The doctor suffers from amnesia, but not complete amnesia.

Yegor held Qiao Yelan's hands tightly.

Tears welled in his eyes; it was the first time since His Majesty Vladimir's death that he had felt his own heartbeat so vividly.

"I will, I will wait and wait, until the day I die—this time, we will surely win!"

Each chess piece will give everything it possesses for Qiao Yelan—

Because what Qiao Yelan gave them was an ideal that they could not even reach in their most beautiful dreams.

Chapter 175 You don't want Ursus to become the price, do you, Miss Black Serpent?

After the two finished discussing some details, Yegor prepared to leave.

At this moment, Qiao Yelan took out a check from his pocket and handed it to Yegor.

When Yegor received the document and saw the figures, he was quite surprised—this was roughly equivalent to a year's military funding for an army group, and that was for a large army group that hadn't been reduced in size before.

Not to mention the signature on it, which is even more amusing.

"This is......"

“This is what Islam Witt gave me—I guess it’s the money he planned to use to buy the noose around his own neck.”

Qiao Yelan explained with a light laugh.

"sounds good."

Yegor was amused by Qiao Yelan's words.

“Take it, Yegor. This is not a bribe, but funds that you will inevitably need in the future—what you are going to build is an organization that spans the entire Ursus working class, not just a bridge, but a tower that unites their will.”

"This is just the beginning. I will give you more funds in the future, so you don't have to worry about money. However, I also require absolute confidentiality. I would rather have none than have bad ones."

Hearing this, Yegor, who was still about to refuse, nodded and carefully put the check into the lining of his clothes.

Qiao Yelan was right; he would definitely be short of money in the future.

Goodbye, Comrade Qiao Yelan.

Goodbye, Comrade Yegor.

Ace led Yegor out of the room.

He arrived feeling uneasy and apprehensive.

He left with his head held high and chest out, full of pride and satisfaction.

From an outsider's perspective, this was merely a private meeting between the newly appointed Minister of Industry and the Minister of Labor, perhaps for future inter-departmental cooperation, perhaps a simple bribe, or perhaps just a threat to force the other party to comply.

In short, nothing special.

No one knew the inside story, and no one cared about it.

They hadn't even met Qiao Yelan, yet his fate had already been decided for them.

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"You're back so soon? What did Nikolai say?"

Yes, I'm back.

The black snake's sullen voice rang out; as soon as she returned, she burrowed into Qiao Yelan's body.

[Nikola said he would immediately begin preparing secret communication channels, and he would also soon submit a letter expressing his support for the industrial reforms in Ursus.]

"That's good—but why do you look a little unhappy?"

Qiao Yelan felt something was strange. Could it be that he was still angry with her?

I just feel... well, your methods are a bit too powerful, beyond the comprehension of everyone on this land.

Kosiché hesitated, unsure whether to voice his concerns.

If she didn't say anything, she would feel uneasy; if she did say something, she felt that Qiao Yelan could explain it perfectly—so perfectly that she would feel that she was being unreasonable.

In the end, she decided to take the plunge.

Could the present of Kazimierz be the future of Ursus?

She learned from Qiao Yelan about his efforts to suppress the economy of Kazimir, but she was still somewhat skeptical about the actual effectiveness—after all, this guy only had a basic understanding of the subject.

In addition, since Nikolai was not on high alert regarding her intelligence during her trip to Nikolai's base, she took the opportunity to look through the intelligence sent back from Kazimir.

This revelation startled her.

The entire Kasimir industry is now in dire straits, except for food prices, which at least remain stable. The prices of other raw materials needed for production have risen to an almost alarming level.

In contrast, the shelves in the store were piled high with goods, and the prices were getting lower every day, but they remained piled up on the shelves without anyone buying them.

The factory has lost almost all its orders, and the reopening date is nowhere in sight. Workers are naturally stuck at home, and the unemployment rate has already broken into single digits. It is now soaring toward 15 percent with no sign of slowing down.

So much so that on the western front of Ursus, generals were already discussing whether to take advantage of the social unrest on the other side to consider the possibility of an eleventh Uka war.

On the way back to Fort Saint-Germain, Kosiché was lost in deep thought.

Without a doubt, Qiao Yelan must have supported the development of the industry in Kazimierz, so it would be easy for him to support the industry in Ursus as well.

But what happens after they're supported?

Kazimir's industry and commerce flourished for nearly half a century—then Qiao Yelan crushed it in just one year. If Babel Tower were to announce now that it wanted to acquire the factories and stockpiled goods, the entire Commercial Federation would probably be kneeling before Qiao Yelan and licking his boots.

The problem is that Qiao Yelan didn't even target the internal workings of Kazimir, nor did he activate any countermeasures he might have left behind. He simply circled around Kazimir, and Kazimir collapsed.

She hadn't forgotten that Qiao Yelan had now sealed off the area around Ursus as well.

So, when Qiao Yelan feels the need to support the industry of another country one day in the future—will Ursus also face the same fate as Kazimir?

And she's already found her match—the twin queens.

This is the reason why she has been struggling with inner turmoil.

Now that she had asked Qiao Yelan this question, she felt relieved, as if she had just been sent to the execution ground and the noose had been put on her, making her feel much lighter.

"Are you worried that one day I will sacrifice Ursus to support another country, thus causing Ursus to repeat the mistakes of Kazimierz?"

Qiao Yelan asked slowly.

Yes, that's what I think.

The black snake now seems quite ruthless, not even bothering to circle around anymore.

"Don't worry, it won't happen, at least not in the next ten years or so."

"Your words make me uneasy."

"So what do you want? How about you join my plan for Ursus?"

Qiao Yelan said enticingly.

What exactly is your plan for Ursus?

Kosich is still struggling with this point.

She suspected that the only country on this land that hadn't been ravaged was the Great Yan, but now she was a little unsure, since apart from Longmen, she had never ventured deep into the Great Yan.

"My plan for Ursus, no, I should say, my requirement for all the nations on this land, is that they must stand in the right place and shoulder their responsibilities—if they stray from their place, I will put them back, and if they try to abandon their responsibilities, I will make them know what regret is."

Qiao Yelan spoke slowly and deliberately.

Countless people would think Qiao Yelan was talking nonsense, but only those who have even a superficial understanding of him would realize that he was simply stating a fact.

"Your concern about the situation in Kazimir stems from the feeling that Kazimir is on the verge of collapse, but in my view, it is simply Kazimir fulfilling its duty."

“Ursus’s role is different from Kazimierz’s, so you don’t need to worry that Ursus will get into such a situation.”

Kazimir's...duties?

Koschke felt an overwhelming sense of absurdity rising from the depths of his heart.

Is Kazimir's job... to get into this situation you call the Great Depression?

"Completely correct."

"I...I don't understand. How are you going to use Casimir in this situation? Aren't you supposed to go back and help him out of this predicament?"

“We discussed this before you left—I can amass enough wealth in the process of solving Kazimierz’s problems. And wealth doesn’t appear out of thin air; it is always born from labor.”

Kosic was still completely confused by Qiao Yelan's words.

She recalled her previous conversation with Qiao Yelan, and then suddenly remembered an evaluation she had of Qiao Yelan.

Qiao Yelan will save you from your predicament—but don't ask why you're in such a predicament.

Kazimir's responsibility...the acquisition of wealth...

A thunderbolt flashed through his mind, and Koschke was so startled that he almost jumped out of Qiao Yelan's body.

[You... is the responsibility of Kazimir that you speak of right now? Its wealth?]

She poured out all the thoughts in her mind in a somewhat incoherent way, and then managed to piece them together into coherent sentences.

You allowed Qazimir to amass wealth and develop its industry, because that's where he belonged—then you blocked his trade routes, plunging him into a Great Depression, and then you turned around and dismantled the country's accumulated wealth...

Is this the "responsibility" that Kazimir should bear?

“You have truly impressed me, Grand Duke Cosice.”