I'm playing whack-a-mole in Siberia

Chapter 634: It is better to change the Queen than the Tsar
As the first in line to the throne of Grand Duke Yuriev, Alexander had the opportunity to be lazy and live a peaceful life as a prince.

But judging from the current situation, it seems unlikely that Alexander can safely inherit George's title.

Nicholas thought he had handled the matter satisfactorily, but in reality the result did not satisfy either party.

The royal family, out of disgust for the queen, demanded an acquittal and no accountability.

The three were all exiled to remote areas, which obviously did not satisfy the royal family.

The State Duma demanded that the three be tried, but this goal was also not achieved.

Little Felix did not go to Goldfinch Manor. The train carrying little Felix was forced to stop by Prince Yusupov's special train as soon as it left St. Petersburg.

Hundreds of Yusupov family's private soldiers surrounded the train carrying little Felix. The guards were forced to open the carriages and watched little Felix being taken away by Yusupov.

Instead of taking little Felix back to Crimea, Yusupova came directly to Constantinople.

George was overwhelmed, and Yusupova broke with St. Petersburg in the most decisive way.

"George, you're not going to arrest me!"

Yusupova seemed very happy and didn't take the prison break seriously at all.

"What are you going to do?"

George sighed. Alexander was still a criminal.

Nicholas still gave George face and did not send Alexander in a prison car, but instead used the royal yacht.

This seemed to prove Nicholas' fear of George.

Although George did not attend the imperial meeting, Crown Prince Alexei's statement at the meeting still hurt George's heart.

Once George thought he was fighting for the empire.

Now that I think about it, some people in St. Petersburg are really not worth George fighting for.

"The wealth controlled by the Yusupov family will be welcomed in any country."

Yusupova is full of confidence. The wealth owned by the Yusupov family can indeed be described as rich enough to rival a country.

"I want to invest in Adrianople. I wonder if you would welcome it?"

George was speechless. How could I refuse this?

Yusupova was rich, and the Kingdom of Bulgaria needed investment, and massive investment.

The negotiations between the Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary have broken down, and Bosnia and Herzegovina will definitely not be returned to the Kingdom of Hungary. Next, investment will definitely be made in the infrastructure of these two places.

If Yusupova was willing to invest, George had no reason to refuse.

But doing so would definitely have a serious impact on the Russian Empire.

The Yusupov family had such great influence on the Russian Empire that it could be regarded as a weather vane for the empire's capital investment.

If the Yusupov family's funds begin to flee, many investors will lose confidence in the empire.

The Yusupov family's businesses are spread all over Russia, including farms, flour mills, steel mills, oil fields, and so on.

Yusupova's withdrawal of funds will also have a negative impact on the empire's economy.

"We have made such a great contribution to the empire, but we cannot obtain the Tsar's pardon. Do you know how many investment invitations from heads of state I have to reject every year? Oh, you should know that you get no fewer invitations than I do every year."

"You know - the Romanov family is discussing Alexei's illness. If Alexei can't fully recover, he may lose his inheritance rights."

George was shocked by Yusupova's words. What did those people want to do? Rebellion?
But it's not impossible.

Alexei carries the hemophilia gene. If hemophilia cannot be cured, then it seems to be a better choice for the Russian Empire for other branches of the Romanov family to succeed the position of Tsar.

Yusupova did not stay in Constantinople for long. After meeting George, she and little Felix took the train to Adrianople.

Alexander had become silent since returning to Constantinople.

"I killed Rasputin for the Empire."

Alexander did not regret it, but he was very sad about what Alexei said.

"There were many ways you could have solved this problem, but you chose the stupidest one." George didn't actually blame Alexander. After all, he had been a middle school student once.

There were many people in St. Petersburg who wanted to kill Rasputin, so why didn't others do it?

Killing Rasputin will not save the empire, but will instead completely expose many of the empire's contradictions that have been temporarily concealed by the war.

George had no choice, as many of the conflicts were caused by Nicholas and the Queen.

For example, hemophilia.

When Yasan was alive, he opposed Nicholas marrying Alex, mainly because of hemophilia.

The reason why the queen became increasingly withdrawn had a lot to do with Alexei's illness.

This is not an unforgivable crime that the St. Petersburg aristocracy excluded the queen, preventing her from giving birth to a healthy prince for Nicholas, thus causing the future of the empire to lose security.

The situation in St. Petersburg is already very tense. Nicholas is on the front line, and the Queen is in the rear. The bureaucratic and aristocratic groups are disgusted with each other, and now it has reached the point of a split.

“Since there are so many ways, why don’t you do it?”

Alexander is like a sharp sword, he would rather break than bend.

"Because killing Rasputin is not in our interest."

George hopes Alexander will mature quickly.

"But it's in the interest of the Empire!"

Alexander was too straightforward, and George wanted to pull out his belt and give him a good beating.

Forget it, the child is grown up now, so persuasion and education should be the main approach.

"who are we?"

George hit the nail on the head.

Alexander finally fell silent.

The root of Rasputin's problem lies with the Queen.

George never thought of changing the Tsar.

The queen can still be replaced.

Sometimes George even hoped that some of the rumors in St. Petersburg were true, perhaps that would make Nicholas completely disappointed in the Queen.

In mid-September, the third batch of reinforcements from the Far East arrived in Constantinople, but George did not send them to various battlefields.

The current situation is very tense, and the conflict between Falkenhayn and Hindenburg is intensifying. George does not want to remind the Germans to pay attention to the Balkan battlefield at this critical juncture.

A military meeting will be held in Berlin at the end of the year to discuss the main offensive direction for next year.

Falkenhayn has stopped sending reinforcements to the Eastern Front this year, and has mostly shifted the main attack direction from the Eastern Front back to the Western Front.

The Somme, Verdun, they haven't happened yet.

Nicholas still attached great importance to George and sent Mikhail to Constantinople to express his condolences. He not only brought the Royal Song and Dance Troupe, but also brought many gifts of condolences.

Most of these relief supplies were purchased from Amur.

George didn't need any comfort, but Alexander did.

Mikhail brought Alexander a sword, said to be the sword of Peter the Great.

"Don't blame your brother Nicky. He is the Tsar and is responsible for all Russians."

Mikhail didn't want any complications.

"I don't blame anyone, we were too reckless and deserved to be punished."

Alexander is calm, perhaps this is what growth is.

(End of this chapter)