usatvline Chapter 106. The Prime Minister's Support
Chapter 106. The Prime Minister's Support
Chapter 106. The Prime Minister's Support
Besdov's office.
Besdov, already overwhelmed by numerous official duties, became even more agitated when someone entered his room after the door opened.
"Didn't I say that I wouldn't see anyone today except the Queen!"
"Is the Prime Minister going to reprimand the secretary outside the door? It's not his fault; he didn't stop me."
Besdov looked up and saw who it was.
"Sergei."
Sergei smiled and sat down directly opposite Besdov, looking at the reports and documents on the table, his words full of mockery and schadenfreude.
"Is the Prime Minister really annoyed by these official duties?"
Besdov's face turned cold: "If you came here because I don't intend to see Catherine, you can leave now, or I'll have the guards throw you out."
As a veteran official, he immediately understood why Sergei had come to see him.
Ekaterina expressed her desire to meet him, but he refused without hesitation.
"In the Prime Minister's view, seeing that Ekaterina was of no help to him, and if Shuvalov were to seize on this opportunity, he might lose his position as Prime Minister."
Sergei exposed Besdutev's idea.
Besdudev laughed: "You really think you can see right through me?"
Sergei continued, "Of course, it's also because you think that Catherine, being a woman, must be petty and wouldn't be so magnanimous as to forgive what you did to her before."
"Do I need Ekaterina to forgive and forget about my past actions?" Besdudev smiled nonchalantly.
But in his heart, he had already begun to look at Sergei with new respect.
The other party was indeed a master at navigating the palace and politics.
"Could it be that the Prime Minister really looks down on Ekaterina because she comes from Germany?" Sergei asked rhetorically.
Besdov closed the report in front of him.
"I don't look down on Catherine, but I look down on Catherine who already has you, the vice chairman, royal deputy chief steward, senior advisor to the construction department, and deputy head of the hunting party, on her side."
Sergei remained smiling, showing no anger at such blatant contempt.
"If the Prime Minister truly looked down on me and Ekaterina, he wouldn't be wasting his breath arguing with me here."
Besdudev remained silent, waiting for what would follow.
"It is common knowledge that the Empress's health is deteriorating. Even if it has improved now, what about the future? The Empress is getting older, and Russia will need a new heir to the throne sooner or later," Sergei said slowly.
Besdudev scoffed, "And then? You mean to support Catherine and replace Peter on the Russian throne?"
Sergei remained silent.
Besdov's smile gradually froze, and even began to fade.
"You don't really think that way, do you?"
Sergei did not answer, but said, "Nowadays, it is almost impossible for the Prime Minister to outdo Shuvalov in front of the Empress, because Shuvalov possesses a secret that could cause Russia to fall apart."
"If he doesn't gain the Empress's favor, do I need to elaborate on how much the Grand Duke will resent the Prime Minister once he ascends the throne? The Grand Duke will never forget the exchange of duchies, not to mention that Shuvalov is also highly regarded by Peter—"
Besdudev couldn't help but exclaim, "You're a madman!"
Because Sergei's words were undoubtedly an admission of his earlier question!
This guy really wants to help Catherine ascend to the Russian throne!
"Absolutely impossible! Catherine would never agree. The Russian army, the people, and the church would not recognize Catherine's status. She has no royal blood; she is merely a Grand Duchess!"
On this point, Besdudev is undoubtedly correct.
As it stands, Sergei also believes that Catherine has not received the support of any of these three powers.
But just because it doesn't work now doesn't mean it won't work in the future, so he couldn't convince Besdutev through these means.
But the methods he had prepared did not lie in this.
"These things are too far off. After all, the Queen has been critically ill many times, but she always pulled through. So we don't need to talk about things that far ahead right now."
"It is not entirely harmful for the Prime Minister to meet with the Grand Duchess; rather, it has both advantages and disadvantages. As for how to choose, that is up to the Prime Minister himself."
"Should we sit and wait for our doom, until Shuvalov finds a suitable opportunity to kick the lord out of the position of prime minister, or should we take a chance and consolidate our position as prime minister?"
Sergei remained silent, while Besdudev fell into deep thought.
About half an hour later, the other party finally nodded.
"I will meet with Grand Duchess Catherine, but you'd better keep those crazy ideas to yourself. I will also advise the Grand Duchess not to do these suicidal things."
Sergei smiled and nodded.
"Then I'll have to trouble you, sir."
As he reached the door, Sergei turned around.
"Oh right, I forgot to tell the Prime Minister that I didn't tell the Grand Duchess about how you were the first to reveal to the Empress that the Grand Duchess's mother had secret correspondence with King Frederick, and how you sent the Dzogolokovs to politically isolate the Grand Duchess. You mustn't let it slip yourself."
After saying this, Sergei left under Besdudev's indifferent gaze.
Once the door was closed again, Besdov's eyes slowly narrowed.
"What a brilliant Sergei!"
This isn't a warning, it's a threat!
However, he also realized once again Sergei's abilities, because neither of these two things should have been known to Sergei.
He revealed Johanna's affair to the Empress, possibly because Shuvalov had told him about it earlier. However, even Shuvalov was unaware that the Dzogolokovs were his people. He had been secretly in contact with the couple, though their relationship appeared to be quite ordinary.
Moreover, the other party said "wait," which means that Sergei knows more about what he did!
Sergei was able to bring down several members of parliament, so he certainly wouldn't underestimate him. Even Shuvalov's attempt to remove Sergei from the secret committee failed, and Sergei ended up with even more positions.
But he didn't realize that the other party's abilities were already enough to make him feel threatened.
"The secret committee is truly a good place to train court officials."
4 month.
Catherine and Besdov, a Grand Duchess and a Prime Minister, met secretly in private.
Back in her room, Ekaterina recounted the meeting to Sergei.
"I just wanted him to believe that I no longer had any hostility towards him, but his attitude towards me was unbelievable. He welcomed me very warmly, which was completely different from his previous attitude of rejecting me."
"We reached an agreement to establish a secure channel to ensure frequent communication between the two sides, and he told me many court secrets. I will be a supporter of him in the future!"