Reincarnated as Nikolai II

Chapter 272: The Union of Broken Bones (6)

The Duma was originally created as a trash bin, but who knows which bastard might try to become the second Hitler overnight?

Just looking at the British Parliament, fascists wanting to become the second Mussolini are springing up everywhere. This deserves vigilance.

As Bronstein left to carry out my will, I continued to think about this man Adolf.

The ideology he advocates.

The Germany he wishes to create.

‘Compared to the original history, it’s quite normal… should I say?’

The fact that he imitates me and tries to follow the empire I’ve built lodges in my heart as a cause for concern beyond mere displeasure.

The Nazis I knew were close to a derivative of fascism without scientific basis, a war ideology based on racism.

But today’s Nazis are somehow different.

“What brought about this change in you bastards?”

Even if I, who created the current empire, am the cause, I still don’t understand the process.

Whatever the case, judging by the results so far, Adolf is not the Hitler I knew.

The emergence of an uncontrollable variable.

This is dangerous.

==

‘It’s like seeing him in his youth.’

From a mere employee to branch manager.

From branch manager to director, Bronstein had risen.

It would not be an exaggeration to say that his life was saved by Tsar Nicholas.

His childhood during an era of Ukrainian discrimination and Jewish persecution. Despite being of mixed heritage, Bronstein had suffered no small amount of wounds.

Even his father, who was a wealthy farmer, was branded as a Jewish moneylender and ostracized from the village.

But the Tsar was different.

Even to him, from a Lutheran family rather than Orthodox, there was a fair opportunity.

The Tsar didn’t care about race, origin, or status.

Having guessed this fact even in his youth, he graduated top of his class from Saint Paul and immediately entered under Director Sekerenskiy.

And now, that Tsar had clearly expressed caution for the first time in a long while.

“There’s a danger in that ideology that I don’t know about. It’s not simply a right-wing ideology.”

It was rare for him to express himself so directly, and today was one of those days.

“Director Sekerenskiy said the same thing. If the Tsar shows a firm emotion, prioritize it above all else.”

Only today did he realize the meaning of those words again.

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Whether the investigation was insufficient or His Majesty had discovered another danger with his insight, that Nazi ideology was undoubtedly dangerous.

“Let’s start by digging into the pro-German faction. Surely there will be some connected to the Nazis among them, and if we apply appropriate pressure, a thread will appear.”

From the moment he left the Tsar’s office, Bronstein was preoccupied with how to annihilate them.

Even as he was leaving the palace, his mind was filled with only this thought.

“You seem deep in thought even as you walk, Director?”

Until someone approached him.

“…Minister Jughashvili.”

Minister of Industry.

An official pushed out in power struggles.

Young enough to have the possibility of a comeback, but the Tsar’s intentions unknown.

Loss of control over the Duma due to Prime Minister Stolypin’s golden age.

Like an occupational disease, numerous pieces of information flooded Bronstein’s mind as soon as he saw the minister.

“Do you have business with me?”

“How stiff. How many times have we met for you to be so guarded? Don’t be like that, we’re going the same way, let’s have a chat.”

“There’s no reason for me to maintain a friendly relationship with a cabinet member.”

Despite the rising information, Bronstein simply did not want to engage in conversation with the Minister of Industry for some reason.

Whether it was instinctive aversion or a difference in background and lifestyle.

In any case, he seemed like a man with a different grain from himself.

“The Interior Minister was just summoned by Tsar Nicholas. That means police forces will be mobilized. Two departments responsible for public security moving together? There are only two possibilities in such cases. Either communists or reactionaries. And in such cases, it also becomes my business as the one responsible for the empire’s industry and labor.”

“You misunderstand, Minister.”

“Then tell me the reason if I’m wrong. If I haven’t crossed a line.”

I heard he had been drinking heavily for days, yet here he was walking around as if nothing had happened, which was quite amusing.

‘Once the Interior Ministry starts moving, His Majesty’s instructions will become public anyway.’

Seeing that the minister was unlikely to leave easily, Bronstein decided to engage in conversation briefly.

Agreeing to ride together in the back seat of a car from the palace to the main road, Jughashvili became excited and started talking.

“It seems the Tsar has concerns. Either he’s found something that needs improvement.”

“…It’s about foreign forces. It has nothing to do with domestic industry.”

“How can it not? If foreign forces become the backdrop for domestic issues, isn’t that the greatest security crisis? If technology were to leak, I would be the one responsible.”

“It’s not that serious.”

“Can you at least tell me the name? Who is it? The communists in Britain’s Labour Party? France’s Fiery Cross? Or is it Mussolini? Has that man found Serbia insufficient and dared to touch our empire?”

Bronstein, who wanted to end this conversation as quietly as possible, sighed briefly and answered.

“It’s currently Germany’s Nazi Party. The Tsar has always been wary of extreme ideologies, so there’s nothing strange about it.”

“Aha! Indeed, it was them! Those damned bastards are the next target designated as ‘enemies’ by the Tsar!”

…Maybe I shouldn’t have told him.

I don’t understand how a single conversation with someone can generate such displeasure.

“Nazi, Nazi. I’ve heard rumors about the book written by their leader. Extremes meet, they say – if he were in our country, it wouldn’t be strange if he had been swept away in the first purge. It can’t be an insult about a clumsy imitation. Hmm, the Tsar must truly believe they will rise. He predicts that German citizens, tired of repeated re-elections, will ultimately raise the hand of the Nazi Party. Yes, that must be it!”

While it may be characteristic of politicians to try to gain as much information as possible from a single word, to infer that much on the spot?

If that’s considered ability, it wouldn’t be strange for him to enter the Okhrana and secure a position immediately.

“…Let’s make today’s meeting official. I will speak to the Tsar separately.”

“That’s even better! I hope you convey every word I’ve said to the Tsar. Preferably without missing a single letter!”

Bronstein felt once again, sincerely, that he and this man were incompatible.