Reincarnated as Nikolai II

Chapter 90 The Shepherd Boy and Foolish Ivan (8)

would south korea, which was ready to sell everything to reform-and-opening communist china, have been like this?

russia is selling even things that make you think 'this sells?' right there in asia.

"since the qing dynasty has no independent production capacity and can't increase means of production due to unstable politics, the boom will continue for now. the prices of products pouring out of factories established in manchuria are also notably lower than other powers, so this should offset the technology gap."

"raw material prices?"

"though we're actively controlling them, we won't be able to stop increases following market logic. everything will rise from coal and steel to logistics and transport."

"at a certain point we'll have to give up control and switch to subsidies. let's watch carefully and intervene."

can you believe it? only after 14 years of reign is russia's economy finally running normally.

you don't know how much effort and how many incidents it took to get here.

we carried out purges, fought wars, implemented all kinds of groundbreaking policies and reforms beyond progress.

now it feels like all that hard work and suffering is being rewarded with money.

when the population, exactly 125.6 million in the '97 survey, grew exponentially each year, i couldn't help but feel anxious as tsar.

though we want urbanization and industrialization, how to create jobs for all those imperial citizens?

how to handle the stability of factories for heads of households and families they must support?

how to systematize education and lower illiteracy rates?

sometimes it felt like i was paying for the karma of father, who chose stability and complacency over development.

however, the empire never collapsed. no, now we're not just a morbidly obese nation heavy in weight class but unhealthy.

a farmer middle class will emerge and workers will develop the concept of 'assets.'

though more generational change is needed, the day will come when educated generations lead the nation, and administrative power to draw out the empire's inherent strength will also rise.

the reality that didn't change even breaking up the mir system and getting blood on our hands. enjoy new chapters from empire

the grim reality even after winning the war with japan.

finally seems to be changing.

'now the empire will have neither bloody sunday nor communist uprising.'

that's what prosperity is. making it so the public fills the granaries and workers don't need to cry out for bread.

"...this is russia done right."

but if we do nothing?

montenegro, serbia seizure. soon-to-be-independent bulgaria and romania disappointed. reduced balkan influence.

a burden.

if we try to stop it, we'll get in a dogfight with the dual monarchy and britain who we just reconciled with will obviously yell at us about balkan expansion.

if we leave it alone, those tiny balkan countries will obviously whine about how russia could abandon fellow slavic peoples.

that's what a burden is. something you won't eat yourself but hate to see going into someone else's mouth.

"what should we do... i don't want to cause friction here. what does minister giers think?"

"if we can't stop it anyway, the orthodox approach would be demanding benefits elsewhere."

"what about other balkan countries?"

"shout empty words through the prime minister."

foreign minister nicholas giers. though aged like retired count dushkov, his answer as someone responsible for imperial diplomacy for nearly 25 years exceeded my expectations.

"sounds irresponsible."

i thought as a russian noble and high official, he would proudly agree with pan-slavism.

"precisely."

"oppose with words but take no action."

"how is that different from turning a blind eye?"

"though the result is the same, no one can point fingers at our empire."

empty shouts. what an utterly british-like solution.

however, it's an accurate judgment since there's no reason to deeply involve ourselves in the balkans given current politics.

as a result, on october 16th, bosnia and herzegovina was absorbed into the dual monarchy and we strongly criticized it.

however, we showed none of the movements like before.

the day before, on october 15th, bulgaria declared independence.

with this, the ottoman empire was just one step away from complete collapse.

no one, not even we russia, stepped forward to resolve it, so the balkans remained a burning furnace, an unfired powder keg.

today too, the world took one step closer to the great war.