In the holy cities of the far north, spring has not yet arrived.

Philip Solon, His Royal Highness the Second Prince, walked through the winding corridors to the atrium, and saw a figure in a corner of the garden swaying quickly.

"Elizabeth, don't hide, come out. Philip exclaimed.

After waiting for about half a minute, Elizabeth came out of hiding with a delicate face:

"Philip, is there something wrong?"

"Dear sister, although it is already spring, but the sun is not out today, it is still relatively cold here, don't catch a cold. Philip said with concern, and suddenly added, "What are you doing with your hands behind your back?"

"Nothing, a book. Elizabeth replied, "It's just a book of poetry for recreation." ”

Philip didn't believe it at all, so he stepped forward and snatched it, a little confused: "Oh, what does this word read?

"Yes, La Traviata, this is one of the most sought-after novels in the Holy City right now. Elizabeth gave her brother a blank look, "You don't even know this!"

The royal family's education was undoubtedly strict, but there was no objection to reading so-called popular novels, but the sister's exaggerated expression made Philip feel that he was indeed outdated:

"I've been busy with official business lately, so I don't have time to read these idle books. ”

"Then I suggest you read it, this is a novel written by Viscount Sean Connery, which has been a sensation lately. ”

"Sean, oh, he doesn't seem like an amateur when writing novels. Philip said, "Camellia, what kind of flower?"

Elizabeth replied simply: "I don't know! There are quite a few people on the market who pretend to be this kind of flower." ”

How sensational that must have been.

Philip was slightly surprised, but he had more important things to do. If he could, he would also like to be as carefree as his sister.

"Elizabeth, our brother is back, you should go and see him. ”

"No, he's even more boring than his father. ”

"Alright!" Philip had no choice, he walked through the Imperial Garden, to the vestibule, and then to the Imperial Study.

In the imperial study, there were several people sitting or standing. Behind a large mahogany desk, Emperor Carlos Sauron was listening to the minister's report.

His name is the same as his grandfather, hence the name Carlos II, and he has been emperor for 31 years since he ascended the throne in January 1800.

When he was still the crown prince, he was considered a brave, wise and decisive heir.

But now that he was old and sometimes exhausted, although he had the royal barber dye his hair all the blonde that all royal men had, a pinch of hoarfrost on his sideburns betrayed his age.

He liked to wear military uniforms, which was related to the habit he had developed when he was a young man and personally commanded troops to fight against the Bilisians.

There were rows of decorative gold buttons on the placket, shoulder pads and tassels, gorgeous and solemn, and he had a quiet, silent temperament, not angry and arrogant, so that his courtiers did not dare to make a mistake.

It has been said that Carlos II was the most powerful ruler of Europa's history, as centralization had reached its peak in his hands. At the beginning of his tenure, he changed his father's policy of recuperating with the people of Ike Sauron, the second emperor, while being tough on the outside world, never compromising on diplomacy, even taking the initiative to start wars, and gradually depriving the local government of the power and reclaiming more power to the Holy City.

At this time the Royal Study had three of his courtiers, one was Prime Minister Fidel Cuarón, one was Chancellor of the Exchequer York Nehwal, and the other was the Minister of Military Command, John Talmon.

The other is the infrequent Crown Prince, His Royal Highness Jean-Sauron, born in 1790, the eldest prince is 19 years older than the second prince, because the latter was born to the second queen whom the emperor's first empress married after his death.

Crown Prince Jean inherited the emperor's quiet temperament, as Elizabeth said, a very boring person, it is difficult to get close to people.

In a commoner family, fathers loved their young sons and daughters, and so did the royal family, and Jean did not always accompany the emperor, who had just returned to the Holy City from his position as governor of the western provinces.

This may be the emperor's response to some rumors that the crown prince should take more responsibility.

Philip knocked lightly on the door, then walked in, smiled at his brother, and stepped aside.

Jean glanced at him, only nodded in response. When Philip was born, he was an adult, resting in a commoner family, and the age gap between them was equivalent to that of father and son. Moreover, Jean was sent to the army by the emperor early to train, and then sent to serve in other provinces, so it is difficult for the two brothers to have a deep affection.

At this time, the Chancellor of the Exchequer was making a "difficult" debriefing, because the Empire's finances were so bad:

"In 1820, there was no war, and the wind and rain were good, the total annual income of the empire was 750 million gold louis, last year 1830, frequent natural disasters in the south, caused the total income of the empire to plummet to 570 million gold louis, but at the same time in 1830 for war expenses and therefore 50 million debts, although this year the church took the initiative to lose 20 million, and borrowed 30 million at low interest, but this did not solve the problem. ”

Prime Minister Fidel Caron said: "Your Majesty, the south has been hit by another severe earthquake and tsunami, especially Genoa, and you have been gracious enough to pardon the taxes of several provinces in the south, although we have opened more tax sources, but we expect the total revenue this year not to exceed 500 million." ”

"You can't do it without money. John Talmon, the Minister of Military Orders, said loudly that although nominally a member of the cabinet and subject to the Prime Minister's constraints, the Military Orders Department was actually only responsible to the Emperor and only listened to the Emperor's orders, "those damned barbarians are still frantically tempting......"

"That's just a temptation, maybe there will be a small-scale war, but a large-scale battle like last year's Red Moon is impossible. The prime minister questioned, "I would like to ask who is most responsible for last year's rout? 1 million troops, 500 million dollars in war funds, and many more civilian deaths and property losses have been wasted by you." Don't tell me it's Marshal Pierce's bad command! He's dead, and he won't jump out of the coffin to refute it!"

"You ......"

The Minister of Military Orders, apparently unable to debate the civilian profession, smashed his gloves directly at the Prime Minister.

The prime minister bowed his head and deftly dodged, and the scene was quite funny.

Carlos I tapped lightly on the table, and the quarrel between the Prime Minister and the Minister of Military Orders immediately came to an abrupt end.

"John, pick up your gloves!"

"Yes, Your Majesty!" the Minister of Military Orders immediately obediently bypassed the Prime Minister, picked up his gloves, and glared at the Prime Minister when he turned back, and the Prime Minister returned the color.

The Prime Minister had already regretted it immensely at this time, because to point out the name of Marshal Pierce was in fact to accuse His Majesty the Emperor, a name that was taboo on many occasions.

He looked at the emperor with very innocent eyes, hoping that the emperor would know that he actually wanted to share his worries.

But the emperor glanced at the prime minister with relief, although this prime minister was of average talent, but fortunately he was very obedient, and if there was no accident, he was ready to let the prime minister work for a few more years.

"The barbarians in the north still refuse to give up, so we must maintain a high degree of alert on the northern border, the military command department must maintain at least 100 divisions in the north this year, almost 1.1 million people, and there are 30 divisions in the interior, almost 330,000 people, counting all kinds of expenses, we spend an average of 100 gold louis per soldier every year, this is already the bottom line, how much should this be?"

The Chancellor of the Exchequer was quick to say: "About 150 million." ”

"My Prime Minister, this money has to come quickly, not all at once, of course. Then they set aside the church's contributions and loans. The emperor looked at the ugly faces of the Prime Minister and the Chancellor of the Exchequer, "In addition, property belonging to the royal family can, well, lend to the cabinet ......"

The tax of the state is not the same thing as the private property of the royal family, so His Majesty said that it was borrowed.

At this time, the second prince Philip spoke at the right time, and the royal property had been under his management since three years ago, which also showed the emperor's favor for him:

"Father, we can lend 100 million. ”

The Prime Minister and the Chancellor of the Exchequer exchanged glances quickly, they were not coveting the royal property for a day or two, and as for the interest and whether the principal could be returned in time, they automatically ignored these two points. Anyway, the empire's surname is Sauron, and they just want to get through the difficulties in front of them.

"Well, York, how much is the gap?" asked the Emperor again.

"In this way, the needs of the military can be fully met. Add to this the 50,000,000 yuan guaranteed by the Church to the bankers, and this year's fiscal revenue will be sufficient to meet the needs of domestic affairs. But ......," the Chancellor of the Exchequer paused, "the interest burden for the coming year will also be heavy, and this is estimated on the basis of the absence of a large-scale foreign war." The current mob in the Longjiang valley will greatly affect this year's tax revenue, and I have heard that our cargo ships at sea are also occasionally attacked by fish demons. ”

"What an eventful time, that's why I've called Jean back, my eldest son will be in charge of putting down the party and restoring order to the granaries of the Empire. The Emperor said.

At this time, the prime minister said: "Your Majesty, to completely solve the problem, whether it is the barbarians in the north, or the chaotic party in the country, the fundamental problem is money and grain, and the collection of 1/20 tax cannot be delayed. If such a tax were to be levied, the empire would never have financial problems. ”

"I hear that Genoa is at the forefront of this?" asked the Emperor. A look flashed on the Prime Minister's face:

"Yes, Alexei Byrne is a man of great talent and political skill. ”

"Well, well, I remember the name, he was your assistant, right?" the Emperor nodded.

"Your Majesty, you have a good memory. The Prime Minister complimented.

Crown Prince Jean didn't speak all the time, but at this time he poured a basin of cold water: "Your Majesty, it is not a good idea to levy a 1/20 tax. While it is customary for subjects to show zeal and loyalty in times of national distress, when it comes to their wealth, it is like putting a knife to their neck, either rebelling or begging for mercy. Obviously, the former is more likely. ”

Truth be told, there comes a price to pay.

The atmosphere was a little cold, and the emperor's face immediately became gloomy, and he waved his hand to drive the ministers out.

"Jean stays!"

The three ministers left, and the second prince hesitated and left, and when he left, he paid attention to his brother's face, and saw that his brother was expressionless, as if nothing had happened.

The court servants slammed the door of the study shut, but the second prince walked around the corner of the corridor and still heard the sound of broken glasses and the roar of the emperor coming from the direction of the imperial study.

"What a tough pair of enemies. ”

The second prince shrugged his shoulders and asked himself if he would dare to follow his brother's example.

(There is another chapter in the afternoon, after 16 o'clock)