Chapter 66
Chapter 66
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: The Great Purge (3)
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All the influential figures who could serve as focal points among the nobles had been rounded up by the Central Intelligence Agency or the Security Command.
Seventy percent of barons, sixty-six percent of counts, and sixty-five percent of marquises were confined to investigation rooms.
Security Commander Lee Jeong-yoon began coaxing each of these captured individuals one by one.
“Sir. I don’t know what possessed you to get involved in something this absurd, but I believe there’s been a misunderstanding. Don’t you agree?”
“Of course. What power do I have to even entertain such ridiculous thoughts of rebellion?”
“I believe you, sir. However, to convince the people in the cabinet, we’ll need some evidence.”
“Evidence?”
“Something like, ‘I am a patriot working hard for this country.’ That kind of proof would give weight to the voices calling for your release, wouldn’t it?”
“W-well, how should I go about it?”
“First, since the country is at war, you’ll need to contribute to the defense fund. The larger the amount, the easier it is to appreciate your sincerity, right?”
If buying one’s life with money was the deal, it was a bargain.
“V-very well.”
“Of course, that alone isn’t quite enough to be persuasive.”
“W-what do you mean?”
“It would be great if you could leave a signed statement voluntarily supporting the comprehensive land sales.”
The nobles trembled at those words.
But considering the few days of torture they had endured at the Security Command safehouse, they wanted nothing more than to get out as soon as possible.
“W-where should I sign?”
The nobles submitted to Lee Jeong-yoon.
Those who still had any will to resist were in the midst of “conversations” with water at the Security Command safehouse, so it was a natural outcome.
Before long, land reform had overtaken the war as the hottest topic.
No sooner had eyes opened than rumors spread of land distributions starting somewhere.
The peasants were ecstatic about the land reform.
“So, if I just pay this amount every year, the land becomes mine?”
“Yes. But in return, you must join the cooperative.”
“You bet I will.”
The rural areas, which had already strongly supported Yi Seong-jun, began to revere him.
“In all of Daehan’s history, who has ever cared this much about the lives of wretches like us and even given us land? It’s all thanks to our good lord.”
“Exactly. General Yi Seong-jun should lead Daehan for a thousand, nay, ten thousand years.”
As a result, in the countryside, even the slightest slander against Yi Seong-jun could earn someone a beating.
Of course, those rejoicing over the land reform weren’t just the peasants.
“What happens to those smug nobles if land reform goes through?”
“They’re ruined. What kind of noble has no land?”
“Hahaha. It’s like all the pent-up indigestion of the last ten years is finally going down. Serves them right.”
Wealthy capitalists and chaebols relished the downfall of the nobles.
Thinking back to the days when the nobles strutted around treating them like “lowborn scum” made their mouths water.
“Now Daehan needs to become a proper modern nation. What era is this for nobles to be strutting about?”
“Exactly. Now it’s the era of us bourgeois.”
The capitalists were convinced that the Yi Seong-jun regime would soon extend a hand to them.
Who could be a more rational new political partner to replace the military nobles?
Their expectations were not misplaced.
“They’re saying they’ll recommend our businessmen for the seats vacated by Congressman Yu Hyeokhoe and the others who got the axe.”
“Really?”
It wasn’t as if the capitalists had shown no interest in political power up to now.
A few had even worn assemblyman badges and frequented the parliament.
But they had never truly shared in real power.
Decision-making authority had always rested with nobles from noble families.
The assemblyman badges were mere ornaments handed out to pretend they were practicing Western-style democracy for the lowborn.
But today, that era of humiliation was over.
The capitalists were thrilled by Yi Seong-jun’s forward-thinking measures.
“Let’s generously contribute to His Excellency’s political fund.”
Even a ruler needed “governing funds” to run the country, didn’t he?
The capitalists sent massive political donations to the “Ilwon” Foundation, named after His Excellency’s pen name.
Yi Seong-jun accepted the money without refusal and later allocated it to welfare for war orphans and families of the fallen.
Of course, Yi Seong-jun didn’t just take their goodwill and wash his hands of it.
“These are all the vested interests the nobles had monopolized, and you’re saying they’re giving them all to us?”
“Who cares. Those guys are all dead and buried now anyway.”
Logging rights, fisheries, mines, rice exchanges.
Yi Seong-jun handed over to the capitalists the products of the lands the nobles had greedily swallowed up.
It was an action meant to uproot the nobles completely.
Yi Seong-jun and the chaebols had maintained a distant relationship until now, but this exchange of benefits instantly closed the gap.
At a banquet held at the Prime Minister’s residence, all ten major chaebol leaders attended, giving Yi Seong-jun face.
Even those who were ill among the chaebol leaders showed up in wheelchairs.
“Your Excellency, we don’t know how to express our gratitude for arranging this gathering.”
“I’d been thinking it was about time to meet with you chairmen, but I was too late.”
Yi Seong-jun treated the chaebol leaders as subordinates.
It was deliberate rhetoric to clearly establish the hierarchy.
“Oh, no, not at all.”
The chairmen bowed repeatedly.
“I believe you chairmen are the most important people in this country. After all, isn’t it the ones who earn the money for the people to live on who matter, not the spenders?”
“You flatter us.”
Yi Seong-jun repeatedly showed goodwill to the leaders.
The chaebol leaders expressed satisfaction at his compliments.
‘That’s right. In the end, capital is the most important thing in this country.’
‘At least His Excellency understands the importance of the economy. He’s different from your average military brute.’
The chaebols calculated that even if the Yi Seong-jun regime were to waver by some slim chance, they wouldn’t need to withdraw their support.
Thus, the empire’s system was rebuilt as a solid tripartite alliance.
National Salvation Military Committee (emerging military faction) - chaebols (capitalist faction) - peasants (half the nation).
The stability of the Yi Seong-jun regime maintained a robust structure despite the noble purges.
“Yi Seong-jun handled this beautifully. That’s how you deal with reactionaries.”
Stalin, watching Korea’s noble purge from afar, let out a sigh of admiration.
“Isn’t that right, Comrade Beria?”
“Y-yes, Comrade General Secretary.”
“Thinking about it, I was too lenient. I should have uprooted entire classes like Yi Seong-jun did.”
Who? You, Stalin?
If throwing a million people into the Gulag counts as lenient, then weren’t Britain and France’s colonial administrations also benevolent rule?
Beria wanted to argue but said nothing.
No, he couldn’t.
“With all this war business and various excuses, letting suspicious types go free doesn’t sit well with me. Even if you release them, they’re just rice-consuming burdens who’d get crushed by the Germans anyway.”
To be fair, generals like Rokossovsky, released from the Gulag and such, had turned the tide and allowed the Soviet army to fight this well.
But Stalin had no way of knowing that, so it wasn’t unreasonable for him to harbor grudges.
“So, how many names went on the list today?”
Military purges had essentially ground to a halt.
But purges in civilian sectors continued unabated.
“Two hundred fifty, Comrade.”
“Not too few, but not too many either.”
Stalin drummed his fingers on the desk.
“If Comrade General Secretary has a target number in mind, we’ll adjust to it.”
Finally, the General Secretary revealed his thoughts.
“There are those Ukrainian partisans, aren’t there?”
In western Ukraine occupied by the Germans, there were anti-German partisans resisting.
Their numbers weren’t impressive yet.
The Ukrainian populace still welcomed the Germans as “liberators” for now.
“Yes, Comrade General Secretary.”
“I hear their attitude is poor. If we leave them be and separatists take over, it’ll be a headache for our forces reclaiming the area after the war.”
“What is Your Excellency’s command?”
“Doesn’t matter if you fly them in or have them break through the German lines on foot—send NKVD agents to the liberated zones. And have them generate ‘results’ there too.”
Beria was appalled by the order.
NKVD agents sent that far had little chance of survival, and ordering such talent who broke through to sabotage local partisan groups was utterly shocking.
“If mishandled, our agents could ruin everything.”
Beria adopted an uncharacteristically cautious tone.
He feared any blame coming back to him.
“No matter. Separatist reactionary seeds must be uprooted whether in friendly territory or the heart of enemy land. If you’re going to do it, do it thoroughly like Yi Seong-jun. That’s the only way to ensure reactionaries never dare rise again.”
Stalin’s intent seemed set.
When the Purge Overlord expressed his will this clearly, changing his mind was impossible.
Beria swiftly accepted the order.
“Give me a week to arrange planes and dispatch the agents.”
It didn’t matter if they arrived alive.
If they died, send more.
It was tragic that the feat achieved with such difficulty amounted to purges, but what could one do?
Blame being born in Stalin’s Soviet Union.
No matter how he thought about it, the General Secretary wasn’t human.
Unless he was a great demon wearing human skin.
Beria pocketed his sweat-soaked handkerchief and left the Kremlin.