Struggle in Russia

The temperament of Duke Mikhail is really quite different from that of Duke Alexander. The latter can be regarded as a scheming man, and he often does things after calculating and making decisions, but the former is not so careful, and has more blood of a soldier.

It's not that Prince Mikhail doesn't know that Count Uvarov is difficult and difficult to mess with, but he thinks, even if Count Uvarov is not easy to mess with, then their Gorchakov family is easy to mess with?

What's more, it has not been their Gorchakov family's troubles for Uvarov, but Uvarov's frequent visits to spoil them. As the saying goes, the clay figurine is also very angry. Duke Mikhail is really fed up with the compromises and concessions he made to Uvarov.

In fact, when Duke Alexander temporarily alienated Alexei and Li Xiao, he was not very happy. Because he still likes the young people like Alexei, and they can create miracles every time they do things, and they can make a lot of money by taking him to open a factory and do business with him these years. And every year Wallachia still has a lot of filial piety, such young people don't care who will hang out with their Gorchakov family in the future!

It's just that Duke Alexander has always made decisions in family matters, and he didn't want to show face to his brother. Of course, there were criticisms behind his back. He felt that Duke Alexander was too timid. It is true that Uvarov is very powerful, but they It's not bad, okay, when is it a head to always give in like this!

And this time the matter of the Duke of Aldorf made him feel that it was an opportunity, because it was Nicholas I who was interested in the cable telegraph, which was completely different from before. Because Nicholas I was never interested in new things before, but was forced to do it by Grand Duke Constantine or the "family intellectual" Grand Duchess Yelena Pavlovna. So whether it's a railway or a steamship, you can see that Nicholas I just dealt with it.

The cable telegraph is completely different. Nicholas I was interested in it, and he urgently needed such a tool, and there was no instigation or coercion. But in this matter, Uvarov is going to make a name for himself. This is tantamount to his direct disobedience to Nicholas I. Let's put it this way, the offensive and defensive confrontation in this round is different.

Duke Mikhail felt that the initiative was on his side. As long as he persuaded Duke Ordorf to let him report the truth to Nicholas I, it would be fine if Uvarov swallowed his anger at that time. , then Nicholas I will be the first to be unhappy, and it's time to let this old man taste the taste of being cleaned up!

Of course, the only problem is with the Duke of Aldorf. The prerequisite for all this to be established is that the Duke of Aldorf must report truthfully. If he does not tell Nicholas I the true performance of the cable telegram, then Nicholas I Surely the interest comes and fades faster.

So the purpose of Duke Mikhail's visit to Duke Ordorf this time is not pure.

He actually came to persuade Duke Ordorf to help Uvarov. However, he also knew that an old Jianghu like the Duke of Aldorf would definitely not be easily hooked. After all, Uvarov is still difficult to deal with. If he is not careful, his skin will peel off. No one dares to scratch easily without full assurance. His beard.

As a result, Duke Mikhail could only encourage Duke Ordorf on the sidelines. First of all, he explained the stakes, which was actually an analysis of the gains and losses.

"It's a pity that such a big deal can't be done!" Prince Mikhail lamented hypocritically, "If the cable telegraph is spread across the country, how much will it cost to communicate with the network across the country? Two or three percent of that can be enough!"

The Duke of Aldorf frowned, because his heart was a little itchy. If the cable telegraph network is really rolled out across the country, it will definitely cost a lot of money. If Nicholas I is willing to pay the money, then The oil and water of this business must be indispensable, just like what Duke Mikhail said, with their power, the 20% is not much, right?

This account cannot be calculated at all. Anyway, the more the Duke Aldorf is calculated, the more tempted he is. Even an old fritter like him who has seen a lot of money can't help being tempted. Tell me how big the benefits are.

But he still didn't get carried away easily by money. It's good to have money, but some money is too hot!

Between money and offending Uvarov, he still tended to make concessions to Uvarov, which made Duke Mikhail a little anxious. He spent so much effort not to embolden Duke Ordorf, He also advised:

"If it's something else, it's really not worthwhile for you to offend Earl Uvarov, but you have to think about this matter. His Majesty is interested in cable telegrams. In order not to offend Uvarov, you have to lie to His Majesty. You know what His Majesty is, if you let him know..."

In fact, this is the most difficult question for the Duke of Aldorf. He can see that Nicholas I is really interested in cable telegrams, otherwise he would not send his confidant to investigate in person. If Nicholas I finds out about his reputation , how to explain?

Compared with the trust of the emperor, what is Uvarov's unhappiness?

In short, the Duke of Aldorf is very contradictory and entangled. He feels that no matter which way he chooses, he will not be safe in the end. If possible, he really wants to throw this hot potato out.

Duke Mikhail can probably guess what Duke Aldorf is worried about. He is a bit contemptuous of this. What he fears when doing big things is that he is afraid of wolves and tigers. If he dare not take risks, where can he get high returns?

What's more, in his opinion, this matter is far from such a high risk, so he said again: "You think that this time you sold Earl Uvarov to save face, and you will be able to get along with each other in the future? My friend, you Better wake up!"

Duke Aldorf looked at Duke Mikhail suspiciously, and asked displeasedly, "What do you mean?"

Duke Mikhail sneered and said: "My meaning is very simple. We are not in the same way as Count Uvarov. Can you accept that fellow's way of doing things? Now he is just relying on His Majesty's favor to force us to one side That's all, but let me say that sooner or later we will fall apart!"

Duke Aldorf frowned, but did not speak, and Duke Mikhail said: "How many new business deals have been disrupted by that guy these years, how much more money can we make without him? The example of the railway is right there, don’t tell me you can’t see the importance and significance of the railway!”