21st Century Goguryeo

Season 2 Book 20, Shadow of war - 4-1 Disputes.

January 11th, 2024, 10:00 (New China Time: 09:00)

Outskirts of Langfang City, Hebei Province, New China (temporary residence of the Central Military Headquarters)

Due to the severe communication problems, the general staff was forced to send soldiers directly to all subordinate units to deliver orders and obtain information.

However, there have been several irreversible accidents for the general staff in the last few days because of the lack of communication.

Several front-line combat units, which had not received orders for three days due to the communication breakdown, used defensive tactics to block the aggressively converted South Korean forces by using the people as a shield.

Even though they were citizens of the enemy's country, some South Korean soldiers were unable to launch a passive offensive and preferred to withdraw from the fighting zone. However, not all frontline units were thinking the same way. The units that were heavily damaged by the plasma bomb attacks, such as the 6th Mechanized Infantry Division (Cheongseong), launched an aggressive offensive, whether out of vengeance for their comrades or the commander's strong spirit. As a result, the sacrifices of the people who had become a shield in the fighting area were great.

As these things happened simultaneously everywhere, complaints from victims, their families, and other people who heard the news piled up and finally erupted last night. People's dissatisfaction had turned into anger, which erupted all at once, resulting in demonstrations. The issue here was that the protesters' targets of rage were the New China Army rather than the Korean Army.

This was because the New China Army was using the people as a shield rather than protecting them. They were only concerned about their own safety.

Ironically, these protests arose from resentment towards their own troops. This resentment also spread to the international community, who criticized and mocked the army for using their own people as a shield.

The protests in the war zone gradually spread across the country, and as many as 50,000 protesters flocked to the temporary residence of the Central Military Headquarters.

"Go away! Go away! The party and Army that treated their people like dogs, step down!"

When the protesters who were wearing masks and holding various signs rushed into the temporary residence's main gate, medium-sized guards armed with QBZ-95G rifles stepped forward to block them.

Among the guards who were blocking the demonstrator's path, an officer stepped forward.

"Stop! Stop the protests! How dare you protest? I'll fire at you if you take one more step."

The officer, who took out the QBZ-92 pistol from the holster on his waist and spoke arrogantly, was the chief guard of the Central Military District Command, Feng Zhenyu.

This was when the problem occurred. The protesters who were in the lead stopped walking because they had seen the soldiers who were holding their guns and blocking them, but the tens of thousands of protesters who followed were unaware of that and began to push the people in front of them, causing the protesters to advance as a whole.

"Calm down! Don't push! There are soldiers in front of us that blocking our way."

"Stop moving! Stop moving! People in the back, stop moving!"

"Why aren't you moving? Keep going. Keep going."

"Let's go! Let's show them our power!"

Yelling erupted among the protesters. They were, however, unable to stop. The front row of protesters persisted, and the entire protest group moved forward as if they were marching again.

<Tang!>

Colonel Feng Zhenyu mercilessly pressed the trigger against the man in front of him and the man who now had a hole in the middle of his forehead, collapsed.

"Kiyak!"

"Argh!"

"Run away!"

"Soldiers are shooting at us. Run away."

The protesters were startled by the sound of gunfire and began to flee in all directions, while Colonel Feng Zhenyu raised his left hand and quickly made a shooting gesture.

As a result, the guards, who had been waiting in line in a shooting position for quite some time, began firing at the same time.

<Tang! Tatatatang! Tatatang! Tatatang!>

The shooting continued for a while. After some time, the colonel, Feng Zhenyu, raised his hand. Then the gunfire, which seemed as if it would never end, stopped.

The road around the temporary residence's main gate had turned into a literal sea of blood. The 50,000 protesters vanished, leaving behind only hundreds of collapsed bodies.

"It smells."

Colonel Feng Zhenyu, who wrapped his nose with a handkerchief because of the bloody smell, instructed his lieutenant on a few things with an indifferent look and entered the camp. After a while, several transport trucks arrived, and the lieutenant gestured for the guards to load the bodies into them. In response, the guards put their guns on their shoulders and threw the bodies into the loading boxes. Even though some people were still moaning, they threw them randomly over the stacked bodies as if those that were injured were bothering them.

It proved how little regard they had for the people's human rights.

<Click! Click! Click!>

The sound of a camera shutter repeatedly sounded somewhere in the distance. On a small mountain ridge one kilometer away from where the current events occurred, someone was lying close to the ground and capturing all of this with a camera that had a telephoto lens.

* * *

January 11th, 2024, 22:00

Shinchitose Airport, Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan

About 150 military carriers landed at Shinchitose Airport the previous morning. These military carriers opened their rear hatches in the loading area, and various tanks, armored vehicles, and vehicles were loaded.

According to the soldier's instructions, the military carriers' planes, which were fully loaded with various heavy equipment up to their maximum take-off weight, moved to the take-off waiting area.

"Just like this!"

When the transport team leader guided the transport process with his nightsticks that he held in both hands, the C-3A2 White Tiger tank with a gorgeous dragon, the division mark of the 3rd Marine Corps Division, moved along the hatch platform while floating 30 centimeters off the floor thanks to the hover system.

"Yes, that's great. Just like this! Slowly. Slowly!"

When the C-3A2 White Tiger tank landed safely in the transport plane's cargo compartment, the transport leader immediately made an X-shape with his night sticks. As a result, the C-3A2 White Tiger tank came to a halt and landed on the floor. The operating soldiers who were waiting next to it then attached the binding and fixed safety devices as soon as the engine was turned off.

"The Two front parts are tied up! Safety device is installed!"

"The two rear parts are tied up! Safety device is installed!"

As the operational soldiers continued to report, the hatch of the White Tiger tank opened, and sergeant Kim Kyung-soon came out from the cockpit and politely greeted the transport team leader.

"Thank you for your hard work."

"No. It is not that big a deal; just take care of yourself there."

The transport team leader, who appeared to be in his mid-forties, spoke in a Gyeongsang-do dialect.

"Yes, I will be careful. Haha, then I'll get going now. Salute!"

"Salute!"

During the First Northeast Asian War, sergeant Kim Kyung-soon served as a tank driver on various battlefields. At the time of discharge after the war, the Ministry of National Defense promoted a project to trial-train all troops of the Third Marine Corps East Division (Hwaryong). As a result, he received an application for long-term active-duty service.

The conditions were great.

The retirement age was guaranteed, and the two-year military service period was calculated, allowing him to be recognized as a sergeant of the third degree in addition to the 10 million won he would receive as a non-commissioned officer.

Nothing could be any better. He would be able to get a job in the military at the age of 23, and his salary as a non-commissioned officer was comparable to that of a large corporation.

Therefore, without any hesitation, Sergeant Kim Kyung-soon applied for the long-term service, and three years later, he was promoted to sergeant, and he is now working hard as a tank driver in the existing unit.

The reason for the Ministry of National Defense launching the Third Marine Corps East Division (Hwaryong) project on a trial basis was to deal with all troops of the rank of non-commissioned officer or above.

As time passed, expensive equipment incorporating cutting-edge technology became popular, and armored units were forced to operate equipment that demanded professional skills to an extent unmatched in the past.

For example, in the case of an upgraded C-3A2 white tiger tank, a hover engine is installed to enable it to float around the ground, unlike previously when it was caterpillar-powered. In other words, it was similar to being an airplane pilot in some ways.

Although it is a simple flying technology, tank control requires skills unrivaled in the past, so the project focused on active soldiers at the level of non-commissioned officers who had served for a long time rather than active soldiers who had only been serving for two years. Furthermore, officers must serve in the division for five years before being transferred to other units. As a result, Major General Jo Gyu-hong, who commanded the division three years ago, remained in command of the Third Marine Corps East Division (Hwarong).

Three years later, the Third Marine Corps East Division (Hwaryong), which was completely organized at the non-commissioned officer level or higher, had surpassed the 20th Armored Division, which had been called the world's strongest power.

They were executives above the level of non-commissioned officers with more skills than any other unit, and they also used the most advanced equipment. Finally, it was the Marine Corps who was known to be so tough that they could even catch ghosts.

The loading process was finished with the White Tiger tank controlled by Sergeant Kim Byung-soon. Meanwhile, in the boarding area, marines of the rank of non-commissioned officers or above from Third Marine Corps East Division (Hwarong) were boarding the military carrier through the platform passage, carrying heavy armor that appeared heavy just by looking at it.

There seemed to be 3,400 marines from the First and Third Marine Corps East Division (Hwarong) who had left two days earlier. They were divided into seven CC-503 military carriers of the large class, each carrying 500 people. In addition to the military carriers that were loaded with various heavy equipment. They were speeding up and flying into the sky for 30 minutes.

* * *

January 12th, 2024, 02:00 (New China time: 01:00)

The border area of Honghu City, Hubei Province, New China

A group that consisted of about 50 people moved quietly, relying on the moonlight. They carefully stepped on the night dew while following a young man's instructions, which were given through gestures rather than words. They were just on the outskirts of the southwest end of Honghu, where the Changgang River, which is used as a canal, flows.

It was only 400 kilometers away from Chongqing, where the three-year civil war with the Republic of China took place. Since one month ago, the border controls between the two countries have loosened quite a bit.

The reason for this was that when the war with the Republic of Korea re-emerged, the General Staff deployed border guard troops to the battlefield. As a result, the guard post, which used to be 100 meters apart, could now be found after every one kilometer.

"Everyone, be quiet! Sit down."

The young man, who spoke to the people following him in hushed tones and gestured with his hand, thrust his face through the reed forest and looked left and right along the Yangtze River.

They were exactly in the middle of the guard posts. In other words, it was exactly 500 meters away from the guard posts on the left and right.

The young man turned around and approached the people who were staring at him and whispered to them.

"It's important from now on, so listen carefully. Although it's winter, the ice hasn't completely frozen yet. Therefore, you'll need to be mentally prepared before crossing the river. We'll be swimming to the island in the middle. The distance will be approximately 650 meters. You all know that, right?

"Yes."

"Yes, yes."

At this moment, a woman in her fifties raised her hand and asked a question.

"I'm not good at swimming. Will it be okay?"

"Did you bring your tube?"

"Yes, I brought it."

The woman took out from her bag a tube that was meant for the beach.

"Inflate it. Hurry! We don't have much time."

"Okay."

As soon as she replied, she placed her mouth on the tube and began blowing into it.

"Please excuse me! Is this road really safe, Jeong-gwang?"

A man in the back asked.

"This is the safest route I know, so don't be impatient."

This young man, called Jeong-gwang, is of Korean-Chinese origin and was once famous as a broker specializing in North Korean defectors. He was now working as a broker helping those trying to illegally cross the border into the Republic of China.