I'm playing whack-a-mole in Siberia

Chapter 140 Barbarians

George didn't know that Nicholas had prepared a big gift package for him. Vladivostok's anti-Japanese behavior finally attracted the attention of the Japanese government.

There are not many Japanese immigrants and Japanese workers in Vladivostok, which is the smallest among the three East Asian countries.

Japanese workers, like Chinese workers, all left Vladivostok before winter arrived. Immigrants who were unable to leave were unlucky. In the first month of winter, hundreds of Japanese immigrants died, which triggered strong opposition from the Japanese government. The Japanese government sent a letter to Korff, hoping that the Amur Governorate would treat Japanese immigrants well.

"This is the internal affairs of our Russian Empire. Why does the Japanese government make irresponsible remarks?" George was even more curious, how did the Japanese government know about this?
  Mining is hard work and very dangerous. The coal mine in Vladivostok collapsed last month, and more than 150 Japanese miners working underground were buried. They have not yet been dug out, and their lives and deaths are unknown.

It is said that his life and death are unknown. It has been a month since the incident, and his death can basically be confirmed.

But as long as they are not dug out for a day, these Japanese miners can only be defined as missing, and their families will not be able to receive pensions.

This matter was strictly sealed by Mikhail and was not allowed to be leaked to the outside world.

So even the families of those miners don't know the specific situation.

How did the Japanese government know?
  "Maybe it was the Japanese workers who returned to Japan who reported this situation to the Japanese government." Korff didn't think about it deeply. It was terrifying to think about it.

"This is impossible. In the past month, no Japanese have left Vladivostok." Mikhail was sure because the Japanese in Vladivostok were all under Mikhail's control.

"Why is that?" Korff didn't know either. Like George, he had just arrived in the Far East.

"Form our own mine protection team. From now on, we will no longer use the sailors of the Siberian Fleet to protect our mines." George knew why.

The forest is big and there are all kinds of birds. There are hundreds of millions of people in Russia. It is normal for a few Russian traitors to appear.

In this case, Mikhail must not only be wary of Japanese intelligence personnel, but also increase his awareness of the Siberian fleet.

"No way -" Korff felt that George was overreacting.

"How many Japanese are there in Khabarovka?" George asked. If the Japanese government knew that George's reaction was so big, then the Japanese would think twice.

Khabarovsk was named after Khabarov. It is now called Khabarovka and was renamed Khabarovsk in 1893.

After Japanese citizens become Russian citizens, they become Russians and have nothing to do with the Japanese government.

There is an oath-taking ceremony for foreigners to join Russian citizenship. They must not only swear to be loyal to the Russian Empire, but also promise to sever all ties with the mother country. When there is a war between the Russian Empire and any country, including the mother country, any Russian must Respond to the Imperial Recruitment and do not refuse.

This means that if a war breaks out between the Russian Empire and Japan in the future, these Japanese who have become Russian citizens will also respond to the call of the Russian Empire and join the Russian army to fight against the Japanese army.

In this case, would the Japanese government hope that Russia would treat Japanese immigrants well?

What a hell!
  The Japanese government allows Japanese people to work in Vladivostok in the hope that the Japanese can bring rubles back to Japan, not to allow the Japanese to contribute to the construction of Vladivostok.

Khabarovsk is Khabarovsk, the central city of the Amur Governorate, and Vladivostok is positioned as a military port.

Khabarovsk is also located within the territory of George's fiefdom.

That's why Korf came to Vladivostok, because no matter what he wanted to do, he couldn't do without George's cooperation.

"You should know this better than me." Korff was also helpless. George was the master of the Amur Governorate, and Korff was just George's butler.

"There's not even a shadow of Vladivostok yet. How can I care about Khabarovka." George had to take it step by step.

The entire Far East is full of wild areas that are in urgent need of development. At least there are sailors in Vladivostok, so safety is guaranteed.

If George wants to develop other areas, he can only wait until the retired Cossacks arrive next year to find a way.

As Yurievsky Super Duke, George had the power to form an army within the fief.

If George were a Grand Duke, George could even found a country, which is how those principalities in Eastern Europe came to be.

"George, I need to remind you that from a security perspective, Khabarovka is more suitable to become a central city than Vladivostok." Korv's suggestion is right.

Vladivostok is a port, and the few broken ships of the Siberian Fleet really cannot provide enough protection for Vladivostok.

Khabarovsk is located at the confluence of the Amur River and the Ussuri River. It has a very advantageous geographical location. It can reach the Sea of ​​Japan by land to the south and the Sea of ​​Okhotsk by water to the east.

"Before the railway is built, Vladivostok will always have a higher priority than Khabarovka." It's not that George doesn't want to, but he can't do it.

Although George has great power, the resources he can use are limited after all. Before the construction of the Trans-Siberian Railway starts, Khabarovka should wait.

Khabarovka can wait, but the Japanese cannot wait.

The one who negotiated with Mikhail was Ichiro Shiga from the Shiga family in Nagasaki.

After the Japanese government learned of the incident, the first thing they looked for was the Siberian Fleet that was wintering in Nagasaki.

The Siberian Fleet stated that they had no control over this matter, and that the person in charge of this matter was Super Duke Yurievsky. So Ichiro Shiga came to Vladivostok and lived in the Japanese government’s office in Vladivostok.

Compared with the Siberian Fleet's concession in Nagasaki, the Japanese government's office in Vladivostok is a bit shabby, just an ordinary two-story residential building.

The staff of the office was also strictly restricted by Mikhail. There was only one director and two clerks. The rest of the staff had to be recruited from Vladivostok and selected from the list provided by Mikhail.

The Japanese government has tried to raise the level of the office.

Was sternly rejected by Mikhail.

"For such a small house of less than 150 square meters, we have to pay Vladivostok 1500 rubles in rent every year. You know, in Siberia, it only costs 3 rubles to buy one acre of land." Director Ryo Yamashita I was filled with grief and anger. The Russians were too harsh and did not deal with the Japanese government on an equal footing.

This is still so harsh on the Japanese government and Vladivostok officials.

One can imagine the mistreatment that Japanese immigrants suffered in Vladivostok.

"What a barbarian -" Shiga Ichiro was angry.

"Shh, keep your voice down, the Russians here understand Japanese." Yamashita Ryo was cautious. In addition to three Japanese, there were also three Russians working in the office.

"We are in our own office, can't we even speak loudly?" Ichiro Shiga did not expect that the Russians would be so barbaric.

"No, if we make too much noise, the police will come to our door. Last month we were fined 100 rubles for disturbing the public." Yamashita Ryo was as careful as possible, but mistakes were inevitable.

Ichiro Shiga looked out the window. The nearest residential house was fifty meters away, which is unimaginable in Japan.

Japan's current population is close to 4000 million, and the mainland is overcrowded, so Japan is dreaming of expansion all the time.

Japan's local output is limited and it cannot even be self-sufficient in food. Japan has no other choice but to expand.

Compared with Japan, which is small and densely populated, Russia is too vast, so big that it makes people jealous, rich in resources that makes people crazy, and so sparsely populated that it makes people feel lonely and want to commit suicide.

In Shiga Ichiro's opinion, such a fertile land should belong to Japan.

"What's the situation with Super Duke Yurievsky?" Shiga Ichiro didn't know George well enough.

"Super Duke Yurievsky is the son of the late Russian emperor and the younger brother of the current tsar. He has a very good relationship with the crown prince——" Yamashita Ryo's understanding of George was also limited.

"Then why is the fiefdom of Super Duke Yurievsky here?" Shiga Ichiro grasped the key.

So Yamashita Ryo gave Shiga Ichiro some knowledge about the so-called secrets of the Russian royal family.

What an egg.

Everyone in St. Petersburg knows about the Russian royal family.

"So the situation of Super Duke Yurievsky in St. Petersburg is not good." Shiga Ichiro misjudged George's situation.

"This Duke George is only 13 years old now. He is already a colonel in the Russian Guards and is actually in charge of a regiment. This Duke is also extremely greedy for money. He used his relationship with the crown prince to monopolize the champagne business in St. Petersburg. , also deals in women's products. You must not know that his cosmetics are more expensive than gold." Yamashita said with disdain, such a bad thing could only happen in Russia.

It's true what Shiga-kun said, he is worthy of being a barbarian.

"Young and greedy for money - great, we have found the Duke's weakness, and we must exploit it." Ichiro Shiga didn't know how much George earned in a year.

The amount of income is not important.

The key is that George didn't give Ichiro Shiga a chance at all.

Shiga Ichiro looked for Mikhail for a week, hoping to get a chance to meet George.

"The Duke and his sister went skating—"

"The prince and Princess Yurievskaya went skiing -"

"The Duke is entertaining Governor Amul—"

Mikhail always had various reasons. Even if Shiga Ichiro gave Mikhail a carefully prepared gift, Mikhail would not tolerate it.

"Look at all the junk stuff that guy gave me as a gift, a fan - do we really need these things? I'm afraid this guy is not a fool - he even has a knife, what the fuck? It's an era, are all the Japanese living in the last century?" Mikhail was very dissatisfied and felt that Shiga Ichiro was deliberately neglecting him.

"With a place like Japan, what good things can be found - should I give you two Japanese girls?" George's disdain for Japan was even more obvious.

"Be careful, ancestor, don't dare to say such nonsense -" Mikhail was horrified. Aunt Mikhail had not forgiven him yet.

(End of this chapter)