Chapter 116 Prologue: Four Years of Stability Part 1

Since then, the years have passed relatively peacefully after that day.

The first few weeks after the bombing is mollifying the Yamatos, who believed that the limited amount of televisions that exploded is Ruthenia asking for a rematch in war.

Fortunately, Alexander is able to negotiate by selling them the TB medicine at a lower price to prevent possible war.

Crowned, Alexander has taken his regnal name as Alexander IV of Ruthenia.

In October 1923, a message was sent to him privately from the airplane factory manager. The first flight of a jet fighter prototype flew in secrecy in the many large empty underdeveloped lands of Ruthenian wastes.

He watches as the brave test pilot broke the sound barrier and rumbles of artificial thunder shook the landscape of that cold empty land.

In the last month of 1923, Alexander celebrates this world’s version of Christmas and New Year’s Eve. On that “Christmas” Day, Alexander surprised the people listening to radio and television in Ruthenia, the temporary ban having been lifted in October after thorough inspections by Imperial Dynamic Systems technicians, with a television and radio timetable that includes their Tsar having a timeslot in the afternoon.

Alexander made the first ever Royal Christmas Speech on the airwaves. With this speech, he gained admiration from the people who used to listen to the words of the Tsar by middlemen and messengers. This feels more like the Tsar is addressing the people personally.

The fresh new year of 1924 has brought better tidings. Opening a dialogue between the Patriarch of the Ruthenian Orthodox and The Imperial Crown of Ruthenia. They both argue, discuss and hammer out reformations between both of them.

With the Secularism Law enacted, all people in Ruthenia are given freedom of religion and the choices that come with it. The Orthodox Church’s bloated power has been reduced with cooperation between the Patriarch and Alexander by investigating the reported and suspected corruption within the ranks of the Church.

Come February, Alexander’s love for Sophie bore fruit as the Imperial couple is blessed with a healthy baby girl, Anya Alexandrovna Romanoff, who now lives with the Romanoff.

The agricultural and economic reforms he laid down in the 3rd quarter of 1922 bore fruit as well in late February. Or I should say. Pastries. The Butter Week of 1924, a folk Slavic holiday, is said to be the most fattening. The reform’s success produced a surplus of milk in 1923. Resulting in a surplus of butter for that year. The price of butter got lower, and people made more pastries before Great Lent.

Though not an orthodox follower, his family surprised him with large stacks of butter and jam pastries for the entire week. The most devout of his family chose to fast on the Great Lent as they cut out many rich and meaty foods for the duration. Alexander took this opportunity to break his tobacco habit.

In March of 1924, Alexander attempts to solve the long-time issue of Ruthenia. Alcoholism in the masses. Vodka consumption is still pretty high and increased slightly after the reforms. Learning lessons from his world and this world, he drafted a comprehensive law on alcoholic beverages, intoxication, and safer consumption rules.

Not completely following the strict Volstead Act and Prohibition done in the US. This set of laws reduced the workplace and road accidents caused by drinking, prevented early addiction to alcohol by baring sales to minors, reduce health issues related to alcoholism, charge those who sell adulterated alcohol, and even more details. A very large reform for a narcotic that existed since pre-history.

Come April, Alexander remembered the coming Easter holidays.

It was by accident he was holding an empty eggshell from his breakfast of soft-boiled eggs when he entered his wife’s art studio. She has taken to many forms of art with the generous pocket money she receives from the treasury. And so Sophie was making a piece using glue, glass beads, and paint when Alexander came in.

With some time to spare, he spends it watching her paint while absentmindedly rolling sticking things on the egg.

When Sophie noticed it, she laughed and call it the Alex Egg, a cheap parody of the jeweled Faberge ones. And history was made once again as Alexander capitalise on the idea. By contacting the confectionary companies in Ruthenia, he was given a tour and a chance to market his Alexander Eggs. That Easter, shops sold candy studded egg-shaped candies and it became a Ruthenian holiday specialty. A box of candy was gifted to the House of Fabergé with a personal thank you note from the Tsar for years of excellent craft, much to the amusement of an old but still alive Peter Carl Fabergé.

In the summer of June 1924, Alexander is at the proving grounds as the chassis of the M60 Patton copy rolled over steep hills, swam in deep mud, crossed trenches, and climb out of wider trenches and many other terrains tests.

In July 1924, the Black Hand all seemed to disappear or go into hiding in Deutschland and Austrea.

In 1925, large X-ray machines were implemented at ports and customs to scan goods for suspicious items. Soon, Ruthenia was able to export consumer electronics to the outside world, though televisions didn’t have the same popularity as before.

New products that have been developed by IDS during the boycott by the outside world introduced people to considerably futuristic kitchen appliances and household devices.

This is also the year when Alexander began poaching physicists, mathematicians, chemists, and some club of people that really likes fireworks.

Late 1925 sees the opening of ammonia plants in Ruthenia in collaboration with Deutschland’s industrial chemists. Providing the country with nitrate fertilizers and reducing dependencies on imported guano.

In secret, Alexander uses his chemistry skills to improve the output of ammonia and create explosives to stockpile the munitions of his growing military.

In 1926, the IDS opened a second chip-making plant under the cover of making radio transistors and vacuum tubes. The output of computer chips quadrupled using the newer microchip computers and they are beginning to make better and more advanced CPUs

.

As of now, the computer chips industry is only used in military applications.

The Imperial Ruthenian Military equipment such as radios, calculators, and complex controls has been improved with said computer chips.

They are now digitized.