Yes, Prime Minister of Japan

This is why the South Korean Navy and Army suddenly fell silent after Li Xinghe approached Gao Changjun and Liang Longmo. Since these two leaders remained silent and inactive, the soldiers below them simply didn't move, saving them money on food.

Few people know that Lee Sung-ha actually spent last year in Seoul loyally helping to extinguish the flames of political instability.

Now that this fact has been revealed, the lawmakers are looking at each other in bewilderment.

Someone said something like:

"Oh, is it possible to reconcile?"

Han Ki-ho, known for advocating war, hurriedly tried to curry favor with a powerful figure.

Where are the US troops?

"The US troops... have returned to camp."

It's too late to mention the US military now.

Commander Xavier Brunson, the shrewd and experienced black general stationed in Korea, had accepted a bribe from Lee Sung-ha, and with the instigation of the Seogwipo infighting, the Korean branch of the Seventh Fleet had already set sail for Yokosuka, along with the Seventh Air Force and...

Episode 8: The regiment, of course, remained in their camp, watching the spectacle unfold. Xavier Brunson ordered his troops that not a single person was allowed to leave their post.

When it comes to 'uniting will and defending the leader,' these Black people who have climbed to the top are the most skilled.

Another member of parliament brought devastating news:

"The phone numbers of all the major companies are...unreachable, and no one answers the phone at the military industry enterprises either."

Since Kim Dae-jung accepted aid, the ties between South Korean chaebols and the political arena have significantly weakened, as they have already gained control of everything they desire. Now that Lee Sung-ha is threatening violence, the chaebols are practically on their way from Busan to Tokyo; who cares what the politicians do?

South Korea's military industry has become significantly fragmented following the Russia-Ukraine war.

The once-dominant Samsung Group has gradually faded from the arms market. Currently, the largest defense contractor is Hanwha Group, a subsidiary of Korea Powder, primarily responsible for producing various low-cost military products, including the K2 tank and K9 howitzer. Another major player is Hyundai LOCK, a subsidiary of the Hyundai Group, which mainly manufactures tanks and armored personnel carriers. In the advanced defense sector, there is Lig NEX1, a subsidiary of the LG Group, which primarily produces various drones, missiles, anti-missile systems, and torpedoes. Next is the Korea Aerospace Industries (KAAI), the only state-owned enterprise in the group, which produces the KF-16, KF-21, and attack helicopters.

These four groups together account for the majority of South Korea's military exports.

All four military industrial enterprises need to obtain orders from the United States and do business with the United States.

A significant portion of their business comes from Li Xinghe's orders, and Li Xinghe even sends them more orders. Do you expect them to fight with their sugar daddy?

"If I had known... I wouldn't have written that article..."

Gao Wenting was filled with regret, but it was too late for her to regret it.

If South Korea hadn't raised the Jeju Island issue, it would have been very difficult for Lee Sung-ha to boost South Korea's diplomatic reputation. In the end, they themselves, in their internal election struggle, willingly made themselves a punching bag.

As evening approached, a day of arguing had passed, and Congress had accomplished nothing.

The media outside the venue were in an uproar.

Is this how you lead the country?

A reporter from the Dong-A Ilbo went to find the commander of the 1st Division, but Yang Jin-hyuk refuted the reporter's arguments with great conviction:

"Li Xinghe did not enter our territorial waters. We are negotiating a proper solution to the missile crisis. Stop making trouble."

Why don't you move around a bit?

Sorry, not a single soldier from the military will be mobilized.

Despite a thousand accusations from the outside world, all South Korean soldiers remained on the sidelines as military chiefs of staff Park Jung-hwan, Ko Chang-joon, and Yang Yong-mo, who had begun to harbor dissent, all stood by and did nothing, and as the National Assembly subjected the military to excessive mistreatment.

Li Xinghe hasn't even entered our territorial waters, so why should we take action?

What if the prisoners are injured?

Even if Li Xinghe enters our territorial waters, how can we react?

What if we capture prisoners?

Even if we take a step back and assume that Lee Sung-ha enters Seoul, how will the South Korean army react?

By then it will be too late, and there's no guarantee that the North Korean army won't be able to advance south.

In short, it all boils down to one sentence:

Don't move!

A gust of wind blew and cranes cried out.

On one side is the fanatical right wing, and on the other side is the fanatical left wing.

The minds of the South Korean people seemed to split apart, wandering aimlessly in confusion. Crime rates soared in Seoul, the stock market began to plummet, and large sums of money from Japanese conglomerates began to withdraw, turning a local conflict into a prelude to a new economic crisis.

As expected, infighting broke out on the streets. Anti-American, pro-American, anti-Li, and pro-Japanese factions fought fiercely.

Last year and the year before, Lee Sung-ha cultivated and incubated a group of "Yungeunmun Party" members in South Korea. This group was extremely disappointed with the current political situation in South Korea and was an anti-government organization formed during the Yeongeunmun and Independencemun struggles. Coincidentally, the O3 gene issue put more than ten million people in South Korean society at risk of being excluded from the mainstream ethnic group, and a large portion of them went to join the Yeongeunmun Party.

Now the Yeongeun Party has resurfaced, engaging in debates with left and right wings on the streets, advocating that turning to China is South Korea's only way out.

Thus, the street turned into a bloody battle between three parties.

Li Xinghe laughed even while watching from the boat.

They lingered outside the mouth of the Han River, without venturing any further.

"I hadn't even made it into South Korean territorial waters before they started fighting."

As the South Korean military responded, he didn't even enter their territorial waters.

The author says:

Author's note: Thank you all for your support. Here's 5600 words. My shoulders are sore, and I'm a bit tired.

Chapter 684: Iron Rain (4200 words)

The Yellow Sea surges and its waves echo.

The US-Japan joint fleet was slowly sailing in the Yellow Sea, followed by the 73rd Mobile Flotilla, which had already been deployed, and in the distance, a destroyer flotilla of the East China Sea Fleet. The fleet, consisting of the US, Japan, China, and South Korea, was circling around the mouth of the Han River.

On the bridge of the flagship Kaohsiung, Li Xinghe was hosting a banquet for a guest.

In fact, there was a deeper reason why they went to such lengths, risking their reputation and global criticism, to drag the 73rd Mobile Detachment to Seoul.

Aside from humiliating South Korea, significantly elevating Lee Sung-ha's international standing, and deterring various restless forces within Japan, the goal was to legally and legitimately remove this mobile detachment from the naval port, thereby shortening the crucial coup distance in the coup plan.

Following the normal procedure, the 73rd Mobile Detachment would have to depart from Seogwipo City on Jeju Island and force its way into the Gyeongin Canal to reach Seoul. The obstacles along the way would be immense, making success virtually impossible. However, if Lee Sung-ha dragged them to the vicinity of Seoul and then used another pretext to enter the Gyeongin Canal, the coup would proceed much more smoothly.

This was precisely one of the small plans that Li Xinghe and Navy Chief of Staff Liang Longmo had devised.

Li Xing apologized to the person next to him without any sincerity:

"I'm sorry to have troubled the general."

"It's not hard work for you, it's your soldiers who have worked really hard."

The old man opposite him said awkwardly.

This person is Brigadier General Yu Chengwan, the commander of the 73rd Mobile Detachment.

He was Liang Longmo's subordinate, but he wasn't actually very supportive of the coup. The main reason was that Li Xinghe had already brought him from Jeju Island to the Yellow Sea; he was on a ship and had no choice but to act. After several rounds of reassurance from Liang Longmo via phone, Brigadier General Yucheng Wan agreed to participate in Liang Longmo's 'national salvation plan'.

Li Xinghe smiled and continued speaking:

"Theoretically speaking, if the general had an army that could bypass the 38th parallel and march south, unifying the Korean Peninsula would be a piece of cake."

Theoretically, this is indeed the case. The South Korean military, subjected to prolonged periods of low pay and neglect, has long since lost much of its original fighting capacity. Conversely, the North Korean military has maintained a relatively good level of combat effectiveness, especially after Kim Jong-un finally...

After his death, Kim Jong-un, who is not abstract, took over his father's mess, constantly taking over various production lines, restoring industrial and production capacity, and providing support to the military, which made him seem full of vitality.

However, Kim Jong-un is more rational. He won't march south. A hasty entry into Seoul while the economy is weak would only destroy the newly resurgent North Korean People's Army and ultimately lead to the collapse of his regime. That's why South Korea is more brazen in its provocations, since Kim Jong-un has consistently backed down.

Yucheng's uneasy rebuttal:

"I also have the level of King Sejong!"

The Sejong the Great-class guided-missile destroyer, though touted by South Korean media as the best in the world, is, in the eyes of knowledgeable military enthusiasts, essentially an enlarged version of the American Arleigh Burke-class frigate I-2A. It lacks a superior dual-band radar, and its classic MK41 vertical launch system and Seastar anti-ship missiles are all outdated American components, practically heirlooms. Despite costing more to build than the Type 055 destroyer, its combat capabilities are far inferior. Perhaps its only advantage is its relatively low cost of around $800 million, half the price of the American Arleigh Burke-class I-2A.

You might ask, why does a destroyer that is entirely made in South Korea, except for its hull, dare to claim that it was designed and built entirely with domestic technology? Of course, it's because as long as you flexibly define domestic technology, even if you include American electronic and missile components, they are still considered to be domestically made.

Most of South Korea's military technology and products are derived from technology transfer from the United States. Missiles are given a "K" prefix, aircraft are given a "K," and even tanks, artillery, and rifles are treated the same way. The South Korean Navy's next-generation Kddgx destroyer is essentially just a US-made project with a "K" added to its design.

"Let's just say that."

Li Xinghe offered him a glass of wine and then took his leave.

Officially, today's talks are a peace negotiation organized by the United States, Japan, and South Korea to discuss the ownership of the 73rd Fleet.

Li Xinghe agreed to make concessions, so he let them go today.

Soon, the news spread:

"The 73rd Mobile Detachment has been released!"

The South Korean people were jubilant, believing that they had won the struggle and that Lee Sung-ha had failed.

Instead of returning to Jeju Island, the 73rd Mobile Detachment headed towards the Gyeongin Canal southwest of Seoul.

This is a channel specifically dug to restore navigation on the Han River, running southwest from Seoul to the sea at Incheon. It is navigable for large oil tankers and cargo ships. After all, the Han River estuary is located on the 38th parallel, a region riddled with mines and spy boats, and has lost its navigability.

According to Navy Chief of Staff Liang Longmo, this was to allow the brave and indomitable naval officers and soldiers to visit the capital, be reviewed by the National Assembly, and reassure everyone.

Congress gave the answer of agreement:

"approve."

Although I don't understand why a group of sailors who lost a fight, couldn't fight, and couldn't die were arrested and paraded through the streets for several days, it's still a case of putting on a show.

The only thing that made the management of the Gyeongin Canal feel uncomfortable was that when the 73rd Detachment entered the Gyeongin Canal, the 1st and 5th Marine Regiments of the 2nd Marine Corps' Qinglong Unit, which were borrowed by Navy Chief of Staff Liang Longmo from the neighboring Marine Corps Commander Quan Zhenjiu, also came to the canal mouth to see off the friendly troops and held a banquet to comfort each other.

When did the South Korean military develop such a positive atmosphere?

I don't understand.

But they dared not try to find out. What if something went wrong?

But what could possibly happen?

And so, the management personnel of the Jingren Canal allowed passage, negligently missing the last gate.

The ship crossed the canal, approaching Seoul.

"Welcome back, hero!"

The fleet sailed upstream along the Han River, close to the shore, propelled by tugboats.

As they walked, a large number of patriotic citizens appeared ahead, cheering and encouraging their morale. Hundreds of thousands of people lined the roadside, displaying their fervent patriotism.

At this time, the 73rd Mobile Detachment was only a dozen meters away from the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul.

Yes, these three ships, filled with so-called 'unyielding' sailors, only need to stop, launch their assault boats, go to Yeouido, take control of the National Assembly, and they will win.

At this very moment, the naval chief of staff, who was directing the operation from the shore not far away, fell into deep thought.

It's only a distance of a dozen meters.

Within arm's reach, everyone was an enemy state, and Congress changed hands.

Li Xinghe asked Liang Longmo over the radio:

"General, you've already gone this far, is there any way back?"

Liang Longmo slapped his thigh and recited two lines of poetry on the spot: "If you must live, you will die; if you must die, you will live!"

These two lines are from "The Art of War by Wu Zi," and they became very famous in Korea because they were quoted by Yi Sun-sin. Unfortunately, those who used these lines were mostly incompetent people like Yoon Seok-yeol. Furthermore, Koreans often don't even know who Wu Zi was.

Now another coup plotter has applied this phrase to his own actions.

He immediately called Quan Zhenjiu.

Quan Zhenjiu then sent the message to Colonel Li Donghu at the front line.

The crowds on the roadside were still cheering loudly, welcoming the patriots back.

However, what ran out of the 73rd Mobile Detachment, from the Xiya Liu Bianlong, Zhongwugong Yi Sunsin, and Dae Jo-yeong, were not the naval soldiers who had been abused by Li Xinghe, but a commando team with white headbands wrapped around their foreheads and wearing black masks.

They jumped onto the assault boats and charged towards Yeouido.

The South Korean troops displayed their most unique characteristic: the insect-like nature they had inherited entirely from the former Imperial Japanese Army. In order to urgently cross the crowded riverbank, the 1st and 5th Regiments of the Blue Dragon Division used a very Japanese-style method to unlock their gun safety.

"Get out! Get out!"

"We must die to save our country!"

The soldiers shouted, yet their trigger-pulling speed never faltered; bullets rained down, creating bursts of blood in the crowd. On their white forehead bands were the words "Death to Save the Country" written in red paint. However, perhaps some soldiers' Chinese characters were too poorly written, resulting in nonsensical phrases like "Life and Death to Save the Country" or "Death Without Saving the Country."