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On the other hand, the Manchurians in Northern and Southern Manchuria nearly fainted upon hearing about Puyi’s surrender and the recognition of Puyi as the Qing Emperor.

Though the Manchurians in Northern and Southern Manchuria were under Japanese and Russian control, they still felt a sense of pride that the Daicing Guluun Dynasty remained in Central China.

After all, despite the name change, whether they liked it or not, the Han Chinese acknowledged the Manchu as the ruling class and upheld the Aisin Gioro as their royal family.

Originally, these nationalists resisted migrating to the continent because they viewed Manchuria as the holy land of the Manchu people.

Being such people, their hearts raced at the thought that the Emperor of the continent was still of the Manchu royal family, Aisin Gioro.

Yet, with great expectations came great disappointment.

Although it was unavoidable, Puyi’s surrender scraped away at the Manchu’s pride.

“The Daicing Guluun is over.”

“How could a dynasty that ruled the continent surrender to island pirates?”

“Now the Manchurians can no longer revere Aisin Gioro as the royal family!”

Even though the imperial family resided in Central China, there were those who insisted that the Manchurians should continue to live in Manchuria. Yet, the Second Sino-Japanese War and Puyi’s surrender fueled anti-Japanese sentiments among the Manchurians in Southern Manchuria, and many felt the divine mandate of the Aisin Gioro dynasty had completely ended, leading some to migrate to Northern Manchuria.

The Manchurians in Northern Manchuria also believed that Qing’s divine mandate had thoroughly ended.

At this point, the Southern Manchurians turned their gaze toward Russia.

Northern Manchuria, under Russian control, was developing more abundantly than during the Qing period, as the Manchurians were treated equally to Russians.

And they needed a new leader, the Great Khan of Manchuria, to restore the shattered pride of the Manchurians.

“Isn’t Russian rule better?”

“Thanks to Russia, we’re getting oil, and we’ve become rich!”

“The Tsar of Russia cares for the Manchurians, too!”

The Manchurians knew that the Empress of Russia, Anastasia, also held the title of Great Khan of Mongolia, and they thought of Russia as the inheritor of the great Mongol Empire that once reached Europe, so there was no reason for the Manchus not to serve a white Khan.

For the Manchurians in Northern Manchuria, whether the Khan was white or yellow no longer mattered.

To elect a new khan, the influential Manchurian elite had to select a candidate.

The candidates were I-gang, a member of the Imperial Family of the Balhae Republic affiliated with the Manchurians in Balhae, and Empress Anastasia of Moscow, who was also the Great Khan of Mongolia.

“What do you think of I-gang, who has settled in Balhae Republic? Historically, there were relations between Goryeo (Go clan Goryeo) and Malgal, Goryeo and Jurchen, Joseon and Qing, right?”

“Joseon’s Taejo was once a brother to the Jurchen. Hm.”

“If it’s Goryeo, it might work, but the Yi Joseon still has the humiliation of Samjeondo, so they likely won’t accept it easily.”

“The Balhae Republic isn’t a monarchy, after all. Although they have a military, they’re dependent on Russia. We only have the Tsarina of Moscow, who is also the Great Khan of Mongolia.”

“True, Aisin Gioro once held the title of Great Khan, too.”

For a brief moment, the thought of I-gang, the head of the Balhae Republic government involving the Manchu people and having historical ties with the Jurchen and Joseon Taejo, came up, but I-gang didn’t desire a monarchy, and among the Manchurian people, support for Anastasia was overwhelming.

“I’ve heard that the Emperor in the Forbidden City surrendered to island pirates and offered up his crown, which signifies the end of the divine mandate of the Aisin Gioro dynasty. Therefore, we, the Manchurians, wish to enthrone a new Great Khan, seeking the Nikolai family of the Russian Empress who led Manchuria to peace as our new royal family. We ask the governor of Northern Manchuria to accept our will and present it to the Russian Empress.”

The Manchurians who began to live well in Northern Manchuria after the oil discovery even made a new royal seal to be sent directly to Moscow through the governor of Northern Manchuria.

The National Duma accepted this, recognizing that the influx of Manchurians from Southern Manchuria had stabilized their rule over the Manchurians, and there was no reason not to accept that the Manchurians willingly acknowledged full Russian governance.

And everyone’s idol, Mutaguchi Renya, proclaimed:

“Now, His Majesty the Emperor will personally lead the Imperial Army. The Commander of the Manchurian Army will return to Shenyang and take charge of the supply.”

The decision for supply movements was made due to the military’s concern that Mutaguchi Renya, who had already achieved great success, might eclipse the Emperor’s authority.

In truth, it was the generals of the army who didn’t want to lose achievements to the foreign commander of the Manchurian Army.

“How dare they put the greatest general of the Imperial Army, an elite officer who has made unprecedented achievements in East Asian history, in the rear!”

Especially after they moved the Imperial General Headquarters to the Forbidden City of the puppet state, Qing Dynasty, for the purpose of conquering China, such decisions became more pronounced.

It was truly infuriating to see the greatest general of the imperial army squandered away like this.

As I pondered, a letter of congratulations for victory from the governor of Northern Manchuria arrived, along with a personal letter from the Tsar.

“[The clever strategies have discerned the principles of heaven, and the intricate calculations have grasped the situations of the land. Having won the battle and achieved great merit, know satisfaction and retreat now. You have achieved victory, but inside, there are many who, like children, harbor envy, and in seeking further merits, you could face misfortune.]”

The Tsar’s letter directly warned me that pursuing further merits could be dangerous.

From the beginning, the Tsar had worried about this.

While it was naturally possible to annihilate the Chinese United Front as a commander bestowed with heavenly merit, it also meant that internal threats had arisen.

Right. Anyway, the dispatched Chinese expeditionary army could not have achieved more merit than I did, annihilating 2 million with just one-tenth of my forces in the field.

Later, if they were to be defeated by the Chinese’s overarching tactics and I end up crawling back to beg for mercy, perhaps then they’ll consider forgiving me.

“Yeah. With this much merit, it might be good to heed the Tsarina and manage the rear.”

Considering everything I learned, analyzing the Tsar’s letter led me to decide that Mutaguchi Renya would manage supply in the rear for the time being.

***

Information about China was ever-changing.

Recently, Japan had subdued Shanxi and Shandong, establishing a puppet state with the Qing, while in that brief window, Chiang Kai-shek had founded the National Government in Nanjing.

Secretly, I found out that Chiang Kai-shek was requesting weapon sales from us through Xinjiang, which had not yet fallen, and secretly invited a military advisory group from Communist Germany.

These guys inviting a military advisory group from Communist Germany was quite brazen. However, for that guy, Russia was still an invader who dominated Mongolia and Manchuria, and he just argued that he would pay to buy weapons.

Even worse, the White Army advisors taught absurd tactics like Ura Charge.

My country would also receive the military advisory group from Germany.

What’s absurd is that Chiang Kai-shek, a staunch anti-communist, allied with Communist Germany, but without the Soviet Union and given that the Chinese Communist Party was more naive than in original history, Kai-shek might see the communists as a force worth allying with at this point.

However, something monumental had come from the governor of Northern Manchuria.

“What the hell? Am I the Great Khan of Manchuria?”

I couldn’t believe my eyes; the Korean I hadn’t used much until now slipped out, how absurd it was.

I had come to attend the National Duma for urgent matters, and there was this strange document presented.

A document written in Manchu and another interpreting it in Russian.

Glancing through it, I began to doubt whether it was real or not.

“The Manchurians wish for Your Majesty to become the white Great Khan.”

Gregory Semenov confidently stated with eyes that had lost their focus, a sight I had seen once before.

This guy… he must be high on my expectations again.

Right. It turns out the Manchurians were declaring that they would elevate me to the Great Khan of Manchuria.

What the hell?

I had to doubt my own eyes. How long had it been since I became the combined Great Khan?

I hadn’t even spoken out, yet among the Cossacks, they had also announced me as their Ataman.

“Congratulations, Your Majesty! Now you have completely claimed the seats of the masters of the Mongolian steppes and Manchuria in East Asia!”

Is that really the point right now?

It should be important, right? Hmm. My mind is a bit confused.

Um, what on earth should I do about this?

“Yes, the Mongolian steppes have risen anew in the Mongol Empire, and the Manchus are the ruling nation over China for 300 years, so being recognized by them as the Great Khan of Manchuria means you have acquired the legitimacy to dominate the Far East!”

Semenov clenched his fist and raised his voice. No, let’s put that aside for now.

I’m feeling incredibly embarrassed right now.

“Uh, what did the Duma decide to do?”

Such a matter should be a decision of the Duma.

Honestly, I feel like they’ve already made a decision and then came to me for permission, which doesn’t sit well with me.

It’s pretty surprising that things were normal from the start.

Finally, the Duma had decided by themselves without involving me!

– Though, they did ultimately come to ask for my consent regarding this matter.

“We judged it would be better to accept this for the stability of Manchuria and stable governance over the Manchurians.”

Right. That would usually be the case.

If they refused, the Manchurians would likely be disappointed, and governance would face problems.

After all, they would still need a Great Khan.

If they rejected that idea, Russia would become just a simple invader.

“Then, I accept. What will happen to Northern Manchuria? Can we really just keep it as a Russian territory?”

“Wouldn’t it be better to have it as a Manchu Principality with Your Majesty holding the throne?”

A Manchu Principality, what an odd name.

Out of all the countries, me, a white man, would be the king of the Manchu people?

Well, the King of Italy also held the title of Emperor of Ethiopia, so…

“Although we are the United States, it feels akin to the dual empire of the Habsburg family.”

The Habsburg Emperor also held the kingship of the constituent nations of the dual empire. Ah, it’s giving me a headache.

“However, those would still be nominal, so Your Majesty doesn’t need to learn Manchu.”

I have no intention of learning it.

Since I’ve been elevated to the Great Khan, should I indulge the Manchus a bit?

“Then, it would be better to effectively utilize them to also grow as an Eastern Army. Just like the Cossacks in Russia, the Manchurians had the Palgigung, so let’s new-form a Manchurian army just with the name of Palgigung. If we make the Manchurians act like Manchurians, they will likely comply with our governance even more.”

The ideology of national unity might sound like nonsense, but it’s different from the Japanese who abused various ethnicities.

“Well, the position of the National Government of the Republic of China is bound to become delicate. Manchuria has complied with Russian governance, and a puppet state called Qing has also been established.”

“Since that’s mentioned, let’s sell weapons to China but not overly assist them. Chiang Kai-shek doesn’t see us as anything more than a weapon supplier. Just looking at his expectation for a military advisory group from Communist Germany, the answer is there, isn’t it?”

Of course, in original history, China had received a Soviet advisory group, but this is a different case.

We have no reason to accommodate Chiang Kai-shek, but if he aims to push out both Japan and Russia, that would become troublesome.

The reasons behind Communist Germany aiding China are pretty clear, aren’t they?

“And I heard Mutaguchi Renya has returned to the railways to oversee supply for the main force commanded by the Emperor.”

“That’s unexpected.”

How is it precisely as I instructed?

Isn’t that a bit impressive? I was worried that Renya would go wild the moment he achieved merit.

Or maybe there’s some situation I’m unaware of.

Considering Renya’s character, if he annihilated that many troops, he’d probably be eager to take charge of conquering China regardless.

“Perhaps there’s some internal issue there. Something like not being able to give Renya all the credit for his achievements.”

Ah, it makes sense, where there are people obsessed with their achievements.

In Japan, there is a tendency to look down on China, but regardless, 2 million is a terrifying number if they had armed properly.

They annihilated 2 million troops that were prepared with great ambition by the Chinese warlords in the field.

Of course, it goes without saying that the quality of the military differs.

All they learned was Ura Charge, and with no advisers from Germany, they were clearly outmatched.

Since they started by wiping out the main force, the Japanese army would be determined to push Renya into the rear and go ahead themselves.

With no battle in Shanghai, what will become of this?

Will Chiang Kai-shek be able to hold Nanjing?

It’s likely going to be tough to defend Nanjing, but there are an enormous number of people in China.

Though the puppet state of Qing might be favorable, the citizens of that Qing would hardly cooperate with the invaders and considering the evacuations, Qing wouldn’t be able to muster enough troops for overwhelming tactics.

“Hmm.”

While the German military advisers will likely help them become elite, that would probably take quite a long time. For a while, they’ll have to hold on out of sheer numbers.

“If the war prolongs, the damage will inevitably grow larger, right?”

“Yeah, right.”

I’m coming up with an exceedingly clever idea.

Since Japan has already committed this mistake, I’ll devise a way to utilize it in the future.

“Why do you say that?”

“No, just had a bit of a bad thought.”

Just a slightly strange thought, you know?

Suddenly, I feel like I’d want to take advantage of that newly established puppet state, Qing.

 

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