Chapter 52:

September 27, 1939

Southern British Isles, London, the capital of Britain – Winston Churchill’s home Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, a.k.

a. the ‘British Bulldog,’ Winston Churchill.

Half the opinions at the Embassy were that I didn't really need to meet him.

Right now, Winston Churchill is not the Prime Minister or anything of the sort.

Just an ordinary Member of Parliament for the Conservative Party, and treated as a has-been politician who spectacularly messed up with the British forces at Gallipoli.

On the other hand, I'm only in my twenties, but I'm here for diplomatic negotiations as the nominal second-in-command of the new German government, so I don't have to go just because a mere Member of Parliament summons me.

But I accepted the invitation nonetheless.

Half of it was my interest in a man who was an icon of an era, and the other half was my intention to make a good impression in case he became Prime Minister as in the original history.

Just this time, I had made some preparations, like recruiting the Pope out of concern that Mussolini might attack during the civil war, but I didn't expect him to suddenly attack while I was in the middle of negotiations with Britain-France.

“Welcome, Vice Minister Schacht. Thank you for accepting my invitation.”

Churchill, with a physique that seemed more suited for a mafia boss than a politician, greeted me with a cigar in his mouth.

Despite being in his mid-60s, he gave the complete opposite impression of the feeble old man Chamberlain.

“Thank you for inviting me, Member of Parliament Churchill.”

Churchill seemed quite satisfied as I showed him due courtesy.

He smiled benevolently, belying his intimidating appearance, and offered me a seat.

“Please, sit.

I told the kitchen to put in some effort for our distinguished guest.”

“Then, with pleasure.”

British cuisine, huh? For some reason, my expectations aren't high. Still, compared to the Schacht family, who are merely rich, Churchill is from a truly proper, historic British noble family.

Of course, there were servants in the house, and a proper chef must have done the cooking, so I guess it will be fine.

Having invited me for lunch, Churchill had, as if it were the most natural thing, prepared whiskey and brandy.

“Care for a drink?”

“Mm, I’ll gratefully accept the goodwill only.”

If this were the original history, Churchill should have been the First Lord of the Admiralty by now.

Chamberlain appointed him to that post when World War II broke out, just as Churchill had predicted.

But World War II hasn't broken out yet, so Churchill hasn't become First Lord of the Admiralty.

He’s just a Member of Parliament.

“Oh, oh.

A pity.”

Churchill spoke like an old man—no, he is an old man.

Anyway, he filled his own glass and started the meal, drinking as he ate.

After inviting me, he focused on his meal without saying much.

With nothing else to do, I also started eating—

Huh? It's delicious?

The vegetables had that mushy texture typical of British cooking, which wasn't great, but the grilled bacon, sausage, and baked beans with sauce served alongside them were flawless.

I never expected to have a delicious meal in Britain, so after eating heartily for a while, I looked up to find Churchill watching me while drinking his whiskey.

Damn it, you scared me.

Churchill watched me silently for a moment, then opened his mouth.

“The food seems to suit your palate?”

“Yes, it's excellent. The best I’ve had since coming to Britain.”

Honestly, it makes me wonder why they have such a bad reputation when they can cook this well. Of course, since he's a wealthy nobleman, it's a different story from the common folk.

“Haha, I will be sure to pass on that our Vice Minister praised it.”

Churchill replied as such and put down his glass, replacing it with a cigar that he drew on deeply.

The man never rests his mouth.

In the end, losing to the old man's unhurried pace, I spoke first.

“May I hear the reason why you requested to meet with me, Member of Parliament?”

Churchill took another puff of his cigar and smiled faintly.

“And why, Vice Minister, did you accept the invitation?”

What is he on about after inviting me himself? But from Churchill's perspective, would he have been certain that the second-in-command of the new government would come when he invited him?

For a man as skilled at politicking as Churchill, I thought he might have just been trying his luck.

For him, the mere fact that I, a high-ranking official of the new government, accepted an invitation from a mere Member of Parliament could be useful.

“You, Member of Parliament, are someone who recognized the danger of Hitler from quite early on.”

His famous quote about the Munich Agreement is well-known: ‘Britain and France had to choose between dishonor and war. They chose dishonor and they will have war.

’

At the time, the British political world fiercely criticized Churchill, but now, with Hitler breaking the Munich Agreement and his war plans for Poland revealed, it must be proven that Churchill was right.

Nevertheless, because my intervention caused a civil war in Germany, Churchill is being treated far worse than he was in the original history.

“As a member of the new government that rose up within Germany, directly facing Hitler's danger and madness, it is only natural to take an interest in you, Member of Parliament.”

From the perspective of someone with memories of Korea suffering as a colony of Imperial Japan, I personally don't much like him, a staunch imperialist.

But at the same time, it feels strange to see a man who would have become a hero of his time in the original history now facing a different fate because of my intervention.

Scoffing at the foolish actions of a militarily incompetent Churchill when I studied WWII history back in Korea is starkly different from the presence I feel from him now, having been dropped into this era.

I wonder, if I were in his shoes without my future knowledge, could I have called for resistance against a Nazi Germany that had made all of Europe tremble and cornered the entire British Army at Dunkirk.

In response to my words, Churchill stared at me, then put down his cigar, took another sip of whiskey, and opened his mouth.

“I must say, Vice Minister, I was very impressed by your media war.”

Come to think of it, though overshadowed by Goebbels, Churchill was also an orator who delivered all sorts of famous speeches to inspire the people's will to resist.

“Your method of capturing the hearts of the public is similar to that of the Nazis, yet different.”

I guess this is how it looked to the people of this era.

The means I used may have been partially similar to those of the Nazis.

“Is that so.”

At my words, Churchill smoked his cigar and then spoke.

“I was a little worried that another dictator might emerge from a Germany in crisis.”

“As I have already stated at the conference hall, the current war cabinet is merely transitional, Member of Parliament. We are aiming for a democratic government.”

He smiled faintly at my words.

“Hitler also seized the regime by calling for a choice of peace, not war.

I believe what I see with my own eyes, not the words that come out of a mouth.”

“Then, in your eyes, Member of Parliament, how is our new government?”

Churchill leisurely took another sip of whiskey and opened his mouth.

“Looking at you, Vice Minister, reminds me of my younger days.”

Instead of answering about the new government, he gave a different response.

Winston Churchill was Britain's First Lord of the Admiralty during World War I, back in his 30s.

I, too, make active use of propaganda for the public, just like him.

To think that of all people, Winston Churchill would see me, who has risen to a high-ranking position at a young age, and be reminded of his youth.

It felt somewhat bitter.

A man who would have been Britain's greatest Prime Minister in the original history was now indulging in the sentimentality of a has-been, reminiscing about his youth while looking at someone else.

“Is that so.

Then, since I have accepted your invitation, resolved your curiosity, and enhanced your presence in the British political world, may I consider that I have done you a favor?”

“Pahahahaha!”

Winston Churchill roared with laughter, wiping tears from his eyes as he asked.

“So, is there a reward you desire?”

“I’m not that much of a thief.

This will be a good story for you as well, by the by.”

It wasn't something I had planned from the beginning, but for Winston Churchill, the symbol of anti-Nazism in Britain, there is a perfect role.

-

September 28, 1939

Southern British Isles, London, the capital of Britain – The home of Dietrich’s older sister, Cordula

“Welcome, Dietrich. It’s been a while.”

“It has been a while, Sister.”

My sister, Cordula, who is eight years my senior, accepted my rather polite greeting and looked at me with a strange expression before speaking.

“When I heard you were the spokesperson for the new German government, or the Vice Minister of the Chancellery, I thought it was the end of the world, but I guess the day does come when even a scoundrel like you matures?”

“Hahaha…”

Dietrich Schacht was quite the loafer. Born as the late-born youngest son into a successful family with a silver spoon, the world must have seemed easy to him.

My sister, who married and moved to Britain before Dietrich Schacht even volunteered for the Condor Legion and went to Spain, still remembered me as the loafer Dietrich Schacht.

“It’s a gift.”

I handed her a bottle of Moselland Eiswein (a specialty wine from Western Germany made from frozen grapes) that I had brought from Germany.

“My goodness, you really have matured.

Well, thank you.”

Thanks to that bastard Dietrich for at least remembering that my sister likes alcohol, especially wine.

It’s one of the few things I’ve been thankful for since entering this body.

My sister, who had been prickly after receiving a sudden request to meet her godfather, despite having had no contact since Spain, became drastically kinder after receiving the gift.

“Godfather is already here. This way.”

“Thank you, Sister.”

Following my sister’s lead, I entered to find an old gentleman nearing 70, with a stylishly grown white beard and a fedora, welcoming me.

“Oh, Dietrich. It’s been a very long time.

Is your father well?”

The Governor of the Bank of England, Montagu Norman. He has a close relationship with my father and is his nephew’s godfather; I have memories of meeting him as a child.

“It’s been a while. My father is the same as always.

He’s quite busy at the moment.”

Still a workaholic who looks like he wouldn’t bleed a drop even if pricked with a needle.

I answered while giving him a light hug, and he replied with the kind smile of an old man.

“Haha, that’s a good thing.

I was very sorry to hear he was dismissed as Minister of Finance, but now he’s the Chancellor of the new government…”

Norman, who smiled and looked at me for a moment, soon wiped the friendly expression from his face and asked a question.

“So, am I now welcoming the Vice Minister of the Chancellery of the new government, rather than the son of a close friend?”

“That is correct, Governor of the Bank of England.”

Norman smiled faintly at my words, then stepped back to sit down and changed his tone.

“Well, then, I shall have to hear if it was worth this old man taking time out of his busy schedule to come here, Vice Minister.”

“Yes, Governor. As you might expect, the new German government wishes for Britain to formally recognize the enthronement of Emperor Wilhelm III and revoke its ultimatum.

And for that, we want you and the members of the Anglo-German cooperation organizations to exert your influence on Parliament.”

Montagu Norman doesn't give off the same emotionless and strict impression as my father, Hjalmar Schacht, but he is a member of the BIS (Bank for International Settlements), a big shot in international finance and a representative of the British business world.

I can't help but feel a little nervous as I speak.

“Hmm, I did think you'd want to see me for such business.

But as you know, this conference is a stage set by France. Since Britain has no major ill feelings toward the new German government, wouldn't it be better to silence France?”

“Of course, persuading France would be a direct solution to the problem, if that were possible, but given the new government’s position, it is next to impossible.”

In the end, what France wants is to prove once again its superiority over Germany in these negotiations. It's ridiculous how they were dragged around by the reckless Hitler, yet now they come on strong against the new government, weakened by the civil war.

With an opponent who has no consideration for Germany's position—who still longs for the glory of the days they shook Germany with the Treaty of Versailles and ruined its economy by occupying the Ruhr—no compromise is possible, only surrender.

“Hmm, but France has been Britain’s ally since the last great war.

Though I am personally close to the new government's Chancellor, as a patriot and a businessman, I cannot blindly support Germany without some gain.”

Despite what he says, British public opinion towards Germany was decent enough until Hitler broke the Munich Agreement.

Montagu Norman, in particular, was friendly to Germany, being a key British figure in the post-Treaty of Versailles settlement and pressuring France over matters like the occupation of the Ruhr.

He even helped transfer gold from the Czechoslovakian central bank to the German central bank after Hitler annexed Czechoslovakia, so it's highly likely this is just lip service, considering his position.

“Of course, I presumed as much. I haven't come empty-handed either.

Would you take a look at this?”

Meaning, if it's a story that benefits him and Britain, he should be sufficiently moved to act.

Montagu Norman took the evidence I handed him, looked it over for a moment, and chuckled.

“My, my. There's quite a lot here.”

What we had prepared was a portion of the compiled evidence detailing all the corruption committed by the Nazis and companies under Nazi Germany.

This is evidence I had the Abwehr investigate since before the Munich Agreement.

It was originally gathered as insurance, to be used for the media war if we failed to secure evidence on the true state of the Buchenwald Concentration Camp during the coup, but it ended up being used like this instead.

Nazi Germany's defeat by the Soviet Union was due to the difference in weight class and American support, but the incredibly corrupt and inefficient Nazi administration also played a significant part.

On top of that, those Nazi bastards had their hands in all sorts of businesses, and companies committed every crime imaginable to curry favor with them.

There was no problem when the ones managing the law were the insane Nazis, but the story changes if the new government wins the civil war.

We planned to completely seize the assets of companies that were either excessively corrupt or run by Nazi figures.

It was partly to recover even a little of the MEFO bills debt, but in any case, we have no intention of letting companies that actively served the Nazis, even committing illegal acts, go unpunished.

“As you can see, once the civil war is over, a massive corporate shake-up will occur across all sectors. But we can’t nationalize all the companies, so some will be sold off.”

“Hoh…”

While the nationalization of companies has its advantages for the state, that only applies to core enterprises that greatly affect the nation, such as munitions, or public goods.

Other companies would just be a waste of administrative power, and distributing them all to domestic companies is not an option, as they too have a limit to what they can handle.

“We intend to revitalize the German-British economic cooperation that has been neglected due to Hitler, and as a start, we would like to sell some of the companies that will be sorted out in Germany at a reasonable price. If we are to pursue liberal democracy, shouldn't we do so in economic exchange as well?”

“Well now, that’s quite mouth-watering.”

This is not only a boon for British businessmen, but at the same time, it draws their capital into Germany.

This was a proposal inspired by the fact that the long peace enjoyed by 21st-century developed countries is largely due to their mutual economic dependence.

Because when a government declares war on a country where they have business, it is the businessmen who will most enthusiastically try to stop it with their practical influence.

“Of course, to enjoy such benefits offered by the new government, the German Civil War must end as quickly and smoothly as possible.”

Because if the civil war escalates and drags on, turning the country into a wasteland with not even scraps left for Britain, it would all be for naught.

Norman gave a broad smile.

“The ulterior motive is obvious, but it’s too sweet a bait to refuse.”

“Isn't it only natural to choose a mutually beneficial course of action over a mutually detrimental one?”

During the Munich Agreement, if Germany were to invade Czechoslovakia, France had an obligation to enter the war, but Britain did not.

As a result, France, which had been dragged along by Britain, made Britain provide a guarantee during the Munich Agreement that it too would have an obligation to enter the war.

It was a natural measure for France, which would be directly hit by Germany if Britain didn't enter the war, but for Britain, which didn't want war, it must have been a very unwelcome measure.

Even in this case of the Emperor’s enthronement, France is the desperate one, yet didn't they drag Britain into it as if it were a matter of common interest?

In the first place, Britain and France are not some blood alliance that has lasted for hundreds of years. If anything, they are closer to historical rivals.

The reason Britain has tried to keep France as an ally from World War I until now is solely because of the powerful common enemy that is Germany.

“Haha, you are right.

Hjalmar must be reassured.”

“Thank you.”

We shook hands with smiling faces.

When an ally that was once in a honeymoon phase becomes nothing but an annoying and troublesome burden, and if the common interest also fades, there's no rule saying you can't switch to the side offering a sweeter fruit.

Desperate and thus short-sighted, France will have to pay a heavy price for it.