As a multi-religious state, the United States of Citi was free to the extreme, and its new government did not prevent the entry of large religions, but imposed strict controls and exorbitant taxes on small churches.

This policy led to the United States of Citi becoming an excellent soil for the development of large religions, and the Church of the Three Goddesses of Destiny, the Cult of the God of Wisdom, the Cult of the God of Judgment, and other large churches have established a large number of churches in the United States of Citi, and the situation is complicated, which is just the opposite of the situation of the Romanov Kingdom, and successfully avoided war.

This is also a small reason why Mavi did not choose the United States of Citi as a place to stay.

As for the bigger reason...

In the evening, the blue manor was lit up with sparkling lights, and in the restaurant, Duke Hawke personally cooked and made a sumptuous meal, ham and cabbage soup, cabbage cake, cabbage roast goose, salt-baked cabbage, cabbage sashimi...

As far as the eye can see, the table is full of cabbage, and it is not an exaggeration to say that it is a full banquet of cabbage.

To show off his cooking skills, Duke Hawke also made a cabbage cake with a thick layer of cream on the outside, which looked like a dinosaur egg.

Yunia was interested in the cabbage cake and kept staring at it, while Katerina looked at the cake with a frightened expression.

She still remembers that when she was 6 years old, Duke Hawke also made a piece of cabbage cake, and the taste and stamina made her unforgettable for the rest of her life.

When I think about it, my stomach still aches.

Opposite the candlelit dining table, sat a young man in a suit and leather shoes, with a shiny oil head, good leather shoes, a tailor-made suit that was close to the body, a gentle manner, unhurried when speaking, full of confidence, and at first glance a noble child who had received elite education.

"Our Drost family has a lot of influence in the United States of Citi." While drinking the sour and unpalatable cabbage tea, he introduced his family, and the corners of his mouth always had a smile, as if he was not drinking cabbage tea, but some kind of sweet sugar water: "Although Citibank is a government enterprise, it has the support of the Droist family behind it, and our family has to provide loans to tens of thousands of people every day, with uniform interest and clear contracts, and never do deception and false deeds." ”

"Far away on the other side of the ocean, I have heard of your Royal Highness Katerina more than once, as the daughter of Peter the Great, you are not only smart and beautiful, but also the best candidate to succeed to the throne, but unfortunately the policy you want to implement touches the interests of too many people, so you have not been able to sit on the throne."

"But as the saying goes, temporary failure doesn't mean forever, and we, the Drost family, are happy to provide you with a loan to help you with the next ... Well, policy reforms, I believe that with our help, you will have smooth sailing in the future, and any enemy is not worth mentioning in front of you. ”

"How much can you give me a loan?"

"There is no upper limit."

Finn Drost held up a finger and said with a smile: "We, the Drost family, on behalf of Citibank Commonwealth Bank, promise you that we will do our best to help you, money, weapons, food, as long as you ask, no matter how much, we will definitely meet your requirements." ”

"Okay, lend me 100 billion rubles first."

With a stiff smile, Finn Drost coughed and put down the teaglass, "Your Highness Katerina, what I just said contains a strong sincerity, please don't take it as a joke, and please don't joke at such a serious moment, the annual financial income of the Romanov Kingdom is less than 700 million rubles, and you can't use so much money." ”

"It seems that you are very careful about our investigation."

"As long as you are willing to spend money, there is no information that you can't get." Finn Drost smiled: "The Romanov Kingdom is an agricultural country, with a weak industrial base, and crops are your main export products, accounting for half of your export trade, and there is a big gap with the Kingdom of Windsor, which relies on industry, which is a well-known thing. ”

Katerina looked at him expressionlessly and asked softly, "What is the price?" ”

"That's the requirements we've listed."

A form full of terms was pushed in front of Katerina.

Her eyes swept over the list of terms on the form, and after reading it, Katerina casually handed the form to Ma Wei on the side, and said, "There is no interest, it seems that you are really sincere." ”

"Given the current state of affairs in the Romanov Kingdom and the post-war reconstruction efforts, Citibank believes that interest is not necessary." Finn smiled and said, "We give you a kind of help, but we will only ask for payment if you succeed, and I don't think you have any reason to refuse this condition." ”

Ma Wei looked at the clauses, which did mention that there was no need for interest, but...

In the following article, Citibank mentions requirements such as quotas for import and export trade, reduced tariffs, opening ports, and the use of Federal Reserve Bills for trade settlement.

It is also clearly mentioned that within 50 years, the price of crops, minerals and other resources imported by the United States of Citi from the Kingdom of Romanov must be based on the standard set by them, and shall not exceed 5% of the set price.

Besides...

The Romanov Kingdom also had to cede the land in the northwestern corner of the Kingdom of Manitoba to the territory of the United States of Citi, for which the United States of Citi was willing to pay 10 million roubles.

Of course, all this is based on the premise that Katerina can successfully sit on the throne, that is...

The United States of Citi wants to invest in a war.

"Your Highness Katerina, we have put the treasure on you." Finn said: "I don't think anyone can prescribe this kind of preferential terms." ”

Hearing this, Dino raised his eyebrows, slapped the form on the dining table, pointed at Finn's nose and scolded: "Don't think I don't know what you want to do!" This kind of clause would be a fool's choice! You want us to overdraw the future development potential of the Romanov Kingdom!

！ ”

"Don't get so excited."

Finn Drost took out a handkerchief, wiped the saliva on his face, and said firmly: "Business is negotiated, if you are not satisfied, you can discuss it again." ”

"Father, now I know what you mean by wolf ambition."

Katerina said in Slavic: "They are really not a good thing. ”

"It's really sad to hear you say that." Surprisingly, Finn also began to speak in very fluent Slavonic language, "We're full of sincerity, you can bargain, can't you?" ”

"Counteroffer?"

Katerina sneered, asked the butler Rukin to bring a quill, directly crossed out all the terms except no interest, and threw the form back in front of Finn: "This is my bid." ”

"Hmm... That's an unfair term. ”

Finn smiled and nodded, "But no problem, since Your Highness has spoken, let's do as you say, no conditions, no interest, Citibank Federal Bank, willing to fund you unconditionally." ”

The candlelight flickered, the dining room was suddenly quiet, Katerina and Dino looked at Finn Droste in disbelief, and even Duke Hawke, who was immersed in eating and didn't want to intervene too much, raised his head, his eyes were full of surprise.

"As long as you speak." Finn said with a serious expression: "Money, food, will be delivered immediately." ”

"Why?"

"To be honest, I don't understand..."

Finn scratched his head and spread his hands: "But that's what my old man instructed, unconditional funding, this kind of loss-making business is the first time, he said if you don't believe it, it doesn't matter, you will believe it when you see the money." ”

"Ahem... So what..."

Duke Hawke, who was eating next to him, suddenly coughed twice and said to the butler Lu Jin: "How much should I charge for this table of dishes I made tonight?" ”

Lu Jin, the housekeeper who understood the heart, immediately said: "For relatives, it is free, and for strangers, it is priceless. ”

"Oh...", nodding, Duke Hawke continued to eat, no more words.

If you are not a relative, how can there be a free dinner in the world?

Katerina heard her uncle's reminder and did not rush to make a decision, and after a moment of silence, asked, "Father, what do you think?" ”

"I'm still the same."

Ma Wei sneered, "Let him fuck off." ”

Taking a deep breath, Katerina nodded slowly, and said an answer that Finn Drost had never figured out in his life:

"I, Katerina Romanov, refuse your funding."