Rasputin of the East

＜ Episode 260 >

A common perception in Europe is that empires long for the sea.

And that longing was fulfilled in the great war.

Conquest of the Balkans, and the occupation of Constantinople, allowed the Russian Empire to make the Black Sea their lake and free access to the Mediterranean Sea.

But it wasn’t perfect.

As a result of the Second Great War, the Empire took control of Suez, robbed Gibraltar from the defeated British and handed over to Spain.

And in order to advance into the Pacific Ocean, they took control of parts of northern Japan, Hokkaido, and the Korean Peninsula.

Furthermore, he is building his own puppet forces in northern China.

The United States of America is a maritime power. At least, if you ask in which direction the United States, which is breaking away from isolationism, should move forward, the answer will be that it must rule the world without threatening the mainland.

If so, can you run the world alone?

There can be no question mark.

So, with whom should global management work?

Russia is the only country that can go there. All of the countries below that level have a different weight class, so even if they huddled together, they were beaten like rice cakes like a dog and crawled like a dog at once with Russia’s anger.

But there is no perfect equality. superiority has to be So who should have the upper hand? And does the Russian Empire have no room to infringe upon the interests of the United States?

Once the station is established for sure. It’s a question of ability.

The US military has no ability to counter Russian forces on land. And it will be difficult to develop that ability in the future.

On the other hand, at sea?

In the past, I would have confidently said, ‘I can’t do that’.

However, the Pacific War presented a new paradigm of naval warfare and destroyed all conventional wisdom.

The battleship will no longer be built. Although there were no plans for the time being, the US military was already aware that warships would become obsolete and that aircraft carriers would become rulers of the seas.

And the Russian Empire invested in aircraft carriers from an early age. The Stolipin-class aircraft carrier had a performance superior to that of the Yorktown-class.

If so, how advanced will it be now?

Now that they have virtually taken over all of Europe, what if the Russian Empire starts a massive naval campaign?

Doesn’t this rekindle the naval battle that has unfolded since the appearance of the dreadnought class?

And, it’s a story that can’t be told at all, a story that the Vice President does not know, and only a small number of people – Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General McNair, Chief Brigadier General Groves, other working-level staff, etc. – know.

‘nuclear.’

A weapon that a large bomber could fly and drop a bomb and wipe out a city.

Unfortunately, the war ended before it was even completed, and although it would take years to complete, this weapon will also permanently change the paradigm of warfare.

Therefore, it was difficult to stop funding this project even after it was won by Congress. Now, he could not even figure out where he was going to get the replacement budget from.

Actually, I didn’t think about it, but this also helped him. If you support the Chinese war, it will be easy to use the difference to finance the Manhattan Project.

‘If the pro-US regime takes over mainland China.’

You will have an advantage in the fight against Russia, which may be one thing in the future. Basically, not only is it dealing with the huge population of China, but the front line itself is quite wide. Of course, a lot of market logic is involved in Chinese intervention, but there is also a big geopolitical part.

What is China’s population, and how many jobs will be created if all of those Chinese buy goods with Made in America on them? How much will national wealth increase?

In addition, the military companies were not long after the expansion of their lines, and they had a lot of inventory left.

Of course, the media moved. Isn’t it just a matter of fanning the State Department’s opinion? What a lie isn’t it? When the back money bloomed, the reporters made fun of the pen.

And when the media moves, public opinion moves. No matter how much he did not have to worry about the next election, at least the Democratic Party was sensitive to the public opinion.

It’s not like there’s no stabbing part, so it’s a shame to stand upright by yourself. Wouldn’t that be a lot of advantages in the first place? You can solve the crazy corporate lobbying, deal with malicious inventory, and find out what’s wrong with the US military’s equipment. Also, actual data can be extracted to a certain extent.

It gives the United States the largest market in the world, China. Secure a buffer zone between the US and Russia. Russia can never project its power to the navy unless the border is unstable, so even if there is a naval warfare competition, it will be as effective as tying one arm.

There’s nothing to lose politically, economically or otherwise, but the only problem is that it might clash with Russia. The Blue and Salt Chicken Warlords are clearly the front yard of Russia. What if Russia regards this as a provocation from the US and actively intervenes?

‘Still, there will be no major problems.’

The United States provided only equipment and supplies. This is not an international war, officially the Republic of China is one country. So selling weapons to China is not a problem. In any case, even formally, they receive money, so whether or not to sell a tank for 1 cent is not in the seller’s mind.

There will be no head-on clash with the Russians. If it was a small advisory group, I might send it, but I have no intention of forming a regular combat unit. Even if they did, they would be officially hired civilians.

There are risks… Russia is proposing a permanent division of China. Conversely, it is also a promise that Russia will not reach out to South China, which has been promised to the United States.

To be honest, South China is the principal, and the United States is the investor.

But where in the world is risk-free investing?

In the first place, no one believes that the United Nations will guarantee lasting peace. It is the last negotiating table to avoid just a head-on clash between the two powers.

In other words, it is a proxy war, and it does not fundamentally differ from the civil wars that had been fought in many countries up to 10 years ago. Even back then, the sponsors did not clash head-on.

‘No, it didn’t take long before a head-on collision.’

Still, it was because Germany had crossed the line, and although it raised tensions, it was not the decisive trigger. Besides, isn’t there a last resort called the United Nations?

Thus, Huey Long saw no reason not to support him, a man named Mao Zedong.

***

“Well… the two of you, did you ever know each other?”

It was Nikita who opened her mouth in silence.

The Duke of York hardened at the girl’s explosive remarks, and Vasilebsky was quietly retreating through a quick and stealthy maneuver like a master.

And Nikolai himself had cold sweat on the back of his neck.

“You used a different name, a different identity back then, but did you say that you were Captain Miller of the United States Marine Corps?”

“I haven’t even heard of that… princess.”

“At least I didn’t lie.”

“Wait… Lilibet, maybe that person…”

“yes.”

It’s not a bad thing that they didn’t recognize each other because they’re relatives, but they’ve never seen each other even once in their lives… Coincidentally, the timing of meeting them was exquisite.

“…that… was at war, and honestly, I couldn’t reveal my true identity…”

“Have you met when you volunteered for that London air raid mission, but got caught by an ace by mistake, blew up a fighter jet, stole a German uniform, hid in the US embassy, and barely managed to return home with the help of the ambassador?”

“Yeah… At that time, I just thought that the lady from a well-to-do family had lost my way… I just handed it over to a passerby, that’s all!”

“You acted blatantly for a human being shot down in an air raid on that city.”

“… this is a strange coincidence.”

The Duke of York, whose face was loose, grinned.

“At that time, I wanted to say thank you for helping me find my missing daughter, but I couldn’t because of a number of things. This seems to be the Lord’s guidance.”

“Perhaps… maybe not.”

Of course, the religions of the people here are different. It is natural that the two countries have different diplomatic ties.

Still, it was the same Christianity, and there was no reason to point it out.

‘Anyone would be surprised if my cousin, who had never met the girl who had become a lost child, took care of her and took her to the police station.’

Convinced by herself, Nikita shook her head.

“Hmm, I think we introduced each other enough, can we know the name of this little lady?”

Then the girl inflated her cheeks. Don’t you like hearing the little boy?

“It’s Margaret.”

“You can call me Rose with ease.”

“This is Archduke Nikita. Call me Kita. Princess Rose.”

Nikita, who perfectly digested the imperial etiquette, sat down.

I didn’t expect it, but I thought I’d have a good view today.

***

Russian Empire, near Moscow.

“Performance seems good enough.”

“thank you.”

I nodded as I watched the tests of the 100mm smoothbore gun for a new tank based on the T-32-100.

In fact, even if it is a new tank, not much has changed. Roughly redesigning some armor, changing the main gun, adding more bogie wheels, adding an autoloader… it’s going to make a lot of difference.

“The 135mm smoothbore gun is also under development as instructed, but it is still in its infancy to achieve its goal…”

“Don’t be overly obsessed with it, it’s best to focus on the new tank for now.”

The first ‘main tank’ to integrate the MK tank with the T-32, which will be referred to as the T-45 depending on the year of completion.

The development of the 135mm gun is completely separate from that. Equipment to occupy the position of 125mm made by the Soviet Army in the original history.

Of course, it would be unreasonable to install it on the T-45 right now, as the autoloader is essential at this point, but maybe it will be possible to install it after the T-45 has passed and it will be about a T-60. I hope it gets pushed back to the T-75…

‘No, considering the original history, is it convincing?’

It was a plausible assumption, considering that the T-55, made with late World War II technology, had to face off against Western tanks developed 10 or 15 years later in the Cold War due to the delay in the successor of the new tank plan. The T-62 was basically a bummer, and the T-64 was an undeniable defect.

‘Still, it is possible to break through the front armor enough even if the US military pulls the M60 Patton with the current gun alone.’

And there is still a long way to go before the US military can bring Patton, can they make it?

Therefore, the new tank will reign as the best in the world for a while. And if it seems that it will be outdated, it is enough to develop a new tank again.

It is difficult to raise a navy with only money, but if you fall behind the already dominant army, isn’t there such a disgrace?

I didn’t want to miss out on the first place I climbed at least once.