Reincarnated as Nikolai II

Recently, I had been confident this war was completely won, but.

"...It's brutal."

Looking at the war situation, there isn't a single place that isn't intense.

American forces are dying as soon as they arrive in France, and Britain is desperately struggling not to be driven out of continental Europe.

And Ferdinand Foch, the Allied Commander-in-Chief commanding them, has been keeping his guard up for two months already, waiting for the enemy's strength to run out.

Also, despite continuous victories in the south, casualties aren't small, and the Balkan countries are slow in pushing up beyond Serbia due to their vulnerable supply capabilities and organizational power.

Nevertheless, we're winning the war.

So at this rate, it seems armistice negotiations with the Dual Monarchy might be possible before spring next year...

"...Kokovtsov. What is this?"

"Anti-Semitism-"

"Did I ask because I can't read? I'm asking how these are openly circulating."

[The Identity of Jews Behind the Shadows?]

[Investigating the True Cause of the War.]

[Those Who Desire the Empire's Division.]

"...I apologize, I overlooked it as too absurd. If it was causing discord, I should have dealt with it from the root first."

"Call Bronstein."

The Protocols of Zion was circulating within the empire.

== Continue reading stories on My Virtual Library Empire

The Protocols of Zion I know was simply false propaganda claiming Jews collapse traditional society and dominate the world through media and finance.

Just nonsense, in other words.

And the group that created this sensational conspiracy theory...

'In original history, it was the Okhrana. It was a scheme to unite Slavic people with anti-Semitism and justify pogroms.'

Naturally, the Okhrana after Director Sekerenskiy wouldn't have plotted such things.

"This is absolutely not material created from our side. Rather, seeing how it spread simultaneously, it seems like material intentionally injected from outside with some intention."

Seeing how Bronstein, called to me, also claims innocence, it wasn't produced within the empire.

Actually, the existence of these Protocols itself isn't surprising.

What really surprises me is.

'The content is too different.'

It's that the Protocols are full of content preaching Jewish-Slavism rather than just arousing simple anti-Semitism.

"It's true that I tried to assimilate Jews, but this is excessive."

"If ignorant people read this, it will appear as if the Romanov dynasty and Zionists joined forces to start the war and try to dominate the world."

"...This is dangerous."

In fact, anyone who knows even a little about this war would know that Jewish-Slavism itself cannot be established.

You can tell just by looking at Hungary alone.

Hungary, which General Brusilov is beating mercilessly year-round.

20% of Budapest's capital population is Jewish, and 25% of the Hungarian Kingdom's army officers are Jewish.

Naturally, this also means Jews are dying at General Brusilov's hands.

In other words, my assimilation policy was to make Jews members of the Slavic world, not to treat or protect them.

However, the real problem with these altered Protocols doesn't end here.

'One misstep and this could immediately become a behind-the-scenes slander theory.'

Beyond the cause of this war to its results.

That is, there's a high possibility it could be twisted to place responsibility for all these tragedies on Russia.

Where?

'Anywhere. It's perfect for pinning everything on Russia's responsibility, whether France, Germany, Austria, or the Balkans.'

Because as can be seen just from Poland, in this era only I cared about Jews and tried to assimilate them.

"How far has this spread?"

"Actually... It's just started entering the empire, but it's already spread regardless of France, Germany, Britain, even America. Similar content kept appearing before, but such specific false materials being created seems to be after the war."

"Who would have made it?"

"Whoever it is, must be someone who hates our country."

The first nation to spring to mind is, naturally, Germany - given our complex historical relationship and the lingering shadows of past conflicts.

Would they not have engaged in such calculated propaganda campaigns during the tense periods when we stood at the precipice of war, weapons trained on each other in a deadly standoff? The timing seems peculiar.

But would they invest resources in creating such an elaborate historical manipulation that appears to encompass even the post-war reconstruction period and the complex dynamics that followed? The scope seems unusually broad for their typical approaches.

Though Germany cannot be entirely absolved from the dark chapters of 19th century pogrom history, historical records show they maintained a relatively accepting stance compared to other European powers of the time. Their persecution was present but less systematic.

From the start, Germany is relatively free in terms of religion since no single religion could lead the masses unlike Britain, France, America, and Russia.

Jews are just treated as common 'religious people'.

'France... Absolutely not. Besides their military intelligence department, they wouldn't even have a department for such propaganda. Above all, isn't the deterioration of relations a recent thing?'

Rather, France was Dreyfus's country - they hated Jews without needing such propaganda.

America? Well, would that corner-dwelling Monroe have drawn such a big picture? That country that declared seemingly eternal neutrality until just March, let alone participation?

There might not be a mastermind, but these Protocols that shouldn't exist seem to prove the existence of a shadow.

Let's continue thinking step by step, eliminating one by one.

"...Branch Director Bronstein."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"Start by searching the British Foreign Office currently in the empire."

"Just investigation?"

"Whatever works. Turn everything over."

"Understood."

For some reason, one suspicious candidate emerges among the possibilities.

'...Surely they wouldn't have?'

Would they have gone crazy enough to wage propaganda war against an ally during wartime?

However, staring at the contents of these Protocols of Zion.

Between the theory of spontaneous generation and the theory of mastermind.

If I had to believe one of the two, I found the latter more credible.

==

Any country in this era naturally has an intelligence department or similar organization.

If Russia has the Okhrana, France has the Deuxième Bureau and Premier Bureau, and Britain has the Security Service and Secret Intelligence Service.

Generally, these agencies operated under the strict oversight of their respective military commands and interior ministries, their mandates encompassing crucial functions: counterespionage to protect against foreign infiltration, espionage to gather intelligence on potential adversaries, comprehensive military intelligence comparison to understand shifting power dynamics, and detailed force analysis to assess both allied and enemy capabilities.