Reincarnated as Nikolai II

Representative achievements include promoting industrialization, introducing the gold standard, railway construction, and agricultural reform.

Evaluations include: Father of Russian industrialization, wartime Prime Minister, pacifist, moderate, anti-war, isolationist.

Sergei Witte.

From the outside it couldn’t have been a more excellent choice for negotiations, but Witte completely erased views about himself.

At least in this position, something else was needed.

"Reparations too burdensome, military restrictions difficult, don’t want to abolish the Anglo-Japanese Alliance. Just why did I come all this way?"

"Reparations aren’t unrealistic! And military restrictions and alliance abolition are clear interference in internal affairs!"

"Ha! Have you already forgotten what you did to neutral Korea?"

Traditional Russian diplomacy.

War if things go wrong.

Could there be another place where such diplomatic hardline tactics work so well?

’No. Usually shouldn’t go so far.’

But the war’s justification, process, result, and even room for third country intervention were too favorable to the homeland.

Though showing fiery anger outwardly, inwardly Witte felt like he might get drunk on happiness.

"What? Restrict Korea’s diplomatic rights to reduce war threats? So you made an alliance with Britain to attack us? If you oppose everything from start to finish, what’s the point of negotiating?"

"Now, now, Prime Minister Witte. Please calm down a bit. Negotiations have been stalled for two weeks already. How about listening a bit more?"

At American Henry Denison’s mediation from the middle of the table with five seated on each side, Witte sat down pretending to give in.

Russian diplomat Korostovets took over negotiations in place of Witte.

"War’s resumption would clearly not be the same fight as before, but would start with massacres in Korean peninsula prison camps. We also came to negotiations hoping such inhumane things won’t happen, absolutely not because we fear war, please understand."

"...I understand."

At Korostovets’s words that this was the negotiation they wanted, chief negotiator Marquis Komura Jutarō had no choice but to agree.

Fighting more here would mean Japan getting beaten one-sidedly.

’Marquis Jutarō. Isn’t Japan the urgent one? If negotiations break down you’re finished. Think carefully?’

’...You have to at least give us a way to survive!’

Meeting faces daily and negotiating even with raised voices, Witte and Jutarō had reached a point of conversing just through eye contact. Experience tales at empire

Witte knew why Marquis Jutarō was dragging things out.

’Too many people died, and we lost the war too. Economy must be rock bottom while debt mountains are terrifyingly high.’

Naturally followed by strikes and protests. How could Witte who led an empire not understand his feelings.

Jutarō also knew too well the basis for Prime Minister Witte’s hardline stance.

’If war resumes the Japanese Empire is finished. Even taking over all rights in Qing isn’t enough, demanding we open our domestic market too. Do you want a dynastic revolution in Japan?’

The negotiations’ superiority-inferiority is set, and both sides’ circumstances too obvious.

Yet opinions don’t narrow so time just keeps dragging on.

The tense tug-of-war between two negotiation teams who had sufficiently confirmed each other’s bottom line.

Witte threw in a new topic to these negotiations that had ripened past the point of tedium.

"Fine. Then how about leaving Korea as an independent country?"

"Hm?"

"Ah?"

A proposal making not just Jutarō but even Henry Denison raise heads in question.

"Then the two countries wouldn’t need to hold knives to each other’s throats so naturally military expenses would be less. Using Korea as a bridge, market opening could also happen gradually."

"...Are you serious?"

"However, considering Korea’s vulnerable economy, our country will add advice from the side. We should protect them too."

Though a sense of disappointment returned thinking ’Of course,’ soon Jutarō stroked his chin falling into thought.

’Even amid this maintaining Korean independence even formally. That’s basically a promise not to completely exclude our country from continental economics. With our borders farther apart there’s nothing bad for us.’

Instead they must accept Prime Minister Witte’s demands.

Cession of northern islands and Kuril Islands.

Hundreds of millions of yen in reparations.

Transfer of all rights in Qing.

Recognition of superiority rights in Korea and nullification of all treaties.

Still at least a minimal way to survive opened. If not completely excluded even from Korea, would they completely exclude from Qing?

"How about having two experts check this part first and meeting again tomorrow?"

"Let’s do that."

Witte and Jutarō achieved negotiations without one side storming out angrily for the first time in a while.

Leaving only international law experts Adachi Mineichirō and Friedrich Martens, both sides rose from their seats and shook hands.

Though the two experts would argue back and forth even over single words all night, by tomorrow morning Witte and Jutarō could return to negotiations with well-organized papers.

After Marquis Jutarō left, someone stopped Witte heading back to his lodgings.

"Prime Minister do you have a moment?"

It was Henry Denison who had attended as facilitator and mediator.

"What is it?"

"There’s someone who would like to meet with you briefly."

"Hmm."

America who volunteered as mediator wants to meet separately - how could Witte who rose to Imperial Prime Minister not smell this scheming?

Following Denison compliantly, a large man was waiting where they arrived.

"...Secretary Taft?"

"Pleased to meet you, Prime Minister Witte."

He was William H. Taft, who had been U.S. Secretary of War.

"If you’ve come to advocate for Japan’s side, I’ll be going now."

Roosevelt’s pro-Japanese loyalist wasn’t someone Witte who suffered the past 8 months wanted to look at. Especially right after marathon-like negotiations.

As Witte turned his feet to leave in disgust, Taft hastily got to the point.

"Korea. Will you really give it up?"

"Why is Secretary Taft asking that?"

"It’s an important question since we also have the Philippines in Asia."

"...No way. How many of our young men died on that land."

At Witte’s honest answer, Taft smiled like a gangster before a huge smuggling operation.

"Then there’s overflowing room for discussion."

That vile smile. The dirty atmosphere felt only in the State Duma. And the differences in position between America and Russia.