Reincarnated as Nikolai II

'Why? Why isn't this working?'

Aleksei Kuropatkin - the first Chief of General Staff to oversee both army and navy, excluding the Field Marshal rank only attainable during wartime.

What was the reason that man could make a splendid return after once being pushed out of power struggles for opposing the Russo-Japanese War to the Tsar?

Wasn't it all because the Tsar and Prime Minister Witte pushed from behind and pulled from the front?

'Heh, Roman. Want to know how I, who couldn't even hold a command baton in the field, rose to the peak of this country's military?'

'Well, please tell me.'

'First go to the Imperial Palace. Go and beg. Just beg for your life unconditionally.'

'...What?'

Though Roman didn't know there would come a day when that long-ago conversation with Chief of Staff Kuropatkin would be so necessary.

"Please spare my life!"

"Hmm?"

Still, since he learned something, he begged first.

'Then, explain very logically why you're begging. What makes you necessary. What reforms you want to make. Why you must rise to Chief of Staff.'

'Wouldn't I die if I misinterpret the Tsar's plans or intentions?'

'But if you survive, you'll become Chief of Staff, right?'

The next explanation didn't fall short either.

The Chief of Staff exists to command both army and navy while protecting the military from the Duma and government.

After Kuropatkin's final reform, military reduction, ended, it's time for military spending to increase again.

"Roman, why are you suddenly acting like this?"

"Your Majesty! The army is the answer! Only this army can protect the Empire!"

Roman argued they must strengthen the army more, citing the naval treaty and seas divided by geopolitical position as evidence.

Of course, though not explicitly stated, this also implied 'And I am the man who can achieve this!'

As a result of acting exactly as Chief Kuropatkin taught.

"...Branch Chief Bronstein?"

"Oh my, Branch Chief? Don't you know I was promoted to Director recently? Anyway, let's set aside such positions for now and have a serious conversation."

Roman ended up meeting alone with Director Bronstein in a closed room.

'B-but didn't they say this is how General Kuropatkin became Chief of Staff?' Stay connected with My Virtual Library Empire

Roman, who thought one became Chief of Staff through an overnight conversation with the Tsar - leaving out the existence of the new military faction, the real sense of crisis of possibly dying, and reform proposals advocated since '98. Of course, he didn't know those detailed inner workings.

The difference between the two was clear.

Whatever else, despite being a soldier, Kuropatkin presented monstrous political ability and a post-reform future that even impressed the Tsar, and.

"What kind of impossible politicking is this, Roman."

Roman simply wanted a promotion.

==

"Let's see, were there factions in our military too? I thought I mixed everything up - military academies, officer schools, military district education centers, even ethnicities."

"There aren't any groups worthy of being called factions. For now it seems to be just friendships between high-ranking officers."

"Right? Though I let my bureaucrats loose, I don't remember letting our generals and admirals loose. Director, I thought I had forgotten."

The morning after Roman came to see me, in my hands were reports on the people Roman had met, those friendly with him, and factional formation and relationships within the military.

Reading through it all, there don't seem to be any particular old evils worth naming, just some remaining power struggles between branches and backgrounds.

Roman, called back before me looking a bit more haggard than yesterday, was pitiable watching him read the room inappropriately for his age.

However, if you suddenly appear before me shouting "The country is in dire straits so please promote me!", you must take responsibility.

"Well then, let's hear from the person in question. Roman, do you want to become like Hindenburg?"

"Absolutely not! Hindenburg is someone who forgot a soldier's duty and stepped into civilian territory without knowing honor! I am absolutely not such a traitor!"

Then it seems he hasn't had delusional thoughts like dreams of supreme power or seizing military authority.

"You seem energetic so it's not senility."

"Though I may be old, I'm not that far gone!"

"Then never again bring up such agitator's words before me like 'spare my life' or 'this country is in crisis.'"

"..."

"You were about to do it again."

Kuropatkin, just what did you teach? Even though Roman is an engineer who only ate dirt in the playground, I can't believe his brain is this empty.

'Or is this what typical military men are like?'

Though several people have sought out Roman, there's no one capable of manipulating the Empire's only Engineering General and hero of the Great War from behind.

No, since Brusilov left the military, there's no one to check Roman at all.

Beyond his tremendous achievements, I'm the one who made Roman keep getting promoted in the first place.

Since I was the one who made him nobility by giving him the Order of Saint Vladimir 4th Class when I was Tsarevich.

But amusingly, that's why Roman cannot become Chief of Staff.

'If Roman becomes Chief of Staff, who will check him?'

Kuropatkin was a man used to being cursed.

This man had some corruption attached, fell behind in field ability, and had already given up full military support after sending the star-bearing generals home and reforming the military.

Perhaps because he was such a man. Because he was someone who sought something greater even after his power hunger and survival instinct were satisfied, he could complete the end of military reduction with his own death.

Because he wasn't a war hero.

Because he wasn't complete or a great man receiving everyone's respect and applause.

So Kuropatkin swung an endless blade until his dying moment and passed his evaluation not to his contemporaries but to posterity.

'He was a madman. Seeking honor reaching the extreme beyond survival and power.'

But Roman's life is the complete opposite of Kuropatkin's.

Coming from a poor family background, he crawled up from the bottom to form ties with the Tsar, led two wars to victory from the front lines, and has overwhelming public support both internally in the military and externally.

His narrative is perfect and he hasn't been tainted once rising to that position, and above all, there's practically no one who dislikes him.

There are not a few problems arising because he is perfect.