Ch.195Age of Turbulence (2) (Revision Complete)

* * *

Of course, abandoning Greece as the Eastern Roman Emperor is another matter. But right now, national interests come first.

Later, if we bring Turkey, which has consumed Greece, into the Roman Treaty, what would that be if not Rome?

“If we had done that, we would have fought over Turkey, Constantinople, and the Pontus region endlessly. Turkey can be drawn into the new Roman power later.”

That way, they would naturally become part of Rome without having to take it by force through war.

A country exists but permanently joins a single power bloc, binding everything with Russia—what would that be if not Rome?

“Then what will you do about Greece?”

“Let’s leave Greece alone. Wouldn’t it be cleaner if Greece is consumed by Italy, then Turkey consumes it, and we tacitly approve?”

After all, Greece was once Ottoman territory, wasn’t it?

If Turkey later devours a Greece that has been turned red by Italy, and we pretend not to notice, would the international community say much?

Churchill would have to fight with his Commonwealth dominions.

“Hmm. But aren’t we favoring Turkey too much? If they recover Greece, they might become emboldened.”

“They might later become presumptuous and claim they want to recover Constantinople.”

That wouldn’t be bad either.

It would give us a legitimate reason to beat Turkey again.

Turkey doesn’t have the power to do anything against Russia.

Conversely, it would be a perfect opportunity for Russia to restore the complete Eastern Roman Empire.

“Then, when that time comes, we can justifiably beat them, annex the entire Turkish territory, and relocate all Turkish people back to the steppes where they originally lived.”

Turkey is definitely Turkic, right?

Turkey has mentioned the friendship between Goguryeo and the Turks when discussing relations with Korea, so that must be correct.

If we ever have to become hostile with Turkey, we should use that point as justification for relocation.

If they challenge us, we’ll eliminate them all, move Russians and Greeks to Anatolia, and simply declare Byzantium.

“Indeed. So Your Majesty had such intentions.”

“Yes, the complete restoration of the Eastern Roman Empire!”

Why do these crazy people think that’s going to happen?

I don’t think that way right now.

No matter how I look at it, Turkey doesn’t seem likely to do something so insane.

Would Turkey, which knows Russia is doing well and is even importing Russian weapons, target Russia?

I don’t think so. Those with anger management issues typically submit to powerful forces.

“So, this is just in case. If Turkey doesn’t listen to us and targets Constantinople and Pontus again.”

Surely that won’t happen.

Atatürk is still alive, and İnönü isn’t the type to be greedy either.

The dream of rebuilding the Ottoman Empire is only possible if Russia is weak.

Hmm. Honestly, even if we take all of Turkey’s territory.

Managing it is another issue.

Can Russia, already vast, project administrative power all the way to Anatolia? That’s a different problem. At best, it would likely become a self-governing territory.

“But if Italy takes Greece, won’t they become too powerful? Perhaps it wouldn’t be bad to intervene in the war at this point.”

“If Italy is thinking clearly, they won’t immediately invade Greece after consuming Ethiopia and Albania.”

They might progress faster than in the original history, but they won’t be able to do much for the time being.

After consuming Albania, Germany will probably put on the brakes.

Invading Greece is a future issue. Right now, there’s Austria becoming a combined robot again right before our eyes.

Even in the original history, Italy thought “this might be possible,” then attacked and ended up with “Help me, Germany!” Originally, there was no Austrian Empire and there was Yugoslavia, which was easy to defeat.

Even Nazi Germany had to postpone Operation Barbarossa. So would a Greek invasion be easily possible here?

Despite being provoked, they won’t immediately commit the madness of attacking Greece.

They’ll try to quickly take down Austria first.

They’ll probably consume Albania first and then prepare for a Greek advance?

It’s clear that Goebbels’ Germany will prevent Italy from acting out.

“Are the American expeditionary forces prepared for any contingency?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Even if Trotsky is captured and plays his role for us, it would be problematic if they became suspicious.

If Russian support troops arrive and Trotsky suddenly dies or disappears, causing the KFC to collapse, and Russia just takes all the benefits for itself, wouldn’t that be suspicious?

So, we need to show that we’re prepared to send a large army so that America’s MacArthur doesn’t become suspicious.

“Hmm. It’s a pity.”

“What do you mean?”

Ungern clicks his tongue, clearly disappointed about something.

When I tilt my head questioningly, Ungern boldly speaks up.

“Couldn’t we create a two-front war for Trotsky?”

A two-front war for Trotsky? Huey Long hasn’t joined the war yet. No, we don’t necessarily need to use Huey Long’s side.

I see. Ungern is talking about Canada.

Drozdovsky has been restless lately after hearing about his exploits in Spain.

Canada would certainly create a structure for a two-front war. It’s a plausible development.

If Canada joins the war and creates a front in the north, that would be convincing.

With the west neutral and Huey Long not yet participating, Trotsky currently has to fight MacArthur one-on-one.

It would be great if a front opened in the north.

“General Ungern, are you referring to Canada?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Hmm, Canadian intervention.

Does Canada have the military power to intervene in America?

Canada has a large territory but quite a small population, doesn’t it?

“That would ultimately lead to British participation. That’s problematic for us, and Churchill, who needs to reconcile with the Commonwealth and control the colonies, wouldn’t accept it.”

If Canada somehow joins the war, Britain cannot abandon its dominion and would join as well.

It would reverse our efforts to block British intervention.

But I have a sudden question.

“By the way, with their neighbor’s house in ruins right below them, is Canada not moving its troops or taking any action?”

From my perspective, that’s the issue. Can Canada defend against Trotsky?

Well, Britain would protect Canada, but given Britain’s current state and the American civil war, there must be some impact.

“Not immediately. Perhaps there’s an argument with the British mainland? If Trotsky doesn’t provoke them, they won’t get involved.”

“Hmm. I see.”

Canada probably can’t intervene.

If there’s an argument with the British mainland over the marriage issue, how could they get involved?

“Then, what about advancing into Canada?”

“Into Canada?”

What does he mean by going to Canada?

I think General Ungern’s dreams might be too big.

“Honestly, if Canada just gave us military passage rights, wouldn’t it be possible to pressure Trotsky from above? Let’s just probe Canada a little.”

Well, that makes sense.

It’s not entirely impossible. We’d face severe criticism, but we could go under the pretext of helping America, then naturally pressure Canada for military passage rights. Hmm.

Britain wouldn’t stand for that. In the extremely unlikely event—very hypothetically—

What if we offered to help defend Canada instead of Britain?

Not by threatening to block Britain in the Atlantic, but seriously making Trotsky look like he might target Canada?

If Trotsky misbehaves and threatens Canada while Britain is troubled by the marriage issue?

Of course, this lacks realism.

I’m only considering this because our White Army might say, “We want to go to Canada! Please!”

“That’s out of the question. I know the White Army wants to advance into America, but afterward, the great powers, including Britain, might nurture Communist Germany to check us.”

Our prime minister has stepped in for good reason.

Moreover, we don’t know if it’s even possible.

Britain might say, “You started this,” leave the Anti-Comintern Pact, and support Communist Germany. The same goes for other Anti-Comintern Pact countries that have just started following us.

I want to change Russia’s image as much as possible.

“Hmm. To have to let this opportunity slip away.”

It can’t be helped, even if you’re disappointed.

Even taking Alaska requires a lot of caution.

Right now, with America’s situation and the Commonwealth’s marriage troubles, Britain might raise issues about Alaska in the future.

“Above all, Canada is a British dominion. Even if relations are strained now, Britain won’t ignore it as a Commonwealth member.”

That’s right. That’s going too far.

Churchill must be aware of what Russia is doing. He will certainly try to block Russia somehow.

It’s obvious that Russia could be seen as doing unnecessary things. This could give Churchill a pretext.

Even in the remotest possibility, we might give Churchill justification.

Going as far as Canada would be crossing too many lines. Even Canada wouldn’t want us exerting influence on them.

They would rather reconcile with Churchill’s Britain. It would be better if there were more discord within the Commonwealth.

We can’t go overboard. The world seems to be constantly pushing Russia to go out of control.

To be completely honest, I never wanted Britain to be in such chaos.

That makes it look even more tempting.

Even our White Army, intoxicated with Roman fever, is hoping Turkey will act up.

If we show any more openings, everyone will want to advance into America.

Unless this is Russia’s version of Japan in the Second World War. That would just make us the Russian version of Japan.

“Don’t even think about targeting Canada. We cannot plant our flag in another house while Communist Germany exists.”

“The White Army will follow only Your Majesty’s will.”

That’s how it should be. Just don’t go berserk like Japan’s Imperial Headquarters.

“But is it certain that this Renya Mutaguchi really annihilated the Chinese United Army?”

How can we believe this?

“Yes, it’s absolutely certain. The Manchus in Northern Manchuria are saying that with Puyi’s surrender, the Daqing Empire has truly ended, and they’re advocating for Your Majesty to be enthroned as the new Great Khan.”

“What admirable people.”

After all, though it’s now Russian territory, Manchuria is the homeland and sacred ground of the Manchu people.

The Manchus who still remain there probably have pride as Manchus even under Russian rule.

Though he was only a figurehead emperor, they must be reluctant to accept that Puyi, the Emperor of Manchuria, knelt before the Japanese Emperor.

* * *

Japanese North China, Forbidden City

Around this time, Emperor Hirohito and the Imperial Headquarters in the Forbidden City were in extremely good spirits.

They were more excited than ever before.

This was because they had received the surrender directly from a descendant of the Aisin Gioro of the Daqing Empire—the Emperor of the Chinese Empire, even if only in name—who had ruled the continent for hundreds of years.

Puyi had to hand over the position of Emperor of the Chinese Empire to Hirohito, as if transferring a part-time job.

Was this how his father felt when he annexed the Korean Empire with its 500-year tradition?

Hirohito, who had entered the Forbidden City, was resting comfortably and waiting for the surrender of other warlords when he received news that hit him like a blow to the back of the head.

In southern China, someone named Chiang Kai-shek had established the National Government in Nanjing, declared something different from the surrender of the Chinese Empire, and vowed to fight against Japan.

Additionally, the Chinese people in Hebei did not welcome Japanese rule.

There was no time to stabilize the area after Renya Mutaguchi’s blitzkrieg before the Emperor reached the Forbidden City.

The Chinese people, who had long held pride in their Sinocentrism, were unwilling to accept being ruled by Japan, which had once been a tributary state on the eastern edge of Korea.

“Japanese devils, get out!”

“We don’t want the Emperor, and we don’t want you either!”

The Japanese leadership, who had received the Emperor’s surrender and expected to defeat each region separately or receive surrenders from various areas, was furious.

There were already various complaints coming from Korea, and they couldn’t kill all the Chinese people in Hebei Province, so some compromise was necessary.

Eventually, the Imperial Headquarters had to make a decision.

“Your Majesty, given the situation, a long war is unavoidable. We should advance into southern China, but to secure the occupation and the hearts of the people in Hebei, we need to establish a puppet government.”

“To fear mere Chinese people and establish a puppet government? Hmph.”

“Without that National Government, we might have done so, but we need to advance south, and as things stand, our rear is unstable.”

“Hmm, is that the best option?”

“A man named Wang Jingwei from Beijing has approached us. We should make him prime minister, appoint Puyi as a feudal king, and establish a puppet state.”

“Hmm, that’s not a bad idea. I accept your opinion and will appoint Puyi as the King of Qing.”

The Imperial Headquarters’ decision showed slightly more intelligence than in the original history.

Japan would directly rule northern Hebei Province, and they reestablished the puppet Qing state by combining Beijing, the rest of Hebei Province, Shanxi Province, and parts of Shandong Province, with Hirohito appointing Puyi as the King of Qing.

“Bastards who don’t truly care about China!”

Wang Jingwei, who had approached Japan, was nearly assassinated by Dai Li, a subordinate of Chiang Kai-shek, while heading to Japan. Burning with revenge, he refused to recognize Chiang Kai-shek’s government and accepted the position of Prime Minister of Qing.

The name of the country no longer mattered to him.

He would simply receive Japan’s help to deal with Chiang Kai-shek, unify the continent, and choose a path of harmony with Japan.

In Nanjing, Chiang Kai-shek, Chairman of the National Government of China, could not contain his anger at the news of Puyi’s appointment as King of Qing and Wang Jingwei’s separate negotiations with Japan to establish the Qing state.

“That puppet Puyi is one thing, but Wang Jingwei, that traitor, how dare he! I will drive out Japan and achieve unification!”

However, to fight Japan, he needed to improve the quality of his military.

Chiang Kai-shek was an anti-communist, but the 2 million troops prepared to face Japan had simply evaporated.

Those who had been acting like kings in their own regions under federalism scattered like spiderlings as soon as the United Army collapsed.

They were regrouping around Nanjing, but if the Japanese army immediately launched an aggressive offensive, ignoring the stabilization of Qing, Nanjing would have to be abandoned. Chiang Kai-shek didn’t yet have complete control, so there was no suitable place to relocate the capital.

While it might be possible to absorb the warlords weakened by this defeat during this window of opportunity, unification alone wouldn’t improve military quality.

This desperate situation was obvious to everyone. He needed help from Western powers to train his military.

Russia, Japan’s ally, was suspicious even for buying weapons.

Help from Anti-Comintern Pact countries was out of the question. The United States, now in a three-way civil war, wasn’t even worth mentioning.

So the only countries that might actively help China were communist countries hostile to the Anti-Comintern Pact.

In the original history, Chiang Kai-shek had visited the Soviet Union and developed doubts about communism, but in this world, the Soviet Union had collapsed, and Communist Germany had risen as a new communist power. While Chiang Kai-shek himself was not a communist, he saw communists as forces he could ally with to fight a common enemy.

Thus, he had only one choice.

“I have no choice. I don’t like it, but now I must join hands even with the devil. Dai Li, are you there?”

“Yes, sir.”

“You will go to Communist Germany. Tell them we will keep Japan and Russia occupied in Asia, and request that they send advisors to train our military into a strong force. However, make it clear that we will absolutely not become a communist country.”

“Sigh, to have to receive help from communists. Our situation is dire, so we have no choice. I’ll go right away.”

Thus, Chiang Kai-shek dispatched Dai Li as a special envoy to the Free Socialist Republic of Germany, the den of the red devil.