Chapter 512: There’s No Need for Pride

A private jet descended at the Beijing airport in China.

"Every time I come here, I just can't seem to adjust."

I grimaced at the putrid smell that assaulted my nose. From the moment I stepped off the plane, the air felt different.

Someone from the Chinese government was waiting for us at the airport.

"Mr. Kim Mu-hyeok?"

"Yes, that's me."

"Nice to meet you. I'm Wei Dabao from the Prime Minister's Secretarial Office. The Prime Minister has instructed me to bring you in."

I nodded and followed Wei Dabao.

Instead of heading towards downtown Beijing, the car drove out towards the outskirts.

"Where are we going?"

"To a secret villa."

"Hmm…"

So, what I'm about to hear is something that can't be discussed in a formal setting.

After quite a drive, we arrived at a place guarded by soldiers right at the front gate.

Wei Dabao rolled down the window and issued a brief command to the soldier.

"Open up."

"Yes!"

The soldiers removed the barricades and opened the firmly shut entrance.

Once more, the vehicle moved, and we soon arrived at a villa built in French style.

Wei Dabao was the first to alight, opening the car door for me.

"This is as far as I go. Everyone is waiting for you inside."

"Everyone? I thought I was only meeting Prime Minister Wen Jiabao?"

"..."

He didn't answer my question, just stood there silently while I glared at him as I got out of the car.

"You'll find out once you head in. That's all I can say."

In the end, Wei Dabao didn't provide a clear answer, merely opening the door to the villa.

I entered the villa with Manager Ma.

"Welcome!"

An elderly man with a kind face welcomed me.

"I will escort you. Your aide can follow that person."

I nodded at Manager Ma, who bowed slightly before following a young man.

"This way, please. I advise you to think twice or thrice before speaking inside."

"Besides Prime Minister Wen Jiabao, who else will be there?"

"...The people who run this country."

From his words, I could roughly guess who was present.

If it's the people who run China, it must include Jiang Zemin and Hu Jintao, along with the elders.

If the elders didn't come personally, it might be someone from the Princelings.

But looking at the age and demeanor of this man, who seemed to be an aide, it felt like the elders had taken direct action.

I slowly ascended the circular staircase and arrived on this floor.

There was a large door guarded by two robust men.

The men's gazes were intense. Though they wore suits, their sharp eyes and strong physiques could not be hidden.

I never expected them to station soldiers here.

"I will need to search you briefly."

I nodded, raising both hands obediently. They searched my body meticulously for a long time.

Once they completed the search, the soldiers stepped back and handed me a small basket containing a pouch.

"Please leave your phone here."

I placed my phone into the pouch in the basket.

Only then did they swing open the heavily locked doors.

I stepped inside slowly.

At a large round table sat Jiang Zemin, Hu Jintao, and Prime Minister Wen Jiabao.

But the three weren't the only ones present. Eight elder men, presumably senior officials, were seated as well.

As I tried to make out who was who among the elders, Wen Jiabao stood up and approached me.

"Mr. Kim Mu-hyeok, welcome!"

Wen Jiabao greeted me with open arms. I returned his hug lightly.

"I know you're surprised. However, the people here want to meet you to make their decisions about you."

"I did feel a bit surprised. I thought it was just going to be a one-on-one talk. I figured it wouldn't be something to discuss publicly, so at most, I assumed I'd only meet Chairman Hu Jintao."

"That was the original plan. However, this matter isn't for Chairman Hu alone to decide. Kim Jong-il, under our shadow, has been acting on his own without permission. A person who can't be controlled is no longer needed."

With those chilling words, Wen Jiabao finished the embrace and led me to the round table.

He then introduced each person sitting there one by one.

Passing the elders, I finally met Jiang Zemin face to face for the first time.

"Mr. Kim, welcome. I've heard a lot about you, but this is our first time meeting in person. I'm Jiang Zemin."

"Yes, it's a pleasure to meet you, Chairman Jiang Zemin."

"Haha! It's been ages since I stepped down from the chairmanship; you still call me Chairman?"

Though he said that, Jiang Zemin laughed heartily as if he liked the title.

His chubby cheeks shook whenever he laughed.

His eyes, concealed behind glasses, shone with a greedy light that couldn't be hidden.

"You're still the Chairman of the Military Commission, aren't you? Plus, I have no other way to refer to you."

"Let's sort out the titles later; for now, please take a seat."

I approached slowly and sat down in the empty chair.

The round table was large enough that I could see everyone's faces. The elders' expressions only reflected curiosity aimed at me.

"I heard you have some matters to discuss with Wen Jiabao regarding North Korea's nuclear tests."

Jiang Zemin was the first to ask a question. The fact that he, not the current Chairman Hu Jintao, asked first indicated an intention to show the political power structure clearly.

I took a moment to gather my thoughts before speaking.

"That's correct."

"Mr. Kim Mu-hyeok, you're a businessman, aren't you?"

"That's right. However, I'm here to negotiate on behalf of the U.S. and South Korean governments with China. This is unofficial, of course."

"On behalf of the U.S. and South Korea? Do you really have the qualifications for that?"

Jiang Zemin asked with a look of surprise, as if he was subtly belittling my status as a businessman.

"What do you mean by qualifications?"

"Regardless of what decision is made here, will the U.S. and South Korea acknowledge it?"

I shook my head in response to Jiang Zemin's question.

"The enactment of decisions and subsequent agreements will be made by the respective governments. I'm here to find advantageous points for both sides before the main negotiations begin. Following this meeting, I have another scheduled meeting with Russia."

Naturally, I couldn't make any decisions. I was only here to facilitate discussions.

"Hmm."

Jiang Zemin stroked his chin while observing me, and then Hu Jintao followed up with a question.

"What exactly are you trying to coordinate in advance? Did you visit because of the sanctions against North Korea? Or could it be that the U.S. is considering a war against North Korea?"

"...War? War? I didn't expect to hear about war here too, especially after the U.S. casually throws around the term. Are we seriously talking about war here? Seems like everyone's obsessed with it right now."

"Well, it is the U.S. we're talking about. They've been run by war-hungry folks lately, haven't they?"

"It's not quite like that. The U.S. only engages in wars that are absolutely necessary."

In response, Jiang Zemin scoffed softly.

"What do you mean, 'not quite like that'? Come on, Mr. Kim Mu-hyeok, just look at the wars the U.S. has started in recent years. They not only toppled the Taliban regime in Afghanistan but also destroyed the legitimacy of Hussein in Iraq. So do you seriously think they aren't war-crazy?"

"Even so, I've heard they aren't planning for a war right now."

I calmly denied it, yet Jiang Zemin remained openly skeptical.

"Can you genuinely believe that? If North Korea is invaded, China will be automatically involved."

"Are you serious?"

"China and North Korea are allies. If an ally is invaded, intervening is only natural. Am I wrong?"

I surveyed the faces of the others in the room. Most were nodding in agreement with Jiang Zemin's view.

"Are you saying you will go to war with the U.S.?"

"What can't we do?"

"Can I speak honestly?"

"Honestly? What do you have to say? Go ahead."

With Jiang Zemin's permission granted, it was time to poke gently at a sensitive point.

"No matter how powerful a nation China may be, if the U.S. decides to go to war, it wouldn't take them a month to utterly defeat China."

"What!"

All the others at the table glared at me, except for Hu Jintao and Wen Jiabao, who simply remained neutral.

But I didn't stop.

"Don't turn a blind eye. Everyone here knows it too, right? If China and Russia teamed up to fight the U.S., they would still lose."

"We won't lose!"

"Now's not the time for pride. This is the stark truth. Face reality. Although, of course, using nuclear weapons would be a different story."

The mention of nuclear weapons sharpened their expressions.

"I don't want a war. The moment the U.S. invades North Korea, the entire Korean Peninsula will turn into a battlefield. This is my homeland and where I intend to live my life. But the U.S. thinks differently. They don't care about anyone. If they feel threatened, they will crush their enemy without a second thought. From the Cold War until now, you all know how they've dealt with adversaries better than anyone, right?"

"We're armed with nuclear weapons too."

Jiang Zemin said firmly. I raised an eyebrow and stared at him directly.

"You're talking about using nuclear weapons because North Korea is attacked? The moment nuclear weapons are used, it's mutual destruction."

"..."

"Nuclear weapons lose their effectiveness the moment they are used. Both China and Russia will refrain from using them because there's an underlying belief that the U.S. doesn't see them as threats. But Kim Jong-il is different. He's the type who might actually use them. The U.S. wants to eliminate the threat before North Korea fully develops its nuclear capabilities and intercontinental ballistic missiles."

Silence fell over the meeting room. A few muted gasps broke the quiet.

"You all know this, right? The U.S. isn't really war-hungry. For the first time since its founding, U.S. soil was attacked. By a mere terrorist organization." The giant named America got slapped in the face by David, a.k.a. Osama bin Laden.

Despite their glares, no one interrupted my speech.

"So from the perspective of the U.S., North Korea is a thorn in their side. Once the nuclear and missile projects come to fruition, it will pose a direct threat to U.S. security. They may try to overlook it this time, but the U.S. will eventually invade North Korea. Or they might even execute a decapitation strike against Kim Jong-il."

Everyone gathered here probably already knows about this.

If a war breaks out between China and the U.S., it's a given that the U.S. would come out on top.

Thus, there's not much that China can do. It's either mutual destruction with nuclear weapons or surrender, and…

"Currently, the U.S. hopes the United Nations Security Council approves strong sanctions. If they get support from China and Russia, they can force other countries to comply as well. That's why I'm here unofficially on behalf of the U.S."

I finished speaking and adjusted my sitting posture. The vast conference room fell into silence.

The first to break that silence was Li Peng, one of the elders.

Li Peng was the son of Li Yanshun, an early leader of the Chinese Communist Party.

After being executed, he was adopted by Zhou Enlai as a son and served as Prime Minister from 1988 to 1998 under Deng Xiaoping.

His appointment during the later part of Deng Xiaoping's reign and holding on to the position through Jiang Zemin's first term indicated his significant influence.

"Hey there, young businessman."

"Yes, Prime Minister Li Peng."

"We're not afraid of war. We resisted the Kuomintang's tyranny at the end of the Long March; do you think the U.S. is any different?"

"..."

"But that doesn't mean we want a war."

I couldn't help but smirk inwardly at Li Peng's unwavering pride as I responded.

"Yes, which is why I'm asking for your support for the sanctions rather than war."

"Are you aware of the proposed sanctions by the U.S.?"

Li Peng was known as the butcher of Beijing for his hardline stance.

He led the suppression of Tibetans during the Tiananmen Square crackdown without Deng Xiaoping's approval, crushing the protestors based on the elders' will.

Understanding his hardline stance, it was reassuring to hear him express a desire to avoid war.

"It's about completely blockading North Korea."

"A complete blockade?"

"Yes. No ship can enter or exit North Korea, nor can any vehicle enter or exit."

"Isn't that… a plan to starve North Korea to death?"

If these sanctions are implemented, all supplies to North Korea will cease.

An economy already devastated would be brought to its knees.