Seven Seas Beacon Fire

Kolchak's tone was full of regret. After all, what naval admiral wouldn't like bigger breasts... I mean bigger naval guns? (Drag those who like flat chests and 381mm torpedoes out for target practice)

However, after Kolchak finished speaking, Ivanovich's eyes suddenly lit up, and he immediately asked anxiously, "Are you sure these words were spoken by the Crown Prince? Were there any errors in the translation process?"

“I’m pretty sure that’s what he said, and there was no translation problem,” Kolchak said. “Because the Crown Prince speaks Russian.”

"what?"

"That grandson of the emperor is the heir of the Li Jin Prince's Mansion during the Ming Dynasty. Their mansion was an old rival of us Ursus people. His grandfather and father fought against us on the battlefield. If it weren't for this world war, he would probably have succeeded his grandfather and father in the future. I think that's probably why he speaks Russian."

“If that’s the case, then I think there might be other implications in what that Crown Prince said to you.” Ivanovich stood up from the sofa and paced back and forth in the room, deep in thought. “He said that they would only sell this cannon to their closest allies. If they simply wanted to refuse to export this cannon to us, they could have simply said that they had no intention of exporting it at the moment. But that Crown Prince specifically explained this to you…”

You mean........

"That Crown Prince is implying to us that if the Ursus Federation were willing to become their closest ally, then it wouldn't be impossible for them to export this cannon to us." At this point, Ivanovich shook his head and smiled, "Unfortunately, that's destined to be impossible."

"Yes, they took so much land from Russia..."

“It’s not a land issue.” Ivanovic blurted out instinctively and waved his hand, wanting to say something but then stopping himself.

"If it's not a land issue, what is it? I just don't understand why you people have been so generous with Russian land since the Brest-Litovsk era."

"This is not about our generosity; the land is a reflection of the realities of war and diplomacy in present-day Russia..."

At that moment, a knock sounded on their door. After knocking three times, a staff member from the Ursus delegation announced, "Commissioner Ivanovich, General Kolchak, His Highness the Crown Prince of the Tang Empire has arrived."

The crown prince of the Tang Empire came to find them at this time?

The two of them looked up at the clock on the wall at the same time. It was 9 p.m., which wasn't very late, but usually no one would come to visit at this time.

Regardless, the two managed to compose themselves and their emotions, and had someone invite His Highness the Crown Prince of the Tang Empire in.

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

After Li Che entered the house with a warm smile, he saw the open windows for ventilation and the ashtray on the coffee table filled with cigarette butts. The corners of his mouth couldn't help but turn up a little more. He had been listening to the two men's argument in the house for a while. Just as they had expected, there was a clear contradiction between the Labor Party, which believed in the new school of thought, and the so-called "enlightened nobles" and "progressive merchants" who believed in the Orthodox Church.

Although the conflict between the two parties hasn't reached an irreconcilable point yet, it's clear that for both, this discomfort is at least equivalent to having hemorrhoids on their buttocks. The hemorrhoids haven't flared up yet, but once they do...

However, none of this has anything to do with the current Tang Dynasty. Li Che's plan this time is to contact these two separately. However, during the daytime contact today, it seems that these two have reached a certain consensus beforehand. During the talks, the two appeared in front of him together, and he did not get the opportunity to talk to Kolchak or Ivanovich alone.

The two even lived in the same suite, but each had a different bedroom. If Zhu Miaoyun were here, she would probably complain about whether these two were from Chengdu.

Her witty remarks are always quite good.

"It seems I might have arrived at the wrong time tonight, interrupting your...discussion?" Li Che's gaze lingered on the ashtray on the table. Ivanovich knew that the Crown Prince had noticed something amiss. The two of them had smoked so much here, they must have been talking for quite some time. So what were they talking about?

“Your Highness, we were just discussing the land issue.” Kolchak’s words immediately sharpened Ivanovich’s gaze, but his next words reassured Ivanovich: “We were simply marveling at how much the other side has gained from Russia in this war, especially in terms of vast tracts of land. How many Alsace and Lorraine could compare to the land your side has acquired in this war?”

Kolchak was quite sensible, knowing that he couldn't let the other party see that the two had almost gotten into a heated argument over this issue. So when the topic of land came up, he turned his attention to Li Che. Of course, considering the current state of both sides, he wrapped the spearhead in a cloth, temporarily concealing its sharp point.

"Oh, you mean all the coastal areas east of the Outer Khingan Mountains and East Siberia Mountains that we gained from this war?" Li Che asked rhetorically, as if he already knew the answer.

“Yes,” Kolchak said, his voice tinged with resentment and anger. “I think that for the sake of the future friendship between our two countries, we should…”

Besides purchasing weapons, Ivanovich and Kolchak had an even more important mission on this trip: to contact the Tang Empire and discuss the territorial issues between the Ursus Empire and the Ming Empire arising from this world war.

For both sides, by the time they took over their respective regimes, the land issue had already been settled, and the treaties in black and white had been signed. Of course, from the perspective of the Ursus people, this was a shameful and unequal treaty.

"I don't think there's much to discuss here. Everything has been clearly discussed in the Vladivostok Treaty. Moreover, I think this should be considered a preventative measure for the relationship between our two countries. In the future, your country will focus on developing towards Europe, while we will focus on exploring the ocean. The strategic priorities of our two countries will be intertwined. Isn't this the cornerstone of our long-term peace?"

"Why should the cornerstone of lasting peace between the two countries come at the cost of damaging the territorial integrity of the other country?" Kolchak raised his voice: "Although Russia has a large territory, not an inch of it has been superfluous since the time of General Sikoberev."

Li Che revealed a disdainful smile. Ursus was a sick cat now, what right did they have to say such things? "In the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk before the Treaty of Vladivostok, you had already ceded even larger and more valuable Central European lands to Letania. The Letanians collapsed on their own, so you tore up the treaty with them. Unfortunately, nothing happened on our side that you wanted, which has disappointed you. I'm truly sorry."

Upon hearing this, Kolchak's gaze toward Ivanovich became even more resentful, after all, the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was signed by the New School, which had not yet formally established the Labour Party, under duress from Nicholas II and the Leitanians.

"Your Highness, I understand these are historical issues, so the Ursus Federation is willing to purchase these lands, or we can exchange them for land in Central Asia..."

"No, this is not negotiable."

Ivanovich thought he had already adopted a very humble stance, but his words still displeased Kolchak, especially Li Che's response, which he found even more humiliating. However, he knew he hadn't come to cause trouble, so he could only patiently say, "Your Highness, the coastal areas of the Far East are a precious living space for our people living in Siberia..."

"So what?" Li Che looked at Kolchak: "Are you going to follow the example of that German peacock of Letania and try to win over the land under the sun that your people need?"

The sarcasm and threat in these words are quite obvious. After all, everyone knows what happened to the last guy who wanted to fight for land under the sun.

Chapter 226 Kolchak's Private Chat Request (1)

Li Che's question, "You also want to fight for land under the sun?" completely shut down Kolchak's words.

The exact cause of this world war, which is still ongoing, remains a subject of much debate. However, from any perspective, the outbreak of this war is inseparable from Wilhelm II's statement. It was this statement that sowed the seeds for a war that ignited almost the entire world, starting in Europe.

"Mr. Ivanovich, General Kolchak, our two countries' previous governments waged a war that lasted for years. This is history, and we cannot change the past. However, the future of our two countries can be determined by each other."

After casually sitting down on the sofa, Li Che invited the two men to sit down as well for a chat: "Please have a seat, gentlemen. I have come here today with sincerity. From a geopolitical perspective, conflict between our two countries is unavoidable. Therefore, our recapture of our homeland along the Siberian coast is also aimed at minimizing future conflicts between our two countries. The Victorians dream of our future relations deteriorating indefinitely, ideally with a million troops stationed on our borders for an extended period. Do you really want the Victorians to have their way?"

Li Che brought the Victorians into the conversation, instantly creating an excellent target for hatred. This was, of course, a little "trick" in the exchange. While the Ursus people couldn't possibly agree with all of his earlier points, his last sentence truly struck a chord with them.

Despite Ursus's alliance with the Victorians for a few years during its time with the Entente, its long-standing traditional ally in Europe since the mid-9th century was the Gauls. For most of the 9th century, the Gallic and Ursus navies were the second and third largest in the world, respectively. The infighting between Ursus and the Victorians was extensive, and Ursus suffered considerable losses at the hands of the Victorians.

So, just as Ivanovich nodded, Kolchak, standing next to him, quickly reacted: "The coastal areas of Eastern Siberia, you mean the recapture of lost territory?"

Li Che shrugged matter-of-factly: "Of course, in fact, the archaeology department of a certain university in our country has already discovered the ruins of an ancient city built during the Yuan Dynasty there. If Your Excellency would like to learn more about it..."

"Forget it, this isn't a topic we need to waste time on today." Kolchak waved his hand. He was well aware of his own limitations in this regard. The results of archaeological work were left for future experts and scholars from both countries to debate among themselves. For him, this was not a matter to worry about right now.

In fact, Kolchak also understood that although what Li Che had just said was certainly hard for an Ursus to accept, it was reasonable in the context of the current situation between the two countries.

This is like when netizens from China and the United States are exchanging ideas, and netizens from the federal government introduce how they make a living by selling their blood through the federal government's well-established shoe-selling industry. This sounds unbelievable and unacceptable to most domestic netizens, who think that doing so is too much exploitation of people.

However, netizens in the federal government believe that this blood-selling industry has its advantages, namely that those who want to sell their blood will at least not turn to drugs in order to earn money... Although it sounds hard to accept, it is indeed a logically consistent fact.

It can only be said that the vast majority of Colombian people are indeed living in dire straits. There were even people online who mocked the federal government, saying that the steel here is almost developing its own consciousness. They hoped that Colombians would also have an iron will in the future.

Now it seems that Colombians truly have an iron will.

The Ursus delegation's visit to the Tang Empire in itself does not prove the friendship between the Ursus Federation and the Tang Empire, nor does it necessarily push relations between the two countries in a particularly amicable direction. However, it at least demonstrates the Ursus Federation's initial willingness to maintain relatively friendly relations between the two nations.

At the very least, the two countries should reach a state of mutual non-interference in each other's affairs in the future, right? If the two largest land-based countries on the World Island were to engage in a prolonged war over border issues, the internal strife would be enormous.

Therefore, for Ursus, or more precisely for the current Labor Party of the Ursus Federation, losing the coastal region of Eastern Siberia is not entirely unacceptable. After all, since the end of the last century, the people of Ursus have realized that their chances of obtaining an ice-free port in the East have become increasingly slim, and before the outbreak of this world war, there was almost no theoretical probability left.

Therefore, for a goal with a very slim chance of success, it is wise to give up at the right time, especially since many of the high-ranking members of the Labor Party of the Ursus Federation were not even Russians before.

From their internationalist perspective, establishing a new school of thought state is already quite an achievement. Rather than worrying about territorial issues, it's better to focus on developing the country and ensuring its survival, with the primary concern being dealing with the siege from Western powers.

Focusing our main efforts on the West is the priority. After all, Siberia is like the backside to Ursus. Losing two pieces of flesh from the backside is not a big deal, but if those two pieces of flesh were to fall from the chest or stomach, that would be fatal. Ukraine is like the chest to Ursus. It is obvious which is more important, the chest or the backside.

However, the Ursus Federation still hopes to exchange something for sovereignty over the coastal areas of Eastern Siberia. After all, it can't just give away the flesh that fell on its backside, can it?

Ivanovich lit another cigarette, took a deep drag, and exhaled a smoke ring. What does the Ursus Federation need now?

Ivanovich knew that it would be a big mistake to think and negotiate with his opponent from this perspective. What you lack is your weakness, and the worst thing you can do in a negotiation is to expose your weakness.

Therefore, by using reverse thinking, you can know which direction to start thinking from at this time.

What does the Tang Empire need now?

“Your Highness, Crown Prince, let’s put aside historical issues for now. Regarding these items we intend to purchase from your country…” Ivanovich said, picking up the booklet from the coffee table and weighing it in his hand. “Could you be more flexible with the payment method?”

"I don't think our asking price should be so high that the Ursus Federation can't afford the gold."

“The Ursus Federation can certainly afford this money, but I think that while gold is a good thing, there are some things that are more valuable than gold in war,” Ivanovich said. “We can use mineral resources and some food to offset part of the gold in the payment… I can assure Your Highness that all the food and mineral resources used to offset the payment will be calculated at half price.”

Li Che raised an eyebrow in surprise. He wasn't surprised that the Ursus people would come up with such a method; what surprised him more was that... Ivanovich offered to use grain as payment.

Have these old Russians forgotten why they withdrew from the war and what led to the Tsar's abdication?

Towards the end of the war, the Leitanians were so impoverished that they had to eat cabbage. However, the Ursus were not in much better shape. After all, the war had impacted many grain-producing areas in Eastern Europe, and young adults had either joined the army or entered factories, which had a significant impact on agricultural production in rural areas.

Li Che truly didn't believe that the Ursus Federation could produce enough food so quickly to be exported at will, because the Tang Dynasty itself was facing a severe food shortage. Many people in inland areas simply couldn't get enough rice or flour. If it weren't for the abundance of sweet potatoes or potatoes, famine might have already begun.

Therefore, if the Ursus people are willing to use grain, and at a very favorable price, as part of the payment, the Tang Dynasty would be happy to see it happen.

But how could the Ursus people be so wealthy that they could export grain? Li Che couldn't help but think of Barat in another world, where so many people in their own country were struggling on the brink of starvation, yet they were still able to export large quantities of grain abroad.

Are the Ursus people doing something similar to what the Balat people are doing back home?

However, the lives of the Ursus people were obviously irrelevant to him, the grandson of the Tang emperor. Grain and minerals were indeed what the Tang Dynasty needed. Given the current war and the future, such trade with the Ursus people was inevitable, both in the context of the Tang Dynasty's relationship with the European Federation.

"In principle, I personally think there is no problem with this."

Li Che's words relieved Ivanovich. From their perspective, solving the nation's precious gold reserves was a huge deal; as for squeezing some more from farmers' grain reserves or selling off some of the Ursus Federation's abundant, albeit somewhat excessive, mineral resources at a slightly lower price...

For the next half hour or so, the room became almost a duel between Li Che and Ivanovich. The negotiations went quite smoothly overall, but the smoother it went, the more Li Che felt that the Ursus Federation was deliberately keeping its distance from them.

It was an inexplicable intuition, and Li Che's intuition was always very accurate, because he saw in the Ursus Federation the shadows of many countries he was familiar with in another world.

This includes an abstract Russia in another world, and Iran that has become a clown in another world.

Clearly, although the Ursus Federation is currently in a tense relationship with the Western powers, it obviously prefers to integrate into the West. After all, the Slavs in Ursus have been "foreign worshippers" since ancient times.

Even the fact that the new school of thought was able to develop so well in Ursus was not only due to the "great favor" of Nicholas II, but also because the new school of thought originated in Germany. For the people of Ursus, this was a remarkable foreign thing from Western Europe, a rare and precious thing!

During the intense conversation between the two, Kolchak remained remarkably low-key and silent. He barely uttered a word, instead constantly refilling the teacups on the coffee table with his teapot. Because the three were discussing something so intimate, no servants were present in the room to attend to them, so this important task seemed to have fallen to General Kolchak.

"Then let's stop here for today. It's getting late, so you two should get some rest tonight. As for the remaining issues, once you meet the Emperor in the capital, someone will naturally come to contact you and discuss them in more detail."

After Li Che finished speaking, he stood up from the sofa and extended his hand to shake hands with the two men. Clearly, he had basically achieved his goal for the night and it was time for him to go back and rest.

At that moment, General Kolchak stood up and uttered a rather Chinese phrase: "Then I'll see Your Highness off."

Chapter 227 Kolchak's Private Chat Request (2)

After Kolchak offered to see Li Che off, he said to Ivanovich, who was also getting up from the sofa to see him off, "Commissioner, please rest in the room. You will need to change your clothes before you go out. I will see His Highness the Crown Prince off."

Because it was already winter, and unlike the housing in northern regions, Songjiang Prefecture did not generally have heating. No matter how exquisite the accommodations for these foreign missions were in terms of decoration and facilities, they would not have heating like housing in the north.

Therefore, in winter, the perceived temperature inside the houses in Songjiang Prefecture is even colder than that inside some houses in the north. Of course, compared to the houses where ordinary people live, these guesthouses have special stoves for heating. However, once you step outside the house, there are no stoves in the corridors outside. So you have to wear clothes when you step out of the house. If you don't wear clothes, the sudden changes in temperature can easily make you sick.

As Kolchak draped his coat over himself, he feigned concern for Ivanovich's health. Ivanovich, however, did not suspect anything. Although he was younger than Kolchak, the former soldier had been feeling unwell since the start of the journey due to the fatigue of travel.

If he were Chinese, he would certainly know what this is called "acclimatization sickness." Along the way, Kolchak shared a lot of his experience in long-distance voyages with him. Therefore, although Ivanovich and Kolchak belong to different political factions in the current Ursus Federation and sometimes argue over different opinions, their relationship is actually quite good.

Before Ivanovich could react, Kolchak seemed to have made the decision for him, gesturing for him to proceed before walking towards the suite door. Li Che glanced at both of them briefly before discreetly following Kolchak. As he reached the door, he heard Ivanovich stand up behind him, muttering, "I've also come to see His Highness the Crown Prince off..."

“There’s no stove outside. Mr. Ivanovich looks tired from his journey and hasn’t had a good rest these past few days. It wouldn’t be good if he caught a chill if he went out. General Kolchak can see me off. This isn’t a formal diplomatic meeting today.” Li Che smiled and turned around to stop Ivanovich, who was about to see him off. Then, without giving him time to think or react, he and Kolchak pushed open the door and went out.

The guesthouse prepared for the Ursus delegation was a long row of buildings located on the banks of the Huangpu River. Kolchak and Ivanovich's suite, the "Top Suite," was located at the far end of the second floor. Therefore, to leave this building and reach the entrance on the first floor, one had to walk along the entire long corridor on the second floor and take a spiral staircase to the lobby on the first floor.

If you slow down a little, it will take about two or three minutes. That doesn’t sound like a long time, and it really is.

But for Kolchak, that was enough.

"Thank you for covering for me, Your Highness. Time is short, so I'll get straight to the point." Kolchak's first words made the smile on Li Che's face even wider. Sure enough, his guesses and judgments in those few seconds were correct. Kolchak's proactive behavior during the farewell was indeed to get a chance to talk to him alone. It was worth it for Li Che to cover for him earlier.

What were Kolchak and Xiang talking about in private? Could it be that the Ursus Federation is ultimately destined to follow the same path as the Great Mao in another world? Beneath the seemingly peaceful surface of the Ursus Federation's political situation lies a turbulent undercurrent unimaginable to outsiders? Has Kolchak already sensed what's about to happen in Ursus's political landscape, and is therefore taking this opportunity to break away from the Ursus Federation?

To be honest, given the current situation, if Kolchak were to express a desire for political asylum in Eastern Tang, it would be quite a troublesome matter. Would you accept his political asylum? How would you handle the relationship with Ursus going forward?

Fortunately, what Gorchak said next dispelled Li Che's doubts... What a load of rubbish!

Li Che felt like he was about to turn to stone, because the information that entered his ears was too explosive.

"Is your country willing to grant His Majesty the Tsar political asylum?"

Kolchak was speaking in Chinese.

When did this guy learn Chinese?

? ? ? ? ?

And...isn't it just you waiting a minute?

tsar????

Nicholas II's grandson?

Why did we suddenly bring up the Tsar? Although I know that you, Kolchak, are considered a "tested imperialist warrior" in another world, why are you still getting involved in the current situation of the Ursus Federation?

Is the current Workers' Party in the Ursus Federation not moderate enough? In the world of Yunyun, the Tsar's family had already celebrated Qingming Festival this year, and they're still alive and kicking here. The former emperor was lucky to get this kind of treatment, what more do you want?

However, Li Che also knew Kolchak well. Regardless of the veracity or exaggeration of his historical abilities, he was at least not an idiot, and the fact that he asked him such a question could only mean one thing—

"Does this mean that Nicholas II's personal safety is currently threatened?" Li Che asked. "But why did you choose us? If it were political asylum, wouldn't Britain, Gaul, or the Netherlands and Belgium be better choices than us?"

Li Che originally thought that tonight would just be a small late-night snack, but he didn't expect Kolchak to give him such a big surprise. It's just that both of them are really pressed for time right now, otherwise, based on what Kolchak just said, he would have had a lot of important questions to ask.

Especially the most crucial point: even if Nicholas II wanted to flee, even if he wanted to go into exile abroad, why would he choose us?

“Going west is not an option.” Kolchak tried to be as concise as possible: “The Labour Party’s surveillance of His Majesty the Tsar is loose on the inside but tight on the outside. If he goes west across the border, he will be subject to too much scrutiny and it will be difficult for him to escape. However, if he breaks away from the conventional thinking and chooses to go to Siberia and then enters your country, His Majesty may be able to escape the pursuit of those new school of thought.”

"That was the former Tsar of the Ursus Empire. Aren't you afraid that if he comes here, we'll control him and he won't be able to go to other countries? There shouldn't be such a traditional friendship between our two countries."

“At least you certainly won’t kill him, right?” Kolchak asked rhetorically, and without waiting for Li Che’s response, he continued, “Nothing is finalized yet. I’m sorry to say I can’t tell Your Highness the more detailed plan, but some people within the Labor Party are indeed suggesting that His Majesty the Tsar has too much influence in Ursus. They believe that this influence will shake the Labor Party’s ruling foundation, so they are considering whether to… I just hope that if it really comes to that, the other side can lend His Majesty a helping hand.”