Chapter 145 Calm down? Indifference?

"Anyone who has frequent contact with Tsar Nicholas II is surprised by his calmness, and people around him are depressed and shocked, such as the fiasco of the Russian war in 1905, the assassination of Stolepin in 1911, the great retreat of Galicia in 1915, and the great turmoil of his abdication in the previous days. , he still remained calm, and his living habits were never broken. He chatted peacefully with his close ministers, instructed the official documents as usual, and insisted on writing down his account every day. What the hell is going on? A Tsar's guard officer asked himself, "Is this kind of great self-reliance that can hardly be believed to be caused by upbringinging, or is it because it believes that everything is determined by God, or is it because of lack of consciousness?" ......"

The diplomatic archives of the Chinese Empire until about 10 p.m., a locomotive with a red ribbon on both sides and a small red flag on it, with two carriages hanging behind it drove into Pskov Railway Station and stopped not far from the Tsar's No. 1 train.

The sentries, guards and attendant officials standing next to the tsar's special train saw several soldiers wearing red flowers on their chests jumping out of the official carriage by the lights of the station, and were stunned by their appearance. Those soldiers dragged their rifles very casually and knew at a glance that they would not hold guns at all. In this way, the revolutionary Petrograd was a common scene, but in their eyes, it was extremely shocking.

The two new carriages were squeezed on the adjacent platform, slightly tilted to the Tsar's carriage. A young citizen, who was also wearing red flowers, saw the station staff and people passing by occasionally, and distributed leaflets to them from the platform of the second carriage. People pulled the leaflets with some hesitantly, and some were eager to get them. The people who got the leaflets soon went their separate ways, but people kept coming to ask for the leaflets.

General Rusky had a plan for a long time to intercept the two parliamentarians, bypass the Tsar, and invite them to his headquarters. For this reason, he gave an order, and he did not return to the city himself, but in the waiting carriage. Danilov transferred the documents from the city to him here, including Sakharov and Nie. Penin's reply and the order for the appointment of Kornilov were followed by a draft of the Tsar's abdication edict that had been studied by the base camp. Ruski forwarded all these documents to the Tsar, and he tried to avoid meeting with him. He kept the telegraph manuscript of the Tsar's announcement of his abdication. Although the Tsar kept asking repeatedly, he I didn't hand over this rich telegram.

The reason for doing so is that Rusky is worried that the Tsar will repent during this period. He needs to make it clear to the two senators in this telegram that they should not dare to pressure him and have promised to abdicate. The two of them should not dare to pressure him, so he needs to be the first to see the legislators, and Shulijin also came. The arrival of this monarchist made him quite uneasy. However, Shulijin is still a progressive and intelligent member. The situation in Petrograd is mysterious and turbulent. It is expected that there will be more major changes. At this time, there is news that some military vehicles are coming from Luga to Pskov, not only carrying Soldier's big trucks and a few equipment trucks, how to deal with this...? What should I do?

Rusky did not dare to fight against the army of the New Deal Axe in any case, but it was also impossible to release a group of emotional thugs from the headquarters of the Hundred Front Army.

Both Gutchikov and Shulijin also want to see Rusky first, so as to prepare to understand all the situation and avoid doing anything unstable. However, before they walked out of the carriage and heard the report of the military transport commander, the tsar's attendants who secretly guarded them approached and asked them to meet the tsar. This can't be rejected. It not only follows the long-standing concept, but also does not seem to have no self-confidence, but will destroy its own mission.

So the two got off the train, entered another platform, and walked towards the Tsar's carriage. It seemed that they were going to start like this. Guccikov was fat and short, wearing a luxurious fur coat. Shulijin was tall and thin, dressed young, and wearing a fur hat on his head.

On the way, the attendant Mordvilov tentatively asked Shulijin, the famous monarchist.

"What's going on in Petrograd?"

"Everything there is imaginable. We are completely controlled by the workers' representative Soviets. We stole it out. When we go back, we may be arrested!"

"Is there any hope?" Mordvelov asked in surprise.

"No, we are here in the hope that the Tsar can help us!"

Shu Lijin didn't hide anything, nor did he exaggerate, which may be because he was too young.

They entered the compartment of the car. The servants helped the two senators take off their coats. After a few doors, they turned into the living room. The living room was full of sunshine. The windows were covered with rolling curtains, and the four walls were wrapped in light green leather. The whole room looked very beautiful. The two legislators had this kind of cleaning in Petrograd these days. Stranger, those thugs even pooped in the living room. There is also a piano in the living room, a small art wall clock.

The senior general and court minister, Count Frederick, met them here. The old man's white beard was up, his hair was white and yellow, and his shoulders were covered with ribbons. He had maintained a fat or thin figure for many years, but his hunchback had made him bend his original body, but his clothes The dress is still impeccable, coupled with the portrait of three generations of emperors inlaid with diamond flowers on the blue knot, reminding the two senators where they have come from.

At this time, Guchkov took a strong stride, as if he were a winner, while Shurikin felt embarrassed and felt that he did not come to meet the emperor at all. He did not wash his face well or shave well, and he was wearing a coat in the Tavrida Palace for four days. It was not until now that he imagined how commensurate their appearance was with the great moments of Russia.

At this time, the tsar's pupil, who had been staying in the carriage, came over. His pace was not as light as usual, as that of a young man. He wore a chelcus gray garden collar robe with a bullet clip on his chest and a commander's epaulette on his shoulder. At this time, Nicholas II's face was full of clouds, and he suddenly appeared deep Wrinkles, he did not follow the etiquette. When the two people came to him, he walked forward and greeted him casually. When he shook hands, his hands also looked very strong.

The Tsar has fallen to this point!

He regarded his family and personal enemies as a savior. In the terrible seven hours from the signing of the abdication edict to the arrival of the two parliamentarians, he was eager to meet them. He endured the seven hours to drink tea and eat with the attendants, and read the telegram that Sakharov cheered him up. Nepenin's order Desperate telegrams.

"If the abdication letter cannot be issued in the last few hours, Russia will be in great disaster," Alexeyev conveyed in a telegram to Luo Jiangke's statement on the formation of a self-proclaimed political axe and how the political axe chose a general to the Petrograd military region, so he hurriedly read it over and over again. After several times of the abdication edict to be written by the Diplomatic Office of the base camp, this edict is still written openly.

This time, Nikolai's eyes did not hide his panic and hope. He looked at the two senators. What kind of relief are they likely to bring to him? For a moment, Nicholas was eager to know what they had brought. He was ready to admit the responsible cabinet and let his enemy be the prime minister, as long as he ended the fight with Petrograd. As for himself, as long as he could go to the imperial village unimpeded and return to his family.

Nikolay was very familiar with these people, and it was because of this that he did not ask them for the authorization of the business trip and negotiations given to them by the State Duma. In fact, the two legislators did not even consider the authorization for a minute, whether in Petrograd or on the way.

Nikolay sat at a small square table against the wall. Two people could sit on the first side of the square table. He gently leaned against the light green leather. Guchkov and Shulikin sat on the other side of him. Fredericks sat on a single chair in the middle of the room and sat on a small side of the corner of the room. Ren, the bodyguard General Nareshkin, took a pencil to make a record.

Nikolay knew that among the two who came, Guchkov was the protagonist, so he deliberately nodded to him and signaled him to speak.

At this time, in the face of the Tsar's permission, Guchkov was excited. Between 1905 and 1906, how many reports had been exchanged between them, and these reports were adopted with trust, which inspired his enthusiasm and hope. Since then, he became the chairman of the third Congress of the Duma, but this It was a Duma that no one understood. In addition, at that time, he also wrote many thoughtful reports to Sha at different times, expressing his heart and exposing other people's letters! None of the scars in the past ten years have been smoothed and forgotten. This emperor, who is good at prevarication, avoided all his inner confessions. Now the times have changed. It is too late to blame him again. It is nothing more than revenge. Besides, what Guccikov saw from the Tsar's eyes at this time was no hostility and Unconfident eyes.

In this way, he should directly defeat the supreme conversation that never completely succumbed, so he simply didn't beat around the bush and told the truth.

"Your Majesty, we are here to report what has happened in Petrograd these days, and at the same time... discuss what can be done to save the crisis!"

He expressed these words very successfully. If he didn't try his best to pursue anything, it was the shortness of the conversation. He knew very well the expected result and the way to reach his destination, but he could not say it without going through a preparation process, especially when the Tsar needed to prepare. It was with a long time, rhetoric and persuasion that Guchkov could better push the tsar to cross the wavering and doubt in his heart. So he told in detail how all this began: at first, people destroyed the bakery, workers went on strike, and all kinds of incidents in the police, all of which spread to the army. After many disasters, all of this really happened in front of us. Fires, cars full of soldiers on the streets and delegations rushing to the Tavrida Palace. The regime was paralyzed, and the teams of the Olympic Laniyanbaom marched towards Petrograd in the snow... Later, even Moscow was submissive without a struggle. Two First of all, there was no resistance, which is particularly important for his argument, and... This is the most surprising thing - the regime no longer exists.

"You see, Your Majesty, these things didn't happen because of any conspiracy or premeditated coup..."

He didn't want to say that, but he couldn't help but say it. Instead, he involved the matter and went up.

"But this is the people's movement. He came out of his own soil and immediately had traces of no political axeism. It is the political axe-free surname of the movement that makes us social activists feel terrible. In order not to let the turmoil turn into a state of no political axe, we formed a temporary committee member of the State Duma to hold a meeting. I began to take measures to let the army command its subordinates. I personally toured many troops and persuaded the lower-level soldiers to keep their orders. But in the same building, in addition to us, there was another committee, the Workers' Representative Committee, and we were also unfortunately under their influence and even supervised by them. Their slogan is the republic and land farmers, which completely attracts soldiers. There is also a danger that we moderates will be abandoned, and their movement will sweep us. At that time, Petrograd will fall into their hands!"

In the face of the real situation, there may be Guchkov's miscalculation. You should know that their temporary committee is regarded as a political axe with full power here. It is precisely because of them that they negotiate, otherwise what are they? Why do you want to talk about it?

Occasionally facing the undisguised and sincere eyes of the Tsar, Guchkov noticed that the faint spark of hope was extinguishing. Probably such a spark was still there at the beginning. Obviously, this real situation was more influential for him. Both of them were moderates, not the Tsar's enemies.

Guchkov sometimes glanced at the Tsar's face, but most of the time he didn't even look at it. He just lowered his head slightly and looked at the table to speak. Is this to concentrate better, or was he embarrassed to show his pride to the Tsar? Somehow, he always avoided looking directly at the Tsar.

When talking about those things, he seemed a little excited and uneasy, and his words were also intermittent, with each other. Nikolay half leaned against the wall of the carriage, bowed his head and did not look at Guchikov. The two talked, as if it was not this small table that separated them, but the telephone line that separated them.

The great transformation is certain, and it is very popular. People here should feel it most clearly, and what will happen if the riot affects the front army? You should know that there is "flammable" everywhere, and a little spark may lead everything. Once any troops fall into the environment of movement, they will be infected immediately. Therefore, there is no hope to send troops to Petrograd. When these troops contact with the guard forces in Petrograd, they will turn to the direction.

"Your Majesty, all the struggles for you are futile. It's useless to suppress this movement - you can't do it!"

I don't know if it's appropriate to say this. I don't know if the Tsar can stop holding any hope and cover up everything that caused the two senators' uneasiness, but Nicholas did not refute or argue. He lowered his head, and his facial expression was unpredictable. He sat there motionless, looking that he was the calmest of all.

He was always like this. At first, he kept calm and was anxious when he temporarily decided his last name. At this moment, the new news did not bring him any sense of relaxation, which made him completely calm. He listened with an indifferent mood.

However, despite this, he was secretly surprised by Guchkov's politeness without any rudeness. He thought that there might be insulting words and deeds.

At this time, there was a noise outside the door, and it was Rusky who was scolding someone aggressively outside the door.

"Why don't you invite the representative to me first?"

Then, Ruski came in regardless of etiquette. He did not ask for wormworms. He nodded, nor did he ask to sit at their small table for the fourth person. He sat down at the diagonal corner of Shulijin, and then played with the ears on the military uniform ribbon.

At this time, in Guchkov's peaceful voice, he began to highlight a tone that seemed to be a little heart-warming. He seemed to want to confirm whether he had moved the Tsar or not. He told the Tsar without mercy how people came to welcome Duma and how to recognize his regime, which was Representatives of the Tsar's private guard, representatives of the exclusive railway corps, representatives of the mixed regiment of the Guards, and even representatives of the palace police, all these people are related to the defense of the Tsar, all of which are trusted by Nicholas II.

"..."

All this finally moved Nicholas. Nicholas only felt a burst of pain for the betrayal of the trusted troops. He frowned gently and his shoulders trembled. In addition to this time, he still showed that kind of incredible calmness, which was consistent with the outside world's understanding of him. That is, Guchkov himself will never forget the amazing calmness shown by the Tsar when he received him in 1906. Besides the uprising of Kronstadt, but he was rooted in It's not surprising, and Guchkov inferred from his indifferent attitude at that time that everyone was dead, and the Russian Empire would also perish. Now, he also believes that a normal person would not listen to such a terrible thing to him indifferently, and the Tsar would behave in an insignificant moment. In a hurry, if the guard hadn't rebelled, could he understand that he was already on the edge of the abyss?

(to be continued)