Chapter 406: Chapter 93, Short-Term Gains VS Long-Term Benefits
 

St. Petersburg was beset by a succession of bad news, and Alexander II had reached his breaking point. The decline of the Russian Empire was laid bare, with the repute amassed in the Near East War rapidly eroding.

The international situation was a minor concern, the biggest trouble was internal. From the start, Alexander II had been using the war to divert internal contradictions, attempting to ease domestic strife through military expansion and the seizure of assets.

As the situation on the battlefield worsened, the domestic state of affairs also deteriorated. This time, it wasn’t a struggle between the Conservatives and the Reformists, but rather the lower classes who were close to their breaking point.

With the blockade of the sea routes, St. Petersburg faced a severe shortage in the supply of living necessities, causing prices to rise incessantly. If the capital was enduring such hardships, one need not mention the conditions of the surrounding cities.

Within the Winter Palace, Alexander II, filled with murderous intent, said, “I don’t care by what means you achieve it, but you must restore stability to the prices and ensure the supply of goods in St. Petersburg as soon as possible. If you can’t do it, I will replace you with someone who can.

This is a critical time for the Russian Empire, and any individual or interest group that stands against the Empire, must be punished without mercy!”

Alexander II was not easily fooled; the scarcity in supplies was a fact, but the rising prices were decidedly abnormal.

At the very least, the prices of grain couldn’t possibly be this insane. As the capital of the Russian Empire, how could St. Petersburg have no stock of grain?

The capitalists were cunning; as early as the outbreak of the uprising in Poland, they had an unspoken agreement to start hoarding grain.

The Tsarist Government wasn’t completely unprepared either. There were more than two months between the Prussia-Denmark War and the Prusso-Russian War, during which they also stockpiled a significant amount of supplies.

Combined with the original food storage in the capital, it was absolutely impossible for it to deplete so quickly. Moreover, St. Petersburg itself was one of Russia’s grain-producing areas, with a high self-sufficiency rate in food supply.

If no one was causing trouble, St. Petersburg wouldn’t be short of grain. As long as the supply of grain was ensured, other problems could be tackled with ease.

Take coal, for example, there were supplies around St. Petersburg.

In that era, the Russian Empire, apart from having to import some mechanical equipment, was basically self-sufficient. This was evidenced by the trade surplus.

Minister of Internal Affairs Mikhail, with steeliness, replied, “Your Majesty, many regions are thawing, and the roads are mired in mud, severely hindering passage. A shortage in supplies has arisen in the short run. Everything should improve in a month or two.”

The reasons for the price hike were crystal clear to Mikhail. However, the forces of the involved interest groups were too powerful, rendering it unwise to openly address the issue.

Alexander II scoffed coldly and said, “Is that so? Then let the government take over the supply of goods uniformly, and surely every patriot will support it, I presume!”

Support it, how could they! It would be taking a cut from everyone’s flesh, and countless people wanted to profit from this situation. If the government took over now, coordinating the supply, what would they stand to gain?

Minister of Internal Affairs Mikhail, in a panic, said, “Your Majesty, this involves too many parties, and it would likely cause serious turmoil if the government takes over the supply of goods.”

Blocking one’s financial path is akin to killing one’s parents.

If such a thing were to happen, the Tsar might not suffer much, but the people tasked with the actual execution would be doomed.

Alexander II laughed heartily, “That’s a last resort. If we cannot quell the hike in prices, there’s only one path left to us.

If anyone dares to cause trouble, we shall see if our blades are sharp enough.

The Fourth and Seventh Divisions will arrive in St. Petersburg in three days, and if prices aren’t settled within three days, the military will take over coordinating the supply of goods.”

Clearly, Alexander was clever enough not to rely on St. Petersburg’s City Defense Army and directly pulled back troops freshly withdrawn from the battlefield for rest and recuperation.

These border troops, supposedly immune to the influence of St. Petersburg’s capitalists and bureaucrats, answered only to the Tsar’s commands.

If the capitalists knew what was good for them, then it would be a case of “You scratch my back, I scratch yours,” and Alexander would prefer not to break the rules of the game.

Conversely, that would be regrettable. If the Tsarist Government couldn’t resolve the surge in prices, then they would have to tackle the issue at the root, wiping out those who were driving up the prices.

Confiscating estates was almost a rite of passage for every imperious ruler. No notorious monarchs in history were strangers to this practice.

Usually, such emperors were also implicated in numerous killings. Most problems were solved by eliminating the troublemakers, and order would be restored to the world.

In Europe’s special case, nobility were generally not executed under normal circumstances, but this did not mean nobles were untouchable.

Alexander II was no pushover, practicing the art of fist over reason. If matters came to a head, he wouldn’t shy away from a massacre.

To a certain extent, Franz had started this trend. Reformations have never been bloodless; Austria’s reforms were also fertilized by mountains of corpses and seas of blood.

However, the Great Revolution provided a cover, with many reactionaries eliminated during the upheaval, facilitating the smooth implementation of subsequent reforms.

Alexander II, too, had realized this, and his Russian reforms, facing resistance from interest groups, were not progressing smoothly. Now, Alexander II needed to “kill the chicken to scare the monkey,” waiting to see who the chicken would be.

Mikhail’s face drained of color, his political acumen flashing brightly; he knew the Tsar was dissatisfied with his work. He hurriedly answered, “Yes, Your Majesty!”

Minister of Internal Affairs Mikhail was determined to let his companion sink to save himself. Within the bounds of the rules of the game, the capitalists’ methods seemed unproblematic, and with the cover of nobility and bureaucrats, they were even safer.

However, when the tsar felt like flipping the table, things would change. Would bureaucrats like Mikhail confront the Tsar for a bribe?

Clearly, that was impossible. Their power came from the tsar, and as long as they held their positions, money could be slowly amassed, so why risk it?

Perhaps many were triple threats as nobility, bureaucrats, and capitalists, but for them, the most important thing was still to secure their status.

Money could be made in time, but life cannot be replaced! A tsar raising the executioner’s sword was not someone to provoke; a misstep and off came the head.

Foreign Minister Clarence Ivanov spoke up to ease the tension, “Your Majesty, the France-Austria conflict has ended, and the two countries are now conducting secret negotiations.

Based on the intelligence received, preliminary analysis suggests that these negotiations might involve deep strategic issues for both nations and could even impact our war with the Kingdom of Prussia.

The Austrian Foreign Minister Wessenberg has already arrived in Milan; it’s said to be to reinforce communication with the Kingdom of Lombardy, but that’s likely a smokescreen.

At the same time, the French Foreign Minister Abraham has also reached the Kingdom of Sardinia, officially on vacation.

Yesterday, Wessenberg and Abraham met at the border area between Sardinia and Lombardy, and the two had talks lasting five hours.

The content of their discussion was highly confidential, with all attendants dismissed, leaving only the two parties aware of what was discussed.”

This intelligence was obtained by Clarence Ivanov at a great cost, mainly to prove that the foreign ministry was not truly incompetent.

Although special circumstances were to blame for the recent diplomatic failures, not the Tsarist Government, the internal criticisms within the Tsarist Government were growing louder.

Naturally, Clarence Ivanov had to show results, and the France-Austria conflict was the opportunity he saw. He was disappointed yet relieved that the two countries did not truly come to blows.

This complex feeling was not exclusive to Clarence Ivanov; most of the Tsarist Government felt the same way.

On one hand, they wanted the France-Austria war to break out, to weaken each other’s strength and preserve the Russian Empire’s dominant position in Europe.

On the other hand, they did not want to see France and Austria fight; once Austria was tied up war, their logistical support system would collapse.

If the France-Austria war broke out, Austria no longer had the capacity to continue exporting strategic materials to them. This gap would need to be filled.

Regrettably, this void was simply irreplaceable. There are only a few industrial powerhouses in the world; if France and Austria engaged in battle, only the British had the ability to fill the vacuum.

Such an unrealistic fantasy was something the Tsarist Government dared not even dream of. To expect the British to provide logistical support was like talking in one’s sleep.

Alexander II thought for a moment and said, “First, we should make contact with the Austrians to test whether their stance has changed, and we can make concessions when necessary.

We can promise not to covet land in the Germany region, and our partition of the Kingdom of Prussia will be confined to the Polish Region only.”

Though it pained him deeply, Alexander II made this tough decision. The war had advanced to this stage; the idea of further expansion into Central Europe was no longer timely.

The world spoke in terms of power; you could only have as much cake as your strength would allow, and biting off more than you could chew would choke you.

“Power” referred to comprehensive strength, not merely military might. Acknowledged or not, the Russian Empire’s comprehensive strength had already dropped to the last among the great powers.

Foreign Minister Clarence Ivanov responded, “Yes, Your Majesty!”

After a brief pause, he added, “At the moment, both the Prussians and the British are wooing Sweden, and to avoid the worst-case scenario, the foreign ministry advises we make appropriate concessions to Sweden.

We can support Charles XV’s plan for a Nordic three-country union; once Denmark merges with Sweden and Norway, they will be drawn into the Prussia-Denmark war.”

This was a clever solution to break the impasse; the Kingdom of Denmark could use its support for a Nordic three-country union in exchange for Swedish troops.

Before the war, the three countries had already negotiated a union, with Sweden and Norway as a personal union nearly reaching consensus, except the Kingdom of Denmark had not made up its mind.

This hesitation allowed the Prussia-Denmark war to break out. The Junkers had reasons for initiating the war last year.

If the Nordic countries had indeed unified, reclaiming the Two Principalities of Schleswig and Holstein would have been more difficult.

Alexander II hesitated; while a united Nordic would be beneficial for the Russian Empire in the short term, a combined Nordic presence would also pose a threat in the future.

Denmark + Norway + Sweden combined would be another Kingdom of Prussia. Maybe the Nordic region would lag a bit behind Prussia due to slower population growth caused by climate limitations, but the gap wouldn’t be too large.

Ambition was always stimulated by power; would a united Nordic remain as quiet? For instance, consider coveting Finland or the Three Baltic Countries.

Without a doubt, this scenario was highly probable. The Nordic barbarians had had their historical moments of glory; once nationalism was aroused, the Russian Empire’s northern border would become lively.

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