Chapter 371
Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Zhonghua Gate Incident (2)
The Republic of China (Nanjing) Army's mobilization seemed to proceed smoothly and without a hitch, but not everyone obeyed the orders willingly.
"It's not wartime right now. As such, we cannot carry out suppression orders based on verbal commands."
Xu Qinxian, commander of the Chinese Army's 1st Division, flatly refused the suppression order.
A steadfast and conscientious soldier, Xu Qinxian believed the military could not point its guns at the people's hearts.
"Are you defying orders from above right now?"
"If you interpret my actions that way, then yes."
The price of acting on conscience was steep.
"General, you'll have to come with us."
Xu Qinxian paid for his disobedience by being stripped of his uniform.
Of course, soldiers who upheld their conscience like him were few and far between.
Xu Qinxian's division resumed mobilization procedures under the deputy division commander's leadership.
While the Chinese Army approached Zhonghua Gate, the protesters held their final meeting.
"This is the government's ultimatum. If we don't clear the square by 3 a.m., they'll sweep us away."
"That's just a bluff."
The college students figured the Wang Wenjin regime wouldn't go that far.
Student leader Chen Shui-bian held an optimistic view as well.
'There's no way those bastards would come down that hard.'
The students voted by a show of middle fingers to hold out to the end.
The protesters formed a scrum and stood firm at the square's entrance.
Then, the army arrived at the square.
"The army's here."
The protesters froze at first upon seeing fully armed soldiers disembarking.
The gleaming gun barrels were terrifying just to look at.
"Begin."
Brigadier Li Qing ordered tear gas fired first.
The Chinese government had no intention of staging an open massacre.
As the tear gas spread, cracks appeared even in the protesters' solid ranks.
Coughs echoed everywhere as they hacked and wheezed.
"Charge!"
Chinese infantry plunged into the tear gas-filled square, beating the coughing college students with rifle butts and military boots.
Heads split open and bones shattered under the hard rifle butts and boots.
Screams rose nonstop wherever the Chinese soldiers attacked.
But the college students weren't pushovers either.
"Drag them out one by one and stomp them!"
The students banded together and charged at the Chinese infantry.
The Chinese infantry couldn't hide their bewilderment at the students' counterattack, swinging wooden clubs in resistance.
It was dark, and there were so many students that the firepower of the few Chinese soldiers wasn't all that effective.
"Shall we authorize live ammunition?"
Given the situation, Brigadier Li Qing permitted live rounds.
"Fire."
It was 1 a.m.
From then on, merciless gunfire echoed across the square.
"You fucking bastards."
But it wasn't enough to break the protesters' spirit.
The protesters fought back with improvised Molotov cocktails, paving stones, slingshots, and the like.
Quite a few Chinese soldiers were injured in the process.
From burst eyeballs to crushed bones, the soldiers stayed on high alert.
"These crazy rioters... what the hell makes them resist us like this?"
The Chinese Army struggled through the night's skirmishes.
Spotting the unfavorable tide of battle, Brigadier Li Qing decided to withdraw for now.
"Retreat! Retreat!"
Unable to withstand the protesters' fight, the Chinese Army fell back 1 km from Zhonghua Gate Square.
The next day, they didn't fare much better.
Even with reinforcements from two regiments swelling their numbers, the Chinese Army tasted no victory.
Their assaults were repeatedly thwarted by the protesters' unyielding resolve.
Watching the Chinese Army falter time and again boosted the student protesters' morale sky-high.
And it wasn't just the protesters who were emboldened.
Nanjing had plenty of foreign eyes on it too.
"Would you look at that?"
As China boiled over with the democratization movement, the world began paying close attention to the protests.
"The Nanjing democratization protests might be our chance to dismantle that monster EA."
Ronald Reagan didn't miss the vulnerability shown by his arch-rival EA.
"What do you mean, sir?"
"Let's support the protesters and give them a boost."
The Reagan administration in the US immediately declared support for the protesters.
"If they suppress the protesters with bloodshed, we'll halt all economic cooperation with Nanjing."
The US declaration of support for the democratization protests gave the Nanjing government one firm conviction.
"The fact that America's coming out like this is proof that Washington is behind these protests."
That meant the college students couldn't just be simple "rioters."
The protesters were reactionary elements colluding with the American imperialists to overthrow the regime.
They couldn't let this threat slide.
"Even if it means killing 200,000, we must uproot American influence."
It was an absurd statement, but no one in the Nanjing regime stepped up to rein it in.
Following the cabinet's resolution, Nanjing decided to deploy stronger measures.
"Send in the tanks."
The Nanjing government opted to end it all with tanks.
"Regiment commander, we've received mobilization orders."
"Time for us to roll out."
Brigadier Yang Zi, commander of the armored unit, accepted the deployment order with a stoic expression.
Finally, Chinese Army tanks set out from their garrison to crush Zhonghua Gate.
"Where are the tanks headed?"
Nanjing citizens watched uneasily as the massive tanks rumbled down the road.
Brigadier Yang Zi, leading the 1st Division's tank unit, peered toward distant Zhonghua Gate through binoculars.
Suddenly, the advancing tanks came to a halt.
Yang Zi quickly grabbed the radio.
"What's going on?"
"A civilian's blocked the tank's path."
Brigadier Yang Zi could hardly believe one civilian had stopped the tanks.
"Just go around him."
Yang Zi assumed that would settle it.
But only tank engines roared—no forward progress.
"What the hell are you doing?"
"The civilian's still blocking the way."
It was beyond frustrating.
Yang Zi yelled into the radio.
"Fire a warning shot to scare him off."
Moments later, a popping sound rang out, and the tanks started moving again.
Word spread quickly to the protesters.
Tanks are coming.
The protesters couldn't hide their fear at the news.
"Tanks are really coming?"
Chen Shui-bian couldn't believe it.
Even that ruthless Korean Yusin regime hadn't deployed tanks against protesters.
And China was going to?
As the tanks' tracks grew audible, the protesters' expressions shifted moment by moment.
Fear at first, but over time, anger and resolve took over.
Rage at a regime committing acts even Korea's dictatorship wouldn't touch rooted the students in place.
The tanks and protesters faced off like that for a while.
But the standoff didn't last forever.
"Fire!"
As dusk fell, the tanks didn't hesitate to unleash coaxial machine guns.
Their targets: the protesters.
"You mad fuckers."
The tanks sprayed machine-gun fire as they rolled into Zhonghua Gate Square.
In the process, quite a few people were crushed under the endless tracks.
"Chairman, these guys mean to kill us all."
Chen Shui-bian gritted his teeth and ordered the protesters to disperse.
The merciless massacre dragged on until dawn.
Only in the early morning light did the full horror emerge.
"Hurry up and clean this shit."
Brigadier Yang Zi smoked a cigarette while watching vehicles hose down the square.
Even after repeated sprays, bloodstains and bits of flesh clung stubbornly to the ground.
"Wrap the bodies in blankets or whatever and haul them out."
Corpses crudely bundled in blankets or sacks were stacked neatly on trucks.
Even so, the square's edges brimmed with unprocessed bodies.
At least 3,000.
The world dubbed the bloody suppression at Nanjing's Zhonghua Gate Square the "Zhonghua Gate Massacre."
The Wang Wenjin regime wiped all related articles through media censorship.
But you can't cover the sky with one hand.
Hong Kong and Republic of China newspapers seized the moment to condemn the Wang Wenjin regime.
The Korean government watched the situation and pondered deeply.
'Authoritarian regimes have this kind of risk.'
The people's aspirations for freedom.
The more you crush them, the more indelible stains they become, clinging to the regime like a label.
Just like the Chinese Communist Party in the original timeline.
'If they don't handle this right, China will shake to its core.'
They needed to blur this from Chinese memories for now.
The answer lay with Korea's dictator, Chun Doo-hwan.
'Chun Doo-hwan, who crushed the Gwangju Democratization Movement, responded with democratization measures—the 3S Policy (Sex, Sports, Screen).'
Dumbing down the populace to quiet China.
Not an ideal solution.
But cheaper and more reliable than risking Nanjing's defection from EA.
In this context, Bae Seong-jun urged Nanjing to adopt the 3S Policy.
"The 3S Policy?"
"The 3S Policy is, simply put, a modern take on Rome's bread and circuses."
Nanjing grasped the 3S Policy perfectly and lit up.
"So, 3S turns the citizens into swine, keeping them quiet."
"Exactly."
"As long as we can divert their attention."
The Wang Wenjin regime accepted the advice.
"Why not bid for the Olympics while you're at it? It'll make diverting public eyes even easier."
"The Olympics."
"Don't worry. Pyongyang will actively support your bid."
Korea provided side support for Nanjing's sports event bids and such.
'Once this calms the Chinese down, all's well.'
While backing China's 3S Policy, Bae Seong-jun felt the need for extra measures.
"Have the 4th Deputy Director coordinate with China's State Security Bureau to support arresting democratization leaders."
"Understood."
Korea's dictator quietly mopped up the Zhonghua Gate Incident's aftermath, undetected.
With this aid, China's democratization crisis entered a resolution phase.
But as China and Korea's per capita incomes rose, such challenges would only intensify.
Time was never on the side of authoritarianism.
Bae Seong-jun lit a cigarette, gazing at the blood-red sunset.
