Chapter 721 Thought Is the Core of Unity

St. Petersburg, with the assassination of Alexander II, the atmosphere in the whole city is tense.

The military and police were constantly dispatched to arrest members of the Revolutionary Party. The prison is almost overcrowded, but the mastermind behind the scenes has not yet surfaced.

The Winter Palace, according to the practice of the Russian Empire, from the death of Alexander II, Alexandrovich presided over the overall situation as the crown prince.

Perhaps stimulated by the assassination of his father, Alexandrovich went to the other extreme and stayed at home without going out.

Staying at home does not affect work. It is not necessary for the crown prince to go into battle in person to capture the murderer, and there are people below who want to take this opportunity to rise to the fore.

...

Alexandrovich asked, "Has anyone been found?"

Police Minister Nicholas Federo replied tremblingly: "I found it, but unfortunately our people arrived a step late, and the suspect is already dead.

On the surface, he committed suicide. After careful inspection, we found that the deceased had a fierce inner struggle before his life, and he should have been forced to commit suicide. "

He couldn't help being nervous. He, the Minister of Police, was to blame for such a big case. Going home and farming is not scary, but what is scary is that the new tsar is dealt with by the new tsar as a chaotic party.

There is nothing impossible. There are too many doubts about the assassination of Alexander II. We must come up with a plausible answer and give everyone an explanation.

Politics is cruel. If the real culprit cannot be found out, it is not impossible to find someone to top the tank.

Everyone knows that the Minister of Police, Nicholas Federo, is a close associate of Alexander II, and it is impossible to plan an assassination case, but he is precisely the one who has the ability to complete the silence and cover up the case.

The police department was responsible for the vigilance on the periphery of the Tsar’s trip. There was a large-scale violent smashing and smashing incident nearby on the day of the incident. Alexander II ordered these police officers to stop it, creating an opportunity for the assassins.

This responsibility must not be shouldered by Alexander II, and the Police Department must shoulder it. A large number of suspects "suicide" in the back, and the police department responsible for investigating the assassination case is to blame.

As the boss of policing, Nicholas Federo has practically been unable to escape. Unless the real culprit can be found, otherwise his suspicions will not be cleared.

Alexandrovich glared at him fiercely, and scolded: "Waste! Those who knew the inside were all committed suicide, and you didn't even find any clues. Did you also commit suicide someday? Only then did you know. what?"

Nicholas Federo's face was blue, and his body was shaking constantly, as if he might fall down at any time.

"You were killed too", the meaning of this sentence is too much. Nicholas Federo admits he was intimidated, and if the crown prince starts to doubt him, it's all over.

evidence?

That is completely overthinking, and many things in this world do not require evidence. When it comes to the case of slaying the king, as long as there is an object of suspicion, it doesn't matter whether there is evidence or not.

Looking at the performance of the Minister of Police, Alexandrovich breathed a sigh of relief for no reason. It's right to know that you're afraid. If the Minister of Police is unmoved, then there is really a problem.

There was no way, Alexander II left too suddenly, and Alexandrovich was completely unprepared to succeed him.

Retaining his father's former team was also a last resort. Even if he wants to make a substitution now, Alexandrovich doesn't know who to replace.

Is Police Secretary Nicholas Federo really incompetent? Obviously not, if it is really trash, it is impossible to be in a high position. The current performance is terrible, it is frightened by the current situation.

As the person implicated in this monarchy case, if he can still deal with it calmly, he will either have a heart like a rock, or he will be unscrupulous.

Either way, it is a threat to the incoming Alexandrovich.

After a pause, Alexandrovich continued: "Since you can't find it, then leave it to someone who is capable! I have invited detectives from various European countries, and you are responsible for cooperating."

Are you not afraid of losing face if you invite foreign aid?

The answer is: don't be afraid!

The emperor has been assassinated, and the tsarist government has long since lost face. For Alexandrovich, he won't be able to sleep until he finds out who's behind it.

Face is not as important as your own safety. This assassination case obviously involved domestic interest groups. Alexandrovich did not know who was reliable, so he had no choice but to look for foreign aid.

Of course, this is all on the surface, deliberately made for the outside world to see, so that everyone thinks that he is a poor crown prince.

Secretly, Marshal Ivanov really came back to receive the reward with the meritorious officials, and these talents are the real foundation of the tsar.

It's not that there are no loyal ministers in St. Petersburg. The problem is that Alexandrovich can't tell who is loyal and who is traitor. For safety, he can only transfer the army back.

Whether or not the real culprit can be found, a major purge is inevitable. Unlike the last time Alexander II purged the country, this time it was to see blood.

In a sense, after the First Russian-Prussian War, Alexander II's great purge on the grounds of anti-corruption laid the foundation for the following reforms.

It also buried hidden dangers for his own assassination. Since 1871, Alexander II has lived a good life of being assassinated every other day.

After so many years, the number of assassins hanged by the tsarist government has exceeded four figures, and the enthusiasm of those who have lost interests has not stopped.

There were so many assassination cases in the era of Alexander II, but very few of them were able to find the real murderer. Basically, they were all revolutionary parties.

Or patriots take the blame.

The real culprit cannot be found, and in fact it can be speculated. Whose interests have been damaged and need revenge? Who wants Alexander II to die the most?

These two types of people were caught together and slowly checked, and they were always able to find something. Even if it has nothing to do with this assassination, finding the real murderer of the previous assassination is also a good gain.

Peace of mind, that doesn't exist. The Russian-Prussian War had just ended, and Alexander II was at the height of his power. If he did not come up with a satisfactory result, Alexandrovich could not explain it to the Chinese people.

...

The assassination of Alexander II was the first to be affected by the Pude negotiations. The Berlin government was really panicked, and its original position of not giving in territorially softened.

At this point, the main transaction price disputed by the two parties has actually been settled.

In London, a breakthrough was made in the Pude negotiations, and the first obstacle to the establishment of North Germany was cleared, but Prime Minister Benjamin was not happy.

Things went so smoothly, beyond imagination, that it felt unreal.

Putting down the draft contract in his hand, Prime Minister Benjamin said, "Sir Edward, didn't Austria make a move?"

Foreign Secretary Edward: "No, the Austrians took action. It's just that they were slow to react this time, and their interference was very small.

Maybe they thought they could rely on the German Federal Reichstag to veto the deal, so they didn't rush to do it.

Of course, the sudden assassination of Alexander II was also one of the reasons. According to the information from the embassy, ​​the Vienna government is now focusing most of its energy on the Russian Empire. "

These reasons are still somewhat untenable. No matter how concentrated your energy is, it is impossible to put all of it into the past. A little bit scattered can also increase the difficulty of the Pude negotiation.

Waiting for the imperial parliament to veto it is too passive, not like the style of Austria. Moreover, the German Federal Reichstag can also be avoided.

The North German Empire plan was also carried out in stages, with the merger of Pude as the last step. It has only just begun, and it is Hannover who is negotiating with the Kingdom of Prussia now, not the German Federal Imperial Government.

Under the unique system of the German Federal Empire, states have independent diplomatic rights, including the power to conclude treaties with other countries, and transactions between Hanover and Prussia do not require the approval of the Reichstag.

The first step is the territorial transaction, the second step is the alliance between Hanover and the Kingdom of Prussia, the third step is the establishment of the United Kingdom of Puhan, and the last step is the establishment of the North German Empire.

In fact, when Puhan merged, the Kingdom of Prussia had already entered the German Federal Empire, and the Imperial Parliament did not even have the power to block it.

After the established facts are established, and then in turn forcing the consent of the Imperial Parliament, the resistance is much smaller.

In theory, something similar could be done in Austria, but in practice it is simply not possible.

In order to survive, the Kingdom of Prussia can put down its stature and lose face, establish a dual-system state with Hanover as the mainstay, and jointly dominate the next North German Empire.

Franz can't afford to lose this person, and the Austrian people can't tolerate such a thing. A big country has to look like a big country, and it cannot do everything.

Prime Minister Benjamin nodded: "I hope so! Let them speed up the negotiation process and establish the established facts earlier, so as not to make extra troubles."

Doubts are doubts. At this stage, even if they know that there is a pit ahead, the London government must jump in.

Retreat at this time, then contribute to the unified German region of Austria.

The human heart is the most complicated thing. The London government was able to persuade Prussia and Hanover because everyone was not optimistic that Austria could unify the German region.

If the British shrink back at this time, everyone's thinking will change. Many people will think that the London government is afraid of Austria and does not dare to confront them directly.

Once this idea arises, everyone has to reconsider the question of "whether Austria has the strength to unify the German region".

The core of unification lies in ideas. If all Germans believe that Austria has the strength to unify the German region and are willing to join the unified empire, then no one can stop it.

In essence, the reason why the Vienna government did not dare to take this step was that it was worried that it would be besieged by European countries before it could integrate the German region.

Internal instability, and the threat of foreign enemies, no one can stand it. Franz didn't think he could accomplish the great things that Napoleon didn't accomplish in those days.

If everyone is thinking about unification, then don't say anything. European countries do not even have the motivation to intervene, because interference is useless.

Now that the British can take action to differentiate, the most important thing is that everyone does not think that Austria has the strength to unify the German region, and many people even think that unification is a dead end.

Even if there are more pro-Austrian factions in various countries and they know the benefits of grand unification, no one dares to take this step. It was against this background that North Germanism developed.