Struggle in Russia

Nicholas I, who had been oppressing the liberals and reformists for nearly thirty years, was about to die. Naturally, this news was unsatisfactory. You can imagine how many liberals and reformists will be ready to take action like old Igor after learning this news.

This impatience is understandable, but for Count Rostovtsev it is unacceptable. He has worked hard for thirty years to get to this day, and he will certainly not allow some ungrateful people to spoil his good deeds.

So how to deal with these stupid and bad behaviors?

Count Rostovtsev believes that the only way is to be tougher and stick to his point of view without making any concessions. If necessary, he can kill him as a warning to others!

He only cares about the overall situation. Anyway, many people have died in Russia because of reforms, and more deaths are acceptable. If the death of a small number of people can control the overall situation, he is willing to bear this price.

This is why he treats old friends like old Igor toughly. He knows that the more critical the moment, the more he must stand firm and must not be implicated by a bunch of pig teammates. After all, the lessons learned from the Decembrists’ mistakes are there!

Sure enough, his toughness worked. Old Igor's attitude softened after he found out that he was out of luck. Probably old Igor also knew that if he didn't follow Count Rostovtsev's plan, what he wanted would be Seizing power is simply impossible.

The most important thing now is to seize power. As long as the tyranny of Nicholas I can be destroyed, there is hope. Otherwise, everything is empty talk.

"Okay, you win!" Old Igor sighed and said sadly: "The issue of profit distribution can be discussed later, but you must tell me now what to do next!"

Count Rostovtsev looked at him coldly, convinced that old Igor was honest, and then replied: "You don't need anything now, just wait quietly. The man is not dead yet. Taking action at this time is tantamount to committing suicide." Take destruction!”

Old Igor frowned and said, "Just waiting? Isn't this too passive?"

Count Rostovtsev took a breath and replied solemnly: "Believe me, I have been observing that man for almost thirty years, and all his actions cannot be hidden from my eyes. Now is the most dangerous time. It is better to move than anything." Be quiet!"

Old Igor opened his mouth but said nothing in the end, because he knew Count Rostovtsev's temper, and he would not speak if he didn't want to say that you put a gun to his head.

But his curiosity couldn't be contained, and finally he couldn't help but quietly asked: "What arrangements do you think that guy will make?"

Count Rostovtsev snorted contemptuously: "Now he is probably telling Crown Prince Alexander in the royal study room of the Winter Palace that in order to rule this country with an iron fist, we must firmly grasp the power, especially the army, absolutely No dissenters should be tolerated.”

Old Igor snorted. This seemed to be the style of Nicholas I. He was a control freak who would never relax his authority until his death, nor would he give up his suffocating rule.

"Then what?" he continued.

"Then?" Count Rostovtsev snorted and replied with narrowed eyes: "Then he will let Crown Prince Alexander go out and say goodbye to his family one by one..."

Old Igor was stunned, because he felt that with Nicholas I's personality, at the last and most critical moment, he had to teach a few more words, otherwise the crown prince might not be able to secure that position with his weak personality. .

Didn't he always take the trouble to educate Crown Prince Alexander when he was alive? Why did you let go when the critical moment came?

But Count Rostovtsev was right. The situation in the Winter Palace was almost exactly the same as what he described. After the increasingly weak Nicholas I dismissed Crown Prince Alexander, he immediately called his queen and others. Family members, he blessed these people one by one, and took the hand of his favorite daughter-in-law Martha and said to the queen: "Take good care of Martha, let her become a good wife and a good queen like you!"

After blessing everyone, he looked directly at everyone and said: "Remember what I always say: Be friends!"

At this time, Nicholas I had almost run out of oil.

At this time, the queen with tears in her eyes walked gently to his side and whispered: "Arya Baranova, Ikotrina Zenggaosen, and Flinka Nelidovna... "

Queen Alexandra almost mentioned the names of all the female officials in the Winter Palace, and most of them were actually the confidante of Nicholas I.

"They all want to say goodbye to you..."

Nicholas I took a deep breath, then opened his lips with difficulty and replied: "No, my dear, I will not see them again, tell them that I ask for their forgiveness, I pray for them... tell them , uu read a book; please pray for me."

After saying this, Nicholas I seemed to have exhausted all his energy. He lay on the camp bed with a grin on his face, breathing heavily. After a while, he said to Queen Alexandra: "Dear, please Leave me alone for a while to prepare myself for the final moments!”

After learning that Nicholas I would not see any outsiders, his confidantes began to feel anxious. Years later, the maid Anna Tyucheva recalled that many mistresses were walking uneasily in the palace corridors, They were either mourning or panicking. Vlinka Nelidovna clenched her fists and kept waving her hands, muttering in a low voice: "What a beautiful night! What a beautiful night!"

This poor woman was so confused that she probably didn't even know what she was talking about.

In the imperial study, Nicholas I gasped loudly and asked Dr. Mantle impatiently: "Will this annoying music continue for a long time?"

Mante lowered his head and told him it wouldn't take long.

The priests began to use crosses to bless the tsar who had been hammered to death. After the fellowship, Nicholas I raised his hand with difficulty, made a sign of the cross and said to the roof: "Lord! Accept me calmly!" After that, he spoke loudly. Breathing heavily, he said to Queen Alexandra for the last time: "From the moment I saw you until the last moment, you have been my guardian angel!"

After saying that, his hands dropped down from the bed, and the sound of heavy breathing came to an end. This conservative and reactionary tsar who had ruled Russia for nearly thirty years finally died.

Although he had gained eternal peace, the mess he left behind was troublesome. For Alexander II, who was not mentally prepared at all, he felt that everything was so sudden and strange, and he was at a loss...