Eric took a breath, closed his eyes and rested for about a minute, then opened his eyes again, picked up the towel soaked in cold water in the basin, wiped it on his face twice, and regained his spirits. , continue to review official documents.
Since the last rebellion in Kolebo City, when he forcefully prevented Duke Stark from sending out the Second Army of the Kingdom's Guards to counter the rebellion, Eric seemed to have suddenly realized something. I have gained new insights into the messy government affairs, and now I am no longer as opinionated as before when I deal with them.
Correspondingly, he relies on Duke Stark less and less. Now when there is basically nothing important, he never takes the initiative to summon Duke Stark. Instead, he works hard to make independent judgments most of the time. .
Of course, in normal times, he would consult carefully with the noble ministers in the kingdom, and at the same time, he would work hard to read various books to strengthen his studies. He would even often go out of the palace, disguised and mix among the common people to observe the sentiments of the people at close range.
In short, he has now become more and more devoted to his role as king, and he is deeply proud and honored to be a king. Of course bar>.nsb.m also felt the pressure deeply.
The more he learns about government affairs, the more Eric regrets his previous decisions.
Data from various aspects showed that the biggest mistake he made was not keeping the Xinfei Chamber of Commerce.
It seems that more than half of this year has passed, and the current financial revenue of the Lampali Kingdom is actually less than one million gold coins.
If we look at the current trend, by the end of the year, the kingdom's annual fiscal revenue will probably barely exceed one million gold coins. It will never exceed 1.5 million gold coins.
Compared to previous years, there were at least two million gold coins per year. The fiscal revenue even exceeded three million gold coins the year before last. The current Lampali Kingdom has suddenly become much poorer.
Eric is now much more familiar with government affairs and naturally understands why this is the case.
When the Xinfei Chamber of Commerce was there, two-thirds of the Lampali Kingdom's annual financial revenue was related to the magic industry represented by the Xinfei Chamber of Commerce.
Among them, Bangta City alone pays a huge tax of more than one million gold coins to the kingdom's finance every year, which is almost equal to the previous annual fiscal revenue of the Lampali Kingdom.
It has to be said that the Xinfei Chamber of Commerce played the most important role in this. However, since the Xinfei Chamber of Commerce left the Lampali Kingdom, most of the magic machinery-related chambers of commerce in Bangta City and the Lampali Kingdom, headed by the Xinfei Chamber of Commerce, also left the Lampali Kingdom, causing the influence of the magic industry. The power in the Lampali Kingdom plummeted, and the taxes received naturally dropped significantly.
certainly. This is also related to the fact that the ten chambers of commerce designated by the Magic Industry Administration control the country's magic industry.
According to statistical data, those ten chambers of commerce have been doing business at a loss due to the downturn in the industry, so the taxes paid are extremely pitiful.
But Eric actually knows very well in his heart that although the magic industry in the Lampali Kingdom has been greatly affected by the withdrawal of the Xinfei Chamber of Commerce and those chambers of commerce, it is impossible to say that you will lose money if you engage in this industry. of.
According to the information Eric obtained privately, the profits earned by the Rockefeller Chamber of Commerce last month alone exceeded 200,000 gold coins.
Last month, the financial statements released by the Rockefeller Chamber of Commerce to the Commerce Department showed a loss of 70,000 gold coins. Therefore, the Rockefeller Chamber of Commerce not only failed to pay the tax of more than 80,000 gold coins that it should have paid, but even received a special bonus of 30,000 gold coins from the Commerce Department. Financial subsidy.
This one goes in and one goes out. This is equivalent to the Rockefeller Chamber of Commerce gaining nearly 120,000 gold coins out of thin air.
As for where the extra nearly 120,000 gold coins went...
Every time he thought that the Stark family was behind the Rockefeller Chamber of Commerce, Eric couldn't help but feel a little angry.
"These worms in the kingdom!" Eric cursed fiercely in his heart. Then he smiled helplessly.
Although Duke Stark has been very obedient to him on the surface during this period, and will basically not object to any of his opinions, and has carried out almost every order he gave seriously, Eric is very clear that he is currently The control of the entire kingdom is still far from enough.
Before his strength was enough to deal with the large number of stubborn conservative nobles represented by the Stark family, Eric could only endure it for the time being.
Before that, the only thing he could do was to take back the power that should have belonged to him from Duke Stark bit by bit.
"Tuk-tuk-tuk-"
There was a knock on the door.
Eric looked up at the door and couldn't help but smile.
Now Duke Starr has finally learned to knock when entering his room.
"Please come in." Eric said loudly.
The door was gently pushed open, and Duke Stark strode in.
"Your Majesty." Duke Stark saluted Eric. "Excuse me, you summoned me suddenly. Do you have anything to explain?"
"Well, I just made a decree. Take a look." Eric handed over the paper with the ink in his hand still wet.
Duke Stark took it and took a look, and immediately frowned deeply.
This edict is directed at the Magic Industry Administration.
To sum up the above, Eric wants to reform the Magic Industry Administration and re-examine every magic industry chamber in the kingdom under the jurisdiction of the Magic Industry Administration.
The first thing to do is to conduct a qualification review for each chamber of commerce.
If a magic machinery chamber is not performing well, the Magic Industry Administration should first find a way to help the chamber turn a profit.
If the Magic Industry Administration cannot do this, then it is the Administration's dereliction of duty.
And if this chamber of commerce really lacks the ability to achieve profitability, then in order to promote the healthy and orderly development of the magic industry in the Kingdom of Lampali, the Magic Industry Administration has the right to ban the business qualification of this chamber of commerce and order it to change its business.
On the surface, there is nothing wrong with this will.
But if you think about it carefully. Because the current main person in charge of the Magic Industry Administration is a member of the Stark family. The ten chambers of commerce designated by the Magic Industry Administration now have almost complete control over the magic industry in the Lampali Kingdom. This will is undoubtedly aimed at them.
However, these chambers of commerce represent the interests of the stubborn conservative nobles headed by the Stark family. In doing so, Eric made it clear that he wanted to target them.
Duke Starr raised his head, narrowed his eyes slightly, and looked at Eric.
"Your Majesty, I'm afraid this is inappropriate."
"Oh? What's wrong?"
"Even if some chambers of commerce lack the ability to make a profit, they are still contributing to the development of the magic industry in the entire kingdom. To directly cancel their business qualifications would be a huge dampener on their enthusiasm. Your Majesty, didn't you say that the most important thing is to Can every city in the kingdom become like Bangta City? In this case, we should give them more encouragement."
Eric sneered in his heart.
Duke Stark's so-called encouragement is to allocate funds from the kingdom's finances to support those chambers of commerce.
Now that the kingdom's finances have dropped significantly, and if part of it is allocated for so-called "encouragement", the kingdom's finances will be even more stretched.
Having sat in this king's position for a long time, Eric is very aware of the important role of money.
There are many areas that need improvement within the Lampali Kingdom, but each area requires significant financial investment.
Eric tried to take back some money that should have belonged to the kingdom's finances from the ten chambers of commerce designated by the Magic Industry Administration—to be precise, from the stubborn conservative nobles, and also for the development of the entire kingdom.
"A shopping mall is like a battlefield. If a chamber of commerce cannot make a profit, it proves that it is not suitable for this battlefield. Rather than wasting precious kingdom finances to help him survive, it is better to follow the rules of the mall and let it die naturally. Duke Stark, you Is that right?" Eric asked.
Duke Stark looked at Eric silently for a while. When Eric felt uneasy, he suddenly showed a smile, nodded slowly and said: "What your Majesty said is absolutely true, and it should indeed be done."
Hearing this answer, Eric almost couldn't believe his ears.
His purpose was clearly aimed at the nobles represented by the Stark family. Eric had already been mentally prepared for Duke Stark to strongly oppose him, and had thought out his words in advance, even at the risk of being tougher. I came to truly carry out this decree, but I didn’t expect that Duke Starr actually agreed!
Eric looked at Duke Star blankly, with all kinds of questions rising in his mind.
"Your Majesty, is there anything else important?" Duke Stark suddenly asked.
"Ah? Ah... no... not for now..." Eric shook his head and said in a daze.
"Since Your Majesty has nothing else to explain, I will take my leave."
Until Duke Starr walked out and the door was closed again, Eric was still stunned and unable to react.
Why didn't Duke Starr object? Could it be that he really just accepted it
Eric was surprised and happy.
Could it be that this means that he has finally established the majesty of the king, so that Duke Stark will not oppose him face to face
Duke Stark's face showed no excitement when he walked out of the room, and he still maintained an extremely calm face.
But when he saw a little boy jumping and trotting over from the other end of the corridor, he showed a gentle smile.
"Your Highness, His Majesty is working. Don't disturb him now." Duke Stark hugged the little boy with a smile on his face and warned him.
This little boy is Eric's eldest son, His Royal Highness Prince William. He is only five years old this year, but he is already very smart and is hailed by many as the perfect candidate to be the next king.
"Why are you working again..." Prince William said angrily, feeling very aggrieved and dissatisfied. "You know how to work every day. Is being a king so busy?"
Duke Stark smiled: "Yes, being a king means you are so busy. Your Highness, do you want your Majesty to rest?"
"Of course I want him to rest. This way he can have time to play with me." His Royal Highness Prince William said.
"Then let's let him have a good rest, okay?" The smile on Duke Stark's face was still gentle, but a bit of coldness flashed in his narrowed eyes.