Ch.358Worthless Race

# The Balkan Powder Keg

* * *

Israel will take care of it anyway, so we can just step back appropriately.

“But wouldn’t that cause a lot of talk? About us unnecessarily intervening in China. It could even tarnish Your Majesty’s reputation.”

“I suppose so.”

He has a point. While it would be most regrettable not to get involved now, my authority has grown too high.

The satellite launch was quite an achievement.

Truly remarkable. Our Tsar. You were confident we could reach space.

They’re obsessively fixated on me because of things like this, but wouldn’t it look strange if I sold weapons and encouraged massacres?

Of course, if I manipulate public opinion a bit more like a hypnosis app, suggesting that the Chinese are inferior beings so it doesn’t matter if they kill each other. Or if we create various justifications, people might think, “The Tsar had no choice!”

That could work.

“Though it’s not exactly compensation, I hear Balhae is producing weapons and transferring them to Israel.”

Oh, Balhae is making some big moves.

This will strengthen Israel’s defenses and show the Chinese regional governments what Asian unity looks like.

Even the Qing Dynasty and Mao Zedong’s autonomous government, which are nominally part of the federalist movement, have moved to support Israel.

“Hmm. They’re targeting a niche market in the midst of all this.”

I like it. They’re focusing on securing weapons rather than coveting territory.

Honestly, isn’t Balhae already stretched thin trying to digest its current territories?

With a multi-ethnic population, expanding into other countries makes no sense.

Still, it’s not bad if they find their own way to survive.

“The reconstruction of Paris seems to be progressing smoothly, and the catacombs appear to have been completely dealt with. So Europe is in a stable position.”

“Yes, Your Majesty. There’s an abandoned quarry dating back to ancient Roman times that was used as catacombs, but they’re now covering it all up.”

“Well, that’s fortunate.”

When Paris is rebuilt, the devastated ‘former’ French capital will be somewhat restored from the ravages of war.

The French should be extremely grateful to me, I think.

I rebuilt Paris after Pétain destroyed it. Just for this alone, I’ve done a saintly deed for France, perhaps not less than Joan of Arc.

Again, I didn’t drop the nuclear bomb—Pétain authorized it.

“There are complaints coming from Greece.”

“From Greece?”

What do those guys have to complain about?

They’ve practically monopolized Afghanistan’s resources, and I even gave them some stakes in Iraqi and Iranian oil fields.

This is like giving money to Papagos despite all the mess he made.

Well, to be fair, things worked out easily because of what Papagos did.

“They seem to be influenced by the Serbian Chetniks.”

“Why would they be influenced by the Chetniks? Ah.”

That makes sense. There’s a nationalist fervor in Greece right now.

In this situation, the Chetniks have risen up, trying desperately to revive Serbia somehow.

From Greece’s perspective, if these stateless people are doing this, they might rise up thinking they haven’t received proper compensation.

“Greece probably saw Turkey extending its influence to Saudi Arabia, Hejaz, and all the way to the Suez, and thought they could actually rebuild the Hellenic Federation.”

“Well, from Greece’s perspective alone, that’s a raw deal, even with the Rome Treaty.”

These guys wouldn’t even exist without the Rome Treaty.

Frankly speaking, if we hadn’t supported them with small arms, fighter jets, and tanks, would they be acting like this?

The reason they could charge through Alexander the Great’s territories wasn’t because Greeks were a warrior race that defeated the Red Roman Army—it was because of our weapons.

Credit where credit’s due. They even took the lead, and now what?

They’re saying what they’ve received isn’t enough? Are they actually hoping for territory?

Do they think the Serbian Chetniks are normal? A cockroach-like ethnic group comparable to the Communists?

They were influenced by those guys and rose up?

“So what kind of people are they?”

Could they be the Golden Dawn Party like in the original history?

Unfortunately, since that party emerged much later, it probably has no connection to the present, but what exists now?

This must be something that emerged as history changed.

“The Greek Golden Hellenism Party.”

“Golden Hellenism Party?”

It sounds similar but slightly different. Golden Dawn Party? It’s similar to that, but what is it? That’s scary. Can something like that emerge from a country of Greece’s caliber?

Well, hmm. If it were another country I might be concerned, but fascism emerging in Greece? It truly makes my heart feel petty.

Honestly, I don’t care at all, and I’m not scared.

And to be influenced by the Chetniks, really. But just from the name, it doesn’t sound new.

Why specifically the Hellenism Party? I wonder if they were influenced by this expedition.

No matter how I look at it, Papagos seems to be the party leader.

Well, Papagos did seem quite dissatisfied before he left.

With only Afghanistan’s resources, he must have been quite angry.

“Who’s the party leader? Is it Papagos?”

It definitely feels like Papagos.

That Papagos guy seemed quite dissatisfied at that time.

In response to my question, Maria II opened her mouth slightly.

“Yes. It seems Papagos was quite dissatisfied.”

Well, he pushed everything forward, but the Rome Treaty took all the credit and created the Hellenic Federation, so it might be natural.

But there’s no point in handing everything over to Greece.

The Greeks would have gone around slaughtering Muslims, and extremists would have run rampant.

A country of Greece’s caliber couldn’t have handled the entire Middle East. Eventually, they would have begged the Rome Treaty for help.

We would have had to spend enormous war funds to manage the Middle East.

It’s better to keep them tied to us with Anastasia’s hypnotic brainwashing like now.

But the more I think about it, the more resentful I feel.

Why do they have such unreasonable greed beyond their means?

People who couldn’t do anything without us, who would have fallen to Islamic resistance on their own, are not even funny.

“We need to do something about this Papagos. What about the king?”

At the very least, shouldn’t the king step in and handle this?

If Papagos is speaking up, it means there’s a lot of talk within Greece as well.

“King Paul hasn’t endorsed it yet, but…”

“He’s not endorsing it, but he’s turning a blind eye?”

Those are usually the worst kind of bastards.

Why not just be clear about it? Just tell Papagos to back down, that’s what I’m saying.

I was actually being somewhat lenient with that bastard, and this is how he stabs me in the back.

“Well, what can we do about Paul? Papagos gained considerable influence from this expedition, didn’t he?”

That’s true, but still.

When I saw him before, he was an old man. He’s aged, that’s what I mean.

I believe he’s in his 70s, and since a few years have passed, he must be in his mid-70s by now.

Is he really trying to start something resembling fascism at that age?

In this era, he could die at any time without it being strange, right?

Ah, saying it like that makes me feel sad somehow.

Anyway, doing this at such an advanced age seems inappropriate.

“Isn’t that gentleman quite old?”

“Yes, he’s in his mid-70s. But there’s a character named Markos Vafiadis as his successor.”

“What does this character do?”

I’ve never heard of him before.

Well, even the name Papagos is a funny name if you think about it. That’s all. It’s not like I know anything about Greece.

I don’t want to know, but it’s clear that Greece is going crazy.

“He has a history of trying to be a communist in Greece. After quietly laying low watching communism collapse, he seems to have risen recently.”

“What a strange fellow.”

Perhaps because communism is dead in this era, figures who would have embraced communism in the original history are becoming nationalist activists one by one.

Are they trying to do something even without communism?

“But what can they do on their own?”

That’s right. They’re bound by the framework of the Rome Treaty.

Besides, is Greece even the size of Nazi Germany? No.

In the previous Afghanistan expedition, 20,000 young men died or were injured in Panjshir. What kind of army could they possibly have?

“But if they raise their voices in the Rome Treaty, won’t it become troublesome?”

“Ah, that’s right. That is a problem.”

In that case, we might need to put some pressure on the Greeks.

“Even if the Greeks raise their voices, it won’t matter, will it?”

“Hmm. That’s true. No matter how much noise they make. Still, let’s pressure the Greek king for now. Unlike other countries, the king of Greece can still speak up.”

“Then I’ll convey that to the Duma.”

Now, should I prepare for my future?

No, precisely speaking, not my future, but to prepare in advance so that development can continue while I’m laundering my identity, while my influence is absent. I’m talking about the internet.

AI Anastasia Project.

To attempt this, it would only be possible several decades later, in the 21st century, but preparing in advance is different.

Development is faster when you have a goal to aim for, isn’t it?

In the future, something called smartphones will emerge.

In the future, there will also be AI.

I’ll leave behind something like prophecies. Then humanity will think:

‘Oh shit, these things will emerge in the future, shouldn’t we accelerate scientific development now?’

‘We’re screwed. Let’s develop quickly!’

All the prophecies and future predictions I’ve made so far have come true.

I don’t know for sure, but at least the Rome Treaty will try to develop somehow, and Balhae, an ally of the Rome Treaty, will do the same.

America won’t fall behind and will work hard to develop too. Oh, it might be wishful thinking, but just imagining it makes me happy.

Well, before that, those troublesome Serbian guys are the problem.

* * *

Serbian Autonomous Region, Belgrade

The pro-Danube militia and the Chetniks.

The two forces, exhausted from fighting, temporarily sheathed their swords pointed at each other.

Tito and Mihailović sat at the negotiation table.

However, anticipating another gunfight, the Rome Treaty headquarters directly intervened, requiring disarmament at the negotiation venue.

“Shouldn’t we end this fight now?”

“That’s good news for once. What do you propose?”

At first, the negotiations seemed to proceed peacefully and well.

It couldn’t be otherwise, since a third party was hosting the ceasefire.

But. Unfortunately, it wasn’t that simple.

“Put down your guns now and join us.”

“Join you? We must rightfully become independent and demand King from Russia to be reborn as Yugoslavia!”

The pro-Danube militia called on the Chetniks to join the Danube, while the Chetniks wanted them to join and restore Serbia.

“I can’t believe you still can’t see reality. Really.”

“Rather than letting our people scatter and disappear across Europe, it’s better to die fighting honorably! Isn’t the reason the Rome Treaty is turning a blind eye because they want to let Serbia survive?”

“You crazy bastards. Serbia brought this upon itself! It’s better to cooperate with other Slavic nations as Slavic people!”

The first to rise from the negotiation table was Tito.

Tito, having already secured the right to enter politics from Göring, wanted to crush the Chetniks somehow.

How could he miss this opportunity for advancement?

“We must go our own way! Even if the world condemns us, we must move forward with the dream of Yugoslavia!”

“Ha! After unifying only to discriminate and oppress! Let’s live in peace now! Why try to rebuild a country hated by the world!”

Korea at least had legitimacy, having occupied Manchuria during the periods of Gojoseon-Buyeo-Goguryeo-Balhae, and even during Goryeo, they conducted or attempted expeditions to Liaodong, but Serbia’s Yugoslavia was in a different position.

Yugoslavia had forcibly bound unwilling countries together under the banner of South Slavic nationalism based solely on nationalist fervor, and even after unification, it only discriminated and oppressed before collapsing.

“You bastards! Did the Russian Tsarina offer her body or something?”

“Do you think Serbians are worth that much? We all get blamed because of you! Disappear already!”

As the civil war, hardly worthy of the name, intensified, the conflict that started in Belgrade and its surroundings was being closely watched by the Danube Federation.

Even Adolf Hitler, now over 70 and enjoying a leisurely retirement writing books, came to see Göring.

“How is Bulgaria responding?”

Bulgaria’s cooperation is needed in this matter.

It’s more efficient to catch them from both sides than alone.

Above all, splitting the autonomous Serbian people and absorbing them as population wouldn’t be bad from Bulgaria’s perspective either.