Struggle in Russia

Nicholas I was stunned. He stared at Duke Ordorf for a long time before nodding and saying: "What you said makes sense. You can't be too kind to your enemies. The more the enemies oppose, the more we must support them."

After a pause, he continued: "It's just that it's not my style to just take a beating without fighting back. Our enemies are wantonly tarnishing the reputation of our country, which is absolutely intolerable. Duke, what can you do to give appropriate punishment?" Fight back?"

Duke Ordolf was lucky enough not to scold him directly. He had a stupid idea. Look at who controls the European public opinion circle. Since Napoleon was killed, Britain has not had a large voice in this regard. Almost half of Europe is willing to listen to Britain's voice.

And now it is not only Britain that is pouring dirty water on Russia, but the resurgent France has also joined the ranks. To put it bluntly, after these two families vent their anger on the same nose, Russia is simply asking for humiliation if it wants to compete with them in the public opinion circle. .

But who told this to be what Nicholas I meant? Even if it was difficult to do, Duke Ordorff couldn't say it couldn't be done. He could only bite the bullet and answer:

"Your Majesty, there are not many ways available. As you can see, Britain and France are collaborating to frame us together. The momentum is extremely large and cannot be defeated by ordinary counterattacks. I think the best way at the moment is to try to contact allies and friendly countries to try to use They will not be misled into believing these untrue messages.”

Nicholas I frowned, because this method did not satisfy him, because since Britain and France declared war, Russia's so-called allies, whether Prussia or Austria, have performed extremely poorly.

Even Prussia, which performed slightly better, had an attitude of not caring about the matter. At most, it told him that it was willing to help mediate. As for letting him and our country advance and retreat together, that was really too much.

As for Austria, Nicholas I no longer regarded it as an ally, and even regretted helping Austria put down the rebellion. He told Crown Prince Alexander and Count Kleinmicher more than once that the Austrians were inferior to pigs and dogs, and they were not good at all. Know how to be grateful. The thing I regret most in my life is that I listened to Neserroddie's lies and gave them a hand.

Therefore, it is certainly impossible for these two weak allies to give Russia a clear look in the public opinion circle or even morally. It would be a blessing if these two bastards do not cause trouble and smear Russia.

He immediately said: "You should have seen the attitude of Prussia and Austria. It is simply unrealistic to expect them to speak for us... Is there any other strategy besides this method?"

Duke Ordorf smiled bitterly. If he had a way, he wouldn't have said it earlier. Russia's international situation is like this. Apart from Prussia and Austria, there is no third reliable friend in Europe. What's more, even if a group of small countries in Central and Eastern Europe side with Russia, it doesn't matter. Their size and status are too low and they are completely worthless.

Duke Ordorff knew that if Nicholas I continued to struggle with this issue, the tsar might have some strange ideas. If he was given some tasks that he simply couldn't accomplish, wouldn't he want to cry? No tears?

Thinking of this, Duke Ordorf suddenly changed the topic and said: "Your Majesty, given the current situation, there are not many available methods. I think what we need most is to strengthen our beliefs and stabilize our position, even if Britain and France set off a huge uproar in public opinion. So what about the waves? As long as we ourselves don’t believe it, what use will their lies be of much use?”

After taking a look at Duke Nicholas I Ordorff, I found that the tsar was indeed a little disappointed, and quickly added: "In addition, I should also pay attention to the trends of some second-rate countries in Europe to prevent them from being bewitched by Britain and France. We are enemies.”

Nicholas I was stunned again, because he understood the subtext of Duke Ordorff, which meant that some second-rate countries had been bewitched by Britain and France and were preparing to become enemies with him.

He must immediately know who this second-rate country is. He wants to see who is so bold. Even some second-rate guys dare to stab him. How can he bear this!

"Who was bewitched? Is there any specific information?"

This was what Duke Ordorf was waiting for. He believed that Nicholas I would no longer be entangled in the issue of public opinion after he gave his answer. He immediately replied: "Victor I of the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia. Manuel II has been very close to Britain and France recently, and our spies show that he has had in-depth contacts with the British and French ambassadors, and it is very likely that he will follow Britain and France to declare war on our country."

Kingdom of Sardinia?

Nicholas I was stunned. Before, he was thinking about whose dog was so bold, but he really didn't expect that it was Italian noodles that were so bold. Have these weaklings forgotten how embarrassingly they were dealt with by Austria a few years ago? You dare to meddle in the affairs of a big country, you are simply tired of living!

Nicholas I was very angry and wanted to crush the Kingdom of Sardinia with his kick, but the affairs in Italy involved many things and were extremely complicated. Even if there was no mess like the Bulgarian mess, he would not dare to get involved casually. Because if you don't do it, you'll end up looking sexy, which is really not worth it.

He was just angry that someone like the Kingdom of Sardinia dared to show his displeasure, and he just wanted to vent his dissatisfaction.

Duke Ordorff naturally saw that Nicholas I was emotionally unstable. Although this was expected by him, he also knew that if Nicholas I was allowed to vent his anger randomly, something might happen. .

So he quickly added: "I think we should strengthen the work on the Kingdom of Sardinia now. If not turning it towards our country, at least we should keep it neutral."

Nicholas I nodded with deep sympathy. It would be great if the Kingdom of Sardinia could remain neutral. He asked, "What do you think should be done?"

Duke Oldorf immediately replied: "I think we should send a special envoy to the Kingdom of Sardinia to persuade it to change its mind."

Nicholas I nodded again and asked again: "Who do you think is qualified for this task?"

Duke Ordolph smiled bitterly in his heart. Even though he came up with this idea for Nicholas I, it was Duke Alexander Gorchakov who really noticed something was wrong with the Kingdom of Sardinia.

Duke Alexander strongly recommended that capable personnel be sent to the Kingdom of Sardinia to do work and try to keep it neutral.

However, Duke Alexander also said that this task is extremely difficult, and the envoy must have extraordinary wisdom and means to achieve the goal. It is meaningless to just send someone casually.

Duke Oldorf pondered for a moment and then replied: "I think Count Peter Shuvanov is more suitable!"