I'm playing whack-a-mole in Siberia

Chapter 315 Too fragile

At this time in 1894, there were more than 60 professional song and dance troupes in St. Petersburg. Whether it was opera or ballet, they were very popular in St. Petersburg.

The Royal Marion Theater has ample space where revues and concerts are staged all year round. This theater was the backdrop for most of the love affairs between the Grand Duke of St. Petersburg and his ballerinas.

Under normal circumstances, Nicholas would enjoy the show in the royal box on the second floor.

George directly booked the entire theater, and Nicholas could sit wherever he wanted.

George thought his arrangement was perfect, but Alex was still not satisfied.

"This place is too big and too empty——"

Nicholas, for once a rare moment of wisdom, held Alex's hand tenderly.

"I don't want anyone else here, I just want to be with you."

Alex finally calmed down, and George and Alfred finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Alex, who had been raised by Queen Victoria since childhood, was a little overwhelmed by this occasion. She seemed not to know what to do, and her reaction to the enthusiasm of the Grand Duchess was a bit cold. Even Maria Pavlovna , failed to get Alex to stand up from her chair.

This is the first time Alex has publicly attended such an occasion in St. Petersburg. Princesses from Germany lined up to meet Alex and welcome Alex to St. Petersburg.

"There's something wrong with Nicky's choice, it's definitely a big problem!"

Vladimir is the third son of Ya Er and Nikolai's uncle.

The wedding is too far away for Nicola and Alex, who are not yet engaged.

After enjoying Tchaikovsky's classic dance drama "Sleeping Beauty", Nikolai and Alex went to the Peterhof Palace on the seaside in the suburbs of St. Petersburg. There is an amphitheater on the shore of the lake, which can be compared with Versailles in Paris. It is comparable to the palace and is called "Little Versailles" by St. Petersburg people.

In St. Petersburg alone, there were 12 German princesses.

Alex had heard something about the Tsar and didn't like Gatchina Palace.

In order to make Alex familiar with the environment of St. Petersburg as soon as possible, Nicholas specially prepared a banquet for Alex at Gatchina Palace and invited all the German princesses in St. Petersburg.

It was for this reason that Werther's wife was not accepted by the aristocratic circle of St. Petersburg for a long time.

But who of the grand duchess who is qualified to attend royal banquets has a less noble status?

Alex's status is indeed very noble. The Queen of England is her maternal grandmother, the British Crown Prince and the Tsar are her godfathers. The eldest sister is married to Prince Louis Mountbatten, the second sister is married to Sergei, and the third sister is married to Heinrich The prince, she herself is about to become the empress of the Russian Empire, and her status is extremely noble.

The Tsar is in danger, Nicholas must succeed to the throne, and Alex is the future queen of the Russian Empire.

Ella and Annie both looked a little helpless.

A little trivia: in the Russian Empire, if a nobleman chooses to marry a noble or a lowly person, and the wife's status is not noble enough, then the wife is not qualified to participate in such a banquet.

Pavlovna was the eldest daughter of Grand Duke Francis II of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and his first wife, Princess August, and the wife of Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich.

These German princesses have a close relationship with Alex. They are either Alex's sisters or Alex's elders.

Alex came to Petrogov Palace and fell in love with it immediately.

George had previously only known about frequent marriages between Russian nobles and Germany, but did not know exactly how many German princesses had married Russian nobles.

Now I know.

In fact, Nicholas didn't like Gatchina Palace either. He had promised Alex that he would live in the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg after his marriage.

Little Nicholas couldn't help but complain to George.

Sergey heard it too and said nothing.

There must be something wrong.

Otherwise, Sergey would not have been married to Ella for such a long time without having a child.

"George, think of a way-"

Little Nicholas' expectations for George were too high.

George couldn't help but roll his eyes.

"If you have the ability, go ahead!"

Is this something that can be solved by just thinking of a way?

Unless Alex, like those princes who are about to get married, dies of a sudden illness——

"Shut up, this is not our concern."

Sergey used his brother's power to prevent young Nikolay and George from discussing the matter.

Little Nicholas closed his mouth, but his expression was disgusting.

The brothers are on the verge of internal strife, and the Grand Duchess is also uneasy.

The Vladimir Palace where Pavlovna and Vladimir live often holds various activities and parties. Therefore, Pavlovna is regarded as the most famous socialite in St. Petersburg and is also recognized as the most popular among all grand duchess. Luxurious.

Yasan lived a frugal life. In order to restrict the queen from holding banquets in Gatchina Palace, she even directly disbanded the band in Gatchina Palace.

The queen is unwilling to be lonely.

Therefore, the relationship between sisters-in-law Pavlovna and the Empress was not very good.

Pavlovna was known to have a strong personality.

She doesn’t even give face to the real queen, let alone Alex, the future queen.

So after Pavlovna greeted Alex, she went directly to Annie.

Anne was still very sensible. When she saw Pavlovna coming, she took the initiative to salute Pavlovna. "Oh ho ho ho ho, little Annie, George is so nice to you, you are more beautiful than last year -"

Pavlovna was not afraid of getting into trouble.

Anne was helpless. She had already hid in the corner of the banquet hall with the first lady, but she didn't expect to become the center of attention.

The first noble lady was thinking about going home to take care of her children, and it was she who took the initiative to find Anne just now.

"How can Annie be so little——"

The first lady drove the car as soon as she came up.

Don't expect this woman to be virtuous and virtuous once she gets married. She drives a car even more excessively than the gentlemen.

Although George is not a grand duke, he is definitely the most popular super duke.

Needless to say, the first noble lady is the center of attention wherever she goes.

With the addition of the most famous grand duchess, several grand duchess immediately came over, and the number of people around Alex became much smaller.

Alex was too arrogant, and Pavlovna was not the only Grand Duchess who disliked her.

Don't mention that Alex isn't engaged to Nicola yet.

Even if Alex really marries Nicholas and becomes the Empress of the Russian Empire, Alex will still have the Empress Dowager, so there is nothing to be arrogant about!
In the Russian Empire, the situation of the queen was not necessarily easier and happier than that of these grand duchess.

Annie, who is cold-hearted but knows how to advance and retreat, is indeed more likable than Alex, who is stern and arrogant.

Anne didn't want to be the center of attention, but she hadn't experienced too many such occasions, so she was a little overwhelmed for a while.

George waved to Anne and rescued her.

The Grand Duchess dispersed in a hurry.

They are all just looking at the excitement and don't take it too seriously.

"St. Petersburg will be lively from now on——"

Little Nicholas is eccentric.

Sergey sighed.

Alex stayed in St. Petersburg for only a month before returning to London.

Nikolai was in a state of disbelief. Alex had only been gone for a week, and Nikolai was thinking of going to England to visit his aunt Maria Alexandrovna.

Nicholas was only 6 years old when Maria married Alfred, and his memory of Maria was already blurry.

So visiting my aunt is just a pretense, but looking for Alex is the real thing.

George did not have time to accompany Nicholas to London. After the spring, the situation in the Far East became increasingly tense.

Japan's military expenditure last year has reached 60% of the Japanese government's expenditure. This situation is definitely unsustainable. Only through foreign war can Japan stop the bleeding.

Goryeo now had the protection of the Russian Empire, and Japan did not dare invade Goryeo.

The Qing Empire became the only target for Japan to return blood.

In March this year, two Japanese businessmen caused trouble in Dalini after drinking and were arrested by the Qing army.

Although the two Japanese businessmen were quickly released, they insisted that their property had been looted by the Qing army. For this reason, the Japanese asked the Qing Empire to investigate as soon as possible and effectively protect the interests of Japanese businessmen in the Qing Empire.

The Qing Empire didn't take it seriously at all, and didn't even respond.

The news spread back to Japan, and public opinion began to gradually ferment.

Japan was building ships crazily, and its imaginary enemy was the Qing Empire. During the New Year celebrations in Kyoto, Japan, models of the "Dingyuan" and "Zhenyuan" were publicly burned, which won widespread praise from all over Japan.

The Qing Empire's purpose in establishing a navy was really not Japan.

However, the Japanese government began to guide public opinion and attribute many domestic problems in Japan to the threat of the Qing Empire.

If the Qing Empire had not established the Beiyang Navy, Japan would not have to spend huge sums of money to build a navy, and the people in Japan would not be in dire straits.

If it weren't for the Qing Empire's millions of troops, Japan wouldn't have to expand its army like crazy, so this is also the responsibility of the Qing Empire.

The Qing Empire was showing off its power, and Japan had been oppressed by the Qing Empire for generations. The Qing Empire was entirely responsible for Japan's decline to where it is today.

In this era, there is no self-media and the people are uncivilized. The Japanese government does whatever it says. Therefore, small articles such as "Apple" and "Warship" are flying all over Japan. From top to bottom, Japan is filled with the need to use force to cleanse Japan for thousands of years. Humiliating and violent remarks.

Although George was in St. Petersburg, he was always paying attention to the situation in the Far East.

There were frequent telegram exchanges between St. Petersburg and Vladivostok.

George certainly could not leave St. Petersburg for London at this time.

On May 5, the Tsar became critically ill again, and George traveled to Crimea with Nikolai and Sergei.

On the way to Crimea, Nikolai suffered a sudden emotional collapse.

"George, I don't want to be a tsar anymore. I want to resign from the throne and live with Sani."

"Nikki, are you crazy?"

Sergei was furious. Did the tsar resign just when he wanted to?
"Nikki, you can only be with Alex if you become a czar."

For the first time, George discovered that Nicholas's feelings were so fragile.

(End of this chapter)