Reincarnated as an Imperial Prince

Strategic Planning

"Now let's move on to our territories in the Far East," Alexander said, shifting the subject of focus.

Sergei's eyes followed Alexander's finger trailing across the map.

"Sergei, since you're the one who signed the treaty with the Yamato Empire, what was the major agreement we made with them?" Alexander asked.

Sergei cleared his throat and leaned forward slightly. "We recognized their interest in the Kingdom of Choson and our troops must leave immediately from all Choson's territories as soon as the treaty is signed."

Alexander smiled upon hearing that. Although they must've lost the war and were humiliated by that fact, the Ruthenia Empire didn't suffer a catastrophic loss other than losing their strategic location in Choson.

And the reason why the treaty is different from his world is that he recalled the Baltic Fleet. His father was a madman, completely humiliated by the loss of the Pacific Fleet, which enraged him and forced the Generals and Ministers to send the Baltic Fleet to sail around the world to get revenge from the country they considered inferior.

During the fleet's voyage, a stupid accident occurred in the Dogger Bank, where the ships open fire on trawler vessels of the Britannia Empire...who they thought...get these... torpedo boat from the Yamato Empire.

And to add salt to the wounds, there was even a report where he read that the Baltic Fleet fired 500 shots without scoring a hit.

That event became known as the Dogger Bank Incident which took the lives of two Britannian fishermen and Ruthenian sailors. Alexander...or Thomas...doesn't know if the event happened in his world. As a result, the relationship between the Britannia Empire and the Ruthenian Empire soured. However, instead of igniting a war, the Britannia Empire decided to revoke its access to the Suez Canal, forcing the Ruthenian' Baltic Fleet to change its course.

He only learned of the incident when the Baltic Fleet returned to their port.

Alexander was an avid sailor, he liked ships because, in his world, he has a shipbuilding company. He has a lot of plans for the navy. If he will modernize his navy, he must first reform the system in the military to avoid this tragic incident.

Alexander fired the Admiral who led the fleet due to incompetence. There was just no excuse for his actions and decisions, especially when he misidentified the trawler fleet in the North Sea as Yamato's torpedo boat. That's just stupid, even he was infuriated when he read the report.

This just shows how inexperienced and backward the Ruthenian Navy is.

Still, the Ruthenia Empire has a saving grace, her massive army.

"Did the treaty mention anything about Manchuria?"

"Not that I am aware of, Your Majesty," Sergei answered.

"Good," Alexander smiled. "We can still expand our sphere of influence in the Far East by occupying Manchuria."

He paused briefly. "But Your Majesty, if we were to do that, we would receive international backslash..."

"That's where you came in...Sergei," Alexander interrupted.

"Sir?"

"Pardon my poor choice of words. By occupying Manchuria, I meant buying it from them."

"Buying it from them?!" Sergei exclaimed incredulously.

"Yes," Alexander confirmed. "From there, I want you to do your magic by acquiring the land for a small price. We get Manchuria, we will obtain this warm-water port we've long sought for."