Seven Seas Beacon Fire

However, it is still somewhat uncomfortable to have one's fate completely handed over to someone else.

In contrast, Maria went to her sister's side and reached out to support her sister, who was trembling with panic. After helping Anastasia calm down, Maria finally looked up at the man who was still standing at the door.

The man was wearing a military uniform without rank insignia, had a warm smile on his face, and was holding a bouquet of flowers that he and Maria had just made that morning.

The moment their eyes met, Maria's face involuntarily flushed.

"May I come inside?"

Although Li Che's Russian has a slight Chinese accent, especially his pronunciation of some of the Russian trilled consonants is not very standard, it is clear that his familiarity with Russian is sufficient for barrier-free daily communication.

"Please come in!"

Maria blurted out instinctively, and then, probably feeling her heart pounding wildly, she took a few deep breaths to calm herself down. Her rapid heartbeat wasn't because she was frightened like her sister; in fact, after Alexei was shot, Maria was already mentally prepared for their identities to be exposed.

Maria's heart was racing simply because she never expected to see such a handsome Eastern man in the far East, especially with his naval uniform without rank insignia, which made her heart flutter even more.

Love at first sight does exist in this world, and Maria, during the World War, became a nurse in a Red Cross hospital with her sister. Although this was actually more of a performance and propaganda effort, after interacting with the young soldiers on the front lines, Maria really had little resistance to handsome boys in military uniforms.

The handsome young man in military uniform in front of her was undoubtedly in Maria's good zone.

Li Che smiled and nodded to Maria and Anastasia, then returned the flowers to Maria, who seemed relatively calm and unfazed. He then went into the ward, looked around, and stood in the center.

"Welcome to our country, Princesses. I think we can all be more open and honest from now on. We will send the best doctors to help Alexei with his treatment. Let me introduce myself. My name is Li Che, the eldest grandson of the Tang Emperor and the current Crown Prince of the Tang Dynasty."

Chapter 336 Using the Prince to Cause Chaos in Ursus? (1)

Although the four Ursus people in the ward, including the two princesses, had already guessed that Li Che's identity was extraordinary, after all, in this world, whether in the East or the West, a person who wears a military uniform without rank insignia and is surrounded by a retinue may actually have a higher status than most people whose rank insignia are covered with stars.

However, encountering the crown prince of this empire in a city that is still considered a frontier region of the Tang Dynasty is truly a coincidence, or perhaps a long-planned scheme by the Tang side.

"His Highness the Crown Prince speaks Ursus very well."

After their identities were directly exposed, Maria and Anastasia exchanged a glance. These two former princesses of the Ursus Empire displayed the composure of old nobles at this moment. They did not pretend to be mysterious about their identities. Since the other party had already named them, there was no point in pretending that they were not the real ones, because it would not be difficult to verify them. It was better to be frank.

"After all, when my family was still the Li Jin Prince's Mansion, we had a lot of physical contact with the Ursus Empire back then. There is an old saying in the East, 'Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated.' So, my education from childhood naturally included the Ursus language."

On his way into the ward, Li Che had considered how he should treat these refugees from Ursus if it really was Crown Prince Alexei and the two princesses.

The attitude of both sides at their first meeting was itself imbued with strong political significance. Although he had sent a secret telegram to his grandfather and father about the situation and possible speculations before he set off, he figured that Yingtian Prefecture would definitely need to have a detailed discussion before responding to him, and he was unwilling to wait any longer.

After all, the former royal family and princess of the Ursus Empire fled to the Tang Dynasty. This was not simply acquiring the former crown prince and princess of a neighboring country. In a sense, it was almost like holding the claim to the Third Rome in one's hands.

Li Che even felt that it was not impossible for his grandfather to arrange for his second uncle's daughter to marry Alexei in the future. Although the Ming Dynasty had traditions such as not acknowledging its subjects, not paying tribute, and not engaging in marriage alliances, these traditions were indeed quite popular among many history enthusiasts.

However, marriage alliances have always been one of the cold and unforgiving political options throughout history and across the world. While the Ming Dynasty's "uprightness" has garnered much praise, it must also be acknowledged that over the past 500 years, the Ming Dynasty's diplomacy and politics have consistently encountered various problems due to its overly rigid approach.

"Marriage alliance" also depends on the circumstances. If simply sacrificing the title of a princess could gain the opportunity to intervene in the Third Rome, this would probably not be an option for most politicians.

Of course, Li Che was even more aware that compared to the possibility of burning through the crown of the Third Rome by having a princess marry into a foreign land, the greater possibility was that he himself, judging from the fact that his father and grandfather had never stopped stuffing women into his life, probably thought that adding another Ursus princess as a concubine to the Crown Prince was nothing special.

However, Li Che really doesn't want his "harem" to grow any bigger now. If Tokugawa Akiko was still somewhat novel, and she was first sent to his side as a maid, and they gradually developed some feelings for each other, which could be considered a matchmaking arrangement, then why did he come to the border region?

Isn't it because they were planning to seduce him with princesses from Silla and Ryukyu?

Although Li Che did not consider himself to be a person who was detached from worldly desires, most of his emotions and experiences were now focused on Zhu Miaoyun. This feeling of being soulmates was addictive. In terms of looks, shared interests, feelings, and even the level of harmony in their sex life, Zhu Miaoyun was quite compatible with him in almost every aspect.

He genuinely has no intention of pursuing other women now. In fact, when he learned that those two old men wanted to place a princess in his entourage, Li Che even rebelliously remarked—you can't just target the Crown Prince for marriage alliances, can you? I can understand that Grandpa is getting old, but Dad, why don't you try a little harder?

I don't mind having a stepmother!

Of course, after saying these words, Li Che, facing the furious Li Renchi, jumped onto the train to Baiyun Obo without saying another word.

Therefore, he has absolutely no intention of showing any gentle or mild attitude towards these two Ursus princesses. Li Che believes that even if he cannot be considered a qualified Paradox Interactive player or a very qualified War Thunder player in another world (a qualified one would be called a slave), he is certain that he is not a Princess Connect player!

Originally, praising the other party's Russian was just a way to start a conversation, but unexpectedly, the other party directly stated that they learned Russian in order to fight with them. This response left the two former princesses of the Ursus Empire somewhat at a loss for words.

Is this Crown Prince from the East really that much of a straight man?

Although he may have only recently become the Crown Prince, after all, the Tang Dynasty had just been established, you were once a descendant of a first-rank royal family of the Ming Dynasty. Is this how you usually speak to a lady? (Zhu Miaoyun: Of course, he doesn't usually speak like this.)

"Your Highness, what are your plans in dealing with us?"

Ivan gritted his teeth. Although he knew that he was not really able to get a word in edgewise at this time, he and Rajisa had developed a real affection for the two princesses after spending time together on the journey.

When they first embarked on their journey to Siberia, Ivan and Raisa were not the only protectors. Some of the others sacrificed their lives during the journey, while others were separated from them to distract the patrol personnel and their fate remains unknown.

The Crown Prince in front of them clearly did not have a very friendly impression of the Ursus people. If the two princesses continued to communicate with him, they would inevitably be insulted. After all, the past grievances between the Ursus Empire and their royal family were mentioned. Now that their country was destroyed and their family was destroyed, how would the two princesses face him?

Some questions should be asked by oneself. Regardless of the outcome, even if one is humiliated, it is oneself who is humiliated, not the two princesses.

"How to deal with you is not something I can decide, but I can reassure you for now that I will definitely not send you back immediately. You will probably return to Yingtian Prefecture with my special train, and then my grandfather and the ministers will decide your fate."

"Thank you, Your Highness." Ivan placed his hand on his chest and bowed respectfully to Li Che, his attitude quite humble. "I only hope that when Your Highness meets His Majesty the Tang Emperor of your country, you will persuade the esteemed Eastern Emperor not to return the two princesses and princes to the Ursus Federation. Given the current situation in Ursus... if the princesses and princes are sent back, their personal safety may not be guaranteed."

Li Che stared at the bearded man in front of him. To be honest, before meeting the two princesses, he was a little curious about the two last princesses, but after seeing them in person, he was more interested in this unremarkable bearded man.

The bearded man and the Ursus woman escorted the crown prince and two princesses across Siberia, successfully disguising their identities to cross the border into a city within the Tang Dynasty. It seemed they planned to take a train to the coastal region before heading overseas.

What do Easterners value most? You must be able to apply at least a few of these five virtues: benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and trustworthiness, right? And this bearded man from Ursus's energy is almost a tribute to the story of the Orphan of Zhao.

"I see that your entry record shows you are named Ivan. Can you tell me your real name and your true identity?"

"Ah? My real name is Ivan, Ivan Andrei. My true identity is... just an ordinary retired soldier. I'm just a nobody, Your Highness."

“Many people were originally nobody, but at least you were able to bring the two princesses and the crown prince out safely. Your ability has already surpassed that of most people.”

Li Che only believed three-tenths of what the bearded man said, mainly because the man's disguised name was Ivan, and his own name was Ivan. It's not that Li Che was stereotypical; he felt that someone capable of doing such a great thing should have a name that was somewhat distinctive—this idea was somewhat of a preconceived notion.

"However, your answer just now was not sincere enough. Where are you a veteran from? Who told you to send the two princesses and the crown prince out?"

Ivan clenched his fists and remained silent.

"To be able to do something like this, either you are not a nobody, or you have a big shot behind you directing you. Otherwise, how could a retired veteran like you run away with a princess and a prince? I just want to know who told you to do this. Is that too much to ask?"

"After all, you see, if we were to grant political asylum to the two princesses and Crown Prince Alexei, we would certainly face a strong reaction from the Ursus Federation. Currently, relations between our country and the Ursus Federation are quite harmonious. Now we might be forced to damage these bilateral relations. We certainly can't afford to be the ones to suffer the consequences, can we?"

Ivan remained silent.

"Since you're keeping quiet, it seems you're unwilling to expose the person who instructed you. You've already left the Ursus Federation, yet you still refuse to reveal that person. I guess that person is still holding an important position in the Ursus Federation. Just the fact that they prepared cars and supplies for you beforehand is something that no ordinary person could arrange. Am I right?"

Li Che's simple reasoning convinced Ivan Alexander.

"Your Highness, now that you have obtained the honey, why bother getting to know the bees that collected it?"

"Is it General Alexander?" Li Che asked.

Ivan was startled. He was not a seasoned spy or intelligence officer after all, and Li Che had already basically figured it out from his facial expression.

"It seems I guessed correctly. After all, from most people's perspective, the best way to escape the Ursus Federation is to go west or south, but you've come from the east. Apart from General Alexander, who just visited our country, I can't think of anyone else in the current Ursus Federation who would have such a tendency... You're unwilling to reveal his name, are you afraid that if we reveal his name, he will be purged by the New School within the Ursus Federation?"

"Your Highness has keen insight... but I urge your country to keep this matter a secret at all costs, otherwise General Alexander..."

"You can rest assured about that. We have many historical records in the East. Of course, it's impossible for us to betray General Alexander like Xiang Yu betrayed Cao Wushang." Li Che didn't care whether the other party could understand the allusions he was talking about. Anyway, he had already reassured the other party.

Meanwhile, the two princesses were also filled with shock. After all, when the royalists stirred up trouble, General Alexander, who had a great influence in the Ursus Navy, was an important person to win over.

Both princesses had overheard their father discussing General Alexander's attitude with other royalists. It seemed that their father had even offered General Alexander an official position, but since General Alexander never responded, their father had bitterly criticized Alexander when they were ultimately defeated, saying that he had been completely corrupted by the new school of thought.

So, it turns out that my escape was arranged by General Alexander?

What exactly is going on? Is General Alexander on the side of the new school or the royalists?

“Princess, there’s no need for you to look so puzzled.” Li Che noticed the confusion on the princesses’ faces. “From your country’s perspective, General Alexander is undoubtedly a patriot. He probably sympathizes with your father emotionally. However, from the navy’s perspective, a strong navy must rely on the support of the country. The new school of thought is much better than your father at governing the country. So it’s not surprising that General Alexander would make such a choice.”

“You seem to know us and General Alexander quite well.” Maria hugged her sister, looking at Li Che, her admiration for the handsome man in her eyes forcibly suppressed: “Do you have spies in our country?”

Li Che chuckled: "This must be Miss Maria. Which country are you referring to? Is it the Ursus Empire? Or the Ursus Federation?"

Chapter 337 Using the Prince to Cause Chaos in Ursus? (2)

"Your Highness, we have received an update from the attending physician that we are unsure whether to call it good news or bad news."

After Li Che gave Maria and Anastasia, the two princesses of Ursus, a little "intimidation" inside the room, he had just left their temporary hospital room when Lord Di approached him and whispered a report in his ear.

"I don't know if this is good news or bad news?"

Li Che habitually raised an eyebrow, then realized that Alexei was still lying in the intensive care unit: "Could it be that Alexei's condition has worsened?"

"No, no, no, the prince's condition is relatively stable, but..." At this point, Lord Di's face showed a hint of embarrassment: "The part of the body that was hit by the bullet... the bullet went through the buttocks and exited from the groin."

Li Che's eyes widened: "Don't tell me this kid became a eunuch?"

"It's not quite a eunuch, but... as things stand, at least the bag is damaged; only the flagpole remains..."

Damn, isn't that about the same?

Li Che felt utterly bewildered. If Alexei's fertility had been irreversibly affected as a result... was that good news or bad news?

The good news does make sense. Although Alexei and his two sisters are now like stray dogs, he is, after all, the legitimate bloodline of the Third Rome and a male heir. Even if he has hemophilia, it won't stop those who want to use him to rebuild and restore the Ursus Empire from trying to find women to have his children.

However, by doing this, it's difficult to guarantee that the children you give birth to, or even the women you put there, will ultimately side with Alexei and the Ursus Empire, or with your original stance, after a long period of interaction.

There are numerous historical examples to prove this point. One of the world's most successful intelligence agencies has set three guidelines for its intelligence personnel: "no bribery, no assassination, and no seduction." Although from a corrupt perspective, these three principles do not need to be rigidly followed in all situations, under normal circumstances, these three methods should not be used lightly to obtain intelligence.

The targets you can bribe will betray you for a higher price. Assassination is often not very successful, and if it fails, it may damage the entire intelligence network. As for not using seduction... even setting aside the moral high ground, many female spies and assassins have taken their roles too seriously and ended up becoming the targets' bodhisattvas.

Therefore, if Alexei really loses his fertility, firstly, he is not old enough to prevent him from continuing to use his identity to interfere in the internal affairs of Ursus for decades to come; secondly, since he is already childless, he does not need to worry about supporting a so-called new Ursus Empire and ultimately backfiring on himself.

If the Tang Dynasty had any intention of interfering in the internal affairs of Ursus, considering the future stability and the loyalty of the entire project, it would be better to use the pregnancies of the two Ursus princesses rather than controlling Alexei and his future offspring.

However, the downsides are also obvious. First, from an outsider's perspective, will people believe that Alexei truly lost his fertility in an accident, or that he was castrated by the "evil Tang Dynasty"?

Having experienced another world, Li Che never hesitated to speculate about Western media with the utmost malice. Although in this era, the propaganda wars and methods of Western media are still very low and immature, their nature has not changed in some ways.

Besides the influence of public opinion, using Alexei to interfere in the future of Ursus and having two princesses to interfere in Ursus are different in terms of influence and the ease of interference. In such matters, loyalty and efficiency are often difficult to achieve at the same time.

"Is there absolutely no chance of recovery? Is it possible to reconnect them?"

Li Che felt that if it could be cured, it should be treated. Even if it was decided to deprive Alexei of his reproductive abilities in the future, there would naturally be other methods. However, if his reproductive capacity was to be utilized, this might be the last chance to save him.

"How can we save him? Your Highness, there's only a bag left, both balls are gone... The doctor can only sew up the wound."

At this point, Di Zengtai shook his head with a sigh. After all, he was just a teenager, 16 years old, not even fully past puberty, his body wasn't fully developed, and he hadn't even started growing a beard yet, and he was already trying to switch careers to become a Western singer...

Li Che rubbed his forehead and said, "Then send all the details of our situation to Yingtian Prefecture. By the way, be sure to emphasize that the prince and the two princesses all have hemophilia."

"Huh?" Di Zengtai was taken aback: "Don't the two princesses not have hemophilia?"

"Alexei's trait is dominant, while the two princesses' trait is recessive; they both have hemophilia."

Li Che told a little lie here, because in another world, later scientists seemed to have found through genetic testing that Princess Anastasia did not carry the hemophilia-causing gene, meaning that at least one of the two princesses was healthy. However, this did not stop him from exaggerating the situation in his telegrams to his father and grandfather.

"Dominant? Recessive? Your Highness, what are you talking about?"

"Dominant and recessive genes, Mendel's research findings, don't you know?"

Looking at the puzzled expression on Lord Di's face, Li Che realized that Mendel's theory had not been recognized by the mainstream academic community for a considerable period of time after its publication. His theory was only re-emphasized by the scientific community at the beginning of this century, but even now it is still the most cutting-edge research direction in the field of biological science.

To draw an analogy, it's quite normal for ordinary people who aren't professionals to be completely unaware of the major academic research achievements in biology over the past decade.

"You don't need to worry about that. Just write it like that in the telegram. Someone in Yingtian Prefecture will naturally know what it means."

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

"Mr. Jishi, look, there really are good things falling from the sky."

Li Zongdi handed the telegram he had repeatedly reviewed to Fifth Jishi, whom he had urgently summoned to the palace. This telegram was naturally the one sent by Li Che. It contained a detailed message about the situation and current status of Alexei and the two former princesses of the Ursus Empire.

After carefully reading the telegram, Fifth Jishi's expression grew increasingly incredulous, finally culminating in an exclamation: "Although I am a materialist, I must say that from a traditional perspective, the Crown Prince is truly a chosen one. Wherever he goes, he brings us good fortune..."

"Yes," Crown Prince Li Renchi sighed leisurely, "It's just that brat. If only he could be more honest, less troublesome, and more obedient."

“Your Highness has set the bar too high for the Crown Prince. If Your Highness were truly exceptionally honest, you probably wouldn’t possess such spiritual energy.” Fifth Jishi smiled and then cupped his hands to Li Zongdi, who was seated at the head of the table: “Your Majesty, we have acquired the ability to interfere in the internal affairs of Ursus.”

Li Zongdi and Li Renchi exchanged a barely perceptible glance, then the old man leaned back on the dragon throne: "Interfering in the internal affairs of Ursus... Jishi, if I remember correctly, your Datong faction and the new school of thought in Ursus share the same theoretical origin... you could even be considered brother parties, right?"

Fifth Jishi laughed and said, "Your Majesty, first distinguish between Chinese and barbarians, and then discuss doctrines. Moreover, what I am referring to is that we have the 'ability,' not that we must do anything. Sometimes, doing nothing is more unsettling."

“Jishi’s words are brilliant.” Li Renzhi clearly understood Fifth Jishi’s plan immediately. He turned to Li Zongdi and said, “Father, Jishi’s actions are like the Sword of Damocles in the West. We only need to keep those three princes and princesses under our control and let them live peacefully in our country. For the Ursus Federation, they are a time bomb that we can drop at any time.”

Fifth Jishi then added, "I believe this move can be considered as using the prince to create chaos in Ursus. If Ursus is friendly with our country, then so be it. But if they stand against us in the future, then this is a trump card in our hands. Right now, it is unsettling the hearts of the Ursus Federation's high-ranking officials, and it could potentially disrupt the domestic situation of the Ursus Federation at any time in the future."

"So, we should hold onto this card and not play it?"

“Yes, now is not a good time to play this card. We do not have the need or the ability to immediately interfere in the domestic politics of Ursus, and…” At this point, Fifth Jishi paused slightly: “During the transition from the Ming to the Tang Dynasty, some of the Zhu family’s collateral branches also fled overseas, didn’t they?”

Fifth Jishi's words made Li Zongdi slowly nod. Although the branches of the Zhu family that went overseas could not compare with Alexei and the two princesses in terms of either influence or legitimacy, if someone wanted to use them, they could be considered the kind of dog shit that, while not causing much harm, was really disgusting.

The Tang Dynasty and the Ursus Federation are both new nations established during the World Wars, replacing the original Ming Dynasty and Ursus Empire. Both countries have their own internal problems. Although the border between the two countries is now legally demarcated in black and white, and there is no longer any territorial dispute between them, everyone knows that the disappearance of legal territorial disputes does not mean that the territorial disputes in people's hearts have ended.

The Central Plains dynasties have always faced the threat of northern invasions, and the Ursus Empire represents the most ultimate form of northern threat that the Central Plains dynasties have faced since the development of the Tang Dynasty. Currently, relations between the two sides appear relatively amicable due to their respective diplomatic situations; in fact, official exchanges and visits, and even arms purchases, occurred quickly after their founding.

However, no one can guarantee that problems won't arise in the future.