When Nicholas I finished these words, he sat back on the throne as if he had collapsed.
After the four people at the foot of the steps saw Nicholas I's languid expression on the throne, they worriedly shouted: "Your Majesty!"
"I'm fine! I'm just a little tired!" A fake smile appeared on Nicholas I's face. He waved his hand and said to the four people at the bottom of the steps: "Dolgorukov, Neserrodie, Orlov!
"
"Yes!" The three people whose names were called by Nicholas I responded almost simultaneously.
"You three can leave!" Nicholas I looked at Alexander again and said, "Alexander can just stay!"
Although the three people present were a little worried about Nicholas I's condition, they had to obey Nicholas I's order and leave.
Only Alexander II and Nicholas I were left in the empty room. One of them was looking up at the steps, and the other was looking down at the steps.
The father and son, one represents the past, and the other represents the future. They care about each other silently, just staring at each other silently.
Until a ray of sunlight passed through the glass window of the Summer Palace and shone on Alexander II and Nicholas I respectively. Nicholas I said to Alexander II: "Alexander, come up!"
After Alexander II heard his father's call, he stepped up the steps step by step. The shadow illuminated by the sun gradually lengthened as Alexander II moved, and covered Nicholas I on the throne.
When Alexander II stepped onto the last step and came to Nicholas I, Nicholas I stood up and walked to the side of the throne.
"Father, what are you..." Alexander II asked in confusion.
"Alexander, sit down!" Nicholas I said to Alexander II, pointing to the throne that symbolized the authority of the Tsar.
"No!" Alexander II shook his head and refused. He didn't want to sit on his father before he returned to the embrace of God. "This position only belongs to the Tsar!"
"This position not only belongs to the current Tsar, but also to the future Tsar!" Nicholas I replied to Alexander II with a slight breath: "I am the past Tsar, you are the future Tsar, so you are qualified.
Sit here!"
"The future does not represent the present!" Alexander II said sophistry.
"You sit down when I ask you to sit down!" Nicholas I said forcefully to Alexander II: "In the name of the Tsar, I ask you to sit down!"
Seeing this, Alexander II had no choice but to obey Nicholas I's order and sit down. A strange feeling flooded into his mind, a feeling that he would never feel when he was the crown prince.
"Look down now!" Nicholas I's voice reached Alexander II's ears.
The moment Alexander II followed Nicholas I's order and looked down, he had an illusion in his mind that the world was in my hands. It seemed that this chair was no longer a simple chair, but a
The whole world.
"Do you feel it?" Nicholas I asked Alexander II.
Alexander II nodded subconsciously.
"Tell me, what do you feel?" Nicholas I continued to ask Alexander II.
"The world!" Alexander II immediately replied: "I feel like I can control the entire world!"
"Very good!" Nicholas I showed a smile on his face, and then said to Alexander II: "Now stand up!"
Although Alexander II felt a little reluctant, he still stood up.
However, this feeling of being in control has not gone away.
"Now walk down slowly!" Nicholas I said again.
Alexander II obeyed Nicholas I's order and walked down, then turned to face Nicholas I.
When he looked at Nicholas I standing next to the throne again, this feeling disappeared without a trace, and he returned to his identity as the crown prince.
"What now?" Nicholas I asked again.
Alexander II shook his head and said to Nicholas I: "No more!"
"I hope you can remember these two feelings forever!" Nicholas I taught with a serious expression: "After I die, you will become the new Tsar of the Russian Empire. By that time, you will have just
The feeling you have sitting here (Nicholas I patted the chair) will be like a poison that slowly corrodes your whole person and your wisdom. Your reason will be in the overwhelming flattery.
disappear slowly.
You will gradually become alienated from this and become arrogant and arrogant..."
"Father!" Alexander II wanted to say something, but was interrupted by Nicholas I's deep voice: "Listen to me!"
Alexander II had no choice but to quiet down and listen quietly to Nicholas I's self-deprecation.
"Alexander, I hope that after you become Tsar, you won't be like me!" Nicholas I said with a self-deprecating smile.
Looking back on his own life carefully, he worked hard for most of his life, but found that all he had done was "useless work." (Here Nicholas I's thoughts have gone to the other extreme, and he has begun to completely deny everything he has done before.
.)
"Father, you are an excellent Tsar!" Alexander II quickly comforted Nicholas I.
"Good Tsar?" Nicholas I shook his head and laughed at himself: "I have never accomplished many things in my life, so how can I be called a good Tsar? Alexander, you have to remember a few things..."
Nicholas I told Alexander II as if he was giving his last words. After Alexander II succeeded to the throne, he would use the liberation of serfs as a means to redeem the mistakes he (Nicholas I) had committed; the Russian Empire should also pay more attention to
Learn from Britain and France, just like Peter the Great did to learn their advanced technology. Only in this way will the Russian Empire not face the fate of failure again; it must be good at discovering Russian local talents and not rely too much on German talents, because this era has already
Different from the times between…
When Nicholas I finished speaking, he sat on the throne again without saying a word.
"Father, these reforms still need people like you to be able to control them!" Alexander II said to Nicholas I.
"I can't!" Nicholas I shook his head and said to Alexander II: "I am a person who lives in the old era. Our era was not like it is now! If I carry out reforms, it will only change the original situation.
It gets worse!”
With that said, Nicholas I pointed at Alexander II: "But you are different, you live in this era...I am afraid you already have a solution in your heart!"
Alexander II was silent. He did have a plan in his mind that was slightly different from his father's. He wanted to have an armistice with Jérôme Bonaparte, and then use the money from the French Empire to develop the Russian Empire into something like Britain.
Same as France…
"After I die, you can negotiate peace with Britain and France or continue fighting with them. But before you become the tsar, I hope you can fight with me! Just treat me as a dying old man.
An illusory dream, can you promise me!" Nicholas I said to Alexander in an almost pleading tone.
"Father, I promise you!" Seeing that Nicholas I had put down his efforts to "please" him, Alexander II had no choice but to promise Nicholas I.
From now until the death of Nicholas I, Alexander II will become an unwavering militant.
…
On the seventh day after Franz Joseph and Prince Albert left Paris, Jerome Bonaparte suddenly remembered that he seemed to have been "pigeoned" by Niel.
He remembered that before the military parade began, he ordered Niel to assist Couzin and Monbonto in sorting out the members to be awarded the honor. However, several weeks had passed and Niel had not handed over the specific list of members to him.
.
"What are these two guys Niel and Montauban doing?" Jérôme Bonnet put down the documents in his hands and complained softly, then called Mokar over and ordered him to go to the General Staff Headquarters and the war
Come here.
After receiving the order, Mokar quickly left.
After a while, French Deputy Chief of Staff Niel and Minister of War Cousin Mombonto appeared in his office.
"Minister Mobonto, how is the list prepared at the Ministry of War?" Jérôme Bonaparte asked Minister of War Couzin Mobonto about the status of the list.
"Your Majesty, this is the list of promoted members and medals we have drafted! Please take a look at it!" Couzin Montauban, who heard Jerome Bonaparte asking about the list, breathed a sigh of relief in his heart, and he hurriedly handed over the list.
Jerome Bonaparte.
"Why didn't you give it to me until now?" Jérôme Bonaparte asked Couzin Montauban as he turned to the first page of the list.
Couzin Montauban had no choice but to apologize to Jerome Bonaparte. Jerome Bonaparte waved his hand and said to Couzin Montauban: "Forget it, it won't be easy for you either!"
The first name on the first page was Marshal Saint-Arnaud. His "contribution" was to lead the French soldiers to capture the Sevastopol Fortress at a very small cost, so the Ministry of War "recommended" to award the symbol
France's highest honor, Knight of the Order of the Grand Cross, was also awarded the title of Count of Saint-Arnaud of Sevastopol.
The second most meritorious person is Pelissier, the de facto commander-in-chief of the French Expeditionary Force. As the commander of Sevastopol, he occupied Sevastopol with bold military actions. The Ministry of War "recommended" to award him the title of Marshal.
Scepter.
The third and fourth places were Canrobert and Beaucas, who were respectively awarded the gold Legion of Honor at the commander level.
