Chapter 42
Chapter 42
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Translator: crow
Chapter 42
Chapter Title: Butterfly Effect (2)
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“Prosecutor General, it looks like Germany’s going to win the war in less than three weeks. They’re way stronger than I thought.”
Uh, um.
This was a disconcerting turn of events.
If the entire British Expeditionary Force got captured, how would things play out from here?
Surely they wouldn’t make peace with Germany or anything like that?
The foundation of the grand strategy to cut ties with Germany had been unexpectedly shaken.
‘No. Cutting loose the Nazis is still the right call.’
Even if they signed a ceasefire with Britain, the Nazis couldn’t keep going forever—they’d just run their economy into the ground eventually.
Those guys were like the Mongol Empire of the modern age.
I reaffirmed to the restless generals that we had no intention of jumping on the German bandwagon.
“But if we side with Germany, we could claim some of the Western colonies, couldn’t we?”
Was that it?
Even I wasn’t immune to the allure of Europe’s resource-rich colonies.
Just grabbing Malaya, Borneo, and Vietnam would cover most of the raw materials the Empire needed for self-sufficiency.
But that would be idiotic.
If our military pushed south, the Americans wouldn’t sit idly by.
No need to learn the hard way what prewar Japan had already demonstrated firsthand.
“Let me emphasize again: no alliance with Hitler. We need alliances that are sustainable.”
Of course, with things turning out like this, we’d need to tweak our short-term strategy a bit.
We might have to pay a little more attention to Berlin’s moods for the time being.
On June 5, 1940, the encircled Allied forces surrendered to the Germans.
With the annihilation of the Expeditionary Force came the ousting of Churchill, who had led the resistance against Germany with iron will.
Britain without Churchill.
It was impossible to predict where things would go from here.
The next day, word arrived that Edward Wood, Viscount Halifax—the pro-German appeaser—had been appointed Prime Minister.
‘Looks like Hitler’s about to taste victory for a bit.’
If the British Empire made peace with Hitler, the Nazis would have no reason to suffer from material shortages.
‘Wait. What does this mean for the bigger picture?’
If Hitler could throw his full weight at the Eastern Front without worrying about Britain in his rear, could the Soviets hold out?
Of course, with things unfolding this way, even the “rational” Stalin would recognize the heightened risk of Hitler coming for him.
With his guard up that much higher, he wouldn’t fall for a perfect surprise like Operation Barbarossa in the original timeline.
Still, no denying that events had veered into unexpected territory.
“We’ll need to shape U.S. public opinion a bit.”
I felt the need to fully activate the Central Intelligence Agency, which I’d only used for domestic politics so far.
The CIA—Central Intelligence Agency—had been practically invisible up to now.
Since the Security Command handled most operations, the CIA had functioned like a subordinate outfit.
That was due to the peculiarities of a military regime where the Army Minister or Prosecutor General doubled as the head of government.
But now, things needed to change.
To carry out the core function of an intelligence agency—overseas covert operations—we had to loosen the CIA’s reins.
“CIA Director’s office.”
I decided to have a chat with the CIA Director, whom I’d largely ignored until now.
“CIA Director Lee Kyung-ho speaking.”
Lee Kyung-ho was a civilian bureaucrat plucked from the Security Command, with about thirty years in public service.
“Director Lee, this is the Prosecutor General.”
“Yes, sir.”
“No big deal, but there’s work for the CIA. Yeah. Specifically, I want you to head to the States and dig into pro-German groups. Yeah. If there aren’t any, make some. Yeah. From now on, report directly to me. Got it?”
After issuing orders to the CIA and harboring faint hope that things might improve, I called the Foreign Ministry.
“Foreign Ministry. Lee Sung-jun speaking. What can I do for you? Yes. Please check the mood in the British government. Thanks.”
Truth be told, even as I asked the Foreign Ministry to gauge Britain’s government, I didn’t have high hopes.
I doubted Viscount Halifax, the pro-German appeaser, would show any fight to the bitter end.
Amid all this, the phone rang.
“Lee Sung-jun speaking. Yes? Understood.”
It was a call that one of the vultures circling the situation had finally taken off from the starting line.
Italy—the “Steel Pact” partner that had ignored Hitler’s calls to join the war and sat on its hands—had declared war on the Allies and jumped in.
Plain as day, they were just trying to grab a seat at the victory feast with a spoon in hand now that Germany was winning.
Same antics as in the original timeline.
The only difference was that they’d jumped in a bit earlier.
In any case, the Western campaign looked set to end in Germany’s victory.
In early June 1940, Germany fielded 142 divisions, while France had only 60.
Despite fierce resistance along the Meuse River, France was crumbling under the onslaught.
Ambassador Ahn Chang-ho in Paris reported on the atmosphere there.
“The French government has declared Paris an open city. German troops will enter soon.”
France as a nation was effectively finished.
Reports came in from Britain too.
“Rumors are swirling in official circles that Viscount Halifax has begun peace negotiations. It seems Britain intends to secure an honorable armistice.”
The picture of a short-term Nazi victory was crystal clear.
‘What other impacts will this have on us besides the Soviets?’
I pondered deeply.
First off, colonies came to mind.
With the Allied colonial power vacuum from Germany’s win, domestic militarists might clamor to snatch them up.
That, I could control.
If independence movements flared up in those colonies.
That could set off ideologues like the Asia-Firsters, drunk on their delusions.
That would be harder for me to rein in.
No telling where those maniacs might run off to.
‘Hopefully, no major issues crop up.’
For now, I decided to put any suspicious groups on the Security Command’s watchlist.
On June 25, 1940, France surrendered.
The war had ended in just six weeks.
The military stayed calm, but civilians were electrified.
Talk like this was already buzzing among bureaucrats.
“Italy’s jumping on Germany’s win to take a big bite, so why shouldn’t Korea—the world’s fifth great power—get its share of colonies and influence befitting our strength?”
Calls for Korea to join Germany’s side and secure national interests spread like wildfire.
“Think about it. All the European powers’ home fronts are in German hands or under threat. Prosperous Southeast Asia is waiting for us with open arms.”
To counter these voices, I penned an op-ed myself.
“Korea’s national interest lies not in colonies, but in trade. Remember what Bismarck, who made old Germany Europe’s top power, said: ‘Chemistry instead of colonies!’ Korea must shout the same to survive: ‘Trade instead of colonies!’”
I made it crystal clear to the militarists: this country must never expand.
Hundreds of letters poured in daily, but I didn’t care.
If Korea marched into Southeast Asia, it’d clash head-on with America, which held the Philippines.
And Britain wasn’t dead yet.
Unless we wanted every great power as an enemy, we shouldn’t even glance at Southeast Asia.
Yet domestic militarists refused to pipe down.
I’d clearly underestimated the imperialist essence of this nation called Korea.
They even boldly voiced claims that had been taboo until now.
“Korea's ally is Germany!”
“The government must dispatch troops to Southeast Asia immediately! Vast resources and our Asian brethren await us.”
Of course, I flatly rejected these demands.
“Security Command. Yes. There’s work for you.”
To divert the public’s bloodshot eyes from territorial expansion, I decided to fabricate a few shocking incidents.
It was for stirring up public opinion.
At the same time, I unleashed the Security Command and Military Police on militarist groups and minor newspapers pushing for war.
Daring to irk the military regime with their articles?
They had it coming.
I mobilized every editorialist in our papers too.
Daily radio and newspapers subtly sowed doubt about how venturing into Southeast Asia would imperil the Empire.
It was a massive bloodletting, scraping every ounce of political capital we had.
Keep this up, and trust in the regime would inevitably waver.
‘This is getting a real headache. Foreign affairs are bad enough, and now domestic chaos on top—I can’t handle it.’
If the Nazis grew even bigger and tried swallowing the Soviets too, the reaction was predictable.
They’d no doubt clamor to hit the Soviets in the Far East and carve them up.
Before things spiraled out of control, it seemed we needed to swing the balance back.
‘I’ll need to talk with the gentleman in the Kremlin.’
I had a letter prepared for Stalin.