Chapter 35: Confronting the Dota Project

Confronting the Dota Project?

Nikolaevich heard Zhou Ming's words and his entire body went numb. He couldn't believe his ears, and even more couldn't believe why Zhou Ming would say such a thing.

If someone who knows nothing about the Dota Project said this, it would be understandable, but Zhou Ming was clearly a participant in the Dota Project before, and with his abilities, even if he is not a core figure, he at least understands how terrifying this project is, and can guess that this is a conspiracy of the entire Western world to strangle and plunder a superpower. How could he think of going against this plan?

By doing so, he would be making enemies with the entire Western world, wouldn't he? And he would be doing so alone, against the entire Western world. This is not just madness, it is absolute madness.

If this were anyone else, Nikolajevic would not even bother discussing this with him, but this person is Zhou Ming, and given the ideas he has previously given him, this kind of crazy thing, he really can do it.

But this is where the problem comes in, because Nikolaevich had also heard of the Dota Project. It was a kind of financial warfare, and the specific methods of operation were very cumbersome and complicated.

Due to the world situation, they had no idea about Western financial theories, and China was even better than the Soviet Union in this regard. No matter how reform and opening up had been carried out in the past ten years, it was still too short a period of time. How could they compete with the West in financial warfare?

Under such circumstances, should he go crazy with him? Maybe he succeeded before, but that was all gambling. He would do the same because of the situation forced by the coup. But now?

With these thoughts, Nikolajevich said to Zhou Ming very seriously, 'Mr. Zhou Ming, is this the promise you wanted before? Please forgive me for being direct, although I don't know what grudges you have with this Dota project, but as the president of the Northern Russian Republic, I shoulder the trust of 150 million citizens, and I absolutely cannot joke about the problems of the country.'

Zhou Ming gave a faint smile. How could he not see where Nikolajevich was worried about? However, time was not on his side, and Zhou Ming also did not know how much of an impact his appearance would have on this matter.

And doing things is not about holding a debate. Zhou Ming was not interested in arguing with Nikolajevich here. He asked directly in return, 'Does Mr. Nikolajevich support the Dota Project, support the economic aggression of Western countries against Northern Russia, and support Western countries plundering the wealth created by 150 million citizens over 70 years, and do you think you have lived up to the trust of 150 million citizens?'

Zhou Ming angrily questioned the president of the Northern Russian Republic, and his translator, Kareina, who was also from Northern Russia, was further infected by Zhou Ming's emotions and her tone became even more angry.

Nikolavich was speechless, but Zhou Ming did not stop there. He continued to give him the final blow. Zhou Ming said, 'I don't understand, Mr. Nikolavich, do you want to control the country's economic lifeline in your own hands, or do you want to hand it over to those Western bandits?'

'Of course we want to control it ourselves!' Nikolaevich answered without hesitation.

This answer was inevitable. As the saying goes, people may betray their class, but the class will never betray them. Nikolaevich was just like that. He did receive funding from abroad to enable him to rise rapidly. Although he did not say so explicitly, Zhou Ming could definitely guess that he must have reached some kind of agreement with the Western countries, perhaps a promise that he would help them loot the wealth after taking power.

But now that he has truly become the president of the North Russian Republic, and after this coup, he may even enter the Kremlin, he obviously does not want to continue to listen to the arrangements of Western countries.

But this is no wonder, he is about to become the true supreme leader, why should he listen to those Western countries? Politicians have never been people who keep their promises, and more importantly, Nikolajevich does not want the country he will take over in the future to be a devastated mess.

Nikolaevich hesitated and said, 'But Mr. Zhou Ming, since you came from the Dota Project, then you must also understand how much preparation the Western countries, led by the United States, have done for this project. We...'

Nikolaevich couldn't continue with his words here because he saw Zhou Ming's smile growing more and more intense. Nikolaevich had to ask him, 'Does Mr. Zhou Ming have any different opinions?'

'I really don't understand what you're thinking, Mr. Nikolic. You are now the president of this Northern Russian Republic. The so-called Project Dota is just a bunch of bandits who came to invade your country. All you have to do is to drive these bandits out of your home,' said Zhou Ming. 'If Mr. Nikolic is not even interested in doing this, I don't think you deserve to be the president anymore. What do you think?'

Being told this to his face made Nikolic feel very ashamed, but if that was all, Nikolic would just be ashamed of being an unqualified leader. However, Zhou Ming's next sentence completely captivated him.

'And to be honest, the DOTA project is going to be implemented anyway, and the national wealth of the Soviet Union will definitely be looted. Mr. Nikolajevich, you are also going to carry out privatisation reforms. So why should we listen to foreign capitalists and give all the national wealth to foreign countries? Why can't we find a way to take it into our own hands?' Zhou Ming added at the end, 'Do you understand what I mean, Mr. Nikolajevich?'

This remark made Nikolic's eyes light up. How could he not understand Zhou Ming's meaning? Anyway, the situation had developed to the point where there would always be robbers coming to loot, so it would be more reliable to take control oneself rather than letting outsiders take advantage.

In addition, Nikolic also tacitly understood another point, and that was that the path to power was very dangerous. He could guarantee that he would be president, but there was no way to guarantee that his descendants would also be presidents. Therefore, in comparison, the money in his hands was more reassuring.

If he makes the most of this opportunity, he can at least ensure that his family will be rich for a hundred years. This is a deal worth doing no matter what. The only thing that worries Nikolic is the Dota Project.

Nikolic thinks about it carefully and asks, 'But Mr. Zhou Ming, do we have a significant advantage over the Dota Project?'

'Not a big advantage, but an absolute advantage.' Zhou Ming pointed at Nikolaevich and continued, 'As long as you, Mr. Nikolaevich, are still the president of the North Russian Republic, as long as this superpower has truly reached its end, and as long as you will definitely carry out privatisation reforms.'

'Wait a minute, Mr. Zhou Ming, I think you should be a little more clear. Do you mean that I should issue an executive order to expel all the executors of the Dota Project from the North Russian Republic?' Nikolaevich raised his hands and said, at this time, he was completely confused by Zhou Ming's words, and didn't know how to think about it.

Zhou Ming shook his head and said, 'No, in fact, this will not have any effect, because the Dota Project is an economic invasion. Just driving people away is useless without plugging the economic loopholes.'

'So what should we do? Should we try to freeze their assets?' Nikolaevich asked again.

'That's a good idea, but it's simply impossible,' Zhou Ming said. 'Because this kind of international hot money definitely has their own special channels, and in order to avoid accidents, strict confidentiality of accounts is necessary. At the same time, I'm afraid that many accounts have been prepared, and I don't know which banks they are in. There is simply no way to implement a freeze.'

'So what exactly is your idea, Mr Zhou Ming?' Nikolaevich asked. Zhou Ming's one-by-one rejections were almost driving him to the breaking point. If he could, he really wanted to strangle Zhou Ming and interrogate him.

Zhou Ming did not continue to tease him this time, but instead directly told him, 'There is an old saying in our country that whoever strikes first, strikes best. This means that if you want to do something, you must act quickly and get ahead of everyone else. It is the same now. If we want to take money from the Western countries, we must also take steps to get ahead of them.'

Facing Zhou Ming's words, Nikolaevich's eyes first lit up, but then he sighed: 'It is really difficult to pre-empt the Dota Project, because they have done their homework in terms of both funding and advance preparations. How can they pre-empt it?'

'Why not?' Zhou Ming asked in return. 'First of all, the situation in Northern Russia is on your side, Mr. Nikolayevich. You decide how and in which direction to reform, or more precisely, which reform to carry out first and which after. With full control, forgive my stupidity, I don't understand why you can't pre-empt.'

Zhou Ming's words were like a morning bell and an evening drum, which suddenly woke Nikolajevich up. Indeed, as Zhou Ming said, the president of the Soviet Union had promised to resign and disband the Communist Party. He, the president of the Northern Russian Republic, was going to enter the Kremlin in the future and lead the development of the country. Why couldn't he take the initiative?

Thinking about this, Nikolayevich's heart was full of confidence. Zhou Ming then said to him, 'But I also agree with what you said earlier, Nikolayevich. The West has invested so much energy in Project Tower, and it is impossible to defeat it so easily. So we need to be prepared.'

'What kind of preparation?' Nikolayevich asked subconsciously.

'It's simple: money and people,' Zhou Ming said. "If possible, I hope that Mr. Nikolic can gather the heads of the major banks in the country, as well as the officials in charge of trade, and we can have a meal together.'

'No problem, I'll arrange it," Nikolic said.