Ch.387We Shall Not Shed Blood

# The Libyan Intervention

“First, let’s remove that guy and restore the Kingdom of Libya. Then we need to send our own political advisors to transform the country.”

The kingdom must be restored first, then changed step by step.

We need to reinstate the king and rebuild the administration with enough personnel to run the country properly.

It’s us who are inconvenienced by that idiotic military dictatorship.

“We’ll need to occupy Tripoli first.”

“Indeed we must.”

As we marched toward Tripoli, we did encounter some resistance along the way.

For example, there were troops sent by the Libyan military regime.

These forces were preparing to fight us, but unfortunately, the weapons the Libyan military possessed were just pre-first generation Constantinople Treaty weapons.

Naturally, they stood no chance against us and melted away like ice cream.

We didn’t really have to fight them either.

The Libyans themselves served as our guides.

We didn’t even need to use them as meat shields, so the defensive forces couldn’t do anything either way.

They might have received bribes from the military regime, but anyone could see they were clearly on the losing side.

Especially when we had tanks at the front—how could they possibly stop us?

“You fools! Is Gaddafi’s cock that delicious?”

“Open the way immediately! The Constantinople Treaty isn’t trying to colonize us!”

With Libyans themselves taking the lead and turning the situation around, even the elite forces from the Libyan military regime didn’t dare try to stop us.

How could they possibly stop us? This generation hasn’t even properly experienced war.

They’re weaklings of a completely different dimension compared to us who have lived through war.

Well, there might have been some military forces that collaborated with the colonial powers back in the day, but really?

Do they think such people could fight against us?

In the end, they would choose to surrender to their fellow Libyans.

That’s what they would have to do.

“No, that’s a bit…”

“I… I surrender.”

Everywhere we went, they would test the waters briefly before submitting on their own.

Actually, this wasn’t just because of the Libyans—I played a direct role too.

“How can you defeat a war hero?”

“They say she’s good at prophecies too—wouldn’t it be wrong to oppose her?”

“Good at prophecies.” That alone was enough.

The Libyans began to follow me enthusiastically, shouting for the overthrow of the military dictatorship.

They must have calculated that it was better to follow a saint than someone who only practices dictatorship.

Unless they were complete idiots, they had enough sense to realize this, and thanks to the Libyans who joined us this way, even the military faction trying to block us with their army had to surrender.

“Let’s just do this easily. Easily. Let’s do it right, okay?”

I was actually dumbfounded by how the Libyans themselves were pushing forward.

At this rate, we were really just playing a supporting role.

“Yes. Yes, ma’am.”

Before we knew it, our army had advanced to the outskirts of Tripoli.

All of this happened in just one day.

There was no one to stop us, and it seemed like no one even wanted to try.

“Wouldn’t urban warfare be dangerous?”

Yes, urban warfare would only increase casualties.

But we can’t just not enter the city. In times like these, civil conflict is best.

We can’t afford to see our own blood spilled.

This is something the Libyans themselves must do, even if blood is shed.

They need to shed their own blood and rebuild their country themselves. Only then will it have meaning.

At the very least, they’ll realize that we’re not trying to turn them into a colony.

I gathered the Libyans who had followed us, placed an interpreter beside me, and boldly addressed them.

“Libyans who stand against the military dictatorship, listen! Tripoli lies before us. Tripoli, where Gaddafi, the root of military dictatorship, resides!”

I pointed confidently toward Tripoli as I spoke.

Pointing directly at Tripoli where Gaddafi was, clearly indicating that their enemy was in Tripoli.

I incited them freely, saying they must be driven by the single-minded purpose of liberating Libya from Gaddafi.

“However, regrettably, we cannot strike them ourselves. Why? Because if we do, they could become martyrs, claiming we’re trying to make you a colony again under the pretext of aid! We will provide you with the strength! Strike them down with Libyan hands!”

I boldly gave them, the Libyans, hope by telling them to do it themselves.

We will not shed our blood!

“With our own hands?”

Yes, that’s right. Accomplish it with your own hands.

Achieve it with your hands and shed your own blood! We will not shed our blood!

That’s all there is to it.

It’s the right thing to say. Why should we shed blood after coming all this way?

Absolutely not.

We’re not going to establish colonial rule, and if we actually shed blood, wouldn’t there be calls within the French army to either make it a colony or annex the territory?

I absolutely refuse.

For something like this, they should shed their own blood with their own strength. Even the Balhae people, though we gave them some help, pushed out the Korean Governor-General’s Office themselves.

Moreover, Libya is under military dictatorship. They should be able to overthrow this much.

“We will provide you with strength. With your power, end that military dictatorship and create the Libya you desire!”

The impact of my words was tremendous.

The Libyans who had followed us were people who had come prepared to die in the first place.

With the strength we provided, they would boldly take down Gaddafi.

“The Russian Empress is right! Let’s drive out Gaddafi with our own hands!”

“We must overthrow him with our own power! We cannot leave it to foreign powers!”

“We must not become a colony again!”

Yes, that’s it. That’s exactly it. How wonderful if everyone thinks this way.

It’s good for us because only you will shed blood, and for them, it’s practically democratization by their own hands.

Of course, we’ll need to bring in the king and provide political advisors to ensure a proper government is established afterward, but that’s just enough involvement to help the country develop.

Anyway, we didn’t devour you.

If we show just this much, won’t any future Libyan regime listen well to what we say?

Now we just need to satisfactorily arm them and let them fight. Right?

“People of Libya, carry out the revolution fervently under the banner of the proletariat!”

That sounds like something strange was just said?

“Catch that last guy first.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Where the hell is communism trying to pop up from?

We’ve come on an expedition after seeing how anti-communist education works in France, and I don’t want to see such people even in a backward country like this.

Of course, since it’s a poor country, it’s possible. They might be susceptible to such ideas, but still.

“Long live Anachanism! Into the embrace of the Constantinople Treaty!”

“Catch that guy too, for different reasons.”

We need to catch that guy too, for different reasons. How on earth did something like “Anachan” spread all the way here?

I find this hard to accept.

“At least this way we won’t have to shed our blood.”

“Yes, I suppose that’s how it will be.”

“That’s a good approach. This way we can shed the title of colonial empire.”

That’s what we need to do now.

I’m not sure how far the Libyans will go in taking the lead, but at the very least, they’ll probably cause a commotion in Tripoli, which we’ll reach soon.

* * *

Meanwhile, the military regime in Tripoli was at a loss, unable to decide what to do.

They had sent troops to block the advance when they heard an army was coming, but the troops didn’t even fight before surrendering.

Given the lack of proper defensive installations, this was perhaps inevitable.

The problem, however, was that Libyans themselves had joined the opposing side.

They had placed too much trust in the Constantinople Treaty—no, they had misused the money received from the Constantinople Treaty, and now it had come to this.

“What wrong have we done to deserve this?”

Unfortunately, the military regime didn’t recognize their wrongdoing.

They didn’t even consider it wrong in the first place.

From the military regime’s perspective, it seemed like the Tsar had simply become angry about the promise of a crown and brought an army.

The numbers might have been manageable, but this clearly wasn’t going to work.

How could they possibly fight and win against the Constantinople Treaty?

“Perhaps it’s because we said we would give them a crown?”

“Would the Tsar attack us just because of that?”

Doesn’t this seem a bit strange? Would they do all this just because of a crown?

“Perhaps it’s because we misused the aid money…”

Yes, that possibility is high.

But what can we do about it now? Unfortunately, Gaddafi didn’t recognize his wrongdoing.

After all, isn’t this level of corruption something everyone does?

It’s not like they only embezzled funds and squandered everything.

They were strongly controlling the citizens and slowly developing the country. As evidence, look how developed Tripoli is now.

“Even so, attacking us because of embezzled funds seems excessive.”

“That’s right. They must have embezzled plenty themselves. Singling us out like this is a bit…”

Isn’t embezzlement common in other countries too?

Other countries embezzle funds too, but this is going too far.

“So what are you suggesting we do?”

The situation has already unfolded, and whatever it is, we need to resolve it.

“We can’t surrender.”

They couldn’t surrender.

If they surrendered here, it was clear that he would be executed for war crimes.

“Then we must fight back, but that will cause significant casualties.”

Isn’t that the level of determination needed if you’re going to war anyway?

“But haven’t we prepared solid defenses for Tripoli at least?”

They had definitely fortified Tripoli. Even the Constantinople Treaty would struggle to push through to the military regime.

Of course, if they were serious, Tripoli would be destroyed, but the Constantinople Treaty wouldn’t go all out just to fight Libya.

And they would have to suffer heavy casualties in urban warfare. Could the Constantinople Treaty bear that?

It would probably be difficult. If they just spread the word that the Constantinople Treaty was trying to create colonies again… it would be obvious what would happen.

That’s what they thought at first, but that was all.

“The Constantinople Treaty forces have begun entering Tripoli.”

“Entering?”

“Yes, they’re entering Tripoli.”

“Who exactly is entering Tripoli?”

Speak sense.

They had just heard that the Constantinople Treaty forces had arrived not long ago.

They should speak clearly—how could the Constantinople Treaty be crossing over right now?

Considering urban warfare, it should normally take much longer, right? They had expected it to take at least a few more days, but this quickly?

“It’s not the Constantinople Treaty, but the Libyan Liberation Army, they say.”

The Libyan Liberation Army? What kind of army is that?

It sounds extremely suspicious just from the name. At the very least, he didn’t remember creating such a thing.

“Libyan Liberation Army? The Libyan army is under us, so what kind of army is that? What on earth is it?”

Just from the name, it sounds like some kind of rebel army.

“They say it’s our Libyans who surrendered to the Constantinople Treaty.”

“No, what kind of nonsense is that…”

Gaddafi suddenly stopped mid-sentence and pressed his lips tightly together.

This was serious.

Gaddafi was still young but not a clueless fool.

He was a man who had seized power in Libya at a young age. It would be strange if he didn’t understand.

If it’s not the Constantinople Treaty’s army but fellow Libyans coming in force, how could they possibly stop them?

It would be absolutely impossible.

Perhaps the Russian Tsar had been aiming for this all along.

* * *

The Libyan Liberation Army

An army composed solely of individuals who stood against the military dictatorship, advancing from eastern Libya all the way to Tripoli.

An army made up of civilians who rose against the military dictatorship and former Libyan national soldiers who somehow joined us.

Of course, compared to Tripoli’s army, their quality would certainly be inferior.

Anyone with sense would know that.

No matter how much of an idiot dictator this Gaddafi or whatever his name is…

He would have heavily developed Tripoli as his own front yard.

I don’t know what he was doing in the original world, but anyway.

In this situation, Tripoli would have sufficient defenses. While we could certainly capture it using the Constantinople Treaty’s power, I decided to deploy the Libyan Liberation Army instead.

The Constantinople Treaty, being an external force, would give them justification for a fight to the death, but it’s different when it’s their own people.

“If you don’t do this properly, there’s no future for your country! Surely you don’t want French troops to enter Tripoli directly?”

The Libyans marched under the French army and received intensive training for several days.

Of course, “training” is a generous term. A few days was just enough to teach them the basics of how to fight—that was sufficient.

Thus prepared, the Libyan Liberation Army was ready.

We sent a final ultimatum to Tripoli.

But unfortunately, the dictator Gaddafi kept deflecting, saying we should resolve this through dialogue.

“This is clearly preparation for defeat. He’ll say, ‘We tried our best to cooperate through dialogue, but the Constantinople Treaty trampled this land with force.’ Like that.”

La Roque is right. This is how they try to paint the Constantinople Treaty as the villain.

Even if he dies, he won’t just die quietly. He’ll claim he wasn’t simply a villain or military dictator but a martyr, leaving at least some embers of resistance.

But the way to prevent this is surprisingly simple.

“We push through with the Libyan Liberation Army.”

As I mentioned earlier, it was a simple matter that could be resolved through civil conflict.