The Qing Dynasty is about to end

Chapter 322 Send someone to Shanghai quickly! We can't afford to lose! (Please vote, please subscribe)

Nicholas I had been the Tsar for nearly thirty years. When he first took over, he was not the good emperor who was deeply loved by the people like he is now. At that time, he was a tyrant who ascended the throne in the midst of the revolutionary storm, stepping on the corpses of the Decembrists.

But later on, he relied on his ferocious actions to go from being a reactionary tsar who was hated even by the young men of aristocratic families to becoming the "kind father" of Russia who could stroll around the streets of St. Petersburg alone wearing the tsar's iconic military uniform and a tricorne hat.

In the second year after Nicholas I became Tsar, he brazenly launched the Russo-Iranian War! The war lasted for nearly three years, and finally won a great victory, seizing Yerevan and Khrushchev, and demanding a compensation of 5 million Tumans from Iran.

The Russo-Iranian War had not yet ended when the Eighth Russo-Turkish War began. After another year or two of bloody fighting, the Russian army won a great victory again and fought all the way along the Balkan Peninsula to Adrianople, not far from Constantinople.

If Britain and France had not been unhappy, the Ottoman Empire would have been gone!
However, in the subsequent Treaty of Adrianople, Turkey was forced to cede a lot of land to Russia, and also recognized the autonomy of Moldavia and Wallachia, recognized the independence of Greece, and again recognized the autonomy of Serbia, which greatly weakened its control over the Balkan Peninsula.

A little over a year after the Eighth Russo-Turkish War, Nicholas I encountered the great European revolutionary year of 1830, so he decisively sent troops to suppress the Polish Revolution. He dispatched troops and fought for ten months, turning the Polish Congress Kingdom, where the Tsar served as king, into a governor-general's district of the Russian Empire.

After this series of conquests, the Russians, who had originally not supported him, finally recognized that Nicholas I was a capable man.

The Russian people have only one criterion to judge whether the Tsar is good or bad: whether he can win battles.

As long as he can win the battle, he is a good Tsar and a wise ruler!

If a Tsar cannot even win a battle, then he is definitely not a good Tsar. He must be a useless and incompetent ruler who deserves to be deposed.

As a good tsar who had fought many wars since coming to power, Nicholas I had a lot of experience in winning battles, which was to find an enemy that was easy to deal with.

Look at who Nicholas I has fought since he came to the throne. Iran, Turkey, Poland, and during the 1848 revolution, he joined the Austrian army to suppress the Hungarian revolutionaries. Compared with the powerful Russian Empire, these countries are not worth mentioning.

This time, the ninth Russo-Turkish War was no exception. The enemy chosen by Nicholas I was obviously the weak Turkey!
Why are Britain and France getting involved?

"Isn't Napoleon III afraid of losing everything after being defeated by Russia, just like his uncle?"

Looking at the prophecies in the first volume of the Great Book of Prophecies, Nicholas I murmured to himself: "I can't afford to lose, and Napoleon III can't afford to lose even more. If he loses, the Bonaparte dynasty will be over! How dare he bet on who will win this war in the end?"

"Father," Crown Prince Alexander reminded in a low voice, "Send someone to Shanghai! While Britain and France have not yet declared war, and our sailing battleships can still leave the Gulf of Riga, send someone to Shanghai immediately to set up an embassy, ​​and then find a way to contact the prophet of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom."

The Tsar glanced at Alexander and said, "Sasha, do you really believe that the Great Prophecy came from the prophet?"

Crown Prince Alexander said, "Who cares? Prophet, angel, devil. Whatever it is, as long as it can help Russia win the war! Father, we can't afford to lose! And Napoleon III can't afford to lose either! If we don't send anyone, he will!"

The Tsar's mouth twitched.

It was not only him who could not afford to lose, but also Napoleon III. Victoria did not care, as she had enough chips. A small failure could not shake the foundation of the British Empire. Besides, there was still the Prime Minister who could be blamed, so she would never let the Queen step down.

But Napoleon III, the French emperor who came to power by taking advantage of his uncle's reputation, was in the same situation as the Tsar, or even worse! A major failure would definitely lead to the direct collapse of the newly restored Bonaparte dynasty.

In order to gain victory, Napoleon III will do whatever it takes, even if it means collaborating with the devil!

"Yes!" The Tsar gritted his teeth. "He can't afford to lose. Neither can I. Sasha, send someone to Shanghai! Now! Make arrangements quickly. Remember, you must send the most reliable people to Shanghai."

"Yes, father!" Crown Prince Alexander added, "Oh, there is one more thing. Our ambassador in London sent a telegram saying that Princess Mathilde, the cousin of Napoleon III, is in London these days. In addition, in a few days, the Qing Dynasty delegation will go to France and then to Rome! Take a look."

The Tsar narrowed his eyes and said, "Matilda, she is a sociable person. Who can we send to Western Europe?" "Only Nata can go now. Her mother is a princess of the Kingdom of Württemberg," Alexander hesitated, "and she is at the right age to go on a blind date. It's just right for her to go to Western Europe."

The Tsar shook his head and said, "Then let her go, and have the Secret Service send a few capable people to follow her as her entourage and bring more money. Our people just need to find a way to connect with the Qing people."

"By the way, father, there is a priest in Petersburg who came back from the Qing Dynasty. His last name is Tupolev."

"Let him come too!" the Tsar said immediately. "And send a telegram to Olga in Wurtemberg and ask her to make the arrangements."

Olga of Württemberg is Olga Nikolaevna, the daughter of Tsar Nicholas I. She is now the Queen of the Kingdom of Württemberg. It is normal for her to arrange for Grand Duchess Natalia Mihayevna to go to Western Europe for a blind date. Even Napoleon III could not stop it, as it would be too ungraceful.

The secret envoy sent by the Tsar disguised himself as Natalia's entourage to contact the Qing delegation.

"Yes, father."

Brown's Hotel, London.

At this time, Mathilde was sitting naked on the sofa in the bedroom, holding the second volume of the English version of "The Great Book of Prophecy" in her hand and reading it carefully.

There is a lot of content in the second volume of "The Great Book of Prophecy", but the focus is on things related to Russia, France, Japan, Türkiye and Britain.

Mathilde looked at it carefully twice and was a little disappointed. It seemed that in 1854, she would not have the chance to get a queen's crown!

It seemed that she would have to continue to be single, occasionally being a bed partner for the French emperor, or going out to find food on her own.
"Bang! Bang! Bang"

At this moment, there was a knock on the door of Mathilde's room.

"Who?" Mathilde felt something was wrong as soon as she opened her mouth. It seemed like she had "sneaked" into Secretary Li's room.

"It's me, Princess."

The voice coming from outside was French, and it was a woman's voice. It was Mathilde's maid Chloe.

"Chloe, come in, the door is not locked."

With a creaking sound, a woman in her early twenties with a round baby face and blonde hair walked in quickly, holding up her skirt and holding a newspaper in her hand. Seeing Princess Mathilde's bold appearance, she was not surprised at all, but just handed the newspaper to the princess: "Please look at the front page."

"Oh, this is The Times?" Princess Mathilde unfolded the newspaper and turned to the front page. After just one glance, her expression changed slightly, and then she whispered, "The Battle of Sinop was in the Black Sea, right?"

"Yes, just as predicted in the first volume of the Great Prophecy."

Mathilde raised the book in her hand and said to the lady in front of her with a smile: "Chloe, this is the second volume of the "Great Book of Prophecies", which predicts what will happen in 1854! Help me book a boat ticket, I want to go back to Paris. Also, get my checkbook!"

"A checkbook? You want it..." Chloe was stunned.

Mathilde smiled and glanced at the man sleeping soundly on the bed, and said with a sweet smile: "We can't let his hard work be in vain, right?"

(End of this chapter)