Doctor, I'm really strong!

Of course, there are patrol teams that catch smugglers, but many of these patrol teams are in cahoots with smuggling caravans, so it's basically just a pointless performance. As for the officials, as long as you don't cut off their benefits, they'll be overjoyed to invite you over.

By leveraging his position as a middleman, Alexei had amassed a well-equipped force, with weapons purchased from the Red Guards and even instructors brought in from them. It was essentially a branch of the Red Guards.

The only thing that puzzled Prince Alexei was the somewhat mocking look in the eyes of the Red Guard instructors.

As long as they can help me train the troops well, nothing else matters.

Alexei produced a list of people who had clearly expressed their support for him. Most of them were minor nobles, while those who actually held significant military power were mostly neutral, supporting whoever won.

However, what concerned Crown Prince Alexei even more was that the entire Ursus Empire was becoming increasingly reliant on products manufactured by the Red Guards, a fact that Kosich had also noticed and had asked him to keep an eye on.

But paying attention is useless; if you can't find a substitute for these products, it's all for nothing.

The Red Guards have now seized the market with cheap industrial and agricultural products, greatly improving the lives of everyone in the Far East. From the bottom to the top, everyone needs these products. If you ban them, your own people will immediately take up arms and complain to you about the consequences, without the Red Guards even coming to your door.

Alexei frowned, but no matter how he thought about it, this approach didn't solve anything.

This is not something that can be solved by intrigue and trickery; it is a pure crushing force. Unless we retaliate with greater production capacity and cheaper goods, there is no solution.

The common people may not know who the Ursus Emperor is, but if you dare to make them starve, you will never have a meal again after today.

"Impressive, truly impressive. Without initiating a war, they have already obtained what they could not have through war."

Putting aside their respective positions, Alexei greatly admired the Red Guards, especially Liu Jiuli. He orchestrated everything in the most harmless way. By the time you discover the Red Guards' influence everywhere in your life, you've already lost half the battle.

"Compared to you, you are the easy targets."

Alexei walked to the map and smashed it onto the location of Saint-Germain Castle.

That was his home, and it was where it all began. Because of a game, he became a victim. Although he would probably have done the same thing if he were in that situation, the feelings of the person involved are obviously something that bystanders cannot understand.

"Since you want to kill me, I'll kill you first."

Feeling that his army was strong and well-equipped, Alexei decided to launch a probing attack. However, the target was not the western city, which was the most concentrated place of power in the Ursus Empire. Attacking there would be tantamount to a formal declaration of war, which he could not do at the moment, as his strength and conditions did not allow it.

The cities in the Far East are also off-limits, especially those with close ties to the Red Guards, as they could easily lead to uncontrollable events. If Liu Jiuli wanted to strangle him, Kosichek would definitely not stop him, and even if he dared to, he wouldn't be able to.

So the only option is...

Just then, the butler's voice came from outside the door.

"Your Highness, we have guests from Steelgrad."

"Please come in quickly!"

Chapter 182: No Emotion, Just Acting

(Didn't expect this early update, did you? Where are everyone's comments? Can you vote for me? (?ω?))

Being merciful to the enemy is being cruel to oneself.

Liu Jiuli never forgot that the Ursus Empire was his number one enemy, and the two sides would eventually be locked in a life-or-death struggle.

Therefore, he would do everything in his power to cause trouble for the Ursus Empire. The simplest way was to instigate a civil war, especially the struggle for the throne between Alexei and Nicholas.

It's just a dogfight among nobles; whatever happens is their fault, and the Red Guards can just step in and clean up the mess.

In the study, Alexei asked the messenger with a solemn expression, "What does your leader want?"

Just now, the messenger delivered good news to Alexei: the Red Guards would support his fight for the throne.

This was truly a cause for celebration, but Alexei quickly calmed down.

Given Liu Jiuli's strength, what would be the price for him to proactively seek cooperation with me?

"After you come to power, you must abide by the constitution and establish a constitutional monarchy."

Alexei paused for a moment, then realized, "It's Victoria's style."

This sounds like an attempt to limit the monarch's power, but as long as the monarch remains in that position, there is a great deal of room for maneuver. No one would think that the Queen of England has no special privileges.

At that moment, Alexei suddenly realized that Liu Jiuli was a constitutional monarchist, not a republican.

That's wonderful. Having such an ally is something I could laugh in my sleep. As for the issue of real power, Alexei doesn't care. He never had any real power in the past, and his current development is just dependent on others. Giving up something he never had in the first place is something he feels no guilt about.

As for what my descendants think, I don't care; I trust in the wisdom of future generations.

Oh dear, I am a castrated man with no descendants, so what do I have to worry about? Let the world flood after I die.

"Okay, I'm willing."

Alexei agreed without hesitation, deciding to be a rubber stamp maker.

But what he didn't know was that this was actually a trap set by Liu Jiuli for the Ursus Empire.

At this time, although the Ursus Empire itself had many problems, its military strength was not weak. If the Red Guards were to take on it head-on, the cost would be hard to assess. Moreover, the imperial power of the Ursus Empire still possessed authority and sanctity. It was unrealistic to expect this historical inertia to quickly decay.

A major reason for the collapse of the Tsarist Russian Empire was the defeat in World War I, which deeply ignited internal contradictions, leading to the rapid disintegration of the entire country. After the February Revolution, the Bolsheviks, with the support of the people, launched the October Revolution, ushering in a new era.

Therefore, the Ursus Empire naturally needs a crisis to ignite its internal conflicts. It's not impossible for the conflict to fester slowly, but in the process, the Ursus Empire will definitely cause a lot of trouble, and the risks will become uncontrollable. In that case, let the power struggle within the Ursus Empire start first.

The civil war in the Ursus Empire, triggered by the imperial power, was enough to make the people of Ursus quickly lose faith in the country. War requires money and supplies, and if those noble lords don't contribute, guess where the money and supplies will come from?

Then the lives of these Ursus people will rapidly deteriorate.

The Red Guards' previous economic strategy filled the Ursus Empire with cheap goods, improving the lives of ordinary people and making the country more stable. However, while it's good for living standards to improve, it's not good for them to regress, as this could easily trigger a popular uprising.

The people of the Ursus Empire had just begun to live a relatively comfortable life when the civil war quickly pushed them back to starvation. Who do you think they hate the most? And what do they think?

This is like giving money to ordinary people, and then someone snatches it away. How could they not be angry?

Now that we've got the energy, what's the point of handing them a gun?

Of course, it's unrealistic to expect them to charge straight in, but we still have a vanguard. Once the civil war has worn down the legitimacy and sanctity of the Ursus Empire's royal family, the Red Guards can just finish things off.

Moreover, if the Ursus Empire really descends into chaos, won't the surrounding neighbors have other ideas?

Should Kazimir reclaim its former territory? Will Letania feel it should expand? Yan Kingdom strengthens its northern defenses, while Dong Kingdom believes it can extend its territory westward.

These are all crises, crises caused by the Ursus Empire's own incompetence.

That's how military empires are. They have poor relations with their neighbors, so they keep strengthening their military power because they feel insecure. This eventually leads to a spiraling predicament. After all, once a war starts, military power is never enough. No country's military power is inexhaustible.

However, simply helping Crown Prince Alexei vie for the throne is not enough; some additional publicity is also needed.

After all, legitimacy now rests with the Ursus Empire's royal family, and they've already announced Crown Prince Alexei's death. So, is this Crown Prince real or fake? Even if he is real, he can be faked if necessary.

Similarly, if the price is right, a fake can also be considered real.

The power of discourse will be crucial in the ensuing civil war, and this can be achieved through public propaganda—in short, storytelling.

The story needs to be novel and interesting, involving royal secrets, which the public will definitely love to hear. As for how much content has been embellished, only the parties involved know that, and the parties' explanations are obviously not very credible. The victim's explanation is more important.

For example, you could say that Prince Nicholas VII framed his own elder brother, or that Prince Nicholas VII was not actually the current emperor's biological son, etc. You can come up with as many reasons as you want, whether they are true or false doesn't matter. The important thing is to attract people, and then the masses will spontaneously help you spread the word and create it. After it has been spread to a few people, the truth of the story will be completely distorted.

If the Ursus Empire were to start banning these things, that would be even better; it would easily arouse suspicion that they had something to hide.

Everyone has a sense of curiosity, and even if it's fake, it doesn't stop others from thinking that way.

No matter how the authorities deny or deal with the rumors, the truth will prevail. If the evidence is irrefutable, you can try to defend it, but you'll exhaust yourself trying.

As for the fact that the eldest prince is a eunuch, it could actually become an advantage if used properly.

You could have the Crown Prince take in a few adopted sons, lots of them, especially from the noble families with royal blood from the Ursus Empire. When Alexei dies, your child will ascend the throne, and you'll become the emperor's father. Wouldn't that be great?

Do you dare say that those local branches of the royal family who hold military power and act independently have no ambition for that supreme position? Probably not.

Previously, when there was no hope, such thoughts were just fleeting thoughts. But now that hope is right in front of them, and Prince Alexei seems to have a great chance of winning, do you think they wouldn't be tempted?

Then these people also got involved in the royal civil war, and their own strength began to be depleted. It will be much easier to deal with them later.

Don't think that the only target is the royal family of the Ursus Empire; you are all being plotted against.

Besides this, Liu Jiuli had another hidden purpose: to prevent the Yan Kingdom from becoming suspicious.

This was something Wei Renmin specifically reminded him about.

"As long as you openly take sides and show your personal ambition, the Yan Kingdom will trust you."

Liu Jiuli instantly understood what Wei Renmin meant.

Yan Kingdom is very wary of the emergence of a true public-spirited figure. If the Red Guards start with a red revolution, then Yan Kingdom will definitely cooperate with Ursus to crush the Red Guards at all costs; otherwise, they are not qualified feudal rulers.

When it comes to their own lives, Yan Kingdom will never be careless.

If you don't believe me, ask that bald guy surnamed Jiang.

However, if Liu Jiuli displays personal ambition, then they will consider Liu Jiuli to be one of their kind, a minority ruling the majority. Moreover, constitutional monarchy allows for the existence of a monarch, which, in the eyes of Yan, is the most extreme and acceptable outcome.

This most extreme scenario naturally refers to the possibility that Liu Jiuli will one day lead his army south to contend for control of the Central Plains.

After all, it is an avatar of the Year Beast, and its strength and lifespan are what they are. In the face of the long years, anything is possible.

Liu Jiuli's actions in the Ursus Empire will affect the Yan Kingdom's assessment of him. Competition with similar individuals can be negotiated, but with class enemies, it's a matter of life and death.

Therefore, igniting the internal situation of the Ursus Empire in this way is actually a super-large smokescreen, enough to cause the Yan Kingdom to misjudge the strategy.

While the flames of war began to rise within the Ursus Empire, Liu Jiuli was enjoying a leisurely trip in the Yan Kingdom.

He was really just sightseeing, and when he sent the photos back to Kazdel, Ling learned that Liu Jiuli had actually gone to Yan Kingdom alone and taken care of everything.

Ling immediately made a phone call, vehemently criticizing Liu Jiuli for his irresponsible behavior of being disorganized, undisciplined, and completely disregarding his own safety. Liu Jiuli didn't even need to put the phone on speakerphone; he could hear Ling's criticism even from three meters away.

This is truly Liu Jiuli's own problem. Who told you to go out without reporting it? You think you can do it, but others will be worried sick about you. If something were to happen, the Red Guards would be doomed.

Only then did Liu Jiuli realize the seriousness of the matter. The Red Guards could not do without him. So he immediately admitted his mistake and said that he would write a self-criticism when he returned and accept everyone's supervision and criticism.

Putting down his phone, Liu Jiuli sighed. He realized he had really crossed the line too far this time and needed to reflect deeply on his actions.

However, the investigation of the Yan Kingdom still needs to continue, especially the areas marked by the Wei people.

Then he went to the Sishuitai to demand the person.

"I plan to stay in Yan for a while, could you arrange a tour guide for me?"

A million grass mud horses galloped through Si Suitai's mind. You, a clone of the Sui beast, don't you know that Si Suitai is a thousand things?

"Aren't you the department that manages matters related to the Year Beast? I need your help now. You can't even provide the most basic assistance, can you? Is Yan Kingdom really that poor? Is the Year-Controlling Platform really that rude? I heard you were separated from the Department of Rites. Were you kicked out because you lacked manners?"

Honestly, if it weren't for the fact that no one at Si Suitai could beat him right now, the chief official would definitely have personally stepped in to have a go at him.

Having handled matters related to the Year Beast for so many years, this is the first time I've seen someone come knocking on my door demanding benefits. Don't be too arrogant!

But you can't kick them out or disagree with them. They are distinguished guests who were personally received by Emperor Yan, so you can't be negligent. But the Si Sui Tai really doesn't have any assistance function. This department was mainly set up to deal with the chaos caused by the Sui beast, not to serve the Sui beast.

There was no other way but for the official in charge to report the matter. Fortunately, the palace was not far away, so he could send someone directly to deliver the message.