Chapter 15
Chapter 15
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: crow
Chapter Title: 12.8 Military Coup (3)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
At 6:30 p.m., a military vehicle carrying General Oh Kwang-se pulled up to the Jinwol Dam restaurant in Dabang-dong.
Major General Oh Kwang-se, commander of the 1st Guard Division, had anticipated that his junior, Lee Seong-jun, would arrive early. Out of consideration not to keep him waiting, he showed up thirty minutes ahead of schedule.
"Welcome, General Oh."
Madame Jeong, whom he saw often, came out to greet him.
"And General Lee?"
"He hasn't arrived yet. He mentioned he might be a bit late due to work and specifically instructed us to take good care of you, General Oh."
"Ha ha. That Lee Seong-jun. What am I supposed to do if the guest of honor who invited me is late?"
"Still, why not come inside and have an aperitif while you wait?"
"No. Lee Seong-jun won't be that late."
Oh Kwang-se insisted on waiting in the garden.
Just then, Major General Ha Jung-yeon, director of operations at the Army Ministry, spotted Oh Kwang-se as he entered the Jinwol Dam restaurant.
"Hey, big brother. If you're here, why stand out in the cold? Come inside."
"Lee Seong-jun said he'd be a little late, so I'm just waiting here."
"Brother, I can't wait out in the cold. Let's go in first."
"Alright, alright."
"This way, Generals."
Madame Jeong led the generals to a private annex.
The annex was laid out with an extravagant array of palace-style cuisine.
The generals were startled by the sheer extravagance of the feast.
"Lee Seong-jun really went all out—enough to break the table leg."
"Ha. What a world. That guy never showed his face even when we invited him out, and now he's splashing money on something like this? I was so surprised that I actually accepted his invitation today."
"He's probably been getting a lot of attention lately."
"Yeah, that makes sense."
"Let's sit down for now."
The generals chuckled heartily as they took their seats.
Young women entered the room and took the generals' coats.
"Brother, care for a drink?"
"Let's wait for Lee Seong-jun and have it together."
"You're too upright for your own good, brother."
"Have just one shot at least. Girls."
At Madame Jeong's gesture, the young women sat beside the generals.
"Well, now."
"Brother, just half a glass."
Oh Kwang-se figured it was awkward just sitting there waiting, so he agreed to a sip.
While the generals sat in the restaurant waiting for the no-show guest of honor, Colonel Jeong Sun-jin, secretary chief of the Security Command, received a strange report while on duty.
"What? What's this about the MPs suddenly mobilizing?"
"They say they're dispatching an MP company for an accident investigation."
"There's no accident on our radar. Got it for now."
Jeong Sun-jin puzzled over it and picked up the receiver.
"Military Police Headquarters. Ah, Colonel Yu? This is the Security Command secretary chief. Yeah. What's this about dispatching a company from your end? For an accident investigation? You got that report from below? Understood. Thanks."
Jeong Sun-jin hung up, his face etched with bewilderment.
In the meantime, his aide, who had taken a call, handed him the receiver.
"Sir. It's the Army Ministry security unit commander."
"Ah, General Chae. Secretary chief here. Yes. Yes? The Army Ministry's criminal investigation unit and planning office are mobilizing? With company-level forces? Got it."
A chain of bizarre MP movements.
Jeong Sun-jin sensed something was gravely amiss.
MPs moving at unit level without any reports was a clear red flag.
"Sir. What do we do?"
"First, locate the commander and tell him to get to headquarters as soon as possible."
"Understood."
Jeong Sun-jin made another call.
"Military Police Commander's office. Ah, General Oh? Security Command secretary chief here. The MPs are mobilizing for an accident investigation that's not on our intel. Yes. Yes. Please handle it promptly."
Jeong Sun-jin hung up and sank into thought.
Someone was blinding the Provost Marshal's eyes and ears while the MPs moved.
Rrring.
The phone rang again before he could continue his thoughts.
"Security Command secretary chief. Yes. Yes. Yes? The 22nd MP Battalion dispatched a company? Understood."
The call from Lieutenant Colonel Seok Dong-chul, commander of the 22nd MP Battalion, nailed down his last shred of doubt.
He couldn't be one hundred percent sure, but nine times out of ten, it was a "coup."
But how?
Who was leading the coup?
Jeong Sun-jin thought for a moment, then picked up the phone.
"Inspector General's office. Ah, it's the secretary chief. What's the status on Lee Seong-jun's movements? He's driving around the city right now? Keep him under surveillance."
Jeong Sun-jin hung up.
If Lee Seong-jun were orchestrating a coup, he'd have set up a CP by now and be preparing operations.
But his movements didn't match that.
So, someone other than Lee Seong-jun?
Either way, they needed to respond quickly.
"Connect me to the Prime Minister's residence."
Jeong Sun-jin decided to brief the highest authority in the country on the situation as a stopgap.
It was 7:15 p.m.
*
At 7:00 p.m., Taecheon Parade Ground in Pyongyang Special City.
I arrived at the Taecheon Parade Ground in civilian clothes, and the MP officers already there raised ginkgo leaves in salute.
I nodded, then had Major Mo distribute the pre-prepared mission plans to the officers.
Once the plans were handed out, I gave the officers a brief address.
"Gentlemen. Today, we launch the revolution. In the 'course of the revolution,' there may be unavoidable bloodshed, deaths, or injuries. But all those sacrifices stem from loyalty to the fatherland. Act boldly without hesitation. The empire's fate rests in our hands."
I harbored no illusions that the "patriotic resolve" would be glorified.
No matter how you dressed it up, a coup was a coup.
But it didn't matter.
Distant posterity aside, the textbooks of this era would be written by me.
At least while my eyes remained open, it would be the December 8th Military Revolution.
That was enough.
The officers dispersed in perfect order upon the end of my address.
Having finished my business at Taecheon Parade Ground, I prepared to head to the Corrections Unit.
Rustle.
At that moment, one MP officer rushed toward me, pale-faced.
"General."
"What's the matter? Why so ashen?"
"The Provost Marshal ordered all units to return to base."
"General Oh?"
Oh Jung-gu's reaction was faster than expected.
Then again, it wasn't surprising for Oh Jung-gu, sitting in his office at Army Ministry HQ, to respond immediately.
"What should we do?"
"Ignore it. Once we push forward with the troop deployments, Oh Jung-gu can do nothing."
It was an order to disregard the Provost Marshal's command, but the officer before me was a fine coup soldier.
"Understood."
I dispatched Captain Lee Seong-myeong and boarded the commandeered car driven by Major Mo.
On the way to the Corrections Unit, I pondered.
'Even so, Oh Jung-gu started responding too quickly.'
It had to be the Security Command that tipped him off.
Naturally, completely evading the eyes of the military intelligence organ, Security Command, was impossible.
Even Chun Doo-hwan succeeded easily because he was the Security Commander himself; if he'd been a mere division commander at a frontline unit, he'd have been powerless.
Lost in thought, I made a call from a private home near Taecheon Parade Ground.
There was a risk of Security Command wiretapping, but grasping the situation took priority.
"Connect me to the Corrections Unit. Ah, Colonel Baek? Im-ja, how's the deployment? All sent out? Good."
I hung up.
With even the plainclothes teams deployed, the Provost Marshal couldn't muster forces to stop us on the spot.
The problem was the Guard Division.
I'd lured away the Guard Division commander, but that didn't neutralize the division entirely.
'For now, neutralizing the residence comes before those guys.'
I didn't aim to achieve everything at once.
Trying to do it all leads to failure.
Even Hitler, who once dominated most of Europe, didn't pull that off.
The car arrived at the Corrections Unit gate in ten minutes.
Key officers, led by operations staff officer Colonel Baek Dong-seok, stood waiting at the entrance. Colonel Baek raised a ginkgo leaf instead of saluting and said,
"General, welcome to the Corrections Unit."
I exchanged greetings with them, then followed Baek Dong-seok's lead to the Corrections Unit headquarters.
From now on, the Imperial Army Corrections Unit was the core force of this rebellion under my command.
Entering the neatly organized situation room, I saw a massive Pyongyang map cluttered with pre-marked tactical symbols for each unit.
This was the Corrections Unit's current "situation map."
As expected, the most immediate threat was the massive Guard Division coiled up east of the capital.
If the Provost Marshal was the nearest enemy, the Guard Division was the greatest foe to overcome.
"Contact with the 16th and 17th Reserve Divisions?"
"No issues. They're awaiting your deployment order, General. I'll connect you."
Rustle.
Soon, an officer handed me the receiver.
"Colonel Gil? Lee Seong-jun here. Mobilize your unit immediately. Yeah. Out."
I began full-scale troop mobilization to turn this country upside down.
Now it was time to raise the rebel flag and overthrow the nation.