Chapter 1236 Nicholas I's Journey to Become an Emperor

Chapter 1236 Nicholas I's Journey to Become an Emperor

Palmerston was fearless and agreed immediately. He had no intention of using others' hands. After all, he only believed in himself.

In the eyes of the Earl of Derby, this might be a risky move, but in the eyes of Palmerston, it was in his comfort zone.

And in the eyes of the latter, how could he reverse the current situation without taking risks? Without great achievements, how could he return to the pinnacle of power?

Although Prince Albert claimed that he would no longer interfere in government affairs, it was still easy to squeeze a diplomat out of the center of power.

Unless the person's merits were so great that others could not ignore them, the opportunity had already been delivered to the door.

However, when Palmerston arrived in St. Petersburg as the British ambassador by ship, he was not summoned directly.

Russian officials even took Palmerston to a hotel and prepared to check in for him. The accompanying British officials were very dissatisfied and were indignant looking at the old house and dirty ground.

You must know that ambassadors are the highest-level diplomats and should enjoy the highest level of treatment in any country. The Russians' approach was obviously not in line with the rules.

However, Palmerston was not angry at all, and said with a smile.

"Is this the best hotel in Russia? But the design and decoration are not as good as the countryside in Ireland."

He deliberately wiped the dust off the armrest with his white-gloved fingertips.

"Is this the accumulation of years?"

At that time, Ireland was synonymous with poor and remote areas in the eyes of the British, and the countryside was a kind of arrogance that urban people had towards rural areas.

The British officials accompanying them were immediately amused and laughed. The Russian officials on the side did not know what the British were laughing at and immediately asked the translator.

The translator's face was not very good. After translating Palmerston's words to the Russian official, the official's face became even uglier.

His original intention was to humiliate the British, but if this led to Russia being laughed at by the British, then his life and the official hat on his head would probably be in jeopardy.

"Change!"

The Russian official roared angrily.

Although he changed his living environment, Nicholas I still did not summon Palmerston.

This continued for several days, but the British delegation seemed to have gotten used to it, after all, Franz had done even more.

This time, the Tsar did not confine the delegation, and Palmerston was not idle either. He took people to wander the streets all day, and went to the pub to get drunk at night, which embarrassed the agents of the Special Section 3 who were responsible for surveillance.

Recently, Nicholas I was in a very bad mood, but the reason was not that the situation in Russian Poland had deteriorated so much, but that his old friend Paskevich did not execute his orders.

The Tsar still held a glimmer of hope that Paskevich could turn the tide like he did 18 years ago, but this close friend had no intention of attacking at all, and even chose to stay in place and began to build fortifications.

This made Nicholas I feel very embarrassed, and the escape of the Baltic Governor made him feel extremely embarrassed.

The uprising in Russian Poland had already expanded at this time. If it was allowed to spread, would it burn all over Russia?

Nicholas I didn't know, but he couldn't help but think of the Pugachev Rebellion, the terrible peasant uprising that burned across the Volga River and the Ural Mountains.

The rebel who opposed the Tsar in the name of the Tsar swept across Russia with a so-called million (actually about 100,000) troops. If he hadn't happened to meet an emperor like Catherine II, he might have really succeeded.

At this time, Nicholas I finally began to face his opponent. Landre Prome, the former leader of the Polish Restoration Army, had ascended the throne in Krakow and was later wanted by the Austrian Empire with a reward of 100,000 florins.

In 1848, he cheated a thousand kilograms of gold from Pius IX in Rome, and his whereabouts were unknown.

There are reports that Landre Prome went to the United States, and some people said he went to Brazil, but now it seems that he has been hiding under everyone's noses.

It's just that Nicholas I didn't understand why such a terrible opponent was beaten like a clown by Franz in Galicia.

"Sure enough, people will learn and progress."

Thinking of this, Nicholas I couldn't help but feel a little excited. What he was facing now was not an ordinary rebellion, but a great enemy on the road to becoming an emperor.

So far, Russia has only had fifteen tsars, and only two of these fifteen tsars have been great emperors. If Nicholas I wants to achieve the throne, he must defeat the powerful enemy and achieve hegemony.

However, he soon began to have a headache again. The British letter was very strange. They actually wanted to talk business with him.

In fact, Nicholas I was very disdainful of these diplomats. He was more willing to believe the promises made by the monarch himself.

Palmerston was just a viscount. The British obviously did not take him seriously enough. Let's leave them alone for a few days.

When countless historians in later generations studied this period of history, they couldn't figure out that it was the British ambassador's title that had a problem.

The Russian top leaders were very satisfied with the conditions proposed by the British.

In fact, there has always been a theory in Russia that the Treaty of Unkar-Iskelesi is useless.

After all, the Black Sea Straits were actually controlled by the Ottoman Empire. As long as the Ottomans did not fulfill the treaty, the treaty would be worthless.

Just like in 1848, the British fleet could still cut off Russia's sea route through the Black Sea Straits.

Given the situation in the Near East, as long as there is a war, the Ottoman Empire will most likely stand on the opposite side of Russia, so they think this treaty is a worthless piece of waste paper, or even a burden.

If a piece of waste paper can be used to exchange for the support of the British, it would be a great blessing. They have completely forgotten who supported Poland in the first place.

Nicholas I has not forgotten the hatred. If he can get the British to fight back and end the rebellion in Poland as soon as possible, it is still worth it.

He is not too obsessed with sea power. Although it has been popularized countless times by Franz, Nicholas I is still not clear about the significance of the Black Sea Strait.

Duke Uvarov knows the significance of the Black Sea power to Russia, but Russia has never been a very stable country.

At the same time as Poland rebelled, the Cossacks in southern Russia also wanted to raise the price, and there were even rumors that the Chechens in the Caucasus were also waiting for an opportunity to move.

Nicholas I was unwilling to use the power of the Holy Alliance. He wanted to rely on Russia's own strength to defeat the enemy.

Of course, the intelligence exchanged from Britain does not count as external forces. At least the Russian army is fighting on the battlefield.

Reaching an agreement with the British and cutting off the Polish supply might really be the best option at this time.

Duke Liubai was also embarrassed. In fact, he had something else that he had not made public, that is, the Prussians were actually reselling Russian grain to help the British tide over the difficulties.

However, if Britain and Russia could put aside their past grievances, then this matter would not be important.