Master Smith Under Ministry of National Defense

Chapter 115: We Make the Choice

Master Smith Under Ministry of National Defense

115 – We Make the Choice

“First of all, we’ll exclude China as a candidate.”

While representatives from each faction were preparing presentation materials with their aides in a space completely cut off from external contact, Myung-jun was holding a separate meeting with clan members.

From the start, regardless of any conditions, Myung-jun had no intention of selecting a country to be awarded the contract based on those conditions alone. The reason Myung-jun initially chose this form of public bidding was to secure slightly better conditions from the country he desired. It was advantageous to have as many competitors as possible to draw out better conditions.

Upon hearing Myung-jun’s words, the young boy, Ito Kei, blinked his round eyes and asked Myung-jun.

“Is there a reason? Do you dislike the country of China, or is it because of its communist regime?”

“It’s more due to practical reasons such as geographical features and military strength rather than emotional reasons. Firstly, China has a disproportionately small amount of coastline compared to its territory. Most of the areas where ships could enter have already been developed and inhabited by residents.”

“What about military strength?”

“It’s a criterion for assessing how easily we could suppress them if things go wrong.”

As happened in Sejong City, the alliance between the nation and private clans was not an eternal relationship. If the relationship between them deteriorated to the point where they had to tolerate armed conflict, a country with strong military power like China or the United States might cause massive casualties in the resolution process. That was why Myung-jun excluded China.

Of course, the damage to the Liberal Clan was completely excluded from that calculation. Myung-jun was confident that he could protect the Liberal Clan members perfectly regardless of who the opponent was.

However, no matter how much of an enemy the opponent became, Myung-jun’s intention was to refrain from using force against fellow humans as much as possible. After all, when D-Day arrived, humanity would have to unite and fight together regardless of how bad their relationships were.

In Myung-jun’s view, whether Chinese, American, Japanese, or Korean, they all belonged to the same category of ‘humanity’. They just hadn’t realized they were in such a situation yet.

“If we end up fighting with the Chinese government, and if that fight takes the form of an endless war of annihilation until one side is destroyed, we’ll have to face the Armed Police and a standby army of 4.3 million, including 10 million reserves. Even if it’s relatively easy to kill them all, it would be better to avoid such a scenario if possible.”

“Oh, then Japan will be excluded too.”

“No, Japan will be fine. Their army is disgustingly weak.”

From Myung-jun’s perspective, who possessed overwhelmingly superior firepower comparable to that of a future military, soldiers riding in the latest fighter jets or soldiers carrying carbine rifles were just the same ‘one person’. Therefore, what Myung-jun considered important was ‘how many people need to be killed in the process of suppression.’ According to that criterion, Japan, with only a self-defense force of around 240,000 instead of a full-fledged army, was a very easy opponent to suppress.

“Moreover, Japan is an island country with plenty of land along the coastline. Earthquakes and tsunamis might be a bit of an issue, but Senior Soo-jeong can cover that adequately, right? Senior?”

In response to Myung-jun’s question, Soo-jeong smiled and replied, folding one arm into an ‘L’ shape.

“Leave it to me. I’ll make sure we can withstand up to magnitude 10.”

In this way, Myung-jun excluded countries with large standby armies but no suitable land. In the process, China and India, which participated in the bidding, were excluded, and Russia, without a floating airfield, was also removed from the list.

As a result, the remaining countries on the list were France and Germany representing the European Union, Japan representing Asia, and the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, and Australia representing the Commonwealth Union.

Upon seeing the remaining country list, Soo-jeong presented her opinion to everyone.

“It might be best to exclude the UK. Although there is plenty of land to receive, the infrastructure and resources are too scarce.”

“If that’s the reason, then Canada should be excluded too.”

While Myung-jun selected countries based on military strength and terrain, Soo-jeong prioritized resources and infrastructure. Even though the technological capabilities of the Liberal Clan were excellent, it was impossible to create something out of nothing.

What she wanted was a stable supply network for basic resources like steel, copper, and concrete.

“Although China and India have a huge steel production capacity, let’s exclude them as Myung-jun suggested. In that case, the remaining countries are Japan, which ranks third in steel production, or the United States, which ranks fourth. Since Russia, ranked fifth, is excluded due to the lack of a floating airfield, it might be better to choose either of them, or perhaps Australia, which is easy to obtain iron or copper ores.”

At that moment, Soo-bin, who was glancing over the remaining list with sleepy eyes, raised her hand.

“Um, isn’t it correct to exclude the United States based on the number of soldiers?”

In response, Myung-jun explained the reason for not excluding the United States from the list.

“Of course, if we base it on the military strength we might have to suppress, that would be true. But considering the support we could receive, it’s not a good choice to exclude the United States too early. Regardless, it’s a country with a vast supply network spanning the entire world.”

After the meeting, Myung-jun and the clan members, who had finally selected the final list through the discussion, stared silently at the list of remaining countries for a long time.

They imagined what merits there would be in operating in that country, what conditions they would offer to the Liberal Clan.

And finally, when Myung-jun, who had made up his mind, stood up from his seat, everyone’s gaze turned to him.

“Have you made a decision?”

“Where are you planning to go?”

In the face of such passionate interest from clan members, Myung-jun’s answer was a result of ‘undecided.’

“Once we’ve narrowed it down to here, it’s better to decide after considering additional conditions.”

Excluding countries and leveraging the conditions presented by them to obtain better conditions from a suitable settling country. That was Myung-jun’s intention when he pushed each country’s leaders into a space where communication was impossible and forced them to “’present their conditions.’ However, the representatives of each country, unaware of this fact, were desperately devising winning plans with their aides even at that moment.

[Prime Minister Ishida of the Japanese government. Representative Cha Myung-jun and one other person request a meeting. Will you accept the meeting request?]

Prime Minister Ishida of the Japanese government, who was busy planning operations with his aides, suddenly heard a system message coming from the air and his expression turned to panic. He then ordered his aides to tidy up the scattered documents and, looking up at the ceiling, opened his mouth.

“I will meet them.”

[The meeting request has been accepted.]

When the door opened and entered, it was the leader of the Liberal Clan, Cha Myung-jun, and his lover, Han Soo-jeong. Seeing the two, Ishida urgently instructed his aides to prepare refreshments, but the aides, who had never expected such a situation, looked around the room in confusion.

Perhaps there might be a refrigerator or something similar in one corner.

However, no matter where they looked, besides the large screen that looked like a bed and a TV, nothing else was visible. With a bewildered expression, the aides had no choice but to report to the Prime Minister.

“I’m sorry, but we didn’t manage to prepare refreshments.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. We forgot that newcomers might not know how to use the room since we’re so accustomed to living here.”

At that moment, Soo-jeong, smiling, walked forward and approached the wall where the aides were standing. Then, she reached out her hand toward the wall and operated what looked like a touchpad frame. And from within the opened wall, she neatly retrieved a set of refreshments.

“If there are other staff members on the other side of the wall…”

“The details are a secret.”

“Ah… yes..”

“Well, since the refreshments are ready, shall we start the conversation? Does anyone want a drink other than black tea?”

“I’m fine.”

Of course, Soo-jeong knew that this was not true. In fact, it was often awkward to bring up what one wanted in such situations. Therefore, with her meticulous nature, Soo-jeong made up an excuse, saying she would explain how to use the room service equipment to the aides.

Then, Ishida’s aide bowed his head to Soo-jeong several times and, while thanking her, brought out the Prime Minister’s favorite drink and handed it to him. Thus, when Soo-jeong sent a signal to Myung-jun, transitioning the atmosphere in the room from tense to pleasant, the actual negotiation began.

The main agenda of the negotiation, of course, was to confirm the conditions to be presented by the Japanese side.

Myung-jun’s unexpected visit to the Japanese government was to hint to the Japanese side that ‘they have also had individual meetings elsewhere or will have them in the future.’ And just as Myung-jun intended, when Prime Minister Ishida entered negotiations, he first asked Myung-jun about the possibility of meetings with other countries.

“Is this the first time?”

“Is that important?”

“It is. In negotiations like this, the side negotiating first is infinitely disadvantaged.”

“How many times would have been ideal?”

“I would have preferred it to be the last.”

Myung-jun, whose purpose was to provoke competition, honestly revealed information about the negotiation order.

“Before coming here, I met with representatives from China, India, Canada, and Australia.”

“Did any of those countries offer favorable conditions?”

“I’ll refrain from commenting on the decisions. However, I can provide some information about the conditions presented by the countries I met with earlier.”

“Please go ahead.”

“Among the best conditions, the Chinese government promised a total support of $20 billion over the next 10 years, along with the authority to mobilize up to 1 million People’s Liberation Army troops in emergency situations. They also pledged to fully recognize the property rights of the Liberal Clan and its independent judicial authority, and if necessary, to create a special advisory committee to voice opinions on China’s political decisions in the future.”

“That…!”

Prime Minister Ishida sighed at the conditions, which were more radical than what they had prepared. However, what Myung-jun didn’t mention was that the conditions presented by the Chinese government could be overturned at any time like flipping over one’s hand. The $20 billion in annual support could be cut off at any time, and the mobilization of troops could be dismissed with any excuse. Moreover, if necessary, the position of a special advisor could be turned into a figurehead position without any real power. Realizing this, Ishida began to delve into that aspect persistently.

“As you know, when China regained Hong Kong, it promised the British government that it would not apply a socialist system permanently to Hong Kong. And the result was…”

“Are you saying there’s a high possibility that the Chinese government’s promise won’t be kept?”

“That’s what I believe. Right now, the Liberal Clan has overwhelmingly strong power. And with the whole world aiming to ally with the Liberal Clan, they won’t dare to act recklessly. But what about later? If the technology for constructing Knight Marines falls into the hands of the Communist Party and they mass-produce Knight Marines based on overwhelming production capacity, do you think the Liberal Clan will still have the upper hand then?”

“We’re just informing you of what was proposed by the Chinese government. It’s up to us to judge whether those promises are valid or not.”

“But having opportunities taken away by promises that may not be kept is a very frustrating thing for us.”

“Then, present better conditions.”

Ishida desperately racked his brains.

Japan, with a population of 120 million, is an economic powerhouse and a key currency country.

However, the reality was that Japan, despite its facade, had been suffering from endless low growth, forcibly enduring the “lost 20 years” since the bubble era. Moreover, the position of Prime Minister in a democratic country did not hold absolute power like in China to casually throw out major conditions.

‘Do I have to give up…?’

Of course, Ishida had the option to call for an amount larger than the $20 billion promised by China, even $30 billion or $40 billion. But apart from calling for it, actually persuading the parliament for payment was a process.

Convincing the citizens that attracting the Liberal Clan to Japan was worth more than $30 billion or $40 billion. However, convincing the general public of the value of a 10-meter giant robot capable of operating at a depth of 5,000 meters was extremely difficult, except perhaps for enthusiastic robot fans.

Watching Ishida, Myung-jun smiled faintly and made an additional proposal, one that had not been offered to other countries but exclusively to the Japanese government.

“By the way, if the Liberal Clan accepts the proposal from the Japanese government, the Japanese government will receive one more gift.”

Whether that one gift alone could persuade the parliament…

However, Myung-jun’s following words ignited a determination in Ishida, even if it meant uprooting Japan’s foundations.

“Fukushima.”

“Fukushima?”

“If you wish, we will completely remove the radiation spread throughout the entire Fukushima region and permanently dispose of the radioactive materials at the first nuclear power plant.”