African Entrepreneurship Record

Chapter 1308: Chapter 317: Ambassador Balarnov

Of course, according to the East African translation, it would naturally still be referred to as a princess, after all, being empires, the East African Government would not think that a Russian princess is superior in status to a princess of the Rhein Royal Family.

Leaving aside the Rhein Empire, the Rhein Royal Family itself is a branch of the Hohenzollern Family, so even by European standards, its status couldn’t be considered low.

Of course, it’s inevitable that European countries might be indifferent to the East African Empire situated in Africa, as every country judges others based on its national standpoint.

This is typical, like Vietnam, a former vassal state of the Far East Empire, which, in the eyes of the Far East Empire, the ruler of Vietnam is at most a vassal king, which does not prevent Vietnam from claiming the title of emperor.

And the situation in East Africa is more like Japan in East Asia. From the East African perspective, the domestic noble order is different from that of Europe, as this is Africa, and European rules naturally do not apply here, nor is East Africa like those European empires that can trace connections to Rome.

Japan also had this status; although there had been regimes that submitted to the Far East Empire, these regimes were concentrated before the Tang Dynasty and were not representative, as Japan was then still in the budding stages of civilization, with various states standing rather than a unified rule representing Japan.

Regarding the Tang Dynasty and afterward, although Japan sent official envoys to the Far East Empire multiple times, it was only for learning, without considering itself inferior in identity to the Far East Empire. This is different from Korea, Vietnam, and Ryukyu, which paid tribute and acknowledged the Far East Empire, receiving legitimacy conferred by the Far East Empire.

Similarly, though East Africa learns everything from Europe, it has now completely shed the identification of East Africa as a subordinate civilization of Europe, especially after the natural decline of the first generation of immigrants.

Although there are still quite a few old immigrants in East Africa, compared to East Africa’s over a hundred million population, they can be completely overlooked, as for a long period, the average lifespan in East Africa was not high, with few first-generation immigrants surviving to this day.

Take Ernst and Archduke Ferdinand, for instance, they are considered living fossils of East African history, yet their initial identity starting point was different from ordinary people, with such long-lived first-generation immigrants being few and far between.

However, now with the development of East Africa, as well as improvements in living and medical standards, the average lifespan in East Africa has increased significantly, already comparable to Europe and America.

...

The Russian Embassy in East Africa is located in the embassy district of Rhein City, where diplomatic embassies from around the world are concentrated.

Compared to the orderly arrangement of other countries’ embassies, tension has recently enveloped the Russian Embassy, with a sense of unrest among the people within.

”Ambassador Balarnov, Crown Prince Aleksey along with Grand Duchess Maria and Grand Duchess Anastasia have arrived.” Balarnov’s secretary spoke to Ambassador Balarnov, who was busy organizing various documents at his desk.

You could see that the desk in front of Balarnov was piled with various telegrams, newspapers, and documents on a less than two-square-meter surface, appearing extremely cluttered and disorganized. The luxurious trash bin was also filled with all kinds of paper, with some documents even spilling onto the floor unheeded, leaving the entire office in a mess.

Upon the secretary’s report, Balarnov showed no response, focusing intently on a telegram he was reading.

Helplessly, the secretary could only step forward and gently tap on the desk, whispering, ”Your Excellency, the Ambassador!”

Only then did Balarnov come to his senses, realizing someone was beside him. His disheveled face showed a hint of fatigue, with clear bloodshot eyes.

Putting down the document in hand, he leaned back into the chair behind him, speaking listlessly, ”So it’s you, Ivan, what’s happened now?”

The secretary could only helplessly repeat the news of Aleksey’s group’s arrival.

”Please bring them in!” Balarnov waved his hand as he spoke.

Very soon, Aleksey and the others were brought before Balarnov by Ivan. Even before they could speak, Balarnov had already said, ”Crown Prince and Your Highnesses, the Grand Duchesses, I have a general understanding of the purpose of your visit.”

Then he sighed deeply, saying, ”The current situation in the country is quite bleak, and you must be mentally prepared for it.”

Despite this, Princess Maria anxiously inquired, ”Uncle Balarnov, we first want to know about Father’s condition; do you know what their current situation is?”

Balarnov shook his head and said, ”At present, the country, especially in Saint Petersburg, is almost without communication. The rebels overthrew the provisional government two days ago, causing all external contact from Saint Petersburg to collapse.”

”We’ve only acquired a few uncertain and indistinct pieces of information through some backup channels, unsure if they’re accurate.”

”Regarding His Majesty, according to what my friends in Saint Petersburg said, the rebels have taken over the place where His Majesty was under house arrest by the provisional government, and they seem to have transferred everyone to another location. Even my friend couldn’t find out more details.”

”However, His Majesty should be temporarily safe, as the rebels must have hesitations, or else they wouldn’t have transferred His Majesty to another place...”

Balarnov didn’t continue, as there was an unpredictable possibility that Nicholas II might be secretly executed by the rebels. However, Balarnov inclined to believe the rebels hadn’t yet decided on arrangements for Nicholas II and his family.

After all, according to the rebels’ ideology and goals, openly executing Nicholas II’s family would be perfectly logical.

Balarnov said, ”Not only His Majesty, but everyone in Saint Petersburg is also living in fear. My friend told me through a private telegram that they don’t understand what the rebels’ intentions are now.”

”However, one thing is certain, which is that the rebels are extremely dangerous; their ideology is to destroy the entire social order of Russia, especially harboring animosity toward people of high status like us.”

”And the higher the status, the more one would be targeted. Many members of the rebels are peasant slaves and mud-booted people, so their psychological state is likely not ideal. In face of such a group, no social order or rules can hold sway.”

People like Balarnov, a vested interest in Russia, feared the Russian Labor Party, which doesn’t operate according to their ”reason,” ”rules,” or ”laws,” as this means there’s no basis for negotiation.

The Russian nobility and officials cannot restore order through the national apparatus they once controlled, as this apparatus has been rendered inoperable by the Labor Party’s violent actions.

Past Tsarist Russia, or the recently overthrown provisional government, had a national apparatus characterized by iron-blooded means to eliminate any group that might threaten their rule.

But this approach cannot handle the political struggle initiated by the Russian Labor Party, especially since the Labor Party has the military and firearms, and even the navy’s Aphrodite Cruiser was the first to initiate a new round of Russian coups.

Balarnov said, ”From now on, we need to scrutinize any information from the country, especially you, not to believe any information sent from the country, especially telegrams urging your return.”

”We must prevent the rebels from forging information from His Majesty to lure you back to the country. If you stay in East Africa, the rebels might still be wary, not causing detrimental effects to His Majesty’s safety, but if you return, it would be truly beyond redemption.”

Balarnov indeed showed he was a trusted aide of Nicholas II, as he had not changed the respectful titles for Nicholas II and the royal family members.

In the worried eyes of the others, he continued, ”Next, you should return to the manor. I will seek help from the East African Government to enhance your security measures.”

”Now, the only entity we can trust is the East African Government. They certainly won’t collude with the rebels to betray us. Also, through the East African Government, we can obtain accurate information from the country and, leveraging the power of the East African Government, contact the Royalist Party in the country to prepare for rescuing His Majesty, including the possibility of armed intervention against the rebels.”