Struggle in Russia

Dmitry fell into deep thought. He is a person who is good at thinking, and he would never follow others' advice. If others followed suit, he would have been led astray by Nikolai Milyutin. Why did he keep flirting with the reformists?

He will think clearly about any problem and any decision. If he doesn't want to be clear, he will never act hastily. Once he thinks clearly, he will act decisively and never procrastinate!

After a long while, he let out a long sigh: "Count, what you said makes sense. Compared with some petty profits around, it is more important to completely change the current system. Our national strength and other powers are getting bigger and bigger, and sooner or later people will see through our falsehood, and then we may not only lose some interests in Poland and the Black Sea coast! I am afraid that there will be fear of national subjugation!"

Count Rostovtsev smiled. He likes to chat with smart people like Dmitry. If it were his brother Nikolai, he would probably struggle with it all the time, and finally procrastinate without making a decision. Wait until the situation is irreversible before you have to do it.

From this point of view, Nicholas seems radical but conservative, while Dmitry seems conservative but is extremely decisive in his bones.

"Yes," Count Rostovtsev nodded, "so I have been contributing to this conflict for a while, and now the overall situation is basically completed, and all aspects are slowly advancing according to my assumptions. According to my estimation , it may take about five years before a full-scale conflict between us and Britain and France will break out!"

This conclusion surprised Dmitry, because he had been reviewing Count Rostovtsev's recent actions just now. According to his calculations, Count Rostovtsev should take advantage of sending troops to Wallachia and Austria. The opportunity to bring about a full-scale conflict with Britain and France, the war should start within a year.

But just now Count Rostovtsev said that it will take another five years. What's going on?

Seeing Dmitry's doubts, Count Rostovtsev explained with a smile: "My friend, you have underestimated our Majesty, he is a cautious person at heart, and now he has not been desired. He has lost his mind, so once Britain and France issue a comprehensive warning, he will definitely rein in the precipice immediately, and now he will not go head-to-head with Britain and France!"

Dmitry snorted, this was something he didn't expect, because he felt that Nicholas I had been very inflated recently, and he was strong in grabbing Wallachia and Moldavia from Austria, and he was constantly in the Holy Land. Fired at France on the issue, it feels a bit magical no matter how you look at it!

Count Rostovtsev shook his head and said: "This is not enough, or this is just His Majesty's temptation. He is exploring the bottom line through a series of small adventures, testing the bottom line of Britain, France and Austria. Once he finds that the situation is not good, he will immediately give up and retreat!"

Dmitry hummed,

He admitted that if there is anyone who knows Nicholas I best, then Count Rostovtsev must be Count Rostovtsev. After more than 20 years of getting along day and night, he must know Nicholas I well. Mature.

"So what do we need to do?" Dmitry asked.

"It's very simple, blowing his head away with one brilliant victory after another!"

Dmitry blurted out again with an uh: "So at the imperial meeting, you watched Chernyshov and Menshikov agree to General Lazarev's proposal and start a new adventure, right?"

Count Rostovtsev chuckled: "Yes, anyway, this is not a big deal. Even if the adventure is unsuccessful, it is nothing more than damage to our fleet. Anyway, we have never been a maritime country. No real pain!"

Dmitry smiled wryly. He knew how determined Count Rostovtsev was. The Baltic Fleet and the Black Sea Fleet were developed with great difficulty. They invested a huge amount of money and even gave up on this. It can be seen how determined he is!

However, Dmitry does not think that Count Rostovtsev has said anything wrong. Russia has never been a maritime country, and its desire for the sea is not as great as that of the United Kingdom. Even without the navy, relying on the vast land and abundant human resources Can deal with great powers. What's more, the two major fleets under Menshikov are really not enough to look at. The old eunuch is really not a good navy minister, and he forced the navy to be crooked!

"Then what do you need me to do?" Dmitry asked bluntly.

Count Rostovtsev laughed again. Talking to a smart person is a peace of mind. He said directly without going around in circles: "I need you to advise Crown Prince Alexander that you can carry out military operations in the direction of the Caucasus. I recommend Duke Bariatinsky to go there." Annihilate Shamir in one fell swoop!"

Dmitry was stunned. According to Count Rostovtsev, this is to continue to advance in the direction of the Caucasus, which is tantamount to stabbing Turkey and the Persian Khajar dynasty in the back. To put it bluntly, this is a blatant provocation!

You know, although the Turks were forced to agree with Russia on the issues of Wallachia and Moldavia, they were full of vigilance and dissatisfaction in their hearts. Now that Russia is suddenly moving the knife in the direction of the Caucasus, no matter how you look at it, it is drunk Weng doesn't mean wine.

Don't underestimate the direction of the Caucasus, its geopolitical significance is no less than that of the Balkans. Russia's expansion in this direction has also continued for hundreds of years, but this process has been greatly delayed in recent decades because of the strong resistance of the Persians.

And Britain has been keeping an eye on Persia, because the British are very worried that once the Qajar dynasty in Persia is destroyed by Russia, the Russian power will touch the British confinement of India! What's more, there have been rumors in the UK that Russia is trying to get involved in India. How can they turn a blind eye to this?

Dmitry was sure that once Shamir was attacked, the nerves of the British would be highly tense, and they would definitely not stay out of it. At that time, the situation that Count Rostovtsev wanted was basically formed.

Thinking of this, Dmitri had to admire the count. He had pinpointed the fate of all countries and knew how to be a qualified shit-stirring stick. But the only thing that puzzled him was why what Count Rostovtsev said just now was to ask him to speak to Crown Prince Alexander instead of directly to Nicholas I?

In addition, why did Duke Bariatinskiy be recommended to lead the troops instead of letting him go out in person? There must be something to say here...