I'm playing whack-a-mole in Siberia

Chapter 566 Abdication
A long time ago, George was ridiculed by European countries for advocating the Japanese threat theory.

Later, a war really broke out between the Russian Empire and Japan, and the process was just as George predicted. Japan posed a huge threat to the Russian Empire. If it weren't for George's efforts to turn the tide, the Russian Empire would have lost the war.

No, the fact is that before George's counterattack, the Russian Empire had already lost the war.

So strictly speaking, the Russo-Japanese War was fought twice.

The same was true for the Balkan Wars. George took action at the most critical moment of the first stage and obtained the coveted Black Sea outlet for the Russian Empire. In the subsequent second stage, he planned a coup in the Bulgarian Kingdom and sent his eldest son to the throne of the King of the Bulgarian Kingdom.

Compared with the above two events, although both the Kingdom of Greece and the Russian Empire insisted that the coup in the Kingdom of Greece had nothing to do with the Russian Empire, how could others believe it?

George was really wronged. The coup in the Kingdom of Greece was indeed somewhat related to George.

But the coup in the Bulgarian Kingdom was not planned by George.

The problem is, even if George's stomach was cut open, others would just think that George's digestive function was too good, so only one bowl of noodles was left out of the two.

As in previous years, St. Petersburg entered winter in October, and George finally had a rare vacation. Even the craziest warmongerer would not attack the Russian Empire in winter.

This winter is almost the happiest winter in history for Russians.

Like last year, the Russian Empire's agriculture once again achieved a bumper harvest this year, and industrial output value also reached a new high. The empire also defeated its old rivals and gained access to the Black Sea, fulfilling the long-cherished wish of generations of Russians.

On October 10, Nicholas announced that Crown Prince Alexei's hemophilia had been cured, which was another miracle.

Strictly speaking, Alexei's hemophilia was not cured, but was effectively controlled.

Nicholas wanted all Russians to share his joy, so he decided to reduce taxes in some parts of the empire and grant amnesty to the world.

After learning the news, George immediately rushed to the Winter Palace.

The areas where Nicholas decided to reduce taxes were the newly acquired territories in Poland and the Balkans.

The Balkans had just experienced a war, and tax reductions could effectively eliminate the local people's resistance to the Russian Empire. George did not object.

Poland was the region where riots occurred most frequently, and the people's attitude towards the Russian Empire was not resistance but outright hatred.

Poland saw another rebellion this summer involving more than 10 people, and there is still a guards force stationed in Warsaw.

Warsaw thus became the only area in the empire outside of St. Petersburg and Moscow where the Guards were required to be stationed.

Nicholas's reason was that the Poles had just experienced the devastation of the turmoil and needed to recuperate.

Moreover, taxes in Poland are difficult to collect, and this year's rebellion broke out because of taxation.

Since tax revenue cannot be collected, just waive it and take the opportunity to buy them off.

George didn't know which smart person gave Nicholas such a good idea.

Nicholas's intentions were certainly good.

But if this matter were to get out and be interpreted by someone with ulterior motives, it would become that those who abide by the law and pay taxes honestly, while those who resist and refuse to pay taxes can get tax reductions or exemptions.

What do law-abiding Russians think about this?
If this matter were handled by Dalinzi, the law-abiding Russians would definitely applaud.

George would rather be a bad guy than a sinner.

"Why don't we make a deal with Berlin and send all those Poles who don't want to live in the Russian Empire to Germany."

George diverted the trouble by sending these Poles to Germany, where they would also not obey German laws.

As for whether William II would have a big beard or a small beard at that time, George had no control over it.

"Are you crazy? I would rather send them all to Siberia to open up wasteland."

Nicholas disagreed. Giving millions of people who hated the Russian Empire to Germany was totally not George's style.

George certainly wouldn't want to do that if he could.

But Siberia is now thriving, and if the Poles are sent to Siberia, George is worried that Siberia will become the next Poland.

"Oh, send them to Siberia, distribute land to them for free, help them build houses, give them loans, and provide cattle and seeds for almost free - wishful thinking!"

George preferred to leave these benefits to the Cossacks.

Twenty years ago, George suggested providing better living security for new immigrants from Siberia and promoting the development of Siberia.

At that time, George was a nobody and no one took his advice seriously.

It wasn’t until after the Russo-Japanese War, when George soared to prominence, that the Empire finally took this matter seriously.

This is thanks to Stolypin's reforms.

Stolypin——

It's really a pity.

In fact, before he was assassinated, Stolypin almost stepped down due to attacks from the opposition.

George didn't even expect that it was Queen Mother Maria who spoke up for Stolypin, which allowed Stolypin to stay in office.

After Stolypin was assassinated, Maria lived in Denmark for a long time and only returned to St. Petersburg once during the 300th anniversary celebration of the Romanovs.

And I only stayed in St. Petersburg for 1 day.

"Marshal, the empire cannot withstand greater turmoil." The new Prime Minister Goremykin considers himself a conservative, but his "conservative" and George's "conservatism" are two different concepts.

Because Russian agriculture had a bumper harvest this summer, the Russian Empire was brewing more vodka.

This would have been a good thing, but there were rumors that Prime Minister Kokovtsev wanted to get the Russians drunk with vodka.

This accusation is totally unfounded. Vodka is the blood of the Russians and is indispensable. The Russians can endure without bread, but they will rebel without vodka.

Nikolai did not blame Kokovtsev either.

Kokovtsev, however, voluntarily resigned from the posts of prime minister and finance minister, citing his poor health as the reason for the position.

Goremykin is conservative mainly in economics, but very open-minded in politics.

Goremykin opposed reform and was the main force behind the attack on Stolypin. During Kokovtsev's tenure as prime minister, the reform policies of the Stolypin era were continued and the empire's economy continued to develop.

Goremykin wanted to undo Stolypin's reforms like an old fur coat from the closet in bad weather.

He said this himself.

"Was this your idea? Do you know what you are doing?"

George doesn't like Goremykin. How can such a person be a conservative? He should be a member of the Tomb Suppressionist Party.

It is not right to say that he has an ancient tomb.

During the Second State Duma, the Social Democratic Party was banned by Stolypin on the grounds of rebellion. Since then, the Social Democrats could only operate abroad, like a stray dog, and almost disappeared.

After Goremykin took office, his first decree was to lift the ban on the Social Democratic Party, on the grounds that the empire should listen to the voices of different classes.

George now wanted to capture Goremykin and bring him to the Navy Ministry for interrogation to see if Goremykin was an insider planted by the Austro-Hungarian Empire in the Russian Empire.

It is okay to listen to suggestions that are beneficial to the empire. After all, partial listening leads to ignorance, while listening to both sides leads to enlightenment.

Just listen.

What to do in the end still has to start from the reality of the Russian Empire.

The current program of the Social Democratic Party is to overthrow the Russian Empire. What good advice can they give to the empire?

Absolutely ridiculous!
"Marshal, no matter what I do, I do it for the Empire."

Goremykin felt very aggrieved. I am over 60 years old, why do you treat me like this?

"If you are for the Empire, you should not compromise with the rebels. Any form of compromise is a betrayal of the Empire."

George directly characterized Goremykin.

"Your Majesty, I have not betrayed the Empire—"

Goremykin's voice trembled, and there were tears in his dark yellow eyes. It would be a loss to the imperial theater world if he didn't become an actor in the Royal Theater with such acting skills.

"George, it's my fault, not anyone else's."

Nicholas's good-for-nothing nature began to flare up again.

"No! It's not your fault. You are the Tsar, and Tsars cannot make mistakes!"

George could have sworn that he was definitely upholding Nicholas' authority.

Nicholas' face was full of embarrassment.

After sending Goremykin away, George took the initiative to discuss Stolypin's reforms with Nikolai.

"The results are the most powerful proof of the effectiveness of reforms. During the years when Peter was prime minister, the empire's public security gradually improved and the economy flourished, so we were able to gain access to the Black Sea. These are all the results of Peter's reforms—"

George is not greedy for credit, and he no longer needs to use these things to prove himself.

"Some self-righteous guys want to prove their ability in the position of Prime Minister, but the way they prove it is at the expense of the interests of the empire. This is absolutely unacceptable."

George reminded Nicholas that as long as the Empire program was still running, he should not touch it.

Ya Er was forced to carry out reforms because the empire was defeated and Ni Yi committed suicide.

Stolypin was also forced to take action against the land that occupied the largest part of the empire because of the empire's poor performance in the first phase of the Russo-Japanese War. This led to the glory of the Russian Empire.

If these high-minded but incompetent guys were allowed to mess around, this year would probably be the peak of the Russian Empire.

"I don't know who can lead the empire forward like Peter did—"

Nicholas sighed and looked at George with an extremely complicated look.

There are people who are suitable, and George is one of them.

George has fully demonstrated his ability in Amur. He was able to develop that barren land of Amur into its current scale. If George is appointed as prime minister, the Russian Empire will reach a higher level.

It was precisely because George's performance was so outstanding that Nicholas became hesitant.

George is already a recognized military god, and like Suvorov, he has never been defeated.

If George were made prime minister and he achieved greater success, Nicholas would have to abdicate.

(End of this chapter)