The masquerade ball of the aristocracy is actually the same as the traditional court ball, which is a variety of non-stop dances, continuous eating, drinking, feasting, gambling and small gambling games, secret private parties, and of course, flies and dogs between men and women.

If you have to say the specific characteristics of the masquerade, then it is mainly reflected in the costumes, and the nobles participating in the masquerade need to choose the costumes that meet the requirements according to the theme of the ball, for example, the theme of Her Majesty Empress Alexandrovna's masquerade ball this time is Greek mythology.

Greek mythology has always been a favorite masquerade theme for the Russian aristocracy, and it has been held far more often than Persian, Turkic, Qing and French Louis themes.

It is said that there are two main reasons for liking Greek themes, one is that because Russia inherited the mantle of the Eastern Roman Emperor of the Byzantine Empire, and the Greek civilization was not only inherited by Rome, but also the origin of European civilization.

Second, Greece belongs to the Orthodox Diocese of Constantinople, and it is also the spiritual center of the Orthodox Church, and the ecumenical patriarch of Constantinople is respected as the supreme leader of the Orthodox Church, so the use of Greek mythological themes is also regarded as a tribute to the spiritual center of the Orthodox Church and the universal patriarch.

Ahem! Everyone, please forget these two short paragraphs!

This passage is nothing more than a group of writers who have been forced and trained since childhood to find out the central idea of every article and everything, and to find out the mental journey of someone.

In the era when there were no radio, movies, television, the Internet, and mobile phones, the life of the aristocracy basically revolved around the ball.

Some people may say that the aristocracy of the 19th century could also go to Shakespeare's plays, go to concerts, go hunting, and even race horses, etc., and there was a lot of colorful aristocratic life waiting for the nobles to enjoy.

It's a pity that what you're saying applies only to the aristocracy who have the money and leisure, and only who can enjoy such an expensive life.

The noble art represented by opera and concerts has always been synonymous with expensiveness, from building a theater at their own expense, to supporting a theater troupe or band, so that there are only a handful of nobles who know art, appreciate art, and raise art.

As for the vassals who watch a few plays and listen to a few operas, even the commoners with plenty of money can do this kind of thing, but for the top nobles, if they are not accompanied by art masters, how can they reflect their elegance beyond the world.

When it comes to hunting, you should have at least two hunting grounds, one should be a hunting ground in the mountains and woodlands, which allows you to hunt some large animals, such as bears and deer, and the other should be a wetland hunting ground, which allows you to hunt birds, such as geese and wild ducks.

A nobleman can't always go to other people's hunting grounds to hunt, but also needs to invite others to his own hunting grounds.

However, the aristocrat who can have such a large area of land is not a rich man.

As for playing horse racing .... If a nobleman goes to the race and rides not a thoroughbred, but a hybrid colt ....

This picture is estimated that no nobleman dares to imagine, but a thoroughbred horse and the cost behind it can only be handled by a wealthy nobleman.

As in Europe, among the vast number of Russian aristocrats, the rich and idle nobles are also scarce resources, and the vast majority of the nobility still belong to the class of leisure and no money.

It's impossible to work, but it's impossible to have no money, the best way is to get married, put fame, wealth, beauty and intelligence on the table to trade, everyone takes what they need, and the platform that can provide this transaction is none other than the prom.

At present, the most popular way of marriage in Europe and the United States is that an old American rich man marries a young lady with a very high family reputation but little money, and after two years the American rich man dies, the famous lady inherits a large amount of wealth, and then returns to Europe and remarries a very talented young European talent, of course, this young talent is also an idle nobleman with no wealth and no wealth.

At this time, in Germany and England, many upper-class aristocrats were proud to marry a wealthy widow, and getting a huge fortune for nothing would help the nobles communicate with each other and help them develop their careers.

In this way, the Europeans exported the nobility and gained wealth, while the Americans, by handing over the money, gained the upbringing of the European aristocracy.

The only pity is that the group of rich Americans always like to chase the nobles and ladies of Britain, France and Germany, but they never stop their eyes on the beautiful Russian girls, which makes many Russian aristocrats who have leisure and no money very melancholy.

For the aristocracy, the ball also has a crucial benefit, that is, there is no high entrance fee, you don't need to buy expensive racehorses, you don't need to have a hunting ground, you don't need to buy expensive thoroughbreds, all you need is to find a way to get an invitation, plus a beautiful dress and expensive jewelry.

For many nobles who have no money or leisure, in addition to the fame left by their ancestors, clothes and jewelry are already their only remaining façade, so attending balls has become the cheapest means of communication for the upper class.

If you don't have a beautiful garment, then go to the Jewish tailors to cut it, and if you can't afford to pay for the expensive garments, there is another way, which is to send the garment left by your mother or grandmother to the tailor to be slightly modified, add a lace edge, or tie a few silk flowers, and slightly change the neckline and cuffs, and a new garment that is not visible to the discerning person will be at once.

In the worst-case scenario, you can also rent clothes, but of course, it takes a while to rent a piece of clothing that fits properly.

Jewelry is even simpler, you can borrow your grandmother's or mother's jewelry, or you can transform your ancestral jewelry, such as breaking up a complicated necklace and turning it into a set of rings and earrings, or changing a large gemstone in a ring into a necklace, in short, there are countless ways that jewelers can help you.

In the same way, jewelry rental is also a big business, there are both real jewelry for rent, and fake jewelry for rent, of course, you also need to be careful, don't take fake jewelry for real, after losing it, just use no food or drink to pay off the debt for real jewelry.

Some industrious Russian aristocrats can attend hundreds of balls in a year, so you stop one of the nobles and, in the tone of a later interviewer, ask, "Sir, what do you think of this ball?" ”

It is estimated that the aristocracy's answer is often, "The diamond necklace around the neck of the lady of Duke So-and-so's house is really dazzling!" I heard that it was a necklace made from diamonds from India in Antwerp...."

"Do you know that Earl So-and-so's stables have just been added to the Arabian thoroughbreds, whose bloodlines can be traced back to Gödelphine Babu......"

Or, "The dress of the Marquise is so beautiful, I heard that she invited a tailor on Avenue Montaigne in Paris to come to St. Petersburg to tailor it..."

Of course, there are also those who are full of spring, for example, "The lady named so-and-so in the side branch of the so-and-so family, her wonderful waist makes me so intoxicated....."

But there will never be a nobleman who will talk to you with a righteous face, through the masquerade just now, how he remembers the noble martyrs of Tsarist Russia, and he will not say in a righteous and awe-inspiring manner that he wants to inherit the ideas of the martyrs of the Eastern Roman Empire and how to continue to carry forward the Orthodox Church.

Therefore, the ball is a ball, this is an entertainment, a communication, you can talk about the palace gossip, you can also exchange political secrets, show off your wealth, show your luxury with extravagance and waste, you can also find a wishful husband and beautiful lady for yourself, and you can steal incense and hunt beauty.

The brightest and most dazzling part of today's masquerade ball was Alexander II, who was dressed as Zeus with a thunder spear and a gold-leaf crown, and he was holding a woman with a bronze covered armor and a warrior robe, holding a spear in the image of Athena.

The only lady who did not dare to show her true face was none other than Mrs. Dolgorukova, the junior who accompanied Alexander II for more than ten years.

Alexander II raised his hands in favor of holding a grand court ball in the Winter Palace, and if there was any dissatisfaction, it was that the masquerade ball should go one step further and become a masquerade ball.

The nobles with masks can let go of the last moral fetters in their hearts in the ball, flirt with men or women irresponsibly, whether they don't recognize each other, whether they recognize each other, as long as the beast of desire in their hearts can run wildly, who cares about this.

Fortunately, by the end of the 19th century, masquerade balls became less and less favored by the aristocracy, and with the huge wealth accumulated by the Industrial Revolution and colonial expansion, the European aristocracy began to pay more and more attention to the masquerade style, and became more and more particular about clothing, hairstyles, jewelry and various accessories, and the care and cost of investment became higher and higher, so of course I hope that others can see who wears these luxuries.

You come to the ball with a mask, and who knows that this lady decorated with mountains of gold is the lady of that wealthy family?

As for cheating, keeping a mistress, and even adultery .... It has long been no secret among the Russian aristocracy, juniors, juniors, juniors, juniors, juni fives, and even more, just commonplace.

Like Alexander II, who kept only one mistress for almost twenty years, in the eyes of the Russian aristocracy, he was simply an Orthodox ascetic saint.

The ladies were well aware that their men were outsourcing their lovers, and even some of them wished to be the lovers of the more powerful, and among the many noblewomen who were jealous of Mrs. Dolgorukova, a considerable number of Russian ladies believed that if she had not occupied His Majesty the Tsar himself, she could have become one of the Tsar's mistresses.

Blocking the way for others to ascend to the sky to be a junior is tantamount to the hatred of taking the husband, and it is not a common day!

Don't think that this group of Russian ladies is shameless, on the contrary, in the hearts of all Russian women, they think that Mrs. Dolgorukova is the most shameless one.

In the words of Crown Princess Maria Feodorovna who just shouted at the ball, the matter of being fostered can only be the privilege of married Russian noblewomen, and an unmarried girl as a mistress is contrary to Russian tradition and completely immoral!

In addition, the recent revelation of Alexander II that he couldn't wait for the queen to die and then marry Mrs. Dolgorukova completely angered those genuine ladies who were originally cold bystanders, and if they didn't fight back against this kind of spoiled mistress and killing their wives, they were conniving at the mistress to seize power with him.

So tonight, this group of angry and jealous Russian upper-class ladies who were there, obviously everyone knew who the lady in the bronze covered armor was, but no one went up to say hello, and Mrs. Dolgorukova was completely isolated.

I can't beat you, so I'll isolate you in a group.

As soon as she stepped into the ball, Mrs. Dolgorukova immediately felt this deep malice, and for the past thirteen years she had always tried every means to hide in the back of Alexander II, never daring to face the eyes of the world, let alone Empress Alexandrovna, who was not at all like the mistresses of the Tsar lying in her bed in the history of Russia.

It was only after the empress was seriously ill and bedridden last year, at the repeated request of Alexander II, she quietly moved into the palace to accompany the Tsar, although she was broken by Crown Prince Alexander at the beginning of this year, but she still continued to hide in her room in a low-key manner, not only did she not go, but also forbade her maids to interfere in the palace affairs of the Winter Palace and the Kremlin, just to take care of Alexander II wholeheartedly, which made the kind Empress Alexandrovna know about it, and she was also quite moved.

Empress Alexandrovna can be moved by Mrs. Dolgorukova, but it does not mean that the Russian noblewomen can be moved, so this masquerade ball has become extremely strange in the scene, Empress Alexandrovna is densely surrounded by the noblewomen of the upper echelons of the entire Russian Empire, and Mrs. Dolgorukova can only stand alone by the Tsar's side, surrounded by a group of male nobles.

It has to be said that General Shuvalov was able to quickly go from a small Russian ambassador to Britain to the head of the secret police in the Third Department in just a few years, and then to the chairman of the Imperial Council of Ministers, that is, the position of the Russian prime minister.

Few nobles dared to compliment Mrs. Dolgorukova, let alone make small talk to her, under the murderous gaze of Crown Prince Aleksandrovich, who might be able to frighten the vast majority of Russian nobles, but by no means General Shuvalov.

Under the doting gaze of Alexander II, Mrs. Dolgorukova communicated with the smiling General Shuvalov in a relaxed and comfortable manner.

"Your Excellency, Anna, Valery and Lilia love the Coca-Cola and Sprite you sent me so much, I was a little worried at first, whether they ate too much ice, and the way you suggested adding lemon juice this time is really too considerate!"

"Madame, please remind your maid-in-waiting that you and the prince and princess have added a new heater to your room, please do not let any textile go near it, the German heater is fine, but it is too easy to cause fire, and I have sent a formal letter to the Germans, asking them to solve this defect in the next generation of products." General Shuvalov waved his hand, smugly and smugly about the taboo on the use of electrical appliances that he had obtained from Siemens.

"Of course, of course, Your Excellency the President, I have asked them to do so again and again, and strictly follow the rules for turning off the heaters after falling asleep, and I would like to thank you for giving the children a lamp, for I have never seen anything so delicate and bright, and a singing machine....." Mrs. Dolgorukova chattered with her gratitude, and even put her hands on her chest a little gasping for breath when she spoke of excitement.

"Ma'am, it's not a big deal." General Shuvalov shook his head with a smile, signaled that Mrs. Dolgorukova did not need to take this to heart, and said in a loud voice, "This is just a matter that a loyal servant of His Majesty should think about for His Majesty." ”

"Also, please don't tell the lovely little princes and princesses that next summer there will be an ice cream machine that can be placed in the room and can eat all kinds of flavors, and it will be delivered to Moscow." The proud General Shuvalov did not forget to add, "This idea and idea was given to the Germans, according to my request, after the Germans made it, it should be given to Russia, to Your Majesty and to the lovely little princes and princesses." ”

The ice cream machine in the mouth of General Shuvalov is actually a new electrical product on Siemens' 1880 new product promotion book, this product does not have an electrically driven Freon refrigeration compressor, which is completely different from the popular ice cream cone machine in Joey's previous life, more like the smoking ice cream machine of the Internet celebrity product produced now, a large container with a motor driving a blender, while mixing milk, butter, eggs and sugar, a large amount of dry ice is poured by hand, and through the rapid heat absorption of dry ice, a delicious smoking ice cream is made.

The design of this machine was born out of the idea that Joey wanted to make a kind of summer food for his sisters in the hot summer of this year in Germany, and General Shuvalov, of course, had nothing to do with it, but who could stand up and question the omniscient and omnipotent General Shuvalov at this ball of Russian nobles?

Of course, there are, such as Crown Prince Aleksandrovich, whose eyes are red and stimulated by the title of "little prince, little princess".

"I said, Mr. President, six months ago, the content of your declaration of inauguration is still in my ears, and you said that you will make every effort to promote Russia's economic development and increase the export of industrial products." Crown Prince Aleksandrovich glanced contemptuously at the woman beside his father, and then continued to reprimand, "Is it your economic policy to bring in these expensive, useless German consumer goods that are of no help to the imperial industry, and which waste a lot of precious imperial gold coins?" ”

Crown Prince Aleksandrovich did not hide the anger in his heart, which made the atmosphere of this group of high-level leaders of the Russian military, political, and economic circles gathered around the tsar tense.

On the one hand, the crown prince who would inherit the Tsar's throne in the future, and on the other side was His Majesty's most dazzling favorite, and it was still unknown who would win or lose, and the clever ministers began to focus on Alexander II, using the Tsar's mood as their weather vane, ready to fall into the ground, the slightly sluggish ministers, closed their lips and stayed away from this power game, and of course, there was a handful of ambitious fellows who were eager to try to muddy the waters and profit from it.

After all, he was the victor who survived the brutal political struggle in Russia, and General Shuvalov first received a trace of encouragement from the eyes of Alexander II, and Shuvalov, who had relied on him, began to talk eloquently, "Your Royal Highness, in fact, since July this year, after Germany resumed importing grain from the Reich, as of the end of November, the amount of grain exports in these five months is equivalent to the total amount of the Reich's exports to Germany last year. ”

"Am I right, dear Pyotr-Aleksandrovich?" General Shuvalov smiled at the Minister of Agriculture and State Resources Voev.

"Oh?!" Minister Voev, who was named, smiled awkwardly, both in favor and in no, and tilted his neck slightly and nodded.

"Unusable wall grass, you have been crossed off the list of contenders for the right to distribute products in the Kyiv Governorate." General Shuvalov smiled, but then glared at Minister Voev fiercely, and at the same time secretly made a decision in his heart.

"As the Governor of Kyiv, I would say that this year the grain production of the whole of Ukraine is unexpectedly good, and the lower officials told me that the agricultural income of the Kyiv Governorate is expected to exceed 25 million rubles this year." Alexander II's youngest son, Grand Duke of Kiev Vladimir Aleksandrovich, suddenly interjected, "I believe Peter said that throughout the Empire, this year there will be a bumper harvest of grain, and the Germans will be able to eat the good grain of the Empire!" ”

With that, he raised his eyebrows at General Shuvalov, and General Shuvalov greeted him knowingly, and by the way, in his heart, he recognized Grand Duke Vladimir as his sole distributor in the Kiev Governorate.

The exchange of interests was tacitly completed in such an instant.

"Oh!" Aleksandrovich looked at the filth under his nose, couldn't help but raise his eyebrows, undisguised his contempt, and said, "This year the empire's grain harvest is abundant, and the export of grain has indeed increased, but dear Mr. Chairman, the empire has more starving serfs!" ”

"Serfs?!" As soon as these words came out, the atmosphere around them was no longer tense, but immediately fell into the ice cave.

Tsar Alexander II, who was revered as the "Liberator", publicly announced to Europe on March 5, 1861 that there would be no serfs on Russian soil, and now on this public occasion he once again proposed that there were serfs in the Russian Empire, which was undoubtedly a serious challenge to the political correctness of His Majesty the Tsar.

Alexander II was in a good mood, at least Alexander II, who was holding the hand of Mrs. Dolgorukova, was in a good mood at the moment, looking at his son with a smile and no anger on his face.

"As far as I know, in order to gather the grain needed by Mr. Chairman, in all the provinces and prefectures of the empire, six of the ten governorates, in order to gather the grain needed by Mr. Chairman, it is said that at your suggestion, the people below even sent troops to rob the serfs of the grain, and even the rations." Aleksandrovich said with a grim face.

"Hehe, Your Royal Highness the Crown Prince, I need to draw your attention to the fact that all the grain purchased by the government is bought in rubles, and as far as I know, this year's purchase price is 4.5% higher than last year's price, and the average peasant household earns 77 rubles more, while the newspapers "News", "Moscow News", "Bells", "Russian Fortune", "Contemporaries", "Chronicle of the Fatherland", these newspapers and periodicals report on this in detail."

"News" is the first newspaper in Russia, "Moscow News" is the largest newspaper in Moscow, the above two newspapers belong to the Russian government, "Bells" is the famous Chernyshevsky founded in London, known as the largest newspaper in Europe dedicated to reporting Russia, "Russian Fortune" is a journal dedicated to promoting Russian science and literature, affiliated with populists, "Contemporary" is a literary and political journal founded by Pushkin, belonging to the revolutionary democrats, and "Chronicle of the Fatherland" It was Belinsky who founded it in St. Petersburg, the largest newspaper in St. Petersburg, and belonged to the capitalist liberal faction.

It is true that these newspapers and periodicals mentioned by General Shuvalov are in a prominent position and report on the great deeds of earning foreign exchange through grain exports, but with Aleksandrovich's identity and status, of course, he knows the reasons for these newspapers and periodicals, and he can't help but roar in his heart.

"That's because the censorship system of the Iron Code is in charge of your Third Department of the Secret Police, and if they don't report it as you wish, the only way left is for the door to go out of business!"

"As for sending troops, well, there is indeed such a thing!" General Shuvalov admitted with a smile, "That's because there is a bumper harvest of grain in Russia this year, and there is so much grain that has been harvested, so I have to ask the army to help escort it, and as for the robbery of the people's grain and rations, the upright imperial generals, the high-ranking officials and governors of the provinces disdain to do such things, which is a complete rumor." ”

With that, General Shuvalov turned his head to the local dignitaries and army leaders present, and confirmed with a smile, "I'm right, guys?!" ”

"Of course, that can't happen."

"Your Highness the Crown Prince, what you have heard is a ridiculous rumor!"

"Your Majesty, the army is an army of decent people, and it will never do such a thing."

"My province/state, in the matter of grain collection, is fully worthy of investigation!"

All kinds of voices sounded chaotically, but after all, they expressed an emotion, "We are innocent!" ”

As for the innocence of the Russian officials, the Russian peasants know best, but it is a pity that they are all dumb people who cannot speak.

"Well, I've seen all the news, Peter, you're doing well! Guys, you're doing a great job too! Facing the group of emotional officials in front of him, Alexander II smiled and soothed.

"However, the foreign exchange obtained from the grain harvest in Russia is not turned into a steel mill, not into a train, but for the purchase of these flashy and useless German goods, Mr. President, you are wasting the precious gold of the Reich to win the favor of the greedy Germans, and in this era when the alliance between Russia and France is the mainstream, you are undermining the great government of the Reich."

This hat that Crown Prince Aleksandrovich withheld was serious.

General Shuvalov slowly put away the smile on his face, and shot back with neither softness nor hardness, "The diphtheria antitoxin produced in Germany, how many children with diphtheria have been rescued in the past six months, everyone here does not need me to name them, and in my impression, your son, His Royal Highness Nikolai, also seems to have been vaccinated against diphtheria." ”

Then her eyes swept over to Lady Dolgorukova, who nodded to General Shuvalov, as the Tsar's three young illegitimate children had also been vaccinated against diphtheria.

With the existence of Joey, a diphtheria cure, and the miraculous curative effect of the fake, diphtheria antitoxin is hard to find in the aristocratic circles of the entire Europe.

After all, in the nineteenth century, even if you were an aristocrat with good medical conditions, even if it gave birth to the rescue method of endotracheal intubation, the fatality rate of diphtheria was still as high as 40%, and this only refers to adults, if it is a newborn, an average of more than 50,000 people in Europe are killed by diphtheria every year.

The powerful nobles present were basically waiting in line for the diphtheria antitoxin vial in General Shuvalov's hand, and now that General Shuvalov had made his words clear, he couldn't help but stand up and show his attitude.

For a time, all voices were praising this amazing German product that could save lives.

Occasionally, a few discordant voices complained that German goods were too expensive and were sold at the same price as a volume of gold, but then they were silenced by the voices of several of General Shuvalov's comrades.

"Lord so-and-so, isn't your life worth those few gold coins?!"

Those who heard it were immediately speechless.

Yes, the life of a nobleman can be measured by a few gold coins, and the life of a nobleman is priceless!

The upright Crown Prince Alexander Rovich was like a bear who had just been awakened from hibernation, and roared angrily, "So what about these, apart from these damn electric lights, gramophones, and neon lights at the ball, and what heaters, electric kettles, and table lamps for this shitty woman?!" You exchanged the gold of the empire for these useless things?! ”

The angry roar of an adult male bear echoed in the vast Hall of Mirrors of the Hermitage, loud enough to drown out the loud music of the ball.

Now it's the whole ball, and finally all fall into the ice cave.

Mrs. Dolgorukova, who turned around and wanted to flee immediately, was held tightly by Alexander II with both hands, unable to break free at all.

Tsar Alexander II had a smile on his face, warm as if it could melt the cold winter of St. Petersburg, but the voice in his mouth was as cold as the Siberian wind.

"My dearest son, please remember that this vast Russian land will always belong to the Romanovs, to the Tsar himself, and I will never let anyone who believes in the republic, in the revolution, sit in my place, that there is nothing sacred about the Franco-Russian Union, that it will never exist in my time, and that Prussian Germany will always be a friend of the Russian Empire."

"Just as your mother came from Germany, and like the nobles here, most of them came from Germany."

"As for the German products that you despise, my dear son, please turn and look at your mother." Alexander II pointed to Empress Alexandrovna in the distance, and said lightly, "It is what you ridiculed, who wasted countless imperial Inbelians, those so-called useless German goods that saved her life." ”