My Peninsula 2007

Chapter 464 Desolate Place

When domestic conflicts tend to intensify, the best approach is to emphasize external conflicts. This tactic is something that politicians like Lee Min-bo are very familiar with, even though it's his first time in office.

Of course, most importantly, for South Koreans, some are hostile to Japan, some to the North Korean power, and some even to the United States, but if we're talking about the country with the highest concentration of hostility among South Koreans, it's definitely North Korea. Therefore, for the occupants of the Blue House, if they are perceived by the South Korean people as weak in their foreign policy, then showing a tough stance towards North Korea is definitely the right thing to do.

For Ahn Ju-song, the rebound in Lee Min-bo's public support is certainly a good thing, after all, he is a supporter of Lee Min-bo. At the same time, the internet revitalization plan currently being promoted by the Blue House is a huge boon for him and his NGN company.

It is foreseeable that once Li Minbo's public support continues to decline, the situation of the Grand National Party will not be good when the general election comes. If the conservative coalition does not gain an absolute majority of seats in parliament by then, it will be difficult to continue to implement many of the policies formulated by Li Minbo, including the revitalization plan for the Internet.

Just as An Rusong was focused on the newspaper in his hand, the Chevrolet, which was moving slowly in the rain, slowed down further. At the same time, Lin Enya, who was sitting next to him, put away her makeup box, turned her head to look out the window, and said, "Okay, we're here."

Upon hearing her words, An Rusong folded up the newspaper in his hand and looked out the window following her gaze.

At this moment, on the side of the rainy street, there was a square four-story building. Just by looking at the building's dilapidated appearance, you could tell that it had been built for quite some time. Even if it wasn't thirty or forty years old, it was at least twenty years old.

The main entrance of the building is an exaggerated archway, which is now flooded due to the heavy rain and the aging drainage system. Above the archway hangs a faded sign that reads in Korean: Jiangxi Training Center.

Seeing this dilapidated place, An Rusong couldn't help but frown and ask, "Couldn't you find a better place?"

Lin Ya'en turned her gaze away from the window, glanced at An Rusong, then helplessly shrugged and said, "It's precisely because I couldn't find a better place that I wanted to take over."

"Okay, okay, I know," An Rusong interrupted her before she could finish speaking, saying, "You don't need to keep reminding me. Look, I'm already helping you make the connection, aren't I?"

For some time now, Lin Ya'en had been pestering An Rusong, all because she wanted to take over the "Military Family" building. Unable to resist her nagging, An Rusong did indeed put in some effort to help her find a solution.

Just as Lin Ya'en said before, the building of "Military House" belongs to the Army Association. Regardless of how old it is or how well it is currently operating, a building is still a considerable asset. It is obviously not so easy for An Rusong to take it away for free and hand it over to Lin Ya'en.

Of course, the most crucial point is that An Rusong doesn't actually have a wide network of connections within the South Korean military system; he only knows a handful of people. In fact, his connections within the US military system in South Korea are far more extensive than those within the South Korean military.

Initially, he did consider using Baek Geum-joon to communicate with Kim Kwan-jin, but Kim Kwan-jin was, after all, the Minister of National Defense, and it would seem like making a mountain out of a molehill to go to him for such a small matter.

So, after Lin Ya'en's repeated entreaties, An Rusong finally chose to approach Leonard. He had done so much for this American before, so when he needed help, he naturally had to ask him for assistance. Otherwise, wouldn't he be at a great disadvantage?
As for whether Leonard can help in this matter, An Rusong is not worried at all. In South Korea, a magical place, people may not believe in the president's ability, but they should never doubt the ability of senior US military officials stationed in South Korea.

Sure enough, when An Rusong sought help from Leonard, the American readily agreed. A few days later, during a simple dinner, he introduced An Rusong to a man named Zheng Shizhi.

Jung Se-jik is no ordinary person. His military rank is not very high; he is just a colonel in the South Korean army. The department he works for is the so-called "DAPA," which is the Defense Acquisition Program Administration, a department that is specifically responsible for arms procurement. Jung Se-jik's job in this department is to liaise with the US military stationed in South Korea.

Of course, these are secondary considerations. The main issue is that Zheng Shizhi's family background is not simple. His father, Zheng Shouxing, was a lieutenant in the 202nd Class A division. During the Vietnam War, he was already a second lieutenant in the White Horse Division. When he retired from the military, he held the rank of general and served as the commander of the First Army. After retiring from the military, he didn't stop there; he served several terms as a member of parliament.

The reason An Rusong came to this dilapidated place in the rain today is because Zheng Shizhi arranged for him to meet with Shen Dongfu, the chairman of the Army Association, to discuss the investment and renovation of the "Military Personnel's Home".

"Alright, you don't need to worry," Lin Ya'en said softly with a smile, seeing An Rusong remain silent. "This place wasn't chosen by me, but personally selected by Colonel Zheng."

"Oh?" An Rusong asked, somewhat puzzled.

“I think Colonel Zheng probably wants Chairman Shin to see for himself that even in a place like Seoul, army officers like us can’t find a decent place to rest,” Lin Ya’en said with a smile. “Doesn’t that further highlight the urgency of the military home renovation project?” She paused, then continued, “Besides, this place is secluded and hidden enough not to attract attention. Lately, those people from the military prosecutor’s office have been like mad dogs, sniffing and biting everywhere. Anyone who comes out to relax has to be careful.”

An Rusong nodded knowingly.

As has been repeatedly emphasized before, Lee Min-bo has been under great public pressure recently. In order to win back public opinion, he is looking for opportunities to show a tough stance to foreign countries, while also carrying out a so-called "civil servant rectification" in South Korea.

Clearly, this rectification campaign has affected not only South Korea's civil service system but also the military system. Faced with high pressure from the prosecution system, military officers are indeed having to be very careful.

The car turned at the gate and slowly drove into the courtyard inside, finally stopping in a small parking lot with a rain shelter.

Because of the rain shelter, you don't have to worry about getting wet when you get out of the car here. However, the problem is that the entire courtyard is severely flooded. Looking at the tires of a car next to us, there is no water, so the water must be up to your ankles.

An Rusong looked somewhat helplessly at his Italian handmade leather shoes, about to say something, when Lin Ya'en beside him seemed to conjure up a pair of slippers from somewhere. The slippers were brand new, the tags still on.

"Do you want me to go wading in the water in slippers?" An Rusong asked speechlessly as she watched her hold up the slippers to measure the water.

"Hmm, how about I find a pretty girl to carry you?" Lin Ya'en asked with a smile, holding a pair of slippers.

"Where are the beautiful women?" An Rusong blurted out subconsciously.

"Do you know why this training center doesn't have a training field?" Lin Ya'en put her slippers on the seat, then bent down and lifted An Rusong's calf as she spoke.

An Rusong didn't say anything, he just watched her take off his leather shoes.

"This is where the soldiers of the manor are trained, so naturally there are beautiful women here," Lin Ya'en explained while her hands continued moving.

"Mansion soldiers" are a very special group in the South Korean military. They are specifically responsible for doing things for officers, including handling household chores, serving as guards, and so on. To be more specific, they help officers with laundry, cooking, picking up and dropping off their children, and even washing their feet and scrubbing their backs, etc. Moreover, these services are available 24 hours a day, and they must be available at any time.

To put it bluntly, they were just like the officers' servants, and some of them even had to endure abuse and mistreatment from the officers.

However, don't assume that no one wants to be a member of the "Gongguan Soldiers" (a type of military unit in China). On the contrary, there are quite a few people willing to serve in this type of military unit because they do not need to receive regular military training during their service, and they don't even have to live in the barracks.

An Rusong was "currently" serving in the military, so he naturally knew about the existence of the mansion's soldiers.

In his previous life, it seems that in 2017, an organization called the "Military Human Rights Center" in South Korea exposed an officer who exploited and abused soldiers in military bases like slaves, causing a public outcry and even having a significant international impact. This led the South Korean military to reform and abolish this special branch of service.

Of course, this cancellation is only on the surface. In reality, the things that are meant to exist will never disappear for a moment, and this is true all over the world.

"Alright, get out of the car, my dear Chairman," Lin Ya'en said sweetly, rubbing his thigh with her palm after helping An Rusong change into slippers. "Do you really expect me to find a woman to carry you?"

Just then, Luo Minzhi appeared outside the car window. An Rusong shook his head helplessly, opened the door, got out of the car, and stepped into the murky water in a pair of slippers.

(End of this chapter)