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The commanders of the Far Eastern Expeditionary Forces seemed to agree with my words.

“Hahahaha, that sounds like a good plan.”

“No, no. Let’s show them directly.”

“Show them directly?”

“Yes. It would be better to show than to tell a hundred times. We can demonstrate the nuclear bombing of Nanjing directly. Of course, we shouldn’t be too close, so let’s step back a bit. That city will have completely disappeared. How about this distance?”

We just need to show that punk in person.

How dare that bitch try to play tricks?

So, shall we meet with Dairi and settle this?

I called Dairi, who had brought me a letter from Soong Mei-ling.

“It is an honor to meet Your Imperial Majesty of Great Russia.”

Dairi was smirking, almost like he’d gotten one over on me.

I wanted to just smack him for all the pretense.

But even so, I can’t lose my cool.

Ordinary folks seem to be startled by my youth, but this guy just keeps grinning like it’s the best day ever.

“I’ve heard much about you. You’re the second-in-command of the National Government and the chief aide to the acting leader of the government.”

“I’m honored that Your Majesty regards me so highly.”

“I’ve heard of your unfortunate circumstances in the country. Isn’t this all ultimately caused by the Japanese army? They’re at the root of it all, the Island Nation scum.”

“Yes, Your Majesty. Especially Nanjing shouldn’t be taken lightly. It has already been fortified, and it was used as a temporary residence by the Imperial General Headquarters, so there are still some supplies left.”

Well, that seems accurate.

His thoughts are clearly geared towards a complete psychological war, taking my position into account.

Are you really going to kill the Treaty Army to reclaim Nanjing? Or just provide us with supplies?

However, agreeing to supply those supplies would only help to subjugate the warlords while begging to be recognized as a legitimate government.

So we’ve got to be decisive here.

“But unfortunately, our situation isn’t all that great either. The only reason we joined this war is to receive American support for post-war recovery.”

Did he know I’d counter with that? He opened his mouth with a confident expression.

“Our acting leader-”

“When it comes to the bandits of Nanjing, we shall deal with them ourselves.”

“Excuse me?”

“Nanjing is already devoid of civilians. The city is effectively a fortress now.”

I’m subtly setting the groundwork.

To capture the Japanese, we would have to destroy Nanjing first. In that case, it would make sense for us to take care of it.

Perhaps they’re deliberately avoiding an attack on Nanjing.

After all, if the majority of the Chinese forces in Northern and Southern China have disbanded, it stands to reason that they wanted to use Nanjing as an excuse to exploit the Treaty Army.

“That is indeed the case.”

“Our army will show some interesting things. Come along and see for yourself.”

Follow the mighty Russian Army, the strongest in the world.

The National Government, who survived because of the Treaty Army, should see that as an honor. And they will be horrified by the divine weapons we will show them afterward.

“Show it directly?”

Dairi blinked, looking bewildered.

He probably didn’t expect me to suggest going to the battlefield.

“I can’t go, but I must convey my will. I’ll be sure to take care of the Japanese army, so there’s no need to decline.”

“Excuse me?”

“I haven’t shown this to the leaders of the great powers yet. I hope they’ll take a liking to it.”

I grinned maliciously, intending to demonstrate clearly just how shocking it would be.

They’re going to see a nuclear bomb with their own eyes.

Just thinking that it might drop on the temporary capital of Chongqing would be truly terrifying.

If they continue to ignore my words, it will truly be the end.

They need to realize who they are messing with.

“What do you mean by that?”

“You’ll find out when you see it.”

Even mindless idiots should be able to grasp that much.

Let them enjoy the show.

Should I let them watch a nuclear explosion or have them continue living in disarray?

Dairi couldn’t help but express doubts about Anastasia’s words.

In truth, he was only thinking of establishing the presence of the National Government in the international community while struggling to be recognized as the legitimate government.

If they dragged it out, perhaps the U.S., having ended the war, would help them; the Rome Treaty. No, but surely Anastasia, the key figure, would help find a compromise.

But why was she suddenly sending him to Nanjing?

What on earth did she mean to show him?

“No way…”

If there was any possibility given the scenario, it had to be the new weapons they possessed.

Were they intending to showcase their new weapons to intimidate them?

He had steeled himself. He wanted to see just how powerful they were at least once.

Thus he boarded a squadron of white air force bombers heading to Nanjing.

Meanwhile, the last of the Japanese army in Nanjing was facing imminent doom.

Lieutenant Yasuhiko, the commander of the Southern China Expeditionary Forces, received orders to hold the line but found it utterly impossible.

Supply lines from the homeland had been severed, and while he heard that some divisions had captured weapons from the Treaty Army, those troops were also wiped out by the Treaty Army.

Defeat was a certainty.

In that case, wouldn’t it be better to save the lives of the soldiers?

“Wouldn’t surrender be the better option?”

“Do you think the Chinese will let us be? If you manage to avoid getting killed there, consider yourself lucky. The Treaty Army will definitely hand us over to the Chinese in the end. We should have gone back to the homeland long ago. But at this point, we have no choice but to fight till we die. We must show the spirit of the Empire to those inferior Chinese and filthy white devils.”

Jo Isamu opposed the idea of surrender.

After all, it wasn’t worth fighting against a losing cause.

Even if they surrendered to the Treaty Army, they might end up in the hands of the Chinese, or consider the war crimes trials that would take place in Europe.

“Hmph, is that how it ends?”

It was indeed true that the Chinese had repeatedly attempted to assault the supply-deprived Nanjing only to be repelled.

If only it weren’t for the Treaty Army…

No, if only they had given Mutaguchi Renya the troops before this annihilation operation, the Chinese front would have been concluded by now.

How did His Imperial Majesty leave us like this?

If His Imperial Majesty hadn’t left, things would never have turned out this way.

The Chinese front would have concluded much quicker than anticipated.

But now, they were left with nothing.

“Your Majesty, we identified bombers from Russia’s air force.”

“There are no interceptors, I assume?”

“Yes.”

Not that it made a difference anymore. The bombers high above Russia possessed excellent performance.

If only Russia had sent support troops—wait, no, thinking that way now is a bit late.

Those Tsars wear the title of Saint.

“Conserve our anti-aircraft artillery as much as possible. All we can do is endure.”

But that squadron of bombers was strange.

They seemed to circle around Nanjing, mocking it, before dropping a single bomb and fleeing.

As soldiers who were already exhausted and struggling to maintain their anti-aircraft cannons looked puzzled.

It detonated in the skies above Nanjing, overwhelming the Japanese troops there in an instant.

And Dairi, witnessing this scene from the bombers, gasped in horror.

How could such a bomb exist? What if that weapon fell on Chongqing?

In that moment, Dairi felt a rush of delirium.

No matter how he looked at it, this demonstration was nothing short of a warning.

In that moment, Dairi trembled and began to read the letter from the Tsar he had received.

He thought there might be references to the bomb.

Although it contained a lot of extraneous detail, in conclusion, it was simple.

“If we determine that there are Japanese forces anywhere within China, we will cleanse them.”

What could that possibly mean?

If the Tsar deemed the National Government uncooperative, it could very well treat them as Japanese forces and proceed with the cleansing.

This was a huge problem.

It might have been better to simply cooperate with the Tsar and their puppet government instead.

Dairi immediately set course for the National Government.

* * *

Things had progressed more smoothly than expected.

As anticipated, Nanjing was utterly destroyed.

Looking at the photos, the city that was initially worse than Paris lay in complete ruins.

At this rate, it might very well become a ghost city.

At least there were no civilians left, or else, no matter how he saw it, he wouldn’t escape criticism.

Even the U.S. had dropped atom bombs, resulting in many civilian casualties.

“What about the Japanese army in Nanjing?”

“It seems to be completely finished. Those who survived are now akin to wandering ghosts like the Reds in Paris.”

Even so, perhaps due to the large civilian toll, some sympathy remained for the French, but the Japanese army didn’t elicit any pity at all.

“It’s unfortunate, but what can we do? They held to local defense. Those troops actively participated in the annihilation operation, so it’s only right we remove them.”

It was regrettable that they couldn’t hold a war crimes trial, but that was all there was to it.

After this war, it remained to be seen if any war criminals would survive.

And they heard that while the atom bomb was dropped, the U.S. had executed its landing in Kanto as well.

They mobilized over 700,000 troops and more than 3,000 aircraft.

The Denouement Operation had officially begun.

Though the nukes had not yet fallen, with the U.S. set on punishing Japan, it seemed their plan was to inflict as much damage as possible before dropping the bomb.

Except for the areas where Renya was advancing, the entire country was reportedly in a state of starvation.

“Japan has become quite wretched.”

“Indeed, the situation for Mutaguchi Renya in western Japan appears dire as well.”

“That seems right. The starvation operation had already begun before Renya’s landing. Could this lead to surrendering to Renya who’s trying to save them?”

Once the U.S. took control of the seas, it started the starvation operation even before landing.

They burned all agricultural land in Japan. At this rate, it wouldn’t be long before millions could die.

It was a calculated move to facilitate the denouement operation, but would Japan really be left with less than half its population?

Regardless, the U.S. had a vested interest in isolating Japan and ensuring they could no longer project military might.

They weren’t going to meddle too much there.

It was better that they fight amongst themselves rather than letting them intervene on the continent.

I wondered how Dairi would react once he witnessed the nuclear explosion.

“Rumor has it Dairi fled in panic.”

Yeah, but I’m not planning to end it here.

Those fools trying to play tricks on me can’t be left in peace.

“Then let’s proceed with the next plan. I need to see Zhang Xueliang.”

I still have one more scheme up my sleeve.

After all, one nuclear bomb wouldn’t be enough to finish them off.

* * *

Zhang Xueliang came running at my call like a well-trained pup.

He must have heard the news from Nanjing.

“Your Majesty, you summoned me!”

To my recollection, Soong Mei-ling and Zhang Xueliang were quite close.

They had exchanged a fair amount of correspondence between them. I didn’t expect this place to be any different.

There was probably some backing from the National Government that allowed Zhang Xueliang to hold out in Shandong. If not, there’s no way he could have stood alone.

“Do you know anything about Soong Mei-ling?”

“Yes. I supported her with weapons to strike back against the Japanese, and I have a personal relationship with her.”

Ah, it was the same here.

In that case, I should take advantage of this.

“She desires a unified government, claiming to uphold Zhang Jieshi’s legacy.”

“If that were to happen…”

“Right. If we acknowledge this, it will jeopardize the country you intend to establish in the Shandong Peninsula.”

Of course, that wasn’t my intention, but I needed to scare Zhang Xueliang a bit. He would cooperate eagerly if I made my intentions clear.

“You promised, did you not?”

Of course, I did.

No need to go as far as putting Zhang Xueliang in a spot, but clarification was necessary.

“Rest assured, we will oppose it. But if they keep whining, it’ll become a nuisance for us. So, I need you to be of help.”

I pointed directly at Zhang Xueliang, speaking firmly.

You have to listen to us for all of that to come true.

“Give me your orders.”

“You will pretend to be Soong Mei-ling’s man. Say that you had an affair since the time of Zhang Jieshi’s life. Sure, it’ll tarnish your reputation, but since we’re backing you, it shouldn’t be a problem. Once the rumors spread, the warlords of the National Government will suspect Soong Mei-ling, considering it as if she siphoned the National Government’s budget to her lover.”

In this era, the scandal of infidelity wouldn’t blow up too easily.

But what if it’s connected to war?

If it turned out that she secretly gave resources from the National Government to her lover, it would surely put tremendous pressure on Soong Mei-ling.

The warlords would be enraged if they found that their resources had gone to her lover while they had gathered them in secrecy.

“That’s not difficult. We’ve exchanged quite a number of letters already.”

Wait, could this brat be serious?

He had an unnecessarily smug look, which raised my suspicion.

“Is it really true?”

“I’ve never met her to be intimate, but we write letters sharing mutual feelings.”

Given Soong Mei-ling’s personality, I’d wager their connection was far from romantic.

Zhang Xueliang would exploit her to strike at the Japanese. He probably exchanged casual letters as a formality.

“Alright then. So it shouldn’t be too hard. Even if it doesn’t completely hold up as truth, mere suspicion would suffice. I’d like you to testify and spread the rumors.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

I sent Zhang Xueliang back.

Would Zhang Xueliang even have the heart to think about Soong Mei-ling right now?

He was surely preoccupied with cementing his territory.

Soong Mei-ling would regret trying to meddle with me.

In truth, she was treated as the matriarch of the National Government. Regrettably for her, her status won’t last.

Even if it does, it would be reduced to nothing, breaking the National Government apart.

 

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