Doctor Amnesiac, but not completely amnesiac

It was almost enough at this point. After all, Nicholas supported him, so there was no need to suppress him any further - after all, the civil service group on Witte's side also needed to be restrained.

As Feodor thought about this, his eyes became much friendlier when he looked at Qiao Yelan.

"Uncle, you are blaming yourself too much. This is not your fault. It can only be said that Valery's behavior was improper and contrary to the dignity of a soldier!"

It is done.

Qiao Yelan nodded in his heart. In this way, Nicholas and Anatoly were completely removed from the matter. Moreover, it was the emperor himself who nodded, so no one was qualified to use this matter to attack the military.

Then, it’s time to start the enjoyable part of digging holes.

"I also attended the meeting that made the final decision on this plan. At the meeting, Finance Minister Igor and Police Chief Valery distorted the facts, used coercion and inducement, and forced the bill through despite the opposition."

"Oh? Was there anyone who stood up and objected in that meeting?"

The emperor was intrigued by the casual conversation.

"Mr. Oleg, the Chief Justice of the Ministry of Justice, and Mr. Yegor, the Minister of Labor, faced the lies of the military and the nobles, and they both stood up and argued with reason, and tried their best to oppose the passage of the plan."

"You know, even though Secretary General Alexander had already acquiesced, these two adults still stood up to refute each other's shamelessness - they are the most upright Ursus people. Compared with them, I am simply a coward."

Qiao Yelan laughed at himself.

And Fyodor seemed to be thinking about something.

He and Witte tacitly agreed to the approval of this plan. Secretary-General Alexander attended the meeting but remained silent, which meant that Witte must have told some of his subordinates about this matter.

Under such circumstances, Oleg and Yegor were able to stand up and refute, and even ignored Alexander's attitude - doesn't this mean that these two people are not Witte's subordinates?

He narrowed his eyes and recalled some things from the past.

It seems that Witte is deliberately suppressing and hiding the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Labor - but these two departments are obviously also civil service departments, and they are the ones who are most incompatible with the nobility and the military.

interesting--

"Your Majesty seems to have a lot of things to decide, so I won't bother you."

Qiao Yelan's voice interrupted Fyodor's thoughts.

"Well, go ahead and convey my greetings to Grand Duke Nicholas."

"I accept your order. I will take my leave."

Qiao Yelan was pushed around and headed towards a secluded path.

Next, it’s time to strike while the iron is hot.

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

"Mr. Qiao Yelan, I didn't expect that you would come to visit me again after just one day of not seeing me?"

"I can't help it. I'm just an errand boy. Even if I lose my legs, I still have to run errands for the big shots to make a living."

The man gave a flattering smile and lowered his voice.

"Chairman Witte, Grand Duke Nicholas wants to use me to convey a deal to you. I wonder if you would like to listen to it."

Witt's expression remained unchanged. He waved his hand, signaling the waiter in the distance to come over.

"Send Mr. Qiao Yelan to my study and bring him a pot of tea. I have something important to discuss with Mr. Qiao."

"Yes."

Qiao Yelan looked obviously relieved, and then a smile appeared on his face again.

"Then I would like to thank His Highness the Speaker for his magnanimity."

"no need thank me?"

"Thank you for letting me keep this job. If you had kicked me out, I would have frozen to death in this cold winter night in the Castle of the Eagles."

Witt smiled and shook his head, feeling relieved.

Qiao Yelan was under so much pressure, it was obvious that Nicholas had given him a death order and that he had to reach a deal with him, otherwise he would not have said such words.

It seems that Grand Duke Nicholas was driven into a corner by his foolish son.

The Speaker made up his mind that he must push the other party's bottom price down.

The two of them sat at the desk. Despite his inconvenient legs and feet, Qiao Yelan diligently poured a cup of tea for Witt. Then, with a slight breathlessness, he spoke in an impatient tone.

"Mr. Anatoly did something extremely stupid. Although Grand Duke Nicholas was angry and even slapped Anatoly twice in front of us servants, he is his biological son after all. Isn't this a plan that has not been implemented yet? The Grand Duke hopes that you can be flexible and at least get Anatoly out of the way."

Witt calmly picked up the teacup and sipped it carefully, not caring at all that Qiao Yelan was sweating on his forehead.

"Your Highness is a very smart man. He will naturally understand that there is no such thing as a free meal in the world."

"Of course, of course! His Highness the Grand Duke said that because he has to severely discipline Anatoly, he will not be able to take care of the military affairs, so he wants to hand over the control of the First Army - of course, nominally speaking, it must be said that the First Army is to be returned to Your Majesty."

There was a hint of flattery in Qiao Yelan's voice.

"But in the current situation, everyone can see that His Majesty's prestige is supported by you, Speaker Witte, so it is obvious whether to return it to His Majesty or to you."

"It's better to be careful with your words when it comes to such treasonous words."

Witt was still drinking tea calmly.

"Yes, yes, you are teaching me a lesson - shall I give you more tea?"

"Tea should be savored. If you drink it without thinking, you will lose the fun of drinking tea."

Qiao Yelan withdrew his hand awkwardly, and imitated Werther, picking up the teacup and sipping it.

"What a delicious tea—"

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

Qiao Yelan quickly put down the teacup and nodded repeatedly.

"Yes, these are the words of His Royal Highness the Grand Duke."

"This chip, let's just make do with it - have you chosen Anatole's scapegoat?"

"It's all chosen - the Chief of Police, Major General Valery Gordev. He has the status, position and rank to do what he wants. He also colluded with the nobles and was in collusion with them. Your Highness the Grand Duke has long wanted to replace him."

Witt sneered.

"Change? So, Grand Duke Nicholas is planning to appoint another person to continue to sit in this position?"

"Well, it has always been like this, and this is a position that can only be promoted to the rank of major general, which is a rare promotion in the military--"

"Not anymore."

Qiao Yelan’s expression froze.

"W-what did you say?"

"Go back and tell Grand Duke Nicholas that with the example of Valery, this position will no longer need a military officer."

"this--"

"Ok?"

The man gritted his teeth and finally nodded.

"Okay, I'll go back and talk to His Royal Highness the Grand Duke, but you have to make sure Mr. Anatole can get out safely."

"I can ensure that Anatole can escape, but how can His Royal Highness escape?"

Witt's silent words made Qiao Yelan's face change suddenly.

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

The other party tried his best in his performance, but it was a pity that he added a superfluous sentence at the end - [You must ensure that Mr. Anatoly can escape safely].

This shows that Qiao Yelan thought there was no problem with the deal - handing over the First Army Group and the position of Police Chief, these two items were originally within his bidding authority.

This means that the price can still be negotiated.

"What do you mean by that?"

Qiao Yelan was strong and calm, he asked stutteringly.

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

After all, they are young people. If you put them under a little intensity, they can't stand the pressure and their true colors are revealed.

Chapter 57: The Devil Playing with People’s Hearts

"This matter was indeed presided over by Anatoly, but if it were really exposed, do you think people would only blame Anatoly?"

A sneer appeared on the speaker's lips.

"Anatole is the son of Grand Duke Nicholas. Anything he does must mean that it is also his father's idea, which is also the idea of ​​the military - people will not think that this is Anatoly's responsibility alone."

The scene fell into silence. The muscles on Qiao Yelan's face twitched a few times, and finally he took a deep breath.

"Okay, okay, Mr. Speaker! What if Grand Duke Nicholas wants to completely remove the military from this? At least I hope that when I am shot by His Highness the Grand Duke, I will know whether the crime is treason or corruption."

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

Witt readily offered the conditions.

Qiao Yelan began to grind his teeth.

"You want His Royal Highness to openly break with the nobles. You should know that the military can only compete with your civil servants with the support of the nobles. If you do this, won't you be reduced to being at the mercy of others?"

This is what the representatives talked about.

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

As expected, Nicholas and the nobles were not on good terms with each other.

"I can guarantee that after I take office, I will give priority to allocating funds to the Second and Seventh Armies under Grand Duke Nicholas to help them complete their reconstruction work."

"Empty promises are meaningless. Moreover, even with the support of the military, you may not be able to take that position."

"Since you didn't react violently after I told you this condition, it's obvious that you no longer think you can fool me by acting. I like you more the way you are now. The mean attitude you had just now was a little too ugly."

Qiao Yelan now calmed down and showed the tolerance that a grand duke representative should have.

"I can't help it. As an errand boy, the lower the price I can bargain for, the higher my commission will be. As long as I can get the money, it doesn't matter if I lose face a little. Unfortunately, there is a huge age gap between you and me, and I am still far behind in experience."

The man has given up all pretense and will attack as a complete businessman.

"Grand Duke Nicholas has actually considered your request, and I believe that with your methods, you also know that His Royal Highness is actually loyal to His Majesty. If the position of Chancellor of Finance falls into your hands, it will definitely be much better than the fat pig in the current position."

"Yes, I believe in the loyalty of His Highness the Grand Duke."

Witt just avoided the question and waited for Qiao Yelan to give the conditions.

"But His Highness is also a member of the nobility after all. One cannot betray his own class, right? Therefore, His Highness will not take the initiative to stand up and support you, otherwise the military will fall into chaos - but we can prepare a bullet for you."

a bullet?

The Speaker narrowed his eyes.

"After this matter is 'completely over', His Royal Highness will propose a practical [Group Army Reduction Plan] to reduce the current number of the Empire's armaments. The reason is naturally that the shrinking of the Empire's finances has led to a reduction in funding for the military, and they have to find a way to reduce military spending."

So that's what it is - it's really a bullet that can both get rid of responsibility and allow oneself to go with the flow.

Witt thought he had figured out what Nikolai was thinking.

The nobles were in charge of finances - poor finances led to cuts in military spending - and the military had to downsize.

Such a logical chain successfully pointed the finger at the nobles, and the nobles within the army would not think that Nicholas had betrayed the nobles - because it was the nobles who stabbed Nicholas in the back first.

In this way, Nicholas united the military, sold himself well, and truly and thoroughly improved the empire's current financial spending situation.

Kill three birds with one stone.

So should I accept it?

He rolled his eyes and looked at Qiao Yelan again.

"You seem to have something else to say?"

"Yes, in addition, His Royal Highness the Grand Duke hopes to get another army group number."

Hahahahaha.

This guy is still so short-sighted and greedy.

The Speaker almost laughed out loud. Nicholas only had two army groups - wasn't that exactly three fully-strength reduced armies?

So this bullet only hits others and not yourself, right?