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After the bureaucrats from Romania and Hungary left, the National Duma was abuzz with discussions about the recovery of Bessarabia.

Among them, the members of the White Army were busy praising me.

“Hahaha! It was the brilliant stratagem of Tsar that restored Bessarabia!”

Mikhail Drozdovsky said excitedly.

I was just a bit lucky this time.

If Communist Germany hadn’t actually been behind it, we would have had to reevaluate our plans from the beginning.

Beria probably just stirred up some Communist nonsense now, didn’t he?

Come to think of it, that rascal Beria did well.

“What have I done to deserve such praise? I merely expressed my opinion. Rather, it was Beria who performed admirably.”

Even if the stage is set, if the players can’t coordinate, nothing happens.

Yet, surprisingly, Beria managed to pull it off.

Well, it’s not like we could contact each other via messenger like in modern times.

It means he understood what was being said here and made it all happen.

“But when else would we have recaptured Bessarabia? The British wouldn’t have given it up even for Ukraine.”

True, assuming Britain was stable.

Let’s say they successfully reconstructed after the war and maintained the Baltic States, Poland, Ukraine, etc., obtained through the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk.

In that case, thinking of Romania during the Great War, they would likely lean towards Britain.

If Russia were to demand Bessarabia, would the British have conceded?

It would feel like a dagger aimed at Ukraine’s back.

It would be fortunate if they didn’t bolster Communist Germany and tighten the noose around Russia instead.

“That’s peculiar.”

“What do you mean?”

“I expected some reaction from Communist Germany this time.”

It couldn’t be helped.

“They can’t do anything. What they’re aiming for is just to sow the seeds, not to incite an uprising.”

They’re only thinking of spreading the revolutionary seeds whenever they can, not directly inciting an uprising.

They aren’t even rearmed yet. What can they do?

They really can’t do anything.

“But didn’t Italy do something?”

“That’s because it’s Italy.”

It’s only possible because of Benito Mussolini.

Yeah. One could argue Benito Mussolini also contributed to this matter in his own way.

He foolishly called her the ‘Red Queen’ openly, and many Romanians switched sides to Carol it seems.

In actual history, he lost all the territory, succumbed to German pressure, and made various blunders that led to his abdication. Here though, it seems he boldly abandoned the territories as revolutionary lands and gained power.

Queen Marie was just a pity that she was deceived.

Mussolini deserves more credit than I do.

“Is it because it’s Italy?”

It’s a little awkward to phrase it that way.

I only know of Mussolini from his blunders in World War II.

But judging from his actions so far, he seems to be infatuated with a Roman idea.

“Is Italy’s Benito Mussolini a formidable opponent?”

“Should we even call him that? It’s a bit ambiguous.”

At least from what I see now, I can’t quite figure it out.

I don’t know what that man is aiming for.

One thing is certain; for now, he seems to be beneficial to us in some way.

This time, it’s clear that Romania was portrayed as a victim of the Communists thanks to Italy.

With this, even if Romania feels hostile toward Russia and Hungary, they’ll have to align with us due to Germany and Italy.

The British are over the sea right now.

“Ah, Your Majesty. Speaking of which, that Benito Mussolini spoke again this time. It was briefly featured in an Italian newspaper.”

Boris Savinkov politely handed me the newspaper.

The newspaper has Mussolini’s face plastered all over it.

His expression looks extremely fake and grim, resembling a pouting face, which is kind of funny.

I feel like I can tell just from the photo.

Before the nuclear war, I’d seen something similar with Kim’s sad photo over in North Korea, lamenting the people’s plight.

“What does it say?”

I’m not well-versed in Italian yet.

The engineers from Italy came with interpreters, so I could communicate, but reading the newspaper meant deducing from that offensive face of Benito Mussolini.

“The Red Queen harbored great ambitions, but was defeated by the imperialist tyrant Tsar and Horthy.”

“Puhuhup.”

It seems Mussolini still doesn’t know his love affair has turned disastrous.

What a truly fantastic collaboration this is.

Indeed, this time, the combination with the Communists was delightful.

Isn’t this a sign from the heavens to mess with Queen Marie? She might end up feeling sorry for herself.

“The Romanian officials came by, but what did Queen Marie say?”

What indeed will Queen Marie say?

“Queen Marie is currently in seclusion,” they said.

“In seclusion, huh? That’s understandable.”

What would she say when this newspaper reaches her?

In a way, I think it would be better to leave Mussolini as is.

At least up until the war, he should serve as a decent partner for us.

“And we’ve received news from Austria and Yugoslavia through the Okhrana.”

“What about Austria?”

“Adolf Hitler considers the recovery of Transylvania from Hungary the glory of the Habsburgs.”

“Looks like the stage is being set.”

Let’s leave it be for now.

Now I’m curious about the news from Yugoslavia.

Is it really turning red?

“The Tito of Yugoslavia is a bit ambiguous to be called a Communist.”

From his actions, it’s clear he’s a Communist dictator, but it’s still strange.

Even within the Communist sphere, he didn’t seem to get along with the Soviets. I think I saw something like that.

Historically, he was the figure who built the third world.

The Great War might have fizzled out, but just like in history, he’d have seen the Civil War from the first-class seats. It’s quite questionable why someone like him chose Communism.

After all, the Soviet Union collapsed before it even took off.

How could Tito turn to Communism in such a situation?

His own history might have shifted a bit; just look at Hitler, who ended up not taking the path of the German Nazi party but rather took the Austrian route.

Of course, that could be considered a change of mindset due to participating in the civil war after Germany’s turn to Communism too.

“Didn’t he join the Yugoslav Communist Party?”

“He does serve as the leader of the Yugoslav Communist youth, but recently the Yugoslav Communist Party changed its name. Precisely after Benito Mussolini directly mentioned Tito.”

They changed their signboard?

“Hmmm. The Yugoslav National Socialist Party. It feels ambiguous to call it Communism, doesn’t it?”

“Yes. Exactly. Rather than moving radically like the German Communist Party or the Italian Communist Party, they’ve taken it as an ideology for national unification in their own way. Perhaps it’s to receive support from Germany and Italy.”

Hmmm. Tito.

Should I toss him out as well? Based on the current developments, he seems to be planning to lightly dabble in Communism, soaking up the benefits from Germany and Italy, then spit it out later. With the misfortune of being caught in Mussolini’s hard carry, he ended up looking foolish all of a sudden.

If I want to tear apart Yugoslavia, he’ll surely become a hindrance.

I don’t know if Serbia will survive after World War II, but I do need to keep an eye on Tito’s movements.

One good thing is that he changed the party’s name after hearing our complaints.

This could mean one of two things.

Either they’re cautiously gauging our reactions or just loosely pretending to avoid protests from Russia.

However, judging by the movements of the Yugoslav Communist Party, it strains credibility to see them as a threat.

“At least they’re keeping an eye on us.”

Wait a minute.

Right now, I’m not just curious about Austria and Yugoslavia.

I raised my hand to change the topic toward Yugoslavia.

“Does the Okhrana have any news about America?”

“America, you say? Are you referring to that fried chicken Trotsky?”

Yes. That’s spot on.

Is Boris Savinkov already perceiving Trotsky in that way?

“The Okhrana has already assumed it’s Trotsky,” they said.

“Since the Tsar thinks that way, we first agreed on Trotsky and looked into it. His movements are a bit odd.”

Oh? Is that man thinking about a revolution again?

I don’t know if it’s possible on American soil.

“Does he plan to start a revolution?”

“There haven’t been any significant movements yet, but apparently, he’s currently working for the rights of Black people. He even holds meetings every week.”

“Trotsky?”

That guy is seriously working with Black people for their rights?

No, that’s a bit weird.

Trotsky wouldn’t simply focus on a Black human rights movement.

Does that mean he’s trying to stir up a revolution in America?

Not Mexico, but America. I wonder if it’s actually possible there.

“The interesting thing is that they are engaging in arms smuggling.”

“Is that even possible right now?”

“After the recent Chinese War ended, the leftover firearms from the conflict are flowing from Shanghai to Japan and then into America. It’s not certain, but it seems like Trotsky’s side is involved in the smuggling.”

Trotsky’s side involved in smuggling? Isn’t that a bit too predictable?

No, it’s not impossible for smuggling to happen in America.

There shouldn’t be any other reason for arms smuggling unless it involves Trotsky.

“Are you sure?”

“If that’s not the case, there wouldn’t be a reason for it to flow into America. It’ll take a bit more investigation to be sure.”

“Long tails get caught. Trotsky shouldn’t catch on and run away.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Well, besides that, I do have something I’m curious about.

The existence of Communist Germany, that is.

Communist Germany is an unpredictable entity. Because of that, we should treat it with extra seriousness.

If Communist Germany truly seeks a fair competition in regime instead of war, it’d be much better for us to funnel everything into internal investment rather than military.

I turned my gaze to Boris Savinkov, who leads the Okhrana with my hands clasped on the desk.

“How’s Communist Germany these days?”

“Their side is starting German revival policies with their new economic policy led by Liebknecht.”

“Is that even feasible?”

They don’t have anything to rely on.

What the Kaiser prepared in hope of striking a blow at France is all in Russia, and the Junkers have fled to Austria or East Prussia.

“Economic experts believe there’s something that Communist Germany is banking on.”

It was Finance Minister Bernatsky speaking.

“Is that so?”

Could there really be something Communist Germany is relying on? Is that even possible?

Surely it can’t be Italy, the partner of the spirit.

In historical terms, Hitler would have sought a loophole through the Soviets, but here, it’s Communist Germany, and we’re also present.

“If not, it would be impossible for the central figures that made up the German Empire to all flee to Austria or East Prussia or be purged by the Communists. They wouldn’t be able to push that way. Certainly, if they’re not planning on war, it may be feasible in decades, but if what you say is true, they must have something up their sleeve.”

So, Communist Germany has something they can rely on.

Personally, that’s why I haven’t vigorously urged Britain and France to tighten their grip on Germany because they’ll start another war.

How any war might break out is uncertain.

Moreover, I don’t think England and France would listen to Russia.

But in that case, maybe I should have said a bit more.

At least there will be someone who will pretend to listen.

 

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