Ch.316We’re Going to Form an Alliance Too!

“Hasn’t Argentina refused to sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty? If the United States is determined to prepare nuclear weapons, the situation could change.”

“I wonder if it will come to that.”

Well, the current MacArthur might be willing to drop some nukes to crush South America.

“Using nuclear weapons again would carry significant risk.”

We’ve used nuclear weapons too much already.

Even in the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, we agreed to seek permission before using nuclear weapons against each other.

This was to prevent deliberate nuclear shower warfare and to stop the rise of nuclear supremacy theories in various countries.

Even the United States would find it difficult to manage.

“Yes. It seems the US wants to prevent nuclear supremacy theory from gaining traction domestically.”

“And they’re still extracting money from Japan, so…”

The US probably won’t go to war with South America.

If Brazil had held out, it might be different, but they were defeated too easily. Rather than pouring water into a bottomless pit, it would be better for the US to maintain appropriate influence in South America while securing North America to Central America firmly within their sphere.

Let’s bring this up in the Duma.

“Won’t the US eventually recognize Argentina’s dominance in South America?”

If the US acknowledges South America…

Will South America rise as a new power? Would this create a world with the Rome Treaty Organization, the Co-Prosperity Sphere (looser than the Rome Treaty but still a power bloc), the United States, and the South American Union? Is that how it’s going to be?

Ah, that seems problematic. Though having multiple balanced powers is better than just one or two, this still feels off.

“Is the war in South America over then?”

With Brazil falling, it should effectively be over.

The country most influenced by the US has been destroyed. Won’t this further damage MacArthur’s pride?

He’ll probably take out his frustrations on East Japan even more.

“Not yet. Countries like Venezuela still remain. If Eva Perón targets Venezuela next, we don’t know how the US will respond.”

“Hmm.”

The US might react if their pride is wounded too much.

To be fair, from Eva Perón’s perspective, she’d want to push forward while she has momentum. It would be better for us if South America expanded further.

“The US shouldn’t have any complaints against us yet.”

“When they protested once, we clearly drew the line, and there’s been nothing since.”

Right. If we say we weren’t involved, then we weren’t. What can they do about it?

If they provoke us further, we might actually provide substantial support to Argentina. That’s how it would play out.

If they’re being pushed back just because we provided some weapons, how weak has the US become?

Of course, we must consider that it’s the Brazilian army, but the quality difference in weapons shouldn’t be this significant.

The US side might have something to say about this.

“Ah, that’s a relief then.”

“Interestingly, African Black soldiers led the Argentine forces in this battle.”

What? Are those the people we sent? They’re using Black people there?

Well, colonial subjects are often used during wars, so some combat-capable ones must have gone.

“It’s surprising they deployed Black people in that manner.”

This surprises me too.

This woman, Eva Perón. She probably won’t have a peaceful end.

I already mentioned she dies at 33, so she’s probably being more reckless because of that.

Well, if she’s being reckless, we just need to enjoy the benefits.

“We’re having fun in China, while the US is tied up in East Japan. This seems like quite a perfect picture.”

Since the US has no achievements in South America, they’ll likely take out their frustrations on East Japan. East Japan’s fate is pitiful, but they must accept the consequences of choosing communism, right?

“But if all of South America falls to Argentina, it could emerge as a new power.”

Argentina unifying South America. How far could Argentina’s capabilities grow?

I know Argentina later experiences a military coup and the Falklands War breaks out, but would the Falklands War disappear in this timeline?

It seems this war will only end when Eva Perón dies. The battle between MacArthur and Eva Perón is truly magnificent.

“The US might actually use nuclear weapons then. From MacArthur’s perspective, he’d want to end the South American situation quickly.”

It would be difficult to use nuclear weapons on Japan again, so that’s probably right. In the end, everything depends on America’s choice.

“It all depends on America’s decision.”

It ultimately depends on how the US judges the situation.

Their pride has already been damaged because of East Japan.

MacArthur might possibly wage an unreasonable war against South America. If we don’t support Argentina any further, there’s nothing we can do. Well, the Duma and I can just eat popcorn and watch.

I’m thinking of just watching from behind the scenes.

“Your Majesty, there are troubling movements in Iraq in the Middle East.”

“Troubling movements?”

Why the Middle East now? Let me have some peace.

Why do I keep receiving these reports? Can’t these people just lie and say “Everything is peaceful”? Would that be so difficult?

Well, when I think about it that way, it does sound a bit off.

“It seems Iraq is putting the brakes on oil exports as the Rome Treaty Organization is integrating.”

Wasn’t Iraq on good terms with Britain?

I know they were quite demanding regarding oil.

“Iraq? What foolish thinking.”

They need to sell oil to maintain their country, don’t they? They’re surrounded by Rome Treaty influence.

What will they do if the Rome Treaty imposes sanctions? We have plenty of oil now. We’re not in a position to be blackmailed.

“Afghanistan, Iran, and others are also joining with Iraq.”

“So all the notable players in the Middle East are uniting?”

Why are they suddenly doing this?

Wait a minute. Looking at the level of these countries…

Seeing them all unite like this, aren’t they trying to form some kind of coalition? This is quite irritating from our perspective.

“According to Okhrana sources in Iraq, they’re forming a Middle East Union.”

“A Middle East Union? Are they trying to integrate like the Rome Treaty?”

That’s exactly what it looks like! Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan.

Things we’ve never seen before are coming together.

This would make the area below Turkey quite hot, wouldn’t it?

“That’s one way to look at it.”

“From what I hear, they seem to be trying to counter the threat of Turkey, a Rome Treaty member.”

Preparing against Turkish invasion.

Yes. That sounds plausible, but…

“They could have maintained a middle ground by just staying quiet, but they’re crossing the line. We can’t avoid intervening at this point.”

Turkey’s territory originally included historical Syria, Lebanon, Israel, all the way to Suez.

Though we’ve taken some of it, if you consider historical Turkey, it’s quite large.

“The Middle East is tricky to deal with, hmm.”

“If we leave them alone, they might actually unite.”

Indeed, a union of Middle Eastern countries.

It’s laughably small compared to the Rome Treaty, but we must consider that they produce a lot of oil.

“It seems they’re trying to blackmail us with oil. Their actions are quite dirty. Honestly, does Britain even need to import from Iraq anymore?”

That’s exactly how it looks.

There’s no reason to import from there. We can develop oil elsewhere. More oil is better, but this is going too far.

“Wouldn’t more oil always be better?”

“That’s true.”

Are they saying, “Let’s challenge us”?

This is extremely displeasing. How dare they stand against the Rome Treaty! Honestly, we could just leave them alone.

They dare to oppose us.

They’re not just being moderate but openly declaring they’ll form a Middle East Union.

Seeing Eva Perón create a South American Union makes me think…

“Then let’s have Turkey handle it. Is there no solution besides war? Can’t we resolve this through dialogue?”

War seems excessive.

Mishandling the Middle East could lead to more trouble. If it turns into a religious issue, it would be annoying.

“Turkey seems to be contacting Iraq, but we should wait and see. Since the Rome Treaty’s pride is at stake, they can’t just let it go.”

So they’re saying they’ll have to fight.

I guess the Middle East is still the Middle East.

It looks better now, but who knows how this side might deteriorate in the future.

So, is it right to crush the entire Middle East?

“It’s a bit unfortunate, but…”

Pride can be discarded, but if we yield once, they might think they can match us.

“Egypt seems to have successfully divided Sudan in half with Ethiopia.”

Solomon-style division isn’t bad.

“Sudan is fortunate, but the Middle East… the Middle East.”

The Middle East is truly terrible. In the original world, groups like ISIS and the Taliban caused so much anger.

Of course, Korea had no connection with them, but seeing them on the news was disturbing. Considering that, should we sweep through the Middle East while we can?

Come to think of it, one of the reasons Islamic extremism grew in the Middle East was because of the US. Hmm.

It seems right to sweep through the Middle East now. A terrifying thought occurred to me.

What if we crush Islamic extremism overwhelmingly before it erupts?

Just wipe out the Islamic groups completely, leaving no trace.

It’s uncomfortable to say, but in the distant future, Islam caused so many problems.

But we can’t exterminate an entire race, and that might just create more Islamic extremists.

“No, that’s not right.”

Could they mobilize more troops?

If Islamic extremists emerge later, the Rome Treaty can legitimately beat them down.

The Middle Eastern countries probably signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Wait. If they signed the treaty, why are they so confident?

They must know the Rome Treaty can launch nuclear weapons?

What gives these Middle Eastern countries the confidence to unite?

Wait a minute, something smells fishy.

They couldn’t possibly have nuclear weapons, could they? It doesn’t seem likely they’ve made nuclear weapons, at least not in this period.

“Have the Middle Eastern countries signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty?”

“Yes. At least on the surface.”

Surface-level participation. There’s nothing more dangerous than that phrase.

Should we beat down the Middle East then? Using Turkey to completely crush them seems appropriate.

“So it’s just on the surface.”

Are they planning to develop somewhere else?

No. Maybe they just want to follow other powers. In that case, perhaps it’s best to leave them alone.

Creating enemies in the Middle East would be troublesome. Wait, strictly speaking, the Middle East is on our side.

In our secret talks with the US, the Middle East was in our sphere of influence. If we let it go, wouldn’t the US take interest?

What would happen if the US became interested?

What if the US makes a fuss about our small support to South America? Hmm. Maybe we should just leave this to Turkey.

“Ah, just a moment.”

“What is it, Your Majesty?”

“Has oil been discovered in Saudi Arabia?”

“Saudi Arabia?”

“A country on the Arabian Peninsula. Just a moment. What countries are located here on the map?”

I pointed to the Arabian Peninsula on the map.

“The Kingdom of Hejaz and the Sultanate of Nejd are there.”

Wait, I don’t know the political landscape here? Hold on. I think I’m about to have a brilliant idea.

“Is there any oil production in either Nejd or Hejaz?”

“No, there isn’t.”

Wait, didn’t the US drill for oil there in the 1930s? Did the US split, preventing oil drilling in Saudi Arabia?

If it’s divided into Hejaz and Nejd, that makes sense. Saudi Arabia hasn’t been unified yet. And oil drilling hasn’t started. This seems like an opportunity we could exploit.

“What’s the relationship between the Sultanate of Nejd and the Kingdom of Hejaz?”

“They’ve been fighting each other since the First World War.”

“They haven’t unified yet?”

“No. King Abd al-Ilah of the Hejaz Kingdom is barely holding out against the Nejd Kingdom’s invasion.”

What kind of snowball effect happened here? This gives me an interesting idea.

“The Kingdom of Hejaz’s Abd al-Ilah receives support from the Rome Treaty.”

“Support from the Rome Treaty?”

If they’re receiving support from the Rome Treaty, they must be friendly to us.

Saudi Arabia hasn’t been unified yet. This presents possibilities.

“Yes, thanks to Britain’s policy of supporting Hejaz, they continue to fight against Nejd. With all treaties from the First and Second World Wars being nullified due to Rome Treaty integration, the support from the former Allied powers continues through the Rome Treaty Organization, allowing them to barely hold on.”

“It’s just an alliance so far, not a South American Union-type structure, right?”

“That’s correct, Your Majesty.”

So it’s essentially an unofficial alliance structure.

Before a Middle East Union forms, it might be appropriate to make an example of one country?