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* * *

“Considering we’re at it, why not just give them a whole shipment of Zyklon B?”

I kind of want to ignore this, but it seems like we might have to do something to escalate the Sino-Japanese War.

With the Emperor dead, Japan will definitely not allow any Chinese to survive.

To avoid becoming captives, we must fight with the mindset of survival.

It looks like Japan will go all out to take down the National Government, but beyond that, it’s Japan’s call.

“Well then, since the Emperor is dead and it’s sad, let’s send it over.”

After all, China needs to cut down its population a bit.

And for us to capture Chiang Kai-shek, Japan needs to ramp up the chaos here.

Russia has to uphold its dignity, so for them to attack China directly, they should have a strong justification. But if we use Japan, that’s a different story.

It’s a win-win situation.

Using Japan to inflict as much damage on China as possible and then, when the time is right, stab them in the back and wipe out every last Japanese soldier in China.

Now, the rampaging Japanese army will charge into China with full force, bringing all the troops they can muster.

When China suffers immense damage, we can step in under the guise of saving them.

Isn’t this actually advantageous for us because of the Emperor’s death?

If Japan starts using poison gas and killing people, we would have a more legitimate reason to strike back at Japan.

“So let’s say we supplied pesticides for the hygiene of China. That should do it. Additionally, let’s send some farming tools and food as support for the Qing Dynasty.”

There’s a saying: “Hide the tree in the forest.”

We should treat the existence of Zyklon B as just one of our support items.

Mixing pesticides among the farming tools and food. Isn’t that a perfect camouflage tactic?

“Oh, that’s a great idea.”

“Indeed, Your Majesty. They will never suspect that we’re using Japan to force harm upon China.”

If someone hears this, they might think I’m someone who enjoys killing people.

That’s absolutely not the case.

It’s just that if Japan and China can continue to harm each other amicably, it would be great if the current threat, Imperial Japan, and the future threat, China, could both self-destruct.

“And don’t forget to convey our condolences to Japan regarding the Emperor’s death.”

We should help them out a little, fighting with China while they self-destruct.

I hope it gets cooked nicely for us later.

“I’ll take care of that, Your Majesty.”

If Yasuhito ascends the throne, heh, that’s a bit sad.

It was Hirohito’s fault, yet it seems Yasuhito will be blamed for the war crimes.

Thinking of such things, living as a commoner would indeed be much easier.

“Your Majesty. A message came up from the Okhrana’s London branch. They report that the recent movements from Britain are suspicious.”

“Britain you say?”

“Yes. They are gathering troops.”

Whoa? What’s up with you guys?

Did they really take my advice to launch a preemptive strike and quickly suppress Communist Germany to maintain their colonies seriously?

I don’t think Churchill would actually be that kind of person.

“Is it really a preemptive strike?”

Ah, no way. They wouldn’t think of striking Communist Germany first. Surely, that can’t be the case.

* * *

Forbidden City of the Qing Dynasty, Imperial General Headquarters

After the Emperor’s sudden death, the Imperial General Headquarters fell into chaos as they occupied Henan Province but had to relinquish it due to Chiang Kai-shek’s counterattack.

Japan, now a vengeful spirit, did not immediately strike China.

Due to the Emperor’s death, their dominance over the continent began to waver, and they needed to crown a new emperor quickly to continue their efforts to conquer China.

At the same time, they incited the vengeful feelings of the Japanese people on the home islands.

“Kill all those damn Chinese!”

“The extermination of China! That’s the wish of all humanity!”

“I will take revenge for the Emperor with my own hands!”

“If there were really a god, he wouldn’t have died like this!”

“There’s a spy among us?”

The death of the divine Emperor was shocking.

More than anything, the Qing must be made aware that they might try to escape from Japan during this turmoil; thus, their influence must be asserted.

Ishiwa Kanji, who had seduced Hirohito into sending him to the front lines, could not evade punishment.

“Ishiwa Kanji, you’ve been too reckless. It’s time for you to rest. Your judgment will come after all of China has been conquered.”

“I cannot deny my responsibility for serving our departed Emperor until Henan province. But please, do not recklessly exterminate the Chinese. The Greater East Asian Co-Prosperity Sphere—”

“That damned Greater East Asian Co-Prosperity Sphere! We already have China! It’s right to castrate the Southern Chinese completely!”

Ishiwa Kanji, unable to assist the Emperor and subsequently clashing with the budding leader Tojo Hideki, was fully purged.

Afterward, Japan demanded weapons and humanitarian aid for China from Russia to completely trample the nation.

“Russia has promised to support China with food, farming tools, and Zyklon B.”

“That’s fortunate. After all, Russia shows no sign of suspicion.”

Japan was concocting a massively terrible plan, just as Anastasia had predicted.

The plan was called the Extermination of the Chinese.

Of course, they didn’t intend to eliminate them entirely. After all, they needed to conquer Southern China and use the population to work like slaves for the Empire.

But before that, they intended to completely obliterate their government so it would be impossible for them to rise again.

No Chinese could reveal their teeth towards Japan ever again. This was named the “Castration Operation,” and it was exactly that—a castration operation.

Now was the perfect opportunity when European powers were too preoccupied to pay attention to China.

As long as they don’t provoke us, there won’t be any complaints while we dismantle the country.

“Shouldn’t Russia be thanking us? We’re capturing all the communists on the continent.”

In Japan’s eyes, China was now synonymous with communism.

That way, they’d have an impeccable excuse to execute the castration operation.

“We must capture all those Chinese communists who allowed the Emperor to ascend to heaven.”

“We also need to utilize Chinese prisoners for epidemiological research.”

Even the Epidemic Prevention and Water Supply Department, started by Ishii Shiro, was now officially underway, which, in history, would later be known as the “Maruta Project.”

Countless prisoners caught in Southern China would be dragged to Ishii Shiro’s department to undergo all sorts of torture and experimentation.

Meanwhile, Mutaguchi Renya, in charge of supply in Shenyang, was whining.

“Damn it. How is there so much supply?”

Of course, it was not bad since they coordinated the supplies coming from the home country to manage the army’s logistics.

Recently, with many Manchurians crossing into Northern Manchuria, there had been a bit of a manpower shortage.

“Aren’t we supposed to be supplying the millions assembled for the conquest of China?”

Serving alongside Mutaguchi Renya and witnessing the Battle of Tianjin, Tsujin Masanobu, as his aide, continued to flatter him.

“I swear. If that’s the case, just send me to the front lines. If I were there, the Emperor wouldn’t have perished because of the Chinese.”

Striving for achievements only to fail and cause the Emperor to personally go to the front lines. What was the result of that?

Japan witnessed the death of the Emperor, their glorious leader.

If only Japan’s greatest commander and elite officer had been in that position, he would have easily devoured Tang Shengzhi’s rotten army like sushi.

“That’s right.”

Amidst the mountain of documents piling up, Mutaguchi Renya’s eyes landed on one document.

“What’s this? The Epidemic Prevention and Water Supply Department?”

Frowning as he read it, it seemed to be about some kind of epidemic research.

“Ah, that’s the one where the leader of the Epidemic Prevention and Water Supply Department, Ishii Shiro, requested approval for epidemic research.”

“What kind of method are they planning to use?”

What kind of operation requires such a specific request?

It was definitely something related to epidemic matters, but having lived locked in paperwork, his mind had gotten somewhat stiff.

“They say the Chinese prisoners caught in Southern China are just filthy, so they’re conducting research in case they catch any diseases to prevent the epidemic in the Imperial Army. After all, we have outbreaks going on in our army too, don’t we? They seem to want a solution through the water supply.”

“So, it means the Chinese will recover from the disease before our Imperial Army does. Hmm.”

Despite calling it castration, it seems they are putting in quite the effort to manage these Chinese.

After all, this was something the late Emperor had authorized, so there shouldn’t be any problems, right?

“Anyway, these are things permitted by our deceased late Emperor. I can’t just say how it’s going to be. Well, it’s at most a hygiene study.”

It felt a bit unsettling, but he shrugged it off as nothing serious.

“After all, it’s to research the hygiene for our Imperial Army against how filthy the Chinese must be.”

Indeed. Agreeing with Tsujin Masanobu, Mutaguchi Renya casually brushed aside what might be a future regret.

Of course, separate from this, the greatest commander in Japan, who had become sympathetic towards the Chinese, disliked this current castration operation.

“But the castration of the Chinese. Is this truly right? As a soldier of the Empire, I can’t shake off the feeling that something is off.”

No matter how one looks at it, this doesn’t seem right.

He personally crushed the main force of the Chinese, yet now the Imperial Army is plotting their extermination.

As a samurai with the Yamato spirit, is this truly correct?

“Since the Emperor has passed, it can’t be helped. After all, the most prominent general in the Empire is just you, so won’t they call for you from the general headquarters soon?”

Swayed by the cunning tongue of Tsujin Masanobu, Mutaguchi Renya nodded in agreement.

Having hundreds of thousands of soldiers coming from the homeland, they had to engage in a showdown with China.

It was plain to see that the incompetent fools who couldn’t even protect the Emperor would be leading the Imperial Army, making it obvious that they’d soon be obsequious to the elite and master strategist he was.

* * *

10 Downing Street, London, England

Recently, England had been rapidly increasing its military presence.

The reason was to prepare for Japan perhaps breaching into Indochina, but in reality, it was a military buildup to attack Germany.

Plans were already underway to attack Germany.

“Prime Minister, is it correct to prepare the army? It feels like we’re following the Tsar’s orders.”

In response to the words of the Chancellor Mosley, Churchill, who was reviewing operational plans, waved his hands dismissively.

“I thought so at first too, but logically analyzing the situation, if we leave Communist Germany alone now, who knows what might happen in our colonies? Moreover, we must take action before Communist Germany grows stronger. Even the young Tsar seems aware of the looming threat posed by Communist Germany.”

Still unaware? Tsk, tsk.

Churchill clicked his tongue, ready to make Mosley understand his deeper intentions, the will of the British Empire.

“The dissatisfaction in the dominions is sky-high. Now is the time to unite our strength using external forces.”

“Even so, isn’t a preemptive strike on Communist Germany risky?”

Right. Currently, England was contemplating a preemptive strike against Germany.

To be specific, that was Churchill’s idea.

It was still in the planning stages, but if France cooperates, they would be ready to clobber those Reds.

Above all, to keep Russia in check, this action was necessary.

Churchill was not simply swayed by Anastasia’s words.

Before Germany gets too powerful, before Russia crushes Germany and seizes dominion over Europe, they needed to quickly deal with Communist Germany and regain the lost authority.

For this reason, Communist Germany needed to be toppled swiftly.

The possibility that Russia might try to swoop in later wasn’t zero, but they could deal with that once the Reds were dealt with.

The justification was already ample. The chaos they had caused in the colonies for some time now provided the cover for waging a war without violating the non-aggression pact.

Even if Russia tried to intervene later, it would be challenging for them to keep up; Communist Germany would soon be dealt with and the Union Jack would be planted in the Secretary’s residence in Berlin.

“France is nearing its limit too. They’d want to conclude things before any communist revolution breaks out in their own country. And with our British Empire standing beside them, do they really think they can hold out?”

Communist Germany isn’t like the Habsburgs from the days of the Great War; they don’t have allies.

They might even be weaker than Imperial Germany. Frankly, I’m sure France can manage to handle Imperial Germany on its own. They aren’t in their prime right now either.

“Then shouldn’t we also involve Italy?”

Italy? What on earth would they bring to the table?

They’re stirring trouble while rapidly aligning with communism, and they still haven’t managed to liberate Ethiopia.

Right now they’re waging total war in Africa. What makes them worthy of being called a great power?

Even if war breaks out, their somewhat-powerful faction would drain their resources into combating African nations without providing any real assistance.

“What did Italy even do in the last Great War? They’d do just fine with two divisions. They’re currently too busy waging total war against African nations. They’re barely better than a double empire.”

What mattered now was Communist Germany.

If they continued to let those people run free, they could easily use the fear of Communist Germany in the colonies to incite a communist revolution against the British Empire.

“Then shouldn’t we also rally the Netherlands and Belgium? As monarchies, they will have no choice but to be hostile toward Communist Germany.”

“That’s likely true. Pushing through the Low Countries and France into the German heartland sounds entirely feasible.”

The Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg would surely align themselves with Britain this time.

As long as they were separated by the sea, that might be a different matter.

But the countries bordering Communist Germany were those Low Country nations.

If Communist Germany was preparing for war, they would surely have already amassed the capability to initiate the Communist transformation.

Even with significantly less strength compared to the times of the German Empire, they still could easily trample through the Low Countries.

If that happens, the front line would have to hold against German troops from France.

* * *

 

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