Struggle in Russia

"Lonya, Lyonya!"

Alexey Speransky broke into Leonid's house panting, skillfully poured himself a glass of sherry and gulped it like a pure alcoholic.

So he didn't notice that Leonid on the sofa had a sluggish expression and a dazed look, completely devastated.

Alexey chattered and said: "I have opened my eyes today. It turns out that there are people in this world who are not afraid of death!"

As he spoke, he walked towards Leonid. His short panting and slightly excited tone indicated that he might have galloped all the way to report to his good friend. From another perspective, it can also be said how shocking he was to what he saw and heard today.

"As soon as the drum beat stopped, ten infantrymen fired at the same time. It was deafening, sparks and smoke scattered, and I felt the arrival of the god of death!"

"But that Grand Duke Andrei Konstantinovich is like an iron man. He just stood there straight, without blinking his eyes. I dare to swear that he never blinked!"

"No begging, no weakness, nothing, even the order to shoot was given by him himself... My God, what a tough guy he is!"

"I have never seen such a brave man. Even you, my friend, you are brave enough in my opinion, but you are a bit inferior compared with him. Tsk tsk, even if I don't like him very much , and must admit that he is a true warrior, worthy of admiration!"

At first Leonid looked sickly, lifeless and depressed, but as Alexei became more and more excited, he also became a little interested.

He pulled himself together and asked, "What's going on? Your Majesty didn't really order that Grand Duke to be shot, did he?"

Alexie shrugged and explained with a sneer: "Of course not, but it's about the same... The Duke of Aldorf arranged a fake shooting to scare the Grand Duke. I hope the Grand Duke will be soft and plead guilty as he asked Write a letter of repentance. But it was completely useless, and in the end it made old Aldorf unable to step down, and he had to be put back in the cell."

Leonid snorted, disdainful of such tricks. He knew very well why Ordorf did this kind of trick. It wasn't because Nicholas I and Crown Prince Alexander tried every means to save their face and wanted to cover up everything.

It's just that they underestimated someone's tenacity too much, and in the end they looked even more like a laughing stock. This is simply chasing after the end, unlike the behavior that a monarch and heir apparent should have.

And this also made Leonid more and more disappointed with the emperor and the prince, feeling that the object he had served before was a joke at all, so working so hard to do things was a waste of time. It made him feel more and more empty, and he felt that he had no motivation and lost the pursuit of life.

Leonid directly picked up the bottle and poured tons of wine into the mouth of the bottle, startled Alexei who was next to him, he quickly grabbed the bottle and asked in astonishment: "My friend, what are you doing?" What's going on here!"

Leonid sighed heavily: "I'm so disappointed! I went to see His Highness today and reported to him the foreign newspapers you obtained and related information..."

"Then what?"

"Then he began to curse," Leonid sighed again, "that I was against his enemies... My God, I wonder if Your Highness doesn't know what an enemy is?"

"Exposing the facts, those who fight against the rotten sores and dregs of the empire are actually enemies? Are those despicable villains who whitewashed everything and even used it as an umbrella his friends? What kind of bullshit is this!"

Alexey was speechless. He understood Leonid's depression. Sometimes he wondered whether his actions were for the good of the country, or to protect the group of old and stubborn people who were gradually declining, unable to keep up with the times and refused to change. Interests.

The current system in this country does not seem to be for the betterment of the country at all.

But just muddled things along. Everyone is saying some fake stuff, pretending everything is ok, pretending the country is rich and strong, pretending not to see the dark and disgusting things.

In such an environment, it is very painful to stay sane, and the feeling of being powerless and watching everything you love and value slowly decay is too bad.

"So you're just drinking?"

Leonid smiled wryly: "Otherwise, what else can I do? The master of this country and the future master don't care, what else can I do?!"

Alexei thought for a while and replied seriously: "The situation does look very discouraging. But my friend, this is not a reason for you to give up on yourself. Do you still remember the words that the Grand Duke gave to the soldiers? Remember what he said?"

"Delegating to others and blaming others are all things that the pathetic weak will do! A person with a strong heart and solid beliefs will not make excuses, but will only face up to difficulties. The more difficult and difficult, the more he can reflect his noble character. !"

Leonid and Alexei couldn't help repeating someone's words. It was one feeling at the time, and now it's another feeling in retrospect!

Alexei lectured very bluntly: "Now you look like a pathetic weakling complaining about everything!"

Leonid felt his cheeks burn. He really looked like a weakling, like a wretch. At the beginning, he was still laughing at those soldiers who were like scum, but now that he thinks about it, he is just laughing at fifty steps compared to them. What qualifications do he have to ridicule!

"You're right. As bad as it is, it's no excuse for cowardice...I know what to do!"

Alexei heaved a sigh of relief. He was really worried that his good friend would be ruined because of this. Fortunately, there is a certain Grand Duke as an example. It is a blessing in misfortune!

"What are you going to do?" Alexei began to worry that Leonid would continue to speak out. To be honest, that is not a good choice. He asked cautiously: "Continue to advise His Highness?"

Leonid replied with certainty: "No! That's completely useless. Your Highness won't listen to it. I think I should do something practical instead of continuing to circle the royal family. I should go to the bottom , not only to receive training, but also to gain experience!"

"Eh? This..."

Alexei was about to say that this idea was not a good one, but he soon realized that it would be good to change Leonid's surroundings. Given the conflict between him and Crown Prince Alexander, the powder keg may be detonated again if he continues to stay with the Crown Prince. It's better to leave for now and move on in a different environment. Maybe the crown prince will understand his importance after he leaves?

"That's a good idea, so where do you want to go to gain experience?"

After thinking about it seriously, Leonid asked, "You just said that the Grand Duke was sent back to his cell, so how will his affairs end?"

Alexey sneered: "How else can it end? Your Majesty can only punish the scum of the 748 regiment, and then reluctantly commend the Grand Duke in order to show his justice and broad-mindedness to European countries. I will pinch my nose and give that Grand Duke a medal!"

Leonid asked: "In other words, the grand duke should be fine, should he be reinstated?"

Alexei nodded.

Leonid immediately smiled and said, "That's great. The 748 Regiment will definitely get rid of a bunch of scum, so I'll invite myself to serve in the 748 Regiment!"