I Became the Last Princess of the Brown Bear Kingdom

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* * *

Let’s make sure to tilt Norway and Sweden towards the air defense alliance at this opportunity.

If we start by taking over Northern Europe, Sweden won’t be able to openly advocate neutrality while essentially becoming a pro-Nazi state, and Norway won’t fall under occupation either.

On the flip side, Russia could circumvent towards Denmark.

So, as I’m looking at the map…

Britain is across the sea, and France is far away, uncertain when it will turn red.

Italy and Germany are clumped in the middle.

Yugoslavia is still undecided.

That rascal Tito is a problem; he’s also watching the situation from the middle.

If Hitler gives Austria a comfortable arrangement, wouldn’t he cut off Croatia to help with the reconstruction?

Depending on Yugoslavia’s choice, we can gauge how much Austria can hold out.

Then Bulgaria’s support becomes essential.

“Hmm, looking at this, it seems the air defense alliance countries are all playing separately.”

“From what we see of Britain, it’s just a façade of an air defense alliance, isn’t it? Honestly, I wonder if the Royal Navy will truly guard the seas.”

Exactly! The British should be recognized for their aversion to danger.

Churchill needs to rise to the occasion.

Then it falls to our mustached allies to play nicely.

We should mix in with Poland and act as a blender to grind up the German and Italian forces.

“Ultimately, right now, the only ones we can rely on are Austria and the Balkan states. So, let the foreign ministry do its job. I heard some good news.”

“Yes, what’s that?”

It seems a few pages were filled with information related to oil.

First, I think something has erupted in Northern Manchuria.

“It’s said that oil fields have finally been discovered in Manchuria.”

“Well, that’s good news.”

It’s something I expected after conducting extensive drilling, so I wasn’t really surprised.

I had some knowledge about this, but I was a little taken aback.

The Japanese had drilled hard, yet failed. But this time, they hit it in the mid-’30s.

Of course, advances in drilling technology here helped, but I imagine the historical Japan would be having a meltdown.

Who knows, the current Japan might desperately want to import resources.

“Thank goodness for Royal Dutch Shell’s help. Standard Oil also tried to get a piece of the action.”

“That’s great. Then let’s extract that oil from Manchuria.”

We’ll extract oil from Manchuria.

Can Communist Germany, which lacks oil supply sources like Romania, keep up with us extracting oil in Baku, Siberia, and Manchuria?

“They’re already doing that with Romanov Oil.”

Oh, that’s not bad.

How about we promote the oil widely now?

* * *

“WA! Oil!”

“This time, oil has struck on the land blessed by the Tsar!”

With the discovery of oil fields in Northern Manchuria, Russia once again saw the Tsar as a saintly figure with foresight.

And amidst all this, the formation of volunteer troops was completed.

The Russian White Army, White Army Air Corps, and White Army Tank Division assembled a force of 20,000 (actually 50,000) soldiers, finally ready to support Spain.

For this, the army commander was Nikolai Yudenich of the Eastern Russian Army; Mannerheim of the Kingdom of Finland in charge of the Air Corps; Mikhail Drozdovsky leading the Tank Division; and Patton (?) as a special military envoy to Spain, backed by my strong assertion.

The Spanish Civil War had essentially become a showdown between the anti-communist and communist camps, and it was crucial not to lose, hence the assembly of figures who had fought in the civil war.

These volunteer troops had “A” emblazoned on their army uniforms, aircraft, and tanks.

This “A” stood for the army of Anastasia Tsarina.

This marked the newly revamped Russian uniforms and the markings of the Air Force of the Russian Republic’s White Army, as well as the emblem of the newly established tank division.

The newly outfitted 20,000 troops were sent off by the Tsar of Russia, the saint, the Khan of the Steppes, and the Byzantine Emperor, who ruled from Europe to the Far East.

Why would the Tsar, who should be in the Kremlin, personally come in such a manner?

While everyone murmured with curiosity, the Tsar, dressed in a uniform not suitable for a ruling Empress, spoke loudly.

“Proud soldiers of the Great Russian Republic! Please forgive this unworthy Tsar who cannot be with you directly!”

“What do you mean, Your Majesty?”

“The Tsar is the Republic itself! The idea of forgiveness is unthinkable!”

“As the successor of the Eastern Roman Empire, I see it only fitting to advance against the communist threat to peace with pride!”

The White Army soldiers, who were captivated by Anastasia’s charm, departed for Spain, shedding tears and snot, harbored no resentment towards the Tsar sending them off.

They only felt the honor of going as the Tsar’s army to crush the communist forces in Spain. Just that pride.

With the Tsar personally seeing them off, the magnitude of the effect is surely not hard to imagine.

“As soldiers heading to a life-and-death battlefield speak like this, I feel it’s disgraceful to lift my face while enjoying comfort here in the Kremlin. Yet here I am shamelessly wishing for your success! I will take care of your families, and you shall earn glory against the communists in Spain! If you drive out that red plague, the common enemy of the world from Spain, I shall personally reward and grant medals to my brethren!”

Naturally, everyone being a fan of Anastasia, the White Army soldiers were overjoyed.

The Tsar said he would take care and comfort their families, and grant them medals.

How could they contain themselves?

They must sweep away the reds in Spain and extend the influence of His Tsar to the Iberian Peninsula.

“Long live the Tsar!”

“God save the Tsar!”

“Long live the Russian Republic! Long live the White Army!”

The Tsar’s farewell speech spread across Russia via radio and television.

Throughout Russia, there was a warm surge of support and cheer for the soldiers participating in the Spanish Civil War.

All because the respected Tsar came to see them off. How could anyone in any country have a monarch personally send off volunteers?

To be honest, one could say that even the communist Karl Liebknecht or Mussolini of Communist Italy sent volunteers, but the long deified Anastasia had an enormous impact.

Japanese students studying in Russia or Japanese residents were also astonished.

“Wow, is that the Russian Empress?”

“Is she in her thirties? She’s the same age as us? The rumors about not aging are true.”

“She looks just like in the pictures of my war. Wow, she’s truly amazing.”

They were marveling at her beauty, still maintaining that youthful appearance, absolutely not looking like she was in her thirties.

“She’s even personally sending off the soldiers.”

“Is that all? I heard she directly participated in the war.”

They were astonished to see her proving she wasn’t lying when she encouraged the White Army soldiers during the civil war.

“Our Emperor?”

“Oh, probably not? There’s no way the Emperor of the everlasting empire would send off volunteers.”

“Is that right?”

The emperor of a vast empire that rules both East and West sends off soldiers, yet the Emperor of the everlasting empire does not.

Then again, it might not fit the dignity of the Emperor, descendant of Amaterasu, to do so.

However, the Empress had indeed been seen mingling with her people and shaking hands or distributing food directly to the children orphaned by the civil war.

There were undoubtedly numerous differences compared to the Emperor.

Yes, it felt rather strange.

In such a Japan that had become overtly pro-Russian, students studying in Russia grew increasingly curious about the Tsar.

Meanwhile, at the sending off of the Russian army to Spain, Prince I-gang and Ahn Chang-ho from the Balhae Republic’s provisional government in Korea were also present.

They were bewildered at the overwhelming support the soldiers heading to the battlefield might receive from the Tsar.

“I think Empress Arasa really is a true monarch. On the other hand, our Yi royal family was indifferent to its people. If my father had been like that, perhaps the Korean Empire would have survived.”

Prince I-gang’s father, Gojong, the Gwangmu Emperor, lived for his power rather than his people and proclaimed a mere facade of an empire.

By the time his son, Sunjong, ascended to the throne, the nation’s fortune had already dwindled.

“Though the circumstances differ, Your Highness, are you not nurturing soldiers to reclaim our homeland?”

Indeed. The Balhae Republic’s provisional government was secretly raising an army under the Empress’s patronage.

That army now numbered in the tens of thousands, not only Koreans but also Jews hoping for aid when establishing their own nation someday, as well as Manchurians who were missing a proper government, now aligned with the Balhae Republic army.

The number was fast approaching tens of thousands, with more and more Koreans crossing over from Southern Manchuria and the peninsula every day.

Prince I-gang and Ahn Chang-ho conspired together, envisioning someday charging like a storm with that cultivated army to reclaim their homeland.

“It will definitely happen.”

“Once we gain independence, I hope we can help other countries like that too.”

Inspired by I-gang’s words, Ahn Chang-ho nodded and turned to gaze at the departing Russian army heading to capture the Spanish communists.

“Someday we too will become a country that can assist others like that. Definitely.”

The eyes of I-gang and Ahn Chang-ho filled with determined will.

* * *

Meanwhile, the Spanish Republican Army found itself in a dire predicament.

The communists had sat idly by while purging the Falangist Party from the capital.

As a result, the latest weapons purchased from Russia had all fallen into the hands of the Falangist Party.

Of course, it might be that Russia’s intent was to support the Falangist Party from the beginning while robbing Republican gold.

The Falangist Party had secretly built up power over the years on the Iberian Peninsula, and as soon as they were expelled from the capital, they staged an uprising, taking over all of northern and western Madrid, and even all of Morocco.

As if waiting for this moment, the Moroccan troops also fell in as soon as the uprising happened, leaving no time for a defense.

Britain provided medical support, while Russia sent 20,000 (50,000) volunteer troops to the Falangist Party.

The Republican government protested to Russia.

“Well, seeing as you know our Russia despises the communists, how dare you complain about that? We wanted to formally declare war against your government, but the international community is watching, so we held back, so if you have a conscience, stay dead silent.”

In fact, Russia grew angry while threatening that they should be thankful for not expelling their embassy.

For the Republic, having given away the justification from the start, there was no way out.

Moreover, in the midst of this, Communist Italy and Communist Germany also dispatched volunteer troops.

Left no choice, the Republican side sought help from the communist forces, openly seeking aid from the People’s Front and the communist camp.

“Hahaha, let’s see how it turns out!”

However, due to the expansive territory of the Falangist Party, it was best for the Republican Army to be defended by the People’s Front formed by the leftists, while the Falangist Party, contrary to actual history, recruited right-wing factions to form the National Front against the People’s Front, and as the civil war began, new royalists like the Alfonso and Carlos factions rose up, promising to crown a king after the civil war.

Thus, the united National Front executed an offensive plan before the People’s Front could establish a defensive posture.

“Now’s the time! Push them hard!”

The African Legion under Franco, with the support of Russia, pressed the capital Madrid aggressively.

Also, for the Republican side’s towns, they granted the Moroccan troops some leeway for any war crimes, leading them to plunder the People’s Front’s villages and drag women off to rape.

“Still, since we’re all Spanish, isn’t that a bit much?”

“An eye for an eye. A tooth for a tooth. We’ve given privileges for the Moroccan troops to fight hard, but the People’s Front also committed all kinds of atrocities attacking our National Front villages.”

That was much like actual history.

The Nationalist camp exploited the disdain of the Moroccan troops toward the Spaniards, allowing for murder, plunder, andrape despite us all being the same Spanish, which enabled the Moroccan troops to fight fiercely in the civil war.

On the Republican side, they had already committed terrorist acts against the Catholic Church allies of the Nationalists before the civil war, and once they joined the Nationalists, they proceeded to massacre priests and the right-wing figures from the Nationalist side.

Similar events erupted in this world too.

The Russian army, overflowing with pride as soldiers of the Tsar, was appalled by such circumstances.

“If the Tsar were personally leading, that might be one thing, but there’s nothing we can do about them acting like this against each other as Spanish.”

“Honestly, we have also committed some acts during the civil war against the Bolsheviks. Ahem.”

“It’s wartime. We have no choice for the morale of the soldiers.”

In fact, similar situations had also unfolded during the Russian Civil War.

As the White Army began to face the pressure, the Bolsheviks labeled villages resisting conscription as reactionaries, driving them towards murder, pillage, and rape.

Upon the White Army’s return to Moscow, they savagely retaliated against the remaining Bolshevik remnants, and women who had joined the Bolsheviks faced no better future.

Thus, the White Army soldiers who had slaughtered Bolsheviks remained in the army, supporting the Tsar and arriving on this Spanish soil.

And in the midst of this, how could Spain be any different?