Chapter 37: Bureaucratic practices
Before engaging in the necessary power struggles, Nicholas had to accomplish two major tasks.
First, as the autocratic Emperor of all Russia, Nicholas faced the daily burden of handling numerous issues. As previously mentioned, the bureaucratic system of the Russian Empire was far from perfect; it merely served as a tool for the autocratic emperor. Consequently, the final decision on almost all matters, big or small, lay in the hands of the Tsar.
This meant Nicholas had to personally deal with a myriad of trivial matters, such as renaming and divorce cases across the Russian Empire, compiling lists of officials who would receive Easter egg gifts, and making decisions on exile and death sentences.
These miscellaneous tasks were originally handled by several of Alexander III's trusted aides, such as General Cherevin, the late Minister of the Interior Dmitry, and the Chief Procurator of the Holy Synod Pobedonostsev. However, for Nicholas, these men were not his confidants, and they were all closely observing the new emperor's every move. As a result, Nicholas found himself buried under a mountain of paperwork.
The thought of laboriously processing a huge stack of documents only to find the pile on his desk growing thicker rather than thinner quickly wore down his initial enthusiasm as a newly crowned emperor.
Transitioning from an idle crown prince to an emperor who had to work around the clock was clearly overwhelming for Nicholas, making it evident that changes were urgently needed.
Nicholas faced two clear choices: either tightly grasp all power and work tirelessly from dawn until late at night, becoming a diligent cog in the state machinery, or quickly select his own trusted aides to share the workload, much like his father and previous Tsars.
However, neither choice was particularly appealing to Nicholas, given his distinct way of thinking.
The first option, as previously mentioned, was too exhausting. Although the job of an autocratic emperor was prestigious, people naturally tend to seek ease, and Nicholas did not have an obsessive passion for power or dictatorship. So this option was quickly dismissed.
As for the second option, based on Nicholas's observations from the Siberian Railway Committee, conversations among ministers, and his own assessments, he made a few conclusions.
Alexander III himself disliked handling trivial matters, so he delegated these tasks to his trusted aides. However, these aides also loathed dealing with such "administrative junk" and passed the work down to their subordinates.
Since these confidants were chosen based on their personal relationship with the emperor rather than their qualifications or abilities, their competence in handling state affairs was left to fate.
If the confidants were capable, the administration might still function reasonably well; but if they were incompetent or corrupt, their sole ability being their unwavering loyalty to the emperor, it could spell disaster for the state.
Moreover, during Alexander III's reign, he spent half the year vacationing and recuperating both domestically and abroad, so the administrative efficiency was not to be expected to be high.
Putting aside the trivial paperwork, Nicholas focused on writing a few words in his work notebook with a pen: "efficiency," "power," and "work intensity."
Although Nicholas had only been handling state affairs personally for a week, he gradually figured out what he called the "autocratic emperor's impossible triangle."
If Nicholas wanted to maintain both high efficiency and control over power, he had to sustain a very high work intensity.
If Nicholas wanted to enjoy a relaxed personal life as an emperor while maintaining autocratic power, the administrative efficiency of the Russian Empire would inevitably suffer.
Thus, the young emperor resolved to relinquish some power in exchange for increased efficiency and reduced work intensity.
However, after making this decision, Nicholas felt a sudden surge of inexplicable frustration, hesitation, and inner conflict. After a moment of careful consideration, he still believed it was the best choice for both himself and the country, and he firmly made up his mind.
When Nicholas made the same decision a second time, a sense of depression seemed to overflow from his chest. This might have been a reluctance to part with power, but these feelings quickly dissipated.
In terms of the game terminology from 'CK3,' it was as if Nicholas's mental stress gradually accumulated when he made decisions that went against the subconscious patterns developed over the previous two decades.
Fortunately, since he had already made up his mind, Nicholas turned his attention to the highest authority in the Russian Empire: the Council of Ministers.
The structure of Russia's highest state authority had almost always changed with each new emperor. Before the 18th century, it was the Boyar Duma. After Peter the Great's reforms, it became the Senate. Later, during the reigns of Catherine I and Peter II, it was the Supreme Privy Council; under Anna I, it was the Cabinet Council; under Elizabeth II, it was the Supreme Court Council. There were also the Personal Chancellery, the State Council, the Chancellery, the Council of Ministers, and the Council of State during Alexander III's reign.
This constant change was due to the core of the Russian Empire's system being autocratic power.
To use the Ming Dynasty as an analogy, the Ming Dynasty's literati and civil officials could self-manage without the emperor's involvement, so they could check the emperor's power. Similarly, in the Russian Empire, civil officials required the emperor's authority for legitimacy, creating a relationship similar to that between a company's founding shareholders and its professional managers.
Although the Council of Ministers was the primary supreme authority during Alexander III's reign, its role among various departments and ministers was akin to that of a mere decoration.
Nicholas deeply understood this, as his "Agricultural Reform Plan" proposed a few years ago had been handed over to the Council of Ministers for discussion. The plan got bogged down in the severe bureaucracy of Russia, with ministers shirking responsibility and passing the buck, taking nearly a year to return a vague recommendation: "It has some feasibility."
Who made this conclusion, Nicholas did not know; what the exact meaning of this conclusion was, Nicholas did not know either. Nicholas tried to find out, but each minister involved in the Council of Ministers claimed it was the jurisdiction of another department that prevented the reform plan from being implemented.
In his previous life, Nicholas had been a low-level clerk who had to run around various government departments to get things done, so he deeply loathed this kind of buck-passing behavior.
Soon, the first surprising decision for the ministers arrived.
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