---

“That’s right. I’m just worried for no reason. So won’t we lose the justification to reclaim Bessarabia? Even if Hungary starts a war over Transylvania. Who knows how this war will unfold?”

“You’re worried about me. That’s well put.”

“Here you are, flattering me just to try and pull a branch of the Okhrana.”

“But still, I really like the word justification.”

“Justification is a nice word. But honestly, there’s nothing more naïve than that word. Justification can be made out of anything. For instance, we could intentionally pressure Romania to provoke a communist faction and cast them as collaborators. In the end, it all comes down to who has the power.”

“So in the end, it’s all about the powerful manipulating the justifications.”

“Of course, just like the Brit bastards creating flimsy justifications to start the Opium Wars. But I won’t stoop that low.”

“As long as Hungary takes the lead, we can create at least a plausible justification from behind.”

“That may be true, but…”

“Moreover, there’s no clearer justification than reclaiming territory. If we aim to regain Transylvania, we’ll have to invade Romania, right? If Hungary gets pushed out, we might fabricate a false justification that Romania collaborated with the communists.”

“Of course, this is almost a joke.”

“Now that Romania isn’t just following my or Horthy’s orders, anything could happen.”

“In dire situations, last-minute justification manipulations are possible, but that’s not my job.”

“What could an emperor like me, who only grades, do?”

“Is it really that simple?”

“Look at this guy. Why is he acting like it doesn’t concern him?”

“I pointed my finger directly at Beria.”

“Why did I spare you? You should be doing this dirty work.”

“You just need to create the evidence in Romania, Beria. Go find and arrest the communists there.”

“M-me?”

“Beria pointed at himself with disbelief.”

“Well, if you won’t do it, who else will?”

“Has this guy not woken up yet? No one among the former Soviet personnel is as successful as him.”

“Mikhail Tukhachevsky isn’t even noteworthy.”

“Beria might at least be closer to his historical position within the White Army.”

“I hear Stalin, that bastard, has been playing priest in the camps. If he lost his marbles like that, Beria must still be feeling pretty full.”

“If you’re not confident, you can leave it to another Okhrana.”

“At my words, Beria flinched and shook his hands.”

“It was then that he realized he’d spoken as if he was above it all.”

“Yeah. That’s how it should be.”

“You shouldn’t be stuttering in front of me, asking, ‘Me?’ That’s not how it works.”

“You have to act quickly. You’re not a newcomer experiencing social interaction for the first time.”

“No, I’ll make sure I will succeed when the time comes!”

“Oh, don’t take it so seriously. I’m just getting a feeling here.”

“I waved my hands dismissively at Beria, who looked like a young, enthusiastic newcomer.”

“This is a serious matter, but I do think there’s a possibility.”

“Right now, King Ferdinand I’s marriage troubles are worsening.”

“The transmissions from the Okhrana confirm that.”

“Romania’s options for diverging are limited.”

“In front of the flimsy anti-air agreement, Romania will struggle to escape Russia’s influence.”

“Indeed, Your Majesty.”

“I raised my finger.”

“I must make it clear to this foolish Beria.”

“Regardless of all possible outcomes, the end will favor Russia. Just saying.”

“It’s a simple matter. The special military operation is set. Using the gaps in the agreements to fight the communists, Hungary can engage Romania. We must ensure that neighboring anti-air nations do not fight among themselves.”

“While the anti-air agreement contains loopholes that allow battles, it also provides methods to exploit those loopholes.”

“Even if all my expected variables go wrong, we have the insurance of the anti-air agreement. In the end, we can’t have anti-air countries fighting each other. We’ll show it as a decision made for the nation’s sake to mediate afterward.”

“That certainly sounds plausible.”

“The choice depends on how Russia decides to act. Whatever decision is made, we should be able to walk away with Bessarabia as change. Whether we label Romania as communist collaborators, interfere in the throne disputes, or mediate—whatever we do—the anti-air agreement gives us the power to use it as we see fit.”

“In other words, we can do whatever we like.”

“I see. So, Hungary sets the stage, and we utilize the rights from the anti-air agreement to reclaim Bessarabia.”

“Indeed, Beria. You’re quite sharp. But I must say, this rubs me the wrong way.”

“You simply need to follow my orders.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“You just need to do as I say. No more, no less.”

“By the way, it seems the Far East has been quite busy lately.”

“There’s no immediate worry regarding China, but it seems there’s been a significant influx of Jews making inroads in Northern Manchuria.”

“I pondered whether I should send Beria there, but for now, there’s much to do in Romania, so I’ll wait.”

“Regardless, the Okhrana is paying attention to the Far East, so that shouldn’t be a problem.”

“Now, onto the next issue.”

“Whatever you order, I shall do.”

“Not like that.”

“This guy is seriously overly loyal, and it bothers me.”

“Right. It’s nice to see commitment, but seeing him work harder than expected makes me want to knock him out.”

“What I’m assigning is something else.”

“I took a sip of my tea and casually opened my mouth.”

“Before going to Romania, call Minister Grigori Vyacheslavovich and General Ungern.”

“Yes, understood.”

“Though I could delegate it to Maria, I had already asked her to survey the National Duma, so while sending her to Romania, I can make her run this errand too.”

“Welcome. I’ve been waiting.”

“Before long, Minister of Agriculture Grigori Vyacheslavovich and Ungern returned to the Kremlin together.”

“What brings you here?”

“Is it because of that incident with Patton listening to your radio broadcast?”

“Why would I let Patton hear that?”

“By the way, when is that guy coming back?”

“Anyway, I have some questions for these two.”

“What I want to know is about the situation in the Far East.”

“By Far East, you mean Northern Manchuria?”

“Yeah, that’s right. Northern Manchuria.”

“The louder the foreigners are, the harder we must work internally.”

“We’ve been maintaining military rule in Northern Manchuria for several years, so I’m curious whether it’s reached the level of the Russian mainland.”

“Yes. How is it over there?”

“Since Russians and Jews began settling, the situation has improved quite a bit.”

“Have the land issues in Northern Manchuria been resolved?”

“There were land issues in Northern Manchuria.”

“Many Han Chinese and Manchurians originally inhabited that land.”

“With warlords like Zhang Zuolin neutralized, many have migrated back south of the Great Wall, but as Jews, Koreans, and Russians increase, naturally, issues arise with the original landowners.”

“Yes. The original Manchurians are following the Governor General’s Office, and the Beiyang Government has allowed for the land originally occupied by the Manchurians and Han Chinese who migrated back to the mainland to be handled by us.”

“That sounds good.”

“—But even so, there’s no actual government present in China.”

“Strictly speaking, it’s a government representing China.”

“At least there’s the Qing dynasty in name, showcasing that ‘there is a leader.'”

“Other than that, it’s all regional governments.”

“And if it weren’t for the ongoing chaos with communist Germany, the British and French would be shocked to their core by the situation in China.”

“Right. The moment it involves China, everything must be resolved with local governments.”

“Even though the chaotic situation in Guangdong is effectively managed by the Russians.”

“In truth, each warlord might try to leverage the great powers’ strength to maintain unification.”

“That area is turning into a mess.”

“So, with regards to Northern Manchuria, isolated from the situation in China, that’s the concern.”

“So, there won’t be any issues regarding land disputes later, will there?”

“Yes, Your Majesty. Given China’s current state, can they even dictate anything to us?”

“Right. That’s accurate.”

“Like I said, there’s no representative government.”

“Chen Zhongming has nearly established a legitimate warlord era, and even set up an emperor in name, similar to the chaotic periods of Japan’s warring states or the end of the Tang Dynasty when various warlords were rampant.”

“Officially, they say they will develop their regions until they can unify!”

“If they had the capability to unify, they would not remain warlords.”

“All have their ambitions for unifying the realm.”

“The issue will arise once a nominal emperor is established. It becomes challenging to ignite unification wars, especially when a soft autonomy under Chen Zhongming is accepted; no one will want to instigate one first.”

“They will be busy observing each other.”

“Though there’s a limit, at least there’s insurance from the emperor and soft autonomy.”

“They will be preoccupied with watching one another.”

“At the very least, we must prepare for the chaos likely to ensue during future wars with Japan. We need to ensure development continues until then.”

“Wasn’t your plan to stay purely defensive?”

“Defense is only in the event that Japan strikes first. Eventually, we might need to take the initiative and if the infrastructure in Northern Manchuria isn’t adequate, that’s problematic. Furthermore, the Jews who built Northern Manchuria would inevitably need to protect their stronghold from the Japanese, so they will have to fight.”

“Baron Rothschild.”

“That person may be thinking only in terms of nation-building, but he will also need to support us in war.”

“Indeed, he cannot abandon what he’s built.”

“That’s right. Justification can be whatever we want. Once the Jews, refined through the battles against Japan, establish the Eastern Israel, we must create an Israeli regular army to confront China.”

“Now, onto the next issue.”

“If we manage the lands, you must also know about the Korean Provisional Government that’s settled in Northern Manchuria.”

“And have you looked into the Korean Provisional Government?”

“If they’re illegally occupying, that could be problematic.”

“It’s one of the jokers we could use against Japan.”

“As you’ve guessed, the Korean Provisional Government’s office exists in Harbin.”

“Is that so?”

“Well, that seems to have worked out.”

“It seems a wealthy Jew who migrated to Northern Manchuria found them a place to use as their office. Although they don’t openly call themselves a government.”

“Capitalist Jews?”

“Well, they’re certainly not short on money.”

“I doubt Rothschild is backing them, though.”

“Wait a minute, could it be Rothschild?”

“Baron Rothschild has invested in resource extraction in Northern Manchuria and is already fully aware that I plan to strike Japan.”

“Hmm, this smells fishy.”

“If he knows I’m going to strike Japan, he might have already found a solid focal point in the Korean Provisional Government to bother Japan.”

“Ugh, this is tricky.”

“What should I do about this? The implication that Jews are supporting the Provisional Government means it’s probably not illegal.”

“Honestly, if we pressed, we could intervene whenever we want.”

“The Korean situation here is not the Korea I know. That also applies to the Provisional Government. Having verified through the Okhrana that Ahn Chang-ho is in Northern Manchuria.”

“For now, Ahn Chang-ho and Prince I-gang are leading the Provisional Government.”

“Perhaps Kim Gu and other figures are present too.”

“I suppose it’s about time for me to make a decision.”

“If a wealthy Jew is backing them, it wouldn’t be illegal, so they’re likely using the land lawfully.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Well, then, there’s nothing to intervene with.”

“You intend to utilize them.”

“Yes. We’ll have to make good use of that Korean Provisional Government later.”

“As I said so, I interlaced my fingers in thought.”

“What should I do about those people?”

“When I watched old Korean historical dramas, there were moments where they asked the independence activists how they felt during the war victories that led to Korea’s liberation.”

“Here, as a Russian, I can’t afford to indulge in such nationalism.”

“Since Russia isn’t just returning to its former self, the Provisional Government needs at least a semblance of favor from the National Duma.”

“But what could the Provisional Government provide to Russia?”

“To be honest, from the National Duma’s perspective, the Korean Provisional Government isn’t of great importance.”

“We could create a justification for war against Japan at any moment, and after liberating Korea, if we’re not satisfied with the Provisional Government, we could replace it with a local government afterward.”

“Hmm.”

“Well, I guess I can decide on that later after seeing it in person.”

 

---