Struggle in Russia

It was a bit rare for Li Xiao to receive the notice of the meeting, because the headquarters had very weak control and leadership over the Third Department in St. Petersburg.

After all, the third part of St. Petersburg is not comparable to the third part of other states. Its status is similar to that of Shuntian Prefecture, which is one level higher than ordinary state capitals.

As a reformist, he naturally has no dealings with the conservative Pobedonostsev. It is best not to have frequent contact unless necessary. It is best for everyone to do their own thing independently.

Could it be that the all-out battle triggered by Archduke Constantine has officially begun, and Pobedonostsev is ready to fire the first shot?

He did not guess that Pobedonostsev would fall out with Duke Dolgoruky. After all, although these two people did not fight each other, they were still on the same party. Not to mention uniting and sharing the same hatred, at least they could not attack their own people first if a war was imminent. Shoot?

So when he came to the headquarters, he had many guesses and prepared plans to deal with various emergencies. He even prepared a way to deal with Pobedonostsev's first trouble with him.

It's just that he really didn't expect that the meeting was really a trick. At the meeting, Pobedonostsev just criticized the poor work of the third department in St. Petersburg with a few words, and then... Talk a lot of nonsense.

He was kept until the end, euphemistically called arranging the work. However, Li Xiao knew that this person would not be able to assign work to him, because even if he was assigned, he would not follow it, and he might even deliberately cause Tiaozi to cause trouble.

After closing the door of the office, Pobedonostsev stared at him for a while and suddenly said: "His Majesty has decided to let Duke Baryatinsky leave St. Petersburg secretly!"

Li Xiao was slightly surprised, because the meaning of this piece of news was unusual. To put it bluntly, this piece of news was worth a thousand pieces of gold at the moment.

As a conservative representative, why would he tell him such crucial information?

In an instant, Li Xiao thought of many possibilities and made countless guesses: it was very likely that Baryatinsky and Pobedonostsev had fallen out, and the two sides had broken up and considered each other enemies.

Why else would Pobedonostsev betray Baryatinsky? Because that doesn’t do conservatives any good!

After all, as long as the reformists understand Baryatinsky's movements, they can prepare in advance and even predict many situations in advance, completely catching the conservatives off guard.

Pobedonostsev could never be so generous for no reason! Even if everyone tacitly plotted against Baryatinsky last time, it was impossible. After all, everyone got what they needed last time, but now there is no basis for common interests between the two parties at all!

But since Pobedonostsev dared to do this, there must be a reason. It is very likely that Baryatinsky's sudden departure triggered internal turmoil among the conservatives. Maybe he wanted to take the opportunity to strengthen his own power?

Although Li Xiao's guess was not completely accurate, it could be regarded as grasping Pobedonostsev's core mentality, giving him a slight advantage in the subsequent exchange of interests.

"Your Excellency the Duke is gone?"

Li Xiao looked a little surprised, but Pobedonostsev could see that the little fox was not surprised at all, he was just acting.

"I always thought that someone was pretending to be His Excellency the Duke, but who would have thought that it was actually His Excellency the Duke himself... What are you doing here, Your Excellency the Duke? Isn't this just telling the truth!"

Watching Li Xiao's performance, Pobedonostsev was filled with disdain: "Play it, you kid, just keep on acting, make it look like the real thing!" Let me see when you show your fox tail!

Li Xiao sighed and said after a few words: "Thank you for telling me the truth of the matter. I really didn't expect that the Duke would dare to disobey His Majesty's orders and act on his own. This is really unexpected!"

Pobedonostsev snorted in his heart and said coldly: "Although he is gone, the matter is not over. Your Majesty is not the kind of person who is easily shaken!"

Li Xiao secretly said: This tells me that Alexander II is still going to continue to cause trouble. It seems that the conflict between him and Alexander II is not small!

"Really?" Li Xiao asked cautiously, "Then what are you going to do?"

Pobedonostsev glanced at him meaningfully, gritted his teeth and said: "I dislike Grand Duke Constantine as much as you do, and we agree on this!"

Li Xiao thought to himself: It's not that you don't like Grand Duke Constantine, I'm afraid it's because you don't like your plans to be disrupted. What's more, with Uvarov becoming a thing of the past, you and Baryatinsky will score sooner or later... but you are a little brave to dare to take action at this time.

He did not pick up on Pobedonostsev’s true intentions and followed the other person’s words and said: “Yes, we all can’t stand His Highness the Grand Duke’s misbehavior for self-interest, and in order to safeguard the interests of the country, we must stop him from continuing to do so! "

Pobedonostsev thought in his heart: "To be honest, if Grand Duke Constantine hadn't opposed your reform road map, would you have fallen out with him? I'm afraid you are deliberately provoking it. Contradictions hit Grand Duke Constantine... But this has nothing to do with me. I must also use this to compete with Baryatinsky for the right to speak. Everyone has the same purpose!"

He nodded and said: "Yes, people like us who are dedicated to public affairs can't stand His Highness the Grand Duke's misbehavior for self-interest. We must stop him from doing this!"

Li Xiao probably understood what the other party meant. This time he was called here to discuss cooperation. For the time being, it seemed that both parties had a common enemy and could indeed cooperate.

Attacking Grand Duke Constantine is equivalent to attacking Baryatinsky, and it is also equivalent to helping him consolidate his position with Alexander II. As for whether the collective interests of the conservatives will be lost, are the collective interests closely related to his personal interests?

Li Xiao also nodded and said: "I agree, it is indeed necessary to stop him!"

Pobedonostsev breathed a sigh of relief. He knew that Li Xiao had understood his intention and wanted to cooperate with him. In this way, the biggest obstacle will be gone, and then the two parties can talk about some substantive things.

He thought for a while and said: "But the matter is still very difficult. After all, His Majesty took the side of Grand Duke Constantine out of consideration for brotherhood, and Duke Baryatinsky was unwilling to fail and still tried to make a name for himself..."

Li Xiao was a little surprised: Baryatinsky is still going to cause trouble? Is he really that brave and brave enough to commit a crime? But even if he has this intention, how can he make a move?

Pobedonostsev quickly explained: "Do you know Duke Dolgoruky? This man is Duke Baryatinsky's lackey and has always obeyed him..."