From Vorontsov's perspective, there is nothing to be happy about when Alexander II promoted him to military rank this time. On the contrary, it feels a little pity for him or a last resort.
So it's normal for him to be in a low mood and not take it seriously, especially when he knew about the previous assassination. Although Li Xiao nipped all the hidden dangers in the bud, he must have been very uncomfortable in his heart, especially after he had been killed.
After being associated with being promoted to military rank, he would be more or less like: Did your Alexander II give me a sweet date and then give me a stick?
Anyway, after such a fuss, he felt even less grateful to Alexander for being promoted to military rank.
"If you don't give it to the marshal, I won't give it to you," the old man said with a sly smile. "Just in case someone pokes you in the back, saying that I, the marshal, got here by relying on my old skills and pretending to be old!"
Does anyone dare to say such gossip?
Don’t tell me, it’s true. After all, Duke Vorontsov has been in semi-retirement for the past few years. Even at the most critical moment of the Crimean War, this man was not pushed back to the front line, but was organized in his hometown.
The so-called volunteer army.
So when Alexander II suddenly wanted to promote him, there must have been people who said weird things, especially those conservatives who had long disliked him, and the words they said in a weird and weird way were not ordinary unpleasant.
Li Xiao immediately smiled and said: "If you are promoted to marshal, it is pitiful to rely on your elders and pretend to be old, then what does it mean when Menshikov was promoted to general and Paskovich was promoted to marshal? Are you lucky?"
These words scratched the itch of Vorontsov. What he disliked the most in his life were these two guys. Paskovich was relatively good and had some military exploits, but Menshikov, the navy minister
Where did the titles of admiral and prince come from? It’s really annoying!
When the old man was happy, he patted Li Xiao on the shoulder and laughed and said: "Yes, what you said makes sense. Compared with those shameless guys, I am a marshal who deserves the title!"
At this point, the old man suddenly sighed and said: "Then again, even if you let me be the marshal, it doesn't make much sense now. My old bones will never be able to go to the battlefield again, and they will be of no use at all.
…”
Li Xiao quickly comforted him: "Duke, you are wrong. Your promotion to marshal is expected by everyone, and who says you are useless? In my opinion, you are still strong and useful!"
Vorontsov smiled sadly and said: "You don't need to comfort me, I know my own business."
Li Xiao shook his head and said seriously: "I am not trying to comfort you. Think about it, the top priority now is reform. In my opinion, not only the political economy needs reform, but the military also urgently needs change... After the above
After this war, it is not difficult to see that our army is no longer the invincible lion that could dominate the European continent. On the contrary, it has fallen far behind the times. If we don't catch up, we may be further and further behind!"
Vorontsov nodded slowly. Although he had been semi-retired for a long time, this did not prevent him from examining the current situation of the Russian army. To put it bluntly, the performance of the Russian army this time was really bad, whether it was command, organization or equipment.
It was all a mess, even more chaotic than when Napoleon was beating him.
How can such an army compete with Britain and France? So reform is indeed very necessary!
However, Vorontsov is also self-aware. He knows the difference between himself and famous generals like Suvonov. He does not think that he is a famous general. To put it bluntly, he is the eldest son among the short ones and despises Menshikov.
There is no problem with him, but it is impossible for him to go down in history like Suvonov.
What's more, he has been away from the army for too long and does not have a very intuitive and specific understanding of the problems existing in the Russian army. Reform is most about details. How can he be helpful to reform if he does not understand the details?
"You can't say that," Li Xiao shook his head and said, "As far as the current situation is concerned, reform is not a question of how to do it, but a question of whether to change it... You probably don't know that after going through this
After a disastrous defeat, some of our generals still stubbornly believe that the failure is not a technical problem, but an objective factor caused by insufficient troops and insufficient morale. They believe that the Russian army does not need to change and that it is best to maintain the status quo..."
Vorontsov was just a little stunned. Obviously he was no stranger to this argument. He said disdainfully: "Just like back then, some people always refuse to change. No, it's not that they refuse to change, but they are unwilling to give up their own bottles.
I'm afraid my own interests will be damaged!"
At this point, he snorted coldly: "Are the Paskovich gang saying weird things?"
Li Xiao chuckled and said, "That's not true. He is living in Warsaw and is very honest. It is said that he is very ill and seems to be unable to speak."
Vorontsov suddenly lost consciousness, because Paskovich and him were both figures of the same era. They both came from the Napoleonic era and experienced the cruel test of 1812.
Although he later rose to great heights thanks to his better relationship with Nicholas I, and an overtaking incident came to a head, he was still a little sad to hear that Paskovich was dying. People of his generation were dying.
Withered, it is really a generation replacing the old people!
It took him a while to come back to his senses and asked: "Isn't it Paskovich? Could it be that Menshikov is unwilling to be lonely again?"
Li Xiao shook his head and said: "No, he was quite honest in Kronstadt and basically didn't interfere with anything."
Vorontsov was surprised now and asked puzzledly: "Who is that?"
"Prince Baryatinsky."
Vorontsov was really shocked when he heard this name, because he knew a little bit about Baryatinsky. At least he thought that this person was different from Menshikov and others, so he accused him of being in the Caucasus.
His performance, let alone a famous general, is at least qualified in terms of ability. He should be one of the outstanding generals in the current Russian army.
How can such a person say such ignorant words and think that the military does not need reform? Isn't this a joke?
After thinking for a while, Vorontsov replied sadly: "He must have had no choice. After all, he is His Majesty's man, so it is impossible for him to say good things for the reform!"
But Li Xiao doesn't particularly agree: "I don't necessarily agree. Although he opposes reform because his butt determines his head, I think he has always been conservative and does not agree with reform from the bottom of his heart, so he opposes it."
I’m afraid the reform also comes from the heart!”
Vorontsov suddenly stopped talking. Through Li Xiao's words, he thought of more things and gained a new understanding of the problems faced by the reform, which made him worried...