Chapter 13

The Bear's Soup is Now My Story Chapter 13

013 Is it the Second Uncle? / Four Months Later, Impeachment Results

Historically, what happened to those who challenged the royal authority and plotted rebellion?

They were either beheaded or exiled.

If they were lucky, they were placed under house arrest.

In the house of Yuri Yusupov, something similar was about to happen.

After hearing the story from his second uncle Yegor, a cold voice escaped Yuri Yusupov's lips.

"Did you not follow my instructions?"

"Father... I'm sorry."

"Despite my repeated emphasis. Did you see me as an old man who has lost his strength?"

"That's not it. The steel company was too valuable to give up. So I got greedy..."

"You treated the company's money as your personal funds. Ha, it's like entrusting a fish shop to a cat."

"I... tried to do well, but things went wrong."

Bang!

Gripping the desk with his palm, Yuri, who was staring at Anton with a cold gaze, shouted.

"Do you think I would have let it slide if you had embezzled the company's funds and things had gone well?"

"..."

"What a pitiful sight. Not only do you not help your father, but you also stand in his way. So, if things had gone well as you thought, what would have happened?"

"What? What do you mean...?"

"I invested all the family's funds in the expectation that Russia would face a severe economic crisis. But you thought it would go smoothly without any problems, didn't you?"

"That... that's..."

"Half of the funds were invested in dollars and gold as a contingency plan in case your judgment was wrong, like it is now. Am I wrong?"

Anton couldn't argue because his father's words were true.

It was already too late to argue, and his father was not the type to forgive easily.

He had known this for decades.

Still, Anton had no choice but to beg for forgiveness.

Even if his father hated him, he was still his son.

As the saying goes, no parent can outlast their child. If he prostrated himself and begged for forgiveness, he could avoid the worst-case scenario.

Following his brother Yegor's advice, Anton groveled.

"I was wrong, Father. Please forgive me this once."

"This isn't a matter of whether I forgive you or not. You are not the material to lead the company."

"..."

"Ivan!"

Ivan and Yegor were also in the study, so Ivan responded to his father's call.

"Yes, Father."

"Starting today, take over all the businesses that Anton has been handling."

"..."

Ivan hesitated, and the second uncle Yegor clenched his fist tightly.

"Why don't you answer?"

"Father, I..."

"If you're going to say something like, 'Please forgive him just this once for the sake of his brother,' don't even bring it up."

"..."

"Once the meeting is over, take over the business immediately. Understand?"

"...Understood."

With this, the punishment for Anton, who had disobeyed Yuri's orders, was concluded.

Yuri, who had been looking at Anton with a disappointed gaze, tried to calm his frustration by lifting his teacup. Suddenly, Anton raised his head and shouted.

"Father, am I worse than my grandson? Am I worse than Nikolai? Is that it?"

"Anton, stop it."

Yegor tried to intervene, but Anton's eyes were wild, as if he had lost his mind.

"What do you mean stop? You were also a disappointment."

"You, you... What kind of nonsense are you spouting!"

Yegor was startled and glanced at his father.

"Father. Nikolai is just over 20 years old. How can we entrust the fate of our family to such a young man? What do you think?"

"Indeed. So, I followed Nikolai's advice. But was that judgment wrong?"

"It's not that it was wrong, but why did you listen to a child's opinion? If you had given us more time to investigate, we could have provided a similar opinion."

"Judging people by their age. Do you think I looked at Nikolai's age? Do I seem that foolish? You are still far from being ready."

Though he said this, Yuri's heart ached.

How could a parent's heart not ache when looking at an unworthy child?

But what could he do?

He had to take responsibility for the family before being a parent.

If he let emotions cloud his judgment during such a complex time for the country, the entire family would disappear.

If he lost his composure, there would be no future for the family.

That's why he had to cut off the diseased finger.

"Stay out of company affairs until I give further instructions, and go on a trip somewhere quiet."

"Father!"

"Get out now; I can't even look at you."

The clear order to leave was given.

Anton, who could no longer bear it, stood up with difficulty, clenched his teeth, and left the room.

"Everyone, come in."

When Yegor went out to call the people, Anton was grabbing Nikolai by the collar.

The family members who had gathered for Yuri's birthday were watching the scene.

Anton and Yuri's voices were so loud that everyone heard the content.

"It's because of you!"

"Why are you doing this? You're stretching my clothes."

"Is my clothes the problem right now?"

"You haven't even had a drink. Let go of me. Act like an adult."

"You, you brat!"

"Did you have to feed me with a spoon and still not be able to eat? You're not a child."

"What? A child?"

He remembered calling Nikolai a 'child' in front of his father.

"If I were in your position, I would have been very grateful for the opportunity to make money and given an expensive gift. You know how the prices of dollars and gold have changed, right? Thanks to the fact that we bought half of the remaining funds in dollars and gold, it ended up like this. If we had used all the funds, what do you think would have happened?"

"..."

"Go on a trip somewhere quiet, as Grandfather said. We will take care of the mess you made. Hey, what are you doing? Take your father and go."

Following Nikolai's words, the siblings who had been treated harshly before took Anton down the stairs.

His aunt glared at him venomously, but Nikolai glared back.

His rational and confident words and demeanor made the family members smile slightly, and the relatives gaped in surprise.

* * *

"..."

The people who gathered again in Yuri Yusupov's study were cautious even in their breathing.

Yuri was clearly very angry.

"Everyone, sit down."

After everyone sat down, Yuri Yusupov looked at each person's face and slowly spoke.

"You must have all heard the commotion. I called you here again today because President Yeltsin is on trial for impeachment, and there are a few issues that need to be resolved. Ivan, you continue from here."

"Yes. Ahem. With the impeachment resolution against President Yeltsin, we must choose between President Yeltsin and the Supreme Soviet + People's Congress."

Additionally, the bank was calling non-stop, demanding repayment of loans, and we need to resolve this issue.

Also, we need to decide what to do with the steel company that Anton bought.

"Lastly, we need to decide when to sell the dollars and gold. We must resolve these four issues today, so everyone, please share your opinions."

Ivan finished speaking, but no one spoke first.

The atmosphere in the study was heavy, and these issues were directly related to the family's fate, making it difficult to voice an opinion.

Seeing this, Yuri Yusupov, trying to lighten their burden, spoke in a somewhat softer tone.

"I'm sorry to burden you with these heavy issues. I didn't want to call you unless absolutely necessary, but these issues need to be decided collectively, not by me alone."

His explanation continued, but everyone still remained silent, only glancing at each other.

Then, the second uncle Yegor, perhaps thinking it couldn't go on like this, spoke first.

"If President Yeltsin had the power, he wouldn't have been brought to trial. He would have resolved it in some way before this."

Yegor gained confidence from his father's nod and continued.

"Looking at the government's atmosphere, it seems that power is tilting towards the Supreme Soviet + People's Congress. Seeing the protesters in Red Square and other cities, it seems that Yeltsin will step down from the presidency this time."

"Even with Secretary Gorbachev, who would have thought he would step down? The world is truly unpredictable."

"Yes. The main reason the people have a negative view of Yeltsin is his failed economic policies. Given the current trend, this situation won't resolve quickly; it will likely worsen over time. Therefore, I believe we should side with Yeltsin's opposition."

The second uncle Yegor concluded by suggesting siding with Yeltsin's opposition.

This issue required some political knowledge to form an opinion, so he asked Ivan, who had the most expertise in this area.

"Which side do you think we should support?"

"Yegor's words have merit, but it might be too extreme."

"Too extreme?"

"Yes, isn't there a 50-50 chance? If Yeltsin regains power, our family will suffer a fatal blow. So, why not support both sides, as is usually done?"

"That might be the most stable approach, but the situation is different now. Looking at foreign examples, when there are figures on both sides, support is given to both. The second-place figure might become president in the future. However, in Russia, it's a confrontation between Yeltsin and the opposition. The opposition doesn't have a clear figure yet. Whoever wins, the other side will disappear."

Yuri was accurately assessing the political landscape.

In real history, after Yeltsin regained power, he dissolved the Supreme Soviet and the People's Congress.

Conversely, if the Supreme Soviet gained power, Yeltsin's political career would end.

Therefore, it was time to choose one side, as Yuri had judged.

"That doesn't mean my opinion is correct. We need to consider all possibilities, so let others share their opinions."

Despite Yuri's words, no one spoke.

Nikolai, if he were in the relatives' position, would not have spoken easily.

However, he knew the future precisely, so his stance was different.

Most importantly, if he didn't speak up, the family might side with Yeltsin's opposition, leading to a disaster.

Since it was a setting where anyone could speak, Nikolai naturally shared his opinion after Yuri finished speaking.

"I agree with Grandfather that we need to choose one side. However, I disagree with Uncle Yegor's suggestion to side with Yeltsin's opposition. You know that I recently acquired shares in a newspaper."

When the newspaper was mentioned, the relatives' expressions varied.

The adults looked surprised, but jealousy was evident on the faces of his peers.

"Oh, yes. You came up with a very unique idea. Thanks to you, I can read the newspaper comfortably. Ha ha."

Seeing the smile on his grandfather's face, Nikolai knew he was a bit calmer.

"According to the newspaper editor, the government is starting to control the media strongly. Although there are many protesters now, they are a small fraction of the total population, and the government will likely use force to suppress them soon."

"Do you think Yeltsin will regain power, then?"

"Yes. As you know, Yeltsin is a person who fought against the coup forces with tanks and guns and became president. Although he is on trial for impeachment, he won't step down easily. We should side with Yeltsin. Although we were once on his bad side, now is the opportunity to become his friend."

In his final words, he confidently stated that Yeltsin would regain power, as he had shown in the previous meeting.

After Nikolai finished speaking, the reactions of the family and relatives in the study varied, but most nodded in agreement.

"Furthermore, if we are to side with Yeltsin, we should meet his people as soon as possible, much earlier than others. People remember those who help them in difficult times, but they remember even more those who provide the most significant help first."

"Do you mean we should give the most money first?"

"Yes. We should give an amount that will make us stand out from the rest, so the family will be remembered."

"Hmm..."

After thinking for a moment, Yuri Yusupov spoke again.

"Your words make it seem like siding with Yeltsin is the better choice. If we do, we should also state our demands, right?"

"We shouldn't demand anything when giving money to Yeltsin. We need to change the order."

"Change the order?"

"We should let them bring up the topic first."

"What do you mean?"

"When giving the money, say that our family has no demands. We should present it as support for Yeltsin's re-election, purely out of good will."

"Hmm."

Nikolai's words made everyone think.

It was a precise analysis of human psychology.

Even seasoned politicians might not have had such insight.

Yuri knew Nikolai was not an ordinary child, but seeing this excellent performance, he trusted him even more.

"Nikolai, despite being a grandson, has a sharp judgment and foresight that surpasses anyone else. I have decided to side with Yeltsin today. If anyone opposes this, speak now."

No one spoke, as they had already been swayed by Nikolai's words.

"Then, we will follow Nikolai's suggestion. And regarding the bank's continuous demands for loan repayment, how do you suggest we handle this?"

This time, he directly asked Nikolai.

But no one found it strange.

"The reason the bank is demanding and pressuring repayment is simple: they are out of money. Specifically, they have no dollars or gold. The long lines in front of the central bank are the most definitive proof. Therefore, we should not sell our dollars and gold now. We need to wait longer."

If the bank goes bankrupt, we won't have to repay the loans. Why repay now? It's out of the question.

And it's only September; the peak in December is still three months away.

"When should we wait until?"

"I can't give a specific time. Keep an eye on it, and you'll know when to sell. However, we shouldn't hold onto everything. We need to release some into the market to have a fallback."

"That makes sense. We need to think about the aftermath, right?"

"Yes. As for the steel company that Uncle Anton bought, since we have already acquired it, it's best to keep it. To do this, we need to secure operating funds, and since other companies also need money, it would be good to release some of the dollars and gold that Uncle Anton bought into the market."

Even a small amount would be a significant sum given the current plummeting value of the ruble.

Nikolai had resolved all the issues that needed to be addressed today.

The others were present, but apart from Yuri, Ivan, Yegor, and Nikolai, no one else spoke.

The heavy atmosphere in the study had lightened.

Yuri Yusupov's chest felt clear, as if a blocked throat had been opened.

The stress from Anton had disappeared.

"Then, let's conclude the meeting here. Ivan, follow Nikolai's suggestions and dispose of some of the dollars and gold that Anton bought."

"Understood."

"Also, once the funds are ready, set up a meeting with Yeltsin's people."

"Yes, I will do that."

The meeting ended.

Today, the Yusupov family and Yuri gained much thanks to Nikolai.

The signal for the Yusupov family's rise shone even brighter today.

* * *

Meanwhile, the Romanov family, led by Zhenya and Alexei, also held a meeting but reached the opposite conclusion.

"Set up a meeting with the people from the Supreme Soviet + People's Congress."

Thus, the fates of the two families diverged.

* * *

Time passed, and it was now four months later, September 20th.

Today