Ch.162The Chaotic Interwar Period

* * *

My book received an unexpectedly good response.

My War.

It apparently sold tremendously well domestically.

Honestly, I expected that much, but something quite interesting happened.

“My War is also gaining explosive popularity abroad.”

My eyes sparkled at Ivan Bunin’s words.

Explosive popularity abroad? Now that’s satisfying.

“How unexpected.”

I merely wrote a novel about my experiences.

I provided the basic framework, but Ivan Bunin handled the proofreading and added the details.

After all, I was never a writer to begin with. I had no talent for writing.

Ivan Bunin’s contributions were significant.

Still, since my experiences formed the backbone, I might as well have done it all myself.

“It’s especially popular in Japan.”

“Fools.”

Would it still be so popular if they knew I’d be stabbing them in the back later?

Well, I suppose it resonates with them.

From their perspective, current Russia has a similar atmosphere to Japan, with the Tsar essentially leading the country’s political situation much like their Emperor.

There’s also the established image of us being allied nations, which creates a sense of connection.

It’s natural they’d feel familiar with the situation, and of course they’d be interested in a book written by the Tsar of that country.

A war hero, no less. Since I ascended to the throne and essentially restored the Eastern Roman Empire, they probably see Russia as similar to themselves.

Moreover, unlike Western countries like Britain and America, we share borders with them in Asia.

“By the way, Winston Churchill sent someone to the Writers’ Association to get a first edition copy.”

“That man? If he wanted one, he should have come to get it directly from me.”

Well, with Churchill’s pride, he couldn’t just say, “Please give me a copy.”

Doesn’t that make you curious?

Why would someone like him specifically go after a first edition?

Moreover, the fact that the Writers’ Association gave him one suggests someone might be behind Churchill?

“I told them it was unreasonable even for an allied nation’s minister, but they said they had no choice when Edward, the Prince of Wales, was mentioned.”

“Edward, the Prince of Wales?”

It seems some rather unpleasant individual is involved.

Surely Edward isn’t interested in me?

“Yes. Perhaps the Prince is a fan of Your Majesty?”

“Hmph. Of all people, the Prince?”

No, that can’t be right. Given his promiscuity, it makes some sense.

Judging by his tastes, doesn’t he prefer married women?

Unless I were married, he wouldn’t likely bother with me.

If he had such intentions, he would have come to Moscow directly or begged his father for an arranged marriage.

I’m not sure when he’ll meet Mrs. Simpson. Surely he wouldn’t try anything inappropriate with me.

Even if they truly desired a royal marriage, I have no intention of agreeing.

If I had wanted to marry someone with this body, I would have done so long ago.

I have absolutely no desire to marry a philanderer like Edward.

“Was there anything else noteworthy?”

“Not particularly.”

“That’s somewhat fortunate. Prince Edward is next in line for the throne. If such a person is my fan, the future between Britain and Russia looks bright.”

We need to maintain good relations with Britain.

Being an island nation with Churchill there, the British Isles won’t turn red.

Since France can’t be trusted, I chose Britain. If Edward is my fan, that might be helpful when fighting against communist Germany.

A pro-Nazi figure has become pro-Russian in the absence of Nazis.

Hmm, that’s interesting.

“Yes. The book hasn’t sold as well in Britain as in Japan, but things might change now that someone with succession rights has obtained it.”

I don’t expect that much, really.

What matters is that it sold well domestically.

Why is this important? Unlike during the revolution, it shows that the citizens of the United States would support the Tsar no matter what.

And I can be confident about how tremendous my popularity is.

This means the constitutional monarchy is becoming more firmly established.

Perhaps I should hold a fan signing event—no, that might be too much.

“I’ll continue to rely on you, Minister.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

According to Ivan Bunin’s report, my book is selling quite well in Anti-Comintern Pact countries.

That’s an excellent outcome.

The fact that it’s selling even in Poland shows either it’s well-written or the state is directly promoting it for anti-communist purposes.

Surprisingly, sales in France aren’t that good.

Probably evidence that communes are growing there.

Publishing the book was quite a good choice.

“Could he possibly be interested in Your Majesty?”

After Ivan Bunin left, Maria immediately clasped her hands together and asked with a smile.

Being a woman, Maria seems to enjoy such gossip, laughing delightedly.

Edward may have a handsome face, but he’s problematic.

A pro-Nazi figure with quite a few issues.

Though there are no Nazis here.

“No. That man prefers married women.”

Or divorced women. Either way, it’s complicated.

If he truly likes me, that would be a significant problem. Though Churchill would surely handle it.

I dislike clingy relationships and have no intention of being with a man.

If this body were healthy, I might find a man to have a child to pass the throne to rather than giving it to Vladimir. But if hemophilia manifests in my descendants, it would be troublesome.

Even OTMA suffered from hemophilia.

I wouldn’t want my child to go through such hardship.

Though Edward wouldn’t do such a thing anyway.

“Wow, preferring married women is quite extreme.”

“Reminds me of someone in Romania.”

Well, considering the promiscuity of the Russian Empire, we wouldn’t be outdone anywhere.

Anyway, as long as I remain unmarried, he won’t be interested in me.

He’ll meet Mrs. Simpson in a few years.

Conversely, if he were to get clingy with me, I could use that as leverage to make demands of Britain.

“By the way, what about Beria? Will he develop the engine?”

“Well, I’ve ordered him to, so he probably will.”

I immediately assigned the returned Beria to the research institute.

“Beria, from today I’m appointing you as the director of the Romanov Aviation Research Institute’s jet engine development team. Build it.”

“Pardon?”

“You said you could make it, right? You weren’t planning to do it as an Okhrana agent, were you?”

“N-no! I’ll do it!”

And so Beria, who suddenly became head of the Romanov Aviation Research Institute’s jet engine development team, is now diligently developing a jet engine.

Wasn’t he the one who said he could do it since he had the blueprints?

He seems to have studied hard alongside Frank Whittle.

I believe in Beria.

More precisely, I believe in his particular trait.

He’ll work hard to develop the jet engine, if only to advance his career and impress me.

If he truly succeeds, he might become Lavrentiy Beria, Russia’s jet engine developer.

As long as he doesn’t do anything unnecessary, there won’t be any pedophilia controversies.

“If it doesn’t work out, we can always pass the blueprints to our aviation engineers.”

If we have the framework, surely our aviation engineers can add the details.

Since Beria spent years next to Frank Whittle and extracted jet engine technology, it should be possible somehow.

“Let’s keep an eye on that. What’s this?”

“These are the test papers that came up from the State Duma.”

Test papers. They want me to grade them.

Looking at the content, it’s more like a one-sided report.

Past familiar topics, it’s about Western Ukraine.

There’s been a lot of talk about Western Ukraine recently.

It seems anti-British protests have been occurring in Western Ukraine.

“Aftereffects of the Great Depression?”

Following the Great Depression, Western Ukraine is also part of the Anti-Comintern Pact.

Being part of it, they’re influenced by anti-communism.

Separately, Western Ukraine probably doesn’t want to remain a puppet state anymore.

They thought they were independent, but with Britain in its current state, they’re only suffering.

“This could be useful in many ways.”

“Pardon?”

“Even without war, we could reduce British influence in Western Ukraine.”

If public sentiment in Western Ukraine is unexpectedly poor, we can gradually manipulate things from within.

Favorability is important for this.

Western Ukraine, being a puppet government, has clear limitations.

They need Britain’s help.

Hmm, should I discuss this at the Duma?

That’s what’s going to be discussed at the Duma today anyway.

* * *

When I attended the State Duma, as expected, the topic of Western Ukraine came up.

“Western Ukraine recently had anti-British protests, didn’t they?”

“Yes, it’s the aftermath of the Great Depression. Some Ukrainians were even arrested by British forces for saying it would be better to be incorporated into Russia.”

That’s quite serious.

For Britain, Western Ukraine is the last of the spoils they got from Germany.

The Baltic states aren’t even worth mentioning.

They want to consume Western Ukraine too.

With Churchill as a variable, it’s uncertain what will happen to Western Ukraine.

Strategically speaking, Western Ukraine isn’t that important to Britain right now.

If it’s to check Russia, it’s not impossible, but in that case, let’s do this:

“Let’s encourage immigration from Western Ukraine.”

“Encourage Western Ukrainian immigration?”

“To settle them in Eastern Ukraine. Britain, if they have any conscience, can’t say much about this.”

If it were a colony, it might be different. But they got it thanks to Germany, and they’re not managing it well.

They won’t use the same methods they use in colonies against fellow white people.

With communism three feet away, they need Russia as an ally urgently. If they pressure too much, things could turn red, which would be a major failure for Britain.

First, let’s encourage immigration from Western Ukraine, and then see the reaction.

“Still, Britain might…”

“If there’s talk in Western Ukraine about being incorporated into Russia, it means they want to rely on Russia. If we just watch from afar, Western Ukrainians might reconsider. We should at least show them that we care.”

“Understood. I’ll try to implement this.”

“If Britain says anything, respond appropriately. They can’t say much.”

If they have a conscience, how can they complain about people leaving because they can’t manage them?

Unlike Britain, Ukraine was originally called Little Russia, showing how deep the relationship is.

How dare these Anglo-Saxon pirates interfere when brothers want to cooperate?

And such actions will help Churchill.

A weak government that can’t criticize Russia’s actions is bound to be overthrown.

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Are there any other issues?”

“Half of the Bolsheviks assigned to road construction have expressed their intention to reform. There’s a lot of talk because so many have reformed at once.”

Bolsheviks en masse?

Hasn’t this information already been reported?

“Wasn’t this raised before?”

“This time there are quite a lot, and the Ministry of Land and Transport is having a headache. They want workers’ rights after reforming.”

Oh, these fools.

Do they think I don’t understand their intentions?

It’s obvious why they’re doing this.

“These are people who didn’t bend their will until they were thrown into camps. Moreover, they might be temporarily trying to avoid hardship after being assigned to road construction. Even if they claim to have reformed, we can’t guarantee they won’t engage in various terrorist activities internally when we fight Germany in the future.”

We’re talking about hundreds of thousands of workers.

Even though Russia is stable now, there’s no guarantee these hundreds of thousands won’t cause trouble during a war with Germany.

What if they rise up then, saying, “We’ve been waiting for this moment!”?

The Bolsheviks themselves were always oppressed and on the run, but when the opportunity arose, they came back and started a revolution.

Of course, even if the Bolsheviks try to incite, this Russia won’t collapse now.

But for the sake of future generations, we shouldn’t give them any leeway.

Bolsheviks aren’t well-regarded in the world anymore.

“Then…”

“Through ideological verification, exclude the first few people and put the rest back in camps. They need to realize how wary we are of Bolsheviks.”

With a scale of hundreds of thousands, it would be troublesome if they started a riot.

If Germany weren’t a factor, I might consider releasing them slowly.

They might secretly receive orders from Berlin and cause internal disturbances.

To avoid future trouble, communists should be completely uprooted.

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“And I heard the German army is increasing its armaments. Are the great powers just watching this?”

When Imperial-era officers start leading the People’s Army, France should be making a fuss, right?

“France is protesting, but they seem to have more urgent internal matters. Britain is watching from afar.”

There’s one reason Germany is taking such a gamble.

They believe there won’t be a two-front war in the next conflict.

Honestly, the worst scenario for Germany is being caught between France and Russia.

Moreover, even with Germany bulking up, I get the feeling they’ll be weaker than during the Imperial era.

Other countries have weakened as well, so they might have a chance.

“There’s one issue.”

“What is it?”

“Hitler of Austria has killed communists in camps in Austria and Hungary.”

What? For a moment, I doubted my ears.

Did I hear correctly? Did he just say all the communists were killed?