Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796

Chapter 139 039 Admiral Deribas died suddenly

The models of the steamships were sent to the palace and displayed in the cabinets.

But Tsar Paul was not satisfied with this invention. He always had wild ideas and believed that ships that could not be equipped with cannons were not good warships. He was also somewhat fond of Solovyov's idea of ​​a fast sailing ship.

However, after such a long time, the keels were only laid in the Goncharov shipyard and the Admiralty shipyard, and the progress was not so fast.

This is still 1800. Is Russian shipbuilding so slow?

It is also because the people on the navy side are always related to conspiracies. Their procrastination also caused Paul's dissatisfaction.

"Your Majesty, this is because the supply of wood has not kept up."

The person sent by the Navy Committee explained so that Paul looked at Admiral De Ribas again.

"What do you think of this?"

"Your Majesty, I think the main reason for the shortage of wood supply is that our country has a vast territory, and a lot of wood is transported from the inland to St. Petersburg. The wood transported in winter is still good, but if it is in summer, the quality of these boards is obviously problematic."

"But we can't be like the Danes, who always ask foresters to check their woodlands in Norway and Denmark. As far as I know, their wood supply is also very tight because of the war in Europe."

"Your Majesty, our country at least still has vast forests in the inland areas, and the situation over there in the Black Sea Fleet is not bad. Their material supply can be independent from St. Petersburg, and they can rely solely on Donbass and Crimea for supplies."

"If we want to improve transportation, it is obviously not enough to use horse-drawn carriages. If we need to build large warships, some wood should not be enough with such transportation capacity."

Paul held a cane in his hand, thought for a moment, and suddenly issued an order to Admiral de Ribas to act as the chairman of the Naval Committee.

"During this period, you will take on this position, Osip Mihajlovich. I believe that with your experience in the navy, you can coordinate this issue."

De Ribas's mentality changed at this moment. He had already participated deeply in the conspiracy of this palace coup. However, although the Tsar himself dismissed him from several positions in a "humiliating" way, his responses were still decent when dealing with key issues. He was favored by the Tsar himself here, which was a sign of being re-employed.

If the acting position is done well, he will soon take power. This is not to say that a major official will act as an acting official after going abroad. The current person in charge has been "sick" recently, which is a precursor to being reused.

De Ribas himself, his mentality has indeed loosened, and now he is grateful for the Tsar's re-employment.

Although he is a core member of the conspiracy group, his attitude has always been wavering, especially after the plan he proposed was rejected.

After returning to his residence at No. 1 Million Street, he began to think about this problem.

If these people were to confess, the Tsar himself was narrow-minded, but he was often magnanimous in dealing with criminals. They would just go back to their own estates. After all, no treason had occurred. If he confessed, he could still get away with it.

And the families of these members of the conspiracy group would not be affected too much. After all, it was not popular in Russia to root out the root of the problem. This was a superficial mercy - in fact, some methods were to mentally torture these criminals. Their treason was not put into action, and it would not harm their families.

He thought of the verdict on a serial murder case during the Empress's period. The local serf owner, Mrs. Daria Saltkova, murdered 75 serf women and girls in her own estate with various tortures. She was prosecuted for the attempted murder of a land surveyor and his wife who served her. At that time, she was sentenced to death, and the verdict was to be carried out according to the traditional Russian art of hanging.

However, the Empress, the head of the serf owners, adopted a punishment that was worse than death for the nobles: she announced the pardon of the death penalty for the lady and changed it to life imprisonment without bail. However, while depriving her of her noble status, she was paraded in front of the gallows in front of local gentry and civilians, with a sign hanging around her neck that read "perverted murderer" and hung on an iron chain for a day. Then she was imprisoned in a dark dungeon, where she could only see the light when she ate. She was also forced to have unspeakable things with the lowly guards and was not allowed to communicate with the outside world. This kind of life was worse than death - as far as the admiral himself knew, this person seemed to have lived for a long time, but what he didn't know was that the old lady had lived until now (died in 1801).

No matter how miserable it was, it probably wouldn't be like this, after all, none of their rebellions were as rebellious as this perverted old woman.

And his loose attitude was only seen by Count von Paaren's observation.

To this end, he went back to find the Zubov brothers and managed to meet Lord Whitworth. The conspiracy was carried out at the home of Olga, the sister of the Zubov brothers, who was also Lord Whitworth's mistress.

"The Spaniard seems to have softened his attitude. Now the tyrant has begun to favor him and let him resume his position."

"What do you want to say, Count? Is he going to betray us?"

"I see this sign, so he should be given a suitable ending."

However, Count von Palen also had his own idea, that is, De Ribas knew many details of their initial plan. If this person loosened his attitude and betrayed their whereabouts to Paul, it would be a disaster for the conspirators in Petersburg. .

And the "appropriate ending" is naturally poison. Pretending that the admiral died "suddenly" is like a verification of the technique.

De Ribas himself is unable to escape because of his illness. He is also thinking about what he needs to do in the future. If he can tell all these people, he can at least prove his loyalty. Escape is shameful but useful.

As for Paul's approach, he actually knows the truth better than Count von Palen, who has been the Tsar's confidant for many years. He is unwilling to kill people, and prefers to "humiliate" first and then re-activate it through the Russian court. A way to show the kindness of the Tsar and to maintain the respect of the courtiers for the monarch.

As for the young people he promoted, they were not yet old enough to receive such punishment. Only Count Panin was dismissed because he held an important position.

The situation of Kochubei, the deputy prime minister of the empire, was even more special. He refused the tsar's proposed marriage, and his punishment was only a transfer, which was very different from Count Panin's dismissal.

After becoming familiar with this system, he also began to write a confession at his home at No. 1 Million Street, but he did not expect that Count von Palen would come to his home at this time.

"What do you want to do here?"

"Osip, I heard you were sick."

"I am a Spaniard. After living in Russia for so many years, I am somewhat acclimatized. It seems that I am just accustomed to the environment of the Black Sea. After coming back from there, as you know, I have always gotten sick during the change of seasons in the past few years."

"But when I see your condition, you should be suffering from some other disease."

When de Ribas heard about this, he remained silent. Before he could unfold the contents, he was already discovered.

"What did you come here to do?"

"The tyrant must die. Do you think he really still shows his 'magnanimity' like before? We all believe that he has gone crazy! Changing foreign policy is a trivial matter, but this tyrant is openly siding with the mud-legged people. Just like what Caesar did back then, we 'seniors' should all stand up, at least as you said, use daggers and poison."

"What do you want to do?"

"De Ribas, do you really think that all the servants in your house are loyal to you?"

With such a sentence, the admiral understood that his symptoms in the past two days looked like a chronic poison attack, but with the current dose, he would not die, but would be relatively weak.

In the morning, the old prince of the Saltykov family came here to visit the patient as an important senator. He exchanged a few words with him and conveyed the Tsar's own opinion that after he recovered, in view of Kuleshev's physical condition, , as the new Chairman of the Navy Committee is also a matter of time.

After all, even if he was sick, he was still in better condition than Kuleshev. At least he had a clear mind, and he also put forward several opinions based on the navy's problems, including the application of new ships.

De Ribas believes that the Russian Navy can consider using steamships for transportation activities on the canal, and it can also use the inland river ships that Russia already has for modification. In the future, there may be no need for trackers on the Volga River to serve as soldiers. There is no need to wear government-issued leather boots to do such hard work when returning home. They can all be incorporated into the new transport fleet to do decent work.

Everyone knows that Paul has a better relationship with soldiers, mud-legged people and small townsfolk, and his prestige among these people is much better than among the big nobles who are dealt with by him every day.

What's even more ironic is that the nobles who are dissatisfied with the Tsar are mainly in Petersburg and Moscow. The nobles outside these two places still think that the Tsar's policy program is not strict at all. In addition, the sky is high and the emperor is far away, and many things are beyond his control. Less than.

The main people he offended were the great nobles of Petersburg.

"I understand, you are a venomous snake who cannot bear to see others being proud of you! Moreover, although the Emperor has made you fall into 'humiliation', his rewards have not been cut off and you will be re-appointed! In the conspiracy, everyone They are all like chameleons, dissolute courtesans in the social arena, constantly changing the chips! The emperor has dismissed you from your position as governor, and will definitely use you in the future. Although he knows that someone is plotting to kill him, he does not know that he is the closest person. Someone attacked him!"

"I don't care. I am doing it for the interests of Russia. I can't let the tyrant continue to be crazy!"

"You? An Alemannic? Representing Russian interests? I am a Spaniard and I know what kind of poisonous snake you are. The British have colluded with you for a long time. They will seek not to be stained with blood, and so are you. You are a slippery man, you are two-faced in the conspiracy, I am afraid you are not as determined as I am!"

Having said this, he struggled to get up and hit the earl with an object on the bedside. Not only did it go empty, but it also fell on the carpet, apparently without causing any noise.

What was even more strange was that he suddenly felt dizzy at this time, as if he was having a real stroke. He began to feel dizzy and fell on the bed.

"You are a Spanish poisonous snake, but you brought it on yourself. Before the medicine took effect, you did it yourself."

When the servants who had colluded with Von Palen came to the house, they understood the current situation.

"Your master is ill now. I need to confirm that it is correct. You can find a doctor. He seems to have had a 'stroke'."

"Yes, Count."

However, Count von Palen also made arrangements. The servant would be taken out and captured by the people he sent in an inconspicuous place. After being killed, the body would be thrown into the nearby swamp. No one would know what happened. They would only know that Admiral de Ribas was critically ill and one of his servants suddenly disappeared.

Although the death of a master is big news, the loss of a servant, even if the servant knows many secrets, is insignificant. Others may not even know his name.

The count can even pretend that nothing has happened, and stay at the bedside with the victim's wife, and even persuade the lady to go back to the bedroom to rest - just like a close friend who comes to keep watch and visit the patient, and it will not arouse others' suspicion.

After confirming that he would not wake up for a while, Count von Paalen decided to use a speedy method to avoid more trouble at night. He simply covered his head with a pillow when no one was around.

De Ribas did not have much time to live. More slow-acting poison was stuffed into his mouth, which could not confirm his death, but the pillow could. With the unpleasant stench coming from the quilt and the horrible death of his face, everything was over.

At least until now, the conspiracy to assassinate Paul has not been leaked too much. The strict security in the palace has made it difficult for the conspiracy group to act.

De Ribas died in the early morning of December 2 (14). In a high-latitude area like Petersburg, it was even late at night. When the news came out, Paul did not visit him in person. The serious illness and funeral of the Grand Marshal were the monarch's tribute to the old general who had always been at odds with him.

He just felt it was a pity. After all, the admiral was not that old. He was only 49 years old when he died. Even in such an era with a low average life expectancy, he was still in the prime of life.