There were many fruits and vegetables in the beautiful wicker basket, dark green watermelons and cucumbers, green bitter gourds and lettuce leaves. There were dark red strawberries, several large bottles of canned yellow peaches from the Min dynasty, large bars of chocolate, fine alfalfa honey, and several pairs of long nylon stockings.
The gifts were really varied and were personally packed into the basket by the wife of the Min dynasty ambassador. Stolipin knew he was a country bumpkin in this aspect, so he gave them to the empress dowager as they were. After the gifts were sent in, Stolipin waited outside. According to the people in the palace, the empress dowager of Russia thought highly of Stolipin. Stolipin had basically never been in contact with the empress dowager, so this rumor was a bit strange to Prime Minister Stolipin.
As he was thinking, the palace attendant came out of the inner palace and said, "Your Excellency, the empress dowager invites you."
After straightening his clothes, Stolipin followed the attendant into the palace. In the reception room of the harem, he saw the honorable empress dowager. The old lady smiled and let Stolipin sit down first. Not long after, the attendant brought in two fruit platters. Stolypin's gift had been put to good use on this.
Stolipin politely took a bite of the watermelon and cursed the Min dynasty ambassador in his heart for being cunning. It wasn't that there were no Russian nobles who grew watermelons in greenhouses, but the watermelons were not only small but also dead, at most a bit crunchy. The watermelons cultivated in the Min dynasty's greenhouses were muddy, several times sweeter and tastier than the local watermelons in St. Petersburg. This caused many Russian nobles to suspect that China's watermelon farmers knew magic. No matter how Stolipin asked, the Min dynasty ambassador just smiled and didn't answer.
The empress dowager ate a few bites of every fruit and vegetable on the platter opposite Stolipin. Although Stolipin boasted of himself as a rough man, he knew that this amount was already a bit too much for the honorable empress dowager. It was obvious that the empress dowager was very satisfied.
An attendant brought over water in a gold-plated basin. The empress dowager washed her hands, wiped her face, and then asked, "There must be a reason for your visit. Please speak frankly."
"Your Majesty, I've heard that some Romanians have used our security guarantees to our Slavic brothers to instigate us," Stolypin said in a calm tone, but he still felt his face heating up. Entering the harem was never something he was willing to do. Even being the Prime Minister was not his goal. During his days as Prime Minister, Stolypin prepared a resignation letter. There was only one sentence on the last page. Every day, he copied this sentence on a new piece of paper and signed it on the day. As long as the Tsar gave the order, he could immediately take out the letter from his briefcase and hand it over.
"Oh?" The Empress Dowager looked at Stolypin with bright eyes.
Stolypin knew that there was no turning back, so he continued, "Empress Dowager, we never asked the Austro-Hungarian Empire to cede the Romanian settlements before the Hungarian Revolution. Now, some people think that Austria will not stand up for Hungary, so they want to take advantage of the situation. I think this is a hijacking of Russia's commitment to the security of our Slavic brothers. They are doing this to achieve their own interests. "
"Who do you think made this proposal?" the Empress Dowager asked.
"I do not want to pursue who made this proposal. I only hope that the Empress Dowager can arrange a time that you think is suitable to discuss this issue with His Majesty the Tsar. I will speak to His Majesty face to face, "Stolypin said.
Silence. Silence. The Empress Dowager was silent. After a while, she ate a piece of dark chocolate, then ate a few mouthfuls of watermelon with a slightly bitter expression. She cleaned her hands again. The Empress Dowager waved her hand to dismiss the attendants and maids. She then lowered her voice and asked, "Your Excellency, have you given up on the option of resigning?"
Stolypin was shocked. No matter what the Empress Dowager said, or even if she ridiculed him, he would not be so surprised.
Staring at Stolypin's expression, the Empress Dowager leaned back in her chair, looking much happier. "Your Excellency, I am a Dane, so I do not like serfdom at all. Farmers are the foundation of a strong country. In order to keep their land, they will join the army. In order to earn more money through land, they will go to school. When the government requires these farmers to receive compulsory education, I have seen these farmers choose to obey … "
The Empress Dowager's words made Stolypin feel excited. Among all the civil and military officials in Russia, it was the first time he saw an aristocrat so firmly supporting the farmers. When the other aristocrats mentioned reform, they were only thinking about how much they would lose. They did not consider the interests of the whole of Russia. Facing this group of aristocrats all day, Stolypin, who originally hated revolution, even felt that he could understand the anger in the hearts of the land revolutionaries during the revolution. Getting rid of this group of human ugliness would probably only benefit Russia. Among the ugliness, there suddenly appeared a wise person, and it was the Empress Dowager, who was at the top of the aristocracy. Stolypin felt as if he had seen the Virgin Mary and was bathed in warmth and light.
"Your Excellency, it is not a problem to arrange for you to meet with the Tsar, but I want to know what you are worried about." The Empress Dowager finally asked.
Stolypin tried to organize his words. The Min dynasty used very fluent Russian to clearly explain the conspiracy theory. 100,000 Russian troops attacked Hungary. If they were defeated, then Stolypin would have to step down. From previous experience, if Russia tried to fight the Hungarian Red Army in the Carpathian Mountains, the chances of winning were really not high. As long as Stolypin stepped down, the upper echelons of Russia, who basically did not support the land reform, would immediately abolish the law, or at least make it impossible to enforce the law.
If the Russian army won the attack on Hungary, then the Russian army would continue to expand the victory, drag the rhythm of Russia to the expansion of the war, and implement policies that were conducive to the war. Everyone knew that the land reform would only cause social problems and affect the course of the war. At that time, as a reformist, Stolypin would still have to step down and accept the end of his political career.
If the war entered a stalemate, there would be people who would constantly attack Stolypin himself as useless in the war, and finally raise doubts and deny Stolypin's desire. All the people who were dissatisfied with the land reform would gather under this banner to attack Stolypin, and the final outcome would be obvious.
Recalling the calm analysis of the Min dynasty ambassador, Stolypin felt that these people who played politics were simply demons. According to their plan, as long as the war broke out, Stolypin would inevitably step down. And it would be too easy to promote the war between Russia and Hungary, eliminate the fascist thugs, and protect the Slavic brothers. These two reasons were absolutely within the scope of political correctness in Russia, and even His Majesty the Tsar could not openly deny them. More importantly, His Majesty the Tsar sincerely believed in these reasons.
In the end, the Min dynasty ambassador calmly said, "Your Excellency Stolypin, our purpose is indeed to end Russia's war against Hungary. It is precisely because we want to achieve this goal that we hope that the reform you led can continue. In the process of your reform, I believe that Russia will maintain the external peace. As for whether Russia, whose strength has greatly increased after your reform is successful, will start a war, we will see when the time comes. Are you willing to listen to my suggestion? "
Although he knew that the person standing in front of him was a human, Stolypin still could not help but wonder if the Min dynasty ambassador had the ability to hide the horns on his head and the devil's wings on his back. Knowing that the other party was a hateful dictator, Stolypin found that he could not find a reason to refuse. After struggling in his heart for a long time, Stolypin asked, "Do you have any suggestions?"
"Go and ask the Empress Dowager for help," the Min dynasty ambassador said straightforwardly. Not waiting for Stolypin to understand what he meant, the ambassador continued, "We will help prepare the gift."
Now seeing that there was a possibility of success, Stolypin began to panic. An ambassador of the Min dynasty who understood the characteristics of the upper class of Russia so well, and an ambassador of the Min dynasty who understood the political position of the aristocrats of Russia so well. Would there be any problems in this?
"Your Excellency, do you have any difficulties?" The Empress Dowager's gentle voice pulled Stolypin back from his panic. Facing the Empress Dowager who supported the reform, Stolypin gritted his teeth and made up his mind to tell the Empress Dowager about the actions of the Min dynasty ambassador.
At first, the Empress Dowager showed a surprised expression, but the more she listened, the more interested she became. Listening to Stolypin's description of the Min dynasty ambassador publicly saying that he was doing this to end Russia's war against Hungary, the Empress Dowager smiled.
When Stolypin finished speaking, the Empress Dowager asked kindly, "Your Excellency, do you think there is a problem in asking me for help?"
"Definitely not!" Stourepin immediately replied.
The Empress Dowager smiled and said, "You don't like to attend all kinds of banquets of the upper class, so you don't know that the Min dynasty ambassador actually asked me about my views on farmers and serfdom in Russia. I also told him my views. Not only did he ask me, but he also asked the views of many people. Diplomatic work is like this, you need to understand the views of the politicians of other countries. The Min dynasty ambassador is like this, and the Min dynasty ambassador is also like this. Your Excellency, don't think too much, I will never misunderstand Your Excellency because of such a thing. "
After hearing this, Stolypin felt much better. At the same time, he felt that the Empress Dowager was really from a noble family and was very considerate. Stolypin was born into a noble family. Although his father used to be the captain of the palace garrison, he had always lived in another province. After graduating from university, he went to work in the local area and became a noble councilor of the Kovno province. These government positions gave Stolypin a deep understanding of the local needs, and at the same time, improved his administrative ability. He was obviously quite fascinated by the social production and lifestyle of the northwestern provinces of the Russian Empire, especially the Lithuanian region where his family estate was located. This region was historically dominated by the more advanced private family farming method. Since then, Stolypin has been working to promote this method to the other provinces of the Empire.
Although his grandfather had been the Foreign Minister of Russia, Stolypin himself had not received diplomatic training. However, according to the Empress Dowager, Stolypin, who did not have the opportunity to attend the upper class banquets, became "Stolypin who did not like to attend the upper class banquets."
"Although I want to eliminate those traitors, I am willing to accept the Min dynasty ambassador's suggestion to complete the political reform of Russia first. Your Excellency, I hope you can talk about your expectations for the future. You are a very cautious person, unlike other prime ministers who boast. I have always wanted to hear your predictions for the future, is that possible? "The Empress Dowager said eagerly.
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