Ch.298What’s Happening in the Nationalist Government?

# The Division of China Continues

The ongoing division of China was providing a good opportunity for the Balhae Federation, whose interests aligned with Litvinov’s.

It was an important message: they wouldn’t even need to participate in the war – just smuggle weapons from behind the scenes.

“Our military believes the southern federalist governments will either unite and move north or achieve South China unification, but either way, they won’t collapse easily, so Balhae forces won’t need to intervene.”

“So, participation isn’t necessary.”

“Our involvement in South Vietnam was sufficient. However, weapon support is different. We’ve sold weapons to various Chinese factions, but the situation remains unpredictable. As I mentioned before, we’ll transfer some technologies to Balhae and establish weapons factories. Please maintain balance by selling appropriately to Chinese factions while considering the circumstances.”

In other words, despite the roundabout way of saying it, he was telling them to profit from the war.

For Balhae, this wasn’t a bad deal.

But what did he mean by “going forward”?

“When you say ‘going forward,’ do you mean we should continue supporting China with weapons and maintain the balance?”

“Exactly. The Rome Treaty can’t focus on the Far East indefinitely. We’ll inform Japan as well, so both countries should work together to maintain balance in China. The longer they remain divided, the better for Balhae.”

That wouldn’t be a problem.

After all, when Goryeo was at its peak, didn’t it also play the role of balancer in Northeast Asia?

As long as no Balhae citizens died, this was something they could certainly handle.

“Yes.”

Once satisfied with just liberating their homeland from Japanese colonization, Ahn Changho couldn’t hide his inner joy at the thought that they could achieve much more than expected.

While there was much talk within the government about the next president, they had somehow achieved industrialization, and if they could profit from the war as well…

Balhae’s future looked bright.

* * *

Despite the end of World War II, the world was far from peaceful.

Particularly China. That damned China was the main issue.

Surprisingly, the Middle East couldn’t move thanks to Turkey. But this China – China was the most dangerous entity.

That was exactly the agenda for the State Duma.

“Your Majesty, Song Meiling’s Nationalist Army has begun to move.”

Mikhail Drozdovsky, who had been monitoring the recent troop movements in South China, reported that the Chinese were starting a unification war.

“Where are they positioned? A northern advance seems unlikely.”

He thought they would just be stationed at the Qing border and nothing more.

That was correct. They would likely understand that if they attacked the Qing, the Rome Treaty would intervene somehow.

So the only remaining option was South China.

What they wanted in South China was ultimately unification. At minimum, they probably intended to expand to the size of the former Southern Song territory.

We deliberately sold them many weapons.

The more weapons we sold, the more likely they would fully engage in war.

“Yes, judging from the Nationalist Army’s movements, they seem to plan on unifying South China first.”

Drozdovsky explained the deployment map of the Nationalist Army along the Republic of China’s borders.

Looking at the deployment map on the China map, they had positioned minimal forces toward the Qing, while deploying enormous numbers against the southern warlords.

“South China. South China. Not bad.”

At least from our perspective, as long as they weren’t touching the Qing or Mao Zedong, it wasn’t bad.

If South Chinese factions fought and destroyed each other, that would be satisfactory.

But that’s one thing, and this is another.

Song Meiling, that fox-like woman, couldn’t possibly fail to calculate this much.

So she must be hiding something.

“What about internal affairs in the Republic of China?”

Does the Republic of China have enough regime stability to overwhelm other countries?

Or are they gambling recklessly? In the original timeline, Chiang Kai-shek only eradicated corruption after the National Humiliation.

Here, the situation might be different since all the warlords had broken away, and there was also Duan Qirui.

“Without interfering warlords, they’ve stabilized quickly, organized their bureaucracy, and established a proper national system better than any other federalist government in China.”

“Hmm.”

Even though the Qing and Mao Zedong receive our support, the Republic of China is surprisingly…

Well, there must be things left by Chiang Kai-shek. Chinese warlords had to break away and establish military regimes, so they would progress ahead of other countries.

But this seems suspicious.

“Aren’t they rushing into a unification war?”

“That’s the issue. The Okhrana believes they want to resolve the South China situation while we’re tied up in Africa.”

“The calculation makes sense.”

The calculation makes sense, but that’s only possible if the Republic of China has the capacity to unify South China while we’re focused on Africa.

Can the Republic of China advance smoothly like a highway? That’s not the case.

Currently, we need to pay attention to Africa, work hard on European integration for several years, and postpone other matters. We’re tied up with India and Indonesia, which has delayed integration.

This means we have a few years to spare, but even with those few years, it won’t be easy.

In terms of national power, the Nationalist government is stronger, but the warlords aren’t pushovers either.

Why are warlords called warlords? Because they maintain power through their armies.

The warlords would have focused on their armies to maintain their power, and it would take years to deal with them. Is this possible? It’s very suspicious.

There’s a smell coming from this Nationalist government. An unpleasant smell.

“Is Song Meiling moving hastily? Does she have something to rely on?”

Is she trusting America?

If America had intentions, they wouldn’t intervene here because they’d be busy with Vietnam and East Japan.

While having China as an ally would be good, they probably wouldn’t help Song Meiling when her unification prospects aren’t certain.

Can Song Meiling wage a unification war within that short time?

If the warlords had intended to do their part and withdraw, they wouldn’t have split up like this.

Song Meiling has something she believes in. That something is likely America, but besides America, I can’t think of anything no matter how hard I try.

“Could this woman be trying to follow Your Majesty’s example by personally going to the front lines?”

Georgy Zhukov clenched his fist and began to get angry.

That doesn’t seem right.

“She has too poor a grasp of reality for that.”

“Or could she be developing nuclear weapons?”

“How could China possibly have such capability?”

Wait, developing nuclear weapons? How did Communist China develop nuclear weapons? What if Song Meiling’s Republic of China develops nuclear weapons in the current situation?

The Rome Treaty Organization couldn’t easily intervene in the Chinese civil war.

Before that, unification would happen because of nuclear weapons, and even if troops were deployed belatedly due to perceived threats, it would be different with the asymmetric strategic nuclear weapon already created.

“It’s possible.”

“What do you mean?”

“Chinese individuals participated in various weapons development projects in America. MacArthur later expelled them through a secret agreement.”

Let’s consider one possibility here.

What if expelling the Chinese scientists was delayed more than expected?

What if they were expelled after some nuclear technology had already leaked, providing them with an environment to research nuclear development?

What if the Republic of China, like North Korea, spent all its treasury funds on nuclear development, excluding money for weapon purchases?

“What if they were expelled during nuclear development?”

“Exactly. If they managed to extract more secrets than expected, they could develop nuclear weapons. If even one is created, warlords who understand nuclear power would have no choice but to surrender. It’s possible.”

“Then we need to intervene in South China immediately.”

“Even if we abandon Africa, European integration work remains. We can’t move easily for several years.”

Unfortunately, the situation isn’t conducive to applying pressure with our military right now.

We’ve deployed too many troops to Indonesia.

It would be problematic to intervene in another war after just a few years. Above all, there’s no justification.

“We’ll attack because you might be making nuclear weapons” – this wouldn’t be accepted.

“If we’re dealing with mere Chinese, the Far Eastern Army alone would be sufficient. It would be even easier if we mobilized the Qing army and Mao Zedong’s forces.”

“Still, war isn’t an option. After all, this is a civil war, not a state-versus-state conflict. Even if we send peacekeeping forces, they’re just peacekeeping forces. If nuclear weapons are developed later, this will lead to a different situation.”

What kind of influence would nuclear weapons have in the future?

Even that pathetic North Korea maintains its regime with nuclear weapons while provoking the world.

Is a weapon that can erase an entire city an ordinary weapon?

Even the strongest countries would shrink back from nuclear attacks due to the massive damage.

The larger the country, the more it seems like no big deal, but it also means there’s more to lose.

“Then we need to devise a method.”

“Perhaps it would be better to appease the Republic of China.”

“If we appease the Chinese, they’ll crawl all over us.”

“Or we could say we’ll station some Rome Treaty forces in each warlord government. We’ll say we’ll capture the Republic of China if they attack.”

Various methods were proposed, but none offered a fundamental solution.

That’s unavoidable. Any method would eventually involve military intervention.

We can’t even ask if they’re making nuclear weapons in the first place.

If we directly ask, “Are you making nuclear weapons?” would they answer “Yes”?

It’s no different from asking a thief, “Did you steal?”

Even if we intervene militarily, the nuclear issue won’t be buried.

Completely occupying China and searching it would be an option, but wouldn’t that make us no different from thugs?

But we can devise a more gentlemanly scheme.

Let’s clarify the justification.

“There is a way.”

“Your Majesty, is there a way?”

There is a way. Shouldn’t we start creating a nuclear non-proliferation treaty?

Unlike the original history, since Europe has been unified, it would be led by the Rome Treaty and America.

“Let’s talk to America about creating an international organization called the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.”

“An international organization?”

Yes. How gentlemanly is this?

A treaty prohibiting nuclear proliferation. Formally established and led by the Rome Treaty and America to prohibit nuclear proliferation worldwide.

Of course, in the process, we can also probe, “Are you making nuclear weapons?”

“Yes. Get the whole world to join. And ‘propose’ it to the Republic of China government. If they make excuses, it means they have something to hide. We need to let them know that countries that don’t comply with this treaty will face terrible economic and military retaliation.”

They say they won’t join? Then immediately implement economic retaliation and crush the country.

“Isn’t there a possibility they’ll join and withdraw later?”

“We’ll say we’ll retaliate against withdrawing countries as well.”

In other words, it’s a trap.

A situation where they can’t do anything and will be crushed if they don’t submit. Of course, if they don’t make nuclear weapons, we don’t care if they kill each other.

If they withdraw, we can crush them even more terribly with added charges of contempt.

What’s so difficult about this?

“Not bad.”

“But as Your Majesty said, it’s difficult for us to intervene directly.”

Intervention isn’t the issue.

A just cause, and the fact that the Republic of China is developing nuclear weapons – that’s what’s important.

When did I say I would punish them with the military?

“The fact that they’re developing nuclear weapons – that’s important. Even if there are terrible military and economic repercussions, the military repercussions don’t necessarily have to be done with the army.”

Who said it had to be done with the army?

Unfortunately, we don’t intend to be so moderate.

“Then.”

If we have a just cause, a nuclear attack is also possible.

Nuclear omnipotence. Ending everything with nuclear weapons. That’s what they say.

In the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, we need to clearly state that countries like China, which attempt new nuclear development, can be targets of nuclear weapon attacks.

“We should crush them with nuclear weapons. We must have all nuclear-related personnel handed over, along with all secrets. Nuclear weapons are enough with just the Rome Treaty and America. This is also an intention to clearly define spheres of influence. Countries under the Rome Treaty’s influence will receive our nuclear guarantee, and the same goes for America.”

There’s surprisingly nothing difficult about it.

America won’t oppose this either.

From America’s perspective, they’d want to clearly define spheres of influence to ensure the Rome Treaty doesn’t change its tune later.

“Your Majesty, if we launch nuclear weapons, how about the newly developed hydrogen bomb?”

“Hydrogen bomb. That wouldn’t be bad.”

It might be surprisingly good.

Of course, Song Meiling probably isn’t that stupid.

If she really insults me to the end, my thoughts might change.

“They might resist and hand over fake researchers and data.”

Yes, that’s right.

We must always consider the worst-case scenario.

“Then we’d have to mobilize North China or the Asian Allied Forces.”

Come to think of it, not knowing the Communist Chinese nuclear developers is a problem.

If Song Meiling is trying to develop nuclear weapons, it would likely be handled by figures from the original timeline’s Communist China.

If I could just hear the names, I might recognize them.

If it’s related to nuclear weapons, I should be able to figure it out somehow. I need to think about this.