Struggle in Russia

Neserrodie's curtain call attracted so much attention that the dignitaries in St. Petersburg did not notice that the Winter Palace's reaction was a bit strange. It stands to reason that after Neserrodie left, Alexander II should immediately appoint a successor. There is a new prime minister, but for some unknown reason, even five days have passed and there has been no response from the Winter Palace in this regard. It is as if Alexander II has forgotten that such a thing exists!

Of course, it was impossible for Alexander II to forget such an important matter. The most important reason why he did not appoint a new prime minister immediately was because he couldn't care less!

The details of Dmitri's first-stage battle report were finally sent to his desk. He was naturally satisfied with Dmitri's effortless recovery of Chernihiv, but some other news reported by Dmitri was Made him less happy.

First of all, the number of rebels far exceeds the most optimistic expectations. According to Dmitry's data, there are approximately more than 500,000 rebels active in Ukraine.

500,000 rebels!

There are only so many people in the entire Ukraine. Even if the rebels are generally old, weak, sick and disabled, there are at least 250,000 able-bodied laborers who have joined the ranks of the rebels.

There has never been such a large-scale rebellion in Russia in a thousand years. The Tsar has only been in power for a year and has broken historical records. No matter how you look at it, he has been nailed to the pillar of shame, okay?

It is not easy to quell the rebellion with so many rebels. At least Alexander II knew that it would be impossible to do it with the tens of thousands of troops he gave Dmitri.

Although Neserrodie obtained another sum of money from the Ministry of Finance, this amount of money was not enough to support the consumption of hundreds of thousands of troops, and the power he could support Dmitri was still limited.

Solving such a thorny problem with limited power is a huge challenge no matter how you look at it. At least Alexander II had no idea whether Demetrius could handle all this.

If these only worried him, then the latest strategy reported by Dmitri to solve the rebellion made him deeply panic.

According to Dmitri's wishes, he recruited the rebels and promised them huge profits to kill each other. There had never been any similar experience before, and according to the traditional concepts of the aristocracy, the rebellion of these mud-legged serfs was a treasonous act and should be cut off one by one. How can we pardon them and give them official titles?

Alexander II also felt that doing so was a violation of the country's prestige and his personal authority. If everyone could follow the example of the poor people in Ukraine who would rise up if they were even slightly dissatisfied, then negotiate terms with the government at high prices for this or that, and finally become a leader.

After making this bad start, I'm afraid there will never be peace in the future!

Just thinking that the Mudlegs might imitate Alexander II made him panic, but he did not simply reject Dmitry's suggestion because he knew that the country did not have the ability to quell the rebellion for the time being.

If the rebellion is allowed to develop, Ukraine, Belarus, Poland and even the hinterland of Russia will be in chaos later, which will be even more uncontrollable!

And Dmitry also gave a successful experience. He easily lured the long-legged Sergei to surrender and solved the problem of Chernihiv without a single blow. It's a great deal from a effectiveness and efficiency perspective.

And according to Dmitri's suggestion, he will then let these surrendered rebels serve as vanguards, consume them and disintegrate them, and finally achieve the goal of doing big things with a small amount of money.

To be honest, this was very tempting. For Alexander II, who was troubled by financial problems, this was almost the best way.

However, he was still worried and uneasy, and he did not even dare to discuss Dmitri's suggestion at the state council. He doubted that those ministers would immediately jump up to oppose it, and even take Dmitri, who was about to come up with the idea, with him. Terry took care of it all.

After thinking alone for a few days, Alexander II was still undecided, but time was limited after all, and he couldn't keep delaying it like this. After all, according to Dmitry, the number of rebels in Ukraine was snowballing day by day.

Undecided, he decided to listen to other people's opinions, and he was the first to find Count Rostovtsev.

"Count, what do you think of Count Dmitry Milyutin's suggestion?"

Count Rostovtsev actually knew the idea given by Li Xiao earlier than Alexander II. Alexander II asked him what he thought? Naturally, I stood and watched.

For him, the chaos in Ukraine has far exceeded his expectations and has greatly affected the strength of the conservatives. Next, he only needs to continue to squeeze the conservatives step by step and let them continue to lose blood.

As for recruiting rebels to fight the rebels, whatever!

Of course, you can't say that, so he replied seriously: "Your Majesty, what do you think of me? I can only say that this suggestion is really deviant and even treasonous. If all serfs follow the example of Ukraine, they will be slightly dissatisfied. To rebel, then to bargain with the government at high prices, and in the end without any punishment, is equivalent to opening Pandora's box!"

Alexander II's expression changed. Count Rostovtsev had never said such serious words before. It sounded like he was strongly opposed to it, and he even condemned Dmitri. Obviously, this was no joke at all!

Alexander II muttered with a grimace: "That means you strongly oppose it, right?"

But what he didn't expect was that Count Rostovtsev actually replied: "No! I strongly support it!"

Now Alexander II was dumbfounded. He didn't understand what medicine Count Rostovtsev was selling in his gourd. Why did you strongly support it when you were clearly opposed to it?

Count Rostovtsev calmly explained: "From a moral, traditional and legal point of view, Count Dmitry Milyutin's suggestion is extremely bad and violates all principles. But from a practical point of view, this It is indeed a good way to quickly solve the rebellion problem, and it can even be said to be the only way!"

He sighed faintly and said: "Your Majesty, the current situation is turbulent. Prime Minister Neserrode has just been dismissed. People's minds are full of floating thoughts. It is not ruled out that some people will have some treasonous thoughts. At this time, we There is simply not enough money or energy to put down the rebels in Ukraine."

"So, although Count Dmitry Milyutin's suggestion is very unlimited and not in line with tradition and law, it can indeed solve the problem quickly. The top priority is to calm down the situation first and restore stability quickly. As for other things, we can do it later. Find a solution……"