Chapter 308 Alternate Emperor Nicholas and Grand Duchess Natalia (please vote, please order)
November 1853, Russian Empire, Petersburg, Winter Palace.
Winter came early this year in Petersburg. It was covered with snow, and heavy goose-feather snow was still falling. It fell from the leaden sky and fell on the magnificent buildings of the Winter Palace, covering the already covered buildings. A thin layer of ice floats over the Neva River over the vast land of Russia.
The Tsar's Winter Palace was so luxurious that it was dazzling. The magnificent palace with more than a thousand rooms was filled with a dazzling array of decorations and works of art inside and outside. Each piece was worth a lot of money. Walking in this dazzling palace In the palaces, there are almost no blank walls. The masters of the Russian Empire in the past dynasties wished they could decorate every part of the Winter Palace with glittering gold or beautiful things, so that everyone who visits the Winter Palace can Guests all know that the empire he or she rules is the most powerful, vast, and certainly the richest in the world!
Nicholas I is now the Tsar of the Russian Empire who is at the "peak of his country's life". This fifty-seven-year-old man is still full of charm. Although he is a bit bald, he still maintains the same figure as a young man, tall and strong, He has a beautifully trimmed beard, handsome features, and a majestic demeanor.
He always wore a crisp military uniform and maintained the best military style. He had almost no bad habits. He was full of energy and worked more than ten hours a day to manage the entire empire in an orderly manner.
There is no doubt that he was a tsar deeply loved by the Russian people, because as long as he was in Petersburg, he would take some time to walk outside the Winter Palace every day, sometimes alone, sometimes with a few entourages. , walking firmly on the Palace Square, the busiest place in Petersburg, or on the banks of the Neva River.
Because his portraits are hung everywhere, and he always wears a sky blue straight Guards uniform and a Napoleonic three-cornered hat. If it snows, he will also add a cloak, just like today.
Therefore, people who meet him on the street can often recognize him at a glance as the great Tsar, but no Russian will attempt to assassinate him on the Winter Palace Square because he is so loved and respected by everyone.
"Long live the Tsar, long live Russia!"
The Tsar, who was walking alone outside the Winter Palace, heard people cheering for him, and he nodded to the man - it was an older man, possibly a veteran of the Napoleonic Wars.
The Tsar waved to him and shouted: "Victory to Russia!"
"Oh my god, that's our emperor!"
Someone recognized the Tsar again. She was a young aristocratic woman wearing a fur coat, with a doll-like little girl beside her. She waved vigorously to the Tsar and shouted "Great Emperor".
Nicholas I is not yet the Great but will soon become the Great!
Because he is leading a war that will definitely make Russia greater, that is, the Ninth Russo-Turkish War, and victory is in sight!
His invincible Russian army marched into the Principality of Moldavia and the Principality of Wallachia, tributaries of the Turkish Empire, in July this year, and captured these two countries almost without a fight.
The cowardly and incompetent Turkish Sultan did not ask Russia to return these two principalities until three months later with the support of Britain and France. It was really whimsical. How could Russia spit out the territory it had swallowed?
Russia is now the overlord on the European continent and has the most powerful army in the world!
Moreover, the target of Nicholas I in instigating this war was not the two small principalities at all. How could these two small countries satisfy Nicholas I's appetite? He was destined to be conquered by Russia in the name of "The Great" A man who will be remembered by future generations.
In his opinion, there is only one result that can make him the "Great Emperor", which is to "recover" Constantinople, the former capital of the Eastern Roman Empire!
To achieve this goal, Nicholas I's invincible Russian army had to sweep all the way along the Balkan Peninsula. The Principality of Moldavia and the Principality of Wallachia were just two appetizers.
Therefore, after receiving the Turkish Empire's request to withdraw its vassal states, Nicholas I decisively declared war on the Turkish Empire on October 16.
Although the Turkish army performed slightly better than expected after the full-scale war broke out, it unexpectedly crossed the Danube on October 28, and defeated the hurried and insufficiently supplied Russian troops in Ortrica a few days ago. military.
However, small setbacks would not shake the Tsar's confidence in victory. As a military emperor, he was proficient in warfare and knew that the key to the success or failure of the Ninth Russo-Turkish War lay on the Black Sea.
As long as Russia's powerful Black Sea Fleet can defeat the Turkish navy and seize control of the Black Sea in one fell swoop, Russia's army on the Balkan Peninsula will be able to obtain sufficient supplies and reinforcements.
In this way, victory will be easy!
And his naval generals all assured him that the powerful Black Sea Fleet will definitely be able to defeat the Turkish naval fleet. In the past more than a hundred years, the Russian navy has always won against the Turkish navy, and it will not happen this time. What an accident.
Therefore, the Russian army in the Balkans does not have to worry. It will definitely win after the Black Sea Fleet has won the victory before launching an attack.
Nicholas I estimated that he should be able to spend Christmas next year in Constantinople.
Recovering Constantinople has been the dream of many generations of the Russian Empire, and Nicholas I will soon become the great czar who realizes this dream. After recovering Constantinople, he will join forces with Peter the Great, Like Catherine the Great, he was called Nicholas the Great!
This man who is about to become the emperor is certainly the most popular in the Russian Empire at the moment.
Nicholas I, the "candidate emperor" of Russia, had finished his daily routine and walked back to his palace alone. When he entered the door, he politely greeted the Guardsmen guarding the door. It looked like that Approachable.
When the Tsar entered the main entrance of the Winter Palace, he saw one of his attendants standing on the Jordanian staircase covered with red carpet and decorated with gold and granite sculptures.
"Your Majesty!" The attendant quickly ran down the stairs and came to the Tsar's side. While taking off his cloak, he dusted the snowflakes off the Tsar's hat. The Grand Justice is waiting for you in the office."
"Oh, Natalia came to Petersburg from Warsaw. I haven't seen her for four years since Mikhail Pavlovich's funeral. She is seventeen years old this year, right?"
The always serious Tsar thought of his quirky little niece and couldn't help but smile and his steps became more brisk. He climbed up the Jordanian stairs as quickly as a young man in his twenties. , then entered a wide corridor, passed through the splendid St. George's Hall, and soon entered an office where you could enjoy the snowy scenery on the Neva River through the windows.
This office is very spacious and bright, but there are not many decorations and artworks. There are no priceless paintings hanging on the walls. Instead, there is a huge map of the Russian Empire and a picture of the Balkan battlefield. Situation map.
A burly man in his thirties with a beard, wearing a military uniform, and looking very solemn and solemn was standing with a girl in a white dress, whose figure was a bit too graceful, and whose facial features were extremely delicate, and who looked like a porcelain doll. , talking quietly together while standing at a long table.
Hearing the sound of the attendant opening the door to the office, the two of them turned around, and then saw the Tsar walking quickly. The girl ran towards the Tsar happily like a child, hugged him, and spoke with her silver bell He said in a voice like that: "Uncle, I am so happy to see you. You are still the same as you were four years ago. There is almost no change at all."
The Tsar kissed his niece on the cheek, and then said with a smile: "Haha, Natalia Mikhaylovna, you have changed so much that you have grown up in the blink of an eye! Has your mother begun to arrange marriage for you? Already?"
"It's not urgent, I'm still young." When talking about her marriage, the girl's cheeks turned red and she was a little embarrassed. "I also hope to spend more time with my mother." She pointed to her cousin next to her, "And Alexanderni Gulayevich said it would be better to wait one to two years, by which time the Russian Empire will become the most powerful empire in the world and I, I will also become the most eye-catching princess in Europe."
"Well, that's true!" Nicholas I nodded and said confidently, "We will spend Christmas next year in Constantinople!"
Chapter completed!