I'm playing whack-a-mole in Siberia

Chapter 673: The Empire is Right, the Tsar is Wrong
Like many legal provisions of the empire, the Russian Empire had an 8-hour workday, but it was never seriously enforced.

Constantinople emphasizes the dignity of the law, and anyone who dares to break the law will be severely punished by the law.

St. Petersburg used to say this every day, but when it came to implementation, it was another matter.

Rasputin and the maid were essentially the Grand Duke’s criminals, but little Felix and Alexander received almost no punishment, while Pavel was shot, which served as a wake-up call to everyone.

If a noble committed a crime in St. Petersburg, they would be protected by the law, or at least receive an amnesty from the Tsar.

Breaking the law in Constantinople had serious consequences.

If you don’t believe it, try it!

“If the 8-hour workday makes it impossible to maintain business profits, is it because the 8-hour workday is too harsh, or is it because the business owner is incompetent?”

Igor faced similar problems countless times in Amur.

Every time Igor would patiently explain: The way for a company to make profits should not be to exploit workers, but to provide better services to society and gain more recognition.

The recognition here comes not only from society but also from corporate employees.

Most business problems have only one cause: not enough money.

If employees are still not satisfied even after being paid enough, then that is the employees' problem.

The role of the Duma is to determine the standard of "sufficiency".

This standard is the bottom line.

Not an upper limit.

"This will seriously affect Russia's investment environment——"

Guchkov used to be successful in St. Petersburg as long as it involved the investment environment.

In Constantinople, Guchkov's approach would not work.

"No, if foreigners don't come to invest, then let Grand Duchess Yuriev invest. Grand Duchess Yuriev will never refuse the profits that can attract foreign capitalists."

Igor's words caused laughter in the room. George's family was a perfect match.

Now the person in charge of the Yuriev family is not George or Catherine, but Anne.

George was only responsible for strategic planning and technical support. The Yuriev family's business empire was originally created by Catherine.

After Anne married George, Catherine gradually transferred the management rights of the family business to Anne. She invited Queen Min to play mahjong every day, and donated schools, parks, etc. on a whim, and successfully started a relaxed and happy retirement life.

In fact, there is nothing to transfer. Anne only needs to take one day every month to listen to the reports from the financial director and understand the operation of each enterprise. She does not need to work as hard as Ekaterina.

The Yuriev family is also investing now, but most of the investment projects are infrastructure projects that others are unwilling to invest in, with slow results and long cycles.

Projects that are attractive to foreign capital usually have very good profits.

Guchkov's face was pale and his mood was even worse.

This is the biggest difference between George and Nicholas.

Nicholas was the largest landowner in Russia.

George was not only the most powerful warlord in Russia, but also the largest capitalist in Russia.

Nicholas tried to control both politics and economy, but ended up making a mess of everything.

George is in charge of both the economy and the military. Although he does not hold any position in the State Duma, the State Duma is overshadowed by George's shadow and his influence is everywhere.

George doesn't like people who talk big. People like Kerensky's only role in George's work is to take the blame.

St. Petersburg is full of boasters, and pragmatic people are excluded. It is simply impossible to survive in St. Petersburg.

That's what happened to Ignatiev.

During Stolypin's reforms, Ignatiev served as Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs and was Stolypin's most trusted deputy.

While Stolypin was dying, he recommended Ignatiev to Nikolai.

However, Nicholas did not appoint Ignatiev as Minister of the Interior, but only allowed Ignatiev to continue to be in charge of land reform.

After the provisional government was overthrown, Ignatiev, completely disappointed, resigned from public office and taught Russian at Sofia University, while writing for the East Roman Times, headquartered in Adrianople.

Last month, Ignatiev published an article in the East Roman Times on how the Bulgarian Kingdom thoroughly digested the newly conquered territories, which caused a huge response in Adrianople.

After reading Ignatiev's article, Ekaterina recommended Ignatiev to George.

From this perspective, in Catherine's heart, her son George is more important.

When it comes to assimilation, George actually has a lot of experience.

But it wouldn't be a bad idea to get more opinions, so Ignatiev came to Constantinople.

What George didn't expect was that Ignatiev's first suggestion to George was to ascend the throne.

The chaos in Russia over the past year has proved that democracy is not suitable for Russia and Russia needs a strong man. What Nicholas is most criticized for is not his indulgence of the empress, but his weakness.

Ignatiev was a man of upright character, and he spoke bluntly to George, saying that George was also responsible for the current state of the empire.

George was surprised. It wasn't me who destroyed the empire, so what responsibility do I have?
"Grand Duke, whether you are willing to accept it or not, you are the Tsar that best fits the Russians' definition."

Ignatiev never stops talking until his words are shocking.

"The Tsar can be warlike, extravagant, and even cruel, but he cannot be weak—"

"--Your Majesty's biggest mistake was to allow Amur to appear in the east of the empire, so that all Russians would have a reference."

George was speechless.

For a while, the standard sentence pattern for people in St. Petersburg was: Look at what is happening in Amur under the rule of Grand Duke Yuriev, why doesn't Your Majesty do the same?

Nikolai couldn't do it because the situations in St. Petersburg and Amur were different.

St. Petersburg is like a centuries-old castle. Where the sun doesn't shine, it must be dark, damp, and overgrown with weeds.

Amur is a blank sheet of paper, allowing George to paint on it. Starting from a barren ground, as long as the starting point is low enough, even the slightest achievement is progress.

"Amur gave the Russians hope, but His Majesty killed it himself. There are too many ambitious people in Russia, and everyone wants to have their own stage. As the theater manager, His Majesty has the right to decide what to perform, but he gave up his power and allowed all kinds of monsters to take the stage, using the empire as his own laboratory—"

Ignatiev was heartbroken, but Nikolai did not complain about his loss.

"How can you guarantee, Grand Duke, that Russia will still be moving in the direction you designed a hundred years from now?"

Ignatiev acknowledged George's ability.

Precisely because George is so capable, Ignatiev hopes that the Yuriev family led by George can become Russia's last safety rope.

"Grand Duke Yusupov and Grand Duke Yuriev killed Rasputin. Your Majesty could have issued a pardon for the two grand dukes, but Your Majesty did not do so. This is extremely irrational. Killing Rasputin is everyone's wish, and the pardon is Your Majesty's power. There could have been a better solution to this matter, but Your Majesty chose the worst one."

Ignatiev believed that Rasputin's murder marked the beginning of the split between the Tsar and the aristocracy.

"We all know that you are a selfless person. In this case, why don't you follow the will of the people and transform the empire into a constitutional monarchy like the United Kingdom?"

Ignatiev would rather have George as Tsar than see a clown like Kerensky come to power.

The reason is simple. George is already rich enough and does not need to use state power to seek personal gain for the Yuriev family.

Kerensky was in power for too short a time and was overthrown by the Provisional Executive Committee before he had a chance to realize his political ambitions.

Give Kerensky twenty years, and the Kerensky family will be the next Yuriev family.

Amur's current situation proves that if George becomes the Tsar, the whole of Russia can be as diligent as Amur, and there will be repercussions.

"Professor, the reason I came to you is to get some advice from you on how to resolve the differences."

George's description of assimilation is very euphemistic.

"Grand Duke, my advice to you is about how to resolve differences—"

Ignatiev had a serious face, and the onomatopoeia "ah" coming out of the mouth of this 50-year-old man gave a sense of incongruity, as if a big man who picked his toes and tilted his head to act cute.

"——As long as you become the Tsar, most of the conflicts in the empire will disappear overnight, because smart people will know that it is irrational to go against you."

Ignatiev acted as if it was a matter of course, describing tyranny as the dignity that a superior should have.

"The most severe punishment for violating the laws of the Empire is exile - and if you go against me, you will be hanged on the gallows."

Ignatiev was indeed worthy of being Stolypin’s most trusted partner, and he had grasped the essence of Stolypin’s tie.

"How can it be--"

George was angry. Am I so violent?
"Oh, that's unlikely. They will just dig in the mines until they die. After they die, they will be made into specimens and sent to the Vladivostok Medical College for research."

Ignatiev's words successfully made George look unhappy. No wonder this man was disliked by Nicholas.

Some things can be done but not said. For many things about Amur, just objective description is enough to give people the feeling that you are slandering Amur.

Amur is subject to the death penalty with a maximum sentence of 20 years.

Not sentencing prisoners to life imprisonment is to give them a glimmer of hope and prevent them from giving up hope.

As for whether the miners can survive 20 years later, that is not within the judge's consideration.

If you are good at mining, you can get a reduced sentence and be released from prison early.

If you behave badly, the hole you dig with your own hands will become your own grave.

Looking at Ignatiev with a calm face, George felt that not only was he not tyrannical, but he was often too lenient towards truly capable people.

Ignatiev was calm. George was testing him, and he was also testing George.

At worst, I can go back to Sofia University and continue teaching.

(End of this chapter)