Colorless King (7)

Why did the Tsar bother allocating seats to regions without even local city Dumas?

Though he asked this question when first leaving the Far East, now it seemed pointless.

"Finally! Finally arrived!"

Beren Volkov, arriving in St. Petersburg after a long two-month journey, felt like crying.

Thinking a man should have at least one adventure in life, he left for the Far East just 4 years ago, believing only the Crown Prince's words.

Walking that path of hardship, he vowed to succeed in the Far East, but ended up returning on his own feet.

"I've had that man's adventure twice... I'll surely succeed and return."

Looking back, it was strange from when Governor Sergei called him.

'A politician? You want me to be what?'

'It's not much different from what you did in the military. Think of it as going as a figurehead and promoter.'

'I've just settled down, it's difficult to abandon family and go such a distance-'

'If you do well and return after a few years, I'll give you a huge warehouse at the port before my term ends. Just rental business alone will be quite profitable.'

'When do I leave?'

As soon as he volunteered, the governor dragged him straight to the parade ground and ordered the soldiers "Now, everyone vote for this guy," and he suddenly became a Duma representative for the Far East.

"The governor must have known. That traveling between the Far East and capital was madness."

Having just arrived in the capital, he's already dreading the return journey.

Since they said Duma representatives and their aides receive salaries, three people including two others arrived in the capital looking quite shabby.

The imperial capital.

Clearly a city showing traces of civilization built across centuries.

"...It's on a different level from Khabarovsk or Vladivostok."

"Because it's where the Tsar resides."

A metropolis with over 1.5 million inhabitants. Even street lights and maintained roads unseen in the Far East seem amazing.

'Feeling like a country bumpkin.'

He thought he lived well earning good money, but feels overwhelmed by the city immediately upon arrival.

Beren felt certain the Tsar's State Duma was no joke.

That feeling only grew stronger upon arriving at the Tauride Palace where Duma members gather.

"They gave us the empire's finest mansion, the palace all nobles copy when building their homes."

From the entrance, he's overwhelmed by gardens and lakes exceeding the size of ordinary farms.

The palace is designed to not fit entirely in view when entering the main gate, and the central domed main palace is impossible to gauge in size.

"Aide, how long do you think one column of the main palace is?"

"Would need at least forty people stacked vertically."

"This is where 200 Duma members are meeting."

Truly a gathering of the empire's finest talent, representatives from each field among them. Though Beren felt somewhat intimidated, he deliberately straightened his shoulders and entered like a toy soldier.

"Currently in regular Duma session."

"I am Beren Volkov, also a representative."

"Please wait a moment. Ah, confirmed. You may enter."

A gathering of scholars and intellectuals at the pinnacle of learning. True giants where each representative speaks for hundreds of thousands.

How professional and intellectual must the discussions inside be.

'Let's not show my ignorance unnecessarily. Just, Far East expert. I know that continent's end better than anyone here. That's all I need.'

Thinking this, Beren tried hard to inject confidence in himself.

Creak.

After all, he just came to correct wrong Far East news and promote-

"Hey, you bastards! What nonsense is this about not even giving one desyatina per family!"

"Shut up if you're just going to speak vulgarly! Just shouting to get one line in today's newspaper!"

"A husband and wife alone make a household, yet you'll give them that much land? Did our empire somehow succeed in unifying Europe while I wasn't looking?"

Before even sitting down, Beren wondered if he came to the wrong place at the shouts erupting from all directions.

However, the hundreds of seats arranged in the renovated banquet hall confirm this is indeed the State Duma.

"Come now, let's not fight. The conclusion must be 'a way where no one starves and everyone eats as much as possible.' So in a way to lower grain prices as much as possible-"

"Get lost, you parasites trying to live off others! Have your parents never gotten dirt on their hands! Try hammering away like us for days on end! See if a single grain grows!"

"Who says grain prices are important? Fairness! Not just focusing on results, the process must also be noble!"

"Shut up, you full-bellied pigs!"

Is this a Duma meeting of the empire's highest institution or a Colosseum game from Roman times?

Shouts fly back and forth, papers flutter through the air, and no one sits in their seat to talk.

Sounds of pounding desks. Shouting while pointing fingers. Even suddenly standing stiffly in one's seat singing the imperial anthem as if blind and deaf.

Beren, not yet having found his seat, had disloyal thoughts after just briefly watching.

'This is... the Duma?'

The empire's future decisions are made like this? He crossed the continent suffering for two months just to see this spectacle?

Even beggars on the street pooling money to decide what to eat would seem more noble.

Finally finding his seat marked with his name in a corner, the chairman pounds his gavel, which he's already hit over 100 times in 2 minutes, again.

At that sound, the meeting seems to catch its breath and calm slightly, but.

"Come to think of it, why does the chairman only pound during our turn? You took money from those bourgeoisie!"

"I did not!"

"This is slander! Such baseless claims deserve expulsion!"

"Just leave them be. They're parasites driven from their parents to the city, if we expel them here too they'll have nowhere left in this empire to sit."

"W-what did you say!"

The wooden gavel seems quite worn, as if pounded too much even before Beren arrived.

A war without guns and swords starting again as soon as anyone opens their mouth.

Reporters quietly standing at the Duma's edge recording the content in notebooks.

This must be how the content he read in newspapers over the past two months was born.

"...Complete madness."

Though he doesn't want to stay here even one more second, he's a Duma representative. However filthy, he must fulfill his duty among them. Only then will Governor Sergei help with the port rental business.

"Uh, excuse me-"

"You beast worse than livestock!"

"I am Beren Volkov from the far Far East-"

"This is why you shouldn't associate with uneducated people!"

"The land where I lived is a place full of possibilities-"

"Which school did you graduate from!"

"Moscow Theological Academy! What about it! Try insulting that too!"

"Well, I'm Lutheran, you son of a bitch!"

"Heretic! Heretic!"

Though he shouted until his voice grew hoarse during the remaining hour after his late participation, no one lent an ear to Beren's voice.

In fact, from the start there was no one listening in this place except the reporters.

Everyone just shouted.

==

Though newspapers are full of Duma news daily, it wasn't particularly my concern.

Only after '96 passed could I look back on the previous year of my reign.

'Seems like a lot happened though it doesn't feel like I did much.'

With imperial currency value still unstable, wealthy farmers exporting goods in kind become even richer each time. Meanwhile, those conducting economic activities with pure capital alone are going crazy.

Perhaps because currency foundations are shaking, capitalists might be focusing only on domestic markets rather than exports.

Fortunately, we'll start the gold standard this year, so those wealthy farmers' free rides will end.

Excluding benefits going to wrong people, overall growth was good.

As it was right before father passed, last year also achieved nearly 10% economic growth, and agriculture's proportion has been steadily decreasing since the 90s.

"It would be best if we could drop farmers to 70% within 10 years..."

By estimate, over 10 million farming households exist in the empire.

Decreasing farmers means increasing workers.

This year we must avoid jobs becoming scarce by preparing workplaces for workers, and also raise labor quality.

"This will truly be a golden year."

In my memory, global crop yields explode for at least 6 years ahead. This means the empire is in its golden time.

Fortunately, the government has money. The deficit was resolved in father's time, and since then the treasury has been accumulating funds unlimitedly.

While the Duma stole the empire's eyes and ears, I was preparing one by one on my own.

"From this year, the Population Census Committee and Land Survey Committee will be established. The two organizations will be installed and implemented in 47 provinces and 463 counties."

"Manpower demands will be endless."

"Though we recruited the highest number ever in preparation, quality decline among officials is expected as a side effect."

"That much must be endured. Population census won't take long... how long will land survey take?"

"Minimum 10 years. Maybe longer."

"Minister, you know what I'll say?"

"To reduce it, Your Majesty?"

I nodded slowly. I'm different from those Duma fellows clamoring to do things their way without any preparation.

"Recent immigration policy talk? Representatives don't know Siberian cold, that's why. You need to adjust just crossing one mountain, how could that be possible?"

Sometimes you really need to simply take from those to take from and give to those to give to. And I'm preparing for that.

"Next is Education Ministry. Including this year, 175 new commercial and industrial schools will be established."

"There are voices saying complete abolition of education restrictions is a bit hasty."

"Not interested."

Among everything father did, the hardest thing to understand, with its own reasons for everything else.

That would be education restrictions.

'He must have thought they become reds when sent to schools and universities.'

Can you believe it? That this nonsensical policy was implemented until the empire's collapse?

Restricting university lectures, restricting subjects taught, even restricting student numbers.

Records say it was because there would be no one to work if everyone went to school, or something.

'At this rate, the empire will peak in '97 as in history.'

Mineral extraction, steel production, textiles rising to Western European levels, railways extending over twice compared to 10 years ago, ranking third globally in pig iron production and first in crude oil production.

Though this year isn't bad, the empire breaking records every year clearly shows the power of its weight class two years later.

The problem is it's downhill afterwards. Without brakes at that.

'Recession always lurks behind prosperity.'

So imperial subjects who experienced the prosperity until '97 must have been sensitive to the following recession.

How could revolution not occur when recession continued for over 10 years after?

"Witte, the reason for our rapid growth is simply because we're latecomers. Do you agree?"

"I agree."

"Also, tax revenue increased dramatically not because taxes increased, but because state enterprise sales increased."

"That's right."

Though not mentioned here, a significant portion of private enterprise production depends on the government.

"Why is that?"

"Because there's no private market and no middle class."

"No, I'm asking about an even more fundamental cause."

"...I don't know."

"Good to be honest."

Minister Witte slightly bows his head. Though there's no reason to be ashamed of not knowing. I'm not even reproaching.

"Remember Professor Bunge's market reform through credit unions?"

"Wasn't that a failed experiment?"

"Yes, but the reason for that experiment wasn't anything special. This country has no industrial bank."

"Don't we have St. Petersburg Private Industrial Bank and Moscow Merchant Bank?"

"No. Not those private banks."

How could industrial banks grow when left to private sector?

"I mean national policy industrial banks."

Currently imperial national policy banks are just two types: Peasant Bank and State Noble Land Bank.

Originally Peasant Bank was created first for rural farming households, but when nobles grew jealous, grandfather created another for nobles.

"The rest are all just credit unions binding same industries by region."

Truly an environment where large enterprises cannot possibly be born.

"Witte, let's create a national policy industrial bank."

"Your Majesty, state loans to industrialists won't be easy. Officials can hardly take responsibility for all issues individually, and benefits might go only to specific industries chosen by the state."

"That's it! Benefits going to specific industries!"

That's the role I want for the industrial bank. The future Korea Development Bank getting criticized daily for excessive policy finance and biased benefits - that's what I'm establishing it for.

"...How do you plan to secure resources for massive loans? It will be on a different scale from small loans to farming households. Collateral uncertainty will also emerge as an issue."

"I have plans thought out for everything. Alcohol tax. Let's make our empire the world's fourth alcohol monopoly state."

A crazy tax responsible for up to a quarter of future Russian Empire's income. But a tax close to financial fraud that doesn't threaten people's livelihoods.

'A tax that can't be criticized no matter how much collected. Money being duplicated?'

Though I'd like to reform and open up right away to use future growth too, this country's capital is still too weak compared to Western Europe.

'We need to stop 200 million rubles flowing out annually just in foreign dividends, right?'

So we need to inject plenty of growth stimulant first.

"Any other issues?"

"...I'll review it."

"Good, keep up the good work."

Another step forward today too.

Though I'm Tsar, I think of myself as still like a flower bud waiting to bloom.

'Not yet, not yet.'

Just one blooming. Once petals open, there's no chance to shrink back and grow again.

So now is the time to hold breath and wait. Since time remains until the empire's collapse, I can wait.

"Today's lesson is... theology."

Orthodox theology. Though I'd like to avoid it by imperial order, theology in this era is like character education so it can't be avoided.

I took out a theology book and started reading in advance.

It's not yet time.