King Frederick of Prussia? William IV and his younger brother William looked at each other and asked strangely, "Little William, why do you judge like this, and what is the reason?" As far as I know, the territory of the Chinese Empire, which was formed by this rebel army, has not yet recovered half of the territory of the Qing Dynasty. Pen | fun | pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ”

"Your Majesty, Father, the Qing Kingdom is rotten, and even if it has more territory, it is also defeated by this rebel army, because of its lax combat readiness, backward weapons, and economic collapse. And this Chinese empire is different. When they were still rebels, their leader Feng Yunshan trained his soldiers, developed local agriculture and basic industries, and traded with Western countries to collect funds. At first, they only bought weapons from European countries, including our Prussia, but then he opened his own machine factory, textile factory and arsenal, and by the time I went to Canton, they were already able to make their own new Charlville shotguns and Dreiser M1841 needle guns. ”

"Therefore, I have reason to believe that they are not ordinary rebels all the time, they have their own set of development plans, and they are implementing them. If this continues, their power is so strong that it can even be compared to a European power like us, Prussia. Moreover, they have a large population, abundant resources, and an obedient and industrious people. I conclude that in a few years he will catch up with Prussia, and even surpass it in sheer force. This must be a mighty empire! ”

The King of Prussia nodded and said, "In this case, the rise of this lion in the East is already unstoppable. Fortunately, Prussia had a close relationship with it in the early stage, and the rise of the other side was a good thing for me Prussia. Little William, you continue to maintain close relations with the other side, represent Prussia as allies and partners with the other side, and snatch as much trade share of Britain and France as possible in China. ”

As soon as he said this, it was tantamount to agreeing with the great power status of this eastern country, and William Jr. was naturally overjoyed, and hurriedly told the good news to Mr. Karenway, the minister to China.

…….

Inside the Imperial Palace of the Russian Empire in St. Petersburg late at night.

Emperor Nicholas I of the Russian Empire sat on the top floor of the main hall of the Imperial Palace, looking at the night in the distance, without saying a word. Behind him, his eldest son, Crown Prince Alexander, also frowned, looking at his father worriedly.

Both of them were silent, and in the end, Alexander couldn't hold his breath and spoke first: "Father, the Crimean War has reached the most critical moment, but those people in the country, whether they are nobles, commoners, or serfs, are full of complaints against you. The situation is extremely unfavorable for Russia. ”

"Alexander, these people in the country, I don't pay attention to them at all. Those nobles, as long as I come forward to say something, they must obediently bow down and obey; And those civilians, the disobedient ones have all become serfs, and as for the serfs, they even sent my army to kill a batch, and they were all solved. After Nikolai finished speaking with a gloomy face, he turned sharply and stared into his son's eyes, which Alexander did not dare to look into.

"Why don't you dare look me in the eye? Are you weak-hearted? Nikolai laughed, but his face was already desolate: "What do you say that the nobles, commoners, serfs are dissatisfied with me?" You think I don't know, but you're the one who is most dissatisfied with me, right? Your wings have hardened, and you are about to spread your wings and fly high, and you are very dissatisfied with your father's rule? In that case, let's talk about it tonight. ”

Hearing this, Alexander's face changed slightly, but he calmed down, bravely met his father's gaze, and firmly admitted: "Not bad! I'm very unhappy with you! ”

"Father, you are old, and it is time for you to retire. Yours is already a thing of the last century, and it is long overdue to be discarded. Russia needs a new emperor who is young, rich and reformed. Alexander bluntly exposed his ambitions.

"Tell me where I'm falling behind. If I call you the emperor, how will you do it? Unexpectedly, Nikolai did not get angry, but asked calmly as if he had been prepared.

"Father, don't think about the Crimean War, our Russian Empire will definitely lose miserably!" Alexander said with some pain: "Today it is completely different from the Russia of half a century ago!" During the entire war, our Russian army was exposed to a large number of problems, backward weapons and equipment, low logistical transportation and supply capabilities, outdated military thinking, and the commanders were a bunch of officers and nobles with a vegetarian position, and they had no command, which was too different from Britain and France. ”

Nikolai nodded: "I know all this." You're right, but what workaround do you have? ”

Seeing that his father recognized himself, Alexander said with some excitement: "These problems, in essence, in the final analysis, are the serfdom system in Russia, which does not correspond to the industrial and political system that is now prevalent in Europe, and the social development, economic system and political system have lagged far behind the countries of Western Europe. Based on this judgment, if I become the emperor of Russia, I must reform the old political and economic system of Russia, and the first thing to do is to abolish slavery. ”

"Secondly, the son wants to carry out a comprehensive reform of the whole of Russia. The main focus is on military, social, judicial and administrative systems. The military implements compulsory military service for the whole people, prohibits corporal punishment in the army, and improves the combat effectiveness of the army. It is also necessary to vigorously develop industry, release the emancipated serfs into industrial construction, vigorously develop transportation and education, and build railways. After five years and ten years of development, Russia will continue to become a world power, and then his son will lead the Russian army to carry out military expansion, open up colonies, and develop Russia into a world power. ”

Nikolai smiled, he really smiled, and said to his son with some love: "Yes, you can say so much, it is enough to prove that you have really thought about it, and there is a certain amount of detail in your heart." The Crimean War was about to be lost, and the Russian Empire was at a critical point of life and death, and reform was necessary. ”

Ignoring his son's surprised gaze at him, he said directly: "It's good for my father, you can serve Russia." I wanted to take up the most difficult and heavy burden and hand over to you a kingdom of peace, all in place, and happiness, but God made a different arrangement. Although your difficulties will be much more difficult, they will train you to become a Russian master. ”

As he spoke, he picked up a newspaper in his hand, which published the news of the establishment of the Chinese Empire from the far east, and said: "Even ancient China has undergone changes, and we in Russia naturally need it!" And, Alexander, Father tells you, now that Britain and France are united, Russia cannot defeat the combined forces of both of them. If Russia wants to develop, for the sake of the present, it can only develop to the Far East! ”

"Father, you are talking about the development of Siberia and the Far East by the Russian Empire?"

"Not bad! My father had already seen that Siberia and the Far East were vast and could be captured if you sent a small army. Serfdom or something, you have to do it while you do it! Nikolai spoke, blood began to fall from the corners of his mouth.

"Father, what's wrong with you?" Alexander found the same as his father and began to shout.

"I'm too tired for my father and want to rest. Moreover, if I do not do this, the entire Russian Empire will collapse, and perhaps it will be scattered and divided by the Anglo-French forces. In the Crimean War, there had to be a party involved, and unfortunately, I chose to carry the black cauldron. Wait a minute, you will declare your father's death, arouse the indignation of the Russian soldiers, and the whole army will begin the final decisive battle with the coalition forces, and if you are defeated, you will make me a scapegoat. ”

Alexander then realized that his father had already conceived of his will to die, and he committed suicide by taking poison early.

He couldn't help but burst into tears, and his dissatisfaction with his father Nikolai had long since come to naught.

And Nikolai, who began to have severe pain in his abdomen, looked at his son lovingly, raised the newspaper in his hand, and said: "If you want to expand your troops in the Far East and Siberia, you still have to be careful of Feng Yunshan, the emperor of this country, this person, like you, is also ambitious to launch a change. ”