Ch.311The Dream of Greater Israel

* * *

“It’s a bit out of the blue, but if we acquire the Shanghai Concession, we could expand further into the sea and transform Shanghai into an international city, projecting our influence not just to Russia but worldwide and into Southern China.”

“Above all, looking at Chinese history, Chinese forces will always try to reclaim their land. With the Shanghai Concession, we could keep Southern China in check.”

Israel had established itself on this Chinese territory and carefully analyzed the habits of the Chinese people and the nature of each local government.

Those Chinese considered this Israeli land nominally their territory.

Though the Federalist government and the Qing Dynasty were supposedly acting as buffers, honestly, they weren’t countries that inspired much confidence.

After all, how could nations that survived thanks to the Rome Treaty be militarily strong enough to serve as breakwaters?

Meanwhile, the Jews here, perhaps influenced by Sinocentrism from being situated in the Central Plains, had a new dream.

A dream of a powerful Israel that those Chinese wouldn’t dare disrespect—a Greater Israel.

As the beginning of that dream, expanding into Shanghai wasn’t a bad idea.

“And it wouldn’t be bad for us to separately demand that the Nationalist government stop claiming sovereignty over Israeli territory.”

“That wouldn’t be bad at all.”

Though it was their first battle against the Chinese and no one knew how great the casualties might be, and Einstein didn’t want war, the cabinet seemed to have already decided.

In the end, the deployment of Israeli forces was unanimously approved, and the Israeli military decided to send 20,000 troops.

Once the Israeli cabinet made its decision, the Okhrana branch in Southern China immediately began creating a pretext.

Rumors spread that suspiciously Russian-speaking Jewish businessmen in Chongqing had suffered greatly at the hands of warlords.

“We strongly condemn the arrogant and barbaric actions of the Chinese warlords, and we Jews declare a holy war against them!”

The Israeli army declared a holy war, marking the beginning of what would later be known in Israel as the First Asian Holy War.

Meanwhile, the Nationalist government, which was busy holding back the warlord coalition, was in a gloomy mood.

When the war first began, Soong Mei-ling believed they could stop the warlords with their overwhelming national power compared to the warlords.

But they had failed.

“Tang Shengzhi failed to defend Chongqing.”

“He failed to defend with all those troops? We even bought weapons from Korea. They shouldn’t have been short on supplies.”

Though still insufficient, many Nationalist troops were armed with weapons purchased from Balhae.

This should have been enough to hold out.

That’s what she thought, but unfortunately, Tang Shengzhi failed to defend Chongqing and was forced to retreat.

“Commander Tang initially held out, but the sheer number of warlords’ forces was too much.”

Even so, how could someone who had killed the Japanese Emperor be defeated so pathetically? It didn’t make sense.

Tang Shengzhi was a hero among heroes of the Sino-Japanese War, regardless of what happened in between.

He had achieved the remarkable feat of killing an enemy monarch.

And not just any monarch—the Emperor of Japan, the strongest country in Asia.

Though the Japanese went mad and killed many Chinese people because of it, they had ultimately won, and Tang Shengzhi was at least a symbolic figure for the Nationalist government.

How could such a figure not defeat mere warlords?

“Hmm, so what should we do now?”

With this development, Chongqing would fall, and they would have to make their stand at Wuhan.

“They say we’ll hold them at the second defense line, but now that the long-prepared Chongqing defense line has fallen, the second line will be difficult too.”

Second defense line? How could this be?

The second defense line essentially meant surrendering half of the Nationalist government’s territory and establishing the Wuhan defense line along the Yuan, Xiang, and Han rivers.

This area had many defensible positions, so they might be able to hold it.

If they were pushed back from there, the next would be the defense line from the Gan River to Nanjing, which was a defense line in name only.

By that point, they would have no troops left.

In this situation, they needed to bring in troops from the northern border.

“Mobilize even the soldiers from the Qing border.”

“If we don’t guard the Qing border, Qing forces might cross over.”

“As long as Wang Jingwei and Mao Zedong are under Russian influence, they won’t try to unify China. They won’t cross over.”

“But defense lines alone aren’t enough. We lost the initial battle, so we need time to regroup, but will the warlords give us that time?”

“Redirecting troops from the north wouldn’t be too difficult. The problem is that our best-prepared Chongqing defense line has collapsed.”

Yes, that was the biggest problem.

Of course, Zhang Jin was reportedly caught in a nuclear explosion, but that couldn’t be considered the reason the defense line collapsed.

Or more accurately, the remaining defense lines were even more precarious than the area where the nuclear accident occurred.

“Hmm. We can’t request support though.”

That was the problem.

They needed to request support, but there was no one to trust.

America was tied up with East Japan and South America, and requesting support from the Rome Treaty would be insane.

Soong Mei-ling could clearly see that they would make all sorts of excuses and demand various concessions in exchange for help.

Then one day, Dai Li came to see Soong Mei-ling.

“Acting President, the Israeli army says they will provide military assistance to our country.”

“The Jews? Why?”

What were the Jews thinking, offering help?

“A Jewish businessman who came to Chongqing on business was killed by warlords, and the warlords refuse to apologize for the incident.”

On business to Chongqing? Come to think of it, many Jews were wealthy. Were the warlords targeting such people?

“Even so, Israel suddenly?”

Something smelled suspicious, but she was in no position to be picky.

They were even redirecting troops stationed at the Qing border.

Though unlikely, if those Manchurians went mad and tried to unify the Central Plains, she could clearly see they would be helplessly pushed back.

But for now, stopping the warlords was the priority.

“Is there anything they want in return for military support?”

Setting aside the pretext of Jewish businessmen being attacked, if they were offering military support, surely they wanted something in return.

“No. Instead, they request the permanent withdrawal of territorial claims on legitimate Israeli territory.”

Hmph, calling Chinese territory their legitimate land.

Ancient Israel was a land far away, yet they dared to call Chinese territory their legitimate land?

She might understand if it were the Qing or the Federalist Autonomous Region, but she couldn’t easily accept this.

“How much military support are they offering?”

“They say they’ll provide support of up to 20,000 troops, including thousands who distinguished themselves in the Asian Allied Forces.”

Israel? Yes, she had heard that Israel had quite a strong army.

Most of them had served under Russia and had distinguished themselves in war. But how much could just 20,000 troops hold back?

“20,000? Is that even reasonable?”

For a newly established country, it might seem like a lot, but that was it.

The number 20,000 was too small to support the Central Plains.

Could they really make a difference in this war?

“Looking at the Israeli army’s combat effectiveness, they’re not to be underestimated. They had a good exchange ratio against Japanese forces during World War II.”

China had held out with human wave tactics, but Israel had defeated the Japanese forces purely with skill.

Of course, the overwhelming quality of their weapons and the low morale of Japanese troops were factors too. Anyway.

Now she had to grasp at whatever help was available.

“In any case, we desperately need even this kind of help now. For now, let’s accept their proposal.”

Dai Li didn’t explain in detail to Soong Mei-ling, but in his view, this war was truly dangerous.

They had retreated to Hangzhou, but if the well-prepared Chongqing defense line had collapsed, the outcome was predictable.

“This essentially means recognizing the current Israel. If my husband were alive, he wouldn’t have recognized Israel!”

Her husband, Chiang Kai-shek, had drawn a map of a unified Republic of China that included Inner Mongolia, Tibet, Manchuria, and other territories as Chinese land.

Soong Mei-ling felt the same way.

These deeply Sinocentric individuals intended to claim sovereignty over all those lands and reclaim them in the future, if only to restore the pride of fallen China.

But if they gave up their sovereignty claims, it would be difficult to internationally declare these lands as their own.

“Well, we can just treat it as such.”

“Treat it as such?”

“It will give those Israelis the justification that they’re legitimately occupying the land, but we can withdraw it later.”

Yes, that would do.

After all, those Israelis were probably participating to establish their prestige.

If so, they couldn’t complain even if she went back on her word later.

Besides, they were far away. In the distant future, when they gathered strength and marched north to reclaim Israeli territory, they absolutely couldn’t give up sovereignty.

Unfortunately, without even considering the possibility that Israel might receive the Shanghai Concession, Soong Mei-ling accepted Israel’s support.

* * *

After Israel’s expedition was decided, I had a meeting with Alisa Rosenbaum.

It’s necessary to appease Roman National Party officials like this.

As Tsar, I should at least show that I’m placating the Duma members to demonstrate leadership.

Given Alisa Rosenbaum’s current position, this meeting was natural.

“I never thought the day would come when Alisa Rosenbaum would face me as a proper Duma member.”

Now she stood before me as a mature woman.

With the advancement of women’s rights in Russia, Alisa Rosenbaum had rapidly become a politician of the Roman National Party and now stood before me.

“Isn’t this all thanks to Your Majesty?”

When we were rebuilding Moscow, she seemed like a fresh young girl, but now she was already over forty.

Well, I’m still younger.

Looking at this, perhaps women should be distinguished by appearance rather than age?

Of course, Alisa was relatively young compared to other women her age.

I don’t know if it was the same in the original history, but Alisa Rosenbaum had now become the head of the Roman National Party and played a role in assisting me, second only to Maria.

As the representative of the Roman National Party in the Duma, her role was to come to the Kremlin Palace and assist me on a regular basis.

At first glance, this might seem inappropriate, but on the surface, I was a figurehead emperor. What’s so difficult about politicians coming to socialize with me?

Compared to the Russian Empire era, the emperor now had to play along while keeping an eye on the Duma.

To be honest, I never expected Alisa Rosenbaum to really jump into this.

“I still can’t believe you actually entered the Duma.”

In the Duma, I couldn’t ask because it was full of members, but it was a bit burdensome how she looked at me with sparkling eyes, as if I were some rare beast or a god, with an expression of ecstasy.

Look at her now, with those sparkling eyes. It’s quite burdensome for me.

“Of course! To assist Your Majesty whom I respect, it’s only natural! You’re a saint! With that brilliant blonde hair and God’s blessing that keeps you from aging at all—literally a saint. God’s apostle who has proven that Russia is the country that exists to rule the earth!”

It reminds me of some sycophant. A saint, no less. Yes, I like hearing that.

Of course, I’m that kind of woman.

Hearing it like that, I felt extremely elated and found myself grinning without realizing it.

No matter how serious I try to be, how could I not be happy when she praises me like that?

I deliberately cleared my throat.

“I was just lucky, that’s all.”

From when I first revived until now, I was just lucky. That’s all.

“According to Your Majesty’s will, China and Japan will be drenched in blood. Only Your Majesty can control the world.”

“Someone might think I’m really the Saint of Death. It’s only possible because God protects me and Russia.”

Being praised too highly can also be poisonous.

I firmly stated that all of this was thanks to God.

“That means God also respects Your Majesty’s will, doesn’t it? Whether they live or die is solely Your Majesty’s will, and this is a very natural thing.”

In many ways, Alisa Rosenbaum has become frightening.

If you interpret what Alisa Rosenbaum is saying now, it’s that I’m behind the civil wars in China and Japan where blood washes away blood, and God respects this.

In other words, it’s very natural for the world outside Russia and Europe to be drenched in blood. Perhaps because I don’t age or die at all, and she’s been able to see me up close, Alisa seems to have been greatly influenced by me in a different way.

Hitler, on the contrary, became kinder (?) or more accurately, became our lapdog. Anyway, Alisa Rosenbaum seems to have become somewhat corrupted.

If I’m the cause, it really pricks my conscience.

“There’s nothing to gain from praising me too highly.”

Well, my face is grinning, but I’m really not acting my age.

“No, I don’t want anything from Your Majesty. I’ll rise to Prime Minister on my own strength and visit the Kremlin Palace every day to receive Your Majesty’s evaluation!”

Is that madness in her eyes?

Should I tell her now that the Prime Minister position doesn’t suit her?