The Death of the Tsar

May 17, 1898.

Petersburg, in the distant north of the Tsarist Russian Empire.

Tsar Nicholas II and Empress Alexandra Feodorovna were returning to the city by carriage from Tsarskoye Selo outside the city, under the protection of their guards.

Nicholas II's brows were tightly knitted, as though he were pondering some difficult problem.

"Darling, cheer up. Tomorrow is your birthday. The entire upper echelon of the empire will come to your birthday banquet, and the envoys stationed in the empire by other countries will attend as well.

"You can't let people see you like this, can you?"

Empress Alexandra frowned.

"Mikhail has refused to come to my birthday banquet," Nicholas II suddenly said.

Empress Alexandra's expression immediately turned ugly.

"Does he still resent you? Or rather, he still can't stop thinking about the throne, can he? Darling, you should have listened to me long ago. Mikhail must be stripped of his posts, brought back to Petersburg, and imprisoned, never to have contact with the outside world again.

"If we could kill him, that would be even better!"

Alexandra was like a cat with its fur standing on end. She ground her teeth, her eyes full of malice.

"He's my younger brother, my own brother. I can't do that. At least, I can't kill him!" Nicholas II shook his head.

"No, darling. You treat Mikhail as your own younger brother, but he doesn't treat you as his own elder brother.

"If he still saw you as his brother, he shouldn't have shown off his talents before the old tsar while he was alive, like a laughable clown.

"He even came close to making the old tsar change his mind, strip you of your position as crown prince, and make him crown prince instead.

"He's a vile man who would stop at nothing for the throne, a schemer. You absolutely must not let him off!"

Empress Alexandra retorted.

Nicholas II's expression was ugly. Whenever he thought of how he had nearly missed the throne, he too was furious.

This made Nicholas II hate Grand Duke Mikhail even more.

"Darling, take my advice. The old tsar was terribly biased. Although he gave you the throne, he actually favored Grand Duke Mikhail more.

"He not only made Mikhail governor-general of the Don River, but also gave him command of the Caucasus Military District and the Black Sea Fleet. Mikhail controls not only vast tracts of land in the south, but also a quarter of the imperial army and nearly a quarter of the navy.

"The old tsar even gave him considerable financial support, allowing him to build a substantial estate in the south. All of that should have been yours!

"If Mikhail is allowed to live, sooner or later he'll challenge you for the throne!"

Empress Alexandra spoke with absolute conviction.

After hearing her words, Nicholas II's wavering resolve hardened once more.

"After tomorrow, I'll gradually strip Mikhail of his posts. If he doesn't resist, I'll spare his life. But he'll be imprisoned permanently.

"If he resists to the bitter end, then I can only beg Father's forgiveness!"

A murderous glint flashed in Nicholas II's eyes.

When the throne and power were at stake, he would not hesitate to eliminate even his own younger brother if he posed a threat!

"Darling, we must hurry. You need to bear me a son as soon as possible.

"Otherwise, according to the Law of Succession to the Throne, Mikhail is first in line to the throne."

Nicholas II said.

At present, Nicholas II had no sons, only two daughters.

His eldest daughter, Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna, was only two and a half. His younger daughter, Grand Duchess Tatiana Nikolaevna, was only six months old.

In another timeline, Nicholas II had four daughters and did not have a son until 1904.

Unfortunately, his son was born with hemophilia.

And before he reached adulthood, the Tsarist Russian Empire collapsed.

His entire family was executed by the Bolshevik Party.

Just then, the speeding carriage suddenly came to a halt, and Nicholas II and Empress Alexandra both lurched involuntarily.

"What happened?" Nicholas II asked.

"Your Majesty, a carriage transporting grain has broken down and is blocking the middle of the road," General Alexei, the commander of the guards, answered.

After hearing this, Nicholas II said nothing more.

"What's going on? Don't block the road!" An officer of the guard surrounded the carriage with several soldiers.

"Sir, the axle broke. It can't move!" An honest-looking, middle-aged coachman kept his head lowered, looking exceedingly cautious.

The officer looked around. There was no one to repair the carriage anywhere nearby.

"Men, push the carriage down off the roadbed and clear the way!" the officer ordered.

A group of guards immediately rushed over.

Together, they heaved the carriage to the side.

Seeing this, the middle-aged coachman did not dare stop them.

Nicholas II's carriage slowly passed the damaged one.

At that moment, disaster suddenly struck.

While no one was looking, the middle-aged coachman pulled a fuse from beneath the carriage.

"Boom!"

In less than two seconds, an earth-shattering explosion rang out.

The tremendous blast blew the carriage to pieces. At the same time, the carriage carrying Tsar Nicholas II was also destroyed.

Beneath the carriage was a specially constructed concealed compartment. Inside it were a full two hundred kilograms of high explosives.

When the coachman detonated the explosives, he blew himself to pieces. Nicholas II and his wife likewise failed to escape. Although they were a little farther away, they were still killed on the spot by the violent explosion.

The guards protecting Nicholas II also suffered heavy casualties.

General Alexei, the commander of the guards at the front of the procession, and the other surviving officers and soldiers were all struck dumb. None of them had ever imagined that such a thing would happen.

"Protect His Majesty! Quickly, protect His Majesty!" General Alexei roared.

Only then did the other guards seem to come to their senses.

But when they moved the wrecked carriage aside and brought out Nicholas II and Empress Alexandra, their bodies mangled and bloodied, neither of them was breathing or had a heartbeat.

"Your Excellency, His Majesty the Tsar and the Empress have gone to heaven!" an officer of the guard said, his face filled with grief.

Major General Alexei felt the world spin around him and nearly fainted on the spot.

He knew something terrible had happened. The sky had fallen on the Tsarist Russian Empire; this was a disaster!

"Quickly, report to Petersburg immediately! His Majesty the Tsar has been assassinated!" Major General Alexei ordered.

He knew that the tsar's death would surely raise a storm throughout the Tsarist Russian Empire.

No one knew what would happen to the Tsarist Russian Empire next.