I'm playing whack-a-mole in Siberia

Chapter 497 Congestion
St. Petersburg is very cold in winter, with the lowest temperature at night exceeding minus 30 degrees Celsius, so there are almost no homeless people in St. Petersburg in winter.

Tsarskoye Selo is located in the suburbs of St. Petersburg. It has beautiful scenery and is sparsely populated. There are no buildings around it, and the gathering of tens of thousands of people is itself an incredible thing.

Danila and Mannerheim investigated around Tsarskoye Selo for a week and reported their findings to George.

The veterans gathered because there were rumors that the Guards were about to expand.

George did plan to expand the army.

However, George had only returned to St. Petersburg for a few days, and the veterans had been gathering around Tsarskoye Selo for more than half a year, so this rumor had nothing to do with George. Someone had deliberately spread it among the veterans before George returned to St. Petersburg.

Another important reason why veterans stay together is that someone is providing them with food, clothing and fuel necessary to keep warm.

Around the Imperial Village, there are many food distribution points set up by so-called "philanthropists" in St. Petersburg, a large part of which are related to members of the royal family.

This is interesting.

George is now unsure whether the food distribution center or the veterans came first.

It would be fine if the veterans gathered spontaneously around Tsarskoye Selo.

If someone deliberately set up food distribution points around Tsarskoye Selo to attract veterans, then this would be human manipulation.

"George, you are too sensitive. In Vladivostok, the duchess and princesses often do the same."

The Duchess Milyutin was referring to was Catherine, and the Princess was Anne.

Catherine and Anne did often distribute food to the poor in Vladivostok, but the recipients were new immigrants who had just arrived in Vladivostok and had not yet settled down.

The "charity" of Tsarskoye Selo made George smell a conspiracy.

George hoped it was just an illusion.

But it was the imperial village after all.

After Nicholas got married, due to the bad relationship between Queen Alex and Queen Mother Maria, Maria spent most of her time in Denmark, London, or Crimea, and rarely returned to St. Petersburg.

The Nicholas family spent most of their time in the Winter Palace, occasionally going to the palace in Petrograd or the Tsarskoye Selo.

The Petrograd Palace is a large palace-style fortress complex, next to which is the Guards camp, so there is no need to worry about safety.

The distance between Tsarskoye Selo and the nearest Guards camp is more than 10 kilometers.

You will know whether it is a conspiracy or not if you try it.

Anne and the children did not return to St. Petersburg with George, as Alexandra had been a little unwell before his departure, having arrived only a few days before.

Anne and Alex are both from Germany and are relatives. When Alex and Nicholas just got married, Anne accompanied Alex through the most difficult period. After Anne returned to Amur with George, Anne and Alex still kept in frequent contact.

After Anne returned to St. Petersburg, she took the children to visit Alex in the Winter Palace.

Alex acted very happy, but Anne noticed the sadness behind Alex's smile and a hint of jealousy.

"Don't blame her. You have so many things that she doesn't have."

George could understand.

When St. Petersburg noblewomen talk about the queen, most of them describe her as cold, selfish, old-fashioned, and unkind.

And ridiculous.

The absurdity mostly concerns the two grand duchesses and Rasputin.

The rigidity and inhumanity are due to Alex's harsh attitude towards the extraordinary behavior of some grand dukes in St. Petersburg.

After Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich and Countess Hohenfelsen got married, Alex expelled Paul and the countess from Russia, not only suspending Paul from all his positions, but also stopping paying him a salary.

The same treatment as Paul was given to Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich's son Kirill and Nicholas's younger brother Mikhail.

Kirill married the Empress' sister-in-law.

Mikhail was having a passionate affair with a married woman, and it was said that they even had a child.

For the Russian Grand Duke, mistresses and illegitimate children were not uncommon, and people were used to it.

Alex is a staunch adherent of Orthodox tradition and would not tolerate such things.

As for jealousy -

George and Anne's children are all in good health.

This one sentence can make Alex jealous to the point of going crazy.

As for the harmonious and pleasant relationship between Anne and Catherine, compared with these things, it is not worth mentioning at all.

"Sunny is so unfortunate. Fate is so cruel to her."

Anne lamented the fate that had dealt Alex.

But this is somewhat absurd.

Alex is the queen.

As the Empress of the Russian Empire, the word "unfortunate" should never be associated with Alex.

"Dad, Dad, Olga and I have an appointment to go ice skating in Tsarskoye Selo—"

Alexandra was very excited. She had gained a lot from this trip and got a complete set of jewelry, one of which was a bracelet that the Queen had taken off her wrist.

Ice skating - George had mixed feelings. Since Georgy's death, ice skating has become a taboo for the Russian royal family. If they want to skate, the guards need to pour water on the lawn to create an ice rink artificially so that the princes and princesses can have fun.

Only for princesses, Alexei was forbidden to participate in any strenuous exercise.

Every morning, Alexei would walk Nikolai's Scottish shepherd dog in the garden for about half an hour. This was Alexei's only exercise of the day.

This is misfortune.

The Tsar’s visit to Tsarskoye Selo was a major event, and the palace guards were responsible for security.

The palace guards consisted of three parts: guards, cavalry, and a mixed regiment composed of the most outstanding Cossacks. These guards were under the command of the guard commander Voyeikov, with a total strength of about 1000 people.

Every morning, after getting up, Nicholas would first pray, then take a cold shower and eat breakfast alone. Alex usually slept in at this time.

The Tsar's breakfast was simple, consisting of only milk tea, small rolls, and rusks.

After breakfast, Nicholas had to listen to reports from Count Benckendorff and General Voyeikov respectively. Count Benckendorff was responsible for Nicholas' schedule.

Normally, Nicholas' schedule is determined three days in advance and rarely changes.

If there are changes, General Voyeikov will have his hands full.

There are two palaces in Tsarskoye Selo. Katerina Palace was built earlier and is usually used for banquets and receptions.

Nicholas and his family lived in the new palace, Alexander Palace, which was built during the Assan era. The facilities here were more advanced, with electric lights, elevators, and a separate telegraph room.

According to regulations, Voyeikov went to Tsarskoye Selo in advance to arrange security work.

More veterans gathered around Tsarskoye Selo than before, but Demeter did nothing.

Voyeikov didn't take it seriously. Everyone in St. Petersburg seemed to be frozen in winter and their efficiency was extremely low.

Even if Nicholas did not go to Tsarskoye Selo, there were guards there to take charge of security.

The head of Tsarskoye Selo reported to Voyekov that everything was normal.

Nicholas and his family moved into Tsarskoye Selo that night.

On the very night that Nicholas and his family moved into the Tsarskoye Selo, the veterans gathered around the Tsarskoye Selo began to become restless.

"No one will bring us food tomorrow—"

In a cellar not far from the Imperial Village, a dozen people sat around a brazier, sharing the news they had just received.

"why?"

After a few months, the veterans' meager retirement allowances had all been spent. Since the beginning of winter, these veterans have only survived starvation thanks to donations from "caring people".

"Our respected queen thinks that we have disturbed the scenery of the Imperial Village and affected her mood, so not only will no one send us food, but the guards will also be dispatched tomorrow to drive away all the people around the Imperial Village—"

"Where can we go?"

A confused Cossack muttered to himself.

"Do you think that woman from Germany cares about our fate?"

Someone immediately shouted at them, saying that women from Germany were traitors to the Russian Empire.

"His Majesty will not do this to us. He will not abandon us!"

"Don't be silly, Your Majesty is no longer our Tsar father. Since Your Majesty married that German woman, he has become the stepfather of all Russians!"

"what should we do?"

"Unless we get rid of that German woman, we're the ones who will die!"

"Ivan, we can't do this, this is rebellion—"

Although life was difficult, most Cossacks remained loyal to the Tsar.

"No, letting Your Majesty recognize the true face of that German woman is the greatest loyalty to Your Majesty and the Empire!"

"Tsarskoye Selo is guarded by guards, and we are unarmed—"

The guards of Tsarskoye Selo were not only well-trained but also well-equipped.

"Yesterday Yuri and I went fishing. Guess what we found by the river?"

Yuri laughed and took out a Type 3 pistol from his arms.

After the popularization of smokeless gunpowder, the standard pistol of the Russian Empire has developed from No. 3 to No. 4, which is more sophisticated, smaller in size, lighter in weight and more powerful.

However, due to the huge number of Type 3 pistols in stock, it is still widely used.

The bullets used in the No. 3 pistol have now been replaced with smokeless powder. Since the caliber of the No. 3 pistol is larger, the power of the No. 3 pistol has doubled after using smokeless powder bullets, and it has won the love of many Russians. Some Cossack hunters in remote areas even use the No. 3 pistol to hunt bears.

"Let's go, brothers. It's time to use our courage and loyalty to expose the true colors of those villains around His Majesty. I will use this gun to personally kill Rasputin, who has defiled the palace!"

Ivan waved his pistol, picked up a torch and lit it in the brazier, then took out a cowhide wine bag from his arms.

"Take a sip, everyone take a sip, and ignite our confidence. No matter what we do, we do it for His Majesty and the Empire!"

Only the Queen's words and the Cossacks present were able to remain sane.

When Rasputin was mentioned, everyone's eyes began to bloodshot.

(End of this chapter)