“So, what’s wrong with a referendum?”
"The people of a region have the right to choose their own lives, don't they?!"
Lu Ming sat in the meeting place of the Eastern Alliance leaders' emergency meeting and shouted loudly.
The conference hall was completely silent.
Lu Ming picked up the teacup and took a sip of water, then let out a long breath. "However, the Montenegrin Special Administrative Region Government has no intention of provoking regional tensions. We will negotiate with the Jiangning Provincial Office to resolve the affairs of Sanhe and Tianguan. This is also our Jiangning Province's internal affairs."
The time goes back to more than a month ago.
Not long after Wang Jingcheng returned to Tianguan City, news spread like wildfire that Tianguan was preparing to hold a referendum on joining the Montenegro Special Zone.
Before entering the substantive deployment stage, it was obvious that the news was leaked by someone close to Wang Jingcheng.
At the same time as Governor Chakson issued a stern statement, Wang Taishan, commander of the Jiangning Border Defense Division, suddenly stationed his troops in Tianguan and Sanhe.
Wang Jingcheng and a group of his close associates were arrested.
Ding Lei, governor of Sanhe City, fled.
The Montenegrin Corps was immediately mobilized urgently, and the atmosphere in Jiangning suddenly became tense.
There are undercurrents within the Eastern Alliance, with some members planning to propose expelling Montenegro from the Eastern Alliance.
Because the head of the Montenegro Special Region, Lu Ming, is increasingly revealing his true colors of believing in power and force, which is in serious contradiction with the values of the Eastern Alliance.
Against this backdrop, the Eastern Alliance urgently convened an interim summit meeting.
Lu Ming gave a speech for more than an hour at the meeting, but in the end, he promised to resolve the dispute peacefully.
…
At the end of April, the Montenegrin Corps was the first to withdraw its armed personnel from the border.
A few days later, Wang Jingcheng and his close associates were released, but were subsequently expelled from Jiangning.
On May 13, the Heishan Railway Company and Jiangning Province reached an agreement that the section of the railway from Heishan to Daliang City, Zhenjiang Province, passing through three southern cities, would be operated by the Heishan Railway Company, and the area within five kilometers on both sides of the railway line would be managed by the Heishan Railway Company.
On May 17, at the invitation of Hu Dingjin, Director of the Jiangning Provincial Finance Department, a delegation of bankers from Japan came to the provincial capital of Jiangning for a friendly visit.
Almost on the same day, the Zhenjiang Special Court made a judgment on the case of Liang Chongming Group.
…
The mountain peaks are steep, white clouds are floating, the Welcoming Pine is swaying in the wind, and looking up at the Ladder to Heaven, the mountain is full of green, and the classical buildings with exquisite withered eaves are shaded.
This is Fuyun Mountain, a famous mountain in Zhenjiang Province.
Lu Ming slowly walked up the stairs, and walking beside him was Christine.
"Don't worry, I'm not in a bad mood!" Seeing Christine looking at him from time to time, Lu Ming smiled slightly.
“I understand,” Christine said.
Lu Ming smiled again, "We have been expanding too fast recently. It would be good to shrink our strategy and stabilize it! Otherwise, we will become a big tiger that everyone in the neighborhood wants to kill!"
Christine nodded silently.
Since marrying Princess Alice, he has never met Christine privately. He made several appointments but received no response.
And now, his thriving career has encountered a setback for the first time.
In fact, strictly speaking, he did get some of what he wanted, but from the outside world's perspective, his ambitions did suffer a major setback.
He was forced to make more than an hour of excuses at the alliance summit and made some commitments on political and military lines, which clearly showed his weakness.
At this time, Christine came to Zhenjiang secretly.
I suggested going to Fuyun Mountain for fun, and she readily agreed.
She even took the initiative to tie her hair into two ponytails, and put on a yellow and black plaid college uniform skirt, snow-white over-the-knee socks and beautiful black leather shoes. The combination of the sexiness of a beautiful young woman and the innocence of a pure girl was as alluring as it could be.
Lu Ming smiled secretly in his heart. If that was the case, it would be nice to have more setbacks like this.
"The public opinion in Humen, Sanhe and Tianguan is definitely leaning towards you, so we still have to look at the long term..."
Lu Ming scratched his head. Kristine had never cared about the names of places in the Northern Territory before. Now, of course, she was extremely concerned about the affairs of the Northern Territory because of her relationship with the Northern Territory.
"And after you gave in at the meeting, they were all very satisfied. The 20 million military expenditures promised earlier have been allocated, and the annual special funding plan for the Montenegrin Corps has also been put on the agenda for discussion."
Christine was startled when she said this, and turned to look at Lu Ming suspiciously, her beautiful eyes showing some anger, "You sent me a secret message with a particularly depressed tone, were you lying to me?! I thought you had lost your will to fight!"
Lu Ming coughed, "I have encountered setbacks, but I may not give in. Besides, it is easier to be approachable if you can be restrained than to make people think you are a tiger out of the cage. You still have to win people over with virtue!"
He paused, "I don't really count on the annual special funds. To get that money, there must be many harsh prerequisites. I'm afraid I'll really have to become a bodyguard for those big bosses!"
Christine bit her lip and turned her head to look at the scenery.
"Thank you for worrying about me." Lu Ming said with a grin.
At this time, a corner of the temple was faintly visible among the green trees on the hillside in front. When it got closer, it turned out to be a nunnery called "Ciyu Nunnery".
Seeing Lu Ming was about to walk over, Christine said, "It's better not to disturb the monks' meditation."
As they were talking, the black wooden door of the nunnery opened, and several nuns walked out. The old nun in the lead bowed her head and clasped her hands together, saying, "Your Highness, I, the old nun Jingxin, have been waiting for a long time."
Lu Ming nodded and walked over.
The nuns in Jingxin respectfully welcomed Lu Ming and Christine into the nunnery, and then led them into a small courtyard at the back of the nunnery.
The small courtyard seems to be suspended on the hillside. When you open the gate, you will see a huge stone platform. The mountain is steep, the trees are lush, and there are clouds and mist in the distance. The scenery is magnificent.
There are hot springs in the bamboo forest outside the courtyard, with bubbling hot steam. The natural bathing pool formed by the magic of rocks is like a fairy cave.
"Your Highness, are you satisfied with the spiritual cultivation here?" Jingxin seemed calm, but when her eyes swept across Lu Ming, there was a hint of excitement in her eyes.
Lu Ming smiled and said, "It's good. This is indeed a good place to practice."
Seeing Christine being led by a nun to see the beautiful scenery of the bamboo forest and listening to the waves, Jingxin said, "Your Highness, I have a favorite disciple, whose Dharma name is Huiyin. Her iron palm can split tigers and leopards..."
Lu Ming waved his hand to interrupt, "Since you have already been born, you should practice well and stop caring about worldly affairs."
Jingxin said nothing, and after a while he sighed softly, "The Queen of Baozhu Palace also said this, but Xiao Ni..."
Lu Ming waved his hand: "No need to say more."
Jingxin is a descendant of the Tianshan Guards and also the lost warrior heritage in the charge of the Baozhu Palace.
This year, Lu Ming's family spent the New Year in Zhenjiang. Bizhu was inspired and went to find Ciyu Temple.
If it wasn't New Year's Day, even if Bizhu passed by Floating Cloud Mountain, she might not be able to sense the presence of her own kind.
The inheritance of Ciyu'an is much more complete than that of Sun Bo. Sun Bo has no idea what is going on and only knows that there is a holy envoy.
However, Master Jingxin of Ciyuen Temple knew the whole story.
Because his ancestor was an important figure in Tianshanwei.
Bizhu's ancestor was in charge of Tianshan Guard, which had four commanders under his command. Jingxin's ancestor was one of the four commanders, known as Huben.
However, seeing that the descendants of Huben had already become monks, after Bizhu reported this to Lu Ming, they both felt that it would be better not to disturb this lineage anymore.
Moreover, the world today is no longer the same. Even if the lost warriors are a complete inheritance, they are not of much help to the career that Lu Ming is pursuing.
They are not as good as the special forces trained by Bizhu today.
Seeing Jingxin's gloomy expression, Lu Ming smiled and said, "You can stay here for me. This villa is very helpful for me to come and meditate when I encounter difficulties!"
"Yes, I will obey your highness's order!" Jingxin bowed respectfully with his hands clasped together, with a hint of comfort in his eyes.
…
Soaking in the hot spring is really relaxing, and the water is flowing, bubbling up from below and flowing out from the cracks in the rocks beside the natural stone bath, slowly converging into a clear stream and meandering down the mountain.
Sitting against the stone wall, Lu Ming said very comfortably: "Chris, it's really comfortable. Come on, there's nothing to be afraid of. Just wear a swimsuit and treat it like you're on the beach!"
"I've never worn a swimsuit at a public beach." Christine paused, "I'll go after you come out."
"Okay..." Lu Ming scratched his head. Thinking about it, it made sense. A top aristocrat like Christine actually had the same upbringing as oriental aristocratic girls. She still considered wearing a bikini in front of a man as frivolous.
"But this isn't a public place. It's just the two of us! What's wrong with wearing swimsuits?" Lu Ming was still struggling.
But Christine was too lazy to pay attention to him, so Lu Ming had no choice but to shut up.
…
There were vegetarian dishes on the table, and Lu Ming and Christine sat opposite each other.
The wooden window was opened, and outside there was a view of lush green forests, floating clouds in the distance, radiant rays of light, and the setting sun was disappearing among the mountain peaks.
Lu Ming looked at Christine and said helplessly, "Why don't you wear that outfit anymore? Has your hair shape changed too?"
After taking a hot spring bath, Christine changed into a gorgeous dress, tied her golden hair up high, and regained the beauty of a Western noblewoman.
"I already regret coming to Zhenjiang!" Christine said indifferently.
You can see that he is really angry.
"If you hadn't written, I would have wanted to come too."
Obviously, what made her most angry was that Lu Ming lied to her when he wrote the letter.
Lu Ming was silent for a while, then looked at her, "I sincerely apologize to you, but if I don't do this, I feel like you've decided not to meet me again."
“According to seniority, I am your aunt now.” Christine picked up the rice wine on the table, took a sip, and said, “Besides, Your Highness Alice has always respected me.”
Lu Ming nodded: "Okay, let's not talk about this anymore." The more they talked, the more he felt like he was committing a serious sin.
"According to my intelligence, the war in the south is about to start again." Lu Ming sighed, "The Second Prince has purchased many advanced weapons and organized an air force of hundreds of airships, but the Sonya Legion has always been brave and good at fighting, and they value mechanical armor. The next war will become more and more tragic."
Christine nodded gently. "Someone in the imperial capital has already asked about the combat effectiveness of the Black Mountain Corps. So, you'd better keep a low profile and don't be called up to be cannon fodder."
Lu Ming sighed, "I was originally planning in Antigua, but recently, it seems that I have to teach the Japanese a lesson. There is a rift between me and Governor Chakson, and they are taking advantage of the situation and want to intervene in the affairs of Jiangning Province."
"What do you need me to do?" Christine asked. "You want to see me, you must have something to ask me, and it must be something important, so you have to talk to me face to face."
Lu Ming coughed and felt ashamed in his heart. Fortunately, Christine didn't care about these things. She really didn't mind. Otherwise, his little tricks would probably make her feel disappointed.
"Do you still remember the case of the division of property of Gui Linghua? At that time, the Kato family transferred all of her husband's property to Japan. Later, we established the principle of long-arm jurisdiction and sanctioned the relevant companies. Most of the property was also recovered."
Listening to Lu Ming talking about the past, Christine's green eyes flashed with a strange light, and she nodded gently: "Yes."
Lu Ming sighed softly: "I really hope that you are still the judge and I am the lawyer, and we can continue to cooperate in court..."
Christine frowned: "We are not in a cooperative relationship! Let's get to the point."
Lu Ming scratched his head and continued, "But some property has not been recovered. There is a company called Jiali Electric. Because they have no business dealings with Donghai and all their appliances are sold locally, they ignored the subpoena from our Donghai court. Gui Linghua's husband held more than 30,000 yuan worth of shares in the company, which were transferred to the Kato family by Jiali Electric."
Christine nodded slightly: "Although Jiali Electric is the largest electrical appliance company in Japan, it does only supply its local area."
Lu Ming said: "The stocks have not been returned yet. I plan to ask Gui Linghua to sue again, naming Jiali Electric as the defendant, and demanding that it return my husband's inheritance. In addition, I demand related mental compensation. Jiali Electric has disregarded Donghai law and should be punished with a punitive fine."
Christine said nothing and just listened quietly.
"In terms of execution," Lu Ming pondered, "if he refuses to execute, then we will impose sanctions. Technical sanctions require Kingdom companies to cut off their technical support and component supply. Most of the patents related to televisions, recorders, and air conditioners, as well as the production of core components, are in the Kingdom, and our Eastern Alliance companies account for half of them."
"Well, think about it." Lu Ming glanced at her and picked up the wine glass. "The scenery here is nice. Let's drink some wine and enjoy the moon. You can think about what we are talking about when you get back. You come here to rest and relax."