Chapter 258
Chapter 258
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: The Essence of Power
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Ahead of the showdown with America, polishing public opinion had merely been a warm-up.
I first checked on the power struggle unfolding in the Soviet Union.
"The power struggle hasn't fully concluded yet?"
I'd expected as much.
Even in the original timeline, where Brezhnev had a strong faction, the reds' infighting dragged on until 1967.
In this world, the opposition faction led by Shelepin was far more entrenched.
There was no way the power struggle would end simply.
"The four-way leadership structure remains in place."
Not two heads, but four.
It was absurd, but that was the reality of the Soviet Union.
First Secretary Brezhnev, Premier Kosygin, Presidium Chairman Podgorny, and Deputy Premier Alexander Shelepin.
These four men divided the Soviet Union's power.
Among them, the real power holder was undoubtedly Shelepin.
Shelepin controlled the KGB intelligence agency and the Party-State Control Committee, the party's enforcement arm.
If anyone could make promises to us, it would be Shelepin.
But Shelepin's inclinations didn't align with ours.
His push for arms reduction and military downsizing ran counter to our interests.
Shrinking military power meant heading toward the end of the Cold War, after all.
From that perspective, Brezhnev's desire to maintain the status quo suited us better.
Wasn't it inevitable that the Soviet Union would collapse after Brezhnev's "Era of Stagnation"?
That was undeniable.
But it was fine if the reds kept drawing aggression until 1980.
After that, we frankly didn't need Soviet help.
In fact, the Soviet Union needed to crumble at the right moment for Daehan to expand its influence.
In that context, bolstering Brezhnev worked to our advantage.
'Long-term, Shelepin won't solidify his power.'
Shelepin carried the same weakness as Khrushchev.
The military and hardliners despised him.
Even if he overcame that, Shelepin had health issues.
What if the Soviet Communist Party chopped off his limbs while he was on the operating table for something like an appendectomy?
That's exactly what happened in the original timeline.
Just two years from now.
I summoned Soviet Ambassador Vladimir Vinogradov and expressed my desire to visit Moscow.
"When do you have in mind for the visit?"
"What's there to drag out? The sooner, the better. I'm ready to head to Moscow tomorrow if needed."
The Soviet ambassador looked flustered.
Visiting tomorrow was, of course, impossible.
It was just rhetoric to emphasize urgency—no deeper meaning.
The Soviet government responded to my request with unusually swift reply.
"January is too tight, so how about February 10th?"
"I thought it was a good time as well."
I included not only the military's top generals but also key government heavyweights in the large entourage list.
"Isn't this entourage a bit too grand?"
"You're right."
Of course, there was a reason for the massive delegation.
Our entourage was a gift to elevate the prestige of the Soviet Union's top leader, Brezhnev.
It showed that Daehan, the world's second superpower, held this leader in such high regard.
I wanted the Soviets to feel that.
While preparing the entourage, we exchanged specifics with the Soviet side.
Coming back empty-handed would be a loss of face for Lee Sung-jun, so we needed to secure some results in advance.
I planned to bring back the gas pipeline project as that achievement.
"You're saying we'll sell our natural gas to Western Europe? Is that feasible?"
"What's impossible about it? Does gas from a communist country only produce half the heat or something?"
Capitalist nations are honest about profits.
In the original timeline, the Soviets started exporting to Austria in 1968 and sold gas eagerly across Western Europe.
"Your Excellency, we don't have the funds to proceed with the gas pipeline construction."
"Ah, isn't that what loans are for? We'll cover it."
I told them we'd provide the capital needed for the gas pipeline.
"Is that true?"
It's a world where you can eat a rabbit on credit.
The reds, eyeing the profits from gas sales, accepted our pipeline proposal.
But even if they profited, they'd cough it all up in interest on their existing debts.
We agreed that Korean firms would handle the pipeline construction.
In return, we'd discount the payment a bit.
'This is true Belt and Road benevolence.'
After a few discussions on the pipeline, the visit date approached.
"Shall we prepare a special train?"
"That wastes time. We'll fly."
Riding the Trans-Siberian Railway there and back was too slow.
Instead, considering security, we sent an advance team to the Soviets to take over airport control.
On February 10, 1965, upon landing at Moscow's airport, the entire Soviet leadership, headed by First Secretary Brezhnev, turned out to welcome me.
"Premier, thank you for coming to Moscow."
Unlike his visit for a medical checkup, Brezhnev carried himself with real head-of-state gravitas.
Yet I couldn't sense the aura of a man who held absolute power.
You could tell just from where people stood.
Three men stood shoulder-to-shoulder in the spot where Brezhnev would walk.
'Those must be the so-called Quadrumvirate.'
My guess was correct.
To Brezhnev's right stood Alexander Shelepin, and next to him was Premier Kosygin.
Only one of the remaining wasn't part of the four.
"He's the KGB Chairman."
The current KGB Chairman—wasn't he one of Shelepin's close allies?
I looked at Shelepin with renewed interest.
He and his crony had taken the spots right next to the First Secretary?
His real power was no joke.
In communist states, protocol like this revealed hierarchies instantly.
After greetings, I stood side-by-side with Brezhnev.
Only then did the men beside him step back one pace.
They might match their own First Secretary due to internal dynamics, but not to me, Lee Sung-jun.
I was the head of state of the world's second superpower, independent of the Soviet Union.
I rode in the same car as Brezhnev.
Only our interpreters joined us in the vehicle.
"Moscow's situation seems complicated."
"No country is without complications."
Brezhnev didn't show weakness.
Who would want to appear weak to a foreign head of state, after all?
Given Korea's special status to the Soviets, Moscow assigned us rooms in the Kremlin.
In exchange, only ten Korean security personnel could enter the Kremlin.
We agreed to the same measures.
Staying in the Kremlin, we discussed the pre-agreed gas pipeline on a working level with the Soviets.
Since everything was settled, talks proceeded smoothly.
This was merely a formality with no real substance.
As negotiations wrapped up, I made one request to the Soviet side.
"You wish to give a speech from the Kremlin?"
"Is that difficult?"
"Of course not. We'll make it happen."
The Soviet Communist Party didn't rebuff a request from an allied head of state who had come all the way to Moscow.
'A lot of people.'
At a glance, over 100,000 crowded below me.
I stood on the Kremlin's balcony, gazing at Moscow's citizens.
I took a deep breath, then began my speech in a booming shout.
"No nation today has achieved what the Soviet Union has. Who could have imagined that a country plowing fields with oxen just decades ago would build reactors and satellites? That it leaped from the Middle Ages to modernity in under fifty years? No one would believe it."
It was the product of Stalin grinding the Soviet people in his millstone, but the achievements were real.
They came at the cost of World War II, fought for national survival.
"You've proven all those feats aren't illusions—through Gagarin's flight into space, orbiting satellites, and nuclear submarines sailing the oceans. And you did it in isolation from the West. Who dares belittle Soviet accomplishments?"
When the Cold War becomes history, posterity will mock the communists' faked statistics and shoddy systems.
But not now.
The Soviets' hollow might hadn't been exposed yet.
"No matter how the West mocks or ridicules the Soviet Union, they know deep down. They can't ignore Moscow's achievements. No—they know they're vast enough to inspire fear."
What the West feared wasn't Soviet achievements, but nukes and military might.
In pure economic terms, Korea—devastating world markets—was far scarier.
Why fear the Soviets, whose economy was half of America's?
"So have confidence. In your great socialist motherland. I, Lee Sung-jun, Premier of Daehan, offer my respects to the proletariat who built this great nation."
I bowed politely to the crowd.
Moscow's citizens erupted in cheers as the speech ended.
The roar was so loud my ears rang.
I approached Brezhnev beside me and offered a handshake.
He naturally took it and replied.
"That was an excellent speech, Premier."
"You're too kind."
Lee Sung-jun's speech held no substantive meaning.
Its sole purpose was one.
To solidify Brezhnev's position.
By greeting Brezhnev first after the speech, I showed the Soviet people who ranked number one here.
Why was protocol important?
Because it confirmed "hierarchy" for the masses.
The essence of power was belief.
If everyone believes someone holds power, regardless of title or position, that person is powerful.
So supporting Brezhnev didn't require grand gestures.
Imprinting via protocol that he was top dog was enough.
I stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Brezhnev, waving to the crowd.