Struggle in Russia

Chapter 25 Doubts and Troubles

Leonid is very distressed. As a person who always adheres to the code of chivalry and strives to be morally perfect, the recent events have caused him to suffer a lot. He had doubts about his future and beliefs like never before, and a huge crack occurred in his outlook on life and values.

And the source or instigator of all this is that Grand Duke Andrei Konstantinlovich. After this grand duke, who had always seemed very useless and useless, made Nicholas I, the crown prince, and Grand Duke Constantine unable to step down in public with an astonishing gesture, everything changed!

In order to punish the bastard prince who humiliated the emperor's family, a series of targeted measures were publicly communicated within the royal family. The 748 regiment received training or transformation.

It's fine if it's just like this, after all, no matter who you are, you must respect the authority of the emperor, even if the emperor is not so perfect, but the emperor is the emperor, he represents not only himself, but also the whole country. Those who offend the sky will be punished. This is a political rule in Russia, and it is an iron law that must be accepted and obeyed!

Let Li Xiao suffer, Leonid did not object, but what made him feel disgusted was that the most perfect Crown Prince Alexander, who he had always admired and regarded as the object of his life's service, immediately gave instructions: Ask the officers of the 748 regiment Use various means and methods to attack and destroy a certain Grand Duke.

In Leonid's view, this is too much. The dignity of the superior does need to be respected and preserved, but the superior also needs a tolerant and broad heart. Nicholas I already punished someone, that's enough. Crown Prince Alexander still didn't let it go, this is overkill, it's too much!

This has crossed the line and should be stopped and condemned. With a sense of justice and chivalry, Leonid immediately clarified his views to Crown Prince Alexander, hoping that the Crown Prince could stop this excessive persecution and return to the normal track.

Only this time, Leonid was disappointed. What greeted him was not an enlightened crown prince who accepted opinions humbly, but an angry lion.

"Lonya, you have let me down. Time and time again you have failed my trust and because of your failures, my father, me and my family have been blatantly humiliated... such appalling events After the incident, when everyone was filled with righteous indignation for the vicious deeds of the perpetrator, you! My most trusted friend actually stood up and spoke out for that vulgar and despicable villain. This is the most shameless betrayal, and I absolutely Intolerable! Absolutely!"

In the end, it was natural to break up unhappy. Leonid was almost driven out of the Winter Palace by the crown prince who was in tears because of anger. This is an unprecedented punishment! It was also a scene that Leonid had never imagined.

He never expected that he would suffer such humiliation for speaking out, which made him feel disappointed and confused. In his heart, Alexander will become a generation of Mingjun, and he is a virtuous minister by Mingjun's side, and the monarch and his ministers will work together to create a new era.

But now, he doesn't feel that he has done anything wrong. Is it wrong to fulfill the obligations of a courtier? If it wasn't him who was wrong, then it must be Alexander, but the crown prince clearly felt that he had been humiliated and he, Leonid, was the one who went too far.

what on earth is it? Could it be that he was wrong?

Leonid couldn't figure this out, but before he could figure it out, Crown Prince Alexander made a decision that hurt him even more: Alexander ordered to remove him from the position of executive deputy head of the Knights of St. Ivanovich Bariatinsky served as the executive deputy head and presided over the daily work of the Knights of St. Andrew.

To put it simply, Leonid is no longer responsible for leading the St. Andrew's Knights, and can only be a nominal deputy head like a mascot. This made Leonid especially hurt, because the Knights were his heart and soul, and even though Alexander was the leader, Leonid was in charge of the formation, daily organization and various administrative affairs of the Knights.

The Knights' prestige today would not be possible without the support of the Tsar's family, but it would be even more inseparable from the efforts of Leonid. It can be said that without Leonid, there would be no Knights of St. Andrew today.

Leonid also had great expectations for the Knights. He hoped to single-handedly build the Knights into a model and become the cradle of future famous ministers. But all of a sudden, everything he did was meaningless. He was dismissed on the spot without making any mistakes. He just sent a messenger to inform him, and he didn't even give him the dignity to explain in person. It was a huge insult, and Leonid, who was so ashamed and indignant, almost wanted to write a letter directly to resign from the position of military attache to the crown prince and cut off relations with Alexander.

However, the knight's creed and the duty of being a courtier finally rejected this impulse. Leonid said nothing more. He calmly handed over all the work to Bariatinsky, and then returned home calmly. There is no protest in the defense, just do what a courtier should do.

Of course, Leonid was still unhappy in his heart. If he had only suspected that it was Alexander who was wrong before, now he was absolutely sure that it was the other party. The other party did not have the bearing that a crown prince should have, and the attitude of handling affairs rationally, but let personal feelings override state affairs. This was strongly opposed by Leonid. He firmly believed that a monarch should have both a strong hand and an enlightened heart. What Russia needs is an enlightened and autocratic tsar, not a tyrant who is only autocratic but rarely enlightened.

Obviously, in this incident, Alexander resembled the latter more than the former. This disappointed Leonid, who had put too much hope and affection on Alexander, and began to doubt his previous efforts and everything about Russia.

"You just think too much, it's too complicated, my friend!" Alexei Mikhailovich Speransky joked with Leonid, "The emperor is always the emperor, Even if he's your friend, he's still the emperor, isn't he?"

Count Alexei Mikhailovich Speransky was the late former Russian reformer, former liberal leader, the most valued courtier of Tsar Alexander I and the state advisor of Tsar Nicholas II. Son of Count Speranski.

As a good friend of Leonid, after hearing about the situation of his friend, he came to the door to comfort his good friend and encourage him to move on, but just as he opened his mouth, he angered Leonid who was full of opinions ...

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