The Tsar's Unease and the Shadow of Coming War
OTMAA. If they had even pulled off the revolution they loved so much, how good must they have felt?
“The way you phrase it sounds as if you’re saying the Russian Empire’s military advisory group is utterly incompetent.”
That wasn’t it at all. The Gando Army had, after all, been influenced by Russia, and that same force had marched all the way to Shenyang and carried out its plundering with remarkable skill.
“How could I mean such a thing? It is simply that the portion of the Gando Army trained by the Russian advisors is but a handful, while the majority of the Northern Army has been shaped by French influence. I merely wished to remind you of that fact. The French even gifted us rifles so we could fight the Japanese.”
Each power had played its clear role. In the early days, when we crushed the Qing forces, both my own agitation and Russian military training had been enormously helpful. From the middle stage onward, French support had grown even larger. Yet Russia’s contribution remained greater. After all, they had recognized Gando—and by extension the Southern Manchuria region we now insisted on calling Gando—as ours.
“That does make sense.”
To be honest, Russian-made guns were somewhat inferior compared to Japanese ones. Looking back at the original history, it was almost miraculous that they had held out as long as they did.
Somehow, Nicholas II’s expression refused to brighten. The other nobles looked the same. The fact that I, who had even made prophecies, was now traveling through the European powers must have struck them as deeply meaningful.
“What troubles you, Your Majesty? Though I am the Minister of the Army of Goryeo and the King of Shenyang in Manchuria, I am also a Count of Great Russia. The memory of Your Majesty appointing me Count and granting me that land remains vivid. How could I possibly betray Russia’s grace? It is true that in the last war Goryeo became a buffer zone in Asia, but the international community is hardly so naive.”
In short, Goryeo stood on Russia’s side. Moreover, the White State that Russia had recognized was none other than Goryeo’s White State. Of course, we had declared ourselves Goryeo regardless.
Only then did Nicholas’s face ease a little.
“Then, since you are here, let me ask. How should Russia proceed from now on?”
How should Russia proceed? Honestly, thanks to its victory in the Three Kingdoms War, Russia’s situation had improved somewhat. For some reason the reformists seemed to have gained a foothold. The nobles clearly disliked those reformists, though.
“In truth, the Bloody Sunday demonstration should never have been suppressed with bloodshed. It happened during the war, so I could not pay proper attention and failed to report it to Your Majesty.”
Bloody Sunday should never have exploded. Relying on the alternative history gallery as I did, I couldn’t say exactly how far its influence had reached, but at the very least, one had to soothe the people’s hearts, didn’t one? And yet Bloody Sunday had still erupted. It was hard to believe it had no effect at all.
“Even now we are trying to reform, albeit belatedly. Ahem. It just seems… rather too radical.”
There was no need to go that far.
“Unless politics are fully entrusted to the Duma, it will be difficult.”
Hand all political power to the Duma and let the Tsar step back. Let the Tsar exist purely as a symbol. Assuming, of course, that communism could somehow be blocked.
“Hahaha. If we did that, the nobles seated here would never stand for it. Is there no other way? At the very least, to maintain the current situation.”
Yes. He had no choice but to mind the nobles’ reactions. Even Nicholas II himself probably wasn’t pleased. The Empress felt the same, and the revolutionary faction would certainly dislike Stolypin’s reforms.
“By any chance, do you know a man named Grigori Rasputin?”
“I hear the name for the first time.”
So he hadn’t even approached because of me. Since there was still no word of him, it seemed Rasputin had missed his chance and was somewhere else. Should I tell them to kill him on sight? No. There was no benefit in saying too much. A simple warning would suffice. After all, he might not even exist in Russia right now. He could have gone to another country.
“If such a person ever requests an audience with Your Majesty, you must not grant it. He and Your Majesty are incompatible.”
Grigori Rasputin. Just where the hell was that bastard? Should I check the alternative history gallery? The gallery was always a mess, but at least it was certain that the ignition device called Rasputin had not appeared.
“I see. And?”
I suddenly scanned the people around me. Was it all right to say this? Would it leak?
“It’s fine. Everyone here is trustworthy, and they have witnessed your miracles with their own eyes.”
Then there was no helping it. Even if it leaked, this was an era without recorders or video cameras. If I spoke of war, would they really believe it? The world was full of people spouting nonsense.
“A great war will break out soon. The whole of Europe will split into sides and fight.”
Even if I told them this, Russia could not step forward internationally to do anything about it. They lacked the power to remove the causes of war in advance, and in the first place it was impossible. As long as colonial empires existed, it could not be helped.
“Such a thing? No. That cannot be.”
“Does war break out so easily?”
“We should simply ignore this.”
The Tsar and the nobles all denied it, calling it absurd. You people would know better than anyone. Even if I didn’t know European history well, I could still feel the strange tension running through Europe right now. There had already been the Italo-Turkish War, after all.
“Does Your Majesty not feel it? Germany, which uses Goryeo to check both Britain and Russia in Asia.”
When the time came, war would inevitably erupt. Whether it was Germany or anyone else, someone was determined to start it. That was what mattered.
“I am aware of that, yes.”
“Europe as a whole is now like a sheet of thin ice. War will surely come.”
War would absolutely break out.
“That may be so. Then what should we do?”
“You must never participate. Russia will reach its limit during the war. I will do my best to prevent it, but if Serbia ever comes into conflict with the Dual Empire, you must never take their side and join the war. It could bring about the empire’s ruin. Absolutely. Under no circumstances. Only by staying out of the war can this empire endure beneath the shadow of the glorious double-headed eagle.”
Even if I said this, what was going to happen would still happen. After all, Russia was walking on thin ice right now. I planned to make contact with the Austro-Hungarian side once as well.
“How much of this is true?” Nicholas asked with a grave face.
“What do you mean?”
“The war.”
Was he thinking I was exaggerating or lying? Regrettably, it was the truth. It had to be the truth, and in the end the great powers would have no choice but to see their competition through to its conclusion. The one fortunate thing for Russia was that the Great Game had not ended in Britain’s complete victory. Yet revolution still seemed likely to occur.
“Everything I have told you is fact.”
I never lied. Besides, there were things that would have little meaning even if I said them. If a crippled Russia began to treat us as enemies, the Korean Peninsula would obviously become a battlefield.
“Hoo… This is going to be a headache.”
“If we are cautious from now on, what is there to worry about?”
“Then Serbia will be the spark?”
Those bastards could certainly be called an axis of evil.
“Yes. However, I hope you will simply keep it in mind and prepare later. Twisting history brings endless contradictions. One must twist history only at the ‘most dangerous turning points.’”
I explained it roughly, sounding exactly like some cult leader. Even so, these people had no choice but to believe me. Given everything I had done so far, they had no choice.
“But didn’t you say you would change it? That you would try?”
“Yes. But if it proves impossible…”
There was no need to mention the Austrian Archduke. It was enough to say Serbia would be the fuse. At this level, there was no need to speak of the Archduke’s death.
“So if the war is going to break out anyway, we must prepare within the limits of what we know about the future.”
“That is correct, Your Majesty.”
At least I wasn’t acting as absurdly as Rasputin, was I?
My statement threw the imperial family into an uproar. At least Nicholas II trusted me completely, but it seemed the opposition from the others was fierce.
“Hoo. Very well. Let us set the talk of war aside. What concerns me more is that you brought down your own royal family. Was that also a prophecy?”
So this was the real point—holding me accountable. Since we were neighboring countries, he probably wanted to hear the circumstances. The Russian ambassador to Korea would have already reported it, but he still wanted to hear it from my own mouth. After all, Nicholas II was the Tsar. Even Japan was trembling because of Hongikism; how could Russia be any different? My true intentions must have seemed suspicious. Still, since I was their benefactor, he must have been curious about the inside story.
“The Yi royal family planned to carry out a pro-imperial coup, purge the entire cabinet including myself, keep the people ignorant, and leave the country as a pre-industrial state.”
“That is rather unacceptable.”
“Indeed, Your Majesty. The Yi royal family had already been ruining the country for decades. It was barely clinging to life. We had to cut them out now.”
Removing those bastards was only natural. I made it clear that I had not done it simply because I hated monarchism.
“I see. But about this Hongikism of yours…”
Ah, yes. That Hongikism.
“Hongikism. Ah, you mean the state ideology we established.”
“You created it, did you not, Count?”
“Yes. The purpose is to incorporate other ethnic groups as citizens of our nation.”
“I understand. However, if there is a problem…”
“Yes?”
Had Hongikism influenced Russia in some way? It should actually be able to stand against bastards like the Bolsheviks.
“My children say that if it is yours, Count Ok, then anything is good—especially Hongikism. They are very interested in it.”
Ah, so that was it. Well, if Nicholas II knew, then of course OTMAA—the five imperial siblings—would know as well.
“Oh dear. So it has come to this.”
OTMAA had asked about Hongikism. Hongikism itself could be interpreted in many ways. “Broadly benefit humanity.” In essence, it meant to embrace everyone regardless of nation or ethnicity. The Hongikism of the Arirang people might seem expansionist at first glance and therefore incompatible, but its true intent was to expand the right to survival and embrace all humans in that land as Arirang people. It was different from what Hitler meant by Lebensraum and wiping out inferior Slavic races.
“At least it is an ideology created to govern a country, not the nonsense spouted by those revolutionary elements.”
Was he worried it might influence his children? More precisely, he was probably concerned that my ideology might resemble communism. I was, after all, Count Ok. I had lived in a country that confronted those communist bastards for over seventy years—throw in nuclear war and it was even longer. I had absolutely no intention of connecting with their ideology. Hongikism might give off a reddish vibe, but the meaning was completely different.
In the worst case, it might even be good to spread it inside Russia as a vaccine against the Bolsheviks. Yes. A vaccine for the Bolsheviks. A Hongik spirit vaccine. Should I turn Hongikism into an anti-communist ideology? That didn’t sound bad at all. Even so, stopping the revolution would be difficult, but at least the White Army wouldn’t collapse as easily as in the original history.
Then the first priority was to inform Otima.
“Mm, I will explain it appropriately to His Imperial Highness the Tsarevich and the Grand Duchesses.”
“Please do. I leave it to you.”
I had never dreamed it would turn out like this.
Except for the imperial family, everyone who had heard my prophecy held different opinions. The current situation was not very good. Just as Japan was slowly restoring its nation through democracy, Russia was also being influenced, and even among Stolypin’s reformists the word “democracy” was gradually emerging. Because of that, however, the Russian nobles’ discontent only piled higher, and they were now even dragging me into it. They probably assumed the reformists would obviously hate war, so they refused to follow me since I appeared to be taking the reformists’ side.
The next item on the schedule was a tea party with the imperial princes and princesses. The children had all grown quite a bit by now. Of course Alexei was still a little brat, but as OTMAA they were beginning to stand out. This sort of thing would end in a few years, though.
“Count Ok! We heard all about your exploits at the palace!”
“They say you even advanced into China?”
Hahaha, so the rumors had spread here too. That was why even the nobles who looked at me with suspicion didn’t simply voice their complaints. After all, they would think it impossible to win a war without a woman’s power to see the future.
“Oh, Grand Duchess Olga. Have you been well? You have become quite the young lady.”
“I still cannot compare to you, Count Ok.”
It was fortunate that the imperial family remained favorably disposed toward me.