Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

Chapter 154 011 Von Palen's flawed acting (Part )

Tsar Paul was planning to summon Count von Paaren to have a showdown, but his considerations were always very inconsiderate.

If there is any suspicion, regardless of whether he has any problems or not, he should be arrested on the spot and handed over to the Attorney General for interrogation.

The bad-tempered Attorney General was a rough man who only spoke Russian and didn't know a single foreign word. However, his work was very effective, and compared to Count von Paalen's ability to read the nobles' letters, his intelligence work was more professional.

Although the Count did not know why Paul suddenly summoned him, he already knew the evidence that the Attorney General had been collecting recently from the letters he secretly opened.

Obolyaninov would never have thought that the Tsar's confidant was such a shameless person. Although he had greatly lowered his assessment of this person's bottom line, he did not expect that he would even dare to peek at the memorials written for him, the Tsar and the Crown Prince.

Von Paaren looks "loyal", but he is actually very shameless. He also has to serve in the court, so he is well prepared for these things and his ability to adapt to changes is strong.

After entering the Mikhailovsky Palace, he also met his governess, Mrs. Leven, and greeted the respectable lady.

But Mrs. Leven, with her experience of raising children in the palace, noticed that there was something strange about the earl's behavior.

She thought of the dinner last night when the Tsar and the Queen had together. Although it was a rare good meal, what Paul said was very strange. He asked all adult members of the royal family not to get involved in the conspiracy. This confused the Queen and her nephew Prince Eugene.

Some of the recent strange rumors in the palace have a lot to do with Count von Palen. Mrs. Lieven's main responsibility is to teach the young princes and the Grand Duchess. Catherine has recently "graduated" from her and has been taught by a separate teacher. Although she is responsible for the academic progress of Maria and Catherine, her main focus is on educating the younger Anna, Nicholas and Mikhail.

"Count, you are coming to the palace at this time. Is it because His Majesty summoned you for something?"

"Yes, ma'am, I think you should pay more attention. Never mind, it's nothing."

He was suddenly asked this question by Mrs. Leven, and he unconsciously said this sentence which was not logically coherent.

After he walked towards the Tsar's new office, Mrs. Leven looked at the count's tall back and also began to have doubts.

"What's wrong with him today? What is he going to do?"

She also had to teach the young prince. Maria and Catherine also moved in. Only Alexander and Constantine did not live in the palace because they had their own families. They lived in the Winter Palace and the Marble Palace respectively. Alexander told Paul that Louisa was in good health and they were going to move in in April.

The lady took a look at the garage where the grooms were. There were royal carriages and horses there, which might be useful if something really happened.

After all, the rumor of "March 3, Caesar" has already appeared. It was Count von Paalen himself who said it, and it was heard by Ribeaupierre and some other attendants. As a noble woman who is a royal tutor, Mrs. Lieven naturally has to pay more attention to it.

Let's not talk about her here. Count von Paalen came to the door of Paul's office. Standing at the door was the aide-de-camp, Major General Kutuzov. This person happened to be the person closest to Paul in the conspiracy group and even knew his daily movements.

"Your Majesty received His Royal Highness the Crown Prince yesterday. Although he was not happy with him for not reporting the duel, he did not give any punishment measures. I am just wondering why he suddenly summoned you today?"

"Who knows? Just wait and see what I have to say!"

Count von Paalen discovered that Paul was the only one in the office. His adjutant, attendant, and secretary were not there, and Count Kutaisov, who was usually by the Tsar's side, was also not there.

"Please sit down, Peter Alexeevich. I think we should have a good talk about 'March 3' and 'Caesar'. Everyone knows what happened on this day. Caesar was stabbed 15 times in the Senate. And if you count the dates, the gap is not far away! Today is March 23, which is less than a week. How do you want to explain it?"

Paul seemed to have known it! Count von Paalen was also surprised. After all, he was in the palace every day before, and he could still tell whether the Tsar had noticed anything by observing his words and expressions.

"Your Majesty, but our country does not have senior senators with swords in the Senate, nor does it have the tradition of the Republic."

"But Novgorod is not far from here. Don't forget that aristocratic republic is another form of politics. I am not Tarquin the Younger, not Caesar, nor Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, or Nero."

Paul usually called himself "I" most of the time, and when he said "I", his tone was usually not harsh. This was a gesture that he made to show that the monarch was not high and mighty. Count von Paalen also heard from the Tsar's tone that this posture seemed wrong.

"Can you explain? Do you want to use a dagger or poison directly? Now it's very convenient. There is a pistol on the table. You can kill me with one shot!"

"Your Majesty, I think you must have misunderstood."

Count von Paalen did not expect Paul to be so angry. After a little thought, he remembered one of Paul's biggest characteristics.

Even though he particularly liked to punish others, Paul rarely came out to punish because he was too concerned with laws and rules, and evidence was required. Rules had to be followed, and even some decent people could defend themselves.

Everyone says that Paul is very autocratic, but he is still very reasonable. At this time, in his rage, he even gave Count von Paaren a chance to defend himself.

You know, if you want to deceive people in the palace, you have to bow first, then hide your panicked eyes, and then return to the acting mode.

Solovyov was very clear about this. He had watched a lot of TV series and movies from various European countries and knew several of the more famous Talleyrands very well.

Today Paul left him in the servants' room, and he was able to hear what Count von Paaren said.

It's impossible to see, and there is no place in this house to peek.

"Your Majesty, you also know that in the past, conspiracies have been uncovered in Smolensk and Riga. What I am doing now is not to murder Your Majesty, but to infiltrate their inner circle. Your Majesty, you also know that if there really is a conspiracy group, they will also say that Count von Paaren is a servant of the monarch and will not let me join so easily. I can only infiltrate the inner circle by flattering them. I am still loyal to Your Majesty, but I just want to destroy this conspiracy group and change the minds of some of the people."

In fact, Paul didn't believe it completely. He was honest but not stupid. With a flexible mind, he could find something strange here.

"Really?"

"Your Majesty, that is true. I think you should also know that I have been serving Your Majesty since before Her Majesty the Queen granted Gatchina to Your Majesty."

Paul still didn't believe it, but since von Paaren had said so, he wouldn't get any clear evidence.

"No matter what, I still hope that the lost sheep can get on the right path. You go back, and this matter ends here. Palm Sunday is coming soon, and I don't want anything to happen. If these people come back from their mistakes, I can still forgive them. If they persist in their mistakes, I have thought about it and will not forgive them."

Paul rarely issued death sentences, but he was not lenient with regicide and treason. Before Count von Paaren left, Paul said: "If they want to come, they can come!"

This was a strange intimidation, and it was obvious that Paul's mentality was not normal.

Count von Paalen did not expect such a thing to happen. He knew that he had passed this hurdle today. If Paul really wanted to punish him, he would probably call the guards at the door to lock him up and put him in a cell in the Mikhailovsky Palace.

Solovyov heard everything inside, but he had no idea what was going on. He had no right to read the Prosecutor General's report, but judging from the Prosecutor General's usual style, no matter how simple and crude his style was, he had to rely on evidence when working in such a department.

He didn't know why Paul asked him to eavesdrop in the servant's room today, but he also knew that the Tsar trusted him very much and now sent him to Alexander, otherwise he would not let him stay like this.

After Paul closed the door of his office, he rang the bell, which was an order for the servants to come out.

When Solovyov came out, he saluted Paul.

"Your Majesty, do you want to ask me something?"

"Misha, do you think Count von Paalen is telling the truth?"

"I think so and no. He did join the conspiracy, but from many details and the tone of his voice, I cannot accurately judge the Earl's intentions."

"If you think so, I will believe this report even more. If they want to kill the king, they can just come here directly!"

It is rather strange that Paul himself did this.

"Your Majesty, let me say that you should also be careful not to bring up the story of Ivan the Terrible and Peter the Great!"

One of these two accidentally killed his son, and the other ended up killing his own crown prince Alexei.

When Paul heard this, his body trembled. As a monarch who was well-versed in history books and laws, he was also very clear about his great-grandfather's deeds.

The Tsar knew that he needed to calm down, and now he was trying hard to recall which forces had participated in every coup in Russia.

"Soloviev, you seem to be very good at history. Which of the coups in our country was related to foreigners?"

"Your Majesty, Tsarevich Alexei is attempting to flee to Austria, Her Majesty Empress Elizabeth Petrovna, with the support of the French."

"Yes, this is all obvious. The court in Vienna wanted to recognize Crown Prince Alexei as Tsar, and there was a secret agreement."

As for Empress Elizabeth, her situation was rather special. The Russian nobles had really reached the limit of their tolerance, and with the support of the Guards, the French involvement was not that deep.

Paul himself actually knew very well that his father, Peter III, had turned to Prussia, and the final result was predictable.

"If it was the British, if the British wanted to do it, they would definitely take action. In this case, it would not be that simple."

Then Paul waved his hand and asked Solovyov to leave as well, and he wanted to stay in the office to think quietly.

At this time, Count von Paalen seemed to think that the process should be accelerated and the coup should be launched within a few days. After returning home, he hurriedly wrote to Count Zubov and prepared to win the support of the Crown Prince.

However, judging from Alexander's reply and his attitude in conversations at the court in recent days, his attitude has always been ambiguous, which is a trouble for Count von Paalen.

He didn't know that Count Stroganov had told Alexander not to agree no matter how Count von Paalen tried to persuade him to ascend the throne.

Only when there is a clear signal from Paul himself can action be taken.

As for Paul himself, he lived in the Mikhailovsky Palace, which was difficult to capture unless all the guards rebelled. At least these soldiers were very respectful to the Tsar himself. The slightly petty Tsar could recognize every long-serving veteran and remember their full names. Most of the new soldiers could also remember their names.

With such defense, even if everyone could think of the problem, it would be unlikely for them to imagine that a bloody coup would take place in the heavily guarded Mikhailovsky Palace.

"Your Highness, if a coup d'état really takes place, I am worried that Count von Paalen is not as he said to Your Highness, but is going to commit regicide in the end. March 3 and Kaiser are two clear signals."

"Pasha, are you sure?"

"Your Highness, it has come to this. It must be the contre nous de la tyrannie. You once called yourself a 'Jacobin'. I think you should know a lot about this kind of thing, right?"

Alexander was now enlightened. What Count Stroganov said was indeed correct. Among his confidants, only this one was still in the palace.

"What should we do in this situation?"

"We have to wait for Misha to come back. The Emperor wants to summon him because he has been a guard in the palace for more than a year. He is very loyal and a reliable person for both Your Majesty and Your Highness. After he comes back, he will naturally bring the latest information about Your Majesty today. In addition, there will be a grand performance at the Mikhailovsky Palace on March 3. If the conspirator is discovered, he will obviously not sit still and wait for death. He may return to Your Highness and seek support again."

Count Stroganov's mind was working fast. The favor that both Paul and Alexander showed to their family was incomparable to that of the rebellious count, who had been Paul's long-time confidant. Therefore, both father and son were more calm when it came to taking sides and placing bets.

In this case, both sides can win, and Paul's life is actually more stable. After all, his new policy on abolition of slavery, if it continues to be implemented, will liberate the serfs. Given Paul's character, he is more resolute than Alexander.

The count once chatted with the old count at home. The father and son were considered the richest family in Russia. They had at least tens of thousands of serfs, but both of them supported abolition and believed that this system of restricting identity was meaningless.

A "Byzantine" like Alexander would not be so resolute in promoting abolition of slavery. What is more powerful is that Paul broke the shackles first, and then Alexander came out to pretend to be a good guy to clean up the situation. This is an excellent two-act drama.

As the "directors", the Earl and his son would never have thought that someone would come out to kill the king under the banner of the country. It is indeed very difficult for them to do now.

(End of this chapter)