I'm playing whack-a-mole in Siberia

Chapter 640 The Rebel Is Right Next to You

Chapter 640 The Rebel Is Right Next to You
Before the outbreak of the World War, the French vowed to take back Alsace and Lorraine that were taken away by Germany and to wash away the humiliation France suffered in the Franco-Prussian War.

The French were completely unprepared to defeat Germany. If it weren't for Nicholas the Younger's attack that forced Moltke the Younger to divide his troops, France would have been crushed by Germany.

After the news that the Russian Empire was going to negotiate with Germany came out, the French acted hastily. Aristide Briand, who had just become French Prime Minister a week ago, urgently went to St. Petersburg, hoping that the Russian Empire would hold on.

The reason why the Russian army suffered such heavy losses since the war broke out is directly related to the inaction of the British and French forces.

In George's view, this was a betrayal of the alliance between Britain and France.

Louis Barr felt very uncomfortable and he wanted to scold George for being so hypocritical.

The plan George made for the Russian Empire before the outbreak of the war was the same as the actions of the British and French forces.

The only difference is that George's plan was not actually implemented, but the British and French forces actually did so.

Nicholas was still rational. After facing opposition from almost everyone, he gave a public speech while inspecting the grenadiers trained by Kuropatkin, declaring that he would respect the agreement with his allies and fight the enemy to the end.

Kuropatkin was so excited that he burst into tears and asked Nikolay to return to the front line.

Although Nicholas was forced to use Kuropatkin, it did not mean that he had restored his trust in Kuropatkin. He was just such a weird person.

While Nicholas was renewing his faith, George was consoling Ferdinand and Georgi, as well as Nicholas of Montenegro.

Instead of clarifying for Nikolai, George emphasized to the three that the promise George made was valid forever.

George promised Ferdinand that Transylvania would be given to the Kingdom of Romania.

At the same time, the Greek Kingdom was promised that it would receive part of the Asia Minor Peninsula.

As for the Kingdom of Montenegro, George promised to guarantee the independence of the Kingdom of Montenegro and not allow any country to annex Montenegro.

"George, you should keep His Majesty away from the Queen. She has become the source of all the chaos."

Montenegrin Nikola was outspoken.

Georgi kept out of the matter.

Ferdinand looked a little embarrassed. He and Alex were both from the Hohenzollern family.

After the outbreak of World War II, because the Kingdom of Romania declared war on the Central Powers along with the Russian Empire, William II expelled Ferdinand from the family in anger and no longer recognized Ferdinand as a member of the Hohenzollern family.

William II showed leniency to Alex.

This also became one of the evidences that Alex was a "German spy".

"You make it sound so easy, but will Your Majesty listen to me on this issue?"

George was annoyed. He was just Nicholas' uncle, not his biological father.

Nicholas' biological father, Yasan, also disliked Alex, but in the end he had to compromise.

"Between the Empire and the Queen, will Your Majesty choose the Queen?"

Heni was very disappointed. This was not a convincing good king.

More and more people are disappointed with Nicholas.

After Rasputin was killed, Nikolai finally realized that some things in St. Petersburg were out of control.

Nicholas's response was to replace the ministers of the court who disliked the queen with candidates recommended by the queen. This time, they were the ministers of justice, education, and transport.

This decision was strongly opposed by State Duma Chairman Rodzianko.

Nicholas then dissolved the State Duma and forced Rodzianko to accept personnel changes.

George didn't know what had happened to Nicholas. Since the outbreak of the World War, Nicholas had become more and more of a stranger to George.

Anne clears up George's confusion.

"Your Majesty's change has a lot to do with Sani. Sani's desire for power is too strong, but she doesn't have the ability to match her desire. I often receive letters from Paula and Olga. They have tried to persuade Sani, but to no avail."

Anne also thinks Alex is the cause.

Paula is Alex's elder sister Elizabeth, the widow of the late Grand Duke Sergei.

Olga and Nikolai's younger sister, in 1901 Olga married Duke Peter Alexandrovich of Oldenburg.

Olga and Peter had been married for 14 years, but they had no children. Rumors spread in St. Petersburg that Peter had never touched Olga.

Well, this is not a rumor.

This summer, Olga filed for dissolution of her marriage to Peter, citing marital breakdown.

Nikolai advised Olga to be patient. Olga cried to Nikolai, and then Nikolai knew the reason why they had no children.

Peter really never touched Olga.

"Have you tried to persuade her?"

George didn't want to mention Alex's name.

"Since the result is already determined, there is no point in saying more."

Anne meant it.

George frowned. Can't you just say what you want to say clearly?

Anne was still tactful and didn't want to force George.

Catherine rushed from Adrianople to Constantinople and asked George to stay away from St. Petersburg and not interfere in the first family's affairs.

"If you win on the battlefield, you will be envied by St. Petersburg; if you lose, you will be laughed at. Constantinople was conquered by you with your own hands. You should leave Constantinople to Polis. Don't forget that Polis is your son!"

Catherine was concerned that George would surrender Constantinople to St. Petersburg.

"Mom, please stop making trouble—"

George was helpless. Can this thing be given away just like that? Constantinople was ceded by the Ottoman Empire to the Russian Empire, not given to George personally.

George could leave the East Indies to Polis.

Constantinople is really not good.

"George, you are Russian!"

Catherine was very angry and felt that he did not look like a monarch.

George really didn't want to be the Tsar. Thinking about Nicholas's environment in St. Petersburg made him despair.

As Tsar, Nicholas did not have as much power as George.

George has the final say in the Balkan theater. If anyone dares to question George's decision, the four major armies will teach him a lesson without George having to say anything.

Nicholas had the Queen making trouble in the palace, the Duma hindering him outside the palace, and a group of self-important grand dukes giving him orders. If he did well, it was his duty, but if he did not, Nicholas would be ashamed of his predecessors.

Since the outbreak of the World War, all classes in Russia have been in a state of unrest.

The State Duma demanded greater power and restrictions on the Queen, who was not allowed to interfere in the appointment of officials.

The bourgeoisie hopes that the empire will implement a more relaxed economic policy, but don't forget that the empire is in a state of war and everything must give way to the war.

The workers hope to get more salary and benefits, but they don’t look at the German workers who are so poor that they can barely afford to eat.

Although the farmers' lives were not a problem, they still felt overwhelmed by the empire's unlimited conscription.

Just now, the Russian Empire carried out its fifth mobilization, with an average of about 100 million people joining the army in each mobilization.

One million people is still within the tolerable range compared to the total population of the Russian Empire.

But the key point is that this is definitely not the last mobilization, and victory is still a long way off.

How many more 500 million can the Russian Empire withstand?
"What does this have to do with whether I'm Russian or not—"

George was also helpless. Fortunately, he married a law-abiding wife, otherwise he would have a lot of headaches.

"If you want to be implicated, you should cut ties with St. Petersburg as soon as possible."

Ekaterina is straightforward.

"Have you ever thought that the soldiers under my command are all Russians—"

George growled, asking if he could close the door when talking about this.

"So what? As long as you can give them a better and more stable life, they will support you!"

Catherine was also completely disappointed with St. Petersburg.

George remained silent. He was not a heartless person and he would definitely take responsibility for the soldiers who followed him.

No matter how the officials and nobles of St. Petersburg struggle, they chose their own path. No matter what the outcome is, they'd better accept it honestly and not complain to anyone.

George could only guarantee that the soldiers who trusted him and followed him to fight would get a relatively satisfactory result in the end.

At least for now, things seem to be going well.

Since the outbreak of the war, the number of officers and soldiers lost in the Balkan theater has reached about 20, nearly half of whom were from the Gao Ri Corps.

Unlike the European theater of operations, there were almost no prisoners in the Balkan theater of operations. These 20 people were either retired due to injuries or died in battle.

For the officers and soldiers who died in the battle, the war zone has issued pensions according to imperial standards.

A considerable number of soldiers who have to retire due to injuries are unwilling to return to their families in order not to burden them.

In fact, most of the soldiers who were disabled due to injuries had only lost some limbs and were not unable to take care of themselves.

If the condition is so serious that they are unable to take care of themselves, there is no way to save them, and it is impossible to devote too many medical resources to them, unless they are combat heroes with outstanding performance.

George is preparing to build an Invalides Home to house disabled soldiers who do not want to return to their families.

For those who are willing to return, the pension standards are set relatively high, so that at least the disabled soldiers will not be abandoned by their families.

George also showed leniency to those officers and soldiers of the Gao Ri Corps who went to Europe to fight. As long as they persisted until after the war, George would allow them to obtain Russian citizenship.

If they are willing to obtain citizenship of a Balkan country, George will also help them create opportunities.

"I am an old woman with not much time left. Before you make any decision, I ask you to consider Anne and the children, as well as your unborn grandchildren."

Ekaterina knew what was important to George.

Like Nicholas, George also values his family.

At dinner time in the evening, Alexandra came back from the barracks and the family sat around the dining table and had dinner together.

"What's so rare in the military camp?"

Alexander was curious about life in the military camp.

“Does overthrowing the Tsar count?”

Alexandra made a startling statement.

"what?"

George thought he had heard wrongly.

"I said overthrow the Tsar—"

Alexandra spoke each word with great emphasis.

George was stunned. It turned out that the traitor was lurking next to him.