Welcome to 19th-century Europe, where strength reigns supreme

August himself came to the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg. This was August's first time in St. Petersburg. On the surface, the Winter Palace was very impressive. All its buildings were very harmonious, and there was a huge building in front of it. Square, it is a pity that the Tsar does not like to do radio gymnastics.

This place was originally the private museum of Tsar Catherine II. It contains a large number of art works from Europe, and the coverage is very wide. There are cultural relics from Babylon, Assyria, Turkey and other countries. This is the only venue. There are more than [-] treasures inside, each of which is a treasure of human civilization. The scale of this thing is no less than that of the British Museum.

However, both of them have similar methods of collecting cultural relics. They either bought them or robbed them. Especially the Slav was so shameless that he dug out the mummies from the sarcophagus and put them inside. , this Slavic person does have a bit of a heavy taste.

But this had little to do with Auguste. She came to buy territory. Alexander II finally agreed to sell Alaska with the unanimous consent of his ministers. He actually didn't care much about Alaska, although it was said that it was Tsarist Russia. American colony, but the birthplace was too poor, the climate was cold, the population was not much, and there was no improvement after so many years of colonization, so it was left alone.

Alexander II personally met with Augustus at the port, and made great fanfare. Dozens of carriages were brought in, and the surrounding military bands were also organized. The whole process was like gongs and drums rising to the sky, but firecrackers went off.

So this time August's trip turned into a state visit. In order to attract more people to come and save face, Alexander II started throwing coins and threw a lot of money into the street, so the people who came here gathered There were more and more people. August was shocked when he saw the scene. How much money did Alexander II get from so many people?

In fact, the total loss was only a few hundred rubles. These people were all poor people near St. Petersburg and were wearing rags. Due to Alexander II's serfdom reform, many people successfully changed from serfs to labor slaves. , in other words, contemporary college students who have borrowed tens of thousands of dollars will never stop laughing until they die.

What is their situation now? The truth is that you have to work hard, your sons have to work hard, and then your grandchildren can be truly free and don’t have to be exploited by landlords, but it’s just that they don’t have to be exploited by landlords. When the time comes, the government will definitely change the law to exploit you, but By then the October Revolution is probably here, and if you live long enough you will see the red flag flying over the Kremlin.

But even so, the current Tsarist Russia is still the country with the largest population in Europe. Because it is large enough, has a lot of land, and has Ukraine, the largest grain-producing area in Europe, it actually has great advantages over other countries. It's just that the country of Tsarist Russia exploited the lower classes too much from the bureaucracy to the landlords and aristocrats. Alexander II only changed half of the reforms, and he dared not change the rest. If he changes again, he will not be able to reap the benefits. If the official is unhappy, he will have to do it later. I'll cut you off as a leader.

And now it is true that the economic situation of Tsarist Russia is not good, taxes are not coming in, everyone is using power for personal gain, Tsarist Russia spends a lot of money on strengthening the army, Tsarist Russia now relies on this army to hang the national destiny, if the army is finished, then There is a high probability that Tsarist Russia will die along with it. Half of his annual income is spent on bureaucratic and military interest groups. There is not much money that can really be invested in the economic and industrial fields. Moreover, the emperor has to hold a bank party every year. , let alone money for these things.

Alexander II took August to visit the Winter Palace again. Alexander II showed off his muscles and showed the prosperity and greatness of his Russian Empire. But to be honest, if he wanted to show his greatness, he shouldn't have hired so many extras to play beggars. , August's impression of the entire Tsarist Russia has been bad since that time, and he is not stupid. If you do this, you will only appear to be strong on the outside but incompetent on the inside.

However, August did not expose him, so he accompanied him in the performance. After all, he was here to discuss business, not to undermine others. After watching it, August said, "The Russian Empire is truly the first great power in Europe." , the Winter Palace is as prosperous as London and Paris, Prussia will have to rely on its big brother Tsarist Russia in the future!"

Alexander II saw August being so arrogant. He smiled and said, "His Royal Highness August, you are so generous. How dare you be the first great power? The French army is unrivaled in the world and can be called the first great power in Europe?"

Auguste immediately complimented, "The French First Empire's army is invincible in Europe, but it still breaks down when it encounters Tsarist Russia, let alone Napoleon III. He has more talents than Napoleon the Great, and he cannot be the first European power."

Alexander II then said: "What about the British Empire, which has the world's largest navy, has territories all over the world, is known as the Empire on which the sun never sets, and Queen Victoria dominates the world. It can be said to be the first great power in Europe?"

August said, "Although the British navy is strong, its army is average. It only likes to develop overseas and is not interested in trying to conquer Europe. Moreover, it is limited to its small homeland, and its potential is not as good as Russia's."

Alexander II smiled and said, "I feel more confident when you say this. What about Prussia? It sweeps across the German Confederation in one week and goes to Vienna for a military parade in one month. Can it be said that it is the first great power?"

August: "It's necessary. Prussia is not that strong. It just happens that Austria is better. In terms of size, it is not as good as Russia, and in terms of military strength, it is not as good as France. In a place where four wars are fought, it is difficult to live a good life, let alone Are you talking about being a great power?"

Alexander II: "Then is our Russian Empire really invincible?"

August said, "There is only one country in the world that can confront Russia."

August turned the globe and placed the end point in the Americas. "The only countries competing for hegemony as the world's leading powers are the United States and Tsarist Russia."

Alexander II became interested, "America? How can a country that was only born a few years ago become a great power?"

August said, "The United States has endless potential, and it is alone in the Americas. There are no strong enemies around, and basically no enemies. If one day Europe starts to fight, the biggest beneficiary will be the United States."

Alexander II nodded and asked, "How should we deal with it?"

"It's very simple. Our Prussian navy happens to be quite powerful. We only need a port in Alaska to deter the United States. As long as we can threaten the United States, the United States will definitely not dare to do anything casual. In short, It’s good for you and me, so why not do it?”

August was impressed by what he said. Anyway, it was just one sentence, sell Alaska to Prussia as soon as possible and stop talking so much nonsense.

Alexander II was very happy to hear so many compliments from August. In addition, he and August were still relatives, so he made a very friendly friendship price of five million euros.

Very conscientious, August shook hands with Alexander immediately after hearing this. Damn it, Alexander II, I always thought you were a fool who half-kicked the ball in front of the ball and only half-married. I didn’t expect you to look at it now. If the Yintang is shining, there is great wealth! It is the appearance of an emperor!

Is it necessary to give Alexander II a break this time? Isn't it just a piece of crappy land?