I'm playing whack-a-mole in Siberia

Chapter 690 Take It
Since the outbreak of the world war, boomerangs have been coming one after another, making it hard to keep up.

Wilson, who was determined to subvert the order through the League of Nations under the banner of the "Fourteen Points", was made a fool of by Lloyd George and Clemenceau.

Clemenceau, who was known as the most democratic, quickly settled the dispute in the Russian way. It took Clemenceau only 10 minutes to complete the task that Wilson had not been able to complete for a whole month.

Clemenceau did not discuss the issue, nor did he give people a chance to speak. He just voted by raising hands, which made the whole thing a mess.

The League of Nations was successfully established. Wilson seemed to have won the game, but in fact he messed it up and handed over the right to speak to Clemenceau.

Clemenceau, born in 1841, was already 78 years old. His time was more valuable than anyone else's and could not be wasted on boring arguments.

Clemenceau divided the participating countries into four levels. The first level was Britain, France, Russia, the United States and Italy, and they had the right to participate in all meetings.

The second category is local belligerents. Bulgaria and Romania belong to this level. They can only participate in meetings discussing issues related to them.

The third category is countries that have severed ties with the Allies, such as Peru and Bolivia. They can send representatives to attend the meeting only when the issues discussed at the meeting directly involve these countries.

The fourth category is neutral countries and countries that are about to become independent. They can only attend relevant meetings upon invitation.

With reference to the process of the establishment of the League of Nations, Clemenceau reduced the scope. Britain, France, Russia, the United States and Italy each sent two representatives to form the Supreme Council (the Big Ten) to come up with solutions to various problems and then submit them to the League of Nations Assembly for a vote.

The League of Nations was thus reduced to a voting machine where only hands could be raised.

George was not surprised at this situation. Food is just a placebo for the weak. The essence of this world is the survival of the fittest.

The situation in the State Duma is similar to that in the League of Nations. If the principles of democracy are thoroughly implemented, there will be nothing to do and no work can be advanced.

With the end of the World War, Russia began to disarm.

Russia's current army totals 320 million people, including 140 million high-ranking Japanese troops.

The Gao Ri Corps is easy to deal with. It can be reorganized into an engineering corps on the spot and continue to contribute to Russia's construction.

The Russian army only retains 60 people, 5 air force, 15 navy, and 40 army.

This was not the result of Duma discussion, but George's decision.

If the question of how many troops to retain were to be discussed in the Duma, no conclusion would be reached in ten years.

George held a meeting with Navy Commander Peter, Army Commander Brusinov, and newly appointed Air Force Commander Ruzynski, and came up with a disarmament plan in just one hour.

At a time when the technological content of weapons and equipment is becoming increasingly higher, the size of the army is of little significance. George will focus his main energy on the training of the officer corps.

The officer corps includes professional officers and technical non-commissioned officers, both of which are the core of the army and have no fixed service period.

The conscription age for soldiers is 18 years old, the service period is 2 years, and after discharge they have to stay in the reserve for 10 years.

As soon as the plan came out, many people's positions immediately became unsteady.

In recent months, calls for George to ascend the throne have been overwhelming in Constantinople, and the enthusiasm of Duma deputies has been particularly high.

During the Nicholas era, once elected, Duma deputies would automatically enter the aristocracy and begin to enjoy privileges.

This is the fundamental reason why Duma deputies want George to ascend the throne.

Duma deputies demand not only welfare but also power.

George's "dictatorial behavior" immediately aroused opposition from some Duma deputies.

George is very good.

Since the Duma deputies demanded power, George submitted the salary standards for officers and soldiers to the Duma for discussion.

As speaker, Igor proposed to directly transplant Amur's salary and benefits system.

The proposal was opposed by most members of parliament.

It is well known that soldiers in Amur are treated very well, with the standard being twice the minimum wage in Amur.

The minimum wage standard is to allow a working Amur to live with dignity.

Having dignity means being able to afford to rent a house, eat, and occasionally go out to eat barbecue or watch a movie with relatives and friends.

The MPs' reason for opposition was that Amur had strong economic strength and received private subsidies from Grand Duke Yuriev, so there was no problem in providing such high welfare benefits.

Amur originally had only four divisions.

According to the standards set by George, Russia's 60 people spend more than 4 million rubles each year on salaries alone.

This does not include other expenses.

If all is taken into account, it would cost at least 10 billion rubles per year.

Is it worth spending 10 billion rubles in exchange for Russia's security?
This question is a matter of opinion.

Many lawmakers opposed the idea, saying that if the same effect could be achieved with $5 million, why spend $10 billion?

After a week of discussion without any conclusion, George's patience ran out.

In fact, 10 billion rubles is not a lot.

Russia generates about 20 billion in taxes from vodka each year.

These 20 billion yuan are not only enough to support the army, but also to support an education system.

George not only wants to improve the welfare benefits of soldiers, but also wants to extend Amur's minimum wage guarantee system to the whole of Russia.

Due to the severe depreciation of the ruble during the World War, the current minimum wage in Amur is 360 rubles based on the value of the new ruble.

Before the Provisional Government was overthrown, many workers in St. Petersburg were still receiving an annual salary of 120 rubles, about the same as 20 years ago.

Therefore, it was not unfair that the provisional government was overthrown. It was just what they wanted.

The Duma also discussed the minimum wage guarantee system.

The result was just as George expected: he still failed.

Apart from the military representatives, most of the Duma members are bourgeois representatives, and they certainly do not want to increase spending.

Even if the purpose of these expenditures is to protect their own interests.

So don’t ever believe in the so-called long-term vision of the elites. As long as their own interests are involved, everyone can only see as far as the tip of their nose.

George called a meeting with Witte and Igor to determine the responsibilities of the Duma. It would be a mistake to let the Duma discuss the minimum wage.

The role of the Duma should be to discuss whether a minimum wage should be set.

What the standard is should be determined by the government led by Witte.

This way the problem can be easily solved.

Should a wage guarantee system be established?
That certainly should be the case, there is no denying it.

Everything is easy when we get to Werther.

There are too many people in the Duma, so even if people want to criticize, they can’t find the specific person responsible.

Witt is the first person in charge, and if the minimum standards are too low, Witt will become the target of public criticism.

"I am not the first person in charge, Kerensky is——"

Werther was afraid of being scolded, so he cleared himself of all blame.

"Kerensky died yesterday in St. Petersburg of a cold."

George successfully dumbfounded Witt. How could the donkey die before the mill was fully pulled?

Witte had no time to feel sad for Kerensky because he felt like a donkey turning around a millstone.

"Xie Er, if you don't want to be scolded, set a higher standard."

Igor smiled and felt relieved.

"That's easy for you to say! If you set higher standards, you will offend another group of people."

Witt was furious. The old man was not afraid of losing his teeth when he made sarcastic remarks.

"What should I do? If I do anything, I will definitely be scolded—"

Igor spread his hands, it is not easy to keep things fair.

“Is it so difficult to change from making money while lying down to making money while standing up?”

George also knew that some people were insatiable.

If you can't fill it up, don't fill it up.

During Nicholas' era, George suggested to Nicholas countless times that the living security of Russians, especially workers, should be improved.

Nicholas also tried to do this, but because of too much resistance, he failed every time.

George knew how Russia solved this problem in history.

During the World War, Russia's domestic industrial production was severely damaged, and now everything is in ruins, like a blank sheet of paper.

George approached Felix and Guchkov and asked them to sell the steel mill to the Russian government.

Guchkov agreed readily because he knew that if he did not agree, his fate would be the same as Kerensky's.

Felix wanted to form a joint venture and retain a portion of the shares for the Yusupov family.

George had no objection in principle.

But if the Yusupov family wants to retain a stake, they will have to share part of the reconstruction costs.

"Think carefully. Keeping shares means taking corresponding responsibilities, and it is impossible to make a profit in a short period of time."

What George meant by a short period of time is at least a span of "ten years".

There are many workers in the steel plant.

After the establishment of the minimum wage guarantee system, the steel plant's profits will be reduced to a level that the Yusupov family cannot bear.

"George, the Yusupovs are part of Russia, too."

Felix's realm is much higher than George imagined, and he is worthy of being the man chosen by Yusupova.

That’s what we do.

Not only the Yusupov family's steel mill needs to be renovated, but also the textile mills, flour mills, oil fields, and even manors owned by the Yusupov family need to be thoroughly renovated.

Witte extended an olive branch to Felix at the right time, hoping that Felix would serve as Minister of Industry.

Felix happily agreed.

George was curious.

During Nicholas's time, Stolypin and Witte had invited Felix to join the cabinet many times, but Felix never agreed.

Felix didn't explain.

If Nicholas was still the Tsar, Felix would never have left the palace in his life.

With Felix at the helm, Russia's reconstruction finally entered the fast lane.

Witt's character is a bit soft and not suitable for charging into battle.

Felix took drastic measures and immediately nationalized all of Russia's heavy industry.

The role of steel in industrial production needs no emphasis. Without sufficient steel, revitalizing industry is just empty talk.

Felix went to George and asked him to nationalize the steel plant owned by the Yuriev family.

"Since you've cheated me, I can't let you go!"

Felix and George are going to hurt each other.

"I gave you the opportunity to leave your name in Russian history. How can I be cheating you?"

George disagreed with Felix. It’s just a steel plant. Take it!

(End of this chapter)