Struggle in Russia - Vol 3 Chapter 752

This move is also detrimental enough. After Count Uvarov found out that he could not defeat Count Rostovtsev head-on, he decided to play a hooligan. Even if he does not succeed in making the purchase of Alaska into trouble in the end, he would have to deal a blow to Count Rostovtsev’s prestige, preferably by making Nicholas I doubt his source of income.

Does this hand work?

Theoretically speaking, it is useful. After all, 1 million rubles is not a small number. 99% of the Russian aristocrats cannot afford it. But you, the Count of Rostovtsev, are good. To put it mildly, you spend a lot of money. Unless your money is blown by the wind, you dare to say that there is no trick?

It’s just that a theory is always a theory. After all, it is different from reality. Because before Count Uvarov began to release the rumors, he and Chernyshov were first hit with a sap.

Rumors about him began to spread in the aristocratic circles in St. Petersburg, nothing more than to say how stingy and stingy he was, and he was so stingy when the country was in crisis, he was simply not a man.

He even said that he did not hesitate to instruct the Chancellor of the Exchequer to sell his land to the Americans in order to save money, because the Americans gave him a lot of kickbacks!

Well, Count Uvarov exploded immediately. He has never suffered such a loss, yes, he is a penny, but he has never reached a private deal with the Americans, and he has never received a rebate from the Americans.

Isn’t that putting a bucket of **** on his head?

Count Uvarov’s rhythm was suddenly disrupted. He didn’t care about making rumors and slandering Count Rostovtsev. First of all, he had to find a way to clean up himself. Got a little scorched.

“Your approach is really good, but how do you know that Count Uvarov is trying to slander you?” Nikolai Milyutin asked curiously.

Count Rostovtsev smiled and said, “I’ve watched Sergei Semenovich’s tricks for more than 20 years, and if I still don’t know it, it’s a waste of time. He’s just such a trick, or he’s trying to occupy morality. Hit you from the commanding heights, or play the next three to slander you, in short, this is the set!”

After a short pause, he said again: “If you don’t want to be led by the nose, you can only take the lead and use the way of others to retaliate!”

Nikolai Milyutin blinked, and secretly wrote down Count Rostovtsev’s words. If he bumps into Count Uvarov head-on in the future, he will do the same, so as to save that guy’s loss.

“It’s just…” Nikolai Milutin hesitated for a moment and then asked, “It’s just that rumors of this level can’t help him. Once he reacts, he will continue to slander you with tricks.”

Count Rostovtsev smiled and said, “Sure, this will restrain him for a while at most. With his brain, he will quickly react and he will definitely fight back. However, who told you that this is the only way I can do it?”

Nikolai Milyuting hurriedly asked, “Do you have any other solutions?”

Count Rostovtsev gave him a meaningful look and said, “Of course, have all the people I asked you to contact have settled?”

Nikolai Milyuting nodded and said, “It’s settled, Duke Oldolf and the others are very satisfied with your plan, and they can’t wait to develop those treasures!”

Count Rostovtsev hummed, and suddenly said, “This is not my plan, but the grand duke’s plan. All of this is his plan, and I’m just helping one or two out of it!”

Nikolai Milyutin snorted, looked at Count Rostovtsev in a stunned manner, and said in amazement, “You mean that all this is what the Grand Duke Andrei meant? As far as I know, he has been All in Wallachia? When did he start paying attention to that barren land in Alaska?”

Count Rostovtsev didn’t know the answer either. At first, when someone told him about the plan, he thought that someone was crazy. Who would be a smart person in St. Petersburg to pay such a large price for a barren land?

Until someone told him there was gold in the Nome region of Alaska, it was a different story all of a sudden.

Count Rostovtsev knows how attractive gold is. Even in the Gobi Desert, as long as there is gold, the greedy nobles in St. Petersburg will regard it as a treasure. Not to mention that Alaska is not the desert next door. Although it is indeed a bit desolate, it is definitely more valuable than the Gobi Desert.

Count Rostovtsev believed that as long as the news spread in St. Petersburg, even 20 million or even 30 million dollars, let alone 10 million dollars, could not stop the nobles’ desire for gold.

Of course, the premise is that someone’s intelligence is accurate, Alaska must have gold, preferably evidence.

Does Li Xiao have any evidence?

Of course there is. After inheriting the property of the cheap dad, he specially hired a professional prospecting team from Switzerland to go to the Nome area of ​​Alaska in the future. After more than two years of painstaking exploration, there is ample evidence that there is indeed a gold mine there!

Naturally, this surprised Count Rostovtsev again, because what kind of neuropathy would spend so much money to explore a barren land. Normal people don’t do this, okay?

But someone did this, and he really found gold, he didn’t know whether to call someone lucky or shit.

It’s just that he is very strange about Li Xiao’s choice, because according to Li Xiao’s intention, he needs to show these evidences to those neutral or liberal nobles who are worthy of wooing, and then bring them together to mine gold and make a fortune.

To be honest, if he was the young Count of Rostovtsev, he probably wouldn’t be as generous as Li Xiao, so he wouldn’t share these wealth with others. He is afraid that he will try his best to get the gold mine, and then eat alone.

So he was curious about why Li Xiao was so generous, to which Li Xiao’s answer was: “Compared with gold, connections are obviously more valuable, not to mention that if you want to mine gold mines in Alaska, which is similar to the wild, it requires huge investment. Even if I wanted to eat alone, I would choke to death!”

This answer made Count Rostovtsev appreciate Li Xiao even more. Only shallow young people look at money in everything, and those who really want to do big things know how important connections are. Gold is valuable, but compared with the friendship of Duke Oldolf and others, it is nothing.

And this is also the key reason why Count Rostovtsev is willing to take action on the Alaska issue. If Li Xiao was only for gold, then he would not risk falling out with Count Uvarov.

Even gold is not worth it to him, but if he can win over and unite a large number of people, and even take this opportunity to make these people stand on the opposite side of Count Uvarov, then Count Rostovtsev is very good. Willing to…