Chapter 412 The Last Struggle
Sergei was the second member of the imperial royal family to be assassinated after Alexander II.
24 years have passed since Ya Er was assassinated, and George is already 33 years old.
Since the outbreak of the Russo-Japanese War, the losses of the Russian Empire have exceeded 100,000 people.
Most of these 100,000 people are civilians, with few members of the nobility.
The Grand Dukes of St. Petersburg had previously agreed that the war was far away from them. No matter how the frontline fought, it would not affect them or affect their enjoyment of life in St. Petersburg.
The assassination of Sergey reminds them how cruel war is. Don’t think that you are not threatened by war if you are far away from the front line.
Sergei is George’s brother, and Nicholas sent a telegram to George, hoping that George would return to St. Petersburg to attend Sergei’s funeral.
This is almost impossible.
Even if the Trans-Siberian Railway is fully opened, it will still take 14 days from Vladivostok to St. Petersburg. Even if George gets on the train immediately, he will not be able to make it in time for Sergei's funeral.
So attending the funeral was just an excuse.
It is true that I hope George will come forward to take over this mess in the Far East.
It is best if George takes the initiative, then Nicholas can push the boat along.
George has given all his property in St. Petersburg as gifts to the crown prince, and he does not even have a place to live when he returns to St. Petersburg.
So George did not return to St. Petersburg, citing physical discomfort.
George had always been in good health and almost never got sick.
So the news of George's illness reached St. Petersburg, and Nicholas immediately sent Werther to visit George.
Witt is an old friend and came to Vladivostok in person. George must have gone to the station to greet him.
When he saw George, Werther had a wry smile on his face.
“Aren’t you sick? When you are sick, you should lie down——”
This seems to have another meaning.
George didn't bother to think, he had the final say in his territory.
"I was sick once, but now I'm better."
Witt thought thoughtfully, and this was also a pun.
George arranged for Werther to stay at the Guest House. On the way to the Guest House, Werther first congratulated George on the opening of the Siberian Railway.
If it were in the past, George would definitely be modest and say that this is the glory of everyone, not George's achievement alone.
Now that George is too lazy to talk in circles, he can't be polite to the people in St. Petersburg. He may speak a little more obscurely, for fear that they won't understand.
"This is nothing to be happy about. How long did it take when you came?"
After the Siberian Railway is fully opened to traffic, it will theoretically take 14 days to get from St. Petersburg to Vladivostok.
Witt's trip took a full 20 days.
"Heavy snow, broken bridges, delays, and a bear was killed on the train I took. This is all normal——"
Witt expressed his understanding. He is the empire who knows the Siberian Railway best besides George. officials.
"You are right, because these abnormal things happen too often, they become normal."
George is not in a hurry, what is urgent now is St. Petersburg.
George and Werther did not take the subway to the guest house, but took a car.
The streets of Vladivostok are very bustling, with shops lined up on both sides of the road, and all kinds of neon lights dazzling people's eyes. In theory, Vladivostok is still winter in March, and St. Petersburg is closed by heavy snow, but the streets of Vladivostok are very clean, and there is no snow at all.
This is thanks to the hard-working sanitation workers.
Witt thought the sanitation worker wearing a sheepskin hat, sheepskin jacket, thick gloves and big leather shoes was a woman.
As the car entered, he saw the coat of arms of Duke Yuriev on the car. The sanitation worker took off his hat and bowed, and only then did Werther see clearly that it was a man.
George did not explain to Witte how the city of Vladivostok ran.
Werther has eyes and can see for himself. If he can't see, he is pretending to be blind.
George didn’t know what St. Petersburg was like.
Witt was impressed by the tranquility and cleanliness of Vladivostok.
Some time ago, there was another general strike of 80,000 people in St. Petersburg, and it was Bloody Sunday again. The whole city was in chaos and smoky.
There are also many people on the streets of Vladivostok, but they are not marching, but shopping in large and small bags, with happy smiles on their faces.
The police on the streets of Vladivostok are either patrolmen or traffic policemen, sparse in twos and threes, which fully proves that the city's security is very stable.
St. Petersburg police are dispatched, at least in squad units, and must carry long guns and heavy weapons, otherwise they may be attacked by unknown persons.
The Vladivostok policemen only carry pistols.
"Breckin should learn from you how to govern a city."
Witt was convinced.
After Plekhva's assassination, Nicholas appointed Svetopolk Mirsky as Minister of the Interior.
After Sergei's assassination, Nikolai dismissed Mirsky from his post and appointed Alexander Bregin to replace him.
The replacement of interior ministers like a revolving door is of no use. St. Petersburg should be in chaos.
George smiled and said nothing. The empire’s problem was not in a certain city at all.
If poor peasants do not have access to land, if workers’ livelihoods cannot be guaranteed, and if terrorists continue to receive support from certain forces abroad, the problems of the Russian Empire will never be solved.
Both Asper and the Bank of Siberia have evidence that organizers of the St. Petersburg labor movement received financial support from Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, and even Germany.
Look who is missing?
George firmly believes that the country on the surface is just a smoke bomb, and whoever does not show up is the real culprit. When he arrived at the Guest House, Werther didn't bother to rest and asked George directly about his views on the war.
George had no idea.
After the failure of the Pacific Fleet to break out, St. Petersburg finally recalled Alexeyev and appointed Kuropatkin as the commander-in-chief of the Russian Army in Kwantung.
Remember Alexeyev’s special train?
The first thing Kuropatkin did after taking office was to request a special train similar to Alexeyev's.
Alexeyev’s special train was taken back to St. Petersburg by Alexeyev.
It’s a damn thing that you can win this fight.
Although the war was a complete defeat, the country was in turmoil, and even Sergei was assassinated, some people in St. Petersburg did not admit defeat.
The Russian Empire continues to increase its troops, and the number of Russian troops under Kuropatkin has increased to 320,000.
Nicholas accepted William II's suggestion and mainly used the Baltic Fleet, coupled with the four "Borodino" class battleships that had just been completed and put into service, and were sailing around Africa to the Far East.
Of the four "Borodino" class battleships, only the "Alexander III" was built the year before last. The other three were just built. The officers and soldiers did not even have time to become familiar with the battleships before they were incorporated into the Second Fleet.
Since the huge hull of the "Borodino" cannot pass through the Suez Canal, the Second Fleet can only choose to go around Africa to East Asia. This journey is equivalent to bypassing half of the earth.
Since the warships of the participating countries cannot enter neutral ports to replenish, the Second Fleet can only replenish through supply ships along the way. Once an accident occurs to a ship, it can only enter neutral ports for repairs on the premise of withdrawing from the war.
George knew that St. Petersburg would not admit defeat until it was exhausted.
So just keep fighting until the oil is gone.
"George, if you were asked to be the governor of the Far East, what would you do?"
Since George did not take over, Werther pointed it out directly.
"I will first send that bastard Alexeyev to a military court! Then let that idiot Kuropatkin copy "The Science of Winning" ten thousand times——"
George did not hide his disapproval at all The hatred of these two people.
Witt was speechless.
The war ended like this. Not only was Alexeyev not held accountable, but he also became a member of the State Council.
On the night of the defeat in the Battle of Tsushima, Alexeyev sat in the box of the Mikhailovsky Theater in St. Petersburg and paid tribute to his mistress, the French ballet dancer Al, who had embezzled naval funds. Shah cheered, and people in the theater shouted to his mistress: "Get out of Russia, you are not wearing gems, but our battleships."
"George, for the Empire—for His Majesty—"
Witt knew how to persuade George.
"I can fight for the empire and your majesty——"
George was indifferent, and his words were colder than the Siberian cold current.
“——But I don’t want the worms and vampires in the empire to benefit from this. Do you want me to take over this mess? It’s very simple, let those who deserve to pay the price pay the due price!”
George's conditions are also increasing.
When the war first broke out, George's only condition was absolute command authority.
Now that the situation has collapsed further, George must make greater efforts than before if he wants to turn the tide.
Then George’s conditions must also be increased.
“Who are you referring to?”
There is one last glimmer of hope for Werther.
If it is just Alexeev and Kuropatkin, it is not non-negotiable.
A dead Taoist friend is not a poor Taoist.
Sacrifice these two, everyone will be happy.
“You know who it is!”
George didn't want to say those names.
Alekseyev and Kuropatkin are certainly responsible for the war being fought like this, but there are others who bear greater responsibility.
Witt sighed.
Kuropatkin was transferred from the post of Minister of War to Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Army in Kwantung. The person who succeeded Kuropatkin as Minister of War was none other than George's mortal enemy Vladimir.
War Minister Vladimir, Navy Minister Alexei——
What a pair of sleeping dragon and phoenix chicks!
George knew why Werther came to Vladivostok.
Visiting George and all that is just a cover.
The real reason was that Sergei's assassination made other Grand Dukes of St. Petersburg feel fear.
So they hoped that the war would end soon, but they did not want to bow to George, so they sent Witt, an old friend who had a close relationship with George, to test George's tone.
Even if George agrees now, St. Petersburg will not immediately transfer command to George.
Kuropatkin's men have accumulated enough troops to launch a large-scale battle.
The Second Fleet is on its way to the Far East.
These two are the last struggles of St. Petersburg.
So George was really not in a hurry. He didn't take a fancy to the scraps of the Second Fleet, nor did he take a fancy to the so-called invincible Cossacks under Kuropatkin.
Invincibility depends on who is in charge.
(End of this chapter)