Chapter 148
Chapter 148
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Empire of Specters (2)
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Erich von Manstein was born in 1887 into the Levinsky family, Prussian Junkers.
Manstein was adopted under General Georg von Manstein by his aunt Hedwig von Schwerin, who had no children of her own, and thus lived the life of a true-blue Junker.
Steel and blood.
Manstein enlisted in the Prussian Army, the epitome of militarism, endured World War I, and survived the massive demobilization that followed.
He was undoubtedly an exceptional figure with outstanding talent as a soldier.
Anyone who spoke with Manstein was quickly impressed by his talent and insight.
Before long, he became a heavyweight mentioned as a candidate for Chief of the German General Staff.
He was sidelined to backwater posts after losing out in the competition, but his Sickle Cut operation caught Hitler's eye, propelling him back onto the path to promotion.
The pinnacle of his career in World War II was Field Marshal.
Manstein enjoyed the highest honors as a soldier.
But behind that glory lurked a dark shadow.
Manstein had always navigated life opportunistically.
Whenever there was blame to shoulder, he always pushed it onto his subordinates.
"Your Excellency. The Einsatzgruppen are requesting the army's cooperation for extermination operations in our sector. What should we do?"
"That's none of my business. I've never heard any report. Let them handle it appropriately."
Manstein never signed documents that could hold him accountable.
That cautious approach paid off after the war.
"That bastard Manstein is a war criminal!"
The Soviets were gunning for Manstein, who had abetted and turned a blind eye to countless war crimes in Ukraine.
Everyone ground their teeth, eager to catch and kill the sly rat at any moment.
But there was no evidence.
"Bring proof that I tolerated war crimes."
In the end, most of the responsibility fell on Manstein's subordinates.
"Your Excellency! Aren't you ashamed of your actions?"
Some rebuked him like this, but Manstein replied with a calm face.
"I am innocent. If I have any guilt, it's only that I served as a soldier of Germany."
Manstein received only a short sentence.
And he was amnestied the moment West Germany was established.
In the midst of the Cold War standoff with the Smile, it was seen as a waste to rot an experienced Soviet fighter in prison.
The world now hated communists more than Nazis.
"The world has finally righted itself."
Manstein was able to step out into a brighter world like that.
When he first left prison, he had no intention of engaging in politics.
He simply planned to spend his later years writing memoirs about this war.
While compiling his book *Lost Victories*, Manstein came across materials on Lee Sung-jun and found himself captivated by the man's claims.
"This, this is."
He felt a powerful resonance unlike anything from Adolf Hitler, whom he had dismissed as a mere Bohemian corporal.
Lee Sung-jun's Korean-style democracy.
Beneath its democratic veneer lay values unique to the German Empire that couldn't be concealed.
Military dictatorship.
Lee Sung-jun's Yusin embodied everything the old Junkers' empire had yearned for.
This was it.
He had to transplant Lee Sung-jun's ideology into Germany.
After leaving prison, Manstein felt a sense of historical mission for the first time.
This was why he had served his short sentence and been released.
Manstein devoured every book Lee Sung-jun had written without rest.
He discovered profound value in every sentence and word he had once dismissed as the ravings of a barbaric Untermensch Asian, the empire's enemy.
Lee Sung-jun.
Why hadn't a man like this been born in the German Empire?
Manstein thought.
If this country had no Lee Sung-jun, then they just needed to create one.
They could teach his philosophy and values to the students!
For that, they needed power.
They needed force.
They needed an organization.
Manstein began promoting Lee Sung-jun's ideology to his fellow Junkers.
Fortunately, the Nazis had proven that it resonated well in the empire.
It was a sound guideline overflowing with values that appealed to the public and stirred the Junkers' hearts.
How could anyone reject it?
Manstein's salesmanship soon bore fruit.
A number of former generals, including Manstein, gathered for a founding ceremony.
"German Yusin Association! We will show this directionless shipwreck its compass!"
The Germans thought the Junkers were up to their old nonsense again.
But they were wrong.
The Junkers sincerely believed they needed to innovate with "Lee Sung-jun-style democracy."
"A nation united under a strong leader. To recreate Bismarck's glory, Lee Sung-jun is the answer."
To that end, the Junkers even showed willingness to relinquish their vested interests.
Of course, most of the von nobles' estates and wealth had already been destroyed by the Soviet Army, but displaying such an attitude was still a remarkable change.
"Now we must change from head to toe. Only then can Germany chase Korea. Compete with Lee Sung-jun."
Elevated as the honorary leader of the German Yusin Association, Manstein preached tirelessly to the people.
"What the hell? Why are these Junker lords acting so undignified?"
This was imitating Lee Sung-jun too.
Manstein mimicked Lee Sung-jun's mass politics, holding events the Junkers would never do: market visits, hauling coal in mines, slum tours.
As the German Yusin Association showed sincerity in recreating Korean-style democracy, Germans began to shift their thinking a bit.
"Come to think of it, Hitler ruined the country, not the Junkers."
"Ah, but they ruined it in World War I."
In any case, the Junkers' German Yusin Association grew its forces at a frightening speed.
It was a situation that horrified the German government.
"Can't we disband those guys?"
"Even with defensive democracy, if we invoke it too often, our regime's corruption is only a matter of time."
The German government hesitated to touch the Junkers.
Even toothless, the Junkers were still the vested interests of this society.
They were in a different league from penniless Nazis.
The Junkers, aware of that fact, expanded their influence further.
The Junkers openly evoked nostalgia for the German Empire days, preparing ceremonial marches in splendid uniforms topped with Pickelhaubes from the old imperial era.
"That's it! That's what Germany needs!"
Those who had despaired after the army's dissolution were deeply moved by the Yusin Association's events.
Just as youths admired the Nazis' flashy uniforms, the Yusin Association's refined parades stole the hearts of the young.
Now the Yusin Association boasted strength rivaling Germany's major parties.
The CDU, FDP, SPD, and other major parties felt terror at their growth.
Whether Germany's political circles feared them or not, Manstein raised the party's flag high.
"Thank you for visiting our radio station, Leader."
Manstein actively utilized propaganda media, just like Lee Sung-jun and Goebbels.
Of course, unlike those professional propagandists, Manstein wasn't skilled at speaking.
But Manstein had experts supporting him.
If he couldn't speak well, the announcers corrected him; if he couldn't write well, the party's brilliant theorists drafted his speeches.
Manstein just had to deliver the results before the people.
"Respected fellow citizens. Our German Yusin Association is a party dreaming of a new Germany. Some say, 'Isn't that party just the outdated, stodgy Junkers' outfit?'"
Of course, that was a fact.
"Not at all. Where are Junkers in today's world? East of the Elbe, Junkers lost all their land and property. Dividing classes by Junker or non-Junker is meaningless now. Junkers no longer exist."
Perhaps that was true.
"So, we must cast off old notions and unite. What matters about stale classes? About status? Didn't we learn under the Ivans' jackboots? No matter how we defined ourselves, to the Ivans we were all the same fascists. Thinking about that, isn't it laughable how some call us Junkers or imperialists?"
"We must not fall for the schemes of such lowly rabble. If we let those trying to divide and fracture us succeed, we cannot raise Germany again. We cannot see a mighty Germany again. Is that what you want? So, forget their words and unite once more. From the Moselle to Memel, from the Etsch to the Belt, let us recreate the glory of Bismarck's era when all cried out as one."
Manstein nonchalantly invoked even a verse from the German anthem, now taboo.
It was rhetoric targeting German patriotism.
"We, the German Yusin Association, will help make it so. We will support you in achieving your dreams. We won't arrogantly claim to lead you like that Bohemian corporal who ruined the country. Just give us the chance to guide you."
Manstein's speech drew cheers from the Germans.
"Excellency Manstein! Can Germany really rise again?"
"Of course. If we unite under Korean-style democracy, it's possible!"
Manstein sold dreams to the Germans.
Even if those dreams were a bit pitch-black, what did it matter?
White or black, as long as it tasted good.
Under Manstein's lead, the German Yusin Association grew into Germany's fourth-largest party in support.
With more time, they might even get a shot at power.
In Europe, still reeling from fascism and imperialism, militarists were rising again in Germany after the Nazis.
Germany's time was still frozen in the Weimar Republic era.