AYKRR Chapter 13
Pound of Flesh
The limousine left the airport and started heading to the Hofburg Palace, where I had arranged to have Ho Chi Minh stay. Since I was receiving a foreign leader, I might as well impress him. The limousine was soundproof, and the chauffeur was actually a 203rd member in disguise, so I was not afraid of this conversation leaking out from my side.
This meeting was top secret, so I only told the highest-level personnel in my government. Even then, none of them would know the minutes of this conversation, only that it happened.
I also had extra security trailing our transport, of course. Both occupants of the taxi fifteen metres ahead and the six people in the white van twenty metres behind us were all mages from my security detail, who had been escorting us the moment the limousine left the airport. There were twenty-eight other mages from my security team in plainclothes, interspersed along my route to where Ho Chi Minh will be staying. I was also sitting on a fridge-sized secret tool that I had brought from Berun, disguised as a sofa.
"Firstly, no recordings. I don't want any proof that this conversation happened." I demanded. Ho Chi Minh's bodyguard wanted to protest, but a wave from the President of Annam made him comply, making him shut down his recording spell and delete all footage.
"I'm surprised that you came in person, I thought you would send a representative." It was quite a risk coming here himself, since he was risking that I would not extradite him to the Francois.
"To convince another person of your own conviction, you must see them eye to eye. Besides, I have already arranged a successor in the event of my capture or death." Ho Chi Minh replied.
"Let's get straight to the point, President, you understand that I'm taking a substantial risk by letting you arrive in Germania. If the Francois know I'm here, they could do something drastic. If the public knows I let you come here, I'll lose public support. So, you better have something good to offer for my help in driving out the Francois. Present your deal."
"Of course, Chancellor. We offer to buy weapons and vehicles from your catalogue, as well as hire military advisors and trainers for our pilots and mages. All paid with gold or other precious metals."
"You do know of my hatred for communism, right?"
"Communism isn't the same as socialism."
"Of course, but at the end of the day, both ideologies run against my wish for a free market. I'm not going to open my catalogue for you unless you can make some concessions regarding socialism in Annam." I said.
"And what concessions would that be?"
Like with any type of bargaining or negotiation, you must first ask for a price so outlandish that the party would immediately reject, only to then offer a more reasonable deal, which they would be more willing to take.
"First, Annam must never convert to communism. Second, no genocide or prosecution of any group of people, including landlords and the wealthy. Third, adopt a free market economy. Fourth, establish Annam as a democratic state with more than one political party, with no censorship or suppression. Fifth, allow Germania to establish multiple military bases across Annam." My terms were absolutely egregious.
My fifth concession basically demanded that Annam become a protectorate of Germania. I wanted him to refuse that last concession, which may allow me to present a counteroffer that waives the fifth concession but increases the price on the weapons that Annam purchases.
Ho Chi Minh shook his head. "We cannot comply with all of your conditions."
He continued. "The first condition is easy enough to do. I've grown slightly disillusioned by communism when I heard of Holodomor. As for the second condition, I plan to pass widespread land reforms by confiscating land from landlords, who produce nothing of value, then I will redistribute to peasants for them to make their living."
As someone who had studied the history and mistakes of communism and socialism, I know what he was talking about. The Ho Chi Minh in my world implemented a campaign of executions and purges targeting landlords and the wealthy, killing thousands of people. However, many of the 'landlords' targeted by peasants were either just wealthier than average or intellectuals who were mistaken for being an elite. I must stop this travesty or at least ameliorate it before it could come to pass.
At the same time, I understood that promises of land reforms were a powerful weapon to the communists and socialists. Many wealthy landowners did indeed oppress their tenants, leading to built up resentment amongst the poor. In my world, both Mao and Ho Chi Minh managed to draw many peasants and rural dwellers to their cause. Mao even had nationalist soldiers defect to the CCP after only putting up token resistances, which helped him win the Chinese Civil War despite the Nationalist Party being heavily backed by the USA. Therefore, it was impossible for me to ask Ho Chi Minh to not try passing land reforms.
"Even if your main target is the landlord class, the fervour of the peasants may cause them to prosecute anyone that is remotely not a peasant, including intellectuals. That might do harm to people that are innocent and build resistance among them against your cause. You could impose laws on landowners to make peasant's lives easier, such as preventing landowners from raising rent. Or even making a provision to allow peasants who have worked on a piece of land for a long time the opportunity to purchase it at a discounted price by considering their rent as a downpayment so that they eventually become landowners themselves. If land requisition is a must, then can I ask you to only confiscate the majority of land owned by the wealthiest landowners, instead of confiscating all land from all landowners?" I negotiated.
"Your ideas are worth considering." Ho Chi Minh mused. "But there is still much public odium aimed at landlords. For landlords that have been mistreating their tenants, I still aim to prosecute them and redistribute their land. I will ask the wealthiest landlords to voluntarily donate some land to peasants as a way to build goodwill. If they refuse, it is a sign that their greed has overridden their senses, and I will confiscate the majority of the land to be redistributed. It will be in their own interest to donate land, considering the revolution. That provision you proposed that allows peasants to work towards buying land is also very interesting, I will try implementing it."
I was glad that Ho Chi Minh was a rational person. It would be awkward if a leader I supported started killing landlords en masse. This was probably the best I could do at changing his plan regarding landlords.
"As for adopting free market capitalism, I'm afraid that's too much of a departure from socialism. My Minister of Finance has already proposed an alternative. As a concession to your aversion to socialism, I intend to adopt an economy with multiple free sectors, but economic development will be state driven."
I raised an eyebrow at what Ho Chi Minh said. To think that someone in his government already thought of a socialist-oriented market economy. And if Ho Chi Minh had considered an alternative to socialism already, then he must already be drifting slowly away from the ideology. It seemed that Annamese independence was eventually winning over his loyalty to socialism after all. However, there will still major flaws within the socialist-oriented market economy. Furthermore, it wasn't a free economy like I wanted, as the state will be heavily involved with planning the economy.
"I don't think that's the ideal economy for the state that Annam is currently in. There are many needs and demands in your developing country, and the state will not be able to plan to meet all of those needs and demands. Furthermore, there are many mechanisms in the market that the state could overlook, leading to challenges in planning economic development. This can lead to inefficient economic planning, and slower economic growth." I explained.
"I can already tell that you have another suggestion for me." Did he bring up the economic system that his minister proposed to me so that he could receive feedback? Clever man.
"Yes, I'm proposing a mixed economy with social safety nets. The state will maintain strategic ownership of some resources and services of your choosing, but the majority of the market would be privately-owned and the prices of goods and services should be based on supply and demand. You can place some regulations on the market, but the development of the economy should still be market-driven. Furthermore, to avoid people falling into destitution, a system of taxpayer-funded social safety nets should be provided to uplift people out of unemployment or low socioeconomic status."
Ho Chi Minh rubbed his beard and sat in silence for a while, thinking. "I can see where you're coming from. When given money, the poor will spend it on necessities, which will in turn go back into the economy, correct?"
"Yes, and to those that think you're drifting away from socialism, just tell them that the mixed economy with a social safety net is a transitional economy towards true socialism, and that the safety net feature is a sign of that. You could even dub the system 'socialist-oriented mixed economy'." I said.
"This economic model that you proposed is very interesting. I will relay it to my Minister of Finance, and he will compare it to his own model. As for how my party will respond to such an economic system, that I will handle." He nodded. That was better than nothing. He could likely pass off what I proposed as socialism, by calling it transitional socialism or something like that by arguing that the nationalisation of a few key sectors run in line with socialism.
I didn't mind if they called it socialism on paper, as long as they maintained an economy with a large private sector, freedom of choice and demand-driven competition to drive up quality of products and services.
"For your fourth condition, Chancellor Degurechaff, I can accept it, but not right now. Immediately after a revolution is when a country is most volatile. Annam needs a strong central government with no detractors if we wish to drive out the Francois as a united front. Once the Francois have been defeated and our economy stabilised, then I will consider allowing the emergence of other political parties. I also promise to not censure or suppress these political parties." Ho Chi Minh promised.
That was also agreeable. Sure, Ho Chi Minh's socialist party will likely be very entrenched in the political system after the Francois Republic is driven out and will likely remain the party in power for multiple decades, but there would be hope of another political ideology becoming more popular and eventually becoming the leading party. This is assuming that he doesn't censure or suppress political opponents, of course, I know how power can corrupt. But as long as the government is chosen by the will of the people, I was willing to relent.
"What about my fifth concession?" I inquired.
"We actually wanted to offer you that in the first place." He laughed. I stared at him incredulously. He wanted me to place bases in Annam?
"You're not afraid that we want Annam as our colony?" I asked tentatively, had Ho Chi Minh gone mad?
"If you had such imperialist ambition, you would have taken Indochina or more profitable Southern Continent holdings when you defeated the Francois, not a token colony like Malagasy. If I'm correct, you deem colonies to be a waste of time." Impressive, he's one of the few who's seen through my reasoning for taking Malagasy.
Oh well, I suppose I failed to scam Ho Chi Minh into buying my weapons at a higher rate. Since I now have the right to build military bases in Annam, I might as well send out an expeditionary fleet there to see if we can build a few bases along the coast. The actual construction will be started after the war in Annam is finished, of course.
I will give the orders to my admirals later to survey suitable locations. With how frugal I've been with the naval budget, they will likely understand that I don't want excessively large bases, simply small bases where refuelling and resupplying will be done. Otherwise, the other countries may think that I was trying to project Germania's military power in Asia. Or even worse, declaring that Annam was my territory.
"You're giving quite a lot for just some weapons, vehicles and training." I noted.
"Anything for Annam's independence." He said. I was getting the impression that he was more of a nationalist than a socialist.
"So, do we have a deal?" I asked Ho Chi Minh in confirmation. If he agrees, I'll have an agreement drafted and we will both sign it.
"Of course. I hope that this will be the beginning of a very fruitful partnership between Annam and Germania." He offered a hand, and I shook it. Perfect timing too, as our car arrived at the entrance of the Hofburg Palace.
The car stopped, and I waited for our chauffeur to open the door for us. Just then, I immediately felt four magic signatures, strong ones, three hundred metres away.
I immediately channelled magic into the P-1 computation orb I was sitting on and activated a 20-metre barrier spell. Immediately, I activated my mental acceleration and sensitivity spells. Less than one-tenth of a second later, I felt the vibrations of my barrier shaking as four artillery spells slammed into it at nearly the same time, cracking it slightly. I poured more magic into the P-1, and the barrier repaired itself.
I reached into my jacket's pocket and activated my walkie-talkie. "It's an assassination! Four hostiles three hundred metres north! Capture them! I want them alive!" Right after that, I got a response saying that they already started pursuing the assassins.
As calmly as possible, I asked Ho Chi Minh and his bodyguard to trust me and stay inside the barrier. His bodyguard looked as though he was about to carry Ho Chi Minh and fly away, but his boss assured him it was okay to stay inside the car.
After five minutes, my bodyguards called me back, telling me that all four of my assassins were captured but committed suicide by biting down on a cyanide pill hidden in a false tooth. It will take some time to identify them and determine which country they came from.
After another half an hour for my bodyguards to confirm that there were no more assassins nearby, I deactivated the P-1. Me and Ho Chi Minh gingerly exited the car, as over a dozen mages with activated barriers immediately form a circle around us.
There was going to be a lot of explaining to be done.
26th August 1942,
Palais de l'Élysée, Parisee,
De Lugo had never felt so much despair and fury at the same time before. That idiot Jean Beaumont had ordered Ho Chi Minh to be assassinated on Germanian soil. If the assassination was successful, then it would have been worth it to endure the outrage from Germania, as long as there was no other victim caught in the crossfire. Then De Lugo would have been displeased still at Beaumont, yes, but happy enough at the death of the leader of Annam to let it slide.
But the assassination had not only failed but also targeted The Devil of the Rhine. His hands had started shaking as he read the report. While many countries had vendettas against Tanya von Degurechaff, there was one commonly agreed upon fact.
You don't touch the Devil and expect to not get burned.
What Beaumont just did was metaphorically slapping the Devil in the face by trying to assassinate both her and a foreign leader she was negotiating with on Germanian soil. This was an absolute disaster. It would be a miracle if only he and Beaumont were forced to resign.
While yes, the Germanians have not yet identified the assassins as Francois, it was only a matter of time. Now, De Lugo was speculating on the Germanian response. Sanctions, reparations, demand for public apologies and political concessions. Yet his mind could not help but fall on the worst-case scenario. A declaration of war. The attempted assassination of Germania's messianic leader was the perfect casus belli. The Germanians were surely clamouring for blood.
The Francois Republic was not prepared for an invasion. The majority of the Francois Republic's armed forces were occupied in Annam and their Southern Continent holdings. There were perhaps only 20,000 fighting men guarding their eastern borders. They had no heavy vehicles, as the Germanians had taken their oil during the Second Great War. Their naval presence in Europa consisted of two destroyers and a light cruiser, which would be light work for the Germanians.
The only defence force of note would be their mages, as they still had a substantial number of them left after the war. But as much as he hated it, his Francois mages were like children to Germanian ones. Babies, if the Devil personally took to the field. All he would be doing if he sent mages against her would be increasing her kill record.
Even worse, this time, Germania could call upon all of OZEV to invade the Francois Republic by promising them Francois territory and treasures. Something told him that Ildoa would not mind getting their hands on Corsica.
De Lugo sat down on his chair in utter defeat. This time, he realised, the Germanians would arrive to occupy Parisee in days, hours if they sent their mages as a vanguard. Likely, the Devil will arrive herself at the head of the invading army, preening while soaking in the Francois Republic's despair.
Oh, God, what would the people of the Francois Republic think? Their capital will be occupied three times within twenty years. Twice in just two years. What pride would they have left? Generations from now, their humiliation would still be brought up by their descendants. Any child of Francois blood would have to avert their gaze when a Germanian walked by.
And what price would the Devil ask from the Republic? De Lugo knew that Degurechaff had let the Republic go easily last time, as she still had to deal with the Russy Federation. But now, she could take her time systematically tearing apart the Francois Republic. She could probably annex half of their territory, and he wouldn't be able to do anything about it. De Lugo would go down in history as the man who destroyed the Republic. Perhaps he could offer the Devil his imprisonment as an apology. His final act as President.
While he wallowed in his despair, a knock came from the door of his chamber. De Lugo cleared his throat and told whoever knocked to enter in the calmest voice he could possibly summon. His secretary Amelie came bearing a missive.
"It's from the Albish ambassador, President." She said, pausing at the door. He must look utterly dishevelled right now.
"Give it to me, I'll read it right now." Perhaps he could distract himself for a bit while he waited for Degurechaff to come. He'll have to draft a bill of surrender soon.
Amelie handed him the missive and exited the chamber. De Lugo started reading it. He froze when he was mid-way through reading. What the Albish was proposing was… does he dare? While he might just be jumping from the pan into the fire here, he couldn't imagine anything worse than the Republic being defeated again.
De Lugo stood up, his shoulders squared, his eyes hopeful again. There might be another way after all.
36 hours ago,
10 Downing Street, Londinium,
"So, Johnson, that is what you will tell agent Wax." Winston Churbull, Prime Minister of the Allied Kingdom, said.
"Yes, sir, I will communicate your instructions to the letter." The Director of the SIS left promptly.
After Johnson left, John Payne, the Minister of Defence asked. "Sir, is that wise? This could have serious consequences to Europa. Especially if it devolves into a war."
"It will not devolve into a war." Churbull stated confidently. "Degurechaff will hesitate once our plan comes into fruition. Guysborough, Ispagnia finally signed the agreement?"
"Coming off a civil war, they have judged that this is the best time to join the alliance, for Ispagnia and her colonies' security." Viscount Guysborough reported.
"What was Lothiern's response to our proposal?"
"They're hesitant. They want to wait and see how this will turn out before deciding."
"And Kanata?"
"They might not have any colonies, but they would benefit greatly from the waived tariffs. As one of our former colonies, they're fiercely loyal to us. They have already decided to join the alliance."
"Good. Gentlemen, in three days, we will change the balance of the world powers." Churbull declared to his cabinet.
29th August 1942,
Berun,
After ensuring our safety, we relocated to Berun for better security. After reconfirming that our deal was still valid, I had an agreement drafted that was quickly signed by both me and Ho Chi Minh. Despite me apologising profusely for our inadequate security and begging him to stay in Germania just a few days to appreciate our culture and see the sights, he had left on his plane to Annam this morning.
I couldn't fault him though, I wouldn't feel secure either if an assassination attempt targeted me within twenty-four hours of me stepping foot into a supposedly friendly country.
Ho Chi Minh did show some curiosity towards the P-1 though, asking if it was for sale. I had to break his bubble by telling him it was a prototype. Luckily, he had agreed to keep a tight lid on its existence, as thanks for me saving him.
Elya had taken responsibility for allowing the assassination attempt to take place and vowed to extract as much information as possible from the assassins' corpses. I've never seen her looking so chastised my entire life. Meanwhile Visha had fussed over me like a mother hen, checking every part of me to make sure I was unharmed, despite me reassuring her that I didn't even feel a breeze from the artillery spells.
"What is the public reaction to the assassination?" I asked my cabinet, whom I have assembled in an emergency meeting. With the use of artillery spells and the massive barrier that I had erected in an open space, it would be impossible to not notice the assassination. Newspapers have likely already put the story on their front page. Luckily we spirited Ho Chi Minh away before any citizen could spot me and the socialist leader together.
"There is some fear, but the general reaction is outrage. Some people are calling for retribution by whatever means necessary, even war." Zettour reported. That was to be expected. I was likely at the height of my popularity right now. Although I didn't think that the average Germanian would be that outraged at me being targeted for an assassination. I certainly would be shocked if my Prime Minister back in Japan had been assassination, but certainly not calling for blood. Perhaps they already grew greedy for land after we annexed so much territory.
"Have we identified the assassins?" I asked Elya.
"They tried to pass themselves off as NKVD agents by using Russy gear and computation orbs, but we have matched their faces to foreign registries and identified them as Francois citizens. We dug further and discovered that they were agents for the ACRD."
The Francois? I didn't expect that. Of course, there was much animosity between us, but I didn't expect De Lugo to send assassins after me. I had expected the assassins to be Russy, Serbian or Bulgarian. How could it possibly benefit the Francois Republic to assassinate me?
If I died, Germania would likely declare war on the Francois Republic the day after. Sure, as a peace-loving man like me, Ludwig might try to hold them back, but he wouldn't be able to stop hawks of war like Lehrgen. Not to mention that a vengeful Visha would likely fly to Parisee to decapitate De Lugo with a shovel. I expect that Parisee would become a nuclear wasteland by the end of that war.
If I didn't die, the Francois wouldn't know what my exact response would be, but there was no way they expected it to be anything good. It was possible that the assassins were rogue agents with a personal vendetta, but the assassination attempt was too organised. They had targeted me while I was in a stationary car with another high-priority target. Had I not had the P-1, I could still have flown out the window of the car quickly to escape. But Ho Chi Minh would have surely perished, as his bodyguard couldn't react as quickly as me, nor did he have a fast dual-core orb. The meeting between us was top secret, this meant that the assassins must have received intel from the very top. They could not have possibly operated without the assistance of their agency. The ACRD was still involved at the very least.
So, what could the Francois Republic possibly get out of this? After all, the first thing you ask when investigating a murder mystery is who benefits. That was the problem, the Francois Republic couldn't possibly benefit. Whether they kill me or not, Germania comes for retribution. So, it could not possibly be them who ordered the hit, but it was ACRD who was used as a tool. Therefore, I could only come to one conclusion.
The Francois were used. Likely without their knowledge.
But by whom was the mystery.
"Do we declare war on the Francois Republic?" Lehrgen asked tentatively. Crap, Lehrgen was rearing to go to war already. I need to do something to stop him before he burns Parisee to ash and salts the land.
"No, I will send an inquiry to the Francois ambassador and wait for a response. If it is inadequate, I will request a call with President De Lugo." That should delay Lehrgen just a little bit.
Just as I started thinking about what to write, a BND agent that I vaguely recall was named Carla ran into the room as if chased. I didn't bother chastising her on the breach of protocol, it was clearly urgent.
"Madam Chancellor! You need to watch the news! It's being broadcasted!" She exclaimed. Was the Francois Republic broadcasting their public explanation? That would save me time having to draft a letter to their ambassador.
Me and my cabinet moved to the common room to see the one television there broadcasting a press conference. However, instead of only having De Lugo present like I expected, there were other world leaders on the conference table.
Sitting to his right was Winston Churbull, the Prime Minister of the Allied Kingdom. He answered a question posed by a journalist. "This action will ensure the economic and military security of our countries, while preserving our colonies, which are rightly our properties." His response was translated back to Francois, suggesting the conference was being held in the Republic.
Sitting to Churbull's right was a nearly bald man with a thin mustache. Francisco Franco, the Prime Minister of Ispagnia, which had just come off a civil war only weeks prior. His Nationalist faction now had an iron grip on the country. According to the latest reports, he was a dictator who operated with near absolute power and had ambitions to expand Spain's colonial empire.
Sitting to De Lugo's left was William Lyon Mackenzie King, the current Prime Minister of Kanata. He was a liberal who advocated for a welfare state, free trade and lowered tariffs.
De Lugo then added. "This move will also ensure the lasting prosperity of the Republic and serve as a check against the ever-expanding OZEV."
Then, all four of the world leaders stood up and went to a canvas partially covered with a sheet. The uncovered part suggested it was a world map.
Then, taking hold of a corner of the covering sheet, Churbull pulled it, revealing the entire map. Highlighted in green were the territories of Kanata, Ispagnia, Francois Republic and the Allied Kingdom, including all their colonies, which covered most of the Southern Continent.
"I present to you the Trans-Atlantic Treaty Organisation!" Churbull exclaimed. "An economic and defensive alliance, aimed to maintain free trade across the Atlantic, secure our colonies in the Southern Continent and defend against any international threat!" It went unsaid that the international threat he was alluding to was likely OZEV.
They were copying from my own playbook and forming their own alliance.
My cabinet was stirring, my ministers making their own predictions on how this will affect the economy and the balance of power in Europa.
The press conference continued after that theatrical reveal, with the four heads of government returning to answer a flood of questions.
Apparently, the discussion to form TATO had been in the works for quite some time between the Allied Kingdom, Ispagnia and Kanata. The Francois Republic was a recent addition to the talks of an alliance. I'd wager money that the Albish only offered the Francois a chance to join after that bungled assassination.
In summary, TATO functioned similarly to OZEV. All tariffs between member nations were waived. However, this had required the Francois Republic to pledge to withdraw from the MEF in two years and place its previous tariffs on MEF goods. The four countries would also share intelligence and scientific discoveries, as well as military technology. It also aims to secure the freedom and security of its members through political and military means, which meant that it had a defensive military pact.
The unique thing about TATO that differed it from OZEV was its strategy concerning colonies. For administering their colonies, the four nations would coordinate with each other to stomp out revolutionary dissent more efficiently, while encouraging free flow of goods between their colonies. My Minister of Finance was already thinking about how this would affect wages.
As for me, I was seething. Even a blind man could see that Churbull was the one leading the other three. And this response coming from the Francois Republic meant that the perfidious Albish were the ones who had orchestrated the assassination. It made complete sense now. The assassination attempt would increase animosity from Germania towards the Francois. Terrified that Germania will declare war, the Francois Republic leapt into the protective arms of the Allied Kingdom. Not only that, but through the waiving of tariffs, the Allied Kingdom also made itself an indispensable trade partner for the Francois Republic, since it would be withdrawing from the MEF soon.
Ispagnia had just come off an unstable period; Francisco Franco likely saw joining TATO as a step to ensure stability in his country. As for Kanata, they were former vassals to the Allied Kingdom and many of their policies mirror the Albish, it likely wasn't hard for the Allied Kingdom to convince Kanata to join, despite Kanata not possessing any colonies.
Nevertheless, I now know who was behind the assassination attempt. However, it was all circumstantial evidence, so I could not accuse the Albish of any wrongdoings. If I try to get recompense from the Francois, the Allied Kingdom will step in to defend their new ally from being 'bullied' by Germania, despite Germania being the aggrieved party. They would likely tell the Francois to pay only a paltry amount of reparation, knowing that Germania would not risk a war.
The Albish had metaphorically slapped me in the face and dared me to slap back.
War was out of the question, and I would never use it as a political tool anyways. If I declared a war now, it would engulf the entirety of Europa and the Southern Continent. And the communists would surely not sit back when such a golden opportunity was presented to them either. The Russy Federation might strike at Kieva and the communists in Asia might invade Eran, Afghanistan, South Bharat or Joseon. This would invite consequences from both OZEV and TATO of course, but both would be occupied fighting each other.
It would be a Third Great War between three major blocs of power, mere three months after the conclusion of the Second. Furthermore, it was one that would truly be a World War, on a scale beyond both the Great Wars before it.
What TATO just did was ensure that none of the three blocs of power could declare war on one another, as the third bloc would be free to do whatever they want or even wait and pick off the pieces of the weakened victor between the other two blocs.
Interestingly, I noticed a nation missing that I thought would join TATO, based on its policies.
Lothiern.
It still held claim over both the Congo and the Lothiern East Indies, otherwise known as Nusantara, which was equivalent to Indonesia in my world. It would greatly benefit Lothiern to join TATO and leverage the Royal Navy to suppress dissidents in its colonies. TATO had surely extended an invitation to Lothiern, if only to unite Western Europe and to keep Lothiern out of Germania's sphere of influence. But Lothiern had declined to join. This meant that they were not confident in this alliance. That meant Lothiern saw some flaw in TATO that made them averse.
And I saw it too. Their economies were unstable. Despite having a productive economy, the Allied Kingdom was still mired in debt. The Francois Republic's economy was in ruins and heavily dependent on Germania's population to keep much of its citizenry employed. A gap that the Allied Kingdom would be looking to fill once the Francois Republic withdrew from the MEF. Ispagnia had barely come out of its civil war and the reconstruction of its infrastructure and economy had not even started. This meant that Kanata was the only stable economy amongst the members of TATO.
This economic instability implied that the formation of TATO was likely a reaction to their waning global influence, and to curb OZEV from becoming the new world leader. Despite its unstable economy, the combined military of TATO, mainly composed of the Allied Kingdom's forces, supplemented by the other three allies, was nothing to scoff at. And that was not considering the numerous colonies TATO controlled, which it could levy soldiers and resources from. This also meant that even if we occupied their home territories, their military could flee to the colonies, like the Francois did during the first Great War. A war against TATO would be as difficult as fighting the Russy Federation and twice as frustrating.
TATO was likely using its military to buy time for the economies of its Europan members to fully recover. Once it has, the combined economy of TATO would likely rival OZEV. Judging by how the Albish made the Francois promise to withdraw from the MEF, TATO could aim to fight a trade war with OZEV, something that I could not allow to happen. Trade wars simply hurt both economies, while crushing the poor underneath. Free trade should not be impacted because some faction wanted to have a willy measuring contest.
I had to stop TATO in its tracks before it could grow any further. The last thing I wanted was for Europa to be split in two halves like the days of the Cold War. I could not let the economies of its Europan members recover. I might even need to find a way to break up their alliance. And I think I knew how to do it.
The Albish planned this alliance to regain its lost glory as a superpower. They sent those assassins after me, thinking that I would just take it lying down, without coming for my pound of flesh. But they forgot one crucial thing.
They forgot to fear me. My revenge will not be immediate. It might take years. But it will come, and when it does, they will remember with stark clarity.
For now, I will play meek. I will not ask for payback or great reparations. But I will be waiting.