Struggle in Russia

Ermolov didn't speak, but just looked straight at Count Rostovtsev, not because the old man wanted to see if Count Rostovtsev was telling the truth. Because the unreliability of the Romanov family is really normal. Anyway, the old man no longer has any expectations for the royal family. No matter who comes to power, this group of people is like a bird. Another face.

As the saying goes, the emperor is reliable when he speaks, sows will climb trees, okay? Ermolov now wants to find out whether Count Rostovtsev is serious, because according to him, Nicholas I and his sons are not satisfactory, so is it necessary to change A collateral prince has come to be tsar.

Ermolov said with a smile: "If His Majesty hears your words, you will be punished for a crime of treason!"

Count Rostovtsev shrugged and said, "I don't think His Majesty will know, will you, General?"

Ermolov curled his lips, but did not answer the question. It was unnecessary and meaningless. Instead, he asked, "Then do you think the Grand Duke is suitable? What if he is also an acting school?"

Count Rostovtsev replied very calmly: "I didn't say that the Grand Duke is suitable. As for the acting skills of the Grand Duke, to be honest, I can't guarantee it...After all, people change, don't they?"

Yermolov very much agrees with this point. Rostovtsev, that youthful little boy back then, has become unbelievable now. Can you believe that someone was also an angry youth with exposed emotions back then.

"Then what do you mean?"

Count Rostovtsev replied calmly: "What I mean is that we must prepare early. Your Majesty's family is unreliable, so it is necessary to see if there are other more suitable targets... Back then I also I don't mean to push anyone to the top, but to say that cultivating some members of the royal family who are inclined to change will be beneficial in the long run..."

Ermolov thought for a while and agreed with this statement. If the royal family always looks like Nicholas I, then Russia's hope for changes from top to bottom is almost a dream. And for people like Count Rostovtsev, top-down change was almost the only way.

If the stubborn ideas of the Romanov family cannot be changed slightly, the future may be very troublesome, so it is really necessary to prepare early.

"Then why the grand duke? I think His Majesty Alexander I's younger brothers and their heirs are more advantageous in terms of seniority and ability!"

Count Rostovtsev shook his head and said: "Although the descendants of Grand Duke Mikhail Pavlovich are more suitable, please forgive me,

His Highness the Grand Duke himself is indeed very good, but his sons are very ordinary, they are not as ambitious as their mother, if one must be chosen from this Grand Duke's family to inherit the throne, I will support the Grand Duchess even more..."

This is very straightforward, but it is also true. Grand Duke Mikhail Pavlovich has no problems with his ability and connections, but it is a pity that he died too early. And his wife, Princess Charlotte of Württemberg, Grand Duchess Yelena Pavlovna, is really a rare enlightened reformer in the Romanov family. It can be said that the Grand Duchess is the most supportive of the Romanov family. Reformers have called for the abolition of serfdom more than once.

It's a pity that this "intellectual" of the Romanov family was always an outsider, and Nicholas I didn't like this sister-in-law very much, so naturally he would not listen to her opinion. Obviously, it is impossible to have another Catherine II in Russia now. Not every German princess is destined to be a tsar.

Ermolov thought about the grand dukes of the Romanov family again, and had to admit that few of them could catch his eye, so he could only ask helplessly: "Then what do you want to do?" How can I praise that bastard grand duke?"

Count Rostovtsev smiled, and he replied slowly: "I didn't ask you to praise him, I just wanted you to meet him and see how he is."

Ermolov asked sharply, "What if I don't think the bastard Grand Duke is very nice?"

Count Rostovtsev chuckled and said, "Then you can continue to go back to Moscow to retire! Just pretend nothing happened!"

Ermolov was a little speechless. He never thought that Rostovtsev would be so "naughty", so he could only ask helplessly: "What if I think he is good too? Then what will you do?"

Count Rostovtsev replied firmly: "Then we will find a way to untie the Grand Duke, and loosen the chains that restrain him for Your Majesty!"

Ermolov pondered for a moment, and then said: "It sounds like that, anyway, it's just a trip, so I'll go to the Black Sea! But I don't promise to be optimistic about him!"

Count Rostovtsev replied very easy-goingly: "That is your freedom, but I don't think the Grand Duke will let you down, because according to the information I got, he did a good job in the Black Sea Fleet... "

Ermolov set out on the road full of doubts. After arriving in Nikolayev, he first contacted his old subordinates serving in the Black Sea, so he would not go to see Li Xiao right away, because the old man always thought he wanted to To see a person clearly, it is best to look at it from the side, because everyone's front is the most deceptive.

"The grand duke went to engage in intelligence?"

This was the first news Yermolov received. To be honest, it was a bit beyond his expectation, because most of the Romanovs have a military complex, and making contributions on the battlefield is their ultimate goal. Love, but doing intelligence is a bit off the beaten path.

"That's no way, it's said that His Majesty doesn't like this nephew, and deliberately wanted to borrow a knife to kill someone..."

This news gave Ermolov a good first impression of Li Xiao, because what Nicholas I hated was what he liked, and the fact that Nicholas I disliked him so much could explain the problem, wouldn't it?

"Then how is the Grand Duke doing?"

"It's not clear. Lazarev and Mark Mikheevich had more than one argument over the whereabouts of the grand duke. In the end, Lazarev overcame all opinions and let Kornilov take full responsibility. So only Kornilov knows the real situation..."

This news surprised Ermolov, because he knew Lazarev very well. He liked to support promising officers. Lev took a fancy to it, this is a bit extraordinary!