Chapter 29: The Chinese Behind It

'This Emergency Committee is nothing more than a reactionary coup d'état staged by right-wingers. It is an illegal rebellion. These are the same people who are destroying the rare unity and stability of our country. These are the same people who have turned the guns, which should be aimed at the outside world, towards ourselves. This is a crime against the entire nation! I believe that at this dangerous moment, all of us North Russians must unite and jointly strike the strongest blow against these rebels. Soldiers, please hold your guns tightly and defend the country with us!'

As Nikolajevich finished speaking, the square in front of the White House immediately erupted in thunderous cheers. Everyone followed Nikolajevich in shouting with arms raised, 'Fight back! Down with the coup!'

All the soldiers surrounding the White House were at a loss. In fact, they had been at a loss since the beginning. During the previous standoff with the opposition, they had been accused by the masses every day, and their confidence had wavered. They had long since begun to doubt the correctness of following orders. If they hadn't, they would not have allowed Nikolic to simply climb onto the tank and give a speech.

In contrast to the bewildered soldiers, the officers were panicking, because after Nikolic's speech, the situation had completely spiralled out of control and no one could predict what would happen next.

The officers panicked and called the Kremlin, but no matter how hard they pleaded and how serious they made the situation sound, they never received a precise answer. All they got from the Kremlin was to keep the situation from deteriorating, just like the previous order to surround the White House. It was all so vague and incomprehensible.

In stark contrast, Nikolic's every word and action gave his followers direction, and he was even quick to counterattack the Kremlin.

At this moment, Nikolic stood on top of the tank, looking down at the thousands of cheering people below, giving him a sudden feeling that he was standing at the pinnacle of the world, that he was here to bring about great change in the world.

At that moment, Nikolic felt that the State Emergency Committee and the senior Soviet officials didn't matter anymore, because he had received the blessings of all the revolutionary martyrs of the past. He was the one in control of everything, the one chosen by history to bring about the rebirth of all of Northern Russia.

Nikolaevich had such thoughts spinning in his head, and he pointed in the direction of the Kremlin at random and said, 'For the sake of the future of Northern Russia, we must fight to the end against the reactionaries in the Kremlin!'

At Nikolaevich's call, the people below immediately responded, and many people began to overturn the tram that had been used as a barricade, marching with firm steps past the army's obstacles towards the Kremlin.

In the face of Nikolaevich's appeal and the actions of the people, all the soldiers surrounding the White House were dumbfounded. Although their superior's orders were for them to maintain the current situation and not let the situation deteriorate further, at this time they all forgot about this order, or they simply could not continue to adhere to it and did not want to adhere to it. They could only stare blankly as the group of agitated people walked past them, all of them motionless like statues.

Watching the movements below, Nikolic stood on the tank, full of pride, feeling like a general on the battlefield, commanding thousands of people to die for him with just one order. Isn't this what a man should be like in the world? A hero, a tiger, must fight to the death, regardless of the consequences.

With such a heroic spirit, Nikolic's mouth curled up into a smile, and he couldn't help but think of the way he might enter the Kremlin in the future, until his secretary reminded him that it might be dangerous here, and he only reacted afterwards in case there was a military sniper.

Nikolaevich walked off the tank with his head held high, surrounded by people full of awe. All the reporters were frantically raising their cameras to take pictures of him, to capture this wonderful moment, and they were also asking him questions one after the other, because everyone knew that after this speech, the future path of the superpower was about to change, and they were witnessing history.

Nikolaevich himself was also bursting with self-confidence, feeling like he was the only one in the world. Of course, if there wasn't a Chinese man named Zhou Ming standing in the audience.

When he walked down from the tank with the help of his assistant, he immediately saw Zhou Ming standing in the crowd. His smile then immediately became a little stiff, because he then remembered his speech just now. Except for himself, everything was planned by this Chinese person. What made him feel even more disheartened was that this Chinese person said he still had the ability to turn the situation back.

Zhou Ming actually didn't want to deliberately show off in front of Nikolaevich, nor did he have the interest, but now that he had been noticed, Zhou Ming didn't need to avoid him. He smiled and said to him, 'Congratulations on Mr. Nikolaevich's successful speech.'

Although there were many people in between, Nikolaevich still heard Zhou Ming clearly due to his concentration.

At this time, if someone else had said this to him, Nikolic would have been very happy, and he would even have proudly held his head high. However, when facing Zhou Ming, he was only deeply frustrated, because Zhou Ming made him suddenly feel that everything he had just done was just following the orders of this Chinese man. He was the real boss, and he was just a pawn in his hands.

'Please rest assured, I am a man who keeps his promises, and I will definitely honour all my promises!'

Nikolaevich said loudly. Everyone present, including the reporters and even his colleagues, thought he was talking about his promises to the citizens of Northern Russia, but only Zhou Ming and a few people like Kalelina understood that the promises Mr. Nikolaevich was talking about were actually to Zhou Ming.

Zhou Ming smiled, gave him a thumbs-up, and then turned and left. Due to Nikolajevich's speech, the opposition people had already begun to fight back, and the army that was surrounding the outside was at a loss as to what to do, so when Zhou Ming and the others went out, they did not encounter any obstacles.

Leaving the White House, Zhoraeva couldn't help but exclaim, 'My goodness! If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn't have believed it. Mr. Zhou Ming, you are the one who saved this country. No matter what Mr. Nikolajevic said on stage, it was all under your guidance. If it weren't for your bottle of vodka, Mr. Nikolajevic wouldn't even dare to step out of the White House, and would have to hide in the dark and damp basement to deliver his high-sounding speeches.'

Facing Ruyaeva's adoring exclamation, Zhou Ming was actually very embarrassed. After all, he had actually taken a shortcut in history, because perhaps the current situation in the Soviet Union had not reached the point of being as bad as it had been in his previous life. But even without his appearance, Nikolayevich would eventually be able to walk out of the White House and call on the people to resist the coup. It was just not clear whether it would develop in the same way as it had in his previous life.

Zhou Ming thought for a moment and said, 'In fact, many things are predestined, and they cannot be blamed entirely on a particular person, whether it be Mr. Nikolayevich or me. And as for me, I'm not that noble. You were there when I had a conversation with Mr. Nikolayevich before. I'm just a capitalist who only knows how to exploit. How could I deserve such high praise?'

Zhou Ming said this sincerely, but what he didn't expect was that after he said this, Ruyaeva's admiration for him increased even more.

'Unassuming and unassuming, I never imagined that Mr. Zhou Ming would still be such a low-key and noble person!'

Rulayeva said, and then turned her attention back to Kareina: 'Thank God, and thank Kareina, it is you who brought Mr. Zhou Ming to my country, giving my country the opportunity to survive this crisis and giving me the opportunity to meet such a great person.'

'Well, Ms. Zhurayeva, if you really thank me so much, or thank your God, according to our Chinese custom, you can absolutely invite me to dinner. You know, just now, because I had to persuade Mr. Nikolayevich to come out and give a speech, I was too busy persuading him to drink, and the kebabs and caviar just weren't enough to satisfy my stomach.'

Zhou Ming could only say this shamelessly to her, because Zhou Ming knew very well that if he declined or anything, she would subconsciously think that his character was higher.

Rulayeva happily nodded after hearing this and said, 'No problem, for the sake of my motherland, not only would I not mind treating you to a meal, I would even be happy to do so for a year!'

Rulayeva then took Zhou Ming and the others to the best restaurant in Krisco and treated them to a northern Russian banquet.

Although it was a state banquet, to Zhou Ming, the cuisine, which had a distinct North Russian style, was not as comfortable as the food stalls back home, especially in this era when there is no more gutter oil, except that the tableware looked very high-end.

After leaving the restaurant, Zhou Ming and Katerina returned to the hotel as they had a sudden task to attend to at the White House. After all, they had only gone to bed in the early morning and had to face the important task of persuading Nikolayevich to leave the palace in the morning. Coupled with the fatigue from the long journey, they were going to go back to the hotel to rest for a while. However, as soon as they arrived at the hotel, the phone in their room rang.

Katerina picked up the phone and answered it, her face turning pale.

Zhou Ming felt a little strange at this reaction from Katerina: 'Who called? Has something happened?'

'It was Mr. Davier, he is Mr. Mata's assistant and the overall person in charge of the Dota project on the northern Russian side,' Katerina replied.

'What did he say?' asked Ming, because from Katerina's expression, it was clear that Mr. Davier had not just called to say hello.

'He invited us to dinner tonight,' Katerina added, 'and he is very unhappy with us.'

Ming raised an eyebrow: 'Really? That's interesting.'