The light makes people who enter the Amber Room feel a sense of awe.
Under the wall full of amber is a throne made of pure gold (actually 90% gold mixed with silver. If the purity of the gold is too high, it cannot be shaped.). The throne is inlaid with various gems. The candlelight shines on the gems and golden throne.
Above, people feel an inexplicable sense of sanctity.
You don't need to think about it to know that Nicholas I specially asked people to move this throne from other palaces in order to give certain people a show of authority.
When the Minister of Foreign Affairs (Minister) and the Minister of War (Minister) entered the Amber Room, they once again felt the splendid and suffocating atmosphere in the Amber Room. This atmosphere was stronger than when they came to the Amber Room before.
.
In the splendid palace full of rooms, Nicholas I was sitting quietly on his throne without saying a word.
At this time, Nicholas I was wearing a dazzlingly gorgeous imperial robe. He was holding a 90% gold cane engraved with a double-headed eagle. The head of the cane and the two eagle eyes were each inlaid with an eagle.
Blood red gems and four blue gems.
Dressed up like this is rarely seen even in grand celebrations. Karl Nesserrodie, who has been with Nicholas I all year round, smelled a dangerous atmosphere in the air of the Amber Hall.
.
When he looked along the throne to the bottom of the steps, he found a familiar figure standing at the bottom of the steps with his head lowered.
Just looking at the back, Karl Nesserrodie thought of one person. This person was Count Orlov, who was in charge of the "Third Section" political police.
Why is he here? Could it be that His Majesty did not tell him the news of the march?
There was some confusion in Karl Neserrodie's eyes, and he found that he could not understand the monarch Nicholas I who he had accompanied for more than 20 years.
Whenever he thought he knew enough about the monarch in front of him, Nicholas I could always give him a "surprise".
"Minister Karl Neserrode, Minister Dolgorukov, come here!" Nicholas I's loud and majestic voice sounded in the hall.
Karl Neserrody and Dolgorukov slowly came to the bottom of the steps and stood together with Count Orlov.
The entire Amber Hall fell into dead silence again. After a while, there were clear sounds from the throne. Karl Neserrode, who lowered his head, guessed that this was probably the sound of the Tsar hitting the throne with his scepter. Every time
The Tsar would use this method to put psychological pressure on them.
After the crisp sound echoed for a long time, Nicholas I spoke again: "What happened in the Ottoman Empire recently? Have you ever hidden anything from me?"
"Your Majesty, I was about to report to you..." At this point, Karl Neserrodie could only tell Nicholas I about the situation of the Ottoman Empire's Holy Judgment.
Hearing Karl Neserrodie's answer, Nicholas I couldn't help but feel a trace of anger in his heart. He sternly said: "Since your Ministry of Foreign Affairs already knew about this, why didn't you report it to me earlier!"
"I am (translator) guilty of death!" Karl Nesserrodie had no excuse.
When the monarch does not trust himself, any excuse will be a feeble excuse. It is better to honestly admit that he was wrong.
In Europe, few people are killed for offending the emperor/king, especially for famous noble families. The worst result is to be exiled to an extremely cold place (Siberia).
As long as they withstand the frost of the extremely cold place, when the general amnesty is held in a few years, those who have been sentenced to political death can return to St. Petersburg.
Furthermore, Karl Nesserrodie believed that his "crime" was not enough to send him to an extremely cold place.
At best, it was just "well-intentioned" deception, and his purpose was to prevent Nicholas I from using force.
The economy of the Russian Empire is already in a mess. In addition, serfs in many areas have frozen to death and rebelled this winter. The rash use of the army will only cause the economy to continue to deteriorate.
The reason why he chose to block information about Tsarskoe Selo was to use this time gap to allow the Russian ambassador to the Ottoman Empire to put pressure on him, thus nipping the risk of war in the bud.
Now that it seemed that he had failed, the Tsar still had to raise troops to attack the Ottoman Empire.
Thinking of this, Karl Nesserrodie couldn't help but mourned twice for the Chancellor of Finance.
Even the minister who is good at managing money has nothing to do with such a monarch.
"There is no other explanation?" Nicholas I snorted coldly and looked at Karl Neserrodie at the foot of the steps.
Nicholas I, who learned about Karl Nesserrode's good intentions from Count Orlov, had already forgiven Karl Nesserrode's reckless behavior.
Just accompanying myself, I couldn't help but feel a little compassion in my heart.
Kings are also human beings, and they also have emotions and desires.
"No explanation can evade the fact that I deceived His Majesty!" Karl Neserrode said to Nicholas I, taking advantage of retreat: "I hope that Your Majesty can report my duties as Minister of Foreign Affairs!"
"When the trouble comes, you think about running away!" Nicholas I said to Karl Neserrode with a tough attitude: "I tell you not to even think about it!"
Then, Nicholas I turned his attention to the Minister of War, Prince Dolgorukov, and said cordially: "Your Excellency, your family has served our Romanov family for some years, right?"
"Yes! Your Majesty!" Dolgorukov straightened his body and replied proudly: "My ancestors have always followed the previous emperors to fight, and I am also fortunate to be selected by your Majesty to serve as Minister of War!"
"Then why did you deceive me?" Nicholas I asked Dolgorukov.
Compared with Karl Neserrode, Prince Dolgorukov was more calm and unhurried. His family had followed his Majesty the Tsar in all the conquests, and the most the Tsar could do was remove him from his position.
Dolgorukov replied to Nicholas I without fear: "Your Majesty, our finances can no longer support the empire's high-intensity war! Our army is facing serious corruption problems, and rashly sending troops may have serious consequences.
s consequence."
"Shut up!" Nicholas I furiously said to Dolgorukov: "I will not allow you to slander the loyal army. Our army is the army that saved Europe!"
"Your Majesty, that was decades ago!" Prince Dolgorukov still showed no fear on his face. He emphasized: "Over the past few decades, our army has been corrupted to a certain extent!
The top priority is not to rush into the Ottoman Empire!"
"Believe it or not, I dismissed you from your post!" Nicholas I said sharply to Dolgorukov.
"If your Majesty thinks that I am not worthy of serving as Minister of War, then please remove me from my post!" Dolgorukov replied to Nicholas I without flinching.
Nicholas I and Dolgorukov were in a stalemate for a long time, and the stalemate finally ended with Nicholas I's concession.
"I came to you just to ask you whether the Russian Empire wants to send troops to dismember the Ottoman Empire!" Nicholas I asked the three people present.
After experiencing Karl Neserrode and Prince Dolgorukov, Nicholas I also had doubts about sending troops.
Is it right or wrong to do this yourself?
"It shouldn't be!"
"It shouldn't be!"
"should!"
The first two "should not" are the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Minister of War, and the last "should" is Count Olokov.
They all gave answers based on their own standpoints.
"Why not?" Nicholas I asked, looking at Karl Neserrodie seriously.
"Your Majesty, in addition to the military issues that His Excellency the Prince just mentioned, our country's finances and diplomacy also do not allow us to take such actions!" Karl Neserrodie said to Nicholas I: "Once we enter the Ottoman Empire
, then how should the interests of the British Kingdom be dealt with in the Ottoman Empire, and how should the interests of the French Empire be dealt with in the Ottoman Empire! How does the Austrian Empire view us?
It is true that the Russian Empire is not afraid of them, but we cannot be enemies of two countries at the same time!"
Karl Neserrodie's warning immediately made Nicholas I sober. Even though he could ignore the attitude of the French Empire, he could not ignore the attitude of the British Kingdom.
Especially under the premise that the navy of the Russian Empire cannot fight against Britain, the army that relies on the navy to provide supply support cannot really offend the naval power.
"Then what should we do?" Nicholas I asked Karl Neserrode subconsciously.
"The army should stop marching, station all troops behind the Principality of Wallachia, and send a special envoy to put pressure on the Ottoman Empire!" Karl Neserrodie proposed a solution: "Ask the Ottoman Empire to remove pro-French officials.
faction, and then hand over the power of the Holy Judgment to us! In this way, the empire can gradually encroach on the Ottoman Empire and turn it into our protected territory! At the same time, some of the interests must be cut off to the French Empire and the British Kingdom."
Karl Neserrodie hoped to gradually annex the Ottoman Empire by boiling a frog in warm water and turn Constantinople into a free city in the hands of the Russian Empire. This process would probably take about half a century.
