Catherine and the Black Emperor

037. Design drawings of thermal weapons

September, at my own residence.

Sergei sat at his desk, intently drawing a blueprint.

This was the only firearm he could remember, thanks to a roommate who was a gun enthusiast who had explained the design and principles of the weapon to him in detail, and whose memory had always been good.

Even so, recreating this design drawing by hand is still difficult.

"With it, in the flintlock 18th century, it was enough to let darkness reign over all of Europe!"

Sergei looked at the design drawings, which were mostly completed.

Finding firearms experts is useless; their thinking is still stuck on the principle of flint and steel. Besides, this matter is of great importance, and the fewer people who know about it, the better.

"Let's go find Victor first."

Sergei put away the design drawings and went to the Sitney Market. After a brief chat with the vendor, the vendor learned that he might be needed in a very important place in the future and readily agreed.

"This is a pleasant surprise for you, because what you've created is unique in Europe today!"

Victor became excited after hearing this; "That's unique in the whole world!"

"That's right, Europe is the world now."

Sergei left the Sitney Fair and went to the Winter Palace, where he saw Catherine and Peter receiving instruction from Father Simon about the wedding ceremony.

"Do you all remember all the ceremonies? Your Excellency, may I ask you, what do the candles lit in the hands of the newlyweds represent?"

Peter was speechless.

Ekaterina answered for him: "It represents love."

Father Simon nodded, then pressed Peter further, "What else does the Grand Duke represent?"

Peter shook his head. "How am I supposed to know what it means? I have no idea."

"It also represents chastity," Ekaterina replied again.

Father Simon solemnly reminded Peter: "Your Grace, the wedding ceremony is very important. Now, please read the prayer of the guardian angel and the continuation of the Eucharist three times carefully."

"Who wants to read this! I'm leaving!" Peter shouted, waving at Sergei who was standing in the doorway. "You've come at the perfect time! I order you to take me away now! And you, Naryshkin, what are you hiding for!"

Naryshkin, who had tried to hide behind a stone pillar, awkwardly stepped out and said, "I didn't hide, Your Majesty."

The three left the church, and Ekaterina caught up with them.

"Your Highness, is something bothering you?"

Peter turned to look at her: "If I could, I would rather sail away and never come back here, to India or China, to live an ordinary and peaceful life!"

"I tried to understand you, but I found I could never succeed." Ekaterina looked at him with a complicated expression.

Peter told her, "Starting today, I'm going to do medical experiments. Maybe we can only understand people by dissecting them, but I'm too scared. I've decided to dissect rats instead."

"Your words are profound."

"It's probably because of my dream last night that I didn't sleep well."

"Did you encounter something terrible in your dream?" Ekaterina pressed.

Peter looked at her intently: "I dreamt about you."

Catherine's smile froze, her eyes filled with astonishment and surprise. Under her gaze, Peter left without looking back.

October, Tsarskoye Selo (southern suburbs of St. Petersburg, Elizabeth's summer residence).

"Attention everyone, about-face! 1, 2, 3, 4..."

The grass was lush and green. Sergei and Naryshkin sat at a long table, drinking red wine and eating fruit, watching Peter train 10 soldiers from Holstein.

The other person walked over, poured a glass of red wine, and drank it all in one gulp.

"If I had 200 soldiers like these and landed in Denmark, I would show you both what a blitzkrieg is!"

Sergei raised an eyebrow.

He thus discovered the reason why Peter wanted to wage war against Denmark after coming to power.

Peter III's inexplicable urge to wage war against Denmark, as recorded in history, stemmed from the diplomatic incident in 1750 when Denmark proposed exchanging the Duchy of Oldenburg for Holstein.

That may be one reason, but Peter's training of his soldiers with Denmark as a hypothetical enemy also subtly and profoundly influenced him.

"I think so too, Your Excellency. You have a great talent for military command!" Naryshkin immediately flattered.

Peter smiled.

Sergei suddenly shook his head: "No, I don't think 200 soldiers can attack Denmark. Denmark's military strength is very strong. With your abilities, Your Highness, you would need at least 500."

Naryshkin quickly retorted, "You're just talking nonsense, Sergei. Have you ever been on the battlefield?"

Sergei ignored him, while Peter analyzed the situation thoughtfully.

"Denmark on the sand table has an excellent geographical location; it's a formidable enemy! Even with my abilities—yes, without at least 500 men—it's simply impossible to conquer it!"

Peter looked at Sergei with great admiration.

"Naryshkin, all you do is flatter me all day long, never offering any real opinions. It makes me so prone to boasting that I lose all sense of proportion. You should learn from Sergei!"

Naryshkin was on the verge of tears.

Suddenly, the sound of training commands came from afar. It was Ekaterina, who had changed into military uniform. Her heroic appearance made Sergei's eyes light up.

"No! Don't give my soldiers orders!" Peter stepped forward to stop him.

At this moment, Naryshkin rolled his eyes at Sergei: "We all know that the Grand Duke has never been on the battlefield. What he is doing is just child's play. There is no difference between 200 men and 500 men. You just have to go against your brother."

Sergei shook his head slightly: "It's different. 500 men. The Grand Duke really knows how to lead an attack."

Naryshkin initially thought Sergei was praising Peter, but a second later, he realized what he meant and muttered something.

"Fortunately, the Grand Duke did not become a general in the Russian army, otherwise heaven knows how many people would have died."

Two hundred people dared not attack Denmark.

With only 500 men, they dared to launch an attack.

Peter was not Peter the Great.

This is not to say that Peter was brave, but rather that he was ignorant and foolish!

"Haha! Look what I've caught! A traitor! A deserter!"

Peter's loud laughter drew the attention of the two men. The other man was carrying a birdcage, but inside was a mouse. Peter placed the birdcage on the long table, drew his longsword, and stabbed at the birdcage.

"Stop, Your Highness! Your joke has gone too far!"

As the longsword pierced the rat, making it squeak and squeal, and blood splattered onto the fruit and wine glasses, Ekaterina came to stop it.

"The criminals will be subjected to horrific torture and dismemberment!"

Watching Peter continue to stab at the rat, Ekaterina's smile turned bitter and complicated. She stopped trying to persuade him and left without saying a word.

November, Berlin, the capital of Prussia.

Frederick walked in the garden with his hunting dog, followed by his ministers.

"The new Turkish ambassador arrived in St. Petersburg and presented a ruby ​​from the Sultan's turban. Elizabeth was very pleased with this. There is no intention of war between the two countries. The new French ambassador is not yet allowed to enter Russia..."

The secret presidential palace commander reports the latest intelligence to the king.

"That's all? Nothing more? My army will attack Paris in a month. Will Russia snipe us? Will they? Can you tell me? Will they or won't they?"

Faced with Frederick's questioning, the secret presidential commander was speechless.

"Being speechless means you and your secret service have failed in your duties! I need information now—have Madfield contact all the secret agents in Russia, including Johanna!"

"yes!"