Chapter 409 Immediate Interests vs Long-Term Interests

St. Petersburg, a steady stream of bad news, Alexander II couldn't take it anymore. The decadence of the Russian Empire is evident, and the prestige built up in the War in the Near East is being eroded.

The international situation is only a small problem, and the biggest trouble is still inside. From the very beginning, Alexander II was using war to divert internal conflicts, attempting to plunder his interests and quell domestic disputes through military expansion.

As the situation on the battlefield deteriorated, so did the situation at home. This time, it is not a battle between conservatives and reformers, but the people at the bottom are almost unable to hold on.

With the blockade of sea lanes, the supply of living necessities in St. Petersburg is seriously insufficient, and prices continue to rise. The capital is still like this, not to mention the surrounding cities.

In the Winter Palace, Alexander II said murderously: "I don't care what method you use, you must calm down prices as soon as possible to ensure the supply of materials in St. Petersburg. If you can't do it, I will replace someone who can do it.

Now is a critical period for the Russian Empire, no matter any individual or interest group, as long as they stand on the opposite side of the Empire, they will all be severely punished! "

Alexander II is not easy to fool. It is a fact that the supply of materials is insufficient, but the rising prices are absolutely abnormal.

At least the price of food cannot be so abnormal. As the capital of the Russian Empire, how could St. Petersburg have no food reserves?

The capitalists are talented people. As early as when the Polish uprising broke out, everyone tacitly started hoarding food.

The Tsarist government was not completely unprepared. There were still more than two months between the Pudan War and the Prussian-Russian War. During this time, they also stocked up a lot of materials.

Coupled with the original capital's food stocks, it is absolutely impossible to run out so quickly. What's more, St. Petersburg itself is one of Russia's grain producing areas, and the food self-sufficiency rate is already very high.

If no one is doing things, St. Petersburg will not be short of food. As long as the food supply is guaranteed, everything else is easy to deal with.

For example: coal, there is around St. Petersburg.

The Russian Empire in this era was basically self-sufficient, except for the import of some machinery and equipment, as evidenced by the trade surplus.

The Minister of the Interior, Mikhail, bit his head and said: "Your Majesty, the snow and ice have melted in many areas, and the roads are muddy, which has seriously affected the passage. There is a shortage of supplies in a short period of time. It only takes another month or two."

What is the reason for the skyrocketing prices, Mikhail is clear. But the interest groups involved are too powerful, and this layer of window paper is not easy to pierce.

Alexander II sneered and said, "Really? If that's the case, then the government will supply the supplies in a unified way. I think all patriots will support it!"

Support, how is it possible! This is cutting everyone's flesh. I don't know how many people want to make a fortune from it. Now if the government takes over and co-ordinates the supply, what will they earn?

The Minister of the Interior Mikhail said in a panic: "Your Majesty, there is too much involved here, and the government's coordination of supplies may cause a big mess."

Cutting off people's wealth is like killing one's parents.

When such a thing happened, the tsar may not do well, and the specific executors of them are dead.

Alexander II laughed and said: "This is the last resort, if prices don't subside, we have only this way.

If someone dares to make trouble, it depends on whether our knives are sharp enough.

The 4th and 7th divisions will arrive in St. Petersburg in three days. If prices do not subside within three days, the army will be responsible for coordinating the supply of supplies. "

Obviously, Alexander II was smart enough to not count on the city defense army of St. Petersburg, and directly dispatched the troops that had just been withdrawn from the battlefield to rest.

These frontier troops are obviously not something that the capitalists and bureaucrats in St. Petersburg can influence. They only follow the orders of the tsar.

If the capitalists know the current affairs, then hello, hello, hello, everyone, and Alexander II is not willing to break the rules of the game.

Otherwise, I'm sorry. The Tsarist government could not solve the problem of skyrocketing prices, so it had to start at the source and eliminate those who drive up prices.

Home raiding is a compulsory course for almost every hero. The famous monarchs in history have not raided their homes.

Usually such an emperor kills more people. Usually, the people who create the problem are eliminated, and the world will be completely ruled.

The situation in Europe is special. In general, no nobles are killed. This does not mean that the nobles cannot be killed.

Alexander II was not a bully. He would only speak his fist if he was not right. Once his face was torn, he would not mind killing him.

To a certain extent, this head is still opened by Franz. Reform has never been bloodless, and the Austrian reforms were also poured out from a sea of ​​corpses.

It's just that the great revolution served as a cover, and many diehards were swept away by the revolution, and the subsequent reforms were successfully implemented.

Alexander II also realized this. The Russian reforms he promoted were resisted by interest groups, and the progress was very poor. Now Alexander II needs to kill the chicken to show the monkey, and see who will become the chicken.

Mikhail's face changed greatly, his political mind was still very bright, and he knew that the Tsar was dissatisfied with his work. He hurriedly replied, "Yes, Your Majesty!"

The Minister of the Interior, Mikhail, decided that the dead Taoist would not die. Within the scope of the rules of the game, it seems that it is not a big problem for the capitalists to play like this, and it is safer to have the cover of the aristocratic bureaucrats.

However, when the tsar was about to overturn the table, the problem changed. What would a bureaucrat like Mikhail do against the Tsar for a bribe

?

Obviously, this is not possible. Their power comes from the tsar. As long as they are still in their positions, they can earn money slowly, so why risk it?

Perhaps many people have the triple identities of nobles, bureaucrats, and capitalists at the same time, but for them, the most important thing is to keep their status first.

Money can be made slowly, but there is only one life! The tsar who raised the butcher's knife must not be provoked.

Foreign Minister Clarence Ivanov said: "Your Majesty, the Fao conflict is over, and secret negotiations are currently underway between the two countries.

Based on the basic information and preliminary analysis, this negotiation may involve the deep-seated strategies of the two countries, and even affect the war between us and the Kingdom of Prussia.

Austrian Foreign Minister Weisenberg has arrived in Milan, reportedly to strengthen communication with the Lombard kingdom, which should be a smoke bomb.

At the same time, the French Foreign Minister Abraham also arrived in the Kingdom of Sardinia, officially on vacation.

Yesterday, Wesenberg and Abraham met in the border area between Sardinia and Lombardy, and the two had a five-hour meeting.

The content of their conversation was highly confidential, and all the attendants were dispatched, only the two parties knew. "

Clarence Ivanov got this information at a great cost, mainly to prove that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is not really incompetent.

Recently, the tsarist government has suffered frequent diplomatic failures. Although there are special reasons that cannot be blamed on them, the voices of criticism against them within the tsarist government are still getting louder and louder.

Clarence - Ivanov naturally has to make achievements, the Fao conflict is the opportunity in his eyes. The two countries did not really fight, which made him both disappointed and pleasantly surprised.

This complicated mood is not only shared by Clarence Ivanov, but also by most people in the tsarist government.

On the one hand, they want a war between Fao and Austria to consume each other's strength in order to keep the European hegemony of the Russian Empire.

On the other hand, they didn't want to see Fao start fighting. Once Austria was involved in the war, their logistical supply system would collapse.

When the Franco-Austrian War broke out, Austria was naturally unable to continue exporting strategic materials to them. This gap needs to be filled.

Unfortunately, this gap cannot be filled at all. There are only a few of the world's industrial powers, and the British have the ability to fill the vacancy after Fao's battle.

This kind of unrealistic fantasy, the tsarist government dared not even dream of it. Is it not a dream to expect the British to provide them with logistics?

Alexander II thought for a while and said, "Contact with the Austrians first to test whether their position has changed, and if necessary, they can make appropriate concessions.

We can promise that we will not seek land in the German region, and the division of the Kingdom of Prussia will be limited to the Polish region. "

Despite the bleeding in his heart, Alexander II gritted his teeth and made this decision. The war has reached this stage, and it is no longer appropriate to think about expanding into Central Europe.

This world speaks in terms of strength, how much strength you have, you will share as much cake as you have, and you will choke to death if you eat too much.

"Strength" is comprehensive strength, not just military strength. Regardless of whether they admit it or not, the current comprehensive strength of the Russian Empire has fallen behind among the four major powers.

Foreign Minister Clarence Ivanov replied: "Yes, Your Majesty!"

After a pause, he added: "Now that both the Prussians and the British are wooing Sweden, in order to avoid the worst, the Foreign Office recommends appropriate concessions to Sweden.

We can support Karl XV's plan for the unification of the Nordic three countries, once Denmark merges with Sweden and Norway, they will be dragged into the Purdan war. "

This is a very clever strategy to break the situation. The Kingdom of Denmark can exchange for Sweden to send troops at the cost of supporting the unification of the three Nordic countries.

Before the outbreak of the war, the three countries were negotiating for the establishment of a joint state. Sweden and Norway are now co-monarchs. The two countries have basically reached an agreement, but the Kingdom of Denmark has not made up their minds.

This hesitation caused the Pudan War to break out. It is not without reason that the Junkers aristocrats started this war last year.

If the three Nordic countries really merge, it will be difficult to take back the duchies of Schleswig and Holstein.

Alexander II hesitated, unifying the three Nordic countries would indeed be beneficial to the Russian Empire in a short period of time, but the emergence of a unified Northern Europe would also be a threat to the Russian Empire in the future.

Denmark+Norway+Sweden add up to form another Prussian kingdom. Perhaps the Nordic region is limited by climatic conditions, and the population growth rate is too slow, and it will be inferior to the Kingdom of Prussia. This gap will definitely not be too large.

Ambition is always stimulated by strength. Will they still be so peaceful after the reunification of the three Nordic countries? For example: the attention of Finland, or the idea of ​​attacking the three Baltic countries.

There is no doubt that this situation is very likely to happen. The Nordic barbarians have also had a good time in history. Once great powerism is stimulated, the northern border of the future Russian Empire will be lively.

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