Life of Being a Crown Prince in France

Alexander said coldly, "Please step aside. You can't do anything."

Count Bobrinsky's pupils narrowed, and he shouted to the servants, "Stop them, including the Crown Prince! This is a coup!"

Alexander glanced at the seven or eight strong servants—these were the elite guards selected by Count Bobrinsky from the Gemini Trading Company, very capable fighters—and he couldn't help but frown. He knew his father could escape at any moment; time could no longer be delayed.

He suddenly drew out his pistol, cocked it, but then turned the muzzle towards his own heart, loudly proclaiming to Count Bobrinsky, "I was wrong. I will take responsibility for all this."

Then he pulled the trigger, and the loud bang left everyone stunned.

Things changed too quickly, and Count Bobrinsky's mind was instantly filled with the thought that "the Crown Prince is dead". He pushed aside the servant blocking him and rushed toward the fallen Alexander.

Just as he was two steps away from Alexander, the latter suddenly gave a look to the captain supporting him.

The officer immediately dropped the Crown Prince, turned around swiftly, and placed his sword against Count Bobrinsky's neck.

Alexander stood up and pointed at the illegitimate son, saying to the servants who were fighting with his men, "Drop your weapons immediately, or I will kill him!"

Yes, there were no lead bullets in his pistol, which was originally intended to scare Paul I into signing the abdication documents, but was unexpectedly used here.

The guards of the Gemini Trading Company, seeing their boss was controlled, were at a loss for what to do.

Alexander's guards dexterously seized their weapons.

A lieutenant immediately picked up a prepared axe and chopped open the Tsar's room door in a few hits. The only guard inside, threatened by gun barrels, trembled and shrank into a corner.

Alexander rushed straight to the Tsar's bedroom.

When his men smashed open the bedroom door, he immediately saw Paul I, in white pajamas, pulling the secret passage door behind the bed.

"Stop him!"

Paul I glanced panic-stricken at the intruders and was instantly stunned: "It's you?"

Before waiting for his son to answer, he had already reacted, turning to escape into the passage.

Alexander's gaze sharpened immediately, memories of his father's endless humiliation and corporal punishment flashing through his mind. If his father entered the passage, an even more terrible life awaited him.

Without hesitation, he pointed at the Tsar and shouted to the captain beside him: "Shoot! Quickly!"

Gunfire and smoke erupted, and a burst of fresh blood appeared at the entrance of the passage.

Alexander felt a chill in his limbs, cautiously stepping around the large bed, hoping either that he was still there or hadn't been mortally wounded.

When his line of sight crossed the bed, what appeared before him was his father, already lifeless.

There was a horrifying blood hole in the side of the latter's chest, and the white pajamas had been stained mostly red.

A captain stepped forward quickly, pressed a finger on the Tsar's artery, and turned to shake his head at Alexander.

The captain who had just fired immediately knelt by Alexander's side on one knee: "Your Majesty, the Tsar!"

The others followed suit and knelt: "Your Majesty, the Tsar!"

Alexander lowered his head, left Paul's bedroom, sat in a chair dazed for several minutes, and finally looked at his subordinates again: "Have Doctor Huai Li deal with His Majesty's body, especially the wound."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Alexander then slowly walked out of the room and said to Zubov and others gathering at the door, as well as the guard soldiers who came running upon hearing gunshots: "His Majesty the Emperor accidentally hit a candlestick just now and has passed away."

The wound on the body was so big that it required a reason to explain. However, there were dozens of people who heard the gunshot, and no one believed what he said.

Alexander, somewhat in a trance, then ordered Zubov: "Have Count Palen come to see me."

Half an hour later, Palen was listening to Zubov's trembling description of what had just happened in the palace when he saw thousands of soldiers rapidly approaching this way.

Soon, by the light of the fire, he clearly saw the flag of this troop—it was the Semyonovsky Guard, the Crown Prince's trusted unit. Oh, now it's His Majesty the Tsar.

This army was supposed to be stationed in the suburbs of Saint Petersburg, but appearing here meant it had been deployed long ago.

He suddenly realized he was wrong, Alexander wasn't some "weak young man", but a ferocious beast.

Sure enough, as soon as he entered the Gatchina Palace, he was immediately surrounded by several guards.

With disheveled hair and a weary face, Alexander glanced at him casually and said: "From now on, the Secret Police department is abolished; you can choose Ural or Perm as your place of exile."

The next morning, the new Tsar Alexander I, as per tradition, reviewed the Royal Guard, but at the Winter Palace. And these soldiers were back to wearing Russian uniforms, no longer equipped with long spears nor having officers measuring their marching distances with rulers.

At noon, Alexander I announced to hundreds of nobles in the square of the Winter Palace that he would govern Russia as his great grandmother Catherine II did and pardoned all officers exiled or imprisoned by Paul I on the spot.

The square erupted into thunderous cheers, as if the old Tsar had never existed.

On the afternoon of the next day, Alexander I briefly discussed the coronation with the Patriarch and immediately convened a meeting with senior military and political officials.

"Immediately cease the expedition to India, and station the Bakhov Corps in Khiva," the Tsar spoke very quickly, "Order General Good维奇 to gather his troops and launch an expedition to Transcaucasia within a month.

"Send Count Ostman to warn the British, if they continue to support Persia, I will consider it a grave provocation.

"Reorganize the troops in Iasi; the camps there are probably almost abandoned..."

...

Western France.

In the dock of the Brest Shipyard, Chief Warship Designer Sane was explaining to the Crown Prince the characteristics of the fourth-level steam battleship he designed, "Your Highness, the speed of this warship will reach 12 knots. It can be achieved with only a slight wind.

"At the same time, due to the advantage in propulsion, its load capacity is better, so it will have a thicker hull than ordinary fourth-level ships, greatly enhancing its protection capability."

Yes, before the development of high-power steam engines was complete, the Brest Shipyard, at Joseph's request, began designing larger steam battleships, which were now nearing completion.

When Joseph heard "load capacity", he suddenly thought of the long-planned ironclad ship and immediately looked at the designer: "Do you think it is feasible to add an iron shell outside a wooden hull if we only use an ordinary hull?"