I Became the Last Princess of the Brown Bear Kingdom

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Chen Zhongming was over the moon.

After that, he sent a heap of Russian military advisors and leftover weapons.

Support for East Prussia?

It’s not just us supporting the East Prussian army.

It looks like Britain is certainly backing East Prussia to keep Communist Germany in check.

So whatever’s left just gets handed over to Chen Zhongming.

“Is it okay to support that guy? He doesn’t seem capable of taking over China.”

The Black Baron, who discreetly handed over military advisors and supplies upon my order, didn’t seem pleased with that.

Chen Zhongming certainly doesn’t give off the impression of someone who could rule the world. He looks just like that.

But that doesn’t mean he’s totally inept.

The concept of Self-Governing Federations, the Unified China.

With just those two, I can leverage Chen Zhongming as a pawn.

“So we should support him. He may not have the ability to control all of China, but he can certainly take charge of a part of it.”

Yeah. Chen Zhongming isn’t good enough for that.

But he can manage a warlord at least.

He might be able to dominate a part of China and get a local government under control.

Before Unified China comes to be, we could have a suitably fragmented autonomous government-state. He might manage to hold onto Guangdong.

“Are you deliberately trying to support that guy then?”

“I see the future, decades ahead of reality. Just a few decades ago, China was nothing more than a cake for the great powers, but the potential of a modernized, unified China is immense. We must stop that growth.”

Knowing the future, I’m certainly determined to stop it.

“Are you saying China could surpass us?”

The Black Baron might not see it as particularly favorable.

That’s understandable. Until recently, wasn’t it a buffet for the great powers?

It sounds a bit far-fetched to say that this buffet could defeat Russia.

It’s hard to believe, but actually, the new Cold War is between the U.S. and China. Current Russians might find that hard to accept easily.

So, we need to reduce things as much as possible without directly intervening and ensure there’s proper fragmentation.

“Population counts cannot be ignored in any era. It was possible until now because the great powers were far ahead of China, but the numerous populace on that vast continental territory cannot be overlooked.”

“Even so, I don’t think they’ll be able to defeat us.”

Since China is poised to lead this new Cold War, it means Russia has already been surpassed. But these folks aren’t growing up to show a truly great power’s aspect either. They’ve shown nothing but hegemonism with various nuisances, even before nuclear warfare.

It’s best to divide and make them fight among themselves.

If Chen Zhongming’s desired Unified China becomes a reality, it won’t just be Russia; neighboring Korea will surely become a satellite state.

In reality, they could end up much worse off than the half of Korea in actual history.

“I personally really like China, which can be called the root country of Eastern civilization. That’s why I want it to grow.”

A lot, very much. More than the countries that currently exist in this world.

In my view, some countries, including Syria, will fall under the reestablished Ottoman Empire in the future.

Even Hitler, wanting to challenge Germany, would have Hungary and Czechoslovakia reunite under Austria, reshaping the number of nations to be slightly lesser than in the original history.

Then, it needs to grow from the Chinese side. Don’t you think?

“Then, do you wish for China to fragment?”

“Yes. Of course. Especially since we in Russia share a border with China. So, we need to be extra cautious. All of this must be led by our United States, for the sake of our descendants in the distant future.”

Immediately after the incident involving the invasion of Ukraine related to nuclear warfare, Russia, which was once the Soviet Union, had been entirely manipulated by China.

The nuclear war was practically instigated by China as well.

“I see. Your Majesty’s foresight is indeed remarkable.”

It’s nothing special.

I just want to prevent a gloomy future.

In that regard, being in this side rather than possessing Korea might even be better.

Being Russia means needing to keep an eye on both Europe and Asia, which is indeed a bit troublesome.

Whether it’s with Britain or France. No, even with the U.S., who alone has a cheating map, if they would just deliver as per actual history, the future should somehow get better.

“The Foreign Ministry must also grasp international relations coldly. We should strengthen ties with existing negotiating countries, the U.S., Britain, and France.”

“Yes. We’ve increased the troops stationed in East Prussia at Britain’s request.”

Sadly, the Baltic states ultimately chose independence.

Even if they call it independence, I see it as British puppet states, but they insist it’s independence, what can I say?

Of course, I didn’t disturb them, as they were already states that would become independent later. Russia needs to focus keenly on restoring its image now.

We can’t use force to reclaim what has already separated from Russia, and we need to think of British dignity as well.

Unless we want to hear, “Oh look, Russia’s pushable. Should we take a shot?” there’s really no intent to attack the Baltics.

“It’s unfortunate about the Baltics. But, considering Britain’s backing them, it looks tough to incorporate them into the United States.”

“Looking at Britain now, they seem to desperately need our help. A casual negotiation might be in order.”

That’s not a good idea.

There’s a possibility, of course. If Britain simply lies down demanding, “Give us the Baltics!” they will probably end up giving them.

But separate from that, Britain could very much see a drastic drop in its performance in the Great War.

“With Germany in such a state, there must be quite a bit of chatter within Britain. Requesting back what was given in the Brest-Litovsk Treaty in this situation would seem a bit unreasonable, right?”

When World War II breaks out, Britain’s position becomes important.

The entire island would serve as a sort of unsinkable aircraft carrier to bomb Germany’s mainland. If it indeed occurs under assumptions, America— no, who knows how America will react in this world? Russia’s army can land strategically on Britain and move toward France or Germany.

No matter what, we need to block Britain from falling into communism or fascism.

“It’s a pity.”

“There’s no need for pity. Just managing the territory we currently have gives Russia many possibilities. Instead, we can make Russia so great that they will regret not joining the United States later.”

It’s just a simple logic.

Developing Russia to a level that they would envy is all we need.

Saying this should satisfy the military too.

Anyway, even with that land lost, the grievances can be adequately soothed with the recovery of Northern Manchuria, Mongolia, and Constantinople.

The frame that they sold the land off was something the Bolsheviks took on before they perished.

It’s really self-inflicted as it was their own doing.

* * *

Meanwhile, Britain was quietly groaning from within.

Seeing that their leniency towards Germany yielded nothing fundamentally good.

Of course, they did manage to gain more colonies or promised reparations and acquired much more through the Brest-Litovsk Treaty.

But aside from that, Germany erupted into revolution.

What’s more, the greatest punch thrown at the negotiating powers in the war came from Germany. They showed leniency to prevent a communist revolution, only for it to explode in their faces.

This means there was no point in their earlier leniency towards Germany.

People remember losses far more than gains. Parents who had their children die on the battlefield were enraged that their child’s death was for nothing, rather than celebrating the vast land granted by Germany.

“What did we gain from being lenient towards Germany?”

“Exactly! In the end, we produced Communist Germany!”

“What changed with my son’s death in the last war?”

“Why did we even enter the European war?”

“We received the Ottoman’s surrender! Everyone!”

“Meanwhile, Russia is celebrating the recovery of Constantinople!”

Even the surrender of the Ottomans was just a mental victory of “We’ll give up land, just sign the surrender doc.” They didn’t actually win because of Russia either, dragging on endlessly.

Is this just it?

The Kaiser of East Prussia at least threw various things at getting settled properly there.

The problem is there are no reparations.

Communist Germany was shouting about the repudiation of the Treaty of Versailles.

Though they spat out their colonies, Britain and France lacked the confidence to resume that long trench warfare, especially not against those communists.

It’s a fight that neither can win nor lose.

They did recognize Communist Germany, but that acknowledgment didn’t imply full recognition within the international community; it merely signified a refusal for military intervention.

What could be done was simply to politically subdue Communist Germany alongside other nations from the shadows, as usual.

Still, preparedness is necessary, so British troops are stationed in Poland and East Prussia, while Vermont’s army that was eyeing the Baltics has been deployed there.

In a nutshell, money was flowing out again.

To ensure that half of Ukraine and the Baltics are composed of pro-British elements, money was flowing out again.

Reaching out to the U.S. felt like a stretch. They were the ones who swiftly withdrew the moment Germany surrendered.

It’d be disastrous if they sought even more help.

Regardless, the British Empire was somehow holding on.

After all, they weren’t entirely without achievements.

Surely, those achievements might have been eyed by Russia, looking to nibble away at them on the stealth. Nevertheless, the British Empire could persist.

However, matters were different for other countries.

Especially Italy harbored great dissatisfaction.

They had given Germany and Austria a taste of their own medicine and proudly became victors, snatching up land, but compared to what they spent in the war, their gains were lacking.

Perhaps they withdrew from the Ottomans for the same reasons.

“We’re going to flip this around!”

“All we want is one thing! To rule Italy!”

“The only things we gained by siding with the negotiating powers are Trentino-Alto Adige and the Istrian Peninsula!”

Fiery pent-up grievances.

The minuscule land gained compared to the promised territories was enough to infuriate the Italians.

“The Slavs have reclaimed the Second Rome!”

“We must recreate Rome!”

“Look at that Germany! They’ve achieved a communist revolution! A communist state is precisely what it takes to resurrect Rome!”

Italy was naturally burning internally since they hadn’t secured the desired amount of territory, unlike in actual history.

It wasn’t even defined clearly how the war ended, unlike actual history.

On top of that, the moribund Russia suddenly revived and reemerged as the Unified States, reclaiming Constantinople and announcing to the world that they were the guardians of Orthodoxy, the descendants of the Eastern Roman Empire.

Their position was indeed worse than even the near-dead Russia, causing unbearable discontent that couldn’t help but spill out.

Among all this, the communist revolution in Germany succeeded, and Italian socialists left no chance missed.

Originally destined to become the progenitor of fascism, Benito Mussolini became the representative of the Italian Communist Party.

While he aimed for fascism like in actual history, he was deeply inspired by Germany’s revolution.

The German Free Socialist Republic was born by completely demolishing everything corrupt in the old German Empire.

Mussolini realized that for Italy, which received nothing worth mentioning from the war, revolution was indeed necessary to revive the glory of Rome.

Interestingly, Mussolini felt inspired by Russia’s recovery of Constantinople, believing Italy too needed to rebuild Rome.

Italy possessing Rome is indeed what could be called true descendants of Rome, isn’t it?

His motivation surged due to the fact that the White Russia, coming through the Red-White War as the victorious faction, treated workers well and executed policies that resembled socialism.

Amid such complex emotions swirling around, his conclusion was to virtually resurrect the communism that now lay broken by the current Russia and engage in a final battle against Russia for true Rome’s position.

“We must dismantle Russia to rebuild Rome!”

Thus, he deemed cooperation with Communist Germany essential for the revolution.

Disguised under the guise of communism, Benito Mussolini founded the Italian Communist Party, resembling fascism closer to actual history.

“I will help Comrade Mussolini. Achieve Italy’s own revolution and liberate Italy.”

Supported by Communist Germany, Mussolini rapidly expanded his influence, ultimately launching the revolution known as the Red March, sweeping through Italy.

King Vittorio Emanuele III was left with only a titular royal title, falling into a state akin to house arrest, while Benito Mussolini rose to the position of the secretary-general of a communist state, just beneath Karl Liebknecht of Communist Germany in Europe.

And naturally.

“Everywhere is filled with Reds!”

Austria, caught in the middle, was thrown into chaos.