Ridli Scott
(Verified acid sweater mutant)
- Location
- The Periphery
To be fair I can't decide if he surviving and continuing at the head of Russia is better or worse, and the other option is horrible by default
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A Second Sunrise: Taiwan of 2020 Sent Back to 1911
- Thread starter ChrisProvidence
- Start date
- Original Modern Post-1900
To be fair I can't decide if he surviving and continuing at the head of Russia is better or worse, and the other option is horrible by default
- Location
- Philippines
Better.
Competent ministers can actually push Nicky around because during the later years after repeated bunglings a lot of which was his fault he would shut up and listen.
Or you get stuff like Rasputin or his wife
EBR
Self-Requested Ban
- Location
- Khazaria
Wang Jingwei, methinks?
I'm also liking the efforts to build a Free Korean force out of uptime and downtime Koreans.
ChrisProvidence
Time Traveling Unequal Treaty Destroyer
- Pronouns
- He/Him
That's a bingo.
And yeah, the Korean independence movement will be playing a role.
Likely in a similar role as the Polish Legions, in the sense that any such force would be the core of a new Korean military, while the independence movement (and any uptime Koreans/technically-not-diplomats) would be the future government.
And they won't be the last, either.
Ridli Scott
(Verified acid sweater mutant)
- Location
- The Periphery
That's my point.
You can get better people, yes... but also worse and Russia has a thing for never choosing the better option (and FYI I'm not speaking because of the actual situation but in general).
ChrisProvidence
Time Traveling Unequal Treaty Destroyer
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Yeah, from what I can tell, once Nicholas II finds out about what happens to him and his family, he's going to do everything in his power he can to avert that.
Even if it might not actually help, but he thinks it might.
Chapter 9: A New Fate
ChrisProvidence
Time Traveling Unequal Treaty Destroyer
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Bohai Sea, 19 March 1911
"Comm check," Rachel's voice sounded over the radio. "Li, can you hear me?"
"I can hear you," Li said, though his voice was muffled by the black ballistic mask he was wearing. "Approaching target. How copy, over?"
"I hear you. Good luck, Li. Over."
"Expect medium resistance!" Ma shouted to the rest of the helicopter, "We may outgun them, but a bullet's a bullet. Don't get cocky."
Location Unknown, Outside Beijing, Qing Empire
He'd been sitting there, for Heaven knows how long, and he didn't know why.
Wasn't he supposed to be released? Yet here he was, still locked up for some reason. Could the rumors have spooked the Qing?
Even down here, he'd heard the rumors from the south. That Taiwan had rebelled against the Japanese, then obliterated the fleet that came to reconquer them.
He didn't believe it, or at least not fully, though he had a feeling his jailers did. Or at least enough to keep him locked up when he thought he'd go-
"Get up, Traitor!" a guard shouted, and swung the door open. "You're coming with us!"
Prison Rooftops
"Team One has landed," Ma whispered over the comms. "Huang, Fong, set up overwatch in the tower. The rest of you, with me. You too, Li."
Li undid the safety on his MP5 and donned his NVGs.
"Team two, moving."
"Team three, moving."
"Team four, moving."
"I have eyes on two targets in front of you," Fong's voice whispered on the radio, "Patrolling around the corner."
"Drop them," said the Sergeant, and held up a fist.
Li and the others stopped, then heard two thuds amidst the rain.
"They're down. Keep moving."
Li followed them at their slow pace, checking corners as he they worked their way towards the command center.
"Looks like they're moving some people to the courtyard," Fong whispered through the radio. "Might be the HVT."
"Shit," Li whispered to Ma. "They're moving to shoot him."
"Yeah, they are," the Singaporean agreed, before getting on the comms. "Team one has eyes on the HVT. HVT is in danger. Moving to secure. Team two, break off to cover us."
"Team two copies," the Lieutenant agreed. "Moving to assist."
"We have movement to the front," said one of the lead soldiers.
"Drop them."
A quick burst, and the guards were down.
"Keep moving to the courtyard."
"Team Two is in position. We have eyes on the HVT and about a dozen other prisoners, along with twice as many guards. Please advise."
"Team Two, hold your fire unless the HVT is in danger while we get in position," the Captain ordered, then turned to Li and his men. "Hurry up, people."
"Eyes on six guards headed to the courtyard," Li whispered. "On your go, Captain."
Ma held up a fist, and aimed his MP5. "Everyone pick a target."
Six whispers. Six bursts, and six dead guards.
"We're clear. Get up on the terrace."
"They're moving the HVT to the wall, Ma," the Lieutenant breathed through the comms. "Requesting permission to engage."
Li could see them marching Wang to the wall, while troops were readying their rifles.
"Team One is in position," the Ma calmly announced. "Work your way from your side to the center, and fire on my signal."
On cue, Li aimed down the sight. One eye on his target, and one on the HVT.
The presiding guard slumped to the ground, blood pooling around his head.
"Open fire."
Li fired a single burst, and one of the firing squad fell to the fround.
And another.
Followed by a third, then a fourth.
Li shifted, and saw a guard panicking, looking for where the bullets had come from.
Another burst from his MP5 calmed the man down.
Li turned his sights to the HVT, who'd hit the dirt. All it would take was a single burst amidst the chaos, and Sun would be none the wiser.
"Courtyard clear," shouted the commander. "Cease fire!"
Li lowered his weapon, and followed Ma into the courtyard.
After all, if he wanted to kill Wang Zhaoming, he'd have let the Qing do it.
"Command, HVT is secured, along with eleven prisoners. Requesting Evac, over."
Ishigaki Island, Republic of China, 20 March 1911
"Chen."
"Yes, Miss Higa?"
"I know you were explaining it to my father, but why are you building a tower in the middle of nowhere?"
"The wi-fi tower?"
She nodded. "The what?"
"Okay, how do I put it…" After all, he knew she wasn't stupid. Technologically-impaired, maybe, but not stupid. "You know how I can communicate with people over the radio, right?"
"Yes. Because of waves that go through the air?"
"Yeah. Well, that tower basically does that, but for information."
"I see… And why is it in the middle of nowhere?"
"Oh that's so nobody accidentally gets cancer by living nearby."
"Wait, what-"
"No, you'd literally have to live nearby for a long time. All of us, on the other side of the island? We'll be fine."
"I see… So, you're building a tower to communicate with Taiwan?"
"More or less. That and so we can get internet access."
"Come again?"
"That's how we communicate using the tower. It's a sort of network. That, and I'm kind of getting bored of watching the same movies all the time."
"I wouldn't mind watching the 'Chinese Cowboy Movie' again."
"Yeah, that's a good one. Wait, is that what we're watching tonight?"
"I think so. The new guys'll love it."
"How about those people who flew off earlier?"
"They'll probably miss it. Shame, really, because 'Let the Bullets Fly' is Marty's favorite,."
"I see."
Port of Tianjin, Qing Empire, 20 March 1911
Chen Qimei sat on the deck of the ship as it loaded the rest of the supplies for the next leg of their voyage when he heard the deafening roar of an engine above him.
To his surprise, he saw lights flying through the blackened sky, off to the horizon of the Bohai Sea.
"You saw that too, right?" a young officer in a Japanese uniform asked him. "The lights?"
"Yes, I did Jiang. Now, are the supplies loaded?"
The young artillery officer nodded and offered Chen a handshake. "Until we meet again, my friend."
"Comm check," Rachel's voice sounded over the radio. "Li, can you hear me?"
"I can hear you," Li said, though his voice was muffled by the black ballistic mask he was wearing. "Approaching target. How copy, over?"
"I hear you. Good luck, Li. Over."
"Expect medium resistance!" Ma shouted to the rest of the helicopter, "We may outgun them, but a bullet's a bullet. Don't get cocky."
Location Unknown, Outside Beijing, Qing Empire
He'd been sitting there, for Heaven knows how long, and he didn't know why.
Wasn't he supposed to be released? Yet here he was, still locked up for some reason. Could the rumors have spooked the Qing?
Even down here, he'd heard the rumors from the south. That Taiwan had rebelled against the Japanese, then obliterated the fleet that came to reconquer them.
He didn't believe it, or at least not fully, though he had a feeling his jailers did. Or at least enough to keep him locked up when he thought he'd go-
"Get up, Traitor!" a guard shouted, and swung the door open. "You're coming with us!"
Prison Rooftops
"Team One has landed," Ma whispered over the comms. "Huang, Fong, set up overwatch in the tower. The rest of you, with me. You too, Li."
Li undid the safety on his MP5 and donned his NVGs.
"Team two, moving."
"Team three, moving."
"Team four, moving."
"I have eyes on two targets in front of you," Fong's voice whispered on the radio, "Patrolling around the corner."
"Drop them," said the Sergeant, and held up a fist.
Li and the others stopped, then heard two thuds amidst the rain.
"They're down. Keep moving."
Li followed them at their slow pace, checking corners as he they worked their way towards the command center.
"Looks like they're moving some people to the courtyard," Fong whispered through the radio. "Might be the HVT."
"Shit," Li whispered to Ma. "They're moving to shoot him."
"Yeah, they are," the Singaporean agreed, before getting on the comms. "Team one has eyes on the HVT. HVT is in danger. Moving to secure. Team two, break off to cover us."
"Team two copies," the Lieutenant agreed. "Moving to assist."
"We have movement to the front," said one of the lead soldiers.
"Drop them."
A quick burst, and the guards were down.
"Keep moving to the courtyard."
"Team Two is in position. We have eyes on the HVT and about a dozen other prisoners, along with twice as many guards. Please advise."
"Team Two, hold your fire unless the HVT is in danger while we get in position," the Captain ordered, then turned to Li and his men. "Hurry up, people."
"Eyes on six guards headed to the courtyard," Li whispered. "On your go, Captain."
Ma held up a fist, and aimed his MP5. "Everyone pick a target."
Six whispers. Six bursts, and six dead guards.
"We're clear. Get up on the terrace."
"They're moving the HVT to the wall, Ma," the Lieutenant breathed through the comms. "Requesting permission to engage."
Li could see them marching Wang to the wall, while troops were readying their rifles.
"Team One is in position," the Ma calmly announced. "Work your way from your side to the center, and fire on my signal."
On cue, Li aimed down the sight. One eye on his target, and one on the HVT.
The presiding guard slumped to the ground, blood pooling around his head.
"Open fire."
Li fired a single burst, and one of the firing squad fell to the fround.
And another.
Followed by a third, then a fourth.
Li shifted, and saw a guard panicking, looking for where the bullets had come from.
Another burst from his MP5 calmed the man down.
Li turned his sights to the HVT, who'd hit the dirt. All it would take was a single burst amidst the chaos, and Sun would be none the wiser.
"Courtyard clear," shouted the commander. "Cease fire!"
Li lowered his weapon, and followed Ma into the courtyard.
After all, if he wanted to kill Wang Zhaoming, he'd have let the Qing do it.
"Command, HVT is secured, along with eleven prisoners. Requesting Evac, over."
Ishigaki Island, Republic of China, 20 March 1911
"Chen."
"Yes, Miss Higa?"
"I know you were explaining it to my father, but why are you building a tower in the middle of nowhere?"
"The wi-fi tower?"
She nodded. "The what?"
"Okay, how do I put it…" After all, he knew she wasn't stupid. Technologically-impaired, maybe, but not stupid. "You know how I can communicate with people over the radio, right?"
"Yes. Because of waves that go through the air?"
"Yeah. Well, that tower basically does that, but for information."
"I see… And why is it in the middle of nowhere?"
"Oh that's so nobody accidentally gets cancer by living nearby."
"Wait, what-"
"No, you'd literally have to live nearby for a long time. All of us, on the other side of the island? We'll be fine."
"I see… So, you're building a tower to communicate with Taiwan?"
"More or less. That and so we can get internet access."
"Come again?"
"That's how we communicate using the tower. It's a sort of network. That, and I'm kind of getting bored of watching the same movies all the time."
"I wouldn't mind watching the 'Chinese Cowboy Movie' again."
"Yeah, that's a good one. Wait, is that what we're watching tonight?"
"I think so. The new guys'll love it."
"How about those people who flew off earlier?"
"They'll probably miss it. Shame, really, because 'Let the Bullets Fly' is Marty's favorite,."
"I see."
Port of Tianjin, Qing Empire, 20 March 1911
Chen Qimei sat on the deck of the ship as it loaded the rest of the supplies for the next leg of their voyage when he heard the deafening roar of an engine above him.
To his surprise, he saw lights flying through the blackened sky, off to the horizon of the Bohai Sea.
"You saw that too, right?" a young officer in a Japanese uniform asked him. "The lights?"
"Yes, I did Jiang. Now, are the supplies loaded?"
The young artillery officer nodded and offered Chen a handshake. "Until we meet again, my friend."
So Where Did I Begin?
ChrisProvidence
Time Traveling Unequal Treaty Destroyer
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Ishigaki Airfield
"So, how do I look?" Chen asked her. If he was being honest, he didn't like his dress uniform too much, but he had to keep up appearances.
"You clean up nicely," she told him, while they waited at the runway. "Now I have another question."
"Of course, Miss Higa."
"Why am I here?"
"Because we will be welcoming some new recruits today. Koreans, apparently."
"I hope you're not asking me to translate. My Korean is atrocious."
"Don't worry. They speak Chinese. Wait, you speak Korean?"
"Only the profanities," she told him, with a wry smile. "I think I learned a few words when I visited as a child."
"Really?"
"My father is a merchant. Well, was a merchant, Chen."
"Right. So, Korea, huh? Probably different than when I lived there."
"You used to live there?"
"Yeah, long time ago. Ahead… You get what I mean."
"It still gets confusing."
"Tell me about it." That got a slight laugh out of her. "Anyways, my mother was a teacher, so she brought me along for a year in Seoul."
"What was it like?"
"Crowded. Lots of buildings. A lot more crowded than when you visited. Probably."
"With tall towers?"
"Skyscrapers? Yeah. Plenty of them around."
"It must have taken some time to adjust from life in Taipei, yes?"
"Huh?"
"Didn't you say you grew up in Taipei?"
"Me?" Chen continued to give her a confused look. "Oh, I grew up in Irvine."
"Irvine… I can't say I have ever been to a place like that. Where is it?"
"California." Higa gave him another curious look. "…In the United States."
"You were born in the United States?" Shock filled her voice as she said that. "I thought the Americans didn't want Chinese people there."
"I'm from the future, remember?" Under any other circumstances, Chen knew he would have sounded insane, but here he was. "Besides, I was born in Hong Kong."
"Ah, that sounds more reasonable," Higa agreed. "Though I imagine it was different from when my father brought me there."
"Yeah. Mom and I left in 1997, anyways."
"To the United States?"
"Yeah. Lot of us moved away when the Mainland took over. Some of us immigrated to the United States."
"Including your family."
"Yeah. Marty's too. Met him when we were classmates in elementary school."
"I see… So, many people moved to the United States when the British stopped owning the island?"
"Not all of us," another woman's voice interrupted. Michael turned to see a woman walking up to them, with Marty by her side. "Some of us were resettled in Vancouver as well."
"Agent Fong," Chen greeted, before turning to his friend. "Hey, Marty."
"Hey, Mike. Thanks for hosting us for a few more days."
"Hey, we could use the company," he said, before turning to Higa. "Ah, where are my manners? Miss Higa, this is Agent Rachel Fong and Agent Martin Li. Fong, Li, this is Miss Higa Akira, the liasion and translator between myself and the local community."
"Nice to meet you," said Marty.
"Charmed." Fong told her.
"So," Li continued, seeing that nobody else would. "Got word that the Koreans will be landing in thirty. We're looking at a battalion's worth of men of mixed training."
"Volunteers from civilians, tourists, down-timers, and military students, right?"
"Yeah, a motley crew, Mike," Marty admitted. "I'm sure you're familiar with their commander?"
"Captain Park Jae-hyun, right?" Fong nodded. "Yeah, I think I met him once. Korean Marines, right?"
Fong nodded again. "Yes, he will be the de-facto commander of the First Korean Infantry Battalion of your brigade, Colonel."
"He can speak the language, right?" Fong nodded a third time. "Good… Wait, Colonel?!"
He could sworn, Higa was biting her tongue not to laugh, but Marty gave him a wry smile.
"Yeah, congratulations on your promotion, Mike."
"How-"
"Lack of officers and all of your superiors being off-island when we all got sent back in time. So congratulations, old friend. Lucky you."
"This means I have more responsibilities, doesn't it?"
"Nothing more than you've already been doing," Fong pointed out. And with him training his men and the new recruits, he knew she had a point. "Now you have the rank and pay to match your new obligations."
"Lucky me. So, how's Wang recovering?"
"He'll live," Li grumbled. "And Sun will be grateful. But outside of OSINT and basic common sense, we can't really tell you anything, Mike."
"Yeah, I figured," he agreed. Clearance was clearance, and he didn't have to worry about things like that when the first plane came over the horizon. "Well, that's as good a sign as any. Places, everyone!"
"So, how do I look?" Chen asked her. If he was being honest, he didn't like his dress uniform too much, but he had to keep up appearances.
"You clean up nicely," she told him, while they waited at the runway. "Now I have another question."
"Of course, Miss Higa."
"Why am I here?"
"Because we will be welcoming some new recruits today. Koreans, apparently."
"I hope you're not asking me to translate. My Korean is atrocious."
"Don't worry. They speak Chinese. Wait, you speak Korean?"
"Only the profanities," she told him, with a wry smile. "I think I learned a few words when I visited as a child."
"Really?"
"My father is a merchant. Well, was a merchant, Chen."
"Right. So, Korea, huh? Probably different than when I lived there."
"You used to live there?"
"Yeah, long time ago. Ahead… You get what I mean."
"It still gets confusing."
"Tell me about it." That got a slight laugh out of her. "Anyways, my mother was a teacher, so she brought me along for a year in Seoul."
"What was it like?"
"Crowded. Lots of buildings. A lot more crowded than when you visited. Probably."
"With tall towers?"
"Skyscrapers? Yeah. Plenty of them around."
"It must have taken some time to adjust from life in Taipei, yes?"
"Huh?"
"Didn't you say you grew up in Taipei?"
"Me?" Chen continued to give her a confused look. "Oh, I grew up in Irvine."
"Irvine… I can't say I have ever been to a place like that. Where is it?"
"California." Higa gave him another curious look. "…In the United States."
"You were born in the United States?" Shock filled her voice as she said that. "I thought the Americans didn't want Chinese people there."
"I'm from the future, remember?" Under any other circumstances, Chen knew he would have sounded insane, but here he was. "Besides, I was born in Hong Kong."
"Ah, that sounds more reasonable," Higa agreed. "Though I imagine it was different from when my father brought me there."
"Yeah. Mom and I left in 1997, anyways."
"To the United States?"
"Yeah. Lot of us moved away when the Mainland took over. Some of us immigrated to the United States."
"Including your family."
"Yeah. Marty's too. Met him when we were classmates in elementary school."
"I see… So, many people moved to the United States when the British stopped owning the island?"
"Not all of us," another woman's voice interrupted. Michael turned to see a woman walking up to them, with Marty by her side. "Some of us were resettled in Vancouver as well."
"Agent Fong," Chen greeted, before turning to his friend. "Hey, Marty."
"Hey, Mike. Thanks for hosting us for a few more days."
"Hey, we could use the company," he said, before turning to Higa. "Ah, where are my manners? Miss Higa, this is Agent Rachel Fong and Agent Martin Li. Fong, Li, this is Miss Higa Akira, the liasion and translator between myself and the local community."
"Nice to meet you," said Marty.
"Charmed." Fong told her.
"So," Li continued, seeing that nobody else would. "Got word that the Koreans will be landing in thirty. We're looking at a battalion's worth of men of mixed training."
"Volunteers from civilians, tourists, down-timers, and military students, right?"
"Yeah, a motley crew, Mike," Marty admitted. "I'm sure you're familiar with their commander?"
"Captain Park Jae-hyun, right?" Fong nodded. "Yeah, I think I met him once. Korean Marines, right?"
Fong nodded again. "Yes, he will be the de-facto commander of the First Korean Infantry Battalion of your brigade, Colonel."
"He can speak the language, right?" Fong nodded a third time. "Good… Wait, Colonel?!"
He could sworn, Higa was biting her tongue not to laugh, but Marty gave him a wry smile.
"Yeah, congratulations on your promotion, Mike."
"How-"
"Lack of officers and all of your superiors being off-island when we all got sent back in time. So congratulations, old friend. Lucky you."
"This means I have more responsibilities, doesn't it?"
"Nothing more than you've already been doing," Fong pointed out. And with him training his men and the new recruits, he knew she had a point. "Now you have the rank and pay to match your new obligations."
"Lucky me. So, how's Wang recovering?"
"He'll live," Li grumbled. "And Sun will be grateful. But outside of OSINT and basic common sense, we can't really tell you anything, Mike."
"Yeah, I figured," he agreed. Clearance was clearance, and he didn't have to worry about things like that when the first plane came over the horizon. "Well, that's as good a sign as any. Places, everyone!"
I prefer these kinds of stories be an impersonal, overview of the events. Even if there are characters POV, i like them shorter and without extra fluff.
I do hope others enjoy this tho.
I do hope others enjoy this tho.
Ridli Scott
(Verified acid sweater mutant)
- Location
- The Periphery
That is the first thing we all learn of another language. Sometimes the only thing.
Memo: The Role of Historical Intelligence (HISTINT) in Decision-Making, by Agent Martin Li
ChrisProvidence
Time Traveling Unequal Treaty Destroyer
- Pronouns
- He/Him
When it comes to foreign policy, strategy, and intelligence, knowing your opponents, as well as your allies, is of the utmost importance.
To that end, I believe that Historical Intelligence (HISTINT) can provide a certain edge against any and all competitors for the foreseeable future (10-30 years).
Of course, this is hardly a new concept. Intelligence agencies research and write up character assessments on people of interest all the time.
Who they are, what they believe, how they act, how to blackmail and/or murder them… et cetera.
As such, what I am proposing is hardly anything new.
However, HISTINT does provide a certain perspective that traditional reports and assessments do not have:
Hard Evidence.
Of course, your average profile or intel assessment can make estimations, but the simple fact that we know how certain people will act in specific scenarios provides a greater insight into their character, allowing for more precise assessments.
Which in turn allow for more effective decision-making.
For example, let's take a look at Tsar Nicholas II.
While not the most competent, he does care for his children more than almost anything else. HISTINT would point out that his care for his son led to the introduction of Rasputin into his court.
Had the Tsarevich not had hemophilia or his father not cared for him, it is likely that such a person as Rasputin would not have risen to prominence.
As such, it is likely that the Tsar may make overtures to us in an effort to find a treatment for his son, rather than Rasputin.
As such, I would recommend that we embrace any such overtures, as they would generate a good amount of goodwill and soft power with the Russians, while also sidelining a destabilizing force.
Of course, HISTINT is not an oracle, nor should it be seen as such.
Regarding Wang Jingwei, the man in our time is a Hanjian. A traitor.
But this is a man almost three decades younger, who has had little, if any, contact with the Japanese.
While I have no love for the man, I would think it would be… unwise to project that he would follow a similar path.
From what I have learned about him, he seems to be largely loyal to Sun. Fanatically against the Manchus as well, it seems.
Would such a man betray us again, given the different circumstances?
This shows one of the limits of HISTINT. While it is a useful tool for character assessments, it is most effective on people who are of similar positions under similar circumstances as in our own time.
It is my belief that somebody with a similar position, circumstances, and beliefs would act similarly to their alternate selves.
In contrast, an assessment based on somebody twenty or thirty years before they rise to prominence and historical record is likely to be less-useful, or even harmful.
Moreover, continued distance from the point of divergence between our timelines (circa early 1911) will likely lead to HISTINT becoming less-efficient as a predictive tool.
In short, HISTINT is a valuable tool, but we must use it immediately if we want to use its full potential.
-Agent Martin Li
MIB Field Agent & Analyst
To that end, I believe that Historical Intelligence (HISTINT) can provide a certain edge against any and all competitors for the foreseeable future (10-30 years).
Of course, this is hardly a new concept. Intelligence agencies research and write up character assessments on people of interest all the time.
Who they are, what they believe, how they act, how to blackmail and/or murder them… et cetera.
As such, what I am proposing is hardly anything new.
However, HISTINT does provide a certain perspective that traditional reports and assessments do not have:
Hard Evidence.
Of course, your average profile or intel assessment can make estimations, but the simple fact that we know how certain people will act in specific scenarios provides a greater insight into their character, allowing for more precise assessments.
Which in turn allow for more effective decision-making.
For example, let's take a look at Tsar Nicholas II.
While not the most competent, he does care for his children more than almost anything else. HISTINT would point out that his care for his son led to the introduction of Rasputin into his court.
Had the Tsarevich not had hemophilia or his father not cared for him, it is likely that such a person as Rasputin would not have risen to prominence.
As such, it is likely that the Tsar may make overtures to us in an effort to find a treatment for his son, rather than Rasputin.
As such, I would recommend that we embrace any such overtures, as they would generate a good amount of goodwill and soft power with the Russians, while also sidelining a destabilizing force.
Of course, HISTINT is not an oracle, nor should it be seen as such.
Regarding Wang Jingwei, the man in our time is a Hanjian. A traitor.
But this is a man almost three decades younger, who has had little, if any, contact with the Japanese.
While I have no love for the man, I would think it would be… unwise to project that he would follow a similar path.
From what I have learned about him, he seems to be largely loyal to Sun. Fanatically against the Manchus as well, it seems.
Would such a man betray us again, given the different circumstances?
This shows one of the limits of HISTINT. While it is a useful tool for character assessments, it is most effective on people who are of similar positions under similar circumstances as in our own time.
It is my belief that somebody with a similar position, circumstances, and beliefs would act similarly to their alternate selves.
In contrast, an assessment based on somebody twenty or thirty years before they rise to prominence and historical record is likely to be less-useful, or even harmful.
Moreover, continued distance from the point of divergence between our timelines (circa early 1911) will likely lead to HISTINT becoming less-efficient as a predictive tool.
In short, HISTINT is a valuable tool, but we must use it immediately if we want to use its full potential.
-Agent Martin Li
MIB Field Agent & Analyst
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Ridli Scott
(Verified acid sweater mutant)
- Location
- The Periphery
Random Taiwanese intelligence agent: "Prime minister, I have good and bad news: The Tsar is interested in us."
Chapter 10: Reconstruction
ChrisProvidence
Time Traveling Unequal Treaty Destroyer
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Japanese Embassy, Taipei, Republic of China, 30 April 1911
At this moment, the Embassy had been in legal limbo, what with technically being loyal to the temporal Empire of Japan, while also being unrecognized.
Still, that hadn't stopped them from getting spied on by the MIB, even if they had absolutely nothing to do with that attempted invasion, and most of the people here were largely opposed to it, anyways.
But with the war being over and the Tarō government trying to put out a dozen fires, Tokyo eventually decided that the best thing to do was keep them in Taiwan and turn them into an embassy.
Which, for Ambassador Numata Mikio, worked just fine for him. Like most foreign diplomats in Taiwan, he had already been an ambassador in all but name, anyways.
As far as he was concerned, it could have been worse. At least he still had a country, unlike the Koreans.
Or the Filipinos.
Or the Indians.
Or anyone else who was from Asia, now that he thought about it.
Kure Naval Arsenal, Kure, Hiroshima
"She is a beauty, isn't she?" said Admiral Tōgō. "A shame about the circumstances, though."
"Captain Matsumura was a good sailor," Captain Yagushi answered. He didn't personally know the man , but they both served against the Russians a few years earlier. "It is an honor to command the Aki."
"It seems that naval officers are in short supply," said the Nelson of the East. "It will take at least a decade to rebuild what we have lost."
"At the minimum, Admiral," Yagushi confirmed, and he knew it better than most.
While the Admiralty was largely intact, most captains had gone down with their ships. While seen as honorable by some, Fukuyuma had been quick to point out that this effectively gutted the IJN.
"Now, if you'll excuse me, Captain, I must return to Tokyo. It seems that the Army wants to take advantage of the Battle of the East China Sea."
"I wish you luck, Admiral," said the Captain, followed by a crisp salute. "May I speak freely for a second?"
"Go ahead."
"If the Chinese are able to sink a fleet from miles away, it is likely that a similar weapon can be used to destroy our armies."
Manila Harbor, Insular Government of the Philippine Islands
Emmanuel Tsu looked over the manifest once again. Everything was here... power tools, screws, batteries, and enough solar generators to fill a small solar array.
"You know, those tools aren't going anywhere if you check them the fifth time, Manny."
"Yeah, I know, Laura. Just nervous."
"You're always nervous. Just let me handle the business, while you do what you do best. Teach."
"You know, we're going to get some weird looks when we get there. Usually, it's a white guy with a Filipina wife, not the other way-"
"Manny," his wife laughed, "If I cared about that kind of stuff back home, I wouldn't have said yes."
"Or told your mother to go fuck herself when she found out about me."
"Well she can. But she's long gone, and good riddance. So, you ready for this?"
"With you? Yeah. How's your Tagalog?"
"Little rusty, but I brushed up a bit on the way. How's your English?"
"Pasensya na, pero hindi ako marunong mag english."
"Yeah, you'll be fine," she said with another laugh. "Think they'll buy what we're selling?"
"Probably. Not like they really have power tools back there. Long as we don't treat them like morons-"
"Why the hell would we do that?"
"Hypothetical, Laura." he told her, shaking his head. After all, she was as far from her mother as she could be. "But as long as we give them a fair shake and demonstrate what our tools can do, we should be in good shape."
After all, it's not like these guys had anything that could match a drill or a nail gun.
It was funny, now that he thought about it. For all of the technology that they could sell, basic power tools were the best they could work with for now.
Then again, your average rechargeable drill or nail gun were pretty simple and reliable, assuming they could keep a charge. So as long as the solar panels and the generators worked, they'd be able to recharge any batteries for their customers.
For a modest price, of course.
Couple that with the sheer amount of screws and nails they could bring over, and Laura was pretty sure they could beat anything the locals had on hand. Well, that's what she told the tool company, anyways, and she was fairly convincing.
"Yeah. So, do you want to do the talking?" she interrupted. "It was your idea, Manny."
"You're the one who used to run the guitar shop. I just kept the books."
"You sure? I'm not sure if they'd take a me seriously. You know, guys from a century in the past, and all that."
"Yeah, but you're also white. Lot of people back here didn't exactly have the best opinion of Filipinos."
"Yeah, but they'll probably think you're Chinese."
Yay, less racism.
"I am Chinese." To be specific, he was Tsinoy, even if it was more his name than anything else. "Well, more Chinese than Spanish, anyways."
"You'll be fine," she told him, in all sincerity. "We'll be fine. We've made it this far, haven't we?"
"Yeah. Helps that we kinda know what we're doing, too."
"Yeah, that definitely helps, Manny."
Beiyang Army Headquarters, Beijing, Qing Empire, 4 May 1911
Lieutenant Jiang stood at attention on the parade grounds, though he was hardly paying attention to General Yuan's speech.
Why would he? As far as he was concerned, it was a load of bullshit coated in Qing gold.
"In this time, the Chinese people need a strong hand to guide them. In these times, the Chinese people need a strong shield to protect them from radicalism."
As far as Jiang was concerned, that hand would be Manchu, or Yuan himself.
Whoever's hand it may be, it would be holding a leash.
He looked to his left to see one of his old classmates, who'd nodded back towards him.
He turned to his right.
Another nod.
Jiang turned to the General, who had said something about "Defending China," and he nodded as well
For the first time that day, he agreed with Yuan Shikai.
At this moment, the Embassy had been in legal limbo, what with technically being loyal to the temporal Empire of Japan, while also being unrecognized.
Still, that hadn't stopped them from getting spied on by the MIB, even if they had absolutely nothing to do with that attempted invasion, and most of the people here were largely opposed to it, anyways.
But with the war being over and the Tarō government trying to put out a dozen fires, Tokyo eventually decided that the best thing to do was keep them in Taiwan and turn them into an embassy.
Which, for Ambassador Numata Mikio, worked just fine for him. Like most foreign diplomats in Taiwan, he had already been an ambassador in all but name, anyways.
As far as he was concerned, it could have been worse. At least he still had a country, unlike the Koreans.
Or the Filipinos.
Or the Indians.
Or anyone else who was from Asia, now that he thought about it.
Kure Naval Arsenal, Kure, Hiroshima
"She is a beauty, isn't she?" said Admiral Tōgō. "A shame about the circumstances, though."
"Captain Matsumura was a good sailor," Captain Yagushi answered. He didn't personally know the man , but they both served against the Russians a few years earlier. "It is an honor to command the Aki."
"It seems that naval officers are in short supply," said the Nelson of the East. "It will take at least a decade to rebuild what we have lost."
"At the minimum, Admiral," Yagushi confirmed, and he knew it better than most.
While the Admiralty was largely intact, most captains had gone down with their ships. While seen as honorable by some, Fukuyuma had been quick to point out that this effectively gutted the IJN.
"Now, if you'll excuse me, Captain, I must return to Tokyo. It seems that the Army wants to take advantage of the Battle of the East China Sea."
"I wish you luck, Admiral," said the Captain, followed by a crisp salute. "May I speak freely for a second?"
"Go ahead."
"If the Chinese are able to sink a fleet from miles away, it is likely that a similar weapon can be used to destroy our armies."
Manila Harbor, Insular Government of the Philippine Islands
Emmanuel Tsu looked over the manifest once again. Everything was here... power tools, screws, batteries, and enough solar generators to fill a small solar array.
"You know, those tools aren't going anywhere if you check them the fifth time, Manny."
"Yeah, I know, Laura. Just nervous."
"You're always nervous. Just let me handle the business, while you do what you do best. Teach."
"You know, we're going to get some weird looks when we get there. Usually, it's a white guy with a Filipina wife, not the other way-"
"Manny," his wife laughed, "If I cared about that kind of stuff back home, I wouldn't have said yes."
"Or told your mother to go fuck herself when she found out about me."
"Well she can. But she's long gone, and good riddance. So, you ready for this?"
"With you? Yeah. How's your Tagalog?"
"Little rusty, but I brushed up a bit on the way. How's your English?"
"Pasensya na, pero hindi ako marunong mag english."
"Yeah, you'll be fine," she said with another laugh. "Think they'll buy what we're selling?"
"Probably. Not like they really have power tools back there. Long as we don't treat them like morons-"
"Why the hell would we do that?"
"Hypothetical, Laura." he told her, shaking his head. After all, she was as far from her mother as she could be. "But as long as we give them a fair shake and demonstrate what our tools can do, we should be in good shape."
After all, it's not like these guys had anything that could match a drill or a nail gun.
It was funny, now that he thought about it. For all of the technology that they could sell, basic power tools were the best they could work with for now.
Then again, your average rechargeable drill or nail gun were pretty simple and reliable, assuming they could keep a charge. So as long as the solar panels and the generators worked, they'd be able to recharge any batteries for their customers.
For a modest price, of course.
Couple that with the sheer amount of screws and nails they could bring over, and Laura was pretty sure they could beat anything the locals had on hand. Well, that's what she told the tool company, anyways, and she was fairly convincing.
"Yeah. So, do you want to do the talking?" she interrupted. "It was your idea, Manny."
"You're the one who used to run the guitar shop. I just kept the books."
"You sure? I'm not sure if they'd take a me seriously. You know, guys from a century in the past, and all that."
"Yeah, but you're also white. Lot of people back here didn't exactly have the best opinion of Filipinos."
"Yeah, but they'll probably think you're Chinese."
Yay, less racism.
"I am Chinese." To be specific, he was Tsinoy, even if it was more his name than anything else. "Well, more Chinese than Spanish, anyways."
"You'll be fine," she told him, in all sincerity. "We'll be fine. We've made it this far, haven't we?"
"Yeah. Helps that we kinda know what we're doing, too."
"Yeah, that definitely helps, Manny."
Beiyang Army Headquarters, Beijing, Qing Empire, 4 May 1911
Lieutenant Jiang stood at attention on the parade grounds, though he was hardly paying attention to General Yuan's speech.
Why would he? As far as he was concerned, it was a load of bullshit coated in Qing gold.
"In this time, the Chinese people need a strong hand to guide them. In these times, the Chinese people need a strong shield to protect them from radicalism."
As far as Jiang was concerned, that hand would be Manchu, or Yuan himself.
Whoever's hand it may be, it would be holding a leash.
He looked to his left to see one of his old classmates, who'd nodded back towards him.
He turned to his right.
Another nod.
Jiang turned to the General, who had said something about "Defending China," and he nodded as well
For the first time that day, he agreed with Yuan Shikai.
Last edited:
Ridli Scott
(Verified acid sweater mutant)
- Location
- The Periphery
I was thinking... Taiwan has TSMC, the company that today makes the 90% of the most sophisticated chips in the world (and the 100% here) but they need things that are located outside Taiwan and now are imposible to get. Like the machines from ASML that prints the chips, but even that machines need the ultra plain lents made only by another company in the world Zeiss.
So TSMC is running out of time because these machines and their components aren't replaceable now. They may need to do downtime in technology if that is possible.
To give a more deep explanation:
View: https://youtu.be/Shuv9-MJBEU
View: https://youtu.be/AHfQLjtLJdY
So TSMC is running out of time because these machines and their components aren't replaceable now. They may need to do downtime in technology if that is possible.
To give a more deep explanation:
View: https://youtu.be/Shuv9-MJBEU
View: https://youtu.be/AHfQLjtLJdY
ChrisProvidence
Time Traveling Unequal Treaty Destroyer
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Yeah, I could see that.
Would that mean that they would be using lower-tech equipment or outright switching production to less-sophisticated chips?
Ridli Scott
(Verified acid sweater mutant)
- Location
- The Periphery
Only if they could reconstruct that downtime technology.
Let me put you an example:
From 1966 to 1967 NASA sent 5 Lunar Orbiter missions, all of them with state-of-the-art cameras, some of them capable of making images of a quality that today would still be awesome. But at some point, the originals, stored in magnetic tapes, ended up forgotten in some dark place and the NASA only conserved some copies of copies, some of them of inferior quality destined to give to the press. and When they were recovered they discovered in horror that these high-quality images are inside tapes no machines in the world could read.
Around 2007 someone found 4 Ampex FR-900 tape drives, dusted, some in disrepair but may be repairable. The thing was they needed pieces from other damaged machines around to repair those readers because no one knows how to make the pieces again and each machine is priceless.
Here is an image of what they conserved and what was stored inside these tapes:
So if TSMC wants to make old stuff, they may need to make new designed old stuff, I mean use the knowledge they have to create something downtime, not use the knowledge they have to try to recreate it as exactly as it was years ago.
It's like Kodak with the photo film, they maintained some infrastructure and workers to continue making photo film and now they have a touchstone to expand if necessary now that the film is back. If no one conserved old stuff (and personal) to make old chips they may need to start from the beginning. And make everything by themselves.
Chapter 11: Preventative Treatment
ChrisProvidence
Time Traveling Unequal Treaty Destroyer
- Pronouns
- He/Him
George Town, British Malaya, 4 May 1911
"The Island from the Future," quoted Homer Lea as he thumbed through the newspaper. "It has a nice ring to it."
"Thank the journalist," Li answered. Unlike Lea, he'd been leaning up against the wall in case any Qing sympathizers showed up. "Here's hoping it helps the cause."
"The existence of a Republic of China, let alone one strong enough to defeat the Japanese? That should enough to convince someone that we can win."
Lea set the paper down and turned to face Li.
"But would it not be more beneficial if Taiwan were to open itself to the world?"
Li shrugged. "Perhaps. Do your remember that question you asked me a few months ago?"
"Li, I didn't know you until a month ago."
Wait. That was Huang.
"Oh, you're right. Anyways, the reason why we don't let foreigners go past the ports is security. Last thing we need is Yuan Shikai trying to preemptively murder people."
From what Rachel had told him, Director Chiu was busy trying to talk half the non-Japanese diplomats out of trying to start colonial revolts.
"Is that not what we're doing?"
"Pretty much," Li admitted. "But we need every advantage we can get, right?"
"Fair enough," Lea relented, as Dr. Sun walked off the stage. "Say, can I ask you a personal question, Li?"
"Depends on the question, Homer," Lea said with some caution. "What is it?"
"What happened in your time?"
"That's a long one, Lea. Do you want the long version or the short version?"
"Let's go with the abridged version," the American requested. "For starters, what happens to me?"
Li winced at the question. Though he'd consider himself a good liar, he never liked being the bearer of bad news.
"What's wrong, Li?"
"You die of a stroke in a year."
Lea paused, then burst out laughing, "That's a good one, Li!"
"Homer, I'm being serious. You don't have that much longer to live. Hell, if you don't believe me, I can show you your grave in Taiwan."
"I see..." The American needed a minute to comprehend it. "One year."
"I'm sure we can take preventative treatment," Li promised. "When we go to Taiwan, I'll get you to a doctor."
"Thanks," he said, in slightly higher spirits. "And the rest of the world?"
We win, but Yuan fucks it up and tries to become Emperor. He fails, but China falls apart. So it takes our side another decade to reunite it, though Sun never sees it. His successor starts fighting the Communists-"
"Communists?"
"Marxists. Anyways, we fight the Communists for ten years, and then Japan invades us. We're doing horribly, but Japan decides to invade the Philippines, which brings America into the war."
"Like my book?"
"Yeah, kind of," Li admitted, and Lea looked somewhere between proud and horrified. "The good news is that the General in charge of defending the Philippines read it."
"What's the bad news?"
"The Japanese also read it."
"Oh."
"And it also resulted in the internment of thousands of innocent Japanese-Americans."
"Oh. It makes sense, though."
"What?" Thankfully, Li managed to hide his emotions, because he was half-tempted to call Lea an idiot.
"Some of the Japanese-Americans could have sympathized with the Empire."
"Maybe. But most of them were as loyal as any other American. Hell, Japanese Americans wanted to fight Japan, but America wouldn't let them serve in that theater. By the end of the war, the most-decorated unit in that war majority Japanese-American."
"I see. So it was my fault?"
"Not exactly," Li reassured him once more, though It didn't look like it did anything. "It's more like it didn't help things."
"So, what happens next?"
"Let's see... America, Britain, and China beat back Japan, Japan surrenders, Korea gets freed, and China goes back into a civil war. We retreat to Taiwan, and America eventually becomes the only superpower in the world-"
"That's great!"
"Then they manage to throw it away at the turn of the millennium," Li said with a sigh. "And before you ask, I don't know. Corruption and hubris, I guess."
"That- that is a lot to take in," Lea admitted, and motioned to Wang, who'd been talking with Sun. "So, who becomes Sun's successor? Him?"
"No. Someone else."
"So, what happens to him?"
"You know that war with Japan?"
"Yes."
"Well, he betrayed us to them."
"In your time, right?"
"Yeah. I'm not sure what that has to do with it, though, Homer."
"You said I'll die in a year if we don't change things, right?"
"Yeah. Which is why we're getting you to a doctor in Taiwan, first chance we get."
"What if we did something like that for Wang?"
"He'll live for three decades," Li answered, but then it hit him. "I guess it's possible."
"Besides, the this world's already changed from the one you came from, hasn't it?"
"I guess you're right," Li admitted. "Thanks, Homer."
Ishigaki Island, Ryukyu County, Republic of China, 6 May 1911
"They are very motivated, Park," Colonel Michael Chen observed. "I don't blame them, though."
"Permission to speak freely, Colonel?"
"Granted." Still didn't feel right to be called that, but Michael was getting used to it.
"They're fighting for a homeland, just as you are. Or, I guess that makes all of us."
"Yeah… Think they'll be up for it?"
"Up for what, Colonel?"
"Liberating Korea. The plan, or at least the plan on paper, is that once we liberate China, you and your men can go over the Yalu and begin a revolt against the Japanese."
"Would they, Colonel? Hell yeah, they would. Should they, Colonel? With all due respect… that's a bad idea."
"I don't blame you, Park. I think it's a terrible plan… which is why that isn't the plan."
"Thank God. Can I ask another question?"
"Shoot."
"What exactly is the plan for liberating Korea, anyways?"
"Japan tries something stupid, the IJA makes the same mistake as the IJN and declare war on us, then they get annihilated? Something like that."
"Alright… Think they'll bite?"
"Doubt it. The IJA's prideful, but I don't think they're stupid. Probably."
"Here's hoping you're wrong, Colonel."
"Fair enough."
Here's hoping I'm right, though. God-willing, I don't have to mow down hundreds of men with my MG.
Fong Residence, Taipei, Chinese Taiwan, 10 May 1911
As far as Rachel was concerned, this wasn't the worst thing she'd spent money on.
No, that award went to buying DLC for Paradox games when they weren't on sale.
But at least this one had some sense to it. After all, power tools were possibly the most-practical products to export.
Weapons? Absolutely not.
Phones or computers? Kind of useless without towers or reliable sources of electricity. Or internet.
Cars? Good luck getting the right octane fuel, let alone maintenance.
But power tools? They weren't contraband, could be recharged at a portable solar generator, and were fairly easy to repair.
It was this reasoning, coupled with a massive trade deficit and having almost nothing else to reliably trade, that led to her placing a few calls to help a new acquaintance of hers.
After all, it wasn't like they had anywhere else to sell their tools to, and customs had cleared it.
Now, all it took was finding a way to convince a backwater colony that they should spend dollars on a replacement for power tools that they'd have to pay to recharge.
Short of a miracle, they'd have to come up with a clever way to convince people to pay up.
Manila, Philippines, 12 May 1911
Out of all the ideas he had come up with over the years, Manny Tsu was fairly certain this was one of the more insane ones.
Build an entire house in one day, using our tools. I mean, Laura's handy, and I'm no slouch, but come on.
But there they stood, in front of a decent-sized wooden building they'd built in a day.
Well, not a day, exactly, when they had spent the last week measuring and cutting everything for this stunt, but the crowd didn't need to know that part.
No, all they had to do was listen to him talk while his wife worked her magic in the background. Now that he thought about it, it wasn't that different from teaching a lecture back home, just with more weird looks.
Right... Interracial couple.
Which probably explained why some of the Americans whispered to themselves.
Still, their money was good enough, and plenty of men came by making offers.
From the looks of it, a good number of Filipino traders, too, which put him at ease.
It was good to be around people who looked and talked like him again. Sure, Taiwan was all well and good with its utilities and modern amenities, but it was nice to be around people who looked and talked like him.
As for Laura... well, she was always more of the people person. Helped that she'd learned Tagalog too, when they started dating.
Plus, he could probably build something with Laura's help to modernize the shop. It wasn't like they were running out of money anytime soon, even after the cut that one lady insisted on... What was her name again... Fong?
"Your accent," a young Filipino man interrupted, sending Manny back to reality. "You're from Formosa, yet you speak Tagalog like a local."
"I'm from Bulacan," Manny explained. "Obando. But I think my Lolo or his father came from Manila."
"Strange. I'm from Obando, and I've never seen you around there, before."
"Oh, I'm from the future."
"Ah... that explains it." Which, Manny would admit, still didn't sound right, even if it made sense. "Then maybe you know my family... Or at least my descendants."
Probably not. Lolo Manny talked about his father Vicente, but that was, what, decades ago?
"Depends. What's your name?"
"Tsu-"
Oh no fucking way.
"Alfredo Tsu. Pleased to meet you," the man said, offering his hand, which Manny readily shook.
Yup, called it. Not like your family was the only bunch of Chinese-looking Filipinos in Manila, right, Manny?
"Pleasure's all mine," Manny answered. "So, you're from Bulacan, too?"
"Yes. Well, my family's originally from Binondo, but Tatay wanted to expand the family business up nor-"
"Kuya?" another man called out to him, and ran up. "There you are! Did you find what you're looking for?"
"Sorry, brother. Must have gotten distracted. Anyways, brother, this is Mr. Tsu. He's Bulakenyo, like us, but he comes from that island from the future."
"Kamusta po," the brother greeted.
"And this," Alfredo continued, "Is my brother, Vicente Tsu-"
Oh, speak of the friggin' Devil...
"Now," his great-great-uncle continued, "Regarding the tools, do the batteries have to be recharged at the store, or could we purchase our own recharging device?"
"Yeah... I-I'm going to need a moment."
"The Island from the Future," quoted Homer Lea as he thumbed through the newspaper. "It has a nice ring to it."
"Thank the journalist," Li answered. Unlike Lea, he'd been leaning up against the wall in case any Qing sympathizers showed up. "Here's hoping it helps the cause."
"The existence of a Republic of China, let alone one strong enough to defeat the Japanese? That should enough to convince someone that we can win."
Lea set the paper down and turned to face Li.
"But would it not be more beneficial if Taiwan were to open itself to the world?"
Li shrugged. "Perhaps. Do your remember that question you asked me a few months ago?"
"Li, I didn't know you until a month ago."
Wait. That was Huang.
"Oh, you're right. Anyways, the reason why we don't let foreigners go past the ports is security. Last thing we need is Yuan Shikai trying to preemptively murder people."
From what Rachel had told him, Director Chiu was busy trying to talk half the non-Japanese diplomats out of trying to start colonial revolts.
"Is that not what we're doing?"
"Pretty much," Li admitted. "But we need every advantage we can get, right?"
"Fair enough," Lea relented, as Dr. Sun walked off the stage. "Say, can I ask you a personal question, Li?"
"Depends on the question, Homer," Lea said with some caution. "What is it?"
"What happened in your time?"
"That's a long one, Lea. Do you want the long version or the short version?"
"Let's go with the abridged version," the American requested. "For starters, what happens to me?"
Li winced at the question. Though he'd consider himself a good liar, he never liked being the bearer of bad news.
"What's wrong, Li?"
"You die of a stroke in a year."
Lea paused, then burst out laughing, "That's a good one, Li!"
"Homer, I'm being serious. You don't have that much longer to live. Hell, if you don't believe me, I can show you your grave in Taiwan."
"I see..." The American needed a minute to comprehend it. "One year."
"I'm sure we can take preventative treatment," Li promised. "When we go to Taiwan, I'll get you to a doctor."
"Thanks," he said, in slightly higher spirits. "And the rest of the world?"
We win, but Yuan fucks it up and tries to become Emperor. He fails, but China falls apart. So it takes our side another decade to reunite it, though Sun never sees it. His successor starts fighting the Communists-"
"Communists?"
"Marxists. Anyways, we fight the Communists for ten years, and then Japan invades us. We're doing horribly, but Japan decides to invade the Philippines, which brings America into the war."
"Like my book?"
"Yeah, kind of," Li admitted, and Lea looked somewhere between proud and horrified. "The good news is that the General in charge of defending the Philippines read it."
"What's the bad news?"
"The Japanese also read it."
"Oh."
"And it also resulted in the internment of thousands of innocent Japanese-Americans."
"Oh. It makes sense, though."
"What?" Thankfully, Li managed to hide his emotions, because he was half-tempted to call Lea an idiot.
"Some of the Japanese-Americans could have sympathized with the Empire."
"Maybe. But most of them were as loyal as any other American. Hell, Japanese Americans wanted to fight Japan, but America wouldn't let them serve in that theater. By the end of the war, the most-decorated unit in that war majority Japanese-American."
"I see. So it was my fault?"
"Not exactly," Li reassured him once more, though It didn't look like it did anything. "It's more like it didn't help things."
"So, what happens next?"
"Let's see... America, Britain, and China beat back Japan, Japan surrenders, Korea gets freed, and China goes back into a civil war. We retreat to Taiwan, and America eventually becomes the only superpower in the world-"
"That's great!"
"Then they manage to throw it away at the turn of the millennium," Li said with a sigh. "And before you ask, I don't know. Corruption and hubris, I guess."
"That- that is a lot to take in," Lea admitted, and motioned to Wang, who'd been talking with Sun. "So, who becomes Sun's successor? Him?"
"No. Someone else."
"So, what happens to him?"
"You know that war with Japan?"
"Yes."
"Well, he betrayed us to them."
"In your time, right?"
"Yeah. I'm not sure what that has to do with it, though, Homer."
"You said I'll die in a year if we don't change things, right?"
"Yeah. Which is why we're getting you to a doctor in Taiwan, first chance we get."
"What if we did something like that for Wang?"
"He'll live for three decades," Li answered, but then it hit him. "I guess it's possible."
"Besides, the this world's already changed from the one you came from, hasn't it?"
"I guess you're right," Li admitted. "Thanks, Homer."
Ishigaki Island, Ryukyu County, Republic of China, 6 May 1911
"They are very motivated, Park," Colonel Michael Chen observed. "I don't blame them, though."
"Permission to speak freely, Colonel?"
"Granted." Still didn't feel right to be called that, but Michael was getting used to it.
"They're fighting for a homeland, just as you are. Or, I guess that makes all of us."
"Yeah… Think they'll be up for it?"
"Up for what, Colonel?"
"Liberating Korea. The plan, or at least the plan on paper, is that once we liberate China, you and your men can go over the Yalu and begin a revolt against the Japanese."
"Would they, Colonel? Hell yeah, they would. Should they, Colonel? With all due respect… that's a bad idea."
"I don't blame you, Park. I think it's a terrible plan… which is why that isn't the plan."
"Thank God. Can I ask another question?"
"Shoot."
"What exactly is the plan for liberating Korea, anyways?"
"Japan tries something stupid, the IJA makes the same mistake as the IJN and declare war on us, then they get annihilated? Something like that."
"Alright… Think they'll bite?"
"Doubt it. The IJA's prideful, but I don't think they're stupid. Probably."
"Here's hoping you're wrong, Colonel."
"Fair enough."
Here's hoping I'm right, though. God-willing, I don't have to mow down hundreds of men with my MG.
Fong Residence, Taipei, Chinese Taiwan, 10 May 1911
As far as Rachel was concerned, this wasn't the worst thing she'd spent money on.
No, that award went to buying DLC for Paradox games when they weren't on sale.
But at least this one had some sense to it. After all, power tools were possibly the most-practical products to export.
Weapons? Absolutely not.
Phones or computers? Kind of useless without towers or reliable sources of electricity. Or internet.
Cars? Good luck getting the right octane fuel, let alone maintenance.
But power tools? They weren't contraband, could be recharged at a portable solar generator, and were fairly easy to repair.
It was this reasoning, coupled with a massive trade deficit and having almost nothing else to reliably trade, that led to her placing a few calls to help a new acquaintance of hers.
After all, it wasn't like they had anywhere else to sell their tools to, and customs had cleared it.
Now, all it took was finding a way to convince a backwater colony that they should spend dollars on a replacement for power tools that they'd have to pay to recharge.
Short of a miracle, they'd have to come up with a clever way to convince people to pay up.
Manila, Philippines, 12 May 1911
Out of all the ideas he had come up with over the years, Manny Tsu was fairly certain this was one of the more insane ones.
Build an entire house in one day, using our tools. I mean, Laura's handy, and I'm no slouch, but come on.
But there they stood, in front of a decent-sized wooden building they'd built in a day.
Well, not a day, exactly, when they had spent the last week measuring and cutting everything for this stunt, but the crowd didn't need to know that part.
No, all they had to do was listen to him talk while his wife worked her magic in the background. Now that he thought about it, it wasn't that different from teaching a lecture back home, just with more weird looks.
Right... Interracial couple.
Which probably explained why some of the Americans whispered to themselves.
Still, their money was good enough, and plenty of men came by making offers.
From the looks of it, a good number of Filipino traders, too, which put him at ease.
It was good to be around people who looked and talked like him again. Sure, Taiwan was all well and good with its utilities and modern amenities, but it was nice to be around people who looked and talked like him.
As for Laura... well, she was always more of the people person. Helped that she'd learned Tagalog too, when they started dating.
Plus, he could probably build something with Laura's help to modernize the shop. It wasn't like they were running out of money anytime soon, even after the cut that one lady insisted on... What was her name again... Fong?
"Your accent," a young Filipino man interrupted, sending Manny back to reality. "You're from Formosa, yet you speak Tagalog like a local."
"I'm from Bulacan," Manny explained. "Obando. But I think my Lolo or his father came from Manila."
"Strange. I'm from Obando, and I've never seen you around there, before."
"Oh, I'm from the future."
"Ah... that explains it." Which, Manny would admit, still didn't sound right, even if it made sense. "Then maybe you know my family... Or at least my descendants."
Probably not. Lolo Manny talked about his father Vicente, but that was, what, decades ago?
"Depends. What's your name?"
"Tsu-"
Oh no fucking way.
"Alfredo Tsu. Pleased to meet you," the man said, offering his hand, which Manny readily shook.
Yup, called it. Not like your family was the only bunch of Chinese-looking Filipinos in Manila, right, Manny?
"Pleasure's all mine," Manny answered. "So, you're from Bulacan, too?"
"Yes. Well, my family's originally from Binondo, but Tatay wanted to expand the family business up nor-"
"Kuya?" another man called out to him, and ran up. "There you are! Did you find what you're looking for?"
"Sorry, brother. Must have gotten distracted. Anyways, brother, this is Mr. Tsu. He's Bulakenyo, like us, but he comes from that island from the future."
"Kamusta po," the brother greeted.
"And this," Alfredo continued, "Is my brother, Vicente Tsu-"
Oh, speak of the friggin' Devil...
"Now," his great-great-uncle continued, "Regarding the tools, do the batteries have to be recharged at the store, or could we purchase our own recharging device?"
"Yeah... I-I'm going to need a moment."
ChrisProvidence
Time Traveling Unequal Treaty Destroyer
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Now that Chapter 11 is done, I think we can learn some important lessons about time travel to the past:
•People from the past won't necessarily end up the same way.
•Just having a bunch of assault rifles isn't enough to conquer an entire country if you don't have sufficient manpower or the enemy is armed with anything better than a musket.
•Be careful what you sell to downtimers, because they'll probably reverse-engineer it, assuming it can even be maintained.
•Have a plan in case you run into any ancestors.
•People from the past won't necessarily end up the same way.
•Just having a bunch of assault rifles isn't enough to conquer an entire country if you don't have sufficient manpower or the enemy is armed with anything better than a musket.
•Be careful what you sell to downtimers, because they'll probably reverse-engineer it, assuming it can even be maintained.
•Have a plan in case you run into any ancestors.
Ridli Scott
(Verified acid sweater mutant)
- Location
- The Periphery
I wonder if the Japanese Army decides to bite it before 1914 and they were brutalized by automatic weapons very hard the power in Europe would see the painting on the wall about the shift of tactics in the modern war or they will continue using the same tactics that made the WWI that bloody.
ChrisProvidence
Time Traveling Unequal Treaty Destroyer
- Pronouns
- He/Him
From the looks of it, the ROC would be using Combined Arms. Or whatever passed for Combined Arms when they're basically undergoing a crash course.
But yeah, it's likely that we'd see a greater emphasis on maneuver and vehicles in combat among the Europeans, coupled with advances in weapons and an even greater emphasis on communication.
The problem, at least from what I can tell, is that a European nation in the 1910s (Let's use Germany for an example) would be trying to adopt these tactics and strategies with inferior technology.
That's not to say that they couldn't build assault rifles or more-advanced armored cars or tanks or fighters, but it would take years to advance to, say, WW2 tech. Maybe less time when it comes to firearms.
For example, if you gave them a few years, they could theoretically learn how to build and use assault rifles.
But it would be a bit harder to implement things like widespread radio use.
While they can build a good amount of advanced equipment, I think coordination is going to be a big issue here.
So in a hypothetical WW1 scenario with enough time to adapt production and tactics, we could see the unholy combination of Cold War-style assault rifles, WW2 armored vehicles, and WW1 communications, assuming they can't get enough radios built.
As for tactics/strategy, we should see something more akin to WW2, though it will take time for commanders to adapt to taking initiative and using small-unit tactics instead of grand battleplans.
Now that I think about it, the best OTL analogy I could see for these TTL forces would be the Russian Ground forces in its current state.
While they do have modern firearms as well as somewhat-modern vehicles, the lack of coordination and an equally lack of initiative among NCOs leads to a force that is still a threat but also unable to use their training and tools to their full advantage.
Of course, these downtimer armies would be worse armed, so the comparison only goes so far.
That said, the big thing among any modernizing downtimer force is that they are likely to be a hell of a lot slower than the modern force they are trying to follow, even if it's a flawed force like the ROCAF.
Still, warfare would be much faster than WW1 and not as reliant on railways.
So any conflict among two modernizing downtimer European powers has the potential to either be less-bloody (if it can be ended quickly and decisively) or significantlybloodier (if it gets drawn-out).
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Ridli Scott
(Verified acid sweater mutant)
- Location
- The Periphery
I was speaking more about the power of a single MG against infantry because the Combined Arms for them is just asking us to start developing antigrav vehicles.
If they see how Combined Arms works and are inteligent they would try to think outside of the box, maybe with mobility denials ways, like mines and such, perhaps not efective since the uptimers already know about asymmetric warfare but sometimes someone could be lucky.
If they see how Combined Arms works and are inteligent they would try to think outside of the box, maybe with mobility denials ways, like mines and such, perhaps not efective since the uptimers already know about asymmetric warfare but sometimes someone could be lucky.
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ChrisProvidence
Time Traveling Unequal Treaty Destroyer
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Then yeah, the power of a single MG is definitely going to discourage massed infantry assaults.
As for thinking outside the box, I could see the downtimers coming up with some potential counters to the uptimers.
How effective they are is up to debate, though.
As for thinking outside the box, I could see the downtimers coming up with some potential counters to the uptimers.
How effective they are is up to debate, though.
- Location
- San Francisco
Mayhaps the return of WWI lobstershell armor? But that would require them not using BMG…
Chapter 12: Improvisation
ChrisProvidence
Time Traveling Unequal Treaty Destroyer
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Aerospace Industrial Development Corporation Headquarters, Taichung, Taiwan, Republic of China, 2 June 1911
"The production?" asked Hu Kai-Hung, "It's barely started, but we should be able to start producing spare parts by the end of the month, Minister. Raw resources remain an issue, though."
"We do have some imports that should be able to supplement. Coupled with the fact that the automobile industry has effectively been shuttered outside of war production, and you will be at the top of the list."
"That is good to hear. However, these things take time to develop, or in our case, reverse-engineer. Sure, this facility could create an Apache given enough time and resources and funding, but outside of one-off parts that can be built with our skunkworks on short notice, full-scale production will take months, if not years."
"Of course. But the question is whether or not you can build these."
"Assuming we get the materials and enough time, yes. However, facilities and equipment are a big investment, especially in this economy."
"You'll get your subsidies," the Minister promised. "How soon can we expect production?"
"Qe would need a few months to simply reverse-engineer parts and get the requisite machinery and tools; while we almost certainly have what we need, we need to know just what we need for, say, a C-130. And at least three more months to get the first planes built. Even moreso for an Apache."
"I see. You'll get your money and resources, Hu."
"Pleasure doing business with you, Minister."
Hu leaned back in his chair once the minister hung up. This proposal would either send the AIDC to new heights or crash it into ground.
But right now, he was just happy to still stay in business, instead of furloughing people like the telecom industry had been doing.
Keelung Harbor, Kee Lung, Taiwan, Republic of China
"Clear out!" The foreman shouted as the painters continued to paint over the newly-installed deck. "How does it look, Admiral?"
"For a converted cargo ship? I would say it looks passable."
"Much appreciated, sir," the foreman acknowledged. "This should be the last step."
"I see. And the others?"
"They should be ready in two weeks," the foreman answered. "You'll have your 'carriers.'"
In truth, the Admiral knew that under any other circumstances, he'd think this was a joke, but this was one of the few ways they could ever truly project power in this world.
After Project National Glory had ended in failure, the Republic of China Armed Forces had taken up a more defensive stance to keep the Communists away from Taiwan, and he was fairly sure that they could have defended the island from an invasion.
But with the ROC gearing up to support the Guangzhou Uprising, they needed some way to support the troops on the mainland without an airbase.
After some debate over the viability of dropping Lazy Dogs during the landing and a few tests, the Navy eventually decided to take a risk and build their own helicopter carriers.
Granted, "helicopter carrier" was a generous term for what were essentially cargo ships with steel plates and fuel tanks bolted on top of them, but they seemed to pass all the tests they'd given.
ROCMC Base Ishigaki, Ishigaki Island, Chinese Taipei
Rachel looked at the men firing their rifles. With Li busy dealing with the Tongmenghui and a good chunk of special forces out wreaking havoc among the Qing, she had ended up being the one teaching these Korean men about SERE training.
Well, she was supervising while a man with SERE training teaches these hundreds of men.
"They seem to be doing well," Park Yong-man observed, "These weapons seem rather powerful."
"They're almost fifty years ahead of their time, sir."
"And their tactics?"
"Satisfactory."
Because she wasn't going to say "Your men actually listen to orders for once."
"There's always room for improvement," Park mused. "Though once this is over, it will be Rhee's and Ahn's jobs to improve our country."
Tianmu Baseball Stadium, Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China, 14 June 1911
As far as training went, Le Van Ninh had gone through worse. Sure, the US Army was unmatched, but it was better than what little they had in Rojava, at least.
Then again, he was once again training his fellow soldiers, though he was pretty sure these guys weren't anarchists this time.
No, the First Volunteer Battalion, nicknamed the "Lincoln Battalion" for all the Americans who volunteered, were a motley crew of uptime Americans who had served in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as uptime and downtime civilian volunteers from the US and Canada.
Which, somehow, was how he ended up as a drill sergeant, seeing that the Chinese were strapped for manpower, and at least everyone in this unit spoke English.
Still, they were as quick learners as the anarchists he'd trained back in Rojava. In all likelihood, they were as idealistic as well.
And about as laid-back as most soldiers were, when they were off-duty.
"You two here for the game?" he asked two of the volunteers he recognized, and they nodded. "Private Cohen and Corporal Diamond, right?"
The two men nodded again.
"Just showing Private Cohen the Great American Pastime, Sergeant. Plus, it's not every day I run into another member of Taiwan's Jewish community."
"I think we are the Jewish community at this point, Jacob."
"They're giving you guys all the religious accommodations you need, right?"
"Yes, sir. Took some explaining, but they came around."
"Good. Now, I'm not interrupting anything, am I?"
"No, not anything in particular," Cohen told him. "Just an interesting hypothetical scenario."
"Mind settling an argument for us, Sergeant?" Le shrugged. "If either of us traveled to Austria and tried to kill Hitler, do you think we could pull it off?"
"…What."
"The Corporal here is arguing that either of us would have a decent chance of doing so. I am inclined to disagree, given that it would likely have to be done in broad daylight."
"And I think it's doable, assuming we kill him while he's alone."
"That would still be murder, Corporal," Cohen pointed out. "And the authorities would still prosecute you accordingly."
"It's Hitler, Moshe."
"Alright, alright," Le interrupted. "I think it's doable, but you would have to do it subtly or at a distance. A suppressed weapon would definitely help your odds."
"Told you."
"I guess so."
"Just promise me one thing."
"Sure, Sarge."
"Promise me you two won't run off and go try to murder Hitler or something."
Diamond sighed.
"I think I can speak for the two of us when I say that we will not go AWOL and murder Adolf Hitler."
"…Eh, close enough."
Shanghai International Settlement, 15 June 1911
He'd made it.
After months struggling to make it out of the Taiwanese's clutches, he'd finally managed to slip away.
"You are a fucking genius," he'd told himself, and made doubly sure that he still had the papers on him.
He would get his reward, and perhaps nip this problem in the bud before the Cultural Marxists got even a toehold.
Sure, he would possibly be dooming the Chinese people to another generation of Qing rule, but that was a sacrifice he was willing to make to secure a future for his future children.
Then it hit him.
"Where the fuck do I go?"
"The production?" asked Hu Kai-Hung, "It's barely started, but we should be able to start producing spare parts by the end of the month, Minister. Raw resources remain an issue, though."
"We do have some imports that should be able to supplement. Coupled with the fact that the automobile industry has effectively been shuttered outside of war production, and you will be at the top of the list."
"That is good to hear. However, these things take time to develop, or in our case, reverse-engineer. Sure, this facility could create an Apache given enough time and resources and funding, but outside of one-off parts that can be built with our skunkworks on short notice, full-scale production will take months, if not years."
"Of course. But the question is whether or not you can build these."
"Assuming we get the materials and enough time, yes. However, facilities and equipment are a big investment, especially in this economy."
"You'll get your subsidies," the Minister promised. "How soon can we expect production?"
"Qe would need a few months to simply reverse-engineer parts and get the requisite machinery and tools; while we almost certainly have what we need, we need to know just what we need for, say, a C-130. And at least three more months to get the first planes built. Even moreso for an Apache."
"I see. You'll get your money and resources, Hu."
"Pleasure doing business with you, Minister."
Hu leaned back in his chair once the minister hung up. This proposal would either send the AIDC to new heights or crash it into ground.
But right now, he was just happy to still stay in business, instead of furloughing people like the telecom industry had been doing.
Keelung Harbor, Kee Lung, Taiwan, Republic of China
"Clear out!" The foreman shouted as the painters continued to paint over the newly-installed deck. "How does it look, Admiral?"
"For a converted cargo ship? I would say it looks passable."
"Much appreciated, sir," the foreman acknowledged. "This should be the last step."
"I see. And the others?"
"They should be ready in two weeks," the foreman answered. "You'll have your 'carriers.'"
In truth, the Admiral knew that under any other circumstances, he'd think this was a joke, but this was one of the few ways they could ever truly project power in this world.
After Project National Glory had ended in failure, the Republic of China Armed Forces had taken up a more defensive stance to keep the Communists away from Taiwan, and he was fairly sure that they could have defended the island from an invasion.
But with the ROC gearing up to support the Guangzhou Uprising, they needed some way to support the troops on the mainland without an airbase.
After some debate over the viability of dropping Lazy Dogs during the landing and a few tests, the Navy eventually decided to take a risk and build their own helicopter carriers.
Granted, "helicopter carrier" was a generous term for what were essentially cargo ships with steel plates and fuel tanks bolted on top of them, but they seemed to pass all the tests they'd given.
ROCMC Base Ishigaki, Ishigaki Island, Chinese Taipei
Rachel looked at the men firing their rifles. With Li busy dealing with the Tongmenghui and a good chunk of special forces out wreaking havoc among the Qing, she had ended up being the one teaching these Korean men about SERE training.
Well, she was supervising while a man with SERE training teaches these hundreds of men.
"They seem to be doing well," Park Yong-man observed, "These weapons seem rather powerful."
"They're almost fifty years ahead of their time, sir."
"And their tactics?"
"Satisfactory."
Because she wasn't going to say "Your men actually listen to orders for once."
"There's always room for improvement," Park mused. "Though once this is over, it will be Rhee's and Ahn's jobs to improve our country."
Tianmu Baseball Stadium, Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China, 14 June 1911
As far as training went, Le Van Ninh had gone through worse. Sure, the US Army was unmatched, but it was better than what little they had in Rojava, at least.
Then again, he was once again training his fellow soldiers, though he was pretty sure these guys weren't anarchists this time.
No, the First Volunteer Battalion, nicknamed the "Lincoln Battalion" for all the Americans who volunteered, were a motley crew of uptime Americans who had served in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as uptime and downtime civilian volunteers from the US and Canada.
Which, somehow, was how he ended up as a drill sergeant, seeing that the Chinese were strapped for manpower, and at least everyone in this unit spoke English.
Still, they were as quick learners as the anarchists he'd trained back in Rojava. In all likelihood, they were as idealistic as well.
And about as laid-back as most soldiers were, when they were off-duty.
"You two here for the game?" he asked two of the volunteers he recognized, and they nodded. "Private Cohen and Corporal Diamond, right?"
The two men nodded again.
"Just showing Private Cohen the Great American Pastime, Sergeant. Plus, it's not every day I run into another member of Taiwan's Jewish community."
"I think we are the Jewish community at this point, Jacob."
"They're giving you guys all the religious accommodations you need, right?"
"Yes, sir. Took some explaining, but they came around."
"Good. Now, I'm not interrupting anything, am I?"
"No, not anything in particular," Cohen told him. "Just an interesting hypothetical scenario."
"Mind settling an argument for us, Sergeant?" Le shrugged. "If either of us traveled to Austria and tried to kill Hitler, do you think we could pull it off?"
"…What."
"The Corporal here is arguing that either of us would have a decent chance of doing so. I am inclined to disagree, given that it would likely have to be done in broad daylight."
"And I think it's doable, assuming we kill him while he's alone."
"That would still be murder, Corporal," Cohen pointed out. "And the authorities would still prosecute you accordingly."
"It's Hitler, Moshe."
"Alright, alright," Le interrupted. "I think it's doable, but you would have to do it subtly or at a distance. A suppressed weapon would definitely help your odds."
"Told you."
"I guess so."
"Just promise me one thing."
"Sure, Sarge."
"Promise me you two won't run off and go try to murder Hitler or something."
Diamond sighed.
"I think I can speak for the two of us when I say that we will not go AWOL and murder Adolf Hitler."
"…Eh, close enough."
Shanghai International Settlement, 15 June 1911
He'd made it.
After months struggling to make it out of the Taiwanese's clutches, he'd finally managed to slip away.
"You are a fucking genius," he'd told himself, and made doubly sure that he still had the papers on him.
He would get his reward, and perhaps nip this problem in the bud before the Cultural Marxists got even a toehold.
Sure, he would possibly be dooming the Chinese people to another generation of Qing rule, but that was a sacrifice he was willing to make to secure a future for his future children.
Then it hit him.
"Where the fuck do I go?"
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