Reincarnated as Nikolai II

Nicolson, who had remained as ambassador to Russia since the Anglo-Russian agreement.

There were clear reasons why he was convinced that "Russia fears economic damage more than war casualties!"

First, the Russian Empire hasn’t increased taxes since the war began.

Looking at Britain alone, they raised income tax from 6% to 18% in just one year. The number of taxpayers also increased from 1.13 million to 2 million.

Meanwhile Russia? While using monopolistic enterprises like public companies in the rationing economy, they refuse to increase individual taxation at all costs.

That’s not all. The Russian government even tries to counter inflation tax - that economic law of nature where all currency-using citizens bear the burden proportional to the bundles of money they hold.

It’s common sense that printing money during wartime leads to inflation.

The Russian government persistently tries to control inflation, which even France - famous for having the most solid middle-class ratio and national assets - has given up on.

This isn’t simply solved by the central government having a lot of gold.

When government spending skyrockets and private markets are controlled, reducing total supply, inflation naturally occurs.

Britain, who experienced inflation under the gold standard nearly a century before Russia, knew this better than anyone.

Nevertheless, the current Kokovtsov administration was going against this.

’That shows how afraid they are of internal economy collapsing.’

Somehow reclaiming the Black Sea.

Preventing price increases.

A government afraid of the collapse of lower and middle classes.

This was the Kokovtsov administration that Nicolson had observed.

If adding another reason, it’s probably also considering the State Duma which has joined the cabinet.

Of course, from Kokovtsov’s perspective, Russian farming households had only paid off their Peasant Land Bank loans for distributed land a few years after the Mir reform, young people who flocked to cities hadn’t formed assets yet, and he was trying to prevent the empire from spreading like a broken tractor after the war having used all its strength during wartime.

Anyway, in Nicolson’s view, Russia was trying to see even the current wartime as part of industrial structure change and development.

In other words, rather than throwing meat to the front lines to make them move, they needed to throw meat to the rear to make the front lines move.

An idea possible because he was a diplomatic ambassador, not a soldier like Kitchener.

Then what more must be thrown to Russia, who wants even Constantinople, to make Brusilov rather than Roman sit as commander-in-chief again?

Territory? Well, after eating Poland and allowing Romania’s expansion, they probably don’t want more territory.

Money? This can’t be the answer either, as while they would appreciate bond purchases, with the war’s duration uncertain, neither France nor Britain could keep buying bonds indefinitely.

So, Kitchener first threw out one topic the Russian rear might like.

"...Was it last month? Field Marshal John French gave an interview to The Times about shell shortage. And today, two months later, reports of shell shortages are coming from all theaters. Naturally, the cabinet is turning that responsibility to me."

"Oh, has the shell shortage become a political issue?"

Even before words like purchase or export were mentioned, Kokovtsov showed great interest.

Indeed, British army shell shortages were real and had become a political issue, with Liberal Party Chancellor of the Exchequer David Lloyd George and Conservative Party’s Bonar Law both in uproar and pressing Kitchener visiting Russia.

The existing armor-piercing shells for destruction or shrapnel shells for anti-personnel weren’t suitable for trench warfare, and only high-explosive shells were effective, but beyond being expensive, this wasn’t an area where production could be increased overnight.

Consumption rates were also incomparably higher than early in the war.

So Britain and France truly needed high-explosive shells and were willing to import from Russia if possible.

"Perfect timing! Our empire has steadily increased high-explosive shell production since the Russo-Japanese War and now has overflowing inventory!"

’...This is too different from before.’

However, Kitchener hadn’t expected such a positive response from Kokovtsov.

"The capital’s largest factory is the Putilov Shell Factory. Plus Moscow, Donbas, Yaroslavl, Yuzovka, Sulin, even the Far East! Shell production is possible in any amount. Just how many shells does the cabinet need to face such political crisis!"

"No, it’s not quite a political crisis yet, just controversy with Liberal and Conservative parties fighting-"

"And the British Empire, land of labor rights, even issued a ban on munitions industry strikes? Even railway company production lines are to be diverted to 6-inch high-explosive shell production?"

How on earth did he know that too.

The wartime Prime Minister who had treated allies colder and more calculatingly than anyone now looked like a warm restaurant owner welcoming guests.

"Ahem, if Russia provides help in this area, surely it would strengthen Western Front forces and become an opportunity to show Germany the terror of a two-front war?"

"Hmm, certainly that’s true."

Whether Kitchener’s logic worked, for today at least there were no words like "When your Anglo-French forces fought 2-to-1, we fought 1-to-2" or nuances like "If things go wrong, I don’t give a damn" from Kokovtsov’s mouth.

No, beyond their absence, the atmosphere itself was different.

"U-boats make it hard to obtain TNT materials from far away, don’t they? As you know, our empire is optimized for TNT production with the world’s largest oil refining system and fertilizer factories rivaling Germany’s."

"Hmm? Perhaps wondering about transportation? Well, countries with stronger naval power than us should probably handle collection."

"So actually, I too thought General Roman wasn’t suited for commander-in-chief? They say Chairman Bunge died clutching his neck over the budget he threw into Port Arthur during the Russo-Japanese War! Recently he said if we just beat German forces with artillery alone, it costs about 5,000 rubles per person?"

Unlike the past two weeks of push-and-pull negotiations, Kokovtsov was impossibly kind and put his all into achieving sales- no, alliance unity, trying to show Kitchener the warmth of alliance.

Whatever the case.

"Now we just need to occupy Constantinople."

"...Indeed."