I'm playing whack-a-mole in Siberia

Chapter 526 Good Mood

George's goal is not only to break through the Black Sea, but also to break through the Suez Canal into the Indian Ocean in the future, and then control the Arabian Peninsula and the Persian Gulf.

If this goal can be achieved, the Russian Empire will control the world's energy lifeline and completely get rid of its current predicament.

But it’s too early to say this now. George’s most important task in the short term is to survive the world war. If the Russian Empire does not survive, then the current plans will be castles in the air.

The Kingdom of Greece was crucial for the Russian Empire to break through the Black Sea, and even without Georgy's cooperation, George was determined to win it.

When George planned to gain access to the Black Sea, Anne and Alex had already arrived in Vladivostok.

There has been a lot of news about Vladivostok in St. Petersburg in the past two years. The economic development is advancing by leaps and bounds, new things are emerging one after another, and more and more grand dukes come to Vladivostok to buy property. Alex and the princesses are all full of curiosity about Vladivostok.

The Tsar's special train stopped directly at the train station at the foot of Yuriev Hill. Catherine and Mikhail, who had learned the news in advance, were waiting at the station early.

Alex brought Nicholas's order on this trip, conferring the title of Count Dolgorukov on Mikhail.

George has been banned to the limit of his powers, this is just loving the person and loving his dog too.

Mikhail was grateful, but not to the point of tears. The Dolgorukov family was originally aristocracy. Although not as prominent as the Grand Duke, they were not rootless.

On the second day after arriving in Vladivostok, Anne accompanied Alex and the princesses to visit the Vladivostok Hospital.

Alex was fine, this was definitely a new experience for the princesses.

The situation in St. Petersburg was too tense, and the Tsar's family faced the threat of assassins at any time, so the princesses rarely went among the people like they do now, and there was no need to worry about their safety.

Alex was also curious. There was no large medical institution like the Vladivostok Hospital in St. Petersburg. With Anne's explanation, Alex finally understood the reason why Amur's medical level improved rapidly.

"Doctors in Vladivostok have to see at least 20 to 30 patients every day, and sometimes they have to perform surgery. They may not be the most skilled doctors, but they are definitely the most experienced ones."

Alex was fine, but Potemkin, the court doctor who came to Vladivostok with Alexei, looked embarrassed.

Potemkin's medical skills must be very good, otherwise he would not be qualified to be a court physician.

But except for Alexei who was a sickly child, Nicholas and his wife and the princesses rarely got sick, so Potemkin did not have many opportunities to use his medical skills.

Strictly speaking, Potemkin should be considered a general practitioner, fully responsible for the medical care of the first family.

The Vladivostok Hospital has been segmented, and doctors in various departments are specialized in their own fields. In terms of comprehensiveness, they may indeed be inferior to Potemkin, but in their own medical field, their level is definitely much higher than Potemkin.

Although Jiang Xi is very busy now, he still takes out an hour every day to see patients. In the fields of gynecology and pediatrics, Jiang Xi is the most authoritative expert in Vladivostok's medical system.

"Your Majesty, if it is convenient, you can bring His Highness to the hospital for a detailed and comprehensive examination tomorrow so that we can make a more accurate judgment."

Jiang Xi didn't dare to make a rash judgment. According to the tradition of the Russian Empire, the queen could also be called Your Majesty.

"Have you dealt with similar patients before?"

Alex asked a nonsense question. Hemophilia is not something you can get just by thinking about it.

European royal families emphasize bloodline. Princes can marry girls of commoner origin, but princesses are unlikely to marry ordinary people. Hemophilia only occurs in male members, so even if doctors have a treatment plan, they dare not implement it easily.

Nicholas and Alex had been mentally prepared for this situation a long time ago.

But if Alexei's accidental death was caused by the wrong medicine, even if Nikolai was kind-hearted and did not hold the doctor responsible, Alex would not let the doctor go.

"Your Highness's condition is very rare. All I can say is that we will do our best."

This was also the first time Jiang Xi came into contact with hemophilia and he had no experience in this area.

Back at Yuriev Palace, Alexei has just woken up and is playing a jigsaw puzzle with the help of Ekaterina.

Ekaterina was very patient with children. She taught Alexei how to play games step by step without any impatience.

Alex showed a long-lost smile on his face.

Because the Queen Mother did not like Alex, she was less close to Nicholas and Alex's children and spent most of her time on vacation abroad.

Alex envied Anne for having such a caring mother-in-law like Catherine.

"Thoughtful? Haha——"

Anne and Catherine actually had quite a few conflicts, most of which focused on the education of their children.

Anne was very strict with her children. If the same mistake was made for the first time, it could be forgiven. But if it was made for the second time, both crimes would be punished together.

When Anne was teaching the children a lesson, Catherine would act as their protective umbrella, especially in the education of Alexandra. Catherine's indulgence of Alexandra often drove Anne crazy.

After Anne married George, she seldom left Vladivostok. This time she went to St. Petersburg and stayed there for more than half a year. The ladies and queens in Vladivostok felt like they had lost their backbone.

Knowing that Anne had returned to St. Petersburg, wealthy ladies from all walks of life came to visit her. The Yuriev Palace had not been so lively for a long time.

During the time when Anne was away, Ekaterina felt that playing mahjong had lost its joy.

It's rare that so many people gather together, so we must play two rounds.

What surprised Anne was that Alex could actually play mahjong, and his skills were pretty good, he started with a hidden kang and a self-draw. Ekaterina had spent half her life playing mahjong, she even made up a set of formulas and gave herself the nickname "General of Victory".

Alexandra was just lucky. She managed to catch the card she had lost, so after three rounds, Anne was the only one who lost money.

Anne was in charge of the financial power of the Yuriev Palace and didn't care about this small amount of money at all.

But you can lose money but you can't lose face.

There were four people at the card table, a former queen, a current queen, and a grand duchess. Alexandra was the only underage one, so the four princesses stood behind Alexandra and cheered her on.

"When I win the money, I'll take you to the Great Bay to take an airship around the Far East."

Alexandra spoke out loudly, totally disregarding the three elders.

Although Alex was the queen, she was a little narrow-minded, and her eyes looked somewhat unfriendly when she looked at her four rebellious daughters.

You all just wait for me!

Catherine was very happy. That was why she liked Alexandra. Children should be lively. It was not fun at all for a child to be like Boris, who was always thinking about joining the army.

Alexandra was so happy that she didn't notice Anne's expression at all.

The fourth princess, Anastasia, was behind Alexandra, pulling her clothes to remind her not to be too presumptuous.

"Don't worry, little rascal. With grandma here, Annie won't dare to do anything!"

Alexandra's words completely ignited Anne's anger. The little brat would tear the roof off the house if she wasn't punished for three days.

Before Anne could take action, Alexander led Alexi away from the scene in time.

Since he was born, Alexei has been closely protected by Nicholas and Alex. Apart from his family, he has no playmates around him, so Alexander has become Alexei's most caring uncle.

"Can we go on the airship, too?"

Alexei also wanted to ride an airship. He was curious about anything unfamiliar.

"Airships are not fun. The wind and noise are too strong. I would get a headache if I took one."

Alexander was sensible and knew how to keep Alexei away from dangerous things.

"That's horrible. I get headaches all the time, and every time I get a headache, it feels like it's going to explode."

Alexei was still frightened, but the next sentence fully proved how pitiful this child was.

"But I'm used to it. Normal headaches are not that unbearable for me."

Alexander didn't know how much pain it would be considered normal.

"Let's go watch the guards training. With any luck, General Yuri will allow us to review the guards, like a real general would."

Alexander makes a proposal that none of the boys can refuse.

"I don't dare to go. My mother never lets me leave her——"

Alexei was worried about being punished by Alex.

"We were on the second-floor balcony, watching through the window."

Alexander had a way. He was very caring. He asked someone to bring a small blanket and cover Alexei's legs. He also asked someone to bring some snacks and hot milk so that Alexei could eat while watching.

There are a wide variety of snacks in Vladivostok, and those produced by Yuriev Palace must be carefully crafted, so Alexei ate a little too much without realizing it, and by dinner time, he had no appetite.

Dinner at the Yuriev Palace is different from that at the Winter Palace, as round tables are used.

Alexandra did not appear at the table, so Alexi asked casually, "Where is Sister Alex?"

"Amusha, that's Aunt Alex."

Princess Olga corrected Alexei that Alex was a nickname for Alexandra.

"Your Aunt Alex made a serious mistake today. She is reflecting on it in her room and doesn't want to eat. Don't follow her example. Be obedient and sensible children."

Annie felt refreshed. It turned out that spanking the children when she had nothing to do helped her relax.

Catherine was worried about her eldest granddaughter who had no food to eat, so she left the table after eating a few bites and went upstairs with a large group of maids, clearly going against Anne.

Anne pretended not to see it and turned around to start scolding Alexander for letting Alexei eat so many snacks.

Alex didn't eat much, he was almost full from eating the melon, which was not much better than a stage play.

Vladivostok is indeed more fun than St. Petersburg.

(End of this chapter)