Chapter eight hundred and fortieth Leboeuf's suggestion
David Leboeuf had thought that Li Xiao would come to him, but he didn't expect it to come so quickly. He thought that Li Xiao should come after the fall of Sevastopol. After all, everything would be revealed by then.
"Has the situation gotten so bad?" he asked in surprise.
Li Xiao nodded with difficulty and sighed: "It's a mess. Alexander is not a determined and ambitious person. He just wants to drag it out. How can it get better?"
Leboeuf was stunned and blurted out: "Is Nicholas I really dead?"
It’s no wonder that he had doubts in this regard, because Nicholas I was still very important in the eyes of the elites of various European countries, and most Europeans had already accepted and become accustomed to his strength and toughness.
In their opinion, it was unlikely that Nicholas I would have problems because of the Crimea matter. They had heard that Alexander II had succeeded to the throne, and they either thought that he felt shameless and voluntarily gave up the throne, or that there was another issue within Russia.
There was a coup and it clicked for Nicholas I.
Coups are relatively rare in other European countries, but they happen every now and then in Russia. The last one that succeeded was in the era of Alexander I, and the one that failed was in the era of Nicholas I. Now Nicholas I is in danger of being imprisoned at the end of the year.
It is entirely possible to overturn the click!
Especially a Russia expert like LeBoeuf would have this idea. After seeing Li Xiao nodding, he quickly asked: "Who did it? I don't think Alexander has the courage. He is a sympathizer of the Decembrists."
?"
Li Xiao shook his head and said: "No, he died of illness, or he died of anger, shame, and anger."
Leboeuf was stunned immediately, his eyes widened, and it took him a long time to accept this statement. He laughed and asked, "How can he die of shame and anger? I thought he was shameless?"
Normal people who knew Nicholas I and had dealings with him would not like this arbitrary tsar, especially a Frenchman like Leboeuf, who would not be interested in his tricks.
Probably Leboeuf also felt that Nicholas I was a disaster and the sooner he died, the better.
He said happily: "This is really happy news. Unexpected! Unexpected! If you say that, your life should be easier!"
Leboeuf meant that the Russians should be able to breathe a sigh of relief after an autocratic king like Nicholas I died. But Li Xiao's next words directly poured cold water on his heart:
"It's not that simple. You don't know Alexander's temper. He is not courageous. The only thing he wants to do is to maintain the status quo..."
Well……
Leboeuf was stunned. He asked dumbfounded: "Do you still want to maintain the status quo in this situation? What is he thinking?"
Li Xiao smiled bitterly and spread his hands and said: "You don't know what the situation is in Russia. There are countless old stubborns who are stubborn and stubborn. How can they easily give in when they hold power?"
Leboeuf said: "Alexander doesn't have the courage to clean them up, no! Not only does he have no courage, but more importantly, he is unwilling to give up the power in his hands! If he wants to reform, he, the tsar, will be decentralized no matter what!"
Li Xiao nodded and said: "You are right, he is just unwilling to delegate power. When his family dies, they all want to hold the power in their hands!"
"Then you still have a hard time!" Leboeuf sighed and suddenly asked: "Are you here for negotiation?"
Li Xiao nodded again: "Yes, Russia can't last long, and how to end it decently is the primary issue..."
Leboeuf chuckled and said: "The only ones who want a dignified ending are Alexander and his thugs. What you want is not dignity, right?"
Li Xiao sighed and said: "Of course, it's just that my will doesn't work. Russia is still in charge of Alexander's gang after all!"
Leboeuf smiled bitterly and shook his head. He seemed to have a lot of emotion, but he did not say some words after all, because he knew it would be useless to say them.
He sighed and said: "The situation is not good for you. Although there are some anti-war voices in the country, most of them come from the people and have little impact on the political situation. More importantly, Napoleon is obsessed with restoring his uncle's glory.
He wants to achieve a big victory to demonstrate the legitimacy of his accession to the throne."
Li Xiao nodded. He had known this for a long time. Napoleon III was now full of thoughts of competing with his uncle. He wanted to prove that he could reshape the glory of the French Empire and that he, Napoleon, was not inferior to his uncle.
His uncle is bad.
Moreover, the domestic situation in France also determined that he must try to please the Catholics. After all, the Catholics had been at odds with Russia over the Holy City issue, and they hated the Russians.
Catering to the Catholic faction with deep roots can very well alleviate some of the problems caused by his forcibly proclaiming emperor. So no matter what, he must give Russia a lesson, preferably by slapping the Russians in the face.
All these determined that he could not give up halfway, and he would not give up until he captured Sevastopol and forced Russia to surrender.
Li Xiao sighed lightly and asked: "Where is the British side?"
Leboeuf said with a wry smile: "The British attitude is also very firm. Palmerston has always disliked Russia. Even if the anti-war voices are getting louder and louder, there is nothing he can do about it."
Li Xiao asked again: "Is it possible for Russia to make some concessions in exchange for peace?"
Leboeuf frowned and thought for a long time before replying: "It's unlikely. Both Britain, France and Austria, who are watching from the side, are actually hoping that you will fail and drive your power back to the Black Sea. Everyone is willing to see it.
Yeah, I’m afraid it’s not that easy to be good!”
Li Xiao lamented in his heart again. Although he had expected this result, he was still a little disappointed when LeBoeuf actually said it.
In a sense, the persistence of Nicholas I and Alexander II was not wrong. It is impossible to get things right this time. The only way for Russia to escape unscathed is to fight a beautiful victory. It must be ruthless.
This is only possible if the ground defeats the British and French.
But, this possibility is really unlikely. At least Li Xiao knew that Kornilov could not do it. To say the least, even if Kornilov could do it, according to the intentions of Alexander II and the main war faction,
After they really won this battle, they probably couldn't hold it in anymore. Thinking about it, if they persisted a little longer, maybe they could turn defeat into victory?
This kind of wishful thinking is completely impossible, so this idea only flashed in Li Xiao's mind and gave up. However, LeBoeuf suddenly said: "It's not possible in Crimea. In fact, you can do it in other places."