Chapter 21: Seeds Beyond Borders
The Iron Doctrine did not stay confined to Russia.
Within weeks of its proclamation, emissaries from the Imperial Institute for Advancement began arriving in foreign capitals—not as diplomats, but as ideological engineers.
[System Update: Ideological Expansion Protocol – Activated]
They offered "advisors," industrial blueprints, and advanced cipher-technology to emerging nations.
In return, those nations would adopt the Tsar’s tenets—either overtly or in practice.
Some accepted eagerly.
In Persia, disillusioned scholars and industrialists invited Russian engineers to modernize their oil refineries, rebuilding cities with cog-fusion infrastructure.
In Bavaria, a nationalist-technical movement—Die Zahnräder—modeled itself directly after Mikhail’s reforms, demanding an end to feudal bureaucrats and royal stagnation.
In Korea, Crown Prince Min-gyu sent envoys asking to join the Institute as a "junior partner," eager to leapfrog into the new age.