Crewe-Fernando sat absent-mindedly at the huge round table in the royal conference room, looking at the gorgeous chandeliers on the ceiling, listening to the Empire Finance Minister Luke reading a long article about the Empire's tax revenue last year, but he was thinking about it. Lian Lian,
Kru-Fernando was crowned at the age of twenty, and became Fernando XIII in order. As of this year, it is already the tenth year. Over the years, the empire's government has been almost dominated by the Imperial Finance Minister Luke and the Imperial Minister of State Chad. In many cases, Fernando XIII is just a symbol of the country.
This kind of life is difficult for the ambitious Fernando XIII to accept. Fortunately, his father, Fernando XII, left General Orlando for him. Although this devout holy knight married Luke's eldest daughter, he had no regard for the royal family. He is loyal, and with the blessing of the God of War and the trust of His Majesty, he became the highest military officer of the imperial capital, commanding the most powerful army in the empire, the Royal Knights. This powerful cavalry force has not been established since its establishment two hundred years ago. failed record,
Originally, the Empire's Finance Minister Luke and the Empire's Minister of State Chad were restricting each other, and there was Orlando, the leader of the Royal Knights and the highest military officer of the imperial capital. The empire has been going smoothly in the past ten years, and the government is harmonious. Although there are still rebellions from time to time such as Senat, but They were all eradicated one by one by Orlando.
But in the heart of young Fernando XIII, he always held back his breath. He boasted that he was healthy and energetic, and that he had the time and ability to restore the glory of his ancestors and fulfill the unfinished wish of Fernando I: "Conquer the orc tribe in the north. , completely resolve the orcs' southern invasion; the south will devour various lords and no longer allow them to separate themselves." Let the Holy Alliance Empire established by Fernando I become an empire that truly unified the entire continent.
Therefore, after several years of preparation, Fernando XIII began a series of plans. First, he selected capable personnel from the Royal Athletic Competition and reused them, and then asked the Royal Academy to secretly cultivate the talents he needed to govern the country. Talents from all walks of life were slowly promoted and hired. At the end of last year, Fernando XIII seized the opportunity and used a dispensable excuse to bypass the Empire Finance Minister Luke and use all the talents he had cultivated in the past few years. Promoted to take over the collection of imperial taxes,
In the view of the young Fernando XIII, everything starts with money. As long as he controls the source of the economy, he can flex his muscles. He has even made a comprehensive and huge plan to prepare for the future. It will unfold one by one within a few years. I hope that this plan can achieve my wish within ten years.
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty." Fernando XIII was distracted thinking about his huge plan when he felt his sleeves being pulled. When he came back to his senses, he saw the royal magician Catherine Landy sitting next to him. Gently tugging on his sleeve, Fernando XIII looked at her with questioning eyes, and heard Luke's slightly unhappy voice say: "Your Majesty, you are distracted."
Fernando XIII's face turned red. During this period, he was a little carried away. He was often immersed in his beautiful designs. He had been distracted like this many times.
"Sir Luke, Your Majesty has been busy with government affairs these days and has not had enough rest. Please forgive me." Catherine Landy, who was appointed by Fernando XIII as his magic advisor, explained to Luke in a low voice, resolving this awkward situation. atmosphere,
Luke frowned slightly, and then immediately explained. Although he knew that Catherine Landi was just explaining Fernando XIII's distraction, after all, he was facing the ruler of the empire, and it was not convenient for him to go into too much detail. , was too heavy, so Luke picked up the wooden cup in front of him and took a sip of the water in it. In Fernando XIII’s huge plan to govern hard, saving money was an important part, which included being able to only drink water during the royal meeting.
Luke rested for a few seconds by drinking water, and gave Fernando XIII time to adjust his mind. Then he said: "Your Majesty, I just read last year's income. The tax revenue of the Imperial City the year before last was 9 million. Last year it was 8 million; the tax revenue from Sunrise City the year before last was 8 million, and last year it was 6 million; the tax revenue from Seawind City the year before last was 18 million, and last year it was 15 million; the year before last, the total tax revenue from the chambers of commerce, business alliances, etc. of various cities in the south, including Liberty Paradise, was 22 million, last year there was only 19 million, the tax revenue from various lords the year before last was 12 million, last year it was, well, less than 1 million, of which Seck City had just been recovered, there was no tax, and an additional 350,000 was spent."
Luke didn't read out a set of figures, and Fernando XIII's face turned pale. After Luke finished reading out all the tax revenue of the empire last year, Fernando XIII asked in blunt words: "What was the total tax revenue last year?" .”
Luke hesitated slightly and read out a number: "49 million."
"Damn it." Fernando XIII stood up awkwardly, slammed his hand on the table and said: "Luke, as the Imperial Finance Minister, how do you explain this matter? 49 million, this amount of money is simply not enough. The empire's normal expenditures, and there is no talk of 'conquering the orcs and integrating the south'."
Luke closed his mouth tightly and did not answer. Chad, who was sitting next to him, kept his expression unchanged, but he was smiling in his heart. His old enemy Luke was reprimanded by His Majesty in front of him. This is always a happy thing. The Royal Magician Seren Randy attended such a meeting because of the favor of Fernando XIII. She was very self-aware and basically just listened from beginning to end. As for the other dozen or so officials who attended , both in terms of identity and status, were inferior to Luke and Chad. When they saw His Majesty getting angry, they buried their heads deeply, fearing that His Majesty would suddenly take it out on themselves.
Fernando XIII did not care about the behavior of others. He stared at Luke closely. Seeing Luke using such an uncooperative attitude towards him, he became even more angry. His shouts echoed in the empty royal conference room. It echoed: "Twenty million less than the previous year. Twenty million is enough to create another Royal Knights. What is going on? Ah, I understand. It must be corruption. Damn it, these murderers You endless greedy guy, I will have people investigate this matter thoroughly, Luke, I know that many of your tax officials are not clean, you must give me an explanation."
There was a trace of anger in Luke's eyes, but he suppressed it immediately. Facing the supreme ruler of the empire, Luke would remain rational no matter how angry he was. Luke stood up slowly and adjusted himself. After Luke stood up, he calmly said to the furious Fernando XIII: "If you insist on me giving you an explanation, please remove me from my position as the Minister of Finance of the Empire. As for me, Those tax collectors under my command, maybe they are a little greedy, but I can guarantee that they only embezzle more than one million yuan at most every year."
"Very good." Fernando XIII gritted his teeth, pointed at Luke's nose and said, "Luke, you admitted to being corrupt. Very good. Do you think I dare not kill you?"
"Your Majesty, as the supreme ruler of the empire, you can kill anyone you want." Facing Fernando XIII's accusation, Luke calmly replied: "But I must remind you, first, what I just said It’s an admission of corruption by my subordinates, rather than an admission of corruption by myself; secondly, last year’s taxes were not collected by me or my subordinates.”
As soon as Luke finished speaking, the entire royal conference room suddenly fell silent. Even the furious Fernando XIII shut his mouth. Yes, it was this Fernando XIII who ousted Luke last year and took advantage of him. Taking away the power of tax collection, which was originally within the scope of the Finance Minister's responsibilities, has led to the current situation. No matter how unreasonable Fernando XIII is, there is no way to punish Luke for this matter.
"Anyway, the empire's tax revenue has shrunk significantly. As the finance minister of the empire, you have an unshirkable responsibility." How could the young and competitive Fernando XIII admit in front of his subordinates that his impatience caused this? This would have serious consequences, and he also felt a little angry in his heart. If Luke buried his head in admitting it, humbly accepted his reprimand, and satisfied Fernando XIII's vanity for power, maybe he would slowly find a way to make up for this matter, but now Luke actually contradicted himself in a tone that was neither humble nor arrogant, so Fernando XIII said: "Now I announce that Luke will be relieved of his position as the Minister of Finance of the Empire and that I will take up the post in person."
"As you wish, Your Majesty." Luke calmly accepted Fernando XIII's order. His expression did not change. He slowly stood up, bowed slightly to Fernando XIII, and then said: "I obey you. I have now become a civilian and have no right to appear in the royal meeting room. Please allow me to resign."
After saying these words, Luke took a deep look at Fernando XIII, turned around and walked out.
Fernando XIII looked at Luke with a livid face. He did not expect that the other party could accept his order so calmly. In order to hit Luke hard, Fernando XIII changed his mind and added another order: "In view of the significant reduction in the empire's tax revenue last year, starting tomorrow, Victor will no longer serve as the royal chief magician, nor will he teach at the Royal Academy of Magic. The empire will give Victor a monthly subsidy of 250,000 gold coins and 150,000 magic materials. Subsidies removed.”
These words made Luke's body tremble slightly as he walked at the door. With the pleasure of revenge, Fernando XIII raised his head high and looked at Luke from top to bottom. He even Hope to see Luke begging for help, but Luke just stopped for a moment, did not look back, and continued to walk out of the royal meeting room,
Fernando XIII watched Luke walk out of the room, and then turned his gaze to Chad, who was sitting at the round table. The latter looked at Fernando XIII with an extremely respectful attitude. This move made Fernando XIII's vanity unprecedented. Satisfied, from now on, he expelled Luke and subdued Chad. From now on, the real power to rule the entire empire officially belongs to him.
Fernando XIII looked around and said in a majestic voice: "Now, let's discuss how to deal with this financial crisis. I think..."
“…”
“…”
“…”
There was no discussion or objection. Fernando XIII confidently formulated a series of plans according to his own wishes, while other people in the royal meeting room either buried their heads lower, or imitated Chad's example, showing off their faces. With a respectful look,