Chapter 135: No Compromise
When the K-3 tank was electrified, most of the countries that were considered military powers rushed to find out its specifications.
There were some important things missing from the specs announced by the manufacturer or the military.
One of them was weight.
It was assumed that the weight had been greatly reduced by adopting black metal aggressively, but the Korean army did not indicate it on the spec sheet.
On foreign military sites, some people tried to guess the specs of the tank based on a few photos taken from afar.
—Even if they make it unmanned and put only two crew members and fill the remaining space with batteries, the maximum number of shots would be about 45.
—The range is expected to be over 5km, which is a great help for the K-3 tank that can implement a 3D battlefield through drones.
—The cruising range is also impressive, but more importantly, it is small. Considering that black metal is light, it is likely to be less than 45 tons.
If you think about the previous K-2 tank, which weighed 56 tons at the factory, it was a tremendous low.
The lightness of the tank meant that the defense power was low, but this did not apply to this tank.
It was because it was covered with black metal.
It was almost impossible to penetrate unless it was made of the same material, and even if they used anti-tank missiles, they could only disable the equipment installed outside.
On the other hand, there was a question of how they could mount an ion thruster and move the tank.
—Ion thrusters obtain thrust by rapidly spraying ions, which is not suitable as a power source for moving tanks.
—Considering the parts imported from Germany by Hi-Tech, it seems like a hybrid pack combined with a diesel engine, but I think I need to see the real thing to know.
While foreign countries were using all kinds of methods to find out the specs, Russia was able to meet the K-3 tank easily.
It was because Yu Ji-ha gave them one as a gift.
At that time, Russia displayed the K-3 tank in front of the Kremlin and boasted tremendously.
They received a tank equipped with a railgun and an ion thruster for the first time in the world as a gift, so their pride must have been enormous.
The Russian media praised it as a symbol of friendship and trust between the two leaders, and it was also revealed that the K-3 tank had a hybrid pack combined with a diesel engine.
The army compared this tank with their own T-14 and recommended to President Putin that they should produce it under license.
They made a bold request to replace the problematic T-14 because they saw that the performance was different in dimension.
It was not known what decision Putin made, but most of the specs were revealed then.
However, only weight was never revealed, and Baldwin finally realized why he tried to hide it.
“It jumped like a frog.”
“Yes. It flew from Liaoning Peninsula to inland. Considering the thrust of the ion thruster mounted on it, the weight of the tank should not exceed 30 tons in order to fly a distance of about 200km.”
“The main tank of a military powerhouse weighs 30 tons…”
The light weight was surprising, but more importantly, the tank could fly.
There used to be a concept of airborne tanks, but nowadays it was not seriously considered as the weight of tanks increased.
It was almost impossible to safely drop something that weighed over 50 tons.
It would cost too much money to air-drop tanks and lose their meaning.
That’s why the concept of transporting tanks by air was almost forgotten.
Even countries like Russia probably didn’t have any research data on airborne tanks left.
But Korea lifted up tanks into the sky by attaching ion thrusters.
Anyone could tell where their target was.
Beijing.
The great dictator must have thought of pushing in his 7th Army into Beijing.
Baldwin laughed as if he couldn’t believe it.
“What are you going to do by pushing your 7th Army into China? I doubt you can get enough supplies.”
Beijing is China’s largest city with a population approaching 23 million.
It was second only to Chongqing in terms of pure population, but after experiencing the Yangtze War, angry peasants caused riots and increased population.
They became refugees who couldn’t go back to their hometowns.
This population exceeded 20 million and still troubled China’s leadership.
Think about it.
How can anyone not feel threatened by groups of wanderers who are not properly controlled?
The public security was not much help either, and if they mobilized the army, they would turn over the whole city.
Politicians including Wang Xian Shang tried to ignore them as if they didn’t exist.
Thus, Beijing recently reminded people of an apocalypse.
On days when there was a lot of fine dust, even wanderers couldn’t be seen well and citizens avoided going out.
But even in such a situation, Beijing was a metropolis and the center of China.
No matter how elite it was, one army corps was not a place to overcome.
The security adviser Christina Guerrero lowered her voice.
“What if you don’t intend to drag it into a long-term war? You could take over Beijing in a short time and get what you want. You might ask them to hand over Manchuria.”
“Do you think the Chinese will give up that vast land easily?”
“It’s possible if you get rid of the leadership. That’s what he’s been doing so far. Self-made drama, assassination.”
“…”
Baldwin looked at Guerrero, who was spreading conspiracy theories, with a blank stare.
This Mexican woman, who was strongly recommended by the party and hired, was good at everything, but she had a tendency to be obsessed with conspiracy theories.
She sincerely claimed that Yu Ji-ha killed the officials who blocked his way, and that he was behind most of the incidents.
It all started when the prime minister of Korea died mysteriously in 2026.
She even claimed that he assassinated the Bryant candidate.
The unfortunate thing was that the mainstream of the Democratic Party agreed with her opinion.
So the Baldwin administration could not use an active inclusion policy for Yu Ji-ha and Korea.
Well, let’s put that aside…
“If you have to go to Korea a lot in the future, don’t say such things or you won’t be able to stay there, understand?”
“I’ll be careful.”
But there was no sign of remorse on her face.
Baldwin sighed lightly and leaned back in his chair.
“He declared a total war as a deception. He wants to end the war as quickly as possible… It might be better for us if he protests in Beijing.”
“It would be better if you only think about the economy. But we can’t give Manchuria to Korea.”
“That’s not your decision. But I’m curious why he wants more land.”
“World domination.”
“Are you serious?”
“Yes, I’m serious. He divided China, invaded and absorbed North Korea, and smashed Iran and Pakistan. And now he’s attacking China and Japan. It’s no surprise that he’s hostile to us.”
“Do you blame him for dividing China? You should have said he dropped a meteorite instead.”
He was referring to the meteorite that entered the atmosphere and fell on the coast of China just before the Yangtze War.
Among the scholars who studied the history of war, it was a long time ago that the meteorite was interpreted as the actual cause of the war.
They suffered too much damage and had no breakthrough unless they went to war.
If that’s true, Yu Ji-ha would have done more than enough for the world.
But that’s unlikely.
“That possibility cannot be completely ruled out.”
“Don’t say that in front of President Yu.”
“I know how precious my life is.”
“Good grief.”
When Baldwin turned his head with a chuckle, someone knocked on his office door and the security adviser came in with a laptop.
There was a picture of the 7th Army flying across the Yellow Sea taken by the SR-72 reconnaissance aircraft.
“…”
Guerrero adviser lost her words at seeing the heavy tank flying over the sea.
Can this be called modern warfare?
The deputy adviser spoke quickly.
“They said they received a warning after taking this picture. A laser from an Ion beam shot up near the tail wing of the reconnaissance aircraft.”
The president’s face changed sharply.
“Did they notice our reconnaissance aircraft? How?”
“It seems to be related to the satellite that Korea launched before.”
“Didn’t they say it was an ordinary GPS satellite? I heard that there was a lot of error because there was no place to put it in geostationary orbit.”
“Mr. President, that’s not important.”
Guerrero security adviser closed her laptop and looked at him.
“Korea has made a threatening act against US Air Force aircraft. And they also lied about the specs of Ion beam. I’ve never heard of a laser that reaches 80,000 feet. It’s almost three times the spec.”
“The railgun’s rapid fire capability was also completely different in the Yellow Sea and Tsushima. He has a lot to hide.”
“Maybe even his name is fake. We can’t wait any longer. We have to rush in and secure him. Or at least his parents…”
“Stop. My administration has already decided to work with President Yu.”
“If you’re lucky, it will be like that.”
“I suddenly want to replace you.”
“Didn’t you promise me a term?”
“If you want that, shut up.”
“…”
“I want to be alone.”
The advisers left and Baldwin turned his chair and looked at the White House garden.
The party’s interference in this war was getting worse.
They didn’t like that he negotiated easily on the diamond semiconductor issue, or that he made a gesture of letting go of East Asia.
Maybe it’s because of Japan’s money.
Japan had poured huge lobbying funds into Washington as usual, and in recent months it had tripled.
On the other hand, Korea hardly did any lobbying activities.
Private companies did it occasionally, but at the government level they completely ignored it, and its effects were gradually appearing.
The Democratic Party members came to the White House and talked only about his mad dog theory.
In Congress, at universities, in any office in Washington, there was a growing atmosphere that Korea should not be left alone.
‘Was diamond semiconductor not enough? What will I use to sanction him?’
Maybe war.
It was clear that economic pressure would not make him surrender, so the only option left was war.
As long as Baldwin was in the presidential seat, he would not tolerate it, but the Democrats would try to undermine his power.
It was hard to replace the president, but it was easy to replace his advisers.
He whispered to the Korean president, who was trying to strike Beijing and Tokyo.
“Let’s end this here. There are so many things to do in this world these days.”
With the technology they boasted in the Mars development declaration, they could seriously drill a hole in Europa and explore life forms.
What about Titan, the moon of Jupiter?
They could build a resource plant and free humanity from the energy crisis.
It was a waste of time to wage war in such an era.
It was best to cooperate and use each other while making profits.
But the Democrats seemed to think otherwise.
Some senators came to see him.
***
China found the traces of the 7th Corps when they succeeded in crossing the Yellow Sea.
Surprisingly, hundreds of armored vehicles used ion thrusters to fly in the sky.
They landed on a harvested rice field near Tianjin and started moving immediately.
They only needed to replace the capsules of the ion thrusters, so they did not need any supplies.
But it was impossible for them to fight a great battle with only the grenades and electricity they had.
When the 7th Corps appeared at a place that was only 170km away from Beijing, the Chinese leaders, including Wang Xian Shang, were shocked.
“Why is the 7th Corps in Tianjin?”
“That’s impossible! They should be near Dalian!”
Whether they liked it or not, hundreds of vehicles were advancing toward Beijing, crushing the rice fields.
Wang Xian Shang bit his lips until they bled when he saw the leading unit waving the Taegeukgi flag.
“Those crazy bastards, do they know where they are…”
China’s power had been broken after the Yangtze War, but it was not enough to be pushed around by a single corps.
Wang Xian Shang tried to call the forces of the northern front, but most of them were in Shenyang.
They were even building defensive positions to stop the 7th Corps!
He tried to contact the front command, but the generals stopped him.
“Commander, it will take at least 10 hours to depart.”
“The 7th Corps will arrive in Beijing much faster.”
“Then what do you want me to do? Just watch Beijing fall?”
“It would be better to gather the nearby forces and respond.”
When they checked the nearby units, they got an absurd result.
Most of the 50,000 troops were guards and there was only one armored brigade.
The entire northern front was stationed in Shenyang because they misunderstood that the Korean army was aiming for Manchuria.
The air defense network around Beijing was reliable, but how could it stop an armored corps?
The only thing left was tactical aircraft, but he did not want to choose that.
They had suffered too much from the Ion beam on Taiwan Island.
While the leaders were hesitating, the dot indicating the 7th Corps continued to push into Beijing.
They could enter Beijing in an hour or less.
Silence filled the bunker and some generals suggested.
“We have to mobilize all available tactical aircraft and bombers and crush them.”
“We should also use rockets.”
Wang Xian Shang nodded heavily.
If this method failed, there was nothing left but nuclear weapons.
It was bad enough that the Korean army appeared near Beijing, but if they failed to stop them and used nuclear weapons?
He would be despised by everyone and his life would be in danger.
So he had to succeed.
“Approve it. Give those Koreans who entered our house without fear a regret.”
Dozens of tactical aircraft and bombers took off from Hebei Air Force Base.
They were so urgent that most of the procedures were ignored and some aircraft took off without any bombs.
Almost at the same time, rockets rained down on where they guessed the 7th Corps would be.
A terrible rain of steel fell, but the 7th Corps did not change direction.
The Ion beam with its limiter completely released slashed through the air several times.
It was so powerful that it did not even bother to track missiles, but just swept over them and exploded them right away.
Fireworks spread in the dark evening and nearby citizens came out to watch and got hit by shrapnel.
The nearby army also fired multiple rocket launchers, but the result was no different.
The night sky just got brighter and more houses around were destroyed.
All measures failed and the 7th Corps advanced toward Beijing without much damage.
There were only 30 minutes left and voices rose in the bunker.
“Let’s use nuclear weapons.”
“We can’t use nuclear weapons. It’s better to lure them into Beijing and fight a street battle.”
“Fight a street battle with the Koreans who have drones? Are you a spy?”
“They don’t have drones in the 7th Corps!”
“Where do you get off raising your voice!”
An argument broke out and Wang Xian Shang called his secretary and ordered.
“Connect me to Korea.”
Unlike Japan, China did not cut off the communication line with Korea.
“Please withdraw the 7th Corps.”
“Oh, you seem to have no choice.”
“It’s not that we have no choice, but that the mutual damage is too great, so let’s restrain ourselves.”
“Then do it.”
Wang Xian Shang clenched his teeth.
“Do you really want to make us use nuclear weapons?”
“We don’t care if you do. But you will be held responsible for the consequences by the whole of China.”
“Can you withstand annihilation? We have over 1.5 billion people!”
“I think I heard that from the Muslim society too… Can you be confident that your resilience is stronger? Even if all the nuclear power plants in the eastern coastal area become scrap metal?”
“…If you fire even one antitron, we will never forgive you.”
“You have weapons more powerful than nuclear weapons in China?”
Of course not.
The bunker was quiet and Wang Xian Shang continued the call in a separate secret room.
“What do you want.”
“The three northeastern provinces.”
“You want to split China?”
“It’s the war you wanted. You lost, so you have to pay the price. You have 25 minutes left.”
“We haven’t lost yet. And do you know how many people live in Beijing? It’s delusional to think that you can control it.”
“We never said we would control it.”
“How long do you think the 7th Corps can last without supplies?”
He realized that Yu Ji-ha, the president, had no intention of compromising from his tone.
Maybe this was his plan from the beginning.
He and Prime Minister Matsuda had underestimated him.
There were only two choices left at this point, since he could not turn back time.
Either he watched the 7th Corps and the drones wreak havoc in Beijing, or he used nuclear weapons.
Both would bring his downfall.
Yu Ji-ha asked casually.
“Is anyone listening?”
“…No.”
“Let me make a suggestion. Try to arrest your subordinates. You will probably be arrested instead. Then we will rescue you after we occupy Beijing. Your subordinates will be executed, and you can become the president without any responsibility.”
He shivered at the plan to swallow the three northeastern provinces without shedding blood.
“Are you telling me to betray my comrades and become your puppet?”
“Isn’t it better than losing everything?”
The funny thing was that Yu Ji-ha’s proposal sounded very attractive.
The three northeastern provinces or the presidency.
He would not have hesitated if it were normal, but now the 7th Corps was right in front of him.
Wasn’t it much better than turning Beijing into a land where people could not live?
‘I will lose the three northeastern provinces, but I can keep the rest…’
China’s territory had been shrinking, but he was a great man who did not care if he could become the president.
What else was important besides becoming the absolute master of China?
He was about to answer that he would accept it when it happened.
The blast door opened with a bang and the generals poured in.
“What, what is it?”
Wang Xian Shang was surprised and covered the handset, and Hu Zhongsan, his closest aide, pointed a gun at him.
“I’m disappointed, Commander Wang.”
“How did you get a gun… I see. There was a traitor among the secretaries.”
“The important thing is that you tried to betray the people.”
“You will have to fight a total war with Korea if you kill me. We will both be annihilated!”
“We have 1.5 billion people.”
Yu Ji-ha had just refuted that…
He lost his will and Hu Zhongsan smiled.
The guards dragged Wang Xian Shang out and he spoke into the handset.
“Listen up. We will not compromise. Your worthless country will be covered with fire and we will win.”
“Are you okay with the 7th Corps entering Beijing?”
“They will get a nuclear bomb on their heads before that!”
“Do you think that’s possible in 20 minutes?”
Hu Zhongsan threw the handset roughly as he heard Yu Ji-ha’s laughter.
“Connect me to the rocket army right now!”
While there was chaos in the Chinese leadership bunker, Earth Fleet, which had been hiding from the Japanese navy’s surveillance network, emerged.
The location was Sagami Bay near Tokyo.
Updat𝓮d from freew𝒆bnov𝒆l.co(m)