"Your Majesty, thank you for your trust in me! I am willing to follow your orders and serve as the Minister of Foreign Affairs!!"

Duke Golitsyn immediately responded to Nicholas I. What he needed to do now was to stabilize Nicholas I, and then quietly wait for news that the Winter Palace and the Ministry of War had been occupied to reach Tsarskoye Selo.

"Cough... cough..." Nicholas I lightly coughed twice, the corners of his mouth forming a polite smile as he said, "Mr. Golitsyn, the future of the Empire is in your hands!"

"Rest assured! I will not betray your trust in me!" Duke Golitsyn also responded seriously to Nicholas I.

Duke Golitsyn’s compliance made Nicholas I trust him even more. He slightly raised his head to glance at the time on the grandfather clock; it was already 10 PM. "It’s getting late, you should go back and rest early!"

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Duke Golitsyn hurriedly replied, then bowed to Nicholas I and left.

After leaving Tsarskoye Selo, Duke Golitsyn did not directly return home. Instead, he stood several hundred meters away, as if waiting for something.

Time passed by the minute, and soon it was around 11 PM.

A well-organized, orderly marching army appeared ghost-like in the night, approaching from afar towards Duke Golitsyn and stopping in front of him.

The leader of this army saluted Duke Golitsyn and said, "Your Excellency Golitsyn, the Saint Petersburg Musketeer Corps salutes you!"

Indeed, Duke Golitsyn was waiting for the Saint Petersburg Musketeer Corps.

Even Nicholas I would not have guessed that this army, once the most loyal to the Tsar, had now joined the ranks of those rebelling against him.

All of this credit goes to Nicholas I. If he hadn’t authorized Nikolai Orlov to purge the rebellious elements from the Guard Army, Duke Golitsyn would not have easily reached into this army.

The officers who were once loyal to the Tsar were exiled by Duke Golitsyn. The newly appointed officers were ostensibly selected from those loyal to the Tsar, but in reality, most were former serfs under Duke Golitsyn. After receiving support from Golitsyn, they successfully joined the military.

Therefore, their interests with Duke Golitsyn could be described as mutually beneficial; their fate was intertwined!

Controlling the rank-and-file officers of a regiment was akin to controlling the entire regiment.

As for the soldiers who could not even recognize a basket of words, their only right was to follow orders.

However, to prevent any mishap during the coup involving the Saint Petersburg Musketeer Corps, the officers "considerately" misguided them before departing from the garrison. They told these soldiers that because His Majesty the Tsar had listened to the slander of those around him, he wanted to disband the Saint Petersburg Musketeer Corps.

For these soldiers who had worked hard to join the Guard Division, the disbandment of the Saint Petersburg Musketeer Corps was like a death sentence.

Thus, under the officers’ misguidance, the soldiers decided to go to Tsarskoye Selo to eliminate the treacherous courtiers who misled the Tsar. Only in this way could they uphold the supreme sanctity of His Majesty the Tsar!

"Set off!" Duke Golitsyn waved his hand, commanding the Saint Petersburg Musketeer Corps to march towards Tsarskoye Selo.

At 11:45 PM, the Saint Petersburg Musketeer Corps arrived at Tsarskoye Selo.

"You! You! You! Step out!" Duke Golitsyn pointed to three colonels under the Saint Petersburg Musketeer Corps, saying, "Arrest them according to the list I gave you earlier! Remember, don’t let anyone escape!"

"Yes!" The three colonels responded in unison to Duke Golitsyn.

"Begin the operation!" Duke Golitsyn nodded. The three colonels swiftly led their soldiers to arrest the nobles within Tsarskoye Selo.

In an instant, all of Tsarskoye Selo became lively. Meanwhile, the commander of the Saint Petersburg Musketeer Corps led a team of soldiers, following Duke Golitsyn to Nicholas I’s palace.

When they reached the palace gates, the commander of the guards responsible for watching over the palace (who was not one of Duke Golitsyn’s people) immediately saluted Duke Golitsyn and inquired why he was leading soldiers there.

"My purpose is simple!" Duke Golitsyn replied unhurriedly to the guard commander, "It is to overthrow this decaying Russian Empire and build a new one!

So could you please step aside and not obstruct us!"

The guard commander, upon hearing Duke Golitsyn’s words, immediately turned pale and quickly drew the pistol from his waist, sternly saying to Duke Golitsyn, "Your Excellency Duke, do you know what you’re saying? This is treason!"

"Treason?" Duke Golitsyn’s face showed a disdainful smile, "Can you tell me, against whom am I rebelling?"

"Of course, it’s against His Majesty Nicholas I!" The guard commander replied without hesitation.

"Rebelling against a lone despot, is that even a crime?" Duke Golitsyn inquired calmly of the guard commander.

"Of course!" The guard commander replied without hesitation.

"If rebellion is a crime, then I ask you, who judged Catherine the Great and His Majesty Alexander I?" Duke Golitsyn said to the captain of the guards, "Wasn’t Catherine the Great also rebelling against His Majesty Peter? Wasn’t His Majesty Alexander I also rebelling against His Majesty Paul?"

"That’s different!" the captain of the guards shook his head in response.

"Why is it different?" Duke Golitsyn asked again, "I think there is no difference between them and me, except that they are already deceased, and I am still alive!"

"No matter what you say, I absolutely do not allow you to do this!" the captain of the guards replied to Duke Golitsyn.

"You have no say in this!" Duke Golitsyn showed a slight smile at the corner of his mouth.

With a "bang" sound, the captain of the guards’ vision went black, and he collapsed onto the ground.

White smoke drifted from the flintlock pistol held by the soldier behind the captain of the guards.

"Alas!" Duke Golitsyn sighed and muttered to himself, "Why did you have to do that!"

Then, Duke Golitsyn proceeded inside the palace.

At this moment, Nicholas I, still in his bedroom, also heard the gunshot from outside. Unaware of the situation, a look of panic appeared on his face.

It was not until there were three knocks on the door that Nicholas I authoritatively asked, "Who?"

"Your Majesty, it’s me!" Duke Golitsyn’s voice came into the room from outside the door.

Nicholas I immediately felt more at ease, and quickly responded to Duke Golitsyn, "Come in quickly!"

Duke Golitsyn entered the room, followed by the commander of the Saint Petersburg Musketeer Corps, who also entered with him.

"Who is he?" Nicholas I pointed to the commander of the musketeer corps and asked Duke Golitsyn.

"Your Majesty, I am the commander of the Saint Petersburg Musketeer Corps, Andrew Nikolaevich Golitsyn!" Commander Nikolayev quickly introduced himself to Duke Golitsyn.

"Who permitted you to be here?" Nicholas I loudly questioned Nikolayev, "The place you should be now is Saint Petersburg, not Tsarskoye Selo!"

"Your Majesty, I called him here!" Duke Golitsyn replied calmly, "I not only called him over alone but also summoned the entire Saint Petersburg Musketeer Corps!"

"What exactly do you intend to do?" Nicholas I solemnly asked Nicholas I.

"Your Majesty, it’s time for you to abdicate!" Duke Golitsyn responded politely.

"Abdicate?" Power-loving Nicholas I had no intention of abdicating just like that, and he shouted at Duke Golitsyn, "I will never abdicate!"

"Your Majesty!" Duke Golitsyn replied to Nicholas I, neither haughty nor humble, "If you do not choose to abdicate now, I cannot guarantee your safety!"

"Do you intend to commit regicide?" Nicholas I shouted loudly at Duke Golitsyn.

Duke Golitsyn said nothing, but bowed to Nicholas I, a gesture that already conveyed Duke Golitsyn’s stance!

"Fine, fine, fine!" Nicholas I laughed in anger, his once pale face slightly reddening from rage, "I must have been blind to appoint a person like you as the Governor of St. Petersburg! I didn’t expect you to collude with my son! When did you two start conspiring together?"

"A few years ago!" Duke Golitsyn replied to Nicholas I.

"Alexander is truly something! Quietly, he pulled such a move on me!" Nicholas I continued to question Duke Golitsyn, "Was that assassination attempt back then also orchestrated by you as a means to gain my trust?"

Duke Golitsyn nodded and answered Nicholas I, "Yes, Your Majesty! That assassination was indeed meticulously arranged by me, but your claim that I colluded with Crown Prince Alexander is incorrect!"

"Then who are you conspiring with!" Nicholas I asked Duke Golitsyn, "Is there anyone else among my sons wishing for my demise?"

"Grand Duke Nicholas (Yevich)!" Duke Golitsyn said to Nicholas I with a sorrowful expression, "After your unfortunate passing, Grand Duke Nicholas will inherit your throne and become the Tsar of the New Russia Empire!"

"What about Alexander? And Constantine?" Nicholas I gritted his teeth, asking Duke Golitsyn.

"Crown Prince Alexander is currently still fighting the Allies in Crimea!" Duke Golitsyn responded to Nicholas I, still wearing a sorrowful expression, "As for Grand Duke Constantine, I fear he has already met with misfortune! The extremists gathered in the Warsaw Region harbor a deep hatred for your progeny!"

"You bastard!" Nicholas I roared at Duke Golitsyn, "Do you have any idea that what you’re doing could bring down the Russian Empire!"

"Whose Russia is the current Russian Empire? It’s the Russia of your Romanov Clan!" Duke Golitsyn replied to Nicholas I sternly.