I Will Stage A Coup D’état

Since everything in reality follows a somewhat chaotic formula, there must be a formula to conduct a successful coup d'état as well.

So, as an inspiring plotter, I reminisced about the proud history of successful coups in South Korea.

Firstly, Park Chung Hee ¹ and the coup of May 16th.

As a General, Park Chung Hee didn't plan his coup very well.

Because of his lack of planning, information about his plans leaked in advance, hinting Prime Minister Chang Myon ²about the suspicious military movements.

When the coup of May 16th began, Colonel Kim Jae-chun the military police chief, surrounded the rebellion headquarters at the 6th Army District Command and tried to arrest all the key officers.

Interestingly enough, the coup was successful not because of Park Chung Hee's leadership but because of the improvisation of the 8th-class officers of the military academy and the efforts of the Chief-of-Staff Chang Do-yong ³, coupled with the indecision of the then President and Prime Minister.

Considering this, Park Chung Hee wasn't a reliable example.

After all, a Coup that had succeeded by sheer luck and improvisation could never be a role model.

Then, how about Chun Doo-hwan ⁴, who overcame an expertly organized resistance during the Coup of December 12th?

As the Commander of the Defense Security Command, Chun Doo-hwan used the power of the military's intelligence agency to overwhelm the suppression forces and achieved a complete victory.

Of course, without the help of the organization known as 'Hanahoe' ⁵, Chun Doo-hwan's plans wouldn't have been as effective.

However, without the criminal incompetence of the 21st Minister of National Defense, Roh Jae-hyun ⁶, and the indecisive leadership of Yoon Sung-min ⁷, the Deputy Chief of Staff, even an army of Hanahoe's agents couldn't have ensured the coup's success.

In short, the success of a ‘Korean-style coup’ required the element of incompetence on the part of the government/suppression forces.

Now, knowing this, there is something important to consider.

Was this version of Korea, the 'Korean Empire', incompetent when it came to coups?

Unfortunately for me, this madhouse of a country had just experienced a coup.

That wasn't good news for an aspiring coup plotter.

Like most coup leaders, the current Army Marshal, Park Han-jin ⁸ was keenly focused on 'suppressing' any dissidents.

He created the Army Intelligence and Security Command, an expanded and reorganized version of the previous Army Counter-Intelligence Command, filling this new organization with his loyalists and supporters.

Park Han-jin's thorough defenses made preparing for a proper coup almost impossible.

His grip on the government was iron-clad.

For now, that is.

But things change with time.

In wartime or during a state of war, units expand/reposition or change/circulate.

At that moment, a Military Regime will naturally show its weakness.

Historical examples support this.

During the Russian Revolution, the czar’s trusted guard units went to the front, replaced by newly conscripted units, creating conditions for rebellion.

If war breaks out with China, Korea might follow a similar pattern.

Hence, the opportunity will surely arise.

Even in the webtoon, there's a 'coup attempt incident' around 1939, so I wasn't being a baseless optimist.

However, preparation is essential.

My best alternative is creating an organization like Hanahoe...

The problem is that Lee Sung Joon doesn't have such a covert organization.

What he has is only the intangible element of ‘popularity.’

However, this popularity could easily be a result of polite flattery given to a general from the royal family.

So, I decided to get an objective opinion from Jong-Gil.

"Y-Your Excellency wants to know who the high-ranking officers and generals are...that you often meet...?"

"Yes. Tell me their names. I wish to know those outside of our division or corps."

"Well...When Your Excellency went to the Ministry of the Army, you dined with the chief of Logistics."

"No, that was an event, tell me about private meetings and such."

"There were none?"

What?

Could it be that...Lee Sung Joon...doesn't have any connections in the military even when this nation is a quasi-Prussian state?

Wow...

I'm speechless.

This guy is really an idiot.

He's worse at socializing than me!

Doesn't he know the dangers this presents?!

Ah come to think of it, he's a Royal...So he has never had to worry about things like this...

Fuck.

In this case, being transmigrated as a 'Royal' was certainly a drawback!

A General with no connections trying to pull a coup?

That's an instant failure.

I contemplated on how to break through this serious situation.

In such extreme situations, what was needed to achieve a successful coup?

Let's study the foreign coup leaders...

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk⁹came to prominence for his role in securing the Ottoman-Turkish victory at the Battle of Gallipoli¹⁰.

With his newfound influence he was able to enforce laws in Constantinople, the capital of the Ottoman Empire, and become the Head of State of the Turkish Grand National Assembly.

Napoleon¹¹was just a common general, but he was chosen by Sieyes to be a pawn in the Brumaire coup, but his national popularity allowed him to become the First Consul.

The lesson here is that a politician’s popularity is a resource that can be transformed into power.

Just have to be popular, huh...There's no reason I can't do the same...

When I thought about overcoming the lack of connections through 'popularity'...

A problem arose,

In the Korean Empire, the ways to gain popularity were:

"Citizens of our proud Empire! Behold! I have conquered Manchuria and expanded our lands!"

"Sons of Korea! I've secured war reparations from China!"

"Through my sweat and tears, our factory operations are through the roof! Support the Military-Industrial Economy, Support the Empire!"

Hmm...

Yes...Those were the avenues left open...

Even differentiating oneself from these madmen was challenging.

Hmm. That was all there was.

Firstly, the country’s economy was a wreck, so there was no money to do anything.

Secondly, I was a soldier, not a politician.

Thirdly, the public was just as insane as these motherfuckers.

If I wanted to be popular, I would need to become the War Hawk to surpass all War Hawks....But that would likely get me executed for a bunch of war crimes.

Trying to stage a coup to stay alive only to get executed was pointless.

Annnd...I'm back to square one.

Well, at least cliches still work.

And there's no better cliche than 'cooperation'.

Even Park Chung Hee, who led the first success story in the long line of modern coups in Korea diligently 'cooperated' with high-ranking officers and generals from the 5th, 8th, and 9th classes of the Korean Military Academy to form his coup army.

Of course, this had several disadvantages compared to a covert organization.

1.  The risk of information leaking is much greater.

Park Chung Hee's coup almost failed because of leaks, and in the case of the 2016 Turkish coup attempt ¹², it outright failed.

2.  It's very difficult to select collaborators.

Unless you can look into a person's heart, you can’t be 100% sure of their actions.

3.  It's time-consuming.

A covert organization can act as soon as the decision is made, but when cooperating, you can’t move until the work is done.

Many coups failed because they were detected during the preparation phase.

That’s why differentiation is necessary.

I didn’t intend to offer positions or share the spoils in some cheap rewards scheme.

The core of the ‘cooperation’ I envisioned was presenting a vision for the future, a blueprint for the future Korean Empire.

A prime example would be the coup by the Young Turks who proclaimed the birth of the Ottoman Empire as a ‘Modern State.’

Just as the Young Turks instilled a belief in guiding the country on the right path, I intended to sell ‘assurance’ to the coup participants.

My vision was a developmental dictatorship.

Anti-communism, economic growth, modernization of institutions

My vision for the Empire would be built on these three pillars.

In some sense, I'm benchmarking Park Chung Hee's governance strategy.

But then, what of it?

This Korean Empire is a nation governed by shortsighted military heads who share a singular collective brain cell.

Of course, I’m not sure if I can execute a developmental dictatorship properly.

Without the U.S. opening its market and providing loans, I can't run wild like Park Chung Hee.

Anyway, that’s a problem for the future.

The immediate task was to find friends to play the role of quasi-Young Turks ¹³.

Now...How can I cooperate with young and impressionable officers without raising an alarm?

It didn’t take long for me to reach an answer.

What’s my forte?

A writer, specifically, a translator.

A person who makes a living writing should use his talents.

First, I need to let people know who I am.

But how?

Books and newspapers.

With this, I'll solidify my vision and gather followers.

As my voice accumulates, there will be those who take an interest in my claims and who will eventually regard me as their leader.

"Captain."

"Yes, General?"

“Set up appointments with Koryo Ilbo and DongYang Ilbo ¹⁴ for tomorrow.”

These two newspapers are prominent dailies in Goryeo ¹⁵ and currently represent the majority of the Empire's conservative readership.

I will project my ideas to this conservative population.

The reason was simple: the military had a conservative tendency.

Of course, there were progressive officers in the military, but their numbers were too insignificant to influence the general trend.

“The newspapers, sir?”

“That’s right.”

“Understood.”

Ah, there was also the radio.

Why did I forget the most influential weapon that made Hitler the chancellor?

Of course, as a writer, I couldn’t become a public speaker overnight.

I decided to approach the radio gradually.

After all, it wouldn’t be too late to move once I had built up enough public recognition.

I’ll have to write books too, it’s going to get busy.

Naturally, those around me would also get busy.

A Royal-blooded General, who had been quiet, was beginning to show political inclinations.

But for now, I could rest easy.

Because at least 'for now' I had no intention of starting a coup.

Everything would follow once my preparations were complete.

“I have drawn my sword once, but I have sharpened it for over a decade.”

A quote by Sima Yi left to his ancestors right after the Gaoping Tombs incident in the old Three Kingdoms Drama.

Just like Sima Yi, I will start sharpening my sword from now.

For the day when the blade is drawn.

***

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