Eagle’s Glory

Twenty-five kilometers south of St. Petersburg, there is a residence that has been opened up as the largest palace of the tsars of the Russian Empire.

Although it is called the Imperial Village, it is not shabby at all. Under the management of successive Russian monarchs over the years, the pomp of the Russian Empire has been vividly reflected in these palaces.

In 1717, Peter I the Great built a summer villa for his wife, Empress Catherine. Seven years later, in 1824, the mansion and garden were completed and opened together. In 1741, after Empress Elisabeth Petrovna, the daughter of Peter the Great, took the throne, she also took a fancy to this quiet place, and then allocated funds to the emperor. The village is expanded.

Subsequent generations of tsars settled here. Around the huge palace complex, after the meticulous design of the designers of the past dynasties, the gardens and trees are lush, clusters of trees and lush and open grasslands hide everything in this greenery. , the previous white snow has gradually turned into a trickle due to the arrival of early spring. This beautiful scenery can almost make all visitors immersed in it.

However, no matter how beautiful it is, it will always welcome some visitors who don't want to appreciate it. These visitors, together with the palace guards who are constantly patrolling everywhere, let everyone recognize that this is the residence of His Majesty the Tsar after all, and it is also one of the nerve centers of the largest empire in human history.

Under the development of several generations of tsars, this place has become one of the main gathering places of the upper class of the empire, and it has become the Versailles of the Russian Empire. In addition to the royal family, many noble families have also lived here and communicated here. And left its mark on this place.

For example, Pushkin, the founder of Russian literature and the most outstanding poet in the empire, spent his unforgettable boyhood here, grew up in aristocratic schools here, and often lived in the imperial village with the court when he became an adult.

Later, after the October Revolution, the Romanov family's rule in Russia came to an end, and the Imperial Village could no longer be the Imperial Village. The revolutionary government renamed it "Pushkin City" in honor of the great poet.

The royal family and the court have turned to dust, but the poet's name is shining brightly and has become the eternal memory of the Russian nation.

Of course, at this moment, no one would have imagined that history would take such a wondrous and astonishing turn. In the eyes of all, the Russian Empire today is so insane, and the Tsar and his courtiers rule absolutely with a ruthless iron fist. This vast empire spans thousands of miles, as well as the hundreds of large and small ethnic groups on the territory of the empire.

Wherever the bayonet of the imperial army was directed, the imperial power of the empire also spread to both ends of the Eurasian continent, and no one could resist such a huge force.

Under the leadership of the court attendants, along the garden path built during the reign of Catherine II, several middle-aged men in formal dresses walked forward with a respectful look. And as far as their eyes could see, the five onion-shaped spires of the Imperial Palace Church were shining golden under the blue sky, like the light of power itself.

The two people at the head are Mr. Viktor Kochubei, Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Empire, and the other is Mr. Karl-Nescher Rody, Minister of Foreign Affairs.

[Viktor Kochubey, Viktor Kochubey (1768-1834), diplomat and politician, born in Ukraine, is the great-grandson of the Cossack leader Vasily Kochubey, became the favorite of the tsar in the era of Alexander I, and was powerful, successively Served as Minister of the Interior and Foreign Affairs, after Alexander's death in 1825 and Nicholas I's accession to the throne, he was still used by the new emperor and was appointed President of the Council of Ministers. 】

[Karl-Robert-nesselrode, karl-robert-nesselrode (1780-1862), diplomat. Germanic origin, later served in Russia, was appointed Russian Foreign Minister (1822-1856) during the period of Tsar Nicholas I of Russia, and was later named an earl. 】

These two people are the most important ministers of the empire at present, and they are also the chief assistants to assist His Majesty the Tsar in formulating various domestic and foreign policies. Now their faces are quite solemn, and it is obvious that they are all thinking about it now.

Tsar Nicholas I urgently summoned Victor Kochubei, the chairman of his Council of Ministers, and Karl Nescherrodie, the minister of foreign affairs, to the imperial village. This was by no means an unusual move in the eyes of the court. It also quickly caused whispers from all parties - of course, there are no secrets in the Imperial Village, and they will soon know why.

Under the leadership of the attendants, the two ministers came to the famous Amber Room to meet His Majesty the Tsar.

The room itself is a rare treasure - reflected by the 6 tons of amber and precious jewels inlaid on the walls, the whole room shone from lemon yellow to golden red, almost brilliant Suffocating, and that's what the tsars like to show.

In order to form an alliance with the mighty Russia, the old Prussian King William I, who was very happy and extravagant at the time, humbly paid this treasure built with countless efforts to Peter the Great, and he won the favor of the Russians. . It also opened a precedent for the Kingdom of Prussia to befriend Russia at all costs.

In this splendid center lies the present master of the Russian Empire. His Majesty Tsar Nicholas I was sitting upright in his seat, looking at the people who came in indifferently.

His Majesty the Tsar is very young now, only in his early 30s. He is tall, with an oval face and an aggressive gaze in his brown eyes. He exudes infinite energy and ruthless courage, and it is with this ruthlessness. The courage to start his own domination.

In 1825, his elder brother, Tsar Alexander I, died suddenly. Because of the dispute over the succession of his two younger brothers Constantine and Nicholas, the empire temporarily fell into chaos in the succession of the throne. The tsar's will eventually ascended to the throne, and the rebellion was severely suppressed, finally allowing the tsar's power to survive the crisis.

After leveling the domestic crisis, the tsar naturally turned his attention to foreign countries. He needed to use the reputation of external victory to eliminate the criticism and dissatisfaction caused by his ascension to the throne, and his ministers naturally knew how to cater to the above. .

In a brief silence, the Tsar spoke up.

"As you must already know, there is news from Greece that Napoleon's son, the Duke of Leichstedt, is trying to participate in their liberation and is willing to provide a lot of assistance. So, my Ministers, what do you think about this?"

After getting in touch with Prince Louis, the Greek government immediately sent someone to inform the Russian Empire. After a period of tossing and turning, the news finally reached Petersburg. It was precisely because of this incident that these big figures rushed to the Imperial Palace. Village, seeking the will of His Majesty the Tsar.

"Your Majesty, I think that the long-standing Greek issue should indeed come to an end," replied Mr. Karl-Necherroddie, Minister of Foreign Affairs, "if we remove this issue, we will not cause trouble for anyone. space."

He is indeed a hardliner on Turkey.

Although after the plague storm of the French Revolution, the Russian Empire instinctively hated revolution and rebellion, believing that the existing order should not be easily changed, but the Russians are still full of sympathy for the Orthodox region of Greece.

After several years of hesitating and weighing, the Empire has recently decided to help Greece's cause of independence.

Under the leadership of the foreign minister, the Russian Empire has begun to approach Britain and France to discuss how to properly resolve the Greek issue.

Unexpectedly, just when they started to act, such unexpected news suddenly came.

However, Karl-Nechelroddy believes that this is irrelevant and that there is no need to change the existing plans.

"So what do you think should be done?" the Tsar demanded.

"We should inform the Greek government as soon as possible, solemnly order them to end all contact with the Bonapartists, and wait patiently. We will soon reach an agreement with other major powers to help them." The foreign minister replied immediately, "If necessary, they should To expel that kid and his supporters by force, there should be no more room for the Bonaparte family on the Continent."

The tsar looked at Viktor Kochubei, the chairman of the Council of Ministers, and Kochubei just nodded silently to show his support for the foreign minister.

It appears that the two ministers communicated with each other and reached a consensus before they came.

Under the watchful eyes of the ministers, the tsar was silent for a moment, as if he was thinking about something.

"Just do as you say about Greece." After a while, he spoke leisurely. "However, compared to those Greeks, I think that little guy is quite interesting. He and his father are not of course the same. His father dared to land directly in France, but he only dared to test on the edge of the continent... But He is kind and worthy of doing great things, and I would be very happy if I could have such a son."

The two ministers looked at each other, wondering why the tsar would suddenly say such a thing.

"The Greeks are devastated now. Even if we can restrain the Greek government, it is impossible to guarantee that no other group of people will run to cooperate with that little guy. If he is forced to squeeze in, I think it is difficult for the Greeks to stop him." The tsar continued, "So unless we use more forceful means, it will be difficult to ensure that the Bonaparte family remains silent."

"Your Majesty, what do you mean?" the Foreign Minister asked quickly.

"We stopped them with severe diplomacy, but if we can't stop it, then we will use our own strength to solve all this, march into Turkey, and eliminate him by the way." The tsar replied.

"March into Turkey..." The Foreign Minister and the Chairman of the Council of Ministers exchanged glances.

Although there were some surprises, they were not shocked.

After all, war against the Turks has always been the traditional national policy of the Russian Empire, and it is not surprising that His Majesty made this judgment.

His Majesty's tone became stern, "Karl, I need this honor, if the people see that even the Bonaparte family dares to fight for the freedom of the Orthodox Christians, while the Romanov family stands Do nothing on the side and we'll be pretty ugly in public opinion - and those who oppose me will attack me even more for that."

The Minister of Foreign Affairs understood that the **** turmoil when he ascended the throne two years ago has always been a pain in the heart of His Majesty the Tsar. Therefore, he paid more attention to safeguarding his own reputation and tried to restore his people's hearts through external expansion. The change of the Bonaparte family seems to It further stimulated his determination to build a career.

However, in the view of the foreign secretary, it may not be unreasonable to hit the Turks with such a chaotic situation.

"Your Majesty, I have no objection to your idea, but I think we need time for preparations and necessary diplomatic coordination." After thinking for a while, the Foreign Minister replied. "The Turks are definitely not our opponents now. They are already weakened, but the attitude of others must be taken seriously. If the UK strongly opposes it, we will be quite passive diplomatically."

"And that is your job, my minister." His Majesty the Tsar immediately emphasized, "Karl, I have made up my mind on this matter, and then you will focus on this to carry out coordination work - if the British and French It's best to promise with Austria, and if they don't, I'll let my blade go to Constantinople. The Russian people are calling me, and I must answer their call with force. ."

Seeing that His Majesty has made up his mind, and his will is so determined, the two ministers will naturally not say anything more to offend the Tsar.

"Okay, Your Majesty." The Minister of Foreign Affairs nodded and agreed, "I will take notes to the ambassadors of various countries to explain the situation."

Seeing that his will has been implemented by the ministers, the Tsar's mood has also improved a lot.

He looked around with interest, admiring the art paintings on the amber panels.

"I have to say that although the Bonaparte family caused everyone a headache, it objectively contributed to our country's current status... The father let us enter Paris, then the son will promote us to enter Constantinople." Tsar His Majesty suddenly smiled, "I am quite interested in the Bonaparte family. If there is a chance, I would be happy to receive him here and see what he looks like. It is said that he looks very good. , and a very good poet? It just so happens that we also have a poet here, maybe he will be very happy to meet this kid... As far as I can see, they can just do the poet's job well, and don't give it to other people. Confused."

"I think he would rather be an emperor than a poet." The Minister of Foreign Affairs added with a smile. "Metternich has a headache for him. According to the report from the ambassador in Vienna, he has never seen Metternich so angry. He cursed Duke Reichstedt for being ungrateful..."

"Whatever you want to be, it's not up to him." The Tsar replied with a smile.