Ch.284I Said I Don’t Want to Get Involved, Didn’t I?

“Ho Chi Minh?”

I keep telling you I don’t want to get involved with them.

If Diem or whatever his name is approached the Americans, that means Vietnam is 100% entering the American sphere of influence. And Ho Chi Minh approaching us is basically…

No different than asking for a proxy war in Vietnam.

Right. The Korean War of the original timeline could break out here instead.

Maybe we should moderately support the Chinese Civil War while selling some weapons to Ho Chi Minh’s side.

That doesn’t sound like a bad idea.

“Hmm. Perhaps splitting Vietnam in half is an option.”

It would be like creating the original Korea in Vietnam.

If we’re being practical, including Vietnam in our defense line wouldn’t be a bad idea.

Of course, this is all theoretical.

If it doesn’t work out, we can always withdraw.

The Constantinople Treaty Organization already projects influence throughout Europe, the Middle East, and the Far East.

Maintaining the status quo is perfectly fine for now.

“Yes. Since it was a colony, he’s requesting support in addition to the transfer of power.”

Hmm, that makes sense.

With Ho Chi Minh choosing the Constantinople Treaty and Ngo Dinh Diem choosing America, civil war seems inevitable.

Of course, if either side manages to eliminate the other before the civil war intensifies, that’s another matter.

“Regarding Vietnam, since there are unknown variables, discuss support options for Ho Chi Minh. Preferably lean toward not providing support.”

“So you’re abandoning Vietnam, then?”

Abandon Vietnam? Of course not.

No, we must keep our promise to America. I intend to keep it. After advocating for decolonization and granting independence, it would be inhuman not to help a former colony that’s asking for assistance with national development.

“I said lean toward not providing support. There are many ways to provide assistance. We ruled Vietnam as French Indochina and caused countless damages in the process. Isn’t what the colonial government left behind insufficient to support Vietnam?”

Direct state-to-state support is difficult.

But compensating for damages suffered by the Vietnamese people beyond what the colonial government provided is a different matter.

Providing aid to “the legitimate government of Vietnam” to compensate for damages suffered by the Vietnamese people doesn’t sound bad.

“Indeed, such a method.”

Whether it’s wordplay or not, it will certainly irritate the Americans.

At minimum, we should prepare to either try splitting the country in half or, even if we concede Vietnam to America, make them pay a price for it.

Of course, sending our troops directly is still a bit much at this point.

For now, providing weapons support should be sufficient.

“If there’s any urgency for us, it would be North Africa. For now, we could at least inform the Okhrana that Diem might be a threatening figure.”

North Africa is technically Roman territory as well.

Once liberated from colonial status, it should join the Constantinople Treaty Organization.

As for Vietnam, we can just let it go as needed.

* * *

Saigon, South Vietnam

John Joseph Muccio, who in the original timeline would have been sent to Korea as the US Ambassador, was currently serving as the US Ambassador to Vietnam.

He had been monitoring the situation in Vietnam for some time when one day, Ngo Dinh Diem, who held a position equivalent to second-in-command in Vietnam’s provisional government, came to request support, promising to become a firmly pro-American state.

“So, the Free Republic of Vietnam will remain a pro-American country in our Asia and become a defense line against the Constantinople Treaty. Is that correct?”

“That’s right. This Ho Chi Minh fellow has marginalized independence fighters who fought alongside him and intimidated the Emperor to transfer power only to his faction. Does that make any sense to you?”

Ambassador Muccio welcomed the proposal, but he was still doubtful whether it was right to choose someone other than Ho Chi Minh, who had legitimately succeeded the government.

“It doesn’t make sense, indeed. Hmm. But this is beyond an ambassador’s authority.”

Whether it made sense or not, from America’s perspective, they were willing to use anyone—be it the Emperor or Ho Chi Minh—as long as they were perfectly pro-American politicians.

“Ambassador Muccio, contact your government and support me. Help me.”

“Wouldn’t this potentially lead to civil war? Can you handle that?”

If mishandled, this could lead to civil war.

“Doesn’t America need a reliable pro-American force? I—this Vietnam—will be America’s vanguard in Asia. With US military support, we can defeat Ho Chi Minh.”

America’s vanguard in Asia.

Yes, that’s certainly an appealing statement, but…

“Hmm. I’ll sound out my government first.”

General MacArthur in the United States fell into deep thought upon receiving the news from Ambassador Muccio.

“Vietnam, huh. Conversely, couldn’t Ho Chi Minh beg the Constantinople Treaty for support?”

While there was an agreement to keep Vietnam within the American sphere of influence after its independence from colonial rule, merely providing weapons would be a different story.

Moreover, Ho Chi Minh had been entrusted with power by the Constantinople Treaty Organization’s Asian High Commission and the Emperor, with no contact with the United States.

Of course, once he established his foundation, things might change. The US had established embassies and dispatched ambassadors to Indonesia and Vietnam as soon as the Constantinople Treaty Organization withdrew.

This was to bring them fully into the American sphere of influence.

And they had hoped for contact from the other side.

In Indonesia, except for the truly small states that remained pro-Constantinople Treaty Organization thanks to their help with independence, the rest established diplomatic relations with the US and set up embassies. But Ho Chi Minh hadn’t yet made contact.

This suggested that the US might not be a priority for Ho Chi Minh.

But Ngo Dinh Diem was different.

Ngo Dinh Diem needed America.

If he came to power with American help, he would inevitably become dependent on the United States.

The problem was that this could lead to civil war. Whether America, in its current situation, should help with a Vietnamese civil war was another matter entirely.

East Japan had been beaten so badly that it was miraculous the government was even functioning.

East Japan needed to be rebuilt as an agricultural nation to serve as America’s Pacific base, but how much money would Vietnam cost on top of that? This was an issue that required a long-term perspective.

“We’ll support him. Surely a civil war won’t break out.”

America chose Ngo Dinh Diem and supported him, but…

“I thought it wouldn’t happen!”

Suspicious Russians had already delivered information to Ho Chi Minh, who was prepared and fled to Hanoi, splitting Vietnam into North and South.

* * *

Constantinople Treaty Organization

With Vietnam in that state, we should also finalize our decolonization efforts.

For over a decade, we’ve been leisurely supporting the independence of colonial countries while building organizations.

Among them, India, Indochina, and Indonesia were completed surprisingly quickly.

Of course, India required some surgical intervention, and Indonesia was beaten into submission after getting cocky, resulting in proper division with America establishing a foothold.

African independence seems to be taking longer, probably due to all the seeds we’ve sown there. Looking at the independence list…

“Why is Spanish Morocco excluded from independence?”

Why is Spanish Morocco excluded from independence? French Algeria also seems likely to become independent.

“It appears that after granting significant autonomy to Morocco, they simply want to remain our territory.”

“Really?”

What’s that about? Is that a lie?

“Yes. We didn’t particularly pressure them with force. Morocco’s army is currently composed of local Moroccans. When we sequentially withdrew troops from Africa last time, our forces also left.”

“They must have done a good job with colonial assimilation.”

I see. That’s why they were dropping hints when we first brought up decolonization.

Well, if they weren’t threatened at gunpoint, that’s not bad.

“I suppose they don’t want to be isolated, so they’d rather remain Spanish territory.”

The African Organization is under Ethiopia, but even Ethiopia isn’t at the level of European powers.

And European countries will be bound together in the Constantinople Treaty Organization.

Morocco was technically within Rome’s sphere of influence, but if one questions whether it was definitively Roman territory, I had planned to keep it only as a partner country of the Constantinople Treaty Organization.

I also planned to keep countries like Tunisia, Algeria, and Libya as partner countries.

Of course, this seems largely due to the Spanish government’s efforts to pay attention to their colonies to somehow preserve their remaining territories, but thinking about it, isn’t the Moroccan army’s position within the Spanish military strength significant, even though the Spanish army is strong?

“Well, if they weren’t oppressed by force, that’s not bad.”

If they want to remain Spanish territory, I won’t stop them.

But de Gaulle has been clearing his throat for a while now, looking like he has a lot to say.

He seems to want the same for Algeria. Well, after losing so much of their mainland, they probably want to salvage something.

“Actually, France also…”

“France also?”

“We’ve implemented many autonomous systems in Algeria. There’s strong support within Algeria for integration with France.”

“Did you hold a referendum?”

“Yes. Algeria has decided to remain with France.”

As far as I know, Algeria had quite a strong independence movement. Or am I mistaken?

No, no. These are the French who fought against communists in Algeria throughout World War II.

If they’ve killed all the communists and had to manage Algeria strictly, making Algerians want to remain French territory, I personally don’t think that’s bad.

Despite all the talk about decolonization, France probably tried hard to integrate Algeria to compensate for losing part of their mainland. If that’s true, it’s a bit funny.

Does this mean the Algerian massacre won’t happen?

“Hmm. Then Libya, Tunisia, and Egypt should be sufficient to join the Constantinople Treaty as separate partner countries. Let’s grant Libya independence as a kingdom.”

Libya, which was Italian territory, will eventually become independent, but there’s a lot to extract from there.

For example, oil. Libya was initially a poor country but made a huge fortune from oil, temporarily surpassing the US in GDP.

There was the Libyan civil war and periods of chaos, but it wasn’t bad overall. The oil there should be enough for Libya to survive.

We’ll extract some of that oil as a condition for independence.

“They’ve already completed their registration as partner countries.”

“Hmm. That’s a bit disappointing, but can’t be helped.”

“Pardon?”

“Nothing.”

Honestly, I’d like to take everything, but Libya would struggle with that land mass without oil.

I can’t just dictate everything. They should live well with the remaining oil.

“That should be sufficient then. Are there any issues in the Middle East? With Vietnam in that state, Turkey would need to handle any problems in the Middle East.”

“Yes. There are no immediate issues.”

Well, alright. They’ll manage.

Turkey has taken Suez and receives support from the Constantinople Treaty for Middle Eastern management. Even if problems arise, they should handle it well!

“We’ve sought Ethiopia’s cooperation in granting independence to Central and Southern Africa. The day when our troops will withdraw from Africa is not far off.”

“That’s not bad.”

This might improve the refugee problem in the future.

If we’re being particular, refugees cause a lot of incidents in modern times.

“Vietnam has split between Ngo Dinh Diem in the South and Ho Chi Minh in the North.”

“What?”

Did it really split in half? North and South?

“Did it really split in half?”

“Yes. After Ngo Dinh Diem staged a coup with American help, Ho Chi Minh couldn’t suppress it due to US military support.”

I expected this, but is this how it splits?

It feels a bit different from the original history.

Similar but without the communist element? And with a different South Vietnamese leader.

Ho Chi Minh in Hanoi, Ngo Dinh Diem in Saigon.

I wonder which side will win. This could be interesting.

“It would be difficult to dispatch Constantinople Treaty forces. We’ve already sent troops to India and Indonesia, and we’re currently working on decolonization in Africa beyond North Africa.”

Sending Constantinople Treaty forces again isn’t good.

The US probably has nuclear weapons by now, so we can’t use nuclear weapons recklessly. And sending troops to former colonies would break our promise to America.

Support should be limited to weapons. So it’s better to send troops from elsewhere.

For instance, from Israel, Balhae, or West Japan, whose independence we guaranteed.

“Yes.”

“But we can’t just not send anything, so it would be good to prepare sincerely and also prepare externally.”

We just need to avoid sending our own troops.

We can provide wholehearted support in the form of medical aid. We don’t necessarily need to dispatch our own military.

America probably won’t be too enthusiastic about sending troops directly either.

They’ll provide more military support than us, but it will be moderate.

So we should recruit from external sources.

“By external, you mean other countries.”

“Let’s propose to Balhae, Israel, and West Japan. Supporting their industrialization wouldn’t be a bad condition.”

We’re already providing sufficient support, but receiving something extra feels different.

It’s just a proposal.

It wouldn’t be bad if all three countries came to help at once. In any case, it can’t hurt to prepare in advance.