Struggle in Russia

Nicholas I was dead, Alexander II was lost, and Russia was caught in a bizarre atmosphere of inexplicability.

panic?

It seems there is, and it seems there is not.

sad?

Maybe some people are sad, but more people are comfortable with it.

If you want to explain exactly the mood of the Russians at this moment, I am afraid that it is not clear in a few words.

But one thing is certain, that is, everyone is waiting, waiting to see where Russia will go.

Among them, the most active and the most anxious are a small group headed by Count Uvarov, er, strictly speaking, it should be a large group of people.

This group of people was most unprepared for the death of Nicholas I, and most panicked. Because they have poured too much into Nicholas I, they cannot accept that Nicholas I died like this, both emotionally and personally.

"His Royal Highness... What do you say from your Majesty's side?" Count Uvarov asked old Adlerberg anxiously.

It is not difficult to see from his words that he is also in the age of adaptability. He always involuntarily wants to call Alexander II His Royal Highness.

If it was said that the old Adlerberg's status was very embarrassing in the past, and he had no sense of presence and voice in the conservative group, then his status has skyrocketed. The reason is simple, as the closest person to the Hermitage and Alexander II and Queen Alexandra, he is now the eyes and ears of conservatives.

What he saw and heard can help Count Uvarov and others figure out what Alexander II was thinking and what he liked, which is too important for conservatives.

The old Adlerberg replied cautiously: "His Majesty is immersed in grief, temporarily busy with funeral matters, and has not expressed much..."

Nicholas I's funeral must be the top priority, but it is by no means the main concern of Count Uvarov. Alexander II may or may not be the first to reveal his strategy for governing the country at the funeral.

What's more, it was too late to know Alexander II's policy of governing the country in such a public setting, at least too late for a conservative bigwig like him.

After all, once Alexander II expressed his attitude, as a courtier, he either followed up or opposed, and he had to stand in line immediately.

But what if he didn't like or even dissatisfied with Alexander II's strategy?

Especially in the current environment, because of the fiasco of the front line, the reflection on the past and the review of the failure have become the political center of Russia.

Judging from a wide range of public opinion, it is quite unfriendly to conservatives. Anyone with a little common sense and a little knowledge feels that Russia needs to change.

But as a conservative boss, what he hates most is to make changes. Once he wants to change, he will use a knife against their vested interests. How can this be tolerated?

"Your Majesty didn't say anything?" Count Uvarov asked reluctantly.

"No," the old Adlerberg shook his head, "Most of the time, His Majesty locks himself in the royal study or prayer room. Only the Queen Mother and the Queen can see him."

Count Uvarov frowned. Alexander II's performance was a bit unexpected, because he felt that with the character of Alexander II, it was impossible for him not to do something in the current critical environment, at least to Frequent meetings of trusted ministers.

But old Adler Berg actually said that he only saw the queen mother and the queen most of the time, what the **** is this?

He asked reluctantly, "Is there no one else?"

Old Adlerberg thought for a while and replied: "I have met the Grand Duchess Elena a few times. The Grand Duchess and the Queen you know are closely related..."

Count Uvarov frowned in dissatisfaction. Among the names he hated most in Russia was the Grand Duchess Elena. That one is also a die-hard supporter of reform, so naturally he is not on the right track.

When Nicholas I was still alive, the Grand Duchess made trouble for him. Now that Nicholas I has just passed away, she is by the Queen's side. Is she going to blow the pillow wind?

This possibility had to be guarded against, but just as he was about to say something, he suddenly found that there was no particularly good way for the time being. After all, Alexander II has no foreign ministers at all. He has tried several times to lobby the tsar, but they have not responded at all.

The Grand Duchess Elena is different, she is both a

Alexander II's family had a good relationship with the empress, and naturally had an excuse to hang around the Winter Palace and Alexander II.

Count Uvarov really had no choice but to tickle his teeth with hatred. He could only say to the old Adlerberg: "Let you contact Baroness Saripova, are you ready?"

This Baroness Saripova is Alexander II's confidante, and has been very popular with him recently. Count Uvarov's meaning is very clear. He also wants to go the lady's route, and he has to find ways to give Alexander II a blow. Blowing the pillow wind, Alexander II must not be taken away by the nose of the Grand Duchess Elena.

There is nothing wrong with the ability of old Adlerberg in this regard. Of course, he contacted Baroness Saripova, and they have already negotiated the price. But there was only one problem, the baroness had no way of entering the Winter Palace. After all, she is not a female official or a waitress in the Winter Palace, and she is not qualified to be close to the Winter Palace at all, let alone to be close to Alexander II.

Actually, even if Saripova can get close to Alexander

II is also of little significance, because the situation of the Winter Palace is actually completely different from what Count Uvarov guessed. Although Alexander II was more saddened by his father's death, he was not so sad that he ignored national affairs at all. There was only one reason why he did not receive his subjects—he hadn't figured out how to deal with them.

Or maybe he hasn't figured out how to deal with this mess!

The situation in front of Alexander II is quite difficult. There is no hope in the war. How to end it properly is definitely a big problem.

It is absolutely impossible and inadvisable to surrender directly. Even if you think about it with your butt, you can know that this will cause an uproar, and maybe it will shake the foundation of governance.

But there is no hope of continuing the fight without surrendering, and neither economics nor international relations will allow Alexander II to be as capricious as his father.

How to properly find a step to go down, this is the first thing Alexander II has to do.

Secondly, he also saw that the reason why Russia would lose this time is that there are a lot of problems in all aspects, and domestic conflicts are already showing signs of breaking out. How to deal with this is the biggest problem! To be honest, he has no idea at all!

Alexander II was never a man of firm will. Compared with his father's decisiveness and neatness, he was erratic and procrastinated on many things, and it was always difficult to make up his mind and to stick to it.

For example, when he was traveling in various European countries when he was an adult, he suddenly met Queen Victoria, and he was very fond of the future Queen of England, and even wrote to Nicholas I expressing his love for the Queen. love.

But soon he was beaten by Nicholas I, because Nicholas I would never allow his eldest son to go to England to be a prince.

Facing his stubborn father, Alexander II quickly backed down and honestly went to marry a German bride as his crown prince.

Although this is a trivial matter, it is enough to explain his character.

Growing up, he was always ambiguous and always swayed. It is hard to say whether such a person is a good or bad thing when the Tsar is in charge of Russia.

The good thing is that he is not as manipulative as Nicholas I, always trying to dominate the country alone. It is quite possible that he will be able to listen and modernize conservative and barbaric Russia a little.

But the bad side is that as long as he encounters problems and troubles, he may be shaken, and he will give up his ideas and insistence, and his good opinions and bad opinions are easy to be "soft-hearted" and scratch his eyebrows and beards.

This makes his administration a mixed bag, which is a mixed blessing.

It's just that at the time of Nicholas I's death, Alexander II's indecision was an advantage.

At this moment, Russia has already sat on the crater, and any drastic action may lead to the country's immediate loss of redemption by taking a soil plane.

Whether Alexander II advocated reform or conservative, if he showed his attitude as soon as he came to power, it would likely ignite the fuse, causing reformers and conservatives to clash, throwing the entire country into turmoil.

"Sasha, I think the most important thing for you now is to keep calm and maintain stability, and don't do anything else, otherwise the consequences will be unimaginable!"

In the royal study, the Grand Duchess Elena bluntly expressed her opinion to the frowning Alexander II,

To be honest, her statement surprised Alexander II, because he had always known that this aunt was a steadfast reformer who had been running around and cheering for reform. He thought that the Grand Duchess Elena would be firm. Demanding that he start reforming immediately!

"I remember," asked Alexander II, very puzzled, "I remember that you have always supported reform, right?"

Elena squeezed a smile and replied: "I do support reform, and I still think that the only way out for Russia is reform, but..."

"but what?"

"But supporting reform does not mean that I think reform should start immediately!" Grand Duchess Elena replied.

Alexander II blinked, and he couldn't understand the words of the Grand Duchess Elena.

"Reform also depends on the timing," the Grand Duchess Elena replied, "and now is undoubtedly the worst time. Internal and external troubles are facing huge difficulties both inside and outside. At this time, we must be cautious and maintain stability first. , rushing to start the reform will not only lead to no good results, but may intensify the problem and make our situation even more difficult!"

Alexander II understood at once. To tell the truth, Grand Duchess Elena's cognition greatly exceeded his expectations. He began to re-examine his aunt and found that this woman was much wiser than he imagined.

To be honest, Alexander II's hiding in the Winter Palace these few days is actually not clean. The pro-conservative forces that support reform always try their best to infiltrate the Winter Palace, constantly trying to lobby and test his attitude. pen fun library

These guys are always murmuring in his ear: "Reform! Reform!" or "No reform! Reform is a dead end!"

He was almost driven crazy by these chattering noises, these guys always forced him to express his attitude immediately, always trying to set him on fire, especially those relatives and friends who used to be close to him were like this, It made him very tired!

But the Grand Duchess Elena did not do this. She was very considerate to help him think about countermeasures from his point of view, and she was completely based on facts and completely for his sake. This is really rare!

Alexander II felt tears in his eyes

The water was swirling, and he was really moved. Besides his queen Maria, Elena was probably the second relative who treated him so well!

"Thank you for your advice, it's very important to me... You have made me feel a rare family in this difficult time, which is so precious to me!"

When she walked out of the Winter Palace, Grand Duchess Elena let out a long sigh and said to Nikolai Milutin in the carriage: "Sure enough, it's not too bad from the count's estimate. He doesn't want to reform right away..."

Nikolai Milyutin's face also collapsed, because he still had hope for Alexander II's swing. He believed that the reason why Alexander II was swinging was that he had recognized the necessity of reform, as long as he actively Work hard, it is possible to open the curtain of reform.

But now, this hope has been dashed, and the attitude of Alexander II is to maintain the status quo, and maintaining the status quo is equivalent to not reforming. UU reading www. uukanshu.com

Even if the Grand Duchess Elena said that Alexander II may support reforms in the future, who can say for the future, it is very likely that he will also

It's just perfunctory.

"This is not good news," Nikolai Milutin said with a sullen face, "The Count made us wait again, what are we waiting for!"

The Grand Duchess Elena sighed and said, "The Count should have the Count's consideration. Since he has already guessed the thoughts of His Majesty, he will definitely make targeted arrangements. He can't just let this opportunity go!"

Nikolai Milyutin also sighed, and now he can only think so, but he still couldn't understand why Count Rostovtsev was so calm, and he would have exploded already!

Some people can't hold their breath. When Count Rostovtsev calmly waited for the opportunity, Count Uvarov couldn't bear it any longer. He asked old Adlerberg to help him contact Alex. The Queen Mother Sandra, he is ready to make a breakthrough from the Queen Mother.

"Count Uvarov?" Queen Alexandra didn't expect that Earl Uvarov would come to him, and she didn't even understand why the count came to her, but it seemed that the other party was a high-ranking official of the country and old Ade. On Lebesgue's face, she agreed exceptionally: "Then let the count come in!"