plumnovel 76. Key members of the secret committee
76. Key members of the secret committee
Not far away, Count Shuvalov stood there, next to his brother, Pyotr Shuvalov, the Russian artillery general.
The two brothers looked at Sergei, who was standing beside Elizabeth.
"Should I find two good men in the army and find an opportunity to take him out?" Peter (the artillery general) asked his brother.
Alexander Shuvalov shook his head: "The account books and bribery have affected me, but Her Majesty the Empress's vision is sharp, so my position will not be shaken, and Saltykov will forever remain as the Vice Chairman!"
He had Djogolokov arrested and, with a few simple tricks, forced him to reveal the details of the ledgers—the mastermind was Sergei.
"Killing him won't be easy, but I have many ways to deal with him. Don't forget that besides the Secret Committee, I have an even more powerful trump card: the Special Court!" Alexander Shuvalov's gaze was icy.
Elizabeth's trust in him dwindled, and she only spared him from dismissal to keep Sergei in check, but his wealth shrank by more than half as a result; otherwise, Elizabeth would not have spared him.
All of this is thanks to Sergei!
Sergei, on the other side, also saw the Shuvalov brothers not far away, but he ignored them and chatted with Peter (Grand Duke), Peter (brother), Naryshkin and others.
After leaving the riding arena, he found Pimen.
"We don't need to keep an eye on the Dzogolokovs anymore."
After the Dzogolokovs left that day, he had Pimen keep an eye on them, so he knew that Shuvalov had sent men to arrest Dzogolokov, and he also expected that Dzogolokov would betray him.
But he had considered all of this when he started doing it.
Since his relationship with Shuvalov was already irreconcilable, there was no point in hiding anything. And since the Djogolokovs didn't know much more, he wasn't worried that Shuvalov could find something to use against him.
As for his frequent private meetings with Ekaterina, the Dzogolokovs would never tell, even if you killed them.
Because this would show that they were on Sergei's side, helping him to conceal and deceive Elizabeth, which is a capital offense, a capital offense that would kill their children!
"Sir, I just received a message from Yuri that the person has been rescued."
Sergei nodded after hearing this.
In Djogolokov's affair, only two people suffered: the woman he was having an affair with, Peter's maid, Maria Kosheleva, and the child in her womb.
Maria was imprisoned in a convent.
Fortunately, the monastery where the prisoners were held was not in St. Petersburg and was not heavily guarded, so Sergei had Yuri lead men to rescue them.
Even after Pimen stepped down, Sergei was still preoccupied with how to deal with Shuvalov.
"Since I can't officially take the chairman's position, I'll have to do it covertly. After all, the Black Emperor walks in the shadows!"
A glint of light flashed in Sergei's eyes.
Just as Shuvalov had many ways to deal with him, he had more than one way to deal with Shuvalov!
It's time to show this guy his power!
2 month.
Secret Committee.
Sergei arrived at the meeting room, where five people were already seated. The moment they saw Sergei enter, all five stood up.
Three elderly people, one young man, and one woman.
Sergei stepped forward and, under the gaze of everyone, sat directly in the head seat.
Everyone felt a chill run down their spines.
Because that seat is reserved for the Chairman, while the other party was only the Vice Chairman.
"Sit down," Sergei said.
None of the five sat down immediately. After a brief silence, the first to sit down was an elderly man with a full forehead and sharp eyes. His name was Stepan, and he was the secretary-general of the secret committee.
The third most important position in the secret committee, after the chairman and vice-chairmen.
The others exchanged glances and then took their seats one after another.
The other four were two elderly men who were the most senior members of the secret committee. One was named Vadim, who was in charge of all the committee's secret files, and the other was named Vitaly, whose students were many of the committee's secret police captains.
The young man was named Arseni, the captain of the secret police in St. Petersburg, while the woman was named Yulia, the leader of the new force that Sergei had applied to Elizabeth for approval to form after becoming vice chairman.
A team of female secret police officers!
The establishment of the secret female police force brought the security work in St. Petersburg to an unprecedented level, and the Winter Palace became an impenetrable fortress!
It was precisely because of Sergei's brilliant mind and numerous innovative ideas that Elizabeth felt threatened, which is why she tolerated Shuvalov's many mistakes, preserved his position as chairman, and thus stifled Sergei's growth.
Keep in mind, Sergei is only in his early twenties!
"I won't say much more, just three things: First, never betray Her Majesty the Empress and be absolutely loyal to Russia; second, sideline Count Shuvalov and ensure that he doesn't find out; third, ensure the secret committee operates stably, with its structure unchanged, and everyone's official positions and powers remaining the same."
Sergei's words were concise and to the point.
After he finished speaking, it was Yulia, the captain of the secret police, who spoke up this time.
"My secret police team and I are loyal to the Queen, and loyal to Your Excellency!"
The second person to stand up was the old man in charge of the secret files, Vadim.
"Loyalty to the Queen, loyalty to Your Excellency!"
Seeing that Vadim had stood up, Vitaly also broke his silence and stood up to express his opinion.
"Loyalty to the Queen, loyalty to Your Excellency!"
Secretary Stepan, who was sitting at the front of the group of four, looked at Yulia across from him, then back at Vadim and Vitaly, before standing up to express his opinion to Sergei.
"Stepan, loyal to the Queen, loyal to Your Excellency!"
Finally, all four of them turned their attention to the young man, Arseni, who had not yet stood up.
The five people present were all influential, and if even one of them objected, the situation would spiral out of control.
Yulia's secret female police force is now quite powerful, and it operates independently within the committee, reporting directly to Sergei. Even Shuvalov doesn't know how many secret female police officers there are now.
Vadim was in charge of the secret archives, and it could be said that he knew all the earth-shattering secrets of the court and even the whole of Russia. No one present could guarantee that there were no secrets in his hands.
Vitaly is currently the most senior secret police officer in the committee. Most of the secret police captains in the committee were trained by him and are his students. Therefore, his prestige in the committee is even higher than that of Secretary-General Stepan.
Stepan, needless to say, would have been the Secretary-General if Sergei hadn't appeared out of nowhere, and now he should be the Vice Chairman.
The opponent's abilities were clearly formidable, and it was precisely because these people, who should have been Sergei's true nemesis, were present that the others also appeared here.
The last person, though seemingly the least important, being merely the captain of a secret police unit, was actually the police captain of St. Petersburg.
He was undoubtedly the captain of the largest, highest-ranking, and most manpower-intensive secret police force in the committee, and was also known as the captain!
The other party's allegiance will directly demonstrate that Sergei controls all the hidden power in St. Petersburg!
When Sergei's gaze also fell upon him, Arseni slowly rose to express his stance.
"I am loyal only to Russia!"