Xinshun 1730

Chapter 103 The Black Knight and the Princess
"I see, this Russia is going to end."

Seeing Hannibal's first sentence, he uttered a sense of desolation.

Hannibal was unmoved, just like every day before, wearing that brigadier general uniform, sitting quietly at the desk and writing.

He just raised his head to see clearly that it was Liu Yu, and lowered his head again.

Hannibal no longer had the slightest trust in Liu Yu.

Protestants, merchants, heavy artillery, warships... are all fake.Even on the warship, he was humiliated with the phrase "I come, I see, I conquer."

But now that he was captured, Hannibal knew that even if he wanted to fight a duel, Liu Yu would not give him this chance.So I only thought Liu Yu's words were farting, and I didn't want to listen to them at all.

With a creaking sound, Liu Yu moved a chair by himself, deliberately made a lot of noise, and sat opposite Hannibal.

Shake my butt a few times, making the chair creak.Hannibal finally stopped writing, suppressed his anger and said, "Excuse me, what are you going to do? You have trampled on my honor, do you still want to get something from me?"

Liu Yu spread his hands and said, "Didn't I tell you? Let me tell you, this Russia is going to end."

"No, it won't. That's the last refuge of Orthodoxy."

Listening to Hannibal's rebuttal, Liu Yu just wanted to laugh in his heart, thinking that you, who changed from Coptic to green and then Dongzheng, are still so involved in the drama.

Before, Liu Yu thought about how to pry Hannibal's mouth open and let Hannibal cooperate.After thinking for a long time, I feel that there are not many ways available.

But people always have weaknesses, and people without weaknesses must be ruthless.As long as a person has something he loves and cares about, the deeper the love, the greater the weakness.

He wanted to test what Hannibal really cared about. Perhaps his spiritual motherland, Russia, was one of them?
"Mr. Hannibal, there is a piece of news that you may not know. Catherine is dead. Peter II is enthroned, and Menshikov is exiled...and, the Privy Council decided that the capital From Petersburg, back to Moscow. Do you know what that means?"

The previous few words seemed to be within Hannibal's expectation.

It's just that when he said "move the capital to Moscow", the quill in Hannibal's hand trembled involuntarily, and a look of shock appeared on his dark face.

Take out Da Yuer in the wild history to persuade Hong Chengchou to be a traitor. Seeing Hong Chengchou flicking the ashes on his clothes, he knows that this person must not want to die.Liu Yu has been staring at Hannibal carefully, trying to see what he really cares about.

What matters is his weakness.

Seeing that Hannibal was excited because he mentioned moving the capital to Moscow, Liu Yu had a general direction in his mind.

It took Peter decades to clean up the treasury, and the reformed country was about to collapse. He finally moved the capital to Petersburg, just to be closer to Europe and continue westernization.

And moving the capital to Moscow is equivalent to Peter's decades of painstaking efforts all come to naught.Moscow is run by the old aristocracy, who will not continue to support Westernization.

Non-Westernization means sinking for Russia.

Since Hannibal cared about this, Liu Yu continued, "I have an inference, let's see if it's reasonable."

"Peter II is only 12 years old this year. But he is Peter's grandson after all. Maybe when he grows up, he will take power back from the dukes of the Privy Council. Maybe he will die soon, from a strange disease, Or a hunting accident. Since you have traveled in courts of various countries, I don’t think it should be a surprise.”

"Once he dies, the dukes and earls of the Privy Council will certainly not usurp the tsar, but they can support someone they can control—for example, some women who are married to foreign countries have no roots in Russia. Do you think, Is there such a possibility?"

On Hannibal, the word sudden change of complexion is not used, because it is too dark.But Liu Yu's words made Hannibal's hands tremble slightly, which is a change that can be detected intuitively.

Hannibal was a slave in Ottoman and followed Peter for a long time. These two heirs who "proclaim themselves Rome" have a tradition of coup d'etat. He is sure that Liu Yu's words are not just nonsense, but a great possibility.

If it is said that because of the death of his father, Peter II may be full of malice towards the reform, but there are still some variables after all.

If...if, as Liu Yu said, if Peter II dies from a strange disease or a hunting accident, and finds a woman of blood from a foreign country, those people in the Privy Council may completely control the political situation in Russia .

Let the Tsar be a mascot, and the real policy is formulated by the Privy Council. Once the policy is formulated by the group of old party nobles in the Privy Council, all reforms will stagnate or even retreat.

Liu Yu had talked and asked a lot about Russia with the Earl of Savoy before.He probably knew that Hannibal belonged to the Westfa Party, but it was hard to say who Hannibal supported.

Hannibal was definitely loyal to Peter, but was he loyal to the heirs of Catherine I?After all, from the mouth of the Earl of Savoy, it can be known that the old Russian party members are not satisfied with Catherine I, and have no respect for Catherine I. They secretly call her a maid, foreign cousin, and military prostitute...

Taking advantage of Hannibal's emotional turmoil, Liu Yu struck while the iron was hot and said, "Perhaps, the only successor who can inherit the legacy of Peter the Great and lead Russia to reform is Princess Elizabeth."

Hearing Liu Yu mention that name, Hannibal was a little excited, and for the first time he took the initiative to agree with Liu Yu's words.

"Yes, yes. Only she can inherit her father's behest and, as the orthodox heir, lead Russia to glory."

Not only did Hannibal speak excitedly, but his eyes also became brighter and more agile than before.

Liu Yu heard something wrong with this, and thought to himself, don't you have any thoughts about your god-sister?

"I heard she is beautiful, is that true?"

There was a smile on the corner of Hannibal's mouth that he might not have noticed, his eyes squinted upwards towards the void, as if caught in some kind of memory.

"Yes, she is very beautiful, the most beautiful woman I have ever seen. The first time I saw him, His Majesty and I came back from abroad. Her Royal Highness was dressed in a gorgeous dress, and came to welcome her elegantly and lively. If you have seen that scene, you will be overwhelmed by her charm. She is so lively, she is always the most shining at the ball, like a candle burning by the Neva River in summer, surrounded by all flying insects Spin her around..."

Hannibal was still there using various words to describe the princess. Liu Yu was quite disdainful about it, and thought of a "Dragon Cavalry" who could walk a horse on his arms and hold a thirty-pound marshal's scepter horizontally. What kind of daughter will a woman give birth to?There is definitely something wrong with your aesthetics.

The more I listened, the more I felt that what Hannibal cared about... I am afraid that this godsister will be ranked in front of Russia.

So at the moment when Hannibal's memories reached the sweetest, Liu Yu also pretended to sigh and said: "It's a pity. Such a beautiful woman, it's a pity."

"pity?"

"Yeah. Didn't I infer just now? The old party in the Privy Council will probably let Peter II die in an accident, and then choose a woman who is easy to control and has no roots in Russia to take the throne. Because, Romano There are no more men from the husband’s family. Do you think that the old party members of the Privy Council will choose Princess Elizabeth, who you think can continue to reform?”

Just recalling the best moment was interrupted by Liu Yu, and talking about the dirtiest politics, Hannibal was a little sluggish.

"As far as I know, there are three other people who have the right to inherit. One is Elizabeth, and the other is Elizabeth's sister, but Earl Savoy said that she is seriously ill, and it may be difficult to survive this winter. After that, Peter's niece, Ivan V's daughter, and the widow of the Principality of Courland, Anna. Do you think the Privy Council will choose Elizabeth, who is supported by many people? Or will she choose Anna, who has no roots in Russia or even no one knows her only blood?"

Such simple politics, of course Hannibal understood.Although the truth is cruel, Liu Yu has to admit Liu Yu's inference.

"I will choose Anna."

"Yes, Anna will be chosen. Anna is a widow, how will she treat Elizabeth, who has the right to inherit and threatens her position?"

Speaking of this, Liu Yu sighed, as if pretending to care.

"At that time, Elizabeth will definitely be imprisoned in a monastery. Standing at the window every day, her only pleasure is to hope that a bird will fly to the window and sing a few times to let her know that there is life outside; You kept the dress you wore when you first met her, but in the dark monastery, no one was her dance partner, so she could only dance alone in that dress. The black mice and the bedbugs were her dance moves. The only audience."

"In the dark night, she will sing alone, and then cry. She will disturb her hair by candlelight, and use her shadow as her only companion."

"In the dark and damp monastery, there is only the sound of mice. Maybe one day, the bird outside the window died, and her only connection with the living world outside..."

"No!"

Hannibal couldn't help screaming, the quill in his hand was broken, and the paper on the table was crumpled into a ball by him, tightly pinched in the palm of his hand.

"Please stop talking! Please stop talking!"

The shortness of breath made Hannibal hoarse and exhausted, he threw away the ball of paper in his hand, hugged his head tightly, his eyes were a little red.

But Liu Yu never stopped talking, mice, bedbugs, going crazy, watching, scratching the door with his nails, nagging and waiting for the birds to fall on the window... All kinds of scenes were turned into words, and each sentence entered Hannibal's ears drill.

Just when Hannibal couldn't help but clenched his fists and was about to fight Liu Yu.Taking advantage of the moment when Hannibal stood up and hadn't punched yet, Liu Yu said calmly, "Let's make a deal."

The stunned Hannibal was stunned, his clenched fists gradually loosened, the previous frenzied impulse gradually dissipated, and he also regained some sobriety.

"Dashun is not Russia. Dashun has outlets everywhere. Therefore, the future of Dashun lies in Southeast Asia. There should be no desire for Siberia."

"Russia's changes are welcome to Dashun. Even if Russia becomes stronger, it will be difficult to resist the mighty power of nature. It is impossible to send enough soldiers across Siberia to fight Dashun. The reverse is also the same. Dashun hopes a Russia with European ambitions."

After half-truths and half-truths, he finished his official business, slightly dispelled Hannibal's little wariness after he woke up, and then said: "Captive Cossacks, you can control them. If the time comes one day, we can release you back. And you , you can take these Cossacks to protect everything you want to protect. You can even give you a certain amount of financial assistance when the time comes."

"You can form your Knights of Protection to save your princess. It's like a story in a knight novel."

Having just experienced the nightmare described by Liu Yu, Hannibal's heart was ignited with hope, but he still maintained his last calmness.

"So, what's the price?"

Liu Yu pointed to Hannibal's head.

"all of these."

"Everything you learn at the French military school."

(End of this chapter)