novelnext Chapter 69: The Unfolding Power Struggle
Chapter 69: The Unfolding Power Struggle
Chapter 69: The Unfolding Power Struggle
The power of the 3rd Escort Fleet of the Maritime Self-Defense Force that approached the vicinity of Wonsan Port was tremendous.
It consisted of two Aegis destroyers, five destroyers over 5,000 tons, a helicopter carrier, and several escort ships.
With such a force in the coastal waters, it was impossible for the Korean Navy’s 1st Fleet to drive them away with its meager power.
The 10th Combat Brigade had joined them, but their main force was three destroyers and escort ships that were inferior in displacement.
If you consider the submarines lurking under the water, the power gap widens.
The Korean Navy crew were busy cursing the Maritime Self-Defense Force that suddenly picked a fight.
“What do they want to get by coming here?”
“Judging by the survey ship they brought, they’re probably after black metal.”
“Do they think they can take a big bite while we’re busy with war?”
“That’s too greedy... Even if we’re at war, there’s a line, right?”
“They’re in a very difficult situation if they don’t cross that line and take something.”
“They should have gotten along better with Chairman Yu.”
Brigadier General Park Seung-ho of the 10th Combat Brigade repeatedly sent communications to the Maritime Self-Defense Force, but he was furious when they didn’t respond.
“Those bastards are determined to do this.”
“Brigadier General, at this rate, the Wonsan Port operation will be delayed.”
That was the problem.
Originally, the 10th Combat Brigade and the 11th Combat Group were supposed to go north as they were, drive away the North Korean surface fleet, and attack Wonsan Port.
But the operation was disrupted by the arrival of the escort fleet.
No, it was enough trouble already.
“Why are they making a fuss here when they said they wouldn’t bother us?”
“I guess foreigners are not included.”
Now the Korean Navy had two choices.
Either attack Wonsan Port as planned, or pressure the escort fleet to back off.
With limited resources available, neither option was easy.
Then good news came to the 10th Combat Brigade.
“Brigadier General, we have a report that ship 9111 is coming up now!”
Hull number 9111 refers to the Kim Gu-class railgun destroyer.
“Why is it coming now?”
“I don’t know! The command center says to join them and proceed with the operation!”
It was an unbelievable schedule for a ship that was launched in February to be deployed in May.
The funny thing was that Shilla Heavy Industries actually did it and it was also a blessing for the Wonsan Port attack fleet.
The status of Kim Gu-class was unmatched even by combining brigades and groups.
But new information came in.
The helicopter that was patrolling around the fleet sounded an alarm.
-Missile speedboats and torpedo boats have left Wonsan Port.
They must have survived as a fortified base even after being hit by dozens of Hyunmoo missiles and bunker busters.
At the same time, coastal artillery fire that had been quiet until now began.
Now the attack fleet had to pay attention to Wonsan Port rather than Japan.
Ding ding ding ding-
“All hands to battle stations!”
—Styx missiles detected from Wonsan base!
—Anti-ship missiles confirmed from missile speedboats! Distance 45 miles!
—-Activate ECM on each ship and execute evasive maneuvers!
—We’re going into anti-aircraft defense now!
It was a disaster that happened because they were distracted by the escort fleet’s maneuver and pushed to the land side.
Each combat ship activated ECM and entered missile jamming when suddenly a golden beam of light was drawn in the air.
“What is that?”
As the officers on the bridge looked at the sea in confusion, Styx anti-ship missiles exploded in mid-air without penetrating the golden beam of light.
Boom!
The destructive power of a 0.5-ton warhead was no joke, causing a small tsunami.
That was the start of Kim Gu ship wedging itself between the Korean fleet and Wonsan Port.
As alarms blared loudly, iron beams were activated and dozens of lasers fired at anti-ship missiles and boats.
It was unbelievable from an observer’s point of view.
A heavy combat ship suddenly intervened and blew up anti-ship missiles with laser beams.
Not only that, Kim Gu ship activated railguns and fired projectiles in an instant.
Missile speedboats moving fast were erased one by one from radar screens.
“What the hell is going on...?”
The officers who were preparing for anti-air defense shook their heads in disbelief.
They were using all kinds of means to evade and defend against the air attacks, but the Kim Gu ship had single-handedly destroyed them all.
Dozens of anti-ship missiles, high-speed missile boats, and even torpedo boats were obliterated by the lone ship, clearing the radar screen.
Black smoke rose incessantly from the distant sea.
“Si-, situation over!”
Colonel Park Seung-ho asked again incredulously.
“Is the situation over? Are you sure?”
“Yes, yes! There are no enemy ships detected on the radar! It’s confirmed!”
“...He became a monster while we weren’t looking.”
Meanwhile, Colonel Lee Won-hyung, the captain of the Kim Gu ship, who had pressed the automatic combat button, stared blankly at the black smoke rising from the far sea.
He originally planned to just follow the fleet without engaging in any real combat.
It would be suicidal to fight with a crew that was not fully trained.
But he received an order from the Joint Chiefs of Staff to press the automatic combat button.
It was probably not the decision of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, but of President Jo Hyung-geun.
He had no choice but to press the button, and then the artificial intelligence took over the ship and finished the battle by itself.
The only thing the crew did was to hold on to nearby objects to withstand the crazy maneuvers.
‘Do we need a crew for this?’
Of course, artificial intelligence could not handle everything.
It was evident by seeing more than 100 sailors and officers running around like mad.
But it was scary to see that it could handle the most important aspects of naval warfare and navigation by itself.
Maybe in the near future, Korea would become a world dominated by artificial intelligence.
Some might be enthusiastic about a fair world, but why would humans be needed if everything was done by artificial intelligence?Upstodatee from
As he pondered this, Lucia was collecting data and identifying nearby warships.
Suddenly, the turret rotated quickly and aimed the long barrel of the railgun at something.
It was a Japanese reconnaissance plane that had been flying around and making noise.
The combat command room went berserk.
He said it so casually that President Jo wondered if that was true.
That’s not it.
“You could have just threatened them. Shooting down a patrol plane is not a trivial matter. Do you intend to provoke a conflict with Japan at this point?”
“Japan can’t protest about this. It happened without the permission of the prime minister.”
“Really?”
If it was the maritime self-defense force’s unilateral action, then the story would change.
But there was still a question left.
How did Yu Ji-ha know that?
“And the Japanese government owes me one. Once the escort flotilla returns, they will be dismissed one by one, from the maritime chief of staff to the others.”
“...”
“If Japan protests, tell them I did it. It’s Russia’s doing, so it’s ultimately my responsibility.”
His calm voice made President Jo put down the communicator.
He once admired him for being a great communicator and a driving force.
But now he was afraid of him.
He felt like this war was playing in his palm.
Do you feel the difference in power?
“Thank you for moving the fleet this time, Mr. President.”
“It’s nothing. It’s just a return for what Chairman Yu has done for us.”
Yu Ji-ha returned to his headquarters and talked to Russian President Putin.
They were talking through a satellite communicator dedicated to Russia, so there was no risk of being exposed.
The appearance of the Pacific Fleet made the Japanese escort flotilla scatter and retreat.
From the perspective of the escort flotilla, they might not mind fighting against the Korean navy, but they didn’t want to face Russia’s fleet.
But President Putin seemed curious about something.
“Lately, I’ve been quite perplexed. Do you know why? I thought that maybe Chairman Yu orchestrated all this.”
“I’m not a prophet, nor can I predict the future.”
“You seem to have waited for this situation, though. You asked me to back off from North Korea, as if you knew what would happen.”
“I didn’t intend it, but I did wait for it.”
“May I ask why?”
“War is another opportunity.”
“That’s a typical arms dealer’s remark.”
He was called that by not only the third world, but also by the European media that valued human rights.
The boycott situation had dragged on and his image in Europe was the worst.
Germany was a bit better, but they were being called Nazis by their neighbors.
President Putin’s voice became subtle.
“By the way, why did you choose Russia? You could have asked the US to mediate, and they would have done it enough.”
It was convenient.
The US was a democratic country and the president couldn’t decide on many things alone.
On the other hand, Russia only needed Putin’s decision to solve most things.
This was also true for this Pacific Fleet case.
If he had contacted the US, it would have taken a long time, and Congress would have interfered and made a fuss.
“I needed quick decision-making. That’s something the US can’t provide.”
“So you prefer that style.”
“And I didn’t want US intervention. They’re too big and intrusive.”
“What about Russia? Didn’t Chairman Yu just scratch our itch?”
He quietly watched and only provided necessary support, so Yu Ji-ha had no complaints.
“The timely support of the Pacific Fleet saved me from a lot of trouble.”
“Hahaha, I know Chairman Yu must have had a second move in mind.”
He said that, but his laughter revealed his satisfaction.
He would use this as an excuse to ask for a deeper relationship.
“Let me hear what you want from this war. We’ll help you get it, if Chairman Yu helps us too.”
“No questions asked or answered.”
“We’ve been patient enough so far. I hope Chairman Yu acknowledges that.”
“What do you want?”
“A full cooperation. I want to revive our economy with Chairman Yu. That’s what I mean.”
Russia was enjoying a good profit from its resource exports lately, but President Putin was not satisfied with that.
He wanted to revive his economy and restore the glory of the former Soviet Union.
But that was impossible without Yu Ji-ha’s full cooperation.
“...That won’t be free.”
It was a very arrogant thing to say to a president of a country.
But President Putin didn’t mind that.
He had the right to do so.
“Tell me what you want. I’ll provide everything.”
There wasn’t much that Russia could offer, but Yu Ji-ha needed it.
The US could offer it too, but they were not agile and their policy could change.
Think about it.
What if he signed an agreement with this administration, but the next one canceled it? How absurd would that be?
Yu Ji-ha had a long-term plan for decades, and he needed a force that could help him for a long time.
Russia was weak in human rights and its leader was a dictator, so he wouldn’t care what Yu Ji-ha did in the future.
As long as he didn’t infringe on their interests, that is.
And they had a moderate economic size, so they wouldn’t pose a big threat in the future.
China became like that because they were too big to be next to Megacity.
And that also applied to the US.
Yu Ji-ha asked casually.
“Would war and land do?”
“Russia will support you as long as we don’t suffer a fatal blow. And do you want the Kamchatka Peninsula for land?”
“It could be more than that.”
That would change the story.
There was no need to fight for it.
“Let’s discuss that later.”
He originally planned to take it away, but it was different if he offered it like this.
“Let’s talk about it after the war.”
“What about North Korea’s nuclear weapons? Do you want us to provide you with a nuclear umbrella? We’re willing to do that.”
“I don’t think I need a nuclear umbrella.”
“You mean you’ll solve it politically. I see, let’s talk later.”