In September 1855, in St. Petersburg, the capital of Tsarist Russia, the majestic Winter Palace stood on the palace square of St. Petersburg, the golden autumn and September was the harvest season, but Tsar Nicholas I did not have the slightest joy of harvest, he walked around in his bedroom irritably, his chamberlain trembling and reciting: "I recognize you from the edge of your sword, I recognize you from your force, from the face of the earth, the bones of the Greeks will be resurrected, and as brave as ever, hooray, hooray, Freedom!"

This "Ode to Freedom" is a masterpiece by the famous Russian writer Pushkin, and the chamberlain Sheyakov did not understand that Nicholas I Weishenme would ask him to recite this poem at this time.

After reading the word zuihou, Sheyakov gently closed the book, bowed respectfully and said, "Bixia, I have finished reading." ”

Nicholas I snorted, stopped abruptly, reached out and pinched his temple, and said slowly: "Has Nikolaevich arrived?" ”

Sheyakov bowed down and said, "Your Highness will pick up Prince Gorchakov, you should be back soon." ”

Nikolai's thick nasal voice hummed again, touching his somewhat shabby hair, but unexpectedly, a strand of gray hair fell from his hand, he looked at the white hair in his hand blankly, his brows furrowed, and he looked even older, "Sheyakov, do you think I'm old?" ”

Sheyakov shook his head and said, "Bixia is eternally young, and her body is as strong as a lion. ”

Nikolai smiled bitterly: "Your words are so good, they are much better than Pushkin's poems, you read that poem again." ”

Shyakov read it again, Nikolai went to the white sofa and sat down, closed his eyes and listened, halfway through the reading. There was a knock on the door of the bedroom, and Shyakov turned around and walked over to open the door, and the guard outside the door said: "Your Highness and Prince Gorchakov have arrived. ”

Nikolai straightened up and said loudly, "Let them in!" ”

After a while, Nikolayevich, the eldest son of Nicholas I, walked in with Prince Gorchakov, Nikolayevich was only twenty-six years old, with a high nose and deep eyes, deep and restrained eyes, a thick beard, and a Russian general's uniform on his body that looked heroic. Prince Gorchakov beside him was also dressed in a military uniform, but his arms were wrapped in gauze. It fell on the neck and it looked like an arm injury.

The two walked up to Nikolai, took off their hats, bowed respectfully, Nikolai looked at Prince Gorchakov's arm and asked, "Are you injured?" ”

Prince Gorchakov's gray beard trembled. He bowed his head and said, "Yes, Bixia." ”

Nikolai frowned and asked, "How is the battle?" ”

Prince Gorchakov looked at Nikolayevich and did not dare to speak. Nikolayevich said in a deep voice: "Father. The reinforcements led by my uncle were blocked by the superior forces of the French army and the army of the Kingdom of Sardinia on the banks of the Techinania River, and our brave soldiers, although they fought desperately, failed to complete the task of rescuing the fortress of Sevastopol, and just received the news that the combined forces of England, France, and the Ottomans had captured the fortress of Sevastopol. ”

Nikolai shuddered. Leaned back weakly, reached out and rubbed his temples, and asked, "How is the Far East?" After the fall of Petropavlovsk, did the enemy continue the offensive? ”

Nikolaevich said: "No. Muravyov's judgment was very accurate, the Anglo-French forces in the Far East and their mercenary regiments were subject to their logistical supplies, so they remained stationary. Muravyov also organized several counterattacks, but the results were very unsatisfactory, and our forces in the Far East were so weak that it was almost impossible to recover a few captured ports and fortresses, unless the cold winter came, and the enemy's replenishment was in question, and it might be possible to regain the lost territory. ”

Nikolai raised his head suddenly, opened his mouth wide and couldn't speak, and after a while he asked dejectedly, "What should we do now?" ”

Nikolayevich and Prince Gorchakov glanced at each other, the former stepped forward, knelt down on one knee in front of Nikolai, and said: "Father, we have been defeated, let's negotiate peace with all countries, Russia has reached the brink of danger, the domestic economic situation has deteriorated, the dissatisfaction of the government and the opposition with the war has reached its peak, and even many junior officers are planning to launch a mutiny to force you to abdicate, and now we can no longer fight." ”

Nikolai looked at his son, who looked very sincere in front of him, with some hesitation, and said slowly: "The glory of Russia cannot wither away, we are the hegemon of Europe, and we have never given in to the fierce French Imperial army, do I want to abdicate in such a failed situation?" ”

Nikolayevich shook his head and said: "Father, our defeat is not actually because our soldiers are not brave enough, nor is it because the generals have a problem with their strategy, but because we are already lagging behind the countries of Western Europe, and even the Qing rebels hired by Britain and France in the Far East have surpassed us, and the weapons they used to attack us this time are similar to the weapons newly equipped by Britain and France." Our industrial level is significantly behind that of the countries, and we will have a way out only with a change, a change in which we need to emancipate the serfs, if in times of war, such a change will never be possible. Therefore, we have to make peace with the nations first. ”

Nikolai's gaze darkened even more, and he asked slowly, "My son, tell me what you think." ”

Nikolayevich stood up and said: "Russia's interests are always in Europe, the Far East is too far away, and it borders a large country with a large population, it is extremely uneconomical to defend or prepare for war for a long time, and the Far East is not rich and inconvenient, I think we should shrink the expansion of the Far East, ensure stable development at home, and then redefine our hegemony on the European continent, and then consider the interests of the Far East." We are now giving up the Far East for the time being, in order to control the Far East more in the future, and this renunciation is only temporary. And Britain and France just want to ensure their interests in the Balkans and the Mediterranean, we can also give it up for the time being, the Ottomans just want to ensure peace on the border, it should not be difficult to satisfy them. ”

Nikolai let out a long sigh and asked: "The Qing country has always been a country that is even more backward than us, and their country is still in civil strife, after we lose Crimea, wouldn't it be better to choose to expand to the Far East?" ”

Nikolayevich's eyes flashed eagerly: "Father, this time Britain and France hired the mercenary group of the Qing rebels and the Taiping Army in the Far East to fight, and it is not difficult to see that Britain and France have raised a puppet to contain us in the Far East. We chose to expand eastward at this time, which only strengthened their relationship. I think that at this time, maintaining the status quo in the Far East for the time being, and at the same time making peace with Britain and France, will make Britain and France and that damned mercenary group lose the excuse to continue to use troops in the Far East, Britain and France should not be interested in those ports in the Far East, and it will cost a lot to maintain the effective occupation of those ports, I think they will inevitably be used in exchange for our other interests, and after losing the support of the British and French fleets, that mercenary army will have only one way to retreat. Then we just have to wait, wait for the decisive battle between the Taiping army and the Qing army to break out. When the Qing State can't support it, we can take advantage of the situation and go south and get back what we need. ”

Nikolai looked at his son's shiny eyes and whispered, "I understand, just do what you think." I'm tired, let me rest for a while. Go down, all of you. ”

Nikolayevich and Prince Gorchakov bowed respectfully and then exited Nikolai's bedroom. In the long corridor, Prince Gorchakov walked side by side with Nikolayevich and whispered: "Will he understand what you mean?" ”

Nikolayevich frowned and said: "My father is old, but he is not confused, the defeat of the war is indeed a stain on his reign, and Russia has not suffered the pain of defeat in the war for many years." However, the more times like these, the more capable people need to stand up and take responsibility. His father obviously didn't have the courage to stand up anymore, so he would understand that abdication was his only decent way out. I'll clean up the mess of losing the war, but I need the right, the right of the whole country to be loyal to me! ”

Prince Gorchakov's face trembled slightly when he heard this, his body paused slightly, he was half a step behind him, he didn't dare to walk side by side with him anymore, and said respectfully: "Your Highness, your painstaking efforts will understand, and I will stand under your banner on behalf of all the high-ranking generals and follow you." ”

Nikolayevich clenched his fists and gritted his teeth and said: "The country is on the verge of collapse, and I need not only the support of the upper strata, but also the support of the middle and lower strata of the people, especially the support of the serfs, who account for the majority of the population, so it is imperative to emancipate the serfs." ”

Prince Gorchakov hesitated and said, "But the serf owners will not be reconciled in this way, Your Highness." ”

Nikolayevich smiled and said: "I know what you are worried about, I will not mess around, I plan to implement some reforms on the Baltic coast first, then St. Petersburg, Zuihou is the whole country, but before that I hope the war can end." ”

Prince Gorchakov frowned and said: "Britain and France are greedy landlords, and I am afraid that our armistice conditions will not be acceptable to us. ”

Nikolayevich shook his head and said: "No, on the contrary, we are familiar with Britain and France, and they are familiar with us, so I am not worried about how harsh their armistice conditions will be, they also paid a huge price in the war, knowing that it will not benefit anyone if we continue to fight." He paused and said in a deep voice: "I'm worried about the rebels of the Qing Kingdom, this mysterious beast is only showing its ferocity for the first time, maybe they have gained a lot in this war, and they have almost no losses in the war in the Far East, if they overthrow the Qing Kingdom, then they will be more terrible than Britain and France in the future." ”

Prince Gorchakov frowned and said: "In this case, it is indeed impossible to achieve an armistice that maximizes our interests, is it not to mobilize a Cossack cavalry corps to the Far East to help Muravyov?" ”

Nikolayevich looked up at the trees that began to wither in the garden of the Winter Palace and said slowly: "It's no longer necessary, Muravyov's side can cope with it himself, and I need them to stay in the country to stabilize the situation." ”

Prince Gorchakov nodded and said, "You really need an army to ensure your succession. ”

Nikolayevich smiled bitterly: "What we need can only be taken by ourselves, and what others give is always just charity"

A few days later, when everyone knew that the defeat of the Russian Empire was decided, Nicholas I, unwilling to be humiliated, summoned his eldest son, Alexander, and said to his heir with infinite emotion: "Serve Russia." I wanted to take up the most difficult and heavy burden and hand over to you—a peaceful, all-ready, happy kingdom—but God made a different arrangement. At midnight of the same day, Nicholas I ordered a simultaneous message to Moscow, Kiev, Warsaw: "The emperor is dying and farewell to all humanity." "Zuihou, the emperor, committed suicide by poisoning himself while reciting Pushkin's poems. (To be continued......)