Lu Xun once said that humans are very contradictory creatures.
Just like Alexander, this fellow didn't have the guts to directly act or send people to eliminate Paul I, but he did have the guts to use a borrowed knife to kill, and a lot of them.
However, while Alexander was contemplating how to use a borrowed knife to kill, Paul I, who was under house arrest in the Tsarist Imperial Palace, was also figuring out how to make good use of Alexander.
Paul I also had the idea of using a borrowed knife to kill. It was just that Alexander wanted to use a borrowed knife to kill Paul I, while Paul I intended to use Alexander to test the bottom line of Great Ming, or rather, Emperor Zhu Jingsong.
This was because Paul I was also very unhappy with Great Ming, or rather, Emperor Zhu's dominance. Why should Russia sell newly acquired Alaska cheaply to Great Ming just because Great Ming said it wanted to buy it? Why should Russia cede Eastern Siberia and Central Siberia to Great Ming just because Great Ming wanted them? Why should Russia only salivate over Ottoman territory when Great Ming needed oil from the Ottomans? Why could Emperor Zhu's word be law in the "small broken pot"? Why should they, the great benefactors, have to accompany Emperor Zhu to watch Hamisi's performance whenever he wanted to watch a show?
Damn it, is there no law in this world anymore!?
Is it just because Emperor Zhu is the Emperor of Great Ming, and Great Ming is the most powerful country on Earth?
I, Paul I, am also the Tsar of Russia, and Russia is not weak either!
However, just as Alexander did not directly kill Paul I, Paul I also did not dare to flip the table and confront Great Ming directly. After all, Paul I had some self-awareness and knew that Russia's strength was far inferior to Great Ming's, and they could not recklessly flip the table like Emperor Zhu.
Therefore, Paul I allowed the "rebels" to kill the "Ming-style Guard" he had painstakingly built, and allowed Alexander to "imprison" him in the Tsarist Imperial Palace. Look, I, Paul I, have been imprisoned, so Alexander's heinous deeds are all his responsibility. Emperor Zhu, you cannot blame me.
If it weren't for this reason, how could Alexander's small army have broken through the defenses of the Tsarist Imperial Palace under the protection of the "Ming-style Guard"?
Thinking of Alexander's smug expression when he imprisoned himself back then, Paul I couldn't help but laugh: "He's still too young."
After commenting on Alexander with a smile, Paul I turned his gaze to Antonov, the leader of the "fallen" Ming-style Guard and also the intelligence chief of Paul's faction. "How is Little Alexander's operation against the Ottomans progressing?"
Antonov shook his head expressionlessly and replied, "Your Majesty the Tsar, I must remind you that allowing His Highness Alexander to send troops to the Ottomans is definitely not a very wise idea."
Paul I said "oh" with curiosity and asked, "What's wrong? Elaborate."
Antonov remained expressionless: "First of all, those corrupt, decadent, and pleasure-seeking nobles and landowners have collectively defected to His Highness Alexander. In other words, there are no officials loyal to you in the current Russian court. The situation in the army is also not optimistic. His Highness Alexander has restored the system of nobles leading troops."
This situation was within Paul I's expectations, so he just nodded, indicating for Antonov to continue.
Antonov went on to say, "Secondly, His Highness Alexander underestimates the strength of the Ming Dynasty too much. He believes that the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty is constrained by the cabinet, he believes that the Ming Dynasty's army is still using sabers and spears and flintlock guns as their main weapons, and he believes that the common people of the Ming Dynasty are all hoping for the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty to die..."
When Antonov finished recounting the intelligence brought by the spies, even Paul I, who had already prepared himself mentally, was shocked: "Then what? Didn't anyone tell him the true situation of the Ming Dynasty?"
Antonov shook his head again: "I regret to inform you, Your Majesty the Tsar, those noble officers who only enjoy pleasures have never been to the Ming Dynasty, so they have no idea about the true situation of the Ming Dynasty. As for His Highness Alexander, who is the only one who has been to the Ming Dynasty, he has been misled by his own eyes, and incidentally, he has also misled those noble officers."
Paul I was completely bewildered.
Others didn't know the true situation of the Ming Dynasty, but could Alexander, who frequently accompanied him to the "small broken pot" meetings in the Ming Dynasty, also make mistakes in his judgment?
The Emperor of the Ming Dynasty listened to Hamisi's speech honestly because he wanted to watch the show, not because he couldn't do anything about Hamisi. Let alone anything else, how did Hamisi lose his country? He was destroyed by a few thousand Great Ming soldiers stationed at the port of Benghazi, plus some Great Ming merchants and the workers in their households. It is said that those soldiers, merchants, and workers even thought Benghazi was too weak...
The common people of the Ming Dynasty complained that the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty did not build his mausoleum because their rule was that construction of the mausoleum would begin from the day the emperor ascended the throne and would continue until the emperor's death. The longer the emperor reigned, the larger the scale of the mausoleum. This does not mean that the common people of the Ming Dynasty wished for the emperor's death. On the contrary, if the people of the Ming Dynasty did not support their emperor, they would absolutely not wish for the emperor to build a mausoleum!
Does the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty have to go through cabinet discussions for everything? The treasury officials always refuse the emperor's requests to go out for fun or to wage war, citing a lack of funds in the treasury. Wouldn't Alexander, that idiot, know the nickname of the Minister of Revenue of the Ming Dynasty, Liu Huaiwen? When he was in charge, was there ever a day when the treasury of the Ming Dynasty was not short of money?
Also, the armies of the Ming Dynasty are complaining that the army's budget is not enough, and they are using spears, sabers, and flintlock guns as weapons? Damn it, wouldn't Alexander, that idiot, know the term "acting"? Wouldn't he know what it means to pretend to be poor?
The most hilarious thing is that that idiot Alexander actually said that the Ming Dynasty's army was injured by the civilians of the Ming Dynasty, causing the Ming Dynasty's army to have to travel at night – what were the Ming Dynasty officers injured by? Fruits! Food! They weren't hit by dirt and rocks, you scoundrel!
Paul I really couldn't understand how much fake wine Alexander, that idiot, had drunk to conclude that the Ming Dynasty was a paper tiger!
After thinking for a long time without getting any answers, Paul I rubbed his forehead and sighed, "Let's not worry about him for now. Tell me about the movements of the Ming Dynasty."
However, Antonov shook his head again: "Your Majesty the Tsar, there are no movements from the Ming Dynasty. They have neither withdrawn their civilians from the Ottoman Empire nor reinforced their troops towards the Ottoman Empire. Only the Five Military Commissions issued a statement in the 'Great Ming Daily' expressing confidence in protecting the interests of the Ming Dynasty in the Ottoman Empire."
Paul I hummed and asked, "Anything else? Are there any dynamics in the court of the Ming Dynasty? What about the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty?"
When Paul I asked this, Antonov suddenly felt that "Paul I doesn't seem very intelligent either."
After thinking for a moment, Antonov still replied honestly: "Your Majesty the Tsar, apart from the 'Great Ming Daily', we have difficulty obtaining intelligence related to the Ming Dynasty – as you should know, we received our training in the Ming Dynasty. Whether it is gathering intelligence or keeping secrets, they are far more professional than us."
The implication of Antonov's words was that it was fine to bully the intelligence agencies of countries like Europe or the Ottoman Empire, but if they dared to compete with the Ming Dynasty's Jinyiwei and the Eastern Depot, they might not even know how they died.
Paul I naturally understood Antonov's meaning and knew that it was not Antonov's fault.
Helplessly, Paul I could only shake his head slightly and sigh, "In the future, we must find ways to learn more from the intelligence agencies of the Ming Dynasty and improve upon their foundation."
Antonov bowed in agreement expressionlessly, and did not refute Paul I, but he was inwardly disdainful. Learning more from the intelligence agencies of the Ming Dynasty was natural, but the intelligence agencies of the Ming Dynasty had over four hundred years of heritage. How long had the intelligence agencies of Russia been established? Where did they get the confidence to talk about improvement?
After thinking about it, Antonov decided to continue talking about Alexander: "Your Majesty the Tsar, I will ask the Russian intelligence agency to continue to improve. But before that, I have a very important matter to report to you, which is about His Highness Alexander."
After receiving Paul I's permission, Antonov went on to explain Alexander and Dimitri's plan, and Paul I was stunned by this news.
Although Paul I allowed Alexander to launch a coup and was even "imprisoned" by Alexander in the Tsarist Imperial Palace, Paul I never expected that his son, the future Tsar of Russia, would want to kill him!
This is truly a case of fatherly love and filial piety, leading to a laugh!
What was even more unacceptable to Paul I was that Antonov, that scoundrel, did not report this news immediately but instead babbled on about other things first?
In his rage, Paul I became unusually calm. He looked at Antonov and said, "In the future, such news must be reported with priority to allow time for a reaction."
However, Antonov bowed in agreement and then retorted, "Your Majesty the Tsar, I believe your guards are sufficient to protect the safety of the palace. In fact, if your guards had not been specifically dispatched, His Highness Alexander would not have been able to storm the palace."
After hearing Antonov's explanation, Paul I's face immediately turned black.
The Jinyiwei and Eastern Depot of the Ming Dynasty were responsible for intelligence and guards. Our "Ming-style Guard" in Russia was also responsible for intelligence and guards. However, the Jinyiwei and Eastern Depot of the Ming Dynasty always put the safety of the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty first. Our "Ming-style Guard" in Russia, however, first thought about whether they could win against Alexander instead of my safety as Tsar Paul I.
Good, very good, this is truly very Russian!
After inwardly complaining, Paul I rubbed his forehead and asked, "Besides this news, is there any other news?"
Antonov shook his head slightly and replied, "Regarding His Highness Alexander, this is all the news. The rest is about the Austrian art student with a mustache and the Habsburg family, as well as other European countries."
Paul I's interest was immediately piqued, and he asked, "Tell me about it?"
Antonov bowed in agreement and then recounted a series of news, including the art student with a mustache randomly throwing corpses into the territory of his Polish cousin, the Habsburg family allying with the Ottoman Empire and selling firearms and cannons.
After Antonov finished speaking, Paul I was completely dumbfounded.
According to the terms Paul I had negotiated with the art student with a mustache, both sides were supposed to jointly announce a war against their Polish cousin, and Russia was to immediately dispatch troops after the student with a mustache sent his troops. The two would join forces to eliminate and divide their Polish cousin in the shortest possible time.
Alexander, that idiot, suddenly started an uprising and, after placing Paul I under house arrest, directly sent troops to the Ottoman Empire. The terms negotiated between Russia and the art student with a mustache naturally became void.
What Paul I found most unfathomable was that the Austrian art student with a mustache, despite losing the support of Russia, still launched an attack on his Polish cousin without any regard? This guy even resorted to the tactic of throwing corpses?
Thinking of the terrible consequences of the corpse-throwing tactic, Paul I's expression couldn't help but turn grim, and his gaze towards Antonov became even more displeased: "Antonov, I think you need to study harder and first figure out what kind of news needs to be reported immediately and what kind of news can be delayed. Like the news you told me today, the news that Alexander wants to kill me is the most important, followed by the matter of the Austrian art student with a mustache. The rest can be postponed at will."
After expressing his dissatisfaction, Paul I continued to ask, "What about France and England? Are there any movements from them?"
Antonov shook his head slightly and replied, "France seems unwilling to get involved in the dispute between us and the Ottoman Empire, while England is taking the opportunity to resell firearms and cannons. According to the intelligence gathered so far, the firearms and cannons that England and the Habsburg family sold to the Ottoman Empire seem to be backward products?"
Paul I nodded, then asked with great curiosity, "France isn't involved? Aren't they always at odds with the Habsburg family?"
Antonov said, "Yes, France did not get involved. They have been dispatching a large number of troops to Western Kunlun recently, as if they intend to completely take over the entire Western Kunlun."
Paul I hummed and began to ponder.
Because France had been leaning towards the Ming Dynasty in recent years, their various bizarre actions had increased, leading to a new nickname given to France by various European countries in secret: "The Shit-Stirrer of Europe." Even Napoleon, the God of War of France, was portrayed as a man-eating demon. The image of the entire France had been thoroughly tarnished.
So, why didn't France get involved in the war between Russia and the Ottoman Empire?
Could it be that France no longer cared about the interests of the Ming Dynasty?