Chapter 36: Resignation

A jet plane landed with a loud roar at the military airport in the southern suburbs of Krisko, the capital of the North Russian Republic. As the plane landed, a delegation of more than 30 people, escorted by the military, entered the airport. Leading the way was Nikolayevich, the president of the North Russian Republic. This delegation was the delegation of the North Russian Republic, and their purpose here was to welcome the Soviet president Bagrov, who had returned from vacation.

The delegation arrived in front of the plane, and everyone was waiting with smiles on their faces for the returning president. However, to everyone's surprise, the cabin door opened for a long time, but no one came out.

This situation made everyone wonder: did the president not return on the plane? Or did the president not return to this airport? Was this just a decoy, or had something gone wrong?

These questions made everyone nervous, because at the moment the situation in the Soviet Union was very unstable. Although after Nikita Khrushchev's speech, all the opposition forces began to fight back, it was only a superficial situation. Everyone knew that the coup was started by officials in control of the key departments of the Soviet Union's party, government and military, and it would be easy for them to turn the tables. Their last hope was the returning president.

If the president can be won over to their side, then the coup can be called off. But if the president has an accident, or simply sides with the coup, then the situation will be a complete mess.

Faced with such a situation, how can these people not be anxious? Some of them looked left and right, at a loss; some jumped up and down in a hurry, while others stretched their necks like giraffes, as if by doing so they could see the president hiding in the cabin, deliberately playing hide-and-seek with them.

These members of the delegation were anxiously fidgeting in all sorts of ways, oblivious to the fact that at the back of the crowd, a pair of people were conversing in a language they did not understand. These people were none other than Zhou Ming and Kalina, who had followed along.

'These people are so impatient, can these people really defeat those coup officials?' Kalina looked at the members of the delegation, who were making all sorts of gestures, with contempt, doubting their abilities.

'You don't think these people can be trusted? Then I'm afraid you'll get to see even less trustworthy people later,' Ming replied.

Karina obviously understood what Ming meant, and she asked curiously, 'Ming, do you mean the president?'

Zhou Ming nodded and said, 'Of course, does this presidential plane escort anyone else back?'

Katerina looked at Zhou Ming in surprise. She didn't understand how Zhou Ming had made such a judgment, but Zhou Ming didn't explain much because some of the things in history were just nonsense, and there was no logic at all.

'Look, someone's coming out!'

A sudden shout drew everyone's attention to the cabin door. Someone did indeed walk out of the cabin door, but when everyone saw the person, they became even more panicked. It was none other than a Soviet soldier in military uniform.

'Oh my god! What's going on? Why isn't it the president? Is the president really going to abandon us?'

'Why are there commandos on the plane? Is today's welcome really a conspiracy by the coup plotters? Did they deliberately want us to come and welcome them, so that they can arrest us all? What a vicious idea, those coup plotters are truly cunning sinners!'

'Oh God, we are the most loyal people to the North Russian Republic, please bless us to get through this difficult time, we must not let the coup plotters succeed...'

Members of various delegations spoke one after the other, some sighing and some blaming the heavens. These emotions also affected Nikolayevich at the front, and even the leader of the Northern Russian delegation had second thoughts. However, at this time, he subconsciously glanced back.

Behind him was a group of officials from the Northern Russian Republic who were at a loss. However, Nikolayevich was not looking for them, but for Zhou Ming, who was standing at the end of the crowd. Although he could not see Zhou Ming, he could feel that Zhou Ming's eyes were definitely looking at him.

This feeling made Nikolajevich very annoyed, because no matter what he said, he was almost 60 years old and still the president of the Northern Russian Republic, but the Chinese guy looked no more than 30 at most. His ideas were excellent, but he inevitably carried the frivolity and wilfulness of a young person. How could he have lost out to him and made him look down on him?

With this thought, Nikolajevich quickly calmed down and turned around to scold, 'What are you all panicking about? Calm down!'

In fact, many times people panic simply because they lack a leader. Now that the top leader had spoken, under the effect of the 'alpha wolf', everyone's state of mind was quickly stabilised.

At this time, the soldier quickly walked off the plane, came up to Nikolajevic, saluted and asked, 'Hello, are you Mr. Nikolajevic?'

Nikolaevich returned the salute and said, 'I am Nikolaevich.'

After getting the answer, the soldier took out the walkie-talkie and reported the news to the plane. After a while, an elderly man with a Mediterranean hairstyle appeared at the cabin door.

His appearance made the North Russian delegation cheer, because this person was the current Soviet President Baggioff.

Baggioff got off the plane, and Nikolaevich went up and offered to shake his hand. The North Russian secretary on the scene hurriedly raised the camera to record this precious moment.

There was nothing much to say in the first greeting after the meeting. Nikolajevich asked Bagrov how his holiday was, whether he was under house arrest by the coup plotters, and whether the coup plotters had treated him roughly. Bagrov, on the other hand, highly praised what Nikolajevich had done during this period of time, and said that he was the greatest hero in defending the supreme authority of the Soviet Union.

After some pleasantries, Nikolic said to Bagachov, 'Mr. Bagachov, I think this coup has seriously affected the security of the Republic of Northern Russia and all its citizens, and is the biggest obstacle to the country's progress and development. So I think some things that are out of place need to be changed. What do you think, Mr. Bagachov?'

Nikolaevich's words sounded fine at first, but Bagachev immediately understood what they meant. He looked up and asked a seemingly inexplicable question: 'Mr. Nikolaevich, is there no other choice?'

Nikolaevich shook his head and said no. Bagachev was silent for a moment after hearing the answer, and then sighed and said, 'Okay, I understand, but we have to solve this coup first.'

'Of course, those despicable right-wing rebels have committed an unforgivable crime against the country and the nation, and they must not be let off lightly,' said Nikolic.

Bagachov nodded and said, 'I will do this. All those involved in the coup will definitely be severely punished.'

'What about you, Mr. Bagachov?'

Facing Nikolaevich's reminder, Bagachov's smile on his face stiffened noticeably. Anger first appeared in his eyes, but then it turned into helplessness, leaving everyone wondering what was going on.

In the end, Bagachov said, 'I understand. I also bear unshirkable leadership responsibility for this coup. After this incident, I will resign from my position as President of the Soviet Union. However, I also hope that Nikolaevich you will continue to lead the country well and continue the reforms to the end.'

'Mr Bagachov, you can rest assured of this: I am a firm reformer,' Nikolavich said.

Bagachov's words exploded like a bomb, instantly blowing everyone at the scene away. They all stared at Bagachov, completely unable to believe their ears, but no matter how hard they tapped their foreheads and poked their ears, the fact remained as hard as iron.

After the shock wore off, the officials of the Northern Russian delegation were filled with joy, because it was not difficult to tell from Bagachov's words just now that after his resignation, Nikolayevich, who had played a major role in the coup, would be able to move into the Mlin, which represented supreme power. Wouldn't their loyal followers be able to follow them into the Mlin as well? How could this not make people feel ecstatic?

With Bagachov's words, not only were the officials of the Northern Russian delegation ecstatic, but Katerina was also excited. She took Zhou Ming's arm and said, 'Mr. Zhou Ming, did you hear that? President Bagachov really resigned, and he announced his resignation in front of so many members of the Northern Russian delegation.'

Katerina's voice was a little shaky, and Zhou Ming could also feel her body shaking slightly unnaturally. He could imagine how excited this Northern Russian girl was at this moment.

'Mr. Zhou Ming, this is all your doing. Not only did you persuade Mr. Nikolayevich to leave the White House and defuse the crisis of attacking the White House, you have now accurately seen Mr. Bagachev's resignation. You are simply amazing! You have the entire situation of the Soviet Union in your hands. You are indeed the person I have been waiting for. I can follow you to Krisko and be your translator. It is truly a blessing that comes once in a lifetime!' Karelina said.

Facing Karolina's excitement, Zhou Ming smiled and said to her, 'Miss Karolina, I advise you not to get so excited. It's true that Bagachev has resigned, but it's not necessarily a good thing. Because once he resigns, it means that something is about to begin.'

Karolina nodded and said, 'I understand, but I believe that as long as he resigns, and then he dissolves the Red Party, our country will definitely enter a new era.'

Finally, Katerina looked at Zhou Ming very seriously and said, 'And Zhou Ming, you are the hero of 150 million people in this land!'

Zhou Ming also shook his head very seriously and said, 'Miss Katerina, believe me, don't thank me so early. If you really love your country and nation so much, then maybe in the future you will also hate me.'