Colorless King (3)

What can I possibly do now that I've become an absolute monarch overnight from being a crown prince?

Weapon development, which everyone commonly thinks about?

Hmm, while I could vaguely suggest direction, I can't personally lead the design-production-manufacturing process.

I can only push for funding when there's budget flexibility later.

Since the empire needs money, how about rapid economic growth?

The most risk-free and efficient method would be to simply increase agricultural production, but I don't even know how fertilizers are made.

The value of products from our empire's land is only one-third of Germany's.

While raising this alone would be tremendous, it's not a fundamental solution.

Then how about establishing 'efficient administration' in the empire like President Woodrow Wilson, known as the father of public administration?

'Again, I haven't even fully grasped the existing imperial system.'

So what exactly should I do in my current position with only blind power?

After experiencing it firsthand these past few days, the answer to this concern is simpler than expected.

All I have is power, and everyone in the empire is watching me.

More precisely, they're watching this power in my hands.

This was the starting point of the plan to establish parliament.

Parliament is ultimately a device that allows legal use of the power held in the emperor's hands.

Even though it won't match even Germany's parliament, let alone England's, this alone can be called a tremendous reform.

Because this country hasn't allowed anyone except the emperor to hold power for decades.

'Clearly, various powers exist within the empire, but their scarcity was immense.'

The nobles merely picked up the power the emperor dropped. So why don't the nobles covet the emperor's power?

The answer is not that they don't covet it, but that they can't.

For decades, grandfather and father have trained them to be satisfied with the scarcity of power, and to not dare challenge greater power.

The Romanov family would never allow power to fall into the hands of nobles who executed Pavel I.

Nevertheless, the current inefficient power structure is nothing but an obstacle to the empire.

"Your Majesty, everyone is confused by such sudden changes. Shouldn't you give more detailed instructions?"

"Witte, sit down and listen first. My past few days have been truly fascinating."

Right after announcing the parliamentary system, the empire's only three archbishops rushed in, pushing their doctrines and claiming their 'sacred domain.'

The nobles subtly show their accumulated dissatisfaction since the land reform, asking to take their side quickly.

Daily protests by workers, farmers dissatisfied with falling grain prices accompanying currency reform, and tenant farmers still unable to escape serfdom without an inch of their own land.

Regardless, it's a very good sign that all sectors are moving.

Though everyone is confused, they hope their claims will be realized through this new channel called parliament.

"Do you know how large our empire's population is?"

"...We haven't yet accurately determined the empire's population."

"It's 120 million."

"How did you..."

Based on reverse calculations from the empire's first census to be conducted in '97, two years from now, this year's imperial population should be around that number.

Naturally, everyone rushes to me since the power to rule those 120 million is concentrated in me.

"From now on, the archbishops will have to go to parliament first, not me, to speak up. City workers will want to lower food prices and cost of living, but rural farmers will oppose this. Provincial nobles and major city nobles will clash, and bureaucrats like you and legal officers will be busy watching each other."

"Relations between administrative and judicial officials are already at their worst."

"Well, it'll get worse than now. The revival of parliament means the judiciary that died with it will also be revived."

Originally, judicial administration was handled outside the government's administrative power, but during father's and grandfather's time, it was gradually reclaimed.

And if this aspect comes back to life.

'Nobles, bureaucrats, parliament, Duma. Everyone will hate it.'

Witte's worries remained complex.

Whether this was managing his expression or concern about the current confusion, even I couldn't know his true feelings.

There's only one reason I'm having this conversation with Witte alone in my study.

"Witte, I'm giving you special treatment right now."

"Special treatment... you say?"

"Well, even though you'll eventually be driven from your position if you turn your back on the nobles and Duma and focus only on reforms, you still know one thing, don't you?"

While it is reform, it's institutional reform whose purpose hasn't yet clearly emerged.

So while everyone is being careful while scrambling to prepare for that confusion, our minister already half knows.

Where my true intentions are heading.

My will that I revealed to him just once in the past.

"...War. Are you certain that the spark in the Far East hasn't been extinguished?"

"Indeed, there's a reason why father cherished you."

This must be why historically, perceptive servants received imperial favor. Nothing could be more convenient.

"Now, if you understand, please go. I have afternoon mathematics class."

"...I shall take my leave."

Again, I haven't shown my political colors or taken sides.

Because I'm still just a youth who knows nothing.

==

As Witte left his private audience with Nikolai, he felt he had glimpsed a bit of the truth behind the emperor's strong push for establishing parliament.

"The Orthodox Church, nobles, those farmers and workers. None were His Majesty's real concern..."

With this parliament too, the liberals and intellectuals claiming to represent workers are cheering and counting down to autumn.

Meanwhile, most nobles view parliament as just another means of control, pointing out their somewhat guaranteed positions and that still all parliamentary opinions can be nullified by one word from the Tsar.

However, they must all seem laughable in Nikolai's eyes.

Because the Tsar wearing that innocent mask saying 'I'm still in a position of knowing nothing' actually wasn't taking anyone's side.

And the same goes for Witte.

Leaving the palace, Witte recalled his conversation with Nikolai during his crown prince days.

During his time as Minister of Railways.

"It was about the former Finance Minister's downfall. The story of how a reformer without the Tsar's protection meets his end being torn apart by everyone."

The gold standard to be introduced as early as next year or within two years at the latest faces opposition from the entire empire.

Fear of foreign capital inflow, humans' instinctive attachment to holding gold, and resistance to an unknown future.

The causes are varied but everyone shouts opposition to the gold standard, attaching various reasons.

Only His Majesty Nikolai pretends not to know and pushes it through, citing permission from the previous Tsar.

Similarly, while excessive budget is going into railway construction, this too receives various help while pretending to ignore it.

Then here comes an even deeper doubt.

'What on earth are you doing all this for?'

Just war? Because of a war that might happen in the Far East?

Did he turn everyone's attention to parliament so he could handle the Far East as he wished?

'That seems... too much. And there's no reason for it.'

Everyone in the government already knows about His Majesty Nikolai's advocacy for Far East development since his crown prince days, and no one would directly oppose an emperor who traveled alone to the Far East and achieved tremendous results.

His Majesty Nikolai clearly used even the word 'special treatment' to say that Witte himself was closer than anyone to understanding his true intentions.

'Yet even I don't understand...'

At this point, it's not that the Tsar's political views are unestablished as ignorant people claim, but rather intentionally hidden.

Why, why does the Tsar hide the future he aims for?

No matter how carefully Witte traced back through everything, he could make no further progress here.

"Opposition. It must be because of opposition. But from whom? At least it can't be worry about rebellion..."

Having returned to his workplace, the Ministry of Finance, without finding any satisfactory answers to his continuing questions, Witte was met by his aide.

"Minister, you're back? Duke Georgy Lvov visited while you were away. Probably about the party membership proposal-"

"Sigh, just a moment, Kokovtsov. I don't have the energy to think about that right now."

"Your sigh is deep. Do you have something troubling you?"

His aide Vladimir Kokovtsov carefully approached to check on his condition.

Having served as Deputy State Counselor and Chairman of the Economic Committee, Kokovtsov was called an aide but was really a comrade leading reforms together with him.

"Even if it's beyond my level to advise, couldn't we at least share the worry together?"

After hesitating briefly, Witte slowly began to speak.

"...Actually."

Though he couldn't share the contents of the private audience, Witte sincerely sought Kokovtsov's insight.

The current chaos in parliament and newly forming parties.

The young emperor's unknown intentions and political views.

And his excessive obsession with the Far East.

"I just don't understand. While always speaking of his own inadequacies before officials, why rush parliamentary reform like this."

"Certainly, forming a new parliament within half a year... won't be easy."

Is he trying to check the noble families who have been local leaders for generations? But barely any places would be overturned by just one election.

"Then is it a Duma for the workers? But that's not it either."

"Given that votes in major cities including Moscow are allocated according to taxes paid, it won't be easy for things to go workers' way."

That's right. At this rate, a parliament where no one can win will be established.

Of course, no one will immediately turn their anger toward the Tsar just because things don't go their way.

Their designated battleground is parliament, not the Tsar's study. They will obviously struggle within it to gain more votes and more power.

Although the Russian Empire has been called stagnant, it's not that there were no reforms.

Rather, most Tsars attempted major reforms at least once in their lifetime.

Peter the Great's absolutist reforms.

Catherine the Great's Enlightenment reforms.

Nicholas I's militaristic reforms.

Up to Alexander II's class reforms.

While there have been cases of Tsars leading to overturn the country, this time is different.

"You don't know. The way he alone watches everyone falling into confusion as if it's someone else's business."

The Tsar neither antagonizes anyone nor takes anyone's side.

He just enjoys the situation he created.

"But it's not mysticism avoiding dialogue or exposure either. Rather the opposite, he leaves room to actively intervene."

How was the Warsaw Archbishop incident handled?

The Tsar hasn't imposed any judicial sanctions yet.

However, newspaper companies that were essentially just for promotion in the empire began covering the Warsaw Archbishop incident in detail.

Ironically, this forced the Holy Synod to dispatch a prosecutor to Warsaw.

Who can the archbishops and Orthodox Church blame after watching a knife being stuck into their own group?

The Tsar who is the protector of the Orthodox Church struggling to keep up with belated successor education? Or the people's press that dared criticize the Orthodox Church?

In the end, not a drop of filth splashed on His Majesty Nikolai, which seemed unnatural to Witte.

"He is certainly very different from the previous Tsar. In his time, it would have been impossible for newspapers themselves to criticize the church."

"He's definitely a reforming monarch, that much I'm certain of."

"Hmm..."

A reforming monarch who doesn't get even a drop of filth or blood on his clothes. Looking just at past Tsars, such a thing couldn't exist.

"Minister, I think the Far East best shows His Majesty Nikolai's intentions. After all, it's land he went to personally."

"That's true but... Is there anything special about the Far East? Right now the Far East is just land of escaped farmers, nothing more nothing less."

"Because there's nothing there, it's perfect to start anything. From what I hear lately, the number of workers is growing more than farmers. Quite dynamic compared to here where 90% of imperial citizens were farmers until recently."

"Is this Chairman Bunge's assessment?"

"Yes. Anyway, according to the former Finance Minister's expression, the current Far East is overturning everything."

Well of course they're spending money freely after getting hundreds of years worth of typical local city Duma budgets.

"So the Far East is His Majesty Nikolai's ultimate goal? Far East development?"

"No, not that... Well, perhaps like the Far East, His Majesty actually wants to overturn the entire empire now, I thought."

"..."

His Majesty said changes in the trans-Eastern Siberian region were only assumed because of war.

But there won't be war spreading across the empire, and it seems unnecessary to overturn the empire like the Far East... But Witte couldn't find a single flaw in Kokovtsov's argument.

What happens when parliament, not a local city Duma but this national Duma called parliament, is created?

"...His Majesty can choose parties to his taste when he wants."

Though it's nominally closer to a constitutional monarchy, parliament is essentially an incomplete organization that can't do anything on its own without the emperor's power.

In other words, it's more certain to dominate parliament through the Tsar's protection rather than through votes.

"Kokovtsov, you said Duke Lvov came with a party membership proposal earlier?"

"Yes, he seemed to be gathering initial members for the Constitutional Democratic Party ahead of elections."

"From now on, ignore any proposals to join together, whether from parties or any other groups. Understand?"

"Oh, understood."

Being so focused on His Majesty's objectives, he almost forgot a very basic common sense.

His Majesty hasn't yet let anyone into his domain.

So Witte too must not belong anywhere.

Whether or not a national Duma is created, what's important for him during reforms is ultimately the Tsar's protection.