Ch.260China Division Project

* * *

The feeling of being escorted by cavalry from both East and West is quite… well. It’s truly indescribable.

Upon arriving in Southern Manchuria, I found that the Roman Treaty forces had taken over the administrative system and were serving as a supply base for China’s treaty forces and Balhae forces.

Military and naval personnel from the Roman Treaty were now managing Southern Manchuria as officials of the military government, following a proposal from Grigory Semyonov, the commander-in-chief of the Roman Treaty Far East Expeditionary Force.

“It is an honor to meet you, Tsar.”

For whatever reason, the treaty forces defending Southern Manchuria were from the German Empire, with Alexander von Falkenhaussen serving as the defense commander of the Roman Treaty forces in Southern Manchuria.

I really don’t understand what connection this is.

“Weren’t there quite a lot of Japanese people here as well?”

“They all seem bewildered. They were suddenly captured, after all. But they’re following orders now that the treaty forces have established military rule and allowed them to continue their livelihoods. There are quite a few Koreans living here too. It will be difficult to decide how to handle this place after the war.”

Right. Then I should probably drop some hints about where this place will go after the war.

“We haven’t decided where to allocate it after the war, but may I offer my opinion?”

“Do you have a plan in mind?”

“Southern Manchuria was quite developed as a supply base with the support of the Japanese government. Even before that, Japan had advanced here and developed it quite impressively. Japan will have to give up all its colonies, but we can’t just hand over Southern Manchuria. Wasn’t it originally a separate territory anyway?”

“Are you thinking of making Manchuria independent? Or incorporating it into Russia?”

Not likely. The territory is already large enough, and managing the Roman Treaty is already burdensome for Russia, so we can’t take more territory.

Now that I’ve established that it would be difficult to incorporate it anywhere, I can gradually bring up Korea.

“We already have the Qing Dynasty and Northern Manchuria. If we go back in history, Southern Manchuria was part of ancient Joseon and Goguryeo, ancestors of Korea. Since you mentioned that many Koreans reside here, let’s give it to Korea. I’ll have this discussed separately in Rome, so please prepare for it.”

“I will do so.”

Honestly, from a geopolitical perspective—not because I’m Korean—if we’re going to hand it over now, giving it to Korea makes the most sense for balance.

The map of China will be messy after the war, but having Southern Manchuria attached to the Korean peninsula would look appropriate.

Now, let’s take a look around Southern Manchuria and then head to the Korean peninsula.

“Your Majesty. Would you like to go to China where the treaty forces are? How about the Forbidden City?”

“The Forbidden City…”

Semyonov seems unable to resist the allure of the Emperor of China.

“The King of Qing is preparing to receive Your Majesty. Please visit in person to accept the loyalty oath from Puyi, the Qing King, as the new master of the Forbidden City, and also receive the surrender of the China Expeditionary Force commander.”

“The China Expeditionary Force commander?”

“A man named Okamura Yasuji, quite a big shot.”

Why on earth is his name Yasuji?

I seriously want to ask why that man has such a name.

Of course, it’s Japanese, so it’s different from Korean, but still.

“Yes. His name does sound like a big shot.”

“Pardon?”

“Nothing. So, is he also someone who carried out massacres on the Chinese front?”

Even if he surrenders, if he committed war crimes, we’ll have to send him to trial.

Most of the Imperial Headquarters staff are destined to die in trials anyway.

“The Chinese extermination operation was carried out in the south, but he was in charge of northern China and wasn’t particularly involved. However, he did conduct Operation Ichi-Go, destroying all the airfields in southern China. Thanks to that, they barely regained air superiority when they were on the defensive.”

I nodded at Drozdovsky’s words.

“But we took it from them.”

By the time we arrived, Japan’s air superiority was already in shambles.

They were no match for the scale of the treaty air forces.

“Yes. Okamura Yasuji was ordered to defend his position, but he surrendered to us, realizing it would be destruction either way.”

That makes sense. If he has any sense, surrender is the only answer.

“Hmm, what about the Government-General of Korea?”

“The Balhae forces received the surrender of Abe Nobuyuki, the Governor-General of Korea, and took over the administrative system.”

The surrender of the Governor-General of Korea.

Unfortunately, I won’t be able to see it in person.

I’m Russian, not Korean. I might travel abroad after the war, but for now, I’ll have to leave it to the Balhae government.

This is quite sad.

Being reincarnated as Russian royalty made it easier to support Korea, but it’s disappointing that I can’t directly witness Korea gaining independence.

But there’s nothing I can do. I can visit later.

I can’t interfere with the joy of Koreans achieving independence through their own strength.

Then, perhaps it would be better to go to the Forbidden City.

I can meet Puyi, the Qing King, and if I appear in person, the Japanese army might surrender on their own.

Those who know it’s already over are surrendering anyway. If I advance, the Chinese front should be considered essentially wrapped up.

“Let’s go to the Forbidden City.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

The Southern Manchuria issue seems settled—it will become Korean territory.

Next is Puyi.

* * *

The journey from Southern Manchuria to Beijing didn’t take long since the treaty forces had cleared the way.

Puyi, whom I met at the Forbidden City, appeared more manly than I had expected.

He looked better than during his time as the puppet emperor of Manchukuo in the original history.

“Are you Puyi?”

“Yes, Your Majesty. It is a great honor for the Aisin Gioro family to meet the Emperor of Russia, Your Majesty.”

To see Puyi and Wang Jingwei bowing their heads before me.

It feels strange to witness this scene directly in the Forbidden City.

“You attacked the Japanese forces in this war, allowing our treaty forces to successfully strike them from behind. I appreciate that.”

“It was what we had to do for the independence of Qing, Your Majesty.”

What nonsense. You stabbed Japan in the back to save yourself.

Honestly, if the treaty forces hadn’t attacked the Japanese army, Qing would have eventually been subdued by Japan.

Anyway, this guy did his part, so we should maintain Qing.

“Yes, that’s true. But there are those who couldn’t even do that. Though you were a king of a Japanese puppet state, considering the circumstances, I’ll continue to recognize you as the King of Qing. There will be some territorial adjustments, but if you follow our instructions, your country will be maintained under Russia’s protection.”

“Yes, Your Majesty! I’ll do anything!”

Good, good. I like that attitude.

Considering that in the original history he ended his life as a gardener, what a perfect ending this is.

At least he can maintain the appearance of a country with even a small piece of land.

And there’s something I need to confirm with Puyi.

Although I’ve been recognized as the Great Khan by the Manchus, the name of Aisin Gioro, the Great Qing Imperial Family, still carries weight.

So I wonder if soldiers loyal to Puyi still remain and have attacked the Japanese army.

I need to make this clear.

“The main task at hand is that Northern Manchuria will become Russian territory and Southern Manchuria will become Korean territory, but as a descendant of the Qing imperial family, you need to acknowledge this.”

Acknowledge it with your own mouth.

This needs to be made clear to prevent future territorial disputes.

That’s why I said I would put Israel in between, after all.

“The Aisin Gioro have long been abandoned in Manchuria. I will officially acknowledge this after the war.”

“That’s fortunate.”

It’s good that he’s not resisting.

He knows he’s in no position to argue when his life has been spared.

Even though it was a surprise attack, he must have seen how the Japanese army was thoroughly defeated by the treaty forces, and he knows that qualitatively and quantitatively, the Japanese army is no match for the treaty forces.

Let alone the Qing army, which would be crushed immediately.

Puyi was never qualified to be a monarch but ended up as the Emperor of Manchukuo.

He should be grateful for even this much.

Given his capabilities, he might be one of the biggest beneficiaries in Asia, along with Renya Mutaguchi.

From a national perspective, Korea would be the beneficiary, recovering Manchuria—which they had lost after the fall of Balhae, except for briefly during King Gongmin’s time—thanks to the treaty organization.

Anyway, we need to stabilize public sentiment in Qing.

Having decided to keep Puyi as our puppet, if we want the Chinese people in Qing territory to remain as Qing citizens, we need to differentiate them from southern China.

We also need to secure public support for Puyi.

From what I’ve learned, public sentiment toward Puyi in Qing is mixed.

Citizens who were already under Qing rule feel it’s more of the same, some harbor anti-Qing sentiments due to exploitation under Japan’s puppet regime, but Puyi has also gained some support by directly attacking Japanese forces with his personal guard.

For Qing to fully establish itself, we need to make this public sentiment entirely Puyi’s.

First, the treaty forces, as “friends” and allies of Puyi, will supply weapons to the Qing army and also provide massive support in Puyi’s name to Qing citizens who were exploited as a puppet state.

And by spreading news about concentration camps and other incidents, we’ll build anti-Japanese sentiment and redirect any resistance against the treaty forces entirely toward Japan.

At the same time, we’ll remind people that Qing is currently the only state in China that hasn’t suffered such atrocities (genocide).

“Isn’t Qing better in that case?”

“I heard the Russian Emperor has been helping us all along. Japan just took it away.”

“Looking at the state of southern China, it’s better to live in Qing. With Western powers behind us.”

“But this mint chocolate thing is a bit…”

In times of chaos, people tend to follow those who keep them warm and well-fed.

The 20th century was no different.

In fact, with the greater chaos caused by Japan, public sentiment is like a reed in the wind—the Chinese people in Qing, whether Han or Manchu, have no choice but to follow Qing, which has maintained stability.

But this alone is not enough.

If we want to completely separate Qing from southern China, we need to show the Qing people that they are different from southern China.

They need to create their own distinctions, thinking “We are different from the Chinese in southern China!” This will create seeds for future conflicts with southern China.

That way, Qing will have no choice but to rely on us even more.

“Beria. Do you have a method?”

“Of course I do.”

As expected of Beria. Your wicked mind is still sharp. Let’s hear what you have to say.

“Don’t tease me. Tell me quickly.”

At my question, Beria cleared his throat and began speaking with a fox-like face that made me want to slap him.

“China has a long history of being ruled by foreign peoples. Especially northern China. The nomadic nations that settled in this North China Plain were strong.”

“That’s right. But it’s difficult to create distinctions just because the northern Chinese dynasties were strong, isn’t it?”

If such distinctions had existed, the Manchu Qing Dynasty wouldn’t have lasted so long.

“The ruling class may be foreign, but most of the ruled are Han Chinese. This can be a justification that the Qing people themselves can legitimize for historical reasons. And the extermination camps created by Japan are decisive.”

“Go on.”

“Although it was a puppet state, the Qing people, apart from material exploitation and conscription, weren’t put in camps except for criminals. ‘Based on this, southern China is inferior and brought calamity upon itself.’ ‘The northern Chinese of Qing are descendants of the people of the strong northern Chinese dynasties throughout Chinese history, and even Japan recognized this by treating them as a puppet state.’ ‘The treaty forces also helped Qing for this reason.’ We’ll spread this propaganda through East Asian Okhrana agents. This will give the Qing people, who were filled with a sense of defeat as Japan’s puppet state, a sense of pride. They’ll naturally think, ‘We are different from the inferior southern Chinese.'”

I see. So we’re going to use their sense of defeat to our advantage.

Moreover, since they rebelled against Japan at the end and drove out the Imperial Headquarters, we can also instill pride that, unlike the southern Chinese, they defeated the Japanese army.

Just as I raised the Russian people with pride as descendants of Eastern Rome after the Civil War left Russia scarred.

Qing people who feel differentiated from southern China won’t try to unify based on their unique Sinocentrism.

Rather, just as China viewed surrounding countries as barbarians, Qing people will despise southern Chinese as barbarians.

If the treaty forces continue to support them after the war, this tendency will grow stronger.

Then they won’t even think about unification, and the southern Chinese won’t look favorably upon the Qing northern Chinese filled with a sense of superiority.

“Not bad. Let’s do it that way.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

This is how we’ll separate Qing, and except for those who will practice federalism starting with Mao Zedong, the rest will fight among themselves for unification, so the picture is clear.

Permanently dividing China!

My wish is to see more of China because I love it so much.

Now that the war is nearing its end, I’ll just quietly add my wishes to Mao Zedong’s federalism project.

“Your Majesty. Do you intend to leave Qing as it is?”

Grigory Semyonov seems to find that regrettable.

But a white man cannot become the emperor of the yellow race.

Besides, I personally don’t want to be the Emperor of China.

The territory is already vast, so why bother?

“It’s better for humanity to keep China divided like this. There’s no reason for me to take on the role of their monarch and stabilize China.”

From the Chinese perspective, they might think, “After all this torment, now you’re dividing our country!” But that’s how it is.

The Chinese people wouldn’t accept me anyway, and I already have many titles, so I’m not particularly drawn to it.

Of course, I could change China under my leadership, but I would have to commit Russia’s national power to China’s development. Why would I want that hell? That’s the question.

Having come this far, I can’t ruin our national power developing China.

“There’s enough land for Israel, they’ll serve as our military role, and if we use Qing as well, dividing China won’t be difficult.”

Qing with a king but no emperor.

It’s essentially the same as losing the Mandate of Heaven.

“Well, it’s still regrettable.”

Grigory Semyonov smacked his lips in disappointment.

There’s no need to be disappointed. I’m already the Emperor of Rome, which was the strongest country in Europe.

“Besides, the position of Emperor of China lost the Mandate of Heaven long ago due to the Manchu Qing Dynasty. If we must say, the Mandate of Heaven of the Chinese Son of Heaven was inherited by the Emperor of the Korean Empire, which succeeded the will of the Ming Dynasty through Joseon.”

That’s not wrong, strictly speaking.

So it would be more appropriate to go to Yi Kang and say, “You should recognize my position as the Son of Heaven.”