Holy Roman Empire-Chapter 1046 - 60: Scandal and Monarch Essentials

Chapter 1046 -60: Scandal and Monarch Essentials

The Prince’s appointment as Colonial Governor should have been major news, but unfortunately, recent hot topics were far too sensational and completely overshadowed it.

On May 18, 1896, Nicholas II held a grand garden party at Khodynka Field on the outskirts of Moscow. As per tradition, the Tsar was to distribute gifts to the public.

What should have been a celebratory event of joy with the people turned to tragedy for Nicholas II. Someone leaked news of the celebrations before they began, and it became widely known nationwide.

People from across the country flocked to Khodynka Field. Over five hundred thousand individuals gathered at the less than nine-square-kilometer venue.

Even worse, the ground of the square wasn’t paved—it remained uneven, full of pits and trenches, and the bureaucrats in charge of organizing the festivities took no safety precautions.

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Chaos ensued almost as soon as the event began. Instigated by some malicious individuals, the crowd pressed forward relentlessly, resulting in the deaths of a thousand people and injuries to tens of thousands.

A celebration was horrifically turned into an epic disaster.

The tragedy was further compounded when officials underreported the losses, and Nicholas II, being kept in the dark, didn’t take any emergency measures and proceeded with the celebratory banquet that evening.

Once the news spread, European public opinion focused all its firepower on Nicholas II. “Cruel,” “barbaric,” “tyrant”… all such accusations were heaped upon him.

By the time Nicholas II realized what had happened, it was too late. The official responsible for planning the festival committed suicide out of fear of punishment, and those involved disappeared without a trace.

With no leads and the mastermind behind the scenes not found, only a few uninformed pawns were caught. Without a doubt, Nicholas II was saddled with the blame.

Even though compensation was offered later, the damage was done. Restoring his reputation would not be an easy task.

Nicholas II “honorably” became the first “tyrant” in the European world, with the media busying themselves with reporting the “Khodynka Disaster,” drawing the public’s attention.

The news of the Prince taking up the governorship, a minor piece of news, hardly piqued the interest of the general population beyond political circles.

Upstaged by a trending crisis, Franz’s pre-planned backup strategies were useless, yet he wasn’t the slightest bit discontented.

In a way, all the monarchs of Europe should award Nicholas II a medal.

Without comparison, there can be no harm done. With the Tsarist counterexample, Europeans suddenly realized their own monarchs were quite commendable.

Even in the unstable Spain, the domestic situation showed signs of improvement. Overnight, the Spanish people realized having a figurehead king wasn’t so bad after all.

At least the damage would be minimal, at worst, a few milk bottles thrown. Spain might not be rich, but it could certainly afford that small expense.

As some laughed at the joke and others gossiped, the European public rejoiced while Nicholas II teetered on the brink of outrage.

To give the public an explanation, the Prime Minister had already resigned in accepting blame. But this was far from enough; without catching the person behind the scenes, the issue couldn’t be considered resolved.

“Worthless!”

“All of you are worthless!”

“One by one…”

…

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Faced with the Tsarist’s rage, everyone bowed their heads. No argument there, Nicholas II’s tirade was justified.

Such a scandal occurred right under their noses, and yet they had no clue who the perpetrator was—if that wasn’t incompetence, what was?

Of course, if the ministers were incompetent, the Tsar, who was played as a fool, was not faring any better.

Regardless of whether he was outwitted or not, the label of “ineptitude” was something Nicholas II could not remove.

One could say that for the rest of his days, unless he did something extraordinary to prove his capability, history would inevitably brand him the “inept Tsar.”

Sensing the grim atmosphere, Sergei Witte, who had just been appointed Prime Minister, bit the bullet and advised, “Your Majesty, now that matters have reached this point, the urgent need is to quickly deal with the aftermath.

Mere compensation is insufficient—we need to take more measures. We must swiftly restore Your Majesty’s reputation to prevent careerists from seizing the opportunity.”

Since the outbreak of the “Khodynka Disaster,” Nicholas II’s reputation had plummeted. Were it not for the excellent legacy left by the previous Tsars, Tsarist Government’s foundation might have been shaken.

However, it was precisely because the previous rulers had performed so admirably that Nicholas II’s situation appeared tragic by comparison.

His great-grandfather, Nicholas I, although devoid of domestic achievements, was nonetheless formidable in battle. He defeated the Allied Forces of England, France, and Austria, retook the Holy Land of Constantinople, and fulfilled a centuries-old dream of the Russian People.

By this merit alone, Nicholas I became one of the greatest Tsars of the Russian Empire. Nowadays, when Russian people mention Nicholas I, they refer to him as Emperor Nicholas.

His grandfather, Alexander II, was also formidable. Although he suffered a great defeat at the beginning of his rule, he endured and struck back with a vengeance.

While his military accomplishments weren’t completely satisfactory, Alexander II’s political achievements were remarkable! He reformed the serf system and pulled the waning Russian Empire back from the brink of collapse.

By the time of his father, Alexander III, things had become much more normal. He wasn’t like the previous two exceptional cases who were unreachable.

Politically, he performed adequately without contributing grand deeds or causing major turmoil, overall maintaining the nation’s stable development.

His military performance was passable; he allied with Austria to wipe out the Ottoman Empire, bullied the natives in Central Asia, and fought the British to an unfinished victory.

All in all, he was a good Tsar for the Russian Empire. In the history of Russia’s evaluation, he would certainly not be ranked low.

In contrast, Nicholas II’s reign was tragic. He had accomplished no significant deeds since ascending the throne, and a crushing scandal descended upon him, leaving him dazed and confused.

Now, without restoring his reputation first, Nicholas II was incapable of doing anything.

Nicholas II retorted, “How can it be restored? We’ve already explained to diplomats and told the public this was an enemy’s scheme, isn’t that enough?”

There was no alternative, anger could burn through a person’s intelligence, often leading to irrational actions.

Without calming his rage, Nicholas II blurted out a question without thinking it through, his words bypassing his brain entirely.

Sergei Witte frowned, explaining helplessly, “Your Majesty, the public lacks sufficient discernment. The hidden enemy, having orchestrated such a grand conspiracy, certainly will not easily give up.

If we do not undertake the necessary work, the enemy will take advantage. Mere explanations are obviously insufficient, you also need to show a side that is close to the people, to prove…”

It was evident that Sergei Witte was truly distressed at heart.

If the enemy were not to give up and seize the opportunity to create trouble, it would actually be a good thing. The Tsarist Government had already taken action, and as long as the enemy made a move, they would leave traces.

The fear was that the enemy would instead go quiet, continuing to hide in the shadows waiting for a new opportunity. If they became impossible to trace, then the trouble would be significant.

…

Nicholas II was feeling the headache of restoring his reputation, and so were other European monarchs, shaken to the core with fear.

If Nicholas II hadn’t been the first to stumble upon this landmine, had a similar scene unfolded with themselves, the consequences would have been unimaginable.

In Vienna Palace, Franz too felt a deep sense of relief. Fortunately, he had kept a low profile and avoided chaotic celebrations; otherwise, being targeted by the enemy at the beginning of his reign, he wouldn’t have died but would have surely been skinned alive!

Of course, this was only in the early days of his reign. By now, the imposing image that Franz had cultivated was deeply ingrained in people’s hearts. A little bit of mud thrown his way wouldn’t convince anyone.

Moreover, similar scenes weren’t likely to occur in Shinra. Every time the Vienna Government organized celebrations, armed military police filled the streets; anyone trying to commit a crime against the wind would likely be arrested before they could act.

After all, Shinra began cultivating a sense of order in its people right from the stage of compulsory education.

It couldn’t be guaranteed that trampling incidents would never happen, but they were absolute impossibilities with military police maintaining order.

If everyone adhered to order, the few who didn’t would stand out conspicuously and could be easily singled out.

Examine oneself three times a day; regardless, lessons and experiences had to be learned.

In Vienna Palace, Franz tapped the armrest of his grandmaster chair as he looked at Frederick and asked, “What are your thoughts on the ordeal Nicholas II has experienced?”

It had to be admitted, time truly flew. In the blink of an eye, the Russian Empire had cycled through three Tsars, with Nicholas II being the fourth.

This wasn’t something Franz could endure; in fact, the preceding three Tsars of the Russian Empire were all older than Franz and frequently met with unexpected incidents, meeting God early was also the norm.

One must understand, being a Tsar was a high-risk profession. As far as Franz was aware, whether it was Nicholas I, Alexander II, or Alexander III, none had escaped attempts on their lives.

On average, each Tsar faced assassination attempts numbering in the triple digits. Only those with a strong mentality could carry on in such a role.

No one knew if the Tsarist family was cursed, but from Nicholas I to the present, each and every Tsar had been injured in assassination attempts. Unlucky souls like Alexander II, in particular, met God directly due to one.

After some thought, Frederick slowly said, “To be calculated against so harshly, and not even know who the enemy is.

It seems the Tsarist Government truly is corrupted. The once omnipotent Russian Empire no longer exists; now it’s like an old man whose body is deteriorating day by day.

If nothing unexpected happens, for a long time in the future, we will not have to worry about problems on the eastern front.”

His tone was filled with deep contempt and a hint of joy, clearly for Frederick, the decline of the Russian Empire was a welcome development.

Franz gave a slight smile, not passing any direct judgment. “It is normal for the Tsarist Government to not have any leads, as the masterminds behind the scenes probably didn’t expect things to get so out of hand.

From what is obvious, those people released the information initially just wanting to cause chaos, disrupt the celebration, and serve Nicholas II a warning.

No one expected a large-scale trampling incident to occur. Once events exceeded control, they would certainly try to hide with all their might.

Perhaps the true mastermind is within the high echelons of the Tsarist Government itself. Having them investigating their own is naturally unlikely to yield any results.

If Nicholas II were decisive enough to comprehensively cleanse Moscow’s bureaucrats, nobility, and capitalists, he would surely make some unexpected gains.

Other people might not know, but these snakes in the grass certainly cannot be completely hidden. Without their cooperation, drawing a crowd of half a million people to the site would not be an easy task.

If you were in Nicholas II’s shoes, what would you do now?”

After a moment of silence, Frederick firmly answered, “Use this as a pretext to deploy troops to the Moscow area, pick out the troublemakers to kill the chicken to scare the monkey, deter the masses, and establish authority.

If progress goes well, use this as an opening to tear through a crack for reforms and continue pushing forward the social reforms that Alexander II didn’t complete.”

A great purge, nonexistent. It’s not a matter of guts; it’s because Nicholas II, having just inherited the Tsarist position, lacked the necessary prestige.

The military might obey the Tsar’s orders, but whether they would cut corners in executing the orders, no one knew.

Moscow was the second-largest city in the Russian Empire after St. Petersburg, with local power players also having significant influence in the Tsarist Government.

Selecting a few active ones to kill as a warning was feasible, but a comprehensive purge was not doable.

As a Tsar, you could lack anything but prestige. If you couldn’t earn everyone’s respect, then at least let them fear you.

Compared to the Monarch’s authority, tracking down the mastermind is not as important. Because politics never needed evidence, suspicion was enough.

All enemies of the Tsarist Government, all those against the Tsar, could be suspects, to be settled later.

Even if the wrong target was hit, it didn’t matter, because those suppressed were still enemies, and there was no such thing as injury by mistake.