When the news spread from the court that the Tsar had appointed the Provisional Government to maintain order, Petersburg, which had been in chaos all night, finally stopped a little, and the riots that had arisen were quickly quelled under the pressure of the troops loyal to the Provisional Government, and the troops who did not intend to be immediately loyal to the Provisional Government, because they had not received any orders from above, had to return to the barracks with doubts and helplessness. Pen ~ fun ~ pavilion www.biquge.info

Later that day, a little later, a similar rebellion was launched in several other large cities of the Russian Empire, and some of the rebel soldiers who had been prepared in advance forcibly stormed the local town hall and announced that they would take over the local government on behalf of the Provisional Government to maintain order.

Soon, after the initial chaos, word of what had happened in Petersburg soon spread, and the explosive news left everyone who heard it stunned and bewildered.

The Winter Palace was attacked by the rebels, and the Tsar and the Imperial Ministers fell into the hands of the rebels, who formed a provisional government...... All kinds of news are beyond the limits of most people's imagination.

More speculations and rumors followed, which became more bizarre by the nervousness of the people as they circulated, and some said that both the Tsar and the Crown Prince had been killed after the rebels captured the Winter Palace; Others say that they have fallen into the hands of traitors, and that the orders that have now been passed out have been invalidated under duress; Others say that His Majesty has reconciled with the rebels and is ready to reshuffle the Imperial Cabinet to listen to the voices of the people and alleviate the suffering of the people.

In the midst of the chaos, the whole country was plunged into chaos for a while, and order everywhere deteriorated greatly, even if the Provisional Government had been trying to maintain local order, they could only control a few large cities and the surrounding rural areas for the time being, and for the vast territory of the Russian Empire, they only controlled a few islands in the ocean.

However, the head of the Provisional Government, Pierre Bezukhov, was confident, and he had been waiting for this day for decades, and in the midst of those decades of dormancy, he calmly and slowly prepared for the eventual uprising, and planned for every eventuality.

For him, a successful coup d'état, killing the Tsar, and taking control of Petersburg and several other cities was already the fulfillment of his long-cherished wish, and every minute and second of the next could be said to be earned, and he was not afraid of defeat or death.

Under his supervision, the Provisional Government began to try to exercise the functions of the government, and issued in an orderly manner all the decrees that had been prepared long ago, from politics to economics, to civil rights and freedoms, and so on.

Of course, in addition to these idealistic moves, Count Bezukhov also made some more realistic moves, and when the capital was in a situation where supply difficulties began to rise in a short period of time due to the chaos of order, he ordered the opening of government warehouses everywhere and the distribution of supplies to the civilians as soon as possible to help them survive this difficult winter.

At the same time, the Bezukhov family's business began to distribute supplies - as one of the few large landowners in Russia, Count Bezukhov's domain was very rich, and over the years, the family also established a large number of businesses to distribute the products of their own territory, and a large number of materials were stored in each business.

During the war, in order to undermine the prestige of the Imperial Government and hasten the defeat of the war, Count Bezukhov instructed his own businesses to start hoarding Juqi, which caused the prices of food and firewood to rise rapidly, which soon caused the people to complain and the Imperial Government to become even more unpopular.

Now, however, now that the Count had accomplished great things, there was no need for the Count to continue hoarding, but instead he took the initiative to let his own business begin to supply the market with grain on a large scale at very low prices, and even distributed a large number of them free of charge, so that the prices in the capital were stabilized, and the commotion caused by the coup d'état was quickly subsided.

Although he was an intellectual, the Count had been up and down for so many years, so he knew that in order to win the support of the people, it was pointless to just shout slogans, and the most important thing was to make them feel that they could get the benefits of support, especially now.

In this way, relying on a series of efforts, the Count threw a thunderclap on the originally dull and rotten, swampy Russia, and this backwater country was suddenly swept into the torrent of the times.

The waterhole thrown into the boulder made violent waves, sweeping to every corner of the empire, and the front line of the empire at this time was fiercely fighting with the enemy, and the chill of early spring was felt even more strongly.

The fall of the fortress of Sevastopol was originally a major blow to the imperial army, and when the news of the coup d'état in Petersburg and the fact that His Majesty the Tsar might have fallen into the hands of the rebels reached the front, it was a fatal blow.

At least, in the eyes of the Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Army, General Gorchakov, and his cousin, Ambassador Gorchakov, the chief representative of the Russian delegation in Crimea, there is no point in continuing this disgusting war.

From the moment he received the news from Petersburg, Ambassador Gorchakov had been trying to meet with Chancellor de Treville, the negotiator of the French army, and his envoys had been shuttling almost between the positions of the two armies these days.

But what made him discouraged was that the French had been reluctant to receive him, but only accepted his letter of appeal, and then ignored it, and the reason given by the French was that Marshal Tréville was now seriously ill, and His Excellency the Minister had been taking care of him, and had no time to talk to the Russians, but of course the ambassador knew in his heart that this was just a means for the French to continue to wait for the price to sell, and they wanted to take advantage of the current situation in Russia to extort money, but now he had no other way but to continue to send requests again and again, waiting for the French to show mercy.

He had to do this, and now that the empire was already in disarray, the rebels had taken over the palace and the capital, and issued various orders in the name of the tsar and the provisional government, and the situation would be even more out of control if it was delayed any longer.

And if you want to solve the current problem, the most important thing is to stop the war with Britain and France as soon as possible, mobilize the troops on the front line to return to the division to quell the rebellion, or at least occupy an area first, and prepare for the next counterinsurgency.

And in such an environment, if Britain and France continue to be enemies of Russia, then there is no way for this army to return to the division under any circumstances, and it is even doubtful whether it can continue to exist.

The ambassador was now so apprehensive that he became much haggard, until at last he did not care about his own decency, and begged to meet with Chancellor de Treville almost pleadingly, and promised to make any concessions that the French wanted.

Perhaps it was his sincerity that finally moved the other side, and at last, Minister Tréville informed the ambassador that he had agreed to reopen the negotiations, which were still in the chapel they had previously held.

Almost impatiently, the ambassador immediately went to the church with his attaché early in the morning of the negotiations, and anxiously awaited the arrival of the French.

The French delegation, however, was so unhurried that it was not until noon that Chancellor Tréville arrived at the church with his attaché.

Perhaps because he had to take care of the terminally ill marshal, Chancellor Tréville seemed a little haggard, his skin had turned sallow, his eyes were heavy, and he was no longer as exuberant as the last time they met, but his eyes were still sharp enough to believe that he was still the same vicious careerist.

Lucky for you, boy, I've got you covered.

The ambassador sighed inwardly, not knowing whether it was jealousy or bitterness, knowing that after today's negotiations, Louis Bonaparte and his favourites would become famous, and perhaps become feared figures throughout the continent.

The polite greetings ended immediately, and the ambassador didn't want to waste a minute of polite remarks, so he asked questions directly.

"Your Excellency, I guess you've heard about the unfortunate events that happened in our capital, right?"

"We do hear about it, but we can't confirm that we know the whole story." Charles replied with some reservations.

"Then I'll tell you the facts that I know, just over half a month ago, a group of despicable rebels launched a rebellion in our capital, stormed the palace, and kidnapped our Tsar Majesty, whose death is now unknown." "Right now, this gang of traitors is calling itself the Provisional Government and trying to issue decrees to destabilize our country, and these despicable traitors must be punished as they deserve," the ambassador said bitterly. ”

"We've received some orders from them, and honestly they're not that heinous, at least we seem to be." Charles was not as indignant as the ambassador was, but replied with reservations.

Indeed, almost immediately after the establishment of the Provisional Government, Count Bezukhov issued a decree in which, in addition to declaring that the local governments would support the Provisional Government, he also announced that the privileges of the aristocratic hierarchy would be abolished in the future, that excesses and taxes would be abolished, and that the peasants had the right to divide the estates of their estates.

This series of decrees, almost entirely a copy of the French Revolution, immediately caused unrest everywhere, with peasants and serfs everywhere trying to oppose their lords and divide the land of the village communities they rented, while the noble landowners everywhere were in a state of panic, some trying to organize themselves to defend themselves, others simply leaving their estates and fleeing.

These decrees were also the root cause of Gorchakov and the other nobles' internal burning—how could they sleep peacefully because their privileges, their property, were almost wiped out?

Therefore, it is normal for the ambassador to grit his teeth and want to suppress this group of rebels as soon as possible.

"Is it true that as the legitimate government of France, your country should be open to the rebels?" Charles's cold reply made the ambassador a little anxious, and he immediately asked, "Don't forget, a king is in danger of life right now, and as a monarchy, as his brother, His Majesty the Emperor of your country should also understand that the crisis of every monarch is common. ”

"Thank you so much for now acknowledging that our Emperor and the Tsar of your country are brothers." Charles suddenly laughed, "If you had treated us this way earlier, maybe things wouldn't have gotten to where they are today. ”

This subtle sarcasm made the ambassador hesitate slightly, and he suddenly felt a little embarrassed.

Indeed, since the accession to the throne of Louis Bonaparte, the Tsar and the Imperial Government have always treated him with contempt, hardly associating with him, let alone treating him as equals, and now it is no wonder that he is laughing at what he calls "brothers".

But now, even if it's a joke, there's no way to do it, and he has to keep talking.

"There were some misunderstandings between our two countries, but now they have been cleared up, and we welcome the abolition of the republic by your Emperor, the preservation of the sacred value of the monarchy in France, and the willingness to include your Emperor in the arms of the European monarchy." "Now that our monarchy and monarchy are in an unprecedented crisis, your country should also see that it is a sacred principle for all nations to support the legitimate government of Russia," the ambassador said cautiously to Charles. ”

"Yes, you have a point, but ...... We also don't know, which government does this article apply to? Charles still smiled and asked rhetorically, still with a hint of sarcasm in his words.

"A legitimate monarchy government, of course!" Gorchakov replied loudly, "Sir, you should see that the preservation of the monarchy in Russia is the preservation of the monarchy in France, because Europe is a continent, and the victory of the republic anywhere causes unrest in other countries...... So I think that our suppression of the rebellion will also be a contribution to Europe and to your country, and I implore your country to facilitate us! If we don't act soon, the republican virus will take root in Russia and end up uneasy for the whole of Europe! ”

"May I understand that you want the Russian army to surrender to us as soon as possible, and then stop this war, so that your army can return to the division to quell the rebellion?" Charles asked rhetorically.

"I ask you for an armistice, for the sake of the monarchy." The ambassador replied.

"Surrender." Again, Charles emphasized, "Only a formal surrender would give us a reason to end the war, after all, we now have an absolute advantage." Of course, after surrendering, your army can still maintain its proper structure, and your weapons do not have to be surrendered. ”

"Alright, let's surrender." After hearing that the structure and weapons could be maintained, the ambassador didn't want to argue at all, and immediately nodded in agreement, for him it was just a name, anyway, he had already lost face, and it didn't matter if he lost a little. "In the meantime, I ask you to open the way after our army surrenders, so that we can go north."

"It's up to you to agree to our terms of negotiation." The charr remained calm.

"We promise all the conditions you put forward last time!" The ambassador hurriedly replied.

"No, in such a new situation, the previous conditions are no longer suitable for the situation." Charles shook his head coldly, "Now we need to update the conditions. ”

Hearing this, the ambassador's heart ached again, and he understood that he was likely to leave behind a reputation of losing power and humiliating the country.

But now that the country is in danger, where can we take care of any infamy?

"Mention it, if I can say yes, I will say yes." The ambassador endured the pain in his heart and replied as calmly as possible.

"The Black Sea coast must be permanently militarized, all fleets, fortresses, arsenals, barracks, must be abandoned." Charles did not want to waste time, so he immediately began to say, "At the same time, Russia must guarantee to compensate France for part of the military expenses consumed in the war, and the exact amount of these military expenses will be counted and handed over to your country later." ”

Military? Reparations?

The ambassador froze, then shook his head abruptly.

"We can agree to the problems of the Black Sea, but we can't pay compensation."

His words are true, at this time the country has become like this, where will he find out the reparations?

"Given your country's current financial situation, we certainly won't force you to hand over money that you can't possibly scrape together, but this indemnity can be deducted through taxes." Charles spread his hands, showing how sensible he was, "Russia can let French merchants run the railways, mines, fisheries, farms, forests, factories, and even commercial establishments within their borders...... And so on and so forth, and the tax generated will be used to offset the indemnity. ”

After hearing such conditions, the ambassador was speechless for a while.

This would be tantamount to allowing Russia to loosen all tariff barriers, allowing the French to carry out commercial invasions and loot important resources and industries from the empire, with an impact even worse than reparations.

"You're taking advantage of the fire, sir!" He couldn't help but protest.

"Yes, we're taking advantage of the fire, sir." Charles nodded. "If we can rob, why don't we do it?"

His frank attitude made the ambassador even more angry, but he also understood that moral condemnation of such people was simply pointless.

Now, he really doesn't have many options.

"If you have to do this, we can only promise you, but you also understand that these conditions are extremely harsh, and if we do so, we will be put in a very disadvantageous situation in public opinion......," said the ambassador, gritting his teeth, "and Mr. Treville, you can also see that whether or not the conditions we promised can be fulfilled is judged by whether we can win or not, and if we fail in public opinion and we are defeated as traitors, then what is the point of me promising you more?" ”

The ambassador's reply was unexpected.

But when he thought about it, it made sense.

"And what are you going to do?" Finally, he asked rhetorically.

"Our terms remain the same, but France must give us a loan so that we can relinquish our rights in the name of repaying the loan." The ambassador looked at Charles with his head held high, "That way, we won't be passive in public opinion, and you can get what you want." ”

"It turned out that we lent you money to quell the rebellion? What a beautiful thing you think! Charles couldn't help but laugh.

"And do you see if there's a better way?" The ambassador looked at Charles without fear. "Don't you want to win the friendship of Russia? We will always be grateful to you for your help now, and who will say anything more about the French when the time comes, even if they expand commercially? It's better than robbing while it's hot, right? And you? You'll also get a lot out of it! ”

Under his gaze, Charles fell into a deep groan.

"I'll tell Your Majesty about this." Finally he said.

"Good." The ambassador smiled, he understood that the other party said this to tactfully agree to him.

He knows that it is inevitable to lose power and humiliate the country now, and what he has to do is to try to win more things for the country, and at the same time create conditions for quelling the rebellion as soon as possible.

"We also have one condition, that your country shall not engage in any war of expansion or retaliation, and that Austria's right to protect Wallachia and Moldavia must be guaranteed." After a few moments, Charles spoke again, "At the same time, Russia must no longer send troops to Poland to ensure that the Poles enjoy their rightful rights......"

Wallachia, which was originally the cause of Russia's war, turned out to be a meal on the Austrians' plate, which made the ambassador feel another pain in his heart.

And Poland is even more unbearable.

"Poland?" He looked at Charles and muttered to himself. "Sir, if we do not garrison troops in Poland, what general civil rights do we give them, then what is the difference between this and the recognition of their independence?"

France and Poland can be said to have been friendly for generations, during the reign of Napoleon I, he also established the Grand Duchy of Warsaw, and the Poles also followed him diligently, and fought with him in the war against Russia, but I did not expect that in the time of Napoleon III, this complex still remained.

"At least nominally, they'll still belong to you." Charles retorted.

"But what if they rebel too?!" The ambassador certainly would not be deceived by such a rhetorical manoeuvre.

"Then leave it to fate." Charles shrugged.

His implicit sarcastic attitude made the ambassador's blood swell in an instant, and he was almost about to explode again.

But he knew that now was not the time to get angry.

And, more importantly, at a time when the empire is in jeopardy, Poland itself may be difficult to preserve, after all, the people there hate the rule of the empire. Not to mention that the empire itself still needs to transfer troops to quell the rebellion.

Anyway, it may not be able to keep it, so I promised it first, and then I will find a way to get it back later. The ambassador thought to himself.

"Okay, we'll promise you." With inexplicable pain, he hissed, "In addition, as a gesture of friendship with the Turks, we will also withdraw our troops in the Caucasus, sir, I remember your last promise that France was ready to give security guarantees to Russia......"

Charles froze.

He didn't expect the other party to say such a thing.

Obviously he wanted to send troops to fight the civil war and rebellion, but he said that he wanted to take the initiative to be friendly with the Turks, and he also pulled the French over, asking the French to restrain the Turks from taking advantage of the fire to loot.

Charles's original security guarantee to Russia was originally intended to provoke the other side, but it turned out that he took it over and took the French army.

However, if you think about it, it is also good that France does not want the Turks to swell in the past, and the ambassador's request gives France sufficient reason to continue to interfere in the balanced affairs of the Near East.

In that case, let's follow the other person's wishes.

Unexpectedly, under such unfavorable conditions, the other party still relied on the few remaining chips to fight for so many things with a realistic attitude.

"What a seasoned diplomat." Charles complimented him from the bottom of his heart, "I admire you very much. ”

"I'm just a traitor now." Gorchakov let out a long sigh, then stood up in a state of dismay, "Sir, it would be nice if there was no war!" I've always been against it. ”

"At least you've done enough to end it." Charles also stood up and held out his hand to the other.

Thus, at nightfall, the French and Russian negotiators had completed the preliminary negotiations with astonishing efficiency, whereas the previous year had made little progress.

This shows how traumatized this sudden rebellion was to the Russian Empire and how much it alarmed the rulers of the Empire.

At the end of the negotiations, Ambassador Gorchakov even asked France to send troops or volunteers to assist Russia in counterinsurgency, but Charles politely but firmly refused.

After all, now France is content and has no interest in allowing itself to wade into the Russian quagmire.

Moreover, France does not interfere, and it is just right to wait for bids from both sides.

For Charles, this pact was both a predetermined advantage and a tool that could be used to oppress Count Bezukhov to give him an advantage, and in the present circumstances, both sides had to rely on him.

When he got the draft of the agreement, Charles suddenly felt a sense of relief.

In this agreement, he has received everything he could hope for. There is no doubt that after the peace talks are over, he will shake the whole of Europe again, and at that time no one will speak of Emperor Louis-Bonaparte and himself with contempt.

No matter how much others dislike him, they must admit that he is a giant.

If Grandpa could be safe, everything would be perfect.

If...... Grandfather......

With a sudden sense of apprehension, in the midst of this cold winter night, Charles left his attaché behind and rode with the guards to the hospital again.