Alexei Speransky burst into Leonid's house out of breath, skillfully poured himself a glass of sherry and swallowed it in big gulps, like a pure drunkard.
Therefore, he did not notice that Leonid's expression on the sand was dull and his eyes were lifeless, looking completely lost.
Alexey kept chattering: "My eyes have been opened today. It turns out that there are really people in this world who are not afraid of death!"
As he spoke, he walked towards Leonid. His rapid breathing and slightly excited tone indicated that he was probably galloping all the way to report the news to his good friend. From another perspective, it can also be said that what he saw today
What a shock it was to him.
"As soon as the drum beat stopped, ten infantrymen opened fire in unison. It was deafening. Sparks and smoke flew everywhere. I felt the approaching death!"
"But Grand Duke Andrei Konstantinovich was like an iron man. He just stood there upright without blinking. I swear, he definitely didn't blink!"
"There was no begging for mercy, no weak legs, nothing. Even the order to shoot was given by him personally... My God, he is such a tough guy!"
"I have never seen such a brave person. Even you, my friend, you are brave enough in my opinion, but compared with him, you look a bit inferior. Tsk tsk, even if I don't like him very much
, we must also admit that he is a true warrior and worthy of admiration!"
At first Leonid looked sick and lifeless, but as Alexei became more and more excited as he talked, he also became a little more interested.
He steeled himself and asked, "What is going on? Your Majesty will not really order the shooting of the Grand Duke, right?"
Alexey shrugged and explained with a sarcastic tone: "Of course not, but it's almost the same... Duke Ordorff arranged a fake shooting to scare the Grand Duke. He hoped that the Grand Duke would beg for mercy and plead guilty according to his request.
He wrote a letter of repentance. But it was completely useless. In the end, it made old Ordorff unable to step down and had to put him back in the cell."
Leonid snorted and was very disdainful of such a trick. He knew very well why Ordorff did such a trick. It was not that Nicholas I and Crown Prince Alexander were trying every means to save their face and cover up everything.
.
It's just that they underestimated someone's tenacity, and in the end they seemed to be the laughing stock. This was simply a matter of neglecting the fundamentals and not the behavior that a king and a prince should behave.
And this also made Leonid more and more disappointed with the emperor and the prince. He felt that the people he served before were a joke, and that working so hard to do things was completely in vain. It made him feel more and more empty and that he had lost all his motivation.
the pursuit of life.
Leonid directly picked up the wine bottle and started pouring wine at the mouth of the bottle, which startled Alexei next to him. He quickly grabbed the bottle and asked in shock: "My friend, you
What's going on here!"
Leonid sighed heavily: "I am extremely disappointed! I went to see His Highness today and reported to him the foreign newspapers you obtained and the relevant situation..."
"Then what?"
"Then he started to curse," Leonid sighed again, "saying that I was targeting his enemies... My God, I wonder if His Highness doesn't understand what an enemy is?"
"Revealing the fact that those who fight against the rot and dregs of the empire are actually his enemies? Are those despicable villains who whitewash it all and even act as a protective umbrella his friends? What nonsense is this!"
Alexei was speechless. He understood Leonid's depression. Sometimes he also doubted whether what he did was good for the country, or whether it was to protect a group of decadent old stubborns who were gradually declining and couldn't keep up with the times and refused to change.
Interests.
The current system in this country does not seem to be about making the country better, but just trying to muddle through things. Everyone is saying some pretentious words, pretending that everything is fine, pretending that the country is rich and powerful, and pretending not to see those dark and disgusting things.
In such an environment, it is very painful for people to stay awake. The feeling of being powerless and just watching everything you love and value slowly decay is really terrible.
"So you just drink alcohol?"
Leonid smiled bitterly: "Otherwise, what else can we do? The masters and future masters of this country don't care, so what else can we do?!"
Alexey thought for a while and replied seriously: "The situation does seem very discouraging. But my friend, this is not a reason for you to give up on yourself. Do you still remember the instructions given by the Grand Duke to the soldiers? Do you still
Remember what he said?"
"Leaving blame on others and blaming others are only things that pathetic weaklings do! A person with a strong heart and a solid belief will not make excuses, but will only face difficulties. The more difficult and difficult the situation, the more his noble character can be reflected.
!”
Leonid and Alexei couldn't help but repeat someone's words. It felt one way at the time, but now they feel another way when they think about it!
Alexei lectured him rudely: "You are now like a pathetic weakling who blames everyone!"
Leonid felt his face burning. He really looked like a weakling, like a wretch. He thought back then he was still laughing at those scum-like soldiers, but now he thought about it compared with them.
What qualifications do you have to ridicule!
"You are right. Although the situation is terrible, it is no excuse for cowardly behavior... I know what to do!"
Alexei breathed a sigh of relief. He was really worried that his good friend would be ruined by this. Fortunately, there was a certain grand duke as an example. What a blessing among misfortunes!
"What are you going to do?" Alexey began to worry that Leonid would continue to speak out and remonstrate. To be honest, that was not a good choice. He asked cautiously: "Are you going to continue to remonstrate with His Highness?"
Leonid replied firmly: "No! That's completely useless. His Highness won't listen. I think I should do some practical things instead of continuing to hang around the royal family. I should go to the bottom
, it is both training and gaining experience!”
"Eh? This..."
Alexei was about to say that this idea was not a good one, but he soon thought that it would be good to let Leonid change his environment. Given the conflict between him and Crown Prince Alexander, continuing to stay with the Crown Prince might lead to a tinderbox.
If he is going to be exposed, why not leave temporarily and move on in a different environment? Maybe the crown prince will understand his importance after he leaves?
"That's a good idea, but where do you want to go to gain experience?"
After Leonid thought about it seriously, he asked: "You just said that the Grand Duke was put back in the cell. How will his affairs end?"
Alexey sneered: "How else can it end? Your Majesty can only punish the scum of the 748th Regiment, and then reluctantly commend the Grand Duke, so as to show his justice and broad mind to all European countries, and maybe even
I would hold my nose and give the Grand Duke a medal!"
Leonid asked: "In other words, the Grand Duke should be fine and should be reinstated?"
Alexei nodded.
Leonid suddenly smiled and said: "That's great. The 748th Regiment must deal with a group of scum, so I will invite myself to serve in the 748th Regiment!"