The ambassadors of the Kingdom of Sweden and the Kingdom of Norway had arrived at the Winter Palace to discuss the national security of the Ruthenian Empire.

Alexander spends five minutes with them both discussing how he can get their cooperation to locate the stolen military technology that is probably in their territories.

The Ruthenian Empire's relationship with these two countries are amicable and neutral, so they had given their support to the Ruthenians so that they could resolve the issue Alexander is having right now.

"Thank you for your time, Ambassador. I appreciate it," Alexander said as he shook the hand of the ambassador of the Kingdom of Norway.

The ambassador then left his office and Sevastian stepped inside the room.

"How did it go, Your Majesty?" Sevastian inquired.

"Well, they are approachable and friendly. They have promised me that they will help the Ruthenians in finding the stolen vehicles and weapons. Our agents on the ground will coordinate with their police, increasing the chances of us finding them."

"Speaking of the men on the ground, our agents in the Kingdom of Norway and Sweden have been notified by the Foreign Intelligence Services that they are working now as we speak. I have also informed the Chairman of the Joint Chief of Staff about this matter. He was saddened by the news and has assured that they will help in any way they can," Sevastian reported."Good, because I need them the most," Alexander nodded as he returned to his seat. He pulled out a map from his drawer and laid it on top of his desk. "You see I might've been overthinking a little bit here. There is also another exit in the North, particularly the Barents Sea. Do we have a warship currently in this area?" Alexander pressed the tip of his index finger on the Barents Sea.

"Let me ask, Your Majesty. Can I borrow your phone?" Sevastian asked for permission.action

"Yes," Alexander prompted him to proceed.

Sevastian grabbed the telephone from its cradle and dialed the number of the Admiralty Building.

"Hello, I would like to speak with the Chief of Naval Operations. Clearance number 268125," Sevastian wedged the telephone between his shoulder and ear and glanced at Alexander. "They are transferring me now, Your Majesty."

Alexander simply nodded as he patiently waited for the call to end.

"Oh Hello Admiral, I'm speaking on behalf of His Majesty, the Emperor of the Ruthenian Empire. I would like to ask if there are any warships around the Barents Sea...Oh, you do? What type of warship is it? I understand, have them on standby, His Majesty might transmit his orders anytime soon. Thank you, that's all."

Sevastian returned the telephone back to its cradle. "Your Majesty, a Petropavlovsk Class Aircraft Carrier is conducting a winter naval exercise in the Barents Sea."

"An aircraft carrier huh? Just perfect," Alexander smiled. "We must contact the Foreign Intelligence Services again and have them informed of the new plan. There is also a possibility that I have overlooked it. They may not be transporting the military vehicles and the weapons they have stolen from us. They might study it in either the Kingdom of Norway or Sweden. I want our agents on the ground to locate any suspicious place and once we find them, I will authorize an airstrike.""But won't that damage our relationship between the two countries?" Sevastian asked.

"They guaranteed that they will help us so I don't see any reason why we shouldn't conduct an airstrike. You are my National Security Advisor, handle the politics and talk our way out of here."

"I apologize, Your Majesty, I must've been short-sighted to realize what might happen," Sevastian apologized.

"It is fine, it happens to me all the time," Alexander chuckled. "Now I will get back to work where I will draft new guidelines to prevent this situation from ever happening again. Ah, do you find it funny that we were once a backward nation with a lot of backward technology to the point no country even cared about our existence? Now they are desperate to get their hands on some of our techs?"

"I find it amusing, Your Majesty. It goes to show that the Ruthenia Empire is not a country to be trifled with anymore. Very well, Your Majesty, I will excuse myself now. Should there be an emergency, please contact me anytime. And should I receive emergency news that requires your attention, I will inform you immediately."

"Thank you, Sevastian," Alexander nodded as he watched Sevastian walk out of his office.

As soon as Sevastian shut the door behind himself, Alexander began to scribble on paper.

The first week of the new year and he had already gotten himself into one of the most troubling situations he could ask himself to be in. Alexander sighed internally, wishing that there would be no emergency like this. But as an emperor of the Ruthenia Empire, he knew he didn't have that luxury despite having hundreds of staffers that helped him run the country.

"I fucking deserve a rest after this," Alexander muttered under his breath while rubbing his eyes. He recalled his memories about his future schedules. He'll meet the Choson Emperor on the fifth of January, discussing terms and conditions after liberating them from the Yamato Empire. He will utilize his newfound puppet by exploiting their natural resources, fueling Ruthenia's growth.

Speaking of Ruthenia's growth, Alexander had been dealing with a problem that is costing his country a copious amount of money. When he ascended to the throne, he promised the working class of the Ruthenia Empire to give them a decent salary and workplace. Now that decent salary is higher than the average salary in the world.

Good thing, there's a way to lessen that cost. Just like how the United States of America became rich. Outsourcing. The Choson Empire and the Han Dynasty is a perfect candidate for such practices as they don't have labor laws and their standard of living is low. There were tens of millions of citizens in the Choson Empire and a hundred million in the Han Dynasty. Imagine paying them to do a Ruthenian job and produce the same quality of product five times less than the average salary of the Ruthenians.

A good tactic but the timing is bad. The Han Dynasty has been plagued with civil unrest, where the nationalists and the royalist are fighting over supreme authority. To implement his plan, Alexander would have to step in and stabilize the region first.

"Looks like I will have to ask Foreign Minister Sergei about this," Alexander muttered as he continued scribbling sentence after sentence on the paper.