Chapter 190
Chapter 190
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Chinese Operation
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Whether there was chaos in Cuba or Vietnam or not, it was a story from a world that had nothing to do with Mao Zedong.
The father of the People's Republic of China was on the verge of suffocating under the crushing weight of the responsibilities piling up on him.
In 1954, famines, floods, and droughts struck China one after another.
Unlike the original timeline, the aftermath of the Great Leap Forward hit early because they pulled such stunts in regions like Guanzhong and Shanxi, where the forests were already in poor condition.
As a result, the Chinese people's morale plummeted to rock bottom.
Things got so bad that when Nationalist guerrillas slipped into CCP-controlled areas, locals welcomed them and pointed out the communists' houses.
"That's the house where the communist reds live."
The Chinese Communist Party took this defection of public sentiment very seriously.
"With the people turning away like this, what revolution are we even talking about? If we want to build a new China, we need to clean up this mess first!"
Among high-ranking party members, it became openly accepted that someone had to take responsibility.
Finally, Peng Dehuai stepped up to the plate.
"Comrade Chairman, you have the merit of founding the People's Republic of China, but your mistakes have been grave."
With even Defense Minister Peng Dehuai coming out strong, Mao Zedong was cornered in an instant.
"Someone's finger killed a sparrow. Whose finger was it?"
Now that open voices of rebellion had emerged, people banded together to demand Mao's resignation.
Mao didn't have anywhere near the power in this timeline to suppress it.
"How dare you spout such nonsense at me."
Mao was furious, but he couldn't stifle the growing calls for his resignation.
Finally, Mao Zedong decided to step back.
'Retreating once is just how war goes. When I return to the throne someday, I won't let those bastards off easy.'
As Mao Zedong announced his intention to step down as chairman, the CCP's political situation stabilized once more.
But the horrific food shortage showed no signs of resolution.
Faced with ruined agriculture and natural disasters, the CCP cadres were left drained.
'Even heaven is merciless. How can disasters pile up like this?'
The situation was so dire that cases of cannibalism emerged, with people swapping children with neighbors to eat them.
To break through the crisis, the Communists first reached out to the Soviet Union.
They hadn't begged for help out of pride while Mao was in charge, but now was different.
Human lives mattered more than face.
"We'll provide some aid since you need it, but it won't be much."
Acting as the big brother of communism, the Soviets showed a token gesture of goodwill.
They kept it moderate to avoid provoking Korea's ire if they sent too much.
"What? You're sending us a pittance and expect us to survive on that?"
New Chairman Liu Shaoqi visited Moscow twice over the issue, but the Soviets had no intention of providing more support.
"Comrade Chairman, why not try going to Pyongyang?"
The Republic of China was hostile, the Nanjing regime was Korea's puppet, and Mongolia was a poor country too busy feeding itself.
Reluctantly, among neighboring countries, the Republic of Korea was the only one that could supply food.
"Push forward with a visit to Pyongyang."
Zhou Enlai quietly negotiated with the Korean representative stationed in Yan'an.
"Comrade Chairman, good news—Korea is willing to help."
Liu Shaoqi couldn't help but brighten at the words.
"I'll fly to Pyongyang right away."
Liu Shaoqi wasted no time and flew straight to Pyongyang.
Perhaps the Koreans were aware of China's desperate straits, as they immediately proposed talks.
Unexpectedly, Liu Shaoqi was granted a short meeting with Korea's leader, Premier Yi Seong-jun.
Now in his sixties, the Korean premier showed the face of a seasoned politician—utterly unreadable, betraying no emotion.
Contrary to Liu Shaoqi's preconceptions, Yi Seong-jun adopted a rather humble demeanor.
"Thank you for arranging this meeting, Your Excellency Premier. It's an honor."
"No need for such words. Aren't we neighbors living side by side?"
If you ignored the fact that those neighbors had come charging in with guns and swords whenever they felt like it, it wasn't entirely wrong.
Liu Shaoqi brought up the food aid first.
"How much do you need from us?"
"We require one million tons of grain. Can you help?"
"One million tons. Hold on a moment."
Yi Seong-jun called over a few attending officials and conferred with them.
Liu Shaoqi knew some Korean, but their rapid-fire conversation meant he caught only snippets.
Having finished with the officials, Yi Seong-jun readily gave his assent.
"We should be able to provide that amount."
In truth, Korea had so much grain stockpiled it was practically rotting away.
It wasn't from bumper crops so much as buying up massive quantities of American grain to suppress trade surpluses.
"Really?"
Liu Shaoqi was stunned that Korea agreed to one million tons so easily.
He knew Korea was prosperous, but this exceeded his wildest imagination.
Liu Shaoqi keenly felt the gap between Korea and the CCP anew.
"Would I lie to the Chairman? That said, we'd like a few conditions in return."
"Name them."
The CCP was so desperate for grain it would lick grains of rice off the floor.
No condition was too much.
"For starters, withdraw all your liberated areas in Shanxi. That's our friend Governor Yan Xishan's territory, after all."
It stung to shrink their sphere of influence, but Liu Shaoqi nodded.
They could accept that much.
Once they weathered this crisis, they could rebuild the liberated areas.
Liu Shaoqi saw it as retreating a step to advance two.
That was Korea's only condition.
It wasn't outright free aid, but Korea's terms were certainly generous.
Under normal circumstances, they would have tacked on more to squeeze every advantage.
'Yi Seong-jun isn't the type to show such goodwill. What's his angle?'
Puzzled by Korea's generosity, Liu Shaoqi boarded his plane.
*
In fact, the real reason I provided grain to Liu Shaoqi had nothing to do with the conditions I stated on the surface.
Shanxi's liberated areas?
That was hardly a pressing issue for me.
What I was truly aiming for was something else entirely.
'If we supply Liu Shaoqi with military rations—no, grain—the people he saves will owe him their lives.'
That would contrast sharply with Mao, who had killed through misrule, boosting Liu Shaoqi's standing inevitably.
Ultimately, the benefit I sought from the grain aid was to strengthen Liu Shaoqi's power base.
'With conditions like that, Liu Shaoqi won't go down without a fight.'
The longer the power struggle between Mao and Liu dragged on, the greater the chaos in the CCP, and the more the nuisances from the Red Guards Mao would unleash would multiply.
So, the grain I was providing now could become a deadly poison to destroy the CCP.
That said, I didn't expect Liu Shaoqi to match Mao Zedong with just grain aid.
After all, Mao was practically the founding emperor of the People's Republic of China.
To ignite their power struggle, I'd need to provide Liu Shaoqi with more covert support.
Factoring that in, the cost of this operation was considerable.
Still, it was worth attempting.
The CCP had grown too dangerous a tool to wield, and it needed to be whittled down like this.
As a bonus, it let us tout Korea's moral high ground.
NIS Director Kang Su-cheol flashed a knowing smile.
"If things go according to Your Excellency's plan and Mao dives back into the power struggle, the CCP will face a truly irrecoverable state."
"It will."
A tool that had become too dangerous needed to have its strength sapped away completely like this.
"However, if the Republic of China expands its influence once the CCP weakens as per Your Excellency's design, it could ruin the picture."
I'd already considered that.
"We just need to make sure the Republic of China can't move."
"Is there a way?"
There was a surprisingly simple way to weaken a nation.
Destroy its credit.
The belief that its currency would hold the same value tomorrow.
Shatter that belief, and the nation loses its power to act.
One reason Joseon got steamrolled by Japan without a fight was the rampant printing of dangbaekjeon and baedonghwa notes.
Kang Su-cheol voiced concerns after hearing me out.
"If we directly handle counterfeiting, it could cause major problems down the line."
"Who said anything about doing it ourselves? We get someone else to do it."
There were plenty of people in China willing to handle it for us.
Namely, the warlords.
China's warlords deeply resented the central government's legal tender infringing on their control.
What if we gave them the ability to print that legal tender themselves?
Would any warlord turn it down?
I didn't think so.
"The warlords wouldn't refuse, of course. But counterfeiting legal tender will cost a fortune. Is that all right?"
Procuring technicians and machines, then secretly delivering the setups to the warlords—it would cost a hefty sum even for a nation-state.
But viewed as the price to weaken the Republic of China, it wasn't so bad.
"We'll bear it. Our enemies are getting weaker, after all."
"Then we'll prepare the operation."
"Prepare it thoroughly."
When a great power focuses its efforts, it can crack another great power's currency in a few years.
Even during World War II, Germany had counterfeited British pounds.
For a superpower like Korea, breaching the legal tender of a developing country like China wasn't all that hard.
"Currency counterfeiting on top of the Great Leap Forward and Cultural Revolution."
Even I had to admit the schemes we were unleashing on China were vicious.
But I felt no regret over ordering them.
If it was necessary for Korea's future, I was prepared to do the same thing twice, three times over.
After all, I wasn't China's leader—I was Korea's.