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Rothschild

Recently, the Rothschild family, based in Britain, found themselves in a bit of a pickle as the situation in England turned precarious.

“Is there a Jewish woman among the German Communist Party officials?”

“They say she’s just a close aide to the General Secretary.”

“Come to think of it, isn’t the Rothschild family also of Jewish descent? Could they be supporting the German Communist Party?”

The recent turn of events, where the lands that were once part of the German Empire turned red, fueled anti-German sentiment in Britain—specifically against Communist Germany—leading to a rise in anti-Jewish feelings.

The information that Rosa Luxemburg, who was a key figure in the revolution alongside Karl Liebknecht, the General Secretary of the German Free Socialist Republic, is a Polish Jew, spread like wildfire.

With some even questioning, “Aren’t the Rothschilds also Jewish? Perhaps?” the Rothschild family found themselves somewhat inconvenienced.

Of course, it was merely a slight inconvenience. From their perspective, it was merely a matter of dogs barking. They could dismiss it easily.

After all, who would dare to touch a financial powerhouse that grips Europe?

However, around the same time, another odd rumor surfaced.

“Recently, Russia is said to be protecting the Jews.”

“Protecting the Jews? Ha, an anti-Jewish state doing that, huh.”

Walter Rothschild, the second Baron Rothschild, couldn’t suppress a smirk that practically showed on his face.

That anti-Jewish state, Russia?

Sure, he had heard they tried to embrace the Jews during the civil war, but did they truly mean it?

It was akin to a zoologist abandoning animals.

In real history, he indeed supported the Balfour Declaration, which essentially determined the founding of Israel in the future.

“They say they’re seriously helping to settle the Jews as a national policy. Apparently, they’re already providing assistance for them to settle in the east.”

“Settling the Jews? But isn’t that just about the Jews who supported the White Army?”

“Apparently, that’s not the case.”

That was news to him.

Hadn’t they only treated those who helped the White Army decently?

“It seems that the current Tsarina is receiving help from the Jews during the civil war and is implementing pro-Jewish policies.”

He had heard of the Tsarina.

The Saint of Russia, right? They also referred to her as Russia’s Joan of Arc in France, its ally. Though she was likely somewhat romanticized and exaggerated, they said she fought alongside soldiers in the thick of battle during the civil war.

“They say the Tsarina was quite impressive during the civil war, running alongside the soldiers in her womanly form. Hmm, quite interesting.”

“But isn’t that just propaganda?”

“No way. No way. Looking at the Romanovs, they must have done something to win back the hearts of their departed subjects. It may be a bit exaggerated, but half of it must be true.”

Baron Walter seemed to recall something and pulled out papers from his desk drawer.

He had recently looked into information regarding the Tsarina.

Given the recent state of affairs in Britain, he may have forgotten about it for a while.

They had supposedly implemented reforms that socialists would like during the civil war, messing with the Bolsheviks.

The Bolshevik regime, which had slaughtered the Tsar’s family, couldn’t properly implement worker reforms since they were too busy conscripting soldiers.

Baron Walter thought about this particular reform carried out by the Tsarina.

They had preemptively undertaken reforms usually aligned with the Bolshevik agenda.

By providing worker welfare deliberately while simultaneously preventing the Bolsheviks from gaining support, she preempted the reforms of the Bolsheviks.

Some said it was the nobility that did it, and the Tsarina was merely a figurehead. The uptight nobles wouldn’t dare promote such reforms.

“Then she truly is a saint.”

Something suddenly crossed his mind.

“By the way, I heard that they discovered oil in Russia recently.”

“Yes.”

And it was from a company called the Romanov Oil Company.

Just by the name, it was clear this was a company created by the Tsarina.

In Russia, Branobel had likely held a tight grip. Did Branobel suffer even after the revolution failed?

Everything was going according to plan here, but the Romanov Oil Company was a concern.

So how about approaching it first?

The oil field in Ploiesti is great, but wouldn’t it be a good idea to reach out towards Surgut as well?

“How about we make some connections in that area?”

While the Rothschild family in Britain wouldn’t crumble, given the recent situation, it would still be prudent to extend their reach somewhere else.

If the Tsarina were to pursue a pro-Jewish policy, it might be worth a shot.

It could be beneficial to establish a Rothschild branch in Russia.

Though he didn’t think of marrying the Tsarina as a potential heir, it might still be possible to forge some ties with the young Tsarina and the Rothschilds.

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China entered the warlord era.

It had been so for a while, but the once-unifying Sun Yat-sen was dead.

It seems Chiang Kai-shek couldn’t really grow his power much either.

That said, neither side held significant power.

When could unification happen in this scenario?

Looking back at it, it was impossible not to laugh.

“Isn’t Chen Zhongming a considerable dreamer?”

Accepting this reality was quite something.

He thought he could solely rely on himself to make this decision, but he knew well.

Even if he didn’t meddle, the warlords wouldn’t be able to let go of power further down the line.

In that case, they would mistrust each other and continue to clash, and given that they pulled out the self-governing card without establishing dominance, Chen Zhongming would find himself unable to become a focal point, leading everyone to fight amongst themselves in a nationwide conflict.

This period is different from when they fought over the emperor’s throne.

It might even stretch on longer than that.

Sometimes, they might engage in proxy wars while at it.

Well, Chen Zhongming would have no choice but to trust me.

Why?

Much like people who contact cults in search of a sanctuary, he would never suspect I had the intention to divide China throughout my lifetime.

Nonetheless, as a final bulwark, they raised Puyi as the emperor, making it appear at least superficially that China was one.

Thus, while it is formally the Republic of China, it resembles the Chinese Empire or the Chinese Federation.

Indeed, following me without comprehension leads to such a bizarre situation.

“By the way.”

According to news from the Okhrana, the Communist Party was mentioned.

Why is Mao Zedong popping up?

They even said Mao Zedong played a major role in undermining Sun Yat-sen this time.

Effectively, he became the second-in-command of the Guangdong warlord.

“This crazy guy.”

Is he really relying on Mao Zedong as a trustworthy subordinate?

No, wait. Perhaps this fellow has changed with the tides of history.

The communist idol Lenin betrayed everyone’s expectations and kicked the bucket, Stalin became impotent, and Trotsky was frying chickens in America while trying to win over the black community.

The German Communist Party would probably think, “Oh, there was also a Communist Party over there?” if they heard about the Chinese Communist Party.

There’s no way East Germany, with its hands full managing its internal affairs, would care about China.

Then, today’s Mao Zedong would fit the bill.

A Communist closer to anarchism, perhaps.

They say Mao Zedong was quite an anarchist when he first dabbled in communism.

He even thought it would be better if China were divided into 27 parts.

So, I will mobilize Chen Zhongming and Mao Zedong to foster division in China while keeping Chiang Kai-shek in check.

Ah, I can’t wait for how this will turn out.

If the situation solidifies in a split-up China, and Mao Zedong becomes the successor to Chen Zhongming, it would provide a justifiable reason for military intervention.

“Was Mao Zedong a Communist?” would evoke the feeling of being the wronged party who had been double-crossed.

While the Russian Republic would harbor disdain for the Communist Party, recalling that they nearly flipped things upside down, they could justify intervening in China.

Of course, that would take a bit longer.

Only after China went through a rough time during the Second Sino-Japanese War.

Once China is sufficiently weakened, wouldn’t it be advantageous to seed a Jewish state in Huabei to keep them under control?

If that doesn’t work, they could even establish a Green Ukraine there.

If neither of those work, I can always bring Zhang Zuolin from Shandong to rally Manchurian forces and set him up as a Shandong warlord.

Although he’s from a bandit background, he has a remarkable physicality.

With a bit of leadership help, he could be grown into a warlord again.

This is quite amusing to think about.

By maneuvering China according to my whims, unification of the continent will be difficult.

If this solidifies for just a few decades, the differences in economic strength, desires for power, unification costs, etc.—be it just as in modern Korea, which has been divided for over seventy years—unification would become increasingly difficult.

Well, shall we leave the China issue as it is for now?

Chiang Kai-shek isn’t the type of person to stay quiet either.

From the information sent by Chen Zhongming, it appears Chiang Kai-shek harbors some discontent.

Something’s bound to go off in China soon.

Before the Chinese Civil War or the Sino-Japanese War, a massive internal conflict will likely explode.

It looks like I could facilitate military intervention then. China can be pushed for later.

Suddenly, I recalled something from earlier.

There were rumors that Baron Rothschild from Britain was coming to Russia. Since it’s from the British Embassy, it can’t be false.

I wonder why he’s coming.

Actually, I have a hunch.

He must have caught wind of the Surgut oil reserves.

I still don’t know how much is buried there.

He probably wants to help with production while sneaking in a little share for himself. That’s what he likely means.

From our position, we can’t afford to be adversarial with the Rothschilds, but it still puts me on edge.

There are rumors that Baron Rothschild has a good impression of the Tsarina, who is implementing pro-Jewish policies. It feels like he wants to exploit that somehow.

Anyway, it’s up to Baron Rothschild to figure out what he plans to do when he gets here.

But more importantly, Duke Yusupov, who has grown to be quite the businessman, showed up lately.

“By the way, why is Duke Yusupov here?”

“Your Majesty, I believe I need to discuss some matters regarding oil drilling.”

Oil drilling?

While I told him to put in some money for oil drilling, as I was investing in various situations with the Romanov gold, I couldn’t just keep pouring money into it.

“What’s the matter?”

“With so many ventures I’m currently involved in, it seems I’ll have to postpone the oil development for a while.”

Postponing oil development?

Ah, that’s quite disappointing.

Before the Great Depression hits, we need to secure as much as we can.

Russian economists suggested that unlike other nations, we could either maintain the status quo or improve during the Great Depression.

So, I wanted to show some ownership of assets.

“Is there any way we can secure as much as possible before the Great Depression?”

“It’s not impossible, but that would mean needing money from other places.”

Hmm, so it’s ultimately a matter of insufficient funds.

In that case, should I just burn through the remaining gold?

No, I need to have some money to prepare for emergencies.

“Are there no other options?”

“It’s not that there are none. Given the opportunity you’ve given me, I’ve studied a lot about the oil sector.”

Oh, so he studied hard, huh?

I ought to hear him out. What does he have to say?

“Please continue.”

“Actually, Branobel offered to assist with oil production.”

“Branobel?”

What’s with that name that sounds like a publishing company?

“Branobel was the one who originally supported the pipeline to be used for the Surgut oil. While it’s not immediately useful, they also supported tanker ships.”

Pipelines and tankers? Did they exist in this era?

If they supported those things back then, it must be a significant company.

Oh, it must be the Nobel family.

That Alfred Nobel’s family.

Since I don’t fully understand their situation, I nodded and decided to probe deeper.

“What’s the reason the Nobel family is helping us so much?”

“Because they nearly lost the Russian market due to the revolution. After all, as a family originally from Sweden, they have prospered greatly within the Russian Empire, making them almost like a Russian company.”

“Due to the revolution?”

“The Nobel family was significant enough to dominate half of the Russian market. They have deep ties to the Baku oil fields. However, when the revolution erupted, it seemed that Rockefeller and the Rothschilds attempted something against Branobel.”

Rockefeller. Now that I think about it, I heard some stories about receiving support from the U.S. regarding oil drilling technologies like Standard Oil.

What exactly did they try? Ah, the pieces are falling into place.

If the Soviets gain control of Russia by winning the Red-White civil war, they’d nationalize the Baku oil, which would strike Branobel hard.

Right. It’s quite likely that Standard and Rothschild sponsored the Reds.

Then there’s the Nobel family. Hmm. Could I make some use of them regarding oil?

“Please continue.”

 

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