Struggle in Russia

The emperor's mind is the most complicated and difficult to guess, especially for an emperor like Nicholas I who has a strong desire for power, a mean and ungrateful emperor, his mind is even more changeable. Maybe the spring breeze was blowing on his face one second and the frost was blowing on his face the next second.

At this moment, Nicholas I's mood took a turn for the worse. He was a little disappointed both with Grand Duke Constantine and with his own education. He felt that his two sons were not taught well, making them too simple and naive.

why?

Because Nicholas I felt that as a qualified grand duke, facing an old fritter like Menshikov, he must either be more cunning than him, or he must be shameless. Only when one of these two things is achieved is it considered qualified.

Obviously Grand Duke Constantine is unqualified. From his tangled, speechless, slow and helpless expression, it can be seen that he is not cunning enough to solve this problem, nor is he shameless enough to make Menshikov uncomfortable. Instead, he hesitated there, worrying about gains and losses, which disappointed Nicholas I so much.

Nicholas I had always thought that Grand Duke Constantine was most like him, resolute enough, resolute enough to be resolute enough to be open-minded enough. But today it seems that that is far from it!

Nicholas I thought that if he was young, he might not have enough wisdom to solve the problem at that time, but he had the courage to fight and made Menshikov pay a heavy price. If Menshikov played this trick with him back then, he would be wiped out in minutes.

Nicholas I was right. If it was him back then, Menshikov must have hit the iron plate with this kind of slick officialdom.

The reason is very simple. Back then, Nicholas I never thought of becoming emperor one day. From the beginning to the end, he set himself a very clear position, assisting his brother Constantine to be his right-hand man.

For this, Nicholas I was able to go all out shamelessly, and go all out to embarrass Menshikov, because he is not afraid of wearing shoes with bare feet.

The problem is that Grand Duke Constantine is different, this kid is quite coveted about the throne. I feel that I still have a chance to be the emperor, so I can't really be shameless if I do things naturally.

Let's put it this way, the biggest gap between Nicholas I and Grand Duke Constantine is actually the mentality. The former has no extra thoughts and is fearless, while the latter must be timid when looking forward and backward. In short, the two fathers and sons who have changed places are actually similar, and there is no distinction between superior and inferior.

Of course, the current Nicholas I has 20 years of experience in power, so he is naturally much more sophisticated than he was back then. Back then, he might not have been able to deal with an old fritter like Menshikov, but now he has a solution. And in order to force Crown Prince Alexander to grow up, he didn't mind helping Grand Duke Constantine.

So just when Menshikov was a little complacent and felt that he had the chance to win, Nicholas I slashed him hard!

"Dear Alexander Sergeyevich, what did you just say?" Nicholas I asked pretending to be confused: "What happened to the navy? What happened? You said you were responsible, Is it so serious? Tell me in detail, this is not a trivial matter, how did it happen!"

Menshikov was dumbfounded. He really didn't expect that Nicholas I would do this, and he would make it clear to him in person!

[Nimma, what does this make me say! 】

Menshikov's heart was filled with embarrassment.

Indeed, the key to Menshikov's ability to retreat is his ambiguity. It seems that he has admitted his mistake and bowed his head to give in, but he is actually a backhanded general. But once the window paper was pierced, especially when Nicholas I asked so directly, Menshikov was cornered.

First of all, he has already admitted his mistake just now, and it is impossible to talk back. If you really did that, even if you molested Nicholas I, it would not be considered wronged to be dragged out.

Secondly, that is to say, when he confessed his responsibilities next time, if he said it was serious, he would be digging his own grave. But to put it lightly,

Grand Duke Constantine can definitely help "fill in the gaps" and make up the knife slowly.

In this way, it is impossible for him to confuse things by retreating.

So, suddenly the old eunuch was dumbfounded, and could only look at Nicholas I with his mouth slightly open in shock, his throat moved again and again, but he just couldn't say a word.

Nicholas I ignored him, but first glanced at Grand Duke Constantine and gave him a meaningful look, as if saying: [Son, did you see it, you have to come here! 】

In fact, if Grand Duke Konstantin passed the test with thick black knowledge enough, he could pretend to be stupid and ask this question when Menshikov was retreating just now, and the effect would be equally good. It's a pity that this Grand Duke is not good enough to learn black, and his skin is not thick enough to be shameless. It is a pity.

At this time, the atmosphere in the venue was very interesting. The expressions of power ministers from all walks of life are different. For example, Nesselrode, the rubber-stamp prime minister and real foreign minister, looks like he has nothing to do with himself and doesn't care at all.

Prince Peter Volkonski looked interested in watching the show. Chernyshov was a little worried and a little frightened. He probably couldn't figure out whether Nicholas I really didn't know or pretended not to know, or did he really want to take Menshikov down?

The Duke of Aldorf was a little gloating. When Gazinski's case was serious, he was the one who was put on fire at the imperial meeting. At that time, the bastard Menshikov laughed at him for being so old and stupid that he couldn't even handle a bastard grand duke. Hey, now you have fallen into the trap too! You laugh again!

Uvarov fell into contemplation. As Nicholas I's literary courage, paying attention to Nicholas I's emotions and thoughts is his most important job. Otherwise, how can he figure out how to control ideology?

Based on Uvarov's understanding of Nicholas I, the emperor should still value Menshikov very much, and it doesn't seem like he is going to send the old eunuch to pack up and go home. Moreover, if the previous actions of Grand Duke Constantine were not approved by Nicholas I, there would certainly not be such a big movement. Since the emperor clearly knew the inside story, but he just pretended not to know that Menshikov couldn't come down, what was the reason?

[Could it be that something happened inside the palace that I don't know about? 】

Thinking about it, Uvarov looked at the Crown Prince Alexander suspiciously, trying to figure out whether this was the case from the performance of the Crown Prince. But at this moment, Crown Prince Alexander's expression puzzled him even more. The young crown prince's face was clearly filled with "I don't believe it", "This is not true", "How is it possible", "Why" and so on. complete doubts.

[Could it be that the crown prince doesn't know? 】

Suddenly Uvarov was taken aback, a very bad guess emerged in his mind, which made him very nervous...