Crazy Talk
Well, that settles the Makhno issue.
“Are there any other problems at the present time?”
“General Brusilov’s army is experiencing friction in Poland, it seems.”
“In Poland?”
What kind of friction could there be in Poland? It wasn’t as if Poland would attack Russia in the middle of all this, was it?
“It hasn’t escalated to war, but the Polish army appears to be picking fights, trusting in British support.”
“Poland. Poland…”
I drummed my fingers on the desk, calling up my image of the country. It’s a nation that started poking its nose into everything the moment it gained independence. Before the nuclear war, it was one of the countries Korea eagerly bought weapons from, so there was talk of alliances and shared painful histories as fellow Eastern European nations. But right after independence it drew massive aggro with its expansionist behavior and became a universally disliked nuisance.
So that was where the friction had arisen. It wouldn’t lead to war, surely. It couldn’t.
“It won’t lead to war.”
Starting back-to-back conflicts with Britain right now would be too much. If Britain truly wanted to crush us, they would have mediated during the civil war and finished us off alongside the Bolsheviks.
“Correct. It will not reach the level of war. The British troops stationed in Poland have apologized in their stead.”
“They apologized for them?”
“It must be because of Germany. France and Britain are exhausted at the moment. With revolution breaking out in Germany, they have no idea which way the situation will swing, so they wish to maintain friendly relations with us.”
If that was the case, then fine. Had Russia’s stock risen that dramatically? The fact that the British were willing to apologize meant they had no desire to treat us as enemies.
Wow. The weakened Russia that had just survived a civil war had skyrocketed in an instant. The snowball I’d started rolling had grown into an avalanche.
“The Polish matter is manageable. The real problem lies in the Baltic region.”
“The Baltics?”
“Major Pavel Bermondt, leading the Western Russian White Army, has expressed his desire to wage war against the three Baltic states now that the Bolsheviks have withdrawn.”
Even he must be feeling restless now that his life had become comfortable. But that wouldn’t do. At least until Russia regained its former strength, we had to remain an exceptionally docile nation, quietly accumulating gains.
“What is the Duma’s opinion? Personally, I consider the Baltic states territories that were transferred under the Brest-Litovsk Treaty. It could create complications with Britain. Above all, didn’t we recognize their independence in order to secure British support while we were striking the Bolsheviks?”
“Just as we absorbed eastern Ukraine, shouldn’t we secure at least one of the three states?”
Wasn’t simply winning the civil war and keeping our current territory already something to celebrate?
“Britain’s influence is strong in Latvia and Lithuania. Geographically speaking, then… Estonia would be suitable. Suggest that they join the Union. It’s merely my personal view, so the Prime Minister may inform the Duma that the Tsar opposes only the prospect of war.”
The current Russian United States already contained numerous ethnic minority nations that would have preferred independence. One of the reasons they had been able to unite was, naturally, the Bolsheviks. By dangling the carrot of expanded autonomy while imprinting upon them the vile acts the Bolsheviks would commit in the future, and by fighting together against that common enemy, they had forged a shared consensus.
“I understand that General Bermondt has already clashed with Estonian forces. Will they obey our instructions?”
“If they refuse, we will deal with it when the time comes. There is no reason to earn Britain’s enmity. We are simply making the suggestion. This is not the moment for war.”
We could not force the issue if they declined. As I had said, Russia must not become a thug state. If Estonia rejected the proposal, we would not go to war with Britain over it. The Turkish War of Independence offered us many advantages, so that was one thing, but until the Great Depression arrived we had to lie low. On the contrary, if we simply let the matter pass and the Baltic states began acting arrogantly, looking down on Russia, we could handle them then. Now was the time to focus on internal affairs. The Baltic question was one where we could draw a suitable line.
The real problem, ultimately, was the Manchurian side. The matter had already been settled, yet there had been no word from the Japanese.
“Yes.”
“What is the status of the Manchurian partition?”
We had already secured North Manchuria, but South Manchuria was another matter. Japan had said they would handle the South Manchuria issue themselves, so I had intended to let it slide. At this rate, every warlord who should have existed in Manchuria would simply vanish.
“The Japanese army entered South Manchuria some time ago.”
They never failed to meet expectations. Too difficult to confront us, so they immediately beat up China instead—the classic strong-against-weak, weak-against-strong approach.
“As expected of the Japanese army. They continue their thuggish behavior without disappointing us. What justification are they offering?”
“They claim Chinese bandits keep crossing the Yalu River.”
Taking all of South Manchuria simply because of a few Chinese bandits. Truly the behavior of men drunk on imperialist fantasy. Or perhaps they believed that if China caused trouble, we would coordinate with them.
“They are seizing all of South Manchuria for that reason. How very Japanese. Still, that creates problems on multiple levels.”
“They appear to have learned the principle of national self-determination that Your Highness advocated.”
What?
“The principle of national self-determination?”
I had indeed promoted something resembling national self-determination. I had argued that every ethnicity should have its own nation, just as we respected the minority peoples within Russia, yet all of them must remain inside the Russian United States. We expanded autonomy for minorities and carried out reorganization. That was the idea. In short, I had claimed that minority ethnicities deserved homelands where they would be respected. Using that argument, I had drawn those minorities into the White Army.
Yes. Let’s set that aside for now. Had they truly used it as justification? The Asiatic Cavalry Division that occupied North Manchuria had begun as something like Ungern’s private army before belatedly joining the White Army, so we could argue the point there. But South Manchuria was different. Besides, Japan had not even severed ties over the upcoming Kanto earthquake. It would strike next year.
“The surface justification the Japs are offering is that South Manchuria, where imperial subjects—the Koreans—reside, belongs to Japan.”
“Oh.”
Impressive. Had they learned it by watching me? They must have wanted to devour South Manchuria by any means necessary. Having returned Qingdao at the Washington Conference, they would be desperate to gain something here. Warning Japan at this juncture… For present-day Russia, openly criticizing Japan by declaring we would protect South Manchuria—which was Chinese territory—would be awkward. In that case, we would simply honor the prior back-channel agreement and tacitly approve Japan’s claim. Moreover, Japan had now invoked this absurd version of national self-determination. Koreans live there, therefore South Manchuria is Korean land, and since Koreans are imperial subjects, South Manchuria is Japanese territory. If China accepted this logic, then later, when we attached South Manchuria to Korea and granted independence according to this distorted principle, China would have no grounds to protest. Everything was proceeding exactly as I had originally planned. I was reaping the benefits without lifting a finger.
It wasn’t that I was handing South Manchuria to Korea simply because I had once been Korean. Korea’s geographic position was perfect for checking Japan, which might fall under American influence. I did not know whether this world’s Korea would become pro-Russian or pro-American in the future, but if Japan aligned with America as in actual history, I believed it would be ideal for Korea to become the balancer of Northeast Asia. For that to happen, it needed sufficient weight.
China had suddenly lost South Manchuria.
It had been a warlord region to begin with, and since this was before the Northern Expedition, it could not be considered fully part of the Republic of China’s domain. Even so, it had still been Chinese territory. Though it belonged to the bandit Zhang Zuolin, it could rightfully be called part of China in both name and substance. Yet they had been stabbed in the back without warning. North Manchuria had been taken by Russia. Now South Manchuria had been taken by Japan.
The Beiyang government immediately sent Wang Jingwei as a special envoy to Japan.
“How can you do this? Manchuria is territory of our Republic of China!”
“Hm. That statement contains some inaccuracies.”
Yet Uchida Kosai of the Japanese Empire’s Foreign Ministry, the one receiving the full force of Wang Jingwei’s fury, wore an exceedingly calm and relaxed expression. The face of a man who had prepared every justification and stood before an argument he could not possibly lose. Wang Jingwei sensed that something was wrong.
“What?”
“You claim Manchuria is territory of the Republic of China. Originally, was not Manchuria the land of the Manchus? How can the Han nation of the Republic of China—which destroyed the Qing Dynasty—claim the Manchus’ land as its own?”
Destroy the Qing, prosper the Han. It was a Han Chinese nation established after overthrowing the Qing Dynasty, so how could it call the former Qing lands its own? The Japanese side had no intention of understanding, nor any desire to try.
“What did you say?”
“After Russia took North Manchuria, I understand that the Han population of South Manchuria has largely fled south of the Great Wall.”
The Han Chinese of the Three Eastern Provinces, having already experienced Russia’s southward advance, had been forced to flee—some voluntarily, others not. What remained in North Manchuria now were only Manchus and a handful of Han who did not mind living as Russians. Moreover, the Japanese army had been crossing into Manchuria frequently of late; the warlords had simply withdrawn their forces. What exactly was he trying to say with this?
“What are you trying to say?”
“There is a principle known as national self-determination. All peoples, according to their own will—”
“I know what it means. So tell me plainly what Japan wishes to say.”
As expected, these damn Chinese never let one finish speaking. National self-determination. All ethnic groups have the right to decide their own fate. On the surface it sounded like a fine principle for the independence of oppressed minorities, but in truth it was a black-hearted slogan designed to force only the defeated powers of the Great War to surrender their colonies. As a victorious nation, Japan had not liberated the Korean Empire.
“Many Koreans have crossed over and settled in that South Manchuria. After all, is not the ethnicity that lives on the land the important factor?”
“What nonsense is this?”
“Just as the lands south of the Great Wall are the homeland of the Han people where Han reside, Koreans live in South Manchuria. Therefore it rightfully belongs to our Japan.”
What kind of absurd logic was this?
“How can land where Koreans live be Japanese territory! In the first place, is not Joseon a Japanese colony? By that logic you should liberate Joseon first!”
“Colony? The Korean Empire long ago merged with Japan. Koreans have thus become Japanese subjects. Therefore, is not the Manchuria where Koreans live also Japanese territory?”
Merged. Yes, they had a way with words. What insane ramblings!
Indeed. If they had claimed that Koreans had once lived on the ancient territory of Goguryeo and thrown a tantrum, Wang Jingwei could have sighed and said, Ah, so it was your land after all, and at least pretended to listen. But Japan was using this argument? What kind of nonsense was this? They seemed to want to claim that Joseon was not a colony by invoking the merger. No matter how one looked at it, it was nothing but wordplay. In the first place, weren’t the Koreans who had moved to Manchuria precisely those fleeing colonial rule?
“What kind of crazy logic is that?”
“Her Highness Anastasia Tsarina of the Russian Empire, our friendly neighbor, gave our Japan an excellent lesson.”
Again with Anastasia Tsarina. If Anastasia—who was currently busy restoring Moscow and Petrograd—heard this, she would ask what on earth they were talking about. Yet by this time her name had spread even to China. The central figure of the rumors spread by Semenov and Ungern’s Asiatic Cavalry Division, the White Great Khan of Mongolia. They publicly pressured the Chinese warlords, claiming that the Russian Empire had inherited the Mongol Empire. What else could that mean? It was a warning that, if necessary, they would swallow the Republic of China just as the Mongol Empire had devoured the Song Dynasty. And now the Japanese Empire was adding its own helping hand.
“Our Japan has a duty to protect the imperial subjects—the Koreans living in Manchuria—from Chinese bandits.”
“If we refuse to recognize it!”
If they refused to recognize it, there was nothing to be done. The smile that spread across Uchida Kosai’s lips was magnificent.
“Then you will find yourselves facing both the Russian Empire and the Japanese Empire. Are you certain that is acceptable?”
The sly, sinister smile characteristic of Japanese imperialists bloomed on Uchida Kosai’s face. Japan, unaware that South Manchuria might one day become Korean territory, diligently borrowed Russia’s name.
Wait… does this mean the Japanese Empire and Russia have formed an alliance?
That would make the story consistent. Russia had lost considerable territory to Germany, so it was aiming for easily obtainable Manchuria. Japan, having been forced to return Qingdao at the Washington Conference, wanted at least South Manchuria. That seemed to be the situation. Both Russia and Japan were now openly targeting China. Yet the other great powers remained silent. If that was not tacit approval from behind the scenes, what was? Of course, to be precise, the European powers had only just concluded all their wars with the Ankara Treaty and were now focused on internal problems, leaving them in no position to concern themselves with Asia. But none of that mattered.
In the end, Wang Jingwei had no choice but to submit. After Mongolia, now Manchuria as well. Wang Jingwei burned with hatred for both Japan and Russia.