiang would have to come forward with a full white flag.
"Prime Minister, do you know that loans and Lend-Lease to Korea are being affected by the China issue?"
Of course I knew.
But I had no choice.
To avoid damage to my political life, I needed results that would satisfy the public.
"I'm sorry. I understand the President's goodwill, but as leader of the Korean Empire, this is something I can't agree to. Regarding the U.S. concerns on Chinese interests, we'll consult with the Wang Jingwei government and accommodate them."
We'll give you interests, so don't interfere in our war.
We're on the same team, right?
Realizing persuasion wouldn't work, Roosevelt nodded.
"Still, if you change your mind, please reach out. The United States is fully willing to support restoring relations between China and Korea."
"Thank you for saying that."
Yeah, that won't happen.
Through this brief talk, I keenly felt how America viewed me.
America wanted Korea to back off from the China issue in some way.
In other words, they were wary of our expansion of influence.
At this rate, postwar relations with America seemed destined to sour.
Roosevelt seemed to vaguely sense that too.
We parted ways and returned to our hotels.
For now, riding the Soviet train was the right move.
At least the General Secretary had only shown me goodwill so far.
I decided to tilt a bit toward the Soviets, even if it meant twisting my body.
The second day of the conference had a rough atmosphere.
Anthony Eden, irritated by Stalin's constant vagueness, demanded clear answers, freezing the mood solid.
A head of state—no, a dictator of steel—had no experience with such treatment, so Stalin, deeply displeased, stormed out of the conference hall.
Of course, it could have been a deliberate excuse.
Eden might have prodded Stalin on purpose.
With the conference breaking early, I played two more rounds of wrestling with my wife at the hotel.
My back might give out.
"Prime Minister, that was great. How about one more?"
Her eyes still burned fiercely, craving more.
"I, uh, need a smoke first."
I escaped her scorching gaze for a smoke break.
I thought about one more puff and retreating to the sofa, but Jeong Gil told me the Soviets wanted to talk.
Stalin today?
I'd decided to ride the General Secretary train, so refusing outright wasn't an option. I headed to Stalin's hotel.
When I arrived, Stalin and his cronies were having a drinking party.
You wanted to see me, and you're just boozing?
Stalin offered me a seat and said,
"Let's talk over a drink."
The mood was decent enough.
The liquor was some Georgian brandy I'd never heard of, but it wasn't bad.
"Not bad, right?"
"Suits my taste."
Stalin waited for me to empty my glass, then spoke.
"Honestly, today's conference was a spectacle."
"Eden's behavior must have displeased you, General Secretary."
"Haha, that was nothing. More than that, it irked me how the Anglo-Americans moved in perfect sync. You're not like that, are you, Prime Minister?"
Well, yeah, a bit.
"In that sense, how about our two countries coordinate? They're two acting as one, while we're going solo—this makes it hard to exert negotiating power."
"I'd like to know exactly what you want, General Secretary."
Stalin cleared the brandy and had a map brought in.
A vast map of Eastern Europe.
Stalin drew lines on it with a pencil.
"We want Poland more than anything else."
No point objecting now.
"We want Romania too."
The communist core states—Hungary, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia—fell within Stalin's lines.
Well, up to there was acceptable.
Except Czechoslovakia.
Stalin drew lines on Germany next.
It was the Bezirk River line I'd proposed.
This guy's greed might burst his belly.
"This is the share our Union wants."
I was speechless for a moment.
At least cough up Czechoslovakia.
That's not right.
I took Stalin's pencil and redrew the lines.
Erasing the Czechoslovak region from the Soviet sphere made Stalin's expression subtle.
"Has your thinking not changed at all from that proposal back then, Prime Minister?"
Even after this war situation, nothing changed?
My picture doesn't shake.
The board favored Stalin, but there was room to fight.
"I envisioned a grand deal swapping Europe and Asia. Korea takes China and Japan, the Union takes Eastern Europe. If you agree, Prime Minister, won't our two nations build healthier relations?"
He wanted something like a non-aggression pact between us.
That wouldn't do.
I was confident in securing our share without your help anyway.
"Your plan, General Secretary, is a line the West will never accept. If you want the Bezirk River, give up Czechoslovakia. If you want Czechoslovakia, fall back to the Elbe River."
I stared into the General Secretary's eyes.
If push comes to shove, I could throw chili powder all over your advantage.
The General Secretary met my gaze, sensed something, and called for cigarettes.
We smoked in silence, cooling our overheated heads.
Stalin took a deep drag and tossed out a line.
"I'll yield one step."
Really?
"But in return, I want one promise."
I felt uneasy about what promise he wanted.
"On the Baltic states issue, stand with us in Pyongyang."
I swallowed dryly at his words.
The annexation of the Baltic states was something the Anglo-Americans would never recognize.
Acknowledging it was as good as siding with the reds.
"If you promise that, I'll cooperate with your vision, Prime Minister."
Only then did I grasp Stalin's scheme.
Not territorial expansion—security.
Stalin wanted a device to trust Korea as an ally.
All that probing earlier, revisiting old talks to test my intentions, was just scouting if I'd join his side.
And he'd spotted my weakness.
The slight rift with the Anglo-Americans.
But it wasn't an outrageous demand.
If we were to keep riding the same boat, we needed to share the spoils.
In this case, Soviets get the Baltics, Korea gets recognition of rights over China.
I accepted Stalin's deal.
The carrot he dangled was too tempting to refuse.
Third day of negotiations.
Thanks to the under-the-table deal between Korea and the Soviets, talks went smoothly.
We accepted what the Anglo-Americans proposed when it suited us, rejected what didn't, and subtly supported each other from the flanks.
One week into the conference.
We wrapped up the long Casablanca Conference.
The conclusions were as follows.
"The status of Free France shall be that of a collaborationist state. Any nations seeking to join the Allies from the Axis hereafter shall follow this precedent."
"The national status of Germany shall be decided in postwar negotiations."
"The Kingdom of Italy is recognized as the official government of the Italian Peninsula."
The areas where we partially retreated were on Italy and Germany.
Otherwise, our intentions were largely realized.
The partition plan for Eastern Europe (excluding Germany) and the collaborationist status issue.
We announced these agreed terms.
"So, who is the head of Free France?"
"General de Gaulle."
Originally, Roosevelt planned to back General Henri Giraud, but he changed his mind after persuasion from Eden and me.
I decided to push de Gaulle—despite our soured relations—because he was the only one capable of handling the French communists.
'Anyway, we need to balance things out.'
I'd compromised with the red boss Stalin, but communists' words change from day to day.
No room for complacency.
I struck a final photo pose with the leaders, all smiles.