Episode LX: Primo VicTveria
The death of Czar Aleksandr V brought the reorganisation of the Empire of Tver to a crashing halt. An self-centred wastrel, barely old enough to be crowned, the most important matters of state were left in the hands of senior noblemen and women of grand title and negligible talent.
Their assumption of power, in preparation for Prince Boris's coronation as Czar Boris I, Emperor of Tver and All the Russias, was disastrous for the running of this mightiest of nations. The royal coffers, swelled under the steady hand of Czar Aleksandr, was plundered for trinkets and pleasantries for the Prince and his favourites.
Within the palace, two senior advisors to the late Czar met in solemn conference. Marta Hallie Dobczynska, Captain of the Guard, and Mitrofan Beloselsky, Chief Diplomat and recently promoted to the Privy Council stood in the hallway leading to the former Czar's study.
'Marta.'
'Mitrofan. You wanted to see me?'
'I did. I haven't seen you for days. Are you all right?'
'What do you think?'
Beloselsky sighed. 'I know. It was nothing to do with you.'
'I'm Captain of the Guard. The Czar's safety was my responsibility.'
'Czar Aleksandr didn't ask for you. He could meet his son whenever he wanted, it's not up to you.'
'I should have seen it coming.'
'Marta, you can't always be there to save the Princes of Tver from their offspring. How were you to know?'
'They
always try to kill each other! It should have been obvious.'
'You'd have prolonged his life. You think Boris Rurikovich would have accepted his crown's abolition? He'd have waited for another time when you
weren't there.'
'I suppose so. I still feel like a failure though.'
'By those standards, every Dobczyński was a failure. Do you blame them?'
'Of course not!'
'Then do not blame yourself. Boris Rurikovich killed his father.'
'As he killed his.'
'Konstantin IV was a tyrant. Aleksandr's succession was for the good of the Empire. His son, on the other hand...'
'He's looking to take more power into his hands, centralising the state.'
'The state isn't ready for this, Marta. For his plans or for him. He'll rule without the parliament, do whatever he wants and ruin our country in the process.'
'It's our job to divert him.'
'Is that all?'
'I don't like where this is going, Mitrofan.'
'You think that I do? If he goes ahead with his plans he'll be a tyrant. An Absolute Monarch with absolute power. Do you think he should have that?'
'Nobody does, Mitrofan, which is why we need to persuade him to listen to good counsel.'
'If he does what I expect him to do, Marta...something will have to be done.'
'What sort of something?'
'Do you really want to kn ow?'
'If you do anything stupid, Mitrofan, I won't be able to protect you. I serve the state. Czar Boris will be trouble enough without anarchy as well.'
'We'll see, Marta. We'll see.' Beloselsky turned on his heel and stalked out of the hallway.
The Empire of Tver was a huge, powerful nation, built with the blood, fire and steel of the Rurikoviches and Dobczyńskis.
Such an empire, though, requires complex administration. The previous Czar had been a master in this departmebnt, but the council of flatterers and sycophants that ruled in the Prince Regent's name knew nought of royalty but how to enjoy its benefits. Poor diplomacy, insensitive enforcement and outright greed overtook the empire's running. Income to the treasury fell, and rebel sentiment grew amongst the poor, the under-represented, religious and cultural minorities, and amongst those, such as Beloselsky, who feared a reign of tyrannical incompetence.
Dobczyńska and Beloselsky did what they could to stall the worst measures of their new overlords. Without true imperial power, they could be thwarted, hindered and delayed. But the time came for Prince Boris's coronation, a hugely elaborate affair compared with the more moderate, solemn ceremony that had heralded his father's elevation to the throne. Huge expense that should have been spent on modernising the army and improving infrastructure was wasted on fancies and novelties.
Czar Boris I did not waste time in enjoying the fruits of kingship. Amongst the many women he bedded, he did find time for his long-suffering consort, and a son, Prince Yuriy was born.
Further overly grand celebrations of the Czar's virility plundered the Empire's treasury.
Soon after, Czar Boris called a meeting of the Privy Council. A rare event, Boris preferring to rule through dictates from his chambers and leaving the less-exciting matters in the hands of his favourites. Concerned, Dobczyńska and Beloselsky attended.
The Czar rose to his feet.
'Ah! Good of you to join us, Captain. And my Chief Diplomat as well! To what do I owe the honour?'
'You summoned your privy council, sir. And my eyes are up here.'
'Yes, yes I did. And you came! Good. You know what the penalty is for defying me, Mr Beloselsky?'
'I can hazard a guess, sir.'
'Splendid. Bear it in mind, Beloselsky. I've never trusted you. And I never will. Step out of line and I will crush you like the lowborn insect that you are.'
'As you say, sir.' The diplomat's smile was so fixed it might have just left the garage.
'Good. Now. This is a map.'
'Your knowledge expands by the day, sir.'
'Thank you, Beloselsky. See, gentlemen and lady, how our borders envelop the primitive Ukrainians like a loving mother embraces her child?'
'Something like that, sir.'
'I feel it is time to put them out of their misery.'
'I can't recommend that, sir. They have had powerful allies in the past' interjected Beloselsky.
'I said, Beloselsky, that I feel it is time. That means that it is time. Because I am the Czar,a nd you are a worm. What are you?'
'Chief Diplomat for the Empire of Tver, sir.'
'What are you, Beloselsky? Again.'
Dobczyńska cast a warning glance. The young man's shoulders sank.
'A worm, sir.'
'Correct! You also learn well. Make the preparations please. You will deliver this declaration of war, and you, the delightful Captain Dobczyńska, will, send your armies to Ukraine and wipe them out.'
'Very well sir.'
With faces like thunder, the senior advisors left the Imperial presence, and went about their appointed tasks.
Beloselsky had the declaration of war sent to the Ukrainians, but went himself to Bohemia to negotiate with the King of Bohemia. His mission, he explained, was to persuade the Czechs not to intervene on behalf of their allies. While he was gone longer than expected, his task was completed: the Tverian-Bohemian border would remain quiet a year or two longer.
The might of the Empire unleashed against a small; tribal state, the result of the wear was never in doubt. In the name of pan-Slavic nationalism, the last Ukrainian province was brutally conquered by Tver.
Despite the attempts of his advisors to sway him, Czar Boris would have no half-measures: the tribal Ukrainians would be utterly removed from the map.
The annexation of Ukraina presented the Empire with tidier borders, but lost her some of the goodwill she had gained in years of peace and prosperity under the Czar's father. Murmurings surfaced in foreign courts of further Tverian aggression. Plans and plots were laid in European palaces of ways to deal with this re-emerging threat and her tyrannical leader.
Satisfied with his first taste of blood, the Czar summoned Dobczyńska to his audience chamber.
'So. Captain. A job well done.'
'I believe so, sir.'
'And I have more work for you – a little internal difficulty. Tell me, Dobczyńska, where do your loyalties lie?'
Dobczyńska gave a guarded look. 'To Tver, sir. Where else?'
'To Tver? Or to myself?'
'What matter, sir? I serve you as the leader of Tver.'
'It matters a great deal, Dobczyńska. You returned from Ukraine this morning, yes?'
'Yes, sir. Beloselsky should be back by now, I haven't seen him.'
'You may not know, then, that I dissolved the useless Imperial Parliament.'
'You did
what?'
'What need have I for it? I am the Emperor, and I shall rule as an Emperor. For what little help I need I have my Privy Council, and loyal servants such as yourself, do I not?'
'Yes, sir, but I still don't think...'
'You are not here to think, Dobczyńska, only to do as I command. Anyway, my measures have caused some upset amongst less loyal subjects than yourself. They seek to rebel against me. To curb my power, my birthright, the potency of their sovereign.'
'Time to negotiate then, sir.'
'No negotiations, Dobczyńska. I want these traitors dealt with.'
'I will see to it, sir.'
'Splendid. I'm glad that your loyalty is certain in this...since I believe that you have been close to the rebels' leader...'
'What?'
'Oh, Mitrofan, what have you done...'
'The fool has made his move after all. Revolting against his anointed sovereign. I trust, Dobczyńska, that this traitor will be dealt with?'
'I'm sure that I can reason with him, sir. He's young, impetuous...'
'I want no excuses, Dobczyńska. Mitrofan Beloselsky seeks to undermine me. Me, the Emperor of Tver, appointed by God. You will crush his rebellion and bring him before me in chains.'
'There's no need for that! These people have genuine concerns, sir, and if you're going to rule the Empire...'
'
If, Dobczyńska? Did you just say
if?'
'A...a poor choice of words, sir. I meant that...'
'What you
meant, Captain Dobczyńska, is spectacularly irrelevant! Are you, or are you not,a loyal servant of the Emperor of Tver and All the Russias?'
'I am, sir.'
'Then you will do as I have said, Captain. Without hesitation, without question, or I will have to question the importance of your position. My father may have indulged your mongrel family's
birthright to one of the Empire's most important positions, but I am not a fool. You will prove your competence, your trustworthiness, or you will be removed. Do you understand?'
It is times like these that define not only people, but Empires. The choices of those given the power to change the course of history.
The choice must be final, and absolute. What is wrought in these moments cannot be unwrought. And ultimately, when centuries of family service are laid against one's own friendships, there can be only one choice.
Because for all involved – the judge, the victor and the defeated...
The outcome is final.
