Struggle in Russia

This is what Count Rostovtsev despises most about Nikolai Milyutin. He always cares about Alexander II's senses. The problem is that you are obviously a reformist who does not like him. Even if you put yourself in that person's shoes For the sake of the Tsar, do you think he will appreciate it? Do you think he will like you?

In Count Rostovtsev's view, since you are a reformist, and since no matter how the reformers reconcile and make concessions, Alexander II or other tsars will not look at you differently, why do you still have so many scruples?

Let it go and do your own thing, check and balance the Tsar as much as possible, and make the Tsar have to reform. Isn't it much better than being cautious and being a good gentleman?

Yes, Count Rostovtsev felt that Nikolai Milyutin was a nice guy, and the last thing the reform needed was a nice guy. After all, the most important thing to change the old political structure and tamper with the interest cake of conservatives is to make peace with the enemy. Once you are soft, the enemy will be hard. The reform plan produced at that time will be just a barrel of paste, and in the end it will be of no benefit at all.

Count Rostovtsev believes that what the reformists need most now is persistence and a bottom line, but at the same time they must have means.

The problem with Nikolai Milyutin is that he has no bottom line. Alexander II is always a little unhappy, and he is uneasy, wondering whether he should make some concessions to make Alexander II happy.

How can we do this?

If Alexander II is still unhappy, do you still want to reform?

So this is also the reason why Count Rostovtsev keeps beating him. If he doesn't beat him, he might just become a capitulator and carry out nonsense reforms!

"What influence are you worried about?" Count Rostovtsev reprimanded with dissatisfaction. "Is there something wrong with Grand Duke Andrei's ability? Is he not qualified for the work of the Ministry of Internal Affairs or other key departments?"

Nikolai Milyutin was about to say that this was not a question of ability, but a question of influence, but Count Rostovtsev lectured him unhappily: “Nikolai, you must first clarify your position. Do you support reform, or do you just want to make His Majesty happy? If you want reform, the most critical point now is to get more people who support reform to occupy key positions. Otherwise, who are you going to rely on to promote and implement reform measures?"

Nikolai Milyutin stopped talking, not because he was convinced, but because he still believed that letting the reformists occupy more important positions and letting Li Xiao return to St. Petersburg were not the same thing. He was not opposed to letting his friends occupy a good position, but he was opposed to letting Li Xiao come back and occupy a good position.

"It makes no difference!" Count Rostovtsev pointedly pointed out: "Your opposition to letting the Grand Duke come back is nothing more than bullshit. His Majesty may not be happy, but let me ask you, your Majesty does not like those who support reform. If there are too many, won’t those people be able to come back?”

Nikolay Milyutin suddenly stopped talking, because there had been calls recently for the reformists who had been implicated in the reform or the Decembrist issue to return to the center, and he was clearly opposed to this proposal. The reason is naturally that Alexander II is too sensitive now and should not anger Alexander II.

But now this reason was directly used by Count Rostovtsev, pointing out that he was just a compromiser who was afraid of this and that.

"If these people who have sweated and shed blood for reform issues cannot get the respect and status they deserve, then who will support us in the future?"

Count Rostovtsev said emotionally: "If they can't come back, what's the point of all our hard work over the years? Without the care and support of these friends, how could we hear today. You are better now , just let people forget about it. This is typical ingratitude. If we do this, who will support us in the future? Are you going to rely on those old fritters and die-hards to carry out reforms?"

Nikolai Milyutin was trained so hard that he couldn't hold his head up. He felt a lot of pressure. When the faction had private discussions on this topic before, he could still speak out and oppose it. But facing Count Rostovtsev's sharp offensive, he couldn't even parry.

He wanted to defend himself and show that he was not ungrateful, but just wanted to better promote reform. What was wrong with making the resistance to reform smaller?

But Count Rostovtsev categorically criticized: "You are not reducing resistance, but you are indifferent between right and wrong! The reason why we can carry out reforms is due to our persistent efforts, not a gift from the Tsar, let alone a gift from heaven." It’s a pie! This is what we fought for!”

"No matter who opposes it, we will keep fighting. This is the key reason why we are where we are today. But you are always unfirm in your stance. You always think that if you want to reform, you can only try to please His Majesty and those old diehards so that they will not cause trouble."

"But the question is, is this realistic? Our reforms will inevitably touch their cake and affect their interests. Do you think you and Xini can get their concessions by giving in a little bit?"

"You are just dreaming! They will never give in. On the contrary, the more you give in, the more they will think you are weak and can be bullied, and they will create more obstacles. Only we are tough and tell them with an iron fist that they can either reform or die. The only choice is One, so that they will be honest!”

Nikolai Milyutin had beads of sweat all over his head. He was very conflicted in his heart. He was very reluctant to admit that Count Rostovtsev's words were reasonable, but the ironclad facts were there. Look at this, for more than a month, he has been running around for reform, convincing those old die-hards here, and trying every means to make suggestions for Alexander II, but what happened in the end?

Finally, although everyone knows that reform is inevitable, there is still no certainty on how it will be implemented and when exactly it will begin. Even Alexander II's attitude became increasingly ambiguous. He just made a little concession today, and in the blink of an eye Alexander II asked him to make new concessions.

There is no end in sight at all if this continues, and he is also worried that if this continues, how many reform provisions will be left that can actually be implemented in the end. But he kept convincing himself with various reasons, telling himself that maybe Alexander II would soon agree to start reforms.

But now Count Rostovtsev is forcefully popping up this soap bubble, telling him that if this continues, it will be a bottomless pit. If he wants to reform, he can only stick to his principles and not give in at any step. He must not mess around with the mud. It will cause endless harm!