Doctor Amnesiac, but not completely amnesiac

"I have only one request to Ursus, and that is to [stop the evil demons]. To this end, I not only researched a way to use the evil demons, but also helped Vladimir to unify his country - and I did it, just one step away."

The man stretched out his right hand.

"Mr. Nikolai Romanov, it's time to make your choice - do you want to sign a new contract with me and get the empire back on track with my help; or give up this opportunity and become a diligent paperhanger?"

The old man, who could now be called the regent, was slightly stunned as he looked at the other person's right hand stretched out in front of him.

He was thinking about one thing.

Was his royal brother, the late Emperor Vladimir of Ursus, also invited in this way?

Vladimir's rise was incredible. As an unpopular prince whose political ideas were even criticized by his father as "empty fantasies", he overcame all opposition with a nearly miraculous military victory.

This was the original law of Ursus, a law that even the emperor had to obey—if you win the battle, everything will go well.

Everyone said that Vladimir's rise to fame began with the Battle of the Four Emperors. He seized the opportunity and chose the right path at the crossroads of fate.

But what if, instead of Vladimir reaching the crossroads of fate, the crossroads of fate came to Vladimir?

What he grasped was a chance to soar to the sky, or -

The right hand of the man in front of me.

Or, are these two actually the same thing?

Nicholas didn't know, but he knew one thing.

He stretched out his right hand without hesitation and held Qiao Yelan's right hand tightly.

If he doesn't seize this opportunity, someone else will.

But by that time, Romanov might not be the surname of the Emperor of Ursus.

-----------------------------------------------

"What is your position now?"

"I had direct contact with Fyodor. He and Witte led the royalist party, and I led the opposition."

After Fedor came to power, the royalists and the opposition were no longer divided according to the standards of Vladimir's time - to be honest, there were probably more people in the opposition who had stood on Vladimir's side.

This is because most of the current opposition are traditional nobles, the main forces are the grand dukes and marquises in various places, and some senior military officers. They are the ones who have benefited the most from the war dividends. Therefore, although Nicholas was a die-hard Vladimir faction before, he can still stand on the top so smoothly now.

The royalists were mostly composed of various business owners and civil servants who had made fortunes from the war. Many of them, like Witte, were promoted. They were once commoners and people of non-aristocratic origin, and they were the ones who truly controlled the wealth of Ursus.

Such a classification also led to some people being placed in an awkward position. For example, Oleg from the Ministry of Justice and Yegor from the Ministry of Labor were naturally incompatible with the opposition nobles, but they themselves felt disgusted when asked to join the royalist group.

The biggest disagreement between the two parties now lies in which leg Ursus will take first - economy or military.

Entrepreneurs naturally want to develop the economy. With the example of Casimir, a businessman who divided the world with a soldier, these people are extremely jealous. They wish they could learn from the Chamber of Commerce, strip the military of their aristocratic status, and let them simply serve as thugs for the country.

The grand dukes and the military wanted to continue to implement a war-oriented national policy. They firmly believed that Vladimir's theory of plundering reform was correct and that Ursus should continue on this path, while strengthening the army's combat effectiveness and placing the cost of domestic reforms on other countries.

"Does Witt know that you are in contact with Fyodor?"

Nicholas hesitated.

"I can guarantee that there has been no leaks, but as for Fyodor's side... I'm not sure."

Qiao Yelan narrowed his eyes.

This is not good news. Even Nikolai doesn't think highly of Fedor. This guy might be a complete loser.

"I hope to have a secret contact with His Majesty Feodor, but I don't want more people to know about it."

"Of course, I'll arrange it."

Nicholas was eager for Qiao Yelan to meet Fyodor, and it would be best if his nephew could sign a contract with him, so that he would be truly safe.

"What is the infected plan led by Anatoly?"

"I was indeed the one who issued the order to deal with the infected. This was the solution that Fyodor and I discussed."

Nicholas gave an answer that surprised Qiao Yelan.

He was a little surprised. The other party shouldn't be the type of person who would use such means.

"what are you thinking?"

"Our plan at the time was to encourage the infected to form a wasteland development group with the serfs, and to grant them free people as a reward, so that they could go to the northern wasteland to develop land and minerals."

"Because there is no longer enough fiscal expenditure to continue the national policy of eliminating serfdom, this method is not only low-cost, but if successful, it can effectively reduce the carrying capacity of today's mobile cities and the increasingly serious unemployment problem."

Nicholas did not hide it, but this answer made Qiao Yelan hold his forehead with his hand.

"Do you know anything about Anatoly's plan for dealing with the infected?"

"No, he didn't tell me the detailed implementation plan."

"Then I suggest you call your son now and ask him to send a copy of the plan for today's lunch meeting - your dear son has been led into a ditch by others without your knowledge."

Although the old man was puzzled, he still did as Qiao Yelan said.

"Father, what can I do for you?"

Anatoly's voice came from the receiver.

"Have you prepared your plan for dealing with the infected?"

"It has been prepared and has been coordinated with various departments. It will be fully rolled out soon."

"Okay, let Yefim bring one to me."

"...It's the father."

Nikolay was about to hang up when Anatoly spoke again.

"Father, do you have any visitors?"

"Yes, what's wrong?"

"Nothing... I came here in person with the documents."

"it is good."

Nicholas hung up the phone with a gloomy look on his face.

Anatoly's last two sentences alone were enough to make him realize the trick in this plan.

"What happened to this plan?"

"Wait until Anatoly comes over. I'm eager to see what kind of plan he will come up with for you. Maybe you and Vladimir have encountered the same misfortune."

Same bad luck...

Nicholas was a little confused. Wasn't it that the only misfortune of the late emperor was losing the Battle of Blood Peak?

Besides losing a war, what else...

Wait a moment.

It seems that there is indeed some.

[Really...Does your Romanov family have some family inheritance that means the second generation will inevitably be bad? ]

Koschei asked Nikolai with a hint of sarcasm.

The old duke's face turned completely gloomy.

He had already understood what the two men meant - Fyodor and Anatoly were probably both being used by that bastard Witte.

There was silence until the waiter announced the arrival of Anatoly.

"Come in."

The door of the study opened, and Anatoly paused when he saw Qiao Yelan.

"What are you standing there for? Come here!"

"...Yes, father."

Anatoly closed the door, walked to the desk and put down a document bag in his hand.

Nicholas opened the file bag and looked at the thick stack of plans inside. Without even flipping through them, he handed it directly to Qiao Yelan.

This action made Anatoly's pupils shrink suddenly.

"It's really strange, Mr. Anatoly. If this is the plan I saw at noon, then I think Judge Oleg and I would have given our full support, and Minister Igor would have been the one who would have always been against you."

The man asked with a chuckle.

Anatoly remained silent. He raised his head and looked at his father.

"Father, this is the public plan. Whether it is publicized to the public or put to a public vote in parliament, it is this plan."

"Then the meeting at noon was not considered public?"

Qiao Yelan asked with interest.

“This document was also included in the meeting.”

[Tsk tsk, Nicholas, your son has learned to lie to your face. ]

The black snake crawled out of Qiao Yelan's hand, making a giggling sound.

The lieutenant general's eyes widened. Who else could be in this state and speak to his father in such a tone except the Grand Duke of Kosice?

Nicholas just gave his son a cold look and picked up the phone again.

"Is it Yefim?"

"It's me, Your Highness."

"Bring me a copy of the plan used in today's lunch meeting. It must be complete and without any deletions or modifications."

"Yes, Your Highness."

"Father, you shouldn't have seen the real plan. As long as you don't know it, you don't need to bear any responsibility!"

Anatoly's words stunned the three people present.

"Sir Anatoly, are you saying that the reason why the Grand Duke was not informed of this plan is because you don't want your father to be involved?"

"My answer to Secretary-General Alexander at the meeting was the reason why I did this - even Speaker Witte could only hint at approval and would still deny it in public, so how could I possibly involve my father?"

The man explained loudly.

How could Anatoly not know what kind of turmoil this plan would cause? Neither the emperor nor the speaker would be willing to publicly issue such an order, so how could he let his father do such a thing?

The only evidence they used was a vague statement that "the infected problem needs to be dealt with immediately." Then they could just use "the starting point was good, but the execution was bad." Wouldn't that fool them?

"I have a very serious question, and I hope you can answer it honestly. Why do you think your father's initial public order to you would have hidden meanings? What if Grand Duke Nicholas really only intends to deal with the infected in this way?"

Qiao Yelan grasped the key intersection between their different conversations.

"I have talked with Chancellor Witte, and he told me in detail how serious the problem of infected people the empire is facing now. So I understand how heavy a task it is to [solve the problem] as my father said."

Anatoly seemed quite calm.

He is not a madman, nor is he plotting behind his father's back. He just feels that this issue must be resolved quickly, and that he needs to bear all possible blame and responsibility on behalf of his father.

Qiao Yelan had a strange look on his face, Kosice blinked in confusion, and Nikola felt a hint of relief mixed with his pain.

This child is very much like me and is suitable to be a soldier.

But he is only suitable for being a soldier.

"... Let your father explain it to you."

Qiao Yelan sighed. If he had planned to urge Nikolai to clean up the mess before, now that everything was laid out, he could only suggest that Nikolai urge Anatoly to open a small account.

By the time everything was explained, Anatoly's mouth was wide open.

"So you really intend to encourage the infected and serfs to go to the northern border to open up wasteland, rather than gather them together in the name of opening up wasteland?"

"Of course not! We are soldiers of the empire! At no time should the soldiers' butcher knives be slashed at the people they are protecting!"

Nicholas cursed at his once beloved son.

Chapter 53: Spend a penny in two.jpg

After Grand Duke Nicholas vented his anger, the scene fell into an awkward silence.

The silence was broken again only when Yefim arrived.

The colonel handed a document to Grand Duke Nicholas and then left the study.