The doctor suffers from amnesia, but not complete amnesia.

"Bring Mr. Qiao Yelan to my study and a pot of tea. I have important matters to discuss with him."

"Yes."

Qiao Yelan looked visibly relieved, and then a smile appeared on her face.

"Then I would like to thank Your Highness the Speaker for your magnanimity."

"no need thank me?"

"Thank you for at least keeping my job—if you had just fired me, I would have frozen to death in this cold winter night in St. Eagle Castle."

Witt smiled and shook his head, but felt a sense of relief.

The pressure Qiao Yelan was under was clearly due to a death order from Nikolai that he had to reach this deal with him; otherwise, he wouldn't have said such a thing.

It seems that Grand Duke Nicholas has been driven to desperation by his foolish son.

The speaker made up his mind that he must force the other party to reveal their bottom line.

The two sat at the desk. Despite her leg problems, Qiao Yelan still poured Victor a cup of tea and then, slightly out of breath, spoke in an impatient tone.

“Mr. Anatoly did something incredibly stupid. Although Grand Duke Nicholas was furious and even slapped Anatoly twice in front of us servants, he is still his own son—but the plan hasn’t been implemented yet, has it? The Grand Duke hopes that you can be lenient and at least remove Anatoly from the picture.”

Victor calmly picked up his teacup and savored it, completely ignoring Qiao Yelan, whose forehead was starting to sweat.

"His Highness is an extremely intelligent man and naturally understands that there is no such thing as a free lunch."

"Of course, of course! His Highness the Grand Duke said that because he needs to discipline Anatoli severely, he can't attend to matters on the military side, so he wants to hand over control of the First Army Group—of course, nominally he'll say he's returning the First Army Group to His Majesty."

Qiao Yelan's voice carried a hint of flattery.

"But in the current situation, everyone can see that His Majesty's prestige is being maintained by you, Speaker Witte. So, is it obvious whether this should be returned to His Majesty or to you?"

"It's best to be careful what you say, as it's so treasonous."

Witt continued to calmly drink his tea.

"Yes, yes, you are right—shall I pour you some more tea?"

"Drinking tea is about savoring it; if you just gulp it down, you lose the pleasure of drinking tea."

Qiao Yelan awkwardly withdrew her hand, and, imitating Witt, picked up the teacup and sipped it slowly.

"This is truly excellent tea!"

"You're saying that Grand Duke Nicholas wants to hand over control of the First Army?"

Qiao Yelan quickly put down his teacup and nodded repeatedly.

"Yes, those are His Highness the Grand Duke's exact words."

"This bargaining chip is so-so—has Anatoly chosen a scapegoat yet?"

"I've chosen him, I've chosen him—Police Chief, Major General Valery Gordev. He has the right status, position, and rank, and he's also colluding with nobles. His Highness the Grand Duke has wanted to replace him for a long time."

Witt gave a cold laugh.

"Change him? So, Grand Duke Nicholas is planning to appoint someone else to continue in this position?"

"Well, that's always been the case, and this is a position that only a major general can attain, a rare promotion in the military—"

"It won't be like that anymore."

Qiao Yelan's expression froze.

"What did you say?"

“Go back and tell Grand Duke Nicholas that, given Valery’s example, this position will no longer need to be held by a soldier.”

"this--"

"Ok?"

The man gritted his teeth and finally nodded.

“Alright, I’ll go back and tell His Highness, but you must ensure that Mr. Anatoly can get away safely.”

“I can guarantee Anatoly’s escape—but how will His Highness escape?”

Witt's quiet remark caused Qiao Yelan's expression to change drastically.

Seeing the other person's expression, the speaker laughed instead.

The other party put on a very good performance, but unfortunately, they added an unnecessary line at the end: "You must ensure that Mr. Anatoly can get away safely."

This indicates that Qiao Yelan felt the deal was acceptable—handing over the First Army Group and the position of Police Commissioner were both within his bidding authority.

This means that the price is still negotiable.

"What—what do you mean by that?"

Qiao Yelan, strong and composed, stammered as he asked.

Seeing the other party's reaction, Witt smiled with satisfaction.

They're young after all; even a little bit of intensity is enough for them to break down and show their true colors.

Chapter Fifty-Seven: The Devil Who Manipulates People's Hearts

“It’s true that Anatoli was in charge of this, but if it’s really exposed, do you think the people will only condemn Anatoli?”

A cold smile appeared on the speaker's lips.

“Anatole is the son of Grand Duke Nicholas, and whatever he does necessarily mean that it is also his father’s idea, that is, the military’s idea—people will not think that this is solely Anatoly’s responsibility.”

The scene fell silent. Qiao Yelan's facial muscles twitched a few times before he finally took a deep breath.

“Alright, alright, Speaker! What if Grand Duke Nicholas wants to completely extricate the military from this, completely and utterly extricate it—at least I hope that when His Highness executes me, I will know whether the charge is treason or corruption.”

"In addition to the first two conditions, the military must stand up and support me in taking the position of Chancellor of the Exchequer."

Witt readily offered his terms.

Qiao Yelan started grinding her teeth.

"Are you trying to make His Highness openly break with the nobility? You should know that the military is only able to barely contend with your civil service group with the support of the nobility. Wouldn't this leave him at the mercy of others?"

This means there's something to discuss.

Witt knew very well that this was an excessive condition, and if Qiao Yelan still agreed immediately, he would have to consider whether it was a trap. However, now that the other party indicated that the price was too high, but if he was willing to make some contributions, it was not impossible to negotiate.

As expected, Nicholas and the nobles were only superficially united.

"I can guarantee that after I come to power, I will prioritize allocating funds to the Second and Seventh Armies under Grand Duke Nicholas to help them complete their reconstruction."

“Empty promises are meaningless, and even with the support of the military, you may not be able to secure that position.”

"Since you didn't react strongly after I stated this condition, it's clear you no longer think you can fool me with acting—I prefer you the way you are now; your previous act of being a petty person was rather ugly."

Qiao Yelan has now calmed down and shown the magnanimity expected of a Grand Duke.

"There's no other way. As a delivery person, the lower the price I can negotiate, the higher my commission will be. As long as I can get the money, what does it matter if I lose face? Unfortunately, the age gap between us is too big, and my experience is far too lacking."

The man has abandoned all pretense; he will strike as a complete businessman.

"Grand Duke Nicholas has actually considered your request, and with your methods, you must know that His Highness is also loyal to His Majesty—if the position of Minister of Finance falls into your hands, it will certainly be much better than that fat pig in the current position."

"Yes, I believe in His Highness's loyalty."

Witt simply evaded the question, waiting for Qiao Yelan to offer his terms.

"But His Highness is, after all, part of the nobility. One cannot betray one's own class, can one? Therefore, His Highness will not take the initiative to stand up for you, otherwise the military will also fall into turmoil—but we can prepare a bullet for you."

One bullet?

The speaker narrowed his eyes.

"After this matter is 'completely over,' His Highness will propose a practical [Army Group Downsizing Plan] to reduce the current size of the Empire's military equipment—the reason being, of course, the shrinking of the Empire's finances, which has led to a reduction in funding for the military, forcing them to find ways to reduce military spending."

So that's how it is—it really is a bullet that allows one to both shirk responsibility and go with the flow.

Witt believed he had figured out Nikolai's thoughts.

The nobles controlled the finances—poor finances led to cuts in military spending—and the military had to downsize.

This logical chain of events successfully pointed the finger at the nobility, while the nobles within the army did not feel that Nicholas had betrayed them—because it was the nobles who had betrayed Nicholas first.

In this way, Nicholas united the military, won himself a favor, and genuinely and thoroughly improved the empire's current financial situation.

Kill three birds with one stone.

Should I accept it or not?

His eyes darted around, and then he looked at Qiao Yelan.

"It seems you still have something to say?"

"Yes, in addition, His Highness the Grand Duke hopes to obtain an army group designation as well."

Hahahahaha.

This guy is still so short-sighted and greedy.

The speaker almost burst out laughing. Nikolai only had two army groups—which was exactly three fully-staffed, downsized army groups.

So this bullet only hits others, not itself, right?