Outside the Prime Minister's Office, Earl Stu and Viscount Demptox walked side by side.

The two of them walked out of Duke Nick's office without saying a word, and when their carriage stopped on the side of the road, Count Stu suddenly asked, "I heard... The robbers on the official road were arranged by the Chamber of Commerce Alliance?"

"There are some," Viscount Dempto didn't hide, "these are just small means, and Duke Nick has even more control over the Crewe Territory. ”

"Crewe Territory is the Reagan family's private domain, they can do that, but you can't, you're a little bug to the entire empire. Count Stu gestured with his left hand and warned softly: "The cabinet and the Lion Castle are really angry this time, Prince Sinda also needs something to regain his prestige, and the war on the front line also costs money... And the Chamber of Commerce League has money, and there are even more unpardonable crimes. ”

"You mean—" Viscount Dempto understood at all.

"I didn't say anything. Count Stu said lightly, and then quickly slipped into the Viscount's carriage.

Viscount Dempto stood stunned, looking at the carriage from which Count Stu had left, and he looked a little distracted, making the passers-by around him look at him like fools. It wasn't until Earl Stu's carriage was behind the horizon of the street that Viscount Dempto got into his carriage and told his groom to rush to the manor outside the city.

Three days later,

Negotiations between the Chamber of Commerce and the Cabinet began.

Half a month later, the negotiations ended.

The Chamber of Commerce agreed to disband the private army, and signed a treaty drawn up by the Cabinet to ban the sale of weapons, salt, and other important goods, while recognizing all the additional tax regulations of the Empire, and furthermore, the Chamber of Commerce agreed to share fifty percent of the military expenses of the war ahead with the Union Confederation.

The Empire, on the other hand, added cabinet seats for the Chamber of Commerce.

To be precise, the additional cabinet seats, members of the Chamber of Commerce and the Union League can participate in the election.

And the votes were in the hands of the upper nobility of the empire.

This was made by Duke Nick in imitation of Crewe's 'citizenship'.

The merchants of the empire used money to pry open the doors that had been closed to them by the cabinet for almost a hundred years!

And the first merchant representative unsurprisingly fell on Viscount Temple.

The day after Viscount Temple's inauguration, on 26 February.

Duke Nick convened a cabinet meeting, and at the beginning of the meeting he said: "The empire has been going through a war for almost a year, so that there are countless bandits, ghouls, and deserters everywhere, who gather near the official roads of the empire and wantonly plunder the merchants and travel, which not only affects the economic recovery of the empire, but also affects the safety of the subjects of the empire, so I suggest that the military department should start to exterminate them." ”

"We don't have the money and materials to do this. Count Stu answered at once.

Viscount Deng Putuo said: "The Chamber of Commerce Alliance can contribute funds, but the condition is that they must be wiped out within a month. His words immediately attracted the attention of everyone present, and even a bachelor with closed eyes opened his eyes and looked at the newcomer in the cabinet seat seriously.

"If the Chamber of Commerce Alliance has the money, it should come up with more to support the war at Fort Eluk, where a lot of supplies and troops are needed. "The representative sent by the military department is the second lieutenant knight of Locks, and in the eyes of this honorary knight of the Empire, who is over fifty years old, the war at Fort Elok is the first.

"Safe and unobstructed trade routes lead to more trade. Count Stu immediately retorted: "A prosperous economy is the basis for supporting the war ahead." ”

"But—" the old knight frowned.

"We need smooth trade routes. Prime Minister Duke Nick spoke, "Villages, towns, farms and pastures at all levels also need a stable and safe environment to usher in the early spring planting season." He glanced at all the cabinet members: "The Empire is at a crossroads right now, and we need to be careful with every decision. ”

The old knight immediately retorted, "The elves will definitely not give us time, we should..."

"Let the city defense battalion do it. Duke Nick ignored Knight Locks' words and looked at Viscount Temple, "Prince Sinda needs to prove his abilities to the subjects of the Empire before the coronation ceremony. With that, the Imperial Prime Minister looked at Count Stu without waiting for the others to speak, and said, "It seems that the Karen Collar has sent a request for trade, right?"

"It should now be called the Grand Duchy of Rigrock. Count Stu said in a mocking tone: "Their war is not going well, and they need food on the plains of Suke. He said with a sudden smile, "Shikan in the north has also sent envoys to ask for trade with us. ”

"Orcs?" said in one of the few cabinet meetings in which the University Priest spoke.

"Yes, orcs. ”

"This is the best time to get to know the orcs. Bot looked at Duke Nick.

Viscount Dempto's eyes lit up, "Trading with orcs can bring good profits. ”

"I hate orcs!" said the Knight of Rocks, "but if you maintain good relations with the orcs at this time, the empire can have nearly 80,000 more soldiers, and with these 80,000 soldiers, the war at Fort Eluk can be easily solved." ”

Duke Nick leaned back, leaned back on the back of his chair, and said, "The inhabitants of the Clans are now settled in the northern part of the Suker Plains, if you can convince them, or... Convince all the nobles of the empire, I agree in principle. ”

You have to stand tall to see far, and this sentence is not wrong at all.

The subjects of the Empire and most of the nobles saw only the benefits they saw and the people and things around them, and convincing these people to agree to trade with the orcs was even less difficult than seeing the goddess.

"The Cabinet's decisions do not require their consent ... Right?" Viscount Dempto suddenly said.

"Don't underestimate the power of those nobles. Earl Stu has the most trouble with these people, "They will pestering you until you go crazy." He sighed, "The new tax items are being implemented, which is already challenging the bottom line of the imperial aristocracy, and the officials sent by the Ministry of Finance have even been secretly assassinated... Since last month, the nobles of the imperial capital have been visiting the Ministry of Finance every day, and they are about to step through the stone steps outside the Ministry of Finance office building. ”

The spread of the new tax in the Central Empire was not very smooth, and the local aristocracy was now preparing to resist the decisions of the cabinet, and in some places there were even armed riots.

"You made the right decision. "The empire should have levied all kinds of taxes on the nobles and chambers of commerce without discrimination, instead of waiting for the current time when the national power is empty... However, while the Ministry of Finance is implementing various tax items, it also needs to pay attention to controlling market prices, otherwise your tax items will eventually have to be paid by ordinary citizens. ”

"We have set up a special agency to regulate the market order. Count Stu immediately explained, "These problems should not arise in the short term." ”

"You don't pay attention to this issue. Poult frowned, pointed to the candles in the hall and said, "Do you know how much difference the price of the candle last month is between the price of the candle last month and the price of the candle now?"

"This—" Count Stu was speechless.

"It's two percent. Viscount Dempto replied, "The merchants are slowly raising the price of their goods. ”

"Not bad!" said Bao's head.

"The markets of the empire cannot be left to the hands of those merchants. Prime Minister Duke Nick looked at Viscount Temple, "The Chamber of Commerce Alliance needs to take on the task of regulating the market order, and this matter is left to you." As he spoke, he looked at Count Stu, "The Ministry of Finance fully cooperates with the Chamber of Commerce Alliance, and within a month, I need the prices in all markets in the Imperial Capital to return to normal." ”

"It's our pleasure. "Viscount Dempto naturally took on his first assignment.

"Lord Nick, I hope you should take the orc issue seriously. Knight Locks stood up and saluted Duke Nick, "I hate orcs, and I hate killing them all, but the Empire needs to maintain good relations with them now, as the elves and rebels of the Eluk Command are eyeing us. ”

"Trading with orcs takes time. Duke Nick shook his head, "This matter can be discussed first, but not in a hurry..."

Count Stu said: "Lord Nick, the empire needs to open the northern trade route occupied by the orcs, so that our caravan can reach the Twak Territory, and opening the trade route of the Twak Territory means opening the road to the Crewe Territory, so that the caravan of the Central Empire can reach the Clarkley Islands." ”

"Count Stu is right. Viscount Demptuo immediately took over the topic, "The rebels on the Elok Plain have blocked the trade between the imperial capital and the southeastern territory of the mainland, which has caused our army to be unable to supply war horses... And now, the Feld Territory is also lost, guys, do you know what this will lead to?" he took a deep breath, "Soon, the Imperial Capital may not even be able to run out of salt. ”

"Didn't the Cabinet force the expansion of salt refining in the western part of the Suke Plain last month?" said Duke Nick, frowning.

Count Stu shook his head, "There are more than one million people in the imperial capital alone, plus the population of the villages and towns on the Suke Plain, we need to feed six or seven million people, and the Suke Plain alone can't do it, not to mention that it is a time of war." ”

"Why can't you feed it?" "The vast land of the Suke Plain is not a problem to feed six or seven million people, even if it is to feed tens of millions of people!" Speaking of this, Baote's eyes suddenly looked at the court mage Boya Shu, who had not spoken, "Your Excellency Boya, how many farms and ranches are under your name?"

"Those are my personal possessions, esteemed Bachelor. Boya replied lightly.

"Yes, your private possessions, but your so-called private possessions can help the empire feed thousands of people, and the truth is that you are alone in luxury. ”

Yabo said: "The laws of the empire have long stipulated that the private property of nobles is sacrosanct!"

"Dear Bachelor. Duke Nick suddenly spoke, "I know what you're trying to say, but there are some things that even the Cabinet can't control. ”

"Actually... We don't need to touch the estates of the aristocracy. "Count Stu wanted to say something.

"Ladies and gentlemen, there are a lot of issues that we need to discuss today, so let's solve them one by one. Duke Nick stopped what Earl Stu wanted to say, and he flipped through the papers beside him, "Do you have any opinion on the proposal of the Ministry of Finance to appoint a tax commissioner to manage the new tax items?"

As Duke Nick spoke, Count Stu and Knight Locks glanced at each other without looking for a margin, Count Stu shook his head slightly, and Knight Locks frowned. The performance of the two fell into the eyes of Viscount Dempto and Bachelor Pauter, Viscount Dempto smiled slightly, and Pend sighed secretly.

"Count Stu, who is the Treasury going to elect?"

Duke Nick's voice sounded again, and everyone turned their minds to this question.

This was not a good job, and the imperial aristocracy was very resistant to the new tax items, and the officials assigned to them were often blocked or even assassinated. These are facts, and they are not made up by Count Stu for the sake of exaggeration.

"We need to erect a model..."Viscount Dempto was active in the first cabinet meeting, "the nobles of the Normaburg region who have been making the most trouble lately are the nobles of the Norma Castle area, we just need to shut up the nobles of this area, and the rest... Naturally, it's easy to do. ”

"Then I'll leave it to you, how about it?" Duke Nick's words rang out as soon as Viscount Temple's voice landed.

"Isn't the matter of taxation in the hands of the Treasury?" said Viscount Dempto in a low voice, "Sir Sim-Erke, Under-Secretary of the Treasury, is competent enough to be the Commissioner of Taxation. ”

"Oh?" said Duke Nick's gaze to Count Stu.

"This requires nobles of great prestige. Count Stu shook his head, "The Treasury suggests that Prince Odezi Danediv do this. ”

"I don't think Prince Odyssey will take this errand, he's 62 years old, and he's not going to do such a thing. Viscount Templeto shook his head.

"I will personally visit Prince Odezi. Duke Nick glanced thoughtfully at Count Stu, and then immediately changed the subject, "Then let's discuss the issue of trade between the Karen Territory and the orcs. As he spoke, he first expressed his opinion, "There is no need to talk about the Karen Collar, the main thing is the issue of trade with the orcs. ”

"I've been thinking about this a lot just now. "Just two minutes ago, I came up with a solution," he looked at Duke Nick, "We can set up a trade bazaar outside of Kwyn to trade with the Cullens and the Orcs." ”

Earl Stu's eyes lit up, "Good way!"

The Imperial Chancellor of Finance was excited, "Once the trade market is established, not only will it attract the Karen Lords and Orcs, but even the Gondwak regime in Twak City will likely come to trade with our caravans!"

"The Chamber of Commerce is willing to fully fund the establishment of the trading post!" Dempto instantly saw the huge profit involved.

"Wholly owned, 30% of the income. "Duke Nick made a condition.

"Yes!" Viscount Dempto agreed very simply, and then said the condition, "My condition is that the Union League cannot participate. ”

"It can't be. "Count Stu was the first to object.

"If the trade unions join, the empire will need to give up at least fifty percent. Viscount Dempto frowned.

Duke Nick glanced at Temple, then looked at Earl Stu and said, "Thirty percent of the income remains the same, and you can solve the rest of the matter yourself... I'll leave this matter to you. ”

"Understood. "Count Stu took over the task.

Viscount Temple's face was a little ugly, or his good mood was ruined in an instant, but he didn't speak again after looking at Duke Nick's serious and majestic expression.

Duke Nick lowered his head and flipped through the papers on his desk, and after a few seconds, he said, "That's all for today's meeting... I need to see the detailed plan for the eradication of bandits by noon tomorrow, and I need to see the plan for adjusting the order of the workplace and the establishment of the trading post within three days. As he spoke, he waved his hand to the crowd, "The knights of Locks stay, and the others go out first." ”

After the messy footsteps, the sound of Duke Nick flipping through the papers was left in the huge conference room.

"Did Felder get any military news?" asked Duke Nick.

"Nope. ”

"How's the war going there?"

"Duke Eric held off the attacks of the rebels and elves. ”

"Well," Nick muttered, and after a long moment, "send two thousand heavily armed cavalry into the imperial capital in my name." ”

"My lord, this..."

Duke Nick continued: "During the period when the Ministry of Finance introduced the new tax items, it was strictly forbidden for any nobles from anywhere to enter the imperial capital, and if anyone dared to break in, they would be directly killed on the spot for collaborating with the enemy and treason. ”

He stared at the old knight, "Do you understand?"

"Got it!"