Rasputin of the East

＜ Episode 115 >

Defeat, retreat, escape, destruction.

The word losing streak did not fit so well.

“When there is only a rumor that the Russian army is coming, half of the soldiers run away, when they show up, another half run away, and when they start shooting, even the generals run away.”

It was a joke that revolved around Beiyang County.

No, should I say it’s a joke?

Even if left alone, the troops will disappear due to desertion, the officers rush to run away, and the warlords try to get away with whatever excuses they use.

“I mean to pass Sun Yuan! Only by handing over him can China survive!”

“No! I mean no! We are also looking for that author now!”

“Now that you are not in a position to block Russia and Japan yourself, the words will come out so easily!”

Sun Yuan ran away. The southern warlords, terrified of a warning close to the treacherous movement of the monarch, and the threat that the southern warlords would surely take them to their comrades if the North Yang government collapsed, immediately issued an order for Sun Yuan, but Sun Yuan disappeared like smoke.

When I heard the rumors about the Russian civil war, I was skeptical that an armistice could be negotiated for a moment, but when I heard that the situation was all over in just three days, my hopes turned into even more despair.

“It’s like idiots, it’s not Jang Hoon-bokbyeok, it’s only been three days…”

Of course, considering that he seized power while suppressing Jang Hoon Bok Wall, this was not what Dun Chi Rui was going to say, but it was strange that he was not sympathetic.

“dismissal! It’s urgent!”

“Please, something else.”

“Something happened in Tibet!”

“what?”

“Tibetan forces are attacking Chamdo and Dege!”

Second Cam War,

The war started in January 1918 by the Dalai Lama XIII on the pretext that a Tibetan soldier was killed by Chinese soldiers while crossing the border.

Even in the original history, the Beiyang government was virtually defeated in seven months by the Tibetan army armed with British weapons imported through India, and had to sign an armistice agreement under British arbitration.

***

Lhasa. Tibet.

“It is an honor to see the famous Dalai Lama.”

Hearing this, the Dalai Lama smiled.

“On the contrary, it is an honor to be a lesser. Emperor of the country that will become the strongest in the world.”

“I am not an emperor, and I do not belong to the strongest nation in the world.”

“It will be. Humans of future generations may forget me, but they will not forget you, and your name will remain as emperor.”

As he drank the tea, he continued.

“In the West, an ancient hero named Caesar never called himself emperor. But his name has become synonymous with the emperor.”

Even for the tsar, the pronunciation of Caesar was changed. What the Dalai Lama said was never wrong.

“Is that a prophecy?”

“I’ll just call it a foreknowledge that anyone can take for granted. So, consider what I’m saying from now on, it’s just senility.”

“Who would think of the words of the Dalai Lama as such?”

After a moment’s silence, he opened his mouth.

“I just wanted to remind you not to forget that there is a price to pay if you try to reverse causality, no matter how good the outcome may be.”

For a moment, he barely managed to manage his expression, but his eyebrows twitched.

“……”

“But there is no need to be overly concerned. Just think of it as the madness of a monster, what would you dare say to a man who has seen so much more than I and knows the future without seeing it, that he knows best.”

The Dalai Lama smiled faintly.

“Then I will stop talking and go back to the original story. It was something I shouldn’t have said, but I couldn’t pass it up, so can you forgive me?”

“… I’ll pretend I didn’t hear it.”

did you feel Or is it just a thrown word?

I wanted to ask, but I just kept my mouth shut.

“To put it bluntly, there is currently a shortage of weapons in Tibet. There are 5,000 soldiers, but when we give each 5,000 people a gun, we are running out of weapons.”

“If you want to get support from the Russian Empire, I have nothing to offer you other than that it is difficult. Above all… the Russian Empire is classifying the Tibetan government as a pro-government, as the Dalai Lama knows.”

“What do you want, Your Majesty?”

“……I don’t have anything in particular that I want from Tibet. No, there is, but the Dalai Lama cannot accept it, is it?”

And since it’s hard to hear, can you leave out the word His Majesty?

“I didn’t mean to ask that. Your Majesty, what are you looking at? Is it war or is it peace?”

“I want peace, but war is interested in me.”

“Then I would dare to suggest it.”

The Dalai Lama’s neck moved. This was the proposal of a lifetime for him as well.

“The fundamental reason the British Empire provides us with weapons and supplies is our geopolitical location. He feared that the Russian Empire would cross the Himalayas and invade India. That’s why, on this occasion, we urged our independence to separate us from China. Since China has already given too much of a cause, I was thinking that I would rather separate it as an independent country separate from China and secure a buffer state.”

I didn’t answer. Because it was something I knew.

“Actually, the few guns requested by the Theravada… The British Empire can give them enough.”

The Dalai Lama said so and signaled. Two monks came in and put down the box, from which a long rifle emerged.

No, is that a rifle?

“This……..”

“Would you like to know? When we told the British government that there was a shortage of automatic machines, they brought them.”

An automatic rifle modified from the Ross rifle used by the Canadian Army during World War I, a Huot automatic rifle appeared in front of me.

“Aside from that, I offered to help with the deployment of tanks made from modified tractors. As you know, Chinese warlords don’t have armored vehicles or anything like that. It will be of great help on the battlefield. If only to fight China, there would be no reason to invite His Majesty to this place.”

The Dalai Lama silently stroked the barrel.

“But do you know why the Theravada invited His Majesty to come here? And the reason for requesting support from the ‘Russian Empire’s Interior Army’.”

Tibet is not in desperate need of our help. But the reason you want to ask us for support is……

‘Hey, if you listen to what you say, you’re just a religious person, but you’re just a politician.

We have British support, but we are not British puppets. If possible, I would like to keep relations with Russia calm.

We will inevitably receive British support for modernization, but that doesn’t mean we want to play against Russia, so please understand.

After all, this land has no value that Russia must acquire, or does it have only geopolitical value?

It was also a guarantee that, as Russia feared, Tibet would not become a bridgehead for Britain to invade Russia.

If you provide military supplies, you can simply send a military advisory group, and the military advisory group can monitor Tibet’s so-called ‘unsettling’ movements.

In other words, the Dalai Lama gave Tibet the justification for Russia to send watchers. Only to avoid a head-on collision with Russia.

Then what about us?

First of all, the invasion of India is the bullshit of bullshit. How to cross the Himalayas? We cannot endure an all-out war between the great powers, no matter how short, until the 1920s are over.

All wars must end in a short decisive battle. Russia’s majesty at present is only a shell, and now is the time to strengthen its internality.

We don’t want to start a clash with Britain right away, so it’s worth sympathizing with the UK’s desire for a buffer zone. The Dalai Lama is doing his best to save our face.

There is an excuse not to fight, and there is nothing to gain from fighting.

There is no reason to touch Tibet.

“How far are you aiming for territorial expansion? I would like to know about that.”

“We guarantee that there will be no attempts to enter the territory of the Russian Empire, including Xinjiang.”

“Hmm.”

Then I laughed out loud.

“How would you feel if you made your way into a job like this?”

I drew borders on the map. It was a line drawn roughly according to the topography without a ruler,

In an instant, one of the attendants, who looked at the map, made a sound of taking a deep breath.

It is also natural. Because it was a vast territory that extended far beyond the Tibetan autonomous region of the 21st century to Qinghai, Sichuan, and even parts of Yunnan.

“Are you serious?”

“Well, we have no intention of entering this region. We may hand over some parts of Yunnan to the French Indochina Governor-General, but the scope does not overlap.”

Simply put, it meant that the Tibetan government would tolerate supremacy or conquest in western China as long as it did not infringe on Russia’s national interests.

Above all, it is presumed that Britain is also in serious financial trouble, as you can see from the fact that it was not a proper machine gun that Britain handed over to stop Russia, but an automatic rifle converted from a retired Commonwealth Army rifle and a tank attached to a tractor. …. The problem is that we are better than our eyes.

Even though England at this time was a lion who visited dentists and consulted for implants, the lion’s claws are still intact.

On the other hand, the double-headed eagle looks sharp in its feathers, claws, and beak, but the date of the operation is being set because of a bone disease inside.

In this war, one was able to put an end to the opponent with a single claw, and in parallel with suppressing the rebellion, it was just a stunt in which the beak and claw were swung at another target at the same time.

However, even though the double-headed eagle taking anticancer drugs is in a situation where a lion needs implant surgery, is it possible to win, or even if it is possible, there is nothing to gain.

It is best to avoid war. There will come a time when we will no longer be able to avoid it, but we are not yet ready. The difference in basic national power is considerable to gamble that the opponent is not yet ready.

Above all, prestige was already taken care of. Even if Tibet has expanded its territory, it would be good to see how far they can go as the limits are clear.