Nicholas II Must Die

In another timeline, Vice Admiral Makarov had been hailed as the Tsarist Russian Empire Navy's most outstanding naval commander during the war between the Tsarist Russian Empire and the Japanese Empire.

But Vice Admiral Makarov had terrible luck. The battleship Petropavlovsk, on which he was sailing, struck a mine and sank. Vice Admiral Makarov went down with the ship.

In this timeline, after Mikhail was appointed commander of the Black Sea Fleet, he went to Alexander III and had Makarov transferred to serve as his deputy.

Mikhail hoped that General Makarov could shake off his bad luck in this timeline. At the same time, he hoped that the Tsarist Russian Empire could defy the heavens and change its fate in future wars!

There was absolutely no way the Japanese would defeat the Tsarist Russian Empire again and step on it to squeeze their way into the ranks of the world powers!

That was right. In Grand Duke Mikhail's memories, he had already come to regard the Japanese as his greatest enemy.

In another timeline, the Tsarist Russian Empire had suffered a crushing defeat in its war with the Japanese.

That had made the Tsarist Russian Empire a laughingstock throughout the world.

After all, no matter how decrepit the Tsarist Russian Empire was, it was still one of the world powers, even if it could only rank near the bottom among them.

Even so, the Tsarist Russian Empire's military strength could certainly rank among the foremost in the world.

The Tsarist Russian Army might have been no match for the German Army, and the Tsarist Russian Navy might have been no match for the Royal Navy of the Empire on Which the Sun Never Sets.

But the countries in the world that possessed both a powerful navy and a powerful army could be counted on one hand.

The Tsarist Russian Empire happened to be one of them.

The Tsarist Russian Empire faced a whole series of problems: its vast territory, scattered troops, backward transportation and industry, acute internal conflicts, and so on.

But in Grand Duke Mikhail's view, all these problems could be solved.

Nicholas II had simply played a good hand to ruin.

The Japanese Empire had seized vast wealth and resources after defeating the Great Qing Empire and had developed at breakneck speed.

The Empire on Which the Sun Never Sets also supported the Japanese Empire from behind the scenes.

But the Japanese Empire had a small territory and scarce resources, and its population was nowhere near comparable to that of the Tsarist Russian Empire.

With some careful preparation, there was no reason for the Tsarist Russian Empire to suffer a crushing defeat in the war.

What was more, Nicholas II had always hated Mikhail so much that he gnashed his teeth, and guarded against him as though he were a thief. While Alexander III was alive, there would naturally be no trouble.

After securing his hold on the throne, Nicholas II began to suppress Mikhail. If Mikhail had not had considerable forces under his command, Nicholas II might have dismissed him outright, had he not wished to avoid a civil war.

In another timeline, Grand Duke Mikhail could be considered a tragic figure, with an exceedingly miserable end.

As Nicholas II's younger brother, Mikhail was not given an important role. Whether in the imperial family or the Tsarist Russian Empire as a whole, he was a figure whose presence or absence hardly mattered.

After the Bolshevik Party rose up, Nicholas II's rule was overthrown.

The bourgeois faction demanded that Mikhail inherit the throne and become the new tsar, but the Bolshevik Party strongly opposed it.

In the end, Mikhail was imprisoned by the Bolshevik Party and then executed.

In this timeline, even if only for the sake of his own life, Mikhail naturally did not want such a tragedy to play out again.

Although the Tsarist Russian Empire of this era was still one of the great powers, possessing the largest territory in the world and the largest population in the entire Western world,

in reality, the Tsarist Russian Empire was nothing more than a giant with feet of clay.

Its internal conflicts were acute, its officials corrupt, and its army had almost nothing going for it apart from its numbers.

In the years to come, not only would the Japanese, backed by the people of the Empire on Which the Sun Never Sets, climb onto its shoulders to become a great power, but it would also collapse in the First World War.

Although Soviet Russia, which was established afterward, won the Second World War and became one of the superpowers,

the good times did not last. Soviet Russia collapsed and split into more than a dozen countries.

Big Mao, which inherited the main body of Soviet Russia, went on to fight a messy war with Second Mao, which had obtained Western support, and victory remained nowhere in sight.

It was an utter disgrace!

So Mikhail had long since made up his mind to use his own strength to rewrite the Tsarist Russian Empire's history and change all of this.

That was also why he had displayed his talent before Tsar Alexander III and won Alexander III's favor, giving him the position and foundation he had today.

"Your Excellency, General, I'll leave the Black Sea Fleet to you. I'll do my utmost to provide you with support!" Grand Duke Mikhail entrusted the Black Sea Fleet to Vice Admiral Makarov, following the principle that one should not doubt those one employed, nor employ those one doubted.

"Your Highness, please rest assured. The Black Sea Fleet will always obey your orders!" Vice Admiral Makarov seized the opportunity to show his loyalty.

Previously, Vice Admiral Makarov had been left sitting on the cold bench, sidelined by conservative forces within the navy.

Grand Duke Mikhail had helped him leap into the position of deputy commander of the Black Sea Fleet and be promoted to lieutenant general of the navy. Of course he had to repay the favor.

Mikhail nodded, greatly gratified.

That afternoon, Grand Duke Mikhail departed Sevastopol aboard a warship, preparing to return to Volgograd.

The warship sailed east along the coast of the Crimean Peninsula, passing through the Kerch Strait and entering the Sea of Azov. It continued east to Rostov-on-Don River, where the Black Sea Shipyard was located.

In another timeline, the Black Sea Shipyard had been established in Nikolayev.

But in this timeline, Grand Duke Mikhail had built the shipyard in Rostov-on-Don River, making it easier for him to keep control of it. At the same time, he could actively participate in designing warships, sparing the Tsarist Russian Empire Navy many detours.

Many of the designs for the Rostov class protected cruiser had been proposed by Grand Duke Mikhail.

These included triple main gun turrets, more secondary guns and rapid-fire guns, the use of a new type of armor steel, and greater speed.

At Rostov-on-Don River, Grand Duke Mikhail transferred to a smaller boat and traveled upstream all the way to Kalach-on-Don River.

After disembarking there, he took a carriage to Volgograd, which was not far away.

Grand Duke Mikhail even planned to dig a canal between the Don River and the Volga River ahead of time, connecting the two great river systems early.

That would make water transport much more convenient.

On the way back to Volgograd, Grand Duke Mikhail's previously wavering resolve grew firmer.

"I'm very sorry, my dear elder brother. For the sake of the Tsarist Russian Empire, you must die. If you don't die, I'll have to!

"Rather than let the empire collapse in your hands, it would be better for me to lead it toward an even more glorious future.

"That way, your death will have served a worthy purpose!"

Grand Duke Mikhail murmured.

Although Nicholas II was his elder brother in this timeline, he had still made up his mind to send Nicholas II to heaven ahead of time, to reunite with Alexander III.

In any case, in the other timeline, Nicholas II had also met an exceedingly miserable end, and his entire family had been killed.

Whether he died early or late, he would still die. He might as well die a little earlier; perhaps the outcome would be completely different!