Russia is vast and rich in resources, but currently, East Africa relies most on Russia for oil. More than half of the oil resources are taken away annually by East Africa, so the Tsarist Russian government uses oil as bait to attract Ambassador Klo's attention to a certain extent.

However, it's just attention. Although East Africa lacks oil resources, it is not as scarce as Germany, which almost has none, and currently, East Africa has various sources of foreign oil.

"As a friend, be honest with me. Is your Russia facing some difficulties recently?" Ambassador Klo asked.

He vaguely felt that the mindset of the Russian government has changed; this is not the usual attitude of the Russian government. 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

"Sigh, for Russia, difficulties have never ceased; it's always about financial pressure. Not having money has always been our biggest difficulty in Russia, and in recent years, due to the economic crisis, there are fewer countries and private entities willing to lend money." Count Cardel said.

The economic crisis hit not only Russia; other countries also naturally need cash to stabilize their economies. On the other hand, the economic crisis leads to Russian enterprises' bankruptcy and bad debts, severely reducing the Russian government's revenue sources. It's not conducive to borrowing from the International Community.

Various factors have led to the current vicious cycle in Russia's economy. Of course, the situation now, as the economic crisis nears its end, is not worse than the past few years, but Russia borrows more money now than before, which makes Klo think there must be something unusual internally in Russia that he doesn't know.

After all, East Africa is "not familiar" with Russia. Previously, Western European countries were Russia's main funders, but Russia's eagerness to scrape together any resources from East Africa is a clear sign of desperation.

East Africa is not active in the international financial market, especially in the commercial sector. Almost always, one can only negotiate with the East African Government or East African state-owned enterprises or banks, making East African money the hardest to acquire.

If it were an ordinary businessman, Russia's offer of oil resources as bait might have long enticed them, regardless of whether the Russian offer was a trap. Driven by profits, there's no business Europeans and Americans wouldn't dare to do, while the East African Government does not have such spontaneity, except for the Heixinggen Finance Group under the royal family.

Most of East African state enterprises and banks are actually subordinate institutions of the East African Government, so they are more cautious about lending externally.

Thus, Ambassador Klo firmly believes that before coming to him, the Tsarist Russian government had already hit roadblocks with other countries or capital, though Count Cardel doesn't seem willing to disclose Russia's main objectives either.

Hence, Ambassador Klo said, "Count Cardel, I need to communicate with my country first about this matter. If possible, come back in three days, and I can give you a reply."

Count Cardel: "No problem, this time we Russians are showing great sincerity, so I'm waiting for your country's good news!"

…

After sending off Count Cardel, Ambassador Klo sent back messages to his country while dispatching people to probe for information from the Russian government.

It was relatively easy to obtain internal information about the Russian government, and just by slightly reaching out, Ambassador Klo vaguely understood the Russian government's intentions.

In his telegram to his country, he wrote: "The Russian economic crisis has stabilized, and Russia's active borrowing from various countries is not apparently to deal with the remnants of the economic crisis."

"According to disclosures from some Russian officials and the embassy's understanding of recent internal Russian government meetings, it's very likely that Russia is raising funds for the construction of the Siberian railway, or possibly preparing funding for warfare."

"In recent years, Russia's dissatisfaction regarding the Far East issue, particularly the competitive trend formed after the naval battle in the Far East with Japan, has grown increasingly severe."

"The two countries have sharp conflicts over the Korean Peninsula and the Northeast of the Far East. Russia's dissatisfaction with Japan laid its groundwork as early as the late 90s, but the sudden outbreak of the economic crisis at the beginning of the 20th century left the Russian government unable to focus elsewhere, temporarily powerless to confront Japan."

"Moreover, there are some insightful individuals within Russia who take Japan seriously, not underestimating Japan simply because Russia is vast and powerful. So currently, there are roughly four forces within the Russian government: the Tsar, the war faction, the peace faction, and the neutral faction."

"The war faction has recently expanded. On one hand, the economic crisis has ended, and Russia's aggressive nature accords with its historical behavior. On the other hand, social contradictions triggered by the economic crisis have not been resolved; the Russian government might have intentions to resolve these contradictions through warfare this time."

"As the most decisive figure in Russia, the Tsar's stance is crucial, and recently, the Tsar has been in close contact with the domestic war faction… so the frequent actions by the Russian government this round might be intended against Japan."

Through embassy-recorded data and purchasing insiders within Russia, Ambassador Klo has roughly judged the intentions of the Russian government, and he transmitted his judgment back to his country.

Rhein City.

Ernst also received the messages sent back from the embassy, and soon he discussed them with his officials.

"Ambassador Klo's account aligns closely with the current situation in Russia. Throughout Russian history, almost every period is marked by warfare, which fits Russia's war cycle."

Russian history is a history of wars, with combat records shared with neighboring countries, from Finland in Northern Europe to the Ottoman Empire in the Middle East, and now Japan facing off in the Far East, forming a perfect arc.

In this arc, there are two supporting points: the United Kingdom and the United States, used to restrain Russia's activities within their respective spheres of influence.

Japan is a pawn jointly supported by the United Kingdom and the United States, used for offshore balancing against Tsarist Russia and the Far East Empire. So regardless of Japan's economic struggles, under normal circumstances, the United Kingdom and the United States would provide necessary support for Japan.

After all, without supporting Japan, it might lead to either the Far East Empire or Tsarist Russia growing strong and ruining the plans of the two countries.

Japan's shortcomings in resources and narrow area become advantages, reassuring both the United Kingdom and the United States in driving Japan.

Historically, this was indeed the case. Despite Japan's heinous acts during World War II and ultimately turning against the United Kingdom and the United States, after the war, the United States still supported Japan long-term as a pawn against the Soviet Union and later Russia and the Far East Empire. If Ernst were an American or British, supporting Japan would certainly be the strategy to weaken the Far East Empire or Russia.

"His Highness is correct. Nicholas II seems to be a more traditional Russian monarch, quite different from his father, Alexandria III. During Alexandria III's reign, it was one of the few peaceful periods for Russia, with relatively prosperous economy; but according to Russian tradition, this was abnormal."

For East African officials, Tsarist Russia is a country fond of aggression; in reality, East Africa's reputation in the International Community isn't much better.

But since the 90s, East Africa has shifted, and the previous restless East Africa is hardly seen, while Russia, after experiencing the brief peace under Alexandria, is now reverting to its old state.

Thus, East African rulers can unrestrainedly mock Russia from a moral high ground while ignoring East Africa's significant territorial expansions since the mid-19th century and its service of tens of millions of Black Slaves.

Bluntly speaking, if the Tsar had so many free laborers at his disposal, he wouldn't be fixating on squeezing resources from his compatriots, whom, despite their condition, are still his people. In contrast, Blacks as different ethnic groups are driven as if this were their privilege.