Chapter 7 Chapter VII

In the autumn of 1814, Nicholas married Princess Maria, and Nicholas moved to Bald Mountain with his wife, mother and Sonia. Within three years, he paid off the rest of the debt without selling his wife's property.After the death of a cousin, he inherited a small inheritance and paid off his debts to Pierre. Three years later, in 1820, Nicholas had put his finances in order, and went further and bought a small manor near Bald Mountain; Tradnoye's house--this was a great thing he had dreamed of! At first, he managed the family business out of necessity, but before long he became so fascinated with running the estate that it became almost his only hobby.Nicholas is an ordinary landlord, and he doesn't like the new method of "benevolence" and "propriety" as the norm.He believed in the "Heaven" with personal will, but sometimes, he especially disliked the British method that was popular at that time. A sector of agriculture that does not operate independently.His eyes were always on the estate as a whole, and not on any particular part of the estate, where the main thing is not nitrogen and oxygen in the soil and air, not the plow and manure in particular, but making nitrogen, oxygen The chief means of action of manure, manure, and plow, that is, the agricultural labourer.As Nikolai sets out to manage the estate, gaining an in-depth knowledge of every aspect of it, with a particular focus on the farmers.He believes that farmers are not only the main means of agricultural production, but also the ultimate goal of agricultural production and the main referee for judging the final benefits of agricultural production.He first observed the peasants, trying to understand their needs and their views on good and bad. He only gave orders on the surface, but in fact he learned from the peasants their working methods, language, and judgment on good and bad.Only when he understands the preferences and wishes of the peasants, learns to speak in their language, understands the hidden meaning in their words, and feels that he has become one with them; only then can he boldly manage them, that is, do his due to the peasants. Do your best.It was in this way that Nicholas ran his farm, and it was in agriculture that he achieved his greatest successes.

When Nicholas took up the management of the estate, he immediately appointed the proper village chief and foreman (who would have been chosen if the peasants had had the right to vote), and never again replace.The first thing he did was not to study the chemical composition of manure, not to delve into debits and credits (as he liked to sneer), but to find out the number of the peasants' cattle and try to increase them by all means.He supported farmers maintaining large families and disapproved of separation.He had no mercy for the idlers, the bums, and the incompetent, and drove them out of the group as much as possible.

He treated his field as well as the farmer's in sowing and harvesting hay and crops.Few landowners sowed and reaped so early and so well, and earned so well, as Nicholas did. He disliked housekeepers, calling them idlers.But people said that he pampered the slaves and spoiled them.Whenever a decision needs to be made about a slave, especially when it comes to punishment, he is always hesitant. discuss.Only when it is possible to use domestic slaves to replace peasants as soldiers, he will not hesitate to send domestic slaves to serve as soldiers.He never had the slightest qualm when it came to dealing with farmers.He knew that every decision he made was supported by all the farmers, with at most one or two who disagreed.

He will not trouble or punish anyone on a whim, nor will he forgive and reward according to his own likes and dislikes.He can't say what should be done and what should not be done, but the standards of both are clear and unchanged in his heart. He often said angrily about things that were not going well or messed up: "We Russian people really can't help it." He seemed to feel that he could not tolerate such a farmer. However, he loves "our Russian people" and their customs and habits with his whole heart. It is because of this that he can understand and adopt the most effective and most suitable methods and methods of rural production and management in the Russian countryside.

Countess Maria was jealous of her husband's devotion to his career and regretted that she could not share it, but she also could not understand his joy and trouble in a world that was so alien and alien to her.She could not understand how he was always so elated and triumphant when he got up at dawn, spent the morning in the fields or threshing floor, and came home to drink tea with her after sowing or mowing or harvest.She could not understand him when he talked admiringly of the rich farmer Matvey Yermysh and his family carrying the crops all night, while the others had not yet harvested, but he had stacked the sheaves. How can you be so excited.When he saw the gentle drizzle on the dry oat seedlings, he went from the window to the balcony, blinking and parting his mustache lips, and she couldn't understand how he could smile so happily.When mowing or harvesting crops, the sky was full of dark clouds blown away by the wind, his face was red and black from the sun, dripping with sweat, and his body smelled of wormwood and wild chrysanthemums. When he came back from the threshing field, at this time, She couldn't understand why he always rubbed his hands happily and said, "One day, our grain and the farmers' grain can be put into the warehouse."

What she doesn't even understand is why this kind-hearted person who does everything according to her will show a desperate look when she hears her pleading for the peasant women to exempt them from labor, and why the kind-hearted Nicholas firmly refuses. She, he angrily told her not to ask about things that had nothing to do with her.She felt that he had a special world, and he loved that world very much, but she didn't understand some rules and regulations of that world. She sometimes tried to understand him, and when she told him that he was doing good to the serfs, he was annoyed, and he replied: "That's not the case at all, I never thought about it, and I didn't do it for They are for welfare. What is for other people's happiness is all good talk, all is sissy nonsense. I don't want my children to go to the street to beg for food. I live a day and I have to take care of my family business, that is That's it. In order to do this, good rules must be established and strict management must be done, that's it." He clenched his fists excitedly and said. "Of course it must be fair," he added, "for if the farmer is short of food and clothing, and has only a scrawny horse at home, he can neither do good work for himself nor do anything for me."

Perhaps it was precisely because Nicholas did not allow himself to think that he was doing good for others and being charitable, everything he did was so fruitful, his wealth increased rapidly, and the serfs from the neighboring villages came to ask for his help. They bought it.Even long after his death, the serfs could not forget his governing ability. ""He is a good boss,... puts the farmers' affairs first and his own affairs later.But he is not tolerant of people.Not to mention - a good company. "