I'm playing whack-a-mole in Siberia

Chapter 688: To whom does Mr. President's friendship belong?
On the night Alexander arrived in Adrianople, he suffered a heart attack due to excessive drinking and died in the hospital.

In Constantinople, Alexander's death had no impact. The Constantinople Daily only published an obituary the size of a tofu block and no other reports.

The American media, which is keen on the privacy of wealthy families, has begun to speculate on the cause of Alexander's death.

In the United States, there are only two families with a fortune of over $10 billion: the Dolgorukov family and the Rockefeller family.

Alexander was the head of the Dolgorukov family in the United States. As one of the richest people in the United States, his unclear death in Adrianople could not fail to attract attention.

Henry Stimson, the American minister to Constantinople, rushed to Adrianople as soon as possible.

Stimson was a lawyer by training and served as Secretary of War under President William Taft. After the United States entered the war, Stimson served as artillery chief in France and began serving as the U.S. Minister to Constantinople earlier this year.

To Stimson's surprise, when he arrived in Adrianople, Alexander's body had been transported back to the family cemetery in Dolgorukov's hometown for burial.

"Although Sasha is gone, the Dolgorukov family's business in the United States will not be affected."

Mario received Stimson as the patriarch and made a promise to Stimson.

Stimson asked Mario if he could meet Alexander's wife and children.

Alexander's wife and children were not in Adrianople. They followed Alexander's body back to his hometown for burial, and their return date is uncertain.

"Can I see Grand Duchess Yurievskaya?"

Stimson is obviously more sensible than Alexander and has a humble attitude.

"I'm sorry, Grand Duchess Yurievskaya doesn't see outsiders."

Mario is not really arrogant, this is the European royal tradition.

Royal women can only appear in public at events organized by the royal family, and their main task is to support their husbands and raise children.

Stimson was not angry. These old European aristocrats were so feudal and did not keep up with the times. No wonder they were eliminated.

Stimson didn't care, someone was about to be scared to death.

Alexander's two brothers-in-law, one named Tom and the other named William, were both Slavs, but their names had become completely Americanized.

Thanks to their business with the Dolgorukov family, Tom and William are worth a lot of money. Although not as powerful as the Dolgorukov family, they can also be ranked among the wealthy in the United States.

Tom's business is to supply raw materials to the Dolgorukov family's enterprises.

William's main business was selling Dolgorukov family products.

The raw materials Tom provided were of poor quality, and he passed off inferior products as good ones, but he still received a steady stream of orders. That's how Tom became a millionaire.

William obtained various imported goods produced in Amur from the Dolgorukov family at the lowest prices and also accumulated a fortune of millions.

From a purely market perspective, Tom and William's company has no competitiveness at all.

Thanks to their relationship with Alexander, Tom and William were able to call the shots and became famous. This is truly the best portrayal of the fact that when one person succeeds, everyone around him will benefit.

For Tom and William, Alexander is their only source of income. If they lose the Dolgorukov family's business, they will be left with nothing in a few years.

With Tom and William's wealth, they can make ends meet.

However, it is easy to go from frugality to extravagance, but difficult to go from extravagance to frugality. When you can make money easily by lying down, who would be willing to work hard and let a drop of sweat break into eight pieces?

William was a smart man. After Alexander's death, he immediately transferred the company and moved his family to South America, where they disappeared.

Tom was reckless and contacted the media to create hype, demanding that the US government thoroughly investigate the cause of Alexander's death.

The richest man in the United States can't just die in Adrianople in such an unclear manner.

Let’s not talk about whether Alexander is the richest man in the United States.

This media hype really caused a huge response in the United States.

During the World War, the US government mobilized Americans to join the war and rush to Europe in the name of "saving Europe".

American soldiers came to Europe with a "savior" mentality and fought very bravely, which won a lot of goodwill for the United States in Europe.

France issued an order a few days ago requiring all restaurants in Paris to provide the same service to everyone.

The "everyone" here is specific.

Just as the Americans were getting excited, the richest man suddenly died in Adrianople, which immediately aroused the curiosity of all Americans.

While Europeans hate the United States, Americans also do a lot of slandering of Europe.

In particular, the so-called "secrets" of the European aristocracy are very popular in the United States. As long as the news is explosive enough, the gossip tabloids will be sold out directly.

At this time in 1918, information was not well developed, and many people had no idea how powerful the Dolgorukov family was.

After being exaggerated by some people with ulterior motives, the Dolgorukov family finally surfaced.

It was only then that Americans realized that the American automobile companies that made Americans proud all had shares in the Dolgorukov family.

The patents for alternating current and wireless telegraphy simply belonged to the Dolgorukov family.

Wireless telegraphy is not a big deal.

For every kilowatt-hour of electricity used, Americans have to pay the Dolgorukov family 1 cent in royalties. The well-known joke in the st century, "One person gives me one cent", has become a reality in the United States.

In addition to automobiles and alternating current, the Dolgorukov family has investments in many areas.

Many people were surprised to find that the Dolgorukov family was involved in the fast food Americans eat, the red wine they drink, the high-end fabrics they wear, and even the cosmetics women use.

After a so-called social survey, The New York Times announced that the Dolgorukov family had surpassed the president to become the true first family of the United States.

The president is the first family.

Then the problem arises.

The U.S. government can’t even protect the patriarch of America’s first family. Are Europeans so overbearing?
Stimson came to Adrianople again.

"Mr. Stimson, please respect my family's choice. They want a quiet life and don't want to be disturbed."

Boris received Stimson personally. Although he spoke politely, his attitude was extremely firm.

"Your Majesty, please forgive my abruptness. The President has entrusted me to express my condolences to Mrs. Dolguru in person—"

Stimson refused to give up, and he had his own reasons.

Alexander is a member of the Dolgorukov family. Since the impact of this incident is getting bigger and bigger, Stimson can't just ignore it.

"Please convey my thanks to the President and ask him a question: does the President's friendship belong to my uncle himself or to the Dolgorukov family?"

Polis is good at grasping the main contradictions.

Stimson finally stopped pestering.

The American media no longer hypes the Dolgorukov family.

On December 12, the front-page headline of the New York Times was: On the eve of the opening of the Paris Peace Conference, European contradictions become prominent.

Britain and France formed an alliance to counter the threat of the German-Austrian alliance.

Now that Germany and the Austro-Hungarian Empire have both perished and there is no longer any threat, the contradictions within Britain and France have begun to dominate again.

In order to maintain the balance of power in Europe, Britain does not approve of weakening Germany too much.

French Prime Minister Clemenceau wanted to dismember Germany and completely eliminate the German threat.

Representatives from the 27 victorious nations attending the Paris Peace Conference have arrived in Paris one after another. The most notable ones are Britain, France, the United States and Russia.

As early as the end of November, British Prime Minister Lloyd George had a dispute with Clemenceau over how to punish Germany. Clemenceau slammed the door in anger and declared that he would withdraw from the Paris Peace Conference.

The Paris Peace Conference was held in France. If France did not participate, the documents produced by the Paris Peace Conference would have no effect.

Lloyd George was helpless and asked Grand Duke Nikolayevich of Russia to intercede.

Clemenceau's threat to withdraw from the association was purely a threat. With the intervention of Nicolas the Younger, Clemenceau returned to the negotiating table.

Just after Clemenceau's outburst, Nicolas the Younger was also opposed by Lloyd George.

Russia demanded not only Germany's colonies in the Pacific, but also the dismemberment of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the acquisition of the Jutland Peninsula.

Russia played a vital role in the world war by defeating the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the Ottoman Empire. It should be said that Lloyd George was mentally prepared for Russia to make huge demands.

Germany's colonies in the Pacific were of little concern to Lloyd George.

Lloyd George didn't care whether the Austro-Hungarian Empire should be dismembered.

The only issue Lloyd George strongly disagreed with was Jutland.

If Russia occupies the Jutland Peninsula, its influence will extend to the North Sea and even the Atlantic Ocean, which is something the British cannot accept in any way.

Little Nicholas was very angry. He slammed the table and shouted at Lloyd George: "Russia does not need your consent to own Jutland!"

Lloyd George was unable to suppress the barbaric young Nicolas, so he joined forces with Clemenceau to put pressure on him.

Clemenceau again proposed the dismemberment of Germany.

Lloyd George was forced to agree, reluctantly, to the demilitarization of the east bank of the Rhine.

Clemenceau won a battle and offered to lend money to Russia in conjunction with Britain, hoping that Russia would give up its territorial claims to the Jutland Peninsula.

Russia's extension of its sphere of influence into the North Sea will also have an impact on France's interests.

Little Nicolas did not expect Clemenceau to "rebel" so quickly. He sent a telegram to Georges in the evening and proposed African colonies the next day.

You don’t want to give the Jutland Peninsula to Russia, right?
Well, Germany's colonies in Africa should at least give a piece to Russia.

Germany had two colonies in Africa: South-West Africa and Tanganyika.

The two colonies had already been divided between Britain and France.

This is not a colonial issue. The Russian Empire was restricted by the British blockade and was unable to expand its sphere of influence to Africa.

If the Russians are allowed to set foot in Africa, it is hard to say what will happen in the future.

(End of this chapter)