The vigorous parliamentary elections turned out to be just a drama in the end.
The parliament exists in name only, and the legislative power is still firmly in the hands of the old forces.
During this period, Wu Qiao began to read books on the Republic.
He has some doubts, and he can't help but wonder why the empire, which was more economically and technologically superior hundreds of years ago, was caught up and gradually fell behind its opponents
The empire is rich in resources, which should not be the case.
Some people told him it was because the emperor was incompetent.
However, is it true that the heads of state of the republic are all geniuses? Wasn't the last head of state of the republic often ridiculed? That guy has countless cases of stupidity circulating outside. Even so, the Republic did not fall into trouble because of him, and it seemed to still function naturally as before. The country is still moving forward within a framework, and the things that can be affected by whether the head of state is smart or stupid are limited.
The empire seems to depend entirely on the emperor. Perhaps a capable emperor would make things more efficient, but the state is always in extreme danger of spinning out of control.
But now, it is the autumn of the empire's survival, and there is a danger of destruction at any time.
The current emperor is afraid of losing the battle and taking the name of the king of subjugation, and he has become more and more disregarding his people in order to win this battle.
Moreover, even if there is a Mingjun, the beneficiaries of the benefits are still those traditional nobles, because there are always some limits to good things, and of course there is no distinction, and the people of the empire can't get anything from it.
"..." Unknowingly, those things that didn't matter in the past gradually made him unable to let go.
Since he was eighteen years old, he has been in the army, and all he heard was to be loyal to the emperor, and he didn't think there was anything wrong with it.
Now, he was a little envious of the people in the Republic, at least, those people could more or less speak out, but he could only hope desperately that the emperor could turn the situation around. He was full of enthusiasm, but he was powerless.
"Tan Yan..." Wu Qiao asked Tan Yan, "Do you want a republic?"
"Ok?"
"For example," Wu Qiao said seriously, "at home, rather than listening to me, do you want to express your opinion?"
"You want me to tell the truth?"
"Of course, it's just the two of us chatting casually. I will definitely not tell others."
"Okay." Tan Yan replied, "If you're outside, I think; if you're at home, it's fine."
"... ah?" What does the latter sentence mean
Tan Yan added: "Anyway, whatever you want, I will satisfy you."
"Hey..." It's obviously a serious topic, how did it get there
"I always feel," Wu Qiao said again, "an era is coming to an end." In fact, it's really strange. Just a few years ago, the people of the Empire thought they were living a pretty good life, but since the day when they showed signs of failure, the people of the Empire thought they were living a good life. As if waking up from a big dream, everyone's eyes widened in horror. The imperial system of the empire has been maintained for so long, and the people of the empire are like a huge machine that has been put on hold for many years. The interior has long been rusted, and only continuous heavy knocking can restore it to its former operation.
"..."
"Where are we soldiers going?"
"..."
In fact, even if you don't ask him, you know that the torrent of history cannot be changed by them. They are just a leaf in the torrent, floating and sinking together.
However, it’s ironic to say that history always chooses its development direction early on, but it never patiently waits for the gradual evolution, but always uses extremely bloody methods to deal with it. achieve its purpose.
It's really hard to change something like this.
…
- After the council elections, many merchants are expecting the nobles to fulfill their promises.
Ironically, however, the benefits of those promises only lasted a mere few months.
Soon, the old fiscal year came to an end, and the statistics showed that government revenue this year only accounted for 10 percent of government expenditure.
The emperor was furious, and immediately dismissed the Minister of Finance and ordered the new Minister of Finance to take office immediately.
In order to raise military expenditures, the new chancellor of the exchequer has gone to great lengths.
Soon, the empire introduced a series of policies.
First of all, taxation was raised, and at the same time, some seemingly unreasonable taxes that were difficult to collect were given to local forces, and they were required to hand over 85% of the tax revenue to the central government. Most of these local forces are local nobles, relying on their local power to forcibly collect taxes.
Second, declare the government bankrupt and stop all interest payments on the national debt. This news was like a hornet's nest. All of a sudden, the bond holders were afraid that they would lose all their principal, and they went to the bank to cash it out. The trading system was instantly paralyzed, and there was a long queue outside the bank. Banks are overwhelmed and are draining cash at a rapid rate, demanding that the government pay the national debt immediately. The government only said that there was no money, and finally made a "concession" and proposed "only two-thirds of the face value of the coupons can be paid in total", "cancellation of interest", "extending the payment time limit to three years", etc. The bank has no choice but to Yes, the two parties signed the contract, and the bankers gnashed their teeth and swore to the sky that they would never buy any bonds issued by the government again.
However, what is very tragic is that after only a few months, the Republic moved very close to the capital star, and the government even began to consider moving the capital. In order to defend the capital, the government issued bonds again. The reaction of the financial and business circles at this time is touching. Many businessmen and bankers who sneered and said they would never be deceived before bought bonds again. They are not stupid. On the contrary, they know that this is likely to be another They lost all their money, but they still poured their money to support the army. They are undoubtedly true patriots. After the issuance of national debt this time, the military expenditure was supplemented, and Tan Yan temporarily forced the opponent's army to retreat at a great price.
The third is to set up fees under various names, for example, to force merchant ships to accept escorts on the grounds of protecting merchant ships during times of war, and to levy escort fees on them.
Fourth, clean up "flawed" companies. For "problematic" enterprises, forcibly take over the enterprises or auction the shares. In this storm, many private companies were nationalized or changed ownership overnight. Many businessmen dare not expand their enterprises, for fear that such behavior will sow the seeds of nightmares. This approach did not work as expected, because after a while entrepreneurs lost trust in the government. In public auctions one after another, no one is willing to buy a company put up for auction by the government at a high price—who can guarantee that if it is auctioned today, it will not be taken away for a second public auction tomorrow? In this era, who can guarantee that the operation of the enterprise is error-free
Fifth, cancel the gambling ban, allow casinos to open all over the country, and impose high operating costs on casinos. At the same time, the drug ban was secretly lifted. The government hides behind the scenes and pushes the "partners" to the front, but the "partners" are really not smart. Relying on the "permission" of the government, drug trafficking becomes more and more unscrupulous, and people have been caught many times with obvious clues. Dare to sit idly by, let alone let the common people notice this kind of dirty cooperation, put him to death with pain, and the practice of secretly letting go of the drug ban officially dies.
The good thing is that the new Chancellor of the Exchequer did not use the almost blackmail situation to force donations like his predecessor.
Through these practices, the new chancellor raised a lot of money in a short period of time.
However, the tyranny is fiercer than a tiger, and the business community feels that it has been cornered. "Military expenditure" is like a beast that can never be fed enough. No matter how much flesh and blood is cut off, it cannot satisfy one ten thousandth of it.
"We have no way to retreat, and one more step back will be an abyss." In this situation, the president of the General Chamber of Commerce called on the merchants to strike and fight.
The General Chamber of Commerce is a non-governmental organization. The purpose of its establishment at the beginning was to facilitate the communication of the business community. It never thought that one day it would take up the banner of fighting the government when the business world was in turmoil.
The president of the General Chamber of Commerce looks very hateful, but in reality he is responsible.
He has slender limbs, walks slowly, has a severe hunchback, and most of his head is below his shoulders. Looking from behind him, it may even seem that this person has no head at all. His eyes are as big as copper bells, but his mouth protrudes abnormally, and his cheeks are thin. Someone once said that he looks like a reptile and a bird, more like the product of a combination of a reptile and a bird, but not a human being.
Before this strike, many businessmen hated him because of his appearance, but this strike showed his determination to protect the business world.
Under his advocacy, small-scale strikes continued.
In September, after gaining valuable experience, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry organized the first nationwide strike.
Markets stopped trading, factories stopped production, and businesses stopped operating. They used violence to protest various exorbitant taxes imposed by the government.
All of a sudden, many industries across the empire were paralyzed.
The government and the business community have held tough negotiations.
The negotiations went on for a full twenty-one days.
Uncharacteristically, the business community has a firm attitude and is determined not to make too many concessions.
Catering to officials seems to have been engraved in the genes of businessmen. Businessmen are afraid of things and put their interests first. They always rely on power and maintain the existing system. They never have the courage to stand on the opposite side at the risk of having nothing. The revolutionaries in history and those who ushered in a new era have never been businessmen. But this time, as they were cornered, there was unprecedented bravery in their blood.
In the end, judging from the results, the business community has won the expected victory. The government granted eleven of the fifteen demands made by the business community, and partially granted the remaining four.
Unexpectedly, the government's move was just a tactic to delay the attack.
Three months passed in a flash, and the government failed to implement any of the fifteen items.
Then, at the end of December, merchants began a second, larger-scale strike. This time, they have the support of many other organizations.
They naively thought that the government was afraid of their actions. They believe that the government has no choice but to compromise in order to open the market.
"This time we decided to strike until the government does something, and we won't be cheated anymore." Everyone was excited for the inevitable victory. The fourth time, the fifth time... Let them never dare to act recklessly in the face of no one!"
This time, the emperor who was on the opposite side realized that this group of businessmen was very tricky, far from being as easy to deal with as it was during the parliamentary elections, and it didn't happen this time that they could be disintegrated and turned into a mess as long as they were given some benefits.
However, it is simply impossible for him to do what the protesters say.
In that case, where is the majesty of the government? Where is the majesty of the emperor
In the sixth week of the strike, the president of the General Chamber of Commerce was invited by friends to have dinner at the largest hotel in the empire.
There, he unexpectedly met the Chancellor himself.
The chancellor personally filled the wine for him and pointed out two ways for him: immediately stop the strike and resume operations, or veto it, and he will be poisoned and killed here.
The president of the General Chamber of Commerce laughed without hesitation for a moment, picked up the wine glass and drank it down in one gulp.
It is said that his laughter can be heard even outside the room door.
While the chairman was killed in the hotel, the emperor formally decided to suppress it violently.
The heads of shops and enterprises involved in the strike were forcibly taken away by the police. Immediately, the prison was filled with entrepreneurs who were envied by others who were still dressed in neat suits a few years ago.
There are also military police who suddenly broke into the protest site and used force to disperse the protesting crowd.
Although the Empire tried to cover up the truth, the fact that there were casualties at each location was well known to many.
At the beginning, the merchants also decided to fight to the end and never give up halfway.
But their losses are getting bigger and bigger.
In March, the weather in Capital Star is getting warmer, and flowers are gradually blooming.
The head of the military and police responsible for the violent suppression found and executed the new chairman who had taken over the position of the chairman for only one month. His head was hanging outside the gate of the palace. Hopeless, the market was forced to open one after another.
At this point, the imperial military business was officially split.