Ch.51Anastasia’s Reign

# Victory in the Civil War and Its Aftermath

The extermination of the Bolsheviks through victory in the Red-White Civil War.

Moderate socialists like the Mensheviks joining the State Duma.

The recapture of Constantinople.

Russia, which had nearly become a global pariah after briefly turning red, became known worldwide for various reasons.

Some expressed concern that the Tsarina might have been brainwashed by the Reds who killed her parents and siblings, becoming a different kind of communist herself, given how she was implementing socialist policies.

Of course, this was dismissed as necessary welfare policies to completely crush the Bolsheviks and govern the vast Russian territory spanning from Europe to the Far East with its many ethnic groups.

“Our British Empire has concerns about your country’s recent reforms.”

“Are you interfering in our internal affairs?”

“It’s not interference. Aren’t you implementing policies similar to the Bolsheviks?”

“The British Empire might easily suppress its colonial subjects, but our country fought a massive civil war across all of Russia. How large is our territory compared to the British Isles? This is a choice for survival, and it’s Modified Capitalism—taking only the advantages of socialism and adding them to existing capitalism. Didn’t your country once suggest that we should appease the peasants out of fear of revolution?”

Britain and France had once urged the Tsar to appease his subjects out of concern that the Russian Empire might be overthrown, but he completely ignored them.

The result was ultimately revolution.

“Hmm. If you put it that way.”

“Instead, let me explain what Modified Capitalism is. It’s exactly what your country needs.”

The ambassador had intended to protest to Russia but ended up only hearing passionate explanations about Modified Capitalism.

‘Isn’t trying to indoctrinate us a communist tactic? Is she really not one?’

Well, at least the Tsarina wouldn’t do what the Bolsheviks did—executing her own parents and siblings.

Separately, even Russians with socialist leanings who remained in Russia were satisfied with the Tsarina’s reforms.

“Comrades! It has been said that he who does not work shall not eat! The Tsarina is treating workers well, so let’s not be idle! Time is money, and money is earned through work!”

Of course, these were socialist factions who had moderated their approach toward protests after witnessing Bolsheviks being brutally executed by the White Army across Russia. Unlike during Nicholas II’s time, they were moved by the Tsarina’s treatment of workers and peasants, and encouraged workers to work harder for Russia.

Many people had died, but factories springing up like bamboo shoots after rain kept operating daily, and railways—which had been destroyed during the civil war and restored with German support—were nationalized and expanded with new lines.

While Russia was developing in this way.

A major incident occurred in Japan.

Uchida Kōsai had warned the Japanese government that the Tsarina had foreseen a disaster in Kanto, but both Kōsai and the government scoffed and ignored it.

They thought the young Tsarina was just venting her frustration at Japan because she was reluctant to divide Manchuria. That’s all they thought.

Until that day arrived.

Crack! BOOM!

“What’s that sound?”

“What else? It’s an earthquake!”

“Really? For real?”

“How could this…”

The disaster the Tsarina had predicted struck Japan.

A massive earthquake hit Kanto, causing extensive damage across the region, centered on Tokyo Prefecture and extending to Ibaraki Prefecture, Chiba Prefecture, and eastern Shizuoka Prefecture.

Property damage alone exceeded 4.5 billion yen, with 110,000 houses completely or partially destroyed.

The problem was that the damage was much greater than in actual history.

The Japanese Empire had just finished relocating Koreans to Kanto after practically driving them out to Southern Manchuria, which they treated as an outer territory, using the military.

More specifically.

The Japanese were concerned about Kanto because of what the Tsarina had said.

“I heard many communists fled abroad during the recent Russian civil war. Could the Tsarina be trying to unleash Bolsheviks in Kanto to strike at us?”

Russia probably wouldn’t want to wage war against the Empire of Japan while facing off against China in Manchuria and Mongolia, but they might still try to undermine Japan by sending in Bolsheviks.

So, to secure public order and prepare for any contingency, the Japanese Army stationed a large number of troops there.

And then. The great earthquake struck.

The damage was indescribable.

To think that the Tsarina’s warning—from someone who was a target of suspicion in many ways, even fighting directly on battlefields despite this not being the medieval era—had actually been a forewarning of the great earthquake that would strike the Japanese Empire.

The Japanese government regretted not heeding the Tsarina’s warning.

But only briefly. After all, how many countries would believe such warnings of catastrophe?

“Did the Tsarina cause the earthquake to attack our empire in revenge for the Russo-Japanese War?”

“Please speak sensibly.”

“It doesn’t make sense that the Tsarina foresaw the great earthquake in the first place.”

The Japanese government, thrown into confusion for failing to respond despite the Tsarina’s warning, put forth all sorts of conspiracy theories. But addressing public discontent came first.

In actual history, the Kanto Massacre would have begun with claims that Koreans had poisoned wells, but since Koreans had already been moved to Manchuria, it shifted to “Chinese have poisoned the wells.”

“The inferior Chinese have poisoned wells to kill imperial subjects!”

“Let’s kill all the Chinese!”

Local vigilante groups formed to maintain order killed not only all visible Chinese people but also Japanese citizens whose Japanese pronunciation was slightly off, accusing them of being Korean or Chinese.

The Japanese government worked hard to manage the aftermath.

As they struggled, some naturally began to reassess the Tsarina.

‘The Tsarina is truly a saint.’

‘She warned us of the disaster that would strike the empire. Russia is our friend.’

Though they still couldn’t understand how the Tsarina knew, one thing was certain: at least she had shown goodwill toward the Japanese Empire.

“Considering the Tsarina’s age, she probably doesn’t even know much about the Russo-Japanese War.”

“But how did she really know about the earthquake?”

The discussion kept circling back to how the Tsarina knew about the earthquake, but they concluded it was just a coincidence that her words came true.

The problem was that the Kanto earthquake had caused too much damage for them to leisurely debate whether the Tsarina truly had the power to predict disasters.

Even several warships dispatched out of concern for Bolsheviks who might move by sea were damaged.

Additionally.

“Explain yourself immediately!”

China demanded an apology and compensation for the massacre of Chinese people.

“Those Japanese bastards cursed us, but they were actually relocating us to avoid the earthquake.”

“Serves those damn bastards right~!”

Koreans who had been forcibly settled in Southern Manchuria from Kanto were grinning from ear to ear.

And.

Around this time. A figure visited a Siberian camp and appealed to the Okhrana who were monitoring the Bolsheviks.

“I was an agent of the Cheka. During the civil war, I was also tasked with eliminating Mensheviks who had infiltrated the Soviet Union.”

“And what are you trying to say?”

“I don’t want to be trapped in this frozen hell. Give me a chance. I swear loyalty to the Tsarina! I will not hesitate to do any dirty work for the Tsarina!”

Loyalty to the Tsarina.

Given his accomplishments in actual history, this statement was hardly believable. But the man was desperate.

He wanted to live. He wasn’t someone who should perish in a place like this.

“Aren’t you a Red? Even if the dirty work means dealing with fellow Bolsheviks?”

“I joined the Bolsheviks as a means of survival. Lenin—if I had known that man was just a communist dreamer, I would never have joined the Bolsheviks! I may have worked for Red Army recruitment, but I never engaged in combat with the White Army! I’m different from those wretches locked up over there!”

Lavrentiy Beria.

In actual history, he was a man who did anything for Stalin and, as head of the NKVD during the Great Purge, was responsible for executing many people.

With history changed and public sentiment following the Tsarina, with the Red-White Civil War ending in White victory, Lenin was nothing more than an idealistic dreamer to Lavrentiy Beria.

Feeling deeply deceived in his life, he now wanted to work for the Tsar and the new Rome.

# The Kanto Earthquake Strikes

“These people are hopeless even when warned.”

Well, I just casually mentioned it since they wouldn’t listen anyway.

Even if they had taken my words seriously and prepared, all those Japanese in Kanto couldn’t have relocated, nor could buildings and property be moved.

But. The increased damage was unexpected.

Shouldn’t the damage have remained the same or decreased slightly since Koreans had left? How could it be worse?

According to the Okhrana investigation from the Interior Ministry, they had stationed army and naval forces in anticipation of a strategy I hadn’t even thought of—that the Tsarina had guided Bolsheviks who escaped during the civil war to Kanto—resulting in greater damage than in the original history.

Wow! What a snowball effect!

It would have been nice if they had stationed all their forces in Kanto and completely lost their war capability, but that’s asking too much.

“Your Majesty.”

“What is it?”

“How did you foresee the disaster that would befall the Japanese?”

“I wonder?”

The Duma was buzzing about my prediction of the disaster.

This is a trade secret, you know.

The way everyone looked at me had changed strangely, but I didn’t claim to be a saint who knew everything.

I don’t know everything, and it would be troublesome if they asked when and where the next disaster would occur.

“Since our situation isn’t good either, we can’t provide relief supplies, but let’s convey our sincere condolences to Japan through our ambassador.”

“Yes, we will do so.”

And I saw something quite interesting.

A Red wanted to join the Okhrana of the Interior Ministry, claiming he had worked as a Cheka agent.

The Okhrana operated as part of the Interior Ministry while also working as an organization under the Romanov Imperial Family’s orders during the civil war.

Recently, the Okhrana’s main duties included occasionally monitoring Bolsheviks in Siberian camps and identifying individuals willing to change sides. And one such person had been caught.

This person wanting to join the Okhrana was Lavrentiy Beria.

Yes, that Beria.

The man who killed many people to advance under Stalin. The man who made too many enemies and met a miserable end.

Unlike actual history, he had joined the Cheka but had worked in Red Army recruitment and dealing with infiltrating Okhrana agents, or controlling Moscow.

This man wanted to work under me.

“About this Beria. What does he claim he can do?”

This bastard faithfully served as Stalin’s hunting dog.

Has he changed with the altered history?

Or is he just trying to escape by doing this nonsense?

“He says he can deal with all remaining Bolsheviks. He claims there was a plan for the Georgian Communist Party to disrupt the White Army in Georgia, and he can prevent that too.”

“I see. Let’s meet this man.”

Well, let’s see how he acts.

I decided to summon him.

“It is an honor to meet the Saint of Russia, the Tsarina, the Great Khan of Mongolia, and the Emperor of Eastern Rome!”

What’s with this guy? Is he really the one I know?

Look at him prostrating himself before me.

Is he the type to do this to survive? Hitler will probably be in Austria working in architectural design for a few years before going to Austria. Is this guy similar?

“So, you say you won’t refuse any dirty work?”

“Yes! If the Tsarina orders me to lick her shoes, I will lick them; if she orders me to lick her feet, I will lick them!”

With my legs crossed and my shoes extended forward, hearing those words makes me feel a bit uncomfortable.

“I don’t need that kind of pervert. What matters is how well you work. And I hate Reds.”

So what I’m saying is this.

It’s an ideological verification.

You need to be able to curse Lenin to qualify for the Okhrana.

“Lenin was a dreamer, and communism is just an absurd ideal!”

“For example?”

“Communism is clearly an idealistic ideology that sounds appealing. But once experienced, nothing is more authoritarian, more violent, or more futile. I failed to recognize this.”

This should be enough to prove he really understands.

But wasn’t this bastard the most violent man in the Soviet Union?