Chapter 33
Chapter 33
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Revolutionary Reeducation Camp (1)
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At the time when Hitler stood on the verge of victory at the Munich Conference, an anti-Hitler plot was ripening within the German Wehrmacht.
“Hitler, that bastard—if we leave him be, he’ll ruin the Reich just like in the last world war. How can a country that’s only been rearming for a few years confront Britain and France head-on? We can’t allow any more of that madman’s outbursts.”
This plot, led by Hans Oster, deputy head of the Abwehr, garnered strong support within the military.
Moreover, they had a prime example(?) to bolster their coup.
It was Yi Seongjun.
“Even Korea succeeded with a military coup.”
It wasn’t some minor power; it was a clear case of toppling a great power.
The Junkers could only nod vigorously.
What’s more, they had far more resources than Yi Seongjun.
Yi Seongjun had schemed his coup from a powerless post as an Army policy researcher with no real duties, but the Junkers held key positions throughout the Army.
Army Commander-in-Chief Walther von Brauchitsch, Abwehr Chief Wilhelm Canaris, Army Chief of Staff Franz Halder—nearly all the top Army leaders had signed on to the anti-Hitler plot.
If they all combined their strength, victory was within reach.
“Britain and France can never accept Hitler’s demands, so let’s launch the operation right when the war crisis explodes.”
The plotters set the date for October 1, the day of the Czech invasion—Operation Green itself—as the day of the uprising.
But.
“What? Britain and France surrendered to that Bohemian corporal?”
The Junkers were thrown into confusion.
This made things awkward.
“With Hitler’s popularity soaring to the heavens, how could we possibly overthrow the regime?”
It was a dilemma.
If Hitler had been as unpopular as Park Hanjin’s regime, they would have charged ahead without justification, but the Bohemian corporal’s popularity was no joke.
The pretext of executing a dictator dragging the nation into crisis evaporated with the end of the war threat.
What justification could they possibly use to drag Hitler down?
The Junkers decided to shelve the plot.
“There’ll be another chance. We’ll move then.”
And so, the Junkers’ coup plot fizzled out.
Hitler remained blissfully unaware.
Ignorant that the plotters had held a knife to his throat only to back off, he declared victory with a triumphant face.
“See this? When we roar, the West has no choice but to back down. Those guys are nothing but cowards. And people who’d have us retreat out of fear of scum like that presume to lead this nation.”
“Your Excellency Führer’s leadership has secured victory for Greater Germany.”
“Sieg Heil! Sieg Heil! Heil Hitler!”
The Germans cheered their Führer’s triumph.
The French and Czechs hung their heads in gloom, while the British cheered their “diplomatic” victory.
“We’ve prevented war!”
British Prime Minister Chamberlain saw the agreement as a stalling tactic to build up armaments, but he couldn’t tell the public the truth.
He waved the paper to reassure the British people.
“My fellow citizens, rest easy. Here is peace in our time!”
“One man has saved us from the greatest war!”
The British showered Chamberlain with praise.
Watching this absurdity, Soviet dictator Stalin turned to his staff and said,
“With Western imperialists who’d sell out even their allies, is allying with them really practical?”
The Soviets began questioning participation in the anti-German encirclement due to this Western betrayal.
Of course, they had no intention of readily withdrawing from the four-power security arrangement surrounding Germany.
They needed the common enemy Germany out front to keep the Federation from becoming the target.
In any case, the Munich Conference’s repercussions rippled across the world.
With the West bending to fascist pressure, the entire world realized the League of Nations and international law meant nothing.
Now, if you had the power, you could strike others and seize land without consequence.
As long as you could handle the aftermath.
Even a small country like Hungary was raising its army, eyeing territorial expansion.
This stimulated one particular nation.
It was the strongest empire in the Far East: Daehan.
*
“Your Excellency! This conference has exposed the League of Nations’ impotence. We must seize this chance to annex Japan and solidify it as imperial territory.”
“With the world’s eyes fixed on Germany, now is our opportunity. Your Excellency, for the Empire’s interests, please issue the command.”
Just as Yi Seongjun—busy mentally sketching the Imperial Army’s modernization plan—was lost in thought, the National Salvation Military Committee hotheads swarmed in, begging to annex Japan.
It was utter madness.
But scolding them harshly was tricky; they were loyal retainers devoted to me.
How could I turn these quasi-Imperial Way Faction types, these Prussian bastards, into proper human beings?
For now, I decided to logically explain why annexing Japan was a bad idea.
“You lot. What’s Daehan’s population?”
“Fifty million.”
“Then what’s Japan’s population?”
“About seventy million, as I recall.”
Right, seventy million.
A massive scale, even larger than the Korean Empire’s home population.
In sheer population class, Japan outranked us.
Even the original Japanese Empire had indigestion for ages after swallowing Joseon, half its size.
Colonial management was always in the red.
And now, swallow a nation far larger in population class whole?
The Empire’s belly would burst, and no one would be surprised.
Why bother?
We were already sucking profits from Japan in various forms.
We outsourced governance to the Japanese government while we, the headquarters, skimmed all the profits.
We already had this sweet 21st-century-style indirect rule—why switch to direct employment, tack on the four insurances (infrastructure), and fight to suppress resistors?
It didn’t add up financially.
I lectured them on the philosophy of the great capitalist “Agu” teacher.
“You lot. We need a capitalist perspective here. Whether managing colonies or protectorates, it has to make money. What profits would the Empire gain from direct rule over Japan?”
“Well, it enlarges our scale, doesn’t it? To compete with America, we need over a hundred million people.”
That was true.
But annexing Japan wouldn’t instantly convert that into national power.
Even if we did, could a militaristic Daehan assimilate Japan?
No way.
I firmly coded into these quasi-Imperial Way dolts’ brains: no annexing Japan.
*Exhausting.*
Months of hassle because of these Europeans.
*Hold on.*
On second thought, maybe not just the military—the government bureaucrats might be thinking similarly.
In a militaristic state like the Korean Empire, how many normal people could there be?
I called Prime Minister No Jaewoo to casually probe if annexation talk was floating around the government.
“There’s been some of that, actually.”
“Who the hell?”
“Deputy Minister Lee Wan-gu, working as economic advisor to the Japanese government, submitted a proposal along those lines.”
Lee Wan-gu?
Where had I heard that?
Ah.
That bastard—son of Lee Wan-yong.
I was shocked.
Webtoons featured plenty of real historical figures, but Lee Wan-gu was the first whose name I’d actually heard.
“It’s absurd, Prime Minister.”
“I agree, but there’s considerable support for Deputy Minister Lee’s view.”
“Got it.”
Why are there so many lunatics?
Even after stripping and purging them, madmen infested every corner of government and society.
Then again, our own National Salvation Military Committee—the ones handling the cleanups—were extreme militarists.
When Hungary grabbed southern Slovakia on November 2, the Empire’s expansionist urges intensified.
Petitions even poured in from the branches.
“As Asia’s great power, Daehan bears the ‘duty’ to save our neighboring brethren from Western threats. Your Imperial Majesty, we petition that Daehan take up the ‘Burden of Daehan’ for our Asian kin. If you refuse this plea, strike off our heads with this axe.”
Civil officials swarmed the capital en masse, petitioning for Japanese annexation.
Ah.
Wise man time had arrived.
What the hell was I supposed to do with these guys?
No matter how much I stripped, beat, and purged, militarist thinking permeated down to the grassroots—no solution in sight.
Why were these scholar-official types clamoring to annex someone else’s country anyway?
“Provost Marshal’s Office. It’s me. Mobilize the military police right now. Yeah. My mood’s soured bad.”
This country was desperate to shove me into becoming a militarist imperialist.
Fine.
I’d show them.
What a military dictator could dish out.
“Security Command. You. Get ready for a job starting now.”
I resolved to operate on Daehan’s lunatics.
If I let them be, who knew how far they’d drag the Empire by the scruff.
*I’ll educate them into proper democratic citizens.*
I ordered the Security Command to build a “Revolutionary Reeducation Camp.”