Episode 60 The Shadow of the Polar Bear

The worst fears have happened!

When Molotov arrived in Beijing, the Soviet Union and the Northern Qing Dynasty were about to start getting closer, at least they had already begun to talk! There are already quite a few possibilities!

He tapped on the back of his head, stabilized his thoughts, and looked up and asked:

"When did Molotov arrive in Beijing?"

Fourteen Gege stared at him and said:

"When Molotov arrived, Guardsin doesn't know, but he said he only found out about it yesterday. He said he guessed that Molotov would not be around for long, a few days at most. Guadxin said that this matter was very secretive, and Guangwu did not give him responsibility, he just knew. I don't know how detailed it is. ”

"A few days...... Well, almost," Xiang Xiaoqiang said with a deep groan, "It must be after we enter the customs." It may even be that we came after we crossed the Yellow River and entered Shanxi. ”

"It should be."

Xiang Xiaoqiang squinted his eyes and said slowly:

"Now the People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs of the Soviet Union, that is, the official foreign minister, is Livinov. Litvinov is the foreign minister of the whole country, but Molotov is in charge of foreign affairs in the Soviet Union and is Stalin's 'own person', so in the top level of the Soviet Union, he can be said to be 'more responsible' than Litvinov. For many of the more secretive and unforeseen diplomatic actions, Stalin sent Molotov to take charge of them. Now the ambassador to the Qing Dynasty is no longer enough, Stalin directly sent Molotov to Beijing, that is, the contact between the Soviet Union and the Qing Dynasty has entered the stage of playing meat. ”

"Meat stage?"

"Oh, this is our dialect there," Xiang Xiaoqiang smiled, "I mean, Stalin has already seen that if he doesn't interfere, the Northern Qing will be in danger." ”

Fourteen Gege also nodded in agreement:

"Yes, Stalin's vision is quite poisonous, and he saw the situation that Guangwu is facing at a glance, and he is no longer optimistic. Shaanxi has been lost, Qinling and Hanzhong have been lost, Shanxi has lost nearly two-thirds, Jianghuai has been lost, Xuzhou-Shangqiu has become the frontier position, and the Central Plains war is imminent...... Moreover, the Qing army now does not see any reason to win the Central Plains Campaign. Once lost, the south of the Yellow River, including the entire Shandong Peninsula, will also be lost...... At that time, it will be difficult for the USSR to intervene again. ”

Xiang Xiaoqiang nodded, thought for a while, and asked:

"Does the Cabinet know about this?"

"This is the intelligence of the People's Guard, and it was transmitted back to Nanjing that Ziteng and I knew. It is not clear whether the cabinet knows about it, but there is an east factory on the cabinet side, and it will definitely be known soon. ”

Xiang Xiaoqiang pondered for a moment and said:

"Inform the Cabinet. This matter involves foreign affairs, and it is not up to our military to decide. I'll go to Your Majesty now and tell her about it. ”

……

Xiang Xiaoqiang worriedly took the car to the Purple Mountain and entered the fortress.

After he entered the fortress, he did not go through the central command hall, but turned around from several "backstage passages" to the senior living area, and to Zhu Yourong's suite, and asked to see Zhu Yourong in a low-key manner.

Zhu Yourong hadn't seen Xiang Xiaoqiang for several days, nor had he seen Zheng Yuxuan, and was painting obsessively to kill time. When I heard that I asked Xiaoqiang to see him, I was very happy, so I first took off my work gloves, tied my hair, and straightened my collar, and then ran to the mirror to take a look, before putting on my work gloves again, standing in front of the easel, and smiling and letting Wei Zijin announce that he would meet Xiaoqiang.

As soon as Xiang Xiaoqiang entered Zhu Yourong's living room, he saw an easel standing in the center, Zhu Yourong was standing in front of the easel, holding a pencil and gesturing, and when he saw Xiang Xiaoqiang coming in, he gave an elegant smile.

"Hehe, Your Majesty is painting?"

Xiang Xiaoqiang walked quickly in front of her, turned to look at the drawing board, was startled, and glanced at Zhu Yourong again.

Zhu Yourong's face slowly turned crimson, lowered his eyes, and smiled:

"Alas...... If you are bored, just draw a few strokes...... I'm embarrassed to draw others, so I'll draw ours...... Hehe, hehehe......"

On the drawing paper, there is a half-drawn bust portrait of Xiang Xiaoqiang, with no color, just a pencil sketch. There is no natural light in the fortress, only the warm light of incandescent lamps, and it is difficult to grasp the colors under incandescent lamps.

However, it was just a pencil sketch, and Xiang Xiaoqiang's portrait was still drawn by her on the paper, and it was about to come out. In particular, Xiang Xiaoqiang in the painting is dressed in a straight general's uniform, wearing a medal on his chest, a sword hanging from his waist, his eyes are deep, he is handsome and chic, and the jade tree is in the wind, which simply shames Xiang Xiaoqiang himself to death.

After a few glances, Xiang Xiaoqiang also blushed when he saw it. Zhu Yourong...... She also painted herself so handsome, she was like a prince charming.

What is the saying? The one riding a white horse is not necessarily a prince, but also a Tang monk.

Xiang Xiaoqiang knew that although he was not a Tang monk, even if he really gave Zhu Yourong a Tang monk now, according to this infatuated painting method, she could also paint a prince.

Xiang Xiaoqiang stood in front of his portrait, looked at it for a moment, and then turned to look at Zhu Yourong.

Zhu Yourong is holding a pencil in one hand, a sponge in the other, wearing coarse cloth sleeves and work gloves, wearing a work apron, his cheeks are crimson, and he is looking at himself stupidly.

This look, where does she look like a queen, she is clearly a little girl in the studio!

…… If it weren't for the sparkling diamond earrings on both sides and the noble and charming face in the middle, Xiang Xiaoqiang would really have an illusion.

His heart was hot, and he took Zhu Yourong into his arms, lowered his head and kissed him.

Zhu Yourong's whole body straightened nervously, his arms retreated, and his body kept retreating, and he said vaguely:

"No...... Other...... I have charcoal powder on me...... Don't get it on you......"

But Xiang Xiaoqiang, as usual, always refused to give up like every previous "violation", trying to "succeed in the violation". However, just like every time before, not far behind him, a slight cough sounded.

Zhu Yourong heard this light cough, as if he had received a pardon, his stiff body relaxed, smiled, and gently pushed Xiang Xiaoqiang away. Xiang Xiaoqiang also let go of her and turned his head to look.

Next to the door, Wei Zijin stood with his hands tied, his eyes lowered, and his face was expressionless.

…… Alas, this sister is truly the pure patron saint of your master! When will I be accommodating?

Xiang Xiaoqiang pressed his ear and smiled at Zhu Yourong:

"When I'm free after the battle, I'll draw one for you."

Zhu Yourong raised his eyebrows and said with a little surprise:

"You're also good at drawing?"

Xiang Xiaoqiang's level of college students in the Academy of Fine Arts does not dare to compare with Zhu Yourong, a talented girl who has been taught by the master since childhood. He shook his head and smiled:

"Alas, in general, when I was a child in England, I practiced with a teacher for two years, and I knew how to do it...... But I'm not at your level...... When I draw you, you have to sit here and let me draw it, hehe, you can't move yet......"

Zhu Yourong's face flushed again, and he smiled and nodded.

"Ahem, I mean......" Xiang Xiaoqiang added seriously, "It's not a portrait, it's a human body...... You know, the human body is more challenging, it's more capable of ......"

Zhu Yourong's face turned red, lowered his gaze, and said solemnly:

"Hmm...... Don't be presumptuous......"

……

The two of them talked and laughed softly, and suddenly, Xiang Xiaoqiang's mood was low. He looked at Zhu Yourong face to face, and Zhu Yourong also looked at him face to face, his eyebrows raised slightly, and there were some questions in his happy smile, as if he was asking him with his eyes:

…… You're so busy, come to me suddenly, what's the matter?

Xiang Xiaoqiang slowly calmed down his emotions, and felt a dark cloud in his heart pressing down. He said quietly:

"Molotov has arrived in Beijing."

Zhu Yourong's smile also froze suddenly.

"Oh."

She slowly lowered her head, lowered her gaze, and threw the pencil on the partition of the easel. Then, one by one, the gloves were removed.

"Does the Cabinet know?"

Zhu Yourong asked. Xiang Xiaoqiang says:

"They have been notified."

Zhu Yourong nodded and sighed:

"We all know that Russia could intervene. But I didn't expect it to be so fast. ”

Xiang Xiaoqiang says:

"yes. According to our original judgment, even if Russia intervenes, it is unlikely that it will be before we take the whole south of the Yellow River. Russia's intervention will not be in vain, it will certainly seek benefits. Now it generally seems that the Qing captives have not been fatally attacked, its main force is still there, and its war potential has not been damaged much. …… At most, only a third or a quarter was destroyed, if we took Shanshan.

"At this time, Stalin intervened to help Guangwu, and Stalin was somewhat 'self-inflicted', because he was not sure whether Guangwu was so eager for this kind of help, and it was difficult to say how much benefit the Soviet Union could get in exchange. …… If we take the entire south of the Yellow River and let the Northern Qing take the initiative to ask the Soviet Union for help, then the Soviet Union will be able to get much more benefits. In order to maintain power, Guangwu will even hesitate to exchange a large area of land. ”

Zhu Yourong thought for a while, frowned and said:

"Well, what you say makes sense...... However, Stalin was not an ordinary bureaucrat after all, but an iron-fisted politician...... He must have enough overall vision of the problem. Behind the Soviet Union, the continent of the Far East, whether it is two hostile regimes or a unified regime, is of great significance to Russia. There are no two countries on earth that have a border as long as China and Russia...... China's move toward reunification is something that Russia absolutely cannot tolerate. This is Russia's core interest. Stalin would not have said that he would allow this danger to grow in order to gain more benefits. ”

Zhu Yourong's few words suddenly made Xiang Xiaoqiang thorough. His heart sank, and he nodded slowly.

This girl is worthy of growing up under the influence of "princess diplomacy" since she was a child, and she looks at problems differently from our ordinary people.

Xiang Xiaoqiang also knows the issue of core interests between China and Russia. If you talk about this issue, what Xiang Xiaoqiang can still say is the Tao. But knowing is not the same as understanding. To understand is to be able to make a correct judgment not only about the problem itself, but also on all issues related to the problem.

Xiang Xiaoqiang says:

"Understood. Although Stalin intervened later, he might have been able to get more benefits from Guangwu, but by then the situation had deteriorated. If his intervention wants to be effective, he has to make a lot of effort and invest more, and he has to risk being successfully unified by the Ming Dynasty. The Soviet Union could not afford this danger. For the Soviet Union, the fact that the East Asian continent remained evenly divided was the greatest benefit, and no other benefit could be exchanged. …… All our countermeasures must be based on such a judgment. ”

Zhu Yourong nodded and said:

"Yes, exactly. …… Well, what do you recommend? ”

Xiang Xiaoqiang took a deep breath and said with a smile:

"I suggest that you hold a military and political council in front of the Imperial Palace, and that the ministers of the cabinet and the generals of the high command all come and discuss together. You don't expect us two young people to sit here and give the next policy towards the Soviet Union. ”

Zhu Yourong smiled:

"That's right."

Xiang Xiaoqiang smiled:

"In the next step, I will intensify my efforts to collect information on Beijing and find out more information. In this way, it can be targeted. As for my suggestion...... Diplomatically, Lala has two lines, one bright and one dark. The dark line, step up the cooperation with Germany, do not have reservations, transfer to Germany the technology that we are good at and which Germany lacks, and accelerate the arming of Germany...... At the same time, he brought more advanced technology from Germany, and let him take out those things that Germany hid and was reluctant to take...... But after all, it is Nazi Germany, and it is not very good to be on the table, and a country like our Ming Dynasty is too close to Nazi Germany, and it is not good to look at it internationally, so we must try to operate it secretly......

"Ming's line, even in the United States, our actions will be accelerated. Once the Soviets begin to let go of the aid to the Clearing, we may not be able to bear it, so it is better to turn the United States into our arsenal...... Especially automobiles, modern warfare automobiles are so important, and the world can no longer find a better car production base than the United States...... There are pros and cons to everything, and the Soviet Union's involvement in East Asia will become a positive factor for us in the United States. The Bolsheviks reached out to the Far East, and Roosevelt's fireside chat had a new content. Even if the few officials in the federal court are old-fashioned, it is not impossible for Roosevelt to push Congress to amend the "Neutrality Act...... Your Majesty, as soon as we find more evidence of Soviet aid to the Northern Qing Dynasty, we will make it public internationally. Then, it is better to send a big man to visit the United States directly, to give a lecture tour to the various forces in the United States, to the voters, and directly influence them! Because can't wait any longer! ”

Zhu Yourong nodded, his eyes flashing:

"Yes, that's right, that's right...... That's good......"

Xiang Xiaoqiang said again:

"As for militarily...... As soon as we take Qinling Hanzhong, we should immediately end the negotiations and launch the Central Plains War! At this juncture, we must not think too much about avoiding casualties, and we must be skillful. It's time to take it away. If we can take all the land south of the Yellow River, or even three-quarters of Shanxi, before the Soviet Union officially assists the Northern Qing Dynasty, then we can drive the Soviet Union out of the Far East! Because we can force Guangwu to sign an armistice agreement directly with him and exclude the Soviet Union.

"We can say to the Northern Qing Dynasty: If you don't pull Lao Maozi in, then our war will end here, row the river and rule, and you will continue to be your emperor. If you have to pull Lao Maozi in, then I'm sorry, we can't get out of the way, and we will also go to Beijing to liberate the whole of China. …… In this case, unless the Soviet Union rolled up its sleeves and directly invaded the Northern Qing Dynasty, there was nothing Stalin could do about it! ”