The doctor suffers from amnesia, but not complete amnesia.

"Based on the original organization of the army group, how many of the fiscal revenues you have can you sustain? Don't forget, I still need to change your designation to the Sixth Army Group."

The eldest prince's expression froze; a single sentence struck at his Achilles' heel—if he could have understood the economic issues, Vladimir wouldn't have only put him in charge of the army and instead promoted Islam Vit.

"So just honestly restore the organization of your Second and Seventh Armies according to the new organization you made, and then rebuild the Sixth Army first. Having three armies is better than having an empty shell and two bloated ones."

Qiao Yelan waved his hand.

"If there is an opportunity to expand, there will be more opportunities in the future."

"Is there still a chance?"

"Of course, your proposal to downsize now is in line with the wishes of the civilian group. It can reduce military spending and weaken the military and nobles, so they support it. But what do you think they will do after the First Army is rebuilt and the maximum covert expansion can no longer satisfy their desire for military power?"

The man yawned; he'd had a very busy day.

"Of course they'll come back to you, hoping you can come up with another army group expansion plan so they can continue to expand their forces—because by then, expansion will be more in their interest."

"That's why I'm letting you wait patiently. First, rebuild the Sixth Army, at least fill its authorized strength. Then, Witt's First Army will be nearing its limit. After that, you can logically propose an expansion plan again. And at this time, the expansion will be in the interests of all three parties, so naturally no one will object."

The man smiled and spread his hands.

How can we make the policies proposed by the civilian government group less targeted at the military?

Simply give them a portion of the army.

When the cake is being divided, as long as everyone gets a piece, everyone who gets a piece will actively protect it.

Qiao Yelan snapped her fingers, trying to clear her head, but also startling the two people who were lost in their daydreams about the future.

"Of course, those are all things for the future. We have to eat one bite at a time and walk one step at a time. What we need to do now is to stop this action."

“Speaker Witt and His Majesty have their own plans, and they won’t let this plan run for too long. However, I think this door must not be opened, so I’m determined to implement the plan to stop it ahead of schedule. The most important thing is that when this plan is launched, Anatoly must be the first to stand up and oppose it.”

Qiao Yelan pointed at Anatoly.

"I understand, and I will definitely cooperate with you."

Anatoly straightened his back.

"Just keep an eye on it—but even if this matter is prevented in advance, it is still a very serious matter, so we must choose someone of sufficient importance to take the blame. Let me think... Hmm, that police commissioner sitting next to you, that's a good position, high enough, perfect as a scapegoat."

"he is--"

"No need to tell me their names; I generally don't remember guys whose value has been exhausted."

The man interrupted Anatoly.

“Yes, that’s perfect. The position of police commissioner is one that deals more with nobles and helps them with a lot of shady business. After this person takes the blame, the military can use this position to make another deal with the civil servants.”

"Making a member of the Witte faction the police chief means that the nobles can easily have conflicts of interest with them, and they can also use this position to disgust the nobles. It is easy for them to clash."

Qiao Yelan quickly divided the chain of interests.

"Perfect timing. Downsizing will make way for the military, which will have made enough sacrifices. And our dear Speaker Witt, after receiving your overtures and cooperation, will surely become the vanguard against the 'old aristocracy'—because suppressing you is also suppressing the power in his own hands."

"And Your Excellency can take advantage of this lull when no one is looking for trouble to properly adjust the state of the Ursus army, cut down what needs to be cut down, rebuild what needs to be rebuilt, and then quietly wait for the empire's national strength to recover—that will be the time when the military can truly exert its power."

Qiao Yelan coughed softly and looked around.

Do you have tea?

"Anatole—"

"Yes, yes, yes—please use it."

The Imperial Marshal directed his son to pour tea for Qiao Yelan, while the Lieutenant General respectfully handed over the teacup.

Kosic looked at the scene and felt it was a bit surreal.

At noon, Qiao Yelan was still an unknown figure, and Anatoli was constantly giving him attitude and confronting him directly. Now, he was being ordered by his father to pour tea for Qiao Yelan.

To be fair, although Anatoli is stubborn and inflexible, he actually seems to be able to listen to reason.

After taking a sip of tea, Qiao Yelan cleared her throat and moved on to the next topic.

“There’s another question. Speaker Witt told me that they’re going to bring out a star Sarkaz officer whose troops are also elite and who is very sympathetic to the Infected—I’d like to know who he is, and if I know him?”

"A victorious general, a Sarkaz officer, sympathetic to the infected..."

After thinking it over, Nikolai realized that there really was such a person.

"Yes, you know him too—[Patriot]."

"Huh? Who?"

"Ahem, it's Bozokasti."

Qiao Yelan paused for a moment, then recalled the support list and remembered who it was.

"So it was him... As a pure-blooded Wendigo, no wonder he was an undefeated general who also sympathized with the Infected—didn't he leave the army afterward?"

"He also applied to be stationed in the north, but he had married a woman and had a son, so it was obviously impossible for him to go to the north with her. Therefore, the late emperor retained his military rank and continued to pay his salary. Moreover, the troops he led were not stripped of their command, but were allowed to continue serving as his personal guards."

Nikolai explained.

“I see—but this makes things even easier. Help me find out where Witt has moved the other side to, and I’ll personally go and persuade them to cooperate with us.”

"no problem."

Now that everything is ready, the time has come for the truth to come out about this catastrophe caused by instigation and deception.

When could you possibly arrange a meeting between me and His Majesty?

"If Your Majesty has nothing else to do, we should be able to meet tomorrow afternoon."

"Then I'll go back and wait for your good news."

Why don't you stay here for the night?

Nikolai pleaded with them to stay.

“No, that won’t do. If I’m going to persuade Witt, it’s important to remain neutral—I don’t want to be labeled right now.”

Qiao Yelan declined the invitation, and Nikolai did not try to persuade her to stay any longer.

"I will arrange for Yefim to act as our liaison. If you need anything, just contact him."

"Ok."

Watching Qiao Yelan being pushed away, Nikolai turned his gaze to his son.

"Father—I..."

"Forget it, I was too presumptuous. You've been smart since you were little, but getting involved in politics is asking too much. Even though this hasn't happened yet, you must remember this as a disgrace!"

Nikolai waved his hand and sighed softly.

"Go back and prepare. After this is over, I will assign you to be in charge of the reconstruction of the Sixth Army Group. The Sixth Army Group is a shameful designation. You and your troops will work together to wash away this shame, understand?"

"Understood, Father. Please make sure to entrust this matter to me—I will remember the shame of being used this time, and I will also remember the mistakes I made against the people."

Anatoly accepted the task with a resolute look in his eyes.

------------------------------------------------

Qiao Yelan was pushed into the car, closed her eyes, and began to relax her mind.

Are you free now?

"Grand Duke Kosicche, are you just trying to keep me occupied? Why didn't you ask all your questions at once earlier?"

Qiao Yelan yawned, not even wanting to open her eyes.

[Nikolai still has high expectations for Fyodor, so I don't want to deliberately create discord—are you so sure that after you meet the Emperor, you can convince him to trust you? Don't forget, he chose Werther as his support and relies on him heavily.]

"That's a bit like you're talking without understanding the situation—tell me, besides Witt, who else can Fyodor trust?"

"Because of the great rebellion, Nicholas had to step forward to maintain the fragile connection between the military and the nobility. The Ministry of Justice was severely damaged, and the Ministry of Labor was too low in status. So, isn't that leaving only Witte as a candidate?"

No, I'm not saying he made a mistake in choosing his people, but rather, given how much the other party trusts Witte, how do you persuade him to shift his trust towards Nikolai, and how do you get him to be more wary of the civilian bureaucracy?

Kosiché immediately began to explain.

"No, why would I want him to lean towards trusting Nikolai? And why would I want him to be wary of the civil service?"

Qiao Yelan's voice remained languid.

Aren't you going to try to persuade the Emperor to side with Nicholas?

"How can we persuade him? Do you want to guess why the Emperor would accept Nicholas's open opposition to him, and why no one seems surprised by it?"

[Because...because Nikolai is his elder?]

"No, it's because Nicholas has the right to claim the throne, while Witte does not—so the emperor cannot and will not be more inclined to trust Nicholas, because the other party truly has the right to bring him down."

"As for the second question—if an emperor cannot see the ambitions of his subordinates and cannot take any precautions, then he should not lead the Ursus Empire. Let Nikolai prepare to replace him."

These words answered Koschitch's questions, but they also aroused even deeper doubts in Black Serpent.

What brings you to see the emperor?

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