Struggle in Russia

Dmitri's side was clear, but Alexander II soon lost his composure.

First of all, the latest war report finally came from the third part of Ukraine, but it was impossible for him not to panic when he saw cities declared to have fallen one after another.

In fact, he had never been so panicked during the most difficult period of the Crimean War. The reason was very simple. He knew that Britain and France only wanted his money and part of their territory and had no intention of killing him.

But the serf uprising was different. These mobs wanted both his money and his life. It was obvious which one was more terrifying.

Secondly, if these messy battle reports made him worried, then the situation on Dmitri's end really made him a little panicked.

The reason was very complicated. After learning the real situation in Ukraine, he realized that he had underestimated the seriousness of the matter. He thought that the small amount of troops he had given to Dmitri before was barely enough, but now it seemed that it was not enough. With just a few people in front of hundreds of thousands of people, they looked like meat buns beating dogs.

It's just that for the time being, he can't send more troops to support Dmitri. After all, the few troops Dmitri has are almost blowing up the Ministry of Finance. Unless new taxes are immediately increased, he won't be able to get a single copper in the treasury. Out.

Alexander II also thought about raising taxes immediately, but Duke Alexander and Count Rostovtsev unanimously warned him that raising taxes would be like drinking poison to quench thirst. The burden is already heavy now. If new taxes are added, it may arouse widespread dissatisfaction, and it may not be good for Ukraine. Before the fire at that end was extinguished, another rebellion occurred elsewhere.

Alexander II didn't want to press the floating gourd. After struggling for a long time, he temporarily gave up the idea of ​​levying new taxes.

At this time, the latest news from Dmitri's side gave him a chill. This man had arrested a large number of officers before the battle even started, and he seemed to be in a shaky position no matter how he looked at it.

You must know that Dmitry was Alexander II's last hope. How much he hoped that Dmitry could make great strides forward and fight with an invincible banner to suppress this rebellion powerfully with one victory after another.

However, Dmitry did not do anything for half a month after arriving in Ukraine. He just stayed in a small village in a daze. To be honest, this was far beyond Alexander II's expectations.

Wasn't Dmitri very anxious when he strongly requested to go to Ukraine to counter the rebellion? It looked like my butt was on fire. How could I not be in a hurry after arriving at my destination? What kind of trick was this?

Alexander II was so anxious! It means being unable to sleep at night and not wanting to eat or drink, being so angry that my mouth is full of ulcers, and I feel like gravity is not enough.

What's worse is that he can't show it yet. He has to pretend that he has everything under control without blinking an eye if the Alps collapse.

But these latest tricks that Dmitri came up with were put on his desk, which eventually led to his mental collapse!

"What the hell is he doing! The mob and the rebels didn't kill any of them. Instead, they arrested a bunch of their own people. He thinks things are not chaotic enough or that I didn't wipe his butt enough!"

The furious Alexander II revealed his true character and his true attitude towards Dmitry.

Obviously, the trust and reliance that he had attached to him before were all fake. He was not as tolerant as he appeared. After all, he was still a suspicious feudal monarch. He couldn't really trust anyone, even if that person was his closest relative.

Naturally, he couldn't really trust Dmitry, nor could he really trust Baryatinsky. This had nothing to do with who the other person was. It was purely his status that determined that he could only be a loner.

Of course, this is not the most important thing. The most important thing is that the weakness in his character has completely exploded. The calmness and calmness that he had pretended to be before have completely faded away, leaving only suspicion.

At this moment, he is a helpless, angry neurotic, and the slightest disturbance will make him panic. And this was what Count Rostovtsev wanted.

If the king is not afraid of him, how can he rely on his ministers?

For Count Rostovtsev, the more frightened Alexander II was, the better for him, because Baryatinsky was not around and Pobedonostsev proved unreliable. Think about it, he still Who can you rely on?

Should we rely more on Count Uvarov or on the likes of old Adlerberg?

Certainly not. Alexander II looked around him, and the only one who could help him make suggestions and share his worries was probably Count Rostovtsev.

Of course Count Rostovtsev would not let go of this opportunity, so he stepped forward when Alexander II was most frightened!

"Your Majesty, I think the top priority is to put down the rebellion. As the commander-in-chief of judgment, Count Dmitry Milyutin has the power to deal with the officers under his command. We can only trust him!"

To be honest, this is very different from what Pobedonozsev, Prince Dolgoruky and old Adlerberg said.

The attitudes of these three people either firmly condemned Dmitry or suggested sending an imperial envoy to Ukraine to see what was going on. In short, he did not agree to Dmitri's request to punish those noble officers.

Count Rostovtsev was the first to suggest with a clear attitude that he should agree to Dmitri's request. To be honest, not to mention the three Pobedonostsevs, even Alexander II himself was shocked.

"Why? It's inappropriate to have to deal with so many officers just because of such a trivial matter!" Duke Dolgoruky couldn't help but question.

Count Rostovtsev didn't even look at him, and said to Alexander II calmly: "Your Majesty, I just said that the top priority now is to suppress the rebellion. This is the top priority. The rest are trivial matters. Everything should give way to big things, there are no conditions for this!”

It's a pity that Duke Dolgoruky didn't understand, or he did understand but had to pretend not to understand for some reason!

I saw him yelling angrily: "Counterinsurgency is indeed very important, but this is not the reason to deal with so many outstanding officers for trivial matters! This is absolutely unacceptable!"

His tone was firm, but in Count Rostovtsev’s opinion it was not worth mentioning. He still did not look at him. Count Rostovtsev continued to say to Alexander II:

"Your Majesty, do you think the arrested officers are better? Or is Count Dmitry Milyutin better?"

This question is not difficult at all. Alexander II knew the answer directly in his mind. Dmitry must be better. He still doesn’t know who those chickens and dogs are. They are just a group of people who only know how to drink, dance and play with women. Just a dandy!