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* * *

Meanwhile, various countries in Asia received Russia’s secret proposal.

In the capital of the Republic of Israel, East Jerusalem, the Einstein Government had to seriously discuss Russia’s offer while managing the country.

“When the Vietnam Civil War broke out, the Rome Treaty Organization sent a proposal about the possibility of deploying support troops to aid North Vietnam.”

“The Rome Treaty already possesses significant military power, right?”

“Vietnam is originally a colonial region, and due to a pact with the United States, it’s difficult for the Rome Treaty to intervene directly. The civil war hasn’t started yet, so nothing is decided at the moment. We’re preparing for when that time comes. That’s about it.”

It was said to be preparation, but if the Rome Treaty was observing, it would likely be almost certain.

We had just begun to establish the country and were at a loss about what to do. What should we do?

Einstein was deep in thought.

“What are the conditions?”

“The conditions are security guarantees under a nuclear umbrella and industrialization, which are required from countries outside the Rome Treaty Organization.”

“We’ve only just begun forming our military.”

After the war, Israel was established immediately.

However, the Jewish migration and the previous Chinese architectures were all erased except for cultural heritage elements, and Western-style buildings were constructed while the military was slowly built.

We had just begun military formation, and our elite troops were associated with the Treaty Army and absorbed soldiers who had fought in China to bolster our forces.

Of course, some of the remaining Japanese troops who couldn’t return to their homeland were also absorbed as a bonus.

“Though it’s not compulsory, it seems the Rome Treaty is eager and has offered proposals to Balhae and Japan as well. Since we might end up becoming hostile towards the United States, it’s also because of the nuclear umbrella proposal.”

“Hmm, while I’m not keen on directly participating in a war, this does seem like a good opportunity to gain experience for our national army. We’ve already received significant support, but if we get more, we can stand against the expanding Chinese forces.”

Even though there are the Qing Dynasty, the Shandong Autonomy, and the Yanxing government, we can’t trust them all, and we cannot erase the expansionist ambitions of Southern China.

Eventually, they are bound to raise their heads to the north at some point, and whether we like it or not, Israel had to stop them before they got to our homeland or in Qing territory.

However, what was even more urgent was to enhance our national power while that confusion in China still lasted.

Industrialization was a necessary task, and Israel accepted it.

Meanwhile, the Balhae Federation—

“The Rome Treaty Organization has requested support troops. Of course, that’s based on the assumption that the civil war escalates, but the Rome Treaty side has already assessed it as a civil war.”

“Hmm, we’ve just formed our federal army, but that doesn’t mean they want to send our Balhae citizens to die for free, right?”

The federal army of the Balhae Federation had significantly increased its military strength by absorbing Japanese troops that had surrendered after resisting until the end, along with the Japanese troops that had remained in Southern Manchuria and the Korean Peninsula on the condition of naturalization and loyalty to the federal government.

However, given that it had only been a short time since liberation, the overly inflated military power was becoming a headache. It was time to use it appropriately.

“According to Woonam (Lee Seung-man) in America, they say America is too powerful a country to be considered an enemy.”

“They say they’re willing to support further industrialization. And since there might be a nuclear threat from the US, they promised a nuclear umbrella for protection.”

“We’ve already pledged to become allies with Russia. They promised us industrialization and helped us during difficult times, so it wouldn’t do to refuse this offer with our backs against the wall. Let’s accept it.”

The Balhae Federation decided to deploy troops for various complex reasons.

And now, the largest military force among Israel, Balhae, and Japan, which was concerned about the risk of war with the Kanto Republic, also received that proposal.

“Hmm, we have nothing left in the country. Even the Kanto Republic has difficult circumstances and needs to allocate budgets to the military; you’d think that the former colony, the Balhae Federation, would be advancing more than us. We can’t refuse now, so let’s move our invincible defense forces.”

No matter how incompetent he was, Mutaguchi Renya realized how to manage the country while staying in the position of Governor-General of Southern Manchuria.

What was needed in the now devastated Western Japan was a bit of money and support.

Thus, he decided to dispatch the regular forces, the defense forces of the United Japanese States.

These were the strong forces that had annihilated two million Chinese Allied Forces and recovered half of the new territories against the US military.

Unexpectedly, the three nations approved it. East Turkestan and Qing State, and the Yanxing government, which could be called the stronghold of the Chinese Yanxing Autonomy in Shandong, also proposed to send some troops.

As the deployment was decided, both the Rome Treaty Organization and the three Asian countries wished that the civil war would not break out, but—

“Ho Chi Minh in Hanoi has defied the only legitimate government of Vietnam recognized by the US, making him no different from a rebel. Subdue Hanoi!”

Not long after, Ngo Dinh Diem, who had taken control of Saigon in Vietnam, declared Ho Chi Minh as a rebel, and the civil war broke out.

It was the moment when the deployment of the Asian Allied Forces to Vietnam, including the Balhae Federation, Israel, and the United Japanese States, had been decided.

* * *

Romania under Russian Rule

I found it hard to leave Romania under Russian rule for a while.

I had to wrap up the Vietnam affairs at the Rome Treaty Organization headquarters.

Ugh, so annoying. How did it come to this brawling situation?

“5,000 men from the Republic of Israel, 42,000 from the Balhae Federation, and 50,000 from the United Japanese States. They’ve all stated their intention to support as the Asian Allied Forces.”

In addition, several hundreds of volunteers from the Qing State, Yanxing government, Shandong autonomy, and Turkestan would also be sent.

We decided to dispatch a medical support team as the Rome Treaty Organization.

Oh, Israel’s numbers are quite significant. Honestly, it’s unexpected for the Balhae Federation and the United Japanese States.

I expected the United Japanese States would have no choice but to lean on us for post-war reconstruction, so I thought they would find a way to benefit from this.

I never thought they’d volunteer military support. I just assumed the Balhae Federation would only send a fraction of its forces. But the scale is considerable.

“Can a nation liberated from colonization send this many troops?”

“It seems they’ve become quite robust by absorbing the Japanese troops that were stationed on the Korean Peninsula.”

I nodded at Drozdovsky’s words.

That would make sense. They’d need to fill it with Korean people on one hand alongside the absorbed Japanese troops.

But unfortunately.

“Hmm, we seem to lack the numbers for an offensive.”

Well, this would be the best they could offer, but isn’t it just about the right number for defense?

Considering the current split in Vietnam, Ngo Dinh Diem from South Vietnam has rapidly gained control over the military and has amassed a significant troop presence.

With full support from the US military on top of that. In contrast, North Vietnam’s forces are relatively smaller.

Even if Ho Chi Minh’s faction gathered an army, it wouldn’t be more than half of that of South Vietnam.

In this situation, support from the Asian Alliance would be a welcome relief, but whether it would be possible to launch an offensive to retake Saigon against the US-supported South Vietnamese army is another issue.

Ngo Dinh Diem isn’t even a communist.

From the beginning, the Asian Allied Forces have no intention of helping North Vietnam unify.

At the very least, they’re trying to reduce American influence by dividing it in half since it’s already an area negotiated with the US.

In the future, Ho Chi Minh may reach out to the US, but for the time being, Vietnam won’t be able to catch up with the Asian countries.

It’s also wise to keep potential allies like the US weak.

Just maintaining a defensive stance should suffice.

We don’t want to engage in a fight with the US. Simply defending is enough.

“We must also reduce our military; let’s arm Israel, the Balhae Federation, and Japanese troops with our surplus weapons.”

And thus, we would also hand over arms to the North Vietnamese army as appropriate.

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

It is now 1947. Vietnam collapsed too easily.

The typical Vietnam war should be resolved quickly if we want to participate in the US’s polio research project. Should we just absorb them too?

No. If it fails, the risks might be substantial. We can’t afford to offend the US.

That’s a rather unfortunate part.

For that reason, support for North Vietnam must be minimized.

Of course, we would provide some assistance through the Asian Allied Forces, but if South Vietnam is openly labeled as communist, the US might not know what to do, unfortunately.

Wait, wouldn’t the opposite case be the same?

If Ho Chi Minh acted like a true communist from the beginning, there would have been no reason for us to support them, which is a pity.

The US likely didn’t expect the situation would escalate to a civil war.

Therefore, the war won’t last long, without a doubt. Some agreement or other will divide Vietnam.

As long as we don’t intervene in North Vietnam, of course.

“We must absolutely not intervene. The Asian Allied Forces should appear to have led this effort from Asia.”

“Yes. The Prime Minister of Western Japan, Mutaguchi Renya, is proposed to be the organizer of the Asian Allied Forces. Let that worry be eased.”

Sigh. The US might see it quite unpleasant. But what could they possibly say about Korea?

Thank goodness that Mr. Mo Jeong-kyu took the lead.

And they promise to protect us under a nuclear umbrella, but really? Now Russia is taking the place of the US in history, so while we won’t become blood allies, at least we shouldn’t be in hostile relations.

“While Vietnam might be a matter, there’s an issue arising from Africa.”

“What’s happening there now?”

What on earth, the Second World War has ended, but there are still plenty of problems.

Ugh! If there’s another war, I’ll declare here that I’m going to quit being Tsar in front of everyone in Europe.

“It’s the Republic of South Africa. In South Africa, black people are collectively mobilizing.”

“Is there any reason for them to do that?”

Black people mobilizing? Are they planning to revolt?

No, why on earth? They wouldn’t have reason to revolt?

“There’s an independence movement among black people in South Africa.”

“Black people in South Africa?”

Why’s that? South Africa isn’t exactly a colony or anything.

Wait a moment. Were there that many black people in South Africa? I genuinely don’t know about that history, but I think whites are quite scant. Is it just that black people have a significant presence? I understand that discrimination is severe there.

But an independence movement is brewing?

“Yes. As decolonization occurs, many black people have moved into South Africa.”

“Ah, this is becoming bothersome.”

I know there are many black people there, but weren’t they a part of the Commonwealth?

“Perhaps because they’ve attained independence, black people are trying to settle in the relatively prosperous Republic of South Africa? Because of that, the racial conflicts between whites and blacks in South Africa are more intense than ever.”

Ah, I can see how that could happen.

I didn’t expect decolonization in Africa to yield such results.

Even so, black people have indeed decolonized, and naturally, they’d be encouraged to move to the relatively well-off Republic of South Africa.

Ethiopia might be similar.

“Hmm.”

Apartheid.

That was the racial discriminative policy conducted by the National Party in South Africa in the original history, wasn’t it?

It seems it has arisen in this generation.

During the decolonization process, I assume a lot of management over black people also took place in South Africa. When you think about it, it’s somewhat comparable to how the Qing Dynasty separated the Han and Manchu peoples.

Of course, it’s a much more severe racial conflict than that.

“It seems South Africa has been influenced by India or Indonesia.”

So they’re permitting independence over there? Let’s pursue independence on our side too! Whites should live as whites! Blacks as blacks!

What am I to do? If I were to solve this militarily, a lot of blood would likely be spilled. Hmm.

Given that it’s related to the Commonwealth, I can’t just ignore it. The simplest solution would be a forceful method, but my image is at stake; I can’t just do that.

Should I just turn a blind eye and employ force? Helping South Africa here could just embolden more discrimination. Hmm.

If discrimination policies weren’t in place, the whites in South Africa would inevitably be absorbed by the blacks, but still.

For now, it appears South Africa might end up becoming an unfavorable country in the future,

With several issues remaining, the black government might turn around and chase the whites out.

In truth, the black government is maintaining itself while suppressing votes against whites in elections due to the overwhelming black population.

They’ll have no choice but to migrate to other white countries. Indeed, as the black government holds its ground, whites will need to depart. This notion has surfaced.

It’s something that needs to be resolved preemptively.

“What if they pursued independent separations? If we delve into it, isn’t racial discrimination one of the causes?”

“Your Majesty, South Africa is a member of the Commonwealth. Taking such actions would be rather…”

Churchill mumbled, seeming displeased.

Right. They are a member of the Commonwealth. That’s why I’m saying this.

Britain, as the head of the Commonwealth, is currently part of the Rome Treaty.

South Africa. That’s something that can certainly be acknowledged. Up until now, Egypt, Gibraltar, and various colonies have all relinquished their control themselves. It would be odd for South Africa to end up like this.

The current situation seems incredibly drastic compared to the original history.

“But the number of whites is absurdly low. But still, having declared decolonization, it seems absurd to just wipe them out.”

If they’ve gotten along this far, suddenly targeting blacks is likely to stir quite a loud uproar.

“Nevertheless, is that the solution?”

“Then can South Africa resolve this by itself?”

It’s not just a matter of racial policies.

When the number of black people overwhelms the whites, trying to achieve equality becomes impossible.

“If you could just turn a blind eye.”

I give them the go-ahead to control the blacks. That’s how this sounds. Even so, that’s unreasonable.

What would result if they declared decolonization and started killing off black people?

“That’s correct. Just let it be that in the future, I knew nothing. Would that suffice?”

That isn’t a bad idea.

If later, I sob over South Africa, calling them vile creatures, I could easily appear detached from it all.

However, beginning this way appears far too transparent. Plus, all of this is interconnected. Thus, I’ve thought of devising a different approach.

I initially have no personal stake in a racial discrimination policy.

I could care less if a few black people died; as long as it’s not Koreans, I wouldn’t shed a tear and could simply ignore it.

However, from the standpoint of the Rome Treaty Organization, a troublesome issue arose within this intertwined context of decolonization.

I need to approach this with caution.

“No. We’ll grant independence, but leave nothing behind. As the Rome Treaty Organization, we should also encourage settlement for black people as they gain independence in the Republic of South Africa.”

This is rather better. Seriously, the future of South Africa seems grim, with crime, and murders against white farmers frequently occurring. It’s just not looking good.

Why not tackle this issue while we’re at it?

“Still, granting independence is somewhat…”

Ah, I see. However, asserting that granting independence is much better.

I’m not saying we should blindly pursue independence without thought.

 

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