Rumors spread faster than the plague. Now, all of Moscow is talking about the bloodshed that happened in the square this morning. And the version is remarkably consistent:
an arrogant nobleman angered the Tsar and was brutally killed.
Around noon, one after another, magnificent carriages stopped in the square, and then the residents of Moscow saw elegantly dressed noblewomen jump down and weep uncontrollably before the corpses, but their children had long since bled to death and turned into cold bodies.
At this moment, Grand Prince Tuchkov, who had just gotten out of bed, also received the news. Disregarding his decorum, he hurriedly got up and rushed to the Tsar's palace. He hadn't expected that the young Tsar would act without consulting him at all. He also never imagined that Ivan IV would give him such a "surprise" so early in the morning. When he heard that the Tsar had arrested Shuysky's second son, he realized the seriousness of the situation and immediately went to the Kremlin to request an audience with Ivan IV.
"Is His Majesty in?"
"His Majesty just left with Prince Yuri for the Kurlyat Palace gates."
The attendant told Tuchkov that Ivan IV had just left his bedchamber for Kurlyat. So the prince hurriedly headed towards the Kurlyat Palace gates, his heart filled with unease.
He increasingly couldn't understand the Tsar's ways; every time he thought Ivan had reached the limit of cruelty, the Tsar would always manage to shatter his worldview.
When he arrived, he saw the Tsar's dog handler brutally beating a bloodied boy with a stick.
The boy lay motionless on the ground, but the dog handler's stick didn't stop, raining down on him relentlessly.
Blood splattered on the palace gates, congealing into a crimson pool.
Ivan IV stood coldly to the side, holding his brother Yuri's hand, observing everything unfold. As the instigator of all this, he didn't care about the lives of others. Submission or annihilation.
Even the mentally challenged Yuri felt an instinctive fear at the bloody scene, clutching his brother's sleeve tightly and hiding behind Ivan IV.
"Your Majesty..."
Tuchkov stopped in his tracks. He had witnessed countless palace coups, but never such a direct execution of a political enemy. It struck straight to the soul of every nobleman.
"You've come, Grand Duke Tuchkov,"
Ivan IV turned to Tuchkov and said, "Shuysky's second son, Dmitry, is suspected of assassinating me in Moscow Square and has been executed. We were originally going to execute him by dog, but we decided against it. Perhaps it would be better to leave it to Shuysky."
Ivan IV spoke casually, as if it were nothing, especially upon hearing the words "execution by dog." Tuchkov's throat bobbed.
The Tsar's cruelty and tyranny once again lowered Tuchkov's moral standards. He also warned himself from the bottom of his heart not to anger Ivan IV; he had no desire to know what it felt like to be executed by dog.
Historically, Tsar Ivan IV, under the instigation of some "sycophant," beat Grand Duke Shuysky to death at the gates of the Kurlyat Palace. The tragedy that originally befell Andrei Shuysky now befell his son.
Tuchkov remained silent for a moment, then said to Ivan IV, "Is this a formal and public break with Grand Duke Shuysky?"
"Without a break, how can I target those grand dukes who hold such powerful armies? Shuysky is just the beginning. The Moscow regime is utterly corrupt and incompetent. Only by eliminating these parasites can we have a chance,"
Ivan IV said sarcastically. "Now that things have come to this, Shuysky's next move is probably to depose me. His target is my brother Yuri. If the only Tsar dies, he can rightfully install my mentally challenged brother as emperor. If that doesn't work, they will forcefully use their army to stage a coup."
Tuchkov glanced at Yuri standing behind Ivan IV, giving him a silly grin. His low intelligence made him an easier target for the princes to manipulate.
The power struggle in the Kremlin had reached a fever pitch. After Shuysky's downfall, the young Tsar had formally consolidated the power previously held by the grand dukes.
The young Tsar calmly said, "News of Dmitry's death will soon reach Shuysky's ears. Prepare the Guards; arrest Grand Duke Shuysky directly when he intends to rebel. By the way, I heard that Shuysky's cousin, Yusorov, commands an armed militia. Persuade him first, destroying Shuysky's last hope. Yusorov will make a careful choice regarding loyalty to the Tsar or betrayal of Moscow."
"What if they don't cooperate?"
Ivan IV impatiently made a beheading gesture and said to Tuchkov, "If you can't persuade them, have their whole family beheaded."
-----------------------
At this moment, Shuysky sat dejectedly in his home, especially after learning that his second son, Dmitry, had been arrested on charges of assassinating the Tsar. He was almost in despair. This was the longest moment of his life; Ivan IV was pressing him relentlessly, preparing to drive him to the brink of despair.
However, the news that followed from the Kremlin nearly made the father faint with rage.
His most beloved son, Dmitry, had been beaten to death by His Majesty's hounds at the gates of the Kuriyat Palace, his body hung there as a public spectacle.
This was no longer a mere reprimand or warning; it was a blatant attack on him!
"Your Majesty, you're trying to force me to my death!"
Shuysky suppressed his grief and hatred; he had to remain calm. Before the Kremlin could make any further moves, he had to turn the tide as quickly as possible.
Shuysky's last card was his cousin, Yusorov, who controlled a number of armed militias in the towns near Moscow. He had to find him and persuade him to stage a coup.
Beads of sweat appeared on his forehead. Shuysky rushed out the door, disregarding everything. He dared not set foot in the Kremlin again; his only refuge was the armed militias stationed outside Moscow. Perhaps the Kremlin was already considering how to take him down.
He boarded the prepared carriage and urged the driver to head out of Moscow. At the same time, he had made up his mind:
to rebel.
"Ivan IV, you just wait!"
he roared angrily. "I'll pay you back with interest!"