Chapter 308
Chapter 308
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Preparing for Retirement
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The faction was now complete, forged through the Petro Won.
Daehan's dream of world hegemony had just passed its turning point.
Daehan was no longer a mere challenger defying American hegemony.
It was now a ruler that divided the world on equal footing with the United States.
At this juncture, it wouldn't be an overstatement to say Washington could no longer topple Pyongyang's position.
America's checks could largely be ignored from here on out.
Daehan stood as an empire in its own right, sovereign over a vast swath of the world.
That said, it was hard to nod along if someone asked whether our position was fully solidified.
Daehan's greatest weakness was its population.
Maintaining hegemon status with just under 79 million people wasn't easy.
Even compared to India's population within our bloc—another 80 million or so—it was hardly a reassuring number.
We had prepared the EA to address this issue, but even that alliance wasn't one we could fully relax into.
Whether Nanjing or Japan, they were nations with identities separate from Korea.
If Korea, the leader of the EA, ever slipped in stature, we couldn't say they wouldn't bare their teeth.
An ally's scale carried that element of uncertainty in such matters.
*With all these vulnerabilities in mind, my successors won't have an easy time governing.*
I'd always cursed Bismarck for handing over a system too unwieldy for posterity to manage, but in hindsight, Lee Seong-jun here had done the exact same thing.
If I hadn't pushed forward and expanded things, though, Daehan would have spent its days forever fretting under America's watchful eye.
Better to embrace some risks than watch that happen.
From that perspective, Lee Seong-jun's judgment wasn't wrong.
*Still, I should tidy up some loose ends before I go.*
I pondered the matters that needed sorting at this stage.
First, reining in the chaebols.
We had mechanisms in place to check Daehan's conglomerates, but they fell short of controlling the power of those that had grown into transnational giants.
I decided to first bolster the current Audit Office—that is, the National Security Agency—and the Financial Supervisory Commission.
*Institutional checks on chaebol power. It's the textbook approach: minimal side effects, maximum stability.*
As an additional measure, I resolved to completely block chaebol scholarships.
*Seal off the pipeline of politico-economic collusion, and their influence has no choice but to wane.*
To that end, I devised a system where the state would guarantee scholarships for top academic performers.
Second, succession to supreme power.
The succession framework I'd outlined mirrored the Chinese Communist Party leadership's designation method.
It went without saying that deciding leaders in backroom deals wasn't ideal for entrenching democracy.
It was a stopgap due to lack of personnel now, but maintaining it long-term would be problematic.
*If my successor lacks ability, they need to be yanked from the throne immediately.*
I resolved to amend the constitution, shifting from the current European-style cabinet parliamentary system to an American-style presidential one, so the people could directly replace their leader.
Third, censorship.
Censoring foreign culture could, over the long term, stagnate and rot Korean culture.
Even if tough now, I needed to leave room to loosen the reins eventually.
To that end, I planned to include cultural liberalization in my directives.
Fourth, entrenching democracy.
Daehan's democracy had fundamentally been bestowed from above.
Such top-down democracy had shallow roots, liable to topple at the first storm.
*Daehan's citizens, having witnessed Lee Seong-jun's successful dictatorship, might even endorse calls for authoritarianism.*
There was only one way to prevent that.
*Never wanted to, but I'll have to write memoirs.*
Self-critique my rule while extolling the greatness of liberal democracy.
*Lee Seong-jun's rule succeeded not because he was great. It succeeded because Daehan's capabilities were strong enough to back it up.*
No drug injected pro-democracy fervor quite like a reflection from a successful dictator.
Fifth, intelligence agencies.
Under my watch, the intelligence organs led by the Agency for National Security had ballooned into transnational behemoths.
Even after several splits, their prestige soared in this era where information was paramount.
I decided to add another leash.
*All intelligence agencies must operate under the National Security Council's command.*
At the same time, their activities would require police approval.
Civilian control in principle.
*Without this, bloated intel agencies could seize and shake the state.*
My era was fine, but there was no guarantee of loyalty generations hence.
Safeguards were essential.
Sixth, the nation's vision.
Lee Seong-jun, with his futureman's perspective, had ceaselessly selected the optimal paths and steered the nation accordingly—but we couldn't expect that foresight from future leaders.
To resolve this, our top brass needed an institution providing sound counsel.
My era had seen the establishment of think tanks like the Economic Research Institute, but they weren't enough.
*At least 500.*
For a great power aspiring to hegemon status, that was the minimum number of think tanks to maintain.
Seventh, women's issues.
To boost birth rates, I'd effectively driven Daehan's women out of society.
But such extreme policies couldn't hold forever.
Someday, I'd have to fully unshackle them.
*It's an inevitable long-term trend.*
I decided to leave advice on this for posterity.
I passed these notes to my secretariat to discuss fleshing them out.
Whenever thoughts struck, I jotted memos, calmly preparing for life after retirement.
*On the surface.*
Nights were spent sleepless, compiling lists of personnel to purge the moment I stepped down.
The hit list included top Grand Council members, cabinet ministers, generals—my own limbs, essentially.
The reason for purging such close allies was simple.
*Kim Jeong-gil needs those who'll obstruct his rule swept clean. Leaving guys who'll try to rival him just breeds noise.*
I kept the purge list even from the secretariat.
*They need culling too—can't risk leaks.*
Nights I drafted the hit list; days I greeted ministers with smiles.
Of course, I wasn't thinking Stalin-style purges—stripping posts and dumping them in gulags.
*Send this one as ambassador to the US, that one as Asian Bank president.*
Like the military purge back in the day, I'd neuter their domestic political influence and call it done.
The moment I finalized the list, I issued the personnel orders lightning-fast.
Recipients couldn't hide their dismay.
"Excellency. Are you saying we all have to step down at once?"
"Don't take it so personally. Posts opened up where you're needed—it's just a temporary shuffle. Do your jobs well, and Jeong-gil will call you back, won't he?"
I soothed them with kind words.
None dared defy my orders.
No matter what the world said about Lee Seong-jun going senile, my inner circle—ministers, generals, assemblymen—knew better than anyone I was sharp as ever.
*That's the beauty of power.*
One word from the ruler, and all obey.
That's why, once people taste that sweetness, they never want to let go.
Truth be told, I felt the same about relinquishing power.
How could anyone abandon the power to steer the nation and make people laugh or weep with a single word?
Clutching power felt godlike, omnipotent.
Even Lee Seong-jun had moments of intoxication from power's narcotic rush.
But power isn't eternal.
At least I never forgot that.
The ignominious ends of countless dictators etched in my mind served as stark lessons.
As I culled my own people, I swiftly diminished the power in my hands.
How could I manage that?
The difference between me and those late-stage flops was vigilance toward power.
They knew only to crave it, not to fear it.
Lee Seong-jun, by contrast, eternally guarded against its corruption.
What forged that difference? North Korea's Kim pig trio.
*I won't become like them. I can't repeat their mistakes.*
Revulsion at the Kim pigs' ugliness let me evade their fate.
Otherwise, I'd have trod the same path as Russia's dictator Vladimir Putin.
Power held such terrifying allure.
Even now, as I voluntarily released it, the urge to reconsider surged endlessly—its addictiveness ran that deep.
Step down from the throne before succumbing to the spell.
That was my final service to the Daehan I'd nurtured for over thirty years, my duty as a ruler.
Finally, I slowly surveyed the office where I'd spent so much time.
Every corner bore my touch.
Leaving it tugged at my heart a bit.
My gaze, sweeping the room, settled on my lavishly painted portrait.
The idealized, majestic Lee Seong-jun Prime Minister embodied the iron-willed leader in the nation's eyes.
Iron ruler Lee Seong-jun.
*The day they realize it's an illusion—that's when this nation truly stands on its own.*
I shook off the sentiment and turned to leave.