The plot of the scheming is revealed!
Koschevoi could be considered Alexander's confidant, so he naturally knew the true nature of Paul I's supposed serious illness, and also what Alexander was most worried about at the moment.
Paul I could die at the hands of rebels, but he absolutely could not die of illness in the palace of the Tsar – although the Tsar did not have dedicated historians like the Great Ming, nor junior eunuchs specifically responsible for recording the emperor's daily life, once Paul I "died of illness," Alexander would undoubtedly be burdened with the reputation of parricide.
Koschevoi said with a dark face, "Is there no room for negotiation?"
Shen Hao nodded and said with a smile, "There is no room for negotiation. From the moment Paul I allowed Alexander to provoke the Great Ming, the current outcome was already sealed."
Speaking of this, Shen Hao casually glanced at his watch, "If nothing unexpected happens, His Majesty Paul I should now have returned to God's embrace, and Alexander can begin preparations for his ascension to the throne."
Koschevoi was stunned for a moment, then became furious, pointing at Shen Hao and shouting, "Are you bluffing me! This is your Ming country, and His Majesty Paul I is in Moscow, thousands of miles away. How can you possibly know His Majesty Paul I's physical condition?"
Shen Hao smiled and said, "Whether you believe it or not is irrelevant; I dreamt it last night. By the way, this negotiation will likely take about half a month, so you can patiently wait for news in the Great Ming."
Koschevoi was stunned again, and his gaze towards Shen Hao was now filled with apprehension.
Koschevoi was already starting to believe Shen Hao's assertion about Paul I's critical and untreatable illness.
After a long silence, Koschevoi suddenly looked up at Shen Hao and said, "Since the intelligence indicates His Majesty Paul I has returned to God, it is natural for His Highness Alexander to ascend the throne. However..."
Koschevoi said with great sincerity, "Could you allow a prince designated by His Majesty Alexander to study in the Great Ming?"
Shen Hao shook his head with a smile.
It was no problem to let Alexander's son study in the Great Ming; after all, this could be considered another way of saying a hostage.
However, letting a prince designated by Alexander study in the Great Ming was out of the question. Alexander could designate a prince to study in the Great Ming, but would Alexander willingly allow the hostage studying in the Great Ming to do so as the crown prince, and later return to inherit the position of Tsar?
Seeing Shen Hao shake his head, Koschevoi's expression once again turned grim. "We have already agreed to allow His Highness Alexander to inherit the throne, and we have also agreed to your demand to send a hostage to the Great Ming. If your Great Ming does not retreat even an inch, this will make things very difficult for me!"
Shen Hao chuckled, then looked at Koschevoi with a face full of sincerity and said, "Difficult? Then don't do it!"
After speaking, Shen Hao, completely unconcerned that they were in the midst of negotiations, directly overturned the table in front of him.
Shen Hao ignored Koschevoi and the other Tsar envoys, stood up, and left the negotiation lounge, leaving Koschevoi and Batitsky and other Tsar envoys staring at each other.
They had only been talking for a few sentences, and he flipped the table in displeasure?
Was this the attitude of the Ming envoys during negotiations?
After a long period of silence, Koschevoi suddenly looked up at Batitsky and asked, "You have seen the Ming army. If war truly breaks out, how much confidence do you have?"
Batitsky did not answer Koschevoi's question but instead fell into thought.
If the Tsar's army was responsible for the offense and the Ming army for the defense, Batitsky felt they could break even, with the Ming army having sixty percent and the Tsar's army forty percent.
This was because the Ming cities were protected by high walls and cannons on the ramparts, putting the Tsar's army at a significant disadvantage.
If the Ming army launched the offense and the Tsar's army defended... Batitsky felt the Tsar's army would struggle to even gain a thirty percent advantage, as the Tsar did not have tall cities like the Great Ming, nor did they have as many cannons as the Ming army.
This would only happen if the Ming army carried a large amount of supplies on a distant expedition to the Tsar's capital and happened to encounter supply problems.
However, when he thought of things like railways, Batitsky fell into despair.
Batitsky shook his head slightly and sighed, "I have no confidence. Whether we initiate the war or the Great Ming initiates the war, we will be the ones to lose. Otherwise, I would have killed the Ming envoy the moment he flipped the table just now!"
Koschevoi glanced at Batitsky, nodded, and then frowned, saying, "In other words, besides agreeing to the Ming people's conditions, we have no other choice?"
Batitsky's talk about killing the Ming envoy was just talk. Koschevoi was not foolish enough to take such talk seriously. The guards in the room were all Ming Imperial Guards. Did they think they could kill an envoy sent by the Ming Emperor in front of the Ming Imperial Guards?
This was truly drinking several tons of fake vodka to utter such nonsense!
Batitsky's face was filled with bitterness, and his forced smile was even uglier than crying. "Unless God hears our prayers and sends divine punishment upon the Ming people, or turns back time to before His Majesty Paul I fell ill – perhaps it is more appropriate to call His Highness Alexander Your Majesty now?"
As soon as Alexander's name was mentioned, Koschevoi became flustered.
If Alexander hadn't gone mad and insisted on attacking the Ottomans, if Alexander hadn't spouted nonsense and provided the Tsar's aristocratic officers with a large amount of false intelligence...
Perhaps things wouldn't have turned into the current predicament?
Helplessly, Koschevoi could only sigh and say, "Then we wait. Let's temporarily suspend negotiations with the Ming people until news from His Majesty Paul I arrives."
However, Batitsky frowned and said, "If... if His Majesty Paul I really dies of illness as the Ming envoy said, will the Ming people propose even more excessive demands?"
Koschevoi said expressionlessly, "What if they do? What if they don't? In the current situation, do we have any other choices?"
As Koschevoi's words fell, silence descended upon the room once more. The Tsar envoys looked blankly at the overturned table by the Ming envoy, their minds lost in thought.
Does it hurt your face?
Yes, it hurts!
In fact, the Tsar envoys also knew why the Ming envoys dared to flip the table so directly – it was because the Great Ming's national strength was sufficient, its army was strong enough, and its firearms were powerful enough, so the Ming Emperor simply did not care about the Tsar.
And precisely because the Ming Emperor did not care about the Tsar, the Ming envoys dared to flip the table so wantonly.
After a long while, someone in the room suddenly interjected, "If our Tsar had the strength of the Great Ming..."
The room became even quieter.
...
While Koschevoi and Batitsky and the other Tsar envoys were racking their brains, Emperor Zhu Jinsong was receiving reports from Shen Hao and others in the Forbidden City.
First, Ke Zhiming reported on the situation with the Tsar: "Paul I has died of a serious illness. Alexander has also returned to Moscow and ascended the throne under the support of Tsar aristocratic officers. The relevant news will reach Koschevoi and the others in about half a month to a month."
This could already be considered a cross-dimensional strike.
The assassins of the Great Ming's Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Eastern Depot could use various methods to make Paul I "die of illness," while the Tsar's intelligence agencies found it difficult to gather information about the Great Ming.
News of Paul I's death could reach the Great Ming in a matter of days, while it would take half a month or even longer to reach the ears of Koschevoi and the other Tsar envoys.
The former was because the assassins of the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Eastern Depot were far more professional than the Tsar's intelligence agencies, while the latter was because the Great Ming had been investing heavily in building telegraph lines over the years. Wherever the railways were built, telegraph wires would be laid, and telegraph services would be available.
This time difference of more than ten days or even half a month was enough to change the outcome of any war!
After Ke Zhiming reported on the Tsar's intelligence, Shen Hao then reported on the progress of the negotiation: "From the performance of Koschevoi and Batitsky, it is clear that they have received a large amount of false intelligence, and most of this false intelligence comes from Alexander."
"In other words, if Paul I could indeed die of illness, then Alexander's image in the eyes of Koschevoi and Batitsky would be completely ruined, and his image among the Tsar's populace would also plummet. The very foundation of the Tsar's dynasty might be shaken."
"However..."
Shen Hao changed the subject and said, "If Alexander were to immediately stop after achieving certain results in the Ottoman region, this matter would become much more difficult, as the Tsar would have already reaped tangible benefits."
Zhu Jinsong smiled and shook his head, saying, "Alexander will absolutely not easily give up on the Ottoman oil. Don't forget, Alexander, that idiot's target is the Great Ming, not the Ottomans."
Thinking of Alexander, Zhu Jinsong couldn't help but want to laugh. For a moment, he even felt like preserving Alexander and letting him live well. Ever since Qian Long, that old dog, was made into construction material for a 'jingguan' (a pile of enemy heads), few people dared to provoke Emperor Zhu!
The last person to provoke Emperor Zhu was named Hamis, who should be of babbling age now?
After some thought, Emperor Zhu instructed Ke Zhiming, "Send out word that Paul I died, at the hands of Alexander, and that many nobles and officers loyal to Paul I are preparing to apprehend Alexander. Send this news to the Austrian art student Hitler, and also tell Hitler that the Polish brethren are so poor they have little oil left, so it would be more satisfying to directly attack the Tsar."
As soon as Emperor Zhu finished speaking, Zeng Cheng frowned and bowed, "Your Majesty, please reconsider. If Hitler the art student attacks the Tsar, then the prestige of the five great benefactors of the Tsar will definitely be affected. The little ball..."
Emperor Zhu waved his hand with a smile.
The prestige of the Tsar's five great benefactors?
When Emperor Zhu first created the 'little broken pot' (referring to the global situation), besides his own dark humor, it was more about openly draining blood from other countries. The 'little broken pot' served as a fig leaf, and the existence of the five great benefactors was merely to enlist more accomplices.
It was precisely for this reason that Emperor Zhu cared about the prestige of the 'little broken pot's' five great benefactors.
However, with George III suddenly falling ill and inexplicably declaring war on France, with Hamis causing chaos at the 'little broken pot' assembly, and with Paul I feigning illness and Alexander suddenly attacking the Ottomans, the prestige of the 'little broken pot's' five great benefactors was effectively ruined.
Or rather, the Great Ming's prestige remained as stable as a rock, France's prestige remained that of eternal second place, while England, the Tsar, and the unfortunately involved Eagle Nation had lost their original prestige. The various countries of the 'little broken pot' no longer cared much about them.
To put it plainly, the prestige of the 'little broken pot's' five great benefactors depended mainly on the strength of the Great Ming, not on the other four great benefactors.
If Emperor Zhu wished, he could revoke the Tsar's five great benefactor seats at any time and replace them with a more obedient small country as the fifth great benefactor. The current Tsar was no longer the fighting nation that could bring the whole world to nuclear destruction at any moment.
After understanding these matters, Emperor Zhu naturally no longer cared much about the prestige of the other four great benefactors.
Emperor Zhu tapped the table with his finger and said, "Oh, right. Although I like Alexander's rebellious spirit, we still need to send someone to discipline Alexander. I don't want this guy to cause any more trouble."
Ke Zhiming immediately bowed and accepted.
As the Commander of the Great Ming's Embroidered Uniform Guard, it was very easy for Ke Zhiming to discipline someone, even if that person was the Tsar of the Tsar.
For example, causing Alexander's favorite warhorse to suddenly break a leg?
For example, causing Alexander's favorite sister, Catherine, to die of a serious illness like Paul I?
It was dark, it was ruthless, but the Embroidered Uniform Guard did this kind of dirty work. Did they think they could become the Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard without being dark and ruthless?
In any case, the Embroidered Uniform Guard had begun to deploy in the Tsar, the Eagle Nation, and various European countries more than a decade ago. The spies they had planted could not be said to be as numerous as cow hair, but they could only be described as pervasive.
Otherwise, the matter of Paul I's feigned illness and Alexander's boasting to the Tsar's traditional faction of aristocratic officers would not have reached the Great Ming.
At most, a few Tsar spies would be lost to solve the problem; it was a small matter.
Emperor Zhu naturally did not care how Ke Zhiming would discipline Alexander.
In fact, Emperor Zhu did not even consider Alexander to be a significant figure.
However, the thought of disciplining the Tsar inevitably brought to mind the Eagle Nation.
Emperor Zhu looked at Ke Zhiming and asked, "Are there any news from the Eagle Nation?"
Ke Zhiming bowed and said, "Reporting to Your Majesty, the Eagle Nation has been very quiet recently, but..."