Conflict Within the Communist Camp

Zhou Lizhi seemed to have sent a letter to Nanjing over the weekend refusing the guard duty assignment. It apparently wasn’t a direct request from Chiang Kai-shek, as no additional orders strongly demanding Zhou Lizhi’s summons came afterwards.

Something definitely seems to be unfolding chaotically in the Central Plains. If I had a direct way to communicate with the CIA, I could get more information, but given my identity, I have to be careful even about receiving letters from outside, so there’s nothing I can do.

Even if I try to ask Katerfeld something, the situation is awkward since we agreed not to get entangled for the time being… Moreover, since Katerfeld can’t be fully trusted either, it’s difficult to communicate with the outside through her about anything too detailed.

In fact, if I really wanted to communicate with the CIA, there are ways I could do it. However, to deceive the eyes of Chinese intelligence agencies, any letters or packages coming to me must go through Korea at least once. Although it seems the National Intelligence Service has some scheme to turn its back on China and walk a tightrope between the US and China, Korea is still under China’s sphere of influence. Can the NIS be fully trusted? No.

…If there’s someone I could trust on this issue… maybe she’s the only one.

I eventually sought out Catherine Duey again on Sunday and requested a meeting. A French civil servant was the most trustworthy person in this school in the current situation.

Duey responded to my request and came out to the cafeteria cafe. As she sat across from me, she said:

“This is unexpected. I was thinking of calling you again soon too, but I didn’t expect you to ask to see me first.”

“My roommate has caused you trouble in various ways. You weren’t hurt badly, were you?”

“Briar Churchill controlled her strength. Being thrown into the lake was a bit cold, but I got over my anger after seeing you two fall in afterwards. I just thought, ‘Oh, they must like playing in dirty water,’ you know? I can’t be angry at someone who treats themselves and others equally. Liberty, equality, fraternity. That kind of thing.”

“Is that how it works?”

I let out a small laugh as I took a sip of coffee. Catherine Duey tilted her head and looked at me with narrowed eyes.

“By the way, it seems you’ve seduced both Churchill and Zhou… You’re quite a sinful woman too.”

“Is it that obvious?”

“I’d like to say don’t worry, it’s not obvious, but honestly, it’s difficult. Of course, most students don’t know about your relationship with Zhou Lizhi yet. But rumors about your relationship with Churchill have spread everywhere. Well, that’s because you two are so obviously close and showing it off.”

“I can’t help my relationship with Bri. It’s not something I need to hide anyway.”

“Well, it’s not like the sound is coming from the next room, so I suppose it doesn’t matter. But try to refrain from unnecessarily setting the mood and causing a scene by stripping in the library or park. I like expressing desire too, but this is China after all. There’s still Confucian cultural influence, and outdoor play tends to be taboo here.”

“I think that would be taboo anywhere in the world. I’m not saying this because I’m from a Confucian cultural country specifically.”

“That’s true. Even in our country, that’s a bit…”

That’s enough idle talk. There was something I wanted to ask her.

“Lieutenant Duey. I’m still concerned about Colonel Tikhonov’s issue.”

“I’m worried about Barbie’s issue too. But honestly, Lieutenant, it’s not really something you need to worry about so much, is it?”

“Why do you say it’s not an issue I should worry about?”

“Well, although you’ve been appointed as our leader by Zhou Lizhi for now… the fact is that such an order from the Major was decided partly for political reasons. No matter your position as a platoon leader, you’re a civilian. Whether you’ll join the Korean military later or not is uncertain, but from your current position, you should be seen as a complete civilian. Isn’t that right?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“Whatever Barbie’s intentions are for coming to China, that’s an issue for civil servants to handle. For example, civil servants like this Catherine Duey. I understand the compulsion to do something about Barbie or find out more, but try to hold back a bit.”

It’s a solid argument. It’s an argument that prevents me from even bringing up the question of how the French government views the Tikhonov issue.

To bypass this argument and ask a meaningful question, I had no choice but to reveal the information I heard from Zhou. Since Zhou didn’t ask me to keep it confidential, there’s no moral issue.

“Actually, I’ve become quite close with the instructor…”

“It’s not just ‘quite close,’ is it?”

“Thanks to becoming close enough to roll around in the same bed with her, I found out something.”

“…What is it?”

“It seems Zhou Lizhi is being kept in check by the Chinese party central.”

“…So?”

“Isn’t the situation strange? Zhou Lizhi being checked by Nanjing. Strange rumors coming from Nanjing. A Soviet colonel suddenly coming to China. What can be inferred is that the party central might have brought in a soldier of Soviet origin to monitor Zhou at Huangpu… but even that can’t be accepted without further explanation…”

“…”

“I think the French government won’t be sitting idle on this matter either. Of course, your point about it not being an issue for me to get involved in is correct, but I can’t just sit still because I’m worried that a situation might arise where my own safety could be in danger. Do you know anything?”

“…I’ve sent several letters to the French military asking about the Barbie issue. Let me tell you one thing for certain. France is also perplexed by this situation. From what I hear, the French ambassador to China has visited the Presidential Office in Nanjing several times to protest this issue, but hasn’t received a proper answer.”

“It sounds like China is doing something fishy behind the back of the League of Nations.”

“There’s even talk of a League of Nations inspection team. But since China, as a permanent member, can veto it anyway, both France and the US seem hesitant. As for Britain… it seems they haven’t taken any position yet. Maybe there’s some communication going on with Britain too. I don’t know the details. There are several hypotheses circulating, and one of them is interesting.”

“Something interesting?”

“Remember 1905.”

“…”

“Have you heard of it? I hear it’s a slogan that’s been popping up in Japan lately.”

“Well, the year 1905 is quite memorable.”

“That’s right. I know it’s also the year when the Korean Empire essentially lost its sovereignty. But the context in which that year is mentioned in Japan is a bit different.”

“The Russo-Japanese War.”

The showdown between Russia and Japan for hegemony in the Far East, which began in 1904. Japan, having crushed the Qing dynasty in the First Sino-Japanese War and broken the traditional tributary relationship between Korea and Qing, solidified its dominance over the Korean Peninsula by defeating Russia in the Russo-Japanese War that broke out in 1904.

The Empire of Japan stripped away everything but the shell of the Korean Empire in 1905, and in 1910, it discarded even that pretense and completely annexed Korea as part of Japan. Japan’s rule continued for 19 years after that. Until Chiang Kai-shek marched his army into Seoul and dug up Yi Wan-yong’s grave, and Soviet troops landed in Tokyo Bay, burned down the Imperial Palace, and arrested the Emperor.

Anyway, the slogan “Remember 1905” is interpreted in two opposing ways. One is to invade the Republic of Korea, which acts as China’s puppet, and incite a communist revolution as it did then. But this meaning is just a fabrication by some journalists who are wary of the Soviet Union. If it really was a slogan with that meaning, 1910 would have been mentioned instead. Moreover, the Japanese Soviet Republic, which thoroughly denies the colonial rule of the Japanese Empire era as a dark history, has no reason to view only the Japan-Korea annexation positively and create such a slogan.

The real meaning of that slogan is to remember the Russo-Japanese War.

In other words, it’s a very provocative phrase reminding that Japan has the power to not lose, or rather to defeat Russia, even if it goes to war with Russia again.

“It seems the Kremlin’s interference in Tokyo’s internal affairs is getting worse.”

Duey smiled slightly. I frowned.

“I’ve heard that. But I’m also a college student… well, there are many critical friends in universities. I’ve often heard that it might be a ploy by the anti-communist camp to exaggerate the slight rift between the Soviet Union and Japan to drive a wedge between them.”

Well, I myself have been involved in such operations before. It’s dangerous to carry out such operations in mainland Russia, but it wasn’t difficult to do so in places like Belarus or Ukraine. The mission was to create public opinion that ‘unlike us who are loyal to Russia as part of the federation, the Japanese are arrogantly defying the Kremlin and trying to compete with it,’ to stir up some anti-Japanese sentiment. Then the Western bloc would use that stirred-up anti-Japanese sentiment as article material and report it to drive a wedge between the two countries. It was a minor mission…

“That’s how the fire started, but it seems like something is actually happening between the two countries. Russia wants Japan to crawl under it as part of the Soviet Union, under Russia… but the Japanese don’t seem willing to back down even on the Sakhalin issue.”

“If they were beaten so badly, wouldn’t it be better to let go of the Sakhalin issue…”

“I’m not sure. Recently, there are even rumors that Russia and Japan might cause an armed conflict over hegemony in the communist world.”

…It’s absurd, but not entirely nonsensical.

In fact, even after the conflict between the communist and anti-communist camps began, there was a war within the anti-communist camp. The Republic of China declared war on France under the pretext of liberating Vietnam, breaking France’s momentum.

France resolved the situation by withdrawing from Indochina from a broader perspective, but…

If Japan and Russia seriously come into conflict…

“So one of the speculations about Tikhonov’s purpose in coming to China is…”

“That she might be serving as a diplomatic envoy to seek China’s cooperation in preparation for the Japan issue. I don’t think it’s very likely, but isn’t it interesting?”