Chapter 1267: The Ultimatum

"My lord, there really is no problem..."

Osilev had already inspected this batch of military provisions countless times.

No problem?

He was not very convinced, nor did he really believe it!

After all, he knew that these two Longyan people were not good people at all.

He had always been in contact with the Qian father and son.

But regarding the issue of the military provisions, this pair of father and son had not told him a single thing. Of course, in previous grain transactions, this pair of father and son had also had no issues. But this time was different... This time it was two million shi! And it was all military provisions, about to be transported to the war front! Osilev knew that if there were truly any problem with this batch of military provisions, then Tsarist Russia would enter a state of eternal damnation.

Therefore, he was extremely cautious.

However, he could not find any evidence.

The quality of this batch of military provisions was indeed very good.

Furthermore, in toxicity tests, many samples had been checked. Moreover, because the matter was of great importance, he had directly used real people for testing! The result was still that there were no problems; these people were lively and active.

What he naturally did not know was...

This was a new type of chemical poison developed by the Liangzhou side. It was a chronic poison, and the Liangzhou side had mastered the dosage and timing to a very detailed degree.

"Damn it!"

Osilev knew in his heart that there was definitely something fishy about this transaction, but he just could not find it; this feeling made him very uncomfortable.

"Hahahaha! Lord Osilev, what is the matter? Haven't slept for three days, have you? Oh my, that is truly hard work!"

A group of people walked into the entrance of the granary.

Upon hearing this voice, Osilev knew who this person was.

Menshikov!

Menshikov was still in his gorgeous clothes, still reeking of alcohol, still wearing an arrogant expression, and still followed by a group of lackeys; among the lackeys, the Qian father and son were prominently included.

A sharp glint flashed in Osilev's eyes: "Lord Menshikov, this is where my duty lies; it cannot be called hard work."

Menshikov gave a cold snort: "Lord Osilev, the military provisions at the front are in short supply, and they have been waiting for us to send the provisions over! You must know, for every day you waste here, how many soldiers at the front go hungry! Hmph, I think you are the one colluding with the enemy and committing treason, intentionally holding up our provisions!"

As soon as these words were spoken, a group of lackeys began to denounce Osilev one after another.

"You..."

Osilev almost vomited blood.

Wasn't this a case of the pot calling the kettle black?

Him colluding with the enemy and committing treason?

How could that be!

"What, Lord Osilev, do you have something to refute? Since there is no problem with these military provisions, yet you keep them detained here and do not send them to the front... Oh, I understand, it is because our General Rumyantsev had some differences in political views with Lord Osilev in the past..."

Menshikov laughed loudly.

"You, you, you, you, you are talking nonsense!"

Osilev really wanted to slap Menshikov across the face!

The villain accusing the victim first!

This was definitely the villain accusing the victim first!

In all of Tsarist Russia, who did not know that this Menshikov was once the Governor of Jifu, and later, Rumyantsev also became the Governor of Jifu. These two were the true political rivals; he, Osilev, had once impeached Rumyantsev, but that was a normal procedure, and the two of them had absolutely no personal prejudice against each other.

Menshikov said this on purpose just to provoke him!

"Lord Osilev, as everyone knows, you are an upright person, but because of your uprightness, letting our soldiers at the front suffer is indeed a bit excessive."

Menshikov had come personally today to apply pressure because he was worried that this so-called Committee would obtain some evidence against him.

Although he was not afraid of any impeachment, if there were too many, Peter would also have a very negative opinion of him.

As for the profit from this order, let alone mentioning it, he therefore would not allow anyone to mess up his affairs.

"The Emperor is here!"

Just at this moment, someone outside shouted.

The Emperor?

Peter the Great?

Upon hearing this, the group of people hurriedly stood aside respectfully.

Sure enough.

Peter the Great walked over, accompanied by Yekaterina.

He first looked at Menshikov, and then looked at Osilev.

He could not help but shake his head.

He knew that the struggle between these two people had recently caused quite a lot of discussion within Tsarist Russia. He could not help but sigh deeply; his brother Menshikov was acting more and more excessively. He had been warning him, warning him repeatedly, but he still could not stop his greed.

So this time, he had come personally.

"Both lords are here, I am quite gratified; it seems everyone knows that these military provisions are of great importance this time."

Peter chuckled.

The two people hurriedly bowed their waists respectfully.

Menshikov said loudly: "Your Majesty, rest assured, these military provisions are exactly what the Longyan people call 'using their own spear to attack their own shield'! Hahahaha! When we win a complete victory, the Longyan people will discover that it was they themselves who had the problem!"

As soon as these words were spoken, that group of lackeys also praised him one after another.

They praised Menshikov's Strategy as being heaven-sent, his talent as magnificent, and his wisdom as heroic.

Osilev's mouth began to twitch as he listened.

Peter chuckled, nodded, and looked at Osilev: "Lord Osilev, what do you think?"

Osilev sighed: "Your Majesty, this batch of military provisions has been inspected for three days, and there is indeed no problem. And the quality is of the finest..."

Peter pondered, "Can that be sent to the front line now? That fellow Rumyantsev writes letters to urge me every single day! Eight letters a day, I can barely stand it!"

"This..."

In his heart, Osilev was certainly unwilling.

But he could not find any reason to refute this matter.

Peter seemed to have lost his patience and waved his hand: "Ship it to the front line! As long as the war situation eases this time, a great merit will be recorded for Osilev!"

Menshikov said excitedly: "Why don't you hurry up and thank His Majesty!"

Osilev let out a sorrowful cry in his heart; having no Method, he could only thank him respectfully.

Only then did Peter the Great turn and leave.

Menshikov hurriedly followed behind him.

Yekaterina, who was by Peter's side, sighed slightly and gave Menshikov a reproachful look. The latter just chuckled, as if to say, with you two here, who in this entire Tsarist Russia do I have to fear?

"Menshikov..."

Once they entered Peter's Horse Carriage together, Peter the Great looked over slowly.

"Your Majesty..."

Facing Peter, Menshikov still dared not be presumptuous.

Peter the Great gave a cold smile: "Regarding some matters, one must still pay attention to the influence..."

Menshikov immediately made all sorts of guarantees, just like before.

Peter shook his head: "Managing a country is exhausting; the higher the position, the more things there are. Menshikov, money is something one can never finish earning."

"What?"

Upon hearing this, Menshikov could not help but take a deep breath, looking at Peter in disbelief.

This was the first time Peter had ever said such things to him.

Discussing the issue of getting rich so bluntly.

Peter gave a wry smile.

In fact, he also knew the current national situation of Tsarist Russia. Having returned from studying abroad in Europe in his youth, he naturally knew that economy and commerce would become the biggest factors determining the future national strength of a country. He knew even better that in powerful Britain, merchants had begun to slowly seize

power, and half the people in parliament were almost all merchants, Gentry, and capitalists of all stripes.

Capitalists.

No profit, no early rising.

Future countries would have to develop in this direction.

Tsarist Russia was the same.

While Peter was alive, he could still suppress these people. But what about after he died?

In his heart, he hoped that Tsarist Russia could enter the same track as Britain. In that case, these merchants, these oligarchs, and these Gentry were the people he needed to consider.

And the current Tsarist Russia was unhealthy.

The overall situation was unhealthy.

In this regard, Menshikov already had a sense of monopoly.

No one could challenge Menshikov in this area. This would naturally create many political enemies for Menshikov. Although these political enemies would not erupt for the time being, and might even flatter Menshikov, it still came back to that same point: what if he himself died?

Peter considered a lot.

He was called a great ruler of a generation, naturally because of his foresight.

He had once put himself in Menshikov's position.

When he truly died...

Then Menshikov would only have two paths to choose from: first, take the wealth he could not squander in several lifetimes and leave Tsarist Russia. Peter could not accept this; he did not want the wealth of Tsarist Russia to flow out. Second, he rebels and becomes the Emperor of Tsarist Russia... Peter naturally would not accept this either; although he was his brother, he certainly could not be the Emperor of Tsarist Russia.

Therefore.

No matter what, if Menshikov continued like this, it would surely be a dead end.

So he came in person today with the intention of exhorting Menshikov.

Money is something one can never finish earning.

He was advising Menshikov that he could distribute the huge profits from this military grain order to those political enemies at his discretion.

In this way, Menshikov would not become a true "oligarch" in terms of his stance.

Many people would support him.

There was a precedent for this situation in Longyan.

Wasn't that Liu Zheng one?

This kid was already the most powerful person in Longyan now. He was also very good at making money, and he also ignored imperial power, but he could still thrive in Longyan. Why?

Because he was willing to give up his own interests instead of holding onto them single-handedly.

Therefore.

Peter had spoken his piece today, and he also knew that Menshikov was a smart man.

He could understand his meaning.

But whether he would do so would determine his own fate in the future.

In his heart, Menshikov was naturally also stirred into a stormy sea by Peter's words.

What did this mean?

Was he warning him?

Or was he giving him an ultimatum?

This...

Had things already become this serious?

He did not quite believe it, yet he had no choice but to believe it.

For a moment, his heart was also in a state of utter chaos.