Eagle’s Glory

While His Majesty the Tsar was discussing state affairs with his ministers, the outstanding "poet" whom His Majesty spoke of was currently in the banquet hall of the Catherine Palace in Tsarskoe Selo, with his good friend Boris- Petrovich-Volkonsky had lunch.

Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin, although he is only 28 years old, is already recognized as the best poet and writer in the empire. However, the reason why he is here is only because of his noble status. It's just that the empire's strict status hierarchy didn't leave much room for freedom even in the literary world.

However, Pushkin was not proud of this. He was talented and talented, and he was famous in Russia at a young age. However, his pursuit of freedom was incompatible with the atmosphere of the imperial court.

He wrote poems several times, praising freedom and opposing the tsar's political system, which inevitably offended the tsar.

In 1820, Tsar Alexander I ordered him to be demoted to the Caucasus at the age of 21. Two years later, he was transferred to Odessa, Ukraine. However, he continued to create despite the bumps in various places, and traveled to the Caucasus mountains, Dundee, and other places. He visited places such as the River Steppe and Crimea to enrich his experience.

He insisted that the emperor's authority did not come from God but from human legal principles. Only when a ruler complies with the freedom and tranquility of the people can his authority be respected. The people cannot be intimidated by blood.

As he wrote in his long poem "Ode to Liberty":

Today, whether it is punishment or praise,

Is it a bloody prison or an altar?

It cannot be your true barrier at all;

Please stay under the reliable cover of legal principles

First lower your heads,

If so, the freedom and tranquility of the people

He is the eternal guardian of the throne.

His creations still continued the previous tone, which was intolerable to the Tsar. In 1824, Tsar Alexander ordered him to be placed under surveillance in his hometown of Pskov.

It was not until the death of the Tsar in 1825 that his younger brother Nikolayevich allowed him to be released from surveillance and serve in the palace, but the condition was that he was not allowed to write any other poems in the future.

Although Pushkin made concessions for freedom, even so, he still did not completely lower his head.

He once told Tsar Nicholas I face to face that he respected his rebellious Decembrist friends and that if he had been in Petersburg at the time, he would have participated in their uprising.

He even wrote a short poem "To the Prisoners of Siberia", praising the exiled Decembrists.

If anyone else had said such a thing in front of the Tsar, he might have been jailed or at least exiled, but Tsar Nicholas I tolerated the offense.

The two brothers, Tsar Alexander I and Tsar Nicholas I, were very conflicted about this talented poet. They cherished his talent but hated his liberal tendencies and the weird accents that appeared in his poems from time to time. Although the punishment is harsh, there is always room for leeway.

Perhaps in the eyes of Tsar Nicholas, poets are just poets after all. Even if they have any objectionable political views, it does not matter after all and cannot threaten his rule. He was happy to use this talented poet to decorate his court.

And Pushkin also knew that although he praised freedom and dignity countless times, he was still a part of this oppressive empire. He had never escaped from this system. His aristocratic status allowed him to have a wealthy life and a palace. The respect of others also allowed him to enjoy the leisurely and exquisite life of Huangcun. In order to maintain everything he had, he had to temporarily lower his head while his unrestrained thoughts, and temporarily cater to the reality.

This conflict between reality and ideals made him feel depressed. He has been trapped in this kind of mental depression since coming to Tsarskoe Selo, and he found that he could not find any other solution but to use the dissolute nobles. Life comes to temporarily numb your soul.

However, deep down in his heart, he was still looking forward to some unexpected flash of light that would break his dull life.

Although he didn't know what that flash of light was, he believed that the world would eventually become different, and that everything that was suffocating and dull at the moment would eventually disappear.

Now, he could only wait and enjoy his lunch quietly.

Opposite him sat a blond young man wearing a Guards uniform. This young man's name was Boris Volkonsky. He came from a noble family, and his relatives were very active in all walks of upper class society. , has huge power, so his future is also highly optimistic, and the ladies all hope to marry their daughters to this young man with a great future.

However, Pushkin made friends with him not because of his family background and future, but because he was a pleasing young man. Funny people who understand literature and have spiritual pursuits are completely different from those young men who only drink and have fun.

The two of them were chatting and drinking, enjoying their leisure time after lunch, and time was slowly passing by.

However, even when chatting, Pushkin always seemed a little absent-minded. He casually perfunctory his friends, and looked at the lawn outside the distant window from time to time, thoughtfully.

"Alexander Sergeyevich, what is it that makes you look so sad?" Boris Volkonsky suddenly asked, "Does staying here make you so unhappy?"

"Of course I am happier here than in exile." Pushkin replied calmly, "But you also know that people hate boredom."

"So many ladies can't save you from boredom? Then you are really insatiable." Boris Volkonsky shrugged, sarcastically mocking his friend.

However, he quickly changed the subject, "Then let me provide you with some interesting news. I believe it will temporarily relieve your boredom."

"What's going on?" Pushkin asked quickly.

Boris lowered his voice and whispered to his friend.

"The Duke of Lechstadt, well, you know, is Napoleon's son. There has been no news since he escaped from Vienna. However, the news has just reached Petersburg in the past two days. He wants to do something in Greece. cause, helping the independent cause there.”

"What?" Pushkin almost shouted in surprise.

He finally controlled his emotions, and then asked the other party in a low voice, "Is this true?"

"My friend, you should know that there are never real secrets in the palace." Boris blinked and replied with a joking smile, "Even if I don't tell you now, you will learn from others in a few days. We learned all this through people’s whispers.”

Pushkin was silent. He knew that his friend's words should be right. Although Boris usually liked to joke, he would not lie to himself about this kind of thing.

In other words, the heir of that great man is really unwilling to remain silent and wants to do something to make people remember his existence.

Interesting, so interesting.

His mood, which was becoming increasingly depressed due to the dull daily life, suddenly showed a little ripple, as if he was feeling excited and uneasy about the new changes in the world.

But no matter what, something new is always better than anything boring.

"Then what will happen next?" After a moment, he couldn't help but ask again.

Boris did not answer immediately, but looked around carefully.

After making sure that no one was observing or eavesdropping on him, he moved closer to his friend and whispered to him.

"As things stand now, war between us and the Turks may soon break out - His Majesty the Tsar will never allow anyone to steal his honor."

Pushkin looked at Boris in surprise, but he was not too surprised.

Historically, the Russian Empire has fought countless wars with the Turks. There is nothing surprising about this. Moreover, in the past two years, there has been a group of people in the imperial court who have insisted on implementing a hard line against the Ottoman Empire.

Therefore, what the young man did was not so much a trigger for the Tsar's ambition as it was a trigger. He just ignited a war that should have happened.

He thought for a moment, then chuckled again.

"Haha...haha. It's really interesting. Are we so intolerable to the Bonaparte family that we would send troops to annihilate them at the slightest news?"

"The Bonaparte family is just a pretext, who really cares about them now." Boris Volkonsky shook his head, "Constantinople is the key, and His Majesty the Tsar needs this honor."

"Will the great powers sit back and watch?" Pushkin felt a little hesitant.

Although he is not that concerned about national affairs, as a court noble, he can instinctively feel something, so he is aware of the key to the problem.

"Who knows, maybe it will happen, maybe it won't. This is a matter for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and it has nothing to do with us." Boris Volkonsky picked up the wine glass and took a leisurely sip of red wine, "The best you can do, If it doesn’t work, at least we can take the opportunity to cut a piece of flesh from the Turkish Empire. Isn’t this good?”

"That's true." Pushkin also nodded.

Pushkin hated corruption and corruption, so he was naturally full of contempt and hatred for Turkey. Compared to Turkey, the tsarist system was nothing.

Therefore, he was also happy to see the Turkish Empire decline as soon as possible and let the various ethnic groups enslaved by it get the freedom they deserved.

He did not like war, but if this war could bring about a national liberation, then he would be happy to see it become a reality.

"If there is a war, you will definitely go to the battlefield." After a moment, he asked.

"Of course." Boris Volkonski replied matter-of-factly.

As a well-known nobleman and an officer of the Guards, Boris Volkonsky was certainly not willing to let go of this opportunity to make contributions.

"Then I wish you all the best and a bright future." Pushkin raised his glass to his friend. "My dear friend Boris."

"Come, let's drink to our poor Prince Lechstadt." Boris Volkonsky also smiled and picked up the glass, and then made another joke. "I wish the lad good health and thank him for bringing me this war."

The cups of the two people collided lightly, making a crisp sound.

"I would rather you call him the King of Rome." Pushkin said after taking a sip of wine.

"That is too unworthy of the name." Boris Volkonsky shook his head, seemingly disapproving, "He has neither an empire nor Rome. In fact, I have given him face by calling him a Duke. After all, the Austrian Empire still has It’s hard to say whether you are willing to admit this title or not...His Majesty the Emperor of Austria is very troubled by this rebellious grandson."

“Some titles are not on the official roster, but are spiritual.” Pushkin said while taking another sip of wine. “Compared to everything that has become rotten, at least he represents something new, something former. Something that has never been seen and has been temporarily covered in dust. Although his father suffered divine punishment for his arrogance and tyranny, he did nothing wrong."

Indeed, Pushkin had very complicated feelings about Napoleon and the Bonaparte family.

As a die-hard liberal, he praised and cheered the French Revolution, and praised Napoleon for safeguarding the fruits of the revolution and using the Code to establish the spirit of the Revolution. However, he also hated Napoleon who later ascended to the throne and became a He followed the path of revolution and hated Napoleon's subsequent invasion of Russia even more.

After learning of Napoleon's death, he wrote a long poem. In the poem, he expressed his complicated feelings towards Napoleon: On the one hand, he hated Napoleon for being obsessed with power and becoming an invader. He was eventually conquered by Russia. He was defeated by the people's resistance; but on the other hand, he recognized Napoleon's nobility and merit, and praised him for bringing freedom and glory to Europe.

The last paragraph of his long poem is a farewell to Napoleon with such emotion.

"Who is narrow-minded now,

Willing to suffer shameful infamy,

to issue rash condemnation,

To disturb the undead he deposed!

Ah, for the Russian people

pointed out the noble mission,

Give the world eternal freedom,

a legacy of his exile. "

He originally thought that everything had been buried for a long time. With Napoleon's burial on the desert island, it would turn into a handful of dust, and night would fall on Europe, swallowing up the morning light.

However, today, he was shocked to find that although that person died, the family was not willing to disappear with him. Instead, it struggled tenaciously and seemed determined to stand on the world stage.

Pushkin could not bear to ridicule and condemn this sad and respectable performance.

Although he didn't know what His Highness wanted, at least he seemed to be working hard for human liberation and freedom. What's so ridiculous about it?

He didn't know how things would develop later, but it was obvious that it would be much more interesting than all the intrigues and affairs that happened in Tsarskoe Selo.

To a poet, dullness is the worst poison.

"It is said that Duke Lechstadt is also a poet." At this moment, Boris Volkonsky suddenly spoke again, "I think you two may have something in common?"

Pushkin remained silent.

It wasn't until an unknown amount of time passed that he suddenly raised his head and looked at his friend.

"Boris, if war breaks out and I apply to accompany you, can you intercede for me?"

"Of course." Boris Bolkonsky didn't seem surprised by his idea at all, and just nodded lightly.

Then he picked up the wine glass again and said, "Cheers, my friend."