Ch.128Britain’s Misjudgment

After the Romanian and Hungarian officials left, there was much discussion in the State Duma about the recovery of Bessarabia.

Among them, the White Army officials were busy praising me.

“Hahaha! The Tsar’s brilliant strategy has recovered Bessarabia!”

Mikhail Drozdovsky said excitedly.

This time, I was just lucky.

If Communist Germany hadn’t actually been behind it, I would have had to rethink the plan from the beginning.

Perhaps Beria only now fabricated the communist plot?

Come to think of it, Beria did well.

“What did I do? I merely expressed my opinion. Beria deserves the credit.”

Even with everything set up, it wouldn’t work if we weren’t coordinated.

But surprisingly, Beria pulled it off.

It’s not like we could communicate via messenger like in modern times.

He just understood what I was saying and executed it perfectly.

“But when else could we have recovered Bessarabia? The British wouldn’t have given us Bessarabia, if only because of Ukraine.”

True, let’s assume Britain is intact.

Let’s say they’ve completed post-war reconstruction and maintained the Baltic states, Poland, Ukraine, and others obtained through the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk.

And Romania would likely be pro-British considering which side they chose during the Great War.

In this situation, if Russia demanded Bessarabia, would Britain have agreed?

It would feel like putting a dagger in Ukraine’s back.

They might even build up Communist Germany to encircle Russia instead.

“It’s strange.”

“What is?”

“I expected Communist Germany to react somehow to this.”

What can they do?

“They can’t do anything. They’re only interested in planting seeds, not inciting uprisings.”

They just want to scatter seeds around, hoping to increase revolutionary potential someday.

They probably didn’t intend to directly incite an uprising.

They haven’t even rearmed yet, so what could they do?

Absolutely nothing.

“But didn’t Italy do something?”

“That’s because it’s Italy.”

It’s possible because of Benito Mussolini.

Yes, Benito Mussolini deserves credit for this situation.

By openly praising the “Red Queen,” he caused many Romanians to switch to Carol’s side.

In actual history, he lost all his territory and was deposed after making various mistakes under German pressure, but here he seized power by boldly abandoning those lands, calling them revolutionary territories consumed by the Red Queen.

Queen Marie was simply pitifully deceived.

Mussolini deserves more credit than I do.

“Because it’s Italy?”

It’s difficult to explain this.

I only know about Benito Mussolini from his blunders in World War II.

But from his actions so far, he seems obsessed with Roman glory.

“Is Benito Mussolini of Italy a formidable opponent?”

“Formidable? It’s complicated.”

At least for now, I’m not sure.

I don’t know what his goals are.

One thing is certain: he’s currently helping us in a different way.

This time, thanks to Italy, Romania has been portrayed as a victim of communists.

This means Romania has no choice but to take our side, if only because of Germany and Italy, even if they hate Russia and Hungary.

Britain is across the sea now.

“Ah, Your Majesty. Speaking of which, this Benito Mussolini made another statement. It was briefly published in an Italian newspaper.”

Boris Savinkov respectfully handed me a newspaper.

The newspaper featured Mussolini’s face prominently displayed.

His expression is unpleasantly artificial, like he’s crying, which is somewhat amusing.

I can tell something from just the photo.

In the pre-nuclear war world, I saw similar photos of North Korea’s Kim pig looking sad with captions about him grieving for his people.

“What does it say?”

I don’t know Italian well yet.

I could communicate with Italian technicians who came over because they brought interpreters. But for reading this newspaper, I have to guess from Mussolini’s unpleasantly crying face.

“It says, ‘The Red Queen had great ambitions but was defeated by the imperialist ringleaders, the Tsar and Horthy.'”

“Pfft.”

Mr. Mussolini apparently doesn’t know about her love escape.

This is truly a fantastic collaboration.

Just this once, we had a good combo with the communists.

At this point, isn’t heaven being unfair to Queen Marie? I feel sorry for her now.

“Romanian officials were here, what does Queen Marie say?”

I wonder what Queen Marie would say.

“Queen Marie is currently in seclusion, they say.”

“Seclusion. That makes sense.”

What would she say if we showed her this newspaper?

Looking at this, it seems best to leave Benito Mussolini alone.

At least until the war, he’ll be a good partner for us.

“And the Okhrana has brought news from Austria and Yugoslavia.”

“How is Austria?”

“Adolf Hitler is saying that Hungary’s recovery of Transylvania is the glory of the Habsburgs.”

“He’s setting the stage.”

Let’s leave that alone for now.

I’m curious about the news from Yugoslavia.

Is it really turning red?

“This Tito from Yugoslavia is somewhat ambiguous as a communist.”

Looking at his actions, he’s a communist dictator but in a peculiar way.

Though part of the communist bloc, he didn’t get along well with the Soviet Union. I think I’ve read something like that.

In the original history, he built the Third World.

The Great War ended inconclusively, but he would have come to Russia and watched the civil war from a front-row seat, like in the actual history. It’s quite puzzling why such a person would choose communism.

The Soviet Union collapsed before it could even be born.

In this situation, Tito embraced communism?

His history must have changed too. Even Hitler went to Austria instead of following the German Nazi Party route.

Of course, with Germany becoming communist and participating in the civil war, his change of heart is understandable.

“Hasn’t he joined the Yugoslav Communist Party?”

“He is the youth leader of the Yugoslav Communist Party, but recently they changed the party’s name. Specifically after Benito Mussolini directly mentioned Tito.”

They changed their sign?

“Hmm. The Yugoslav National Social Party. That’s why it’s ambiguous to call it communism?”

“Yes. Unlike the German Communist Party and Italian Communist Party, which act radically, they’ve adopted it as an ideology for national integration. I suspect it might be to receive support from Germany and Italy.”

Hmm. Tito.

Should I get rid of him too? From current developments, he probably intended to dabble in communism, extract benefits from Germany and Italy, and then discard them later. Unfortunately, Benito Mussolini’s hard carry suddenly made him look foolish.

If we want to tear apart Yugoslavia, won’t he eventually become an obstacle?

I don’t know if Serbia will remain after World War II, but in any case, we need to keep watching Tito’s movements.

One fortunate thing is that he changed the party name after hearing our protest.

This means one of two things:

Either he’s carefully watching us, or he’s just making excuses to avoid Russian protests.

However, judging from the Yugoslav Communist Party’s actions, it’s hard to see them as a threat.

“At least he’s watching us.”

No, wait.

I’m not just curious about Austria and Yugoslavia.

I raised my hand to change the subject from Yugoslavia.

“Does the Okhrana have any news about America?”

“America? Do you mean that chicken-frying Trotsky?”

Yes, we’re on the same page.

Boris Savinkov is already considering him to be Trotsky.

“So the Okhrana is already assuming it’s Trotsky.”

“Since Your Majesty believes so, we’ve been investigating him as Trotsky, but his movements are quite strange.”

Oh? Is he thinking about another revolution?

I’m not sure if that’s possible on American soil.

“Is he planning a revolution?”

“There’s no significant movement yet, but he’s currently campaigning for black civil rights. He holds rallies every week.”

“Trotsky?”

He’s seriously leading movements with black people?

No, that’s a bit strange.

Trotsky wouldn’t just advocate for black civil rights.

Is he trying to start a revolution in America after all?

America instead of Mexico. I wonder if that’s even possible in America.

“The interesting part is that he’s smuggling weapons.”

“Is that possible right now?”

“After the recent end of the Chinese Warlord War, leftover firearms are flowing from Shanghai to Japan and then to America. It’s not certain, but it seems Trotsky’s side is smuggling them.”

Trotsky’s side is smuggling? Isn’t this too predictable?

No, if someone is smuggling weapons into America, it’s not an impossible development.

There’s no reason for anyone other than Trotsky to smuggle weapons into America.

“Are you certain?”

“If not him, there’s no reason for them to flow into America. We need to investigate further.”

“A long tail gets caught. We can’t let Trotsky notice and escape.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

That aside, I’m curious about something.

The existence of Communist Germany.

Communist Germany is an unpredictable entity. As such, we must pay special attention to it.

If Communist Germany truly wants fair system competition rather than war, we could invest everything internally instead of in the military, which would be better.

I turned my eyes to Boris Savinkov, who leads the Okhrana, with my hands clasped on the desk.

“How are things going in Communist Germany these days?”

“Liebknecht has started a German revival policy with a New Economic Policy.”

“I wonder if that will work.”

They have nothing.

Everything the Kaiser prepared to strike France, acting like a giving tree, is in Russia, and the Junkers all fled to Austria or East Prussia.

“Economists believe Communist Germany has something they’re counting on.”

This was from Finance Minister Bernatzky.

“Is that so?”

Does Communist Germany have something to rely on? Really?

Surely not their soul partner Italy.

In the original history, Hitler might have looked for a loophole through the Soviet Union, but here it’s Communist Germany, and we exist.

“Otherwise, it doesn’t make sense. The core of the former German Empire has either fled to Austria or East Prussia or been purged by the Communist Party. They wouldn’t push forward like this. Of course, if they don’t go to war, it might be possible in decades. But as Your Majesty said, if they’re considering war, they must have something.”

Communist Germany has something they’re relying on.

That’s why I didn’t passionately tell Britain and France that Germany would start another war and should be tightly constrained.

Because I don’t know how or in what way war will break out.

Moreover, I thought Britain and France wouldn’t listen to Russia anyway.

But now I wonder if I should have said more.

At least some might have pretended to listen.

* * *

Berlin, Free Socialist Republic of Germany

After visiting Moscow, Austin Chamberlain headed straight to Germany upon receiving a message from his country.

The reason was something the Tsarina had mentioned.

Yes, the red seeds being sown in the colonies.

German communism was spreading even in India, the first jewel in the British Empire’s crown.

Before coming to Berlin, Austin Chamberlain had heard something from Anastasia in Moscow, so he sought out Secretary Karl Liebknecht with a tense expression.

“Not only did you default on the Versailles Treaty reparations, but now you’re sowing red seeds in other people’s lands?”

“Please calm down. They act independently of Germany’s will. They went on their own to comfort the oppressed colonies.”

The curse words rising in Austin Chamberlain’s throat stopped.

Doesn’t he know whose fault it is that there’s something to be upset about?

Not just from Anastasia’s words, but according to reports from his country, communists had infiltrated the Baltic states, Ukraine, Poland, and other areas meant to be a containment wall against Communist Germany.

In fact, Poland, with Russia’s leash around its neck, was actively rooting out communists, but the Baltic states and Ukraine were different.

“Communists are being arrested in Poland, the Baltic states, Ukraine, and elsewhere. Will you keep doing this? Let’s say we accept the Versailles Treaty situation. If the Kaiser’s foolishness made Germany unable to pay reparations, our country would fully acknowledge that! But such actions are a betrayal of us who recognized your country!”

The Versailles Treaty was somewhat more lenient than in the original history, and disarmament was conditional to some extent, but revolutionary Germany with the Kaiser gone couldn’t handle even the relaxed treaty.

The German people met a strange monarch and inevitably reached this point, and if money was lacking, they could be given more time or reductions.

Both Austin Chamberlain and his country’s parliament, as gentlemen, could be that accommodating.

But isn’t this backstabbing going too far?

“If you insist, there is a solution. But as you said, our country lacks money. Wouldn’t these communists, struggling in poverty and destitution, leave for other countries?”

In other words, “If you don’t want red seeds sown, support us.”

‘Are these people really thinking about war?’

Austin Chamberlain shook his head.

This doesn’t make sense no matter how you look at it.

Even Austria, after the empire’s dissolution, saw growing distrust of monarchy and calls to either become a republic or unite with Communist Germany, but the influx of many German capitalists and Junkers helped maintain the Austrian Empire.

In other words, so many people from Germany flowed into Austria that it remained stable.

This meant Communist Germany’s capabilities were diminished.

With their thuggish diplomacy and isolation due to communism, what could Communist Germany do?

While they couldn’t be completely dismissed due to Germany’s existing industrial power, it would take a long time before they could wage war.

And Russia was there too.

If they had any sense, they wouldn’t do it.

‘War is unlikely after all.’

Of course, he wouldn’t openly believe their promise not to sow red seeds, but at least it would be easier for his country to manage.

Austin Chamberlain didn’t think this foolish red Germany would start a war.

Neither did his homeland, the British Empire.

No matter how stupid they were, they must have clearly seen the Soviet Union’s collapse, so how could they possibly wage war?

In the end, Britain decided to provide some “support” to Communist Germany to reduce their burden.