St. Petersburg, Hermitage.

The cold wind howled, the frost and snow flew, and the snowflakes rolled leisurely and silently fell on every inch of the Winter Palace. The beautiful and magnificent palace in the past has now been dressed in a layer of silver-white plain clothing; Occasionally, frost and snow slid down from the deposited birches, adding a different artistic conception to this vast landscape.

In the exquisitely decorated room, the young Tsar was sitting quietly on a soft and comfortable bench, the golden fireplace beside him was blazing, reflecting a strange blood red in his emerald eyes. With the passage of time, the handsome and handsome young man who ascended to the throne at the beginning of the year is no longer there, and the traces of vicissitudes and setbacks are engraved on his face like a knife and an axe, making him have the unique heavy charm of a middle-aged emperor in advance.

The door opened, and a brief cold wave rushed in. Nikolai looked up and saw a middle-aged Mediterranean with an ordinary face already appearing in the room, the heavy coat and coat, gargling with white frost and snow. Looking at this bland face that could not be found in the crowd, Nikolai opened his lips slightly and said softly: "How is it?" ”

The question was endless, but the middle-aged man clearly understood what Nikolai was referring to. He nodded slightly, and said, "Your Majesty, Count Witte has signed the Portsmouth Contract on behalf of the Russian Empire together with the Japanese. Over the next three months, the imperial army will retreat from Manchuria in the Far East to the north of Heilongjiang, our place of departure. The mines, railways, and rights of the empire in Central and South Manchuria, as well as the annexed fortress of Dalini, were all transferred to Japan, and the area south of Sakhalin Island south of the 50th parallel was ceded to the Japanese under the de facto control of Japan. In addition to this, the empire recognized Korea's position outside of Russia's power and Japan's legitimate rights in Manchuria. ”

Nikolai's eyes were cloudy. The right palm hidden in the cuff quietly clenched into an iron fist. Although this result was expected by him months ago. However, when the news actually came. Nikolai's heart was still like a boulder, and he was full of indignation. He was the monarch of all Russia, and his nobility and power were the top beings who made the hearts of all Europe palpitate, and he should have received trillions of cheers and became the peerless king in the history of Russia beyond Peter the Great. However, today he has fallen to this step, not to mention being beaten by a third-rate country like Japan, and the turbulent revolution that broke out in the country almost overthrew him, the emperor of the Romanov dynasty!

The middle-aged man glanced at the monarch in front of him, and continued, "Thankfully. We have achieved a relatively decent peace, and we have not compensated for the huge military expenses as the Qing Dynasty did in the past. On the land, the empire has lost only the Dalini fortress and a corner of Sakhalin Island, which it seized a few years ago, and the land north of Vladivostok and the Heilongjiang River is still firmly in our hands. Strategically, the Sino-Russian secret treaty we signed with the Qing side is still in force; With the Trans-Siberian Railway, which runs through North Manchuria, the empire still has the opportunity to make a comeback and reoccupy Yellow Russia. ”

Nikolai snorted, his eyes showing a mixed look of happiness and hatred. He exhaled slowly, and said, "What should we do now, then: turn our eyes back to the European Balkans, or gather strength in the Far East and prepare for revenge?" ”

"Your Majesty. With all due respect, in the next five years. You'd better stop thinking about starting a war of revenge. If possible, it would be advisable to extend this period for another five years. The middle-aged man walked slowly to the Tsar, his tone was gentle and respectful, but the words he spoke were categorical, directly blocking the Tsar's unrealistic idea of revenge, "Because whether economically or politically, the Russian Empire will not have any ability to wage war against Japan for a long time to come." ”

Hearing that the man in front of him ruthlessly rejected his idea, Nikolai felt a little displeased in his heart; He raised his head, stared at the middle-aged man's eyes with a pair of turquoise eyes, and said, "Peter, my prime minister, I want to know why the Lu Dao Empire can't go east again. We have suffered so much humiliation on the battlefields of the Far East, and this Portsmouth contract has brought shame on the Empire, should this shame be let go so lightly? ”

"Of course, the revenge of the Far East must be avenged. But before that, we will have to spend at least ten years solving the problems of the empire itself. The middle-aged man, Stolypin, the new Russian prime minister, sat down next to the tsar and said softly, "Through this war, all kinds of contradictions that are hidden in the empire have been highlighted, and the current economic development and social status quo of the Russian Empire have reached a critical point of collapse. Therefore, I need a great deal of time to carry out a radical reform of this sick country, which will not solve the problem; And during the long period of time when the major surgery was carried out and the recovery and recuperation, the Russian giant could not do strenuous exercise, otherwise it would leave an indelible dark disease, or directly make my previous efforts go to waste. ”

Thinking of the wave of revolution that almost spread throughout the country, the tsar could not help but shudder.

Stoley was solemn and said slowly: "A Russo-Japanese war that lasted for more than 2 years has really hurt Russia too much. In order to fight this war, we have issued a total of nearly 700 million pounds of various bonds, both at home and abroad; This was an almost unbearable situation for the Empire's finances, which had already been burdened with heavy French debts before the war. The continuous turmoil and chaos in the country has also had a great negative impact on normal social activities, such as repression by force, temptation of candy, deception and assurance, and resumption of production...... Not only do these things take a lot of time and effort, but the direct and indirect losses they cause are staggering. Now the Reich's finances are crumbling, and we are able to survive on loans from Paris, and even our pensions for the families of our fallen soldiers are usurious loans with an interest rate of 6.5 cents a year from the French! Therefore, Your Majesty, please put away the revenge plans in your heart for the time being, for only peace is the closest friend of my Russian Empire. ”

Nikolai fell silent and did not say a word for a long time. Stolypin also felt the need to allow some time to cushion the Tsar, and did not immediately speak again. For a moment the room fell silent, except for the crackling of the fire and the faint sound of the clock.

——————

"In other words, not only will we not be able to take revenge on Japan in a short time, but even the Balkans, which are so far away from us, will be difficult to take care of?" After a long time, Nikolai finally spoke softly.

Stolypin's eyes froze, and then he nodded: "Until the empire's finances return to normal, none of us should make the slightest move to the outside world. It will take some time for the 36 million pounds sterling promised by the French to stabilize the domestic economy, and the foreign exchange earned in recent years through the export of large quantities of oil, grain, and other raw materials to Germany has also been consumed in the purchase of German precision industrial goods, and the little money left now has almost negligible effect on the entire empire. ”

"Revolutionary insurrection at home is more intractable and difficult to deal with than a collapsed fiscal system, and effective and long-term reforms are needed to gradually dissolve the volcano that lies beneath the empire. I am currently working on a land reform aimed at destroying the village community system that had dragged down the empire, propping up the kulak economy, and moving the poor peasants resentful of the empire to the inhospitable regions of Siberia and Turkestan through a policy of emigration, all of which will take a great deal of time. Stolypin spoke flatly, but the next words made Nikolai's face change, "Therefore, on the Balkan issue, if Austria-Hungary suddenly attacks in the near future, then we will have no cards to rely on, and we can only choose to compromise with them." In Europe, if Germany launches an attack on France in the near future, we can only remain neutral and quietly watch as an ally who has invested more than 15 billion francs in the empire to be trampled by Germany. There is no way to do this, the Empire is completely incapable of fighting a war, and rushing into battle will only lead to our own destruction. ”

"These shameless revolutionary reptiles, they should all be hanged and go to hell!" Hearing Stolypin say the word revolution, the Tsar, who had barely kept his composure just now, instantly changed his face. His face turned red, his eyes erupted with fire, and then a roar full of anger resounded throughout the living room: "At the most tense juncture of the national war between the empire and Japan, instead of helping their motherland, they colluded with Japan to reach a dirty and bloody criminal deal, inciting the lowly workers and serfs to rebel, which directly led to the defeat of the empire in the Far East!" My Prime Minister, have you caught all these revolutionary gangsters? ”

Stolypin frowned, and said: "The core figures of the revolutionaries, especially the plague-like Bolsheviks, seem to have quite a deep background to rely on abroad. After we had suppressed the rebellion with the army and bread, they seemed to disappear from the country overnight. The bounties for the hunt of Vladimir, Lev, Joseph and others have been announced in China for nearly a year, but there has been no trace of these high-ranking party leaders, and it is likely that they left Russia after the peak wave of the riots subsided. However, a large number of secondary offenders were caught among the Social Democrats, the Cadets and the Mensheviks. ”

Nikolai's eyes flashed with a hint of fierceness, and he said slowly: "If it can be solved, just solve it." (To be continued......)