I'm playing whack-a-mole in Siberia

Chapter 328 Forced into the Palace
Since his rise to prominence, George has been considered a hopeless ultra-conservative by certain groups within Russia.

Compared with George, Ya San, who is known for reversing the course of history, can be regarded as a wise man through the ages. The specific evidence is as follows.

You can choose whether to plead guilty to the assassination of Asan in St. Petersburg.

If you confess, you won't be put to death.

Even if you plead not guilty and are executed, you can still choose the method of execution.

In the past, many members of the People's Democratic Party took advantage of this to achieve the five-year tour of Siberia.

After George went to Amur, the number of assassins who chose not to plead guilty suddenly increased.

Because compared to being executed, being sent to Amur is more terrifying.

Being executed in St. Petersburg, at least his family would have a body to collect.

If sent to Amur, the most common consequence is that the whereabouts are unknown.

He fled back to St. Petersburg incognito and disappeared without a trace.

People's positions will change according to their interests.

If this happens, it will definitely cause a huge disturbance in St. Petersburg.

"That's what I'm trying to emphasize, as the makers of this rule, you and I are not conservatives, we're not liberals, we're judges."

If you don't do this, how will you roll it up?

However, the security situation in St. Petersburg is getting better and better visibly.

Those are the most important positions. Vladimir’s position is something that many people are thinking about.

The key point is that the Guards is a concentration camp for imperial nobles. When George and Nicholas were serving in the Guards, a mere captain, who might be the first heir to a certain Grand Duke, asked you if you were afraid.

This is not because Amur did not do anything, but because Siberia is so big, the prisoners escaped during their labor service and disappeared.

Pobedonostsev is known for his stubbornness and conservatism. He is an Orthodox eunuch. If he is not conservative, who will be?

It is inappropriate to say anything without proof or proof.

George was too lazy to find anyone else.

Ten years ago, hundreds of people returned to St. Petersburg from Siberia every year to start a new life after serving their sentences.

George takes no sides.

So why does George do this?

For such an important organization as the State Duma, the Speaker must appoint someone whom Nikolai can trust and who can hold his own.

For example, little Nicholas who hangs out in the Guards.

This weird situation leaves both those who support George and those who hate George speechless.

When things have reached this point, it is okay for Grand Duke Vladimir to be the Speaker even if he does not want to.

Nicholas probably said it unintentionally.

Maybe he became so disheartened that he settled in a hut in a ravine and became a hermit.

Who else could gain Nicholas's trust more than the Grand Dukes of St. Petersburg?
My uncle wouldn't have any bad intentions towards my nephew.

There are more than thirty princes in the empire, some of whom hold important positions, and some of whom are idle at home.

"It's like a company assessment, I seem to understand."

If you ask Nikolai to design such a complex structure, Nikolai can't figure it out even if he thinks about it.

If you want Nicholas to dig holes with George, Nicholas is too good at it.

Nicholas is still very spiritual.

Therefore, the position of Speaker belongs to none other than Grand Duke Vladimir.

This "no trace" is very spiritual.

There has been none in the past five years.

The Guards sounds very impressive, but in fact there are only a few troops, and they are all under the Tsar's nose. Little Nicholas's power and wealth are limited.

So simply classifying people as conservative or liberal is a joke in itself.

Not exactly the same, but essentially similar, and George didn't bother to correct it.

Those who are qualified to care about Vladimir's position are naturally all grand dukes, and their status is similar. They may be closer to Nicholas.

What a great navy.

Because the position of Speaker is so important, if Grand Duke Vladimir wants to serve as Speaker, he must first leave the military ministry and no longer hold a military position.

But in the minds of many people, George's position is very important.

Isn’t Ignaev clamoring for the reopening of local councils every day? Then Ignaev is the natural leader of the Liberal Party.

Even if he escaped into the wild and was eaten by wolves, he would disappear without a trace.

For this reason, if Pobedonostsev and Durnovo don’t know what to do yet, they’d better beg for bones early and let young people like George take over.

Since Amur became George's fiefdom, fewer and fewer people have returned to St. Petersburg from Siberia.

A battleship with a budget of 650 million rubles has spent 800 million rubles and has not yet been launched. Where has the money been spent?
Vladimir’s wife Maria held a banquet and invited guests and friends. She was more famous in the aristocratic circle of St. Petersburg than the queen. How could Vladimir afford such a big occasion with his small income?
Vladimir is not a money-loving boy. His salary, position income, part-time income, and territory income can all be calculated.

I can only say that there are some things. If it is not weighed, it will not weigh four ounces, and if it is weighed, it will not weigh more than a thousand pounds.

Vladivostok did not build warships before, and George did not know how much it would cost to build one.

I thought it was just like the St. Petersburg Shipyard, costing millions of rubles.

Now that the Vladivostok Shipyard has begun building warships, George knows how much the warships cost.

It’s hard to say about George from other countries. Just half of the 800 million rubles for the "Petopavlovsk" can actually be spent, even if some people have a conscience.

How lucrative the position of Lord of the Navy is, can be seen from Vladimir's reaction.

Nicholas respects the old and loves the young. If he wants Vladimir to leave the position of Minister of the Navy, he must first seek Vladimir's consent.

Nicholas was also smart. Instead of looking for Vladimir alone, he summoned members of the royal family and held an internal meeting.

No one else matters.

The most important ones are Alexei, who also serves in the Admiralty and is most likely to succeed Vladimir as Minister of the Admiralty after Vladimir leaves office, and his brother-in-law and cousin Alexander, who is eager to contribute to the empire.

Alexey is only 3 years younger than Vladimir. This will have to wait until Vladimir retires normally. I don’t know how long it will take.

Vladimir's body is in great shape and he eats deliciously. Maybe Alexei died before Vladimir retired.

Alexander was even willing to go to the Siberian fleet in order to get a chance.

Alexander would not want to go to the Far East if he could enter the Admiralty.

"Nikki, it was your father's decision to cancel the Duma. Do you want to overturn your father's decision?"

Vladimir fundamentally vetoed Nikolai's appointment.

Nicholas was speechless for a moment.

The old tsar's body is still cold, and he is dead now. It's really not nice to say it.

George looked at Alexei.

Alexey looked down at the floor in deep thought. It was obvious that he didn't want to offend anyone, but only wanted to take advantage.

Alexander was eager to give it a try, but others spoke softly. So many real uncles hadn't spoken yet, so he could just play in the mud with his crooked neck.

Sergey and Little Nikolai didn't mind watching the excitement. This was a matter for the Navy and had nothing to do with the Army.

George had no choice but to charge forward.

"The eldest brother can overturn his father's decision, why can't Nicky overturn his decision?"

As soon as George opened his mouth, Nicholas immediately felt confident.

The internal meeting was held in the small living room on the second floor of the Winter Palace. There were only six sofas in total. The only imperial grandfather Mikhail was on vacation in Crimea and did not attend. Nikolai and his five uncles occupied the meeting.

There were quite a few chairs, but only George was sitting on the chair. The other Grand Dukes, including Alexander, were all standing. Even though the chair was right next to them, they acted as if they hadn't seen it.

This power structure is clear enough.

Vladimir had a hot temper. When he heard George speak, he jumped up from the sofa, glared at George, and opened his mouth to curse.

George just smiled without even lowering his legs.

Vladimir suddenly shut up.

George was so disappointed.

Scold, why don't you scold me?

If you dare to curse today, you can go to the Chukotka Peninsula to dance with polar bears tomorrow.

Next to the Chukotka Peninsula is the Bering Strait.

George was right.

After Ya San ascended the throne, he directly overturned a series of reform measures of Ya Er. Why didn't anyone at that time cry out that the ancestral rule of law cannot be changed.

Because after the promulgation of the Constitution, many privileges belonging to the Grand Duke were cancelled.

After strengthening the role of the Duma, many powers belonging to the Grand Duke were taken away by the Duma.

That's why Asan was praised by the princes as the light of the Tsar.

Vladimir was also very smart. He did not target Nicholas's appointment, but tried to arouse the collective concerns of the grand dukes and lead the contradiction to the dispersion and concentration of power.

But who is the fool in this room?

The new emperor ascended the throne. Whoever dares to stand up against Nicholas at this time will be in trouble.

Even if Nicholas doesn't have an attack now.

But who can guarantee that Nicholas will not keep any bad records?

In other words, Ya San died early, and Nicholas had no children.

If Nicholas had a lot of children, and they were all grown up, all the uncles and brothers in the room would have to step aside.

Nikolai will always have children.

"The position of speaker is too important and requires a highly respected person to be qualified. I think Uncle Mikhail is more suitable."

Vladimir was quick to think.

There are rumors in St. Petersburg that among all the sons of Ya Er, Vladimir is the most talented, so Vladimir is more qualified to be the Tsar.

Never mind whether this is true or not.

How could such rumors arise when the Russian Empire was a founding country?
A little trivia, because Nicholas has no children now.

Therefore, Vladimir's eldest son Kirill, although he does not have the title of crown prince, is the de facto first-in-line heir to the position of tsar.

"Uncle Mikhail has not held any public office for a long time. He is enjoying his current life. He has worked hard for the empire all his life. Let us not disturb Uncle Mikhail's purity-"

Halfway through George's words, his eyes glanced across the faces of each Grand Duke, and he concluded with a smile.

"What do you think?"

(End of this chapter)