Ch.283Indochina High Commissioner’s Office (2)

* * *

“Tell the Vietnamese Emperor to select a leader through consultation. We’re busy organizing weapons to hand over to the new Vietnamese army. Whatever you do, as long as you don’t rise up and annoy us like Indonesia did, we’ll allow it. Consult or do whatever you want on your own.”

It ends more anticlimactically than expected.

They withdrew so easily it seemed almost wrong.

With his energy completely drained, Ho Chi Minh finally approached Emperor Bao Dai to demand his abdication.

“This imperial position was one I never wanted, and I couldn’t do anything according to my own will, yet I’ve only received the people’s hatred. I will abdicate, so handle things as you see fit.”

“What?”

Somehow, even the Emperor is unexpectedly willing to step down.

Looking at him carefully, his face shows no deception.

As if he’s reached enlightenment, as if saying there’s no need to hold such a position. Seeing that face, Ho Chi Minh felt a strange emotion, as if he had been needlessly tense.

“I told you. This wasn’t a position I wanted. The High Commissioner also said they would transfer power once a leader to govern is determined, so do as you wish.”

The Emperor declared his own abdication, and he would follow the Commissioner to France, ensuring his later years were secure.

The Vietnamese Nationalist Party thus received a promise for a peaceful transfer of power.

However, there was a problem.

“We also fought for independence, so why is that Ho Chi Minh fellow receiving the transfer of power?”

In the original history, Ngo Dinh Diem, the first President of the Republic of Vietnam, rose up against Ho Chi Minh.

In this world, he had fought for independence as in the original history and marked the end of French colonial rule. He had directly intervened with the High Commissioner’s office and helped establish Vietnam’s political system, but…

“You want help establishing a pro-American government?”

True to his eventual fate as an incompetent and corrupt dictator, he couldn’t accept Ho Chi Minh and reached out to the United States.

* * *

Tesla Research Institute, Moscow, United States of Russia

I’ve been quite busy lately.

There was the imperial celebration of Vladimir and Frederike’s wedding.

Both imperial families greatly blessed the union, and there was talk about the military alliance between Germany and Russia being formed.

Of course, since the Rome Treaty Organization already puts everyone in the same framework, such military alliances don’t really mean much anymore.

Germany still maintains its old-fashioned monarchy, so this was necessary for improving their constitution.

Due to the communist revolution in the German homeland, the German Empire missed its opportunity for reform, so they need to rely on Russia.

“And now Tesla.”

The important point to focus on now is indeed Tesla.

Unfortunately, on the day he created the transistor, Nikola Tesla collapsed.

It’s understandable given his age, but Tesla insisted he could hold on longer and continued giving instructions even while bedridden.

And I visited the research institute to see this Tesla.

“So this is the transistor.”

The development of the transistor. What would later be called the Tesla Transistor was created.

Looking at it directly, I truly feel I’ve contributed greatly to history.

Of course, it’s only about a year ahead of the original history, but at least I presented many ideas, and now, this Moscow Tesla Research Institute houses numerous scientists from the Rome Treaty Organization.

Through them, the future will develop even faster.

Perhaps the world I originally came from—2024—might contain even more.

Space development will soar even higher.

“Yes. This will be the final masterpiece of my life.”

“Not the Wardenclyffe Tower?”

In the end, the Wardenclyffe Tower consumed enormous amounts of money, but ultimately it was difficult to achieve.

It was a technical limitation, or perhaps its economic feasibility was low.

Instead, Russia developed what they called the Wardenclyffe Revolution, a draft of wireless communication technology named after it, which will continuously advance human civilization.

And in the midst of this, to develop the transistor.

“Heh heh heh. This is all thanks to Your Majesty. Because Your Majesty provided the conditions, I was able to research as I wished until my death.”

Research until death.

If someone heard that, they might think, “He worked him like a graduate student!” But I wanted science and technology to develop further than in the original history, and Tesla wanted to research until his death.

I made massive investments, and while some said Tesla had mental issues, I provided him with unstinting support.

That received ample reward.

I’m satisfied with that much.

“Now calculators, radios, and many other things will develop further to become easier to use and smaller, and they will be applied to computers developed by Konrad Zuse and the Colossus from Britain, leading to even greater advancements.”

The Z3 computer developed by Germany’s Konrad Zuse after he came to Russia, and Britain’s Colossus, developed during the war with communist Germany.

The Colossus was especially top secret, but I obtained it by appropriately threatening Churchill in various ways.

After all, now that we’re all one family, what’s the importance of secrets? So with the development of the transistor, more things, newer things will be developed. That’s how it will be.

Therefore, Tesla has truly achieved a great accomplishment.

Currently, Russian scientific development is almost entirely dependent on Tesla.

“You’ve worked hard all this time.”

I praised Tesla’s achievements generously.

“Heh heh heh. But it’s not over yet. Somehow, I will show Your Majesty the advancement of human civilization that you desire. This Earth, the cradle of humanity, will undergo a powerful transformation before this Tesla dies. Under the wireless revolution, that is. When that happens, even if European countries want to leave the Rome Treaty, it won’t be easy.”

That’s right. Once unified, it’s difficult to escape independently because you need to establish an independent system.

That would be challenging.

“Yes. That’s enough. I hear you’ll be awarded the Nobel Prize. Dr. Tesla will leave the name Tesla in human history. Perhaps throughout the thousands of years until now, through all ages and civilizations that have developed and declined, that period will be overshadowed by Dr. Tesla’s scientific advancements.”

Looking at the past is good, but the present and future are also important.

No, rather, the present and future are continuously advancing even at this moment.

The past will only be forgotten in the backstreets of history.

It’s clear that even this moment will become the past, but it’s a time with higher development potential than any other in human history.

“You flatter me. *cough* *cough*”

“Your name will leave a legacy for a long time in the distant future. Your name will remain on all kinds of electronic devices.”

Tesla Radio, Tesla Computer, Tesla Refrigerator. I plan to attach his name to electronic devices across various fields.

For now, I’m thinking of creating a new company called Tesla Electronics.

“Have you seen the future?”

“I haven’t seen the future. But I will make it so.”

With my authority, I’ll just attach the name Tesla to everything.

The names Romanov and Tesla will be paired.

In the distant future, won’t those two become like Samsung and LG in Europe?

“It’s an honor.”

There’s no need to consider it an honor.

Humans should expect rewards proportional to their work.

Missile development is also continuing. While the Romanov name is inseparable from the weapons business, Goddard’s descendants will receive enough pension to live comfortably.

“Even so, don’t push yourself too hard. I don’t want to hear later that the Saint worked Dr. Tesla to death.”

I’d like to push him more, but isn’t he over 90 now? From that perspective, if I push him wrongly, he might die.

I can’t cut open the goose that lays golden eggs.

After promising Tesla development support once more, I left the research institute.

“Hmm. If computers are being developed, what about the internet?”

Surprisingly, Korea wasn’t uninvolved in the history of the internet.

When computers develop further, it would be good to bring up the internet.

The development of that internet would be useful for the OGAS Project later.

After appropriately comforting Tesla and attending the Duma, I found the Duma members busily producing things for me to grade.

As we’ve united under the Rome Treaty Organization, Russia’s workload has increased.

Naturally, there was too much to grade just from what came from the office.

I mindlessly graded papers in the Duma, like a hamster running on a wheel to diet.

Then suddenly curious, I turned my eyes to the Prime Minister.

“What about Vietnam?”

“The Emperor has handed over the authority to establish a new government to Ho Chi Minh.”

I see. So in the end, Ho Chi Minh receives power.

Then, what happens to Ho Chi Minh now?

“Hmm, Ho Chi Minh isn’t a communist, right?”

If Ho Chi Minh isn’t a communist, that’s not bad.

We don’t need to move our military again. First, we need to consider the possibility of Vietnam falling under American influence.

Since Vietnam was a colony, and we’ve agreed to turn a blind eye, America will try to bring Vietnam under its influence.

“Yes. He created a nationalist party called the Vietnamese Nationalist Party, similar to our Roman National Party, and adopted modified capitalism.”

“Those are people I like.”

“Indeed. They seem to know what they’re doing.”

While the Roman National Party members are excited, unfortunately, I don’t find it particularly appealing.

It seems like this Ho Chi Minh is seeking our help, sending us love calls.

Since we’re bound by the Rome Treaty, we’ve essentially shouldered France’s burden, so Ho Chi Minh’s actions are like asking the colonial government for help again. Hmm.

“This is annoying.”

That’s how humans are. They choose what they need to gain power.

Both Mao Zedong and Ho Chi Minh chose communism in the original history, but in this world, rather than choosing communism that would get them beaten, they chose strange political systems like modified capitalism or federalism that appear favorable and are good for gaining power.

“But there’s a problem.”

“What is it? From what I see, the Commissioner’s office seems to be withdrawing safely.”

Looking at the grading sheet, the French Indochina colonial government, now the Rome Treaty Organization’s Indochina National Commissioner’s Office, is withdrawing its government, military, and officials one by one.

At least from the current situation, Vietnam won’t cause trouble like Indonesia.

“The problem is that a man named Ngo Dinh Diem has apparently contacted the United States during this process.”

Ngo Dinh Diem was certainly the first President of Vietnam in the original history. An independence activist who did well initially but later became corrupt.

Later South Vietnamese leaders were so terrible that he was reevaluated.

This time, rising against Ho Chi Minh ultimately shows his desire for power. Hmm.

For now, there are no issues with other colonies.

In Africa, we plan to apologize for colonial rule, provide enough support to form governments, and then hand them over to Ethiopia. But is Vietnam a problem?

“Strictly speaking, this has nothing to do with us.”

“Pardon?”

Why should we worry about this? We’ve given Vietnam independence. If civil war breaks out, it’s their fault.

I don’t think we need to support either side or go out and fight.

“We promised to hand Vietnam over to the United States according to our agreement.”

The United States can do whatever it wants with former colonies.

Vietnam is a post-colonial country here.

“That’s right.”

“And neither Ho Chi Minh nor that Ngo whatever is particularly communist. It’s ultimately a power struggle.”

I don’t understand why they fight so much over power.

Couldn’t they do it gently like me? To see them behaving like this when they’ve just been liberated from colonization and should be united—it truly feels hopeless.

But you know what? That’s why we’re external entities. We left saying, “We’re leaving all the exploitation facilities behind, so use them as you wish!”

Now that something’s about to happen in Vietnam, it feels wrong to intervene.

“That’s correct.”

“We don’t need to worry about it. We’ve handed it over and left, and it doesn’t matter if Vietnam falls under American influence.”

Seriously, do we need to do anything more? No. Korea went on a different route from the original history, and Vietnam can do the same.

I have no desire to go and cause trouble in a country that doesn’t even have a communist party.

More important is China again. Why is China important?

Currently, China is disguised as federalism, but the country is divided. It survived thanks to supplies from the Rome Treaty, but that means it gained nothing.

It joined the ranks of victorious nations but received no reparations because there was no legitimate government.

Because of this, various factions are competing to be the legitimate government.

Of course, if we’re being strict, Japan now has no ability to pay reparations, so it’s just an excuse, but anyway.

In this situation, I had some of the weapons from the withdrawing Indochina Commissioner’s Office distributed to various warlords.

Japanese weapons, in particular, were plentiful as they were left behind by Japanese troops deployed to Indochina, making them perfect to hand over.

I will cause a civil war in southern China during my lifetime.

The Qing—yes, it feels a bit strange, so let’s call it the Qing Dynasty again—is completely under our influence and as a Manchu state has no unification capacity, maintaining the status quo internally. Zhang Xueliang in Shandong cannot build unification capacity in that land, and Xinjiang has changed to Turkestan.

Well, Mao Zedong is saying he’ll achieve unification through federalism!

And the Chinese Federal State, being an inland country developing with our support, has strong Russian influence and cannot unify.

Yes.

I plan to deliberately cause conflict in southern China to make them fight each other.

The damage from the Sino-Japanese War is already uncontrollable, but I need to reduce their numbers further by instigating more fighting in that state. The abundance of that continent is somewhat concerning.

I will never allow China to unify and will eliminate anyone who might unify it in the future.

That’s my only thought.

But it seems worldly affairs aren’t so simple.

“Your Majesty. Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh has reached out to us.”

Apparently, Ho Chi Minh has approached us.

Hmm, I wonder if this is really right.