Struggle in Russia

"Gentlemen, there are no outsiders anymore, we can open the skylight and speak frankly!"

Dmitri wiped the corners of his mouth and said calmly to Li Xiao and Count Kleinmicher:

"If your Majesty has any instructions, feel free to mention them. If you are here to investigate the case, I will fully cooperate!"

Count Kleinmicher did not speak. He was not used to this way of speaking. In the officialdom he was familiar with, people would not speak so directly, and even private communication seemed a bit too fast.

But fortunately, he is only a deputy. Rather than saying that he is a deputy, it is better to say that his main task is to supervise Li Xiao. As long as Li Xiao wasn't trying to gain fame, he didn't have any objections.

Naturally, there was no need for him to express his position. He looked at Li Xiao naturally, as if to say: "You make up your mind, Your Excellency!"

Li Xiao was a little surprised that Dmitri made this move. In his opinion, there was no need for Dmitri to do this. What if someone wants to make a name for themselves with his cooperation? He can't deal with the big guys in St. Petersburg, but he can deal with a few Ukrainian native dogs!

When Dmitri did this, he had to show some attitude.

He smiled and said: "Your Excellency, you are too sensitive. Your Majesty did not have any instructions. We did not come to Ukraine to investigate your case. Our mission is to inspect the work of the Third Department of Ukraine and ignore the rest!" "

Does Dmitri believe it?

I definitely don’t believe it. Although he is a straightforward soldier, it does not mean that he does not understand the rules of officialdom. When such a big thing happens, Yu Qing and Li will send people to investigate. Even if it is just a show, they have to go through the motions, otherwise it will be too disrespectful to the imperial power.

Since Li Xiao and Count Kleinmicher are here, they are definitely here to investigate the case. The investigation of Ukraine Part 3 is probably just an excuse.

But Dmitri was familiar with Li Xiao and knew that Li Xiao had no reason to deceive him on this issue. Since Li Xiao said he was not here to investigate the case, then he really was not responsible for this mission?

This is a paradox. Anyway, Dmitri was confused. He could only guess whether Li Xiao didn't trust Count Kleinmicher very much, so he couldn't say something to his face?

Count Kleinmicher immediately noticed Dmitri's thoughts. Although he didn't know the relationship between Dmitri and Li Xiao, Neridova told him that it was best to see more and talk less during this trip. If you are stupid, just pretend to be stupid. As long as it doesn't violate the principles, you might as well turn a blind eye to Li Xiao's behavior.

Thinking of this, he smiled and said to Dmitri: "Your Majesty, your Majesty the Grand Duke is absolutely right. We are indeed not here to investigate the case. Inspecting the work of the Third Department of Ukraine is our most important task, Your Majesty. I trust you so much, so don’t be suspicious!”

Is it so easy to talk?

What a hell!

Dmitri was full of questions. Count Kleinmicher's attitude made him more and more confused. He couldn't figure out where this count came from, nor what the relationship between him and Li Xiao was. relation.

To be honest, these intricate relationships gave him a headache. He would rather face hordes of enemies than play riddles with these officialdom veterans.

After thinking about it, he decided to open the skylight as planned and speak frankly: "Maybe you two are not here to handle the case, but since you are here, you can help me convey some words to His Majesty. I know that this case was done a little hastily and recklessly. The overall situation, but it is really a last resort..."

Dmitry went through the matter in detail and told all his worries, and finally said: "In view of the current critical situation, if you want to quell the rebellion with a small number of troops, you must rectify the morale of the troops and improve the combat effectiveness of the troops. If you want to achieve these two The purpose must be to eliminate unqualified officers, and since I left St. Petersburg, I have noticed that a large number of officers are weak-willed and lazy. They are not thinking about how to serve the country, but are still singing and dancing... Taking them to the battlefield will not be able to complete the mission of Your Majesty. The tasks assigned to me, I had no choice but to resort to extraordinary measures..."

Count Kleinmicher listened very carefully and could see that Dmitri's words moved him very much. Perhaps he never expected that Ukraine would be so corrupt.

As for Li Xiao, he had no reaction. He was not surprised at all by the chaos in Ukraine and the corruption of conservative aristocratic officers. He was not surprised at all by why Dmitri did what he did. What he was concerned about was Dmitri's explanation. Not that Count Kleinmicher could be convinced.

He felt that the reason why Alexander II did not let him be responsible for investigating the case was probably because he ordered Count Kleinmicher to be responsible for the secret investigation, so that he could find out the truth without making the situation more passive.

But based on what he had just seen, unless Count Kleinmicher was an old fox with superb acting skills, Dmitri should have impressed him.

It's not that Count Kleinmicher approved of Dmitri's words, but that he understood Dmitri's difficulties. Although this was not enough for him to draw an immediate conclusion, his sense of Dmitri must have been very good. In other words, as long as no obvious problems are found next, Dmitri thought it would be easy to pass.

This somewhat relieved Li Xiao. As long as Count Kleinmicher didn't come with prejudice and hatred, the matter would be easy to handle. It's an unexpected surprise to have a successful start now!

This made him admire Dmitri a little, and felt that his straight-to-the-point persuasion strategy was really on the right track. It turned out that Count Kleinmicher was following this strategy!

Do you really want to do this? It may not be obvious that the reason why Dmitry was able to impress Count Kleinmicher was very complicated. It was the comprehensive result of many factors, not the result of one single reason.

Of course, these are not important to Li Xiao. What is important is that he can strike while the iron is hot to help Dmitry deepen his good impression.

He immediately sighed: "It's really not easy for you, Earl. I thought you were making a fuss out of a molehill before. Now it seems that the situation in Ukraine is worse than I expected. No wonder some people are trying to make small moves!"

Dmitri and Count Kleinmicher were stunned at the same time. Someone was making a little trick? How come we didn't find it?

Li Xiao immediately recounted what he had discovered in Luka Village, focusing on Bulganin's attitude: "If no one warned him, how could he have the idea that a big deal would be turned into a trivial matter?"

Count Kleinmicher asked thoughtfully: "So you brought the serf father and son back specifically to prevent someone from making trouble?"

Li Xiao thought to himself: "You also said that you were not here to investigate the case. I also specially asked people to bring the father and son back secretly. You can find this. I'm afraid you have been staring at me!"