St. Petersburg, since receiving news of the secret Anglo-Polish pact, Alexander III had been losing even more hair.
He tossed aside the telegram in his hand and complained, "Damn the British, can't they keep quiet for a bit?
Just a few peaceful days had passed before they started causing trouble again. Do they really think we're easy to bully...?"
He really didn't want to stir up trouble now. Wouldn't it be better to quietly farm the land? Why cause trouble?
Finance Minister Alisher Gurov advised, "Your Majesty, this is a British trick.
They are stirring up the Persian conflict at this time just to interrupt the recovery of the Russian Empire, and we must not let their scheme succeed."
He was genuinely afraid that the impetuous Tsar, in a fit of rage, might rush into war with the British — an all-too-common occurrence among past Tsars.
