Expedition to Europe

No one who can be a diplomat is an idiot. Even Lev, who looks simple and honest, has a monkey living in his head.

What is clear now is that the people of Lanfang have made it clear that they want to bully others because of their strong troops and horses. Moscow is not ready to be tough, so no matter what the content of this "contract" is, it will be signed in the end.

And no matter who it is, as long as they sign the "Contract", they will definitely be settled by Qiu Hou.

Stalin was a capricious person, and he would not let his subordinates take the blame for him, so whoever signed this word was unlucky. Just like the "Bismarck of the East" in the Qing Empire, there was no choice in the Treaty of Shimonoseki. But the people will not consider the actual situation at that time. As long as they sign, they will be a national sinner.

Moscow's words "deal with it as appropriate" frightened the host of the negotiations, Georgi, into a coma. The people in Lanfang were still waiting for the letter. It seemed that Lev could only sign this word.

Lev had no choice. As a Soviet diplomat, Lev could only choose to continue the negotiations. Even if he was hanged after signing, Lev would bear his due responsibilities.

So when the negotiations started again, Lev was the only negotiator on the Soviet side, with only one translator and one recorder. It was really miserable.

Ivan really hated the Soviets. Seeing that there were only three people left in the Soviet delegation, Ivan still beat him up: "One hundred and thirty million Russians can't even make up a delegation? What are your requirements for talents?" So high—”

It does seem "high", otherwise the Soviets would not have given up on all the diplomats of the Kolchak era, and Ivan himself was one of the eliminated.

"There are no more 130 million. In Russia now, there are only 110 million left, maybe less than -" Lev was not in the mood to quarrel, and Ivan also shut up after saying one sentence.

How deep the love is, how deep the hatred is. Ivan once loved Russia deeply, otherwise Ivan would not be so targeting Russia now.

Lanfang has a principle of avoidance in dealing with foreign relations. Even if Ivan is a diplomat, if Ivan expresses his attitude that he does not want to participate in negotiations with the Soviets, Lanfang's Ministry of Foreign Affairs will respect Ivan's choice. If Ivan has no feelings for Russia, Ivan only needs a simple "avoidance", and then he can watch Soviet jokes in his spare time.

But Ivan didn't do this. Burying the pride of the Russians with his own hands was the most direct way for Ivan to express his feelings.

At the end of the World War, there were still 130 million people in Russia, but after so many years of fierce fighting, Russia's current population may be less than 110 million.

Perhaps because the living environment is relatively harsh, Russians do not care much about life. During the Bolshevik Revolution, they almost killed all the bourgeoisie, feudal aristocrats, and church people. Even the Czar became a victim of political struggle. After the coalition government came to power, Kolchak showed no mercy to the Bolsheviks. When St. Petersburg was captured, more than half a million civilians died in the war. Then the Bolsheviks came back with another round of killings——

If you continue to kill like this for several years, no matter how many people you have, you can kill them all.

So Stalin really didn't dare to break up with Lanfang. Russia's blood had almost been drained, and the Soviets didn't even have enough soldiers to resist Lanfang's tanks.

Russia has always had a demographic advantage when facing European countries. If it has lost even this demographic advantage, I really don't know what else Russia can offer.

"This is what you have done. Is the current Russia the Russia you want?" Ivan's eyes were already red.

"Isn't this what you want?" Lev's face was expressionless, and only his trembling hands could show Lev's excitement.

In fact, everything you say is correct. Both the coalition government and the Soviets are responsible for the current situation in Russia. Even the Lanfang people who were directly involved in it, as well as the British and French who were watching from the other side, are responsible. The current situation in Russia is not caused by one person. Yes, simply blaming one party is shirking responsibility.

"Okay, let's get to the point -" Zhang Jingzong clapped his hands to end the meaningless argument and put the topic on the right track: "How do you think about our suggestions, Mr. Ambassador?"

Zhang Jingzong did not mention Moscow. Perhaps Lev did not know that every telegram between the Soviet Embassy in Lanfang and Moscow is monitored by the Lanfang National Security Bureau. The Russians do not pay much attention to passwords. Lanfang It would not be difficult for the National Security Agency to decipher the Russian codes.

"Does it matter what I think about-" Lev smiled miserably, and the corners of his mouth twitched to reveal a smile that was uglier than crying.

"It's really not important -" Zhang Jingzong showed no mercy, nodded to Ivan, and then continued to remain invisible.

mercy!

This kind of emotion will never appear in Zhang Jingzong. Zhang Jingzong is from the Northeast. Before joining the Foreign Legion, he was an officer in the Beiyang government. Zhang Jingzong knows how hateful the Russians are, and every Northeasterner feels the pain.

"The Russians want peace, that's good, this is the price you pay for peace-" Ivan was not polite and took out a drafted treaty and handed it to Lev.

When Lev took it, his expression and mood were numb. For a moment, Lev wanted to sign directly on it so that this torturous process could be ended as soon as possible.

The content of the contract is very simple, with only a few clauses. The most important part is the territory. Compared with the beginning of the negotiations, the Lanfang people asked for more. In addition to Irkutsk Oblast and part of the Tuva Republic, the Lanfang people asked for the entire Krasnoyarsk border area to be demilitarized, which is equivalent to Lanfang's request for all the territories east of the Yenisei River.

If Lev signed this "Contract" on behalf of the Soviet Union, it would mean that the Soviet Union would lose nearly half of its territory.

It sounds a bit scary, but it's just a sound.

In the previous contract signed with the coalition government, Lanfang had already obtained most of East and West Siberia. This time, Lanfang asked for Central Siberia.

Although this vast area is large, it is actually an uninhabitable zone. In other words, there are actually few Russians living on this land. This result is not unacceptable to Stalin. After all, Central Siberia has not yet shown its due value. Although there are mineral deposits there, it is not easy to mine them, and even if they are mined, they are not valuable because the transportation cost has exceeded the actual value of the mineral resources. Even if they are transported, it is not worth the loss.

The same is true for the Lan Fang people. It doesn’t matter whether there is Central Siberia or not. Central Siberia is indeed rich in resources, but for Lan Fang, it is all chicken ribs. Lan Fang owns the Persian Gulf and actually controls Western Australia. Siberia’s mineral resources are really not competitive.

Lan Fang proposed this condition to wait for the Russians to bargain. There is no need for Central Siberia. As long as the Russians can recognize Lan Fang’s control over Eastern Siberia, the purpose of the Lan Fang government has been achieved.

Reality is often more absurd than fiction. After reading the contract, Lev still had no expression on his face. After putting down the contract, Lev leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes to think. After a long time, tears flowed down his eyes. Lev wiped away the tears and slowly said: "I can sign this contract, but after signing, I ask for political asylum--"

The original text is in Liu # 9 @shu/bar!

Political asylum, to put it bluntly, is "defection". Regardless of whether Stalin will settle accounts later, Lev is not prepared to experiment with the lives of his wife and children.

"Yes, your family can choose to join the Lan Fang nationality--" Zhang Jingzong promised Lev.

Zhang Jingzong also had reservations. Lev's family could of course join the Lan Fang nationality, but Lev could not. If Lev also joined the Lan Fang nationality, then this contract would really become a joke, and Lan Fang would also be known as a bad person.

"Okay, I'll sign--" Lev's hand holding the pen was extremely heavy, but he still took a deep breath and wrote his name stroke by stroke.

"Mr. Lev..." The accompanying translator was angry.

"Arkasha, Victor, you two can choose freely now. If you want to join the Lanfang nationality, you can make a request now. If you don't want to join, then you must be prepared to be implicated. We..." Lev's expression was indifferent. He pointed at Arkasha and Victor one by one with his fingers, and finally grabbed the lapels on his chest: "No one has a good end!"

"Yes, if you want, the Lanfang government will provide you with protection." Seeing that the "negotiation" was unexpectedly smooth, Zhang Jingzong was not stingy. Protecting one is protecting, protecting two is also protecting. There are too many people who come to Lanfang to seek political asylum.

"I, I join the Lanfang nationality-" The recorder Victor's voice trembled, and he threw the notebook and pen in his hand on the table like an electric shock.

"I-I can't-my wife and children are in Moscow. Even if I die, I want to die with them." Arkasha, who served as the translator, was silent for a long time before saying bitterly.

It is the same in any country. When disaster strikes, there will always be people who stand up and people who retreat. This is normal. This is human nature.

Arkasha is different from Victor. Victor is a young man and probably not married yet. Arkasha is a middle-aged man. At his age, he has more concerns, but he also knows better what to do and what not to do.

"Okay, that's it." Lev did not force it. He stood up slowly, like an old man who was about to die.

"Is your family in the embassy?" Zhang Jingzong was consistent. Since he promised to provide protection for Lev's family, Zhang Jingzong would be responsible to the end.

"Yes." Lev didn't want to say more, as if he had used up all his strength just now by signing.

In the evening, two gunshots were heard from the Soviet Embassy in Lanfang. Soviet Ambassador to Lanfang Lev Sviridov and his wife committed suicide, leaving behind three children under the age of ten.