Struggle in Russia

Pobedonostsev is obsessed with making a fool of himself, and he will never do anything that he can do naturally. Isn't he just pretending to be stupid? What's wrong with this?

It's just that this is a pain for Alexander II. He was a little annoyed at not being able to find anyone, but now that this embarrassing thing has spread abroad, isn't this a slap in his face?

What annoys him even more is that Pobedonostsev is still ineffective in doing things, even the smallest things can't be solved well.

At this moment, he really wanted to remove Pobedonostsev from his post. If this guy does things like this in the future, he will be angry to death sooner or later!

But again, the timing was unfortunate. He could only break his teeth and swallow it, gritted his teeth and asked: "Then what are you going to do next?"

Pobedonostsev replied without thinking: "I am going to continue to warn these foreign newspapers. On the other hand, I am ordering an order to strictly investigate the spread and circulation of these gossips in the country. This type of news will never be allowed to spread in the country! "

Alexander II twitched the corner of his mouth, because this method was really a little bit bad, and it was useless to continue to threaten others? Do you think people will be afraid?

Why should we strictly check the spread of news? Damn it, don’t you know that Benkendorf couldn’t do it back then? Do you think you are better than him?

He looked at Pobedonostsev, who was looking directly at him, as if waiting for him to get angry and dismiss him.

Well, Alexander II understood that Pobedonostsev really didn’t want to do it anymore, he just wanted to give up his job. He is a dead pig now and is not afraid of boiling water. It is useless for you to scold him!

Seeing this, Alexander II was too lazy to talk nonsense to Pobedonostsev. He waved him away and then rubbed his temples while thinking of a solution.

To be honest, he is actually not good at the business of the third part. There are some things that he knows but does not know why. Naturally, he cannot solve the current thorny problem.

But one thing Alexander II was better than Pobedonostsev was that although he had no choice but to find someone to help him find a solution.

That's not to say that Pobedonostsev can't ask for help. No matter how smart a person is in this world, there are things he's not good at. What's more, he is not a very smart person. Naturally, there are many things that Pobedonostsev does not understand.

But when he was in his position, as long as he opened his mouth, there would be people willing to help. The problem was that these people were limited in their abilities and couldn't help him.

What, you said to find someone with quality?

If skilled people were so easy to find, things would be simple. What makes Pobedonostsev most uncomfortable is that he actually knows who has the skills, but these people are either unwilling to help him or he dare not use them.

Such people are Duke Dolgoruky and Count Shuvanov. These two were brought in by Alexander II to help with ideas.

"It's all clear. Foreign newspapers are talking nonsense now. Is there any way to stop their bad mouths?"

Neither Duke Dolgoruky nor Count Shuvanov spoke, but the reasons for their silence were completely different. The former found this matter a bit troublesome and couldn't figure out why Alexander II bypassed Pobedonostsev to ask him about his plan. He first had to think through the twists and turns here before he could answer.

As for Count Shuvanov, he is full of clever ideas and has many ways to solve this problem, but after all, his status is relatively low. How can he get ahead of Duke Dolgoruky who hasn't spoken yet?

It's not that he attaches great importance to the order of status, but he just doesn't want to offend Duke Dolgoruky foolishly. After all, there is Duke Baryatinsky behind him, and he can't afford to offend him.

Alexander II looked at Duke Dolgoruky and then at Count Shuvanov. The two men lowered their heads and said nothing, which made him misunderstand. He thought there was nothing the two could do, so he remained silent.

He was a little disappointed, and he immediately sighed and said: "I know this matter is a bit troublesome and difficult to handle, but this matter involves the dignity of the royal family, so we must handle it even if it is difficult to handle!"

Duke Dolgoruky quickly replied: "Your Majesty, this matter is indeed a bit difficult. To solve this problem, we must go all out. It is necessary to use the resources of the third part. Can we invite Count Pobedonozev to join us?" Come here for details?"

How could Alexander II not understand what he meant? He didn't want to see what happened when Pobedonostsev didn't show up, and see if he could take advantage.

In the past, Alexander II would naturally not let him get what he wanted, but now Pobedonostsev has disappointed him, and that guy is a single-minded picker. At this time, throwing out a little bait to make the fish active is not a bad thing at all. .

"Count Pobedonostsev is ill and needs to recuperate for the time being. This work will not be left to him!"

After a pause, Alexander II continued: "Tell me, do you have any ideas?"

Prince Dolgoruky was secretly happy. He knew very well that there was nothing wrong with Pobedonostsev, and the so-called recuperation meant that he should step aside. Why don't you show off your skills now?

He immediately rushed to answer: "Your Majesty, this matter is hard to say and easy to say. I think we can start from two aspects. First contact the French government and put pressure through official channels to let the French government clean up these nonsense. Newspapers, and secondly, you should spend some money to bribe them, and using both soft and hard tactics should be enough to make them submit!”

Alexander II looked at him and asked with a sullen face: "If we apply pressure through official channels, will it become darker and darker and encourage these rumors to spread?"

His worries are not unreasonable, because everyone knows that in this era, basically half of the official denials are true.

There are some rumors at the moment, but basically they are still in the category of folk gossip. If the official comes forward at this time, wouldn't it be self-inflicted?

Duke Dolgoruki quickly replied: "If you are worried about this, then I suggest spending money to eliminate the disaster. It is safer to spend a lot of money to silence those newspapers."

Alexander II's heart aches when he hears the word "heavy sum of money". The current financial situation is in a mess. The finance minister cried out to him for his poverty. He had no choice but to cut off a large amount of royal expenditures. As a result, he had to spend money just because of this trivial matter. Why did he feel like he was at such a huge loss for a huge sum of money?

After thinking for a while, he asked, "How much will it cost?"

Duke Dolgoruky didn't dare to guarantee it, because all the writers in the press were all smart people and very difficult to deal with. After thinking about it, he decided to quote a high price first, otherwise he might ask Alexander II for money if it was not enough. Not that easy.

"I think fifty thousand francs is about right!"