Prester John (1)
"The British sent troops to West Africa?"
Indeed. I had wondered why Great Britain was being so quiet. The moment I made a move, they must have seized the opportunity and finally pushed into West Africa.
For Great Britain, which already held a vast territory rivaling the Mongol Empire, swallowing any more would make them the enemy of the entire world, to say nothing of indigestion. Naturally, the moment I acted, they gleefully marched in to expand their territory in West Africa.
That wasn't all. Great Britain was the only representative of the anti-Shtal faction left in the world. The United States was openly copying my methods, 'Hötzendorf-ing' Wall Street and implementing socialist policies. Russia, taking a page from their arch-nemesis Japan, was enforcing a closed-door policy under the Bukharin Shogunate, focusing all their energy on heavy industrial development. France was busy poking its nose into Spain and Italy—whose political situations were just as disastrous as their own—and couldn't spare a single thought for their colonies. In the end, Great Britain had no choice but to step up as the representative.
"Vice Chairman Shtal. It seems the British intend to swallow West Africa whole. Shouldn't we take some sort of action?"
"If that happens, it will certainly complicate things, but..."
Let them try, then.
"Why do you think the empires didn't swallow China whole, but instead just established ports like Hong Kong and Macau?"
"That is... Ah!"
"If it were a complete vacuum like Australia or Canada, or an Africa that hadn't seen centralized rule for three hundred years, it wouldn't be a problem. Of course, even three hundred years ago, Portugal only nibbled at the ports, didn't they?"
"But there are cases like India and Indochina, where they pushed themselves to swallow everything."
Ironically, it was Great Britain that first unified the Indian subcontinent. Of course, even though the local princely states enjoyed considerable autonomy, Great Britain was, in name and reality, the undisputed ruler and hegemon of the subcontinent. How did a tiny island nation swallow such a massive landmass? Because India was fractured in every direction, Great Britain was able to execute a masterclass in divide-and-conquer, successfully securing a soft landing for its Indian colony. This divide-and-conquer strategy was the most traditional and sophisticated method of building a colonial empire.
The idea that empires ruled solely by slaughtering natives with guns and steel is a misconception. Of course, while some did massacre natives with pathogens—like Shiro Ishii of Unit 731—that was never the original intention of the imperialists. It wasn't until the 1880s that colonial empires finally possessed military power that overwhelmingly outmatched local empires. Before then, all they had were crude early firearms that took over a minute to reload. If a single company armed with AK-47s fought a massive army of a hundred thousand armed with bows and spears, who would win? Yet, Cortes conquered the Aztecs with a mere five hundred soldiers, and Pizarro took the Incas with only about two hundred. It was all thanks to the sophisticated art of divide-and-conquer.
"Certainly, it would be difficult for us if Great Britain swallowed West Africa whole. But... will West Africa remain the same as before?"
"That is..."
"To divide and conquer, you need a clear counterparty to negotiate with, and you must be able to properly distinguish friend from foe. Director Goebbels, do you not remember the siege we waged when we first landed in Dakar? In West Africa, yesterday's enemy is today's ally, and today's ally becomes tomorrow's enemy once more."
"But couldn't Great Britain do the same as we did?"
"We only intended to take the ports and pull out. If they try to swallow that massive landmass, it won't be easy."
Well, they might call themselves empires... but not even a quarter of them have the capacity to form a proper state. Thanks to the absolute mess France left behind, there wasn't a single group capable of building a proper nation, save for the pro-French traitors near the port cities or massive mines. The first Ghana Empire, the second Ghana Empire, the third Ghana Empire... these numerous self-proclaimed empires were nothing more and nothing less than bands of plunderers. It was merely gangs naming their organizations the 'Ghana Empire.'
If the United States, which rules the world, has three natural enemies, they are first, the drug cartels; second, domestic gangs; and third, terrorist organizations like the Taliban. Right now, hundreds of gangs, cartels, and terrorist organizations are scattered all over the place. Let's see if Great Britain can find their champion among them. It's impossible.
The even bigger problem was that while the French had completely demolished the ports, roads, and mines they had built... they had left behind their machine guns, armored vehicles, and grenade launchers. Of course, we could help fuel the chaos a bit more by exporting weapons through Dakar.
"Then... Great Britain will wash their hands of it and leave soon."
"That is also highly unlikely."
"Pardon? Why is that?"
"Do you really think that stubborn blockhead Churchill will back down so easily?"
Churchill was indeed the ultimate warlord. He had never once admitted failure and backed down. While other politicians compromised, thinking, 'Ah! Germany is best enjoyed with Nazis!' Churchill alone refused to compromise. Having met Churchill in person, I didn't think he possessed some sort of prophetic foresight. He had simply detested Germany consistently since the days of the German Empire. He had pushed that single-minded hatred with unwavering determination for thirty years. Even when everyone else in the world advocated for a moderate approach toward Germany, he was a madman who, once he decided to hate something, would keep pushing it to the bitter end.
"The more humiliated he is in West Africa, the more Churchill's obsession will grow. If normal methods don't work, he might openly trigger a famine or carry out ethnic cleansing."
If the United States hadn't fooled around trying to export democracy, they would have probably planted Nazi-style concentration camps all over Afghanistan. Of course, the Soviet Union had also fooled around trying to export communism, only to face a similar disaster in Afghanistan. Frankly, that was the reality. Carrying out massacres in such a hellish land only worsens the chaos. But since Great Britain already had a history of starving millions to death in Ireland with a mere 'potato-snatching' click-show, they would likely pull off something similar in West Africa.
"If that happens, Great Britain will..."
"Yes. They will turn West Africa into an even worse hellscape."
"Then Great Britain, already suffering severely from the depression, will leave after making a complete mess of West Africa in less than a year."
"Any other British politician would, but... with Churchill in power, we cannot overlook the possibility of this dragging on for five or ten years."
Churchill, who decided to hate Germany for thirty years just because he felt it would be a waste of the ten-plus years he had already spent hating them since the German Empire! He was a man truly susceptible to the sunk cost fallacy. Once things reached that point, he would likely squat in West Africa, unable to let go of the sunk costs they had poured in while tightening their belts in an already depleted economy.
"Will they really? Aren't the British also famous for completely ruining a situation and then running away without cleaning up the mess once they realize it's hopeless?"
"That is why Churchill is such an oddball. He is truly un-British. I sincerely hope he becomes dictator for life and rules Great Britain for a thousand years."
Oh, Churchill. Surely your caliber is not meant to stop at mere Foreign Secretary, or even Prime Minister? You've been trying to cozy up to those French psychos lately anyway. Why not follow the example of France's Antonin Artaud and build a Purificationist kingdom? Or, you could follow my lead and build a Stahlism empire.
Our next destination was Ethiopia. Director Goebbels, holding a stack of papers, was analyzing Ethiopia's population and wealth when he suddenly looked up and asked me.
"Vice Chairman Shtal. Do you plan to admit Ethiopia into the Treaty Organization as well?"
"Of course."
"As you surely know, Vice Chairman, Ethiopia's weight class is larger than one might think. Even if it doesn't match Joseon or Vietnam, it is at least half their size."
There was a clear reason for Goebbels's concern. For the Austro-Hungarian Empire, which had just finished a war and was enjoying an immense wartime boom, and the newly rising German Empire, modernizing Joseon and Vietnam was well within their capacity. In truth, Joseon had originally been a Japanese colony, so there was little need for deep intervention. Vietnam, on the other hand, was blessed with a geographical location that allowed it to siphon off the sweet nectar of the massive Chinese market, enabling its growth. But Ethiopia had none of those advantages. Furthermore, the wartime boom was slowly winding down for both the Austro-Hungarian and German Empires, meaning they were no longer in a position to modernize an entire country from scratch.
"If we admit Ethiopia into the Treaty Organization, we might face another supply shortage." This seemed to be Goebbels's primary worry. Vietnam, Greece, Bulgaria, the Ottoman Empire... they were already absorbing more and more investment. While high investment was generally a green light for an economy, if the required investment exceeded what the real economy could bear, it became a disaster for state finances. And unlike France or Great Britain, we couldn't simply squeeze colonies to control investment costs.
"By the way, what are Ethiopia's main exports?"
"Coffee. Other than that... leather and a small amount of gold."
"Gold, gold... The more gold, the better." It was safe to say we were obsessed with gold. To stand against nations of insane weight classes like the United States, Great Britain, and Russia, gold reserves were essential. Thus, from the very moment the war began, we had frantically sucked up gold from all over the world, finally achieving the feat of splitting the global gold supply with the United States. Yet, our reserves were still insufficient to contend with monsters like America.
"But, Vice Chairman Shtal, it is a bit much to enter solely for gold."
"No. We must secure Ethiopia at all costs."
"Pardon?"
"Don't just look at the national economy or statistics, Director Goebbels. Look at the map." I took down the map hanging on the wall of my cabin on the ship and spread it across the wide desk. Then, I drew a few lines with a marker. "Shall we trace our main trade routes?" First, I drew a red line stretching from Hamburg and East Prussia out into the North Sea.
"Here lies the English Channel, world-famous for being a massive pain in the ass. If you want to know just how terrible it is, ask Admiral Raeder of Germany." Next, I drew a blue line extending from the tip of the Balkan Peninsula through Suez. "The British hold the Suez Canal. We are using it out of sheer necessity, but there's no telling what kind of dirty tricks Churchill might pull there."
"Is that why we developed alternative routes?"
"Yes. Alternating between rail and ship transport is tedious, but we can also bypass the Suez Canal entirely by moving goods overland through the Ottoman Empire. After all, Austria, Germany, and the Ottoman Empire are nations where overland transport is far more convenient."
The massive railway network tightly connecting Germany, Austria, and the entirety of Central Europe had now extended all the way to the Ottoman Empire. Yet, there was still a thorn in our side. As if the Suez Canal weren't enough, they had mucked up the entire Red Sea. I tapped Somalia with my index finger.
"If the British start playing games by blocking the sea lanes, just like they do with the Strait of Gibraltar, we will be in a very difficult position, wouldn't we?"
"Then, what about using the Strait of Hormuz..."
"That route is equally unpleasant."
Just how far have these British bastards spread?
I pointed once more to the area where the United Arab Emirates historically stood. British territory here, British territory there. I could see exactly why their country didn't easily collapse no matter what kind of madness Churchill pulled. Even in the twenty-first century, Great Britain remained quite formidable, at least in the financial world.
"I hear the British have handed heaps of money to the local emirs here and are running them as protectorates. It's obvious. They intend to keep a tight grip on Oman and the Strait of Hormuz."
"Come to think of it, India is right next to the Strait of Hormuz."
"Yes, exactly. Every single path we have to the Far East is held by the British. We must have a weapon of our own prepared for such an eventuality."
I pointed to Eritrea, located slightly north of British Somaliland in the Red Sea. After Italy's defeat left the region in limbo, it was now effectively controlled by Ethiopia.
"I hear Crown Prince Haile Selassie is funding a decent modernization effort using the revenues from this Eritrean port, yes?" No matter how much we were an alliance of continental nations, we still needed at least one sea route. We had to secure a firm grip on Eritrea, which Ethiopia practically occupied, and tightly plug the bottleneck that was the British-owned Suez Canal. Even if we didn't have Eritrea, in an emergency, it would be the perfect staging ground for the invincible Ethiopian army—the one that had thrashed Italy—to march straight into Somaliland.
"But Great Britain still has South Africa, don't they?"
"Indeed. If an emergency breaks out in India, let them bleed through their noses as they sail all the way around the Cape of Good Hope."