Count Rostovtsev has indeed never found a good way. In fact, at this moment, he still has no good way. Even if he knows that if he wants to be enlightened and authoritarian, he must be more enlightened, but how to strengthen his enlightenment?
But there is no good way.
The French Revolution indeed inspired him to a certain extent, and the democratic system can indeed strengthen enlightenment, but as a traditional aristocrat, he had an indescribable feeling for the common people.
It cannot be said to be contempt, but distrust. Democracy is about letting the people decide. But look at these ordinary people in Russia. They can't tell the difference between their left and right feet. How can we be democratic? Do we let a group of vulgar and ignorant people decide the fate of the country?
Anyway, as soon as the idea arose, Count Rostovtsev gave up without hesitation. He could not see the foundation of democracy in Russia and was deeply afraid that such behavior would destroy Russia.
Therefore, Count Rostovtsev began to pay special attention to the issue of national education. He thought that after universal national education to improve the quality of the people, it would be possible to engage in limited democracy. Such enlightenment should be guaranteed.
Unfortunately, this idea was met with a head-on attack from the very beginning. Who is the Minister of National Education?
Will Uvarov allow the children of serfs to enjoy the same rights to education as the children of nobles?
Obviously that is impossible. Uvarov particularly advocates obscurantism. As the Minister of National Education, he is only interested in teaching people to be loyal to the emperor, patriotism and abide by the serfdom system. The rest? Sorry, he is not interested!
In addition, you think universal compulsory education is very simple! Considering Russia’s population base, this is a huge expense. Do you think the nobles are so kind to pay for the education of the children of serfs?
Even if the nobles are willing, Nicholas I, a spendthrift guy, will destroy it all. Building palaces, wars, and military parades, which one does not require a lot of money? For this tsar, he thinks all three are money.
If there is not enough money to spend, where will there be too much money to invest in education?
Taking a step back, even if everyone is willing to pay this money, the problem is that the economic level of Russian serf families cannot support the children to study in peace. After all, food and clothing are a problem for most serf families.
, the children of serfs have been doing endless farm work since they were young, so how can they have the time to study in the United States!
What, not convincing enough? Then take a step back and say, even if the country is willing to invest money, the children of serfs are willing to go to school, but there is still a key question, that is, what is the purpose of studying?
Don't underestimate this problem. This problem is too critical. If you don't solve this problem, there will still be no enthusiasm for reading.
For the vast majority of serf children, if studying cannot solve the problem of eating, and if after studying they are still trapped on the land of the serf owners like their parents, digging for food, and their lives are not even a dime different from their ancestors, then then
Do you think they will have a passion for learning and reading?
Studying without providing a way out is like being a hooligan, but the question is, can people like Uvarov give a way out to the children of serfs?
If the children of serfs could compete with the children of nobles for food through studying, it would be a chaos in the world for people like Uvarov, which is absolutely unacceptable.
So you know, as long as the serfs cannot be given a way out and cannot be treated equally, then studying is really not that attractive. I have to say that in this regard, the ancient Chinese imperial examination system is simply amazing. Although it has such shortcomings
, but it is undeniable that this is the dragon gate that changes the destiny of the poor children. It is its existence that breaks the wealthy families.
Even in the future, the disguised imperial examination system will still be popular. To put it bluntly, there is no problem with this system. The problem is only what content is tested in this system.
Only by truly changing that only nobles have the privilege of receiving education, and only by allowing nobles and commoners to compete together, can the control of national power by blood relations be completely broken.
Of course, Count Rostovtsev could not think so far-sighted. After the failure to implement universal compulsory education for all, the dilemma he faced was almost unsolvable. The people were not enlightened and he did not dare to rely on democracy. However, the aristocracy internally supported
After all, it is a minority that is reforming. To put it bluntly, these people have too much time to look after themselves, let alone democracy.
So after thinking about it, the only thing Count Rostovtsev can place his hope on is the Tsar himself. If he can choose a sufficiently enlightened Tsar, or in other words, he can always choose the most enlightened person from the Romanov family.
Being a tsar, does that guarantee the tsar's enlightenment?
I have to say that there is really no other way, but Count Rostovtsev has the only way. He feels that if a system for selecting enlightened tsar can be perfected, it can ensure that every tsar’s successor has enough candidates after his death.
If we are enlightened, will everything develop for the better?
Of course, this idea was rebellious enough at the time, and no czar would like this method. Everyone has selfish motives. Who doesn't want to pass on his wealth to his descendants?
Count Rostovtsev knew that Nicholas I was unlikely to agree to this method, and he did not expect that the autocratic tsar would agree. The only way to implement this method was to destroy Nicholas I's empire.
The American dream shattered everything he had.
When the autocracy of Nicholas I and his rule were completely negated, Count Rostovtsev felt that there was hope to create another system. Of course, his ultimate dream would not be realized immediately. He knew that it was still unrealistic.
, after all, his approach is too shocking and not so easy for people to accept.
His hope is to continue to weaken the power of the tsarist autocracy during the generation of Crown Prince Alexander and promote reforms to a limited extent. Only when the strength of the reformists completely overwhelms the conservatives can he realize his ultimate dream - through a special election.
A committee selects an enlightened and autocratic tsar.
Count Rostovtsev has been preparing for this dream for more than 20 years, and now the opportunity to overthrow the autocratic rule of Nicholas I has arisen. He knows that this dream will be realized soon, and he will soon be able to carry out the next step.
One step.
The next step is to thoroughly reform and destroy the serfdom system, and then the next step can be to discuss how to establish a tsarist election committee.
Thinking of this, Count Rostovtsev glanced at Dmitri. He knew very well that his generation could only destroy the serfdom system. If he really wanted to realize his ultimate dream, it would most likely fall to Dmitri.
Of this generation, it’s just that Dmitri is obviously not good enough to entrust this dream...