Ch.120Russia’s Status

“It seems they’re working hard to assimilate their colony, but what’s funny is this policy of intermarriage between Japanese and Koreans. I can’t believe they’re implementing such a policy to assimilate colonial subjects—unprecedented anywhere else in the world.”

“Well, I suppose it’s because they’ve adopted the slogan of ‘Japan and Korea as One Body.'”

The policy of Japanese-Korean intermarriage produced truly unexpected results that even surprised the Korean Government-General.

This was because they expected marriages between Japanese men and Korean women to increase, but marriages between Korean men and Japanese women were much more common.

The statistics showed higher rates, though the reasons remain unclear.

But now the Japanese government is directly leading this assimilation policy.

Honestly, I’m not sure if this will work.

It will probably just strengthen anti-Japanese sentiment, as in the original history.

They’re not a dual empire like Austria-Hungary—not some Japan-Korea dual monarchy. After more than ten years of colonial rule, don’t they understand this?

“So, since Korea alone is too much to handle, they’ve turned their attention to Southern Manchuria.”

It seems the White Army department has concluded that Japan has entangled Southern Manchuria with the Korean peninsula issue.

Ah, I see.

That’s why they’ve elevated the South Manchuria Railway to a Government-General.

By upgrading it to a Government-General, they’re trying to make Southern Manchuria share the burden of the concerning situation in Korea.

“I suppose so. Indeed.”

“Hahaha. It’s absurd to see them being pushed around by their own colony. Isn’t it ridiculous that they’re arranging marriages with colonized people to suppress resistance? Neither Britain nor France would do such a thing.”

That may be true, but aren’t they pushing this Japan-Korea assimilation policy too quickly?

Has the snowball I set in motion affected things this far?

No, it’s probably because Japan has directly taken over the Korean Government-General’s affairs, causing various changes.

What’s certain is that this is quite unusual for a colonial empire.

In actual history, there were claims that Japan tried to utilize Korea’s substantial population when Japanese men became scarce due to war.

But here, there hasn’t been a war yet.

“Still, this is unprecedented for a colonial empire. There must be some reason. How does the White Army department view this?”

“It’s common knowledge among intellectuals that Japan has its eyes on China. Though China is divided, its population remains vast.”

“Hmm.”

Ah, I’m getting a sense of this.

“Aren’t they trying to assimilate Koreans into Japan to stabilize their rear for a future invasion of China and further develop their military? After all, it’s officially an annexation, isn’t it?”

That was Mikhail Drozdovsky’s assessment.

So that’s how the military department sees it.

Hmm.

That makes sense. If they’re deliberately preparing for a Chinese invasion from now, it would be reasonable.

It’s a complex reason. In the original history, the invasion of China was triggered by Renya Mutaguchi without the knowledge of the Japanese homeland, later escalating when Prime Minister Fumimaro Konoe expanded the conflict.

But now, they’re aiming for Chinese expansion from the beginning.

With the suspicious situation in Korea and military expansion, it makes sense for the Japanese homeland, if not the Government-General, to prepare for a definitive advance into China.

“I see. So they’re already preparing for a Chinese invasion.”

If that’s the case, China will have a tough time.

“Setting aside Korean assimilation, if Japan is expanding its military, can China withstand Japan? Though it appears unified on the surface, it’s essentially in a Warring States period due to federalism.”

I think so too.

But we should consider a different perspective.

Right now, Chen Jiongming’s army has grown stronger with Russian support.

They’re diligently building strength, though limited to Guangdong.

Considering this, other regions will also maximize their military strength for unification.

Building unification capacity, then unifying, then selecting a leader.

This would be nonsensical gibberish.

“No.”

I shook my head and stepped forward. I need to correct the State Duma’s complacent thinking.

“Your Majesty?”

“The formal federalism to build unification capacity will lead to military expansion, as all warlords will try to match each other’s military power.”

This might unexpectedly create synergy.

If you think about it, it’s simple.

“But to build unification capacity, shouldn’t they avoid military expansion?”

These people still don’t understand China.

They don’t understand the genetic Chinese centralism, the blood that boils for unifying All Under Heaven.

Just look at Chiang Kai-shek—he won’t bow to Chen Jiongming.

And who knows what Mao Zedong is thinking.

I doubt he’d be more attracted to Chen Jiongming’s federalism than to the Soviet Union.

“Chen Jiongming may be caught up in the illusion of federalism, but others won’t be. That’s the kind of country China is. They have Sinocentrism, and they want to unify the Warring States period and become China’s leader. Unless they’re fools, they won’t give up the immense power they’ve enjoyed ruling like kings.”

I’m certain of this.

It’s problematic to think of China like Russia.

They already believe the Qing Dynasty’s Mandate of Heaven has ended.

Honestly, even I was initially just a focal point, nothing more, nothing less.

“Your Majesty is right. Looking at Chinese history, this makes sense.”

Yes. Those who know their history understand this.

Chen Jiongming is uniquely exceptional. Normally, this is how it works.

“They know military power is needed for unification, so they’ll focus on building military strength in their regions under federalism. Even if they’re divided, if they unite to fight when Japan invades, their momentum will be extraordinary.”

It’s all or nothing.

Either China is truly fragmented and falls to Japan’s divide-and-conquer strategy, or the warlords’ maximally developed armies unite against Japan.

It will be one of these two scenarios.

“For now, let’s observe. Japan won’t start a war immediately anyway.”

Japan is likely profiting from Southern Manchuria now.

They seem to have been drained by unnecessarily stationing troops in Korea, and now they’re preparing for war with China.

Perhaps they’re planning revenge like Germany in the original history.

Communist Germany will have its own ambitions for global hegemony through world workers’ revolution.

“Your Majesty, why did you send a personal letter regarding this Mutaguchi person?”

Ah, they’re curious about that too.

Yes, the White Army’s idol Tsarina personally mentioned him and sent a letter to the Japanese government.

The White Army must have complaints.

“When I saw him, I had a feeling. He will become a secret weapon that will make Japan fall more easily.”

“More than the weapon using physics that Your Majesty has planned?”

“In a sense, yes.”

It’s not yet time to explain, but if a Sino-Japanese war breaks out, regardless of how tied down the Japanese army is in China, they will be tied down.

If we then surprise attack and occupy Mutaguchi Renya’s South Manchuria Railway and bring Mutaguchi and his railway troops to our side, the rear of the Japanese army advancing in China becomes vulnerable.

Their supplies would be endangered too.

That’s why I’m telling the railway troops to handle the supplies for the Chinese invasion force.

If just the railway troops join our side, whether the Japanese army gains the upper hand in China or gets bogged down, their supplies will eventually be cut off.

After consuming the railway troops and capturing the Japanese main force in China, we can then liberate the Korean peninsula.

Of course, this is all theoretical.

Even if the railway troops and Mutaguchi Renya don’t defect, a surprise attack would still collapse the railway troops.

But there’s no guarantee everything will go according to my plan.

So for now, I can only speak lightly about it.

“I also saw him with Your Majesty. I judged it better for him to control Southern Manchuria.”

Baron Ungern stepped forward at that moment.

“That’s interesting.”

“He’s full of bluster, an opportunist, and seeing how he sought wisdom from the Tsarina, he’ll be the easiest to overcome when war with Japan breaks out.”

“Oh? If such a person is managing Southern Manchuria, it would be easier for us who are anticipating war with Japan.”

“Exactly. If he remains in Southern Manchuria, the blood shed by our Russian men will be minimized.”

Ultimately, the Japanese government is ignorant about Mutaguchi, and they don’t know I’m planning to oppose Japan.

Setting aside my foreknowledge, the State Duma agreed that having Mutaguchi Renya in Southern Manchuria would make fighting Japan easier.

Now, we shouldn’t just talk about foreign affairs.

Russia is growing brilliantly every day, but that’s all.

I don’t know exactly how much growth there is.

“How much has our economy grown?”

After all, a country thrives when its economy thrives. I asked the State Duma about Russia’s current economic power.

“We’ve already recovered our pre-World War I strength, so Your Majesty need not worry.”

“Russia’s economic power is growing brilliantly day by day.”

“Even the Bolsheviks couldn’t have achieved this much.”

Prime Minister Krivoshein and other administrative officials all said Russia is growing stronger.

But something caught my attention.

Didn’t Krivoshein just mention the Great War?

“Why World War I?”

“Since Your Majesty predicted a second Great War, we defined the first as World War I. If a war is that large in scale, we should feel a sense of crisis in advance.”

No, that’s not it.

I think this is really dangerous.

What if we’re all on edge like this, but Communist Germany turns out to be a bluff and loses so pathetically that people ask why we even made nuclear weapons?

I don’t think we can just brush it off with “well, war happened lol.”

“Ahem. It’s too early to make definitive statements. With our thorough preparations, it might not reach the scale of a Great War. So, do you think we’ll maintain this growth trajectory?”

“The British ambassador has been saying that Russia’s economy is becoming too close to communism.”

Hearing that suddenly made the back of my neck hot.

These damn hostile countries. Do they even know who I’ve been fighting?

“The Tsar exists, and that Tsar personally captured the Bolsheviks, yet they say such things?”

Well, strictly speaking, one could classify it as socialism.

Anyway, according to them, we have a “red flavor.”

But this seems to have a different meaning.

“The Foreign Ministry judges that they aren’t pleased with our growing national power.”

“Ah, that makes sense.”

Russia was once a great power that played the Great Game with them.

Until recently, Russia was in such a miserable state that they had to support it during the civil war, but now Russia has overcome that situation.

Additionally, Russia has reclaimed the Second Rome and led the Anti-Comintern Pact, so Britain must be feeling uneasy. They fear Russia might become a threat to Britain again.

Those hostile countries are certainly capable of thinking that way.

Especially since they need to encircle Communist Germany now, while Russia appears to be playing around in the background.

In my previous life, there was a joke:

Whenever China criticized us, we’d think, “Ah, if China is criticizing us, our government must be doing something right.”

Thinking about it, this could be viewed in a similar context.

“But it’s not bad. If Britain is wary of us, isn’t that proof that we’re doing something right?”

I dismissed Britain’s concerns as mere wariness.

Anyway, they won’t directly come to the Duma, so there shouldn’t be a problem.

“Hahaha! That’s true.”

“Despite losing much territory through the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, we’ve grown enough for them to be wary.”

“Yes. After the oil boom, American companies have been investing, and our domestically produced radios have entered the export market.”

Looking at the list of American company investments, it’s quite impressive.

Seeing even the famous Morgan Bank there shows that America has become interested in Russia.

So my various attempts to prepare for the Great Depression have paid off like this.

But if Britain is preparing like this, they might try something underhanded.

“All good, but if we continue growing like this, couldn’t Britain try to restrain us? And before that, we should probably deal with Makhno’s Free Territory.”

They couldn’t prevent the Pontic Greek Republic from coming to us, but Makhno’s Free Territory is somewhat different.

It would be troublesome if the British say they won’t let Russia have even half of Ukraine.