Days of physically feeling that dissolving the mir isn't about destroying it, but creating its replacement from nothing.
There was never such a thing as going home from work - life continued with my vision filled with all sorts of squiggly letters whenever my eyes were open.
'Is it good for an emperor to be family-oriented and humane?'
Nonsense. In this anachronistic tsardom, an emperor spending time on family means being irresponsible and lazy.
If there's an advantage, it's that work processing speed has become incomparably faster than during my tsarevich days with no practical experience... But how could anything progress without decisions from power?
Even after the sun set, the palace lights remained bright.
Knock knock.
"What is it, Witte, you haven't gone home yet? Come in."
"It's... it's me."
I thought it was a weak knock from overwork, but a small-bodied girl pushes open the door.
The name of the girl who carefully closed the door and approached me is Olga. My sister who just turned sixteen.
Though her baby fat hasn't all gone away, her femininity is slowly showing.
At Olga's unexpected appearance, I put down my documents while rubbing my tired eyes.
"Olga, it should be time for bed soon, what brings you here?"
"Mother was waiting... You said you'd have dinner together, but you didn't come..."
"..."
Didn't I tell them I couldn't make it today because I was busy? To think Mother waited until this hour.
'Is this a protest too?'
But this seems completely impossible to suppress. Yet I can't comfortably swallow food without checking the contents piled as high as her height in front of me.
"Is that all?"
Right after speaking, I realized my tone was too much like talking with officials, but as I was about to catch myself, Olga shut her eyes tight and shouted.
"A-and I want to make my society debut too!"
"...Ah."
Come to think of it, since my accession, have I ever hosted a social party...? No.
A member of the imperial family can't debut at women's tea parties, and naturally the Tsar should hold grand ones occasionally, but I hadn't paid any attention to it.
Even Father only hosted social gatherings for anniversaries or the imperial family, but have I become even worse than that?
"Hmm."
Looking carefully at Olga, she's certainly not the little sister in my memories anymore. She used to look smaller and more delicate, but her body has grown up before I knew it.
Sadly, although Olga and I are full siblings, we didn't grow up together.
After Father's train accident, Olga grew up in nearby Gatchina due to potential threats, and after she returned to the palace, I was in the military.
"Mikhail said I just need your permission! He said he'll help with the preparations himself!"
"Olga."
"...Are you very busy?"
"Am I making you uncomfortable?"
Her fidgeting hands can't hide their trembling. A signal that she's nervous talking with me.
"I... I just don't want to be a burden..."
"Sigh, first I'm sorry for not paying attention. A debut is your natural right as a member of the imperial family. No need to be nervous. Is there anything else you want to say?"
"And Mikhail said through my social gathering to definitely look for a woman-"
"It's late. You should go to bed."
After quickly turning Olga's shoulders and gently pushing her toward the door, I closed it with warm parting words.
The year Spain getting beaten by America is being broadcast in real-time.
And the final year of the three-year promise with Mother. The moment I really must find a woman this year.
"...Now when the mir dissolution is in full swing?"
How do things that need to be done only increase day by day.
==
When I was young, there were roughly 20 Grand Dukes in the empire.
These Grand Dukes received 250,000 rubles annually, and Grand Duchesses received 1 million rubles as dowry when marrying - truly amounts that could change business rankings overnight.
Naturally, the male Grand Dukes would spend all 250,000 rubles that came every year, and it didn't take long for Grand Duchesses to eat through their dowries too.
But how could Father, who hated such wastefulness, just watch? He was someone who disliked even social gatherings because they cost money.
In '86, Father made it so only his own children or grandchildren could receive pensions and dowries, and extremely reduced the scope of Grand Dukes and imperial family members.
It was truly an event that sharply reduced the number of imperial family members itself. There was even someone who lost their Grand Duke title just 9 days after birth, which says it all.
Not satisfied with this, he tied all imperial power to the Tsar alone by making it so the Tsar could intervene in all social institutions of imperial family members.
Debuts, marriages, divorces, succession of titles, etc.
There was a reason Olga came to me pushing for her society debut.
But there's something more serious than Olga's debutante.
"Witte, what do you think about me marrying a German princess?"
My marriage.
"...Are you serious? As far as I know, Princess Victoria should be five or six this year."
"No, just any princess of marriageable age."
"In my head, I first see France having a fit. They still hold no small amount of imperial bonds in French banks."
"Right?"
We should avoid France, which is actively increasing trade with Russia, completely closing their ports.
Anyway, now that I've stepped to the forefront of reform, there's no reason I can't hold a social gathering for Olga. Of course, the same goes for my wedding or coronation.
"Then England?"
"Since bloodlines are already mixed, distant relatives might work but direct line would be difficult. Princess Alix was good but she's already married."
Then England is rejected too.
Poland, which turned toward integration instead of oppression... their royalty all died long ago so there are no candidates.
A marriage that would benefit Russia with unmixed blood and noble lineage.
Hmm... there isn't one.
'How much did Queen Victoria spread her bloodline across Europe? Was it 4 sons and 5 daughters?'
Nine children while maintaining a long reign as a woman. A number that makes me, who couldn't even take care of my sister's debut using business as an excuse, feel shabby.
"So marriage should be domestic after all?"
"You've finally decided on a domestic marriage!"
"It's about time. As long as it doesn't interfere with the mir dissolution."
The mir dissolution will take at least 5 years. Probably 10 more years if we consider stabilization work.
Considering cutting out and recovering from long-rotted wounds, I don't think it's too long.
But we can't delay 10 years until the mir dissolution ends either. Let's try to do it this year if possible.
"Since accession I haven't attended any foreign events, so no candidates come to mind."
"You haven't attended domestic events either. You always canceled whenever I tried to schedule them."
"Count Dashkov, it's not like I didn't go because I was playing around - wasn't I busy?"
I can say this with real confidence. I've worked without a single day's rest since ascending to the throne.
Anyway, candidates beneficial to me or Russia. If there aren't any, it means choosing someone with noble blood but whose maternal family has no power.
'Getting entangled in marriage alliances with the Balkans would just be troublesome. It could just make ethnic issues more prominent.'
Above all, looking at any mediocre international marriage in this era, it only looks like a determination saying "Yes, Russia will actively participate in the next World War and lead the way to national destruction!"
It seems like anyone from domestically would work as long as they're not anti-reform nobility.
"Should I really look at my sister's social gathering?"
"What outrageous-"
"Your Majesty! To consider sixteen-year-old girls-"
"No, I mean among the attendees!"
Do they think I'm some pedophile? Even so, a fourteen-year age gap is a bit much, right? I still have 21st century social culture in my head.
Anyway, after concluding to prepare Olga's debutante somewhat grandly, I brought up the main agenda between us.
"So about this, when do you think would be good to start the purge?"
As reform progressed, the need for cleaning house once became apparent.
==
Although Manchuria increasingly became Russia's front yard as years passed, building fortresses on nominally foreign land is something to be careful about.
So Roman performed the best "hide and seek" he could.
First, receive "permission" from the Qing to start basic construction and get delegation for management and operation.
Additionally, train a few Qing soldiers under the most common excuse in this era's Orient - military training - while training Russian forces at the fortress beside them.
Everyone knows Manchuria is becoming Russian territory - both the Qing and the Amur Governor-General's Office.
The construction costs come from the Governor-General's pocket and the Qing just need to stay still and receive free military training.
But this can only last so long, and as it reached its fourth year, Roman once again felt anxiety creeping up before building another fortress.
"The main fortresses are gradually being completed, so at this rate we should be able to completely block off the Yalu River area... Now what?"
The Trans-Siberian Railway construction speed has risen rapidly lately, so at this rate it might open with the start of the next century.
That means it won't take long for the main army in Europe to reach this Far East.
Including the current Tsar's time as Tsarevich, it's already been 8 years since the Far East was overturned.
The Far East is still a land of upheaval overflowing with money and endlessly absorbing labor.
Immigrants increased so much that the Governor-General's Office threw up both hands and feet and chose to just let them roam freely. They let them settle, reclaim, and farm on their own while focusing only on appropriate control.
'Well, what can you do when Manchuria's population alone reaches 7 million.'
Especially Korea, with its chaotic political situation plus two consecutive famines, is in a state of explosive immigration.
With the railway connected on top of this, it was clearly beyond the Governor-General's Office's capacity.
"I heard after the reconciliation with England, they're moving part of the Black Sea Fleet here to the Far East. Admiral Romen is busy with that."
After agreeing with England to reduce the Black Sea Fleet as proof of giving up the Bosphorus and Dardanelles straits, conversely the Far Eastern forces rose sharply.
Indeed, it's certain the Tsar is still wary of war in the Far East.
Governor-General Sergei's term ends this year. Well, it's surprising that Major General Sergei Dukhovskoy has stayed in the Far East this long.
Coming back to the point, Roman deeply contemplated what he should do in this Far East that barely manages control.
The Far East's stability, economy, and governance? That's being well handled by the Chairman who has plenty of strength to go around pointing fingers and cursing even if he doesn't have the strength to lift a spoon.
Russification of Asians? Not only is it impossible in the short term, there's no method beyond enlisting them in the military.
What he as the next Governor-General could do.
What he as a soldier must do to protect this land.
"...Indeed I don't know anything else. All I learned was piling up dirt."
When the Communications Department first implemented wireless communication this year, he immediately reported the Far East situation to St. Petersburg.
Though it took four days, the answer was just 'doing well.'
Not sure if this is what the Tsar expected, but at least it wasn't wrong, right?
"If I had to find problems... our fleet is all concentrated in Vladivostok. This means the Yellow Sea will definitely fall into Japan's hands."
"Then if the enemy comes deep into the Yellow Sea, the back could be in danger, making the Yalu River fortress meaningless."
"Let's build coastal fortresses too. If we build them all over Liaodong, there won't be anywhere to land. They surely won't land in Shandong in front of the Qing capital."
There's funding that doesn't dry up no matter how much is spent, overflowing manpower, and improved material supply, technology and know-how compared to before.
Looking carefully at new candidates, Port Arthur (Lüshun) at the end of Liaodong seemed like both a natural harbor site protected by hills on all sides with a secluded bay, and a fortress site.
Roman, who studied some Far Eastern history, learned that even Goguryeo, a country that existed there, built a fortress called Bisaseong there and considered it most important.
"Indeed that land must have been created to build fortresses."
Since coal mines are active, put in coal generators to make electric barbed wire fences and strictly separate minefields from safe routes.
Additionally, it seemed possible to squeeze in as many machine gun positions as possible while making front trench positions, rear concrete positions, and finally trench positions on top of the hills.
Can't leave out coastal guns for naval defense. Aren't big ships and big guns the highest military spirit of this era?
"Still need to prepare for the worst of the worst. What if the Trans-Siberian Railway doesn't work well and the main army is late, the Yalu River is breached, the enemy drives to the end of Liaodong, and we have to fight naval and land battles simultaneously?"
Ah, it would be a big problem not to consider this. Though it's a worst case scenario, still need to prepare, hmm.
Especially considering the possibility of a long siege, he couldn't help but pay attention to details.
Because a fortress's defensive power is determined by details the enemy doesn't know about.
"Need to design assuming recapture of the first line trenches. Can't retake anything once the concrete fortress is breached anyway, but the front isn't that."
Then just design so the concrete fortress can attack the first line trenches.
"What else am I missing? Ah! Need to consider cases where fixed guns break down or machine gun positions need to replace guns. If firepower is empty for even a moment, a fortress isn't a fortress. Just an abandoned building."
The enemy will surely wage a war of attrition to breach the fortress. Indeed, communications are also important to prevent concentrated attacks on one point.
Organic placement of manual deployment structures and light machine guns is essential.
"And also-"
"Ah, right!"
"My god, how could I forget this!"
Roman's Lüshun fortress planning continued endlessly that day.
Since money and manpower are overflowing anyway, there shouldn't be major problems in building it.
Roman himself would just need to defend it.