I Became Stalin?! - Chapter 180:

Chapter 180

Even as they faced the fierce wind that cut like a knife, the tank soldiers shed tears of emotion.

The river that flowed proudly in front of them was still running endlessly to the sea, just like when they left.

The great river that originated from the sacred mountain of the nation, Baekdu, and flowed into the Yellow Sea, the Yalu River.

“Ah, ah, ah!”

“Yalu River! I’m back! We’re back!”

The Independent Joseon Armored Division raced across the Manchurian plain and reached the Yalu River.

The soldiers who had left their homeland in tears when they were young smiled bitterly as they recalled their distant childhood.

Those who had joined the independence army and crossed the Yalu River to enlist in order to liberate their homeland laughed heartily.

The Kwantung Army that they had encountered along the way was nothing but a weakling, as if their reputation as the strongest of the Japanese Empire was all a lie.

The Joseon Division that had crushed the Japanese army with the tip of their spear and broken through the front line had now reached the point of entering their homeland.

“Is the 2nd Division going to Hamheung over there?”

“Yes! They plan to secure Hamheung and Wonsan first and then rush to Yeongdong.”

The captain nodded. Next to Hamheung was Heungnam, the largest industrial city in the Korean Peninsula.

They had to take over the largest chemical plant in East Asia, excluding the ones in the Japanese mainland, without any loss.

“Gee, the Soviet comrades are really… grateful beyond words. I don’t know what they’re up to, though.”

They owed everything to the Soviets for being able to come this far. They had ridden the tanks and planes made by the Soviets, burned the oil supplied by the Soviets, and shot the weapons provided by the Soviets at the bastards.

Now, as they entered the Korean Peninsula, they had entrusted their own troops to the Koreans.

The Joseon Division’s overwhelming firepower might have been enough to deal with the Japanese 17th Area Army stationed in Korea, but in case of excessive damage, two Soviet mechanized divisions were assigned under the command of Kim Won-bong.

“Hahaha! Captain, don’t say that. I thought it would be worth selling my soul to the devil if I could get independence for my country, just like yesterday.”

“That’s right! You’re right. Well! Is the crossing preparation done? Let’s go!”

Vroom, vroom, the tanks started to move one by one. The soldiers who finally set foot on their beloved homeland again all cheered together. Now, there was only one slogan for the Joseon Division.

“Long live the independence of Korea!!!”

***

The main force of the Joseon Armored Division crossed the Yalu River and set foot on the Korean Peninsula.

The 2nd Division, which had crossed the Tumen River a day earlier, had captured Cheongjin and headed south along the east coast to Hamheung.

And the main force advanced to Pyongyang first.

“Damn it! The invincible Kwantung Army has already collapsed!”

The commander of the 17th Area Army stationed in Joseon, Gozuki Yoshio, was in a panic and yelled at his subordinates, but he couldn’t change the reality.

“Yes, yes. According to the radio from the Kwantung Army headquarters, Harbin has already fallen and Changchun is surrounded and fighting.”

“What about Shenyang!”

“Shenyang is also under attack by the Soviet army up to the outskirts! The only army that can support us is the mainland’s…”

There was no way they could come right away from the mainland.

The mainland was already in a state of anxiety, not knowing when the American fleet would strike, so they couldn’t afford to take away the colonial garrison, let alone reinforce them.

The original mission of the 17th Area Army was to wait in the rear and provide reserve power when the Kwantung Army launched an offensive. But the main forces of the Kwantung Army were shattered in an instant, and now the situation had come to the point where the 17th Area Army, a second-rate reserve unit, had to face the Soviet army.

“How can we stop them with our unit alone when they’ve pushed back the main force like that?”

“…”

Even though they were field troops, they lacked manpower, and there was no manpower to spare for the rear units, so the 17th Area Army consisted of only four divisions.

And they were deployed not in the places where the Soviet army directly invaded, but in the major cities in the south.

The situation was suspicious, and the Joseon Governor-General’s Office wanted to use the only ‘army’ to suppress the riots, and the Area Army left the north, which they believed to be safe, empty.

“The 120th Division is in Gyeongseong, the 150th Division is in Gunsan, the 160th Division is in Gwangju, and the 320th Division is in Busan. In addition, the 127th Mixed Brigade is stationed in Busan, so if we leave it there, we can mobilize a total of four divisions…”

“Before that, the Soviet army will break in! What the hell… what are we supposed to do?”

The commander slammed the table.

The staff who reported the unit status looked at the commander with a look of what he wanted him to do, and lowered his eyes slightly.

It would take at least a week to bring the units stationed in the rear and form a defensive line.

The problem was transporting that many people. And even if they were there, could they stop the Soviet army?

Of course not.

“The troops are worse than the reserves, and the weapons they give us are nothing but old scrap metal… How are we supposed to stop the Soviet army with these guys!”

‘If you’re going to ask us that, why did you become a commander?’

The various staff members looked at the commander with such contempt, but they also knew that there was no good answer for anyone in that position.

“Operations staff! How long will it take for the Soviet army to reach Gyeongseong?”

“Based on the speed at which they swept through Manchuria so far… I estimate it will take about three days at the fastest.”

Sigh, three days.

Everyone sighed.

The Japanese army had no time to prepare as the Soviet army neutralized the fortress area on the eastern border at an astonishing speed.

There were few who had predicted that the Soviets would start the war so soon. It was as if they had been stabbed in the weak spot.

“Can we… can we fortify Gyeongseong?”

“It might be possible, but…”

The staff trailed off again. Fortification was possible, but whether it could stop the Soviet army was doubtful.

After all, the natural barrier that they thought would protect them, the Daehyeonanryeong Mountains, was also crossed in an instant and they captured Changchun, the heart of Manchuria.

The natural barriers in the Korean Peninsula were nothing but gentle hills and streams compared to those places.

No, the Soviet army was already strong enough to defeat the mighty German army.

They were too formidable for the Japanese army, which had been fighting with the Chinese army and suppressing the Joseon protesters.

He wanted to ask who the idiot who made the operation plan like that was, but he thought the Soviet army had already captured him and dragged him to Siberia.

“Negotiation… can we try negotiation?”

“Negotiation? Are you talking about negotiation?”

The commander wanted to ask his staff why they kept nagging him, but he knew that would only damage his dignity. He coughed uncomfortably.

“What about… the Soviet army or… those Joseon people?”

“Do you mean the National Foundation Preparation Committee? The one led by Yeo Un-hyeong?”

“Yes! Those guys.”

The people looked at the commander incredulously.

If they were really going to negotiate, it should be done by the Joseon Governor-General’s Office or the government, not the army.

The army’s job was to fight, but he was cowardly enough to avoid fighting and look for negotiation first.

The few who were somewhat like soldiers bit their tongues at his pathetic sight.

Of course, there were not many of them, so the cowards soon agreed with the commander’s opinion to negotiate.

“That’s a very good idea! According to the art of war…”

“You are right!”

Also, some of the enlightened ones thought so.

The model enemy of Doichi, the famous general, resisted the Soviet army desperately and bought time, but in the end, the toxic war ended with the Soviet victory.

And that too, with a miserable ending of the capital being reduced to ruins by a bomb.

They actually wanted to stop the futile fight in the mainland and ask them to negotiate with the United States and the Soviet Union.

But the hardliners in the mainland ignored that and shouted for a hundred million total mobilization and insisted on fighting.

“Yeah, yeah. But… who should we negotiate with?”

“Si, sir! Urgent news!”

“What! What is it!”

As the cowards were about to find a target to discuss surrender, a messenger rushed in and kicked the door.

He gasped for breath and hurriedly spoke as the commander glared at him with his eyes wide open.

“Out, outside! Outside…”

“Outside? What’s outside… Huh!”

There were countless people outside. Thousands, tens of thousands of people in white clothes and black hair.

They were quiet. So quiet that the 17th Area Army staff who were having a meeting inside didn’t notice. They didn’t shout slogans, wave flags, or hold placards.

But no one didn’t know why they came out there, what they were trying to do there.

“Damn it… damn it!”

***

The news of the ‘independence army’ made up of Joseon people entering the Joseon land spread quickly.

The underground communication of the Joseon Communist Party had been vigorously propagating that a powerful armored division had defeated the Japanese and crushed the Kwantung Army, which was said to be invincible, and raised a great war.

Through the branch organizations in various places, and from mouth to mouth, the news of victory spread.

“They’re coming, they’re coming!”

“Hahaha! The day we drive out those bastards is coming!”

It was the day before the biggest holiday in Joseon, the Lunar New Year.

The Japanese had strictly enforced the New Year according to the solar calendar, but the Joseon people still celebrated the Lunar New Year.

Even though the people were bustling around, the Japanese just let it go. But when dozens, hundreds of people started to flock to the streets, the police couldn’t handle it anymore.

“Go in! Go in!”

“Beep beep beep! Disperse! Disperse the illegal assembly!”

The police blew their horns and swung their batons, but the people were silent and crowded out.

At the forefront of the procession, young people wore red bands on their arms or heads.

They were silent and menacing, and glared at the Japanese police. Even if they were hit by batons or gunshots, they didn’t scream and walked forward.

“Back… back off!”

The people followed them in silence.

They didn’t need weapons or slogans to scare the Japanese puppets.

The cowards, the despicable ones who relied on the paper tiger of imperialism and thought they could rule forever.

Not only in Gyeongseong, but also in major cities, such protests erupted simultaneously.

The people wore white clothes and silently crowded to the streets.

They crowded out and advanced to the Japanese ruling institutions, the provincial offices, the military bases, or various facilities.

‘They can’t dare to use guns.’

No one had the guts to order firing in this situation.

The ones who knew the situation was bad, the ones who had to leave this land tomorrow, how dare they?

The protesters chose silence. Just get out. Don’t dirty this land anymore and leave.

“The years of humiliation when we couldn’t make a sound, we can’t be forced anymore. Long live the independence of Joseon!!!”