Ch.141The Order of Russia (3)

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Just like how Austria, which became a small country after being torn apart following World War I, saw rising public opinion about wanting to unify with Germany.

But wasn’t Ukraine independent from Russia? I’m not sure what’s going on.

“Moreover, Western Ukraine once fought against the Red Army alongside British forces during the Russian Civil War.”

“You mean throughout Ukraine.”

So that’s why Ukraine knows about me. That’s what he means.

Well, that was also at Britain’s request, and from our perspective, it was natural since we needed to annihilate the Red Army in Ukraine to make the civil war easier.

It was throughout Ukraine.

Even I was surprised by how unexpectedly quick the battle ended.

That just shows we can’t underestimate the strategic power of Ungern-Sternberg or Anton Denikin.

In another sense, this means Ukrainians came to despise communists.

That’s fair enough. The red tide that once rushed at them could overflow from the west.

Austria isn’t what it used to be, so Western Ukrainians who don’t know the inside story might see it that way.

“Yes. Western Ukraine was almost occupied at that time. It seems Your Majesty’s White Army defeating the Red Army appeared heroic to them.”

Boris Savinkov said with a satisfied smile.

Why are you smiling?

This man is actually from the Roman National Party. He’s wearing a small cross badge on his chest that the Roman National Party gives to its members.

“I see.”

I forced a smile while inwardly sighing.

Yes. Now, like this man from the Roman National Party. According to the Anastasia fan club, I’m quite the idol.

I suppose that’s become famous among Ukrainians too.

To summarize, if Ukrainians had to choose between the two, they would choose Russia over Britain since they’re ethnically Little Russians.

This brings an interesting thought to mind.

Even when I went to Northern Manchuria, young students who could be seen anywhere praised me.

They say when Hitler went to Austria with the German Defense Force, Austrians welcomed him enthusiastically.

Similarly, if I were to go to Western Ukraine. I wonder if they would go crazy like idol fans.

If we play this right, could we negotiate with Churchill and take Western Ukraine?

Of course, if that happens, we wouldn’t gain much from the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk.

Finland, which was floating in limbo, was essentially pulled into the White Army Union during the civil war while Britain wasn’t paying attention.

Poland was originally left as a pro-British country by Britain, but it was independent, and now it’s become Russia’s second battalion.

At most it’s just the Baltic states, but still.

Didn’t they take some German colonies too? For the Baltic states and German colonies, perhaps Churchill would be willing to concede Western Ukraine.

Or should we start setting things in motion?

This is something I need to discuss with the Black Baron.

Since he came with the Minister of Internal Affairs, I looked at the Black Baron with a bright smile.

Under my intense gaze, the Black Baron twitched his eyebrows and bowed his head deeply.

“Your Majesty. We cannot target Western Ukraine yet. British forces have recently been stationed again in Western Ukraine.”

The Minister of Defense, the Black Baron, firmly opposed before I even brought it up.

Right. The British army is going there again.

I’m not ignorant of what this means.

With the Baltic states issue and all, Britain won’t concede Western Ukraine to Russia! That’s probably it.

Even if they don’t fight, they want to prevent Russia from harboring other intentions.

In fact, I just had such thoughts myself.

Disappointed, I grumbled like I was throwing a tantrum.

“Yes. As if I would have such thoughts.”

If it’s not possible, there’s nothing we can do.

Since we’re on the topic.

Recently, I’ve been keeping an eye on the British situation.

Just as Communist Germany needs to take Italy, we also need Britain as a partner.

With the Ukraine issue and the Baltic states, I’ve been focusing on Britain lately.

They might object to our talk of rebuilding Rome.

Fortunately, Britain hasn’t protested about that.

Perhaps because we acknowledged Britain’s supremacy regarding the fleet, they didn’t specifically protest about our involvement with Mediterranean countries.

Well, from the moment they tacitly approved Constantinople and the Pontic Greek Republic, they probably intended to compromise on at least that part.

Britain also took a submissive stance toward Communist Germany, so they probably didn’t want to be too aggressive toward Russia and preferred to compromise at a reasonable level.

Just properly recognize the countries covered by the existing Treaty of Brest-Litovsk. That’s it.

Conversely, this means Britain can’t act aggressively toward us right now.

Just as for us, from Britain’s perspective, France across the sea is unstable, Japan in the Far East isn’t even worth discussing, and Italy has been communized, so we’re the only country they can somewhat trust.

Wouldn’t Churchill be more provoked if he saw this?

First, I need to hear news about the Baltic states.

Not from Austin Chamberlain, but the real situation in Britain.

Shortly after, news came up from the Minister of Internal Affairs.

“Your Majesty. A report has come in from Beria.”

“What does it say?”

“It seems that at 10 Downing Street, they believe we won’t expand into the Baltic states.”

I thought so.

“I’m sure they do. For them, the Baltic states are spoils of war for the British Empire, so they’ll try to protect them out of pride, but they’re not desperate, so they’ll believe us to a reasonable extent.”

With troops stationed in Western Ukraine, they probably think Russia won’t act up.

To be fair, would Britain, tied up with its colonies, pressure us if we just appease them a bit, saying “No, I still can’t trust you!”?

There’s the sentiment that “We suffered humiliation from Communist Germany, so we can’t suffer it from Russia too!” But they also can’t be strong against Russia when they were submissive to Communist Germany.

“And what about Churchill’s side?”

Churchill is important.

Since we openly offered help, at least Churchill might be thinking of using Russia. He might be moving soon.

How Churchill will move is the key.

As long as he doesn’t antagonize Russia, I don’t care if he aims for fascism or whatever.

Given Britain’s current situation, if fascism arises, they would oppose Germany, but they won’t give up their colonies, so even if they take on Germany, they might just end up hurting themselves repeatedly.

“Currently, Churchill is frequently contacting Prince Edward.”

“Prince Edward?”

This guy smells fishy.

Could he be clinging to Prince Edward and dreaming of something new?

Prince Edward will later become Edward VIII.

The problem is that Edward VIII becomes so obsessed with a woman that he eventually gives up the throne.

He ascended to the throne and wanted to marry an American divorcee named Wallis Simpson. Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin strongly opposed this.

Edward VIII proposed that he would remain as king, but Simpson would not become queen, and their children would not have succession rights. Winston Churchill supported this plan.

Even the British Fascist Union, the British Communist Party, World War I veterans, and workers supported Edward VIII’s proposal, as did former Prime Minister David Lloyd George.

However, the cabinet and dominion governments opposed it, and Prime Minister Baldwin said he couldn’t keep the throne while marrying a woman who had been divorced twice, so he had to either give up the throne or give up the marriage.

If he refused to give up either, the cabinet would resign.

In the end, Edward chose Simpson and abdicated.

He was even pro-Nazi, and in original history, he was exiled as Governor of the Bahamas and could only return to Britain after his death.

Considering that Churchill supported Edward VIII in actual history, it’s not entirely implausible that Churchill would approach Edward.

However, Churchill siding with Edward could lead to several variables.

Either Edward eventually steps down from the throne over the issue of marrying beneath his station as in original history, making Churchill who supported him lose his backing. Or Churchill overturns everything and assists Edward in maintaining his position as King of the British Empire and Emperor of India despite the marriage.

But what if?

If Edward insists on keeping the throne, causing the cabinet to resign en masse, and Churchill forms a new cabinet with Edward VIII’s supporters?

Edward VIII wouldn’t have been affected by the snowball I set in motion, so he would likely follow the original historical path.

Wait, this makes sense.

If the cabinet resigns en masse, it would shake the foundation of constitutional monarchy, and a new cabinet formed by Churchill would take its place.

If we encourage Churchill, that possibility increases, and what would happen if we support the Churchill cabinet formed this way?

With Mussolini becoming a communist and Hitler in a strange state now, it’s unclear how fascism might emerge in Britain. So it’s uncertain whether they’ll receive support from fascists as in actual history.

Instead, the Tsarina of Russia directly supports them.

This could make things turn out differently.

“I understand Prince Edward has character issues, but what is Your Majesty’s view?”

Edward.

I don’t know about his character, but he certainly loves women.

There was even someone in France who claimed to be Edward’s grandson and asked Buckingham Palace to confirm if the grandson was legitimate.

What’s certain is that he was pro-Nazi.

“I’ve heard about his character, but if Churchill approached him, it means he must be manageable enough for Churchill.”

He hasn’t met Simpson yet, but if Churchill supports his marriage to Simpson, Edward VIII might follow Churchill’s lead, establishing a good monarch-minister relationship.

The problem is.

How much power a Britain with a different trajectory from actual history would show is the key.

Well, Churchill will handle it.

It would be good for us if someone we support takes control of Britain.

After that, we don’t care what happens to Britain.

Whether Elizabeth II becomes queen is an uncertain future, but if Churchill’s plan to prepare a cabinet after Edward VIII’s ascension succeeds, things would change.

Moreover, the current British Empire is a victorious power from the Great War and gained a lot, but it appears to have submitted to Communist Germany.

Later, if the Stanley Baldwin cabinet, rumored to have submitted to Communist Germany, resigns en masse, would the British people support the cabinet or Churchill, a British Empire patriot who wants to stand against Germany?

I think the latter.

During World War II, Churchill’s approval ratings remained high despite whatever blunders he made.

Of course, if we dig deeper, it was Churchill who strongly advocated for saving Germany, which led to the German Empire becoming Britain’s errand boy before the communist revolution occurred.

Anyway, I think the British people will support Churchill.

Realistically, from Britain’s perspective, communists who don’t even pay reparations can’t look good, so a communist revolution in Britain seems almost impossible.

Britain is now filled with national pride more than ever.

So they’re probably preventing German newspapers from spreading in Britain.

But through Beria, those newspapers were distributed in London. What would the approval rating for the current cabinet be?

Hmm. Right. Let Churchill handle that too.

“Your Majesty is backing Churchill.”

“Yes. Without him, Britain would just lock itself on the island, claiming ‘splendid isolation’ and achieving only moral victories.”

If they make peace with the Germans by saying they won’t intervene in Europe to a reasonable extent, that could actually happen.

But Churchill is different.

For the glory of the British Empire, he won’t compromise with communists.

“By the way, news has also come in that someone in Britain has proposed modified capitalism.”

Someone in Britain proposing modified capitalism.

I think I know who it is. John Maynard Keynes.

“Is it John Maynard Keynes?”

“You knew? He was an advisor during the Great War and an economist who reduced the shackles on Germany in the Treaty of Versailles.”

The shackles of the Treaty of Versailles were loosened because they decided to give Germany breathing room.

Considering that Keynes in original history was dissatisfied with the pressure on Germany, it’s not implausible.

I’m not sure if he brought up modified capitalism during this period.

Anyway, he seems to have been stimulated by Russia.

“Let’s just say I happen to know. But is there a problem with him?”

“Nothing major, just that Russia is extremely mindful of workers and has many socialist aspects, so Britain is advocating for a British-style modified capitalism.”

That makes sense. We made various promises to turn public opinion during the civil war, and we combined that with capitalism to create modified capitalism.

To be honest, we attached good things to it, and it was effectively received by Russians and was also treated as accelerationism.

In other words, the modified capitalism I started is fundamentally different.

It’s just a patchwork ideology that adapts to the times by attaching various things to the ideology, and Alisa Rosenbaum evaluated it as accelerationism because it changes with the times.

Some call it promotionism.

Now that I think about it, how about inviting him to Moscow?