Becoming a Russian Oligarch After Rebirth
Chapter 833 - 817: It Has to Be You_2

Chapter 833: Chapter 817: It Has to Be You_2

"Of course, there’s no problem with that! Since your family has married off the most esteemed Grand Duchess to me, I must naturally offer sincerity in kind," Wang Ye said earnestly.

He didn’t really care about this, since his identity as "Mikhail" was a fake anyway...

But it wouldn’t be accurate to call it completely fake, as from now on there will be no one who can claim his identity is a forgery, with the Kremlin, the Patriarch, and the Romanov family vouching for him!

Then his identity could not be truer!

Nevertheless, Wang Ye still felt no sense of belonging to this new identity, let alone any concern for surname inheritance.

He hadn’t even mentioned having Rossiyana bear one or two more children so there could be some carrying the Romanov name, sharing his surname...

Even if there was just one child, carrying the Romanov surname, he wouldn’t mind!

As for the legacy of the Romanov family, that had nothing to do with him, but in the future, his children having a Grand Duke title still seemed quite nice.

........

But the most critical matter at hand wasn’t his engagement to Rossiyana; it was to quickly "negotiate" with Grezlov and iron out the alliance of the two factions to deal with the Second Faction!

It must have been Gavriil who had set things up.

The next afternoon, while Wang Ye was dealing with public affairs in the Duma Office, Grezlov personally came to visit.

Occasionally, he would also come by Wang Ye’s office to "drop in," so it wasn’t too strange.

However, Wang Ye was well aware of what he had come to discuss today.

Once the two were seated, Rossiyana stood up to close the door to the inner office and also instructed Yelena not to allow anyone to disturb them.

Only Wang Ye, Grezlov, and Rossiyana were left in the room.

If it had been before yesterday, Wang Ye would probably have made an excuse to send Rossiyana away and not let her come into contact with his confidential information.

But since last night, their relationship had changed.

Perhaps aside from his other identity, which Wang Ye was not yet willing to disclose to Rossiyana, there was no need to keep her in the dark about anything else.

That included the matter he was about to discuss with Grezlov!

......

"Misha, congratulations to you. Likewise, congratulations to Rossiyana. Will we have to address you as the Grand Duke of Romanov now, haha."

Clearly, Grezlov was also privy to the events of the previous night, including the re-emergence of the Romanov family and Wang Ye and Rossiyana’s upcoming engagement.

So, as soon as he sat down, he smiled and offered his best wishes to both of them.

Wang Ye gave a faint smile, saying nothing.

Rossiyana, on the other hand, accepted the congratulations graciously and added, "A Grand Duke, that’s just a title after all. Mister Speaker, you should just call me by my name in the future."

The so-called Grand Duke might seem unattainable and very noble in the eyes of ordinary people.

But to those who truly wield power, it’s nothing more than a joke, not to be taken seriously...

Of course, everyone will still do what’s necessary on the surface.

After serving coffee for the two, Rossiyana sat to one side, quietly listening to Wang Ye and Grezlov talk business.

Without beating around the bush, Grezlov got straight to the point, "I’m here to discuss with you the matter of our two factions joining forces to address the challenge posed by the Second Faction."

This old fox keeps his words airtight.

Even in front of Wang Ye, a "confidant," he was reluctant to leave anything that could be used against him.

He was clearly speaking of the two factions teaming up to suppress the Second Faction, but he phrased it as "addressing the challenge posed by the Second Faction"...

Uninformed individuals, upon hearing him, might think that the Second Faction was so powerful that the First and Third Factions were on the brink of collapse...

Wang Ye smiled faintly, going along with him, "Indeed, our two factions share a similar philosophy and have ample space for cooperation. If we could join hands, we could face any problem or challenge with ease in the next Duma Election!"

If Grezlov was an old fox, then Wang Ye had certainly become a cunning little fox himself...

What he meant by "sharing the same ideology" is nothing more than both factions supporting the current Kremlin!

As for the latter part of his statement, its meaning is also very clear; the alliance of the Two Major Factions will inevitably hold a dominant advantage in the Duma.

And which faction would dare to challenge them...

Grezlov smiled knowingly; it is indeed a pleasure to converse with a smart person.

No wonder both the Kremlin and the Romanov family have taken a liking to this youngster; he truly is outstanding.

Back when I was his age, I was still naively studying in university, while Misha is already close to reaching the top!

...

There is no problem with the overall direction, the two mainly discussed some nitty-gritty details.

For example, how seats would be allocated between the two factions, which states’ votes each would mainly pursue, and how to avoid conflicts.

They even planned for the elites of their factions to "snipe" at the strong candidates of the Second Faction!

In a nutshell, it’s about securing as many seats as possible for one’s own faction while ensuring that the Second Faction gets fewer seats...

After a series of tit-for-tat and haggling, they reached a consensus.

Grezlov’s First Faction would ensure it secured two hundred and sixty seats, and in areas traditionally under their influence, members of the Third Faction would try not to compete.

Although it’s forty less than the current three hundred seats, it can’t be helped.

After all, next year’s Election is going to be far more complicated than the last one!

Even the First Faction, powerful as it may be, no longer has the means to maintain that many seats. However, two hundred and sixty seats still make up nearly sixty percent of the Duma, which is not a small number.

And Wang Ye’s Third Faction will strive to secure at least one hundred seats.

In doing so, it would leapfrog to become the new Second Faction, surpassing the current Second Faction, that is, the Moscow System.

Grezlov and the Kremlin side are not worried about the growth of Wang Ye’s power, as Wang Ye has now become one of their own, a partner.

Even from the perspective of the Kremlin, they would actually prefer Wang Ye’s faction to be stronger, even surpassing the First Faction would be no issue, as long as it’s not excessively powerful.

For this balance can level the political arena.

Everyone knows that a triangle is the most stable shape, and similarly, in the political arena, an ideal situation is where three powers check and balance each other while also cooperating.

This scenario will emerge after next year’s Election concludes.

Without a doubt, the Kremlin is the strongest "corner" in this "triangle" relationship.

The other two "corners" are led by the factions of Grezlov and Wang Ye.

Both factions support the Kremlin...

Therefore, the Kremlin side might hope for Wang Ye’s faction to grow stronger, preferably to the point where it is on an equal footing with the First Faction.

The events of the past few years have amply demonstrated that allowing the First Faction to have too much dominance isn’t necessarily a good thing.

As this faction is a merger of several small factions, it has too many internal interests, each with their own demands.

Although they agree on the general direction, they also have disagreements on many issues.

There are even rumors that some of the bigger groups within the First Faction will participate in the General Election next year!

How can the Kremlin tolerate this...

Of course, these are things that the Kremlin side cannot express publicly, even if they support Wang Ye, they cannot be too obvious about it.

...

As the conversation was winding down, Grezlov suddenly asked, "Misha, for next year’s Duma Election, both the positions of the Speaker and Vice Speaker will be up for re-election. Do you have any interest in the Speaker’s chair? If you do run, I will support you."

Wang Ye, who was about to take a sip of coffee, paused almost imperceptibly at his words.

However, he promptly set down his coffee cup and said with a smile, "No, no, with my experience and influence, I am far from being qualified for that position. Mr. Grezlov, don’t burden me with such a heavy responsibility and instead go enjoy your ease. Next year that position should still be yours and indeed must be yours!"