Tsar Nicholas II was just over 50 this year. He has never been in good health since childhood, and his personality is indecisive. He is not happy with his father, Tsar Alexander III, because of these shortcomings. In addition, he almost failed to inherit the throne. In addition, when he went to Asia in his early years, he became a little nervous after being stabbed in Otsu, Japan. Because he was afraid of being assassinated again, he has been staying in the imperial village or the Gatchina Palace in the Black Sea for many years, and was even secretly nicknamed "the prisoner of Gatchina" by the Russian nobles. But this time, due to the arrival of the China National Observatory Group, Nicholas II moved from the China National Observatory Group to the Hermitage, which he had not been here for a long time, and officially received the China National Observatory Group here.

According to the etiquette learned from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs before going abroad, Wu Peifu saluted Tsar Nicholas II as the leader of the Military Observation Corps. When he stood up, he quietly looked up at the monarch of the Russian Empire in gorgeous military uniforms, and the queen Alexandra Feodorovna who was dressed in graceful and luxuriously and the queen crown beside him...

Through the translation, Nicholas II first asked about diplomatic and business cooperation between the two countries in a kind manner. Wu Peifu answered one by one according to the draft that had been prepared long ago. After talking for a while, Nicholas II suddenly shifted his interest to the construction of the National Defense Forces that China is currently carrying out, and asked about China's current military situation with great interest.

Although Wu Peifu was not prepared for this topic, he hesitated and said it roughly. He was not convenient to reveal some details, but the superficial data could still be explained. When he heard that the Chinese National Defense Force had 36 Central Divisions and nearly one million regular troops, and would continue to expand to ten armies, 78 national defense divisions and fifteen local divisions next year, the proud Tsar couldn't help but show a look of surprise.

Although the pace of the construction of the Chinese National Defense Forces was far beyond Nicholas II's expectations, the overall number of the Chinese National Defense Forces was far inferior to that of the Russian Empire, which had a huge military force. However, China, which has always been weak, developed such a powerful military force in such a short period of time, which made Nicholas II feel alert.

After exchanging glances with the queen beside him, Nicholas II smiled and praised the achievements of the current Chinese government. At the same time, he tactfully proposed to Wu Peifu, hoping that he could tell the Chinese government to join the Allies as soon as possible. Be with the great Russian Empire and participate in the camp of the evil allies.

"I will convey this request to our government and thank Your Majesty for your support for the work of the Observatory Team of Our Affairs." Wu Peifu replied with a smile. Nicholas II appreciated his military attitude.

"Of course. Please rest assured. I believe that the work of your ** Observation Team will be completed very well. Although our two countries are not an alliance for the time being, the two sides have hundreds of years of friendship and are close old friends. They will definitely stand in the same trenches in the future." Nicholas II said with a smile, looking friendly.

"Damn the old Russians, still have friendship? Dog shit! I wish you Russians were wiped out by the Germans."

Wu Peifu cursed in his stomach, but his expression remained unchanged at all. He still smiled and quickly agreed. He also put forward requirements for the specific work of the Military Observation Group.

Nicholas II had no doubts about such small things. After hearing this, he attracted a few instructions from the War Minister and immediately gave them these things.

"Dear Your Majesty, given the friendly cooperation between our two countries, I am also entrusted by our government to invite you to visit our country for a friendly visit." Seeing that the matter was almost done, the interview was different from the cabinet negotiations. It was not long before the end. Before leaving, Wu Peifu suddenly proposed the Chinese government's suggestion to invite Nicholas II to visit China, which made the other party stunned.

"Visit China?" Nicholas II hesitated about this suggestion, and his first reaction was to refuse. However, before he could express his refusal, Queen Alexandra beside him gave him a look.

Nicholas II will definitely not leave. The only time he went to Asia in his life was that time he almost lost his life. Nicholas II, who was bitten by a snake for ten years, was afraid of straw ropes, and even dared not live in the Winter Palace for a long time. What's more, traveling thousands of miles to the east for a visit? However, for China, the Russian Empire today needs China's help. Whether it is war materials or ordinary commodities, without the support from China, the front line cannot be maintained at all. Moreover, he just talked about the traditional friendship between the two countries in front of the head of the China Affairs Observation Group. If he refused the proposal of the party, it would be too inappropriate.

For a moment, Nicholas II didn't know how to answer, and his hesitant personality suddenly made him speechless and turned his eyes to his queen with a request for help.

"God General, Your Majesty is the monarch of the Russian Empire. Now the European War is at an critical moment. As the monarch of a country and the commander of the army, Your Majesty is really unable to take it out and go to the East. Please convey Your Majesty's apology to your country. I think that after the war is over, Your Majesty and I will definitely go to the East to see it."

"Thanks to the Queen for her explanation and thanks to His Majesty for her kindness to our country." Wu Peifu said with a smile: "On these issues, our government has also considered that if His Majesty cannot visit our country due to war reasons, can he send His Royal Highness the Crown Prince to travel instead of His Majesty?"

"This..." Queen Alexandra hesitated for a moment, and soon smiled and shook her head, "Like His Majesty, His Royal Highness, cannot leave the Russian Empire easily, so I can only say that I regret your invitation."

"That's really a pity!" Wu Peifu showed an extremely disappointed expression on his face, shook his head and sighed: "If this is the case, I'm afraid...hey..."

"What are you afraid of?" Queen Alexandra keenly noticed what was behind the Chinese words and asked quickly.

Wu Peifu smiled bitterly: "My country is now a constitutional country, and the national system is different from your country. The two houses of parliament have very strong power. In fact, many members of parliament have different opinions on the business cooperation between our two countries. These members even believe that the two countries have more friction than friendship in the past century. In the situation of the European War, cooperation with your country is undoubtedly... Haha, on the part of the German Empire, because of the Qing Island incident, many people have a good impression of the German Empire, and many members of parliament support Germany. The last business cooperation agreement was signed, but the Chinese government actually under a considerable internal pressure, so he invited His Majesty to visit China to appease some opposition between the two houses of parliament and the people."

Queen Alexandra frowned immediately, and even Nicholas II, who was not very sensitive to reaction, was speechless. I don’t know how to do it for a while. Wu Peifu’s words were true or false, and they could not verify for the time being, but the Chinese have never been very friendly to the Russians. As the Tsar and Queen of the Russian Empire, they are very clear. Not to mention the tsars before Nicholas II, even in the years before Nicholas II became the Tsar, they knew exactly how much territory the Tsar Russia had scraped from China. With these precedents, how can the relationship between China and Russia be harmonious? Now China can cooperate with the Russian Empire without any prior grudges. Although Nicholas II made concessions in Outer Mongolia, it can also be seen that the Chinese government has made extraordinary efforts to reach an agreement.

"Your Excellency, Your Majesty and His Royal Highness are indeed unable to travel, but your country's suggestions are not unanimous." Queen Alexandra looked at Nicholas II and smiled and said, "It's better to have someone who will replace Your Majesty and His Royal Highness to visit your country. What do you think?"

"Queen, are you talking about the princesses?" Wu Peifu asked hesitantly.

Nodding, Queen Alexandra said: "Maria and Annastasia are both children of His Majesty. You also know that we only have His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. As the Grand Duke, we will choose one of them to serve on your country, and I think we can meet the requirements of your government."

Wu Peifu seemed to be thinking about it, and after a while, he spoke: "This is also a solution. Considering the situation of your country, I will make suggestions to our government and invite His Highness the female Grand Duke to visit our country. But... I wonder which of His Highness is going to be on an envoy?"

"Let Anna go." Nicholas II, who had not made any noise, said. Queen Alexandra nodded understandingly and said to Wu Peifu: "When your Majesty makes a decision, let Annastasia and Romanova go to your country instead of Your Majesty."

"Thank you very much to His Majesty and the Queen. I will contact the country as soon as possible and issue a formal invitation to His Highness Annastasia Romanova's female grandfather."

Wu Peifu apologized slightly and then offered his farewell. When he walked out of the Winter Palace, he felt relaxed for a while. Several purposes for coming to the Russian Empire were basically achieved. However, compared with the work of the military observation group, Wu Peifu always felt a little strange about the fact that Fang Zida specifically reminded him to invite him to the Tsarist family. In his opinion, Fang Zida repeatedly told him to invite a member of the Tsarist family to visit China. This was a thankless thing. Is it necessary? As for what members of Congress opposed it, of course, it was not what Wu Peifu thought of. Fang Zida said in advance. What medicine did Fang Zida sell in the gourd? Is he going to turn against Tsarist Russia? Wait until the opportunity is mature to seize the members of the Tsarist family in China as hostages?

For a moment, Wu Peifu, who could not figure out the truth, couldn't help but shake his head. In his opinion, Fang Zida's intentions could not be guessed at all. Forget it, I didn't care about him. No matter how much he said, he had done this, the next step was the work of the military observation team. When he thought of the front line of war, Wu Peifu, as a soldier, felt that his blood was boiling. He looked forward to arriving at the front line as soon as possible and witnessing this war sweeping Europe with his own eyes.

******************************************

Sorry, I had drunk too much on my birthday yesterday. I owe you three chapters in total, and I will make up for it!
Chapter completed!