I'm playing whack-a-mole in Siberia

Chapter 250 Audacious Dog

Vladivostok can check the accounts because no matter how they check, they can't find Mikhail and Dalia. At most, they are unknown people 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 with 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 some food and drink, the purchase cost is higher, and the progress of the project is slower.

Again, the empire has its own national conditions.

Nikolai also knew the situation in Russia, so he was in great pain.

"George, isn't there anything we can do?"

Mikhail is Nikolai's grandfather. Nikolai will not kill without pain. He has been like this since he was a child and values ​​relationships.

But Nicholas is the heir to the empire, and he cannot just watch the empire become chaotic and do nothing.

"some."

George has a way to satisfy Nicholas.

The Grand Duke cannot be cured.

Can't we control the 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 occurred, the committee investigated the cause of the incident and found that the food poisoning was caused by the presence of poisonous mushrooms in the workers' food.

There is no follow-up result on this matter, because the workers picked the mushrooms 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 to be held responsible.

Therefore, the result of the investigation of the incident is: the workers themselves are seeking death.

That's okay, it's not suicide after all.

To George's surprise, everyone accepted the findings, and the matter was closed.

"Why do railway construction workers pick mushrooms to make soup? Is it because they don't have enough to eat?"

George is good at finding trouble.

"Maybe they are greedy -"

Witte'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 of 'greedy' can explain this behavior? ?"

George could understand why this was the case.

But don't accept it.

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 in the Russian Empire, if you investigate it layer by layer, will eventually be revealed by the Tsar.

George and Nicholas couldn't run away either. Who made 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 ridiculous, but he had nothing to do.

"Did Paul know about this?"

George had a big head, and Paul was 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 left 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 used this incident to exploit it? Has the person directly responsible for the incident been punished? What if there is another similar incident? If it happens, do you still need just a guarantee to escape unscathed?"

George's questions became more pointed than the last, and Nicholas was blushing and couldn't answer any of them.

"Duke, His Highness is not responsible for this matter——"

Werther took the initiative to defend Nikolai.

"No, Yuri, I do have a responsibility. I broke the workers' trust. It's my fault."

Nicholas really didn’t mean to shirk responsibility. He wanted to do things well and make them perfect, but——

"I don't mean to blame you. What I mean is that if we want to ensure the progress of the project, then at the very least, we have to remove unsuitable people from our team."

George is not going to send his uncle and brother to Siberia, isn't it better to be an idle prince?

It’s important for people to be self-aware. If you don’t want to do something, then don’t occupy the pit and give up your position to someone who is capable and willing to do something.

The empire's annual stipends to the princes are sufficient.

Grand Dukes also have part-time jobs, fiefdom income, business profits, and bank interest, so why bother with food expenses for workers?

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 it can’t be wasted carelessly like this.

"If you transfer - honor -" At this point, Nicholas was 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 his principles and bottom line cannot be breached.

Nicholas hesitated.

"Nikki, I know you value family ties, but you can't let down those who are loyal to you and the empire - Yuri, am I right?"

George gave Werther a look.

"Yes, Your Highness, you cannot let those who love you down."

Werther 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 Reich 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!"

Nicholas finally strengthened his confidence.

George had no specific division of labor within the Grand Railroad Commission.

It's not that George doesn't have any power, it's 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 Nikolai was in charge of the Adjustment 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 on 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 only, and the actual management of the School of Transportation Engineering is under the responsibility of deputy dean 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 that's what we were supposed to do."

Vastlov was very happy that George did not come to the school empty-handed and donated 10000 rubles to the School of Transportation Engineering.

"I want to know if the engineers have any difficulties while working?"

George does not look for officials. Compared with officials, these technicians are purer and easier to obtain real information.

"That's too much -"

Vastlov doesn’t mince words.

After Asan ascended the throne, he rectified the imperial higher education institutions, took back the autonomy of higher education institutions, 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, and Vastolov takes 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 fell off a cliff and died, one went missing, and one was disabled."

"What happened to the disappearance?"

"It may have been picked up by a wolf, or it may have been eaten by a bear, but it cannot be lost."

Vastolov was extremely angry.

"Are there no security personnel accompanying you?"

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 security personnel in order to be protected by security personnel."

Vastolov's words made George furious.

"what happened?"

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-"

Constantine hesitated to speak.

"What do you have to do?"

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 is it——

It's 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 a bribe, 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.

Therefore, even if an accident occurs, it will be difficult to hold the security personnel responsible.

(End of this chapter)