Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

Alexander did not deliberately try to stop either side, but the final result is self-evident.

The current situation in the Russian court would be a sign of trouble if it is not supported. If it is supported, it could lead to a huge upheaval.

Balashov is now ready, not only to deal with the documents he gave to Alexander before, but he will naturally continue to do it.

When it comes to foreign spies, his counter-espionage skills are not that good, but his ability to catch his own people is about as good as the Los Angeles police catching raccoons.

Even if there was a big fire in Los Angeles, they could use a baton to make a raccoon confess, OK, it was me.

In Russia, it's probably like this: Harasao, I am a French spy.

Now, what he had to do was to put it all together and "perfect" the chain of evidence. Only after Speransky had confirmed it would the problem be solved.

Of course, neither side has its brains here.

If we continue like this, something serious might happen.

Alexander was in the palace and was a little worried.

He felt that it would not be good if he did not have evidence, but it would also be bad if he went too far.

Seeing him in this state, it seems like every time he encounters trouble, he has difficulty making a decision.

When Louisa saw him like this, it was okay in the past, but now when something big was about to happen, he was still in this state, which was really not good.

As a Tsar, it is indeed outrageous that he always has to wait until things happen before he takes action.

If he is an actor, there should be no problem for him to act in a comedy.

In order to complete the chain of evidence, Balashov actually did everything he had said before.

If you really think about it, the content is very clear.

As a result, the whole month of February has been unrest, and Speransky is under a lot of pressure now.

His idea was to resign and leave, to live in the countryside with his wife and daughter for a while, but Alexander did not approve of his plan at the beginning.

In this way, he still has to be a punching bag here, and he is the only one who is targeted by the conservatives.

The big four of the committee are not here right now, and he happens to be the Secretary of State.

Public opinion was becoming increasingly unfavorable to him, but now that all the rumors had come out, he felt more relaxed.

Anyway, there is no death penalty in Russia. Even if it is real treason, if you are a decent gentleman and you are not pretending to be Peter III, you will definitely not be put to death. At most, your fate will be like that of Madame Saltykova, who was locked up in a cell and even had some stories with the jailer in the end.

Even if he really pretends to be Peter III, he can't do anything to you if you are far enough away from Russia.

Montenegro has such a thing, and the Queen even sent people to establish diplomatic relations with it.

"You look much more relaxed now than when you were working normally."

"Adela, aren't you going to rest now?"

"I couldn't sleep. When I followed my brother, he was in the army when he was most anxious, so I didn't see him much. After I married you, I didn't go out too far. I just worked at home."

"If the emperor really makes a decision this time, we can go to the countryside for a while. It will be much better than living in this depressing atmosphere."

"To Novgorod?"

"It's better to go somewhere else. Although I have many enemies, I also have many friends. This time we can go to Yaroslavl. Although it's a little cold there, the climate in summer is not bad. If you feel cold in winter, you can ask the servants to heat the house a little."

Speransky himself deserves the salary and treatment, but now the conservatives are pressing him step by step, and he can't do many things, so he can only leave it like this.

"Even if you go to the countryside, you have to work 18 hours a day, and you don't have much free time. Even when you are in bed, you have to keep track of time."

"Then there's no delay, right? It would be nice if it was a girl."

"Why do you want a girl too?"

"The Count is your sworn brother, but he has one thing in common. He likes girls because he doesn't have to get deeply involved in this damn politics. Instead, he can hide at home in the future. If he wants to show up in public, he can appear as a hostess in a salon."

Of course, this is all about the life of the nobility.

"The same to you?"

"Those of us in the bureau are different from you outside the bureau. Fortunately, you are a girl. If it weren't for your ability, you'd better take care of the household affairs. We can live happily like this, as long as you don't mind that I'm old and look even older."

"If I like a pretty one, I'd want someone like Brother Mishka. You two have the same name, but you look very different."

"Ah, I had thick hair when I was young, but not like Misha's."

Solovyov's hair is so thick and beautiful, which is definitely different from a bald head like Speransky.

"That's far from it, but you're a very good person, unlike those people who always have bad intentions. Once upon a time, an officer of the Guards took a fancy to me and followed me to my doorstep. Guess what happened?"

"What can I do?"

"I threw a bucket over him and he never came near the Moika Canal again. All the girls in our street thanked me for that."

"You won't use"

"If it was before, it would be considered as doing his laundry."

"My goodness, this is Vespasian."

That’s right, the Roman emperor was eventually referred to as “pee” because he collected taxes on urine, which eventually made his name have some flavor in history.

Speransky was well-educated and had read a lot, so he naturally knew what it meant.

If Adela had not been raised as a proper countess at home and had not learned from her own tutor, she would have been able to say this implicitly.

Their relationship as husband and wife is now very harmonious, and they are even prepared to endure hardships together.

Such a day would come very soon. After Balashov collected enough evidence, it was finally time to make the announcement. He even felt a little complacent about it.

Everything was the same for Speransky. His daughter returned to the countryside in the spring. There were only the couple and a few servants here. The furnishings at home were very simple, but there were a lot of documents and drafts in the office. Balashov didn't find it strange to see this. Everyone knew that he worked like this and it had been like this for years.

But at this time of "trial", he still had the leisure to work, which was indeed a bit strange.

The Minister of Police has confirmed with Alexander that he can give orders to Speransky and that is how to deal with him.

But he found it boring when he saw that the couple didn't react at all.

"Mikhail Mikhailovich, I think you should also know that because of some of your daily remarks, political views, and most importantly, your relationship with the French, you can be declared guilty of espionage. But the merciful emperor finally only decided that you will not go to St. Petersburg and Moscow for three years, and the final result of the punishment is to reflect on your own country estate."

"that's it?"

"That's all. I won't read out the emperor's edict. Just read it for yourself."

The edict that Speransky saw was indeed drafted by the Secretary of State. Having been with these people for a long time, he was familiar with their handwriting.

There is also the signature of the Tsar himself below, which proves that he is no longer serving as Secretary of State.

"Then who will take over my position? Since this is a disciplinary decision, there must be someone to take over, right?"

"Mr. Shishkov will take over your position, so you don't have to think about it."

"Well, I can arrange for my wife to go there first. She can move around easily now, but things will be different in a few months."

Balasov was asking for trouble by doing this, because after announcing the order, he still had to supervise its execution.

Speransky's official residence in St. Petersburg looked a bit shabby considering his status as a second-class civil servant, but for a lower-class noble, it was a nice house.

"Adela, we are only leaving here temporarily. What will happen in the future depends on the decision made by the emperor."

In fact, at this time, he put down his burden and felt a lot more relaxed. He also came to his senses and as an outsider he could analyze Alexander's behavioral characteristics.

In the future, he would not make the mistake of being caught by others, but there was one thing he had to pay attention to, which was the trust he enjoyed in front of Alexander. Although he might return to St. Petersburg in the future, this trust would not be the same as in the past few years.

Even when he looked at Balashov, the Minister of Police seemed very proud of himself now, but he also had to take into account how to deal with him later.

However, Speransky had no interest in this. It would be a good thing to live with his family in the countryside and have a safe haven before the storm.

However, he wanted to go to Yaroslavl, but this was impossible. In the edict, Alexander could be said to have given him preferential treatment by allowing him to go directly to his home in Novgorod.

His farm was not far from the city, and was even near the Novgorod train station. It would be very convenient if someone came to consult him or if he wanted to be reinstated.

Moreover, this punishment is only aimed at him personally. His wife and children are not within the scope of the punishment. If they want to visit relatives, it will not be affected.

It was just a little unfair to Adela. She had only been married for a short time and she was already suffering because of me.

But the other party didn't care too much. When he held her hand and touched her belly to show affection, she took the opportunity to hide in his arms.

"I think it's good for you to be like this. You can finally get rid of this burden."

But, it was still said in a joking tone.

"There's something in your words."

"I wonder what Balashov will be like. I'm afraid it won't end well if he returns to the Emperor."

"Why do you say that?"

"My sister-in-law went to the palace to see Her Majesty the Queen a few days ago. Her Majesty, who usually doesn't care about anything, actually mentioned your matter."

"So what?"

"It's probably what His Majesty said when he came over, but it doesn't matter. We don't need to see the final result. But if there is a letter inspection at that time, my brother and sister-in-law may not be able to tell us what happened in time."

That’s right, when they are under house arrest, their communications will be checked by the police.

This is also Balashov's duty as the Minister of Police. He can also take this opportunity to take action against some people.

But his happiness was limited to a certain extent. After the Speranskys left, Alexander called Balashov over.

"Your Majesty, are you summoning me again at this time?"

"Yes, we summoned you now, Balashov. We also sent Speransky to the countryside. He really needs a rest. Sometimes heavy work can affect a person's judgment and make him talk nonsense."

"With your majesty's mercy, there is nothing wrong with any of your actions."

"But I envy him too. Solovyov's beautiful sister who was raised at home was actually won over by a bald, old guy like him, and he even married her into his family as his wife."

"Your Majesty, what do you mean?"

Fortunately, Alexander's family only has girls, otherwise if Balashov took the boys out to play, they would sooner or later learn bad habits.

After all, it was always a little strange for him to be like this, but he could also hear something strange in Alexander's tone.

"Your wife is also very beautiful, and she is also a very wealthy heiress. I think you can take a rest for a while. The work of the Minister of Police is indeed very hard. You can go home and rest for two months. When you come back, you can serve as the general's attendant. Some important matters also require a reliable person to handle them so that people can feel at ease."

Alexander said this, and although his attitude showed that he still trusted Balashov, it sounded like the job of the aide-de-camp also meant that he would always be by the Tsar's side.

But this position also sounds more like a position of a favorite, rather than the powerful position of police minister that looks as impressive as it does.

The Tsar still needed a loyal lackey like Balashov, so he kept an appointment for him. In fact, the treatment of a chamberlain general was better than that of a police minister. The emperor could eat and drink well, and he could eat and drink with him.
But this was also a statement to the bureaucrats who participated in the reform. Although Kochubey was now Speransky's subordinate, his status was still there. He was also a relative of the former Prime Minister of the Empire and always had some weight in the civil service circle.

While he was ill, he wrote a letter to Alexander, who decided that in order to strike a balance between the factions, he could let Balashov take up some positions that looked respectable but whose responsibilities were not very important.

In this way, the Minister of Police became a minister who only ate and drank with others.

Balashov has to endure it, after all, this good job may not be available to others.

Of course, in the eyes of some people who have served as aide-generals, the position of aide-generals without actual position and military power is just a formality.

When Bagration was in this position, he was also the general on duty and the commander of the Guards. Peter Volkonsky was an aide that Alexander had to use at any time. Even the few with less experience who held this title were in charge of troops.

But if it was Balashov, he would probably be able to use his eloquence to be a messenger. (End of this chapter)