Chapter 592 The Tsar’s “Surprise”

Paris, France.

The French Ministry of Transport was stimulated by the representatives of the small German states at the aftermath meeting of the Alsace-Lorraine incident not long ago. In order to regain the ground, the Minister of Transport proposed a package of radical reform measures.

Including a series of railway construction projects and the establishment of new train research and transformation projects.

On the one hand, a group of officials were red-faced for the interest groups behind them to fight for the right to build and operate railways, and on the other hand, a large number of people jumped out to oppose the so-called train research center.

The reason for the latter is that they don’t want to see money wasted on railway and train improvement projects, because the cost of importing technology from Britain across the Channel is less than one-tenth of independent research and development.

Since there are ready-made results that can be enjoyed at a low price, why should they open up a new road that others have already walked at a high price? What is the point of doing this?

While the Minister of Transport was engaged in a war of words with a group of opponents, someone jumped out to report that the academicians of the French Academy of Sciences took bribes and deliberately slowed down the research process.

Immediately, the nature of the question changed from whether to establish a train research project to whether the Minister of Transport accepted bribes.

Of course, to be fair, people, regardless of their origin and skin color, can always find faults in them.

After a series of inquiries, with the brainstorming of the officials, the "sinister intentions" of the Minister of Transport were finally discovered.

The minister's distant relative is a mechanical engineer who just lost his job recently, so from his behavior, it can be concluded that this is completely a case of abuse of power for personal gain.

So the Minister of Transport had to resign, and the plan to establish the French Train Research Center was declared bankrupt.

Regarding this feast of railway engineering projects, the final winner is naturally James Mayer Rothschild, for only one reason - he has money.

Even if the Rothschild family does not want to participate in the division of the French railway, the family will still get this opportunity in the end. This is the charm of capital.

The second biggest winner is those bureaucratic financiers, the so-called Orleans faction. Although this group of people did not get many routes, they were all golden sections.

The remaining short and remote sections were openly divided up by the society.

However, the French soon realized a problem: they lacked funds, even James Mayer Rothschild.

And it happened that Louis Philippe announced the establishment of the Texas Railway Company to the outside world, openly stabbing his subjects and supporters in the back.

Although the investment in the Texas Railway would be greater, it was not difficult to build it on the plains, and because it was located in the North American colonies with great potential, the overall return was the highest.

However, the problem was that although the Orleans royal family was rich, they alone could not afford such a huge construction cost, unless their king planned to sell his family's real estate.

Just when this news was spread by the Paris financial community, His Majesty's actions once again surprised people. Yes, he planned to use public funds to build the railway and then sit back and enjoy the fruits of his labor.

Louis Philippe's actions were not unexpected. After all, His Majesty the King was really not smart.

Austria also participated in the French railway craze this time, but Franz used someone else's vest.

As for the contracted railways, they were typical remote and short-distance ones. Franz was not interested in these lines because he knew that they would develop in the future and found business opportunities in them.

He knew very well that the Spring of Nations began with the collapse of King Orleans, so these lines had no value at all, let alone recovering the cost.

But the routes he contracted had one thing in common, that is, they were connected to the border between France and Sardinia.

Franz's purpose was simple, which was to delay the French from advancing into Italy. Given the long and narrow coastline in Italy, the French could easily open up a sea route to the Apennine Peninsula.

But that was another story, and the sea was full of uncertainty, which could be fatal when two major powers were playing games.

The British did something similar. Lionel Rothschild had a secret conversation with his uncle. The two of them decided on the ownership of several important railways while drinking. The debate in the French Parliament was just a show.

Robert Peel even approved a special fund to trick the French. But what he didn't expect was that the July Monarchy was gone before these railways were built.

When St. Petersburg heard the rumors, the division had reached a fever pitch. When their apostles arrived in Paris, everything had already been settled. They just enjoyed a public travel.

Of course, this was actually a preview of a visit that Tsar Nicholas I was planning. He planned to give the world a surprise.

Then Queen Victoria in Windsor Castle was frightened.

Victoria's female attendant informed her of the Tsar's upcoming visit on April 1, 1845. The latter did not take it seriously and just thought it was a bad joke.

At this time, Victoria, 26 years old, was at the age of wolves and tigers. She was ready to contribute more heirs to the British Empire.

This naturally requires the help of the queen's husband, Prince Albert, but the latter seems a little overwhelmed. After all, he has to deal with the open and secret struggles between the Whigs and the Tories, as well as the treacherous international situation.

Going home, he has to deal with four children. After finally driving away the little devils, the "big devil" comes to him again.

Victoria is a careful woman, and she pays attention to her husband's every move.

Although Prince Albert did not cheat, the Queen would never accept the fact that he lost interest in her.

So she began to seek ways to change this situation, from gorgeous clothes and jewelry to expensive perfumes, and even playing polo with Albert.

After trying all the above methods, the alienation between the two still did not ease, especially when playing polo, Prince Albert openly criticized his pig teammates for their behavior.

You must know that this prince is known for his good temper and the image of a good man. Whether in the outside world or in private, he rarely behaves rudely or inappropriately, and he will never do that to women.

However, playing polo with Victoria was simply a torture. Prince Albert had broken through and was about to score.

At this time, the former suddenly shouted to the latter to wait. This was nothing. Female knights were relatively weak and had not shot the goal. It was understandable that they wanted to experience it.

But Victoria was not here to attack. She just wanted to be romantic. This kind of thing was not uncommon on the polo field, and the British in this era were still very gentlemanly, especially when the other party was the queen and the king's wife.

But Victoria's thoughts were completely different from Albert's. The former did not want to end it immediately and was ready to hug and kiss for a while.

This made the people present very embarrassed. After a long time, some young people who were full of blood could not help but take the opportunity to snatch the polo ball.

After so many times, both sides almost fell off their horses during a close exchange, which made Albert unable to bear it anymore and began to accuse Her Majesty the Queen of being unreasonable.

Prince Albert was as irritable as a primary school student who lost ten qualifying games in a row. He criticized Queen Victoria's skills, behavior, and even character in all aspects.

The latter obviously did not think that he was wrong, but felt that he had condescended to be more noble in order to bring the couple closer, and he shouted out of grievance.

"You are ruthless! You are cold! You are unreasonable!"

"I am ruthless!? I am cold!? I am unreasonable!"

"Yes! You are ruthless! You are cold! You are unreasonable!"

"Then you are not ruthless!? Not cold!? Not unreasonable!"

"Where am I ruthless!? Where am I cold!? Where am I unreasonable!"

"Where are you not ruthless!? Where are you not cold!? Where are you not unreasonable!"

"No matter how ruthless! No matter how cold! No matter how unreasonable I am, I will not be more ruthless! More cold! More unreasonable than you!"

"At least when I play polo defense, I will not hold hands with others to form a human wall!"

"Go to polo! Go to defense!"

Victoria angrily waved her whip and left the court. The discord between the queen and her husband was not a trivial matter, and the nobles present naturally had no mood to play.

After all, the Queen is gone, why play ball!

Victoria rode back to her castle angrily, but after thinking about it, she felt that it was her fault, especially such a loss of composure in public was simply fatal.

But soon her thoughts returned to her husband, after all, those old guys in the government did not seem to like her too active participation in politics.

At this time, Victoria suddenly remembered the medicine that the Indian merchant named Vera Weiss had paid tribute to.

On the other hand, Prince Albert calmed down earlier than Victoria, after all, his political sensitivity was much higher.

So Prince Albert lied that everything just now was just an April Fool's joke.

He realized his own problems and perhaps he should fulfill his duties as a husband.

Prince Albert returned to Windsor Castle with a slightly apologetic mood, and Victoria prepared everything.

The two had dinner together as usual and drank some "wine", and then Prince Albert dismissed the servants.

"I'm sorry for my misbehavior today, but I just want to tell you that your safety and health are more important than my life."

The misunderstanding between the two was quickly resolved, and then they talked to each other, unraveling the mystery, and the fire was raging.

Just as the two were at the critical moment, the door of the room was knocked.

"Russian Tsar Nicholas I has arrived, please come in, Your Majesty."

The maid was rudely interrupted by Victoria before she finished speaking.

"Mary! If you tell me that crude joke again, you will be a stable boy tomorrow!"

The maid Mary said: "Your Majesty, don't do this! But Nicholas I is really here, if you don't believe me, look out the window."

Victoria and Albert slowly moved to the window, and through the folds they saw that a delegation had already entered Windsor Castle.

"Oh my God!"

The two hurriedly put on their clothes, but formal clothes in this era were not so easy to wear. Victoria had to pull the maid Mary into the room to help, and the latter was embarrassed when she and Prince Albert looked at each other, but it was gone in a flash.

The Queen was not mentally prepared for the Russian Czar's sudden visit without warning. After all, Nicholas was not here for his own government this time, but intended to establish a personal relationship between monarchs.

The Tsar paid great attention to this, but Prime Minister Robert Peel didn't care at all. After all, he hated the Queen, and the Queen hated him. He was only responsible to the parliamentary gentlemen in Westminster.

In fact, Nicholas I was supposed to visit Britain in 1844, but that visit failed to take place because Russia chose to side with Austria in the Luxembourg crisis.

This time the Tsar came again uninvited, which was why Victoria was so caught off guard.

Nicholas I's brother, Tsar Alexander I, was Queen Victoria's godfather, so the two were not too unfamiliar.

It's just that this kind of diplomatic behavior makes Victoria very uncomfortable. After all, she is not a traditional monarch.

Prince Albert, however, did not have much respect for the tall and tall tsar, because he felt that the latter's rule lacked art, and he did not like his reputation for cruelty.

What Prince Albert looked down upon the most was Nicholas I's seemingly polite attitude at this time. "Bullying the weak and fearing the strong" was the former's evaluation of the latter.

Although Tsar Nicholas I has always emphasized the power of the tsar and is known for his toughness, Russia has been avoiding frontal differences with Britain over the years, and even hid behind Austria, a more feudal and backward country.

Nicholas I didn't like this "little man" who kept staring at him, especially since the latter's lower body was obviously uncomfortable, and the former despised Lord Long Yang extremely.

(Prince Albert is 178cm tall. There are two records of Nicholas I’s height in history, one is 190cm and the other is 206cm. The previous one was written as 190cm, and this one is written as 206cm.)

After a brief embarrassment, the Tsar revealed his purpose.

"Osman is a dead man, but he is not dead yet. He deserves to die, and we should make sure that he dies. I think you understand what I mean, Her Majesty."

Victoria was shocked by the other party's diplomatic style. Whether it was what she had learned in Germany or what she had seen and heard in the UK, it was the first time she had experienced talking about things like this.

But she quickly came to her senses and responded.

"I'm sorry, I don't quite understand what you mean, and I think you are talking to the wrong person. You should talk to the politicians in our country, not me, my dear Tsar,"

Nicholas I: "No! I insist on talking to those chosen by God, not those who steal the throne. As long as Britain and Russia join forces, the Ottomans will be ours. Your achievements will be comparable to Queen Elizabeth I. "

"Ahem." Prince Albert interrupted Nicholas I.

"I don't think so. The greatness of the British Empire is that it found a balance between democracy and autocracy. It can better reflect public opinion and avoid abuse of power. At this time, we do not want to destroy this balance."

After hearing this, Nicholas I immediately became serious. He did not want democracy, let alone listen to the so-called "bullshit" public opinion.

"Is this your answer?"

Prince Albert also had a tough attitude: "No! We don't have the power. Please go talk to the gentlemen of the cabinet!"