Rasputin of the East

＜ Episode 268 >

Whatever happened in Yugoslavia, the designated event took place.

US presidential election.

And again a little while later, the two were meeting at the White House.

“Congratulations again on the victory. Your Excellency, President-elect.”

“…Thank you, President.”

Huey Long took a sip of coffee and said.

“There is a story I heard when Abraham Lincoln took office.”

“That question is whether you are happy to be president.”

“I feel the same way, and if you are happier than me leaving the presidency, then you are probably the happiest person in the world.”

“I’m sorry, but that’s not the case, moreover… Why don’t you leave me with a lot of trouble?”

“It’s not the trouble I made because I wanted to. Don’t blame me too much, I made a lot of important decisions in my later years, but I thought it was in my hands, and I just thought it was too much to hand over to you.”

“I know. If you don’t resent it at all, that would be a lie again.”

“Now that I have been elected, I have several things to take over, and this is the most important of them.”

Huey Long, who picked up the folder marked confidential, said sarcastically.

“I don’t even know the Vice President, and few people I know, including myself, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Minister of War, and the working-level staff, because I can’t finance it through an official route, they diverted the budget from the last war and again from the aid money sent to Asia. We had to turn it around and get it out of the Chinese warfare, but for good reason.”

“What is it?”

“I’m not a scientist, so I don’t know for sure, but they say that it is a powerful weapon using nuclear energy that can destroy a city with a single bomb, a new weapon that will change the paradigm of war itself.”

“……”

“Russia may already have it, or it may already be in the making, but that is no reason for us to hesitate to develop this weapon. The charter will be turned upside down, and if we have it, we will have to have it too.”

“That’s right.”

“I will hand this over to you. The scientists said that by the time the ink on your inaugural speech was dry, you could test it under your observation.”

“I will be grateful.”

“Congress will be pecking at this budget, but if possible, hide it until the decisive moment. It would be good to use it as a negotiating card when you think it is difficult, but of course, a ‘practical test’ of power must be conducted in front of the whole world.”

“understand.”

“Then I’ll be packing my moving stuff soon, so I hope you’ll visit my hometown sometime.”

“I will take my heart. Your Excellency.”

“And bear in mind, an all-out war with the Russian Empire is unwise, and for the continued maintenance of this country, of course, the United Nations must be more firmly established.”

“Don’t worry, Your Excellency.”

US President-elect Wendell Wilkee said with a smile.

***

read at https://readwn.com

Moscow. Kremlin.

I was sipping a cup of tea with an unexpected guest.

“Your Majesty, you seem to see something often.”

Hungarian Queen Sophie von Habsburg said softly.

“Isn’t it good to see each other often?”

“I don’t mean to say it, but it’s more than good or bad, it’s not right.”

“After all, as a monarch, you have given up on going to heaven, even if you put a crown on me and then come and say that…”

Sophie smiled and leaned back on the chair.

“If there is something you want, it is the right way to say it through diplomatic channels.”

“But people like me like this. Besides, you accept it anyway.”

“I just hope that the Hungarians and the Empire will continue to be friendly.”

“… you never met my father.”

“I know he was a good person.”

“Actually, I was hoping that the war would end and you would return Austria for our blood.”

“……”

“Of course I’m not the only woman you should care about, I understand.”

“Instead, they tolerated annexation of other territories.”

“Do you think it compares to Austria? really?”

I don’t think that’s possible.

“What do you want?”

“Restoring influence on the Balkans.”

“I would call it stupid. It was once the domain of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and you have been unjustly deprived of power. I’ll admit this too, but aside from that, I don’t think you’ll be able to bring the Balkans together and restore the former Habsburg powers, since they’re already very ethnic and have bad relations. No, it would be fair to say that no one has ever been impossible since your grandfather passed away.”

“It was your father’s last wish, and I want to grant it, and there is already a precedent. You too, from China to Prussia, from Anatolia to Jerusalem to Persia, are well governed by disparate peoples.”

“It is difficult to see a system that is so stable. It is only maintained by military power and broad autonomy. I’ve already seen rebellion and defeat.”

“Ironically speaking, that’s why I have a chance.”

She laughed meaningfully.

“They know it, both the Hungarians and the Balkans know it.”

Seeing her sweeping her stomach, I sighed.

“That was a long time ago, too, waking up in the queen’s bedroom. Sometimes I wonder what would have happened if I hadn’t given up on it.”

“I never regretted it,”

“Are you going to marry someone you really love and give up your life of having children?”

“Yeah, people who hate me call me a whore, I won’t deny it, you could say I sold my body for the national interest, but I… I never gave my body to someone I didn’t love. The person I loved from the beginning… is here now.”

I just didn’t think there was a woman who thought perfectly the same as me.

She added that as she continued.

“You don’t turn away from your woman, like your son does. Besides, without having to open your hands, the Hungarian army has proven its ability, and besides Serbia, everyone who makes up Yugoslavia misses the dual empire.”

This is purely a mistake by the royal family and the kingdom of Yugoslavia, which revolved around Serbs. And it is also clear that there are quite a few people who miss the days of the dual empire, including Croatian minorities.

“This is not a request, it is a notice.”

“Are you going to restore the dual empire?”

“Austria will be hard to get back, maybe. But I will do as much as I can, even if I want to be a daughter who will not be ashamed of my father who died of the mean Serbs.”

restoration of the dual empire.

Yes, the dual empire was the last bulwark for them to survive for me, knowing the tragedy that occurred in the original history.

No, to be honest, I didn’t even want to dismantle the dual empire. At that time, I just didn’t have the right to make a decision.

In the end I said bitterly.

“The Russian military will not intervene.”

“I didn’t even want to intervene, I said. This is a notice.”

“……”

“Well… it would be nice if I could declare my support, but I’m not going to ask you to do it.”

Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and even some territories taken by Serbia will be restored.

It was also the will to reclaim all the territories of the Austro-Hungarian Empire before the war, with the exception of Czechoslovakia and some territories that became Russian territories and territories that became German Austrians.

“They say that the Serbian royals were captured and imprisoned somewhere.”

“I heard.”

At present, Yugoslavia is in the midst of a major civil war.

Joseph… Let’s just call him Tito, Tito is leading the Federation faction. Of course, it is not Serbian-centrism, but a faction that seeks to achieve a compromise that satisfies everyone by adjusting the rights and interests of the constituent countries on this occasion.

And the coup d’état forces are calling for the separation and independence of Croatia and other ethnic minorities and the dissolution of Yugoslavia.

There’s also General Draza’s close-knit group.

So, in the third wave, if you go into detail, there are more.

In the fragmented Yugoslavia, a blood-washing war was going on.

Well, I would think that even if the royal family was annihilated, it would be profitable for the self-employed. These guys didn’t start World War I, to be honest.

***

There were several reasons why the M14, originally called FAL in the history, was adopted as the American standard.

The FN M1938, which had been licensed production in the United States as a semi-standard, had an advantage over other firearms that had to re-install the entire line through minimal design changes.

And other rivals were out of sight of the US military due to incidents such as the bursting of barrels.

Of course, their production was not very high. The US government had signed a contract to produce 3 million tablets in early 1945, but production had just begun.

Therefore, the initial production portion was placed first in the Chinese garrison.

And that’s why the US military was struggling.

“Ahhh!”

A Chinese man ran with a dagger. The Americans with the M14 pierced the enemy’s stomach with their bayonet, but there were too many enemies.

-Tatattattattattattatta!

Even if the M14 was placed in full automatic and shot was fired, the enemies did not fall at all. In fact, the hit rate is bullshit.

Common sense was that I had no conscience to hope that there would be no recoil when using a 30-caliber bullet in a fully automatic rifle.

“This is the 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment! The X-ray spot is under massive Chinese attack from the west and south! Repeat! Chinese army massive! Minimum regiment level! Request an air strike now! There are too many enemies! Damn Broken Arrow! Broken Arrow!”

“copy. X-rays, now fighters are sortieing. Arrived in 15 minutes.”

“We won’t last ten minutes! If it takes 15 minutes, just don’t come!”

“…… X-rays, wait, I’ll review if there is any other support available. Hold on as much as you can.”

“Hurry! please!”

The shouting officer grinded the AKM automatically. A 30-caliber carbine stolen from the Air Force bastards turned the enemy into a beehive.

“This is the last magazine!”

“Damn…”

The battalion commander stared at him with blood-red eyes. It wasn’t the only thing running out of ammo. I could see hand-to-hand battles taking place everywhere.

“The Great Swordsman! Even if you die, kill at least five of those bastards! Whoever gets behind before then, know how to fall behind in my hands!”

Then, a roar was heard from the far south.

“The Air Force! Our Air Force!”

“Jesus.”

The sound of propellers cut through the sky.

The P-81 squadron flew in and fired cannons and napalm bombs.

That alone raised the momentum of the US military and weakened the momentum of the Chinese army.

“They are retreating!”

“I lived.”

The battalion commander stumbled and sat down.

“Yes, I survived.”