shadow of britain

Chapter 626: The Tsar’s Sugar-Coated Bullet

The spacious and impressive embassy meeting room is located in the center of the embassy's main building.

When you step into the room, the first thing that catches your eye is the tall ceiling decorated with exquisite reliefs. On the walls are several exquisite oil paintings depicting portraits of important political figures in Britain throughout the ages. Among them are paintings of kings of the Hanoverian dynasty, as well as military generals such as the Duke of Marlborough, the Duke of Wellington and Horatio Nelson who have made great contributions to Britain.

The interior decoration adopts the typical Russian style. The bright floor-to-ceiling windows are large and tall, and the curtains are made of thick purple velvet. The cold air and snowflakes outside the window are reflected into the room through the window glass, lighting up the blazing fire in the fireplace.

The long walnut conference table has a smooth mirror-like surface, reflecting the documents and ink bottles displayed on the table.

There are more than a dozen soft chairs on both sides of the table. Each chair is covered with fine leather and has exquisite metal decorations. The shape is classic and practical.

Count Daramo, the Chinese ambassador to Russia, dressed in an elegant formal suit, sat in the main seat. From his perspective, he could see the entire situation in the conference room.

Sitting on his left and right were naturally close figures whom Daramo regarded as his right-hand men.

Seated on the left was the Cultural Counselor Sir Arthur Hastings, who was reading a report with a frown on his face and smoking a pipe.

Sitting opposite the knight was Colonel Charles Stewart, the military attaché in Russia, who was wiping the medal on his chest with a handkerchief.

Below them, other important figures such as counselors, first-class secretaries, etc. took their seats one after another. However, due to travel reasons, the consuls in important Russian cities such as Moscow and Kiev were unable to attend the meeting in time.

Count Daramo saw that everyone was present and habitually tapped the table with his fingers. "I'm sure everyone has heard the news from London. The exposure of the secret agreement between Russia and the Ottomans has caused an uproar in the London media. According to the instructions of the Foreign Secretary, I will go to the Winter Palace at three o'clock this afternoon to lodge a solemn protest to the Tsar in person."

At this point, Count Daramo paused, took out his pocket watch and checked the time: "Of course, the French are more active than us in this regard. The French chargé d'affaires in St. Petersburg should be in the Winter Palace by now."

Arthur took out a document from the case and handed it to Earl Darramore. "Sir, this is the French protest. They just sent someone to give us a copy. Most of it is nonsense. I have circled the most important part with a pen."

Count Darama nodded slightly. He took the document, glanced at it, and read out the circled content in front of everyone: "The French government solemnly declares that if Russia interferes in the internal affairs of the Ottoman Empire based on this treaty, France will reserve the right to take any necessary measures according to the actual situation..."

Arthur asked, "Do you think the wording of the protest document we draft should be tougher than the French, or more tactful?"

Count Darlamo rubbed his temples. "There's no need to be so blunt. Just be more tactful. The French agent must have said most of the unpleasant things for us today. We just need to let the Tsar know that we are just as dissatisfied as the French."

Colonel Stewart was obviously very dissatisfied with such a weak statement: "The secret agreement signed between the Ottoman Empire and Russia is simply outrageous! What does it mean that Russia can ask the Ottoman Empire to block the strait connecting the Black Sea and the Mediterranean Sea at any time? If the Russians want to turn the Black Sea into their own inland sea, they can just say it directly, there is no need to be so sneaky, they are simply fooling us as fools. If this treaty is really implemented, the Russians can sail from the Black Sea port of Sevastopol to the Bosphorus Strait and occupy Constantinople within four days, and our navy and the French navy will have no time to stop it. The Ottoman Sultan is simply not in his right mind, and he can sign such a treaty!"

Foreign Counselor Sir John Lipton shook his head and said, "This cannot be blamed on the Sultan. We should have intervened in the Ottoman civil war earlier. If we had agreed to Sultan Mahmud II's request for help when Syria was occupied by Egypt, he would not have been forced to seek help from the Russians."

Colonel Stewart shrugged and said, "There is no regret medicine in the world. In my opinion, it is better to pray to God than to protest to the Russians. Even a fool can see that the Russian government is implementing a strategy of expansion to the south. On land, it constantly threatens to infiltrate the Caucasus, and on the sea, it is committed to seizing the Bosphorus Strait, the outlet of the Black Sea. This strategy has been implemented since the time of Catherine II, and it has been an important part of Russia's foreign policy to this day. What's the use of a letter of protest?"

Colonel Stuart stood up and asked Earl Darramore, "Sir, isn't the Ministry of Foreign Affairs doing anything practical?"

Earl Darramore comforted him, "Protesting is just an expression of attitude. The real situation cannot be told to the Russians openly. Only by letting them find out for themselves can they believe it. Don't worry, Charles. Lord Ponsonby, who has just been transferred back to the country, has returned to Constantinople to take office, and Viscount Palmerston has authorized Lord Ponsonby to act at his discretion: as long as Lord Ponsonby believes that Constantinople will be threatened by Russia, he does not need to report to the Cabinet and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and immediately summons the Royal Navy fleet in the Mediterranean and the Levant for defense. This news will soon be forwarded to the Tsar through the Russian Embassy in Constantinople, and by then, he will naturally understand the seriousness of the situation."

Stuart asked, "What about the Russian troops stationed in Wallachia and Moldavia? The Russians say that these troops entered the Danube region to help the Ottomans mediate the war, but now that the war between the Ottomans and Egypt is over, there is no sign that the Russian troops want to withdraw."

Earl Darramo turned around and ordered, "Arthur, write this down. I will have a good talk with His Majesty the Tsar about this matter in the Winter Palace today."

Arthur wrote down the request and raised his hand to revise the protest statement that the embassy secretaries had just drafted: "We believe that any country's blockade of the Bosphorus Strait or restriction of its freedom of navigation is a serious violation of the principle of free trade. The implementation of this clause will cause regional unrest, affect the independence of the Ottoman Empire, intensify the turbulent tension in the region, and trigger a series of diplomatic and military conflicts... How do you think it should be written like this?"

Count Daramo pondered the statement and said, "Just write it like this. I believe the Russians will send people to investigate how the diplomatic and military conflicts were triggered."

As soon as Earl Daramo finished speaking, he heard a knock on the door outside the meeting room.

The young attendant pushed open the door of the conference room, took off his hat and saluted, then hurriedly said, "Sir, the Winter Palace just sent someone over."

Earl Dalamore stood up, put on his hat, and straightened his clothes: "Is it time to enter the palace for an audience?"

"It's not about the audience." The young attendant was obviously confused by the news he had just learned: "His Majesty the Tsar asked if you have any free time after the audience today. He wants to keep you for dinner and give you a medal. A brand new solid medal of the Order of St. Alexander Nevsky, the one with a dark blue ribbon."

"Award?" Count Daramo was stunned for a moment, then he laughed and said, "The Order of Saint Alexander Nevsky. What level of medal is this?"

Arthur, an expert on Russia, answered his teacher: "Saint Alexander Nevsky was a Russian Grand Duke in the 13th century, famous for defeating the invading Mongols and the German Knights. This medal is an honorary medal second only to the Order of St. Andrew in Russia. Its status is equivalent to the Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath in my country, and is usually awarded to senior military commanders or senior diplomats."

Count Daramo raised his eyebrows with a strange look on his face: "It seems that His Majesty the Tsar intends to use the medal to silence me!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he heard the little attendant speak again: "Not only you, the Winter Palace said: Sir Arthur Hastings, Sir John Lipton and Colonel Charles Stewart who are here today will also be awarded the third-class Order of St. Vladimir."

Not only did Count Daramo change his expression, but even the embassy members who had just been criticizing the Russians looked at each other in bewilderment. You know, if Russian middle and low-level officers and civil servants want to receive the third-class Order of St. Vladimir, they have to serve the Russian government diligently for at least 20 years. But they just stayed in the embassy and did nothing, and medals began to fall from the sky.

What is the benefit of getting this medal? For the British, it is really of no use other than honor.

However, if they became Russian citizens, they could immediately obtain hereditary noble status just by receiving this medal.

Arthur had been working in the embassy for less than a month when he received a big gift package from the Tsar. He couldn't help but sigh - no wonder everyone was trying so hard to get a job in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Overseas allowances, food and housing subsidies, diplomatic immunity, a superior status in the local area, attending salons and banquets every day is still considered hard work, and you also have to withstand various tests of your "weak spots" in the host country, including but not limited to beauty traps, monetary bribes and medal bombing.

If you meet some guys with unsteady positions, such as Bismarck, an aspiring young man who is determined to test his "weaknesses" in the diplomatic world, it is really hard to guarantee that they will not be moved by such sincerity.

But unfortunately, the positions of most diplomats are not much firmer than those of ordinary people.

Perhaps because of this, countries always like to employ those with prominent backgrounds as diplomats, but at least these people have seen and experienced, and the price to bribe them is much higher than that to bribe people from ordinary families.

For example, Earl Durham, as the chairman and one of the founders of a New Zealand company, has been on the British rich list for many years. Earl Durham's annual income is close to 10 pounds. It is basically impossible to impress him with money alone.

But the problem is that a traitor of impure blood has sneaked into the Russian embassy!

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A dirty Yorkshire pig wallowing in a mud puddle!

A bastard who received diplomatic enlightenment from Talleyrand!

Moreover, during the entry process, he suffered huge economic losses because of Russian thieves and almost returned to being a simple peasant!
I don't know where this Tsar learned this, but he always does these empty things every day. Wouldn't it be better if you could give him some money?

Silver rubles are best, but paper rubles are also acceptable.

"Okay!" Count Daramo spread his hands and said, "Everyone has a share. Now no one can say anything unpleasant to his face."

The embassy members were all silent at this time. Although they might not like the Tsar very much, they all liked the medal.

What if they accidentally said something wrong today and the Tsar got angry and refused to award them medals?

As for protest, there is no rush.

Let’s wait until today’s awarding ceremony is over and talk about it in two days.

Of course, these are just their inner thoughts, and no one has put their little thoughts on the table.

After all, the protest was ordered by the Foreign Office, and the order did make sense. They also did not want to offend Foreign Secretary Viscount Palmerston, who was being criticized by the Fleet Street media and was caught up in the vortex of Russiagate.

As the saying goes, fire tests true gold, and adversity reveals true friendship.

For a peasant like Arthur, when would he take action if not now?

It’s not that the Third Class Order of Vladimir is bad, but the future gained by the medal can help him make better progress.

For the old York farmer, having one more medal cannot get rid of the fact that he does not have noble blue blood.

These short-sighted people only care about these small favors.

Little did he know that if he could become an ambassador in the future, what he would receive from the Tsar would not be the Order of Vladimir, but the Order of St. Alexander Nevsky like Count Daramo!

Arthur stood up from his seat, put down the pen in his hand, cleared his throat, and glanced at everyone in the conference room.

He could sense the subtle change in the atmosphere - everyone was waiting for him to speak, and everyone's eyes revealed a hint of relief that they were saved.

"Your Excellency, if possible, I would like to present to the Tsar some of our country's views on Russia's strategic direction before the awarding of the medal. If the Tsar is willing to listen, we can take this opportunity to hint to him not to be too radical, especially when it comes to the Black Sea route, and the reactions of European countries must be taken into consideration."

Earl Darramo stared at Arthur. He was very grateful to his favorite student for standing up at the critical moment. "You are indeed a visionary young man, Arthur. Besides, you are as reliable as ever at critical moments. Well! Now that you are ready, let's present our ideas to His Majesty the Tsar in person. But be careful to be as tactful as possible and do everything carefully. We can't let Russia think that we are openly confronting them. Although we are protesting, we must also be careful to maintain diplomatic prudence and flexibility."

(End of this chapter)