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It is impossible to complain too much about those who doubted him, for Alexander II himself understood that in the history of Tsarist Russia, the usurpation of the throne was simply too commonplace. Not to mention, two generations further, didn't Alexander I become the new tsar of Russia after planning the coup d'état that murdered his father Paul I.

Speaking of his father, Nicholas I, who had already entered heaven, after the death of Alexander I, it was rumored that his father, who was only Grand Duke Nicholas at that time, had repeatedly sworn allegiance to the natural successor of the tsar, the royal brother Grand Duke Konstantin, but Konstantin voluntarily and voluntarily renounced the throne, so that the crown of another generation of tsars fell on his father's head, and of course, he has his own now.

In fact, Alexander II himself didn't quite believe in such a legend, and his father, who had always been cruel, would be so lowly and willing to do chores for the royal brother? I don't know how much of the inside story is in between.

Since there was always such a danger that might exist at all times within the court, Alexander II could not help but plan for himself.

If you want to sit on the throne, you must "make the country rich and the people strong", and from the moment he succeeded the emperor to sit on the golden throne, Alexander II made up his mind. The first emperor Nicholas I spied on the backward serfdom in the country, which was increasingly unsuitable for the construction of a powerful feudal empire, and tried to adapt the crisis-ridden serfdom system to the extent that it did not harm the interests of the landlord class. Unfortunately, this was not the case, and it was precisely in order to save the precarious serfdom and divert the attention of the growing number of people who were full of distrust of the tsar due to the dilapidated state of the country, that the Crimean War was launched.

After learning from the pain, Alexander II deeply understood that all the evil serfdom was to blame. In the past 28 years, there have been a total of 709 serf riots, large and small, an average of more than 24 times a year. Especially this year, just half a year has passed, and the riots of serfs in various places have burned more than 70 times.

No wonder his police chief cried out in horror in the report, "Serfdom is a powder keg at the foot of the state." No wonder his gifted military minister, Dmitry Miliudin, reminded him repeatedly for two years that "serfdom is a direct obstacle to the creation of a modern, mobile, and rapid army." "It's all the more strange that a Crimean war was lost.

In order to revitalize Russia, which was already in its twilight years, Alexander II began to secretly plan a reform of serfdom while having to accept peace negotiations with the allied forces. First of all, in the circle of the court, he had the full support of his aunt, Princess Elena Pavlovna, and gave great courage.

Princess Elena Pavlovna once revealed to him that his father, Nicholas I, had always expected his son to get up from where he had fallen and successfully emancipate the serfs. Not only that, but the aunt and princess also went deep into the bureaucrats, princes, nobles, and scholars, looking for support for him everywhere. In this way, in addition to the considerable support from the decision-making level of the key departments of the government, all kinds of thinkers who admired Western liberalism and the intellectual elite of France, such as Saint-Simon and Fourier, gradually gathered into a powerful force that rallied closely around him and resolutely supported the policy of serf emancipation.

So, just last month, Alexander II personally set up the "General Council for Peasant Affairs in Tsarist Russia" and began to prepare for reforms, assuring his subjects that God could see that all those who grew up in Tsarist Russia would fully enjoy the fruits of their own labor.

Some people may not want to believe that the reason why Alexander II decided so decisively to carry out such a big change was not only the preparation and planning he had done at home, but also the factor from China. In the messages from China from General Priushenko and Maryanov, who were the two hands and two eyes he had sent out, he knew that the Taiping government there was also engaged in such a serious job of solving the fundamental problems of the peasants. He took the trouble to carefully and meticulously study the reports of the two men over and over again, and from the evolution of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom government's use of land reform to transform batch after batch of peasants into gravediggers of a powerful government, he realized a truth even more thoroughly.

However, the kind of policy of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom was too violent, and the whole thing was a kind of subversion, which could never be done. Of course, there are still lessons to be learned. Therefore, in his grand reform concept, there are two core points of reform: one is to announce the abolition of serfdom, and all serfs will gain personal freedom, including the freedom to move, marry, change occupations, own property, and enter into contracts; Second, it is necessary to stipulate that all land is owned by the landlords, and that serfs must redeem and turn their small piece of land into peasants in accordance with the regulations. As for the ransom? The amount of the ransom must be at least two to three times the actual price of the original land. Since the burden was too heavy for someone to bear, it was simply the case that the serfs paid part of it, and the good tsarist government paid the rest in the form of repaid bonds, but the serfs had to pay it off within fifty years with interest.

Alexander II was also very interested in the peasant mutual aid system, which was not yet widespread in various parts of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. He decided that there would be other aspects of the reforms in Tsarist Russia, such as the organization of the freed serfs, that is, the future peasants, into "communes", whose officials could be elected by the peasants, but subject to the local administration.

It cannot but be said that Alexander's reforms were extremely well-intentioned. He clearly understood that the key to the emancipation of the serfs was the land question. But it was impossible for him to emancipate the serfs with the land, and to give them free access to the land they had been tovering, in the course of not revolution but mere reform. Because the property rights to the land were originally owned by the serf owners, the management rights of the serfs were combined with their serf obligations. Alexander was only thinking about how to satisfy both the feudal aristocracy and the serfs as much as possible, and to maintain stability in the country while changing dramatically.

Since Alexander II was determined to be the architect of this great reform in Tsarist Russia, to be immortalized, he knew very well that now he needed not only time, but also a peaceful external environment. It doesn't matter if Crimea is lost, in China, what was previously wanted should be temporarily abandoned? He was ambivalent, but knew it could only be so.

As a "big political family" who dares to take risks and reforms, he will not fail to understand what should be lost and what should not be lost. If you can keep the "Sino-Russian Aihui Treaty" and keep the cheap you get from living in northwest China, everything will be fine. If you stretch out your hand again and act as a watchdog for the Qing Dynasty, which has basically withered, then our Tsarist Russian Empire will be too worthless.

Anyway, since the reform, we have to make up our minds, be ruthless internally, and treat his own mother and ancestors, whoever dares to block the car with his mantis arm will let him die without a place to bury. Externally, you have to pretend to be a grandson, otherwise who will give you time? If you can't bear it, you will make a big plan, just endure it, wait until Lao Tzu turns over, let's try it here!

Empires also have imperial difficulties.

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