Chapter 1284: The Upheaval in the Upper House

It is over.

Everyone was as silent as a cicada in winter.

Menshikov is finished this time!

No one can save him anymore!

His brother Peter, who has indulged him for his entire life, will likely find it very difficult to save him this time!

One million shi of grain and fodder!

The lives of three hundred thousand troops, in a single night, have vanished into thin air. This blow to Tsarist Russia can only be described as massive. No, this is no longer just a blow; it is equivalent to directly cutting the Tsarist Russian Empire in half!

Peter was so angry that he felt dizzy and disoriented.

He fainted several times, and several times he was revived by doctors.

"Menshikov, call Menshikov here for me!"

"Call him here!"

Peter roared with all his might; in the eyes of this aging sovereign, a light of despair flickered at this moment.

Three hundred thousand...

The population base of Tsarist Russia itself was not large to begin with. He could have used an army of three hundred thousand to sweep across the globe, but now, but now...

The news from the front lines indicates that not only has the army suffered heavy losses, but even Rumyantsev and Ushakov, despite receiving the best possible medical care, are hanging by a thread and likely will not survive this winter.

A heavy blow.

Tsarist Russia has truly been dealt a heavy blow this time. It is hard for Peter to imagine what his Tsarist Russia would be like without great generals like Rumyantsev and Ushakov. It is also hard for the people of Tsarist Russia to get used to what the country would be like without this Grand Marshal of the army and this anchor of the navy.

But...

All of this has just happened.

Peter rebuked angrily: "Bind him for me, bring him to me in chains!"

This time, he is determined to bring Menshikov to justice! If he is not executed, it will not be enough to appease the public anger!

"Your Majesty, you must investigate this thoroughly!"

"Your Majesty!"

"Menshikov is corrupt and breaks the law, he..."

Osilev and the others also stood up excitedly, beginning to denounce the dozens of crimes committed by Menshikov. At this moment, they were undoubtedly the happiest; those who had been wearing masks just days ago could no longer be bothered to hide their identities. Anyone could see that this time, Menshikov was truly going to fall.

"Your Majesty, no need to bind me, I have already arrived."

Who would have thought that at this very moment, Menshikov's sneering voice would ring out.

With the sound of clattering footsteps, he had not come alone!

Behind him followed a group of fully armed soldiers, at least a thousand of them, who instantly filled the entire Upper House!

"You..."

"This..."

"Menshikov, what are you trying to do!"

The people in the Upper House all had their expressions change drastically.

Because these soldiers had entered with murderous intent, weapons drawn and ready, fully armed, and had already unsheathed their blades, pointing them at these everyday high-ranking officials.

Menshikov looked at Peter with a cold expression.

This time, facing the brother who had supported him his entire life, he showed no respect or obsequiousness. He just looked at Peter deeply with complex eyes. He looked at this monarch who had aged before him. In his eyes, there was no longer any emotion; if there was any, it was only a trace of pity flashing in the depths of his gaze.

"Audacious! Menshikov, what do you want to do!"

Osilev and the others shielded Peter behind them, their anger toward Menshikov overflowing.

The others in the Upper House were also scared witless.

What is Menshikov trying to do?

What does he want to do?

Does he want to rebel?

Fear flashed in everyone's eyes. Is he crazy? Is Menshikov crazy? One must know that the status and power he has today were all given to him by Peter! One must know that when he was young, he was just a child from a poor background selling sesame cakes on the street! One must know that without Peter,

he would have died countless times!

Peter had, to the greatest extent, tolerated his greed and desires.

Yet today...

He actually looked coldly at his benefactor, his brother, his emperor, his elder brother.

"You, you, you... what are you doing?"

Peter's face was also twisted.

He wanted to stand up, but with his health deteriorating day by day, it was difficult for him to even stand.

"Yekaterina, help me up!"

"Help me up!"

Peter roared.

He had been strong his whole life; he had never shown weakness when facing any enemy, and today, he did not want to either.

But.

Yekaterina did not move.

The scene, the atmosphere, began to turn eerie.

Yekaterina, dressed in full regalia, just sat there quietly; she sat right beside Peter, but it was as if she had not heard his roaring and shouting.

"You..."

"Yekaterina!"

Peter trembled all over, looking at Yekaterina in disbelief.

Yekaterina remained indifferent.

"You, you, you..."

Peter's face turned deathly pale; he could not believe everything happening before his eyes.

He could not fathom why all of this was happening...

This was his own Empress!

This was his own wife!

He knew that Yekaterina and Menshikov had once been lovers. But he truly had not expected that, even now, Yekaterina would still stand on Menshikov's side. This meant that all these years... Yekaterina had still been maintaining a lover's relationship with Menshikov?

He had always...

Been cuckolded?

The others in the Upper House slowly closed their eyes.

They seemed to see Peter the Great with a head full of green.

In fact, everyone had heard rumors about this matter... but because the affair was sensitive, it was not easy to tell Peter. Moreover, in these European courts, such gossip and secret scandals were countless; it had even become a tradition... thus, no one paid much attention to them.

The various European royal families were quite open in this regard.

Otherwise, Peter would not have married his own brother's lover as his Empress.

It was just that he hadn't expected...

Hadn't expected it.

"Protect His Majesty!"

At this moment, Osilev suddenly roared.

However, it was already too late...

Yekaterina's body finally moved, and then, earth-shatteringly, an exquisite Dagger appeared in the hand that had just seemed to be resting on Peter's back!

"You..."

"Audacious!"

"Your Majesty!"

"Protect His Majesty!"

"These two adulterers!"

The entire Upper House went mad; everyone stood up, cursing Menshikov.

Peter trembled all over; this once-arrogant monarch, the man who had changed the fate of Tsarist Russia with his own strength and led Tsarist Russia toward glory, had eyes that were usually as sharp as a Falcon, but now they were filled with incomprehension, despair, panic, and sorrow.

His own Empress was pointing a Dagger at him!

She was pointing a Dagger at him...

"Hahahaha, hahahaha..."

Peter suddenly laughed with sorrow: "So that's how it is, so that's how it is..."

"You all..."

"It was you all..."

The entire Upper House.

Was silent.