Chapter 264

< World War II - Preparation for Post-War (2) >

July 24, 1942

The capital of Germany, Berlin - Government Building

I clutched my throbbing head as I looked at the documents that made me feel vertigo just by glancing at them.

It was fine up until I asked Falkenhausen's Advisory Group and the Korean KPG to send evidence regarding the Republic of China, but the situation in China that I actually received was truly chaos itself.

Why the hell are there so many warlords?

The Shanxi Clique, the Ma Clique, the Xinjiang Clique, the Dian Clique, the Guangxi Clique… On top of these, there are countless other warlords, so I don't even know what is what anymore.

With the leaders of those countless warlords mostly in charge of each theater of the Republic of China's military, it is doubtful how many among the frontline military commanders are definitively of Nationalist Government affiliation.

We thought we had formed an alliance with a single nation called the Republic of China, but its true state is exactly in the state of the Holy Roman Empire from hundreds of years ago, which was a coalition of dozens of states.

Furthermore, the majority of the warlords have an affiliation with Jiang Jieshi's Nationalist Government of the Republic of China, and they each hold a position, making it difficult to even distinguish where the warlord personnel end and the definitive Nationalist Government personnel begin.

Is that some kind of position given as a reward for their loyalty to the Kuomintang? For two purposes at once, to also prevent their desertion from the Kuomintang.

I wondered if Jiang Jieshi and the Nationalist Government had gone crazy and were selling off the support we gave them to the warlords, but this isn't even that kind of issue to begin with, is it?

Since the warlords are taking up key positions in the Republic of China one by one, we can't completely separate the warlords and the Republic of China, yet it's not like the warlords represent the interests of the Allied Powers either, so what is this…

In the midst of all that, even those who could at least be considered under Jiang Jieshi's direct command are split and fighting between the factions of He Yingqin and Changchen, and on top of that, Dai Li's Blue Shirts Society and the Chen Guofu-Chen Lifu brothers' CC Clique supposedly exist separately.

I stared at those dizzying paperwork for a long while before setting them down.

Ah, screw it.

Even Nazi Germany's power structure wasn't this much of a mess!

I thought it might be nice to know about the Republic of China and perhaps have some influence on their political situation, but I don't even have a clue how to approach this.

As I was rubbing my forehead from the headache, Claudia, who was sitting at the desk next to mine, spoke to me.

"It's been a long time since I've seen you struggle this much, Minister."

"…Haha.

Was it obvious?"

"You've been groaning the whole time I was watching, so it's hard not to notice."

"…Ugh…"

Having nothing to say, I sent a glance at Claudia, but she had her gaze fixed on her own desk, not me.

I cast a sidelong glance at the pile of paperwork stacked on her desk and then lowered my gaze back to the paperwork on my desk.

With her working so hard over there, I can't just give up because my eyes are spinning a little.

After the Eastern Front ended and I took a breath, a thought suddenly came to me.

Is it okay to let the Republic of China swallow all of China?

Right now, the Republic of China remains at the level of such a chaotic pseudo-state, but in just twenty or thirty years, they will possess enough national power to become a threat to America.

The China of the original history reached that level of national power even while a historically mess of a leader named Mao Zedong carelessly chipped away at its competitiveness, and while Jiang Jieshi is not without his problems, he surely cannot be compared to Mao Zedong.

When a leader with the capability to at least put together a facade of unity for a China in such chaos fully gains control of it, would that capability even be comparable to the Communist China of the original history?

For now, we have gathered under the single flag of the Allied Powers to face a common enemy, but even within that, there are more than enough conflicts of interest.

I thought it wouldn't matter to keep the Soviet Union around as a Third Force to draw America's attention, but if China—which showed its latent power even after experiencing Mao Zedong and under the mess of a government that was Communist China—is unified under the flag of the Republic of China, I can't predict to what extent its capability will reach.

It's a risk.

Far too much of a risk.

The Republic of China is ostensibly advocating for the Three Principles of the People, which includes democracy, but given their course of action, there's plenty of room to view it as Jiang Jieshi's dictatorial government.

In the original history, Jiang Jieshi also carried out significant dictatorial politics in Taiwan after the Retreat of the Republic of China to Taiwan, so I simply cannot guarantee what kind of nation the Republic of China will become.

Only if the Republic of China is fully unified will Korea inevitably be encroached upon by their sphere of influence, and even if we don't necessarily show consideration for Korea, Germany has an industrial structure quite similar to modern times Korea.

Germany is essentially an industrial nation based on manufacturing, and even the American market exuding the aura of a Superpower right now is poised to be encroached upon by China's low-cost production in the future, meaning from Germany's stance, a future industrialized China is incredibly burdensome.

However, trying to put a check on the Republic of China already is difficult since they are still part of the Allied Forces for now, even if they are in a near-death state.

They also have the merit of tying down the main force of the Japanese Army—which is a considerably large military force just by numbers—across a broad front, forcing them to mobilize only 200,000 or 100,000 for their offensives.

Above all, even if we abandoned the Republic of China, it wouldn't have much meaning since they have a replacement in America, and it's not like there is a faction capable of being a check against them either.

Mao Zedong of the Chinese Communist Party, who is gathering power in Shanxi in North China after the Long March, and Sheng Shicai of the Xinjiang Clique in northwestern China are still advocating for communism, but since the Soviet Union is in a situation where they can barely take care of themselves, the possibility of the Communist Party winning the Chinese Civil War like in the original history is nearly nonexistent.

Even before that, we would rather beat down Communist China; there is absolutely no reason for us to help them.

Or should we just raise one of the warlords and push them to be Jiang Jieshi's adversary? Because they suffered Operation Ichi-Go earlier compared to the original history, Jiang Jieshi's Nationalist Government has been considerably weakened and its dependence on the warlords is also high.

It seems like it could be a possibility if Germany made up its mind to push for one of them, but is there even anyone worth pushing among these many warlords? We need to know something about them to push them…

Even if I tried asking Falkenhausen, I honestly can't be certain whether he would be more favorable towards Jiang Jieshi and the Republic of China, or more favorable towards Germany and me.

Thinking about it that way, isn't Falkenhausen also a subtly risky personnel choice from Germany's stance?

"…Minister, you have the facial expression of someone plotting a sinister scheme."

"Ah."

Was I making a nasty facial expression without realizing it?

As I raised my head, Claudia smiled brightly and placed a pile of paperwork onto my desk with a thud!

Ugh, my workload increased again…

"These are the ones you can just skim over and sign, and these are the ones I recommend you look at least once. Lastly, these are the ones you absolutely must check."

"Ah.

Thank you for your hard work, Vice-Chancellor."

Claudia smiled with a proud face after adding to my workload.

It's a fact that my work is greatly reduced thanks to her incredible administration abilities, but even so, feeling proud after dumping paperwork on me is a bit…

Feeling a slightly spiteful mood, I stood up from my seat and pulled her by the waist, causing Claudia to smile with crinkling eyes.

"Minister, I don't think you combined our offices for this purpose?"

"That is true, Vice-Chancellor."

The Minister and the Vice-Chancellor sharing a single office is certainly not common.

However, because I am often away from my seat, and she frequently works as the acting Minister in the meantime, it ended up this way as we tried to process work with efficiency during the short times I drop by the office.

"Other people suspect that we combined our offices out of a selfish motive."

I said that and laughed.

Once upon a time, a man named Wei Yan from China said this.

If others frame you for having the Face of a Traitor, you must surely commit that treason for them.

"I felt like it wouldn't even be unfair if we just made it an established fact."

Claudia burst into laughter and gave in after only making a pretense of putting up resistance.

-

August 3, 1942

Eastern Germany (formerly Western Poland), Posen

Posen, which I visited again after a long time, had changed so much it was truly unrecognizable.

The forest located in the border area with Germany was logged on a large-scale to secure timber and serve as a site for constructing new industrial complexes and livestock industry complexes.

The quite broad scale plains of the eastern and southern regions were also definitively zoned into farmland or industrial districts.

…Did Lieutenant Karina Juhlińska say she grew up learning how to hunt from her grandfather in what 'used to be' that forest?

I can see the reason why she said such a thing.

Mother Nature, humanity is sorry…

But discharged soldiers need to have jobs to work at, don't they…

Having random thoughts, I stepped out of the car and came face-to-face with a familiar face.

"It's been a while, Field Marshal."

The leader of the Black Orchestra and regent of the New Government, but a man who entered retirement after the election.

"Former Field Marshal. It's been a while, Minister Schacht."

Ludwig Beck welcomed me with a much more relaxed impression.

"I am glad to see you looking so well."

"I'm a retired man who dumped all his burdens onto you young friends, so what worries would I have?"

"Well, I am envious of that."

"Haha, are you already envious of the leisure of a has-been old man at your age?"

Beck chuckled heartily, and I smiled softly looking at him.

"I truly express my gratitude to you for drawing out the cooperation of the Junkers this time."

"It's nothing, since you're supporting us and letting us make money, it's not a bad deal for us either."

Ludwig Beck spoke as if it was nothing, but the conservatism of the Junkers exceeds imagination.

We made an attempt to transform the agriculture and small-scale livestock industry the Junkers had been operating in a haphazard method into properly mechanized, modern farmland and livestock industry complexes, and the reaction the Junkers initially showed was this.

-A Junker's manor should rightfully possess a quiet and leisurely flavor!

The problem was that it was a form closer to the farmland cultivated by tenant farmers, something you'd only see in the era of feudalism.

"Still, the friends who grumbled at first are satisfied in their own way."

"Hahaha.

Is that so?"

"Yes, yes. That Leeb fellow, he's the most excited and is planning to expand his pig farm even more."

"You mean Field Marshal Wilhelm Ritter von Leeb? That's quite unexpected."

A noble knight title holder hailing from Bavaria, and the former Commander-in-Chief of the German Army, is so excited about making money that he's engrossed in expanding a pig farm.

This is quite peculiar.

"Hahaha, even if it seems like we only preach about honor with our mouths, everyone is honest in the face of money."

"Hahaha."

Long live capitalism, I suppose.

The interesting thing is, while pushing for a large-scale livestock industry, I pushed chickens as the main breed, but the Junkers actually preferred pigs over chickens.

Because this is the homeland of sausages, perhaps? In fact, even for me, when I think of German cuisine, pigs come to mind before chickens…

Beck smiled brightly.

"Oswald Lutz, that man is fully studying theology."

"Huh, really?"

"Yes. Goodness, who would have known Germany's Father of the Armored Forces would turn out like that? Still, that's better than Hammerstein, who is in poor health."

"Well, General Hammerstein is…"

"They say it's cancer. He won't live long."

"I feel regret."

"Well, yes. Still, everyone is adapting and living along somehow."

As I was looking around his busy manor with a soft smile, Beck opened his mouth heavily.

"However, we are still putting up opposition against the influx of Polish workers."

"Is that so, as expected?"

The Eastern Front is over.

Poland, which suffered many sacrifices, owed just as much debt to Germany, and while striving for the restoration of their war-torn home country, they are actively pushing for the dispatch of workers to Germany to earn foreign currency.

From Germany's stance, there is nothing bad about it since we can secure a cheaper labor force than Germans, and for two purposes at once, it will unknowingly help improve relations between the two countries.

Of course, our government is also pouring its heart and soul into preparations since it shouldn't cause a counterproductive effect by needlessly committing an act like abusing power.

"…The nouveau riche don't care about things like that and are only thinking of having some fun by heavily hiring those Polish bastards, but from our stance, the perception that Poland is still the enemy or our lowlifes remains strong."

Junkers.

The Prussian landed nobility who have supported the monarchy and the military since the days of the Kingdom of Prussia, and who used Poles under German rule as tenant farmers.

The relationship between Germany and Poland saw great improvement through this Great War, but there was still a shortage of time for the stubborn perception of the Junkers to change, especially when they were fighting against Poland just a few years ago.

"It will change as time flows."

"…Yes. Because the common sense we traditionally knew has already been mostly shattered, we must change."

Beck gazed wistfully at his manor—not the quiet manor of the past, but one where many farmers were working hard—before turning his gaze to me and opening his mouth.

"There will likely be many friends who fall behind among them. Right?"

I gave a bitter smile.

Certainly, the era of the Junkers who lived leisurely at their manors employing tenant farmers and showing off as Germany's upper class is over.

At best, the degree to which our government supported the modernization of the Junkers' manors this time was pretty much their last opportunity.

The capitalist society is not generous enough for those living with the stubborn mindset of the Empire era to live enjoying the same power as before.

"I will put forward the best option to ensure things change in the most positive direction possible."

Beck kept silent for a moment at my words before opening his mouth.

"Is kosher food signs hanging in the middle of Germany, and the Jewish people's synagogues being reconstructed, also a part of that?"

The resettlement and social reconstruction of the Jewish people is very successful.

Kosher, the food of the Jewish people, and even synagogues.

The things that were once almost completely annihilated in Germany under Nazi rule are now spreading around Danzig and Posen, where the Jewish people have settled in large numbers.

"Well, I think it's probably not a bad thing."

The Ministry of Labour and the Ministry of Propaganda heavily handled the public relations for Oskar Schindler, who gained popularity by treating the Jewish people without discrimination and managing them well, and they also heavily promoted Count Helmuth James von Moltke, who employed Schindler and created a good workplace for the Jewish people.

The descendant of the founding contributor of the German Empire washes away the stigma of the Nazis to lead an equal Germany, and a corrupt entrepreneur who once clung to the Nazis turns over a new leaf to become an exemplary manager.

Isn't it a great picture for public relations?

Rather, as the abolition of discrimination against the Jewish people was legalized as a reaction against the Nazis, Germany became the most tolerant European nation for the Jewish people, so the number of Jewish people returning through reverse immigration is also increasing.

The Jewish people are traditionally a decent workforce.

Ultimately, if this becomes a land they can grow attached to and live in, and life becomes bearable, extremism like Zionism will inevitably decrease gradually.

If we just do well, a nation like Israel firmly united by spite for survival and malice toward Islam might not exist, nor an Islamic world burning with hatred and animosity toward the West.

"Ultimately, all extreme actions and the chain of hatred stem from a shortage."

Likewise, the more Germany becomes a good country to live in, the more the extreme nationalism that once swept this land will gradually die down.

Because if one has much and stands to lose much, it is human nature to desire the maintenance of the status quo.

Beck chuckled heartily.

"Yes, I suppose so. In truth, I was the leader of the Black Orchestra, but I didn't have that much interest in the treatment of the Jewish people. With the exception of Canaris, Hans Oster, and Tresckow, the majority of us were only engrossed in the rights we would reclaim and the honor we would gain."

"Even if that was the case, all those actions brought about this change, causing the downfall of the Nazi regime and the victory of Germany."

Ultimately, what I did was nothing more than bringing the faint possibility that already existed in Germany into bloom.

Even though it was a collective with clear limits and many flaws, without the Black Orchestra, I wouldn't have been able to overthrow the Nazis no matter what I did.

"Regardless of the motives, all of you rose up and struggled with everything you had on the line."

It's not like you absolutely must have a grand cause to be able to achieve something.

Rather, the coercion to willingly sacrifice oneself for a grand and noble cause easily leads to an even more bizarrely twisted contradiction.

I should rightfully express my gratitude to those who became the only lifeline for me when I was dropped into this world with no idea what to do.

"The Germany of today is a place we all cultivated together. At the very least, the Germans of the future will remember your devotion and honor for a long time."

Ludwig Beck smiled at my words, then spoke as if sighing.

"Ah, what a sweeter resonance than the honor bestowed by His Majesty the Emperor."