I'm playing whack-a-mole in Siberia

Chapter 496 Huangcun
The Russian Empire had no shortage of soldiers. The average quality of the Cossacks was among the best in the world, and their individual combat capabilities were invincible.

There were problems in the construction of the officer corps, and they were serious problems. They had become a chronic disease of the empire, and Milyutin did not dare to touch them back then.

Russian nobles have a tradition of joining the military. Olga was only 12 years old when she became the honorary commander of the Guards Corps. The "public content" of the Guards Corps now is not much lower than when George was in the Guards Corps.

Nobles started out as captains in the army and were promoted very quickly, occupying a large number of senior positions in the army. Truly capable people had no hope of rising and were either mediocre or forced to leave.

To change this situation, Nikola must start with himself.

Nicholas' number in the Guards was 001, his registered name was Nikolai Romanov, and his service term was marked as "forever."

George's name has been moved from the Guards to the Amur Military District, and now falls under the jurisdiction of the Far Eastern Military District.

In George's opinion, whether it was little Nicholas or Alexei, purely from the perspective of military qualities, they were not even qualified soldiers, let alone the Minister of War and the Minister of the Navy.

Little Nicholas is actually okay. At least he graduated from the General Staff Military Academy, and the procedure is legal, so he is qualified to become an officer.

When Nicholas and George first joined the army, they had never attended military school for a single day, yet after joining the Guards, they started as captains.

George did not object to nobles joining the army. It was a good thing to cultivate the martial spirit, but gilding should be done in a way that looks good. It was good for Kirill to be a staff officer beside Makarov, but it was too much for little Nicholas and Alexei to serve as the Minister of the Army and the Minister of the Navy.

Such an important position should be given to capable people.

But this cannot be said clearly.

George is now the new military god of the empire.

If young Nicholas is not qualified to be Minister of War, then who is qualified?
The candidate is almost obvious.

Oh, so your purpose of changing things is to become the Minister of War.

Why go through so much trouble? Wouldn’t it be better to just become the Tsar?

Milyugin didn't dare to touch this area because the aristocratic group was powerful. If Milyugin dared to touch it, he would be retaliated by the aristocratic group.

As a beneficiary of the system, if George changes the system, he will probably be seen as a psychopath in the eyes of others.

But we have to change.

The Russian Empire was too big. Even if George had three heads and six arms, how much could he do alone?

The Russian Empire was not without talents. Makarov, Ruzysky, Brusinov, Yudenich, and so on were all outstanding generals with extraordinary abilities, but for various reasons they were not reused and their abilities could not be fully utilized.

George now has the opportunity to use them. If they can play an important role in the right position after the outbreak of the world war, George will be more confident in facing the major changes in the future.

Although George has not yet come up with a specific plan for military reform, the transfer of veterans has already begun.

The area around Huangcun in the suburbs of Beijing is one of the main gathering areas for veterans, with about 1.5 homeless veterans.

It is not quite correct to say that they were homeless. Most of them were urgently conscripted after the outbreak of the Russo-Japanese War. They served for only a few months and could have returned to their families.

The problem lies here.

The Cossacks received military training from birth and were always looking forward to fighting for the Tsar.

It had been 25 years since the empire's last large-scale war. These Cossacks had waited so long for the Russo-Japanese War, but they did not even get the chance to go to the Far East and were directly laid off. How could they be willing to accept this?

But staying in St. Petersburg is not a problem. When they retire, the retirement allowance they receive is not much. If they fail to find a job before the allowance is used up, the public security in St. Petersburg will deteriorate sharply.

Grand Duke Alexi Mikhailovich, commander of the Semenovsky Corps, received orders to disperse the Cossacks gathered around Tsarskoye Selo and not allow them to become a security threat to St. Petersburg.

Alexei was in a dilemma. The soldiers serving in the Xie regiment were also Cossacks. If something went wrong, the troops would mutiny.

But we have to execute the order issued by the military.

Alexei was in a dilemma, so he went to his eldest brother Nikolai who worked in the General Staff for help. Alexei and Nikolai were both sons of Grand Duke Mikhail Nikolayevich and cousins ​​of George. Nikolai was 13 years older than George, and Alexei was 3 years younger than George.

"Who gave you the order?"

Nicholas was angry. Isn't this a scam?

This was obviously an offensive job. There were so many legions in the Guards, so why send anyone else but Alexei?

The laid-off soldiers were full of resentment and gathered around the Imperial Village, refusing to leave, hoping to attract the Tsar's attention and be allowed to return to the army.

It's definitely impossible to persuade him to leave.

It is not effective to disperse them by force. They are all Cossacks, who is afraid of whom? If the retired veterans rebel, it will be Alexei's responsibility.

"Who else could it be? It must be that bastard Demeter—"

Alexei gritted his teeth.

This Dmitry was not Milyutin's grandson, but Grand Duke Dmitri Konstantinovich, who served in the same Guards.

This is not Demeter's fault.

The senior officers of the Guards are all members of the nobility, and they are all related to each other. A stone falling from the sky could kill two grand dukes, so anyone who goes there will offend others.

Demeter was the son of Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolaevich, another cousin.

The reason why Demeter sent Xie Tuan to carry out the mission was because Xie Tuan’s base was closest to Tsarskoye Selo.

"Your mouth will kill you sooner or later!"

Nicholas was shocked. You are so talkative.

There are four brothers, Yaer is the eldest, Mikhail is the fourth, and Konstantin is the second oldest.

"I will change, I will definitely change, but what should I do now?"

Alexei came to Nikolai for help because he was desperate.

"Go find George, he'll find a way—"

Nicholas gives Alexei some advice.

"is that useful?"

Alexei had almost no dealings with George.

"How will you know if you don't try?"

Nicholas also didn't know whether George would help.

Alexei thought about it and decided to go to George.

Alexei was more cautious and did not go directly to the Peter and Paul Fortress, but went to George's house.

The Peter and Paul Fortress is just opposite the Winter Palace. You can see the Peter and Paul Fortress from the window of the Winter Palace. There are so many people and it would be unsightly if someone saw it.

George was still very respectful to his brothers. After listening to Alexei's request, he handed the task over to his adjutant Daniela and Mannerheim.

Mannerheim was very confused. He had been following George for the past few days but had not done anything serious and had been running around all day.

(End of this chapter)