Struggle in Russia

To be honest, Pobedonostsev's position is not ordinary embarrassing.

Just hold on to this broken ship of conservatives. There is also Prince Baryatinsky stealing the show.

Just change the family and start a new business, the foundation for survival is gone again.

No matter how you look at it, there seems to be no way out. You say he has a headache or not.

But Pobedonostsev has one advantage, and that is that he is smooth enough.

Yes, don’t think that being slick is a disadvantage. This quality is indeed disgusting, but slick people will never take advantage of others. They are particularly good at adjusting their attitude and can always find a suitable way to survive.

In this respect, naughty people are a bit like the unbeatable Xiao Qiang. They are both equally tenacious and disgusting.

He couldn't find a way to survive in the conservative circle, and Pobedonostsev had no intention of changing jobs. He had a very special way of fighting for a living space for himself, which was to create trouble for his main competitors.

It's not that he will use various means to instigate Duke Baryatinsky. If it works, of course he will do it, but his means will not be so obvious and low-level.

His methods are even more insidious. Didn’t you Baryatinsky seize a large amount of resources and outdo me in every aspect?

What is the fundamental reason why you can do this?

Isn’t it because everyone thinks that hanging out with you is more promising? I feel that only you have the ability to lead conservatives out of this predicament!

But what if I overturn these?

If everyone finds that you are not capable of leading conservatives out of trouble, will they continue to hang themselves on your crooked tree?

Pobedonostsev's idea is very simple. Now that the reformists have the upper hand, as long as I secretly inform the reformers and disrupt your arrangements, everyone's confidence in you will naturally be gone after repeated failures.

At that time, as long as I stand up and fight a turnaround or two wisely, I am afraid that whether it is Alexander II or others, I, Pobedonostsev, will think that I am better than you, and it is reasonable to replace him, right?

For the time being, I'll just hold back and pretend to be a grandson. No matter what I do, I will never stand out and will never take the initiative to rush to the front. I will let you fight against the reformists while I secretly attack you and slowly build up strength to wait for the opportunity to change.

Anyway, Alexander II has no good opinion of the reformists at all. Sooner or later the reformists will have to be liquidated. As long as I can persist until the day of counterattack, I will be the final winner!

Pobedonostsev felt that he still had an advantage in doing this, that is, other conservatives had no communication channels with the reformists, so even if they wanted to do this, it would not work.

But he was different. As the director of the third department, he had a reformist pioneer named Li Xiao. After secretly communicating with Li Xiao last time, he felt that both parties still had common interests.

At least on the matter of opposing Prince Baryatinsky, both parties could work together.

And he also believes that as long as he extends an olive branch, the other party will definitely accept it. It is entirely possible to backstab Baryatinski through Li Xiao's channel!

The only two things that worried him were Li Xiao's status among the reformists. If the other party's status was not high enough and he had little say in the reformists, it would be difficult for the reformists to arouse the secrets he revealed. If you pay attention to it, you may miss the opportunity.

The second thing is that since both parties are cooperating, they should each gain something. Although attacking Duke Baryatinsky was the biggest gain for him, he was not satisfied and felt that he should get more benefits.

And whether the other party can provide these is a big question!

Even so, he thinks there should be no big problem in this direction. Based on his observation of Li Xiao, the Grand Duke is definitely a ruthless character. I believe he will have a way to satisfy his requirements!

Li Xiao didn't know that he had been "targeted" by Pobedonostsev, and he didn't expect that his unintentional act would completely sever the relationship between Pobedonostsev and Baryatinsky. .

He was extremely busy at this time. As the person who triggered the war between Grand Duke Constantine and Nikolai Milyutin, and as the fuse, he had too much work to do in advance at this time when the storm was about to come.

"Tell the St. Petersburg District Prosecutor's Office that the trial process must be entered as quickly as possible. This case must not be delayed. The editor of the "Voice of Liberty" must be convicted as soon as possible!"

"What? The court won't cooperate! Then let them press every day, and I will ask the Ministry of the Interior to cooperate and exert pressure. The sooner the court opens, the better! It can't be delayed for a day!"

The focus of the struggle with Archduke Constantine is the "Voice of Liberty". Maybe the editors of this newspaper are small people, but punishing these small people can bring about changes in the overall situation.

What's more, punishing them has a representative effect. It is equivalent to giving Archduke Constantine a hard slap in the mouth, and even hitting Alexander II in the face.

This is most useful for boosting morale and motivating people!

And now the reformists united around Nikolai Milyutin need a shot in the arm the most!

The psychological pressure brought by Alexander II and Grand Duke Constantine was greater than imagined. For many progressive nobles, resisting the will of the Tsar was a huge challenge.

Suddenly taking such a big step, some people are bound to hesitate and hesitate. At this time, they must have something to cheer them up to strengthen their will, otherwise it will be difficult for them not to back down when it comes time to take action!

In Li Xiao's opinion, taking action on the editors of "Voice of Liberty" is undoubtedly the most appropriate shot in the arm.

If they can be successfully convicted and sent to prison, at least it means one thing: Grand Duke Constantine has nothing to fear, even if Alexander II is on his side and wants to deal with him, it will be no problem .

However, things were obviously not that easy. The St. Petersburg District Prosecutor and the District Court obviously did not want to take over this hot potato. Li Xiao sent people to urge them several times, but they were still trying to shirk.

The decisive battle is just around the corner. If this matter is not finalized quickly, the variables will become bigger and bigger.

Therefore, Li Xiao decided to increase the pressure, and if necessary, simply let Nikolay Milyutin take action to crush the scumbags in the St. Petersburg District Prosecutor's Office and the court.

He immediately informed Nikolai Milyutin of the relevant situation, and then called his subordinates to make targeted arrangements: "Send a few people to give those guys some gifts, and tell them that if they don't cooperate honestly, then our third They are not vegetarians either!”

The so-called gifts are naturally black material for these prosecutors and judges, that is, they eat the plaintiff and the defendant.

These things can hardly see the light, and they can stink up the streets in a matter of minutes...