I'm playing whack-a-mole in Siberia

Chapter 499 Don’t Treat the God of War as a God

Alexei did not learn about the attack on Tsarskoye Selo until the next day. Like Alexeyev, once he was asleep, no matter how big the event was, it would not wake him up.

Like little Nicholas, Alexei did not take this matter to heart. If it were not for Konstantin Pavlovich's reminder, he would not even have planned to go to Tsarskoye Selo to visit the Tsar.

When he was in the Guards, Constantine often caused trouble for George. Later, after George made a splash in the Rivne exercise, Constantine transferred to the navy and never appeared in front of George again.

Constantine has not had a good time in recent years. His current military rank is only lieutenant colonel, and he serves as Alexei's adjutant.

"Alexei originally wanted to use force to disperse the homeless people around the Tsarskoye Selo, but George disagreed, so the matter has been delayed until now."

When Constantine was in the Guards, he served in the Sheikh Regiment.

St. Petersburg is quite small, and military reform is the most important thing in recent times. Overnight, many things can ferment.

Alexei was silent, undecided.

If what Constantine said was true, then George must be responsible for this.

But as far as this incident is concerned, it is not enough to shake Nicholas' trust in George. If he takes advantage of the issue, he might get deeply involved.

The key is that Alexei is not sure about George's attitude.

After the Russo-Japanese War, although Nicholas did not touch Alexei and still let Alexei serve as Minister of the Navy, his trust in Alexei was decreasing, and Alexei had to be cautious.

"This matter is full of weirdness from beginning to end. How did the rebels know when the Tsar would arrive at Tsarskoye Selo? What's even more bizarre is that when the rebels launched their attack on Tsarskoye Selo, there happened to be a troop of guards training next to it - the guards have never been so diligent."

Constantine had not forgotten the humiliation he had suffered in the Guards during those years.

If Constantine had not performed so poorly in the Guards, he would at least be a general now, and would not have wasted so many years at the level of colonel.

Actually, it can’t be said to be bad.

Although Constantine's performance in the Guards could not be said to be outstanding, he thought that he was not bad compared with other grand dukes. It was only because George was too evil back then that Constantine did not enter the Tsar's sight.

Of the two tsars, Alexander looked down on Constantine. After Nicholas ascended the throne, Constantine had no chance to rise to prominence.

"So you're saying that George planned this?"

Alexei directly revealed Constantine's little thoughts. If Constantine dared to admit it, Alexei would not mind taking Constantine to see Nicholas.

Constantine was startled, but he didn't say that.

During his time in the Guards, Constantine experienced firsthand how good the relationship between George and Nicholas was.

If he dared to slander George, Nicholas would punish him on George's behalf without George having to defend himself, and exile would be the least of his punishment.

In recent years, Nicholas has exiled his uncle, his younger brother, and the third heir to the throne. At least on the surface, Nicholas is clear about rewards and punishments.

Crown Prince Alexei is the first heir, the second heir is Grand Duke Vladimir who is about to die, and the third heir is Kirill who is about to return to St. Petersburg.

In the Imperial Village, the guards used water to create an artificial ice rink on the lawn next to the Alexander Palace. The princesses were having fun playing with Boris and Alexander. Alex was sitting in a cashmere greenhouse watching Anne teach Alexandra a lesson.

Alexey is in poor health and cannot participate in such strenuous exercise.

Alexandra just had a sudden impulse and wanted to take Alexei ice skating, and then Anne pulled Alexandra back by the ear.

"Since Amusha is not in good health, he needs to exercise more to get better."

Alexandra was not convinced. She said that her good health was due to her love of sports.

By the way, Alexandra is Alexei's aunt. As an aunt, it is normal for her to bring her nephew to play together.

"Shut up!"

Anne didn't reason with Alexandra. Boys in other families were more naughty, and the blood of the Yuriev family was special.

Alexey is only four years old and can't walk well. Even if he was healthy, he couldn't skate.

The princesses of Nicholas and Alex all have good personalities, unlike Alexandra who is lawless, so Alex likes Alexandra very much.

If Alexandra hadn't provoked Alexei.

Judging from the skill with which Annie twisted her ears just now, this was definitely not the first time this had happened.

Alexandra was about to speak when Mademoiselle Zanotti came running in, and Alexey's headache began to set in again.

Miss Zanotti was Alex's childhood playmate and always stayed with Alex. Legend has it that Miss Zanotti's mother was Alex's wet nurse.

Another important person around Alex is Princess Sonya Olberiani from the Caucasus. She suffers from hereditary paralysis and can only use a wheelchair. Alex does not despise Sonya and lets her live in the room next to the princesses.

Alexei is the apple of Alex's eye. When Alex heard that Alexei had a headache, he didn't bother to watch the fun and hurried to see Alexei.

Anne didn't bother to teach Alexandra a lesson. She hit Alexandra hard on the forehead with her finger and followed Alex out of the greenhouse.

Alexandra's screams did not win any sympathy. The Grand Duchess rolled her eyes and followed Alex and Anne to visit her eldest nephew.

Unlike Boris and Alexander, who were healthy and strong like wolf cubs, Alexei, who had been suffering from hemophilia for a long time, was very pitiful. His skinny and small appearance did not look like a four-year-old child at all. When Anne walked into Alexei's room, the court doctor Potemkin was examining Alexei.

Alexei was in so much pain that he couldn't say a word. His little face wrinkled up and he burst into tears.

Alex's face turned pale beside him.

Botkin was an experienced doctor, but he was helpless in the face of Alexei's condition.

Alex asked Miss Zanotti to fetch Rasputin before Potemkin finished his examination.

Rasputin arrived soon. He had long hair and beard, sharp eyes, and was wearing a black robe. Apart from a cross on his chest, he had no other ornaments on his body.

Rasputin did not rush to treat Alexei, but first greeted Alex.

When he saw Anne, Rasputin's gaze did not linger and quickly shifted to Alexei.

"Queen Mother, don't worry, God has seen your tears, the Crown Prince will get better soon--"

Rasputin stood in front of Alexei's bed, closed his eyes, raised his hands, and began to sing "God Save the Tsar" in a low voice.

As Rasputin sang, Alexei's crying gradually subsided.

Rasputin leaned over and whispered in Alexei's ear: "Amusha, you feel good now, you don't hurt anymore, you don't hurt anywhere! I tell you, go to sleep, go to sleep--"

Alexey actually fell asleep.

The doctors and nurses left in droves, leaving only Miss Zanotti to look after Alexei.

"Thank you so much, without your help I really don't know what I would have done--"

Alex thanked Rasputin with red eyes.

"It is my honor to serve you—"

Rasputin did not stay for long, and left after achieving his goal.

Anne was amazed; she had never seen such treatment before.

"This is why many people hate Mr. Rasputin. They are jealous that he can enter and leave the palace freely. But if they can help me control Amusha's condition, then they will also gain my trust."

Alex's expression was cold and he was in a terrible mood.

While Anne was in shock, Nicholas and the court ministers were holding a meeting in the Caterina Palace.

This time George brought Milyutin and Brusinov, and Brusinov introduced George's military reform plan in detail to the ministers in the imperial court.

This is just the first version, and the details are not yet complete and need to be further adjusted.

This is normal. Nicholas did not expect George to change the status quo in a short period of time. In the report that Stolypin gave to Nicholas, if the empire could complete the military reform within 10 years, it would be considered a great success.

10 years!
Ten years later it was 10.

Nicholas of another time and space abdicated in 1917.

George didn't want to drag it out for ten years. Some things could be done slowly, but some things had to be done immediately, like the veterans gathering around St. Petersburg.

Constantine felt that since George had not appeased the veterans in time, the attack on Tsarskoye Selo was George's fault.

But things are not that simple.

George had already told Stolypin that all the veterans gathered around St. Petersburg should be sent to East India, and George would be responsible for their resettlement.

The reason why it has not been implemented until now is that there are rumors in St. Petersburg that George is using military reforms to make profits for himself.

Everyone knows that Amur is short of people. In order to attract new immigrants, Amur has formulated many preferential policies, but the results have not been very good.

Sending veterans to Amur for resettlement is good for both St. Petersburg and Amur, killing two birds with one stone.

But is a good thing the right thing to do?
Some people don't think so.

There are so many people in this world who harm others without benefiting themselves. If I'm not living well, you won't be able to live well either.

Just as George expected, after Brusinov finished his introduction, everyone, including little Nikolai, looked at George with complicated expressions.

The 7-year period was changed to 3 years, with an average of 20 soldiers retiring each year. These 20 veterans were trained soldiers, and if they were not sent to Amur, they would become the backbone of the empire's reserve force.

Now, all the veterans are sent to Amur. Once a war breaks out in the empire, will there be enough reserves to mobilize?
From another perspective, what does Amur need so many veterans for?
Thinking hard.

“The veterans gathered in St. Petersburg have reached a point where they must be addressed, and this must be done immediately.”

Stolypin fully supported it.

If George wanted to rebel, couldn't he do it even without these veterans?
You guys look down on the God of War too much.

(End of this chapter)