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While staying in China, I met Chiang Kai-shek about three more times.
When I mentioned the Mongol invasion to Chiang Kai-shek in passing, Chiang Kai-shek firmly argued that Mongolia was Chinese territory and should be taken over from the Soviet Union.
At this point, it became clear. Chiang Kai-shek really intended to invade Mongolia.
Since his will was so strong, I had nothing more to say. Well, I guess he will figure it out on his own.
Let China take care of its own affairs and I just have to do my own thing.
"What do your enemies think?"
Still, I felt uneasy inside, so when I was alone with Falkenhausen, I asked him what he thought about Chiang Kai-shek's plan.
It seemed like Falkenhausen was worried about the same thing as me, as he adjusted his glasses and let out a soft sigh.
"to be honest… … I am concerned that President Chiang Kai-shek may be making a somewhat hasty judgment."
"As expected. Have you tried persuasion?"
"I also tried to dissuade him by saying that right now wasn't the time, but… … "He said that if not now, when will he achieve his great work?"
Falkenhausen also knows that the Soviet Army is not an opponent to be trifled with and that the National Revolutionary Army is not in a state capable of confronting the Soviet Army.
"I knew that President Chiang Kai-shek listens to his enemies even if he doesn't listen to others. If he said something like that, it would be obvious without asking."
"What do you plan to do, President, if China attacks Mongolia?"
"Of course you shouldn't stay still. "There is no need for any more war in Germany."
Chiang Kai-shek may want us to support him or to keep the Soviet Union's attention by starting a conflict in the Ural Mountains, but I intend to remain neutral unconditionally.
According to common sense, that is correct. What do we have to do with China eating Mongolia?
If we move, the United States will move right away. We already promised each other in Washington not to invade other people's territory, but Germany is the first to break that?
Will the United States listen to what Germany says in the future?
Falkenhausen, who noticed that Chiang Kai-shek was not willing to give up the invasion of Mongol, proposed to do it after taking complete control of the warlords and solving the problem of corruption that was rampant throughout the Kuomintang, but Chiang Kai-shek was stubborn here too.
By the time the problems are all resolved, it's too late. First of all, the urgent priority is to recover China's homeland first.
"Do you intend to remain in China?"
"I can't leave for Germany because China still wants me. I guess I'll have to stay for a while. Hehe."
At Chiang Kai-shek's request, Falkenhausen decided to remain in China.
Even the stubborn Chiang Kai-shek thought that China still needed Falkenhausen, and earnestly asked Falkenhausen, who was considering retirement, to stay in China at least until the Mongol conquest was completed.
Accepting the request, Falkenhausen chose to remain in China. What can I say if he says he will continue to remain in China? You have to leave it to your own beliefs.
"I understand. When I return to Germany this time, I will send new personnel to assist the Marshal."
"Thank you, Mr. President."
***
It wasn't just headache-inducing meetings during my stay in China.
Since I came to China after a long time, I went around a lot to have fun.
I've been to the Great Wall of China, the Longmen Grottoes, the Forbidden City, and the Summer Palace. I've also been to the famous Tiananmen Square.
At Tiananmen, there was a portal-sized portrait of Chiang Kai-shek hanging. When I think of Tiananmen, I only think of the scene with Mao Zedong's portrait hanging, but when I saw Tiananmen with Chiang Kai-shek's portrait hanging, I felt strange.
"Let's toast to the eternal friendship between Germany and China!"
"ha ha ha! Sieg Heil!!"
Chiang Kai-shek treated a grand dinner every day for me, who came from far away Germany.
Perhaps because they wanted to emphasize that this was China, not Europe, the banquet hall was filled with Chinese dishes.
Falkenhausen, who lived in China for a long time, used chopsticks skillfully and ate food, but Ribbentrop, Brauchitsch, Reichenau, and Rommel were unfamiliar foods he had never seen before, so he mainly ate familiar German dishes.
They seem to have no taste whatsoever.
It was a fun time for me, who was born in Korea in the 21st century and became accustomed to Chinese food. You can eat a lot of the dishes you want in Germany, but they are still not as good as the dishes made by the locals in the mainland.
In particular, I concentrated on eating dishes like Buldojang and Peking duck because they were hard to find even in Germany.
Since this is Nanjing, Nanjing duck is more famous than Peking duck, and both were actually on the dinner table, but Peking duck was more suited to my taste.
Nanking duck is delicious enough, but since the duck is boiled in salt water, it tastes more boring than Peking duck, and above all, it's not that special of a dish, so I don't use it that often.
"No, do you even know that Fuhrer Hitler can eat Peking duck?"
As I was skillfully rolling up the pancakes with duck skin, shredded cucumbers, and lean meat and eating them, Chiang Kai-shek asked curiously.
Other Germans only eat the skin and meat, but it seems very surprising that they eat rice pancakes alone with sliced cucumbers.
As a Korean, would it be like watching a white or black person eat lettuce wrap? I remember being very amazed to see American soldiers playing Hwatu during joint ROK-US training.
"Have you ever tried it before?"
"No, this is my first time."
"is it so? It looked so familiar that I thought you had tried it a few times."
Even when I was in Korea, I've never had Peking Duck. That's because it's not usually expensive.
Still, I had seen a scene of eating Peking duck on TV, so I followed what I remembered and it seems to have been the norm.
While drinking tea after the meal, Chiang Kai-shek subtly appealed to me that Germany's help was needed.
The United States is providing enormous aid to China even after the war in order to keep China on its side, but it is only providing non-combat materials such as food, fuel, and medicine.
Chiang Kai-shek, who was considering conquering Mongolia, asked if he could also give weapons to the United States, but the answer he received was why it was necessary.
The United States, unaware of Chiang Kai-shek's plan, did not feel the need to give China any more weapons, and that was actually correct.
What reason does China have for war? If the Communist Party had been alive, they would have definitely distributed weapons, but the Chinese Communist Party has long since been destroyed.
Therefore, the United States had no reason or need to give weapons to China.
"Aren't there still a lot of weapons given by the United States left in China? "Even though its performance is mediocre, I understand that there are quite a few weapons left behind by the Japanese military."
"That is correct. However, it is very difficult to make the National Revolutionary Army a world power like this. It is a shame, but China does not yet have the ability to develop its own weapons... … So, it would be nice if Germany would sell some weapons. Hehehe."
It was really disgusting that even though he knew that, he couldn't give up on conquering Mongolia. It's like a friend who only knows one thing but doesn't know the other.
Still, I answered that I would consider it positively because it was a proposal with nothing to lose from Germany's perspective.
It is obvious what they will do with the weapons imported from Germany, but if Germany monopolizes China's weapons development in the future, it will be able to gain enormous economic benefits.
I'm a little worried that the United States is asking us if we instigated the invasion of Mongolia, but if they accuse us of only selling weapons and knowing nothing about it, there's nothing the United States can do either.
Even though it's suspicious, they won't do something crazy like start a war just because of Mongolia.
***
When leaving China, a warship was used instead of a private plane.
This is because Leder strongly argued that this opportunity should be used to show the might of the German Navy in Asia.
Although he said there was no need to worry, he sent the Bismarck battleship and frigates to China.
"But doesn't it look much more dignified to go on a battleship than on a private plane?"
"That's right. I think getting off a battleship will enhance your dignity more than getting off a runway."
"Then what… … ."
In fact, from the perspective of onlookers, the battleship is much more interesting to see than the transport plane, and it will be remembered for a long time.
Since it was impossible to send back a battleship that had already arrived in China, we boarded the battleship without saying anything.
"We will take you safely to ensure a comfortable trip!"
Lindemann, whom I met after a long time, had been promoted to vice admiral while I had not seen him before. He was the most senior officer in the Navy who would be responsible for the remainder of the journey.
"I don't know if I took the admiral's room for no reason."
"What are you saying! I don't know if the room is too narrow and uncomfortable for His Excellency the President to use."
"I'm done flattering you. I once spent over a month in a trench filled with mud and muddy water, but this is a hotel. "It was 30 years ago, though."
Bismarck, accompanied by frigates, left Shanghai Port.
Towards the final destination of this journey.
***
As Japan declared unconditional surrender on June 25, 1944, Korea, which had been under Japanese occupation for 35 years, was finally liberated.
On the day of surrender, when the emperor's ceremonial broadcast echoed throughout mainland Japan and Asia, Korea was quiet. The fact that Japan's 35-year rule ended overnight felt like a foreign matter to Koreans.
Suspicious that it might be a ploy by Japan to weed out subversive elements and anxious that Japan might do something after losing the war, people continued their daily lives as usual.
However, a day later, shouts of independence rang out throughout the Korean Peninsula.
"Long live Korean independence!!"
"Long live independence!!"
"Finally, finally!!!"
Everyone, regardless of gender or age, was truly happy about the long-awaited liberation.
The independence activists who had been captured were also released, and the police officers and military police, who were always in high spirits, were now busy watching the colonial people they had looked down on.
"Liberation has really come... … ."
"I can't believe I get to see liberation in my lifetime…" … ."
"Even the police officers who didn't know how high the sky was were stunned."
"So, I mean. Gogo is truly refreshing inside."
After Japan's declaration of surrender, U.S. troops stationed on the Korean Peninsula to disarm the Japanese army supported the establishment of a new Korean government in accordance with the White House's policy.
In history, the Soviet Union, which divided and occupied the Korean Peninsula along with the United States, collapsed before Japan, so it was entirely up to the United States to occupy the entire Korean Peninsula. Naturally, the position of independence activists active in the United States in the new government of the Republic of Korea was bound to increase. There was no.
It was for this reason that Syngman Rhee, who was active in the United States and played a role in informing the U.S. government of public opinion about Korea's independence, became Korea's first president in the United States.
The fact that there are no famous figures surpassing him at home or abroad, on the left or right, also played a big role in his election to the presidency.
"Oh, Woonam hyung. "Why are you so upset these days?"
Kim Gu, who led the provisional government in Chongqing, China and became vice president of the Republic of Korea established after liberation, asked vaguely.
In response to Kim Gu's question, Syngman Rhee stopped bringing the yakgwa to his mouth and immediately sighed.
"Look, Baekbeom. "I still don't think it's right to bring Hitler into this country."
Syngman Rhee, who studied abroad in the United States and worked mainly in the United States throughout the Japanese colonial period, could never look favorably on Nazi Germany, which was in the exact opposite position of the United States and had even fought a war with the United States.
Kim Gu tilted his head as if he could not understand Syngman Rhee.
"Why do you think that? It's not normal for a big guy like Hitler to come. Rather, shouldn't we be happy that the world's attention will be focused on Korea?"
When Hitler announced his visit to Korea, Korea was thrown into a crucible of excitement.
The President of the United States has never been to Korea, and the German Fuhrer Hitler, who is not from another country, is coming to Korea!
Who is Hitler? Isn't he a prophet who became famous throughout the world through Mein Kampf and a conqueror who succeeded in unifying Europe, something no one else in human history has ever done?
Even if you don't know where Germany is, Hitler was such a widely known figure in Korea that no one knows his name. So he visits a small and unremarkable country that has just become independent.
As soon as the news that Hitler was coming to Korea became known, Korea began preparing to welcome Hitler.
However, even though Hitler's request to visit Korea was approved, a part of Syngman Rhee still felt uneasy.
"Are you doing this because you want the United States?"
Kim Gu, who knew Syngman Rhee's tendencies well, hinted.
Syngman Rhee's secret reluctance to allow Hitler to visit Korea was also due to the United States. Syngman Rhee, who worked in the United States and wants to create a 'small America' in the Far East using the United States as a role model, might be viewed strangely by Hitler's visit in the United States. I was concerned.
The United States did not put any brakes on Hitler's visit to Korea, but it was clear that it was watching the Syngman Rhee administration closely in the future.
It was an embarrassing situation for Syngman Rhee, who was heavily dependent on aid materials sent by the United States as the country's finances were not sufficient.
"As my sisters and I tell you, the country we should always be close to is the United States. "The path that America takes is the path that Korea must take."
"No problem. "Who in this country would quibble with that?"
"Um, um. That's right. cancer."
Communists who believed that the Soviet Union, not the United States, should be the role model for independent Joseon had long lost their power in liberated Korea.
As the Soviet Union and Japan maintained a close relationship, Japan lowered the level of repression against communists in colonial Joseon, but paradoxically, this led to communists losing support.
When the Soviet Union, who thought it was fighting for the liberation and freedom of the world's people, joined hands with the imperialist oppressor Japan, communists who had believed that the Soviet Union would defeat Japan and liberate Joseon were shocked.
Naturally, public sentiment left the Communist Party and focused on the United States, which was at war with Japan, and Syngman Rhee, who was supported by the United States.
"But there is one thing that I cannot understand."
"What is that?"
"Why does Hitler want to come to Korea?"
Syngman Rhee could not understand why a big man like Hitler would come to this small, insignificant country.
"Isn't it because the first lady was from the same country as Hitler?"
Syngman Rhee's wife, Francesca Donner, was from Austria, like Hitler.
Therefore, there was a joke going around that the reason for Hitler's visit to Korea was because he felt a sense of kinship with the First Lady because she was from the same country.
"Hey man, don't say anything that doesn't make sense."
"I made a joke once, but you still do it with a straight face."