Admiral Menshikov sat quietly behind the huge desk, leaning his gray-haired head on the tall French high-back chair, squinting his swollen eyelids heavily, and his hands with loose skin full of age spots looked natural.
Putting it on the armrest, he was already soundly asleep.
At this time, in this luxurious office, except for the sound of the burning wood in the fireplace, everything was so quiet. The solid walls, thick carpets and heavy curtains were as insulating as a city wall.
The elderly admiral and eunuch in charge of the palace could take a nap comfortably without external interference.
In the past few years, Menshikov has increasingly felt less energetic and wanted to take a nap whenever he could. He would rather sit in his easy chair, read a beloved color novel, and enjoy a glass of Burgundy red wine.
Sitting in the boring Admiralty Building, sorting out official documents that could pile up like a hill.
When he was young, he liked these official duties, the sense of achievement of having great power when issuing documents, and the sense of authority that decided everything with one word. So he created countless bureaucracies and bureaucrats, big and small, according to the instructions of Nicholas I.
Countless various documents and cumbersome systems have been concocted.
But as he got older, he found these increasingly boring and tedious tasks extremely boring. Every day, he could only sign, draw, stamp and seal in the vast ocean of documents. He was bored.
.
However, he is reluctant to let go of the power in his hands, just like a drug addict who is deeply addicted to drugs. He knows that drugs are very harmful, but he just can't quit. He feels uncomfortable even if he puts down even a little bit of power in his hands.
He even goes back to seek more power whenever he gets the chance.
So whenever he felt tired and tired, Menshikov would lock himself in an isolated office and take a nap, just to recharge his batteries and regain some blood. But such opportunities were too few and far between.
, because the power in his hands will always create countless problems and troubles to harass him.
Such as now.
The thick, windproof oak door was slowly pushed open, and Colonel Pavel Nikolayevich Chernyshev, wearing the uniform of a naval colonel, slowly leaned in. He had been knocking on the door for a long time, but
The chief eunuch, who was sleeping soundly inside the door, showed no response, which left the young viscount quite speechless.
This is the fifth time in November. This week alone, the old admiral has fallen asleep twice. Once he slept soundly for a whole day, and once he was awakened by them who broke in. Fortunately, the old man has been able to sleep since that time.
Not locking the door saved him a lot of trouble.
To be honest, Viscount Chernyshov likes his job. The environment is elegant, the remuneration is good, there are countless opportunities to meet powerful people and beautiful women, and there are countless people who want to curry favor, so it is not too fun to go through the back door. But the Viscount does not
I like my boss who is the eunuch in charge.
It wasn't that he was biased against eunuchs, but that the old man was slow to react and had poor memory. He often forgot some key matters or meetings, which caught Chernyshev off guard.
Nicholas I and the Crown Prince would definitely not blame the highly regarded and "distinguished" old minister, and could only let his young adjutant take the blame. Although they were all mild reprimands and criticisms, they
Viscount Chernyshov is still quite unhappy and sincerely hopes to find a reliable boss as soon as possible.
For example, now, this old eunuch who is so sleepy that his collar and huge medal are wet with drool, has obviously forgotten the standing meeting of the Admiralty again. If the young and aggressive Grand Duke Constantine is made to wait for an hour like last time,
I'm afraid that the Grand Duke is going to get angry and make a report again?
Viscount Chernyshev didn't want to take the blame anymore, so he wisely came to check on his boss's status in advance and woke up the drowsy old man.
"Your Excellency, wake up! Wake up! The meeting is about to begin!"
Menshikov shivered in his sleep. He didn't know whether it was because Chernyshev disturbed his sweet dream, or because the cold air blowing in from the open door was too much for his old body.
In short, the old eunuch was very angry: "What's going on!"
The old eunuch asked angrily: "Didn't you see that I was handling official business?"
Chernyshev curled his lips in his heart: [Tsk, I really didn’t see this, but I saw you sleeping soundly. Are you doing official business in your dream!]
Chernyshev apologized solemnly, saying he was extremely sorry for disturbing the Minister of the Navy's official duties, but there was a reason for this: "The executive meeting is about to begin, and the generals are already in the large conference room."
The old eunuch was still a little angry and murmured: "What's wrong with letting them wait! As His Majesty's ministers, we should first do our jobs well. Their job is to serve Your Majesty and me. Serve me in handling various matters."
Naval affairs, this is the first priority! Instead of harassing me to carry out my normal work when there is nothing wrong!"
Chernyshev was still very disdainful: [No one in the entire Admiralty is more idle than you, and you can’t even do the job of human-shaped rubber stamps... Humph, it’s obviously you who are holding us back, okay? 】
With the help of Chernyshev, the elderly eunuch struggled to stand up from the high-backed chair. He seemed to have a bad sleeping position, which caused his legs to be paralyzed and his hands to be unable to use strength. He almost fell down on the huge chair.
On the desk.
"I don't need help!"
The old eunuch grabbed Chernyshev's arm tightly and scolded him bravely: "I'm not too old to walk yet. I remember when we faced the Turkish locusts, thousands of troops could do whatever they wanted.
I gallop..."
"You young people don't know what war is at all, and you can't compare with us at that time. Without our support, you can't do anything well! You must step up your training and work harder!"
Chernyshev: [Hehe...]
The old eunuch staggered into the dressing room next to the office. This was his unique habit. Whenever he appeared in public, before a state meeting or an imperial meeting, he had to tidy up his appearance himself.
Standing in front of a dressing mirror that was as tall as one person and as wide as a wall, the old eunuch shivered as he took off his somewhat wrinkled admiral's uniform, and carefully took out the most satisfactory spare piece from the rows of ironed military uniforms in the closet.
Then he oiled and polished the leather shoes meticulously by hand.
It wasn't until everything became bright and energetic again, and the slightly crooked fake beard on his lips was slightly straightened, that the old eunuch nodded with satisfaction.
At this time, he looked like the kind of soldier Nicholas I liked, with handsome appearance, tall stature, bright uniform and empty mind.
When Menshikov walked slowly into the large conference room, more than half an hour had passed before the scheduled meeting time. Inside, Grand Duke Constantine was already extremely impatient...