Free Web NovelThe bombing that occurred in the middle of the night plunged the citizens of Pyongyang into shock.
“After that kind of chaos, is it really okay for us to go to work like this?”
“You mean what happened last night? I thought the heavens and earth were turning upside down.”
The bus heading toward Nampo City was also filled with commotion.
The Pyongyang residents employed in the Nampo City development project were whispering anxiously about what had happened during the night.
“Still... there’ll be some kind of announcement soon, won’t there?”
The bus stopped for quite a long time at the checkpoint.
At the sight of armed soldiers outside the window, the residents felt their fear grow even stronger.
“There will be a brief inspection. Everyone take out your identification and present it.”
Everyone hired for the Nampo City development project, men and women alike, were party members.
A soldier who clearly knew this boarded the bus and began checking each party membership card one by one.
A man sitting at the very back hesitated before holding out his card.
After examining the card and then looking at the man’s face, the soldier grinned.
“You reactionary bastard! Where do you think you’re going?”
At the soldier’s words, the man raised his voice in protest.
“W-What nonsense are you talking about?”
“Get off.”
“Why are you doing this!”
“You son of a bitch! I said get off!”
When the man resisted, the soldier grabbed him roughly by the collar and dragged him forward.
“Let go! Let go! Do you know who I am?!”
The man struggled desperately, refusing to move, but the soldier only kicked his shin with his military boots and shouted.
“Shut up! Be quiet, you reactionary bastard!”
The man looked around the bus with desperate eyes, silently asking for help.
But everyone avoided his gaze.
In the end, the man was dragged off the bus.
Thrown onto the ground, he soon curled up as he failed to withstand the rain of military boots that followed.
The exact same scene was unfolding at the checkpoint leading to the Kaesong Industrial Complex.
* * *
A day had passed since Choi Ryunghae’s coup attempt.
Jang Songthaek had not slept and was working nonstop to clean up the aftermath.
He ordered that anyone even slightly connected to the attempted coup be arrested.
He went even further.
Even those who ran trading companies and were practically his own close associates were all rounded up and detained.
“...What about Choi Ryunghae?”
Jang Songthaek pressed his throbbing temple and asked.
Guard Command Commander Won Seonghui replied in a voice full of discipline.
“He has been captured and imprisoned in the Guard Command’s secret prison.”
“Good. Tell them not to lay a hand on him until I meet him personally.”
“Yes, Chairman of the State Affairs Commission!”
The booming voice made his head pound again.
Jang Songthaek let out a sigh and took out some headache medicine.
After pouring the pills into his mouth and washing them down with water, he slowly blinked.
“The General?”
“I have been told he was greatly shocked. Fortunately, he is unharmed.”
“Is it true the General was involved in this incident?”
“It appears he was aware of it. Choi Ryunghae and those reactionary bastards visited him. Whether he personally gave the order... that remains unclear.”
“I will meet the General myself.”
“Thank you, Chairman of the State Affairs Commission!”
Relief appeared on Won Seonghui’s face.
Interrogating Kim Jongil was not something just anyone could do, so the reaction was understandable.
“This is a good opportunity to completely purge the military. I’ll make sure something like this never happens again.”
“...Are you planning to eliminate the General?”
At the question, Jang Songthaek glared at him fiercely.
“What? Do you want me to kill him too?”
“N-No, sir! How could I possibly harbor such disloyal thoughts?”
Even though Won Seonghui immediately lowered his head, Jang Songthaek’s voice remained cold.
“Don’t say foolish things. That bastard Choi Ryunghae told me several times to kill the General. And in the end, that same bastard tried to use the General to kill me. Don’t make me start doubting you too.”
“...I will correct myself.”
Even after taking the medicine, his head still throbbed.
His eyes burned from the lack of sleep.
Seeing his condition, Won Seonghui spoke with concern.
“Shouldn’t you get some rest first?”
“No. This isn’t the time to sleep. Has President Kim Muhyuk safely crossed the Russian border?”
“Yes. We received confirmation that he crossed safely.”
“That’s a relief. If something had happened to him... even thinking about it is terrifying.”
If anything happened to him, Russia might go completely insane.
South Korea couldn’t move its military without America’s approval.
But Russia was a country that could mobilize its forces immediately according to the will of the Kremlin.
The fact that Russian troops had already advanced toward the border at Kim Muhyuk’s request proved it.
“Still, fortunately the rebellion was suppressed safely. If this incident caused President Kim Muhyuk to lose trust in North Korea, everything we planned would collapse like bubbles.”
At last, the headache medicine seemed to take effect and the throbbing subsided.
Or perhaps it was simply relief.
Jang Songthaek let out a quiet sigh and gestured toward the subordinates gathered before him.
“Let’s go meet Choi Ryunghae first.”
As Jang Songthaek stood up, Won Seonghui and everyone present rose with him.
There were several secret prisons in Pyongyang reserved for the highest-ranking officials.
Jang Songthaek himself had once been imprisoned in one of them during one of Kim Jongil’s purges.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve come here.”
Remembering the past, Jang Songthaek gave a bitter smile and looked around.
“I’ll go in alone. No one follows me.”
At his command, Won Seonghui unlocked the door to the room where Choi Ryunghae was being held.
“Yes. We will wait outside.”
Receiving salutes from his subordinates, Jang Songthaek entered.
Soon the heavy iron door shut with a deep metallic sound.
A dim room lit only by a faint incandescent bulb.
Choi Ryunghae sat tied firmly to a metal chair, facing the wall.
“Ryunghae. I never thought we’d meet like this.”
At the familiar voice, Choi Ryunghae reacted.
He seemed desperate to speak, but the gag in his mouth only allowed muffled sounds to escape.
Jang Songthaek walked slowly toward him and turned the chair around.
Choi Ryunghae looked up at him with pitiful eyes.
“Why did you ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) do it? If you had gone with me, you could have enjoyed power. Did you want my position so badly that you were willing to throw all of that away?”
“Mmgh! Mmgh!”
Choi Ryunghae struggled, shaking his body as if trying to speak.
Jang Songthaek looked at him with complicated eyes and continued.
“Still, thank you. You gave me a perfect excuse to wipe out all those reactionary bastards in one stroke. You won’t die peacefully.”
“Mm! Mm!”
Choi Ryunghae’s desperate eyes looked as if he were begging to be spared.
Jang Songthaek clicked his tongue.
“What? Something to say?”
Choi Ryunghae nodded urgently.
After a brief moment of thought, Jang Songthaek removed the gag.
“Chairman of the State Affairs Commission! No—Songthaek! We weren’t trying to remove you! We only meant to kill that bastard Kim Muhyuk—”
“Ha...”
The pathetic excuses continued.
Already knowing that China stood behind the coup faction, Jang Songthaek could only sigh again in disbelief.
“Choi Ryunghae, my friend. Did you really think I didn’t know you were acting on Jiang Zemin’s orders? Say it again. You claim I wasn’t the target?”
Choi Ryunghae hesitated, and Jang Songthaek looked him straight in the eye.
“Fine. Let’s say President Kim Muhyuk was the target. What then? After killing him, how exactly were you planning to deal with the aftermath? Who would trust our Republic then? Who would help us? You tried to kill the man who has worked harder than anyone for our Republic.”
“C-China would be there! If the Chinese government helps us, that’s better than relying on that bastard Kim Muhyuk!”
“You still believe in China? How do you think I learned about your movements in advance?”
Choi Ryunghae looked up at him in shock.
“The Chinese government warned me about the risk of a military coup through President Kim Muhyuk. That’s why I prepared in advance. But even I didn’t expect you to target him.”
“What do you mean! Are you saying China betrayed me?!”
Choi Ryunghae shook his head violently, unable to believe it.
“Don’t believe it? Then how do you think I responded so quickly? I was the one who entrusted military surveillance to you, Ryunghae. But strange, isn’t it? Every road leading into Pyongyang was already waiting with State Security forces...”
As Jang Songthaek calmly continued speaking, Choi Ryunghae finally realized why their plan had begun to fall apart.
“Th-Then you really knew everything?”
Jang Songthaek nodded with a faint smile.
“Then why didn’t you arrest me immediately?”
“Because I wanted to use you to wipe them all out at once. Didn’t I say thank you? For becoming my chess piece.”
Seeing the sinister smile on Jang Songthaek’s face, Choi Ryunghae’s eyes widened.
“No! That can’t be!”
“Believe whatever you like. You’ll be standing before the people’s tribunal soon. I plan to show the citizens of our Republic your disgrace in full detail. That way no one will ever dare oppose me again.”
After calmly announcing Choi Ryunghae’s fate, Jang Songthaek turned away.
“Chairman of the State Affairs Commission! Songthaek! Jang Songthaek!!”
Choi Ryunghae snapped back to his senses and desperately called out.
But Jang Songthaek simply opened the iron door and walked out.
“I intend to make the military trial public. Do not damage his face, and extract every statement.”
“You plan to make the military trial public?”
“Yes. We’ll broadcast the trial through Rodong Sinmun and Korean Central Television. No one will ever dare oppose me again.”
Jang Songthaek had already planned exactly how Choi Ryunghae would be purged.
“We’ll begin by arresting him at next month’s expanded Politburo meeting of the Central Committee.”
“We will prepare accordingly.”
“Investigate thoroughly. Find out if there are any conspirators who have not yet been arrested and report to me.”
“Yes, Chairman of the State Affairs Commission.”
After issuing his orders, Jang Songthaek left the secret prison.
Then he headed to the villa where Kim Jongil was staying with his security detail.
Jang Songthaek spoke with Kim Jongil until late into the night.
* * *
After finishing dinner while having a brief conversation with the Russian President,
we moved to a hidden room attached to the office and began drinking while talking in earnest.
“Muhyuk. Why are you so obsessed with China? It’s not like your business will collapse without it.”
The President asked curiously.
Since he didn’t know the future, it was understandable that he couldn’t grasp why I was confronting the Chinese government.
I pretended to think for a moment before answering.
“To be honest, I did consider withdrawing. But you know my personality well, don’t you? I simply couldn’t tolerate taking a hit and retreating like that.” fгeewebnovёl.com
“Hm.”
“And China’s economy is going to grow several times larger than it is now. It will become an economic superpower following the United States.”
“You’re evaluating China too highly. Are you saying its economy will surpass even Russia?”
The President did not bother hiding his displeasure.
I could have given him sweet words.
But I chose to speak the truth.
“Frankly speaking, Russia relies too heavily on natural resources. China will become the factory of the world, starting with manufacturing and using its massive population. If you fail to use that trend, you’ll inevitably fall behind. And...”
After listening to my explanation, the President continued asking questions with a skeptical expression.
“What about Russia? What do you think about our future?”
“Russia’s future isn’t bad. After all, the natural resources on Russian land aren’t going anywhere.”
The President caught the meaning immediately and frowned.
“That sounds like Russia has no future other than natural resources.”
“If you want to change that structure, it will require your decision, Mr. President. It will require enormous capital and stronger relations with Western Europe. Politically, you’ll need to become more flexible.”
I told him many things.
The future I knew might no longer arrive exactly as it once did.
Many things had already changed.
But the overall direction wouldn’t change much.
At least this much I could tell him.
If Russia wanted to grow stronger, the President’s will would be crucial.
“Western Europe, huh...”
After drinking a shot of vodka, the President pondered my words.
Then I made a proposal that would surely pique his interest.
“Mr. President. How about joining hands with me and bringing down Baltiche?”
“What? Bring down Baltiche?”
“Yes. An opportunity will come soon. But I don’t have enough power to destroy them alone. I can shake their financial foundation, but the influence they hold is something I can’t face alone.”
It was a force that had operated in secrecy for a very long time.
Their influence was far greater than I could imagine. frёeweɓηovel.coɱ
Just look at how they managed to replace the French ambassador to China with someone they wanted.
“That’s an interesting proposal. Bring down Baltiche? Sounds fun.”
I knew he would be interested.
Seeing his positive reaction, I smiled slightly.
“The opportunity will come soon. When it does, I hope you’ll help me. It will be a great opportunity for both Russia and myself.”
I raised my vodka glass toward him.
The President stared at it for a moment before curling the corner of his mouth.
“I’m looking forward to it. I’m curious to see what kind of interesting scheme you’ll come up with next, Muhyuk.”
“Well, for now China is more important.”
Our glasses clinked together with a clear sound.
