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Chapter 47 – The Nanjing Incident

“Ah—if things keep going this way, Zhang Zuolin is going to be aggressively assassinated by the Japanese military, isn’t he?”

“Did you say something?”

“Nope. Just thinking about how things on the continent are starting to smell like gunpowder.”

“Indeed. The Ootori Zaibatsu also has a branch in the Shanghai concession, so it would be best if things stayed peaceful.”

“Probably impossible. It’s going to go up in flames. Loudly, too.”

“…Is that so.”

Even though I’m still just a child, the times are already starting to reek of war.

It’s around early spring, 1927, and the continent is starting to get noisy.

In central China, Chiang Kai-shek had launched the Northern Expedition the previous summer.
With his rapid advance, by last autumn he had pushed north from the southern city of Guangzhou and reached the Yangtze River basin.

It was the moment Chiang Kai-shek’s presence became significant in history.

That said, the military force led by Chiang Kai-shek was called the National Revolutionary Army, but at the time, it was still an uneasy alliance between the Kuomintang (Nationalist Party) and the Communist Party.
Moreover, the Kuomintang itself was split between right and left factions.

Well, considering the Kuomintang had restructured its army under the guidance of the Communist Party, it was inevitable to some extent.

However, one must never forget that when you “lend the eaves” to the Reds, they come to “take the whole house.”
No matter how upstanding individual Communist Party members may be, the ideology and the organization itself are built that way—it moves instinctively with that kind of troublesome intent.

Setting that aside, based on the information coming in from the Ootori intelligence network, the flow of history around this point seems to match the knowledge from my previous life—the pre war history I learned before I was reincarnated.

“There was a time when I believed that too… I never thought I’d actually say that line for real.”

And then it happened—right before we, the Ootori family and the Ootori Zaibatsu, had to mobilize our full strength for a completely different matter.

What’s more, we had sensed the signs of the incident in advance, and at first, everything seemed to be unfolding exactly as I had expected.

Yes—only at first.

“Huh? Was the Japanese military even deploying troops to the continent around this time?”

Luckily, the only ones who heard my dumbfounded voice after learning of the emergency cabinet decision on March 24 were my great-grandfather Souichirou, my grandfather Kiiichirou, and my onii-sama Tatsuya.

There were also a few others present, like the butler Tokita, the maid Shizu, and my great-grandfather’s secretary Haga—but all of them were people who knew who I really was.
That was a true relief.

Well… at least in comparison.

“What do you mean by that?”

My grandfather, a military man and a Major General, asked with a puzzled tone.

He usually acts like a harmless, sleepy old man, but in moments like this, the sharp intensity of his gaze honestly comes across as a little frightening.

Still, considering how my “dreams” have been spot-on up until now, it’s only natural he’d be suspicious.

“This is something that didn’t happen in your dream, then.”

It was my Great-Grandfather who understood from the start.

So I nodded to him—firmly.

“Yes. As far as I know… ah, wait.”

I realized it as soon as I started speaking.

This villainess brain—or rather, this body’s intellectual ability—never ceases to amaze me.
If it were the old me from my previous life, I would’ve just kept on talking without thinking.

But to my family, I’m just a super-spec villainess little girl, so I show only the most natural reactions.

“What is it? Continue.”

“Yes. In the history I saw in my dream, the cabinet at this time should still be led by the Constitutional Government Party. And since Prime Minister Katou Takaaki passed away due to illness, it would be the Wakatsuki Reijiro Cabinet, with Shidehara Kijuurou as Foreign Minister.”

“That lineup would lean toward cooperation with foreign powers and a non-interventionist policy. Military deployment to the continent wouldn’t happen under such a cabinet.”

Even before I finished explaining, my grandfather nodded in understanding, and my onii-sama also murmured “I see” midway through.

Yes, in the history from my previous life, this was known as “Shidehara diplomacy,” which emphasized cooperation with the major powers and non-interference in other nations’ affairs.

But that’s not the case with the Seiyukai (Association of Friends of Constitutional Government) Cabinet.
I had completely overlooked that part.

“In other words, we don’t know how this will turn out. No—we can’t know.”

“Yes, exactly. And probably, from here on out, I don’t think my ‘dreams’ will be useful when it comes to the situation on the continent.”

“No, your ‘dreams’ are still useful. True, making accurate predictions will become harder, but predictions don’t require seeing the future in the first place. And if things differ, we can use that as a point of comparison. It’s unlikely that everything will be different. Besides, similar things happened during the previous generation as well. Rather, I want you to continue sharing such details from now on.”

“Yes, understood.”

The childish tone I had intended to use turned into formal speech before I knew it.

It was because of Great-Grandfather’s reassuring words, which made me instinctively lean on him for emotional support and wholeheartedly agree.
Also, I was admittedly a little shaken.

But I pulled myself together and decided to review and explain the information from my “dreams”—partly to refresh my own memory.

“Um, I’m going to speak a bit seriously, so please don’t make fun of me.

The cabinet of the Constitutional Government Association stays in power until April of this year, so Japan’s military deployment happens after that. In the meantime, unrest continues around Nanjing and Shanghai. This unrest is mainly driven by the Communist Party and the left wing of the Kuomintang.

Also, I believe this is likely happening even now, but the Communists and the left-wing Kuomintang were trying to purge the right wing of the Kuomintang. So Chiang Kai-shek, who leads the right-wing faction, launches a coup to break the deadlock. This is what’s known as the ‘Shanghai Coup.’”

“I see. But if Japan sends troops, it’s certain the situation will change.”

“Well, wait a second, Kiichirou. And after that?”

Great-Grandfather first asks for more information.

“The Kuomintang splits into left and right factions. Chiang Kai-shek, who controls the right wing and surrounding warlords, continues the Northern Expedition. Eventually, he defeats Zhang Zuolin’s army and more or less establishes control over the Republic of China.”

“At what point does Japan’s deployment occur?”

“When Chiang Kai-shek’s army advances to Shandong.”

“That makes sense. What about Zhang Zuolin?”

“He’s quickly defeated by Chiang Kai-shek, judged useless, and abandoned.”

“In that case, unless he dies in battle, Zhang Zuolin will flee to Manchuria. That would certainly cause trouble for Japan.”

“That’s why he gets assassinated before then.”

“Impressive. By whom? No, who will carry it out?”

My grandfather, acting as my father, suddenly becomes unusually lively.
A faint smile even appears at the corners of his mouth. 

He really does love intrigue.

I can’t help but let out a wry smile myself.

“Colonel Kawamoto of the Kwantung Army. I don’t know what position he holds now, though.”

“Kawamoto, huh? What happens to him? Surely not a firing squad.”

At my words, my grandfather bursts into a big laugh and leans forward toward me.
Feeling a bit pressured by him, I replied.

“I believe he was transferred to the reserves. Since the punishment was light, some elements within the army later ran wild without restraint, causing political and military chaos in Japan.”

“If discipline and order are neglected, that’s only natural.”

My onii-sama, who had been quietly listening until then, now wears a stern expression.

So I had something to say.

“That’s true, but all the premises I just mentioned are now gone. Honestly, I don’t know what will happen next.”

I wonder how he will respond.

My brother’s expression remains calm in reply to my words.

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Shanghai Coup (上海クーデター)
The Kuomintang and Communist Party, which had more or less been united, fell out, and Chiang Kai-shek seized control of the Kuomintang in this incident.

However, the Kuomintang split into factions, with Chiang establishing the National Government (Nanjing National Government) while Wang Jingwei, accepting the Communists, set up the Wuhan National Government, opposing Chiang.

At this time, Mao Zedong was only a relatively minor figure in the Communist Party.

Shandong Expedition (山東出兵)
The Shandong Expedition refers to the Imperial Japanese Army’s three deployments to Shandong Province, China, from 1927 to 1928, and the related battles that occurred there.

Zhang Zuolin (張作霖)

He appears again later, so details are omitted here.
The bombing incident was not a sensational entertainment-style event with the entire train blown apart.