With the success of the Double Twelfth Uprising, the Tsarist Government's true crisis had arrived. Internal enemies were far more terrifying than external ones. Since the revolutionaries had raised the banner of "Cleanse the Emperor's Side," many people had chosen to remain neutral.
It was not that they had betrayed the Tsar; they were mainly dissatisfied with the current situation. The radical Reform Party was unhappy that the Tsar had suspended reforms, while the conservatives wanted to remove the clauses in the reforms that harmed their interests.
Most of these people had families and livelihoods. Naturally, they could not take part in something as high-risk as rebellion.
In Saint Petersburg, this sudden bad news threw the Tsarist Government into panic. The Russian Empire, beset by troubles within and without, drifted amid storm and rain.
Minister of Internal Affairs Mikhail proposed, "Your Majesty, this cannot go on. We must first suppress the domestic rebellion!"
There was nothing wrong with this proposal. External enemies could at most tear a piece of flesh from the Russian Empire; they could not yet threaten its survival. The ones who could truly take their lives were still the enemies within.
Just looking at the banner of "Cleanse the Emperor's Side" made it clear that a storm of blood and slaughter was inevitable. Once the rebels gained the upper hand, vested-interest holders like them would all become targets for purging.
How could they answer to the people without executing a few corrupt ministers? At present, the upper ranks of the Tsarist Government were all so-called "corrupt ministers," marked for execution.
Alexander II remained expressionless, as though he did not care in the slightest. In truth, he was already so furious inside that he could spit blood. Never in his dreams had he imagined that the revolutionaries would