Chapter 504 One Word
If you say Alexey, it is not enough to affect George's reputation.
Coupled with Vladimir, there are more and more rumors about George in St. Petersburg.
The latest version of the rumor is: Alexei and Vladimir were both scared to death by George.
Alexei died of fear and guilt because George started auditing accounts after he became Lord of the Navy.
Vladimir had a long-standing grudge with George. If he did not die, as long as George was still in St. Petersburg, his descendants would never be able to make a difference.
Under the processing of thoughtful people, the rumors spread like noses and eyes.
No, just after the death of Grand Duke Vladimir, Kirill was summoned to the palace by Nicholas to inherit the title of Grand Duke Vladimir. By the way, he shook hands with George and made peace. He will be here soon. Went to the Baltic Fleet to hold important positions.
Alexei was in a worse situation. He never married and had no children. The title of Grand Duke was directly taken back.
George ignored these rumors, the transfer of veterans around St. Petersburg was in progress, and more than 100,000 veterans left St. Petersburg in the first month.
Relying on the Siberian Railway alone is certainly not as efficient.
George took a multi-pronged approach, not only through the Siberian Railway, but also relying more on sea transportation to send veterans to Amur and East India in batches.
St. Petersburg itself is a port, and you can board a ship from St. Petersburg directly to the Far East.
In addition to taking ships and trains from St. Petersburg to Amur, some veterans also went to Odessa to board ships, which could reach East India in just one month.
As there are fewer and fewer homeless people around St. Petersburg, the security of St. Petersburg has become increasingly stable. No senior official has been assassinated around the New Year. Witte said that this is completely a miracle.
George couldn't understand it.
According to Witte, the empire must have one or two senior officials assassinated every month to be normal, otherwise the KPI target will not be fulfilled.
Is the living environment of senior officials so harsh?
“The Ministry of Internal Affairs has a statistical list of how many senior officials have been assassinated from His Majesty’s accession to the throne.”
In the years when Witte was Prime Minister, he suffered no fewer than ten assassinations. Much less than Stolypin.
Werther was now without an official position. When he left office, Nicholas even said that he would send him abroad as an ambassador. Later, there was no further information, as if he had been forgotten.
George did not neglect Werther because he was marginalized. This man was still very capable, especially in the economic aspect.
George hopes that Werther can go to East India and take charge of the economic development of East India.
Although the Qing Empire is in terrible shape, it is still a potential threat to Amur.
East India has no external threats at all, and economic development is its main task. Kanunnikov is 70 years old and has been struggling to support it.
Witte is not yet 60 years old, which is considered to be in the prime of life for a politician. He can still work for George for another 20 years -
Not working for George, but working for the empire.
“Haven’t you noticed that since our relationship with London eased, the conflicts within the empire have become more and more relaxed.”
George has not forgotten his original intention and has always firmly believed that Britain is the is the greatest threat to the Russian Empire.
To paraphrase Kissinger’s words: It is dangerous to be Britain’s enemy, but it is fatal to be Britain’s ally.
In fact, George has never been in favor of forming an alliance with Britain. From the perspective of the Russian Empire, the empire should form an alliance with Germany.
In George's view, the contradiction between the Russian Empire and the Austro-Hungarian Empire is not irresolvable.
The only mortal enemy of the Russian Empire was the Ottomans, and the conflict with the Austro-Hungarian Empire was mainly in the Balkans.
Interests can be exchanged. As long as the Russian Empire puts forward enough chips, it can be exchanged for the Austro-Hungarian Empire to abandon the Balkans.
Ten thousand steps back, even if Austria never surrenders, the Russian Empire can use chips to exchange Germany's support for the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
If George were Nicholas, he would go directly to William II and support William II in annexing the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Then Russia and Germany would join forces to defeat Britain and France and carve up the British and French overseas colonies.
With the strength of the Russian Empire and Germany, even if they cannot defeat the English Channel, at least the Eurasian continent and Africa will certainly not be able to stop the Cossacks and Junkers.
When the time comes, don’t worry about the Gallic Chicken Armada, just push it all the way.
"Ahahahaha, are you going to start promoting the British threat theory instead because there is no market for the Japanese threat theory?"
Witt laughed, thinking he could see through George's plot at a glance Intend.
Before the outbreak of the Russo-Japanese War, George had been advocating the Japanese threat theory. Although the war between the Russian Empire and Japan eventually broke out as George wished, George did not laugh at it before the war broke out.
At that time, George was probably the only Russian who believed that Japan had the ability to pose a threat to the Russian Empire.
George smiled at Werther.
Witt's smile gradually disappeared, and his expression changed to helplessness.
"George, I understand how you feel, but the Empire cannot withstand another large-scale war."
Werther also made it clear that he did not want George to continue advocating war.
There is a conflict involving the civilian clique and the military.
In peacetime, economic construction will definitely be the main focus, and the military will have less and less say. All the generals in the empire have fully realized this during the more than ten years that Yasan was in power.
Once the war breaks out, the empire carries out general mobilization and enters a state of war. Everything begins to serve the war, and the power of the military will expand rapidly.
As a civil servant, Werther certainly didn't like war.
"If the empire doesn't want to fight, won't the war break out?"
George succeeded in making Werther speechless with one sentence.
Before the outbreak of the Russo-Japanese War, everyone in St. Petersburg firmly believed that the empire only needed symbolic mobilization to force Japan to make concessions just like it had blackmailed the Qing Empire before.
In the past decade or so, the Qing-France War has exposed France’s hollow nature, Britain was severely damaged in the Boer War, and the Russo-Japanese War made the Russian Empire a laughing stock around the world.
William II must be gearing up now.
"Even if there were, there would be no war between us and Britain."
Witt believed that the alliance between the Russian Empire and Britain was unbreakable.
Witt was responsible for the loan from Britain after the signing of the Treaty of Portsmouth. It was the last task Nicholas gave to Werther, and Werther was forgotten by Nicholas.
This would explain why Witt believed that George was advocating the British threat theory.
From Werther's perspective, he can also understand George.
Nikolai has such a ungrateful character. Even if George is now entrusted with important tasks, it is because Alexei and Nikolay Fila are unbearable, so George can only be asked to take charge of military reform.
Once the military reform is completed, with Nikolai's character, he may kick George back to Amur. Therefore, George wants to promote the British threat theory and consolidate his position.
But there is another BUG here. If George just wants to monopolize power, then George should advocate the Austro-Hungarian threat theory, or the Ottoman threat theory.
“Britain must bear at least 50% of the responsibility for the empire’s current predicament.”
As for the other fifty percent, that's the Russians themselves.
George had to correct Werther's wrong ideas before Werther went to the East Indies, otherwise George would not dare to let Werther go to the East Indies.
If Werther went to East India with such naive ideas, East India would definitely be penetrated by the British like a sieve. George would never allow this to happen.
East India was George's last resort. George would rather East India develop slower than allow East India to be disrupted by the British.
This is also the reason why Nikolai abolished Werther and chose Stolypin.
Witte was capable, but too naive. He was only suitable to be Chancellor of the Exchequer, not Prime Minister.
It was not so difficult for George to communicate with Stolypin.
“No matter what London does, it must be from the perspective of British interests.”
Witt admitted that the British were responsible, but did not think there was any problem.
To put it bluntly, the pattern is not enough.
Witte's layout is limited to Russia, and at most the surrounding areas, no matter how large it is, it is beyond Witte's capabilities.
George’s pattern has always been: Russia will punish the whole world!
Witt only saw George advocating the Japanese threat theory.
George's plan to deal with Japan was to break the British blockade of the Russian Empire.
So Werther is just trying to show off his tactics, while George is the one who never forgets his original intention and stands firm.
"So from the perspective of British interests, is Britain willing to see a powerful East India appear next to the Straits Settlements?"
George struck a fatal blow.
"As long as Britain is given a chance, Britain will do whatever it takes to create chaos in East India. This will not affect Britain's cooperation with the empire in Europe."
Witt frowned Wrinkle, I feel a bit confused. Are all you military gods such perverts?
George has only won one Russo-Japanese War so far, and there is still a gap between him and Suvorov, who has won every battle, and it will take time to verify.
Suvorov was victorious in every battle, had serious political flaws, had ups and downs, and had a rough life.
George has not yet met his master.
If George had been born a few years earlier and Ya Er had died a few years later, the Russian Empire would have probably rushed out of Europe long ago.
“You should know that the reason why Britain changed its policy and chose to reconcile with the Empire was because the Empire defeated Japan in the Far East. Britain had lost the possibility of containing the Empire in the Far East; at the same time, Germany was challenging Britain’s maritime hegemony. , Britain had to rely on France and the Empire to balance Germany pressure - so don’t have any illusions about the UK. Once the situation in the UK improves, the UK will return to the path of fully containing the empire. No matter it is any country, as long as it affects the interests of the UK, it will be attacked by the UK. "
George knew Werther's weaknesses.
When Werther was working on a private railway, he could refuse the job offered by the Tsar for personal gain.
So George not only convinced Werther with his ideals, but also provided Werther with a generous income.
The annual salary George gave Werther was 150,000 rubles.
For reference, the current annual salary of the British Chancellor of the Exchequer is about 5,000 pounds, which is equivalent to about 50,000 rubles.
Here you can see how happy it is to be an official in the Russian Empire.
In 1888, when Witte served as the director of transportation for the Southwest Region, his annual salary had reached 50,000 rubles.
Witt had no dissatisfaction with the treatment given by George.
But it is not easy to get this salary. At least now, Witt has not fully met George's requirements.
George is not in a hurry. Nothing is accomplished overnight. Not only does he have to convince Witte, he also has to deal with the pressure from St. Petersburg and the military.
George's army has changed too many people's cheese. Just disarmament has caused so much controversy. Next, George will have to assess the officers, optimize the logistics system, and use military production to reform. The resistance will grow.
George is not opposed to nobles joining the army, but the prerequisite for nobles to join the army is to graduate from a military academy and pass annual assessments. Only those who meet military requirements can continue to serve in the army.
If you do not meet the requirements of the military, you should leave the army as soon as possible. The empire gives the princes enough salary. George’s current salary alone has reached 800,000 rubles per year, which is the same as the total salary of all members of the British cabinet. almost.
"The Science of Winning" written by Suvorov, the full text is less than 100 pages.
As far as George knows, many senior officers of the Guards have not even read "The Science of Winning". How can they be expected to win the war?
George wants to remove all unqualified officers from the army.
So Archduke Kirill, who had just returned to St. Petersburg, became the target of George's cleanup.
George did not expel Kirill from the army, but did not appoint Kirill as deputy commander of the Baltic Fleet as requested by Nicholas.
Kirill received an elite education since he was a child. He mastered four languages: Russian, English, French, and German early on. He even attended a military school for a year. Simply speaking from a resume, Kirill More qualified as an officer than George.
But as deputy commander of the Baltic Fleet, Kirill is definitely unqualified.
George did not object to letting Kirill go to the Baltic Fleet, but George and Nicholas had conflicts over the specific appointment.
George hoped that Kirill would first serve as an observer and go to the British Navy and the German Navy to conduct inspections, and then arrange work.
The inspection is not just for fun. After the inspection is over, you will write a report to George, the Admiralty Minister.
Although Kirill performed poorly in the Russo-Japanese War, it was even a royal disgrace.
But as long as Kirill's report is meaningful, George doesn't mind continuing to give Kirill more important work.
"George, the Baltic Fleet is responsible for the security of St. Petersburg and its position is very important. We must have someone worthy of our trust to lead the Baltic Fleet."
Nicholas was also helpless. There was really no one available in the royal family.
“Niki, although the Baltic Fleet caused heavy losses in the Russo-Japanese War, the Empire still has many capable naval officers who are equally loyal to the Empire and equally capable of leading the Baltic Fleet.”
George disagreed. Simple loyalty was not enough to entrust him with important tasks.
If Nicholas appointed Kirill as military judge, George would have no problem with it.
The position of deputy commander is too important. The empire has already suffered enough in this regard during the Russo-Japanese War.
But there's another problem here.
Now the empire's capable naval officers are all in the Siberian Fleet.
(End of this chapter)