Chapter 1289: Menshikov's Ambition

Menshikov continued to watch Peter, who was flying into a rage, in silence.

He did not speak.

Beside him, Yekaterina did not speak either.

The guards, naturally, did not speak either.

At this moment, Peter had completely lost his freedom, lost his inherent glory, and lost the prestige he had accumulated throughout his life. In the eyes of these people, he was already an aged, senile existence.

It was not that Peter had no men of his own.

But he was truly too old.

And he had truly trusted this man, Menshikov, far too much.

In the end, he suffered an unimaginable backlash.

It was time to die.

Menshikov was also feeling overwhelmed by the recent situation in Tsarist Russia. Everything had to be brought to an end as soon as possible!

Peter, indeed, had to die.

As long as he remained alive, Tsarist Russia would never be at peace.

After Menshikov began to control the entirety of Saint Petersburg, his own situation was, in fact, also precarious. He did not dare to do anything excessive to those old ministers of Peter.

For example, Osilev.

He could only temporarily suppress them and could not show his ambition too overtly.

He wanted a united Tsarist Russia.

He wanted a powerful Tsarist Russia.

In reality, Menshikov had not previously shown excessive pursuit of power; he liked wealth. His greed was still mostly concentrated on money.

Reaching this point today was entirely the irony of fate and the pressure of circumstances.

He stood up and looked at Peter indifferently.

Peter laughed wildly: "Are you going to make your move? Can you no longer hold back?"

Menshikov did not answer Peter, this brother of his entire life.

He only said softly: "Yekaterina will become the new Empress of Tsarist Russia."

After saying this, he had already stood up and left this place.

Those guards remained there, watching Peter.

For a time.

It was as if only Peter and Yekaterina were left here.

Peter did not speak.

Because Yekaterina had already taken a pot of wine from a maid nearby, a pot of wine that had long been prepared.

Peter knew.

His time had come.

This pot of wine was the existence that would end his life.

He looked at his wife once more.

He was, for a moment, at a loss for words.

Empress.

A fine Empress indeed.

He laughed aloud, and finally, without hesitation, picked up the cup of wine and gulped it down.

"Good wine!"

……

And so, Peter died.

The entirety of Tsarist Russia was shrouded in an atmosphere of despair.

Osilev, with his men, wailed in the mansion.

These people were all members of the Committee that Osilev had gathered previously. Their current state of mind goes without saying. When they wore masks before, they could still play along with Menshikov. But now? When they chose to stand on Osilev's side, they had already lost.

But...

Who could have imagined that Menshikov would be so unyielding?

The entire city of Saint Petersburg was filled with such an atmosphere.

Peter was dead?

What would become of Tsarist Russia?

Soon, Yekaterina, with the support of Menshikov and the Imperial Guard, was crowned Empress of Tsarist Russia.

Everyone knew this was a conspiracy, but no one had the power to overthrow it.

Regarding the succession to the throne, because Peter II was still young, Yekaterina had to serve as Empress for the time being. Thus, this rather legendary woman truly ascended to the pinnacle of power in Tsarist Russia. Yekaterina

was the daughter of a peasant from Poland-Lithuania, who became a captive of the Russian Army near Marienpol during the Great Northern War, and became Menshikov's military prostitute and lover, only finally gaining the favor of Peter I.

This could be considered the counterattack of a small person; if this were in orthodox Europe, such a thing would be impossible.

But in the savagely growing Tsarist Russia, it was achievable.

Of course, all of this was also built upon the premise that Peter II would be treated as the heir to the throne.

Yekaterina's ascension also meant that Menshikov could continue his arrogance. In his capacity as Regent, he began to control the government of Tsarist Russia. Tsarist Russia officially entered Menshikov's dark period of rule.

Butulin City.

The city Menshikov had dreamed of; even before Peter had passed away, he had been coveting this beautiful city.

When Yekaterina truly took power, she naturally would not be stingy in bestowing this city upon her lover.

The Menshikov mansion in Butulin City once again pushed luxury to the extreme.

For the past few days, this place had been filled with singing and dancing, never once stopping.

"Hahahaha, congratulations to the Regent!"

"Regent!"

"Regent!"

Menshikov was effectively the actual controller of all Tsarist Russia; he accepted everyone's congratulations and laughed heartily: "Let's all be happy, let's all be happy! Let the dancing begin!"

The dancing girls began their graceful and varied performance.

The scent of Vodka permeated the entire hall.

Menshikov feigned a moment of sadness over the passing of his brother, Peter, and then sighed deeply: "It is a pity that the Empire is still teetering in the wind and rain at this time, and those blind fools are still causing trouble! I must find a Method to hold absolute power!"

A group of people looked at each other in dismay.

Holding absolute power—how could it be easy?

Although Menshikov was now the Regent, he still could not be too reckless.

He did not even dare to stay in Saint Petersburg for long, and could only run to this Butulin City.

The pinnacle of power!

Menshikov, who had not considered the pinnacle of power before, now began to crave it.

But in Tsarist Russia, with his status, it was too difficult to reach the pinnacle of power.

Yekaterina was not born a Noble; she could become Empress, but only as a transition. But for someone of Menshikov's status, even as a transition, it would not be his turn.

Someone in the hall naturally guessed Menshikov's thoughts, stepped out, and chuckled: "Lord Regent, actually, if you wish to ascend the throne, it is not difficult."

"Oh?"

Menshikov laughed.

The people present were all his own, so he did not mind this topic.

That person laughed heartily: "To become Emperor, it is nothing more than a matter of status and bloodline! My suggestion is... My Lord can have someone forge your family tree; this is the first step. The second step, currency reform, starting right here in Butulin City! The third step, hehe, since we have already decided to support Petrovich, then why... not marry your daughter to him as his wife?"

Menshikov became excited as he listened.

These Methods were all hitting the vital points!

Bloodline—he needed a Noble birth, he needed a birth that could inherit the throne!

This was not difficult; if people keep repeating a lie, it becomes the truth; he would just find someone to do it.

Currency reform, this naturally also represented who the true ruler of the Empire was, and it was also a Method for him to declare his ambition to all of Tsarist Russia.

The most important point was the third one.

Petrovich—if his own daughter could marry him...

Then, no matter how one looked at it, there would be no problem with him becoming the number one person in Tsarist Russia!