The Qing Dynasty is about to end

Chapter 990 General, your business has arrived!
The valley of Nanmu was shrouded in a pale blue veil of morning mist, and the stone paths of the mountains still bore the dew of the previous night. Luo Yaoguo stood before the city gate, his Western-style military uniform gleaming sharply, the gold sash on his chest shimmering slightly in the morning light. Beside him, Nanmu Gaozi had changed out of her usual priest's robes and into a plain white shrine maiden's attire, a bright red sash tied around her waist, and a silver hairpin in her hair swaying gently in the breeze.

"They're here," Gao Zi suddenly whispered.

At the end of the mountain road, a troop of cavalry escorted a Russian-style four-wheeled carriage slowly approaching. The carriage was painted dark blue, with a double-headed eagle emblem painted on its body, and the lace curtains of the carriage windows were gently lifted by a hand wearing a white gauze glove.

As soon as the carriage came to a stop, the door was pushed open from the inside. Grand Duchess Natalia, without waiting for the servants to bring a footstool, jumped down, lifting her skirt. Today she was wearing a deep purple Russian-style long dress, the collar and cuffs adorned with lace, and her long golden hair was styled in the most fashionable way in St. Petersburg, with a small diamond tiara sparkling in the sunlight.

“Darling!” Natalia called out in fluent Chinese, rushing up the steps in a few strides. Her high heels clicked crisply on the stone slabs, startling a few sparrows under the eaves.

Luo Yaoguo hurried down to meet her, catching the Russian noblewoman who rushed towards him at the fiftieth step. Natalia's rich perfume immediately enveloped him—it was Milan's latest "Princess Tears," a bottle said to be worth half a year's salary for an average worker.

“You’re still so beautiful.” Luo Yaoguo cupped Natalia’s face and gently kissed her lips, which were painted with bright red lipstick. The Grand Duchess’s lips were cool and soft, with the scent of mint tobacco.

Natalia giggled and poked Luo Yaoguo's chest with her lace-gloved fingers: "We've known each other for almost thirty years, and your sweet talk is still so old-fashioned." She suddenly lowered her voice, "The Tsar asked me to pass on a message to you."

Luo Yaoguo's smile remained unchanged, but his right hand secretly pinched Natalia's waist: "Eat first. I've asked the chef to prepare your favorite sturgeon caviar."

Breakfast was served in the west wing of the Divine City. Nanmu Takako personally brought over a pot of freshly brewed Gyokuro tea, the aroma of which quickly overpowered Natalia's perfume. Luo Yaoguo noticed that fine lines had appeared at the corners of the Russian noblewoman's eyes, but her azure eyes remained as bright as a young girl's.

"How's the situation on the Russian front?" Luo Yaoguo asked casually, cutting a fried egg on his plate.

Natalia's silver fork paused abruptly. She put down her cutlery, took a silk handkerchief embroidered with gold thread from her small bag, and gently touched the corner of her eye. "It's terrible. Warsaw is lost. Our entire army in Lithuania has been wiped out." Her voice suddenly choked with emotion. "The day I left St. Petersburg, Palace Square was packed with people receiving relief bread."

Luo Yaoguo and Nanmu Gaozi exchanged a glance. Gaozi silently stood up and gestured for the servants to leave.

"Tell me more about it," Luo Yaoguo said, pushing a glass of vodka towards him.

Natalia downed her drink in one gulp, a flush rising to her pale cheeks: "We lost twenty-three divisions in East Prussia. The German heavy artillery was raining down." Trembling, she pulled a manila envelope from her bosom. "A letter from the Tsar himself."

The sealing wax on the envelope was somewhat damaged, but the double-headed eagle emblem was still clearly visible. Luo Yaoguo gently pried it open with a knife and pulled out the letter inside—it was written in Russian, the handwriting was messy, and several ink stains had blurred out.

"What did he say?" Gao Zi couldn't help but ask.

Luo Yaoguo sneered: "They want us to lift trade restrictions on Alaska. They're being vague and can't even specify what they want."

Natalia suddenly grabbed Luo Yaoguo's wrist: "Saltpeter! Russia is desperately short of saltpeter right now! The troops are almost out of ammunition!" Her nails almost dug into Luo Yaoguo's flesh. "Darling, if you don't help, the Germans will be at St. Petersburg this winter!"

In Nanmu Shencheng's study, the pine wood in the fireplace crackled. Luo Yaoguo stood by the window, gazing at the undulating mountains in the distance. Natalia sat at her desk, stirring her cup of black tea with a small silver spoon.

"So the Tsar is preparing to surrender?" Luo Yaoguo suddenly asked.

With a clatter, the silver spoon fell onto the porcelain plate. Natalia jumped to her feet. "He can't surrender! The Germans won't let Russia go! They'll tear Russia to pieces! And the Russians won't let a surrendered Tsar go either!" She paused, her blue eyes looking at Luo Yaoguo with a mournful expression. "There will be a revolution! Russia will become a second Red France, maybe even worse! You know, the Russians are very brutal, very, very brutal. They don't have the French refinement, and they'll make bad things exceptionally bad!"

Luo Yaoguo turned around, a playful smile on his face: "So what? Germany is our ally."

"What good would a unified Europe do you?" Natalia strode up to Luo Yaoguo. She wasn't wearing high heels today, so she could look up at her lover. "Having Russia restrain Germany and preventing the Junker aristocracy from ever looking eastward is the best outcome for you!"

Luo Yaoguo did not answer immediately. He walked to his desk, picked up the Tsar's letter, and read it again: "What about short-term interests? Why should the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom help Russia?"

Natalia's eyes suddenly lit up. She strode to the bookshelf and took a gold-embossed folder from her crocodile-skin handbag. "Darling," she said, "I'm just as focused on short-term gains as you are." She handed the folder to Luo Yaoguo. "After all, your interests are my interests." Luo Yaoguo opened the document, his brow gradually relaxing. It was a draft edict written in both Russian and Chinese, titled "Edict Concerning the Establishment of the Grand Duchy of Eastern Siberia-Alaska." The Tsar's seal was already affixed at the end of the document; only the specific implementation date was missing.

“Alexander promised that as long as I could get enough saltpeter,” Natalia’s finger traced a line of text on the document, “I could become the Grand Duchess of Eastern Siberia-Alaska, and our son…” Her voice suddenly choked up, “New North will be the future Grand Duchess.”

Luo Yaoguo's gaze lingered on the map appendix of the document—the proposed grand duchy had an astonishing territory, stretching from the Bering Strait all the way to Lake Baikal, an area comparable to the whole of Western Europe.

“It’s very tempting.” Luo Yaoguo closed the document. “But Germany is, after all, our ally. The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom cannot openly break its promise.”

Natalia blinked: "Then who can?"

Luo Yaoguo walked to the bookshelf and took down a gold-embossed book, "Geography of the Korean Kingdom": "The fat king of Korea, Korea discovered a huge saltpeter production last year, which can rival that of the Inca Kingdom."

Natalia suddenly laughed out loud: "North Korea has nitrate mines? Does Fatty Yang still have a large stockpile of 76.2mm and 152mm artillery shells?"

Luo Yaoguo nodded: "That's right! The military industry of the Korean Heaven Kingdom was built with British aid and uses the British system, so there are production lines and stockpiles of 3-inch and 6-inch shells, and even a large number of artillery pieces. You know, Korea is very poor, and Fatty Yang is a benevolent ruler who needs to make money to develop the Korean economy and take care of his people."

Luo Yaoguo wasn't lying. The Korean Heavenly Kingdom really did have production lines for 3-inch and 6-inch artillery shells, and it also had a large stockpile of ammunition. Moreover, it was indeed very poor, and Yang Chengtian was indeed a benevolent ruler. The Eastern King's kindness could never be repaid!
Natalia's eyes widened: "Well, fine then, North Korean shells can kill Germans too."

“That’s right.” Luo Yaoguo nodded. “Natalia, you have great foresight! Tell the Tsar that Korea is willing to sell saltpeter and ammunition at twice the market price, and settle the payment in gold.”

"Gold?" Natalia exclaimed. "Russia is even struggling to pay its soldiers!"

Luo Yaoguo picked up a pen from his desk and wrote a string of numbers on a sticky note: "The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Bank can provide loans, and as for collateral," he thought for a moment, "we'll use Qiu Ming's oil."

"Qiuming?" Natalia was taken aback. "Are you sure it's not Baku?"

"Confirmed!" Luo Yaoguo nodded. "Tyumen Oblast in Siberia."

"There's oil there? How come I didn't know?" Natalia's blue eyes widened in disbelief.

Luo Yaoguo shrugged: "I know, that's all. Anyway, don't worry. Tell Alexander: there will be shells, there will be explosives, and if he needs North Korean mercenaries, there will be some too!"

“What about transportation?” Natalia was still a little worried. “Russia is almost completely blocked now, with only Murmansk in the north as an exit, which is very inconvenient to get through from North Korea.”

"Convenient," Luo Yaoguo laughed. "Going to the Arctic Ocean. Yang Chengtian has two old battleships. They're not old, just poorly equipped and unsuitable for naval warfare, but they're both equipped with rams and have very sturdy hulls, so they can be used as icebreakers. If you need to transport grain or coal, these two battleships might not be enough, but if you need to transport shells or saltpeter, they should be sufficient."

Natalia knew that Luo Yaoguo had arranged everything—North Korean saltpeter, North Korean artillery shells, North Korean old battleships—they were all just excuses, and no one would go to the Arctic Ocean to check anyway.

And all of this must be for her!

Thinking of this, Natalia suddenly rushed forward and hugged Luo Yaoguo, giving him a hard kiss on the cheek: "I knew you wouldn't leave me to die!" Her eyes glistened with tears, "I miss Xinbei a little. Is he alright now? Can I see him?"

"He is doing well. He is currently training at the Naval Staff College and will soon become the captain of the world's first aircraft carrier. We can go to Shanghai to see him."

Luo Yaoguo gently patted Natalia's back, but his gaze went past her shoulder and met that of Nanmu Takako, who was standing at the door. Takako nodded silently, turned, and disappeared into the shadows of the corridor.

(End of this chapter)