Chapter 131-132


    There is a saying in every corner of the world that one feels sick when their cousin buysnd.


    That perfectly matches the current situation in East Asia.


    While Korea was armed with all kinds of new technologies and concepts, and was running towards the fourth industrial revolution, China and Japan had to watch it with their fingers in their mouths.


    It was not that they did not try.


    They mostly interfered, but they also made some efforts to restrain and sometimes cooperate with Korea.


    But how could the grudge that had umted for more than a hundred years be resolved in a few years?


    The issues of trade and territory were intertwined, and now they had reached a point of no return.


    Korea hadpletely severed ties with Japan, and although it did not do so with China, there was hardly any official exchange between the two governments.


    In this situation, it was not so strange that China and Japan became closer.


    Wasn’t it said that the enemy of one’s enemy is one’s friend?


    The two countries had aplicated history that was not easy to judge simply, but they naturally got along well when they had amon enemy in Korea, who was an eyesore.


    After several secret visits, a summit meeting between Wang Xian, the chairman of China, and Matsuda, the prime minister of Japan, took ce via video call.


    “Once this matter is settled, you will officially take office as president.”


    “President? That’s too generous a title for me. By the way, I congratte you on Japan’s normalization, albeit btedly. From what I see, it won’t be long before you be a permanent member of the UN Security Council.”


    They started by praising each other.


    They both hadplexes because they did not rise to the position of leader in a normal way.


    Wang Xian was criticized by many soldiers and state councilors in his country for being inadequate to be president, and Matsuda had to endure being called a pro-Korean extreme rightist who became prime minister.


    So they felt deeply inferior to Yu Ji-ha, who was rated as the worst dictator abroad but was very popr at home.


    After almost ttering each other, they moved on to substantive discussions.


    “As you can see from the report, there are two things we need to secure this time. The oil fields in the Yellow Sea and Tsushima Ind.”


    “Since it’s the sea, we’ll have to mobilize the navy. The problem is the Earth Fleet of the United Human Federation.”


    “We decided to use the pincer operation. If we start a fight in Tsushima, we will suppress the Korean fleet in the Yellow Sea. And then…”


    “Manchuria?”


    “We have seen a lot of things because we share a border with Korea. But Korea must not have expected this day toe.”


    China currently shared a border with Korea and often shed with them.


    There were cases where a tank unit got lost during training and crossed the border, or a reconnaissance ne entered their airspace.


    It was mostly done by Korea, and China was clearly the victim.


    Now it was time to use that situation to their advantage.


    If they suppressed the Korean fleet in the Yellow Sea, they would cause friction along the northern border of the penins and create an opportunity for Japan to attack Tsushima Ind.


    Wang Xian said confidently.


    “Korea cannot afford a two-front war right now. The United Human Federation’s army is definitely a threatening opponent, but it takes time to deploy and more importantly, the Korean army is in a state of disintegration.”


    “Abolishing conscription… It’s foolish to go against the flow of the times.”


    Korea abolished conscription while Japan tried to introduce conscription centered on the army.


    Of course, the reaction was not very good.


    They had always regarded themselves as unrted to the faraway world, but suddenly they were told to enlist.


    It was absurd.


    But those who passed conscription were mainly middle-aged people over 50 who belonged to the extreme right-wing forces including Yushinto, and they had no chance of going to the army.


    Anyway, young Japanese people were protesting against conscription or even leaving Japan.


    More than 20,000 young men left Japan in the first half of 2031 alone, which could not be taken lightly anymore.


    Korea and the United Human Federation probably knew where they went.


    Anyway, both leaders agreed that this was the weakest point of the Korean army.


    “The newbat walkers are not even mass-produced yet and the Korean army has started dismantling them. The morale of the army is low so it will be difficult for them to respond properly.”


    “The problem is the Earth Fleet of the United Human Federation.”


    They were arrogant enough to name their fleet after Earth for a single faction’s fleet.


    But there was no room for disagreement on their power being strong.


    Military experts who reviewed the Indian Ocean battle unanimously said that it would be difficult to confront them head-on unless it was the US carrier strike group.


    But the waters around the Yellow Sea and Tsushima Ind were narrow.


    Even their low-spec railguns could cope with them.


    Also, both China and Japan had hypersonic anti-ship missiles, which were the weak point of the Earth Fleet.


    It was iparable to the old ones used by Iran.


    “If we fire arge amount at once, we may not be able to sink them, but we can disable them enough. This also applies to the Ion beam, which we confirmed in thest war.”


    “They are not invincible for sure.”


    But both countries were trying to reverse-engineer the Ion beam somehow.


    Japan was secretly researching the Ion beam with the US, and China also seeded in obtaining one through various channels.


    The problem was that reverse engineering was not easy, especially the material of the lens used in theser system.


    It looked like quartz, but it was different from any kind of quartz, so experts went into research.


    Anyway, Korea was ahead in the military field, but other countries were not just ying around.


    The US was also nning to unveil artificial intelligence and drones soon.


    “By the way, some of our suspicious friends wonder if this whole situation was not intended by Mr. Yu.”


    “They lure the enemy into exposing their weakness… It fits the current situation, but they wouldn’t go so far as to abolish conscription. It was a huge gamble.”


    “True, they are facing a lot of criticism at home.”


    “And even if it was a bait, they can’t stop now, can they?”


    He was right.


    China and Japan were in a position where they could no longer ignore Korea.


    Korea was bing stronger economically and militarily by the day, and some predicted that it would be untouchable in a few years.


    By then, they would have to live under Korea’s mercy, and that was something their people would not tolerate.


    They agreed on the schedule that their staff had prepared.


    “Then… we will start with our navy conducting a joint exercise near Tsushima. Don’t forget therge-scale maneuver exercise in Manchuriater.”


    “Of course. We had many troubles with Japan, but I want to forget everything this time. Korea is too dangerous.”


    “If only Yu Ji-ha wasn’t there, they wouldn’t have acted so arrogantly…”


    He felt a surge of assassination desire, but fortunately he didn’t let it out.


    Yu Ji-ha’s security was tight after several terrorist attacks.


    An aerial attack was no longer possible, and war was the only answer.


    “Flowers always wither eventually. And I don’t think the US will stay still. They shun any country that can threaten them.”


    “Isn’t Korea too small to provoke the US?”


    “They are growing fast. They have absorbed North Korea, so they have 70 million people. If they absorb Manchuria, they will be close to 200 million.”


    “You really think they will attack Manchuria.”


    “They are sending tanks whenever they get a chance. How can we not notice? They must have nned everything in detail.”


    Prime Minister Matsuda felt a chill from Wang Xian’s words.


    There was no guarantee that those who wanted to attack Manchuria would leave Japan alone.


    Yu Ji-ha never made anyment about Japan, but he couldn’t help thinking about the past colonial rule.


    It was natural for a thief to worry about his own feet.


    “Maybe… no, he might have already nned to conquer Japan.”


    “It’s obvious from his aggressive personality. That’s why we have to cooperate with a long-term perspective.”


    He meant that even if their opinions differed in some aspects, they had to stick to the premise of shunning Korea, and Prime Minister Matsuda agreed.


    “We are one until Korea begs us for a humiliating restoration of diplomatic rtions.”


    “Excellent judgment. Then I will impose economic sanctions.”


    Korea had restructured its economy around the Si, and it was so solid that even the US couldn’t touch it easily.


    But the basic structure of Korea’s economy was still based on importing raw materials from China and exporting intermediate goods.


    If the root was shaken, the nt would eventually dry up and die.


    If China moved as a whole, Korea would surely scream in pain.


    That’s how China and Japan began to surround Korea economically, politically, and militarily.


    ***


    “As expected, China has started economic sanctions. It’s the second Han-Han order.”


    “They didn’t learn anything from the US case.”


    “The US only boycotted the semiconductor sector, so they must have thought that if they expanded it to the whole economy, we would have a hard time coping. And China is ready to withstand our pressure.”


    “Well, unlike the US, their media doesn’t function properly. Their people hate me too, so they would dly join the sanctions.”


    The Koreans were more than just hated by the Chinese; they were mortal enemies who had caused them endless suffering.


    Even though they didn’t ban private trade, its volume had decreased significantly.


    The Chinese were obsessed with money, but they were willing to give up some of it to destroy Korea.


    “The stock price will drop, but they probably think it’s not a big loss.”


    “As long as they drive us out and secure the West Sea oil field. That’s why the US is silent.”


    “But they haven’tpletely let go of us. They are jointly researching Ion beams and railguns with Japan. They also gave some information to China.”


    “Ion beams require Aether Crystals to work properly. How are they doing on that?”


    “They are experimenting with various gems while trying to find Aether Crystals using their intelligence agencies.”


    “They might find some since there are more than one or two that fell on Earth. The range and output of Ion beams will be solved then.”


    Of course, he was talking about Ion beams after sealing their output.


    Aethersers with unsealed output were monstrous weapons that could melt sma shields and armor of battleships, and it was hard to stop them.


    Anyway, it was almost impossible to stop their collusion from this side.


    At best, he could expose their unsealing of Ion beams and give them some disadvantages, but then the US would me everything on Japan.


    To break their connection, he had to hit the US, but it was not the right time yet.


    “We need at least three years… no, five years to fight the US. Let’s turn a blind eye for now.”


    That didn’t mean he would turn a blind eye to China and Japan’s atrocities.


    Rather, he nned to beat them hard and take what he wanted.


    Arma predicted their actions and marked them on the East Asian map.


    “As expected, it’s the Yangdong Operation.”


    “Daemado and Manchuria will be the main targets. They will try to create friction and increase tension, and then achieve their goals in other directions.”


    “They want to tie up the Earth Fleet. I wonder if they think that’s all.”


    “You clearly underestimate the productivity of this side.”


    He said that because it was rational to deny it, not knowing why he had been fooled several times.


    They knew that there was an unmanned nt on Terra Ind, but they did not know its scale and productivity.


    They also did not know that the smart factory had already beenpleted and was ready to mass-produce weapons systems, includingbat walkers.


    The information agency, which was responsible for providing high-quality information by analyzing the source from multiple angles, was ying on Arma’s palm, so they had no choice but to misjudge.


    To ovee that, they had to obtain information themselves instead of relying on the information agency, but that was almost impossible in this world.


    Anyway, China and Japan’s determination to go to war was firm and irreversible.


    He looked at the roadmap marked on the top of the map he was holding and said,


    “It would have been better if they had no reaction. We would have entered Manchuria. But it’s good. We have at least some justification.”


    “What are we going to get from Japan?”


    Arma was thinking aboutpensation even before the war started.


    It was natural considering the power of both sides.


    Yu Ji-ha’s hand pointed to Okinawa.


    “From the south of Kyushu to the north of Okinawa. All the inds. We need to open a sea route to the Pacific this time.”


    There were many uninhabited inds except for Danegashima, and acquiring them would make it easier for the superconducting train to approach Terra Ind.


    Of course, there were other sea routes, but there was no need to go around.


    Arma redefined the EEZ and Japan had to go around in a ridiculous way to approach Okinawa.


    But what can they do?


    They had to pay a hefty price for trying to attack this side with China.


    They had nothing to offer because they broke off diplomatic rtions, so they had to give up somend first.


    “Let’s think about the rest slowly after we win. Arma, prepare for war.”


    “Yes. I will activate the smart factory and the nt.”


    Yu Ji-ha looked at the map of East Asia.


    After crushing China and Japan, the next target was America.


    That country had influenced the whole world for nearly a century.


    Its economic power was great, but especially its military power was overwhelming.


    If Earth Fleet, whose power was sealed, fought against the 7th Fleet right now, he could not guarantee victory.


    And America had 10 such fleets, not including the army, air force, and nuclear power.


    Considering these things, the name of the United Human Federation might suit America better.


    “I would have been an American if I had a body suitable for my soul.”


    But America was so big that it was not easy to handle.


    It took him three years to be Korea’s leader, but he was somewhat pessimistic about how many years it would take in that huge country.


    He needed severe chaos, but to push America into such chaos, he had to cause a global disaster.


    He chose Korea by force and ended up in a situation where he had to confront America, but it was not that difficult.


    It just took a little time.


    ***


    China began to move in earnest.


    First, they conducted audits on raw materialpanies that exported to Korea and effectively blocked exports.


    Food was also included in this, and Korea faced a situation where its basket price soared again.


    Korea surprisingly endured this situation well as if it had predicted it.


    They got the scarce raw materials from Russia, India, Australia, etc., and tried to minimize the damage by releasing government reserves for food.


    But their food self-sufficiency rate was so low that they could notpletely prevent the damage.


    —The savory smell of sesame oil is disappearing from homes and restaurants. Reporter Lee Hyun-jong reports.


    —President Yu Ji-ha rejected the price ceiling proposed by the Ministry of nning and Finance at today’s cab meeting.


    —“This problem will not be solved by limiting prices. Supply is key.”


    —However, experts predicted that it would be very difficult for Korea to solve this situation as it relied mainly on China for supply.


    —If China blocks all food exports to Korea, the basket price will increase by at least 2.5 times. It is not a level that ordinary people can afford.


    —There are things like bracken that are not grown anywhere except China or Japan. There are farms in Madagascar, but they are low-quality bracken and there is not much quantity.


    Despite these negative predictions, public sentiment did not waver much.


    They were used to being bullied so much.


    They also believed that Yu Ji-ha would solve it if they endured it.


    —Comining won’t solve anything. It’s best to just shut up and stay still.


    —Haven’t you experienced this before? The president will take care of it.


    —Maybe the president predicted all this situation. He is good at waiting for the situation to ripen and then exploding it all at once.


    —I want a revolution, but let’s wait a little…


    The mainstream thought was to wait and see, but the basket price soared so much that patience did not seem tost long.


    And Japan announced the Korean betrayal statement in the name of Prime Minister Matsuda.


    —Korea stole Tsushima from Japan and refused any dialogue for a peaceful solution until today.


    —They also tried to frustrate and expel Japan from the ck metal ecosystem.


    —Japan repeatedly proposed talks with Korea, but was ignored every time. This was aplete disregard of Japan’s position.


    —Korea also…


    There were 30 paragraphs like this, and the overall meaning was vague.


    It seemed to imply that Japan was being mistreated and Korea was cruel, but it was unclear what the point was.


    The National Security Council dered a state of emergency and held an urgent meeting.


    “My statement today must not leak to the outside. Please keep that in mind and listen carefully.”


    When the specific ns of China and Japan were mentioned, all the attendees swallowed their dry saliva.


    They had suspected the existence of an anti-Korea encirclement, but this was the first time it was revealed.


    China and Japan had finally drawn their swords after sharpening them for a long time.


    It was impossible topromise and put away their swords, considering their size and pride.


    They would surely shed each other’s blood, and it was unimaginable how much damage Korea would suffer.


    In fact, the world’s security experts had warned about the possibility of war in East Asia.


    However, they did not predict that a real war would break out.


    They had too much to lose.


    They were too close to each other, which made it easier to mobilize military options.


    The best option was to negotiate before the worst situation urred, but China and Japan did not seem to have any intention of doing so.


    —If we don’t strike Korea now, it will be harder in the future. That’s a precise calction and a high probability.


    —The war between the three countries will be iparable to the Second Korean War or the Two Shores War.


    —If Russia intervenes, there is a very high chance that it will lead to the World War III. We must prevent that.


    As if responding to such predictions, the United States called in all its naval forces in the Pacific, including the Guam Fleet.


    At the same time, President Baldwin blocked any intervention from other countries at a press conference.


    “The United States respects the sovereignty of East Asian countries. We will not take any responsibility for this situation and will do our best to clean up afterwards. However, if another country intervenes, it will be a different story. I hope that doesn’t happen.”


    It was a n to suck money out of the aftermath without taking any risks.


    Strangely enough, the three East Asian countries at the center of the situation seemed to wee this attitude of the United States.


    Even if China and Japan did, what about Korea?


    They had iparable national power and military strengthpared to North Korea, Iran, or Pakistan, which they had fought before.


    As suspicions rose, Japan invited French and British fleets to conduct arge-scale joint exercise near Tsushima.


    And they began to mass-produce supplies from several smart factories and unmanned nts located on Terra Ind.


    Dictators dream of eternal power.


    But that has never been achieved, and there are hardly any dictators who maintained their power until they died.


    In that sense, President Putin of Russia was almost close to sess.


    He still held power even after he turned 80.


    But the moment he heard his voice, he sensed that something was wrong with his health.


    He tried not to show it, but he confessed when Yu Ji-ha subtly sighed.


    Was there something inmon between dictators?


    “Actually, I had a heart surgery. I thought I had been training my stamina steadily, but it seems that this heart can’t take it anymore.”


    As one gets older, the heart naturally weakens, and even the iron-blooded dictator couldn’t escape that.


    “But you are still in good shape, aren’t you?”


    “Recently, even climbing up and down the stairs is hard. Every night I go to sleep, I wonder if I can wake up tomorrow morning.”


    It seemed that he wouldn’tst long.


    In a way, it was a relief.


    He would die without seeing Yu Ji-ha’s betrayal.


    He had two sessors, but they were inferior versions of Putin in terms of charisma and ability.


    Of course, Putin wasn’t perfect in running the state either, but he was much better than the two in terms of seizing opportunities.


    He proposed in a mosquito-like voice.


    “I heard that you are facing the threat of war. It seems like thest war in East Asia, and I can help you.”


    “The US has dered that they will not tolerate any intervention from other countries. Are you sure about this?”


    “They always have been like that. As if they are the guardians of peace… They must havepletely forgotten how they intervened in Central and South America and brought them to ruin.”


    “History belongs to the winners.”


    “As always, if we act strongly, the US will offer apromise. As long as their maind or Western Europe are not threatened.”


    What really mattered to the US were those two, and they didn’t care much about the rest.


    Of course, it would be nice to protect their allies, but giving them up boldly was also one of the strategies.


    Especially if the opponent was Russia, who had almost equal nuclear power.


    “Russia’s help would be reassuring, but I’d like to make an exception this time.”


    “Why is that?”


    “Because it would be troublesome if China and Japan tasted it and ran away.”


    It sounded like he wanted a war, and it wasn’t a misunderstanding.


    “Do you have everything nned out for this one too?”


    “I don’t know everything about this country. I just hoped that they would act like this.”


    “So we shouldn’t intervene to get more out of them… This makes me d that we gave you thend. Otherwise, you would have taken it by force, wouldn’t you?”


    “Against Russia?”


    A faintugh came out, but President Putin could read his inner thoughts.


    Confidence that it didn’t matter who the opponent was.


    He had Antitron and Hafnium2, which was practically equivalent to being nuclear-armed, and he was confident that he wouldn’t lose to anyone in conventional power.


    ‘Well, we or the US don’t know what’s in Terra Ind either…’


    The public predicted that it would take some time to mass-produce the weapon system called Combat Walker, but President Putin’s judgment was different.


    As soon as the war started, they would be produced in rows from the smart factory.


    And that meant a full-scale war with China and Japan.


    The two countries seemed to n to wage a war centered on naval battles, but the probability of that happening was very low.


    Yu Ji-ha wanted a real war.


    ‘I’m worried about my afterlife now…’


    He was clearly fond of Russia, but he couldn’t guarantee that his sessors would do the same.


    Dmitry and Borchenko.


    They were old enough, but they were nothingpared to Yu Ji-ha.


    And they were so hot-blooded that they kept saying that they had to reconsider their rtionship with Yu Ji-ha.


    They didn’t want to cut off tiespletely, but they seemed to want to lead a renegotiation.


    But he doubted if that would work.


    ‘I hope the war ends before I die…’


    He wanted to invite him to Russia and have a serious talk with him, but there was no way that the war involving three East Asian countries would end so easily.


    He couldn’t visit Korea now that his health was bad, so he felt like he might leave this world without properly handing over his sessorship.


    He had no regrets about his life so far, but there was one thing that remained as a deep regret: he couldn’t see the Soviet Union rise again.


    “When the war is over… No, when you secure your victory, can you stop by Kremlin before it’s toote? There’s something I really want to talk to you about.”


    His earnest feelings were embedded in his voice, and Yu Ji-ha understood them.


    ‘You don’t have to worry too much. I will fulfill your dream of a unified Russia.’


    It would be a unification that included not only the former Soviet satellite states, but also East Asia, but it could be said that Putin’s dream was realized.


    In that sense, Yu Ji-ha was a good friend of Russia.


    He didn’t know if the Russians who knew his true face would agree.


    ***


    As the clouds of war thickened in East Asia, Korea issued a mobilization order.


    They abolished conscription and issued a mobilization order, and many people mocked them for it.


    But China and Japan, who had to face Korea, couldn’tugh.


    The n was to start and end this war with naval battles.


    It was understandable considering that the strategic objectives were Tsushima and the Yellow Sea.


    In fact, Korea was the only country that waged a true total war in East Asia.


    Both China and Japan fought on foreignnds and seas, and there was no real battle on the continent.


    Thanks to the bluff that they would have to face a nuclear war if the US attempted anding, they avoided the worst scenario.


    But when Korea reacted sensitively, both countries were shocked.


    -Why are they suddenly issuing a mobilization order? Do they want to fight a two-front war?


    -We need to calm down the situation first. The surroundings think that we are desperate.


    -We nned to end it with naval battles, but anding operation? The army is not ready at all.


    -We need to send a special envoy and exin that we didn’t intend to do that.


    -Exin that we only wanted to restrain them with the navy and make them kneel? We’re lucky if they don’t ignore us.


    While both countries were struggling to respond, Korea’s mobilization order was proceeding rapidly.


    First, martialw was dered and reservists and civil defense gathered.


    The military and police upied the streets, and military trucks drove around in groups.


    The Koreans seemed quite familiar with this atmosphere and followed the control well.


    In a few days, the war preparations were over, and China and Japanpletely missed the timing.


    It was toote to exin that they didn’t intend to do that. They wouldn’t listen anyway.


    The situation was heading towards a total war regardless of their thoughts, and no one could stop it now.


    When things came to this point, there was a im in Japan that they should request mediation from the US.


    —We can’t afford a total war right now. We don’t know about Korea, but we are not ready at all.


    —How can we reim Tsushima by showing such a weak appearance? Now that it hase to this, we have to force a war anyway.


    —Are you all insane? How are we going to stop their ballistic missiles with Anteron warheads? If we miss even one, all industries will stop.


    —The prime minister should personally request the US. We don’t want a total war.


    —If the US intervenes, Tsushima will be Korea’s territory forever.


    That’s why Prime Minister Matsuda couldn’t easily request mediation from the US.


    He would decide to freeze the territory in order to prevent the worst situation. Who could deny that?


    But he couldn’t handle the consequences of not requesting either.


    ‘A total war? Don’t joke with me. We are not ready at all!’


    There was no manual for a total war in any situation.


    Everything was new, and Matsuda knew very well that nothing would work properly.


    On the other hand, even China, who had fought the Yang’an War, was greatly rmed when the 7th Division abandoned their garrison and gathered at their assembly point.


    They were tough enough before, but now the 7th Division had be aplete monster.


    They had deployed new K3A2 tanks with drone systems and railguns, and Iron Beam took care of air defense.


    He doubted if there was any unit that could face them equally.


    Of course, a war wasn’t decided by one division that wasn’t even at the level of a group army.


    But at the tactical level, China’s military experts warned that confronting the 7th Division head-on was suicide.


    —They may not have many rounds of ammunition due to avability, but each one is fatal. You have to assume that you die once you get hit.


    —The drone system helps them make quick decisions without any reconnaissance. The opposing unit will probably copse from the outskirts without even seeing them.


    —Their cruising range is enormous. They can march straight to Beijing without supply.


    —Air strikes are not easy because of Iron Beam. The only answer is not to face them.


    But how could he ignore the 7th Division that would obviously march to Beijing?


    Wang Xian Shangjang picked up the phone that connected to Kremlin after much deliberation.


    He couldn’t muster up the courage to face that division alone, no matter what unit it was.


    But President Putin’s voice was cold.


    “You were the ones who wanted this war.”


    “We didn’t want a total war like this.”


    “That’s an even funnier thing to say. Is there such a thing as a moderate war? Did you think Korea would surrender if you just snatched one sea area and beat them up?”


    “…”


    He had nothing to say.


    The intelligence agencies had judged that Korea’s army was weak and couldn’t withstand a total war.


    So they nned to decide the victory with naval battles and blockade Korea’s sea with Japan’s cooperation and force them to surrender.


    There was arge-scale maneuver training scheduled on the border, but that was to support Japan’s recapture of Tsushima.


    They never considered a head-on collision with a division like the 7th Division.


    But President Putin said something unexpected.


    “President Yu Ji-ha knew that you woulde out like this. He seems to be well prepared, so it won’t be easy to get out.”


    Did he know about the war?


    Wang Xian clenched the phone and barely said.


    “If you help us from Russia this time, we will greatly reward you.”


    “Russia will not move.”


    The call ended and Wang Xian’s fist mmed the desk.


    “Damn it!”


    It looked like he really had to fight a total war with Korea.


    Of course, he wasn’t confident that he would win.


    The Rocket Army still had hundreds of nuclear warheads, and this would be a serious threat to Korea.


    But the weapons Korea had were enough to hurt them too.


    It would have been a disaster if a warhead loaded with antitron and hafnium-2 had flown into the nuclear power nts that filled the coastal area.


    The result would have been annihtion, and that was not what Wang Shian wanted.


    The best scenario was for Korea to admit defeat and provide various technologies.


    But the situation was getting worse.


    The United States had dered that it would not intervene in the current situation, but it did notpletely withdraw.


    Nuclear submarines prowled the seabed of East Asia, and strategic reconnaissance nes flew diligently.


    Using satellites, the intelligence agency noticed that China and Japan were not ready for war at all.


    —Unlike Korea, they did not issue a mobilization order. There was no troop movement. They did not anticipate a full-scale war.


    —However, the navy was moving diligently, probably thinking of ending the war with a limited war.


    President Baldwin could not help butugh at this point.


    ‘Do they think they can achieve their strategic goals with a limited war? This is a big mistake.’


    However, Korea’s movement was also iprehensible.


    It was good to prepare for a total war, but without a word of dialogue…


    By now, there should be all kinds of diplomatic battles at the UN, and he nned to intervene appropriately.


    But Korea recalled its diplomats from the UN and ordered the Chinese embassy in Korea to evacuate.


    As a result, the Chinese embassy was in chaos, destroying documents.


    ‘Do they really want a war?’


    Against China and Japan?


    It was difficult to decide to wage a full-scale war against a nuclear power.


    China was not North Korea, and its ballistic missile performance was considerable.


    Korea’s interception level was not enough to intercept all hundreds of missiles, as seen in the Second Korean War and the Indian Ocean Battle.


    Due to its small territory, it would suffer a hard blow even if one or two missiles fell.


    Japan did not have nuclear weapons, but it had hundreds of hypersonic anti-ship missiles that exposed Earth Fleet’s weaknesses.


    There was a possibility that they had improved their weaknesses since a few months ago, but they were not perfect.


    ‘Wait, I’ve seen this picture a lot somewhere…’


    President Baldwin looked over Yu Jiha’s file again.


    And he was sure.


    This was the picture Yu Jiha wanted.


    It could be seen from his remarks that he wanted Manchuria and his actions to upy Tsushima.


    Above all, he was suspicious of abolishing conscription and exposing his weaknesses.


    Was there a need to abolish it at this time?


    ‘…Maybe he’s trying to stage a y.’


    The US government was convinced that Yu Jiha had been leading the situation with his own y.


    But the reason they couldn’t touch him right away was because they didn’t have clear evidence.


    Wasn’t there a precedent where semiconductorpanies were smashed by imposing sanctions hastily?


    The only thing left was war, but that was also cautious for the United States.


    If they hit Korea, there was no guarantee that Russia would stay still, and there was a high possibility of esction.


    ‘The Third World War must not happen.’


    President Baldwin called his aides and asked for measures and confirmed the US stance.


    Thanks to that, Prime Minister Matsuda of Japan finally plucked up his courage and called him on the hotline, but he had to hear that he couldn’t help him.


    “I’m sorry. We can’t provoke Korea right now.”


    “Please help us regain Tsushima. We’ll do anything.”


    “Saying you’ll do anything as a politician can be very dangerous depending on the situation.”


    “Tsushima is clearly Japan’s territory. Korea’s forcible rule over it is invalid under internationalw.”


    “Then negotiate well diplomatically and get it back.”


    “How can we negotiate when we’ve broken off diplomatic rtions?”


    “If you can’t do that, you can fly there yourself. They won’t treat you so badly as the leader of a country.”


    “…That’s impossible.”


    “Then you have no choice but to get it back by war. That’s what you wanted.”


    “We didn’t want a total war.”


    “That’s too bad. President Yu Jiha must have misunderstood. The call was long, so let’s contact youter.”


    With this, the United States made it clear that it had no intention of intervening.


    Even though a war in East Asia would cause tremendous damage to the world economy.


    That might be because they confirmed that the economy eventually recovered after several wars in the past.


    The world economy was now heading for the fourth industrial revolution, and some countries were seriously discussing the basic ie system.


    Yu Jiha led that, and it was now an unstoppable trend.


    The United States wanted to maintain a good rtionship with Yu Jiha and suck up some sweet honey.


    As long as Korea didn’t look over the Pacific and Europe, it would probably be like that.


    Prime Minister Matsuda frowned hard as he heard this from his secretaries.


    “…Did the United States choose Korea over us?”


    “It seems so…”


    “That’s impossible. The US forces in Japan are not for decoration.”


    “Excuse me, but didn’t arge number of US forces in Japan relocate to Guam? The scale is only 30%pared tost year.”


    “Japan and the United States are allies!”


    “What benefits do you get from that alliance? For the United States, it would be more convenient for Korea to take over the role that Japan used to y. They will probably try to mediate in the post-war negotiations.”


    …Maybe Japan will end up under Korea’s control…


    Prime Minister Matsuda dismissed his anxious thoughts and sent out his secretaries.


    He contacted Wang Shian immediately, but he also had no clever n.


    “I’m sorry, but Russia says they can’t help either.”


    This confirmed that there was no way to stop the war.


    The navy was already in a nerve war with the army.


    They insisted that the Tsushima recapture operation should be under the navy’smand.


    On the other hand, the army said that they couldn’t do anything without them, so there was no progress.


    Unlike Japan, where cooperation was not working, Korea had finished preparing for war under Yu Jiha’s orders.


    The protests were postponed, and all they had to do was let go.


    Matsuda didn’t want to take on thest role himself.


    “It would be better to dere a halt now…”


    “Now you want to stop? How will the world see us?”


    “Is the opinion of other countries important? We are heading for a total war at this rate!”


    “And Korea won’t stop either. They will try to secure Manchuria at least.”


    Matsuda’s eyes widened.


    He had nothing to lose if he dered surrender here.


    Of course, Japan’s prestige would fall and it would be harder to get Tsushima back, but that was something he could tryter.


    Wouldn’t it be better to sneak out after making Korea and China fight?


    When both countries’ power was drained, Japan’s voice would be stronger.


    Matsuda decided this and lowered his voice.


    “Let’s start the war. Let’s attack them all at once and make Korea lose their mind. That’s the only way.”


    He nned to send a special envoy to Korea and get out when a naval battle broke out in the West Sea.


    But things didn’t go as Prime Minister Matsuda wanted.


    Rudely, the door of the prime minister’s office opened wide.


    “What is it? Can’t you hear I’m on the hotline…”


    “Prime Minister! Korea has dered war!”


    “What?”


    Prime Minister Matsuda dropped the phone in surprise.


    When the secretary hurriedly turned on the monitor, Yu Jiha’s face appeared there.


    He calmly dered war on both countries.


    “It is clear that they have no intention of stopping the war and wishing for peace with this attitude. China is a nuclear power, and Japan has a tremendous naval force. They are truly formidable opponents.”


    “Nevertheless, we cannot back down. We cannot give thisnd to the enemy and let them abuse us. Therefore, we announce that the Republic of Korea has entered into a war with China and Japan.”


    At that moment, the limiters of Kim Gu-ship and Yeo Un-hyung-ship deployed in the West Sea werepletely released and automaticbat began.


    And in front of the joint fleet training near Tsushima, Earth Fleet’s fleet surfaced.