Ch.324For the Restoration of Hellenism

# * * *

“Oh, that’s a good approach.”

Yes. That method doesn’t sound bad at all.

True, the Red front countries have all collapsed, but if you ask whether all those communists have disappeared, the answer would be no.

So. Couldn’t they possibly flow into the Arabian Peninsula by chance?

Of course it’s merely a pretext, but it’s not completely implausible.

“But then it would be difficult to become Caliph at an appropriate time.”

The Turkish side viewed it negatively.

If we use the communists as a pretext, what happens to the Caliphate and how do we take control of the Arabian Peninsula?

“Saying the King of Hejaz is unqualified to rule the Arabian Peninsula because he can’t control communist officials. That the true Caliph should rule would be reason enough. The dignity of the Constantinople Treaty doesn’t allow us to push this any further.”

It’s just the Arabian Peninsula after all.

Sure, there are reasons like securing oil fields and creating a pretext to punish Hejaz, but wouldn’t it be better to be perfect if possible?

Unable to control even the communists yet claiming to be Caliph? Nonsense. So we’ll support a true Caliph. Yes, that reason isn’t bad.

We can’t just keep wasting military supplies like this.

“I see. That’s a good method. First, we crush Nejd and then station troops in Hejaz under the pretext of eliminating communists.”

I don’t know about other things, but I’ll definitely catch communists.

With that single reason alone, there’s nowhere the Constantinople Treaty can’t go.

“That’s not bad.”

“Well then, let’s push Nejd out of the way.”

Since a conclusion had been reached, there was no reason to hesitate any longer.

The Constantinople Treaty forces pushed their troops toward Riyadh, the capital of the Nejd Sultanate.

The capital was occupied by the Treaty forces and instantly went up in flames, leaving the House of Saud with no option but to surrender.

“I surrender.”

“The fate of the House of Saud will be left to Hejaz.”

“Thank you!”

“However, since communism has been detected in Nejd and throughout the Arabian Peninsula, we will station troops for a while to capture communists. Please cooperate with this.”

Hejaz initially accepted the demands of the Constantinople Treaty Organization.

They couldn’t predict how the Treaty forces would react if they resisted, and Hejaz actually needed the Treaty’s help to integrate Nejd.

Still, Caliph Hussein of Hejaz was happy to establish Hashemite Arabia, having achieved a reversal of fortune when he had almost been pushed back by Nejd.

But not long after the war ended…

“What is this? Why even our capital?”

“It seems there are still many communists in the Hejaz region.”

The Constantinople Treaty forces even disarmed some of the Hejaz military.

Since they were originally armed with Treaty weapons, it wasn’t difficult.

Having unified the Arabian Peninsula, they had essentially reduced it to a semi-colony.

However, Hussein believed in the Constantinople Treaty, which had advocated decolonization, and thought they would eventually withdraw.

“A new Caliph has risen in Turkey!”

Soon after, a new Caliph rose in Turkey.

“The one and only Caliph of Islam is our Empress Dürrüşehvar!”

As if following a predictable script, Turkey demanded punishment for Hejaz, claiming that the only true Caliph of Islam was Turkey’s Caliph.

The Constantinople Treaty headquarters in Rome accepted this demand faster than ever before, and the Treaty forces that had been stationed in Hejaz to catch communists instantly became a punitive force.

“Oh well. These are orders from above, so what can we do~”

“You bastards!”

The Treaty forces stationed on the Arabian Peninsula advanced throughout Hejaz. Caught by surprise and already at a numerical and qualitative disadvantage, Hejaz lost its capital and had to give up the Caliphate.

This happened just two weeks after the establishment of Hashemite Arabia.

# * * *

The war on the Arabian Peninsula.

This war ended in a complete victory for the Constantinople Treaty.

Shortly after Nejd was captured, Treaty forces settled in Hejaz under the pretext of catching communists and stirred up trouble everywhere.

Afterward, using the Turkish Caliphate as justification, Hejaz was destroyed by the Constantinople Treaty forces.

“They’ve subjugated Hejaz, Your Majesty.”

Hearing the news in the Duma, I nodded calmly.

Well, I already knew this fact.

I usually receive reports first through the Okhrana anyway.

The sudden communist excuse was truly unexpected, but it was apparently suggested by Louis Mountbatten. Typical British behavior, doing what suits them best.

Using the same method I used to employ. Stealing my patent and using it against me!

“How pitiful. Tsk tsk. So sad. How unfortunate they had communists within.”

Communists inside their country? Well. Then we have no choice but to catch them.

In reality, it seemed the Treaty forces, wanting to end the war quickly, created a pretext to push forward rapidly, establish justification, and then crush them.

A regrettable situation.

Yes. Being a small nation leaves no choice. In the end, Middle Eastern countries have no option but to do as the Constantinople Treaty dictates.

So what happened to other Middle Eastern countries afterward?

At the very least, other countries should have come to their senses after seeing the Arabian Peninsula get crushed. Let’s see what they’re saying.

“What are the reactions from other countries?”

“For now, Iraq, along with Iran, has condemned the Constantinople Treaty’s actions. They’re calling it imperialist aggression.”

Iraq and Iran, is it? Do they still think they can do something? It’s almost pitiful. But what can they do?

“Oh? So the two of them think they can do something about it?”

They haven’t come to their senses yet.

Do they really believe they have something reliable? Or is it pride that makes them feel they have no choice? Are they determined to try anyway?

Or do they think we can’t continue the war?

Do they think we’ll struggle to prolong a war on the Arabian Peninsula? Despite the Turkish Caliphate issue, they have no intention of yielding?

Should I assume they’re relying on the United States?

I see. Perhaps they’re exporting oil to the US or something similar. Maybe they’re trying to get support from the US through oil. Or planning to enter the American sphere of influence.

Indeed, the US would find it difficult to give up on the Middle East. These are countries that provide oil, after all—hard to abandon.

The oil produced within the US won’t be able to keep up with vehicle demand.

They import from Venezuela and Canada. Indonesia too, but the US will want to partner with the Middle East for oil imports.

One reason the US is fixated on South America must be Venezuela. Considering this, the US will need oil imports from Arab oil-producing countries.

Canada is a Commonwealth nation of Britain, which is a Constantinople Treaty member.

If the US gains Iraq and Iran, they could counter Russia from Iran. The Middle Eastern countries’ thinking is obvious.

Even the US would find this difficult to ignore, wouldn’t they?

“They’re thinking of confronting us with America.”

If it’s not America, then challenging us would be suicidal.

They have more guts than I expected.

If America truly joins hands with the Middle East, it would be troublesome for us.

I don’t think America would break their promise to us, but still.

No, this is America we’re talking about.

Honestly, they’re on our side, and they’re the most reasonable of the world powers, which is why there isn’t much criticism. But we can’t say America is purely good either.

Especially now, after the South American incident.

“Didn’t we already get confirmation from America that the Middle East is our territory?”

At Maria’s words, I smiled mischievously and wagged my finger.

“Oh Maria, you still don’t understand.”

Yes, we did get confirmation from America.

But confirmation and America’s resource shortage are different issues.

If America’s oil supply is at stake, they might even risk conflict with the Constantinople Treaty to get their hands on the Middle East.

The Arab countries know their value that much.

“We got confirmation, but we still need to consider America’s domestic oil demand. If they suddenly say, ‘Why haven’t you been managing the Middle East?’ and confront us using oil as a reason, we’d be in trouble.”

In this case, should we offer something appetizing to America?

Most of the oil produced in Europe is currently used within the Constantinople Treaty organization. Should we export Arabian oil to America?

We can establish a new treaty regarding oil exports.

We provide oil in exchange for them ignoring those Arab bastards. That should be sufficient.

“The Arabian oil fields need to be a huge success.”

Arabian oil fields? They’ll be a massive success.

Just getting those would make life easy for the Constantinople Treaty.

We’re already enjoying the benefits of Libyan oil. If we add Arab oil, it would be insanely good.

“In my world strategy book, I couldn’t finish writing about the Arab side, but Saudi Arabia becomes an incredibly wealthy nation because of that oil. So just having Saudi Arabian oil would ensure the Constantinople Treaty never lacks oil.”

There’s also all kinds of oil produced within the Constantinople Treaty. If Iraq and Iran refuse to provide oil, we can simply isolate them internationally.

Unfortunately, today’s world is very different from the original world. We should clean things up when we can, so let’s take care of Iraq and Iran while we’re at it.

“It might be good to prepare beforehand.”

“Prepare? What preparations?”

What preparations do I need to make here?

“For example, the reconstruction of the Hellenistic Empire! Something like that.”

Maria’s eyes sparkled as she clenched both hands.

Yes, that’s right. Not bad. Something like that.

“How about going there personally? If you lead even the Greek army under the banner of rebuilding the Hellenistic Empire, it would make quite a picture.”

Oh, that would really feed my Rome obsession, wouldn’t it?

Just imagining it makes me think I’d get a huge dose of Rome and Hellenism obsession.

Alright, then for the second phase, going as far as Iraq or Iran would require bringing the army.

Let’s tell the White Army to prepare an expeditionary force for Iraq and Iran.

We should strike the enemy when we have an overwhelming advantage.

“That wouldn’t be bad.”

After all, I started this.

Well, Britain started it, but I actively intervened.

For the second phase, if I personally lead the army all the way to Iran, wouldn’t that be amazing?

It might not be bad for me to visit the Arabian Peninsula later.

I could go there directly and drill for oil.

“Shall we go then?”

I could drill for oil, and while I’m there, I could enter Babylon and rebuild ancient Babylon in a modern style. There must be a reason Alexander was so captivated by Babylon that he made it his capital.

We can just remake that land in our own style.

After the expedition is complete, it seems we could reorganize the Constantinople Treaty Organization on the map.

We could designate the Arab region as the Hellenistic domain, group Greece, Ottoman, and Russia as the Byzantine domain, the Balkans to Poland and the Baltics as North Rome, Britain and Germany along the Danube as Central Rome, and Italy, Switzerland, and Spain as West Rome. It wouldn’t be bad to draw it on the map like that.

Hellenistic Province, Byzantine Province, North Roman Province, Central Roman Province, West Roman Province. Combining them to create a new map for the Constantinople Treaty Federation would be good.

So we should take over the Arabs.

Just appropriately up to Iran, excluding Afghanistan. Restoring the territory of the Hellenistic Empire.

“Though it has nothing to do with the Romanovs, I will succeed Alexander the Great.”

This is the absolute limit.

I should stop the war after rebuilding the Hellenistic Empire.

What’s certain is that this war isn’t just about fulfilling my personal desires, but by going personally as the monarch, I’ll end the war faster.

This demonstrates such a strong will.

“Oh. Ohh. Your Majesty’s personal campaign after so long!”

Maria seems absurdly happy about it, but is it really that surprising? I’ve been in Moscow for a long time, so I’d like to go on an outing.

The Arabs probably don’t have proper weapons anyway, so we’ll push through easily.

You know, despite how I look, I’ve always wanted to ride a tank.

Riding a tank and firing the main gun with a bang. Doesn’t that sound fun?

“Can’t I just ride a tank and go bang bang?”

Bang bang bang!

Just imagining it is exciting. And the tanks have slightly different specifications from the original history’s tanks.

Well, the tank commander would be surprised, but it wouldn’t be bad to try it once. I’ve been thinking about it.

“Ah, but the White Army would strongly advise against that.”

“Is that so?”

I really can’t die, so I think it would be fine.

Even if the Arabs destroy my tank, I can survive.

Then, would I be treated as the one true God, Allah?