Petersburg, Prime Minister's Office.
The upper echelons of the cabinet of the Russian Empire were all gathered here.
However, the upper echelons of the empire had different expressions.
The director of the Orthodox Affairs Bureau, Pobedonoshchev, and the foreign minister, Izvorsky, had faint smiles on their faces. As for the Chancellor of Finance, Sergei Witt, his face was as black as the bottom of a pot.
After all, the first two had clearly stated that they would abide by the Law of the Succession of the Throne and support Grand Duke Michael's succession to the throne. On the other hand, Sergei Viktor supported Grand Duke Nikolay and supported the succession of Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna to the throne. He was clearly standing on the opposite side of Grand Duke Michael.
He had thought that with Grand Duke Nicholas 'influence in the army and his lifetime of experience, defeating Grand Duke Michael would be an extremely simple task.
However, he did not expect that Grand Duke Nicholas would be defeated in the end.
This immediately put Sergei Viktor in a huge crisis.
As for the other high-level cabinet members, other than Prime Minister Pravi, who was slightly worried, the others did not care.
Under Grand Duke Nikolay's bewitchment, Prime Minister Prievi had also expressed his support for Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna. The other ministers remained neutral.
"Gentlemen, the Battle of Mosk is over. Grand Duke Michael won a decisive victory. Archduke Nicholas 'main force had been completely annihilated. Now, Grand Duke Nicholas was on his way back to Petersburg. Grand Duke Michael's troops were also marching toward Petersburg. What should we do now? It's time for us to make a choice!" Pobedo Noschaev said excitedly.
It could be predicted that as a supporter of Grand Duke Michael, when Grand Duke Michael became the new Tsar, he would naturally rise with the tide. It was even possible for him to become the prime minister of the Imperium.
"Grand Duke Nicholas was only temporarily defeated. Isn't it too early to make a conclusion now?”Sergei Viktor immediately objected.
"It's already come to this, yet you still don't admit defeat. Was a protracted civil war really going to break out in the Imperium? In that case, there would be no winner. The one who would suffer would be the Russian Empire!”Foreign Affairs Minister Izvorsky suggested.
"That's right! The stability of the empire was more important than anything else. The Empire of the Sun Never Sets was eyeing the Empire covetously, and the Germanic people were also staring at the Empire. If a civil war broke out in the empire, it would be very disadvantageous!”
"Since Grand Duke Michael has already won, it is only natural for him to inherit the throne!”
The other neutral ministers also expressed their stance.
Standing on the side of the winner was the most basic rule of survival.
It was understandable that these neutral ministers would make such a statement.
Even Sukhomlinov, the Minister of the Army, and Alexander, the Minister of the Navy, agreed.
They were also thinking about the interests of the Russian Empire.
Prime Minister Pawlavi hesitated for a moment and then said,""Archduke Nicholas will be returning to Petersburg soon. Why don't we talk about it after he makes a decision? After all, the remaining troops in Petersburg were loyal to Grand Duke Nicholas. Although it's not much, it's not something we can command!”
The other ministers did not have any objections.
On May 21st, Grand Duke Nicholas, Grand Duke Agleni, and the others fled back to Petersburg.
Prime Minister Pawlavi and Minister of Finance Sergei Witt immediately came to him to ask for his decision.
"Your Excellency, what do you plan to do now?”asked Prime Minister Pahlavi.
"Your Excellency, if you decide to mobilize more troops to deal with Michael, the Ministry of Finance will fully support you!”Minister of Finance Sergei Witt said through gritted teeth.
Mobilizing the army required a lot of money. Sergei Viktor had the money bag of the Russian Empire, so he could naturally be of great help in this matter.
And Sergei Viktor undoubtedly hoped that Grand Duke Nicholas would continue to persevere.
Archduke Nicholas did not answer immediately. Instead, he hesitated.
He had failed on the battlefield. However, he was still unwilling.
However, he was also very clear that if he mobilized the army and continued to fight against Grand Duke Michael, he would not be able to escape. Regardless of whether they could defeat Grand Duke Michael, once the civil war continued…Even if the scale continued to expand. This was definitely a heavy blow to the Russian Empire.
Grand Duke Nicholas wanted to inherit the throne and become the Tsar.
However, he definitely did not want the Russian Empire to fall into a crisis or even fall apart.
In addition, he had a direct understanding of the combat power of Grand Duke Michael's army. He knew that even if he mobilized the army, they would not be a match for Grand Duke Michael in a short period of time.
Since that was the case, there was no need to continue.
"There's no need to continue fighting. I've already thought about it. Next, I will bring Archduchess Olga Nikolaevna away from the Empire and go into exile overseas!”Grand Duke Nicholas said.
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