Chapter 115: We Make the Choice

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.

“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.”