Warlords: Rising from the Northwest Border and Sweeping Across the Powers

When Sekt stood up, he picked up two bottles of vodka on the table and said, "Do you mind if I take them away? After all, this may be the last batch of authentic Russian vodka."

His tone was still somewhat sarcastic, but Sergeimer was too lazy to pay attention. It was not until Sekt and Silko disappeared at the gate of the embassy that Ivanov finally couldn't help but explode.

"Minister!" the young ambassador said excitedly, "You don't really believe them, do you? Hidler, that madman, how could he easily stop the war!"

Sergeimo sat back in his chair on the balcony: "You're right, this is probably a trap."

"Of course it's a trap!" Ivanov paced back and forth in the room, "They already have the upper hand on the Western Front, and the casualties of 34 troops have severely damaged our vitality. Now they suddenly want to cease fire? This is not in line with Hidler's character!"

He stopped and said, "Minister, do you remember the Warsaw negotiations? They were like this then, showing a willingness to negotiate. What happened? As soon as we let our guard down, they immediately launched a new attack!"

Sergei lit a cigarette: "But have you ever thought about what if this is not a trap?"

&34;What?&34;

"What if," Sergei slowly exhaled a puff of smoke, "Hitler really began to be afraid of China?"

Ivanov was stunned.

"Think about it," Sergei continued, "one division defeated our elite armored division. That terrible new bomb, and the military strength they demonstrated... This is indeed a cause for concern."

&34;But...&34;

"Besides," Sergei interrupted him, "Sekt is right. While we were fighting in Europe, China has already taken back Hong Kong City and Macau City, and now it wants to take the entire Far East. Su Zhengyang is...too smart."

Ivanov was silent for a long time, then he asked: "What are you going to do?"

"Send this news back to Moscow first," Sergei said, stubbing out his cigarette, "Let your Majesty and the cabinet decide. But one thing is certain..."

&34;What?&34;

"The situation in the Far East," Sergei silently looked out the window at Beilong City, "I'm afraid it's more complicated than we imagined."

Inside the Bird Empire Embassy.

"Mr. Seckt," Hilco finally said, "I must say... I have never heard that the Führer has any intention of a ceasefire."

Seckt was putting the two bottles of vodka into the wine cabinet. Hearing this, he just chuckled and said, "Of course not."

"What?" Hilco was stunned.

"Because this was my own idea," Seckt turned around and poured himself a glass of wine leisurely, "The Führer did not say that he wanted a ceasefire."

Shilko's face turned pale in an instant: "You...you mean...what you just said to Sergei..."

"I just came up with it on the spur of the moment," Seckt took a sip of his wine. "How's it going? Did I do a good job?"

"This... this..." Shilko stammered, "This is deception! If the Fuehrer knew..."

&34；元首不会知道，&34；塞克特打断他，&34；因为这件事只有我们知道。而且...&34；他意味深长地看了希尔科一眼，&34；这对伯德帝国有利。&34；

"Beneficial?" Hilco was even more confused. "But what you just said... the threat from China..."

"That part is true," Sekt walked to the window and looked at the night view of Beilong City. "Huaguo is indeed a threat, and more dangerous than we thought. But now..."

He turned around and said: "Now the important thing is to convince Russia that we will cease fire. This way they will act tougher in the Far East negotiations and thus anger China."

"You mean..." Hilco suddenly understood something.

"That's right," Seckt said with a sly smile, "Let them fight. The more the Russian Empire and China get entangled, the better it will be for us."

Shilko still looked shocked: "But if Sergei finds out the truth..."

"By the time he found out," Seckt said lightly, "the situation in the Far East had become even more chaotic. And that's exactly what we need."

He raised his glass: "Come, try this bottle of vodka. Maybe this is really the last batch of authentic Russian vodka."

Looking at this shrewd diplomat, Hilco finally understood why he had been able to dominate the diplomatic field for so many years. Behind this seemingly absurd lie, there was actually such a far-reaching calculation.

This evening, the chess game in the Far East has added a new variable. And the instigator of all this is leisurely sipping the vodka he got from his opponent.

"You are really crazy," Shilko shook his head. "The Russians will never believe us so easily. They are not fools."

Sekt shrugged and poured wine for both of them: "Of course I won't believe it easily. Sergei, that old fox, is probably trying to figure out my true intentions now."

&34;Isn't this just a waste of effort?&34;

"No," Seckt swirled his glass, "I at least planted a seed for them. An idea, a possibility."

He walked to the window and looked at the brightly lit Beilongcheng Government Affairs Center in the distance: "Think about it, when Sergei sits at the negotiation table in front of Su Zhengyang, he will think of the conversation tonight. Even if he doesn't believe that we will really cease fire, the existence of this possibility is enough to give him more confidence."

&34;You mean...&34;

"Yes," Sekt turned around, "they will be tougher in the negotiations. After all... now they know they still have a way out, even if this way may be illusory."

"So you don't care whether they believe it or not, you just want to influence the direction of the negotiations?" Hilco mused.

"Smart," Sekt smiled, "The most important thing at the negotiation table is not strength, but psychology. Let Sergei feel that he still has a choice, and he will not compromise with China so easily."

&34;But if they really get tough and anger Su Zhengyang...&34;

"Isn't that better?" Seckt's eyes flashed with cunning, "The more chaos there is in the Far East, the better it is for us. Let them get entangled, we don't have to do anything anyway."

Hilco couldn't help but sigh: "You played this move really well."

"That's nothing," Seckt took a sip of vodka, "In diplomacy, sometimes a lie is more effective than a division of soldiers. What's more..."

He looked out the window meaningfully: "This lie may not be entirely false. China is indeed a threat, I am not lying about this."

Inside the Tsarist Russian Embassy late at night.

Sergei was sitting at his desk with a telegram in front of him. He had revised it three times and was still hesitating whether to send it out.

"Minister," Ivanov whispered, "are you really going to report what Sekt said?"

Sergeimo lit a cigarette: "Whether it is true or false, we must report this level of information."