A week later.

In the northern province of Shanxi, four hundred and eighty-eight kilometers away from the capital of the Republic of China, Beijing. Communist forces were gathered in a clearing, listening to the lectures on how evil capitalism is in their country and why they should avoid it.

Most of the listeners were children and teenagers from the neighboring provinces whom the communist party managed to take with them after fiery speeches like how the Nationalist party is going to be a puppet of western power, and how it will exploit the people it had deceived to liberate by churning out goods and raw materials that will be exported to the world and not to the interest of the Chinese people. While the others were having their combat training in the woods.

Due to the lack of supply of ammunition, and the fact that they have to save a lot of them for another siege, the Communist forces are using their mouths to mimic the sound of the gun firing whenever they pull a trigger. That way, they don't need to spend ammunition. It may be a good idea but the theory has never triumphed over real-life scenarios.

That was the primary concern of the leader of the communist forces. After losing a lot of battles against the Nationalist forces that are backed by the Ruthenia Empire, their numbers wear thin. Most of his elite troops in the party were either killed or deserted. They are no match against a force that is military-trained by the Ruthenian forces and equipped with Ruthenian weapons.action

Due to that, the Nationalist forces took Beijing, replacing the monarchy, and declared itself as the legitimate government of the country, and those who are not are branded as rebels. To think that the country would have fallen from such grace if only the westerners didn't come to their land, it would have never been splintered like it once did in ancient history.

As he was looking out of the great scenery of the hills, one of the soldiers approached him from behind and saluted.

"Sir, there's someone here who wants to meet you," the soldier said, the voice was young. The communist leader turned around and faced him.

"Who?"

"He didn't mention, but based on his looks, he's a westerner. He said that he'll only speak with you."

"A westerner, you say? How did he get here?"

"He didn't say, sir," the soldier replied."Fine, you can invite him here. I'll find out about him myself."

"Yes sir," the soldier saluted again before turning to his heels. The leader watched as the figure of the boy shrunk into the distance. From there, he saw a man clad in a trench coat and a black top hat. It seemed that the foreigner had noticed him staring, and now their gaze was locked.

The soldier arrived in front of the foreigner and escorted him back to the communist force's leader.

"My English is not good, so keep your words simple so that I can understand," the leader said.

"Oh, believe me, Sir Wang Jiaxiang, the level of your English is good enough to understand what I'm about to say to you," the foreigner said, his voice laced with a Finnish accent.

"You, how did you find us? Don't tell me, are you a war correspondent?"

"Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Ralf Hietala, I'm a former major general for the Ruthenian Army," he said. "I have once affiliated myself with the Black Hand, believing that they have the power to make Finland independent from the Ruthenia Empire. Turns out, I was wrong. The Ruthenia Empire wiped out the entirety of the Black Hand, sealing the fate of my country. If the Black Hand couldn't make my wish come true, then I will work on it myself."

"Wait wait, you are a Ruthenian officer? From Finland?"

"If you have listened to what I said just now, you wouldn't repeat the question," Ralf said, his tone firm yet calm.

"So? Why are you here? Ruthenian."

"Don't associate me with that country," Ralf hissed, a vein started to throb on his neck.

Wang Jiaxian was unfazed by it and merely continued. "Why are you here? Foreigners. As you can see, we are in the middle of the war. I can't entertain you for much longer so if you are going to stand there and be angry, then get out of here."

"I have come here to offer you aid," Ralf said. "You are a war with the Nationalists, right? And based on what I'm seeing around me, you have discrepancy in numbers and in materials. The equipment you are using is primitive against what the Nationalist forces wield. I can help you with that."

"How? You are a former major general of the Ruthenia Empire. How are you going to help us if you have no position in government or in the military?"

"That doesn't matter. One thing that you only need to know is that I can provide you with the means to overthrow the president."

Wangxi didn't reply, he just stood there staring right into Ralf's eyes as if he was trying to read through his intentions.

Ralf sighed. "Fine, with your permission, I would like to invite my friends to come here. I'm going to show you that I mean business."

Wangxi nodded lightly, giving him permission.

Ralf took the whistle that hung around his neck and blew through it. A few seconds later, a bunch of military trucks appeared from the horizon. The roar of the engines alerted the communist forces, prompting them to take arms and block the trucks. Wangxi scanned the appearance of the trucks, and there was no mistaking about it, they were Ruthenian military trucks.

Wangxi waved his hand, beckoning his forces to stand down and let them pass. The trucks stopped in front of Wangxi and Ralf, and their engines turned off.

"You see, Sir Wangxi, I'm not the only one who bore hate towards the Ruthenia Empire and its emperor. There are a lot of them who have been hiding secretly in the shadows, waiting for the perfect time to arrive."

The men in the trucks started unloading the weapon crates out of the truck and set it down next to Ralf.

Ralf opened the crate, revealing the Kalashnikov, a weapon that the Ruthenian Empire exported to the Nationalist Party during the height of the civil war.

"According to them, the Ruthenia Empire grew lenient and complacent towards others. Annexing weak territories and letting colored and Asian people become Ruthenian citizens. It was dirty to them, it's like the Emperor is smearing the glory of the Ruthenia Empire."

"Who are they?" Wangxi asked.

"They call themselves the Ultranationalists. High-ranking politicians and military personnel are affiliated with that party. Though they wouldn't call themselves that in public, what you need to remember is that they exist. And if I can't make my country independent…" Ralf leaned forward and whispered to Wangxi's ears. "Then I'll help them ruin the glorious empire."

"So, with these weapons fresh from Ruthenia, I can sell these weapons to you at a discounted price. We are not only selling assault rifles we are also offering high-caliber machine guns, man-portable recoilless anti-tank rocket launcher weapons, artillery, mortars, and a lot."

"What do you want us to do?" Wangxi asked.

"I want you to become a force to be reckoned with, one that can rival the Ruthenia Empire…But for now, start chaos around your country and overthrow the ruling party, make yourself the true leader of the Chinese people," Ralf said, smiling devilishly.

'Ruthenia Empire, your enemy is not outside your borders, but within,'