Chapter 250 The Courageous Dog
The reason why Vladivostok can audit the accounts is because no matter how they check, they can’t find Mikhail and Dalia. At most, they know people poorly and will not cause financial problems. .
If Chelyabinsk wants to audit the accounts, it will involve too many people. I don’t know how many people will be sent to Siberia.
The key is not whether to investigate or not, but whether it can convince the public.
Here in George, whether there is a problem with Mikhail or a problem with Dalia, George will get to the bottom of it.
The Grand Duke here in St. Petersburg has embezzled public funds, but has not received any punishment, so it doesn't matter if he has more food and drinks, the purchase cost is higher, and the progress of the project is slower.
As I said before, the empire has its own national conditions.
Nicholas also knew the situation in Russia, so he was in great pain.
“George, don’t we have any solution?”
Mikhail is Nikolai’s grandfather. Nikolai will not kill in pain. He has been like this since he was a child. , attach importance to feelings.
But Nicholas is the heir to the empire, and he cannot just watch the empire become chaotic and do nothing.
“Yes.”
George has a way to satisfy Nicholas.
The Grand Duke cannot be cured.
Can’t we cure flies?
The Trans-Siberian Railway needs to purchase a lot of materials, and the quality naturally varies. The food poisoning incident that occurred some time ago fully proves the chaotic management.
After the food poisoning incident, the committee investigated the cause of the incident and found that the food poisoning was caused by poisonous mushrooms in the workers' food.
There is no follow-up result on this matter, because the mushrooms were picked by the workers themselves, and the mushroom soup was stewed by the workers themselves. Both the mushroom pickers and the mushroom eaters have died from the poison, so no one needs it Take responsibility for this.
So the result of the investigation of the incident is: the workers themselves are seeking death.
Okay, it’s not suicide after all.
To George's surprise, everyone accepted the findings, and the matter was closed.
“Why do the railway construction workers pick mushrooms to make soup? Is it because they don’t have enough to eat?”
George is good at finding faults.
“Maybe they are greedy——”
Witt’s answer was very Russian.
"Greedy? Haha, it's so funny. After a hard day's work, workers don't rest or relax after get off work. Instead, they go to the wild to pick mushrooms and make soup. Do you think the reason 'greedy' can explain this behavior? "
George can understand why this result occurs.
But not accepted.
People cannot be resurrected after death. Those who are dead must be dead, and those who are alive must live. Therefore, the investigation result of the accident must be that the workers are greedy.
George couldn't accept it because this result was not an official one, but an investigation conclusion.
If the investigation results involve a very high level, and the committee, in order to cover up the truth and save someone's face, blames the cause of the accident on the workers' greed, George will have nothing to say.
Don’t think that George is bending the law for personal gain. If you think about who the supreme ruler of the Russian Empire is, you will know why George has nothing to say.
Everything about the Russian Empire, if you investigate it layer by layer, the Tsar will eventually get the bottom of it.
George and Nicholas can't run away either. Who makes one of them the person in charge and the other his deputy.
The investigation team concluded that Nicholas and George were fooled into thinking they were fools.
"George, Uncle Paul is in charge of the project logistics supplies."
Nicholas also knew that this result was absurd, but he had nothing to do.
"Does Paul know about this?"
George has a big head, Paul is his brother.
"Uncle Paul has promised that similar incidents will not happen again."
Nikolay wouldn't even touch his grandfather, let alone his closer uncle.
“So, the investigators were sent by Paul, right?”
George’s question made Nicholas unable to answer.
"Have the workers who died received adequate pensions? How many people knew about this incident? Has the influence been eliminated? Has anyone taken advantage of this incident? Have those directly responsible for the incident been punished? ? If a similar incident happens again, do you still need a guarantee to get away with it? "
George's questions became more and more pointed, and Nicholas was blushing and couldn't answer any of them.
"Duke, the responsibility for this matter does not lie with Your Highness——"
Witt took the initiative to defend Nicholas.
"No, Yuri, I do have a responsibility. I betrayed the trust of the workers. It's my fault."
Nicholas really didn't mean to shirk responsibility. He wanted to make things happen Do it well and be perfect, but——
“I don’t mean to blame you, I mean, if we want to ensure the progress of the project, then at the very least, we have to transfer inappropriate people away Our team.”
George is not going to send his uncle and brother to Siberia, isn't it better to be an idle prince?
It is important for people to be self-aware. Since you don’t want to do things, then don’t occupy the pit and give up your position to people who are capable and willing to do things.
The empire gives enough salary to the princes every year.
The princes also have part-time jobs, fiefdom income, business profits, and bank interest, so why bother with workers’ food expenses?
Of course, this may not be what Paul ordered.
But since such a big thing has happened, we can't just punish ourselves with three glasses of wine and get away unscathed.
Russia has a large population.
But we can’t waste it so casually.
"If you transfer - honor -" At this time, Nicholas is still worried about the honor of the grand dukes being damaged.
This is not only the honor of the grand dukes, but also related to the honor of the royal family and the empire.
"Adjust the division of labor of the committee. In principle, committee members are no longer responsible for specific affairs. They are still committee members, but that's it."
George can make concessions, but principles and bottom lines cannot breakthrough.
Nicholas hesitated.
"Nikki, I know you value family ties, but you cannot let down those who are loyal to you and the empire - Yuri, am I right?"
George gave Werther a look.
"Yes, Your Highness, you can't let down those who love you."
Witt is obviously better at talking than George, no wonder he climbed so fast.
A few years ago Witte was the general manager of a private railway company, and now he is the Imperial Minister of Transport and a member of the Trans-Siberian Railway Commission.
George climbed up quickly in the military because of his status bonus.
Werther relied entirely on his own ability.
"Yes, I can't let those who love me down - George, I know what to do!"
Nicola finally strengthened his confidence.
George had no specific division of labor within the Grand Railroad Commission.
This is not that George does not have any power, but that George can control everything.
George didn't care about technical matters and didn't understand them.
Those who know technical skills are under George's control.
When Nikolay adjusted the committee, George came to the St. Petersburg Institute of Transport Engineering, which was the cradle of railway engineers in the Russian Empire. Most of the engineers in various sections along the Trans-Siberian Railway graduated from the St. Petersburg Institute of Transport Engineering. .
The dean of the School of Transportation Engineering is Mikhail who embezzled funds.
Mikhail is only in name, and the actual management of the School of Transportation Engineering is under the responsibility of Vice President Vastlov.
The conditions in Siberia were very difficult, and the engineers had a heavy task. They endured diseases and dangers, worked tirelessly in the Siberian wilderness, and made great contributions.
“From the first day we entered school, we were told to serve the Empire and this is what we should do.”
Vastlov was happy that George did not come to the door empty-handed , immediately donated 10,000 rubles to the School of Transportation Engineering.
“I want to know, do the engineers have any difficulties while working?”
George does not look for officials. Compared with officials, these technical personnel are purer and easier to obtain. Real information.
"That would be too much -"
Vastlov said bluntly.
After Asan ascended the throne, he rectified the imperial institutions of higher learning, took back the autonomy of the institutions of higher learning, sent officials to manage the universities, and strengthened the ideological control of students, which caused dissatisfaction among the education circles.
Crying children are fed by milk, Vastolov seized the opportunity to complain to George.
“The environment in Siberia is too dangerous. Our college sent more than 40 teachers and students to Siberia. In just three months, one person died of illness, one person fell off a cliff and died, one person disappeared, and another person died. Disability.”
"What happened to the disappearance?"
"Maybe he was picked up by a wolf, or maybe he was eaten by a bear, but he couldn't be lost."
Vastolov Extremely indignant.
“Are there no security personnel accompanying us?”
George remembered that the committee had regulations in this regard. When engineering personnel go to the field for exploration or construction, they must be accompanied by security personnel.
"You may not know that we engineers need to bribe the security personnel in order to be protected by the security personnel."
Vastolov's words made George furious.
“What’s going on?”
George wanted to see who was so bold.
Vastlov invited George into the conference room and asked Konstantin, who had to have his leg amputated due to a broken leg, to be called.
"Our working hours are not fixed. Sometimes we have to stay in the field for a week continuously, so sometimes we have to-"
Constantin stopped talking.
“What has to be done?”
George pressed to the end.
“We have to prepare some small gifts for the security personnel in exchange for their protection, otherwise their work will inevitably be missed.”
Constantine's words made George frown.
This matter——
It is difficult to determine.
If it is a small gift that is not very valuable, it can be classified as a normal interpersonal interaction. As long as he does not actively ask for bribes, George will not be able to trace the person responsible.
George himself was a soldier and was very familiar with security work. Even the best security personnel would inevitably be careful, otherwise the Tsar would not be assassinated frequently.
The Tsar accepted the strictest security in the empire.
The engineer's security personnel are definitely not at the level of the Guards.
So even if an accident occurs, it is difficult to hold the security personnel accountable.
(End of this chapter)