I'm playing whack-a-mole in Siberia

Chapter 662 Go to hell!
Nicholas would rather give up the throne for his family. It is impossible for him to abandon his family and leave alone.

Yuri had no choice but to drive away from Tsarskoye Selo and look for another opportunity.

George was helpless and could only say that it was fate.

Nicholas is still the innocent Nicholas, and has never changed despite all the ups and downs he has gone through.

George is no longer the same George.

After Nicholas abdicated, more and more Russian nobles fled to Constantinople, demanding the same privileges in Constantinople as in St. Petersburg.

George was busy with official duties, and the Russian nobles who fled to Constantinople could not see George at all, so they turned to Nicholas the Younger, hoping that Nicholas the Younger would come forward and help them achieve their goals.

Little Nicholas is also very busy. His current task is to communicate with the Allied Powers on behalf of Constantinople.

Last year, the German army suffered heavy losses in Verdun and the Somme. Falkenhayn was forced to resign and Hindenburg took over.

The United States' entry into the war caught Hindenburg off guard. Although U.S. troops had not yet landed in Europe, trade between Germany and the United States was completely interrupted.

Hindenburg spent a winter reorganizing the battle line, concentrating his forces on the Western Front in preparation for a decisive battle with Britain and France.

After the interruption of trade with the United States, Germany's imports of industrial raw materials were greatly restricted, especially oil.

Before the outbreak of the world war, the importance of oil was not prominent enough.

With the mass production of armored vehicles and aircraft, oil has become increasingly important. Germany can now produce about 100 armored vehicles and about 1000 aircraft per month. The monthly oil demand has increased from 1000 barrels before the war to the current 10000 barrels.

The Balkan war zone consumes 10,000 barrels of oil per week.

After losing oil from the United States, the nearest oil supply point to Germany was the Kingdom of Romania.

During the Second Balkan War, Romania obtained Southern Dobruja from Bulgaria. Oil fields were discovered before the outbreak of the war, but due to the limited strength of Bulgaria and Romania, large-scale development had never been carried out.

In order to seize Romania's oil, Hindenburg prepared to launch an attack on Romania.

This decision was opposed by almost everyone except Hindenburg.

To attack Romania, we must launch a frontal attack on the Balkan Corps led by George.

After the outbreak of World War II, although the German army provided some assistance to the Austro-Hungarian Empire, its main forces were either on the Western Front or on the Northern Front.

Although the troops sent by the German army to the Austro-Hungarian Empire were all second-line troops, von Bilow and Mackensen who led these troops were both fierce generals on the battlefield.

Von Bilo was defeated by Brusinov and not only lost Bosnia and Herzegovina, but also Croatia and Slovenia were occupied by Brusinov.

Mackensen was surrounded by Vasily in Budapest, abandoned his troops and fled by plane, but was almost captured.

So Hindenburg finally fell into the same trouble as Moltke the Younger and Falkenhayn.

From April to July, the German army had been arguing over the main attack direction.

After the failure of Kerensky's offensive, Hindenburg seemed to have found another solution.

Hindenburg's solution to the deadlock was again in St. Petersburg.

All along, the Provisional Executive Committee intended to negotiate peace with Germany and withdraw Russia from the war, a decision that was strongly opposed by the Provisional Government.

The failure of Kerensky's offensive finally made Kerensky realize that it was impossible to defeat the German army with the strength of the Russian army on the northern front.

So Kerensky sent Foreign Minister Milyukov to start contact with the Germans.

This decision was again opposed by the new Russian Commander-in-Chief Kornilov.

Since the outbreak of the World War, Russia has mobilized a total of 1300 million troops, and including deserters, the cumulative losses have reached 840 million.

Negotiating with the Germans not only meant ceding territory but also paying compensation, which was unacceptable to any Russian with a conscience.

On August 8, Kornilov published a public declaration in the St. Petersburg Daily, clearly opposing negotiations with the Germans.

This was the first time that the people of St. Petersburg knew that the Provisional Government was actually negotiating with the Germans.

On August 8, 16 workers and soldiers in St. Petersburg took to the streets again to oppose negotiations with the Germans.

Kornilov's actions were also strongly supported by Britain and France.

Kornilov mistakenly took the support of the people of St. Petersburg and Britain and France as support for himself.

On August 8, Kornilov, under the pretext of "defending the capital", dispatched the Kremov 27rd Cavalry Corps, known as the "Barbarian Division", to march towards Petrograd. At the same time, he issued an ultimatum to Kerensky, demanding that all members of the Provisional Government resign and transfer power to the Supreme Commander-in-Chief.

Kerensky reacted quickly, immediately declaring Kornilov a rebel, and began arming the workers' corps established by the Provisional Executive Committee to protect St. Petersburg by force.

What happened next was simply ridiculous.

Not long after the Third Army set out, more than half of the soldiers ran away. The officers who tried to stop the soldiers from escaping were shot dead by the soldiers. In the end, even Kremov himself committed suicide.

After Kremov committed suicide, no one obeyed Kornilov's orders anymore, so Kornilov was arrested.

Although Kornilov's rebellion was quelled, the Workers' Guards armed by Kerensky to defend St. Petersburg became a new hidden danger.

The Workers' Guard was established by the Provisional Executive Committee and its allegiance was not to the Provisional Government.

Kerensky came up with a new idea and decided to reorganize the Workers' Guards into the St. Petersburg Defense Force, which seemed to cut off the connection between the Workers' Guards and the Provisional Executive Committee.

On November 11 (October 7 in the Russian calendar), the Workers' Guards surrounded the Winter Palace and the Provisional Government was overthrown.

Just before the Workers' Guards surrounded the Winter Palace, Kerensky lied to the ministers and said he was going to the outskirts of St. Petersburg to meet reinforcements, and then fled in a car of the American Embassy.

After fleeing St. Petersburg, Kerensky mobilized troops loyal to him and counterattacked St. Petersburg.

At this time, the Russian army on the northern front had fallen into complete chaos. The officers and soldiers were numb and didn't know who to listen to.

Kerensky had a smooth journey without encountering any resistance until he reached the Gatchina Palace in the suburbs of St. Petersburg, where he was surrounded by the Workers' Guards commanded by Bronstein.

At the last moment, Kerensky sent a telegram to Dukhonin, the Chief of General Staff of the Provisional Government, saying, "Because I am leaving for Petrograd, I would like you to act as the Supreme Commander-in-Chief."

Kerensky then disguised himself as a woman and escaped through the underground passage of the Gatchina Palace.

When the news reached Constantinople, little Nicholas couldn't understand how he had lost to that bunch of bastards!
"Don't you understand? Because you're worse than them!"

George was outspoken and his facts spoke louder than words.

"I'm your brother, you should respect me!"

Little Nicholas was not happy with George's attitude.

"Nikki, have you thought about what we should do next?"

George didn't argue about these details.

Little Nicholas was silent. If he had known, he would not have come to George for protection.

"The Empire no longer exists, what should we do?"

George, like Nicholas the Younger, was considered a remnant of the Tsar by the Provisional Executive Committee.

"George, you can rebuild the empire."

Little Nicholas finally admitted that there was at least 10 Kerenskys between him and George.

"Next spring, I will end this myself."

George finally made up his mind to end this farce himself.

"You should have done this a long time ago—"

Little Nicholas was insincere.

If George rebelled before Nicholas abdicated, the first person to jump out and oppose George would be little Nicholas.

Mikhail refused to succeed the throne, leaving a small tail of the Constitutional Conference. During the period of the Provisional Government, the Provisional Executive Committee delayed the convening of the Constitutional Conference for various reasons.

It was not until the Provisional Executive Committee came to power in November that it announced that the Constitutional Convention would no longer be convened.

Winter is not a good time to deploy troops, and George has already waited for so long that he doesn't mind waiting a few more days.

The first thing the Provisional Executive Committee did after taking office was to negotiate with the Germans.

George was unable to infiltrate the Provisional Executive Committee, but through the St. Petersburg telegraph system, George was able to learn the details of the negotiations between the Provisional Executive Committee and the Germans at the first time.

Negotiating with the Russians is also what the Germans have been looking forward to.

However, Germany did not seize this opportunity and put forward extremely harsh conditions to the Provisional Executive Committee.

Germany proposed to cede Poland, Lithuania, parts of Estonia, Latvia, Belarus, and all of Ukraine to Germany.

At the same time, Russia had to pay Germany 30 billion rubles in compensation.

George didn't know how the members of the Provisional Executive Committee felt when they saw the conditions put forward by the Germans.

When little Nicholas and Demeter saw these terms, they felt endless humiliation.

"St. Petersburg will never agree to that, absolutely not!"

Demeter actually still had illusions about the people on the Provisional Executive Committee.

George remained calm and handed another telegram to Demeter.

The telegram was sent by Yuri, and the content of the telegram stated that the Provisional Executive Committee was discussing the German conditions.

"George, I changed my mind. These people deserve to die—"

Demeter was filled with grief and indignation.

George patted Demeter on the shoulder and understood Demeter's feelings very well.

Most of the members of the Provisional Executive Committee returned from abroad after Nicholas abdicated. They are not Russians at all. They are not even my sons. They certainly would not feel sorry for selling their land.

To put it bluntly, this group of people came back to pick peaches. It would be a pleasant surprise if they could pick peaches, but it didn't matter if they couldn't, because the size and quantity of the peaches had nothing to do with them.

What George didn't expect was that while the Provisional Executive Committee was negotiating with the Germans, it actually remembered Grand Duke Yuriev who was entrenched in Constantinople.

On December 12, Kirov, a representative of the Provisional Executive Committee, arrived in Constantinople to negotiate with George.

George met Kirov at the theater headquarters.

Kirov was only 28 years old, surprisingly young, but he had extraordinary qualifications, having been exiled to Siberia in 1904.

Calculating the time, Kirov was only 15 years old at that time.

That's right, if it had been any later, he might have been hanged by Stolypin.

On behalf of the Provisional Executive Committee, Kirov proposed that if George sent a telegram to pledge allegiance to the Provisional Government established by the Provisional Executive Committee, the Provisional Government would appoint George as the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Army.

"Which Russian troops are you referring to?"

George had bad intentions. After the establishment of the Second Provisional Government, he announced a retirement plan to retire all Russian troops within half a year.

George didn't know what to make of this plan.

If a country like Russia loses its army, it will probably collapse on the spot.

"All--all the armed forces in Russia, including the troops in St. Petersburg, and the East Indian troops."

George did not expect that Kirov actually regarded East India as Russian territory.

East India has always been George's private territory, and even Nicholas has never thought of taking over East India.

It seems that George wanted to pledge allegiance to the Second Provisional Government and also give up the East India as a token of his allegiance.

"Ah--"

Demeter, leaning against the fireplace, couldn't help laughing.

Little Nicholas held a glass of wine in his hand, his veins showing.

"Let's be practical. Where did you take Nicky? Is Nicky still alive?"

George regretted that he should not have let little Nicholas be present.

When Kerensky reached the outskirts of St. Petersburg, Nicholas and his family disappeared from the Tsarskoye Selo and their whereabouts were unknown. Yuri led his men to search all over St. Petersburg but could not find Nicholas.

The Second Provisional Government knew that George would ask for Nicholas, which was the biggest bargaining chip in the hands of the Second Provisional Government. If George did not take the initiative to mention Nicholas, Kirov would also bring it up.

Whoever brings it up first will lose the initiative.

"Your Majesty is living a good life. We will protect you in the place you want to live according to your request."

Kirov was very happy and thought he had the initiative in the negotiations.

"You have disbanded the army, so what qualifications do you have to make conditions with me?"

George forced the subject back.

Kirov's expression changed slightly.

The backbone of the army is loyal to the Tsar and the empire.

The Second Provisional Government disbanded the army, but the size of the Workers' Guard expanded rapidly.

George would not mind handing over the East India if the Second Provisional Government agreed to hand over the Workers' Guard to George.

As for who will have the final say in Russia at that time, it is hard to say.

"We respect the soldiers' choice. Most of them are tired of war and want to return to their families. This is also the choice of the Russian people."

Kirov did not mention the Workers' Guards.

"Don't mention Russian all the time. Are you Russian?"

George directly exposed the truth: You are not even a Russian, so why do you represent Russia?

"Of course I am!"

Kirov bit it to death.

"So what have you done for Russia? Did you fight for the Empire or work hard in a factory?"

George pressed on.

"I try to make Russia a better place—"

Kirov's face turned paler and paler.

"So the way you work hard is to organize St. Petersburg workers to take to the streets and disrupt the industrial production of the empire; incite soldiers to desert so that there is no one available at the front; oppose all voices that are not in your favor, in order to achieve your ulterior purpose -"

George's voice became increasingly stern, and Kirov was sweating profusely.

Little Nicholas suddenly jumped up and drew his pistol.

"You bastard, go to hell!"

George was unable to stop him and could only watch Kirov fall in a pool of blood.

(End of this chapter)