I'm playing whack-a-mole in Siberia

Chapter 514: Rich People Are Arrogant
The so-called democrats engaged in anti-Russian activities in the UK are not all members of the Social Democratic Labour Party. Some of them are not even Russians and have never been to Russia.

Asquith was a real dog. After receiving the order from Buckingham Palace, he did not order the arrest of the Socialist Party members immediately, but gave the order a day later.

This one day was enough for many Socialist Labour Party members to flee the UK.

However, escaping from Britain did not mean getting away with it. When the Russian Empire made up its mind, the whole of Europe was no longer safe.

When Alexander went to see Asquith, he handed him a list of 23 people, all of whom were SLP members who were openly active in the UK, as well as British people who provided direct assistance to the SLP.

Asquith agreed to arrest members of the Socialist Labour Party, but disagreed with arresting the British who provided assistance to the Socialist Party because the concept was too general. If Asquith did exactly as Alexander asked, he might end up in trouble.

In April this year, Asquith bought a crudely made Russian nesting doll auctioned by the Social Democratic Labour Party for £4 at a charity dinner.

By this logic, Asquith should also be arrested.

"I believe you spent money on this because you love traditional Russian handicrafts, but your 35 pounds is too little, not worthy of your status as Prime Minister. Moreover, the nesting doll you bought is too crudely made, not worth even a ruble in St. Petersburg. If you want to buy one next time, I recommend you go to the Yuriev Palace, because the products of the Yuriev Palace are definitely top-notch."

Alexander is George's good brother, and he never forgets to advertise for George.

"Yuriev Palace" has now become a brand, and its products include but are not limited to: clothing, accessories, cosmetics, health products, handicrafts, etc.

Handicrafts alone include: nesting dolls, embroidery, wood carvings, pottery, porcelain, paintings, amber, etc.

"British officials are not as wealthy as your Russian Grand Dukes!"

Asquith was secretly shocked. He didn't expect that the Russians' intelligence work was so detailed.

Few people pay attention to the intelligence capabilities of the Russian Empire. In most people's minds, Russians are brutal and rude and cannot do delicate work such as intelligence.

After joining the work, Witt's first mission was to eliminate traitors overseas.

The operations of the Russian secret police are not limited to Russia. They have intelligence branches in countries all over Europe. The information processing center in St. Petersburg collects hundreds of pieces of intelligence every day.

The reason why Vladivostok products are sold all over the world has a lot to do with Amur's powerful financial offensive. Asquith was elected prime minister with the support of Amur funds. The Siberian Bank has already opened a branch in London.

"The Grand Duke of Russia did not spend his money on subverting the British Empire!"

Alexander exposed the hypocritical nature of the British to their faces.

While Alexander was urging Asquith to act, Damien Baldwin and Henry Campbell boarded a ship in the port of London to seek refuge in France.

Damian Bardan is a Polish-born Hebrew and a core member of the Social Democratic Labour Party. Before the first State Duma was dissolved, Damian was responsible for fundraising for the Social Democratic Labour Party in the UK and was the most active Social Democratic Labour Party member in the UK.

Henry Campbell came from the most famous Argyll family in the UK. He had a very good relationship with Damian. The Social Democratic Labour Party’s headquarters in London was lent to Damian for free by Campbell.

"I'm sorry my friend, I've caused you trouble."

Damian fled in a hurry, carrying only a suitcase. He and Campbell planned to go to Switzerland via France, wait for the storm to subside in Switzerland, and then return to London.

"Don't say that, just think of it as a trip. I've wanted to go skiing in Switzerland for a long time."

Campbell was in a relaxed mood, and didn't take the Russian Empire's pursuit to heart at all.

In Campbell's view, this is not a hunt at all, but political persecution.

“Can I ski in the summer?”

Damian forced a smile. After Poland was divided, Damian was a Russian. It cannot be said that skiing has no appeal to Russians, but going to Switzerland for skiing is also a reverse operation.

"Of course - oh, sorry, I forgot you're Russian."

Campbell realized it later.

"I'm not Russian, I'm Polish."

Damian has a serious face. Poland has been destroyed for 100 years, but the Poles who are committed to restoring their country have never given up.

When the three countries divided Poland, Russia seized about 62% of the original Polish territory, totaling more than 46 square kilometers; Prussia seized about 20%, totaling about 14.11 square kilometers; and Austria seized about 18%, totaling about 12.18 square kilometers.

Russia played a key role in the last two partitions, occupying the most territory and having the largest population. Therefore, the Poles who were committed to restoring their country regarded the Russian Empire as the culprit for Poland's demise.

In fact, it is not true.

The fundamental reason for Poland's demise was that it was too weak.

If this point is not understood, Poland will still perish in the future even if it restores its independence.

The entire journey from the Port of London to Calais, France is only 150 kilometers. There are dozens of ferries traveling between London and Calais every day. Campbell and Damian took the first ferry of the day. There were not many passengers, only a few dozen people.

Campbell was open-minded and treated the refuge as a trip. He was full of longing for the snow-capped mountains in Switzerland and did not pay much attention to other passengers.

Damian knew about Russia. Before boarding the ship, Damian made a detailed observation of the fellow passengers. Only after confirming that there was no threat did Damian and Campbell board the ship.

"Ma'am, are you heading to France as well?"

Campbell was still in the mood to hunt for beauties, and took the initiative to chat up a beautiful girl with a hot body.

"This is the ferry to Calais. Where else can we go but to France?"

The girl was wearing a long braided dress that has been popular in Europe in recent years. Although the style was simple, the materials and workmanship were very exquisite. Her makeup was heavy but not gaudy, and her French was with a standard Parisian accent. Beside her was an old man in a tuxedo with gray hair, and two serious men in suits, which fully demonstrated that the girl's identity was not simple.

"Are you from London? Why have I never seen you in London?" Campbell was surprised. It was impossible for a girl like this to be unknown in London.

The girl smiled but said nothing.

“Ohhh, are you on a round-the-world trip?”

Campbell imagined that not only male aristocratic members in Europe had a tradition of traveling around the world after adulthood, but some girls did too.

The girl smiled and nodded, confirming Campbell's guess.

Damian was not in the mood to hunt for beauties. His attention was on a bearded Slav man.

When Damian carefully observed his fellow passengers before boarding the ship, he did not notice the whole person.

After the ferry left the port, this Slav appeared next to Damian, leaning on the railing of the ferry, looking at Damian with a malicious smile and sinister eyes.

Damian remained calm and distanced himself from the Slav.

"Ah--"

The Slav sneered, took out a delicate knife and began to trim his nails.

Damian felt as if he had fallen into an icy cave, and his whole body began to tremble.

The knife this man used to trim his nails was a miniature version of a Chasik saber.

Chasik, the symbol of the Cossacks.

"what happened to you?"

Campbell finally discovered Damian's abnormality.

"Stop, stop, we have to get out of here--"

Damian rushed towards the cab like a madman.

"Wait, Damian, what's wrong with you?"

Campbell didn't know that danger was around the corner.

The girl was positioned between Damian and the ferry's wheelhouse.

Before Damian reached the girl, the burly man in a suit behind the girl stepped forward and knocked Damian to the ground.

"Wait, this is my friend, he didn't mean to bump into me."

Campbell hurriedly explained to the girl.

The smile on the girl's face gradually turned cold, and her eyes turned toward Campbell, becoming icy. She took out a pack of cigarettes from her purse, took out a cigarette, lit it, and slowly blew out a smoke ring.

"Dear Campbell, farewell - greetings from Grand Duke Yuriev."

Campbell's expression changed drastically. Before he could say anything, he suddenly felt numb under his ribs and couldn't utter a word.

"Stop the boat, someone fell into the water--"

The sailor finally noticed something unusual, but it was too late. The person who fell into the water seemed to have lost consciousness. He didn't struggle in the water at all and just disappeared and fell to the bottom of the river.

Two weeks later, the London Water Police found Campbell's body, which had been mostly eaten by sea fish.

Due to the severe damage, an autopsy was impossible, and the London Water Police hastily closed the case as a case of accidental fall into the water.

Damian’s body was never found and disappeared.

It was not uncommon for passengers to fall into the water, but there were quite a lot of them that day, 37 in total, almost all of whom were related to the list that Alexander provided to Asquith.

Asquith was angry, but there was nothing he could do as Alexander had already arrived in Paris.

Compared with the British, Alexander's actions in Paris were very smooth. The French were still very reasonable and able to understand the feelings of their allies. All members of the Social Democratic Labor Party who took open actions in Paris were arrested without any escape.

The difficulties arose in Switzerland.

At the Congress of Vienna in 1815, the anti-French alliance passed a declaration of "Switzerland's permanent neutrality" in order to limit the threat from France. Since then, Switzerland has been designated as a permanent neutral country.

In Switzerland, as long as you do not oppose the Swiss government, you will receive protection from the Swiss government. Therefore, Switzerland is the most popular among rebels from various countries. The headquarters of the Social Democratic Labor Party outside the Russian Empire is located in Switzerland.

Switzerland is far away from the Russian Empire, so the Swiss government directly rejected Alexander's request, neither agreeing to arrest the Social Democrats who were openly active in Switzerland nor agreeing to expel them from the country.

If we change to other countries, there is really no good way to deal with Switzerland.

Switzerland is mountainous, has a complex environment, and every citizen is a soldier. If Switzerland is attacked, it will be opposed by the whole world.

Alexander had a way. He directly warned the President of the Swiss Confederation, Adolf Deutscher, that if the Swiss government did not ban the Social Democratic Party, the Grand Duke of Russia would no longer have any business with Swiss banks.

Rich people are arrogant.

(End of this chapter)