"I'm surprised." Scrooge smiled, pointed to a chair next to him and said to Dena, "Dena, sit down here." ”

Dena quickly calmed down. Walked over and sat down in that chair. She didn't speak, just looked at Scrooge calmly.

At this time, another person came out of the back room.

"Donald?" Dena stood up.

"Sister Dena, I haven't seen you again in a long time." "Dad died a few months ago, Mom...... Mom wanted to come too, but it's just that Mom is also sick and can't go out. ”

"Daddy...... What is my mother's illness? How is she now? Dena asked anxiously.

Donald didn't come up with nonsense such as "You haven't been back for many years, but now you think of your parents", because he knew that the MacDonalds have always valued goals, careers and other things much more than family affection. For example, Catherine is seriously ill now, but Donald did not pretend to be a filial son and stay by the side, but for the sake of a big deal, he followed Scrooge and ran to Ukraine in one breath. And when it came to making this decision, Donald himself didn't seem to have much hesitation or ideological struggle. That level of hesitation seems to be similar to that of the old housekeeper of the MacDonald family a few years ago, before Donald's wet nurse died, Donald considered whether to take the time to go to the hospital to see her. Of course, it would be nice if such a remark could really impress Dena, and allow him and Scrooge to take the initiative in the discussion that followed. However, Donald knew that it would not be of much use to do so, and that the MacDonald family had always been able to distinguish emotions and interests very clearly. Although Dena is an outlier, she is also a MacDonald.

"According to the doctor, it's a problem with the blood vessels in the brain." Scrooge replied, "It made her less athletic and conscious a lot." But now that the condition has stabilized, there is no big problem, and you don't have to worry too much. Besides, I don't think you will leave the revolution at the most critical moment and go back to the United States with us. Right? ”

Dena didn't answer. Scrooge smiled again and said, "Donald, Dena, you all sit down first." We probably have a lot to talk about. ”

Both sat down again, and Donald sat next to Dena.

"Dena, I don't want to go around in circles with you, it's not interesting. We in the MacDonald family should be as honest as possible when talking to our own people. "My main purpose in this visit is twofold, the first is that we hope to be able to reach some cooperation with the Bolshevik government. You know, for many years, we in the MacDonald family have been in some way kind to the socialists in Europe, or rather, we have been to the socialists outside of the Americas. The reasons are certainly not noble, and I think you understand that. ”

"Yes, MacDonald's principle has always been that there are no permanent friends and no permanent enemies, all for the good of the family." Dena whispered.

"Yes, as a big capitalist, we naturally hate other big capital. For example, Morgan has been our strategic partner for quite some time. But the reason we can cooperate is not because we trust each other, but because they don't have the power to eat us, and we, if we want to eat them, we will have to pay a very high price, and it is likely that the gains outweigh the losses. And for the time being we have a common enemy - the big capital of Europe. But honestly, I was so happy when that old thing finally died a few years ago. Although I have great respect for him, the old man is still dead. Speaking of this, Scrooge couldn't help but laugh. Obviously, even now, at the thought of Morgan Sr. dead, Scrooge was still very happy.

"Dena, you also know that under the conditions of a market economy, any industrial country needs a dumping market for products, because the domestic demand of any industrial country is less than the productive forces. So, in other words, the United States, or the MacDonalds, are no different from the Germans in this regard, we all need more colonies, we all need more land under the sun. It's a pity that the earth is too small. ”

"Socialist Russia will not become a colony of any country." Dena's voice was cold.

"Ah, my dear Dena, you are very wary. I'm not going to do such a thankless job, though. Scrooge laughed, "I know, you capitalists, see the big capitalists, including me, as your worst enemies. In the long run, it is. But dear Dena, you must know that in capitalist countries, the big capitalists are not monolithic, and there are huge contradictions between them, and even many times, we hate our own kind more than we hate you. Therefore, be good at uniting all the forces that can be united, and defeat the most dangerous enemy who threatens you the most. For example, the old capitalist countries in Europe today are obviously more hated and threatened by you. For example, Denikin was able to hit Ukraine in one go this time, and even, Donald estimates that he should be able to take Kyiv very smoothly. And then threatened Moscow and Petersburg. The reason why he was able to do this was, of course, by virtue of the surplus war materials that the Entente had provided him. ”

"Uncle Scrooge, are you planning to dump the rest of your war materials on us?" Dena asked with a sneer.

"No, no, no, if it's just a small deal like this, I won't be able to get out of the way, and I won't even be able to use Donald. Because we know that the Bolshevik government did not have much hard currency in its hands, and we still know that. What we are looking for is cooperation at a strategic level. Because for the time being, at least, England and France are much more odious to us than you are. So we are very willing to support you, and use your power to hold back Britain and France, so that we can have a chance to continue to attack their colonial ideas. Dena, I'm so clear, you should be able to trust our good intentions, right? ”

Dena thought for a moment, then suddenly smiled, and said, "So, Uncle Scrooge, what kind of cooperation do you want?" ”

"I know you lack a lot at the moment, but it's hard for us to offer you for the time being, because you're still in lockdown and can't bring in large quantities of supplies, at least until the blockade is lifted. So at present, we can help you very limited, weapons and ammunition, all kinds of medicines can be available, and the price is negotiable, as long as you don't lose money, but you don't have to count too much on the quantity. But I'm sure that if you don't see how energetic Denikin is dancing right now, he won't be your opponent. His army is nothing more than a feudal army of cattle, and he is no match for you, as long as you recover your strength. Scrooge paused before saying, "After you have suppressed all these guys, you should move on to industrial construction." ”

"It's nature." Dena nodded in agreement.

"But it's not easy. It will not be easy for late-developing countries to complete industrialization. If Russia is surrounded by things like China or Ottoman Turkey, of course you can slowly farm and climb the technology tree at home. It's a pity that there are other industrial powers next to you. England, France, and even Germany. Don't look at Germany defeated, but its industrial base is still there, and if necessary, they will become your nightmare. So your industry has to be very, very, very fast. You know, Poland has become independent again, and it is Pilsudski who leads it today. What kind of person Pilsudski was, I think you know. Scrooge said.

"Humph!" Dena snorted softly in her nose, she certainly knew Pilsudski as a fanatical nationalist.

"The French and the British restored Poland, it was definitely not for nothing, Poland was the first tool to use against you, unlike the British and France, who died on the battlefield for almost a generation, Poland still has enough soldiers. It is entirely possible to destroy you as an agent of Britain and France. So my dear Dena, you are in danger right now. If your development slows down, armed proxies alone will be enough to wipe you out. Even if you can withstand the attacks of these proxies, twenty years from now, when a new generation grows up, maybe Britain and France, and even Germany will take matters into their own hands against you, that is, within twenty years, you must have enough strength to fight the industrial powers of the whole of Europe alone, otherwise a new large-scale war against Napoleon will restore the new Bourbon dynasty. Dena, you see I'm right, right? ”

Dena didn't answer, just sat there with a frown, she knew Scrooge was right, but she didn't want to answer, lest Uncle Scrooge have the upper hand too much.

"So, you need a lot of machines, a lot of technology, a lot of money. All of Europe is full of people who hate you, and from them you can hardly get that. But as long as you are willing to cooperate with us, you can buy these from the United States, from us. And we have one more sales market. You see how good it is that this win-win thing is. Scrooge laughed.

But Dena didn't laugh along, she knew that things weren't that good, and they could even be said to be very bad. The Soviets had to industrialize rapidly, and only the industrial countries could defeat the industrial countries, and only the big industrial countries could defeat the big industrial countries. In just twenty years, Soviet Russia must grow into a large industrial power capable of fighting the whole of Europe on its own, which is a desperate demand. It is good to be able to import machinery and technology from the United States, but it takes money, and it takes a lot of money, and one of the biggest problems of a backward country is that it lacks hard currency.

"Are you worried about the lack of hard currency?" Scrooge seemed to see her thoughts, so he said, "It's not a problem, export resources, exchange this for money, and of course, grain, which is also a very important export." ”

"These things, especially food, are quite cheap because of the presence of the United States." Dena whispered.

"As long as it's a large number." Scrooge said disapprehantly, "You can completely distort the law of value, you can lose money or not, and even, if necessary, you can make the whole country tighten its belts, adopt a minimum rationing system, and even export grain in exchange for machinery at the cost of starving a group of people." Because of food shortages, you are starving to death at most a few million at a time. But if you don't build up industry as soon as possible, you'll have to face extinction, and Russia, and you'll have to go back to the old way of starving hundreds of thousands of people to death every year. Everyone's industrialization is to kill people, either starve to death, or die in battle. The British starved to death countless Indians and Irishmen; The French lost many of their lives in the Napoleonic Wars, and we in the United States lost millions of people in the Civil War, and we killed millions of Indians and Mexicans. You are not exempt and will not be exempt. So, Dena, I'm not worried about your money at all. ”