The Great Khan
Blonde hair, white skin—the Great Khan. *** The red bastards’ idols, Lenin and Trotsky, had lost their minds. They took the families of imperial-era generals and officers hostage or threatened their lives to win them over. Every single officer from the old regime who had crossed over to our side now said the same thing. It was no surprise; that was exactly how it had happened in real history. Those red bastards, short on competent commanders, had seized the families of the old generals as hostages and forced them into the Red Army with every kind of blackmail. They even placed them under constant surveillance. Some paradise on earth. Some workers’ utopia.
Still, it had worked out in our favor. Unlike real history, I—Anastasia—had survived and become the rallying point. We had even recaptured Tsaritsyn. Imperial officers who had suffered under the Bolsheviks were flocking to us. In the original timeline things had already been bad enough, but here the Red-White Civil War had become completely unpredictable, and the White Army’s unifying figure was now the imperial family itself. As expected, these red bastards truly had no roots. Tsk tsk. No wonder all those red-tasting countries in Eastern Europe would later be swept away by democratic fever.
And then there was the letter.
It came from the Dauria region—roughly the Manchurian side—where Roman von Ungern-Sternberg was currently gathering White forces. Its contents were simple: lavish praise for me as the one who had risen up and crushed the Bolsheviks. Become the true Tsar. Become the true Catherine of the Russian Empire. A thoroughgoing believer in the divine right of kings, just as I expected.
To Her Imperial Highness Grand Duchess Anastasia,
I praise you for rising as the true Tsarina and striking down the Bolshevik hordes. Become the true Tsar. Become the true Catherine of the Russian Empire, the rightful sovereign of all the Russias.
— Roman von Ungern-Sternberg, Commander of the Asiatic Cavalry Division
“Does this man have any sense at all?” Sending a letter like that. If it ever leaked, the anti-Romanov factions who had united only to defeat the Bolsheviks first would foam at the mouth and desert us.
I would have to send a reply. With history already changed, there was no telling what this man might do. Better to answer him for now. If I gave a firm refusal and said I would never become Tsarina, there was no telling what reckless action he might take. Public sentiment toward the Tsar was still poor, so I would postpone any decision until the White Army secured victory. That should suffice.
“The red bastards won’t be able to throw a fit for a while, at least.”
We had retaken Tsaritsyn and secured southern Russia. The Bolsheviks were bogged down in half-hearted Red Army reforms, and there were even rumors that the non-Bolshevik leftists had begun striking. Of course, the White Army was also busy suppressing armed Bolsheviks in occupied territories while simultaneously trying to win others over. For the time being both sides would focus on internal consolidation.
With the momentum on our side, we would do what needed to be done. Though I had become the central figure, countless factions still existed here: monarchist warlord cliques, the Green Army—mostly peasants who had joined us after land reform—and various other groups.
“I hereby formally declare our White Army, currently engaged in combat against the enemy, as the official army of the new Russia.”
“Will the new Russia be an empire? What exactly will it be? And what ideology will it follow?”
The Green Army representatives who had joined us asked the question. Unlike in real history where they had supported the Bolsheviks, the Green faction—thanks to me—had chosen our side, which was actually carrying out policies for the peasants instead of dithering.
“We will know once the civil war ends, but the Russia that is born anew will most likely become a state of modified capitalism.”
“Modified capitalism?”
It was a term originally coined in Japan, but if I chose to use it, who were they to object?
“It is an ideology that corrects the flaws of capitalism and supports government intervention in the market economy along with the expansion of social welfare. In short, it takes the advantages of socialism and grafts them onto capitalism to alleviate its weaknesses. Everyone present here loves this country, so I do not expect any opposition.”
“But doesn’t that mean we have simply learned from the very people we are fighting?”
“One swallows what is sweet and spits out what is bitter. We need only suck out the sweet nectar. Russia spans East and West. Our population and resources are overflowing. To make full use of those advantages, this much is necessary.”
“Your Highness once said that after the civil war you would go into exile in another country. If it were Your Highness, perhaps the promise would be kept—but what if others do not honor it? Would the whole thing not splinter apart?”
Hmm. That was a fair concern. If ideological conflicts remained unresolved, the monarchist warlords might rise up.
“Then I shall simply take a seat in the Duma and make my voice heard.”
“That alone will not be enough.”
“Then you must ascend as Tsarina.”
“If that is the case, it would be best for Your Highness to ascend as Tsarina through the Duma and thereby guarantee it.”
Kolchak was openly urging me to become Tsarina through the Duma. Pyotr Wrangel also seemed to desire it. In the end, the question of Tsarina had surfaced. The Green Army representatives frowned but did not voice outright opposition.
“Whether I become Tsarina or take a seat in the Duma, that is a matter for later. What matters now is establishing a government. A country without a government is no country at all. For the time being, how does the New Russia Provisional Government sound? It carries the meaning of a provisional government for a renewed Russia.”
“New Russia…”
“Not bad at all.”
“Then for the time being, let us focus on domestic reorganization.”
This wretched country would take decades to reform. We would have to keep pushing forward with ongoing projects while unifying the army. Preparation had to begin now.
Chinese Eastern Railway, Sino-Russian border.
The Chinese Eastern Railway was Russian concession territory inside China. It was currently administered by White General Dmitry Khorvat, yet another White leader operated from the same railway: Roman von Ungern-Sternberg.
Roman von Ungern-Sternberg, who had been building his power base along the Chinese Eastern Railway, received the reply from Yekaterinburg. At first he howled in despair. The letter stated that I could not yet ascend as Tsarina. To a monarchist who had risen in revolt to restore the empire, it was a devastating blow. Unable to accept this bitter reality, he sought out his close comrade Grigory Semyonov.
“The Tsarina has refused to restore the empire.”
“She would. From what I hear, there are socialists around her. She must be watching them.”
Indeed. It made sense. The White Army was a coalition united solely to crush the Bolsheviks. If the Grand Duchess suddenly declared herself Tsarina in the middle of that, the socialists would foam at the mouth and defect to the enemy.
Filthy red scum.
Someday he would smash all their skulls.
“Hmm. What should we do?”
“Then is it not up to us to make the effort?”
“What do you mean?”
At Ungern-Sternberg’s question, Semyonov flashed a wicked grin as though he had been waiting for it.
“We shall rebuild the empire of Genghis Khan! We shall offer the throne of the Great Khan to Her Highness Anastasia!”
Semyonov clenched both fists. Just as in real history, the man was half-mad. The lunatic who had once tried to restore Genghis Khan’s empire with Japanese help had been unable to receive that assistance in this timeline because of me, yet he still dreamed of it. The seat of the Great Khan that encompassed both East and West—was it not the perfect position for Grand Duchess Anastasia, who was crushing the red bastards, eradicating the red plague, and restoring European Russia?
“What are you saying?”
It was not the throne of Tsar but of Great Khan.
“Are the socialists not ultimately opposing the Tsardom itself? What if the Tsar and the Great Khan are one and the same? The Bolshevik rebels may control the Moscow region, but Russia’s territory is in no way inferior to that of the old Mongol Empire, is it?”
“Hmm.”
Yes. The important thing was restoring the empire. Whether the monarch’s title was Tsar, Kaiser, or Great Khan hardly mattered. Such a theory was suddenly taking shape.
Honestly, Ungern-Sternberg could not fully agree with his friend’s absurd idea. Yet the more he listened, the more logical the madman’s words sounded. If the damned socialists opposed the Tsardom, then the imperial family would cease to be the imperial family. In that case, raising her to the position of Great Khan in place of Tsar would solve everything.
“You mean to make Her Highness serve as Great Khan of the Mongol Empire as well?”
“Exactly! We go back to the very root—the founding of the Russian-Scythian Empire!”
This was clearly, thoroughly insane. Still, as the saying went, a pigeon in the hand was better than a pheasant on the roof.
“To do so, just as Russia claims the Third Rome and asserts sovereignty over Constantinople, we must secure the Mongolian plains to establish legitimacy. Let us move the Asiatic Cavalry Division and march on Mongolia.”
At that time, Outer Mongolia had become the Bogd Khanate, a monarchy independent from the Republic of China and ruled by Bogd Khan. Semyonov was now proposing to topple that khanate and present the title of Great Khan to Anastasia.
Supplies were not a problem. They had naturally taken their share of the materials being sent to the White Army. It was worth the gamble.
In the spring of 1919, the Asiatic Cavalry Division under Ungern-Sternberg and Semyonov captured Khuree (Ulaanbaatar), capital of the Bogd Khanate.
“How can Russian troops do such a thing!”
“Bogd Khan! You are nothing but a pitiful creature satisfied with mere independence of the Mongolian plains! But our Grand Duchess Anastasia is the true ruler of Russia, successor to the lands of the Mongol Empire. Therefore the seat of Mongol Great Khan rightfully belongs to her!”
“This is outrageous! You are not even of the Golden Family!”
“Tell me—can you protect Mongolia from the threats of China and Japan? You cannot! Yet our Grand Duchess’s loyal army will not only defend Mongolia but go on to dominate Manchuria and extend its influence across all of China!”
Bogd Khan was stunned by the words pouring from the mouth of Semyonov—a man who was not even Mongol—immediately after his capture. But the die had already been cast. Just as Semyonov said, without Russian support Bogd Khan was a weak ruler who would inevitably be devoured by China. He was no Genghis Khan. The other Mongol nobles had already installed this Tibetan-born khan; if Russia now stepped forward claiming succession to the Mongol Empire, they had no legitimate grounds to object. Everyone already knew Mongolia could not stand alone. In that case, it was not so bad to let Russia chase the dream of the Mongol Empire.
“I shall yield the title of Great Khan to your country’s Grand Duchess.”
Thus, Bogd Khan’s seal was sent to Yekaterinburg. The Bogd Khanate, which in real history had gained independence from the Beiyang government thanks to Ungern-Sternberg, had ironically been conquered by him in the end.
Just as I was finally getting used to this imperial princess’s body, just as I was barely laying the foundations of a White government, I received news that struck me like a blow to the back of the head.
The Bolsheviks were marching on Yekaterinburg? That was actually welcome. We could grind the red bastards into dust and turn Russian public sentiment against the Soviet regime. Neither Tsaritsyn nor the rest of southern Russia had been attacked. Internal Bolshevik elements had been largely dealt with by the reorganized Ohrana.
So what was this backstabbing news?
“They made the Bogd Khanate surrender?”
The multi-ethnic mongrel Asiatic Cavalry Division led by Ungern-Sternberg and Semyonov had occupied Mongolia and obtained Bogd Khan’s surrender. While my own house was on fire, they had gone and planted their flag on someone else’s land.
“Yes. This is the very seal of the Bogd Khanate. Your Highness is now the Great Khan of the Great Mongol Empire.”
Is hereby bestowed the title of
Together with all the lands, peoples, and herds of the former Bogd Khanate, to be held in perpetuity as successor to the empire of Genghis Khan.
The subordinate of Ungern-Sternberg who had come all the way to the Yekaterinburg government building to deliver this “joyous news” in person reported with a face full of pride.
What the fuck. What kind of nonsense was this—comparable to the Qing emperor also serving as king of Joseon?