Historically, the Americans had done exactly that. But because the Tsarist government fixated solely on the fur trade and neglected everything else, coupled with its excessive conservatism, the Americans ultimately only dared to mine in secret.
Yet all the Frenchmen's efforts went up in smoke amid the flames of war in 1848. The French Second Republic refused to continue repaying Russia's loans, and Tsar Nicholas I seized the opportunity to tear up the treaty.
All Frenchmen unwilling to swear allegiance to the Tsar were expelled. In the end, Alaska had merely gained six hundred people of French descent.
Without all the Frenchmen's meddling, even most Russians would have known Alaska only as a place rich in mink pelts.
"That's right. It is the farthest place in all of Russia from Saint Petersburg."
Alexander said, tilting his head back.
"After this, I'll be leaving to take up my post. Don't miss me too much."
Though Alexander put on an air of carefree nonchalance, a faint melancholy still inevitably seeped through.
In Alexander's heart, Nicholas I had probably abandoned him completely. After all, when dealing with political prisoners, Nicholas I went no further than exile to Siberia—yet he himself had been exiled to Alaska.
Olga and Franz, however, knew full well that this was nothing more than a quarrel between father and son.
"Brother, Father only wants you to calm down. Just go and honestly admit your mistake."
Olga was right. Nicholas I had merely spoken in anger. A man with legitimism drilled into his bones could never replace the heir to the throne, no matter how furious he was, because in his eyes, everything was arranged by Heaven.
If Nicholas I had truly been ruthless enough to send Alexander to Alaska, he would not have first dispatched him to Vienna to