With this sentence, everyone began to be suspicious. Although the fire was very strange, as the empress of the Russian Empire, even if Catherine II was lying on the hospital bed and could not move, those guards
They will carry out Her Majesty the Queen at all costs, but now, without any warning, the Queen will die mysteriously in the palace!
"Woooo......"
Before anyone could react, Paul knelt on the ground, covered his face and cried bitterly. The crying seemed to be contagious. In an instant, the entire open space could be heard crying, especially from the ladies.
Everyone burst into tears and howled.
Just when Paul was covering his face and crying, Pan Ning walked up to him and said loudly:
"Your Highness the Crown Prince! A country cannot live without a king for a day. Now Her Majesty the Queen has left to serve God due to an accident. As the Crown Prince of the empire, you must shoulder your inherent responsibilities! Please be able to get out as soon as possible.
Sadness, we must not allow major changes in the empire due to excessive sadness at this time!"
After speaking, Pan Ning's eyes glanced around. Pan Ning's words were very loud. When the nobles heard Pan Ning's words, some of them began to think.
Right now, Her Majesty the Queen is caught in a fire. Regardless of life or death, if there is an eventuality, then Paul will become the next czar of the empire. This is a fact that cannot be changed no matter what. Without the Queen's suppression, Paul will inevitably
Become the existence that thousands of people look up to.
"Your Excellency Pan Ning, what you said is correct. The most urgent task is to ask His Majesty Paul to take charge of the overall situation. No matter Her Majesty the Queen is lucky or unlucky. Your Majesty must come up with a charter."
Just after Panin finished speaking, Kalevsky's words rang in everyone's ears, and the Guards officer's words were even more thought-provoking.
"Please also ask His Royal Highness the Crown Prince to take charge of the overall situation..."
Some nobles woke up from a dream and bowed to Paul one after another. However, Paul did not express his position because of this. Paul pretended to be panic and said:
"My Excellencies, I have overly flattered you. The Queen does not know whether to live or die. I am really in pain and my heart is really in chaos. I think it would be better to ask Your Excellency Owolov to take charge of the situation here."
As he spoke, Paul turned his attention to Ovorov. As a former favorite who had been alienated by the Queen, although Ovorov still held a high and ordinary status in the imperial court, compared to Potemkin
, he is undoubtedly a loser.
Seeing everyone's eyes on him, Owolov slowly gritted his teeth. If the Queen was not dead, then his presiding over the rescue would at most make the Queen's influence on him change, but no matter how the Queen changed her views
, in front of him and Potemkin, there is no doubt that the Queen loves Potemkin. And as long as Potemkin exists, Ovorov will never get ahead! And if the Queen dies, there is no doubt that the empire will
The future ruler is bound to be Paul, who is looking sad at the moment, so Oworov just said in his mind:
"His Royal Highness Paul is the crown prince of the empire. When Her Majesty the Queen's life or death is unknown, his orders are the most supreme in the entire empire. So in the current situation, it is better to ask His Highness Paul to make up his mind!"
Oworov's active avoidance made Paul very satisfied. Although Oworov usually didn't like Paul very much, he didn't offend Paul like other ministers who wanted to invite favors, so Paul treated Owolov
Still didn't have much bad feeling, and now seeing that Owolov could be so wise, Paul felt a little relieved.
"Okay, since you all love me so much, then I've gone too far."
As he spoke, Paul's aura suddenly changed.
"Karevsky, you immediately lead all the guards in the palace to extinguish the flames of the palace, and you must find Her Majesty the Queen. Tollev, you and your people must keep vigil around the palace and blockade it.
No one can be allowed in or out of the palace! Pan Ning, take people to invite everyone in the parliament here, and ask all ministers in the government to come here quickly! Oworov, go and tell the story
My order is to keep the army outside St. Petersburg on first-level alert, and ensure the stability of St. Petersburg whenever necessary!............."
As Paul's order was issued, the nobles who received the mission quickly left the open space. After the mission was assigned, Paul asked the attendants in the palace to lead the nobles to rest in other palaces. However, for the time being,
These nobles did not want to leave the palace. Paul knew that if the news spread at this time, it would inevitably cause political turmoil in St. Petersburg. Once the situation in St. Petersburg, the heart of the empire, was unstable, there would be no peace in the entire Russian Empire.
, so in a short period of time, he planned to keep these nobles in the palace and restrict their personal freedom.
After finishing the chores, Paul saw Alexander being held by his wife. At this moment, Alexander looked at his father with some fear and strangeness in his eyes.
Seeing Alexander's frightened look, Paul felt helpless, but he still suppressed the discomfort in his heart and said calmly to his wife:
"Fyodorovna, take Alexander to my bedroom first. Remember to keep an eye on Alexander and not let him run around, and keep an eye on the people around you!"
Paul's words shocked Feodorovna. Although Paul didn't say much, how could the smart Feodorovna not understand what her husband meant? But whether it was for her family or the empire,
Feodorovna nodded and then pulled the silent Alexander away.
Looking at the retreating figures of his wife and children, Paul shook his head and sighed in his heart. However, after only a moment, Paul recovered and began to direct the fire-fighting work in the palace.
............................
After the unremitting efforts of the Guards, the fire was extinguished on the morning of the 22nd. Among the ruins of the palace, people only found the body of Catherine II. The reason why the empress could be identified
The reason for coming out is that the Queen holds the scepter in her hand that symbolizes the supreme power of the empire.
The damage statistics after the fire showed that except for the Queen, Potemkin, and more than twenty doctors and attendants, everyone else survived. After learning the news of the Queen's exact death, everyone looked at Paul's
The eyes are different!
Although people thought that the fire was caused by something strange, and within more than half a month, many people blamed Paul for the fire. A considerable number of nobles believed that Paul must be behind the fire.
Shadow, but helpless, they lack evidence in their hands.
And because of the death of Catherine II, although Paul repeatedly postponed it, senior officials of the Imperial Parliament and the government went to the palace to petition again and again. For the eternal foundation of the empire, they indulged in the great sorrow caused by the death of the empress.
His Royal Highness, the Crown Prince, had to stand up and preside over the overall work of the empire.
In fact, these senior officials were very reluctant to ask Paul to take charge of the overall situation. Most of those who could reach high positions in the imperial government were loyal followers of the Queen. For these politicians, one emperor and one courtier were eternal.
It is common sense that these important ministers of the Queen would have misunderstood Paul more or less in their previous lives, so once Paul came to power, everyone would inevitably be in danger.
But the situation no longer allowed them to think too much. Originally, the Queen had planned an offensive against the Turks after her sixtieth birthday. Even the envoys sent to Constantinople to declare war were already on the way. But now, as time goes by,
With the death of the Queen, the war plan against the Ottomans had come to nothing.
Having said that, the hundreds of thousands of troops deployed by Russia around the Black Sea are no joke. Not counting other things, just eating horse chews for the troops is a huge expense. If the empire cannot make a decision quickly,
So once the two countries officially go to war, the empire that has lost its supreme command will even have a high chance of defeat.
Therefore, a series of reasons forced the top management of the empire to accept Paul's status as soon as possible. The reluctance of some people had to make concessions in the face of the righteousness of the empire. This was the consensus of everyone.
When the government made concessions, Paul immediately inserted Penning into the government as director of finance. Not only that, just five days after the Queen's death, Paul handed over the post of Commander of the Royal Guards on the pretext that it would be unfavorable to protect the Queen's safety.
into the hands of Karevsky, and the position of commander of the Third Army stationed outside St. Petersburg was also replaced by Tollev.
Paul's actions naturally alerted some nobles, but now that Paul's accession to the throne was a foregone conclusion, everyone wanted to improve their relationship with Paul, and no one dared to disobey Paul's orders for the time being.
On May 15, 1789, more than half a month after the death of the Queen, Paul was officially crowned in the Royal Palace of St. Petersburg, known as Paul I in history, and his eldest son Alexander was established as the crown prince of the empire.
Just after Paul's coronation, he sent people to Constantinople in the hope of improving relations with the Ottomans. Not only that, Paul I also sent large delegations to Prussia and Austria respectively. These two delegations were committed to
In order to improve the unfavorable external environment around the Russian Empire and hope to reach consensus with Prussia and Austria on some matters to avoid conflicts.
In terms of the military, Paul continued to show off with great strides in reform. Not only did he remove important generals from the era of Catherine II and replace them with his own people, but in the government, Paul used his own power to make considerable changes to the top government officials.
Big adjustment. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to come to Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendations and monthly votes. Your support is my biggest motivation.)
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