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

In the early morning of London, fog shrouded the Palace of Westminster. Churchill sat at the oak table in his study, holding today's "Times" in his hand, with a meaningful sneer on his face.

"Sergey, the old fox," he whispered to himself, "is still as tough as ever. He was pushed into a corner, but he fought back beautifully."

His eyes swept through the newspaper, lingering for a long time on the detailed reports of the press conference.

"Interesting," Qiu Jian took a sip of black tea, "When we negotiated for Hong Kong City, this old guy was like this. He was polite on the surface, but he could give you a fatal blow at a critical moment. At the press conference today, he actually mentioned the Hong Kong City incident. He is really an old man who holds a grudge."

The butler knocked gently on the door and delivered the latest diplomatic telegram.

&34;Your Majesty, this is the news that has just arrived from Petersburg.&34;

Qiu Jian took the telegram, quickly read it, and couldn't help laughing: "Sure enough, Nicholas III is furious."

He stood up and walked to the window. In the morning mist, the outline of Big Ben was faintly visible.

"His Majesty the Tsar," Qiu Jian shook his head and sighed, "has always valued face more than anything else. Now, his foreign minister has to admit his mistakes in front of the whole world, and he is being played around by a young man. This is a tone that he will find hard to swallow."

He turned back to the table and picked up the newspaper to read it carefully.

"But Sergei is smart," Qiu Jian thought, "knowing that the situation is hopeless, he just decided to go all out. Although those responses were sharp, they shifted the focus appropriately and made the failure of the Tsarist Russia seem less ugly."

He put down the newspaper, his eyes became deep: "It's just that this young man Su Zhengyang..."

Qiu Jian walked to the world map on the wall and looked at the vast land of the Far East.

"At the age of 34, you can play such diplomatic tricks," he said softly, "It seems that the Far East is about to change. A truly powerful country is rising in that land."

The fog outside the window gradually dissipated, and the sunlight poured into the study through the stained glass.

Berlin, Imperial Chancellery.

Hiedler put down the Observer in his hand, with a playful smile on his face. He stood up, walked to the French window, and looked at the Wehrmacht rehearsing for the military parade outside the window.

"Interesting, very interesting," he said to himself, "Su Zhengyang, this young man is much more capable than I thought."

Marshal Goering came to report on the military exercise. Seeing the Prime Minister thinking, he asked: "What are you thinking about, Prime Minister?"

"Have you read today's newspaper?" Hitler turned around and said, "The Chinese gave Tsarist Russia a good slap in the face."

"Yes," Goering nodded, "Sergei's performance at the press conference was unexpected."

Hidler waved his hand: "The performance of that old fox Sergei is not important. What is important is Su Zhengyang's method - he used the most decent way to make Tsarist Russia admit its mistakes in front of the international community. This method..."

He paused, with a hint of admiration in his eyes: "This method is very clever. It achieves the goal without embarrassing the opponent too much. This is the true art of diplomacy."

&34;What does the Prime Minister mean?&34;

"Think about it," Hitler walked to the table and pointed at the map, "If the Tsarist Russia was completely defeated on the Far Eastern Front, where would they focus their main efforts?"

Goering suddenly realized: "Western Front! They will turn their attention to us!"

"That's right," Hidler said with a sly smile, "but now, Su Zhengyang has solved the problem in this way. It has made the Russian Empire pay a price without forcing them into a dead end. This is actually good news for us."

He picked up the newspaper and pointed to the paragraph where Sergei mentioned Siberia at the press conference: "Did you see that? Even Sergei is hinting that the Tsarist Russia is most worried about us. What does this mean?"

&34;It shows that our strategic deterrence is working! &34;

"No," Hidler shook his head, "This shows that China has become a real strategic player. They know how to take advantage of the international situation and know when to advance and when to retreat."

He walked back to the window and looked at the armored troops lining up: "Su Zhengyang, this young man is very dangerous. He is not only courageous, but also wise. Such an opponent..."

"Do we need to reassess our Far East strategy?" Goering asked.

"Of course," Hidler's eyes became deep, "Tell the Intelligence Department that I want a detailed report on Su Zhengyang. From his upbringing to his governing philosophy, all the details must be included."

He turned to Goering and said, "Can you imagine what kind of opponent a man who can master international diplomacy at the age of 34 will become in the future?"

Outside the window, a torrent of steel was surging. But Hidler knew that in this rapidly changing era, the real battle often took place at the negotiation table.

The Tsar's study, Winter Palace, Moscow.

"Bang!" A priceless piece of Tsarist porcelain was thrown to the ground by Nicholas III, and fragments flew everywhere.

"Asshole! Asshole!" The Tsar's face turned pale, his voice trembling with anger, "Sergei, this rubbish! How dare he? How dare he discredit the Russian Empire in front of the whole world!"

The ministers in the study were silent, no one dared to raise their heads. They had never seen the usually steady Tsar so furious.

"Your Majesty, please calm down..." the military minister tried to speak.

&34；闭嘴！&34；尼古拉三世抓起桌上的《莫斯科公报》，狠狠砸了过去，&34；你们看看！看看这些报道！&39；沙俄在华国面前低头&39；、&39；帝国的耻辱&39；...这就是你们给我的结果？&34；

He walked to the world map, pointed to the Far East, and said in a voice full of pain and anger: "Our territory, our dignity, were trampled on by a 34-year-old yellow-skinned boy?"

"Your Majesty," the Interior Minister said cautiously, "At least Minister Sergei's performance at the press conference was quite good..."

"Performance?" Nicholas III sneered, "You mean he was acting like a clown under the design of that Chinese kid? First he was forced to admit his mistakes, and then he had to participate in the so-called free questioning?"

He grabbed another vase and smashed it again: "Is this what you call respectability? Is this the dignity of the Russian Empire?"

The finance minister wiped his sweat and said: "Your Majesty, the compensation of 34 million gold rubles..."

"Enough!" Nicholas III roared, "Money? You're talking to me about money? Is the Tsar's face worth just this much?"

He walked to the desk and pointed at newspapers from various countries with trembling fingers: "Look at these! England is laughing at us, France is mocking us, even Hitler is laughing at us!"

The ministers fell even more silent. No one dared to offend the Tsar at this time.

"And that Su Zhengyang," Nicholas III gnashed his teeth, "who does he think he is, humiliating Tsarist Russia in this way?"

Suddenly, he grabbed the silver teapot on the table and threw it against the wall: "Keep an eye on him! I want to know everything about this kid! From what he eats, what he wears, to who he meets, all the details must be reported to me!"

"As you command, Your Majesty," the intelligence chief responded quickly.

There was heavy snow falling outside the window in Moscow, but the atmosphere inside the Winter Palace was colder than the Siberian wind.

Nicholas III finally walked to the window and said in a low and dangerous voice: "Tell Sergei that he is not allowed to return to Moscow without my permission. Let him think carefully about how to atone for his incompetence."

All the ministers lowered their heads, not daring to look directly into the anger in the Tsar's eyes.

In this fury, everyone understood one fact: the dignity of the Russian Empire suffered an unprecedented blow on this day. This humiliation could not be measured by just 50 million gold rubles.