I Will Stage A Coup D’état

Chapter 22: The Military Coup of December 8th (10)

All the higher-ups in the Military shared a single thought,

That if only the 12th and 33rd Infantry Divisions could reach the Capital, they'd have a chance.

That the coup forces would crumble once the day breaks.

Ironically, these same people were completely oblivious to what was happening right under their noses.

10 PM - Capital Defense Command.

"Everyone ready?"

All the young officers who were loyal to Lee Sung Joon exchanged glances.

The coup forces were gaining the upper hand.

Now, all they had to do was simply jump ships and join the esteemed General Lee Sung Joon's Revolution.

With firm resolve, the young officers headed towards the command's conference room.

"State your business."

Just when a Military Police officer asked for their purpose...

"Subdue him."

They pounced, slapping his face, kicking his shins, and snatching his gun.

While the higher-ups continued their heated meeting, completely unaware of the commotion outside.

"Our priority should be the relocation of Finance Minister Lee Hu-jeong, who has been promoted to Acting Prime Minister."

"Indeed, it shall be done. What about the Third Army Commander?"

"General Kang Ki-jung has been personally deployed to the field, which is..."

"What are the chances that General Kang is a coup supporter...?"

"He's clean. We did a thorough checkout."

"However, since there is always a chance, have the DSC monitor him for the time being."

"Will do."

Just as Defense Security Commander Lee Jeong-ju nodded, a group burst through the conference room door.

The group consisted mainly of Young Officers.

"What the...!"

Just as the Director of Operations, Major General Ha Jung-yeon drew his pistol, the officers aimed their rifles.

Having multiple rifles pointed at them was extremely threatening.

"General Ha. Put that gun down."

One young officer growled like a beast.

"You put that gun down, son! How dare mere officers point guns at their superior officers-!!"

A General shouted, but the officers didn't even pretend to listen.

"From now on, we'll be escorting you Generals. Contact the Training Units."

The generals felt their words stuck in their throats at that statement.

What use was a superior's authority to these rebels?

High-ranking Generals were merely trophies for them to gain merit, not objects of any reverence.

The officers immediately removed the Generals' belts and confiscated their pistols.

"W-what's going on?"

Major General Oh Jung-gu, the Army Provost Marshal who was returning late from the restroom, was shocked to see officers with guns disarming the Generals.

"Disarm the Provost Marshal as well."

While Oh Jung-gu tried to resist, in the end, the officers took his belt as well.

"Y-you bastards! I'm the Provost Marshal of the Korean Empire's Army! I'm not someone you can insult and get away with-!!"

However, his words fell on deaf ears as the officers completely tuned out his yelling.

The Chief of Staff glared at Oh Jung-gu.

Trying to convey that words wouldn't work on these men.

Only then did Oh Jung-gu shut his mouth.

After they finished subduing the Generals, the officers made an announcement over the unit's communications network.

"Attention all units, I repeat, all units. There has been a misunderstanding among our forces, but it's been 'handled' now. Therefore, all emergency protocols are terminated. I repeat, all emergency protocols are terminated. Stand down and return to your respective posts."

All soldiers were bewildered by this sudden directive.

"What? What exactly happened?"

"Could it be that the Generals have surrendered to the rebels?"

"Those old men surrendering? Hah! That's a good joke."

Most soldiers didn't know what to do with this sudden broadcast.

"Commander, what's going on?"

"I don't know either, soldier."

Apart from the soldiers' confusion, the Army leadership was finished.

Now there were effectively only two suppression forces left.

The Third Army Commander who was rushing from the northwest of the Capital and Major General Oh Gwang-se who was holding out at the Guards Division Headquarters.

They were all that remained from the suppression force.

However, these generals were short on time and information to prevent the rebels from taking control of the capital.

10:15 PM.

Just three hours after the coup had started, the rebel forces had essentially secured victory.

*

So Oh Gwang-se and Kang Ki-jung are the only ones left.

Oh Gwang-se will soon collapse on his own, and the Third Army Commander won't reach the Capital in time.

It was game over for them.

All the officers bowed to me in unison.

"Congratulations, General."

"Nonsense, this victory couldn't have been possible without your help. Well done, my friends, well done indeed."

I patted their shoulders, commending their victory.

"General. All that's left now is a justification for the coup."

"Yes."

Truthfully, in terms of justification, we had no justification, to begin with.

The coup was done with the same mentality as the Japanese Imperial Way Faction during the February 26th Incident.

Basically, it boiled down to this,

First step - Win.

Second step - Make up a justification.

Third step - Profit.

Some may call me a madman.

There's nothing I can do about that.

Coup leaders are usually madmen, to begin with.

That's not to say we had launched this coup without any thought.

We did have a 'reason' to declare publicly.

The reason was this,

"The initial justification seems appropriate - 'We've eliminated the treacherous subjects who had clouded His Majesty the Emperor's divine wisdom and were leading the nation to ruin'."

Honestly, it was pure bullshit.

Everyone with at least two brain cells could see that.

If the Emperor actually ruled the Empire, it might be different, but that wasn't the case.

The Emperor of the Korean Empire was a glorified document stamping machine, whose only purpose was to be there and look pretty.

But for justification, appearances were important.

Look, people, I, an upstanding General, have prevented Rasputin-like figures from leading the highest authority in the Empire astray...or something like that.

It was an intuitive justification, easy for uneducated farmers to understand.

"I think that's the best way to proceed as well, General."

We'll back up the specific misdeeds of these treacherous subjects with fabricated evidence.

Anyway, to put forth such a justification, we just needed one last thing.

An 'Audience'.

"In any case, to push forward with this pretext, we needed to see His Majesty. What's the situation with the Imperial Palace?"

"We’ve sent a liaison officer to inform the Imperial Household Department of the 'Revolution's' legitimacy."

"How did they react?"

"The Minister of the Imperial Household was reportedly displeased."

This guy...He's not the brightest, is he?

How does he expect to keep his job if he can't at least mask his displeasure in front of the armed Rebels who started a coup?

I'll have to replace him when the opportunity arises.

"Sigh-. No need to delay it. However, if we all rush towards the Imperial Palace it might look bad, so only Colonel Kim will accompany me."

Kim Sung-Joo looked moved upon hearing this.

Being allowed to accompany me in this situation was tantamount to granting him status.

Kim Sung-joo bowed at a right angle.

But there was no reason to not treat Kim Sung-Joo well.

He had led the plainclothes unit and handled the difficult arrest operations, so he deserved at least this much.

We headed to the Imperial Palace in Captain Kim Jong-Gil's car.

The Imperial Palace was 'supposedly' built on the site of the ancient Goguryeo Capital, but no one knew if that was true.

Regardless, the palace, resembling the Forbidden City, occupied a 700m by 700m space, boasting the second largest palace grounds in the East after the Forbidden City.

Passing through the massive palace gates, we stopped at the Imperial Household Department to request an audience.

An official from the department hurried towards the Imperial Villa, where the Emperor resided, to process our request.

Though there were telephones in the Palace, no one would dare to call the 'Esteemed Monarch' directly, so people had to go back and forth like this.

After waiting for about 20 minutes,

The Imperial Household official returned and said,

"His Majesty has denied your audience request."

Why is that bloody stamp machine being so difficult right now?

Well, he must have his reasons for being upset.

But that's not my concern.

What's important is that the glorified stamp machine does his only job and stamps my fabricated justification.

So...

"You. Go back there and ask His Majesty again."

"P-Pardon?"

Who does this Crazy General think he is? Making another request after His Majesty refused him once?

I bet he's thinking something like this.

But jokes on him, I can do that.

"Tell him the current situation is extremely urgent."

"B-but, His Majesty has already issued an edict."

"Ask him. Tell him it's a matter concerning the Empire's safety."

"General."

"I'll say it one last time. Ask him."

As I raised my voice, Colonel Kim beside me glared at the Imperial Household official with a menacing expression.

"A-alright."

The official ran towards the Villa once more.

Meanwhile, we received news from outside.

"Oh Gwang-se has been captured."

"The situation is over then."

The Emperor won't be able to remain stubborn if he knows this fact.

I gestured to have this information leaked to the Imperial Household.

Shortly after, the official returned and said respectfully.

"His Majesty will see you now."

"Lead the way."

I happily followed the Household Official.

While I spoke of eliminating treacherous subjects, in reality, I was the true traitor, staging a coup and pressuring the Emperor.

But what can the Emperor do now?

He lacks the power to eliminate the real traitors.

Just as the Goguryeo Royal Family bowed before the Choe military regime, the Korean Empire's Royal Family must now bow before me, Lee Sung Joon.

From now on, I, Lee Sung Joon, am the law of the Korean /genesisforsaken