Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

In the following days, Alexander's condition worsened, with him spending more time in a coma than conscious. Doctors were at a loss for what to do, but fortunately, the imported ginseng offered some relief.

However, when a person is unconscious, even ginseng soup is ineffective. Solovyov's mind was filled with the image of one of the Ten Attendants poking his head out and saying "ginseng soup."

"That's all we can do, Misha. What did His Majesty say to you?"

"It's about what to do next. His lifespan shouldn't be ending at this time, but there's nothing we can do. His lack of cooperation with treatment in the first few days has already delayed his condition, but who knows the specifics?"

Solovyov and Volkonsky waited in the next room, where only the doctor, servants, and the Empress herself were present.

"Then we can only do what we should do, but since none of the princes are here, there isn't enough time to publish the edict. The obituary must be published before the edict in St. Petersburg, not to mention Warsaw and Moscow."

"Fortunately, His Highnesses Nicholas and Mikhail are both in St. Petersburg. The two brothers are about the same age, so they can look after each other."

“I think you should write the letter to Grand Duke Nicholas. You have had a great influence on him since he was a child.”

"That's correct, but..."

As they spoke, a chorus of weeping could be heard from inside. The two high-ranking officials accompanying Alexander knew that he too had been summoned by God and, as Tsar, would serve the supreme authority.

It wasn't what Humphrey meant, but rather that he died on November 19, 1825 (December 1, Gregorian calendar) at the Governor-General's residence in Taganrog, not far from his 48th birthday, but that was the end of his life.

Now Prince Peter Volkonsky, as the Attendant-General and the highest-ranking court official present, will announce Alexander's will, which he carried with him.

He also made arrangements for the existing property: each of his three brothers received the palaces that had been promised to them during Paul's time, as well as their respective shares in the Tsar's treasury. He entrusted his three brothers with the care of his wives, Empress Elizabeth Alexievna (also known as Louise), and the Duke of Tsarskoye Selo, leaving the estate to his nephew, Grand Duke Alexander the Younger. Some of the palaces and public facilities in Tsarskoye Selo were entrusted to a committee in the Empress Dowager's court for management.
In short, a lot of things were discussed about the division of property, and only at the very end did the will for the succession arrive.

Russian wills of succession are not as verbose as Chinese edicts; they are simple testaments without much quotation.

Based on the secret declarations made by Grand Duke Constantine in 1819 and 1823, and the current Russian law of succession, Grand Duke Nikolai Pavlovich was designated as the Tsar's heir, the secretly established crown prince (or, in Chinese terms, the Imperial Younger Brother), to inherit the throne. Grand Duke Constantine Pavlovich, as Viceroy of Poland and Governor-General of Poland, acted as regent for the Kingdom of Poland.

In addition, an insurance policy was in place: the seven-year-old Grand Prince Alexander Nikolaevich was designated as the Crown Prince and first in line to the throne, followed by Nicholas's male offspring as heirs, and then Grand Prince Mikhail Pavlovich himself and his male offspring as heirs. In addition to their dowries, the daughters were also required to receive annual royal expenses from the Tsar.

The last point is mainly because the two youngest Grand Duchesses had just gotten engaged at this time. The original plan was for Elizabeth Alexandrovna to marry in the spring of 1826, and the youngest Anastasia in the autumn of 1826, but Alexander was not in time for that.

Given the Luo family's tradition of treating their married aunts well, it was not surprising that Paul was very worried about the future of his five daughters and prepared a large amount of jewelry for each of them as part of their dowries. However, Ekaterina received the best portion when she got married.

Next, there are some arrangements for the ministers, but these announcements will not be officially made until all the important ministers gather in St. Petersburg.

This arrangement was made because only Prince Peter Volkonsky, the Attendant General and Chief of the General Staff, was present at the time, and he had to rush back to St. Petersburg to convey the Tsar's last will and testament.

Solovyov was also quite important among these ministers, but he was also serving as governor of Crimea, and because of his proximity, we saw the part about him.

The nature of the work remained unchanged, but a new clause was added: after the new Tsar was crowned in Moscow, the monarch himself would make appropriate adjustments to his position based on his merits.

This was clearly a ploy by Nicholas to promote his mentor, and as for the rank, he could arrange anything except for the highest position of Prime Minister.

But Solovyov was not happy at all. He looked at Volkonsky and said to him.

"After you go to St. Petersburg, you must make sure everything is arranged properly. I'm worried that something might go wrong."

"What other changes could possibly occur?"

“By the way, we’ve been in the palace for so long, we know the Emperor and his brothers’ temperaments very well.”

Solovyov didn't say it explicitly, but Volkonsky already understood.

There's a possibility that the remaining three brothers might have disputes over succession and mutual deference.

"Okay, I'll do it."

"Also, St. Petersburg must not be in chaos. You should know about the secret society, right?"

"No way, they're all talk. You haven't been to the Freemasons enough, but we've all been there. General Miloradovich is a Freemason, isn't he? He knows that these people are mostly just spouting nonsense."

"If you put those who boast with the conspirators, then of the close advisors who were once by the Emperor's side, only you and I remain. You shouldn't forget who the officers were on the night Emperor Paul Petrovich was assassinated."

The Dolgorukov brothers died young, Prince Bagration died from serious injuries sustained in Borodino, and the rest were not of sufficient stature, many of whom had already retired. It was really just the two of them who remained in office.

Count Vorontsov went to the Caucasus as a volunteer and was not part of the court's inner circle.

"Alright, I'll take care of that. What are you going to do?"

"I wrote a letter to General Raevsky, asking him to keep an eye on the Kiev Governorate. Although Langeron is a foreigner, he has now naturalized, so nothing will happen in Odessa. My concern is the south. It's best if nothing happens there within the next six months. The Turks are fine; they won't cause trouble at this time. Yermolov is in the Caucasus; things might get complicated there."

The Persian Shahs are known for taking advantage of others' misfortunes, disregarding rules, and having virtually no creditworthiness in the Middle East.

Of course, in Muslim tradition, loans are not allowed to have interest, in order to ensure a better business environment.

Otherwise, when the wealthy landlord was lending money at exorbitant interest rates, he wouldn't have been so terrified of Afanti, like a mouse seeing a cat.

Such a lack of credibility will indeed damage relations with other countries.

Volkonsky headed north, leaving quickly with only a few attendants. The doctors performed a body search and autopsy on the Tsar, but with their current level of expertise, they could only diagnose multiple organ lesions, ultimately finding no cure.

The rest is up to the doctors.

Louisa had lost her husband and was in poor health. After giving some instructions to the maids, Solovyov left the doctor behind and returned to Crimea.

The south must not be allowed to descend into chaos. Solovyov ordered Langeron and Yermolov to remain vigilant in both directions. The Danube Legion's main task is to patrol the Danube River with cavalry, while Yermolov's task is more demanding, requiring increased vigilance in the near future.

Given Solovyov's personality, he was more cautious in deploying troops at this time. In addition to the two corps at the front, he also ordered the Terek Cossacks, Don Cossacks and Kuban Cossacks in his jurisdiction to prepare ten elite squadrons each to closely monitor the movements in the Caucasus Mountains and protect the important Georgian military highway.

Furthermore, he held considerable influence among the Tatars, and when he wrote to the leaders, he stated that Khagan had been summoned by the Lord and that each of them should send three hundred warriors to Bakhchisarai, Rostov-on-Don, and Astrakhan to await orders.

While this might seem like an overreaction, it's something we can't do without, or something bad will definitely happen in the south.

After Volkonsky arrived in St. Petersburg, he conveyed the message to Neserrodie, Alakcheyev, and Miloradovich, who then went together to Grand Duke Nicholas and asked him to inherit the throne in St. Petersburg.

However, Nicholas insisted on waiting for his second brother Constantine's statement, even though the edict was right there; he was still following the rules left by his father.

The four high-ranking officials looked at each other, genuinely bewildered.

That's how the Emperor's will was arranged, and a copy from St. Petersburg has already been published. Nicholas should ascend the throne at this time, just as Solovyov always muttered: a country cannot be without a ruler for a day.

However, Nicholas insisted on following the law of succession, stating that this was the foundation of the state and the dying wish of his father, Emperor Paul.

At this moment, Miloradovich showed the most courage, and he said this to Nikolai.

“Your Highness, the Emperor died suddenly in Taganrog. If you insist on waiting for Grand Duke Constantine to return, you should remain in St. Petersburg as regent to control the situation.”

Even after all that had been said, Nicholas still disagreed: "I shouldn't disobey my elder brother's dying wish. But as a monarch, succession must follow the formal procedures, especially since I've already emphasized that the order of succession is fundamental. Under these circumstances, I naturally must be loyal to my brother."

When Volkonsky saw this, he knew that Solovyov's concerns were entirely correct.

Nikolai was someone he had raised since he was a child, and he knew his temperament and personality very well.

We'll just have to see what the situation is like on Constantine's side.

Moreover, given Nikolai's insistence, Neserrodie and Arakcheev can only proceed according to the order of succession for now, and it is highly likely that Constantine will not announce his succession.

He had previously married a Polish woman, presumably by using the marriage between a noble and a commoner to voluntarily relinquish his inheritance rights.

Moreover, he has a daughter who is the Queen of Sweden. From the perspective of Russia's own interests, Nikolai would be a more suitable candidate.

But that's just how stubborn this kid is.

The mint was at a loss for what to do. News of the Tsar's death in Taganrog had already spread in St. Petersburg, and Nicholas had not succeeded to the throne, but had declared his allegiance to Constantine.

They first manufactured silver rubles in the shape of "Tsar Constantine," and then proceeded with the legal process of Constantine's succession to the throne.

However, Constantine quickly responded, and the high-ranking officials were left speechless after reading the Polish viceroy's statement.

He stated that he would follow his elder brother's dying wish and that he himself would not succeed to the throne.

His impetuous nature in his youth has matured considerably, but his statements are still inevitably somewhat ill-considered.

The statement doesn't mention Nikolai's allegiance, but it's true that he renounced it.

The initial arrangements in the palace were also in accordance with the succession law, but Nicholas pulled this stunt.
After Constantine's statement, the two brothers began to humbly defer to each other for the throne, leaving the court somewhat bewildered.

Anyway, it had nothing to do with Mikhail. He was the fourth son and had been taken care of by his older brothers since he was a child. He didn't want to cause any trouble, so he relayed the message and sent his adjutant to Warsaw to confirm his second brother's opinion.

But Constantine's declaration had arrived, and the court and army were to pledge allegiance once again. Nicholas had initially stated that his brother should succeed him.

Just then, the Qing Dynasty's embassy arrived in St. Petersburg. These feudal scholar-officials, who had passed the imperial examinations, felt as if they had traveled to the State of Wu in the late Spring and Autumn Period when they saw such a humble brother.

For example, in the case of Ji Zha Rang Guo, the two brothers in Russia were mutually deferential, each believing that the other should succeed to the throne according to the legal line (the will).

At this time, St. Petersburg was unexpectedly rife with undercurrents.

Radicals within the Northern Society believed that now was the time to complete the revolution to establish a constitutional monarchy, coinciding with the renewed allegiance of the Imperial Guard.

On their side, none of them intended to touch the monarch himself. Some wanted the young Grand Prince Alexander to succeed to the throne, some supported the constitution, and others were currently abroad or on official business in the colonies.

Trubetskoy was the only veteran, but he did not advocate radical activities at this time. After Solovyov spoke with him, he, who was already seeking stability, became even more cautious.

However, the attitudes of the active members of the Northern Association are not consistent.

Many people argue that now is a good time to take action.

The most critical point is probably that within the Northern Association, decisions are still made by vote, and Trubetskoy is missing several high-ranking and senior members like the Muravyov and Turgenev brothers. (End of Chapter)