Nicholas I's biggest weakness in his life was that he was obsessed with saving face and cared too much about his external image. From the bottom of his heart, he wanted the world to think that he was the most sacred, authoritative and wise king in Europe. In order to maintain his image, he could deceive himself or others.
The madness that threatens those countries that despise him will not hesitate to fight.
All in all, Nicholas I was a complete individualist, completely centered on the individual. Such a person would be nervous when he heard any news that was detrimental to his personal prestige, and he would immediately gloss over some small things against his will, such as
Li Xiao’s question.
When Grand Duke Constantine said that foreign countries would use this to attack him, Nicholas I immediately hesitated. In his eyes, although Li Xiao was annoying, he was nothing more than a fly, at most a scabies disease. For this
It's not worth it to risk your good reputation just because you have an itchy skin.
What's more, as long as Li Xiao stays in Russia, as long as Nicholas I is still the master of Russia, Li Xiao will not be able to fly out of his hands, and there will be plenty of time to slowly control him in the future!
Besides, Li Xiao had bowed his head and relented. He had breathed a sigh of relief, and Nicholas I felt a lot more comfortable. After this storm was over, and after the idiot Messadov was dealt with, a more reliable guy should be in charge of him.
Bastard, there are plenty of opportunities to whip him.
Thinking of this, Nicholas I softened his tone: "It makes sense. In this case, he should be punished as appropriate. Let him go to each naval regiment to make a deep self-examination, and then fine him half a year's salary as a warning to others!"
At this time, even Grand Duke Constantine frowned in his heart. He did not use discretion to deal with this situation. This is not only to humiliate Li Xiao in public but also to deduct his salary. It is basically a double punishment, okay?
However, Grand Duke Constantine said nothing, because he had no friendship with Li Xiao. Being able to cooperate was a relationship of interest. This did not mean that he liked Li Xiao, let alone that he did not think that Li Xiao was one of his own. He would not accept any punishment for Li Xiao.
He doesn't care, and even wishes Li Xiao was unlucky. Anyway, as long as he fulfills his promise when the deal is concluded, he won't help fight for the rest.
Li Xiao's matter has also been initially resolved. According to Nicholas I's wishes, this imperial meeting can be concluded successfully. But just when he was about to announce the dissolution of the meeting, Grand Duke Constantine jumped out again.
"Father, I have one more thing to report to you!"
Nicholas I frowned slightly. To be honest, he felt that he had indulged Grand Duke Constantine enough today. He felt that Grand Duke Constantine should be content and grateful, and should not continue to bother him. How could he still push the envelope?
?
However, in order to force Alexander, Nicholas I carefully concealed his emotions. He continued to ask pleasantly: "What's the matter?"
Archduke Constantine showed a look of anger on his face, and his tone also revealed anger. He took a deep breath and said solemnly:
"Father, during the interrogation of Messadov, this scum confessed to a number of other crimes, including his behavior of shoddy goods that caused the breakdown of the Fierce a year ago when he was the head of naval logistics."
Fierce number?
Nicholas I was so confused that he had forgotten about the Fierce. Because the Fierce was so insignificant to him that there was no need to remember it. After a long while, after being reminded by Grand Duke Constantine, he finally
Reminds me of the accident on the Fierce.
"Replaced high-quality anthracite with coal gangue that is almost impossible to burn? The boiler water provided has been substandard for a long time? The pipelines are also made of shoddy materials?"
Nicholas I was still a little confused. In his opinion, these were still trivial matters. Grand Duke Constantine brought such trivial matters to the Imperial Council and asked whether it was too fussy and unmeasured.
Why don't you, the Grand Duke who likes steamboats, just handle this kind of thing yourself? What's the fuss about?
Even Nicholas I felt that Grand Duke Constantine was a bit indifferent. He felt that his son might have been over-spoiled by him recently. Should he give it a try to prevent him from becoming too inflated?
But what Grand Duke Constantine said next immediately made Nicholas I aware of the danger!
"According to Messadov's account, these actions against the Fierce were all carried out by Prince Menshikov after he learned that the Fierce was about to participate in the long-endurance competition. In other words, in order to win that competition, Menshikov
Prince Shikov adopted extremely disgraceful cheating methods!"
Only then did Nicholas I realize that the knife of Affection was still aimed at Menshikov! Affection, his son, had no intention of letting Menshikov go, and was going to pursue him fiercely!
In an instant, Nicholas I felt a little regretful. Although he wanted to force Alexander, he did not really intend to sacrifice Menshikov. The problems previously discovered from Mesadov, such as corruption and so on, did not involve Menshikov to tell the truth.
There are too many coves. At most, it will be a penalty of three drinks, and then it will be over by scolding the old eunuch.
But now, Menshikov personally ordered the cheating, which would seriously undermine the construction of the navy. It can be put on the line. This is not a matter of three drinks and a scolding!
Suddenly, Nicholas I had a headache. Why didn't he see these materials? If he had known that there was such a huge thunder inside, he would definitely have beaten Archduke Constantine in advance to stop him from detonating it. But now the thunder has been detonated.
Yes, it’s a little late!
Nicholas I glared at Ordorff unhappily, feeling that the old Duke was too incompetent. Why didn't this dangerous item appear in the interrogation materials fed back from the third part? This caught him off guard!
[Ordorf is indeed not as good as Benkendorf. If Alexander was still here, he would never let me be so passive! 】
Nicholas I sighed in his heart, missing the dead Benkendorf even more. Without him, the efficiency of the third part was not as good as before, which really made him unhappy.
All I can say is that Orndorff is so pitiful. The fact that the third movie is not as powerful as before is not because he is much less capable than Benkendorf. He and Benkendorf are actually about the same level.
The reason why the third part is not very powerful is actually that Nicholas I had too high expectations for it. He really thought that the third part was omnipotent, but in fact that was impossible.
In the early years, when the third part was first born, this new thing was relatively unfamiliar to the majority of ministers and nobles, and everyone was not familiar with its working methods. Without precautions, it was naturally impossible to guard against it.
But in recent years, as everyone has been fighting openly and secretly with the third part, the level of struggle between the ministers and nobles has greatly improved, and their vigilance towards the third part has been greatly increased. As a result, the third part is naturally not as efficient as before.
In addition, Nicholas I himself interfered with the operation of the third part, which also greatly reduced the efficiency of the third part. There were many hills and bureaucrats all over the place, which made the third part slow and bloated, and most of the resources were wasted needlessly.
It's wasted.
Moreover, Nicholas I employed people only on the basis of loyalty. He was a yes man, a flatterer, and the loyal dog's business was really unsatisfactory. Grand Duke Constantine deliberately mislead this time. The third part is the only one who can detect it...