I'm playing whack-a-mole in Siberia

Chapter 853 A big deal
With the support of Mussolini, Ciano rose to prominence rapidly. At his peak, the Italian cabinet was nicknamed the "Ciano Cabinet."

However, the relationship between the father-in-law and the son-in-law did not last. In 43, the Allied forces landed in Sicily. Ciano cooperated with the King of Italy to launch a coup, and Mussolini was removed from office.

In 44, Mussolini, who returned to power with the support of Mussolini, sentenced Ciano to death for treason.

Unlike Ciano, who had just entered politics, Russia's new forces have officially entered the center of power.

In Russia, the most watched rising political stars are Felix the Younger, Leonid, and Grand Duke Dmitry, the head of the Romanov family.

Little Felix successfully became the first of the new generation by virtue of his age and resume. His personality is quite different from Felix's carefree and free-spirited personality. He is more like his mother, the former "first lady" Yusupova.

Even now.

Like Yusupova, little Felix often held banquets at the Yusupov Palace, and George and Felix were also invited to attend, which effectively enhanced the quality of the banquets.

Little Felix became an idol for all young people because of his feat of joining forces with Boris and Dmitri to kill the evil monk Rasputin.

Compared with old guys like George, the young people in the Yusupov Palace are more energetic and have a more positive attitude towards international affairs.

"We should go all out to break the monopoly of other countries on Africa and expand a broader living space for Russia!"

"Then we must first strengthen our navy. Without enough battleships, it will be impossible to defeat the Royal Navy."

"India! India is Britain's greatest reliance—"

On the lawn in front of the Yusupov Palace, a group of young people were having a heated discussion.

Little Felix and Leonid were in charge of the barbecue, Igor Milyutin was mixing cocktails, Nikolai Dolgorukov hugged his father Mikhail's legs and begged for a pony as a birthday present, and next to him, little Felix's wife, Princess Irina Alexandrovna, led the women in setting the table.

"Why don't you join their discussion?"

Little Felix is ​​not much older than Leonid, but it feels like two generations apart.

“Instead of talking big, it’s better to do some practical work.”

Leonid was not interested.

"I'm sorry I'm late—"

Dmitry arrived late, having just concluded a conversation with the Abyssinian Foreign Minister, which yielded no results.

Haile Selassie I finally recognized the true face of Britain, but unfortunately the price was too heavy. The Italian army had already invaded Addis Ababa, the capital of the Abyssinian Empire, and Haile Selassie was forced to go into exile in Britain.

Although the Abyssinian Empire had been defeated, Haile Selassie still fantasized about counterattacking and hoped to get assistance from the international community.

"How did the talks with the Abyssinians go?"

Little Felix was concerned with the interests of the Yusupov family in the Abyssinian Empire.

When Haile Selassie I ascended the throne, he was quite ambitious and invited capital from various countries to invest in the Abyssinian Empire. The Yusupov family invested in a reservoir in Addis Ababa.

Leonid was only concerned with the temperature of the barbecue, although Yuriev also had investments in the Abyssinian Empire.

"The Italians have promised to protect the interests of all countries in the Abyssinian Empire from being violated. The Abyssinians have lost all their bargaining chips."

There was a hint of regret in Dmitri's words. If the interests of the Russian consortium in the Abyssinian Empire were violated, that might change George's mind.

"Poor Abyssinians—"

Little Felix sighed and turned his attention back to the barbecue.

Igor handed Dmitri a glass of prepared cocktail, and Mikhail, who finally had his hands free, came to help. Dmitri turned around and called the group of kids who were still talking, asking them to come over and help.

There is strength in numbers. The group of people quickly sat down around the long dining table. The women first settled the children and then came back, as there were no seats left.

"Those who didn't help just now, get out of here! Those who don't work, don't eat!"

Dmitri has prestige and he holds the highest position here.

The kids didn't resist. They laughed and gave up their seats to their aunts and sisters-in-law, without any sign of embarrassment.

"Those who didn't help just now will be responsible for cleaning later."

Irina was still laughing and scolding as she sat down, and the kids cried out in grief, finally paying the price for their high-handed talk.

The purpose of this kind of occasion is to eat and drink to build relationships and strengthen the cohesion of the entire group. This was a common tactic in the imperial Russian era and is still relevant today.

After eating and drinking, little Felix, Dmitri and Leonid went into the study. Irina personally brought them champagne and cigars before going to supervise the kids at work. Before leaving, she did not forget to close the door and asked the housekeeper to guard the door and not allow anyone to disturb them.

"You were wrong just now. The Abyssinians do not deserve pity at all. They deserve it!"

Only then did Dmitri get to the point.

"There must be something hateful about pitiful people—"

Leonid also has a family background in learning.

"This is good for us in Russia, I like Social Darwin!"

Little Felix is ​​radical. The good thing about social Darwinism is that the strong prey on the weak.

One of the important reasons why social Darwin is popular in Russia is that since Russia deserves to be beaten when it is weak, a strong Russia can also beat the whole world.

You can't just tout social Darwinism when you're powerful.

In other words, for every first day of your year, there will be my fifteenth day.

"At least for the next ten years, we don't have to think about it. We want to get the most benefits at the lowest cost."

Dmitri still believed in George.

"This is why young people dislike us old guys. I don't know when I became the representative of conservatives—"

Little Felix spread his hands. He was obviously a radical, or at least a radical conservative.

It was impossible for the conservatives to kill Rasputin.

"Compared to you, I should be a gravekeeper."

Dmitry, the Foreign Minister, received the most criticism.

“Old people in their forties!”

Leonid exclaimed that forty years old was just the beginning of a career as a politician.

Leonid himself is not even 30 years old.

Being a 30-year-old assistant minister is enough to make many people envious.

Russia does not feel anything about the younger age of its officials, but it has caused surprise among many friendly countries abroad.

The Times described the rejuvenation of Russian officials as the resurrection of the aristocracy, which, combined with Vasily's violence, gave people the feeling that Russia had become a hell on earth.

This is certainly a slander. Compared with Russia, the British aristocracy has a more serious monopoly on power.

The Times does not just criticize Russia, it is also not soft on British politicians.

After MacDonald formed the Labour Party, it only had 52 seats in the general election. The Conservative Party led by Stanley Baldwin won 480 seats, while the Labour Party formed by MacDonald only had 13 seats.

MacDonald was disappointed with the result, but because of the support of the Conservative Party, MacDonald was able to continue to serve as British Prime Minister.

Last month, McDonald proposed to hold an economic conference in London to discuss how to restore the economy as soon as possible, which was supported by many countries, with a total of 66 countries participating. Russia did not attend the London Economic Conference for its own interests.

New U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt, who was committed to restoring the U.S. economy, also did not attend the meeting.

Britain still has strength, and some consensus was reached at the London Conference.

But due to the absence of Russia and the United States, no effective agreement was reached.

MacDonald's original intention was to use Britain's financial appeal to demonstrate that Britain still had strength.

Not only did this goal not get achieved, but it further exposed Britain's decline.

George doesn't care about MacDonald, who is now a puppet of the British Conservative Party and will be ousted as a scapegoat sooner or later.

George was still very concerned about Roosevelt Jr.

Roosevelt was the only U.S. president in history to be re-elected for four terms, serving as president for 13 years (he died of illness during his fourth term).

After Roosevelt entered the White House, he actively implemented the "New Deal" which focused on relief, reform and revitalization.

The "New Deal" abandoned traditional laissez-faire, strengthened government intervention in the economic field, implemented deficit financing, and vigorously developed public services to stimulate the economy.

Because Roosevelt's "New Deal" was too similar to Russia's policies during the period after the end of the Civil War, Russian newspapers described Roosevelt's "New Deal" as a plagiarism of Russia.

Putting aside other things, Witte's status and evaluation in Russian history should have been greatly improved compared to another time and space.

George reminded Vasily that the United States was returning to the right track and Russia should be vigilant and respond in a timely manner.

Russia benefited greatly from the tariff war initiated by Hoover. After Roosevelt came to power, the US trade policy was changing, and Russia also had to make timely adjustments.

"Is America dead? Why choose a paralyzed person as president?"

Vasily was shocked. Americans are really unconventional.

"If this paralyzed man could become the president of the United States, he must have something extraordinary about him."

George sees things differently from Vasily.

“Will the London Economic Conference be the beginning of a split between Britain and the United States?”

Vasily wants to break up the British and American duo.

Both Britain and the United States were founded by Anglo-Saxon forces. Although there are conflicts, their fundamental interests are the same. Once Europe becomes a whole, both Britain and the United States will be marginalized.

Through Russia's unremitting efforts, most European countries have recognized the true face of the United States, but Vasily does not have a deep enough understanding of the threat posed by the United States.

"Without Britain, there is Germany——"

George reminded Vasily that Germany and Britain were equally a threat to Europe.

Vasily frowned. The situation was a bit complicated.

After the mustache came to power, Germany's strength is recovering rapidly. The French are certainly worried, and it is also a threat to Russia.

Vasily remembered that when the World War had just ended, George advocated supporting and winning over Germany and using Germany to attack the international system dominated by Britain and France.

Is Russia going to make a U-turn now?
“We need to strengthen our own capabilities.”

George does not turn around, and Russia hopes that Germany will face reality.

Even if Germany defeated France and obtained France's resources, it would not be able to compete with Russia in terms of overall national strength.

George hoped that after Germany defeated France, it would fight to the death with Britain instead of turning around and attacking Russia.

"If you want to find orders for military enterprises, you don't have to go through so much trouble."

Vasily came from a military background and was not opposed to military expansion.

"While upgrading our weapons and equipment, we must also improve our soft power."

George didn't want to provoke an arms race, but in the current situation, George had no better choice.

Taking advantage of the Polish riots, German dictator Gerhard von Mustache quietly expanded the German Wehrmacht from 10 to 15, with the excuse of ensuring Germany's security.

Although both Britain and France expressed opposition, their opposition did not seem to be fierce.

In response to Germany's military expansion, Britain planned to build a new class of battleships, while France decided to imitate Russia and establish an armored force.

As Britain, France and Germany all began to expand their military forces, it was only natural for Russia to expand its military as well.

"The Germans are too slow. Do we need to give them a push?"

Vasily thought the force was not strong enough.

"Ah--"

George is not in a hurry. Once Roosevelt has time, Germany will speed up.

Roosevelt's New Deal did not truly help the United States escape the economic crisis.

What really brought the United States to the top was World War II.

Therefore, even if Russia did not add fuel to the fire, the United States would have chosen the little mustache as its agent, and it would have been so reckless not to join the League of Nations.

In another time and space, France surrendered 38 days later.

Rather than pushing Germany, George would rather help France build an armored force.

Russia is the only country in the world that has armored forces, and it also has the most advanced armored vehicles. France's main armored vehicles are still Renault, and their various data are not even as good as Russia's armored vehicles.

The French did take a fancy to Russia's new armored vehicles, but instead of purchasing them directly from Russia, they hoped to obtain the relevant technology for the new armored vehicles and produce them in French arsenals.

Dmitry received visiting French Prime Minister Joseph Boncour to negotiate technology transfer.

"Are you sure you want the latest armored fighting vehicle?"

Dmitry did not really mean to look down on the French, but he felt that Russia's latest armored vehicles were not suitable for France.

"Of course, I want the most advanced one!"

Joseph Boncour didn't know much about Russia's new armored fighting vehicles.

Boncourt was a lawyer by training. During the World War he was busy campaigning and writing books. He had never served in the military and was a complete layman in military affairs.

"Russia's most advanced armored fighting vehicle has a combat weight of 40 tons. How many do you want?"

Dmitri smiled and said, "Even if you don't understand military affairs, you should know about France's steel production."

After the outbreak of the economic crisis, France's steel production has been declining year by year, with last year's steel production reaching 910 million tons.

Armored vehicles cannot play their due role if there are too few of them. During the last World War, France built a total of 3200 Renault vehicles.

"This is not a problem!"

Bonkur took on a lot.

(End of this chapter)