I Will Stage A Coup D’état

"Colonel Kim Sung-joo reports that he's in combat at the Prime Minister's residence. He says he'll stop the Prime Minister's escape at all costs."

Preventing the Prime Minister's escape.

It would come with sacrifices, but it was the best move for now.

"Hm. Given recent developments, the Prime Minister's residence is more important than the Army Ministry. Deploy some troops in vehicles ahead to the residence.'

The immediate troop shortage would be resolved once the cavalry regiment crossed the river.

"Copy that, sir."

I put down the radio and thought.

Realistically speaking, in this Militaristic Korea, subduing the Army Ministry was more important than capturing the Prime Minister.

But since my men were fighting for their lives, we had no choice but to move to secure the Prime Minister first.

Crackle-

"General! We have an urgent transmission! I repeat, urgent transmission!"

The communications officer gave me the radio once more.

It was Colonel Kil Tae Hwan, the Chief Of Staff of the 16th Reserve Division.

"General speaking, what is the problem officer?"

"Sir! Just now General Lee Seok-ki arrived at the unit and is attempting to regain command."

Lee Seok-ki?

Ah, wasn't he the 16th Division commander?

Hearing this new piece of information, I calmly issued my next orders.

"Arrest him immediately."

"Copy that, sir."

It seems that he had rushed back from the Army Ministry to try and take control of the unit, but it was already too late.

How can he hope to seize control when the coup forces have gained momentum?

Moreover, the key staff and regimental commanders were all Ilwonhwa members.

But I couldn't take his attempt lightly.

It meant that the Army hadn't stopped trying to disrupt our allied units even amidst the chaos.

After a few radio calls, five minutes had already passed.

My throat was a bit dry from all those calls.

I tried to quench my thirst with the only thing that was available here in the car - some candy.

As I was about to open another candy wrapper, the communications officer spoke,

"General. We've got a transmission from the Training unit."

"Patch it through."

There really was no time to rest.

It was Colonel Baek from the Training Unit, currently commanding the coup forces at the Command Post.

"I'm listening Colonel."

"Sir, the Marine Corps is mobilizing en masse towards the Prime Minister's residence. The Provost Marshal is also heading there."

That...was a rather crucial piece of intel.

The Provost Marshal heading towards the Prime Minister's residence, huh...

"I see."

The reason why Colonel Baek Dong-seok, the operations Staff Officer sitting at the Command Post, could clearly see the Army Ministry's movements was simple.

It was because the rats in the Army Ministry who judged that the 'tide' had turned were establishing connections with us and leaking information.

Ah, the expression 'rats' might be too harsh.

To be precise, I should say that they're 'collaborators' who have been 'persuaded' by my followers.

Anyway, now that things had come to this, today's decisive battle would be at the Prime Minister's residence.

The Provost Marshal, the Defense Security Commander, and the Prime Minister were all there.

In other words, if we subdue just the residence, the Army Ministry's eyes and ears would be rendered useless.

Once they become blind, there's nothing the Army Ministry can do from that point on.

"Turn the car around. We're going to the Prime Minister's residence too."

"Yes, sir."

Captain Kim Jong-Gil, my aide-de-camp, quickly turned the steering wheel.

We immediately chased after the mechanized infantry of the Tank Regiment that was advancing ahead.

*

The battle around the Prime Minister's residence showed no signs of slowing down.

Defense Security Commander, General Lee Jeong-ju bit his nails.

The enemy MP, though fewer in numbers, were relentless.

They wouldn't retreat no matter what.

These crazy rebels.

Lee Jeong-ju felt anxious.

From the last received report, Jeong-Ju knew that the coup's vanguard was less than 5 minutes away.

However, with all the barricades and units blocking the way, they had at least 10 minutes.

Even so, it was clear that they were running out of time.

Ring ring-.

"This is Defense Security Commander Lee Jeong-ju. Yes. What? The rebels have crossed more of the Taedong River? Yes, I understand."

Initially, Lee Jeong-ju thought it would take time for the rebel follow-up units to arrive due to the tanks slowly crossing the Taedong River Bridge.

However, the rebels solved this problem by deploying the Training Cavalry Regiment instead of the infantry.

With the cavalry regiment added, the enemy could afford to aim for new targets.

This isn't good.

The fact that the Prime Minister's Residence and the Army Ministry were being targeted was already problematic, but now this complicated things further.

Lee Jeong-ju made a phone call.

"General Oh. How's the Guard deployment going?"

"They're moving out as we speak. The Armored Regiment and the Artillery Regiment are breaching the city center, but it will take a bit more time till they get there while the infantry regiments are moving on foot, so just hold on for 30 minutes."

"Copy that, General Oh."

"You're doing well, General Lee, just hold on for a few more minutes."

Despite the situation being this dire, the Prime Minister didn't seem to have any intention of leaving the residence.

This idiot...Does he really not care if he gets captured by those rebel bastards?

Lee Jeong-ju thought about forcibly putting the Prime Minister in a car, but that was impossible.

"This is the Provost Marshal speaking, how's the situation?"

"DSC Commander Lee Jeong-Ju, speaking. The situation is bad Provost Marshal. Yes, I know. However, the residence won't fall immediately, but we're in big trouble if the rebel's tanks arrive. Understood. I'll hold on as much as I can."

Fortunately, the Provost Marshal said he was rushing here on a military motorcycle.

Lee Jeong-ju went outside the main building to see the situation from his own perspective.

The gunfight was still raging on the road in front of the residence.

An Won-tae, the head of security who was commanding the battle from a trench dug in the garden, spotted Lee Jeong-ju.

"General Lee! Why are you here sir?!"

The sight of the security chief, nearly 70 years old, wearing a helmet over his suit, was almost comical.

But this clown-like appearance was the most apt description of the current situation.

"We need to escort the Prime Minister out, but he won't budge."

"We can't exactly escort him out in this hail of bullets, can we?"

"If we don't leave, we'll be at the mercy of tanks.'

"Fuck."

Security Chief An Won-tae had no intention of meekly surrendering to the rebels.

He too had benefited from Park Han-jin's regime and had no intention of standing by idly as the regime collapsed.

"Chief!"

"Alright! Fine!"

An Won-tae removed his helmet and went to the Prime Minister's office with Lee Jeong-ju.

At Lee Jeong-ju's signal, An Won-tae spoke first.

"Your Excellency. The situation has become critical. If the rebels bring tanks, we cannot guarantee your safety. You must evacuate before that happens. The Capital Defense Command is ready to receive you."

"The Security Chief is right. This Lee Sung Joon who started this rebellion is truly a menace. He's calling his actions a 'Revolution' and has stated his willingness to bloody his hands if necessary. If such a man enters the Prime Minister's residence, how can we ensure your safety?"

"Chief."

"Yes, Your Excellency."

"Has the gunfire stopped?"

With those words from Prime Minister Roh Jae-Woo, the Security Chief felt all the prepared words in his head crumble.

The very idea of bringing the Head of the executive branch into a hail of bullets was unreasonable from the start.

"Your Excellency, please!"

"Let me be clear, I'm not leaving. If you want me to go out, settle the commotion in front of my residence."

Lee Jeong-ju felt his patience wearing thin.

As they left the office, the Security Chief glanced around cautiously and whispered.

"General Lee...Given His Excellency's stubbornness, how about we try something different?"

"Go on..."

"It's clear that the Prime Minister cannot judge the situation correctly. In his current state, he can't be trusted with a position of authority. Since it has come to this, why don't we strip him of his authority and appoint an acting Prime Minister?"

This was an unthinkable idea in a typical democratic country.

But this wasn't a normal Nation.

No,

This was the accursed Korean Empire, a nation led by its military.

In this empire, even the Prime Minister could be replaced as a spare part if needed.

Of course, such an act would come with enormous political consequences.

However, they couldn't just sit and lose, could they?

"An acting Prime Minister, huh..."

"Why don't you run this idea with the Army Ministry, General Lee?"

Lee Jeong-ju had been considering this idea himself.

He immediately dialed the phone.

"Army Ministry. Ah, General Park? It's me. Defense Security Commander Lee Jeong-ju. The thing is, the Prime Minister seems to have lost his judgment, so we may need to appoint an acting Prime Minister. Yes. Please find a suitable candidate from the cabinet."

Lee Jeong-Ju did something that Lee Sung Joon, someone who grew up in the Democratic Nation of Korea would never even consider.

Now, even if the Prime Minister is captured, the Army Ministry's control over the government won't be compromised.

That also meant the Provost Marshal wouldn't need to come here as well.

Lee Jeong-ju picked up the phone again.

"General Oh? This is the Prime Minister's residence. Yes. We've decided to resolve the issue here differently, so please don't come. No, it's not. Yes. Then I'll see you at the Army Ministry."

As soon as he hung up, Lee Jeong-ju called for his aide-de-camp.

"I'm leaving the residence by car right away. Chief An, what will you do? Would you like to come with me in the car?"

"It seems I can't do anything by staying here, so I'll come along."

Even if they had to break through the hail of bullets, it was better than sitting and waiting to die.

The two conspirators created a new variable by abandoning the Prime Minister they were supposed to protect.

Whether this would turn out to be beneficial or detrimental, no one could tell yet.

***

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