SWNOVELXO Chapter 51
* * *
The extinction of the Bolsheviks due to the victory in the Red-White Civil War.
The Mensheviks and other moderate socialists joined the Duma.
Recovery of Constantinople.
Once stained red, Russia was on the verge of becoming an outcast in the world, but it came to be known for various reasons.
Some expressed concern over the Tsarina being brainwashed by the Reds who killed her parents and siblings, fearing that she had become a Red herself and was enacting socialist policies that painted the world red.
Of course, this was brushed off as a welfare policy that was reluctantly adopted to completely crush the Bolsheviks and govern the vast multi-ethnic Russia that spread from Europe to the Far East.
“Our British Empire has recently expressed concern over your country’s reforms.”
“Is this interference in domestic affairs?”
“This is not interference. You’re implementing policies similar to the Bolsheviks, aren’t you?”
“Sure, the British Empire can easily suppress its colonies, but we just waged a massive civil war across all of Russia. How vast do you think our land is compared to the British Isles? This is a choice for survival, and what we have here is a modified capitalism with the advantages of socialism attached to the existing capitalism. Didn’t your country suggest we mollify the peasants due to concerns about the revolution?”
The British and French had previously urged the Tsar to appease his subjects, fearing the Russian Empire would be turned upside down, but he completely ignored this.
The result was, after all, the revolution.
“Um. If that’s the case.”
“Don’t you want to explain to your country what modified capitalism is? It’s exactly what your country needs.”
I tried to lodge a protest with Russia through the ambassador, but all I ended up hearing was an enthusiastic lecture about modified capitalism.
“Isn’t this trying to brainwash us like the Reds? Seriously?”
Well, at least the Tsarina wouldn’t resort to the Bolshevik tactics of executing her own parents and siblings.
On a different note, the remaining socialist Russian citizens within the country were also satisfied with the Tsarina’s reforms.
“Comrades! Those who do not work shall not eat! The Tsarina is treating workers with respect, so let’s not waste time! Time is money, and we earn according to our work!”
Of course, these were socialists who had hardened into peaceful protests after witnessing the Bolsheviks being brutally executed by the White Army. However, unlike during Nicholas II’s reign, the Tsarina’s treatment of workers and peasants moved them, urging the workers to put in more effort for the sake of Russia.
Many lives were lost, but factories built with friendly support turned daily, and they effectively nationalized the railways that had been devastated during the civil war, now expanded with new routes.
While Russia was undergoing this development, a major incident erupted in Japan.
Uchida Kōsai warned the Japanese government that a disaster was about to occur in Kanto, but both he and the government scoffed and dismissed it.
They thought the young Tsarina was merely venting her frustration against Japan for partitioning Manchuria. They believed it was just that.
But then the day came.
*Crack! Boom!*
“What was that sound?”
“What do you mean, what? It’s the sound of an earthquake!”
“Is it for real?”
“What on earth…”
The disaster foretold by the Tsarina struck Japan.
A massive earthquake hit Kanto, severely damaging a wide area including Tokyo, Ibaraki, Chiba, and eastern Shizuoka.
The property damage alone surpassed 4.5 billion yen, with 110,000 houses either completely destroyed or severely damaged.
The problem was that the damage inflicted was far more significant than in actual history.
The Japanese Empire had just completed the immigration of Koreans into Kanto while forcibly chasing Koreans in the mainland to Southern Manchuria using the military.
To be more specific…
The Tsarina’s words raised some concerns regarding Kanto.
“I heard many communists fled abroad during the last Russian Civil War. Is the Tsarina planning to unleash the Bolsheviks on Kanto to strike back at us?”
Although Russia, at that moment, was engaged in a standoff against China in Manchuria and Mongolia, the idea of waging war against the Empire was unlikely. However, it wouldn’t be impossible for her to release the Bolsheviks to make a mockery of the Empire.
Thus, to ensure public safety and prepare for any unforeseen situation, the Japanese Army stationed a significant number of troops.
But then, a great earthquake hit.
The damage was beyond description.
It wasn’t the medieval era where you would directly engage in battle, yet the warning from a figure like the Tsarina, who was a target of scrutiny for various reasons, had effectively forewarned about the earthquake that was to slam the Empire.
The Japanese government regretted ignoring the Tsarina’s warning.
But only briefly. What country would believe they were receiving warnings of such a cataclysm?
“Is it that Tsarina caused the earthquake for revenge against the war and attacked the Empire?”
“That’s absurd.”
“After all, the very idea that the Tsarina could foresee a great earthquake is implausible.”
The Japanese government, caught in chaos due to their failure to respond to the Tsarina’s advice, came up with all sorts of conspiracy theories. However, it was more urgent to quell public discontent.
In actual history, the Kanto Massacre began with the accusation that Koreans poisoned wells; however, since most Koreans had already fled to Manchuria, it quickly turned to the idea that Chinese immigrants poisoned the wells.
“The inferior Chinese have poisoned the wells, killing the citizens of the Empire!”
“Let’s kill all the Chinese!”
The local militia formed to secure public safety started to hunt down not just every visible Chinese but even Japanese people who had any odd accents to eliminate them as Koreans or Chinese.
To manage the aftermath, the Japanese government worked diligently.
As their struggle continued, some began to reevaluate the figure of the Tsarina.
“The Tsarina is truly a saint.”
“She informed the Empire of the impending disaster. Russia is an ally of the Empire.”
While they still had no idea how the Tsarina knew, it was clear that she had shown goodwill towards the Empire.
“Considering the Tsarina’s age, she probably doesn’t know much about wars or anything.”
“But how on earth did she know about the earthquake?”
The conversation kept circling back to how the Tsarina knew about the earthquake, ultimately concluding that it was mere coincidence.
However, as they were leisurely discussing whether the Tsarina truly had the power to predict disasters, the issue became problematic given the immense damage caused by the Kanto Earthquake.
To top it off, several dispatched warships, which were concerned about the Bolsheviks potentially using the sea to move, were also damaged.
Moreover…
“Explain yourself immediately!”
In China, there were demands for an apology and compensation for the massacre of the Chinese.
“Those Japanese bastards were cursing us, and now that they face an earthquake, they just moved to evacuate us!”
“Their misfortune is delightful!”
The Koreans who had been forcibly settled in Southern Manchuria were all smiles.
And at this time, someone showed up at a Siberian internment camp, rushing to the Okhrana, who were monitoring the Bolsheviks.
“I was an agent of the Cheka. Furthermore, during the Civil War, I played a role in eliminating Mensheviks who infiltrated the Soviet Union.”
“So what do you want to say?”
“I don’t want to be trapped in this ice prison. Give me a chance. I swear loyalty to the Tsarina! I will gladly take on all kinds of dirty work for the Tsarina!”
Loyalty to the Tsarina.
Given the achievements he left in actual history, his remarks seemed unbelievable. But the man was in a desperate situation.
He wanted to live. He wasn’t the type to collapse here.
“Aren’t you a Bolshevik? Even if the dirty work involves dealing with fellow Bolsheviks?”
“I joined the Bolsheviks as a means of survival. If I had known Lenin was just a simple communist dreamer, I wouldn’t have joined the Bolsheviks! Although I’ve operated for the draft of the Red Army, I’ve never fought against the White Army! I’m completely different from those trapped in there!”
Lavrenti Beria.
In actual history, he was the man who did anything for Stalin, being the chief of NKVD during the Great Purge and the one responsible for the execution of many individuals.
As history changed and the people’s sentiments followed the Tsarina, culminating in the White Army’s victory in the Red-White Civil War, to Beria, Lenin was just an idealistic dreamer, nothing more, nothing less.
Feeling bitterly deceived by life, he yearned to work for the Tsar, for a new Rome.
* * *
The Kanto Great Earthquake occurred.
“These kids are useless to talk to.”
After all, they were just the kind who wouldn’t listen to what you say, so I tossed out my words casually.
Even if they did take my words seriously and prepared, there’s no way that all those Japanese in Kanto would move away, nor would their buildings and properties suddenly shift.
However, I never expected the damage to be so great.
If they weren’t going to listen at all, isn’t it reasonable to expect at least the damages to barely remain or be slightly reduced since Koreans had escaped? Instead, the damages turned out to be even greater?
From the investigations by the Okhrana, belonging to the Ministry of the Interior, they surmised that the Tsarina had guided the fleeing Bolsheviks into Kanto during the Red-White Civil War, leading to a level of strategy I hadn’t even imagined, which resulted in far greater damages than actual history.
Wow! What a snowball effect!
Ideally, it would have been great if they could have just thrown all their forces into Kanto and rendered it entirely incapable of waging war, but hey, that was asking too much.
“Your Excellency.”
“What is it?”
“How did you foresee the impending disaster that would befall the Japanese?”
“Well, I wonder?”
The Duma was all abuzz about my prediction of calamity.
This kind of stuff is a trade secret.
Everyone’s eyes looked at me oddly, but I didn’t feel the need to say I knew everything because I was a saint.
Not that I know everything. Asking when and where the next calamity will be sounds like a problem.
“Well, as we are likewise in dire straits, we cannot send relief goods, but we can convey our sincere condolences to Japan through the ambassador.”
“Yes, I will do that.”
And more than that, I witnessed something quite amusing.
There was a Bolshevik who ran to the Okhrana, claiming he had worked as a Cheka agent and wanted to join the Okhrana.
While the Okhrana was part of the Ministry of the Interior, it was also active under the command of the Romanov family post-Red-White Civil War.
One of its main duties had recently been to monitor Bolsheviks in the Siberian internment camps or verify individuals who might switch sides.
And one such person had caught their attention.
The individual wanting to join the Okhrana was Lavrenti Beria.
Yes, that Beria.
The man who had become a figure of infamy for killing countless individuals to rise under Stalin and met a tragic end due to creating too many enemies.
Unlike in actual history, he did manage to enter the Cheka. Still, he supposedly acted against the Red Army, dealing with the infiltrators in the Okhrana and operating under Moscow’s control.
It seems he wanted to come under my command.
“What can you do, Beria?”
This guy was once a faithful dog for Stalin.
Has something changed in the wake of history?
Or is he just so desperate to flee that he’s now pulling this nonsense?
“He claims he can eliminate all remaining Bolsheviks. There were plans for the Georgian Communist Party to stir up the White Army, but he says he can thwart that too.”
“Alright. Let’s see about this guy.”
So, how will he turn out to be?
I decided to call him in.
“I am the Saint of Russia, the Tsarina, the Great Khan of Mongolia, and the Emperor of Eastern Rome! It is an honor to meet you!”
What is this? Is this really the guy I know?
Look at him groveling right in front of me.
Is he this desperate for survival? Even Hitler might have spent a few years doing architectural designs until going to Austria. Is this guy not the same?
“Then, you’re saying you won’t hesitate to do all sorts of dirty work?”
“Yes! If the Tsarina commands me to lick her shoes, I will gladly do so! If she says to lick her feet, I will do that as well!”
The image of him folding his legs and extending his shoe while talking about that made me feel a little uncomfortable.
“I have no need for such a pervert. The important thing is how well you can work. And I despise Bolsheviks.”
So this brings me to my point.
It’s about ideological scrutiny.
Only those able to shout that Lenin is a son of a gun can qualify for the Okhrana.
“That Lenin is a dreamer, and communism is nothing but a nonsensical ideal!”
“What do you mean?”
“It’s clear that communism is an idealist philosophy that sounds charming on the surface. Yet, having experienced it, there’s nothing more authoritarian, violent, or empty than it. I failed to recognize that.”
This level of insight is promising.
But wasn’t this guy the most violent individual in the Soviet Union?