The five hundred and seventieth chapter [the palace contends]
Chapter 571 [Palace Fight]
It has to be said that although the empire has experienced many crises up to now, including the current one when it faces the invasion of criminals.
However, in the decades since Augustine VI, the old emperor who loved great achievements, had been in power, countless wars, large or small, had been launched against foreign countries. Regardless of the outcome, although it consumed national power, at least one thing was successful: he allowed the people of the empire to
I am accustomed to one concept: tough!
To the outside world, whether it is grassland people or Nanyang people, there is only one word: fight!!
It can be said that among the top management of the empire, even when the empire's national strength was weak, hawks accounted for the majority!
As for the Minister of Ceremonies, such ministers usually do not have much say or real power in national affairs. This is because there is only one empire in the mainland: the Roland Empire.
There are no neighboring countries around, so the daily "diplomatic etiquette" work is basically blank. As for the prairie people, they are just prairie barbarians stuck in a corner.
Therefore, the Empire's Minister of Ceremony does not really have any real power on weekdays. Only occasional national celebrations, festivals, etc., will give him something to do.
Therefore, although he is nominally a first-class official in the empire, he is almost an empty frame most of the time.
Today, it was a rare opportunity to show the value of his existence, and this veteran was even more energetic and worked hard to exert himself.
The military also expressed opposition. To the navy, Nanyang is just a group of indigenous people! When did these indigenous people have the right to send envoys to the imperial capital, enter the palace and become guests in a dignified manner?
Damn! What does the uncle want? He won’t drive a warship and grab it with a sword!
The military and the minister of etiquette all spoke, but Prince Chen still did not express his position. The little emperor Charlie next to him seemed to have a faint look of eagerness on his face, and his eyes were a little excited.
Although he is already the emperor, he rarely has the opportunity to participate in discussing national affairs. Most of the time, although he has been crowned emperor, his life is actually the same as that of the former prince.
There is not much difference: I still study with the palace teacher every day, and ride horses and play in my free time.
The only difference is that the maids and envoys around me no longer call me "His Royal Highness". Instead, they call themselves "Your Majesty".
But... this... seems... seems... to make the young Charlie feel a little empty in his heart, with a faint feeling of dissatisfaction!
Today! Today is the right day!
Sitting on a high throne, I watched the powerful ministers of the empire arguing with each other. Each of them was like a peacock spreading its tail, trying their best to use their eloquence and performance in front of me!
And aren't they working so hard just to get their own verdict from sitting high on the throne?
This... a feeling of "control" filled little Charlie's heart with unprecedented joy and satisfaction.
This is the emperor!! He holds the ultimate and supreme power. No matter how those ministers argue, in the end... he can decide his fate with just one word!!
Thinking of this, Charlie's little face flushed with excitement. He immediately glanced at his father next to him subconsciously...
This glance made Charlie's enthusiasm suddenly dim.
He told himself: It's not me! They are arguing with each other now, but the ruling power they hope to obtain is not yet in my hands!
These guys are showing off their peacock feathers. But the person they are trying so hard to show off... is their own father!
It’s not me yet…it’s not my turn yet…
A subtle and weird feeling of discomfort made Charlie feel a little confused...
This secret emotion is quietly growing.
Prince Chen's face was very quiet. As a monarch, he knew how to be a monarch. He would not express his position easily. He would only let his ministers express themselves and work hard to understand each minister's position and thoughts!
He refused to express his attitude easily, because he knew that if he expressed his attitude easily and prematurely, then many flattering people would speak according to his own wishes and may even have other good suggestions.
will be deliberately suppressed.
When you are in a high position, you must stay awake and be able to clearly understand the thoughts of the people below. Otherwise, once your eyes and ears are blindfolded, then...
Prince Chen glanced at his son.
He asked Charlie to participate in this meeting today. He deliberately wanted to gradually cultivate his son, although he is still a little young. However, let him participate in this kind of meeting occasionally, even if he does not have to speak or make any
Decision, but by listening on the sidelines, you should also gain a lot. Such a close-up observation of the ruling process of national affairs is far more intuitive than the explanations by palace teachers in the palace.
It's a pity... Even the wise prince Ruchen didn't notice the subtle emotions in his son's heart.
After seeing that the "Eagle" faction of the empire had finished speaking, Prince Chen still did not speak. The ministers, who were already familiar with the regent's habits, understood: Obviously, His Highness has not heard enough, and he hopes to get more.
different opinions.
So, the finance minister came out.
"Colleagues." The Minister of Finance first bowed to the colleagues around him. His tone was very calm and sincere. When this old man usually speaks in meetings, he always wants to roll up his sleeves and fight with other ministers, but today he is like this
It's calm, which makes the others a little weird.
"What I want to say first is... there is no doubt about my loyalty to the empire. Therefore, what I say next are just some calculations and considerations made from the financial aspect as the finance minister of the empire."
The Chancellor of Finance was speaking without anyone interrupting him.
Recently, the status of the Finance Minister has been improved a bit more than before. Especially the younger brother of Duke Tulip has come to the imperial capital as an adult, and the Finance Minister's granddaughter is about to become the wife of the earl of the New Luo Lin family. This is equivalent to making the Finance Minister and the empire the most powerful.
The soaring tulip family has a blood tie!
Even the former political opponents of the Chancellor of Finance had to show a little respect to the old man for the sake of Duke Tulip.
"Ahem, everyone." The Finance Minister smiled slightly and said slowly: "The first word I want to say is...cost. Haha, this interesting word is not said by me, but the place where His Excellency Duke Tulip first used it.
.Let’s first talk about the credentials brought by the envoy from Nanyang this time.”
As he spoke, he took out a piece of paper from his arms: "This is the copy I got. I will read out to everyone the list of offerings they are willing to make. Note that the contents of this list are their annual offerings to the empire.
, is every year!”
Then, the finance minister read aloud in a measured voice: "Two thousand kilograms of Nanyang spices and various Nanyang specialty gems. Calculated by the official price of the empire, the amount of land worth approximately 300,000 gold coins needs to be offered every year. Moreover, the price of gems is based on the market price of the empire.
.In other words, the value is determined by us! Even if it is a gem worth 300,000 gold coins, and we say it is only worth 30,000 gold coins, it is still up to us! Also, there are ten boxes of top-grade pearls and twenty boxes of medium-grade pearls.
Five hundred pieces of ivory. Three hundred sets of fine sea shark skin..."
When the Chancellor of Finance was reading aloud, there was a hint of pride in his voice. Finally, after reading the list, the Chancellor of Finance announced: "Based on this list, I asked my subordinate clerical staff to calculate, approximately every year,
The things they enshrined were worth approximately 2.5 million imperial gold coins. This was just a preliminary conservative estimate. And what they asked for was that our Imperial Navy stopped its plundering of Southeast Asia, so-called spending money to buy peace. That's it.
.”
"Two million and a half million gold coins, so what." A military general said disdainfully: "As long as our fleet arrives at their doorstep, we can move as much as we want! Humph! If we are willing!"
The Minister of Finance was not angry and smiled lightly: "You are right... It is indeed the case in theory, but it is only in theory."
He took out another list from his arms: "This is what I calculated... the military expenditures for our Nanyang expedition fleet! The manufacturing of ships, of course, the scale of the existing naval fleet is enough. So even if
We don’t need to build new ships. But when the fleet goes on an expedition to the sea, the repair and maintenance costs of the entire fleet are many times higher than if it is parked in the port! Especially for the South Sea expedition. This kind of long-distance voyage! The soldiers’ pay when they go to war is also
It is more than in peacetime, including the land subsidy for officers, the consumption of food, the updating and repairing of military equipment, the maintenance and updating of weapons, and the time we spend...etc., etc., I calculated it, even if this kind of Nanyang expedition is included
The fleet is controlled on a very small scale, for example, it is only about one-third of the size of each of our previous expeditions to the South Seas. But each military expenditure must reach at least 500,000 gold coins! This number can no longer be reduced.
!
Moreover, everyone, let me report another figure. Here I have the results of our recent three Nanyang expeditions. After deducting military expenditures and other expenses, we got the final results. The figures are:
Three hundred and sixty thousand gold coins, two hundred and one hundred thousand gold coins, one hundred and thirty thousand gold coins."
"Impossible!!" As soon as the Finance Minister's figures were reported, the military generals immediately became excited!
The even more explosive people immediately yelled at the Minister of Finance regardless of everything: "Corruption! Naked corruption!!"
"The soldiers are bleeding at the front!! We conquered the entire Nanyang and returned with a full load every time. How could there be only such a small number!!"
Facing the accusations from everyone, the Chancellor of Finance looked calm. He waited quietly until the voices of everyone scolded gradually subsided, and then he turned around and bowed to the high-ranking Prince Regent and little Charles.
"Your Highness, Your Majesty." The Minister of Finance said calmly: "Not to mention... I have only served as Minister of Finance for less than fifteen years. And the results of the three Southeast Asian expeditions I mentioned, the earliest one, were still ten
Five years ago, the time when the late Luo Lin family took over as the leader of the family, Count Raymond! At that time... I was not the Minister of Finance! If you say that I was corrupt, you can't blame me at that time! "
His voice was calm: "As the finance minister of the empire, the carriage I am riding in was given to me by His Royal Highness the Regent a few years ago. The carriage I was riding in before was a 23-year-old carriage.
Dude. The house I live in now was given to me by His Royal Highness the Regent two years ago. But before... my home only had four yards and less than ten servants! My granddaughter is about to get married, but now I
I am still worrying about collecting the dowry. Among the many ministers in the empire, my life can be said to be the most miserable... Excuse me, if I embezzled, where did the money I embezzled go?!"
The Chancellor of Finance's face was full of righteousness, his eyes swept around, and everyone who came into contact with his eyes turned their heads involuntarily.
Even the reckless general who just accused him of corruption couldn't help but blush because the house he lived in was six times larger than the finance minister's, and he had nearly a hundred servants.
The regent finally spoke. He looked at the minister of finance and said warmly: "It doesn't have to be like this. I know that your hard work is great! If you are said to be corrupt, then there will be no honest people in the entire empire! You don't have to be angry about this..."
As he said that, the regent glanced at the military, his tone was somewhat dissatisfied, and he said calmly: "Generals, be careful what you say!!"
Several generals quickly stood up and apologized to the finance minister.
The old man smiled, returned the gifts one by one, and then continued: "I know everyone is a little skeptical about the figures I reported... But I said, those figures are calculated after deducting military expenses and other expenses...