Faced with Li Xiao's constant muttering, Alexei found it interesting, because it was always Li Xiao who came to comfort them when they were frustrated, and it was rare to see Li Xiao being so naive.
He smiled and said: "There is no way! Who made the situation so deadlocked? In order to avoid the situation getting worse, you should be patient!"
Li Xiao curled his lips and said sadly: "It's like this every time. If the situation stays like this, should we just keep waiting stupidly?"
Alexey was quite speechless about this. He also didn't like this situation, but he felt that there was nothing he could do. He could only hope that Count Rostovtsev would take action as soon as possible to break the stalemate.
"By the way, has the time for the enthronement ceremony been determined?" Li Xiao suddenly asked.
Ordinarily, this should not be a secret, but Russia is so weird. It is obviously a festive event, but it has to be secretive, making the coronation ceremony look like the opening of a puppet regime.
"On the third of next month."
Of course, this so-called secret is only for ordinary people and ordinary nobles. There are several channels for people like Alexei to get inside information. The result is that this so-called secret will only become a formality in the end.
"When will you go to Moscow?" Li Xiao asked again.
Although St. Petersburg has been the de facto capital of Russia since Peter the Great, major events such as the coronation ceremony are usually held in Moscow. After all, that is the "Land of Dragons".
Alexey was not very interested in this and replied expressionlessly: "Maybe next week, if possible, I really don't want to go..."
Li Xiao was a little surprised and asked: "Why? There are many people who want to go! In their words, this is a grand ceremony that is rare to see in a lifetime. If you miss it, you will regret it for the rest of your life!"
"cut!"
Alexei snorted coldly: "If Turkey is defeated and crowned in Constantinople, it can be said to be a grand ceremony, but we just lost the war, the country is in ruins and the people are almost unable to make a living. At this time, a lot of money has to be spent
What is this called using money to hold a coronation ceremony?"
He thought for a while and continued without hesitation: "This is called having a bulging belly to act like a fat person. You simply don't know what it means!"
Li Xiao smiled: "You don't talk much, you can even say it like a fat person with a bulging belly. You are becoming more and more down-to-earth!"
Alexei frowned: "No, that's not quite accurate. You used to have a more accurate saying about fat people. How do you say it?"
"Are you pretending to be fat?"
Alexey nodded repeatedly and said: "Yes, yes, that's it. Isn't this just trying to make someone look fat?"
Li Xiao also felt that Alexander II was trying to make a fool of himself. He spent a lot of money on the coronation ceremony, which made the already tight finances even worse. No wonder Alexei had such objections.
"The only good news is that there is a railway among these expenses." Li Xiao comforted.
Alexei snorted again: "In other words, that railway is still somewhat useful, but I heard that many people died trying to meet the construction deadline!"
Speaking of this, Li Xiao was a little speechless. In order to show that his coronation ceremony was unique, Alexander II specifically ordered the construction of a railway from St. Petersburg to Moscow.
According to his wish, he will take the train to Moscow with the cultural relic officials to attend the ceremony. But the problem is that the construction period is too short, and in a hurry, a large number of serfs can only be mobilized to serve as laborers to work day and night.
Everyone knows what the status of serfs is in Russia, that is, they are gray animals. For the greedy Russian bureaucrats, exploiting and deducting serfs in every possible way is their way of making money.
In addition, the finances were already tight, and the allocations were not sufficient and timely. These poor serfs involved in road construction had almost no guarantee of life. They did the most difficult and tiring work, but they did not have enough to eat.
As a result, a large number of serfs died due to overwork and malnutrition, so that no one was willing to work anymore.
For this reason, the reformers also had conflicts with Alexander II. Some advised him to suspend the railway, while others suggested that the officials responsible for road construction be investigated and punished.
Alexander II was also very angry about this, thinking that the reformists had gone too far. He obviously followed the requirements of the reformists to build new things and build railways, so why did he still have to be criticized for doing things?
He believed that the reformists were simply unsatisfied and wanted to make things difficult for him. Anyway, it ended up being very unpleasant.
Not only is it a labor issue, reformers also criticize the quality of the railway. In order to meet the construction deadline, it is naturally impossible to build a double-track railway. The railway from St. Petersburg to Moscow is only a single line.
Although the single-track railway is also meaningful to Russia, for the reformists with high expectations, so many people died and so much money was spent to only build a single-track railway. No matter how they calculated the cost, they felt that it was not worth it.
Alexey is one of them. He believes that the most important thing for Russia at present is not to create one or two new things to whitewash peace. It is to completely change Russia's backward old system. Otherwise, sooner or later, this kind of superficial skills of paper makers will not be able to cope with it.
In the past, it was a big deal that the building would collapse!
"What you said is true," Li Xiao also sighed, "but my cousin probably doesn't think so. He dealt with it as long as he could, and refused to make big changes unless absolutely necessary. And this is also
Our biggest disagreement."
Alexey nodded and suddenly asked: "When do you plan to go to Moscow to attend the ceremony? How about we go together and have a companion on the way so that we don't have to deal with a lot of people who don't know what to say?"
"I?"
Li Xiao pointed at his nose and smiled bitterly: "I really don't know when to go, because my cousin hasn't sent me an invitation letter yet. It seems that he doesn't particularly want me to attend his ceremony."
Alexei was taken aback and said doubtfully: "Impossible? You are a member of the royal family and the grand duke of the empire. How could I not invite you?"
Li Xiao spread his hands and said, "I find it strange too, but the facts are like this. What can you do?"
Alexei was strange and surprised. Although Alexander II did not like Li Xiao, his cousin, he did so in private. I'm afraid it wouldn't be good to expose the internal problems of the royal family in public, right?
In fact, Alexander II himself was a little confused. He had great expectations for his coronation ceremony. He hoped to make it a grand ceremony. The more shocking the better, so it is best to abandon such a grand and perfect ceremony.