Reincarnated as Nikolai II

Chapter 296: Chess of Giants (4)

Father, engaging in old stories with the Prime Minister without evaluating the response.

Then, after a beat, he speaks:

"Start coming to work here from now on. You should gradually take over."

"Yes. What? T-take over? I'm not old enough for that yet."

"What are you saying? At your age, I had already put the empire on track."

"...I'm not you, Father."

"Being my son is enough."

The connection in the conversation is not just sudden but bewildering.

"It's ten years from now. Until you take over this position."

Although Tsarevich means the next emperor, I've never directly contemplated that day.

No, the throne is supposed to continue until death.

It's not a concept of handing over during one's lifetime.

"...What happens if I'm still inadequate even after ten years?"

Regardless, Father's voice carried a firm resolve.

"Then I'll make an empire befitting you. Don't worry, do you think your father can't do even that much?"

Truly, he's arrogant to the end.

==

As Nikita walked out with a dazed expression:

Stolypin invariably asked:

"Are you proud?"

"Is it showing?"

"Since it's extremely rare for you to reveal emotions, how could I not know?"

"Hmm, it's not that my evaluation is generous because he's my child."

In my view, the biggest difference between World War I and World War II lies in morality.

Morality.

The universal concept that distinguishes good and evil.

Woodrow Wilson argued during the Great War that "the victor should be moral," trying to be on the side of good, but failed.

In contrast, the next war has a clear pattern even before it begins. No matter who looks, Nazis are the evil of humanity, simply bad guys.

The greatest value of Jews I saw was here.

Just by accepting them, they make our empire good.

No matter how much I advocate overthrowing imperialism, leading peace and neutrality, I might still be considered evil by someone, but the moment we accept these Jewish people who have been rejected by everyone, a firm moral superiority is created.

Of course, I know Nikita couldn't have predicted that far. This is a card even FDR didn't predict and discarded.

Still, Nikita's answer wasn't wrong.

"He was born a ruler from birth. He didn't experience the same hardships or sense of crisis as I did. Despite that, knowing how to let go of what's in his hand—that's an incredible talent and ability."

"Isn't that what power is about? It's harder to let go than to grasp. Perhaps this is possible precisely because he's the Crown Prince. Like those who crawl up from the bottom don't know how to let go, but those who have had it from the beginning know how to let go."

"Perhaps so."

Can Britain let go of India?

Can France give up Indochina?

No, they can't.

Democratically and structurally, they cannot give up.

Even the United States, the leader of the free world, is fretting about not letting go of the Philippines, so how could it be possible?

But that possibility is visible in Nikita.

That alone qualified my child to inherit this country.

"You've been reappointed, but..."

"From now on, at most, it's two years. I also have to hand over. My health isn't what it used to be, and once again, it's time for a generational change. You can see that just by looking at Chief of Staff Roman."

"And the next Prime Minister for eight years. Exactly ten years."

The ten years I mentioned to Nikita isn't a vague number.

As days pass, my health will also become a variable for the empire's safety, which is an element that must be prepared for from now on.

'I must finish everything within ten years and hand it over to Nikita.'

If I don't accomplish this... Nikita's reign might be marred by instability and the sparks of war.

'That can't happen.'

This is like the final homework left for me.

Just as Witte laid the foundation of the empire and left, and Kokovtsov overcame the crisis and opened the way for the next generation.

This is my destiny.

"So tell me. The remaining two years. What will you do?"

"From what I see, the next Prime Minister will be the last. After that, one would have to overcome the party struggles in the Duma and be elected by the people to become Prime Minister. Is that right?"

"It will be so in Nikita's era."

"And setting the time frame of ten years means that war will break out and end before that."

"We must end it with our own hands. The five years of the Great War was too long."

Stolypin, who burned his youth with me, has now become a powerless old man discussing the future together.

And as that old man sees it:

"Then personnel must change first. Someone completely different from me is needed. Someone radical enough to be destructive. Someone who will dynamically move the empire's power and, if necessary, not hesitate to purge."

"...You have someone in mind."

"Don't you know?"

In other words, only if a new figure replaces him can this grand plan be completed.

There's only one such person.

"Jugashvili is your political opponent, isn't he?"

"His craving for power exceeds even that of a starving dog on the street. If necessary, he would risk his own life to sit in this position."

"Your assessment is negative."

"But that's precisely why he's suitable. If I'm a technician who somehow fixes a broken car, he's someone with the drive to scrap the car and buy a new one. Where else could there be a more suitable person to open the next era of the empire?"

Iosif, a bureaucrat with a narrow vision who has clear desires to the point of simplicity but doesn't look around at other things.

Stolypin is arguing that we need someone who doesn't get distracted and fulfills only one purpose.

"If the Tsar permits, I will lead him to this position."

"Will it be alright? He might destroy the tower you've built."

"I'm not worried."

The transfer of power isn't easy. Even I'm making a ten-year plan to hand over to Nikita, so how would Stolypin be any different?

Beyond the worry that the successor might ruin things, there's the concern that he might even erase one's achievements.

As Tsar, I know that fear better than anyone.

But Stolypin genuinely didn't seem worried.

"No matter how much he misbehaves, don't we have you, the Tsar?"

"You're pushing it onto me."

"Today, I think I understand why workers like social security insurance."

The last first-generation bureaucrat, Stolypin.

He seemed to have absolutely no hesitation in passing the baton of this long marathon.