I'm playing whack-a-mole in Siberia

Chapter 501 Greed
As long as their own interests are not involved, the bigwigs will not be in a hurry even if they quarrel until the end of the world. After all, there are taller people to hold up the sky if it falls.

Once personal interests are involved, even a meal cannot be delayed. Man is iron and rice is steel, and one will be hungry if he skips a meal.

Nicholas never thought that George would achieve his goal in this way.

"So, the empire's national policy is not as important as a dinner for them."

Nicholas was a little depressed and was quite shocked.

"Nikki, you should be tougher."

George had reminded Nicholas countless times that the Russian Empire needed a strong tsar.

Nicholas smiled without arguing further.

There is no way to say this. If Nicholas was a tough tsar, George would probably be in trouble.

Given George's reputation in the military, if he wanted to rebel, the possibility of success was very high.

Nikolai was indeed a little weak towards Vladimir and Alexei.

But which tough tsar could allow Amur to exist?

On the way back to the palace, Anne talked to George about Alexei's illness and was puzzled by Rasputin's magic.

"It sounds a bit like hypnosis."

George also had no idea how Rasputin managed Alexei's condition.

George does not believe in God and he is a staunch materialist.

However, some of Rasputin's deeds cannot be explained by materialism.

"Nikki and Sunny would allow a weirdo to hypnotize the crown prince of the empire?"

Anne felt incredible. She had a bad first impression of Rasputin and felt that he was a charlatan.

"If it had been Polis or Alexander—"

George put himself in Anne's shoes and before he could finish his words, he was slapped on the arm by Anne.

Anne would never allow Alexei's tragedy to happen to her children.

Even if it's just a metaphor.

"I now understand how hateful rumors are."

Anne felt sorry for Alex, she was really under too much pressure.

Before marrying Nicholas, Alex was closely protected by the Grand Duke of Montenegro and Queen Victoria and was ignorant of the ways of the world.

The situation in St. Petersburg was very complicated. There were the power-hungry Empress Dowager and the imperial uncles above, and all the classes below who were equally eager to participate in power. Alex, a 22-year-old girl, simply could not cope with it.

Alex's first four children were all daughters. Alexei was born ten years after her marriage, and Alexei suffered from a blood disease.

If it were Anne, she would also try her best to restore Alexei's health.

After rumors about Alex and Rasputin appeared in St. Petersburg, Alex's sister, Sergei's wife Ella, went to the Winter Palace, hoping that Alex would distance herself from Rasputin.

Alex was very indifferent to Ella, and Ella left disappointed. Before leaving, Ella said, "Maybe I shouldn't have come."

Alex said: Yes.

Ella made a mistake and she couldn't control Alexei's condition.

If Ella could ensure that Alexei's condition would not continue to worsen, then Alex might agree to Ella's suggestion and distance himself from Rasputin.

But Ella couldn't do it.

If Alex followed Ella's advice and distanced herself from Rasputin, what would she do the next time Alexei had an attack?
On the second day of the Imperial Conference, St. Petersburg began to send veterans gathered around St. Petersburg to Amur in batches via the Trans-Siberian Railway.

All the veterans who attacked Tsarskoye Selo were arrested by the Ministry of the Interior. They were now criminals and would be sent to the Peter and Paul Fortress to serve their sentences unless they made amends. Ivanovich, who had served in the Guards, insisted that he would be loyal to the Tsar under any circumstances.

This statement is not very credible because he was one of the nearly 10,000 rebels who besieged Tsarskoye Selo.

Nicholas' palace guards were equipped with tanks and armored vehicles. The rebels besieged Tsarskoye Selo for nearly half an hour but failed to break through the palace guards' defense line.

Then, the Guards, who were training near Tsarskoye Selo, arrived and the rebels fled in all directions.

"Yuri's accent was Polish. He incited us to besiege Tsarskoye Selo, but he himself was afraid of death. Soon after the battle began, Yuri and several familiar non-commissioned officers disappeared.

Ivanovich regretted it deeply, but it was too late to regret it now.

"Could you please tell me more about Yuri?"

Kostsov, an official from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, was in charge of the interrogation and he had not slept for a day and a night.

"Yuri claimed to be from Kiev, but no one had ever seen him before. He was like a paper man who appeared out of thin air. No one knew what he had done before."

Ivanovich told the truth that there were indeed many guards in the suburbs of Beijing, but there were also many speculators and ambitious people, who usually pretended to be almost no different from retired soldiers.

"You were in the Navy before?"

Kostiesov didn't worry about it. There were too many people named "Yuri" in Russia, at least one in ten.

"Yes, after the Second Fleet was destroyed, I was transferred to the fortress force. After that, I was laid off and became homeless. I had to stay in St. Petersburg."

Ivanovich wondered why Kostetsov had mentioned the navy.

"Then please tell me the secrets you know, especially about the Grand Navy Plan."

Kostsov's true intentions were revealed and he was ordered to collect evidence.

It wasn't an order from George.

It was Stolypin.

"I was serving in the Black Sea Fleet when the Grand Navy Plan was launched, and some people said that the Navy Minister embezzled most of the funds and only used a small part to build battleships."

Ivanovich was just a soldier and didn't know much.

"I don't know the specifics, but in the Black Sea Fleet, the best warships are generally recognized to belong to Vladivostok. We are unwilling to serve on battleships built along the Black Sea coast."

Ivanovich finally opened up and talked nonstop.

The "Great Navy Plan" was shrouded in mystery. During the construction of the "Borodino" class battleships, the cost of building the ship itself was less than half of the imperial appropriation.

No wonder the average completion time for the Borodino class was as long as 4 years, and by the time the Second Fleet set out, one ship had not yet been built.

"Are you sure what you say is true?"

Kostsov was not quite convinced.

"Absolutely true!"

Ivanovich really wanted to redeem himself for his crime and he did not tell a single lie.

The next day, the interrogation records of Ivanovich were submitted to George.

After George finished reading it, he went to find Nicholas again.

Nicholas was in a good mood today. After getting up, he took his guards to go hunting and killed a pheasant and two wild rabbits.

"Call Amusha and Valoya. I need their explanation."

Nicholas was furious. He never expected that his uncles would be so greedy.

(End of this chapter)