Sunlight streamed through the window of Alexander's office, bathing him in warm light. The curtains were drawn, and he was just working on some papers while watching television where the female news anchors were reporting the news of the first fast-food chain in St. Petersburg.
It has been one of his many plans to introduce the fast-food restaurant concept in this world, giving him a new source of income to fund future ambitious projects such as the space program and possibly the internet for military use.
The space program is already underway or should he say, under construction. The launch pad and the necessary infrastructure to run it. Alexander's goal of building a space program is to make Ruthenia stronger in all aspects of modern warfare. A satellite that can pick up signals from enemy mainland or airspace, take a picture or video from above, and send it to the Ministry of Defense or the Foreign Intelligence Agency, for research purposes, and many more.
Thanks to the four years of peace, the Ruthenia Empire has achieved so much that it will become the center of scientific breakthroughs and advancements.
The only thing it needs to become a superpower is to project its influences all around the world, culturally, economically, and militarily.
Working as Alexander Romanoff, the crown prince that became emperor is surely taxing Thomas a lot. But along the way, an ambition sparked within him.
The Ruthenia Empire is rich in history. It originated from a duchy and then became what it is today. It also became one of the strongest empires to have existed in the world, only to stagnate when the industrial revolution kicked in and its predecessors failed to adapt to the ever-changing world.
Ruthenia is a fascinating country, and if led by someone like him, could make it even more fascinating. So while working as its head of state, a spark of nationalism and patriotism grew within him, and that is his main driving force as to why he is introducing modern concepts and technology left and right.
A knock on the door was heard, causing Alexander's train of thought to derail.
"Come in," Alexander called back out, not taking his eyes off the TV. His National Security Advisor entered with documents clutched in his hands. He placed them on top of Alexander's desk.
He looked at the files. "What is this?" he asked curiously looking at them.
Alexander picked it up and opened them to peruse the content. While he's at it, Sevastian begins.
"That's the summary of reports of each of the ministries. The Minister of Agriculture said that our yield has improved immensely thanks to the fertilizers, making a huge surplus that we can export to our neighbors. The Minister of Education said that our literacy rate is increasing," he explained, waiting for Alex to look up and respond to him.
Alex did so with a small smile, looking up at his advisor. He nodded in approval.
"Okay this is impressive, do you have any bad news that can fire me up this morning?" Alexander asked, raising an eyebrow.
Sevastian chuckled lightly. "The ambassador of the Francois Republic has sent you a message."
"Oh? What is it?" Alexander inquired eagerly.
"Since this is bad news, don't expect too much. The Francois Republic won't let us get a hold of Madagascar, not even leasing us a plot of land that you could use to build a naval base,"
"That's sad," Alexander clicked his tongue as he fiddled with his ballpen. "I was kind of expecting good news on that one since the Francois Republic is our ally."
"Well, they said that they've invested so much in the country that selling or giving them off would be considered failure under President Louis Nicholas's administration. He's planning of running again for his second term and if he gives us Madagascar, his opponent will kill him."
"The beauty of democracy," Alexander commented sarcastically. "They work in accordance with their self-interest, not the country. I mean, they already have a huge plot of land in Central Africa, why not sell us Madagascar as the Hanese did to the Manchuria?"
"You said it yourself, Your Majesty. It's personal interest. The Hanese are different, they are in dire need of foreign support to crush down revolutionaries like money or military equipment. Selling a sparsely populated region would earn them that."
"Speaking of Hanese, is there an interesting development brewing in foreign countries?" Alexander asked.
"Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergei has listed four countries that may. First of the Han Dynasty. It seems there is a republic advocate party in Han that would spark another revolution. The Kingdom of Choson was bitter toward the Yamato Empire for forcing them to become a protectorate, a revolutionary war may erupt soon. In the Britannia Raj, there is this monk who rallied a majority of the nation to go on hunger strike. It was suppressed and the monk was arrested. In the Spanish Empire, a civil war broke out between the nationalist and royalist factions, and lastly the powder keg of Europa, the Balkans. Instability has been growing each year due to rising nationalist ideals and border disputes," Sevastian concluded.
After hearing Sevastian's summary of what's happening in the world currently, Alexander gave a remark. "So, to sum it up, nationalist movement, civil wars, and anti-colonialism movement?"
"That pretty much sums it up," Sevastian let out a chuckle.
"What about nationalist movement within our border?" Alexander asked. Ruthenia Empire is a multiethnic and multilingual nation, and a possibility of a nationalist movement is highly likely.
"Well, this may surprise you but there's no such movement occurring in the Ruthenia Empire. I believe they are content with having you as their supreme leader. As long that you infringe upon their rights that is..." Sevastian commented and continued. "Now with all the world problems, what will you do, Your Majesty?"
"Well," Alexander cleared his throat. "I see this as a huge opportunity for the Ruthenian Empire to finally step into the global stage. We've been sidelined for so long by our fellow western powers and now it's time to change that."
"Your Majesty," Sevastian interrupted carefully. "Are perhaps planning an intervention?"
"Damn right I do," Alexander grinned smugly. "Also this is good for our business, wars in another country means profits. We sell weapons, increasing our economy in the process. It's a win-win for us. We pick a side and help it win, and that winning side will have to fulfill our demands. This is how you control the world."
"Your ambition is really high, Your Majesty, I must say that," Sevastian stated, sounding a bit unsure about it but decided to let it go anyway.
"Oh before I forgot, how's Sergei?"
"His plane just landed in the Hague for the upcoming Hague convention."
"I see...I guess the western powers have already predicted that a major conflict is happening sometime in the future that they decided to create new rules."
"I'm afraid my inference will be the same."
