Spring has almost never existed in St. Petersburg. There are layers of thick snow, and the cold weather turns water into ice. Especially at night, not even a few people can be seen in the bustling city center, and the whole city seems to be covered with ice.
solidified.
Of course, if you enter a room, whether it is a club, a theater or an ordinary pub, it is a different scene.
It is the nature of the Russian people to drink, sing and dance. A glass of vodka and dance music played by an accordion can make these people who are imprisoned by the cold and political shackles happy.
For example, at this time, Boris was already singing and dancing with his arms around the slightly fat dancer, as happy as a child who received lucky money.
On the other side, Vishniak was flirting with the tavern proprietress. Alexandre Dumas had already held the proprietress's hand, and it seemed that he would be able to touch more in the near future.
Tolstoy has fallen unconscious on the wine table. This poor child has been drunk. Tonight's party is held to see him off from the 748th Group. Tomorrow he will return to Kazan to continue his studies.
University.
Lao Tuo really didn't want to leave, he even wanted to serve as a soldier in the 748th Regiment. The boring college life made him feel bored, but his friends in the 748th Regiment were cuter. The life here was more simple and natural, and there were not as many aristocratic circles.
Hypocrisy and idleness.
“Young man is so down to earth!”
Alexey looked at Tolstoy, who was completely drunk, and then at Li Xiao, who was slowly sipping his wine happily, and vomited: "Much cuter than some cunning guys!"
Naturally, some cunning guy refers to Li Xiao. He had already seen through the way someone used honey water to disguise alcohol during the previous carnival. And poor Tolstoy was stunned by someone drinking water.
It's so confusing, this poor kid is so sincere.
Li Xiao smiled and did not refute, but raised the small wine glass in his hand: "Here's to you, my friend!"
Alexey also smiled, raised his glass and clinked it with Li Xiao: "Here's to the Russians who can't drink!"
Among several friends, Alexei ranks in the top three in terms of drinking capacity, except for Boris, who is like a wine barrel and will not get drunk no matter how much he drinks, and who seems to be a gentle man but drinks wine more powerfully than a wine vat.
Leonid, it is he who can drink.
However, Alexei claimed that he had never been able to drink before. His ability to drink was a result of his years in officialdom, and he was used to it when he vomited too much while drinking.
Li Xiao expressed his understanding of this, saying that not allowing Russians to drink is as crazy as not allowing Sichuan people to eat spicy food. People in this alcoholic country can skip meals, but they can't skip drinking, especially dignitaries.
Back then, Peter the Great and his friends were famous for their ability to drink. When they visited foreign countries, they had a carnival and climbed stairs, which almost caused the villa where they were staying to be demolished.
"Lyonia, my friend, why are you so unhappy?"
Li Xiao noticed that Leonid's mood was not right. Although this saint was usually serious, he was actually quite active at the wine table. He gave one toast after another and could use all kinds of serious reasons to make you drunk.
.But today I feel a little depressed, and my mood is not particularly beautiful.
"It's nothing," Leonid sighed, "Uncle wrote a letter, saying that my father encountered some trouble, and it seemed that he offended His Majesty and was reprimanded..."
Li Xiao gave Alexei a wink. He knew that Nicholas I had a bad temper. It might not be as simple as scolding him to anger him, which would make Leonid depressed. It seemed that Alexander Gorchako
The Duke is in a bad situation.
However, he also knew Leonid's temper. He would never speak out about his problems and worries. Even if the problem was big, he would rather suffer it silently. So he could only ask Alexei, who was very well-informed,
There is almost nothing he doesn't know about the third part.
"The Duke suggested taking advantage of the chaos in Austria to break the deadlock in the Balkans..."
Alexey lowered his voice and gave a vague explanation. It wasn't that he couldn't figure out what was going on. In fact, he knew very clearly and how shocking the Duke's proposal was. That's why it wasn't suitable.
If you speak too clearly, it will cause panic in the country!
"Yeah?"
Li Xiao took another sip of wine and suddenly smiled: "The Duke has a good idea! This is indeed a good idea. What does he suggest to do?"
Alexei and Leonid were both stunned. They stared at Li Xiao with wide eyes, as if they were looking at a monster.
In fact, it is not surprising that they were surprised, because Austria has a special status in the hearts of Russians, especially among the Russian aristocratic families who participated in the War of 1812. In that war against Napoleon's aggression, Austria, Russia, and Prussia worked together to achieve this goal.
Only then did he completely defeat the arrogant Napoleon.
For the Russian nobles who have experienced all that, Austria is a partner and ally. Especially in recent years, the Holy Alliance has become deeply rooted in the hearts of the people and has become a key force leading the European order. In the eyes of the Russian nobles, as long as Austria and Prussia still stand with Russia,
Together, everything will be as usual, and there will be no need to worry about any problems or troubles.
Therefore, Alexander Gorchakov's suggestion is simply treasonous. He actually attacks his allies. Is he still a human being?
"What's the problem?" Li Xiao didn't think that Austria would always be Russia's ally and friend. "Everything should take national interests as priority. The Austrians wouldn't have fought side by side with us from the beginning! If we hadn't held them back,
Napoleon gave them hope, will they fight with us?"
Li Xiao scoffed mercilessly: "I'm afraid it will just kneel down and lick Napoleon even more. For the Austrians, even the princess can be given to Napoleon to warm his bed. What can't they do?"
Both Alexei and Leonid showed embarrassed expressions. Indeed, when the Austrians were unruly, they could kneel down and lick Napoleon indefinitely, but that was not forced by the helpless situation!
"Then we can now be forced by the helpless situation to support the opposition in Austria!" Li Xiao smiled contemptuously: "These are all excuses, everything is to serve the national interest. Everything must safeguard the national interest.
"
"The most beneficial choice for our country now is undoubtedly to support the opposition in Austria. It is best to directly dismember the empire and let it fall into pieces. This will be more beneficial to us!"
If Alexey and Leonid were just a little surprised just now, then when Li Xiao said that he would openly dismember Austria, they were not just surprised but shocked and even horrified!
Alexei was so trembling that he spilled his whole life of wine, and asked tremblingly: "Why...why?"