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That’s absurd.

Are the Rothschilds thinking about asking me about the future now?

Recently, even Krivoshein the Prime Minister and Duke Yusupov have all asked me about the future.

“So?”

I lifted my eyes and asked bluntly.

“What do you think the future of the Palestinian region looks like, Your Majesty?”

Now it’s Prime Minister Krivoshein, Duke Yusupov, and now even Baron Rothschild.

They might as well tell me to become a fortune teller.

“Are you referring to the future after the Jews settled in Palestine?”

“Yes. Is that something you can foresee?”

Is that what’s bothering them?

Well, if you’re a representative of the Jews in Britain, you should be curious. Even if Britain supports them, how things will go for the Jews living there is up to them.

In this situation, there’s a saint right in front of me who can predict the future, so I can see why they might want to ask, like having a tarot reading.

Thinking about it now just makes me angry.

Why do they have to believe that? Or perhaps they want some reassurance from a woman known as a saint.

What future the Balfour Declaration will bring.

“Who knows? But, sure. Just looking at the declaration from Arthur Balfour, the British Foreign Secretary, and the McMahon-Hussein Correspondence colluding with France, I’m sure the Baron can anticipate what the future holds for Jews in Palestine.”

“Ahem.”

I really don’t get why even foreigners are asking this.

If you think lightly about it, the answer’s already obvious, isn’t it?

The Rothschilds know fully well that Britain has its tricks up its sleeve.

They flapped their tongues trying to placate the Arabs while simultaneously sweet-talking the Jews.

With all that chatter, don’t they know what will happen on that land?

“Britain isn’t going to manage that place for a lifetime. They’ve been plotting to dismantle the Ottomans, and they will undoubtedly sow blood and tears, incomparable to the fruit of the forbidden tree. That original sin runs deep.”

“So, are you saying that China is fine? Will unified China leave the land where the Jews live alone?”

No, if it’s ‘unified’ China, it’s clear they’ll wage war to drive the Jews out of the land of our civilization.

But that’s only possible when they are unified.

At the rate things are going now, it will take an age before they even get to actual autonomy, and even then, if Japan invades, they’d be crushed just like the Song Dynasty was during the Mongol invasion.

Chen Zhongming, a member of the Anastasia fan club, is strongly advocating for soft autonomy, and if there are no capable figures among the warlords to unite them, it’s over.

Chiang Kai-shek only eliminated corruption after he was chased to Taiwan.

Establishing a Jewish state isn’t all that unrealistic either.

“It’ll be tough to unify. They are already divided under the name of soft autonomy, and who would say anything about relocating Jews to lands they receive in exchange for helping out in wars?”

“Your Majesty. Then, I will help in the oil exploration of Northern Manchuria. As Baron Rothschild, I too am curious about the picture you envision.”

Look at this?

Seeing this, he spoke as a businessman yesterday, but today he talks sincerely as an individual. Isn’t this something?

“The reason I see you stubbornly revisiting things implies you were thinking of drawing lines with me if I said no.”

“Hahaha. Would I ever do that? But as the head of the Rothschild family, I simply want to trade as a fellow Jew. That is, we, the Rothschild family, will directly assist with the oil exploration in Northern Manchuria.”

This kind of wordplay is top-notch.

In simpler terms, it means your plans are really intriguing, and the Rothschilds want to establish trustworthy relations directly—not through a company.

“Good thinking. I’m just a symbolic Tsar of the National Duma. If you were being casual in what you said, I wouldn’t be able to exert my influence.”

“You have a good sense of humor. Hahaha!”

What? I’m the real face-madam here.

Joking with a symbolic Tsar—how outrageous!

“Then, I sincerely ask for your assistance.”

Unexpectedly, I shook hands with Walter Rothschild personally as a near equal.

Baron Walter Rothschild later stayed in Moscow for a while, investigating Russian fauna.

I seriously suspected that was for research on Anastasia, but I was surprised to find he was actually looking for animals.

And shortly after, Duke Yusupov came with someone from Branobel.

“Your Majesty, this is Emmanuel Ludwigovich Nobel, who runs Branobel. I should have requested an audience with you first; I apologize.”

A sturdy-looking middle-aged man bowed in front of me.

Emmanuel Ludwigovich Nobel.

Right, he is the manager of Branobel, who will help extract oil alongside the Romanovs.

He’s saying sorry, but I should be the one apologizing.

I’m the one who will be sharing Branobel and getting oil extracted diligently, and I’m the one who should be grateful.

“No, thank you for coming.”

I reached out and shook Emmanuel Nobel’s hand, smiling brightly.

The fact that he came this far means he has positively deliberated things.

“I will collaborate with Your Majesty’s Romanov Oil Company.”

Good that he’s quick with his words.

He probably thinks there’s not that much gain to be had by merging the oil companies since the Romanovs would be getting the shares.

But thinking differently, it also means that the Romanovs will be protecting the Nobel family. If I can develop oil fields more, the more profits will flow back to the Nobels as well.

At least it’s better than the original history where everything went south.

That’s how I see it.

“Is that right? A wise choice.”

If he says no, it’ll become a hassle.

I already boasted in front of Baron Rothschild.

Back then, I planned to threaten Branobel, stating I’d unleash Standard Oil and Royal Dutch Shell into Russia.

But if he still says no, I would have to grow the Romanov Oil Company itself.

Accepting this promptly also means he could potentially be dipping his toes into other areas of the Nobel family too.

“This is a company that nearly fell during a revolution once. Moreover, it’s only natural that Your Majesty would think about our Nobel family at this point.”

Oh, I see. Does he believe the Romanovs will provide a guarantee?

The Nobel family is a family guaranteed by the royal family!

But that assurance of the now somewhat diminished Romanovs doesn’t seem that impressive.

“Alright.”

“But the Standard Oil aspect does concern me a bit.”

“That one should be fine.”

Thus, the Romanov-Branobel Oil Company was established.

Of course, Standard Oil might express dissatisfaction.

I don’t say it outright, but the Duma has already reached out to Standard Oil for oil exploration.

But isn’t it a bit awkward if Tsarina openly sends proposals to Branobel and Royal Dutch Shell while doing nothing for them?

But, they weren’t exactly whining for charity either.

Moreover, with Branobel saying they will personally extract oil in Russia, what could they do?

Those guys have already milked enough profit.

If they keep causing a racket, I might throw in some bait about the several oil fields in China.

To Standard Oil, I’d say I would facilitate development for the local warlords in exchange for a share in crude oil and redirect my gaze there.

If not, I could even offer them opportunities to dig further in Siberia.

This could circle back around to Japan eating China, resulting in the miraculous logic that causes oil to emerge, hastening the Sino-Japanese War.

People must consider such diverse variables.

So, with this, I grant the Jews a nation and block future wars that might arise in the Middle East.

Of course, there may be other wars as variables, but I won’t concern myself with that.

While pretending to protect the Jews, I could also skim some capital and, even if talk arises from abroad, the European powers are aware that Jews helped the White Armies during the Russian Civil War, so Russia won’t face any backlash for protecting Jews.

Rather, if Russia accepts the Jews who only stir up trouble in their own countries, those powers will likely be satisfied.

Alright, how will Europe play out now?

Will the occupation of the Ruhr happen like in the original history?

* * *

At this time, France was very uncomfortable with the existence of the German Free Socialist Republic.

After all, they were the ones openly shouting about breaking the Treaty of Versailles.

What could be the reason for proclaiming a breach of the treaty? It was a blatant declaration that they wouldn’t pay reparations.

In Germany, a revolution had sparked, and even communists and communes in France became quite emboldened for a while.

“Why did we even fight this war then?”

“Honestly, we can’t collect reparations. What’s the point?”

“Looks like we might have to deal with communes taking power…”

“I mean, why did we even fight the war against Germany if they aren’t even paying reparations? What about wages for our workers?”

There was a lot of chatter.

The anti-German figure, Prime Minister Raymond Poincaré, wanted to argue that ignoring reparations was precisely because those communists were having their heyday in Germany, but what would saying that even mean?

There was a plan to turn the Rhineland into a demilitarized zone beyond the buffer country, but even that was met with fierce local resistance.

Moreover, a revolution had erupted in Italy, so France could no longer focus solely on Germany.

America was just watching from across the river, and Britain was desperately trying to surround Communist Germany, but where had the old British Empire gone? It had turned into a toothless lion, withdrawing its troops in a ridiculous show.

Communist Germany was still defiantly refusing to pay reparations too.

At least they weren’t rearming in the demilitarized Rhineland, but they were secretly forming people’s militias or something, which led to a painful situation.

At this rate, the prestige of victorious France would suffer, and its fate wouldn’t be good either.

Even the coal and timber promised as reparations now seemed like Communist Germany had no intention of delivering.

East Prussia?

How much reparations could the Kaiser of East Prussia produce from that small piece of land? In the end, it’s the German Free Socialist Republic.

Raymond Poincaré had to make a decision here.

“This can’t go on any longer.”

If they won’t release reparations, then we must send in troops to collect them directly.

Though some time had passed due to the communism and revolutionary issues within Germany and Italy, Prime Minister Raymond Poincaré resolved to dispatch the military.

Thus, in 1924, the French and Belgian armies finally invaded the Ruhr region of the German Free Socialist Republic.

In actual history, the French occupation of the Ruhr lasted from January 11, 1923, to August 25, 1925, but this began a year later and with more aggression.

The French initially took over the coal mines of the Ruhr, aiming to grasp the nitrogen fertilizer know-how from the BASF company, but opposition arose from the fertilizer factory employees, leading to strikes after French officers beat them.

“We are not French workers!”

“French and Belgian scum, get out of the Ruhr!”

“We are Germans!”

Just like the Weimar Republic government in actual history, the German Communist Party ordered the workers in the Ruhr to go on strike.

The Secretary Karl Liebknecht, who had been watching France’s situation, had already sent German communists to the Ruhr to incite the workers there.

The plan to create a buffer state around the Ruhr failed due to this sabotage by the German Communist Party.

Fortunately for France, the workers in the Ruhr weren’t wholly formulated by communism, but the more aggressive stance of the French forces resulted in them executing strikers for sabotage, going even further than in actual history.

Bang! Bang, bang!

The gunfire reverberating through the Ruhr was enough to fuel the German Communist Party’s agitation.

 

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