How could Grand Duke Constantine not be interested in the Black Sea Fleet? His first choice before was not Moldavia, but the Black Sea Fleet. As one of the two major fleets of the empire, the Black Sea Fleet was very powerful, and
There are many reformists within the fleet. If he takes the lead in the Black Sea Fleet, at least he will not be specifically targeted by conservatives.
It’s just that Grand Duke Constantine’s ambition for the Black Sea Fleet was stillborn from the beginning, because Nicholas I obviously had his own opinions on the Black Sea Fleet. He did not agree to Grand Duke Constantine’s request, but sent
The centrist-to-conservative Berkh came to lead.
This is a typical imperial mentality. Nicholas I felt that the Black Sea Fleet had too many generals who supported new things and reforms. If Archduke Constantine, who has always supported reforms, was sent there, the Black Sea Fleet would undoubtedly become the leader of the reformists.
Paradise and what’s in the bag.
For a conservative tsar like him, such a situation is unacceptable. And with his personality, even Grand Duke Constantine, he must be doing everything possible to win over generals from all walks of life to his advantage, and he will naturally indulge those generals even more.
This is not a good thing!
What's more, there is already a Wallachia that is secretly pursuing reform around the Black Sea, and there is also a Black Sea Fleet that is fully leaning towards reform. Nicholas I is very worried that once he, Crown Prince Alexander, comes to the throne a hundred years later, these guys who support reform at that time will
Will they take the opportunity to cause rebellion? If they support Grand Duke Constantine, it will not be a good thing whether it is rebellion or separatism!
So Nicholas I deliberately sent a mediocre Lieutenant General Belkh as the commander of the Black Sea Fleet. Neither his qualifications nor his ability were enough to completely suppress Kornilov and Nassimov, so the Black Sea Fleet was composed of
The new rules formulated by Lazarev can still be implemented, and his stance is conservative, which ensures that it is completely impossible for Kornilov and Nassimov to go further. In this way, the goal is achieved
The balance that Nicholas I wanted was that Kornilov and Nassimov could do things, but they couldn't do whatever they wanted. How wonderful!
Grand Duke Constantine later realized these imperial intentions after listening to Viscount Prozolov's analysis. In desperation, he had no choice but to give up his coveting of the Black Sea Fleet and find ways to go to Moldavia.
But now Alexey suddenly brought up the old talk again, which made him a little puzzled. He didn't believe that Alexey or Li Xiao could change Nicholas I's mind at all.
"For the time being, of course it's impossible." Alexei replied frankly, "But in the long run, it's not completely impossible."
Grand Duke Constantine frowned and did not say what was in his heart. Instead, he followed Alexei's words and asked: "How can you see it?"
Alexey just smiled but did not answer the question. Instead, he replied: "There is no basis for what I say. Even if I make extravagant claims, I can't immediately fulfill them. Your Highness, of course, you don't believe it... so be it."
, if we can support you in becoming the commander of the Black Sea Fleet in the future, would you mind doing us a few small favors?"
Grand Duke Constantine was silent. He was not only calculating the gains and losses, but also made him agitated by Alexei's words. The thought came to his mind uncontrollably: "Is this really possible?"
But why do they know? Impossible!]
Archduke Constantine shook his head, as if trying to drive this ridiculous thought out of his head, but the next second he couldn't help but think about what if this was really possible?
[It seems like he said he needs a few small favors from me? What kind of small favors? 】
Grand Duke Constantine was not the kind of person who could keep his words in his heart, so he asked immediately, and Alexei's answer was also very simple: "Of course it's just a small job, and one day, I will definitely not let it go."
Your Highness, you are in trouble!"
Tsk!
Grand Duke Constantine was a little irritated and felt that Alexei was making mysteries. He was also a person with character. What he hated most was being teased like this. He had always treated mystique with contempt, so he immediately let out a cold snort:
"Okay, let's talk about it then!"
At this point, the two of them have basically finished what they have to say, and the next step is to do their own things and fulfill their promises. In this regard, both Alexei and Grand Duke Constantine have qualified characters and will not engage in such things.
It's a trick to do something that is both positive and negative.
After Grand Duke Constantine left, Alexei entered the study and found Li Xiao who was dozing off, and asked: "What did you mean by the last words you asked me to say?!"
Yes, Alexey actually didn't want to tell anyone, but he didn't know what the answer was. In fact, he didn't think that Grand Duke Constantine still had a chance to get involved in the Black Sea Fleet. Li Xiao asked him to say so before.
At that time, he was no less surprised and confused than Grand Duke Constantine.
Li Xiao tapped his index finger lightly on the table, as if he was thinking about something. After a while, he raised his head and replied: "Have you said all the words? What was his expression at that time?"
Alexei was speechless again, and sighed: "Surprised! Doubtful! Well, also confused!"
Li Xiao nodded and said: "It's pretty much what I guessed. That's good!"
【How good is this!】
Alexey couldn't help but vomit in his heart. He became more and more confused about someone's thoughts. He really didn't have the patience to guess and said directly: "Tell me, who are you?"
What do you mean? You're trying to fool him again, right?"
Alexei thinks that Li Xiao is deceiving Grand Duke Constantine. Strictly speaking, this speculation has some truth. After all, Grand Duke Constantine and them are not the same people. Although they have reached a limited cooperation, they still have to
Everyone goes his own way. Providing false news to confuse the other party so that the other party can't figure out what is true on your side, and more or less interfere with his judgment in making future decisions, is also a tactic.
Li Xiao raised his head and glanced at Alexey, and replied slowly and leisurely: "If you think I'm fooling him, forget it! Anyway, it's not easy to do this thing for the time being, and you have to wait for the opportunity. If you don't have the opportunity, you can't do it!"
"
Alexei was really surprised at this time, because according to Li Xiao's tone, it was really possible to help Grand Duke Constantine take over the Black Sea Fleet, and he was really ready to try to do it after hearing what someone said.
It's just that we can't do it for the time being because the time is not ripe.
This really made Alexey a little crazy. He wondered if the situation he saw was completely different from the situation someone else saw. Was there something wrong with his way of looking at the problem, or was someone just crazy?