Chapter 109
Chapter 109
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 109
Chapter Title: Prelude to the Coup (3)
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A certain hut near Bangkok.
After driving another twenty minutes or so into the outskirts, they arrived at a remote village where few people lived.
Several unfamiliar men, whom no one had seen around before, were entering the hut one by one.
“Has everyone arrived now?”
“Yes, General. All of us gathered here today… have staked our lives on this noble cause.”
“Good. Let’s begin.”
Was this some kind of military secure facility?
It might have looked like a dilapidated hut from the outside, but inside were state-of-the-art equipment essential for military operations.
The men wore stern expressions.
These were the most radical among the military hardliners, notorious for their extremism. Without anyone prompting first, they each drew a sharply honed dagger from their waist.
As if they had rehearsed it beforehand, they immediately slashed the center of their own palms with the blades.
“For Thailand, our homeland… for a new military revolution!”
“For the military revolution!”
With a thudding sound, the entire group of hardliners pressed their palm prints onto a large plain cloth.
On the previously blank cloth, like white drawing paper, their marks of resolve—stamped in vivid red blood—now sat grotesquely.
“There’s no turning back now. You all know that, right?”
“We’re prepared.”
“I’ll give you one last chance. Anyone who wants out, leave through that door now.”
The hardliners didn’t budge an inch. Their flushed faces seemed to brim with heightened emotions.
A little time passed. The hardliner leader gazed wistfully at the blood-written oath, now tinged dark red.
He lifted his head, meeting each subordinate’s eyes one by one, then slowly opened his mouth.
“No cowards here who’d piss their pants, I see.”
“If they were that type, they never would’ve come here in the first place, General.”
They forced hearty laughs to suppress their tension.
Once the strained chuckles faded, the hardliner leader finally got to the main point.
“Good. Then I’ll place my full trust in those of you remaining here and reveal the detailed plan.”
“Thank you for trusting us, General!”
A battlefield situation map was promptly placed on the table.
The hardliner leader’s hand, holding a pointer, moved toward the southern Thai region at the bottom of the map.
To the exact spot where the Kra Canal would be built.
“Isn’t this the planned site for the canal construction? Why here…?”
“All material transport and manpower mobilization for the current Kra Canal state-owned enterprise has been assigned to our faction.”
That day, when the hardliners had been cast aside in negotiations with the prime minister. It was a minor concession tossed to General Pai like a charitable offering.
Considering the position they once held within the military, it was nothing short of humiliating.
His grip tightened fiercely on the wooden pointer. Trembling, he pointed from Bangkok along the railway line to the canal construction site and spoke.
“We’ll… turn this thoroughly to our advantage. Militarily.”
“General, turn it to our advantage how…?”
“Even if we transport weapons instead of construction materials and troops instead of laborers, they won’t notice right away.”
“……!”
Thailand’s administrative processes were still mostly handled manually on paper.
Even though a company called Ammunition Group from Korea was implementing computerization, it shouldn’t pose any major issues at this stage.
“The prime minister will surely make at least one appearance at the Kra Canal site.”
“Ah…!”
The massive national project that was the Kra Canal.
And with a democratically elected prime minister, he had to pay attention to local public opinion as well.
This scheme, so perfectly laid out, resembled a puzzle with just one piece left.
Unaware of what that final piece would bring to the hardliner faction.
“That’s when the trigger for the military revolution will be pulled. Here’s how it’ll unfold overall.”
* * * *
Thailand, Bangkok Prime Minister’s Residence.
Men with long rifles slung over their shoulders, bayonets fixed. Prime Minister Ing Tak had always feared them.
They guarded the residence as an excuse, yet could easily put a bullet right in the center of his forehead.
However.
“At least that’s a relief, Prime Minister. Things went well with Commander Pai.”
“Well, it means no one’s putting a hole in my head anytime soon.”
Prime Minister Ing Tak gave a small smirk and responded to his aide’s words with a joke.
The prime minister’s residence no longer felt like a birdcage with bars.
He had even pulled back all the thick curtains that used to block out even the light.
Stroking the edge of a wooden table gleaming in the midday sun, Ing Tak recalled his meeting with Commander Pai a few days earlier.
‘Very well. We’ll do that.’
The words had reached his tense ears in the military man’s characteristically deep, gruff voice.
Commander Pai, stroking his thick mustache with a large hand, had said,
‘As long as it doesn’t deviate from the proposal you’ve made, the military can accept those terms.’
The state-owned enterprise tasked with constructing and operating the Kra Canal.
After agonizing over granting all those rights to the military, Commander Pai had reviewed every detail in the documents and given his affirmative response.
‘Following the moderates, now the centrists too. We can sway most of the military’s key figures.’
‘Commander Pai, is bringing even the hardliners safely under control… just my greed?’
Prime Minister Ing Tak, his cheeks sunken in his gaunt frame, fixed his gaze on the burly man opposite him and spoke.
The question’s surface hid a deeper intent: to assign responsibility.
The military hardliners.
If the military wanted the rights to this Kra Canal deal… it meant tightening the reins on their mouths firmly.
‘Winning over the hardliners isn’t realistically possible. But.’
‘But…?’
‘If they break their leashes and cross the line, and if you, Prime Minister, suppress them then.’
Commander Pai, interlocking his thick hands and resting his chin on the table.
True to a man who had to consider the entire vast military apparatus, he added without the slightest hesitation,
‘Any unfortunate incidents that may arise afterward—whatever disposition you decide on, the military will raise no objections.’
Commander Pai’s words echoed in his ears like a refrain.
Finishing his reminiscence, Prime Minister Ing Tak rose from his seat. He walked to the window, gazed at the outside scenery, and muttered softly.
“It’s basically telling me to handle the blocking myself. That bear of a man has the heart of a fox.”
Tap, tap. He drummed his fingers on the window frame a few times.
The ripples of thought in his mind didn’t last long. Turning back, he issued an order to his secretary.
“That Hawk Eye system. You said it can be applied to the state-owned enterprise right away?”
“Yes, Prime Minister. They said it’ll be built entirely on the Hawk Eye base system from the ground up.”
“How long until implementation?”
“Factoring in all the administrative procedures… about two months, I’d say.”
On the desk calendar, the number 4 adorned with a cherry blossom motif.
Flipping two thick pages ahead, Prime Minister Ing Tak pulled out a fountain pen and marked a heavy circle on a certain day in June.
The most opportune timing told to him by the man in Seoul who had taken his hand.
‘Become the bait yourself, Prime Minister.’
‘Chairman Han Seo-jun? What do you mean by that…?’
‘Instead of waiting uncertainly in the Bangkok residence, wouldn’t it be better to openly set the timing? For example.’
The D-day marked on the calendar.
Inhaling the sharp scent of fresh ink, Prime Minister Ing Tak smiled.
‘Like when you, Prime Minister, travel alone to the provinces for a local schedule.’
His eyes grew more resolute.
Looking across at his secretary, he nodded—as if speaking to himself—and opened his mouth.
“Then let’s set the canal groundbreaking ceremony for June 15th. Right on the last day, just after the central army’s southern training wraps up.”
* * * *
Two months passed far quicker than expected.
Now, in June, the spring warmth had turned into muggy summer heat.
Standing before me was Headquarters Director Seong Won-sik, who had just returned from Thailand a few days ago, giving his report.
“The Kra Canal construction site has been finalized near the Malaysian border, Chairman.”
Over the past two months, he had practically lived in the Southeast Asian jungles, overseeing all on-site operations.
His once pale face was now tanned pitch-black, a testament to his hardships.
“There’s tropical rainforest terrain and a mountain range in the middle, but… with Ammunition Group’s current technology, it’s feasible without issue.”
“You’ve worked incredibly hard. Beyond expectations, really. Especially.”
The report was meticulously prepared.
The content toward the very end was enough to curl my lips upward.
—Complete application and analysis of the Hawk Eye system in the civilian sector.
A system allowing real-time oversight of the entire site from one’s seat.
Just applied to the Kra Canal state-owned enterprise, it was operational right here in my Seoul office.
“Best of all, we can already see the military hardliners’ movements crystal clear.”
In one corner of the monitor, red lights blinked.
Signals detecting anomalies in material and manpower transport via railway kept sending me warnings.
“The warehouse inventory is unchanged, and no additional laborers hired. With this volume of movement… there’s only one answer.”
Coup.
The preparatory work for it was underway at the site.
Headquarters Director Seong Won-sik, standing before me, fully grasped the situation and nodded in agreement.
“It seems to match exactly what you predicted, Chairman. The Thai military hardliners… are definitely gearing up for something big.”
“As expected. Well then.”
I rose from my seat and slipped on my summer suit jacket.
Pulling my passport from the drawer, I immediately pressed the call button and instructed the secretariat staff.
“Prepare the private jet. I’ll head to Thailand in a few days.”
“Chairman…? Do you have more to discuss with Prime Minister Ing Tak?”
Headquarters Director Seong Won-sik’s face was etched with worry and concern.
Adjusting my tie in the mirror, I flashed a grin and gave him an ambiguous reply.
“Since I designed the board, I should be the one to close the game.”
Fate’s whim, perhaps, but Thailand felt a bit special as it suddenly entered my life.
Intertwined with my pre-regression memories, the military coup and Kra Canal had opened a world different from the original history.
“And while at it, I need to build more rapport with Prime Minister Ing Tak. The Kra Canal… will surely be a stepping stone for Ammunition Group’s future.”