I'm playing whack-a-mole in Siberia

Chapter 394 The Grand Duke’s Daily Life
It was only after Henry Chen had two heavy drinks with Jiang Guoxian that he learned that Jiang Guoxian, like him, had become a Russian citizen halfway.

Both of them have similar backgrounds. Henry Chen’s great-grandfather was sold as a piglet to Sarawak. Three generations of his ancestors have struggled in Sarawak for decades before they achieved their current achievements.

Jiang Guoxian was the second brother who was deceived into working in Vladivostok. After settling in Vladivostok, Jiang Guoxian and his eldest brother's family were brought to Vladivostok.

Jiang Guoxian was young and was able to enter school. He was smart and studious, stood out along the way, and successfully joined Asbo.

Jiang Guoxian's second brother works in Yuriev Arsenal, which specializes in the production of artillery.

The eldest brother is a tractor driver in Luzhuang, Vladivostok, and a member of the reserve force. He receives two salaries, which is more than enough to support the family.

"That year there was a severe drought in Zhili. My mother gave the grain savings to the three of us brothers and starved herself to death. The second brother sold himself to a trafficker in exchange for half a bag of corn, so he went to Vladivostok. I My sister was taken away by human teeth and disappeared without a trace. She has not been found until now——"

When Jiang Guoxian mentioned the bitterness of the past, he felt so sad that he couldn't help crying.

"If the second brother hadn't brought me and the eldest brother's family to Vladivostok, we would probably have starved to death. You don't know how miserable it was. The whole village starved to death. They died thousands of miles away from hunger and exchanged their children for food——"

"Not Vladivostok?"

Henry Chen didn’t know much about the situation in Vladivostok.

"It doesn't matter whether it's Vladivostok or Vladivostok. Our grand duke doesn't mind it. The Yuriev Palace also celebrates the New Year and even puts up Spring Festival couplets and sets off firecrackers——"

"Is our Grand Duke a Han Chinese?"

"Isn't it hard to tell the Grand Duke? The Grand Duke and his wife are of Han descent - I don't know if this is true or not. Anyway, our lumpy people say so."

"That's no wonder——"

It’s hard to say whether he has Han ancestry or not. It’s true that he loves Eastern culture.

Eastern culture is so charming. As long as you understand it deeply, it's hard not to fall in love with it.

When the Eight-Power Allied Forces invaded China, soldiers from other countries were busy grabbing gold, but Russian soldiers were busy grabbing books because Grand Duchess Yuryevskaya bought them at a high price.

People in Vladivostok are actually very busy.

There are already many festivals in Russia. Added to the traditional Eastern festivals, there are one or two important festivals to celebrate almost every month. I just finished eating dumplings for the Winter Solstice yesterday, and in a few days I will eat pancakes for the Winter Solstice. I was still in the temple in the morning. As for burning incense, I went to the church in the afternoon to join in the fun, worshiping whatever I wanted.

Vladivostok is very lively during this time. Since the beginning of winter, Vladivostok has almost one festival after another, which is dizzying.

Since the battleships built by the Vladivostok Shipyard for the Pacific Fleet have not yet been delivered, Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich, who is responsible for receiving the battleships, is quite happy to play in Vladivostok.

Vladimirovich means: Son of Vladimir.

Therefore, Kirill's father was Grand Duke Yuriev's arch-rival, former Navy Minister Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich.

After the Siberian Fleet was upgraded to the Pacific Fleet, it suddenly became the favorite of the Russian Empire, so princes from all over the world flocked to it. It was against this background that Kirill entered the Pacific Fleet to serve.

Like George, Kirill started in the Pacific Fleet with the rank of captain.

They are both captains, but the Pacific Fleet and the Guards are still different.

When George was serving in the Guards, he had to live with Nicholas in the military camp and could only leave the camp and go home on Sundays.

After Kirill arrived in the Far East, he only went to Dalini to sign up, and then came to Vladivostok to eat, drink and have fun in the name of receiving a warship.

Don't ignore this name.

With this name, Kirill was on a business trip in Vladivostok, and all expenses during the period had to be reimbursed by the Pacific Fleet.

George didn't know how Kirill was reimbursed for the necklace worth 1500 rubles given to the French actress on the night of the Winter Festival. Anyway, during this period, Kirill's consumption in Vladivostok had exceeded 5 rubles. The new artillery shells from the Vladivostok Arsenal sell for 300 rubles, which the Pacific Fleet cannot afford.

Archduke Kirill spent a lot of money in Vladivostok, and the Pacific Fleet paid for it all!
George wondered whether St. Petersburg knew what Kirill was doing in the Far East.

Even if he knew, it is estimated that with Nikolai's character, he would not embarrass his brother Kirill too much.

Because Nicholas does not have a son yet.

So if Nicholas died unexpectedly, Kirill would be the first in line to succeed the Tsar.

At the same time, George also knew that the reason Kirill came to the Far East was actually because he was sent there.

In 1894, when Nikolai and Alex were engaged, George attended the wedding of Alex's brother, Archduke Ernst Ludwig, to Victoria Merry of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. Tower Princess.

The couple divorced last year, citing "mutual dislike" as the reason.

The mutual dislike is real, but the reasons for the dislike are complex.

Kirill played a very important role in this.

Kirill is Victoria's cousin, and the two fell in love with each other before Victoria's marriage.

The reason why George knew about this secret was because Victoria's sister was married to George's good friend, Crown Prince Ferdinand of Romania.

After Victoria's divorce, Kirill insisted on marrying Victoria.

Grand Duke Vladimir and his wife firmly opposed it, and in order to break up the pair of fateful couples, they sent Kirill to the Far East.

This can also explain why St. Petersburg ignored Kirill's misbehavior.

Because Kirill fell in love with someone else, it was a good thing for Grand Duke Vladimir and his wife, as well as Nicholas.

At least the royal family's decency was preserved.

The relationship between George and Vladimir is at stake here. If Kirill doesn't go too far, George won't care.

November 11th was Ekaterina's birthday. Kirill watched a ballet at the Vladivostok Bolshoi Theater and fell in love at first sight with Trina, a local actress from Vladivostok who was the main dancer.

Trina did not like Kirill and refused Kirill's pursuit.

Kirill, however, persisted and took people directly to the backstage of the theater to take Trina away by force.

The laws in Vladivostok are very strict.

So Kirill was arrested by the Vladivostok Police Department on kidnapping charges.

Mikhail received a call from Pacific Fleet Commander Stark that night, hoping to release Kirill as soon as possible.

Mikhail was not polite, and the bail for Kirill was set at 10 rubles.

Thanks to Kirill, there were no serious consequences.

If Kirill really robbed someone, he would not be eligible for bail at all.

For such a small sum as 1500 rubles, Pacific Fleet News reported it.

10 rubles is not a small number, and Stark can only send a telegram to St. Petersburg.

(End of this chapter)