Chapter 423 Big and Small Foxes (Part 1)

This is why military strategists emphasize knowing oneself and knowing the enemy. Go to war without the support of intelligence, unless your enemy is too weak to fight back, then you can be crushed by an overwhelming advantage, otherwise you will only be played around by the enemy .

The failure of Count Shuvalov in Kiev just explained this point, but the group of people who are meeting to sum up experience and lessons now are full of ghosts and blind self-confidence, thinking that the failure was just carelessness.

Can you imagine what effect such a summary can have? To bluntly say that this kind of summary is worse than no summary, it is simply a blind eye - a display!

For Count Uvarov, this meeting was indeed a display, and he didn't really come to sum up the experience and lessons. He just used it to test the attitudes of the people below, which was more important to him.

And now he has basically figured out the attitude of the people below. Most of them are disappointed with what happened in Kiev. Although they have not risen to the point of having any objections to him as the boss, voices of doubt have already arisen.

Moreover, this group of young men headed by Bariatinsky is very dishonest. I'm afraid they have heard some rumors, so they already have the intention of challenging him, the boss. It's just that this intention is not very clear, or they haven't made up their minds yet.

And this also means that the next few days are very critical for Earl Uvarov. If he can't try to get the understanding of Nicholas I and win back the trust of His Majesty from the heart, then once the previous news If word spread, Bariatinsky and others would definitely make moves, and they might force the palace.

After the meeting, Uvarov's mood became more and more heavy, the situation was very unfavorable, and he had no way to break the situation yet.

"Would you like to go directly to the Winter Palace and see His Majesty's attitude for yourself?" Old Adlerberg gave him an idea.

Count Uvarov didn't immediately agree or veto it immediately. He pondered for a while before saying: "It's too direct. I know His Majesty's thoughts. If I were so direct, maybe he would... be unhappy..."

In fact, it was not a matter of being happy or unhappy, but that Count Uvarov was a little embarrassed. After all, the impression he had left on Nicholas I before was an image of wisdom that was unchanging and detached.

But now as soon as he finds something is wrong, he wags his tail and runs to the Winter Palace for comfort, which will cause his compulsion to drop and even his character design to collapse. Count Uvarov didn't want his image as a wise man to collapse, as that would really lead to a decline in his status in Nicholas I's heart.

After all, Count Rostovtsev is still inscrutable,

And this time the earl did a very good job. In contrast, if he collapsed, wouldn't he be overwhelmed by the other party?

Uvarov didn't want to lose to Count Rostovtsev, so going directly to the Winter Palace was definitely not advisable. But he had to try to go back. After thinking for a long time, he suddenly asked: "What is the crown prince doing recently?"

Old Adlerberg immediately asked Xiange to know the meaning of elegance, knowing what Earl Uvarov meant, he immediately replied: "Speaking of which, I haven't seen the Crown Prince for a while, or I have a ball and invite the Crown Prince to come over How about a story?"

Uvarov nodded with satisfaction. This is what satisfied the old Adlerberg the most. His ability to read words and expressions was top-notch, and he immediately knew what to do.

However, he still ordered: "Make it beautiful, don't be too...too deliberate, please invite some wives that the Crown Prince likes, you know!"

Old Adlerberg didn't say anything, but he felt a bit bitter in his heart. He really became a pimp in his feelings. When it comes to girls, the first thing you think of is me, right?

Speaking of which, Crown Prince Alexander and his father are actually lustful and hungry ghosts. Don't look at each of them and their wives as if they are respectful to each other, but their private lives are chaotic in private. Both father and son like to collect beautiful women, they can be said to be top scumbags.

Sure enough, as soon as he heard that there was a favorite beauty, Crown Prince Alexander, he came to the banquet without saying a word. But before he could kiss Fangze, Count Uvarov uninvitedly disturbed his dream.

"Count, haven't you always disliked this kind of ball?"

Count Uvarov felt helpless looking at Crown Prince Alexander's playful eyes. Although he was not as isolated as Count Rostovtsev, he did not like occasions like balls and salons, especially young people's balls. and salon. He thought it was too noisy and gave him a headache.

But now that the crisis is imminent, he has to get rid of those dislikes, but he still defended himself: "I don't like noisy places, but I have been recuperating in the countryside for a while, and I have been living alone for a long time. Lonely, seeing you young people full of vigor and vigor makes me feel better..."

Crown Prince Alexander naturally didn't believe such nonsense. He knew that Count Uvarov had come to him specially for something, so while temporarily apologizing to his sisters, he followed Count Uvarov to the study slowly. .

"Count, aren't you recuperating in Gatchina? Why did you come back suddenly? Did something important happen?"

Count Uvarov felt uncomfortable looking at Crown Prince Alexander's pretended concern. He always felt that the crown prince was sometimes a little too fake. He clearly knew why he came to see him, but he still pretended not to know, isn't this deception?

Do you think you can deceive people with this kind of clumsy performance, and make me feel that you really don't know anything about what happened before?

On the contrary, Count Uvarov felt that the more Crown Prince Alexander concealed it, the more he proved that he knew about it. I am afraid that Nicholas I may have really warned him not to keep too close to himself.

Otherwise, how could this glass-hearted crown prince have the guts? He didn't even have time to curry favor with him before, so how could he hide from him!

But even if Earl Uvarov was like a mirror in his heart, he would not show it. Who made this officialdom? It is normal to hold high and step down. If he can't prove his worth as soon as possible, I'm afraid the crown prince will become more and more alienated from him.

However, Count Uvarov was not particularly nervous, because he knew that the interests of Crown Prince Alexander and his were highly consistent. If he was unlucky to recite his words, the Crown Prince would probably not have good fruit.

So he replied calmly: "Thank you, Your Highness, for your concern. Didn't you hear that the case in Kiev has been closed? I came to you specifically to ask about the result..."