Chapter 478: Unite(1)
Chapter 478: Unite(1)
As I mentioned before, Volume 6 of Blood and Iron concludes with Hitler’s Enabling Act, the election of Franklin D. Roosevelt, and finally, Japan’s invasion of Manchuria.
Up until the introduction of the Enabling Act, the story had been a political drama, so it didn't garner an explosive amount of interest. People in this world generally prefer flashy battles over the grittiness of dirty politics.
Because of this, the reaction was somewhat muted, except among those involved in politics or professional critics.
[Papen underestimated Hitler. In the end, he fell right into Hitler's hands.]
[The Enabling Act simply made Hitler a king. Nothing more, nothing less.]
[It is a right a king ought to possess.]
Rather than focusing on the messy and complex political maneuvering, readers focused on the Enabling Act itself.
The Enabling Act was a bill that granted Hitler 'absolute power.' It was a law that placed a person not under the constitution, but above it.
This bill completely shattered the democracy of the Weimar Republic and gave birth to the worst dictator in history.
However, the readers' reaction to the Enabling Act was mostly: So what? After all, monarchy was the default setting in this world.
Consequently, readers sent praises, exclaiming that Hitler had finally become a king! Now that he was king, the only thing left was the revival of the Weimar Republic—no, the German Empire.
[Why did Papen underestimate Hitler? Did he look down on him too much because he was a political rookie?]
[He probably couldn't help it. The power to move people's hearts and the art of politics are two different things.]
[The President also seems satisfied with Hitler's way of doing things. It fits the saying 'too much is as bad as too little.']
Papen, who had attempted to seize Hitler's power, naturally took a lot of heat from the readers.
Blood and Iron is currently being told from an omniscient third-person perspective, though it focuses heavily on Hitler.
Because of this, I was able to sufficiently describe Papen's inner thoughts, which led readers to view him with nothing but contempt.
[How dare he try to threaten the protagonist, Hitler! His greed was his own undoing.]
[There is no longer anyone left who can pose a political threat to Hitler.]
[Papen's fate will be either fleeing the Weimar Republic or being purged.]
This was the mainstream reaction. Now that Papen, Hitler's political rival, was completely out of the picture, readers felt a sense of poetic justice.
Of course, as time passes, reactions like 'Lord Papen, you were right all along' might emerge.
But looking at Papen himself, he was neither more nor less than an ordinary politician. It was only because his opponent was the world's worst demon that such negative evaluations followed him.
In any case, around the time Hitler's one-man dictatorship began under the Enabling Act, FDR was elected President of the United States through democratic procedures.
[The United States is currently in a state where its national foundation is ruined by the Great Depression. It won't be a big threat to Hitler.]
[Their best bet is just trying to prevent an immediate rebellion.]
[It will surely show the limitations of democracy.]
FDR's election didn't draw much attention either. It merely served to show the difference between Hitler, who became a king, and FDR, who was elected through a vote.
At this time, the United States was still reeling from the Great Depression—an economic collapse comparable to a Great Famine.
While Germany was like a tiger that had grown wings, the United States was nothing more than a falling giant.
'If it weren't for the New Deal, the U.S. might never have stepped up as a superpower.'
Of course, even the New Deal wasn't perfect. A recession hit again during Roosevelt's second term.
This is where the irony lies. Just as Hitler seized power through the Great Depression, the United States would grow rapidly because of World War II.
If World War II hadn't broken out, there was a very high possibility that the United States would have sunk into an endless quagmire.
'From now on, it's not a political drama; it's a story of growth.'
If everything up to Volume 6 of Blood and Iron was a political drama, the story from here on out would be about reviving a failing nation.
The problem was that the persecution of 'Jews' was scheduled to take place within that process. Hitler's hatred for Jews had already been foreshadowed.
Now that he had seized power, that ideology was set to surface. It would start with refusing to recognize Jews as citizens and move toward eugenicist laws.
Around this point, readers would likely start having questions. They’d wonder what on earth the Jews did to deserve such extreme oppression.
To be honest, anti-Semitism was so widespread across the world at that time that it’s quite difficult to explain.
Furthermore, the persecution of Jews was the decisive factor that allowed the German people to unite as one.
In the context of this world, it was a situation similar to that of the Demons before the release of the Xenon Biography.
'They might overlook the oppression, but the Holocaust is going to cause an uproar.'
I once said that the Beastkin massacre during the Race War was similar to the Holocaust, but frankly, they were incomparable.
In the Beastkin massacre, they were at least treated as 'barbarians'—that is, as humans. The Holocaust, however, treated people as less than beasts.
To put it simply, it was a systematic slaughterhouse. The only difference was that instead of cattle or horses, they put humans inside.
The Beastkin would react, but the Demons would likely have an even more intense reaction. Since the Demons were a race that had been ostracized since birth, they would deeply empathize with the Jews.
'And there were many Jews who served in the German army during World War I, too.'
Surprisingly, Germans and Jews integrated well back then. Even if their ancestors or fathers were Jewish, they considered themselves German.
But it was a stroke of misfortune that our resident Jew-hater was filled with eugenicist ideas.
Thus, from Volume 7 onward, I planned to gradually insert questions like 'Something is going wrong' or 'Is this right?'
While it was true that Jews held a tight grip on the economy and finance, a closer look revealed that the country was barely staying afloat thanks to them.
Without them, the German economy would have been completely destroyed by the Treaty of Versailles. Running the country would have been impossible.
Even Fritz Haber, the famous developer of nitrogen fertilizer, was expelled from Germany for the sole reason of being Jewish.
'I wonder what the readers will think when they see a Jew crying out that he even received a medal from the Emperor?'
I was genuinely curious. Would they think, Even so, this is a bit much...?
Or would they see the annexation of Austria, the invasion of Poland, and the six-week fall of France and think there must be a reason for it?
I wanted to get to writing as soon as possible, but I had to plan the development carefully from here. Germany was one thing, but world affairs tended to explode simultaneously.
In particular, I needed to subtly explain the 'potential' of the United States.
Since I came from Earth, I had the underlying perception that 'America is strong,' but the people here did not.
If they suddenly became powerful and sat atop the world as the strongest out of nowhere, it would break the narrative probability.
Instead, they would look like a weakling stumbling through the Great Depression. A country where the streets were lined with the homeless, the unemployed were overflowing, and investors were committing suicide one after another.
Even if Blood and Iron was treated like a fantasy, I had to maintain a minimum level of probability to improve the quality of the work.
'It's hard to explain that they're playing on a map rigged in the host's favor.'
But this damn United States was so broken from birth that it was hard to even describe.
The more serious problem was that, unlike Albenheim, it wasn't a powerful nation from the start. It was originally a British colony.
Before the Industrial Revolution, it couldn't develop due to geopolitical issues, but after the Industrial Revolution, its geopolitical value exploded, making it a superpower.
I had to unravel this well so that the readers could truly feel the destructive power of the U.S. later on.
As such, I planned to depict the oppression of Jews in Germany and the brief history and potential of the United States in Volume 7 of Blood and Iron.
"Isaac. A letter came from Viscount Kalas."
"Again?"
I suppose I should deal with my hardcore fan first. I furrowed my brow slightly at Adelia's words that a letter had arrived from Marshall.
Ever since our heated(?) discussion about artillery last time, he had been sending letters every single day without fail.
Normally, I would have read them all at once like I did with other fans, but I made an exception for Kalas.
The conception dream his mother had wasn't just unusual; it bordered on a horror story, so I couldn't just ignore him.
[Hello, Young Master Maishal. Have you been well in the meantime?]
It's only been two days since you sent the last one, man. I let out a hollow laugh at the greeting in the first paragraph.
The words that followed were a mix of praises for artillery and mentions of how Marquis Mathews was agonizing over budget allocations.
He also explained the current situation in the North, where Dave and Nicole were serving. Currently, all my information regarding the North was coming from Marshall.
'He'll be grinning from ear to ear once he gets that budget soon.'
Originally, Marquis Mathews had been skeptical of the artillery branch, but it seemed my opinion had changed his mind.
However, there were realistic difficulties everywhere, and Marshall was a man who shouted for nothing but firepower.
Even with my input, military spending wasn't something that could be adjusted on a whim. The military had always been a money-eating hippo.
[I'm not sure if you've heard the news, but the first trial run of the Magical Locomotive will soon take place in Machina. Marquis Mathews has already headed there...]
"Oh?"
I thought it was just another letter asking after my well-being, but I was wrong. Surprisingly, it was about the first trial run of the Magical Locomotive.
The Magical Locomotive was an invention that Machina had been steadily developing, though I hadn't paid much attention to it.
Previously, Eins had mentioned that he would release a patent—or something like it—with my permission. I had told him to do as he pleased.
It seemed that after more than a year, the Magical Locomotive had finally been invented.
It hadn't even been mentioned in the press yet, so seeing that Marshall knew about it, he must have his own information network.
'They said supply lines would crumble without this man, right?'
Curious about Marshall and his extraordinary conception dream, I had looked into him and found out he was a logistics officer—and an incredibly talented one at that.
The reason Marquis Mathews had brought him to the social gathering was also due to logistics-related matters.
His name, his profession, his dream—in many ways, he was a man destined for greatness.
'By the way, I'd like to go see it once myself.'
If it were up to me, I’d love to participate in the trial run. It might sound a bit shameless, but I was also someone who had 'contributed' to the development of the Magical Locomotive.
Furthermore, even the inventor, Eins, had mentioned he would credit the patent under my permission.
Since even Eins treated me as a co-inventor, there would be no problem at all with me going and participating in the trial run.
"Sister."
"Yes?"
"What do you think would happen if I said I wanted to participate in the Magical Locomotive trial run?"
"You'd better cancel that thought before Mary gives you a smack on the back."
Of course, not a chance. I couldn't help but feel disappointed when Adelia gave me a sharp rejection.
The social gathering had been somewhat impulsive, but it was held indoors, whereas the trial run would be held outside.
In other words, the possibility of being exposed to danger was very high. Of course, since dignitaries from all over the world would be gathering, security would be tight.
'And the Demon worshippers have mostly stopped their activities.'
For some reason, there was hardly any sign of Demon worshipper activity lately. I had no idea if they had all crawled into mouse holes or if they had been completely eradicated.
Because of this, Musk was asking for my opinion on whether it was time to end the 'event.'
His opinion was that since nothing more was coming out of it anyway, we should end it before any more innocent victims were caught in the crossfire.
I agreed with him and was planning to wrap things up soon.
"Um... Isaac?"
"Yes?"
While I was lost in thought, Adelia asked me in a cautious tone.
I took my eyes off the letter and looked at her. Instead of her maid uniform, she was wearing a dress shirt and trousers like she had before.
But for some reason, Adelia was glancing at me tentatively. She avoided my gaze like a puppy that had done something wrong.
"That country that appeared at the end of Volume 6."
Adelia spoke, finally gathering the courage to look me in the eye. I nodded blankly and answered.
"The United States?"
"No. Not that one. The country in East Asia."
"Japan?"
"Yes."
"What about Japan?"
I wondered what she was curious about. I was willing to answer as sincerely as possible, as long as it didn't involve spoilers.
Just as readers were curious about the next volume, my acquaintances were the same.
Even if I couldn't show them the manuscript, I could tell them a little bit about the setting.
"Looking at the territory Japan occupied... it seemed your country was included too..."
"Ah, that? Right. It was occupied by Japan. We call that the Japanese Occupation Period."
"...How did it end up like that?"
Adelia asked me with a look of pity. Her sky-blue eyes held an inexplicable sadness.
I told you, I'm not from that era. Even though I had explained it before, she was still stuck in some strange misunderstanding.
This wasn't just her; my other acquaintances were similar. When I told them we were living well now, they seemed to believe it even less.
Anyway, I had to answer. I thought about how to explain it best before opening my mouth.
"The traitors sold the country out."
"...But why?"
"Because they valued their own lives more."
"..."
When I answered like that, Adelia began to lightly thump her chest as if she felt stifled. Well, it would be frustrating just to hear about it.
The problem was that this wasn't all.
"Th-then, since you're independent now, those people and their descendants must have been punished, right?"
"No? They're living quite well, actually. It's the people who cried for independence and their descendants who are struggling."
"..."
Adelia looked as if she had swallowed a dozen dry sweet potatoes at my words. I chuckled at the sight.
"Our country has always had a bit of a foolish streak like that."
*
Around the same time. Machina.
"Why! Why is that! Why are you saying you won't recognize the Magical Locomotive as my invention!"
Eins shouted a fierce protest in front of the King of Machina.