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* * *

Meanwhile, Russia approached Hispano-Suiza directly at the national level, apart from reaching out to the British government or Churchill.

The reason was clear.

“A Hispano-Russian subsidiary in Russia?”

They had bluntly requested the establishment of a subsidiary without beating around the bush.

The proposal was received by Mark Birkit, one of the co-founders of Hispano-Suiza, along with Castro de la Cuadra.

Mark Birkit had been the one to support Russia’s automotive endeavors during their last request.

At that time, he had sympathy due to the collapse of Russia’s car business, but he was also thinking that Hispano-Suiza could influence the automotive landscape of the Russian Republic.

Never did he expect such a bold request for a subsidiary.

“Yes. We particularly need the help of Hispano-Suiza.”

“I’ve heard that Russia is putting great effort into developing automobiles and aircraft. However, we’ve already had great success in France. Our French corporation has even become independent. Establishing a subsidiary in Russia seems a bit…”

“Are you saying this even though there’s a risk of France becoming communist?”

“!!”

Hispano-Suiza didn’t particularly have a liking for communism.

It was a separate concern that they were aware of the recent rampages by the Commune, but the government hadn’t turned upside down, so why Russia?

There wasn’t much reasoning to establish something in Russia at such an uncertain time.

“We are preparing for war. Thus, we greatly need the assistance of Hispano-Suiza.”

Russia was preparing for war as if driven by something.

How long had it been since they rolled out automobiles?

During the Great Depression, they remained one of the few stable nations alongside communist countries.

And the communist nations were enemies of the Russian system.

“I’ve heard recent rumors about Germany waging war. Is that the reason?”

“That’s correct. Additionally, as the Commune is growing in France, if Hispano-Suiza falls into the hands of a communist France, it would put us in a very difficult position.”

“Umm.”

They had established factories in Paris and Geneva, but setting up a corporation seemed a bit much.

Now that they thought about it, France had suffered less impact from the Great Depression compared to other countries, yet the Commune was growing stronger. The possibility of the regime being overturned wasn’t non-existent. On the other hand, they had heard that Russia had suffered almost no damage from the Great Depression.

Mark Birkit began crunching the numbers vigorously.

If France were to turn communist, Spain would likely be in danger as well. In that case, foreign help would be necessary. Having Russia assist wouldn’t be a bad idea.

It would be good to owe a favor to Russia, and they could engage in weapons development there and officially dive into the arms industry.

Then, they could continue producing automobiles in France as usual.

They were certainly producing aircraft engines and weapons as well. If they intended to make weapons, there was no reason they couldn’t.

Moreover, the Empress of Russia had tremendous authority.

Rather than being forced to buy, she could simply promote them lightly, and the citizens would drool over purchasing automobiles.

Receiving support from that Tsar?

For Hispano-Suiza to strike it big in Russia would be a piece of cake.

Fundamentally, they were struggling due to the Great Depression, but if they received investments, Hispano-Suiza would have a much easier time.

“Our Tsar will also surely provide support.”

Then the discussion was settled.

They couldn’t produce weapons in France, which could turn communist.

Birkit smiled satisfactorily.

“I understand. For now, let’s consider this positively.”

A little while later, Hispano-Suiza established a subsidiary named Hispano-Russia to manufacture automobiles in France and develop aircraft engines and weapons in Russia.

* * *

Japan

While every country was struggling due to the Great Depression, Japan was not spared either.

During the Great War, while European nations were pulling each other’s hair and throwing punches, Japan seized Germany’s territories and colonies in Asia.

They even sold weapons to Europe, nearly monopolizing trade in China due to Russia’s concessions.

During this time, wealthy individuals known as “Narikin” emerged and enjoyed prosperity.

Of course, there was a brief downturn due to trade wars between European countries, but even that couldn’t negate the economic growth.

Later, a massive earthquake led to the “Jinjai Crisis,” where they wavered between stopping the gold standard or continuing with it, ultimately deciding to revert to the gold standard.

The result was a financial panic that, following the Great Depression, created a tsunami of troubles that engulfed Japan.

“Haha, this is bad.”

The Great Depression was shaking the Japanese economy like a one-punch KO.

For a Japan focused on growth through exports, this was shocking.

First, the major export markets of the United States and Europe were also shaken, causing demand to plummet. Naturally, Japan’s export goods began piling up in stock, and the export amounts continued to decrease, reducing by half as they entered the 1930s.

With the reduced export of life goods, the farmers became impoverished as well.

China had also been profitably selling weapons, but the semi-autonomous military warlords avoided engaging with Japan as they didn’t want to be embroiled in conflict.

Moreover, the blow to Japan, which had been thriving, was substantial compared to China, which had become impoverished after being beaten by western powers.

With foreign currency income plunging, it followed that the costs for importing raw materials would also skyrocket.

As the domestic economy plummeted, businesses began to go bankrupt in a competitive frenzy.

In such a situation, political instability arose as well.

Political instability and economic recession. At this point, it was only natural for something new to emerge, even in Japan.

“If this goes on, we might turn red too!”

“Are the subjects of the Empire going to turn red? Suppress those rioters!”

Signs of communism began to appear within Japan itself.

With communist Germany smoothly navigating through the Great Depression, the subjects began to stir towards reds.

Naturally, Japan suppressed them in typical Japanese fashion.

After all, there was no way subjects of His Imperial Majesty could become communists, right?

“We can’t go on like this. Communists are beginning to spread within the Empire.”

“Let’s adopt Russia’s methods.”

Russia’s method was to thoroughly kill the communists without any pretense.

But that was something only possible because the White Army was unifying and actively fighting against the Bolsheviks.

In the historical context, the ordinary Russian folks didn’t care whether the Bolsheviks lived or died, leaving room for the actions of the White Army.

However.

“His Imperial Majesty would never abandon the heirs!”

“Down with the government!”

Suppression of the citizens turning red with gunfire complicated matters.

They were doing things in the homeland that should have been left to the colonies, escalating the situation.

In the military, factions began forming to transfer all power back to His Majesty.

Then the Japanese government came up with a plan.

“This won’t do. Instead, let’s do this.”

To solve the Great Depression, let’s plunder the colonies.

This way, the military would settle down for a while, and the subjects would be satisfied.

After that, they could gradually resolve the Great Depression.

First, although they examined Korea, which they had “legally incorporated through treaties,” there was no loot to extract apart from rice unless they were conscripting Koreans for the future war with China. Taiwan had some resources, but it didn’t hold much significance.

Ultimately, they decided to plunder Southern Manchuria, where Mutaguchi Renya was the governor, which would sufficiently bolster the military’s power even in a situation where maintaining the status quo was challenging.

Although semi-autonomous, China, which had adopted the silver standard and was relatively unaffected, was enough to incur Japan’s ire.

Of course, in the later “Anastasia Declaration,” during speeches relating to the Great Depression, blaming communists as the behind-the-scenes instigators, Japan would end up despising communists. However, in essence, if one was hurting while their neighbors were thriving, wouldn’t they feel anger?

The neighbors included Russia, but that was a different matter, as they were simply a powerful opponent too strong for Japan to meddle with.

Naturally, issues with anger management would arise before powerful entities.

At this time, Japan had yet to go on the rampage, so engaging in battle against the millions of Russian troops up north would likely lead to more losses than gains, and Japan couldn’t confidently claim victory.

Then? There was China.

On the surface, China seemed somewhat stable, but to Japan, it looked as if it was looking to humiliate them, igniting the Japanese military’s enthusiasm for advancing into China.

“Let’s conquer China. Let’s head to China and resolve this Great Depression!”

“We need to suck the lifeblood out of that massive continent to survive!”

The poverty-stricken self-proclaimed subjects of the Empire voted in favor of the military, and the militaristic regime took hold of Japan, with the Great Depression playing a significant role.

* * *

Beria felt like his head might explode in real time.

Recently, he’d made friends with a guy named Frank Whittle.

This chap from the Royal Air Force was an exceedingly loud British fellow.

“Beria, you see, an engine is…”

“Oh, I see.”

Though he was loud, Beria couldn’t disregard him.

Apart from his duties from Tsarina, he had been something of a pariah now after being referred to a military tribunal and was solely focused on researching engines.

As time spent together increased, Beria felt confident in saying he had become an expert on engines himself.

He could even see Whittle researching jet engines without needing to mention it.

“But are you alright? With how things have gone at the military tribunal?”

In actual history, he’d almost been referred to military tribunal for low-altitude flights and aerobatics. In this timeline, however, reckless flying had landed him in that tribunal, and following a guilty verdict, he was now let go to focus solely on engine research.

But Frank Whittle didn’t mind. Not in the slightest.

After all, it enabled him to focus even more on engine research.

Moreover, a suspiciously wealthy Russian was supporting him with all sorts of things.

“Regrettable as it is, I’d rather concentrate on engine research.”

With a bittersweet smile, Whittle diligently worked on.

‘Is it finally time yet?’

He had formed such a close rapport that he could spill everything he had researched, and he was focused on it.

Well, from Whittle’s perspective, moving to Russia would necessitate changing his identity, so actually going there was impossible.

“I don’t have a choice. Hmm. Then, may I take your materials with me?”

“To Russia? I know you’re a Russian, Beria, but surely you’re not someone in a high position?”

“The person above me is indeed in a high position. I mentioned you to them, and they seemed pleased.”

“Umm. I would like it if my work is utilized anywhere, but you seem to know well, huh?”

Frank Whittle had been aware that Beria had studied a lot from the papers and materials he had created.

While he knew it was for the sake of Russia, it wasn’t an enemy nation, moreover, it was someone who supported him.

“Oh, would it really be alright? We’ve been focused on engine development in our country lately.”

“I’ve received a lot of help from you, Beria. At this point, you can say half of my research is thanks to you.”

Right, that’s something he could say.

Beria cheered internally as he shook Frank Whittle’s hand.

“Thank you. Then I should send your materials to that person.”

Wouldn’t this be sufficient?

Beria decided to first send the materials Whittle provided to Russia.

To put it simply, the Tsarina was a prophetess.

So, she must also be aware of Trotsky and that the civil war was won by White Russia.

This meant she would also know that Frank Whittle couldn’t go to Russia.

In other words, this mission was a test.

To fetch Frank Whittle’s research materials directly. To learn them, that was the goal.

Thus, he had worked hard to build a friendship with Frank Whittle to learn from him.

The corners of Beria’s mouth rose near his ear.

At this point, surely the still-beautiful Tsarina would favor him.

* * *

The Great Depression continues to wreak havoc across nations.

According to information coming from Japan, the same thing that happened in Imperial Russia was occurring now.

They were suppressing those showing signs of turning red with gunfire.

They were repeating something they learned somewhere.

Yes. They were copying the large-scale executions of Bolsheviks in Russia.

Fools. That could only work in Russia.

The discontent from the public turned against the Bolsheviks, and the White Army’s hatred for the Bolsheviks allowed that to happen.

Japan, being an island nation, added to this fact. The attention of communist Germany was elsewhere, preventing a revolution from occurring in Japan.

“Indeed, Easterners are barbaric. They even kill their own citizens who aren’t colonials.”

Maria evaluated Japan as such.

Uh, well. Honestly, Imperial Russia wasn’t much different.

Maria seemed too young to know better. Well, it’s fine. Now they are the Russian Republic.

“That’s just how those countries are. It’s the very nation that conducts wars without declaration. The Russo-Japanese War erupted that way.”

“I’ve even heard that while Japan is developing its colonial Korea, some communists are inciting the government, claiming it’s the government of Joseon.”

“Development? That’s probably all for advancing into China.”

Creating a forward base in Korea to venture into Southern Manchuria.

“When will Japan invade China?”

“Sometime before the 40s, I guess?”

Honestly, I don’t know about the Second Sino-Japanese War.

The problem lies in how history has changed drastically. I do know Japan is bound to encroach upon China; it’s certain. But when will that happen?

 

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