Dear Comrade

Chapter 14. A butterfly flapping its wings could trigger a nuclear storm on the opposite continent. (6)

Chapter 14. A butterfly flapping its wings could trigger a nuclear storm on the opposite continent. (6)

– Kiichi Miyazawa resigns as general manager! Responsible for the transfer of undisclosed shares… Recruit scandal, how far does it go? The public’s gaze turned to Prime Minister Takeshita.

“Take responsibility…. If you say toge-ja on a heated iron plate, how many people will believe it in this Japanese political arena?”

Watching the subtitles on the NHK breaking news, Minister Eiichi Nakao mumbled so cynically.

On TV, many politicians, including the current Minister of the Interior, were nodding their heads, but Nakao was a person who had already rolled enough to be deceived by such an act.

They resign for a while now and pretend to apologize, but the big players will soon return to their original positions in a few years.

The public has a bad memory, but by his standards, the Japanese public especially has a worse memory.

Besides, it’s even more so in the bubble period when everyone is preoccupied with making money like these days.

‘If I could sum up the current Japanese politics in one word, it would be ‘irresponsibility’. Politics where no one is responsible. Well, I’m not a very clean person either.’

Perhaps that is a common characteristic of not only Japan but also democracies, or maybe it is just a limitation of the democracy itself, Nakao thought.

Just by looking at President Reagan, who had just stepped down, the world knew that the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) under his control was responsible for trying to overthrow the Latin American regime with the money it earned from selling weapons to Iran.

In the process, massive amounts of cocaine flowed through Mexico into the native United States, and the slums (filled with blacks and Hispanics) became drug-drenched, and officials consistently stated that Reagan knew everything and pretended not to know.

Despite this, Reagan was re-elected and gracefully out of office, and the Republican Party remained in power as his successor, George Herbert Walker Bush, took office not long ago.

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Nakao thought for a moment that it would be better for Japan to put away democracy (which he did not want very much in the first place) and to adopt a collective leadership system of elites like China and Singapore, who are Asians, because seeing such a state of affairs in the United States, a country at the forefront of democracy.

‘It reminds me of the collective leadership system. The young man must have made the right choice, didn’t he?’

It’s a relationship I’ll have to use more often in the future, but I thought it might have been a little tough last time, but Nakao thought relaxedly that it would work out in the end.

Even though Jung Hwan was the head of a country, he was the world’s second-largest economy and the closest politician to the position of prime minister in Japan, a hegemonic power in East Asia with credible speculation that he might overtake the United States in the future. .

On the other hand, Jeong-hwan’s North Korea is now a poor and closed country on the edge of the world, located at the bottom of the declining socialist camp.

A chicken’s head and a dragon’s tail can’t be treated the same.

At that time, the secretary’s office announced an unexpected guest visit.

“Minister Nakao, you have a visitor.”

“Who is it at this hour? I know there are no such visits on today’s schedule… If it’s not a big deal, I’ll send it back.”

“that is…….”

Hearing the name from the secretary’s office, Nakao stiffened in shock for a moment.

It was a name I had heard many times already, and I knew he was coming to Japan because of an investment problem, but why the hell does he come to him without notice?

Anyway, the opponent wasn’t just a dumbass.

Politicians don’t miss the opportunity to shake hands, take pictures, blow business cards, and expand their personal connections.

After adjusting his clothes for a while, Nakao called the secretary’s office to notify him.

“Let me in.”

Then the door opened and a white, middle-aged man in his 50s with sparse gray hair and glasses came in.

It was a face he had only seen in photos, but Nakao, a reader of the Nihon Keizai Shimbun, quickly recognized the genius of the world-class fund.

“Secretary Nakao, I think the first thing to do is to apologize for the sudden visit. I heard you can speak English…”

“Heh heh, yes. However, the family name is a bit unusual, so I don’t know if I can pronounce it properly. So… Schwarz…?”

“Haha, just call me George. All my friends call me that. In fact, the reason I suddenly visited the Minister today is because of a new friend I made recently.”

Seeing George approaching first with a friendly smile, Nakao smiled inwardly with a smile of conversion.

Even if you don’t know who that friend is, if you can establish a connection with such a global investor, it will be of great help to your political journey in the future.

Jeonghwan is of course a friend he needs in many ways, but since it is not a relationship that Yangji can show off, he had no choice but to lean towards George.

So the next moment, when a completely unexpected name came out of George’s mouth, Nakao’s surprise was even greater.

“My friend is Kim. In fact, the reason why we call him a friend is because he is the head of state in a country. Although he is much younger than me, the distribution is large, so even a hedge fund manager like me is treated as a friend.”

“…that friend named Kim… George, are you saying that’s why you’re here?”

“Yes, the minister is making a serious mistake, and he told me to remind him. The phone should come by now… Ah! You are here.”

When George handed the phone, Nakao stiffened his face and took the call.

The main character of the voice heard from the cell phone was the general secretary of the young Kitajosen, whom he had been having a tale with recently.

– Looks like George has reached that side. Even if you’re not a Japanese kidnapped from North Korea, isn’t it a pretty good gift, Minister Nakao?

“……you…how did you make friends with such an international tycoon…”

– Let’s just say it’s an investment issue. Rather, there must be one document that George will hand over, and after seeing it, my position on the last matter will be clear. I’m sure the Minister’s thoughts will open up a bit.

“……”

As Nakao looked at George, George took out several papers from his pocket and handed it to Nakao as if waiting.

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Nakao narrowed his eyes as he looked at the paperwork with numbers and English letters in it.

What does this mean?

– This is the next portfolio of the Quantum Fund managed by George. If you look at the underlined part, you can see how much he was betting on the Nikkei stock index crash.

“………………”

As Junghwan said, Nakao had to open his eyes wide after checking the part.

He hurriedly turned to look at George, and George shrugged as if it was true.

“Is this what…?”

“This is a serious diagnosis for me as a fund manager. Minister. Going forward, I can confidently say that the Nikkei will plummet within three years. With the Japanese economy, of course.”

“……It’s ridiculous. If you look at the stock price right now…..all the experts…!!”

“Believe it or not, the Minister is free, but as you can see, I and General Secretary Kim Jeong-hwan bet on the bet that Japan’s good days won’t last very long. I heard that the Minister is going to run for prime minister this time, well, I want to stop. Even in the original financial world, there are countless cases in which seemingly attractive stocks actually lead to career suicide.”

“………………”

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Nakao held the papers in his hand for a moment and thought over and over again.

Should I believe this?

Japan’s economic boom, which is currently enjoying its best heyday, will disappear like a mirage in three years?

But the person in front of you right now is clearly one of the best investors of our time.

Since such a person has nothing to do, there is no reason to come to the minister’s office to do farmland work.

Even walking with your own money.

A moment of agony, like death, followed, but Nakao made a difficult choice.

He may have been an arrogant, old-fashioned, and greedy old man, but he was not a fool or a person who could only see his immediate interests.

At least I’m not stupid enough to turn away when someone hits reality in front of me.

“……You certainly have sent a good messenger. You succeeded in changing my mind. Let’s take a step back from this faction meeting. It seems that I have no ties to the position of prime minister yet.”

– It is a prudent yet wise choice. We will solve the abductee issue later. Just in case, you don’t want to tell the public about this, do you?

At Jeonghwan’s light question, Nakao burst into laughter.

It was a laughter that was a mixture of cynicism and distrust, lack of energy and denial of reality.

“In this situation, even if I tell you this, how many people will believe it? I don’t know if you think that I have to give up my seat because I have dementia. Japanese people are voters who hate anxiety and unpredictability. It is a realistic choice for politicians to keep dreaming, even if it’s just a nightmare.”

“Not only in Japan, but in the United States as well. That is why psychology, philosophy, and the humanities occupy one place in market forecasting techniques.”

George, who was listening next to him, spread his palms with an expression of ‘All humans are like that’, and Junghwan felt that he had now finished one case.

But before hanging up, I had one last thing to say to Nakao.

It has been a problem that has bothered me since last time, and now seems to be a good time to solve it.

– The Japanese have chosen politicians well. Oh, and one more word before we hang up, Minister Nakao.

“…………Something?”

– When calling me in the future, please be polite by attaching the title of ‘General Secretary’, Minister Eiichi Nakao. Got it?

“…………!”

At Jeonghwan’s quiet but obvious pressure, Nakao narrowed his forehead vertically.

However, this case has already ended in his own defeat, and it is clearly revealed that he misjudged Jeonghwan’s abilities.

With this incident as an opportunity, Jung-hwan will spur the movement of his assets in Japan, and the more Nakao can press Jeong-hwan, the fewer cards he can get.

However, in order to resolve the issue of Japanese abducted from North Korea in the future, Nakao had to maintain a relationship with Jeong-hwan, and Jung-hwan, who now takes the lead in the relationship, clearly has the upper hand.

Jeonghwan, who has no regrets now, cuts off the connection with Nakao here, but it doesn’t hurt or itchy, but that’s not what Nakao is.

Even now, he could make a move, such as telling the Cabinet Intelligence Investigation Office to seize Jeong-hwan’s Japanese assets, but for that, Nakao’s ambition to become the Prime Minister was too great.

Once the judgment was over, the action was swift.

In that respect, Minister Eiichi Nakao was truly a politician.

“….Moshiwake Gozaimasen (申shi訳ございません: I’m really sorry, the highest level of apology in Japanese), General Secretary Kim. I have made a huge mistake in the meantime. Please forgive me broadly, and I beg you to maintain a good relationship with me in the future.”

– That’s right, Minister Nakao. I ask that you continue to be a bridge between the Republic of Korea and Japan. Because we need each other in the future. Between countries, between the minister and me.

“……Thank you for your generous disposition, General Secretary Kim.”

– Maybe next time we will see you in the official cross-border diplomacy. Then contact me again. In that case, expect him to show conduct and judgment worthy of the position.

Junghwan just said that and hung up the phone.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the world at that time, another pair of ‘friends’ were being reestablished between people who were completely different from Junghwan, George, and Nakao.

In a tent in a basin in Afghanistan’s mighty mountain range, men in Taqiyah, traditional flat, round hats, were bringing new guests into the camp, carrying Kalashnikov rifles.

The people who parked their camels in the center of the camouflage camouflage and got off their backs in order to avoid the Soviet Hind combat helicopters, called ‘Satan’s carriage’ and feared by the Mujahideen in Afghanistan, were surprisingly rare Asians, to be exact, Chinese. .

Although they must have been traveling for quite some time, it was a Muslim man who seemed to be the leader of this camp who first approached them with a vigilant look on all sides, rather than looking tired.

“Welcome to the sanctuary of the warriors of the Holy War, I am Abdullah Azzam, and that side…”

“You don’t need to know, I won’t tell you. It was purely because of our support that you decided to forsake the CIA line you’ve been working with and cooperate with us, isn’t it? So let’s not waste each other’s time.”

Speaking in Arabic with a Chinese accent, the man soon waved to signal the unloading of weapons and ammunition, including portable surface-to-air missiles loaded into the truck.

Abdullah, of course, the tall young man standing next to him, who looked like his son, seemed offended by the man’s rude tone, but he didn’t show it.

Because what the man said wasn’t wrong.

Soon after, they were led to the tent, sat down, and began to discuss how to deal with a common enemy.

While there was a long discussion about the support plan and its specific implementation, he asked a question as if he remembered the Chinese.

“By the way, when I came here, I found a field of poppies being cultivated by peasants, is it yours?”

“Yes, it is our source of money. Although Allah did not bestow the blessing of oil on this land, He did give us something comparable to it. Blessings that weaken our enemies while at the same time enriching our finances.”

Some of the ‘guests’ frowned at Abdullah Atzam’s proud words, then whispered ‘crazy barbarians’ in Chinese and spat on the ground.

Some of them said something like ‘Wéiwú’ěrzú (Chinese pronunciation of Uyghur),’ and smirked at them.

Of course, Abdullah Assam and the young man behind him could not understand Chinese.

But he wasn’t so ignorant that he didn’t even realize that it was an insult.

“Please understand, we Chinese have bad memories of opium. Especially our Ministry of National Security.”

The Chinese speaking to Abdullah Assam said so as an excuse, as if trying to rectify the situation, but the young man standing behind Abdullah was offended by their rudeness and left the tent without a word.

Before the Chinese could say anything, Abdullah finished the situation first.

“One of my close associates. I was educated in the West and born into a wealthy Saudi family, but I gave it all up and came here to fight the persecution of Islam. I’m a bit shy, so please forgive me.”

“…well, anyway, our Chinese Ministry of National Security will push you. In return for all this support, you have to do one thing: show hell to the Soviets.”

‘Of course it won’t be the only thing in the future,’ the Chinese muttered to himself.

“You also joined hands because you thought it would be better for you to receive the support we are pouring out rather than getting little by little support from the CIA. We are not interested in democracy or freedom, especially in Islam. Just bully the Soviets for sure.”

“…I know that the Chinese have been intervening in the situation in Afghanistan knowingly and unknowingly before because of bad relations with the Soviet Union, but I did not know that they would intervene so directly. May I ask what caused it?”

“Let’s just say the Soviets put shit in our back door. For now, that’s all you need to know.”

“……Hmm, okay. Well, it’s not our case.”

“Anyway, welcome to becoming ‘friends’ with China. There is a Chinese proverb that says, “If you want to start a business, first become friends.” In the future, we will do many good businesses together. Aren’t you looking forward to it?”

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Needless to say, of course, none of the Chinese Ministry of National Security agents present and the Afghan Mujahideen took the word seriously .