The Whereabouts of the Mad Monk
The man was pointing at empty air. It looked ridiculous enough that I felt the need to explain myself beforehand.
What the hell am I supposed to do with this?
It looked like Russia was going to end up joining the war no matter what. No way Germany would ship Lenin over if Russia just sat on its hands. Looks like Nicky wasn’t listening to me and was dead set on jumping into the war after all. Yeah, figures.
If things were going to blow up anyway, the best I could do was set up as many safety nets as possible and weaken the Bolsheviks’ influence to the absolute minimum. I had no idea how the future would turn out, but for now I’d just have to roll the dice.
I closed the alternate-history gallery and let out a dry chuckle.
“Yes. I have seen it all.”
“And I’m supposed to believe that?”
Stolypin’s face looked exactly like a man who had just watched a crazy bitch pointing at thin air. If you don’t believe me, what are you going to do about it? You’ll have no choice but to believe. You have to, if you want to stay alive and give the Russian Empire even a little more time to breathe.
“Your Excellency has already joined hands with the Viceroy of the Far East, correct?”
“That’s right. In exchange for looking the other way on some of his conveniences, I received reform funds and assistance in winning over the nobility.”
Not bad. At the end of the day, the only “convenience” he’d be providing was turning a blind eye to the Viceroy’s behind-the-scenes dealings in the Far East. From Stolypin’s perspective, trying to purge a man who had sucked up an enormous amount of profit from the war victory in the east would carry far too much political risk. So this was Stolypin doing the best he could with the hand he’d been dealt.
“In the original timeline, Your Excellency was supposed to have been assassinated two years ago. However, because I twisted history, that fate has vanished. You must remain extremely cautious at all times.”
Just telling him this much should be enough to make him keep his head down and survive. He probably already knew about it anyway. He might not know the full details of history, but he had definitely witnessed himself getting terrorized. The fact that Stolypin had survived was, at the very least, a stroke of good fortune. It meant there was still a chance to drag the Russian Empire back up from the brink.
“Is that the truth?”
“You must remain vigilant at all times. Absolutely. If you truly wish to save Russia, then no matter what it takes, you must cling to life with everything you have.”
Stolypin frowned, sensing something in my words.
“Then what about the man you mentioned earlier—this Rasputin?”
Ah, right. Rasputin.
I’d thought the conversation was going smoothly, but it seemed Stolypin was curious after all. The man who was originally supposed to bring about the downfall of Russia. In this world, Stolypin was at least grabbing the country by the collar and trying to haul it upward, but still.
“He is a figure who was originally destined to bring about the collapse of the Russian Empire. However, since there has been no sign of him, it appears that the path of ruin through him has been blocked for now. The problem is that Bloody Sunday still remains an issue.”
I should have done more research before coming here. At the very least, the fact that Stolypin had survived suggested there was now a turning point regarding whether or not a revolution would break out in Russia. History had changed.
If the Russian Empire was to survive, Stolypin and the reformists could not be allowed to die. And above all, Russia must not participate in the war. Yet no matter how many times I searched the alternate-history gallery, the Great War itself refused to change. The war would happen. That one fact remained ironclad.
So the only question left was whether Russia would join it or not.
“Count Ok. What do you believe will become of this Russian Empire?”
I immediately pulled up the alternate-history gallery again. This time, I wanted to know exactly how long the Russian Empire would last.
So the Great War really was the decisive blow. The situation here was slightly better than in the original timeline. If Russia simply stayed out of the war, it might barely manage to survive. The key factors would be avoiding participation in the war, keeping Stolypin alive, and so on.
“If you join the next war, the empire will not last even ten years. If you stay out of the war, and if you yourself survive, it will last considerably longer.”
If you want to save Russia, then at the very least you must live a long life. That was all I needed to say.
I met up with Yi Wan-yong after giving Stolypin his warning.
“I heard you spoke with the Prime Minister.”
“I did. It seems he was curious about the future of the Russian Empire.”
If someone wants to know their own future, it’s only natural to give them an answer.
“It must be difficult indeed. Even the war against Japan, an Eastern nation, was hard enough for Russia.”
Of course, the fact that Russia had only managed to scrape out a draw using the information I gave them was pretty pathetic. Still, it wasn’t as if the main Russian European army had come pouring into Manchuria for a decisive battle.
“The war against Japan was not fought by Russia’s main forces. If they truly put their mind to it and conscripted troops, Russia could field several million men. Even if we gathered every single soldier we currently possess, they could still pull out ten times that number.”
You had to take the civil war into account, but even during the Red-White Civil War they had mobilized millions. Even the rotten White Army had managed to raise nearly a million troops. At the very least, for Goryeo to field comparable forces right now, we would need to fully annex Manchuria. The downside, of course, would be that ethnic Koreans would become a minority within Goryeo.
“Would a country that powerful really collapse so easily?”
Yi Wan-yong clearly didn’t understand.
“Precisely because it is so powerful, once the fire is lit, it will collapse all the more easily. Unfortunately, Russia is currently nothing more than a giant egg among the European powers.”
Russia’s true value had always lain in defense. If those millions of hearts turned against the state and rebelled or deserted, the outcome was obvious. With such vast territory and population, once the people’s sentiment was lost, the country would shatter in an instant.
The fall of Russia was not yet set in stone, but if Stolypin didn’t last long—or even if he did, the nobility would eventually kill him anyway.
“A giant egg, you say. Then shouldn’t you have refrained from telling them?”
“Why do you think so?”
“Because only then can we swallow Russia’s Far Eastern territories, of course.”
“You will see in due time.”
At present, the only suitable ally Russia had was Goryeo. During the First World War, we could help them as much as possible to expand our sphere of influence in the Far East. Or, if necessary, we could assist them during the civil war. But looking at Russia’s current state, the war would still break out, and they would not be capable of pressuring Germany.
Even so, Russia was determined to do what Russia does.
“This is a matter of state. What if Russia holds out better than expected?”
“No matter how I look at it, I cannot picture a scenario in which Russia defeats Germany.”
Well, if America joined in it might be different. Maybe I should do something behind the scenes to keep America from entering the war. Wouldn’t that be more fun? To make that happen, I’d have to throw Germany a few bones.
“But even if Russia cannot defeat Germany, that does not necessarily open a path for us to swallow the Far East.”
“Correct. That is why I plan to toss Germany some suitable bait as well.”
I’d try to prevent unrestricted submarine warfare or at least the Zimmermann Telegram. I didn’t think Germany could actually defeat Britain even then, but it might work out somehow. It would be a bit unfortunate for France, though. Still, since we wouldn’t be stepping onto the battlefield ourselves, what did it matter? I would simply toss them a single item, lightly and elegantly.
For example, I could give Germany the concept of strategic bombers first. Or leak a little intelligence useful for naval battles against Britain. Roughly that sort of thing. If I could make Germany inflict even greater damage on Russia, that would be ideal.
“You’re not seriously thinking of getting involved with Germany as well, are you…?”
“We will have to see how things develop. Let me say it again: Russia must be brought into the survival rights of us Arirang people.”
Making it part of the Eurasia Federation would be one good method. Russia is Russia, and we are us. Just because we received great favors from Russia does not mean we cannot devour it. Besides, if the transaction is carried out legally, there is no problem. As for the bomber technology, the Viceroy of the Far East had already given up on it, so Russia would have no grounds to complain no matter how we used it. Moreover, I had clearly warned Nicholas II not to participate in the war. If he ignored that warning and went to war anyway, that would be his natural fate.
“Your Excellency’s will is truly remarkable.”
“The Minister of Education will have a great deal of work ahead of him. You must awaken our Goryeo citizens from illiteracy, after all.”
I was deliberately working this bastard to the bone. I planned to catch him on some fault later and bury him. But he was surprisingly diligent, which was unexpected.
“Please entrust it to me. Ah, and one more thing.”
“What is it?”
“I have established a sister-university relationship between Hansung National University and Moscow National University. It would be troublesome if Russia were to collapse.”
If Russia collapsed, there really would be no answer unless I relied on the alternate-history gallery. At least for now, the gallery clearly mentioned the First World War. Was it better to save the Russian Empire? Or rather, was it even possible to save it?
At the very least, with Stolypin grabbing the country by the collar and trying to pull it up, it seemed he would try to block the revolution. But in my view, the Red-White Civil War would be impossible to avoid. If we wanted to seize Russia’s Far Eastern territories, the civil war had to happen one way or another. So I needed to make sure Russia could at least endure it.
I still couldn’t be certain about anything. “We can deal with that when the time comes.”
Each of these small points of contact would later become reasons for Russia to have no choice but to lean on us. We might even be able to obtain the Far East without ever going to war with Russia.
Around this time, a man was entering Baeguk in Manchuria, which was under Goryeo’s control.
His unkempt brown hair had not been properly maintained, and a thick beard reached down to his chin. His eyes burned with intensity. His expression was that of a man who held absolute conviction about something.
“So this is the holy land of Hongikism.”
The man knew well about Hongikism. He had heard the news while still in Russia.
“Who are you?”
“This humble one is called Grigori Rasputin, from Russia.”
“Grigori Rasputin?”
Since he was clearly a white man, they had to treat him as Russian, but the soldiers had no idea why a man named Rasputin had come here.
“I have come to meet Countess Ok, who from childhood traveled across Europe seeking to become a saint through ascetic practice.”
“Her Excellency the Countess is currently in the Russian capital. Even if she were to return, she would go to Hansung, not here in Manchuria.”
At first the border guards were puzzled, unable to understand what this man was trying to do.
“Then I shall prepare until that time.”
“Hey, what are you talking about?”
“I have received a deep impression from Her Excellency Countess Ok’s Hongikism. From now on, I shall follow that ideology. I will spread the teachings of Hongikism across this land, with Her Excellency the saint of Hongikism as its leader.”
Grigori Rasputin.
The man who originally should have entered the Tsar’s palace to cure the crown prince had been twisted by Ok Jin-seo. Now he regarded her as a living saint and, following Hongikism, had crossed into Goryeo through Manchuria.
Not long after, the ideology that had once been treated as nothing more than a simple concept began to spread slowly but surely.
There was no telling when the war would break out.
“I suppose I should warn Austria-Hungary as well.”
Honestly, from a personal standpoint, I hoped the war would be delayed by at least three years. But changing that would be difficult.
To be completely honest, I was curious what would happen to the seeds I was sowing. If I planted the idea that their crown prince might die in Sarajevo, how exactly would the other side interpret it?
I was dying to know.
It was like dropping a single pebble into a river and watching the ripples spread. I wanted to see how far, and how strongly, those ripples would travel.
If I twisted every possible pretext for war as much as I could right now, wouldn’t the situation change at least a little?
Personally, I was hoping for a fantasy-like development. Twist and twist again, reducing the possibility of war to the absolute minimum. Could I push the war back even a little further?
Relying solely on the alternate-history gallery felt too cheap, so I wanted to ignore it. Ah, whatever. I’d just do it and see what happened.