What else does Count Shuvanov not understand? Why not let him be an informant, a spy, or a spy?
To be honest, he didn't want to do it at all, but he had no right to refuse at all. Who gave Count Rostovtsev so much power?
Yes, in the eyes of Count Shuvanov, Count Rostovtsev was indeed extremely powerful. Although he had no position in the cabinet, he only held the sinecure position of a military attache to the Tsar.
But sinecures are also divided into people. For some people, it is a position that will only get moldy if left idle, but for others, it is a position that cannot be idle at all.
The tsar's military attache accompanied the tsar almost every day. Not only was he well-informed, but he was also close to the tsar. Who wouldn't want to fawn over him? What's more, Count Rostovtsev now also serves as the chairman of the Serfdom Reform Committee. This
There is no need to repeat how awesome and important the committee is.
All in all, unless the trend of reform passes quickly, Count Rostovtsev will be a very important heavyweight in the next five or even ten years.
Count Shuvanov didn't even dare to ignore such an important person's order, so naturally he could only obey the arrangement obediently.
"His Majesty asked you to serve as the chairman of the Serfdom Reform Committee?" Nikolai Milyutin was surprised, and then he was overjoyed, because this news is so good!
"Very good!"
He shouted excitedly: "In this way, even if those conservative elements want to cause trouble, it will be impossible. With you, all the evil spirits and monsters will have no choice but to retreat!"
Also surprised by the news was Dmitry Milyutin, but he was not as excited as Nicholas, because he already knew a little about Count Rostovtsev's personality. Look at his expression,
Although he was smiling a little, he was not very excited, indicating that although this is good news, I'm afraid things are not necessarily that simple...
Sure enough, Count Rostovtsev quickly said: "It's not that simple. Your Majesty's original intention of appointing me as chairman of this committee is to attack liberal elements. You should understand what this means, right?"
The smile on Nikolai Milyutin's face suddenly disappeared. He really didn't expect that Alexander II had this intention.
He frowned because he found it a bit funny. In order to attack the reformists, he made Count Rostovtsev the chairman. But if you knew that the real boss of the reformists was this count, I really don’t know what your expression would be.
ah!
Dmitry also felt it was a bit ridiculous. What Alexander II did was really a bit weird. This also made him feel more and more that if the power of the Tsar could not be restricted, if it continued in this state, sooner or later Russia would be destroyed.
In the hands of some unknown tsar.
In addition, he also felt that Alexander II was a bit sad. It would be great if he could put all these thoughts in the right place. But now he feels like a funny clown, which is really sad!
"Then what are you going to do?" Nikolai Milyutin didn't think as much about Dmitri. He only cared about what action Count Rostovtsev would take.
Count Rostovtsev glanced at him and asked calmly: "What do you think I will do? Or what do you want me to do?"
Nikolai Milyutin stopped talking because his feelings were very complicated and he hoped that the reform could proceed smoothly, but at the same time he did not want to offend Alexander II too much. He hoped that he could satisfy the tsar but still carry out the reform.
reform.
But many times these two things are contradictory. As far as the current situation is concerned, if Alexander II is happy, the reform will not be smooth. You can only choose one of the two.
Naturally, Nikolai Milyutin could not tell Count Rostovtsev that he hoped that he would use all his strength and simply give the conservative elements a blow. Nor could he tell Count Rostovtsev to use his noble hands and pay attention to the influence.
Nothing seemed appropriate, so naturally he didn't know what to say.
But Dmitry Milyutin didn't have as many worries as he did. He saw things more clearly and knew that if reform took a compromise route and continued to cater to the conservatives, nothing would be accomplished in the end.
Especially now, the curtain of reform has not yet begun, and now we are thinking about how to reconcile and compromise, and that would be a mess!
If possible, he hoped that Count Rostovtsev would do his best to teach the old-guards a lesson. It would be better if he could try to catch them all.
Of course, he also knows that this is probably impossible, because although the majority of people currently support reform, the conservatives are not without the strength to fight. Acting recklessly may cause Russia to fall into division.
As a patriot, he naturally did not want to see such a tragedy, so his request to Count Rostovtsev was simple: "Your Excellency, I think you should suppress those conservative elements as much as possible and prevent them from interfering too much with the reform.
good!"
When Nikolai Milyutin heard this, he thought that his brother was of the same mind as him and that he was also a group of people who wanted to save face for the Tsar. He immediately agreed: "Yes, Count. The most important thing now is to initiate reforms.
, As for some details, there is no need to be too serious. You can make partial concessions when necessary..."
Before he finished speaking, he noticed that Count Rostovtsev was looking at him playfully, and Dmitri was also staring at him in surprise, as if he had said something stupid.
He asked Dmitri in astonishment: "What's wrong? You didn't mean that?"
Dmitri shook his head bluntly and said: "I think it is too early to talk about concessions for the time being. The most important thing now is to tell the conservatives that the trend of reform is unstoppable. Any attempt to block the train is self-inflicted."
Perish!"
Nikolai Milyutin was stunned. He never expected to receive such a reply. Is this still his loyal and patriotic brother? Why does he sound so like those radicals?
"You are too conservative!" Dmitri criticized rudely. "Did the conservatives consider our demands and feelings when they were in power? They would just shout to kill us!"
Seeing Nikolai Milyutin's astonished look, he couldn't help but feel a little upset, and continued to criticize in an aggravated tone: "But now you only think about compromise and concession. What is the difference between this and surrender? As a soldier, I only know how to tolerate blindly.
You cannot buy peace by making concessions. If you want peace, you must defeat your enemies. Only in this way will they be honest!"