I'm the Dauphin in France

Chapter 1328 The Tsar in a Frenzy

Several young officers immediately jumped up from their chairs as if they had seen a ghost.

Only the brown-haired young man who had gone to Rakishchenko earlier grabbed the booklet and turned to throw it into the fireplace.

Kishchenko did not stop him, but said in a disdainful tone: "Burn it, it's just a few pieces of paper, but its spirit will be imprinted on everyone's soul sooner or later."

"Are you crazy?" The brown-haired young man stopped, looking flustered. "If the secret police see this, you'll be thrown into jail immediately, and the entire Kishchenko family will suffer the consequences!"

Kishchenko's gaze swept over the crowd: "Everyone has read Radishchev's book. Ordinary people suffer torment and hardship, while a few in power live extravagantly."

Radishchev was a contemporary Russian Enlightenment thinker who wrote "Travels from St. Petersburg to Moscow," which exposed the darkness of Tsarist rule through details of life at the bottom of Russian society. He once bluntly stated that "the Tsar was the number one criminal with blood on his hands."

The book was immediately banned after its publication, and he was sentenced to death by Catherine II, later commuted to exile in Siberia. However, he was pardoned after Paul I ascended the throne.

"Actually, you all know that this can't go on! All of Europe is developing its industry and becoming stronger under the leadership of France, while we are heading towards decay!"
What we need now is...

Kischenko initially intended to say "a revolution," but seeing the panic and evasiveness in his friends' eyes, he hesitated and changed it to: "It's about learning from France. And all of this must begin with the rights and freedoms of every individual."

"Come on, let's do something for this country together."

That evening, the young officers returned home with their heads down, but they quickly locked their doors and nervously took out the Declaration of the Rights of Man that Kishchenko had given them to read.

No one reported it to the secret police.

More than ten days later, the number of people gathering at the secluded tavern had doubled, and they were all young nobles in their twenties.

Enlightenment ideas were already fashionable among young people of this era, and Kishchenko further exaggerated their views by boasting about how powerful France was after implementing the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, which made everyone present think, "We must change Russia."

However, what these young officers never expected was that present-day Russia lacked the conditions for implementing the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen.

Russia was still based on serfdom, and industry had not yet begun. The powerful aristocracy controlled every aspect of the country. Even if a few passionate young nobles wanted to make changes, they would be ruthlessly suppressed by the old aristocracy.

This is also why Joseph sent Kishchenko and others back to Russia—such drastic changes that lack a foundation and do not know how to proceed gradually will only turn into riots and waste Russia's national strength.

Nearly a hundred radical liberal officers like Kishchenko returned to Russia. Even if only half of them dared to actually take action, it would still be a formidable force.

Just over a month later, the activities of the various “Declaration of Human Rights Study Groups” had expanded to the entire city of St. Petersburg.

……

The Winter Palace.

Russian Finance Minister Vasilyev strode into the hall and bowed to Alexander I: "Your Majesty the Emperor."

The latter nodded to him: "Oh, you've arrived."

"I need you to allocate 35 rubles as a temporary grant to the Sestroletsk Arms Factory as soon as possible. In addition, the Polish garrison also needs an additional 80 rubles in military expenses."

Sweat beaded on Vasilyev's forehead as he hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, this is far too much. You know, starting next month, the grain subsidy in St. Petersburg will be increased by 10%..." Arakcheev, who was standing nearby, immediately interjected, "Your Excellency, the Poles have been making moves lately, General Kutuzov is preparing for war, and there is still a considerable amount of money owed for the previous war against the French that has not been repaid."

The Finance Minister asked in bewilderment, "But why does the Sestroretsk Arms Factory need so much money?"

"Steel prices have been rising recently, and they need to rush to make percussion caps for the Western Army, and the artillery at the front also needs to be replenished."

Vasilyev frowned: "The ironworks in the south have been raising prices since last year. We cannot stand idly by and watch this money-grabbing behavior that harms the national interest!"

Alexander I continued, "Count Otlov has already investigated and found that the price increase is due to a shortage of workers and equipment maintenance."

Yes, Otlov is Nikolai Rumyantsev's man. And the latter is now a major shareholder in the Donbas ironworks.

Even if Rumyantsev hadn't intervened, Prince Yusupov, the ironworks' largest shareholder, wouldn't have allowed any problems to be discovered.

Vasilyev bowed to the Tsar and said helplessly, "Your Majesty, the treasury simply cannot afford that much money right now..."

Alexander I immediately waved his hand: "Then reduce the grain subsidy or increase the temporary tax, it's up to you."

“Yes, Your Majesty.” The Chancellor of the Exchequer lowered his head and hesitated. “Or, could we seek assistance from the British?”

Alexander I gave him a disapproving look. The Foreign Secretary had already raised the matter with the British a few days earlier, only to be flatly rejected—Britain's finances were not exactly in good shape at the moment.

After the finance minister left, Arakcheev continued the previous topic: "Your Majesty, Tambov and Alatri have two more corps that can be transferred to Poland."

"This way, General Kutuzov might even have enough troops to occupy Warsaw."

Alexander I nodded. After suffering a crushing defeat on the battlefields of Western Europe, he did indeed need some victories to appease the emotions at home.

Just then, War Minister Vyazmitinov rushed into the hall, hastily bowed, and anxiously said, "Your Majesty, news has just arrived from the Transcaucasus that an Ottoman army is gathering in southern Azerbaijan..."

Arakcheyev frowned immediately: "What are they trying to do?"

Vyazmitinov ignored him and continued, "In addition, Mirza's army has also appeared near Zandzhan."

Alexander I's face immediately darkened.

Yes, when Russia decided to join the anti-French coalition, Joseph sent Talleyrand to the Ottomans to discuss sending troops to contain Russia.

However, Selim III did not finally make up his mind to take action until the anti-French coalition was defeated.

Talejon then traveled to Tehran with the Persian envoy to persuade the Persians to join the war.

Joseph knew that the Persians had been outwardly compromising with Russia while secretly accumulating strength and waiting for an opportunity to retaliate. Historically, they had been vying with Russia for control of the Transcaucasus until the mid-19th century.

As expected, after learning that the main Russian forces would be tied down on the western front, Alisha immediately put aside his grievances with the Ottomans and decisively joined the "anti-Russian alliance".

(End of this chapter)