It's not that Count Rostovtsev thinks that Pobedonostsev is lying. He knows that this guy is not at this level and cannot tell such a lie that obviously cannot withstand scrutiny. Most of what this guy says is half-truth.
Half-life or avoiding the important and taking the easy.
As for whether it is a half-truth or a lie, Count Rostovtsev believes that the latter is more likely.
why?
Because he arrived at the Winter Palace early in the morning to chat with Alexandra Feodorovna, and later Queen Maria came too. Just as they were chatting happily, he happened to hear Count Uvarov's words.
information.
Based on his understanding of the Winter Palace, since this kind of news has reached the ears of the Queen Mother and the Empress, it will probably reach the ears of Alexander II earlier. And based on his understanding of the Tsar, he can easily judge that
What countermeasures will he take?
Without even thinking about it, he would definitely call Pobedonostsev over to ask for details, and based on his understanding of the latter, he would probably just stare.
So he had an idea at that time, and found an unobtrusive opportunity to remind Queen Maria a few words, reminding her to be aware that Pobedonostsev might do bad things.
Then Queen Mary went to find Alexander II, and when he came out of the Queen Mother's place, he met Pobedonostsev who was called back to the Winter Palace again.
With his intelligence, he could figure out what was probably going on inside with at least a little thought, but he couldn't be sure yet, so he accompanied Pobedonostsev to make some fuss.
He clicked his tongue: "Count Uvarov's behavior is indeed a bit regardless of the overall situation. It is normal for His Majesty to be angry. You'd better be more careful. I'm afraid His Majesty will focus on this matter recently and may call you to the Winter Palace for questioning from time to time.
Progress, you have to prepare well!"
The corner of Pobedonostsev's mouth twitched a few times. What he was most worried about was this. If his useless subordinates were never able to find out the situation, wouldn't he be called to the Winter Palace every now and then to be scolded?
Thinking of this, he quickly asked: "Do you have any good way to find out the situation early?"
Count Rostovtsev sneered in his heart and said to himself: You are a white wolf with nothing to show for it, and you have already trapped me!
He smiled and said: "What can I do? It's just to send more manpower and put more effort into checking carefully... But..."
Pobedonostsev was very disappointed at first, but when the words "but" came out, his heart was lifted again. He thought that Count Rostovtsev had other ways, so he quickly asked
: "Do you have any other ideas? Please tell me. As long as this trouble can be solved, I will not forget your benefits..."
Count Rostovtsev waved his hand very "magnanimously" and said: "We are all friends, aren't we just talking about this? Besides, I don't have any good way to investigate the case. The only thing I can tell you is that even if
Even if you really can’t find anything, you still have to show off your posture and let His Majesty know that you are working hard..."
Pobedonostsev's eyes suddenly lit up. He completely understood what Count Rostovtsev meant. It was not important whether he could find out the truth. What was important was that Alexander II should not have any opinions about him or think that he
The ability is not good and the attitude is not correct.
Although he may indeed have problems with his abilities, as long as he corrects his attitude and lets Alexander II know that he is actively working hard, wouldn't he be able to cope with it?
Thinking of this, Pobedonostsev admired Count Rostovtsev with admiration. No wonder this man did so well in the era of Nicholas I. Look how thoroughly he sees things!
"You are really helpful!" Pobedonostsev said gratefully, "I know what to do!"
Count Rostovtsev just smiled and said nothing. For him, this was really not a skill. In his opinion, the reason why Russia's national fortunes plummeted was due to guys like Pobedonostsev.
These guys' ability to govern the country is not very good, but their bureaucratic habits are better than the others, and they are also better at fooling things. Just like the reminder just now, Russian officials usually fool around like this when they encounter big troubles. The result is
It’s a waste of time and money but accomplishes nothing!
It's just that he deceived Pobedonostsev into using this method to deal with Alexander II, which can be considered as treating him in his own way. After all, you, Alexander II, are the head of the bureaucratic cesspit of Russia and the leader of the country.
So the root cause of the stink lies in you.
If you don't do serious things and still want to keep your position of power, how can that be a good thing? Let you have a taste of being fooled!
"As long as I can help you!" Count Rostovtsev said with a smile, "We are all colleagues, we just have to help each other!"...
"Yes, yes, you are right, we do need to help each other!" Pobedonostsev replied happily, nodding his head like a chicken pecking at rice.
Seeing that the time was almost ripe, Count Rostovtsev asked slowly: "By the way, do you know what happened to Count Adlerberg? He left just now with an anxious look on his face, as if he had something on his mind...
You must have met the Holy Spirit together with him, right? What happened? What made him so strange?"
Pobedonostsev did not know that old Adlerberg was also in the royal study before him. After Count Rostovtsev reminded him, he began to realize something, but he seemed to know nothing.
However, he guessed that Alexander II's sudden change of attitude towards Queen Maria was probably related to old Adlerberg. There was no reason for Alexander II to ask him to monitor the Queen since he was acting in front of him!
Especially considering that this old guy is a know-it-all about the Winter Palace. There is almost nothing in the Winter Palace that he doesn't know. Did this guy discover the Queen Maria's flaws and then reported it to Alexander II?
Pobedonostsev felt that this possibility was very high, otherwise nothing would make sense. But there was one thing he couldn't understand. Old Adlerberg's cleverness made no sense in suddenly suing the queen at this time.
?
Isn't that old guy afraid of making the situation more complicated?
Thinking of this, Pobedonostsev suddenly felt that his head was getting more and more painful. It was already a troubled time, but one or two people jumped out to cause trouble, simply because they were afraid that the world would not be in chaos.
What happened this autumn? Are everyone crazy?
Seeing that he was deep in thought, Count Rostovtsev became more concerned and said: "Do you know anything? If there is anything I need to pay attention to, please give me your advice. There are many things and chaos at the moment.
It’s hard to guard against, and everyone can take precautions by telling each other how much they have…”