Holy Roman Empire

St. Petersburg, with the assassination of Alexander II, the atmosphere throughout the city tightened.

Military police were constantly deployed, everywhere hunting down members of the Revolutionary Party. The prisons were almost bursting at the seams, yet the mastermind behind the scenes still had not surfaced.

Winter Palace, according to the customs of the Russian Empire, began to be presided over by Tsarevich Alexandrovich in the capacity of the Crown Prince upon the death of Alexander II.

Perhaps stimulated by his father’s assassination, Alexandrovich went to the other extreme, confining himself at home without stepping out.

Staying at home did not impede official business. Catching the murderer did not require the Crown Prince to take to the field himself; there were plenty below eager to seize this opportunity to soar to the heavens.

...

Alexandrovich asked, "Has the person been found?"

Minister of Police Nicholas Federho trembled as he replied, "They have been found, but unfortunately, our men were a step too late, the suspect is already dead.

It appears to be suicide, but after our careful examination, we found that the deceased had undergone intense mental struggle before death, likely forced to commit suicide."

No wonder he was nervous; after such a significant case occurred, he, as the Minister of Police, could hardly shirk responsibility. Being sent home to farm was not the worst outcome, but what was truly frightening was failing to deliver a result and being dealt with by the new Tsar as a Rebel.

Nothing was impossible; the assassination case of Alexander II had too many questions, and a plausible answer had to be produced to account for it to everyone.

Politics is ruthless; if the real murderer can’t be found, scapegoating someone else is not out of the question.

Everyone knew that Minister of Police Nicholas Federho was a confidant of Alexander II and would not plot an assassination, but he was precisely the person capable of silencing and covering up the case.

The police cordon around the Tsar during his outings was the responsibility of the Ministry of Police. A large-scale violent riot happened nearby on the day of the incident. Alexander II ordered those policemen to intervene, which created the opportunity for the assassin.

That responsibility certainly couldn’t be borne by Alexander II, and the Ministry of Police must shoulder it. Moreover, with a multitude of suspects "committing suicide," the Ministry of Police, responsible for investigating the assassination, was even more inexcusable.

As the head of police, Nicholas Federho was, in fact, already unable to extricate himself. Unless he could find the real murderer, his suspicions would not be cleared.

Find adventures at empire

Alexandrovich glared at him sharply and rebuked, "Useless! One by one, those in the know are ’committing suicide,’ and yet you have discovered not a single clue. What, will it take your own ’suicide’ for you to understand?"

Nicholas Federho’s complexion turned green, and his body trembled continuously, as if he might collapse at any moment.

"You, too, being ’suicided,’" those words held too many implications. Nicholas Federho admitted he was frightened; if the Crown Prince began to doubt him, it would mean his end.

Evidence?

That was wishful thinking; in this world, many things don’t require evidence. When it comes to regicide, just having a suspect is enough; the presence or absence of evidence is unimportant.

Watching the Minister of Police’s performance, Alexandrovich couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief. Knowing fear was good; if the Minister of Police remained unmoved, then there would indeed be a problem.

There was no choice; Alexander II’s departure was too abrupt, and Alexandrovich was completely unprepared for succession.

Retaining his father’s former team was out of necessity. Currently, even if he wanted to replace people, Alexandrovich had no idea whom to promote.

Was the Minister of Police Nicholas Federho genuinely incompetent? Clearly not; a true waste would not be in a high position. His current inadequate performance was due to being scared by the situation at hand.

As a participant tied to this regicide, if he could still respond calmly, then he either had a heart of stone or was utterly fearless. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Either case represented a threat to Alexandrovich, who was about to ascend the throne.

After a pause, Alexandrovich continued, "Since you can’t find anything, let capable people take over the investigation! I’ve already invited detectives from all over Europe; you just make sure to cooperate."

Afraid to lose face by asking for foreign help?

The answer is: No!

The Tsar was assassinated; the Tsarist Government had already lost face. For Alexandrovich, not finding the mastermind meant he couldn’t sleep at night.

Compared to personal safety, face didn’t matter that much. This assassination suggested the involvement of domestic interest groups; not knowing who he could trust, Alexandrovich was forced to seek external help.

Of course, that was all for show, deliberately done for the outside world to see, making everyone believe the Crown Prince was at his wits’ end.

In secret, Marshal Ivanov was indeed hurrying back with meritorious servants to receive rewards; these people were the Tsar’s real support.

It’s not that St. Petersburg lacked loyal servants, but currently, Alexandrovich couldn’t distinguish the loyal from the treacherous. For safety’s sake, he had no choice but to call the army back.

Whether or not the real killer could be found, a major purge was inevitable. Unlike Alexander II’s previous domestic purging based on anti-corruption, this time it would be bloody.

In a sense, the great purge conducted by Alexander II under the guise of anti-corruption after the first Prussian-Russian War laid the foundation for subsequent reforms.

Similarly, this laid the grounds for his own assassination; starting from 1871, Alexander II lived through an era where assassination attempts occurred with alarming frequency.

Over the years, the Tsarist Government had executed more than a thousand assassins, yet this failed to deter the passion of those whose interests were harmed and continued to come forward, one after another.

During the reign of Alexander II, there were so many assassination attempts, yet very few led to the identification of the true culprits; it was usually either the Revolutionary Party or patriots who ended up taking the blame.

Finding the true culprits might have been challenging, but one could speculate. Who had their interests damaged and sought revenge? Who most wished for Alexander II to die?

Target those two groups for investigation and gradually, some connections emerge. Even if unrelated to the current assassination attempt, uncovering the culprits behind previous attempts was still a considerable achievement.

Keeping matters quiet was out of the question. The Prusso-Russian War had just ended, and Alexander II was at the zenith of his power; Alexandrovich needed to present a satisfactory outcome, as he could not justify the situation to his people otherwise.

...

With the assassination of Alexander II, the immediate impact was felt in the Prusso-Russian negotiations. The Berlin Government truly panicked, as their previously unyielding stance on territorial issues began to soften.

The main contention in the negotiations now seemed to have reached a resolution, essentially settling the dispute.

In London, a breakthrough had been achieved in the Prusso-Russian negotiations, clearing a major hurdle in the establishment of the North German Empire, yet Prime Minister Benjamin did not feel elated.

The proceedings were going too smoothly, eerily beyond expectations, giving an air of unreality.

Putting down the draft contract in his hands, Prime Minister Benjamin said, "Sir Edward, did Austria not make a move?"

Foreign Minister Edward replied, "No, the Austrians did intervene. However, their response this time was somewhat slow, and their interference markedly slight.

Perhaps they believed they could rely on The Federation of German Imperial Assembly to veto the transaction, which is why they did not act hastily."

"Of course, the sudden assassination of Alexander II is also one of the reasons. According to intelligence from our embassy, the Vienna Government is currently focusing most of its attention on the Russian Empire."

These reasons seemed insufficient; no matter the focus, it was unlikely all efforts would be directed there. Shifting even a fraction of their attention could complicate the Prusso-Russian negotiations.

Waiting for the Imperial Parliament to veto was far too passive and did not align with Austrian tactics. Moreover, The Federation of German Imperial Assembly could be circumvented.

The plan for the North German Empire was to proceed step by step, with the merge with Prussia as the final step. It was just the beginning, and it was Hanover, not The Federation of German Imperial Government, that was currently negotiating with the Kingdom of Prussia.

Under the unique system of The Federation of German Imperial, a Sub-State had its own diplomatic rights, including the power to make treaties with other nations; thus, the dealings between Hanover and Prussia did not require Imperial Parliament approval.

The first step was territorial trade; the second, an alliance between Hanover and the Kingdom of Prussia; the third, the establishment of a joint kingdom between Prussia and Hanover; and the final step was the creation of the North German Empire.

In fact, by the time of the Prusso-Hanoverian merger, the Kingdom of Prussia would already be a part of The Federation of German Imperial, leaving the Imperial Parliament powerless to intervene.

After establishing a fait accompli, it became much easier to then compel the Imperial Parliament to agree, with significantly less resistance.

In theory, Austria could emulate such a strategy, but in practice, it was an impossibility.

To survive, the Kingdom of Prussia could abandon its pride and not worry about losing face, setting up a dual-system country with Hanover at the forefront to jointly rule over the forthcoming North German Empire. Austria, however, could not do the same.

Franz could not afford such a loss of face, and the Austrian people would not tolerate it. A major power must act like one and cannot engage in just any endeavor.

Prime Minister Benjamin nodded in agreement, "Let’s hope for the best. Urge them to hasten the negotiation process and establish the facts on the ground sooner, to avoid any further complications."

Despite lingering doubts, at this stage, even if the London Government knew there was a pitfall ahead, they had to leap into it.

To retreat at this time would be to contribute to Austria’s efforts to unify the Germany Region.

Public sentiment is the most complex matter; the London Government succeeded in persuading Prussia and Hanover because not many believed in Austria’s ability to unify the Germany Region.

If the British were to pull back now, people’s perceptions would shift. Many would think the London Government feared Austria and dared not confront them directly.

Once such a notion took hold, everyone would start to reconsider the issue of whether Austria had the capability to unify the Germany Region.

The core of unification lies in the mindset; if all Germans believed Austria capable of unifying the Germany Region and were willing to join a greater Empire, then no one could stop it.

The Vienna Government’s fundamental hesitation stemmed from the fear that before they could integrate the Germany Region, they might face a concerted assault from the nations of Europe.

Unstable from within and threatened from without, no one could withstand such pressures. The grand task Napoleon had left unfinished, Franz did not believe he could accomplish.

If everyone held unification as their goal, there would be no need for further discussion. The nations of Europe would lack the drive to interfere, as any interference would be futile—the region would unify regardless of how it might be partitioned.

The reason the British could currently work to sow division was precisely because people did not believe in Austria’s capacity for unifying the Germany Region. In fact, many deemed such unification a certain route to failure.

Even with numerous pro-Austrian factions within the states, aware of the benefits of a grand unification, no one dared take that first step. It was against this backdrop that North German nationalism grew and flourished.